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An Early Subsistence Exchange System in theMoche Valley, Peru

Shelia PozorskiThomas Pozorski

Section of Man

Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Technologically, the Initial Period in Peru began with the introduction of pottery

and the change from twined to woven textile production. Within the M oche

Valley, it was the time when a complex settlement first appeared in the valley in-

terior - a relocation correlated with the beginnings of irrigation agriculture.

This'lcritical point in the process of adaptation to irrigation agriculture is ex-

plored through an examination of subsistence data from two sites: the Initial

Period (1800-1400 B.C.) site ofGramalote on the coast and the Initial Period and

Early Horizon (1400-400 B.C.) settlement of Caballo Muerto located well inland.

Evidence from Caballo Muerto suggests that the shift from floodwater to irriga-

tion agriculture was complete, yet the inland site still relied heavily on animal

protein from Gramalote on the coast. Taken together, the two early ceramic sites

form an economic unit which, when explored, reveals several important aspects of

the transition from an exclusively coastal orientation to a predominantly inland

agricultural subsistence focus.

Introduction

The advent of irrigation agriculture was one of the

most important events in the prehistory of Peru. On the

north coast, its introduction dates between 2000 and

1500 B.C. Immediately prior to this time, coastal inhabi-

tants subsisted largely on marine resources such as

shellfish and fish, supplemented by floodwater horti-

culture. Irrigation did have a tremendous impact on

subsistence patterns and societal structure, but the

change was not as rapid as previously believed. 1 Data

1. M. E. Moseley, "Organizational Preadaptation to Irrigation: The

Evolution of Early Water-Management Systems in Coastal Peru," in

Irrigation's Impact on Society, Anthropological Papers of the Univer-

sity of Arizona No. 25, eds., T. E. Downing and M. Gibson (Univer-

sity of Arizona Press, Tucson 1974) 77-82; idem, The Maritime Foun-

dations of Andean Civilization (Cummings Publishing Co., Menlo

Park, California 1975) 43-50, 104-114; T. C. Patterson, "Central

Peru: Its Population and Economy," Archaeology 24 (1971) 316-321;

idem, America's Past. A New World Archaeology (Scott, Foresman

and Co., Glenview, Illinois 1973) 58-67; T. Pozorski, "Caballo

Muerto: A Complex of Early Ceramic Sites in the Moche Valley,

Peru," unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas at Austin

(University Microfilms, Ann Arbor 1976) 129-143.

from two early sites in the Moche Valley, Gramalote

and Caballo Muerto (TABLE 1),2 suggest the changeover

was more gradual. Initially, the inland settlement of

Caballo M uerto was heavily dependent on the coastal

resources for animal protein while the coastal site of

Gramalote relied on the inland settlement for agri-

cultural products. As time passed, a domesticated

camelid replaced shellfish as the main source of animal

protein, the coastal settlement was no longer necessary,

and the move inland was essentially complete.

Gramalote was first surveyed by C. M. Hastings in

1973 when he worked for the Chan Chan-Moche Valley project. Shelia Pozorski directed excavations during

September and October of 1973 with the aid of Donald

Weaver for architectural clearing. She later .returned

briefly in 1974 to check specific architectural details.

2. This table is a modified version of the Andean chronological

framework presented in E. P. Lanning, Peru Before the Incas

(Prentice-Hall, New Jersey 1967) 24-25; J. H. Rowe, "Stages and

Periods in Archaeological Interpretation," SWJA 18 (1962) 40-54;

idem, "Urban Settlements in Ancient Peru," NPaeha 1 (Institute of

Andean Studies, Berkeley 1963) 1-27.



414 Subsistence Exchange System in the Moche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski

Table 1. Chronological placement of

early sites in the Moche Valley, Peru. Time Period Coastal Sites Caballo M uerto Mounds

400 B.C.

1400 B.C.

Early

Horizon

Huaca Guavalito }

Huaca La CruzHuaca San Carlos }

H uaca Curaca

Huaca de los Reyes

Group III

Group II

1800 B.C-.

2500 B.C.

Initial

Period

Cotton

Preceramic

Gramalote

Alto Salaverry

Padre Aban

H uaca Herederos Chica }

Huaca Herederos Grande Group I

H uaca Cortada

The existence of Caballo Muerto has long been

known, but its age and significance have only been

recognized within the past 10 years. In 1930 George

Johnson photographed Huaca de los Reyes from the air

as part of the famous Shippee-Johnson expedition. This

photograph has never been published. In 1938, Larco

Hoyle3 published a map of the Moche Valley indicating

the location of a "Grupo Herederos," but said nothing

about the site. In 1942 and again in 1969, the Servicio

Aerofotografico Nacional photographed the entire complex as part of the aerial photographic coverage of

the entire valley. In 1950, Richard Schaedel and An-

tonio Rodriguez Suy Suy surveyed the Caballo Muerto

area and made a preliminary map of Huaca de los

Reyes, but never published their findings.

No further work was done at the Caballo Muerto

complex until 1969 when Michael Moseley, director of

the Chan Chan-Moche Valley Project, surveyed the

area and recognized the Caballo Muerto mounds as

dating to at least the Early Horizon (1400-400 B.C.) . In

July and August of 1970,Claude Chauchat excavated at

the mound of H uaca Herederos Chica and confirmed the early date. He returned in 1972 with Luis Watanabe

and extended excavations at the same mound. Later in

1972, Watanabe returned alone and excavated at Huaca

de los Reyes, Huaca La Cruz, and Huaca Guavalito.4

Thomas Pozorski surveyed and excavated at all of the

Caballo Muerto complex mounds between July 1973

3. R. Larco H., Los Mochicas 1 (Casa Editora La Cronica y

Variedades, S.A., Lima 1938)figure opposite p. 60.

4. M. E. Moseley and L. Watanabe, "The Adobe Sculpture of Huaca

de los Reyes," Archaeology 27 (1974) 154-161.

and December 1974. Both his work and that of Shelia

Pozorski at Gramalote were conducted under the

auspices of the Chan Chan-Moche Valley Project under

the direction of Michael Moseley and Carol Mackey.

Permission to survey and excavate was granted by the

Peruvian Instituto N acional de Cultura. Funding was

provided by the National Science Foundation, the

National Geographic Society, and the Institute of Latin

American Studies of the University of Texas at Austin.

The data discussed in this paper were gathered by theauthors during investigations in 1973 and 1974.

Gramalote

The Initial Period site of Gramalote lies 10-20 m

above sea level near the modern fishing village o

Huanchaco on the north edge of the Moche Valley

(FIG. 1). The only surface indications of the nature of

the site are abundant ash and shell plus a few concen-

trations of stone, since the action of wind and salt has

destroyed all surface traces of plant remains and most

sherds. Within the site, refuse is especially rich and deep(30 em. or more) in two irregular areas that cover about

20,000 sq. m. on the tops and slopes of several stabilized

dunes (FIG. 2).

Excavations at Gramalote began in 1973 with inten-

sive testing to define the site limits and to locate areas

of especially rich midden where the refuse could be

most profitably sampled. The sw part of the site where

the refuse reaches its maximum depth of ca. 2 m. was

selected for controlled stratigraphic excavations. Sev

eral test pits revealed well-preserved boulder walls, and

a large continuous area of architecture in the NE sector




18

18

16

"12o

86

••

••

< : > Cut 1

< : > Cut 2

- - - - ~. . . • . . . _ - , .',",

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4

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I 16

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10

8

6

2

o 50 100 M.

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Contour lines: 2 m.

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Figure 2. Pampa Gramalote showing the location of Gramalote and the architecture and controlled Cuts 1 and 2 withinthe site.



10M.

Figure 3. Schematic plan of the architectural complex cleared at

Gramalote.

stratum of the midden in Cut 2 at a depth of 1.66 m.

The pit was dug into the earliest stratum while the

deposition of the second stratum was in process. The

body occupied an oval pit within the refuse ca. 1.0 m. x

0.65 m. x 0.25 m. deep. The individual was male, 30 to

45 years of age, and the body lay in a flexed position

facing south with the head toward the west. Sixteen

stones were located in the northern end of the pit both

surrounding and slightly below the body. The burial

was accompanied by few artifacts: 2 gourd bowls, a jet

mirror, matting, and textiles. The jet mirror was small

(6 cm. x 5 cm. x 2 cm.), finely polished, and covered

with a thick layer of red pigment. Several layers of wo-

ven cotton textile as well as some woven bast mat-

ting had been present, but had decomposed almost

completely along with the softer parts of the body. 6

6. W. J. Conklin, "Pampa Gramalote Textiles," in Irene Emery

Roundtable on Museum Textiles 1974 Proceedings: Archaeological

Textiles, ed., P. L. Fiske (The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.

1974)77-92.

Journal ofField Archaeology/Vol. 6,1979 417

Ceramics

Of the 1,119 sherds recovered at Gramalote, 110 are

rim sherds and only 17 are decorated. Oxidized and re-

duced thin-walled (3-6 mm.) coarseware makes up 98%

of the assemblage with the remainder consisting of ox-idized and reduced fine ware. The primary vessel form

is the neckless olla, but there are also some short-neck

jars with everted rims and tall single-neck bottles.

Decoration consists of incision presented as slashes,

zoned punctation, and incised and finger-impressed

raised bands or ribs. All incision was executed on wet

clay. Low-luster, streaky burnishing is also very charac-

teristic of many sherds.

Textiles

Both twined and woven cotton textiles were dis-

covered at Gramalote along with knotted netting, cord-age, and unspun fiber.7 Woven textiles are most

numerous, but much more simply constructed than

twined examples. Virtually all are plain weave with one

example of patterned weave and two of twill. One small

piece of plain weave was colored with red paint or dust.

Gramalote twined textiles are more complex and varied

in construction and design. In one example, intricate

bands of twining are evident as part of an otherwise

plain weave textile. The fragments of knotted netting

from fishnets separates into two groups based on mesh

size and number of yarns used in construction. Large-

mesh netting has 2 to 8 yarns per element and a mesh

size ranging 0.5-1 cm. Conklin points out that the

netting from Gramalote is considerably stronger than

the other textiles because of replied, multiyarn element

construction and the use of stronger cotton in the initial

yarn manufacture.8

Worked Stone

About 80% of the more than 200 stone tools were

chipped from fine-grain basalt. All chipping was done

by the percussion method, and there is no evidence of

retouching. Cutting tools account for about one-half of

the examples while unifaeial and bifacial chopping tools

are also very common. Other less common types in-clude 6 cores, a blade, 3 denticulates, a saw, a scraper, a

cleaver, 5 planes, and 5 hammerstones. The remaining

lithic artifacts are of ground or pecked stone. These in-

clude smooth rounded cobbles that show evidence of

use for smoothing, hammering, or paint processing.

Three probable net weights were encountered: two are

7. Ibid. 77-92.

8. Ibid. 81-83.




rounded ovals with a flat pecked band around the

widest part, and the third is a small flat oval pebble

with a hole pecked through the center. Other stone"ar-

tifacts worked by pecking, grinding, and often polishing

include a single cylindrical pestle, a stone bowl frag-ment, and a whole jet mirror plus several fragments.

Other Artifacts

Two pieces of colonial polychaete worm secretion

were abraded into conical shapes 3.9 em. and 5.4 em.

long, and each has a small hole pecked into the larger

end. The only additional artifacts are ..~ few small pieces

of cut shell (Choromytilus chorus and Protothaca thaca)

and one large whole clam shell (Semele corrugata) with

red mineral pigment thickly encrusted on its inner

surface.

Radiocarbon Dates

As part of the controlled stratigraphic excavation of

Cut 2, six carbon-14 samples were collected from the

three distinguishable strata of the midden.9 These sam-

ples were submitted to the University of Texas Radio-

carbon Laboratory, and they yielded uncorrected dates

of: 1100± 110 B.C. (Tx-1930, second stratum from sur-

face); 1120±90 B.C. (Tx-1929, third stratum from sur-

face); 1300± 120 B.C. (Tx-1929, third stratum from sur-

face); 1430±60 B.C. (Tx-1931, first stratum from sur-

face); 1580±130 B.C. (Tx-1931, first stratum from sur-

face); and 1590±80 B.C. (Tx-1930, second stratum from

surface). Though not in agreement with the strati-graphic order of the strata, the absolute dates cluster

well enough to suggest the general time period when

Gramalote was occupied.

Caballo Muerto

The Caballo Muerto complex (FIGS. 1,4) is located in

the Moche "Valley, ENE of the city of Trujillo, about 17

km. inland from the Pacific coast. The complex is com-

posed of eight platform mounds of varying architec-

tural complexity, covering an area 2 km. N-S by 1km. E-

W, and situated in the Rio Seco quebrada (dry gully)about 3 km. north of the Moche River. Seven of the

eight mounds are clustered within the southern half of

the total area of the complex while a small eighth

mound is located at the extreme north end. This last

mound, however, is connected to the rest of the com-

plex by a long, wide road.

9. S. Pozorski, "Prehistoric Subsistence Patterns and Site Economics

in the Moche Valley, Peru," unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Univer-

sity of Texas at Austin (University Microfilms, Ann Arbor 1976) 22.

A rchitecture and Chronology

Individual mound size ranges from 100 m. x 120 m. x

18 m. high to 24 m. x 25 m. x 2 m. high, though in terms

of total site area, the elaborate Huaca de los Reyes is

the largest. Each mound is large enough to have been acorporate labor structure, that is, a product of the labor

of numerous individuals working collectively under the

authority of one person or a few people. 10

Based on survey and excavation by T. Pozorski, it ap-

pears that each of the mounds has, or probably once

had, a pair of small parallel wing structures extending

out from its front face to form a large "U." The consis-

tent "U" pattern plus the large size of the mounds rela-

tive to known domestic architecture of the time period

suggest that all had a similar nondomestic function.

Within the Caballo Muerto complex, however, cer-

tain architectural features differ, thereby indicating

gradual chronological change. These features - orien-

tation, size and configuration, location relative to cer-

tain types of terrain, entry pattern, and other associated

features - were used to arrange the Caballo Muerto

mounds chronologically into three groups (TABLE 1).

Ordering within each group has been refined by correla-

tions with artifacts recovered and radiocarbon dates ob-

tained.

It should be remembered, though, that the groupings

in Table 1 indicate relative dates of the principal con-

struction for each mound. Later architectural additions

and overlap in artifact assemblages suggest extended

. use of some mounds during and after construction of others.

One of the mounds, Huaca de los Reyes, bears a large

number of clay friezes bordering its plazas. I I Friezes

have not been found at the other mounds within the

complex, but several painted wall fragments have been

recovered.

Domestic Component

No large domestic occupation areas have been found

associated with the complex despite survey and test ex-

cavations on nearby hillsides and adjacent fields. This

circumstance, however, is predictable because 1) theneighboring hills were subject to 3,000 years of subse-

quent occupation which have badly disturbed cultural

remains, and 2) the open area among the mounds has

10. M. E. Moseley, op. cit. (1975 in note 1) 79-80.

11. M. E. Moseley and L. Watanabe, op. cit . ( in note 4) 154-161; T.

Pozorski, "Huaca de los Reyes: An Early Horizon Site in the Moche

Valley, Peru," paper presented at the 74th Annual Meeting of the

American Anthropological Association (San Francisco 1975); idem,

"EI complejo de Caballo Muerto: Los frisos de barro de la Huaca de

los Reyes," Revista del Museo Nacional 41 (Museo Nacional de la

Cultura Peruana, Lima 1975) 211-252; idem, op. cit. (in note I) 63-92.



Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 6,1979 419

, HUACA DE L OS REY ES

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HUACA SAN CARLOS

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Figure 4. The Caballo Muerto complex showing the location of each of the component mounds.




been buried by several meters of alluvium. The latter is

verified by our test pits into Huaca Herederos Chica

(FIG. 5) which uncovered refuse about 4 m. below the

modern ground surface.

Ceramics

Out of a total of 10,240 sherds, the majority were

found within architectural fill and wall-fall, but a sig-

nificant percentage was also associated with plastered

floor levels. Thin-walled (3-6 mm.) coarse utilitarian

ware, both oxidized and reduced, makes up the bulk of

the collection, varying from 80% to 90% of the Group I

assemblage to 65% to 70% for the later mounds. Ox-

idized and reduced fine ware constitutes the remaining

portion of the sample. Vessel forms are restricted to

neckless ollas, short-neck jars with everted rims, open

bowls with straight or everted sides, incurving bowls,

stirrup-spout bottles, and, rarely, tall single-neck bot-

tles. N eckless ollas, all made of thin-walled coarse ware,

predominate throughout the ceramic sequence, but are

especially frequent at the Group I and Group II

mounds. Bowl forms and short-neck jars are also nu-

merous and are made of both coarse and fine ware. Bottle

forms are restricted to fine ware. Incision made into wet

clay is the most common form of decoration, found in

such modes as broad-line and fine-line slashes, circular

and diagonal punctations often separated into zones by

incised lines, cross-hatching, and combing. Applique

bumps, modelling, and incised and finger-impressed

raised bands or ribs are also present. Low luster,streaky burnishing is very common, especially on

coarse-ware sherds. Occasional new modes are intro-

duced through time, but once each is part of the dec-

orative repertoire, it persists until the end of the

sequence. The most chronologically diagnostic dec-

orative trait is the use of black paint, probably made of

graphite and/or manganese. It was used both as a filler

of incised lines and for black bands and zones painted

on flat surfaces. These two techniques appear at H uaca

de los Reyes in the Group II mounds and last through

Group III.

Worked Stone

Five types of stone artifacts are also chronologically

important: jet mirrors, stone bowls, hammerstones,

smooth stones, and stone palettes. Several smooth

black jet mirror fragments were recovered from H uaca

Herederos Chica, Huaca Cortada, and Huaca de los

Reyes. Flat-topped stone bowl rims were found at

Huaca Cortada and near the road connecting H uaca de

los Reyes and Huaca San Carlos. Hammerstones, often

bearing traces of red pigment, were found at Huaca

Herederos Chica. Plain smooth stones, bearing no

evidence of red pigment and often showing no signs of

wear, but unusual because the material is foreign to the

immediate site environment, were found at Huaca

Herederos Chica and Huaca de los Reyes. The worn ex-amples may have been pottery polishers. At Huaca

Herederos Chica, a few flat stones acted as palettes or

receptacles for red pigment, and traces of the pigment

are still present on the flat sides of the stones.

Other A rti/acts

Huaca Herederos Chica produced one piece of a

large shell (A rgopecten purpura tum) that bears traces of

red pigment on its interior surface. Presumably, this

was also used as a paint palette.

TextilesThough no direct evidence of textiles was found at

Caballo Muerto because of limited preservation, im-

pressions of cloth and fiber rope were found on burned

and unburned adobe roofing fragments at Huaca

Herederos Chica, Huaca Cortada, and Huaca de los

Reyes. Examples of simple weaving and knitting are

common, but there are also examples of straight-paired

twining. Roofing fragments from other Caballo M uerto

mounds do not show any textile impressions.

Radiocarbon Dates

Supplementing the relative dating of the mound of Caballo M uerto are a number of radiocarbon samples

taken from one mound within each of the three mound

groupings.12 For Group I, two dates from the same

cultural context (FIG. 5: CUTS 1-2) are available from

Huaca Herederos Chica: 1090±60 B.C. (Tx-1937) and

1500±70 B.C. (Tx-1938). Four samples from the earlier

of two construction phases of H uaca de los Reyes

yielded dates of 850±60 B.C. (Tx-2180), 1190±60 B.C.

(Tx-1973), 1360±80 B.C. (Tx-1972), and 1730±80 B.C.

(Tx-1974). For Group III, one date from Huaca

Guavalito is 440±70 B.C. (Tx-1939). All dates are un-

corrected and are derived from samples of cane (Cailabrava, Gynerium sagitta tum) processed by the University

of Texas Radiocarbon Laboratory.

Chronological Correlations

Relative and absolute chronological evidence points

to the contemporaneity of Gramalote and the earliest

mounds of Caballo Muerto (TABLE 1). Though the

ceramic assemblage of Caballo Muerto contains more

12. T. Pozorski, op. cit. (in note 1) 112-114.



Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 6, 1979 421

Figure 5. Plan of the Huacas Herederos showing the location of our

test pits into the Herederos Chica refuse.

Muerto. In view of the large size of Caballo Muerto

relative to Gramalote, it appears that Caballo Muerto

would have been dominant over Gramalote. Since

Gramalote contains no Cotton Preceramic component,

the establishment both of it and Caballo Muerto would presumably have been a development out of the other

Cotton Preceramic sites of the valley, Alto Salaverry

and Padre Aban (FIG. 1 ) . 14

Quantification of Subsistence Data from Gramalote and

Caballo Muerto

During analysis, plant and animal species from

Gramalote and animal species from Caballo Muerto

were identified .by Shelia and Thomas Pozorski; discrete

units such as whole shell valves and fruit stems or seeds

were counted and often measured, and the total mate-

rial for each species from a given context was weighed.

Resultant quantitative information about Gramalote

and Caballo Muerto plant and animal remains is pre-

sented in Tables 2-4. Columns 1, 2, and 3 of the tables

are simple quantitative assessments for 'each species.

The first column records the number of levels within

which each species occurred; column 2 records a count

for the species; and column 3 gives the weight of the

plant or animal material collected. These data are vital

because their internal consistency provides a check on

the uniformity of the distribution of each species within

each controlled cut and ultimately on the reliability of

assuming species proportions for one context are

typical of the site as a whole.Columns 4 and 5, on the other hand, present the

reconstructed dietary contribution of each species, first

in terms of an absolute volume, and then as a percent-

age, by volume, of the total diet. Reconstructions of

diet are difficult because of the large number of vari-

ables to be considered. The sampling and analysis of

subsistence materials, and ultimately the reconstructed

dietary proportions, were based on the assumption that

plant and animal remains within an excavated volume

occur in frequencies that are indicative of their impor-

tance to the occupants of the site. In keeping with this,

a methodology was designed which served to evaluate

as nearly as possible only those remains within the sample volume in terms of their dietary contribution.

Counts were most important in the final quantification

procedure to arrive at amounts meaningful for com-

parison. For plants, parts such as stems or seeds could

be related directly to an average fruit food volume, us-

ing an expanded and slightly revised version of the

procedure described by MacN eish for vegetal material

14. S. Pozorski, op. cit. (in note 9) 17-24; T. Pozorski, op. cit. (in

note 1) 194.

75 M.5025o

\\\

". . . . •

Contour lines: 2 m.

.------- --------.-,------- .

CHICA

N.

GRANDE

variety in terms of decoration and form, all of the

ceramics from Gramalote fall within the range of varia-

tion of the Caballo Muerto material and in most cases

are indistinguishable from it. Other artifact remains

such as jet mirrors, stone bowls, hammerstones, smooth

stones, stone and shell paint palettes, and textiles sup-

port the argument for, contemporaneity. Especially

significant are the textiles because 1) Caballo Muerto

provides the first documented evidence for the simul-

taneous use of twined and woven textile at an inland

site, and 2) twined textiles occur with woven textiles in

an early ceramic context at the two sites, providing ad-ditional evidence that twining is not confined ex-

clusively to a Cotton Preceramic context.13 Radiocar-

bon dates generally agree also, indicating a time period

of 1500-1100 B.C. for the concurrent existence of

Gramalote and the earliest four mounds of Caballo

13. E. P. Lanning, op. cit. (in note 2) 80, Ill; G. R. Willey, Intro-

duction to American Archaeology, Vol. 2, South America (Prentice-

Hall, New Jersey 1971) 107; M. E. Moseley and L. K. Barrett,

"Change in Preceramic Twined Textiles from the Central Peruvian

Coast," AmAnt 34 (1969) 162-165.




Table 2. Gramalote animal remains.

Number

or

levels Meat % or

where Weight volume meat

Species present MNI ingms. in cu. cm. diet

Mollusks

Scutalus sp. 12 9 + 18.0 +(land snail)

Choromytilus chorus 20 167 4530.0 8325.0 7.1

(purple mussel, choro)

Semimytilus algosus 19 308 415.0 308.0 +(thin-shelled mussel)

Brachidontes purpuratus + + +(small striated mussel)

Protothaca thaca 20 800 8520.0 15990.0 13.6

(large clam)

Eurhomalea rufa 20 92 2420.0 3660.0 3.1

(large clam)Petricola rugosa 17 22 12.5 11.0 +(borer)

Donax peruvian us 20 106 170.0 53.0 +(tide zone clam)

Gariet solida 19 65 335.0 1710.0 1.5

(large clam)

Tagelus dombeii 6 4 7.5 20.0 +(razor clam)

Semele corrugata 20 503 8277.5 30180.0 25.7

(large clam)

Phola chiloensis 6 2.5 + +(angel wing)

Fissurella sp. 19 18 257.5 180.0 +(limpet)

Tegula atra 20 1243 4297.5 1243.0 1.1

(gastropod)

Turbo niger 20 925 1155.0 925.0 +(gastropod)

Crepidula dilatata 19 65 17.5 81.3 +(slipper shell)

Polin ices cr. cora 11 20 7.5 10.0 +(gastropod)

Sinum cymba 2.5 + +(gastropod)

Thais chocolata 20 96 765.0 192.0 +(gastropod)

Thais delessertiana 20 435 1150.0 652.5 +(gastropod)

Cantharus cr. inca 20 162 172.5 + +(gastropod)

Nassarius gayi 20 163 40.0(gastropod)

Olivella columellaris +(gastropod)

Mitra orientalis 12 17 20.0 8.5 +(gastropod)

Chiton (2 species) 19 110 57.5 1100.0 +




Table 2. (continued).

Number

of

levels Meat % of

where Weight volume meat

Species present MNI ingms. in cu. cm. diet

U nident. shell 20 1405.0

Crustaceans

Platyanthus orbignii 20 297 1505.0 5935.0 5.1

(purple crab, congrejo)

Balanus tintinnabulum 20 1464 1247.5

(barnacle)

Echinoderms

Tetrapygus niger 20 122.5 + +(sea urchin, erizo)

AscidiansAscidian 17 1149.0 1149.0 1.0

(sea squirt)

Fish

Mustelus sp. 18 2 865.0 6688.0 5.7

(sand shark, tollo)

Rhinobatos planiceps 13 40.0 712.5 +(guitarfish, guitarra)

Myliobatis peruvianus 9 2.5 639.0 +(ray, raya)

Paralonchurus peruanus 13 5.0 387.5 +(croaker, roncador)

Sciaena gilberti 9 4 90.0 777.0 +(croaker, corvina)

Sciaena deliciosa 12 4 + 643.5 +(croaker, lorna)

Genypterus maculatus + 21.5 +(eel, congrio)

Unident. fish 19 25.0 625.0 +

Birds

Pelecanus sp. 2 22.5 192.0 +(pelican)

U nident. bird 18 505.0 7070.0 6.0

MammalsMisc. rodent 1 +Otaria byronia 7 280.0 8694.0 7.4

(sea lion, lobo del mar)

U nident. mammal 16 537.5 19081.3 16.3

Total 117282.6 93.6%

Combined values for percentages

less than 1% 6.4

100.0%

MNI· = Minimum number of individuals




from Tehuacan.15 Similarly, whole shells, gastropod

whorls, or bivalve hinges of mollusks and claws of crabs

could be correlated with an average meat volume for

each species that was experimentally determined by the

authors. Instead of using evaluations only of minimum

number of individuals, which are often abused,16 meat-

volume contributions for vertebrates were assessed in

terms of the number of diagnostic skeletal elements

actually present in the excavated sample compared to

the expected number of diagnostic skeletal elements.

Based on the average meat volume for a given ver-

tebrate species and the number of diagnostic (archaeo-

logical meaningful) skeletal elements, it was possible to

calculate an average meat volume per diagnostic

skeletal element which could be dealt with independent

of the minimum-number-of-individuals count to give a

more accurate reconstruction of the meat volume repre-

sented by an excavated bone sample. After values for plant and animal food volumes for each species had

been calculated, each was expressed as a percentage of

the plant or animal diet. 17

Gramalote Subsistence Data

A quantitative analysis of the plant and animal

remains from Cut 2 in the Gramalote midden provides

evidence of the subsistence activities at the site. The

results are presented in Tables 2 and 3.

Animals Utilized at Gramalote

All the animal protein consumed at Gramalotederived ultimately from the nearby ocean (TABLE 2).

Clearly, the major subsistence activity at Gramalote in-

volved the procurement and processing of shellfish. Vir-

tually all the species identified at Gramalote were also

collected by the inhabitants of Padre Aban (FIG. 1) who

occupied the region at an earlier date. IS Such coin-

cidences document the consistent localization of many

shellfish species within restricted areas along the coast.

Efficient shellfish procurement systems were in op-

eration at Gramalote. Most of the highly visible and

easily accessible species of clams, gastropods, and es-

pecially mussels were taken by persons based at the site.

Shellfish gatherers from Gramalote, however, were the

15. R. S. MacNeish, "A Summary of the Subsistence," in Envir-

onment and Subsistence, The Prehistory of the Tehuacan Valley 1, ed.,

D. S. Byers (University of Texas Press, Austin and London 1967)

290-309.

16. D. Grayson, "On the Methodology of Faunal Analysis," AmAnt

38 (1973) 432-439.

17. S. Pozorski, O pe cit. (in note 9) 55-69.

18. Ibid. 73-76.

first people in the valley also to systematically collect

the deeper burrowing clams (Protothaca thaca, Eurho-

malea rufa, Semele corrugata, and Gariet solida), which

supply more meat per individual than all but the large

mussel (Choromytilus chorus) of the more accessible

species. It appears that once a method was established

for taking these large mollusks efficiently, procurement

activities focused on shellfish collection.

Specimens of the large mussel (C. chorus) recovered

from the Gramalote refuse were usually large adult

individuals, and some were affected by parasites. Very

few juveniles were recorded. This suggests that the peo-

ple of Gramalote were exploiting beds of old individ-

uals which had not recently been depleted or destroyed

as a result of human or environmental factors.

Large mussels and large clam species, as well as many

gastropods, had been bashed open in a consistent man-

ner to extract the meat. Unnatural, but consistent frac-ture patterns producing breaks at right angles were

noted near the hinges of bivalves, and chunks of whorl

sections had been chopped away to facilitate access to

retracted gastropods. Such shell cracking could have

been performed easily using a beach cobble. Dead or

cooked shellfish are easily opened; the species taken

near Gramalote, therefore, were probably cracked and

eaten while still fresh and raw. A number of whole or

nearly whole large mussel valves were extremely worn

along the posterior margin from use as simple scrapers.

In addition to mollusk shells, large numbers of as-

cidian tests (leathery outer coverings) were recovered

from the refuse. These animals were easily accessible,

attached to tide-zone rocks, and the soft internal parts

were apparently eaten raw, much as sea urchins are

consumed. This same species was identified in the field

as a tunicate by Moseleyl9 who, along with Thomas

Patterson, found them in large quantites in early sites

along the central Peruvian coast. 20

At Gramalote, less than 10% of the total meat protein

was derived from fish (Table 2): shark (Mustelus sp.)

provided more meat than all other fish species com-

bined. Rays (Myliobatis peruvianus), guitarfish (Rhino-

batos planiceps), and three members of the croaker

family (Sciaena gilberti, S. deliciosa, and Paralonchurus peruanus) were also represented. Of this group, the three

non-bony fishes and mullet (Mugil cephalus) frequent

shallow water near shore, and the members of the

croaker family are occasionally also caught there.21

19. Personal communication.

20. M. E. Moseley, O pe cit. (1975 in note 1) 25.

21. B. Evermann and L. Radcliffe, The Fishes of the West Coast of

Peru and the Titicaca Basin, Smithsonian Institution, United States

National Museum Bulletin 95 (1917); S. Hildebrand, A Descriptive



Fishing implements recov'ered during excavations in-

lude three stone net sinkers (two grooved and one per-

orated) and several small-mesh and large-mesh cotton

net fragments. Fishing, therefore, was probably done

using both simple small-mesh haul seines and large-

mesh gill nets staked out in shallow water.

A selection of bird bones from Gramalote was iden-

ified by Elizabeth Wing.22 Cormorants (Phalacrocorax

p.) appear to be the most common, but bones of a gull

Laridae) and a single penguin (Spheniscus sp.) were

lso identified. The' relatively high proportion of bird

emains suggests that cormorants were locally abundant

nd may have had rookeries in the area.

The only mammal of dietary significance was the sea

ion (Otaria byronia) which was taken and consumed in

quantity representing just over 7% of the meat diet.

The only other mammal remains were occasional nearly

omplete skeletons of rats and mice which wereprobably attracted to the decaying garbage.

Plants Utilized at Gramalote

Plant cultivation was not possible in the vicinity of

Gramalote. The site's location well away from the

Moche River in combination with surrounding terrain

rregularities precludes local canal irrigation. There is

o evidence of sunken garden cultivation in the area;

he site lies on a Pleistocene terrace at an elevation that

would make excavation to ground water very difficult. 23

herefore the plants utilized at Gramalote wereecessarily cultivated and brought to the site from areas

f the valley where agriculture was possible.

Plant cultigens present at Gramalote are numerous

and varied. These include cotton (Gossypium barba-

dense), gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), squash (Cucurbita

p.), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), pepper

Capsicum sp.), avocado (Persea americana), cansaboca

a plum-like fruit) (Bunchosia armeniaca), and lucuma

Lucuma obovata), which have been identified at one

Cotton Preceramic site in the valley, plus corn (Zea

Catalog of the Shore Fishes of Peru, Smithsonian Institution, United

States National Museum Bulletin 189 (1946).

22. Personal communication.

23. All known sunken gardens in the Moche Valley date to the Late

ntermediate Period (1000-1476 A.C). See M. E. Moseley, "Assessing

he Archaeological Significance of Mahamaes," AmAnt 34 (1969)

485-487. These gardens and associated sites occupy land that was

newly formed during a 4-6 m. uplift resulting from tectonic move-

ment during the early part of the Early Intermediate Period (400 B.C:·

600 A.C). See S. Pozorski and T. Pozorski, "Alto Salaverry: Sitio

Precenimico de la costa peruana," Revista del Museo Nacional 43

Museo Nacional de la Cultura Peruana, Lima 1977) 27-60.


mays) and peanut (A rachis hypogaea) which are new ad-

ditions to the plant inventory.

In .keeping with data from earlier sites,24 cotton,

gourds, and squash continued to be abundant, but food

species other than squash were also present in substan-

tial amounts (TABLE 3). Lucuma, avocado, the common

bean, and pepper had become especially important ele-

ments in the vegetable diet. Corn was still very scarce:

only two cobs and a single husk fragment were

recovered from the entire site, indicating it was not yet

an important food plant.

Local.1y available Tillandsia sp. and grass were the

most common' wild plants, and much of the Tillandsia

sp. was burned as fuel. From the river, cane (Gynerium

sagittatum) was brought in substantial quantities, and

totora (Scirpus tatora) reeds in lesser amounts. Algor-

roba (Prosopis chilensis) seeds are present, but rare.

Ca ba llo Muerto Subsistence Da ta

Most of the subsistence data from Caballo Muerto

come from three test pits excavated by Thomas Poz-

orskPs within Huaca Herederos Chica (FIG. 5), one of

the earliest mounds of the Caballo M uerto sequence.

Cut 1 measured 1.65 m. x 1.45 m. x 6.50 m. deep, Cut 2

was 1.30 m. x 1.20 m. x 8.20 m. deep, and Cut 4 was

1.70 cm. x 1.0 cm. x 7.0 m. deep. These excavations en-

countered a one-meter thick band of refuse ca. 4 m.

below the modern ground surface. Apparently this liv-ing surface, in use when Caballo Muerto was occupied,

had been covered by alluvium over a period of many

centuries. The local domestic component, therefore, is

inaccessible and much specific contextual information

for the refuse is lacking. Finally, no plant remains are

preserved because the area has been kept moist by

prehistoric and modern irrigation.

Within the complex, the mound of Herederos Chica

yielded enough faunal remains to apply the quantitative

methodology used at other Moche Valley sites and to

make extensive comparisons.26 The period when this

mound was used has been shown to be contemporary

with the occupation of Gramalote on the coast. In view

of these factors, with respect to Caballo M uerto, the

evaluation of Initial Period and Early Horizon sub-

sistence will focus on this Herederos faunal material.

Relevant data from other mounds within the complex

are used where possible.

24. S. Pozorski, Ope cit. (in note 9) 76-78, 84-86.

25. T. Pozorski, Ope cit. (in note 1) 19-21.

26. S. Pozorski, Ope cit. (in note 9) 100.




Table 3. Gramalote plant remains.

Number

of

levels Food % of

where Seed Weight volume plant

Species present count ingms. in cu. cm. diet

Cultivated

Zea mays + + + +(maize, ma(z)

A rachis hypogaea 19 27.5 97.5 1.2

(peanut, mam)

Phaseolus vulgaris 13 40 pods + 80.0 +(common bean, frljol)

Gossypium barbadense 19 102 +(cotton, algond6n)

Capsicum sp. 12 17 stems + 340.0 4.0

(pepper, ajz)

Cucurbita sp. 18 298 12.5 5000.0 59.3

(squash, calabaza) 5 stems Lagenaria siceraria 18 26 15.0

(gourd, mate)

Persea americana 6 5 5.0 625.0 7.4

(avocado, palta)

Bunchosia armeniaca 9 10 + 100.0 1.2

(cansaboca)

Lucuma obovata 14 18 2.5 2187.5 25.9

(/ucuma)

Wild

U nident. algae 12 15.0

Gynerium sagitta tum 20 67.5

(cane, cana brava)

Scirpus tatora 6 +(totora)

Tillandsia sp. 20 112.5

(achupalla)

Prosopis chilensis 2 2 +(algorroba)

Mixed fibrous species 20 102.5

Total 8430.0 99.0%

Combined values for percentages

less than 1% 1.0

100.0%

Animals Utilized at Caballo Muerto

At Caballo Muerto, for the first time in the Moche

Valley sequence, land mammals figure significantly in

the faunal inventory (TABLE 4). Marine resources, how-

ever, continue to be slightly more important. The

unique combination of local and imported coastal

faunal resources used by the people of Caballo M uerto

makes the site especially important in an investigation

of changing subsistence patterns.

Marine shellfish, mainly mollusks, were the largest

single source of animal protein in the Herederos sample

(TABLE 4). They constituted over 50% of the meat

volume consumed at Herederos and thus establish a

firm link between the inland complex and the coast

Their abundance suggests that they represent the

marine resource in greatest demand during at least the

earliest period of the Caballo Muerto occupation.

Shellfish were recovered in substantial quantities from

all the mounds, indicating that they persisted as an im

portant part of the diet as long as the complex was occupied.

Major meat-producing species include the large

mussel (C. chorus), and three large clams (P. thaca, E

rufa, and S. corrugata). Other bivalves and gastropods

are present, but their total dietary contribution i

minor. The range of species identified from Caballo




Table 4. Caballo Muerto Huaca

Herederos Chica animal remains

from Cuts 1 and 2.

+

+

+

+

+

+

17.6

15.4

21.9

% of

meat

diet

1.0

6.5

17.0

35.0

49.5

42.0

1457.8

1666.0

850.0

9471.6

460.0 4.9

220.0 2.3

15.8 +

2430.0 25.7

20.0 +

16.0 +

4.0 +

2.5 +

2.0 +

1.5 +

+ +

100.0 1.1

2075.0

Meat

volume

in cu. em.

+

+

2.5

20.0

Weight

ingms.1

9.0

97.9%

2.1

100.0%

IWeight not available for most species

2

1

5

2

2

2

4

6

7

16

2 2

23

32

21

41

42

MNI

2

1

7

8

2

2

2

6

2

6

10

14

1 2

15

23

32

38

18

2 6

3 3

Number

of

levels

where

present

MNI = Minimum number of individuals

Species

Mollusks

Scutalus sp.

(land snail)

Choromytilus chorus

(purple mussel, choro)

Semimytilus algosus

(thin-shelled mussel)

Brachidontes purpuratus

(small striated mussel)

A rgopecten purpuratum

(scallop)

Protothaca thaca

(large clam)

Eurhomalea rufa(large clam)

Donax peruvianus

(tide zone clam)

Semele corrugata

(large clam)

Fissurella sp.

(limpet)

Tegula astra

(gastropod)

Turbo niger

(gastropod)

Crepidula dilatata

(slipper shell)

Polinices cf. cora

(gastropod)

Thais delessertiana

(gastropod)

Chiton (2 species)

Crustaceans

Platyanthus orbignii

(purple crab, congrejo)

Balanus tintinnabulum

(barnacle)

Fish

Sciaena deliciosa

(croaker, lorna)

BirdsU nident. bird

Mammals

Misc. rodent

Canis fam ilia ris

(dog)

Lama glama (?)

(llama)

Odocoileus virginianus (?) 4

(deer, venado)

U nident. mammal

Total

C<?mbined values for percentages less than 1%



428 Subsistence Exchange System in the M oche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski

Muerto correlates well with the species inventories of

Gramalote and the nearby Cotton Preceramic site of

Padre Aban. This indicates that the Caballo Muerto

shellfish were also collected in the vicinity of Huan-

chaco Bay.

A large number of shells from Scutalus sp., a local

land snail, was identified in the Caballo Muerto mate-

rial. These animals are common upvalley in areas of

sparse vegetation and in small lomas (fog vegetation)

areas where they generally may be found adhering to

rocks and shrubs. Although not a major meat-produc-

ing item,. the frequency of Scutalus in the Caballo

Muerto sample suggests that they were collected for

food.

Both birds and fish were very minor elements in the

faunal inventory (TABLE 4). They are important, how-

ever, as further evidence of connections between

Caballo Muerto and the seacoast.In the material from Herederos, almost 20% of the

total meat volume (TABLE 4) was supplied by deer

(probably Odocoileus virginianus). Upvalley and near

the river in the area of Caballo Muerto, wild plants

were probably sufficiently dense to provide food and

protection for a small population of these animals. The

only other bone identified as deer came from Huaca

Cortada, another mound in the earliest group. The ab-

sence of deer at the later mounds suggests that the small

population of deer which local vegetation could have

supported was hunted to near extinction or largely dis- .

placed by land alteration for agriculture early in the

history of the complex.

One of the camelids, probably the domesticated

llama (Lama glama), supplied a slightly smaller volume

of meat than deer. Relying on data from 25 sites in the

Peruvian and Ecuadorian sierra, Wing has suggested

that camelids may have been domesticated as early as

4400 to 3150 B.C., and by 1000 B.C. domesticated forms

were fully developed. Her evaluation of the very early

sample, which comes from Pikimachay Cave in the

Ayacucho Valley, is based on the presence of two sizes

which parallel modern camelid varieties, the relative

abundance of the remains, and the high proportion of

juvenile individuals of approximately 18 months whichwere butchered during the highland dry season when

charqui (sun-dried meat) is usually made.27 By 1000 B.C.,

data from several sites document increased size and

variability among the camelid remains.28 These data

27. E. S. Wing, "The Origins of Agriculture: Animal Domestication

in the Andes," IXth International Congress of Anthropological and

Ethnological Sciences (1973) 11-12.

28. E. S. Wing, "Utilization of Animal Resources in the Andes,"

report submitted to the National Science Foundation (1973) 6.

suggest that the camelid identified at Caballo M uerto

was probably initially introduced into the Moche Valley

from the sierra in a domesticated form.

In addition to their value as food, llamas might also

have served a ceremonial function, supplied medium

quality wool, and served as beasts of burden. Camelid

remains were also identified from Huaca Cortada,

Huaca de los Reyes, Huaca la Cruz, and Huaca Guav-

alito. The continuous presence of these animals suggests

that, unlike deer, camelids persisted as a meat source

throughout the duration of the Caballo Muerto occupa-

tion.

Four of the total bones identified as camelid and two

of the bones identified as deer showed evidence of cuts

made during the process of butchering. Marks occur on

rib heads, thoracic vertebrae, and a tarsal bone. The

sample is too small to suggest a pattern, but all the cuts

probably resulted from efforts to disarticulate theskeleton.

The only other land mammal of potential food value

was the dog (Canis familiaris), but in the case of

Caballo Muerto, the amount of meat represented is in-

significant. Rodent skeletons representing one mouse

and two rats are probably from animals attracted to the

refuse.

The single marine mammal of economic significance

is the sea lion. Only the excavations at H uaca Cortada

and Huaca la Cruz yielded bones of this animal. The in-

frequency of its occurrence plus the time difference be-

tween the mounds where remains were found argue

against the sea lion as an important food animal. It is

important, however, as further evidence of continued

coastal contact.

Plants Utilized at Caballo Muerto

No securely dated food plant material was preserved

in the Caballo Muerto complex. Evidence for plant

cultivation, therefore, is necessarily indirect. The varied

species inventories for Gramalote and earlier sites in-

dicate that techniques of plant cultivation were well-

developed by late Cotton Preceramic and Initial Period

times within the Moche Valley. At least a comparable

collection of skills and species can be assumed for theCaballo Muerto area. More specifically, the variety and

relative quanities of plants identified for Gramalote are

probably good indications of the species utilized within

Caballo Muerto.

The principal argument for an agricultural base for

the Caballo Muerto complex is its inland location.

Though floodplain agriculture undoubtedly did exist in

Cotton Preceramic and Initial Period times, agricultural

expansion beyond the narrow limits of the normal

floodplain would have been impossible without irriga-



tion because of the nature of the Peruvian desert coast.

The shift inland to the valley neck, therefore, is best un-

derstood in terms of the positioning of canal intakes.

Caballo Muerto is located at the point where the

gradient of the land is sufficiently steep so that only

short canals are needed to water relatively large tractsof land. To irrigate land close to the river mouth would

require canals of much greater length which would also

be more difficult to maintain because of the shallower

land gradient.

No canals dating to the time of the Caballo Muerto

complex are extant, but two modern canals, the Moro

and the Vichansao, which generally follow the contours

of ancient river terraces, have their intakes at the valley

neck and irrigate land adjacent to the complex.

Presumably, short canals roughly following the routes

of these modern canals were in use in the Initial Period

and Early Horizon. The close proximity of CaballoMuerto to the canals and their intakes is logical with

respect to both initial construction and subsequent

canal maintenance.

The establishment of the center implies a con-

siderable population, which has been estimated at

about 120029 based on the area potentially under culti-

vation and the labor necessary for mound construction.

Initial Period and Early Horizon Subsistence

General trends in subsistence during Initial Period

and Early Horizon times can only be properly evaluated

by considering data from both Gramalote and CaballoMuerto as complementary parts of a complex economic

system. As an isolated site, Gramalote can be sum-

marized as a marine-oriented site where 1) shellfish

procurement was extremely systematic and 2) several

food plants equalled industrial species in importance

among the cultigens. Caballo Muerto stands alone as an

inland mound group where 1) animal protein was sup-

plied by contributions from both marine and inland

sources and 2) increasingly efficient and productive

irrigation agricultural systems were in operation.

Viewed together, the sites emerge as two parts of an

economic unit: one with an inland agricultural focus

and one with a coastal marine focus.Assuming that the location of Caballo Muerto was

predicated on water control, the move inland repre-

sented by the peopling of the Caballo Muerto area

reflects a change in subsistence priorities. During the

Cotton Preceramic, the coastal location of the Moche

29. T. Pozorski, op. cit. (in note 1) 133-134; idem, "The Early

Horizon Site of Huaca de los Reyes: Societal Implications," AmAnt

(1980, in press).


Valley sites, Padre Aban and Alto Salaverry (FIG. I)

could be correlated with the marine subsistence focus of

each site.30 In contrast, the location of Caballo Muerto

reflects an emphasis on inland procurement systems, es-

pecially irrigation agriculture, and a corresponding de-

emphasis of marine products.

Using data from Padre Aban and Alto Salaverry, it

has been argued elsewhere31 that plant cultivation dur-

ing the Cotton Preceramic focused on two industrial

plants, cotton and gourd. To people without pottery

and with a marine focus, gourd containers and floats

and cotton net and cord would have been extremely im-

portant - more important than plant food since animal

protein was so readily available. As a result, people

viewed plant cultivation essentially as a means for ob-

taining necessary raw materials. It is suggested that the

cultivated plant inventory of Alto Salaverry represents

the result of such an emphasis on industrial plants whencultivation was limited both spatially and seasonally to

the small Moche Valley floodplain. Despite great species

variability, the quantity of food plants grown at

Alto Salaverry remained small because most of the

limited land area was devoted to cotton and gourd

production.By Initial Period times, areas of coastal desert were

opened to agriculture year-round through irrigation;

and the control and maintenance of these early irriga-

tion systems necessitated relocation inland near canals

and irrigated fields. With potentially vast areas open to

continuous cultivation, crop restrictions that were in

operation earlier on the floodplain were no longer appli-

cable. The increased quantity and relative frequency

of cultivated plants used by the people of Gramalote

compared to earlier sites indicate that they are the

product of irrigation agriculture near sites in the

Caballo Muerto area, many of which may now be

largely destroyed or deeply buried.

An increase in plant-seed size when Cotton Prece-

ramie and Initial Period samples are compared may

also be correlated with certain features of irrigation

agriculture. Average length and width measurements

for seeds from Cotton Preceramic sites were compared

with similar data from Gramalote for two plant species:squash and gourd.32 These are the only plants for which

even a small number of measurable seeds was-available

and measurements were significant. The best evidence

for seed-size increase comes from squash and secondly

from gourd. A comparison of samples for the two

30. s. Pozorski, op. cit. (in note 9) 87-91.

31. Ibid. 90-91.

32. Ibid. 108-109.



430 Subsistence Exchange System in the M oche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski

periods reveals that the Initial Period squash material is

significantly (over 10%) larger. Taken together, gourd

and squash seed-size averages are larger in Initial

Period material, suggesting a trend that may be signifi-

cant. This increase in seed size is probably largely a

result of the regular and adequate water supply thatirrigation provided. Annuals like gourd and squash

grown on the floodplain received no additional water

after the seasonal flooding had subsided, and under

such unfavorable conditions plant growth and develop-

ment were retarded. With an irrigation system and

regular schedule, cultigens received adequate water and

therefore attained their full potential size.

For the inhabitants of Caballo Muerto, an inland

location meant settlement at some distance from the

abundant marine resources - resources which were tra-

ditionally considered the most stable and most abun-

dant. Certainly through the earliest· phase and possiblyduring the entire occupation, the inhabitants of Caballo

Muerto continued to rely heavily on marine products.

While the irrigated inland fields were supplying both

Caballo Muerto locally and Gramalote on the coast

with cultivated plant food and products, the marine

products collected in the area of H uanchaco Bay were

supplying all the animal protein consumed at Grama-

lote and well over half the protein volume consumed

during the earliest phase when Caballo Muerto was oc-

cupied. The collection of shellfish by the people of

Gramalote to supply the inland group is documented by

the large proportion of marine-derived species in the

faunal portion of the inland diet. The dominant species

at Caballo Muerto are the same species that were the

focus of the efficient Gramalote procurement system.

The specific orientation of this procurement system plus

the narrow range of non-subsistence site activities at

Gramalote suggest that the site might have been a sub-

sidiary or even a colony established to insure a con-

tinuous supply of marine products for the inland com-

plex.

Within Caballo Muerto, data from Huaca Herederos

Chica reveal that the marine protein supplied by

Gramalote was supplemented by meat from local in-

land sources. Local alternatives to the large-scale im- portation of marine protein were apparently being ex-

plored.

Deer contributed a substantial amount at first, but

these animals were probably soon severely depleted in

the Caballo Muerto area. More important are the

domesticated camelids which appear for the first time in

the Caballo Muerto material. The use of camelids as

food is an important feature of the Caballo Muerto

subsistence pattern because such large domesticated

animals can potentially provide a stable protein source

for inland people that is as reliable as shellfish.

In summary, Initial Period subsistence in the Moche

Valley is marked by the establishment of inland settle-

ments correlated with canal irrigation systems. Despite

the change in subsistence priorities implied by an

agricultural rather than a marine emphasis, the inland population continued to rely heavily on coastal food

products. Marine animal protein was supplied by a

coastal population of shellfish collectors in exchange

for industrial and food-plant products from the irri-

gated areas. Supplemental meat for inland sites from

deer and domesticated camelids revealed that other

animal protein sources were also being exploited.

Examples from Other North Coast Valleys

Subsistence data for early ceramic sites come largelyfrom coastal settlements. On the north coast, Huaca

Prieta, Huaca Negra, and Las Haldas have Initial

Period and Early Horizon as well as Cotton Preceramic

components. Like the Moche Valley, the north coast

valleys from Jequetepeque to Casma contain Initial

Period and Early Horizon sites located inland, pre-

sumably to manage newly developed irrigation

systems.33 These sites include Limoncarro and Monte

Grande in the Jequetepeque Valley; Jaguay in the

Chicama Valley; H uaca el Gallo and Huaca la Gallina

in the Viru Valley; Tanguche34 in the Santa Valley;

Cerro Blanco, Punkuri, and PV31-37 in the N epena

Valley; and Sechin Alto, Taukachi and Konkan, Cerro

Sechin, PalIka, La Cantina, Moxeke, and Pampa de las

Llamas in the Casma Valley. Unfortunately, subsistence

evidence is not available for these inland centers.

The Initial Period and Early Horizon deposits at

Huaca Prieta in the Chicama Valley and Huaca Negra

in the Viru Valley contain large proportions of shellfish

and fish, and at Huaca Negra the shellfish are mainly

restricted to a few large species.35 There is no indication

of a dependence on land mammals for any of the

animal protein at either site, but four burials of domes-

33. T. Pozorski, op. cit. (in note 1)282-283.

34. P. Kosok, Life, Land and Water in Ancient Peru (New York 1965)

194.

35. W. C. Bennett and J. B. Bird, Andean Culture History (American

Museum of Natural History, New York 1949); J. B. Bird, "Prece-

ramic Cultures in Chicama and Viru," in A Reappraisal of Peruvian

Archaeology, Society for American Archaeology, Memoir 4 (1948) 21-

28; W. D. Strong and C. Evans, Cultural Stratigraphy in the Viru

Valley, Northern Peru, Columbia University Studies in Archaeology

and Ethnology 4 (Columbia University Press, New York 1952)23-41.



ticated llamas were recorded at the Temple of the

Llamas near Huaca Negra.36

Almost no plant remains were preserved at H uaca

Negra, but the inventory for Initial Period and Early

Horizon levels at Huaca Prieta is both varied and abun-

dant.

The Initial Period-Early Horizon component at the

coastal site of Las Haldas south of the Casma Valley

merits special mention. The magnitude of the early

ceramic occupation was not recognized by earlier

visitors to the site who tended to exaggerate the impor-

tance of the Cotton Preceramic component. 37 Subse-

quent excavations, however, indicate that the artificial

mouJ).ds and other architecture were built during the In-

itial Period occupation of the area.38 Marine animals,

especially shellfish, are extremely common - much

more so than in earlier Cotton Preceramic refuse,39 and the authors have noted many concentrations of

predominantly one species of shellfish. Upper ceramic

levels defined by Fung40 as Early Horizon contained

significantly fewer shellfish species, but many netting

fragments, suggesting increased emphasis on fishing in

preference to shellfish collecting.

Plant remains from the Las Haldas Initial Period and

Early Horizon phases are rare, but varied, and include

several non-industrial species such as maize, avocado,

and peanut. 41

As this brief evaluation indicates, subsistence data

from other coastal and inland early ceramic sites are

rare or nonexistent, thus making it difficult to assess

other sets of sites in terms of the economic symbiosis

documented here for Caballo M uerto and Gramalote.

There are features of each of the sites, however, that fit

well with the Gramalote-Caballo M uerto model. First,

although all specific data are from coastal sites, we

know that potentially complementary inland sites are

present in Chicama, Viru, and Casma as well as other

north coast valleys. The analogous location of these

36. W. D. Strong and C. Evans, op. cit. (in note 30) 29-31.

37. E. P. Lanning, op. cit. (in note 2) 63-64, 91; M. E. Moseley, op.

cit. (1975 in note 1) 60-62, 107.

38. R. Fung, Las Aldas: ubieacion dentro del proeeso historieo del

Peru antiguo, Dedalo 5, No. 9-10 (Museu de Arte e Arqueologia, Uni-

versidade de Sao Paulo, 1969) 60; T. Grieder, "A Dated Sequence of

Building and Pottery at Las Haldas," NPaeha 13 (Institute of Andean

Studies, Berkeley 1975) 99-112; T. Matsuzawa, "The Formative Site

of Las Haldas, Peru: Architecture, Chronology, and Economy,"

translated by I. Shimada, AmAnt 43 (1978) 652-673.

39. Fung, op. cit. (in note 38) 59-60.

40. Ibid. 195.

41. Ibid. 59-60, 195.


sites at the optimum point in each valley for con-

structing short and efficient irrigation canals argues for

irrigation agriculture of the type suggested for Caballo

M uerto. Second, the plant species documented for the

early coastal sites are generally varied and occasionally

abundant. Huaca Prieta plants, especially maize, would

seem too abundant to be grown locally, and Las Haldas

is over 30 km. from the nearest land suitable for even

floodwater farming. Such data point to a non-local and

probably inland source for plants used at these coastal

sites.

At Huaca Prieta, Huaca Negra, and Las Haldas, all

animal food is marine-derived, although camelid re-

mains are present near Huaca Negra. Subsistence activ-

ities at each site apparently focused on a few large

shellfish species, many of which were also common at

Gramalote. The apparent change from intensive shell-fish collecting to predominantly fishing at Las Haldas

may be indicative of further specialization of a different

type. Thus, it would seem that these coastal sites were

well-equipped to supply inland sites with marine

products. The camelids at H uaca Negra are the earliest

documented at a North Coast site, and they may have

been furnished from an inland center for ceremonial use

in the temple.

The elaborate non-domestic architecture of Las

Haldas at first appears incongruous when the site is

compared with early ceramic components at the other

coastal sites considered. The Initial Period and Early

Horizon inland sites in Casma, the valley nearest to Las

Haldas, however, are also much larger, more numerous,

and more elaborate than examples in any other North

Coast valley. 42 Thus, the Las Haldas-inland Casma set

of sites is best seen as a much magnified version of the

Caballo Muerto-Gramalote economic unit documented

for Moche.

In conclusion, it would seem that both of the key

features defined for Gramalote are present in one or

more of the coastal sites from which data are available.

These include evidence of 1) selective and intensive

shellfish procurement activities and 2) varied and abun-

dant plant remains which could not be supplied by localfloodwater cultivation. In contrast, the only aspect of

inland sites which makes them comparable to Caballo

M uerto is their inland location. What are lacking are

42. D. Collier, "Archaeological Investigations in the Casma Valley,

Peru," in 34th International Congress of Amerieanists (Vienna 1962)

411-417; T. Pozorski, op. cit. (in note 1) 270-272; J. C. Tello,

Arqueologfa del Valle de Casma, Culturas: Chavfn, Santa 0 Huaylas

Yunga y sub-Chimu, Vol. 1 (Universidad de San Marcos, Lima 1956)

32-83; D. Thompson, "Formative Period Architecture in the Casma

Valley, Peru," in 35th International Congress of Amerieanists Vol. 1

(1964) 205-212.




critical subsistence data from these inland sites whichI

should confirm the interdependence of doastal and in-

land early ceramic sites during the transition to irriga-

tion agriculture.43

43. We w ould li ke t o thank B ett ina R osenberg, M ar y E li zabeth

Becker, and especially William and Barbara Conklin for their work

with the Gramalote textiles. S. Stillman Berry identified the shells in

our type collection used in the shell analysis. Figures 1, 2, 4, and 5

were drawn by J aphet Rosell, and Figure 3 is by Genaro Barr.

Shelia Pozorski is a research associate of the Section of

Man at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. She

received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin

in 1976. Archaeological fieldwork in Peru since 1970 has

included excavations at Chan Chan, the M oche Pyramids,

Galindo, and several smal,!r sites within the M oche Valley.

Thomas Pozorski, a 1976 Ph.D. from the University of

Texas at A ustin, is Assistant Curator of the Section of

Man at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. He

has worked in Arkansas (1969) and in Peru since 1970.

Past investigations include excavation at Chan Chan, the

Moche Pyramids, and Caballo Muerto in the Moche

Valley, Peru. Shelia and Thomas Pozorski are currently

co-directing study of prehistoric irrigation in the same

valley.

pozorski & pozorski 1979 - subsistence

Documents