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ANTHROPOLOGY 2017 The Authors,

some rights reserved;

Simple technologies and diverse food strategies of the exclusive licensee

American Association
Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene at Huaca Prieta, for the Advancement
of Science. Distributed
Coastal Peru under a Creative
Commons Attribution
NonCommercial
Tom D. Dillehay,1* Steve Goodbred,2 Mario Pino,3 Vctor F. Vsquez Snchez,4 License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).
Teresa Rosales Tham,5 James Adovasio,6 Michael B. Collins,7,8 Patricia J. Netherly,1
Christine A. Hastorf,9 Katherine L. Chiou,9 Dolores Piperno,10,11 Isabel Rey,12 Nancy Velchoff7

Simple pebble tools, ephemeral cultural features, and the remains of maritime and terrestrial foods are present in
undisturbed Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene deposits underneath a large human-made mound at Huaca Prieta
and nearby sites on the Pacific coast of northern Peru. Radiocarbon ages indicate an intermittent human presence
dated between ~15,000 and 8000 calendar years ago before the mound was built. The absence of fishhooks, harpoons,

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and bifacial stone tools suggests that technologies of gathering, trapping, clubbing, and exchange were used primarily
to procure food resources along the shoreline and in estuarine wetlands and distant mountains. The stone artifacts are
minimally worked unifacial stone tools characteristic of several areas of South America. Remains of avocado, bean, and
possibly cultivated squash and chile pepper are also present, suggesting human transport and consumption. Our new
findings emphasize an early coastal lifeway of diverse food procurement strategies that suggest detailed observation
of resource availability in multiple environments and a knowledgeable economic organization, although technologies
were simple and campsites were seemingly ephemeral and discontinuous. These findings raise questions about the
pace of early human movement along some areas of the Pacific coast and the level of knowledge and technology
required to exploit maritime and inland resources.

INTRODUCTION The Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene cultural deposits underlying
Archaeological studies have demonstrated that early humans engaged the mounds represent a series of short-term, intermittent occupations be-
in hunting, gathering, and fishing along the Pacific coast of the Amer- tween ~15,000 and 10,000 years ago, most with apparent gaps of several
icas by at least 13,000 years ago (19). Fish and shellfish comprised most hundred years between them associated with culturally sterile layers of
of the edible meat represented by faunal samples from archaeological varying thicknesses (Fig. 3 and figs. S3 and S4). Comparing the evidence
sites. Other foods are derived occasionally from terrestrial fauna and from the earliest premound occupational layers, we reconstruct the kinds
plant species. These studies have also been significant in suggesting that of littoral and nearby wetland, river delta and valley, and mountain
the Pacific coast was a major route of initial entry into the Americas resources gathered; the probable seasons during which some resource
(1, 2, 1014) because it offered consistent resource familiarity and direct procurement occurred; and the complementary food strategies from
and rapid migration farther south. Here, we present new data from two these environments. It has generally been thought that maritime fishing
human-made mounds, Huaca Prieta and Paredones (1517), in the first developed in the Early Holocene because it would have required
lower Chicama Valley on the north coast of Peru that extend the antiq- sophisticated fishhook, netting, and boat technologies and because fishing
uity of maritime foraging to ~15,000 calendar years ago (cal yr B.P.) was unpredictable in comparison to gathering shellfish and hunting and
(Figs. 1 and 2). We report more extensive excavation and analyses of gathering terrestrial foods (1, 2). Here, we suggest more diverse and sym-
food remains, stone tools, and cultural features scattered and buried un- biotic food strategies organized across a mosaic of juxtaposed maritime
derneath ~7 to 30 m of continuous and intensive human-made mound and terrestrial environments and more variable and simpler technologies
deposits of the Middle Holocene period at these sites (figs. S1 and S2) among some early Pacific coast peoples, including the capture of fish and
(16, 17) and document early asymmetrical but symbiotic strategies of sea lions probably by trapping and clubbing. We also argue for a probable
resource procurement from maritime and inland environments. slower-paced human migration along some coastal areas because of the
availability of sufficient and complementary maritime and terrestrial
resources that could sustain people for long periods of time and because
1
Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37205, USA. of the experiential learning required to exploit a wide variety of foods in
2
Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, multiple environments.
TN 37205, USA. 3Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad Austral de Chile, Calendar age ranges previously suggested that the oldest deposits at
Valdivia, Chile. 4Bilogo, Centro de Investigaciones Arqueobiolgicos y Paleoeco-
lgicos Andinos, Arqueobios-Apartado Postal 595, Trujillo, Peru. 5Facultad de Huaca Prieta containing marine fauna, cultural features (figs. S1 to S5),
Ciencias Sociales, Arqueologa, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo, Peru. and unifacial stone tools (figs. S6 to S8) dated ~14,500 cal yr B.P. in two
6
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, small areas of the site, Unit 15/21 and Test Pit 22 (16, 17). Recent find-
FL 34946, USA. 7Department of Anthropology, Texas State University, San Marcos,
TX 78666, USA. 8Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas at
ings and dates now place the older occupations in four new localities as
Austin, 116 Inner Campus Drive, Stop G6000, Austin, TX 78712, USA. 9Department early as ~15,000 cal yr B.P. (Table 1) but more importantly expand the
of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94701, USA. 10De- variability of cultural remains and reveal new technological and adapt-
partment of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20002, USA. ive evidence. Newly excavated and dated contexts now include Units 9
11
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama. 12Tissue and DNA Collections,
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain. and 12 at Huaca Prieta, Unit 16 near Huaca Prieta, and Unit 22 at the
*Corresponding author. Email: tom.d.dillehay@vanderbilt.edu Paredones mound (figs. S1 and S2). Seventeen stratigraphically ordered

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assays from these contexts range from 10,158 to 15,217 cal yr B.P. (Table curve a potentially suitable first-order record for regional sea-level
1). More than 170 14C and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) history (2026).
dates from intact strata in the overlying mounds support these assays Furthermore, this portion of the Pacific collision margin near the
(1618). All 14C dates were derived from single pieces of well-preserved Chicama Valley is characterized by flat-slab subduction with little uplift
carbonized and uncarbonized (fig. S9) remains of short- to moderately compared to areas north and south. In particular, the Chicama Valleys
long-lived plants (~5 to 40 years) [avocado (Persea sp.); bean (Phaseolus reach of margin reveals no geomorphological evidence for significant
sp.); chile pepper (Capsicum sp.); rush (Juncus sp.); and a variety of local Late Pleistocene and Holocene uplift, either at the coast or along the
grasses, shrubs, and small trees (Capparis sp., Cyperus sp., Scirpus sp., lower river valley. Thus, for the Chicama Valley coast, tectonic effects
Gynerium sp., Equisetum sp., and Buddleja sp.)] and of animal bones are not believed to be a major control on local relative sea level, at least
contained in intact burned features (Table 1) embedded in occupational compared to ice sheet melt contributions.
lenses. Then, at the first order, we take bathymetry of the modern shelf to
provide a reasonable proxy for postglacial paleoshoreline positions with
Geological and site setting regard to the archaeological sites under discussion here. Other factors
The period of ~15,000 to 10,000 years ago corresponds with the max- support this general assertion. For example, sediment deposition along
imum rate of postglacial ice melt and global sea-level rise (19). Ice this arid region is modest and not likely to have led to any major
volumeequivalent water levels over this time rise about 60 m, from shoreline advances or retreats (>1 km), particularly during the phase

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an elevation of ~100 to ~40 m below present. With little ice volume at of rapid sea-level rise from ~15,000 to 10,000 years ago. Similarly, strong
this low latitude and a relatively steep, narrow shelf, isostatic effects on longshore sediment transport and a relatively steep offshore slope (~4
water levels are expected to be minimal, making the global eustatic 103) would limit the inland extent of any estuary or lagoon systems that

Fig. 1. Location map of the study area and paleoshorelines at 15,000 and 10,000 cal yr B.P.

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may have formed during transgression. Thus, shelf bathymetry should and the terrace (18). Few coastal environments along the Pacific coast
reasonably provide at least a first-order proxy for paleoshoreline of South America offered this specific type of littoral and wetland
positions offshore of the Chicama coast. Regardless of changing setting, accessed by such a prominent and attractive topographic fea-
shoreline positions over time, it is probable that some early archaeolog- ture. During the period under study, the coastal plain where the terrace
ical sites are located on now-submerged shelf. is located was characterized by a grassy environment with gallery trees
Regionally along the north coast of Peru, continental margin mor- along braided streams. Farther inland in the coastal valley, the vegeta-
phology from 6S to 9S reveals two zones of shallow, wide shelf that are tion probably was thicker and more varied (18).
separated by a broad reentrant along the Chicama Valley reach. The Huaca Prieta is situated on the south tip of the terrace just above the
wider regional shelf extends 75 to 100 km offshore to the 120-m isobath, present-day shoreline. The site consists of a large ovoid-shaped, artificial
whereas this depth is reached within 40 km of the Chicama coast mound that measures ~30 m high, ~65 m wide, and ~165 m long. Hu-
(1926). Global eustatic sea level at 15,000 cal yr B.P. was ~100 m below man use of the site lasted discontinuously from the Late Pleistocene to
present, and the Chicama paleoshoreline was likely situated ~30 km ~1800 CE, including premound and mound cultural deposits. Unit 16
offshore of the present one. By 10,000 cal yr B.P., eustatic sea level and the Paredones mound lie 50 and 600 m north of Huaca Prieta, re-
had risen to ~40 m below present, which would place the paleoshoreline spectively. Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene deposits underneath the
8 to 12 km offshore of the modern coast. By ~8000 to 7000 cal yr B.P., two mound sites were difficult to record extensively because of the
sea level is nearly at the modern level and has not varied substantially height of the overlying mounds (~6 to 30 m), which had to be excavated

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since. first to reach the underlying early levels.
Along the coast 2.5 km north of the Chicama River mouth outcrops The type and frequency of artifacts, features, and faunal and floral
a prominent 1-km2 remnant terrace of Sangamon age (section S1), lo- remains from the deeper Late Pleistocene cultural deposits at these sites
cally known as the Sangamon Terrace. The terrace is ~2 km long and are both enticing and frustrating because of the long period of time
tapers from ~1 km wide at its north end to ~125 m at the south end. At covered by the excavated record and the limited, deeply buried archae-
the north of Huaca Prieta, the surface of the terrace is 13.9 m above the ological areas sampled. The individual premound cultural layers dating
modern sea level. At its southern end, the terrace surface varies from 8.3 from ~15,000 to 8,000 cal yr B.P. generally ranged between 0.5 and
to 10.9 m above sea level. The surface of the original terrace has been 7.0 cm in thickness (Figs. 3 and 4 and figs. S3 to S5). These deposits
lowered 2 to 5 m in most places to provide material for construction of intermittently consist of fine to coarse sand and light scatters of charcoal
numerous large adobe brick mounds of more recent age, implying the flecks, ash, shell, bone, fragmented rush stems, lithic tools, and other
disturbance or loss of some Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene cultural cultural debris (sections S2 and S3). In the site excavations, in situ ped-
deposits. ogenic features (for example, weathering and human-introduced organic
In addition to accessing a wide diversity of resources in the environ- matter) were also used as markers for premound cultural deposits (18).
ments of the study area, the terrace remnant stood out as a major In addition to the Late Pleistocene cultural deposits, there is inter-
physical feature on the flat coastal plains located alongside the Chicama mittent human occupation during the Early Holocene at Huaca Prieta,
River and at roughly equal distance from the sea and the mountains. To Paredones, and Unit 16 that occurred before initial mound construction,
date, extensive wetlands were probably located between the shoreline as revealed by a series of thin cultural lenses indicative of ephemeral but

Fig. 2. Huaca Prieta mound situated on the Sangamon Terrace (buried terrace surface with Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene cultural deposits is indicated by
dotted line below the mound). Arrows show location of individual units excavated from the top of the mound down through and to the buried cultural deposits in the
terrace. Scale shown by humans standing on the mounds. (Photo Credit: Tom D. Dillehay, Vanderbilt University)

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slightly to moderately larger campsites dating between ~11,500 and cies of the mound. In these basal areas, the original terrace surface,
8000 cal yr B.P. The exposed south and southeast facies of the ter- albeit often heavily modified by early mound construction, is some-
race below the base of the mound at Huaca Prieta are composed of times intact and overlying deeper Late Pleistocene and Early Hol-
relatively thin, intermittent stratigraphically ordered premound and early ocene cultural layers, as described here.
mound slope wash formed from approximately ~8000 to 3000 years It is likely that some of the conglomerated rock and sediment identi-
ago. However, no Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene cultural de- fied by Birds work in the 1940s as culturally sterile on the north end of the
posits were observed in these exposed and other exposed basal fa- mound at Huaca Prieta, where his primary excavations were located (15),

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Fig. 3. Stratigraphic profile of Unit 12 showing early basal cultural deposits and radiocarbon dates. (Photo Credit: Tom D. Dillehay, Vanderbilt University)

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were disturbed anthropogenic deposits related to early premound fill in ences about human interference. Some bone was burned and cut. Most
this area. The deeper conglomerated sediments of the terrace surface he faunal remains were heavily fractured, making it difficult to estimate the
excavated and described may also have been partially obliterated or em- sizes of individual organisms (18).
placed during the initial construction of the mounds at Huaca Prieta. In the Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene, people exploited several
principal habitats surrounding the Sangamon Terrace (fig. S10 and
sections S3 and S4). To the east, upvalley, there was a relatively open
RESULTS but dense dry forest biome based on algarrobo (Prosopis sp.) and asso-
The preservation of faunal remains at sites in the Huaca Prieta area is ciated species, which would have offered browse for three identified spec-
generally outstanding because of the aridity and dryness of the desert imens of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). The other inland
conditions. All the bone remains were examined for any signs of diges- specimens from a somewhat more open environment are remains of
tion and fragmentation due to food preparation, crushing, trampling, or two Peruvian scrub blackbirds (Dives warszewiczi), which probably
compaction during post-depositional processes before making infer- were opportunistically foraged and eaten.

Table 1. Radiocarbon dates for Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene layers at sites. All dates were calibrated using shcal04 (44), unless otherwise noted.

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Bracketed values indicate that the calibrated range impinges upon the end of calibration data set.
Conventional 1s (68%) calibrated 2s (95.4%) calibrated
Sample no. Provenience d13C Material
radiocarbon age range (B.P.) age range (B.P.)

Unit 9
Beta437295 Premound occupation, Layer 12 28.2 12,610 40 14,77115,070 14,52015,155* Wood charcoal

Unit 12
Charred rush stem
Beta235952 Premound occupation, Layer 11 25.2 9,580 40 10,69811,089 10,60011,159*
(Juncus sp.)

Beta437290 Premound occupation, Layer 20 29.7 12,410 40 14,15414,785 14,10914,961 Wood charcoal

Beta437288 Premound occupation, Layer 23 29.2 12,420 40 14,16614,809 14,11914,972 Wood charcoal

D-AMS 016635 Premound occupation, Layer 23 13.3 12,602 35 14,59015,137* 14,31715,182* Wood charcoal

Unit 15/21
Premound occupation,
Beta290621 25.6 11,500 50 13,29413,401 13,26013,420 Charred wood
Stratum 9

Premound occupation,
Beta299536 28.0 11,800 50 13,75713,517** 13,79413,459* Wood charcoal
Stratum 13

Premound occupation
Beta310272 22.8 12,280 60 14,00514,477 13,92414,867 Deer bone
top of Layer 13a

Premound occupation
Beta310273 29.0 12,240 50 13,99114,184 13,89114,530 Wood charcoal
bottom of Layer 13a

Unit 16
AA86632 Layer 14-6 14.2 9,230 40 10,37910,183 10,48610,158 Avocado seed (Persea sp.)

D-AMS 013332 Layer 16 23.8 12,594 62 14,38615,143* 14,22115,217* Bean seed (Phaseolus sp.)

Unit 22 (Paredones)
Premound, Sangamon Chile pepper seed
Beta343109 19.2 9,330 40 10,30810,559 10,28510,578
Terrace, Level 7 (Capsicum spp.)

Test Pit 22
Premound occupation,
Beta210862 27.4 9,530 50 10,59410,785 10,579[11,000] Wood charcoal
Layer 20 (4a)

Premound occupation,
AA75326 26.8 10,770 340 12,16413,096 11,50813,344 Wood charcoal
Layer 22 (8a)

Premound occupation,
Beta310274 21.7 12,950 50 13,55413,828 13,30114,034 Sea lion bone
Layer 25 (8b)

Premound occupation,
Beta290620 28.3 11,780 50 13,51013,732 13,44013,720 Wood charcoal
Layer 28 (11a)
*Calibration done on curve (shcal13) other than shcal04. Calibrated using marine 09.14c calibration curve with delta uncertainty of 725 173 (35). Calibrated using
Intcal09 calibration curve. Layer 14-6 refers to a layer with several distinct lenses numbered 1 to 7.

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Most of the recovered faunal remains come from habitats to the west wetlands and the river estuary. Whereas most wetlands probably had
of the terrace and include the littoral, back-barrier, and vernal pool wet- outlets to the sea, which acted as inlets when sea levels are high, the fish
lands (grading from freshwater to brackish), drained by modest outlets were within the confined wetlands and could have been clubbed or
connected to the sea, the estuary and delta of the river, and the beach netted easily in the shallow waters of the environments (figs. S10 to
and intertidal zone of the sea (sections S1 and S3) (18). The faunal re- S12 and sections S3 and S4).
mains indicate that all of these habitats were visited and faunal and floral Several lines of evidence consistently suggest that most of the recov-
remains were brought back to the campsites on the Sangamon Terrace. ered faunal remains were gathered primarily at nearshore and in nearby
Fauna from the brackish wetlands and lagoons include mullet (Mugil back-barrier and vernal pool wetlands, located several kilometers to the
cephalus), an ocean fish that tolerates the brackish water of the lagoon west of the terrace sites during the Late Pleistocene (fig. S10 and sections

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Fig. 4. Burned and other cultural features and unifacial basalt flakes in Layer 20, Unit 12. (Photo Credit: Tom D. Dillehay, Vanderbilt University)

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S1, S3, and S4). The remains include 281 specimens of marine fauna and Early Holocene layers. All of these features and deposits are ephemeral
three terrestrial specimens (Table 2 and sections S3 and S4). The major and characterized by co-occurring small, thin, ashy burned areas; light
taxa exploited are sharks (27.55%), sea lions (and minimally deer) charcoal scatters; stains of a red pigment (for example, see fig. S5); frag-
(15.85%), marine birds (13.96%), and marine bony fish (12.83%). All ments of rush; scattered lithics; and faunal and floral remains. Most of
faunal remains are heavily fractured: 2.3% of the fish, sea, and terrestrial these features are limited in thickness (~0.5 to 1.5 cm) and size (~20 to
mammal bones are burned, and 3.2% are cut or deliberately fractured, 45 cm in diameter). Figure 3 and figs. S3 to S5 reveal stratigraphically
suggesting human processing and consumption. Only small amounts of intact thin, discrete habitational lenses almost always separated by cul-
limpets, marine snails/gastropods, crabs, terrestrial faunal, and plant turally sterile deposits. None of these materials and features were ob-
species were excavated in the earliest deposits. The absence of fish- served in numerous other excavated units across the entire length of
hooks and harpoons and the presence of small sharks [school shark the terrace that reached the original intact or disturbed surface of the
(Galeorhinus sp.) and requiem shark (Carcharhinus sp.)] and medium- Sangamon Terrace (fig. S1). The absence of these deposits is most likely
sized fish [such as mullet (M. cephalus), croaker (Paralonchurus peruanus), due to the heavy modification of the surface by extensive mound con-
sea bass (Sciaena starksi), and hake (Merluccius gayi peruanus)] in all struction beginning around 5000 cal yr B.P.
cultural deposits of the Late Pleistocene to the modern era suggest that Technologically, the stone tool assemblage is of characteristically ear-
they washed up on beaches or were caught or trapped in nearshore ly unifacial forms, very broadly similar to those documented across the
sandy or calm waters or in brackish wetlands (fig. S12 and section S4). wide region of South America over a similar span of time (14, 15, 2831).

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The presence of one perforated pebble tool dated to the Late Pleistocene Stone tools are made primarily of locally available cobbles of rhyolite,
suggests the possible use of stone weights for anchoring traps made of basalt, andesite, and quartzite (Fig. 5, figs. S6 and S7, and section S2).
rush stalks (figs. S8 and S9). Today, fish and small sharks become Two flakes of an exotic green silicate skarn from mountains to the east
trapped on beaches and in shallow lagoons either connected to the were also recovered. Some large basalt, rhyolite, and andesite tools are
sea or formed by wave action during storm surges that leave shallow similar to the large primary flakes of the Late Pleistocene Amotape and
back-barrier water. Hunters today also build blinds and net and club Carrizal assemblages in the Talara and lower Zana valleys in northern
birds in them, which was a likely strategy in the past as well (fig. S11 Peru (32).
and sections S3 and S4). There is no evidence of formal bifacial tools. Most implements
With regard to the seasonality of species procurement, sea lions and were struck on one side only. The earliest assemblage from ~15,000 to
larger sea birds appear along the coast during the summer months from 13,500 cal yr B.P. is characterized by large primary flakes with relatively
December to March. Sharks are present year-round but exist in larger sharp edges and moderate-sized slicing tools (Fig. 5). A later assemblage
numbers only in the summer. The bony fish are year-round, but winter from ~13,500 to 11,500 cal yr B.P. is associated with similar tools and
storm surges wash many more ashore and into seasonal back-barrier also with smaller unifacial tools and a wider variety of scraping, cutting,
and vernal wetlands (section S4). All other floral and faunal species gen- wedging, and pounding tools (fig. S6). The youngest assemblage studied
erally appear year-round. here, dated from ~11,500 to 10,000 cal yr B.P., covers the Early Holocene
The recovery of six economic plant genera, including chile pepper and is similar to the ~13,500 to 11,500 cal yr B.P. lithics but has smaller
(Capsicum spp.), squash (Cucurbita sp.), bean (Phaseolus sp.), avocado unifacial flakes, occasional serrated edges, and rough limace-like scrapers
(Persea sp.), rush (Juncus sp.), and a possible medicinal plant (Tessaria (fig. S7). Some local fishermen today still strike a pebble tool to produce
integrifolia), suggests gathering in or exchange with people from the in- a sharp flake for scraping fish scales.
terior valley and western slopes of the Andes, where most of these spe- Seventy-one flaked stone pieces were recovered from the Late Pleis-
cies likely grew (Table 2 and figs. S13 and S14). With the exception of the tocene and Early Holocene deposits, 49 of which are reported here
bean seed, which dated directly to more than 14,000 cal yr B.P., the other (tables S2 and S3). Stone tools were reduced by using direct percussion
species assayed between 10,600 and 10,200 cal yr B.P. Some of these that resulted in a variety of flakes, tools on flakes, split cobble tools, a
plants may have been in early stages of domestication (section S4) (27). possible flake core, a chopper, and two denticulates. All aspects of
In summary, altogether, the pattern for exploitation of faunal and working these pieces from initial fracturing of the cobbles to trimming
floral resources at the Sangamon Terrace campsites during the Late the resulting flakes and spalls were by direct percussion, evidently with
Pleistocene to Early Holocene indicates the use of all the major biozones hard hammer precursors. Most flakes and debris resulted from unifacial
surrounding this unusual geomorphological feature on the flat coastal dressing of a flakes edge. Ninety percent of the examined assemblage
plains at the time. Although the overall configuration and productivity shows macroscopically visible indications of use. This basic, expedient
of marine and terrestrial habitats have changed since the end of the Last pattern of behavior represents a long tradition of unifacial tools that
Glacial Maximum, archaeological assemblages spanning the Late Pleis- changed little and continued to be made into the Inka and late Colonial
tocene and the entire Holocene at Huaca Prieta and other sites suggest periods (15, 16).
that a similar suite of marine and terrestrial resources has been available Overall, the flaked stone tools in the assemblage are consistent
for human harvest from the Late Pleistocene to the modern-day era through time. The Late Pleistocene assemblage stands in distinct con-
(1618). During the Late Pleistocene, rapidly rising sea levels probably trast to the roughly contemporaneous assemblage from Monte Verde II
flooded many former coastal lowlands, leading to the formation of nu- in several ways (2931). At Monte Verde II (~14,500 cal yr B.P.), the raw
merous wetlands along much of the mainland coast of Peru. After the material source was of similar lithologies, but those occurred in smaller
Pleistocene, these wetlands probably existed intermittently and in dif- pebbles. The limited mass of those small pebbles mitigates against direct
ferent places, including back-barrier and vernal pool wetlands (18). handheld percussion like that indicated for the larger cobbles used at
Huaca Prieta, Paredones, and Unit 16. This contrast in flaking behavior
Artifact assemblage is reflected in the small number (31) of direct percussion flakes in the
Table S1 shows the distribution, number, and type of cultural features Monte Verde II assemblage. The explanation of another contrast be-
primarily composing the cultural deposits for the Late Pleistocene and tween the Monte Verde II tools and those from Huaca Prieta and

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Table 2. Distribution and type of recovered faunal and floral remains in excavated sites. Species type and distribution for phases I and II, the Late
Pleistocene and Early Holocene, in excavated units at Huaca Prieta, Paredones, and Domestic Unit 16. TP, Test Pit; LP, Late Pleistocene; EH, Early Holocene.
Unit 9* Unit 12* Unit 15/21 Unit 16* Unit 22*
TP 22
% of
Layer Layer Layer Layer
EH Layer
Taxon Total total
Premound
LP11 LP12 EH11 EH13 LP15? LP17 LP20 LP23 EH6- LP8? LP9? LP13a EH13 LP15 Level 7 LP22- LP25- LP28- by taxa
4 5a 8ab 11a

Limpets

Fissurella peruviana 3 2 1 3 2 4 4 19
(keyhole limpet)

Fissurella maxima 2 1 2 1 6
(keyhole limpet)

Total limpets 25 9.43

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Marine snails/gastropods

Tegula atra 2 1 3 3 9
(marine snail)

Thais chocolata 2 1 2 1 3 2 11

Total marine 20 7.55

snails/gastropods

Bivalves

Protothaca thaca 2 1 7 11 1 22
(clam)

Total bivalves 22 8.30

Marine crabs

Platyxanthus 1 1 6 2 10
orbignyi
(violet crab)

Total marine crabs 10 3.77

Sharks and rays

Galeorhinus sp. 1 1 2
(school shark)

Myliobatis sp. 1 1
(eagle ray)

Carcharhinus sp. 3 1 1 1 2 3 2 23 34 70
(requiem shark)

Total sharks 73 27.55

and rays

Bony fish

M. cephalus (mullet) 1 1

P. peruanus 8 8
(coco, Peruvian
banded croaker)

Sciaena deliciosa 17 17
(drum)

S. starksi (S. weineri) 4 4

(sea bass and
robalo)

M. g. peruanus 1 1
(hake)

continued on next page

Dillehay et al., Sci. Adv. 2017; 3 : e1602778 24 May 2017 8 of 13

SCIENCE ADVANCES | RESEARCH ARTICLE

Unit 9* Unit 12* Unit 15/21 Unit 16* Unit 22* TP 22

Layer Layer Layer LayerEH Layer % of
Taxon Premound Total total
LP11 LP12 EH11 EH13 LP15? LP17 LP20 LP23 EH6- LP8? LP9? LP13a EH13 LP15 Level 7 LP22- LP25- LP28- by taxa
4 5a 8ab 11a

Not identified 3 3

Total bony fish 34 12.83

Marine birds

Larus sp. (seagull) 1 2 1 1 2 5 1 13

Phalacrocorax 2 1 1 6 10
bougainvillii
(guanay and
cormorant)

Pelecanus thagus 7 7

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(Peruvian pelican)

Not identified 7 7

Total marine birds 37 13.96

Wetland/land birds

D. warszewiczi 1 1 2
(scrub blackbird)

Total wetland/ 2 .75

land birds

Mammals

Otaria 2 1 1 6 2 18 6 36
sp. (sea lion)

Otaria flavescens 2 1 3
(sea lion)

O. virginianus 3 3
(white-tailed
deer)

Total mammals 42 15.85

Faunal subtotal 15 4 10 2 6 3 1 2 7 17 16 4 101 34 0 12 22 9 265 ~100

Flora

Capsicum spp. 4 4 25.00

(chile pepper)

Cucurbita sp. 3 3 18.75

(gourd)

Persea americana 1 1 6.25

(avocado)

Phaseolus sp. 1 4 5 31.25

(bean)

T. integrifolia 3 3 18.75
(palo bobo)

Flora subtotal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 7 0 0 0 16 ~100

Total 15 4 10 2 6 3 1 2 7 17 16 4 105 39 7 12 22 9 281

*New data addition since 2012.

Paredones is less clear. Many of the Monte Verde II pieces are naturally or on percussion flakes, and the modification is more commonly on the in-
culturally split pebbles with minor amounts of edge modification, usually terior rather than on the exterior aspect of the parent spall or flake.
discontinuous and consisting of small nicks and flake scars onto the ex- In summary, early Huaca Prieta, Paredones, and Unit 16 artifacts
terior of the piece. The Huaca Prieta and Paredones tools are mostly made demonstrate a distinctive cobble tool technology in the traditional

Dillehay et al., Sci. Adv. 2017; 3 : e1602778 24 May 2017 9 of 13

SCIENCE ADVANCES | RESEARCH ARTICLE

typological shapes. As Bird (15) pointed out, the primary peculiarity have recovered evidence of a bifacial technology during the Late
of this assemblage is, from the early phase of its development, the use Pleistocene. This does not imply that bifacial flaking did not exist
of locally available rounded cobbles for toolmaking. Bird also noted in the area. Later bifacial projectile points of the Fishtail and Paijan
that this tradition was very conservative and was technologically types (~13,000 to 10,000 cal yr B.P.) are present in the Andean foot-
changed very little through time. Although we have recovered only hills and interior valleys to the east of the study area (32, 33).
small, expedient unifacial assemblages associated with ephemeral oc- It should be noted that we have examined more than 1 million lithic
cupation sites, there exists the remote possibility that more formal tools and debris from our excavations and surface collections along the
bifacial assemblages with a wider diversity of stone tools appear at Chicama coast and from Birds artifact collections from there, and we
larger campsites located farther inland or on the now-submerged an- have not yet documented a single bifacial implement. It is our opinion
cient coastline. However, if this was the case, given the intermediate that the early cultural periods under discussion for this section of the
location of the terrace between these two areas, we would expect to north coast of Peru were exclusively characterized by unifacial lithic

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Fig. 5. Unifacial basalt flakes most representative of 15,000 to 13,500 cal yr B.P. deposits showing marked platforms and bulbs of percussion (arrows). (Photo
Credit: Tom D. Dillehay, Vanderbilt University)

Dillehay et al., Sci. Adv. 2017; 3 : e1602778 24 May 2017 10 of 13

SCIENCE ADVANCES | RESEARCH ARTICLE

assemblages. The absence of evidence for stone, bone, and shell har- varying from ~7 to 30 m below mound summits (figs. S1 and S2). Six of
poons and the absence of shell fishhooks are also significant. Birds the 17 excavations exhibited Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene cul-
excavation at Huaca Prieta produced one possible shell fishhook tural deposits: Units 9, 12, 15/21, 16, and 22 and Test Pit 22. These six
(15). Our examination of more than 350,000 shell fragments and units ranged in size from 1 m by 4 m to 2 m by 2 m. The limited size of
shell artifacts did not produce any signs of harpoon and fishhook these pits was due to their excessive depth below the mound summits:
production. There is also no evidence of a boat or raft technology Excavation units were stepped and narrowed downward as we reached
for the period under discussion. greater depths to prevent the collapse of cultural deposits in the wall
The matting fragments of rush, especially from Layer 11 in Unit 12 profiles and to protect excavators. We also inspected the cut walls or
(fig. S9), are also notable in the artifact assemblage from Huaca Prieta, profiles of 23 drainages, irrigation canals, and roads, constituting a total
which suggests a weaving technology. One fragment, a segment of open, distance of 11.2 km in the sugarcane fields east of Huaca Prieta and
simple twining, sewn with two-ply, Z-twist cordage wefts, was directly Paredones. The profiles of and tossed debris around 234 looters holes
dated to 10,600 to 11,159 cal yr B.P. and represents the oldest example of on the Sangamon Terrace and in outlying domestic sites north and
this craft from lowland South America. The thickness of the individual south of the terrace were also examined. Nonetheless, cultural deposits
rush fibers, their relatively tight weave, and the rigidity of the sample of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene were found in only the
suggest possible use as a rush trap or basket rather than a net for fishing six units below the mounds that are reported here (fig. S2). Except for
or matting for sleeping or flooring. the original terrace surfaces underneath the mounds of Huaca Prieta

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and Paredones, all other original surfaces across the entire length of
the terrace have been heavily disturbed or completely removed in the
CONCLUSION production of hundreds of thousands of adobe bricks for the construc-
The intermittently present thin cultural lenses in all early sites examined tion of later mounds dated from ~3500 to 350 cal yr B.P.
here indicate discontinuous and ephemeral residence on the remnant All cultural deposits reported here were excavated stratigraphically
Sangamon Terrace during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene. A (18). All excavated sediments were screened over 3-mm mesh and/or
boat technology, bifacial stone tools, harpoons, and fishhooks apparent- subjected to water flotation, which produced microspecimens of organ-
ly were not required to procure the diverse faunal and floral species in ic and inorganic materials. Although 3-mm screens can cause biases in
the accessible nearshore and terrestrial habitats of the Chicama valley, as small-fish assemblages, the exceptional preservation of the faunal and
suggested by their absence in all assemblages for all cultural periods at all floral remains suggest that our samples are relatively representative.
sites (1518). Analysis of the food remains, the absence of these tech- Moreover, many fish bones were recovered by water flotation.
nologies, and the presence of unifacial stone tools and possibly weighted Most of the taxonomic identifications of the faunal and floral re-
rush traps suggest the primary use of simple technologies. Maritime mains in this study (Table 2) was performed by using comparative
foods could have been gathered or captured by trapping or clubbing, collections at the Laboratorio del Centro de Investigaciones Arqueobio-
and exotic plant foods and stones for raw materials were obtained lgicas y Paleoecolgicas Andinas (ARQUEOBIOS) in Trujillo, Peru.
through exchange networks with interior groups or were collected di- Specialty studies on materials reported here were carried out at the
rectly. For this early period, it is not known whether independent, Smithsonian Institution (Panama City and Washington, DC), Univer-
specialized littoral and interior groups exchanged resources or whether sity of California (Berkeley, CA), Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales
different littoral and interior groups directly exploited multiple environ- (Madrid, Spain), Universidad Cayetano Heredia (Lima, Peru), Vander-
ments with little, if any, contact between them. When combined with bilt University (Nashville, TN), and Mercyhurst University (Erie, PA).
information from other Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene sites along The faunal and floral remains were identified to the most specific taxon
the Pacific coast of South America (39, 34), these data suggest that early possible, including identifications to order, family, genus, and species
people symbiotically exploited a wide variety of resources from following the nomenclature, seasonality, and habitat information.
complementary environments that probably would have minimized The qualitative and quantitative discrepancies between food remains
economic risk because of any climatic shifts. in some individual units and layers appear to relate as much to limited
The evidence presented here does not necessarily substantiate initial excavation and sampling bias in reaching and exposing the deeper strata
human entry into the Americas along the Pacific coast. Varied subsist- overlaid by the mounds as to differential human use of specific areas in
ence data and exotic food and stone tools from several sites along the the past. Nonetheless, as suggested by the preliminary data in Table 2,
Pacific coast (19, 34) indicate that some early people had detailed the frequency and importance of various taxa varied considerably
knowledge of different maritime and occasionally terrestrial environ- through time and habitat. The variation in the remains of food resource
ments, which must have required a considerable amount of time to ex- densities may also reflect differential processing and intrasite heteroge-
plore, observe, and experiment in a trial and error fashion. This suggests neity because the number and type of taxa identified in each unit are
that early human migration along some coastal areas such as resource- relatively similar, except for the bony fish of the Late Pleistocene and Early
rich portions of the north coast of Peru may have been more exploratory Holocene period in Unit 16. Although the data are meager for any specific
and slower than previously thought. time period and specific site location, our dietary reconstruction suggests
that sea lions and sharks were the two largest contributors of meat to the
economy over several millennia, a pattern that holds for the entire
MATERIALS AND METHODS Holocene as well (18). Estimated Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene
Between 2007 and 2013, a total of 32 excavation units and trenches, 32 ages of undated strata referenced in the tables are based on their strat-
test pits, and 80 geological cores were placed on, around, and between igraphic position relative to overlying and underlying radiocarbon as-
the Huaca Prieta and Paredones mounds and other sites (16, 18). Of the sayed layers and on their cultural and/or natural depositional rates (18).
total number of archaeological units and pits excavated, 17 reached pre- The radiocarbon date on the sea lion bone (Table 1) was calibrated
mound layers, the original surface of the Sangamon Terrace, at depths using a marine reservoir factor of 725 173 for the north coast of Peru

Dillehay et al., Sci. Adv. 2017; 3 : e1602778 24 May 2017 11 of 13

SCIENCE ADVANCES | RESEARCH ARTICLE

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 Simple technologies and diverse food strategies of the Late
Pleistocene and Early Holocene at Huaca Prieta, Coastal Peru
Tom D. Dillehay, Steve Goodbred, Mario Pino, Vctor F. Vsquez
Snchez, Teresa Rosales Tham, James Adovasio, Michael B.
Collins, Patricia J. Netherly, Christine A. Hastorf, Katherine L.
Chiou, Dolores Piperno, Isabel Rey and Nancy Velchoff (May 24,
2017)
Sci Adv 2017, 3:.
doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1602778

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