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3,000 Years of Occupation in Upper Valley Nasca: Excavations at Upanca

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kevin J. Vaughn  and
Moisés Linares Grados
Kevin J. Vaughn
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Purdue University, 700 West State St., West Lafayette, IN 47907 (kjvaughn@purdue.edu)
Moisés Linares Grados
Affiliation:
Proyecto Nasca Temprano, Lima, Perú (moico81@hotmail.com)
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Abstract

We report recent excavations undertaken at the residential village Upanca located 1,600 m above sea level in the Nasca region of Peru in the Central Andes. Although fieldwork was initiated to evaluate the site's participation in the Early Nasca craft economy, excavations revealed a long occupation beginning in the Late Archaic (ca. 3000–1800 B.C.) and extending into the Early Intermediate period (ca. A.D. 1–750), with a principal component dating to the Early Nasca period (ca. A.D. 1–450). The Early Nasca component revealed high polychrome consumption, confirming previous assessments of Early Nasca's craft economy, and association with extensive agricultural terracing, suggesting surplus production beginning in the Early Intermediate period.

En este artículo informamos las recientes excavaciones realizadas en la aldea residencial de Upanca, a 1,600 msnm en la región de Nasca, Perú. Aunque la finalidad del trabajo de campo fue evaluar su participación dentro de la economía de producción Nasca temprana, las excavaciones revelaron una larga ocupación, empezando en el Arcaico Tardío (ca. 3000–1800 a.C.) y extendiéndose hasta el período Intermedio Temprano (ca. 1–750 d.C.) con un componente principal fechado para el período Nasca Temprano (ca. 1–450 d.C.). Este componente reveló un alto consumo de cerámica polícroma, confirmando va loraciones previas de la economía de producción de Nasca Temprana, y la asociación con extensas terrazas agrícolas sugieren excedentes de producción empezando en el período Intermedio Temprano.

Type
Reports
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 17 , Issue 4 , December 2006 , pp. 595 - 612
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2006

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