Iwawi Ceramic Study

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With National Science Foundation support Dr. William Isbell and his colleagues will conduct an archaeological excavation at the site of Iwawi, a small deeply stratified mound located at the mouth of the Tiwanaku River on the Lake Titicaca shore in Bolivia. Preliminary work by Dr. Isbell suggests that the site spans an approximately 2000 year period. Excavation through the habitation levels will yield faunal and floral remains as well as stone tools and abundant ceramics. The team's focus will be on this last class. The primary goal of the research is a refined stylistic sequence for ceramics, employing computer assisted descriptions as well as more standard analyses. A suite of radiocarbon dates will add absolute chronology. Four 10 x 10 meter excavations will be conducted on different sections of the mound. In addition to chronological data, house floor contexts from these large excavations will provide an excellent record of economics, household organization and social differentiation within a changing regional sphere. The Lake Titicaca basin saw the rise of one of the earliest civilizations in the New World. In this formidable high altitude region Native Americans formed an empire marked by monumental architecture and control of an area which extends over much of present day Bolivia and Peru. Many archaeologists have worked in the basin to trace the rise, spread and eventual decline of this Tiwanaku culture. They have focussed on such topics as the agricultural techniques which allowed the support of large populations. The main problem which researchers face however is the lack of a good ceramic chronology. Because ceramic styles change over time, they can provide a sensitive dating technique which allow individual sites and levels within sites to be accurately placed. In the Titicaca region however the sequence currently employed is far from adequate and in need of revision. Dr. Isbell's project will accomplish this goal. This research is important for several reasons. It will increase our understanding of how civilizations arise and decline. It will also provide a tool of use to many archaeologists.