Dissertation Research: Coastal Foragers of the South-Central Andes and the Process of Sedentarization

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Aldenderfer Under the direction of Dr.Mark Aldenderfer, Ms. Karen Rasmussen will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. She will conduct one season of excavation at the archaeological site of Yara which is located on the desert coast of Peru. Previous work at the site indicates that it was occupied during the Middle Archaic period, between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago. The density and configuration of the remains suggests that Yara may have been occupied on a long term basis and Ms. Rasmussen will examine this possibility. She will excavate two large horizontal blocks, one centering on a domestic area and the other around a possible cemetery. This should permit exposure of such items as house floors, fire hearths, storage areas and other indicators of a potential long- term residential center. The site contains abundant faunal as well as other cultural remains and Ms. Rasmussen will analyze both. After the end of the last Ice Age, human social organization in many parts of the world was characterized by increased sedentarization and the appearance of communities occupied for extended periods of time. Most often this change is associated with the appearance of agriculture and/or the herding of domestic animals; archaeologists postulate that the appearance of these new and rich food resources was responsible for the change in settlement pattern. However the coast of Peru appears to be an exception since sedentary communities seem to have emerged well before domesticates became available. Ms. Rasmussen, as well as many other archaeologists, want to understand what made this transition possible and her excavation at Yara is directed towards this end. This research is important because it will provide data of interest to many archaeologists. It will increase our understanding of how complex society emerged and will contribute to the training of a promising young scientist.