Formative Period Settlement and Society in Oruro, Bolivia

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With National Science Foundation support Dr. Marc Bermann will conduct archaeological excavations at the sites of Chuquina and San Andres which are located in the Bolivian altiplano - a high plateau region in the Andes. He will focus on the Formative Period which dates from about 2000 BC to 300 AD. It is this period which laid the groundwork for the rise of complex Andean civilizations and Dr. Bermann wishes to understand the earliest stages of this process. Although prior work in the region has indicated a wealth of archaeological materials, a detailed chronological sequence has not been established. Through the excavation of two stratified sites Dr. Bermann will collect a large series of ceramic and lithic remains. Changes in marker tool types will be examined to determine change over time and on this basis it will be possible to relate surface materials to this master sequence. Radiocarbon analysis will allow assignment of absolute dates. Archaeologists know that the first civilizations arose at roughly the same time in many parts of the world and they wish to understand the driving forces behind this process. While the Andean region is best known for the Inca culture which the first Spanish explorers directly observed, the Incas were preceded by other earlier civilizations. The first of these had its base in the Bolivian altiplano and Dr. Bermann's work will shed light on its origins. With a solid chronology, it will then be possible to examine individual sites, place them accurately in time and then trace the process which led to increasing complexity in social organization.