AbstractArtifacts made from Quispisisa obsidian are widely disseminated in the Peruvian Andes, but the geological source of the Quispisisa geochemical type was only recently located in southern Ayacucho. Following the positive identification of the source in 1999 by Richard Burger and colleagues, we found evidence of broad quarrying activities in unexplored portions of the source area. We describe 34 quarry pits, some as large as 80 m across, together with evidence of early-stage lithic reduction at the source. We encountered high concentrations of reduction debris associated with more extensive knapping in two localities, but our preliminary evaluation of surface evidence suggests that much of the material quarried was removed from the area as intact nodules or after minimal reduction at the source area.
ABSTRACT:Handheld computers have become capable of more than data storage and precision measurement; they have begun to contribute to scientific studies conducted in demanding field research settings. Recent versions of mobile GIS software allow researchers with limited programming skills to tailor the software to the priorities and theoretical needs of individual research projects. Depending on the research needs in a given situation, data recording can be expedient or thorough, and data acquisition forms can be designed to emphasize flexibility for varied or unpredictable field conditions. By giving researchers access to large digital datasets and spatial analysis tools while in the field, mobile GIS facilitates the data acquisition process and can contribute to the quality and the efficiency of fieldwork. In this study, the implementation of ESRI Arcpad 6 in a high-altitude archaeological survey project in Peru presented challenges to the mobile GIS system that are perhaps common to many mobile GIS-based scientific fieldwork projects. The paper discusses the benefits and the limitations of doing an archaeological survey using mobile GIS. It also considers some of the ways in which improvements in mobile GIS technology will facilitate the methods of resource managers and field scientists in the future.
Results of survey and test excavations at the Chivay obsidian source in highland Peru found evidence of use of the source area throughout much of the prehispanic past. An examination of a quarry pit and workshop suggest that quarrying and workshop production intensified at the end of the Preceramic period in the region. The high elevation Chivay source (71.53558 S, 15.64238 E) lies at 4950 masl and was the geological origin for prehispanic obsidian artifacts from throughout much of southern Peru and Bolivia. Radiocarbon dates on charcoal recovered from the lower levels of a test unit placed in a mound of obsidian debris at the workshop, together with an obsidian hydration sequence from test units at both the workshop and the quarry pit, point to an amplification of quarrying and workshop production during the Terminal Archaic, or the third and second millennium BC. Regional exchange networks and trade in exotic goods are extensive during later periods in Andean prehistory but these data suggest that obsidian as an early target of procurement over distance was prepared in a dense production deposit that reflects changes over time.
Archaeologists have embraced new technologies in many aspects of research, but reliance on paperbased recording has impeded development of excavation recording methods. The digital recording of spatial provenience for artifacts and features, together with complex attributes during excavation, while not problem-free, provides a streamlined recording process. This article describes a digital interface that links precise spatial provenience with digital forms and geo-referenced photographs during excavation at a colonial site in highland Peru. A customized version of ESRI ArcPad provides the means to create and to explore spatial and attribute data in the field and laboratory as GIS data, which in turn can be integrated with ArcGIS for post-field visualization and analysis.
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