Aspero, Peru: A Reexamination of the Site and Its Implications

Abstract

The large preceramic site of Aspero, on the central Peruvian coast, was explored in the past by Uhle and by Willey and Corbett; however, these investigators did not recognize the presence of sizable artificial platform mounds or “corporate labor structures” at the site. In spite of its preceramic status, Aspero was a sedentary community, and the corporate labor structures suggest the beginnings of a complex, non-egalitarian society. The hypothesis is advanced that such a society was “pre-adapted” toward corporate labor activity and that this “pre-adaptation” expedited the rapid transference from a marine economy to an agricultural one at the close of the Cotton Preceramic period (about 2000-1800 B.C.).

Archaeological retrospect 6

“…I told him then that we had better continue our drive on up the coast and have another look at Aspero. Moseley confirmed my suspicions, especially when he followed up our trip with the later excavation of some of the Aspero mounds (Moseley & Willey, 1973). It is an excellent case of not being able to find something if you are not looking for it.…”

Isotopic evidence for the trade and production of exotic marine mammal bone artifacts at Chavín de Huántar, Peru

“…Zooarchaeological and isotopic data from numerous sites on the Peruvian coast, ranging from the Preceramic (13, 000 BP) to the Late Horizon (AD 1532), show the importance of marine resources in ancient coastal people's diet (Moseley and Willey 1973;Reitz, Andrus, and Sandweiss 2008;Rosello et al 2001;Tomczak 2003) However, the evidence of the consumed maritime resources appears to be mainly fishes and mollusks. Only at a few sites are sea mammal remains reported (Table 3; deFrance et al 2001;Reitz 1988;Rosello et al 2001).…”

Power and the Emergence of Complex Polities in the Peruvian Preceramic

“…The site was recognized at that time as an early coastal fishing village, but it was not seen as particularly distinctive. Aspero was revisited in the 1970s, when it was recognized that a series of mounds at the site (identified as "hillocks" in Willey and Corbett's earlier publication) were in fact constructed platform mounds (Moseley and Willey 1973). It was also recognized that the paucity of ceramics at the site was because the site dated to a preceramic period.…”