The Archaeology of an Ancient Seaside Town: Performance and Community at Samanco, Nepeña Valley, Peru (ca. 500-1 BC)

Helmer, Matthew

doi:10.30861/9781407314129

Cited by 2 publications

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“…Most of the lower valley was under intensive irrigation farming and integrated several smaller settlements including the elite centers of Huambacho (Chicoine ) and Sute Bajo (Cotrina et al . ), as well as the seaside town of Samanco (Helmer ). Excavations at Samanco suggest that coastal town residents dedicated much of their time to acquiring, processing, and exporting—via llama caravans—agrarian and maritime products (Helmer and Chicoine ).…”

Section: Urbanization Processes In Early Horizon Nepeñamentioning

confidence: 99%

6 Gated Communities, Neighborhoods, and Modular Living at the Early Horizon Urban Center of Caylán, Peru

Chicoine

Whitten

2019

Archaeological Papers of the American

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This paper examines the shift to enclosed forms of residence and modular living in the context of emerging urbanism during the Early Horizon in the Nepeña Valley, north-central coast of Peru. During the local Nepeña phase (800-450 cal BCE), complex agrarian groups living in the lower portion of the coastal drainage interrupt constructions at ceremonial centers of the Chavín and Cupinisque religious traditions and relocate on the valley margins, most notably at Caylán (800-1 cal BCE). Regional data suggest that religio-political turmoil and increased conflicts played a significant role in the nucleation of human groups. Indeed, the following Samanco phase (450-150 cal BCE) is associated with the construction of extensive defensive structures and the relocation of human populations. Architectural data point to the existence of more than 40 gated complexes at Caylán. Based on preliminary excavation data, those are interpreted as multifunctional residences. This paper offers an empirical case study to evaluate the usefulness and flexibility of the concept of neighborhood in the context of co-resident gated communities. By examining the layout and planning of the Caylán settlement, and the architecture and spatial variability of its multifamily compounds, we consider potential forms of household, community, and neighborhood organizations. Based on excavation data and demographic estimations we explore the heuristic value of the concept of neighborhood to understand face-to-face interactions between members of the different gated communities. We suggest that those communities might be comparable to the house societies of anthropological literature. Regional data, meanwhile, suggest that groups merging at Caylán maintained hinterland connections including with agrarian and maritime communities. [Early Horizon, Peru, Urbanism, Spatial syntax, Neighborhood]

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Section: Urbanization Processes In Early Horizon Nepeñamentioning

confidence: 99%