Tulán-52: a Late Archaic ceremonial centre at the dawn of the Neolithisation process in the Atacama Desert

Ritual stone‐built architecture and shell midden foundation: A semisubterranean structure in hyperarid Atacama Desert coast, Northern Chile

“…Entombment processes are common in the archaeological record of the Andean region (e.g., R. Burger & Salazar‐Burger, 1991; R. L. Burger, 1995; Matsuzawa, 1972; Shady & López‐Trujillo, 1999; Vega‐Centeno, 2010). In the highlands of the Atacama Desert, intentional sedimentation practices covering stone structures have been identified in the Tulán‐52 and Tulán‐54 sites; both traditionally related to contemporary communities of the Atacama coast (Núñez & Perlès, 2018; Núñez & Santoro, 2011; Núñez et al, 2017; de Souza et al, 2010).…”

Hunting and feasting in the pre-Columbian Andes: Exploring the nature and scale of early ceremonial aggregations in Tulan Ravine (5300 to 2400 yr cal. BP) through the circulation of obsidian artefacts

“…As far as is currently known, the construction of Tulan-52 was the first communal building effort of non-domestic architecture in the area. The evidence recovered at the site indicates that this was a space for temporary use occupied by large aggregations of hunter-gatherer groups that congregated periodically for collective hunts and feasts (Núñez and Perlès 2018). Excavations of 57 m 2 have exposed an architectural complex formed by agglomerated circular and sub-circular structures (Figure 2A), built with large vertical blocks and with recessed wall niches (De Souza et al 2010;Núñez 1981Núñez , 1992Núñez et al 2006a).…”

“…Inside the narrow structures, there is evidence that indicates the performance of ritual activities (Núñez and Perlès 2018). Among the deposits, a bone with pyrographic engraving, feathers, hematite and red pigment have been recovered that could have been part of the ritual paraphernalia (De Souza et al 2010;Núñez et al 2016).…”

“…These findings allowed us to track the beginnings of ceremonial architecture to hunter-gatherer and initial pastoralist groups, prior to institutionalised social inequality and an agriculture-based economy. The evidence in these sites has been interpreted as being the result of large periodic feasts and collective hunts, celebrated periodically by neighbouring local groups (De Souza et al 2010;Núñez and Perlès 2018;Núñez et al 2006a;Núñez et al 2007;Núñez et al 2017a;Núñez et al 2017b); however, the extent of these social aggregations and the structure of interaction networks with neighbouring groups are still unknown. Many of our assumptions are based on typological comparisons or on the presence of exotic materials from remote areas that are difficult to determine accurately.…”