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| Prehistoric Andes | |
|---|---|
| Name | Prehistoric Andes |
| Region | Andes |
| Period | Pleistocene–Early Horizon |
| Major sites | [{[}see below{]}] |
| Cultures | [{[}see below{]}] |
Prehistoric Andes
The Prehistoric Andes encompasses the deep-time human past of the Andean mountain chain across modern Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, extending from the coastal Pacific to the Amazonian headwaters and the Altiplano. Archaeological research integrates fieldwork at sites such as Monte Verde, Paiján, Nanchoc, Huaca Prieta, and Caral with paleoenvironmental studies from the Pleistocene, Holocene, and glacial chronologies, and with comparative insights from contemporaneous regions like Mesoamerica, Amazon Basin, and the Patagonia.
The Andes rise through physiographic provinces including the Cordillera Occidental (Colombia), Cordillera Central (Colombia), Cordillera Oriental (Colombia), the Altiplano, and the Coastal Desert of Peru and Chile, affecting precipitation from the Intertropical Convergence Zone, Andean orographic rain shadows, and puna landscapes studied alongside records from Lake Titicaca, Lake Junín, Lake Humboldt, and marine cores off the Peruvian coast. Glacial advances tied to the Last Glacial Maximum and later Holocene warming shaped resources exploited by peoples evidenced at Guitarrero Cave, Pukara de Ajahuira, and Soro Mik’aya Patjxa. ENSO-related variability and the influence of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation drove shifts in coastal fisheries exploited at sites such as Chinchorro and La Mina.
Periodization follows conventional frameworks with Early Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene occupations, a Paleoindian phase, an Early Holocene phase, an Archaic (or Preceramic) span, Formative (Initial) developments, Regionalization, and the later Horizon periods culminating in the Inca Empire. Chronological markers include radiocarbon dates calibrated with the IntCal curve, stratigraphic sequences from El Niño-impacted deposits, and tephrochronology correlated to eruptions like Huaynaputina. Landmark cultural phases include those identified at Monte Verde II, Paiján, Siches, Chavín de Huántar, Norte Chico, Paracas, Moche, Nazca, Tiwanaku, Wari, and the Late Horizon of the Inca.
Evidence for early human presence derives from lithic assemblages such as fluted and stemmed points discovered near Quebrada Jaguay, Abrigo de La Paloma, and Palli-Aike, and from organic-rich deposits at Monte Verde and Pukara de La Rinconada. Subsistence combined big-game and mixed foraging with marine shellfish and fish at coastal sites like Huaca Prieta and Chinchorro and freshwater resources in Amazonian headwaters exemplified by finds near Napo River valleys. Mobility patterns inferred from obsidian sourcing link Andean sites to outcrops like Chivay and trade networks traceable to Cerro Baúl and Tiahuanaco-associated sources.
The Archaic/Preceramic witnessed increasing sedentism, monumental architecture at Caral-Supe, early irrigation at Socos, and craft specialization evidenced by textile impressions and basketry from Molluscan middens and shell mounds such as Conchales. Plant management of taxa later domesticated—maize, beans, squash, cotton—is documented through phytolith and macroremains from sites like Nanchoc, Guañape, and La Libertad. Religious and symbolic expressions begin to cohere in motifs visible later at Chavín de Huántar and in iconography ancestral to Moche and Nazca repertoires.
During the middle to late Holocene communities engineered terraces in the Colca Valley and irrigation networks in the Santa River valley, while pastoralism centered on the management of llamas and alpacas emerged from camelid domestication evidenced in the southern highlands near Soro Mik’aya Patjxa and genetic studies tied to samples from Lake Titicaca locales. Crop packages diversified with cultivation of Andean tubers including potatoes, oca, mashua, and quinoa in the Qullqa storage traditions, integrating verticality models such as the vertical economy concept applied to interaction among coastal, sierra, and puna zones. Surplus production underpinned craft specialization visible in metallurgy origins at sites linked to early copper and goldworking traditions near Moche and Sipán.
Social stratification and emergent leadership are archaeologically inferred from platform mounds, plaza complexes, and elite burials at centers like Caral, Chavín de Huántar, Tiwanaku, and Wari, predating imperial consolidation by the Inca. Interregional exchange networks connected Andean polities to Pacific maritime systems and inland polities evidenced by shared iconography, ceramic styles such as those of Paracas and Nazca, and administrative architecture at Wari outposts and Tiwanaku colonies. Warfare, ritual competition, and ideological systems are reconstructed through mortuary variability at sites like Sipán and fortifications in the Andean foothills correlated with paleoepidemiological data.
Lithic technologies include bifacial reduction, projectile point traditions, and ground stone tools recovered from workshops in the Peruvian norte chico and the highlands; ceramic traditions appear later with distinct series such as Paracas pottery, Moche ceramics, and Nazca polychrome. Textile production reached high complexity as evidenced by fine camelid fiber weave from Paracas and iconographically rich tapestry linked to elites at Wari and Tiwanaku contexts. Metallurgy developed with hammered copper, arsenical bronze, and goldworking reflected in grave goods from Moche and coastal burials and in cultic paraphernalia at ceremonial centers. Maritime technologies manifested in reed boats associated with coastal groups documented alongside shellfishing installations, while architecture ranged from circular pukara fortresses to monumental stepped platforms, plazas, and hydraulic works conserved at Chan Chan and other urban centers.
Category:Andean archaeology Category:Pre-Columbian cultures of South America Category:Archaeology by region