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THE EARLY HORIZON OCCUPATION OF THE NEPENA VALLEY, NORTH CENTRAL COAST OF PERU
Abstract
Confusion exists regarding the correlation of the Chavin style and the Early Horizon. An historical analysis of the concepts of Chavin and horizon leads to the conclusion that the Early Horizon begins with the introduction of the style carved in stone at Chavin de Huantar and/or objects normally found in association with this style. Sites previously considered "Chavin" in Nepena have been reassigned to the Initial Period or the Early Horizon given the presence of distinctive architectural and/or ceramic features. Based upon evidence from neighboring valleys, it is concluded that Nepena was sparsely occupied when it was settled at the start of the Early Horizon. A similar seriation of surface artifacts is used to define three phases of Early Horizon settlement for Nepena. Diagnostic ceramic forms and decorative techniques are established for each phase as are characteristic architectural features and patterns of settlement. These phases and their ordering are supported internally by single component sites and externally by stratigraphically-derived sequences. Settlement during Phase I is argued to have occurred via the highlands and in the absence of conflict. Upper valley ridge-top settlement characteristic of this first phase continues during Phase II when defensive architecture first appears. Conflict is argued to have arisen from local competition over control of intervalley exchange and its resolution is viewed as having been achieved by Phase III. At this time a number of upper valley centers characterized by spatially distinct magalithic compounds and ritually-aligned mounds were defended in concert by a network of parapeted fortresses and stone walls. The three phases of settlement derived for Nepena are characterized by ceramic decorative techniques, architectural features and settlement practices distinctive of phases established elsewhere. This serves to highlight the importance, in Peruvian research, of horizon technique as an investigative tool, surface survey as an investigative method, Early Horizon as a conceptual framework and warfare as a key feature in the development of complex society.
Subject Area
Archaeology
Recommended Citation
DAGGETT, RICHARD EARL, "THE EARLY HORIZON OCCUPATION OF THE NEPENA VALLEY, NORTH CENTRAL COAST OF PERU" (1984). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI8410275.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI8410275