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An Early Subsistence Exchange System in theMoche Valley, Peru
Shelia PozorskiThomas Pozorski
Section of Man
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Technologically, the Initial Period in Peru began with the introduction of pottery
and the change from twined to woven textile production. Within the M oche
Valley, it was the time when a complex settlement first appeared in the valley in-
terior - a relocation correlated with the beginnings of irrigation agriculture.
This'lcritical point in the process of adaptation to irrigation agriculture is ex-
plored through an examination of subsistence data from two sites: the Initial
Period (1800-1400 B.C.) site ofGramalote on the coast and the Initial Period and
Early Horizon (1400-400 B.C.) settlement of Caballo Muerto located well inland.
Evidence from Caballo Muerto suggests that the shift from floodwater to irriga-
tion agriculture was complete, yet the inland site still relied heavily on animal
protein from Gramalote on the coast. Taken together, the two early ceramic sites
form an economic unit which, when explored, reveals several important aspects of
the transition from an exclusively coastal orientation to a predominantly inland
agricultural subsistence focus.
Introduction
The advent of irrigation agriculture was one of the
most important events in the prehistory of Peru. On the
north coast, its introduction dates between 2000 and
1500 B.C. Immediately prior to this time, coastal inhabi-
tants subsisted largely on marine resources such as
shellfish and fish, supplemented by floodwater horti-
culture. Irrigation did have a tremendous impact on
subsistence patterns and societal structure, but the
change was not as rapid as previously believed. 1 Data
1. M. E. Moseley, "Organizational Preadaptation to Irrigation: The
Evolution of Early Water-Management Systems in Coastal Peru," in
Irrigation's Impact on Society, Anthropological Papers of the Univer-
sity of Arizona No. 25, eds., T. E. Downing and M. Gibson (Univer-
sity of Arizona Press, Tucson 1974) 77-82; idem, The Maritime Foun-
dations of Andean Civilization (Cummings Publishing Co., Menlo
Park, California 1975) 43-50, 104-114; T. C. Patterson, "Central
Peru: Its Population and Economy," Archaeology 24 (1971) 316-321;
idem, America's Past. A New World Archaeology (Scott, Foresman
and Co., Glenview, Illinois 1973) 58-67; T. Pozorski, "Caballo
Muerto: A Complex of Early Ceramic Sites in the Moche Valley,
Peru," unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas at Austin
(University Microfilms, Ann Arbor 1976) 129-143.
from two early sites in the Moche Valley, Gramalote
and Caballo Muerto (TABLE 1),2 suggest the changeover
was more gradual. Initially, the inland settlement of
Caballo M uerto was heavily dependent on the coastal
resources for animal protein while the coastal site of
Gramalote relied on the inland settlement for agri-
cultural products. As time passed, a domesticated
camelid replaced shellfish as the main source of animal
protein, the coastal settlement was no longer necessary,
and the move inland was essentially complete.
Gramalote was first surveyed by C. M. Hastings in
1973 when he worked for the Chan Chan-Moche Valley project. Shelia Pozorski directed excavations during
September and October of 1973 with the aid of Donald
Weaver for architectural clearing. She later .returned
briefly in 1974 to check specific architectural details.
2. This table is a modified version of the Andean chronological
framework presented in E. P. Lanning, Peru Before the Incas
(Prentice-Hall, New Jersey 1967) 24-25; J. H. Rowe, "Stages and
Periods in Archaeological Interpretation," SWJA 18 (1962) 40-54;
idem, "Urban Settlements in Ancient Peru," NPaeha 1 (Institute of
Andean Studies, Berkeley 1963) 1-27.
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414 Subsistence Exchange System in the Moche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski
Table 1. Chronological placement of
early sites in the Moche Valley, Peru. Time Period Coastal Sites Caballo M uerto Mounds
400 B.C.
1400 B.C.
Early
Horizon
Huaca Guavalito }
Huaca La CruzHuaca San Carlos }
H uaca Curaca
Huaca de los Reyes
Group III
Group II
1800 B.C-.
2500 B.C.
Initial
Period
Cotton
Preceramic
Gramalote
Alto Salaverry
Padre Aban
H uaca Herederos Chica }
Huaca Herederos Grande Group I
H uaca Cortada
The existence of Caballo Muerto has long been
known, but its age and significance have only been
recognized within the past 10 years. In 1930 George
Johnson photographed Huaca de los Reyes from the air
as part of the famous Shippee-Johnson expedition. This
photograph has never been published. In 1938, Larco
Hoyle3 published a map of the Moche Valley indicating
the location of a "Grupo Herederos," but said nothing
about the site. In 1942 and again in 1969, the Servicio
Aerofotografico Nacional photographed the entire com- plex as part of the aerial photographic coverage of
the entire valley. In 1950, Richard Schaedel and An-
tonio Rodriguez Suy Suy surveyed the Caballo Muerto
area and made a preliminary map of Huaca de los
Reyes, but never published their findings.
No further work was done at the Caballo Muerto
complex until 1969 when Michael Moseley, director of
the Chan Chan-Moche Valley Project, surveyed the
area and recognized the Caballo Muerto mounds as
dating to at least the Early Horizon (1400-400 B.C.) . In
July and August of 1970,Claude Chauchat excavated at
the mound of H uaca Herederos Chica and confirmed the early date. He returned in 1972 with Luis Watanabe
and extended excavations at the same mound. Later in
1972, Watanabe returned alone and excavated at Huaca
de los Reyes, Huaca La Cruz, and Huaca Guavalito.4
Thomas Pozorski surveyed and excavated at all of the
Caballo Muerto complex mounds between July 1973
3. R. Larco H., Los Mochicas 1 (Casa Editora La Cronica y
Variedades, S.A., Lima 1938)figure opposite p. 60.
4. M. E. Moseley and L. Watanabe, "The Adobe Sculpture of Huaca
de los Reyes," Archaeology 27 (1974) 154-161.
and December 1974. Both his work and that of Shelia
Pozorski at Gramalote were conducted under the
auspices of the Chan Chan-Moche Valley Project under
the direction of Michael Moseley and Carol Mackey.
Permission to survey and excavate was granted by the
Peruvian Instituto N acional de Cultura. Funding was
provided by the National Science Foundation, the
National Geographic Society, and the Institute of Latin
American Studies of the University of Texas at Austin.
The data discussed in this paper were gathered by theauthors during investigations in 1973 and 1974.
Gramalote
The Initial Period site of Gramalote lies 10-20 m
above sea level near the modern fishing village o
Huanchaco on the north edge of the Moche Valley
(FIG. 1). The only surface indications of the nature of
the site are abundant ash and shell plus a few concen-
trations of stone, since the action of wind and salt has
destroyed all surface traces of plant remains and most
sherds. Within the site, refuse is especially rich and deep(30 em. or more) in two irregular areas that cover about
20,000 sq. m. on the tops and slopes of several stabilized
dunes (FIG. 2).
Excavations at Gramalote began in 1973 with inten-
sive testing to define the site limits and to locate areas
of especially rich midden where the refuse could be
most profitably sampled. The sw part of the site where
the refuse reaches its maximum depth of ca. 2 m. was
selected for controlled stratigraphic excavations. Sev
eral test pits revealed well-preserved boulder walls, and
a large continuous area of architecture in the NE sector
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416 Subsistence Exchange System in the Moche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski
18
18
16
"12o
86
••
••
< : > Cut 1
< : > Cut 2
- - - - ~. . . • . . . _ - , .',",
.\II,
4
V12 14
I 16
/
I
18
10
8
6
2
o 50 100 M.
N
< : > CONTROLLED CUTS
• TEST PITS
'- - SITE LIMIT
Contour lines: 2 m.
2 ,
Figure 2. Pampa Gramalote showing the location of Gramalote and the architecture and controlled Cuts 1 and 2 withinthe site.
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10M.
Figure 3. Schematic plan of the architectural complex cleared at
Gramalote.
stratum of the midden in Cut 2 at a depth of 1.66 m.
The pit was dug into the earliest stratum while the
deposition of the second stratum was in process. The
body occupied an oval pit within the refuse ca. 1.0 m. x
0.65 m. x 0.25 m. deep. The individual was male, 30 to
45 years of age, and the body lay in a flexed position
facing south with the head toward the west. Sixteen
stones were located in the northern end of the pit both
surrounding and slightly below the body. The burial
was accompanied by few artifacts: 2 gourd bowls, a jet
mirror, matting, and textiles. The jet mirror was small
(6 cm. x 5 cm. x 2 cm.), finely polished, and covered
with a thick layer of red pigment. Several layers of wo-
ven cotton textile as well as some woven bast mat-
ting had been present, but had decomposed almost
completely along with the softer parts of the body. 6
6. W. J. Conklin, "Pampa Gramalote Textiles," in Irene Emery
Roundtable on Museum Textiles 1974 Proceedings: Archaeological
Textiles, ed., P. L. Fiske (The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.
1974)77-92.
Journal ofField Archaeology/Vol. 6,1979 417
Ceramics
Of the 1,119 sherds recovered at Gramalote, 110 are
rim sherds and only 17 are decorated. Oxidized and re-
duced thin-walled (3-6 mm.) coarseware makes up 98%
of the assemblage with the remainder consisting of ox-idized and reduced fine ware. The primary vessel form
is the neckless olla, but there are also some short-neck
jars with everted rims and tall single-neck bottles.
Decoration consists of incision presented as slashes,
zoned punctation, and incised and finger-impressed
raised bands or ribs. All incision was executed on wet
clay. Low-luster, streaky burnishing is also very charac-
teristic of many sherds.
Textiles
Both twined and woven cotton textiles were dis-
covered at Gramalote along with knotted netting, cord-age, and unspun fiber.7 Woven textiles are most
numerous, but much more simply constructed than
twined examples. Virtually all are plain weave with one
example of patterned weave and two of twill. One small
piece of plain weave was colored with red paint or dust.
Gramalote twined textiles are more complex and varied
in construction and design. In one example, intricate
bands of twining are evident as part of an otherwise
plain weave textile. The fragments of knotted netting
from fishnets separates into two groups based on mesh
size and number of yarns used in construction. Large-
mesh netting has 2 to 8 yarns per element and a mesh
size ranging 0.5-1 cm. Conklin points out that the
netting from Gramalote is considerably stronger than
the other textiles because of replied, multiyarn element
construction and the use of stronger cotton in the initial
yarn manufacture.8
Worked Stone
About 80% of the more than 200 stone tools were
chipped from fine-grain basalt. All chipping was done
by the percussion method, and there is no evidence of
retouching. Cutting tools account for about one-half of
the examples while unifaeial and bifacial chopping tools
are also very common. Other less common types in-clude 6 cores, a blade, 3 denticulates, a saw, a scraper, a
cleaver, 5 planes, and 5 hammerstones. The remaining
lithic artifacts are of ground or pecked stone. These in-
clude smooth rounded cobbles that show evidence of
use for smoothing, hammering, or paint processing.
Three probable net weights were encountered: two are
7. Ibid. 77-92.
8. Ibid. 81-83.
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418 Subsistence Exchange System in the Moche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski
rounded ovals with a flat pecked band around the
widest part, and the third is a small flat oval pebble
with a hole pecked through the center. Other stone"ar-
tifacts worked by pecking, grinding, and often polishing
include a single cylindrical pestle, a stone bowl frag-ment, and a whole jet mirror plus several fragments.
Other Artifacts
Two pieces of colonial polychaete worm secretion
were abraded into conical shapes 3.9 em. and 5.4 em.
long, and each has a small hole pecked into the larger
end. The only additional artifacts are ..~ few small pieces
of cut shell (Choromytilus chorus and Protothaca thaca)
and one large whole clam shell (Semele corrugata) with
red mineral pigment thickly encrusted on its inner
surface.
Radiocarbon Dates
As part of the controlled stratigraphic excavation of
Cut 2, six carbon-14 samples were collected from the
three distinguishable strata of the midden.9 These sam-
ples were submitted to the University of Texas Radio-
carbon Laboratory, and they yielded uncorrected dates
of: 1100± 110 B.C. (Tx-1930, second stratum from sur-
face); 1120±90 B.C. (Tx-1929, third stratum from sur-
face); 1300± 120 B.C. (Tx-1929, third stratum from sur-
face); 1430±60 B.C. (Tx-1931, first stratum from sur-
face); 1580±130 B.C. (Tx-1931, first stratum from sur-
face); and 1590±80 B.C. (Tx-1930, second stratum from
surface). Though not in agreement with the strati-graphic order of the strata, the absolute dates cluster
well enough to suggest the general time period when
Gramalote was occupied.
Caballo Muerto
The Caballo Muerto complex (FIGS. 1,4) is located in
the Moche "Valley, ENE of the city of Trujillo, about 17
km. inland from the Pacific coast. The complex is com-
posed of eight platform mounds of varying architec-
tural complexity, covering an area 2 km. N-S by 1km. E-
W, and situated in the Rio Seco quebrada (dry gully)about 3 km. north of the Moche River. Seven of the
eight mounds are clustered within the southern half of
the total area of the complex while a small eighth
mound is located at the extreme north end. This last
mound, however, is connected to the rest of the com-
plex by a long, wide road.
9. S. Pozorski, "Prehistoric Subsistence Patterns and Site Economics
in the Moche Valley, Peru," unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Univer-
sity of Texas at Austin (University Microfilms, Ann Arbor 1976) 22.
A rchitecture and Chronology
Individual mound size ranges from 100 m. x 120 m. x
18 m. high to 24 m. x 25 m. x 2 m. high, though in terms
of total site area, the elaborate Huaca de los Reyes is
the largest. Each mound is large enough to have been acorporate labor structure, that is, a product of the labor
of numerous individuals working collectively under the
authority of one person or a few people. 10
Based on survey and excavation by T. Pozorski, it ap-
pears that each of the mounds has, or probably once
had, a pair of small parallel wing structures extending
out from its front face to form a large "U." The consis-
tent "U" pattern plus the large size of the mounds rela-
tive to known domestic architecture of the time period
suggest that all had a similar nondomestic function.
Within the Caballo Muerto complex, however, cer-
tain architectural features differ, thereby indicating
gradual chronological change. These features - orien-
tation, size and configuration, location relative to cer-
tain types of terrain, entry pattern, and other associated
features - were used to arrange the Caballo Muerto
mounds chronologically into three groups (TABLE 1).
Ordering within each group has been refined by correla-
tions with artifacts recovered and radiocarbon dates ob-
tained.
It should be remembered, though, that the groupings
in Table 1 indicate relative dates of the principal con-
struction for each mound. Later architectural additions
and overlap in artifact assemblages suggest extended
. use of some mounds during and after construction of others.
One of the mounds, Huaca de los Reyes, bears a large
number of clay friezes bordering its plazas. I I Friezes
have not been found at the other mounds within the
complex, but several painted wall fragments have been
recovered.
Domestic Component
No large domestic occupation areas have been found
associated with the complex despite survey and test ex-
cavations on nearby hillsides and adjacent fields. This
circumstance, however, is predictable because 1) theneighboring hills were subject to 3,000 years of subse-
quent occupation which have badly disturbed cultural
remains, and 2) the open area among the mounds has
10. M. E. Moseley, op. cit. (1975 in note 1) 79-80.
11. M. E. Moseley and L. Watanabe, op. cit . ( in note 4) 154-161; T.
Pozorski, "Huaca de los Reyes: An Early Horizon Site in the Moche
Valley, Peru," paper presented at the 74th Annual Meeting of the
American Anthropological Association (San Francisco 1975); idem,
"EI complejo de Caballo Muerto: Los frisos de barro de la Huaca de
los Reyes," Revista del Museo Nacional 41 (Museo Nacional de la
Cultura Peruana, Lima 1975) 211-252; idem, op. cit. (in note I) 63-92.
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Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 6,1979 419
, HUACA DE L OS REY ES
\""IE1ij~/\~ Q m
J
" \ ,
\ \
HUACA SAN CARLOS
.'
'~\",. ANCIENT ROAD\~
,~
\
I
)
\
\ - :P " ',, -\",0'
" :" . \• (f) ."
\ ~\~a :
(
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CO SAN LORENZO
.HUACA HEREDEROS
~ C H IC A
HUACA HEREDEROS GRANDE
O~
H U A C A G U A V A L I T O ~
HUACA CORTADA
• • • • • • • .~ ~ ~ H U A C A C U R A C A
[9 HALL OF THE NICHES~
CO LA VIRGEN
HUACA LA CRUZ
400 M.200
N
o
Figure 4. The Caballo Muerto complex showing the location of each of the component mounds.
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420 Subsistence Exchange System in the Moche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski
been buried by several meters of alluvium. The latter is
verified by our test pits into Huaca Herederos Chica
(FIG. 5) which uncovered refuse about 4 m. below the
modern ground surface.
Ceramics
Out of a total of 10,240 sherds, the majority were
found within architectural fill and wall-fall, but a sig-
nificant percentage was also associated with plastered
floor levels. Thin-walled (3-6 mm.) coarse utilitarian
ware, both oxidized and reduced, makes up the bulk of
the collection, varying from 80% to 90% of the Group I
assemblage to 65% to 70% for the later mounds. Ox-
idized and reduced fine ware constitutes the remaining
portion of the sample. Vessel forms are restricted to
neckless ollas, short-neck jars with everted rims, open
bowls with straight or everted sides, incurving bowls,
stirrup-spout bottles, and, rarely, tall single-neck bot-
tles. N eckless ollas, all made of thin-walled coarse ware,
predominate throughout the ceramic sequence, but are
especially frequent at the Group I and Group II
mounds. Bowl forms and short-neck jars are also nu-
merous and are made of both coarse and fine ware. Bottle
forms are restricted to fine ware. Incision made into wet
clay is the most common form of decoration, found in
such modes as broad-line and fine-line slashes, circular
and diagonal punctations often separated into zones by
incised lines, cross-hatching, and combing. Applique
bumps, modelling, and incised and finger-impressed
raised bands or ribs are also present. Low luster,streaky burnishing is very common, especially on
coarse-ware sherds. Occasional new modes are intro-
duced through time, but once each is part of the dec-
orative repertoire, it persists until the end of the
sequence. The most chronologically diagnostic dec-
orative trait is the use of black paint, probably made of
graphite and/or manganese. It was used both as a filler
of incised lines and for black bands and zones painted
on flat surfaces. These two techniques appear at H uaca
de los Reyes in the Group II mounds and last through
Group III.
Worked Stone
Five types of stone artifacts are also chronologically
important: jet mirrors, stone bowls, hammerstones,
smooth stones, and stone palettes. Several smooth
black jet mirror fragments were recovered from H uaca
Herederos Chica, Huaca Cortada, and Huaca de los
Reyes. Flat-topped stone bowl rims were found at
Huaca Cortada and near the road connecting H uaca de
los Reyes and Huaca San Carlos. Hammerstones, often
bearing traces of red pigment, were found at Huaca
Herederos Chica. Plain smooth stones, bearing no
evidence of red pigment and often showing no signs of
wear, but unusual because the material is foreign to the
immediate site environment, were found at Huaca
Herederos Chica and Huaca de los Reyes. The worn ex-amples may have been pottery polishers. At Huaca
Herederos Chica, a few flat stones acted as palettes or
receptacles for red pigment, and traces of the pigment
are still present on the flat sides of the stones.
Other A rti/acts
Huaca Herederos Chica produced one piece of a
large shell (A rgopecten purpura tum) that bears traces of
red pigment on its interior surface. Presumably, this
was also used as a paint palette.
TextilesThough no direct evidence of textiles was found at
Caballo Muerto because of limited preservation, im-
pressions of cloth and fiber rope were found on burned
and unburned adobe roofing fragments at Huaca
Herederos Chica, Huaca Cortada, and Huaca de los
Reyes. Examples of simple weaving and knitting are
common, but there are also examples of straight-paired
twining. Roofing fragments from other Caballo M uerto
mounds do not show any textile impressions.
Radiocarbon Dates
Supplementing the relative dating of the mound of Caballo M uerto are a number of radiocarbon samples
taken from one mound within each of the three mound
groupings.12 For Group I, two dates from the same
cultural context (FIG. 5: CUTS 1-2) are available from
Huaca Herederos Chica: 1090±60 B.C. (Tx-1937) and
1500±70 B.C. (Tx-1938). Four samples from the earlier
of two construction phases of H uaca de los Reyes
yielded dates of 850±60 B.C. (Tx-2180), 1190±60 B.C.
(Tx-1973), 1360±80 B.C. (Tx-1972), and 1730±80 B.C.
(Tx-1974). For Group III, one date from Huaca
Guavalito is 440±70 B.C. (Tx-1939). All dates are un-
corrected and are derived from samples of cane (Cailabrava, Gynerium sagitta tum) processed by the University
of Texas Radiocarbon Laboratory.
Chronological Correlations
Relative and absolute chronological evidence points
to the contemporaneity of Gramalote and the earliest
mounds of Caballo Muerto (TABLE 1). Though the
ceramic assemblage of Caballo Muerto contains more
12. T. Pozorski, op. cit. (in note 1) 112-114.
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Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 6, 1979 421
Figure 5. Plan of the Huacas Herederos showing the location of our
test pits into the Herederos Chica refuse.
Muerto. In view of the large size of Caballo Muerto
relative to Gramalote, it appears that Caballo Muerto
would have been dominant over Gramalote. Since
Gramalote contains no Cotton Preceramic component,
the establishment both of it and Caballo Muerto would presumably have been a development out of the other
Cotton Preceramic sites of the valley, Alto Salaverry
and Padre Aban (FIG. 1 ) . 14
Quantification of Subsistence Data from Gramalote and
Caballo Muerto
During analysis, plant and animal species from
Gramalote and animal species from Caballo Muerto
were identified .by Shelia and Thomas Pozorski; discrete
units such as whole shell valves and fruit stems or seeds
were counted and often measured, and the total mate-
rial for each species from a given context was weighed.
Resultant quantitative information about Gramalote
and Caballo Muerto plant and animal remains is pre-
sented in Tables 2-4. Columns 1, 2, and 3 of the tables
are simple quantitative assessments for 'each species.
The first column records the number of levels within
which each species occurred; column 2 records a count
for the species; and column 3 gives the weight of the
plant or animal material collected. These data are vital
because their internal consistency provides a check on
the uniformity of the distribution of each species within
each controlled cut and ultimately on the reliability of
assuming species proportions for one context are
typical of the site as a whole.Columns 4 and 5, on the other hand, present the
reconstructed dietary contribution of each species, first
in terms of an absolute volume, and then as a percent-
age, by volume, of the total diet. Reconstructions of
diet are difficult because of the large number of vari-
ables to be considered. The sampling and analysis of
subsistence materials, and ultimately the reconstructed
dietary proportions, were based on the assumption that
plant and animal remains within an excavated volume
occur in frequencies that are indicative of their impor-
tance to the occupants of the site. In keeping with this,
a methodology was designed which served to evaluate
as nearly as possible only those remains within the sam- ple volume in terms of their dietary contribution.
Counts were most important in the final quantification
procedure to arrive at amounts meaningful for com-
parison. For plants, parts such as stems or seeds could
be related directly to an average fruit food volume, us-
ing an expanded and slightly revised version of the
procedure described by MacN eish for vegetal material
14. S. Pozorski, op. cit. (in note 9) 17-24; T. Pozorski, op. cit. (in
note 1) 194.
75 M.5025o
\\\
". . . . •
Contour lines: 2 m.
.------- --------.-,------- .
CHICA
N.
GRANDE
variety in terms of decoration and form, all of the
ceramics from Gramalote fall within the range of varia-
tion of the Caballo Muerto material and in most cases
are indistinguishable from it. Other artifact remains
such as jet mirrors, stone bowls, hammerstones, smooth
stones, stone and shell paint palettes, and textiles sup-
port the argument for, contemporaneity. Especially
significant are the textiles because 1) Caballo Muerto
provides the first documented evidence for the simul-
taneous use of twined and woven textile at an inland
site, and 2) twined textiles occur with woven textiles in
an early ceramic context at the two sites, providing ad-ditional evidence that twining is not confined ex-
clusively to a Cotton Preceramic context.13 Radiocar-
bon dates generally agree also, indicating a time period
of 1500-1100 B.C. for the concurrent existence of
Gramalote and the earliest four mounds of Caballo
13. E. P. Lanning, op. cit. (in note 2) 80, Ill; G. R. Willey, Intro-
duction to American Archaeology, Vol. 2, South America (Prentice-
Hall, New Jersey 1971) 107; M. E. Moseley and L. K. Barrett,
"Change in Preceramic Twined Textiles from the Central Peruvian
Coast," AmAnt 34 (1969) 162-165.
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422 Subsistence Exchange System in the Moche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski
Table 2. Gramalote animal remains.
Number
or
levels Meat % or
where Weight volume meat
Species present MNI ingms. in cu. cm. diet
Mollusks
Scutalus sp. 12 9 + 18.0 +(land snail)
Choromytilus chorus 20 167 4530.0 8325.0 7.1
(purple mussel, choro)
Semimytilus algosus 19 308 415.0 308.0 +(thin-shelled mussel)
Brachidontes purpuratus + + +(small striated mussel)
Protothaca thaca 20 800 8520.0 15990.0 13.6
(large clam)
Eurhomalea rufa 20 92 2420.0 3660.0 3.1
(large clam)Petricola rugosa 17 22 12.5 11.0 +(borer)
Donax peruvian us 20 106 170.0 53.0 +(tide zone clam)
Gariet solida 19 65 335.0 1710.0 1.5
(large clam)
Tagelus dombeii 6 4 7.5 20.0 +(razor clam)
Semele corrugata 20 503 8277.5 30180.0 25.7
(large clam)
Phola chiloensis 6 2.5 + +(angel wing)
Fissurella sp. 19 18 257.5 180.0 +(limpet)
Tegula atra 20 1243 4297.5 1243.0 1.1
(gastropod)
Turbo niger 20 925 1155.0 925.0 +(gastropod)
Crepidula dilatata 19 65 17.5 81.3 +(slipper shell)
Polin ices cr. cora 11 20 7.5 10.0 +(gastropod)
Sinum cymba 2.5 + +(gastropod)
Thais chocolata 20 96 765.0 192.0 +(gastropod)
Thais delessertiana 20 435 1150.0 652.5 +(gastropod)
Cantharus cr. inca 20 162 172.5 + +(gastropod)
Nassarius gayi 20 163 40.0(gastropod)
Olivella columellaris +(gastropod)
Mitra orientalis 12 17 20.0 8.5 +(gastropod)
Chiton (2 species) 19 110 57.5 1100.0 +
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Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 6,1979 423
Table 2. (continued).
Number
of
levels Meat % of
where Weight volume meat
Species present MNI ingms. in cu. cm. diet
U nident. shell 20 1405.0
Crustaceans
Platyanthus orbignii 20 297 1505.0 5935.0 5.1
(purple crab, congrejo)
Balanus tintinnabulum 20 1464 1247.5
(barnacle)
Echinoderms
Tetrapygus niger 20 122.5 + +(sea urchin, erizo)
AscidiansAscidian 17 1149.0 1149.0 1.0
(sea squirt)
Fish
Mustelus sp. 18 2 865.0 6688.0 5.7
(sand shark, tollo)
Rhinobatos planiceps 13 40.0 712.5 +(guitarfish, guitarra)
Myliobatis peruvianus 9 2.5 639.0 +(ray, raya)
Paralonchurus peruanus 13 5.0 387.5 +(croaker, roncador)
Sciaena gilberti 9 4 90.0 777.0 +(croaker, corvina)
Sciaena deliciosa 12 4 + 643.5 +(croaker, lorna)
Genypterus maculatus + 21.5 +(eel, congrio)
Unident. fish 19 25.0 625.0 +
Birds
Pelecanus sp. 2 22.5 192.0 +(pelican)
U nident. bird 18 505.0 7070.0 6.0
MammalsMisc. rodent 1 +Otaria byronia 7 280.0 8694.0 7.4
(sea lion, lobo del mar)
U nident. mammal 16 537.5 19081.3 16.3
Total 117282.6 93.6%
Combined values for percentages
less than 1% 6.4
100.0%
MNI· = Minimum number of individuals
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424 Subsistence Exchange System in the Moche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski
from Tehuacan.15 Similarly, whole shells, gastropod
whorls, or bivalve hinges of mollusks and claws of crabs
could be correlated with an average meat volume for
each species that was experimentally determined by the
authors. Instead of using evaluations only of minimum
number of individuals, which are often abused,16 meat-
volume contributions for vertebrates were assessed in
terms of the number of diagnostic skeletal elements
actually present in the excavated sample compared to
the expected number of diagnostic skeletal elements.
Based on the average meat volume for a given ver-
tebrate species and the number of diagnostic (archaeo-
logical meaningful) skeletal elements, it was possible to
calculate an average meat volume per diagnostic
skeletal element which could be dealt with independent
of the minimum-number-of-individuals count to give a
more accurate reconstruction of the meat volume repre-
sented by an excavated bone sample. After values for plant and animal food volumes for each species had
been calculated, each was expressed as a percentage of
the plant or animal diet. 17
Gramalote Subsistence Data
A quantitative analysis of the plant and animal
remains from Cut 2 in the Gramalote midden provides
evidence of the subsistence activities at the site. The
results are presented in Tables 2 and 3.
Animals Utilized at Gramalote
All the animal protein consumed at Gramalotederived ultimately from the nearby ocean (TABLE 2).
Clearly, the major subsistence activity at Gramalote in-
volved the procurement and processing of shellfish. Vir-
tually all the species identified at Gramalote were also
collected by the inhabitants of Padre Aban (FIG. 1) who
occupied the region at an earlier date. IS Such coin-
cidences document the consistent localization of many
shellfish species within restricted areas along the coast.
Efficient shellfish procurement systems were in op-
eration at Gramalote. Most of the highly visible and
easily accessible species of clams, gastropods, and es-
pecially mussels were taken by persons based at the site.
Shellfish gatherers from Gramalote, however, were the
15. R. S. MacNeish, "A Summary of the Subsistence," in Envir-
onment and Subsistence, The Prehistory of the Tehuacan Valley 1, ed.,
D. S. Byers (University of Texas Press, Austin and London 1967)
290-309.
16. D. Grayson, "On the Methodology of Faunal Analysis," AmAnt
38 (1973) 432-439.
17. S. Pozorski, O pe cit. (in note 9) 55-69.
18. Ibid. 73-76.
first people in the valley also to systematically collect
the deeper burrowing clams (Protothaca thaca, Eurho-
malea rufa, Semele corrugata, and Gariet solida), which
supply more meat per individual than all but the large
mussel (Choromytilus chorus) of the more accessible
species. It appears that once a method was established
for taking these large mollusks efficiently, procurement
activities focused on shellfish collection.
Specimens of the large mussel (C. chorus) recovered
from the Gramalote refuse were usually large adult
individuals, and some were affected by parasites. Very
few juveniles were recorded. This suggests that the peo-
ple of Gramalote were exploiting beds of old individ-
uals which had not recently been depleted or destroyed
as a result of human or environmental factors.
Large mussels and large clam species, as well as many
gastropods, had been bashed open in a consistent man-
ner to extract the meat. Unnatural, but consistent frac-ture patterns producing breaks at right angles were
noted near the hinges of bivalves, and chunks of whorl
sections had been chopped away to facilitate access to
retracted gastropods. Such shell cracking could have
been performed easily using a beach cobble. Dead or
cooked shellfish are easily opened; the species taken
near Gramalote, therefore, were probably cracked and
eaten while still fresh and raw. A number of whole or
nearly whole large mussel valves were extremely worn
along the posterior margin from use as simple scrapers.
In addition to mollusk shells, large numbers of as-
cidian tests (leathery outer coverings) were recovered
from the refuse. These animals were easily accessible,
attached to tide-zone rocks, and the soft internal parts
were apparently eaten raw, much as sea urchins are
consumed. This same species was identified in the field
as a tunicate by Moseleyl9 who, along with Thomas
Patterson, found them in large quantites in early sites
along the central Peruvian coast. 20
At Gramalote, less than 10% of the total meat protein
was derived from fish (Table 2): shark (Mustelus sp.)
provided more meat than all other fish species com-
bined. Rays (Myliobatis peruvianus), guitarfish (Rhino-
batos planiceps), and three members of the croaker
family (Sciaena gilberti, S. deliciosa, and Paralonchurus peruanus) were also represented. Of this group, the three
non-bony fishes and mullet (Mugil cephalus) frequent
shallow water near shore, and the members of the
croaker family are occasionally also caught there.21
19. Personal communication.
20. M. E. Moseley, O pe cit. (1975 in note 1) 25.
21. B. Evermann and L. Radcliffe, The Fishes of the West Coast of
Peru and the Titicaca Basin, Smithsonian Institution, United States
National Museum Bulletin 95 (1917); S. Hildebrand, A Descriptive
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Fishing implements recov'ered during excavations in-
lude three stone net sinkers (two grooved and one per-
orated) and several small-mesh and large-mesh cotton
net fragments. Fishing, therefore, was probably done
using both simple small-mesh haul seines and large-
mesh gill nets staked out in shallow water.
A selection of bird bones from Gramalote was iden-
ified by Elizabeth Wing.22 Cormorants (Phalacrocorax
p.) appear to be the most common, but bones of a gull
Laridae) and a single penguin (Spheniscus sp.) were
lso identified. The' relatively high proportion of bird
emains suggests that cormorants were locally abundant
nd may have had rookeries in the area.
The only mammal of dietary significance was the sea
ion (Otaria byronia) which was taken and consumed in
quantity representing just over 7% of the meat diet.
The only other mammal remains were occasional nearly
omplete skeletons of rats and mice which wereprobably attracted to the decaying garbage.
Plants Utilized at Gramalote
Plant cultivation was not possible in the vicinity of
Gramalote. The site's location well away from the
Moche River in combination with surrounding terrain
rregularities precludes local canal irrigation. There is
o evidence of sunken garden cultivation in the area;
he site lies on a Pleistocene terrace at an elevation that
would make excavation to ground water very difficult. 23
herefore the plants utilized at Gramalote wereecessarily cultivated and brought to the site from areas
f the valley where agriculture was possible.
Plant cultigens present at Gramalote are numerous
and varied. These include cotton (Gossypium barba-
dense), gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), squash (Cucurbita
p.), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), pepper
Capsicum sp.), avocado (Persea americana), cansaboca
a plum-like fruit) (Bunchosia armeniaca), and lucuma
Lucuma obovata), which have been identified at one
Cotton Preceramic site in the valley, plus corn (Zea
Catalog of the Shore Fishes of Peru, Smithsonian Institution, United
States National Museum Bulletin 189 (1946).
22. Personal communication.
23. All known sunken gardens in the Moche Valley date to the Late
ntermediate Period (1000-1476 A.C). See M. E. Moseley, "Assessing
he Archaeological Significance of Mahamaes," AmAnt 34 (1969)
485-487. These gardens and associated sites occupy land that was
newly formed during a 4-6 m. uplift resulting from tectonic move-
ment during the early part of the Early Intermediate Period (400 B.C:·
600 A.C). See S. Pozorski and T. Pozorski, "Alto Salaverry: Sitio
Precenimico de la costa peruana," Revista del Museo Nacional 43
Museo Nacional de la Cultura Peruana, Lima 1977) 27-60.
Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 6, 1979 425
mays) and peanut (A rachis hypogaea) which are new ad-
ditions to the plant inventory.
In .keeping with data from earlier sites,24 cotton,
gourds, and squash continued to be abundant, but food
species other than squash were also present in substan-
tial amounts (TABLE 3). Lucuma, avocado, the common
bean, and pepper had become especially important ele-
ments in the vegetable diet. Corn was still very scarce:
only two cobs and a single husk fragment were
recovered from the entire site, indicating it was not yet
an important food plant.
Local.1y available Tillandsia sp. and grass were the
most common' wild plants, and much of the Tillandsia
sp. was burned as fuel. From the river, cane (Gynerium
sagittatum) was brought in substantial quantities, and
totora (Scirpus tatora) reeds in lesser amounts. Algor-
roba (Prosopis chilensis) seeds are present, but rare.
Ca ba llo Muerto Subsistence Da ta
Most of the subsistence data from Caballo Muerto
come from three test pits excavated by Thomas Poz-
orskPs within Huaca Herederos Chica (FIG. 5), one of
the earliest mounds of the Caballo M uerto sequence.
Cut 1 measured 1.65 m. x 1.45 m. x 6.50 m. deep, Cut 2
was 1.30 m. x 1.20 m. x 8.20 m. deep, and Cut 4 was
1.70 cm. x 1.0 cm. x 7.0 m. deep. These excavations en-
countered a one-meter thick band of refuse ca. 4 m.
below the modern ground surface. Apparently this liv-ing surface, in use when Caballo Muerto was occupied,
had been covered by alluvium over a period of many
centuries. The local domestic component, therefore, is
inaccessible and much specific contextual information
for the refuse is lacking. Finally, no plant remains are
preserved because the area has been kept moist by
prehistoric and modern irrigation.
Within the complex, the mound of Herederos Chica
yielded enough faunal remains to apply the quantitative
methodology used at other Moche Valley sites and to
make extensive comparisons.26 The period when this
mound was used has been shown to be contemporary
with the occupation of Gramalote on the coast. In view
of these factors, with respect to Caballo M uerto, the
evaluation of Initial Period and Early Horizon sub-
sistence will focus on this Herederos faunal material.
Relevant data from other mounds within the complex
are used where possible.
24. S. Pozorski, Ope cit. (in note 9) 76-78, 84-86.
25. T. Pozorski, Ope cit. (in note 1) 19-21.
26. S. Pozorski, Ope cit. (in note 9) 100.
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426 Subsistence Exchange System in the Moche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski
Table 3. Gramalote plant remains.
Number
of
levels Food % of
where Seed Weight volume plant
Species present count ingms. in cu. cm. diet
Cultivated
Zea mays + + + +(maize, ma(z)
A rachis hypogaea 19 27.5 97.5 1.2
(peanut, mam)
Phaseolus vulgaris 13 40 pods + 80.0 +(common bean, frljol)
Gossypium barbadense 19 102 +(cotton, algond6n)
Capsicum sp. 12 17 stems + 340.0 4.0
(pepper, ajz)
Cucurbita sp. 18 298 12.5 5000.0 59.3
(squash, calabaza) 5 stems Lagenaria siceraria 18 26 15.0
(gourd, mate)
Persea americana 6 5 5.0 625.0 7.4
(avocado, palta)
Bunchosia armeniaca 9 10 + 100.0 1.2
(cansaboca)
Lucuma obovata 14 18 2.5 2187.5 25.9
(/ucuma)
Wild
U nident. algae 12 15.0
Gynerium sagitta tum 20 67.5
(cane, cana brava)
Scirpus tatora 6 +(totora)
Tillandsia sp. 20 112.5
(achupalla)
Prosopis chilensis 2 2 +(algorroba)
Mixed fibrous species 20 102.5
Total 8430.0 99.0%
Combined values for percentages
less than 1% 1.0
100.0%
Animals Utilized at Caballo Muerto
At Caballo Muerto, for the first time in the Moche
Valley sequence, land mammals figure significantly in
the faunal inventory (TABLE 4). Marine resources, how-
ever, continue to be slightly more important. The
unique combination of local and imported coastal
faunal resources used by the people of Caballo M uerto
makes the site especially important in an investigation
of changing subsistence patterns.
Marine shellfish, mainly mollusks, were the largest
single source of animal protein in the Herederos sample
(TABLE 4). They constituted over 50% of the meat
volume consumed at Herederos and thus establish a
firm link between the inland complex and the coast
Their abundance suggests that they represent the
marine resource in greatest demand during at least the
earliest period of the Caballo Muerto occupation.
Shellfish were recovered in substantial quantities from
all the mounds, indicating that they persisted as an im
portant part of the diet as long as the complex was occupied.
Major meat-producing species include the large
mussel (C. chorus), and three large clams (P. thaca, E
rufa, and S. corrugata). Other bivalves and gastropods
are present, but their total dietary contribution i
minor. The range of species identified from Caballo
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Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 6, 1979 427
Table 4. Caballo Muerto Huaca
Herederos Chica animal remains
from Cuts 1 and 2.
+
+
+
+
+
+
17.6
15.4
21.9
% of
meat
diet
1.0
6.5
17.0
35.0
49.5
42.0
1457.8
1666.0
850.0
9471.6
460.0 4.9
220.0 2.3
15.8 +
2430.0 25.7
20.0 +
16.0 +
4.0 +
2.5 +
2.0 +
1.5 +
+ +
100.0 1.1
2075.0
Meat
volume
in cu. em.
+
+
2.5
20.0
Weight
ingms.1
9.0
97.9%
2.1
100.0%
IWeight not available for most species
2
1
5
2
2
2
4
6
7
16
2 2
23
32
21
41
42
MNI
2
1
7
8
2
2
2
6
2
6
10
14
1 2
15
23
32
38
18
2 6
3 3
Number
of
levels
where
present
MNI = Minimum number of individuals
Species
Mollusks
Scutalus sp.
(land snail)
Choromytilus chorus
(purple mussel, choro)
Semimytilus algosus
(thin-shelled mussel)
Brachidontes purpuratus
(small striated mussel)
A rgopecten purpuratum
(scallop)
Protothaca thaca
(large clam)
Eurhomalea rufa(large clam)
Donax peruvianus
(tide zone clam)
Semele corrugata
(large clam)
Fissurella sp.
(limpet)
Tegula astra
(gastropod)
Turbo niger
(gastropod)
Crepidula dilatata
(slipper shell)
Polinices cf. cora
(gastropod)
Thais delessertiana
(gastropod)
Chiton (2 species)
Crustaceans
Platyanthus orbignii
(purple crab, congrejo)
Balanus tintinnabulum
(barnacle)
Fish
Sciaena deliciosa
(croaker, lorna)
BirdsU nident. bird
Mammals
Misc. rodent
Canis fam ilia ris
(dog)
Lama glama (?)
(llama)
Odocoileus virginianus (?) 4
(deer, venado)
U nident. mammal
Total
C<?mbined values for percentages less than 1%
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428 Subsistence Exchange System in the M oche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski
Muerto correlates well with the species inventories of
Gramalote and the nearby Cotton Preceramic site of
Padre Aban. This indicates that the Caballo Muerto
shellfish were also collected in the vicinity of Huan-
chaco Bay.
A large number of shells from Scutalus sp., a local
land snail, was identified in the Caballo Muerto mate-
rial. These animals are common upvalley in areas of
sparse vegetation and in small lomas (fog vegetation)
areas where they generally may be found adhering to
rocks and shrubs. Although not a major meat-produc-
ing item,. the frequency of Scutalus in the Caballo
Muerto sample suggests that they were collected for
food.
Both birds and fish were very minor elements in the
faunal inventory (TABLE 4). They are important, how-
ever, as further evidence of connections between
Caballo Muerto and the seacoast.In the material from Herederos, almost 20% of the
total meat volume (TABLE 4) was supplied by deer
(probably Odocoileus virginianus). Upvalley and near
the river in the area of Caballo Muerto, wild plants
were probably sufficiently dense to provide food and
protection for a small population of these animals. The
only other bone identified as deer came from Huaca
Cortada, another mound in the earliest group. The ab-
sence of deer at the later mounds suggests that the small
population of deer which local vegetation could have
supported was hunted to near extinction or largely dis- .
placed by land alteration for agriculture early in the
history of the complex.
One of the camelids, probably the domesticated
llama (Lama glama), supplied a slightly smaller volume
of meat than deer. Relying on data from 25 sites in the
Peruvian and Ecuadorian sierra, Wing has suggested
that camelids may have been domesticated as early as
4400 to 3150 B.C., and by 1000 B.C. domesticated forms
were fully developed. Her evaluation of the very early
sample, which comes from Pikimachay Cave in the
Ayacucho Valley, is based on the presence of two sizes
which parallel modern camelid varieties, the relative
abundance of the remains, and the high proportion of
juvenile individuals of approximately 18 months whichwere butchered during the highland dry season when
charqui (sun-dried meat) is usually made.27 By 1000 B.C.,
data from several sites document increased size and
variability among the camelid remains.28 These data
27. E. S. Wing, "The Origins of Agriculture: Animal Domestication
in the Andes," IXth International Congress of Anthropological and
Ethnological Sciences (1973) 11-12.
28. E. S. Wing, "Utilization of Animal Resources in the Andes,"
report submitted to the National Science Foundation (1973) 6.
suggest that the camelid identified at Caballo M uerto
was probably initially introduced into the Moche Valley
from the sierra in a domesticated form.
In addition to their value as food, llamas might also
have served a ceremonial function, supplied medium
quality wool, and served as beasts of burden. Camelid
remains were also identified from Huaca Cortada,
Huaca de los Reyes, Huaca la Cruz, and Huaca Guav-
alito. The continuous presence of these animals suggests
that, unlike deer, camelids persisted as a meat source
throughout the duration of the Caballo Muerto occupa-
tion.
Four of the total bones identified as camelid and two
of the bones identified as deer showed evidence of cuts
made during the process of butchering. Marks occur on
rib heads, thoracic vertebrae, and a tarsal bone. The
sample is too small to suggest a pattern, but all the cuts
probably resulted from efforts to disarticulate theskeleton.
The only other land mammal of potential food value
was the dog (Canis familiaris), but in the case of
Caballo Muerto, the amount of meat represented is in-
significant. Rodent skeletons representing one mouse
and two rats are probably from animals attracted to the
refuse.
The single marine mammal of economic significance
is the sea lion. Only the excavations at H uaca Cortada
and Huaca la Cruz yielded bones of this animal. The in-
frequency of its occurrence plus the time difference be-
tween the mounds where remains were found argue
against the sea lion as an important food animal. It is
important, however, as further evidence of continued
coastal contact.
Plants Utilized at Caballo Muerto
No securely dated food plant material was preserved
in the Caballo Muerto complex. Evidence for plant
cultivation, therefore, is necessarily indirect. The varied
species inventories for Gramalote and earlier sites in-
dicate that techniques of plant cultivation were well-
developed by late Cotton Preceramic and Initial Period
times within the Moche Valley. At least a comparable
collection of skills and species can be assumed for theCaballo Muerto area. More specifically, the variety and
relative quanities of plants identified for Gramalote are
probably good indications of the species utilized within
Caballo Muerto.
The principal argument for an agricultural base for
the Caballo Muerto complex is its inland location.
Though floodplain agriculture undoubtedly did exist in
Cotton Preceramic and Initial Period times, agricultural
expansion beyond the narrow limits of the normal
floodplain would have been impossible without irriga-
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tion because of the nature of the Peruvian desert coast.
The shift inland to the valley neck, therefore, is best un-
derstood in terms of the positioning of canal intakes.
Caballo Muerto is located at the point where the
gradient of the land is sufficiently steep so that only
short canals are needed to water relatively large tractsof land. To irrigate land close to the river mouth would
require canals of much greater length which would also
be more difficult to maintain because of the shallower
land gradient.
No canals dating to the time of the Caballo Muerto
complex are extant, but two modern canals, the Moro
and the Vichansao, which generally follow the contours
of ancient river terraces, have their intakes at the valley
neck and irrigate land adjacent to the complex.
Presumably, short canals roughly following the routes
of these modern canals were in use in the Initial Period
and Early Horizon. The close proximity of CaballoMuerto to the canals and their intakes is logical with
respect to both initial construction and subsequent
canal maintenance.
The establishment of the center implies a con-
siderable population, which has been estimated at
about 120029 based on the area potentially under culti-
vation and the labor necessary for mound construction.
Initial Period and Early Horizon Subsistence
General trends in subsistence during Initial Period
and Early Horizon times can only be properly evaluated
by considering data from both Gramalote and CaballoMuerto as complementary parts of a complex economic
system. As an isolated site, Gramalote can be sum-
marized as a marine-oriented site where 1) shellfish
procurement was extremely systematic and 2) several
food plants equalled industrial species in importance
among the cultigens. Caballo Muerto stands alone as an
inland mound group where 1) animal protein was sup-
plied by contributions from both marine and inland
sources and 2) increasingly efficient and productive
irrigation agricultural systems were in operation.
Viewed together, the sites emerge as two parts of an
economic unit: one with an inland agricultural focus
and one with a coastal marine focus.Assuming that the location of Caballo Muerto was
predicated on water control, the move inland repre-
sented by the peopling of the Caballo Muerto area
reflects a change in subsistence priorities. During the
Cotton Preceramic, the coastal location of the Moche
29. T. Pozorski, op. cit. (in note 1) 133-134; idem, "The Early
Horizon Site of Huaca de los Reyes: Societal Implications," AmAnt
(1980, in press).
Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 6,1979 429
Valley sites, Padre Aban and Alto Salaverry (FIG. I)
could be correlated with the marine subsistence focus of
each site.30 In contrast, the location of Caballo Muerto
reflects an emphasis on inland procurement systems, es-
pecially irrigation agriculture, and a corresponding de-
emphasis of marine products.
Using data from Padre Aban and Alto Salaverry, it
has been argued elsewhere31 that plant cultivation dur-
ing the Cotton Preceramic focused on two industrial
plants, cotton and gourd. To people without pottery
and with a marine focus, gourd containers and floats
and cotton net and cord would have been extremely im-
portant - more important than plant food since animal
protein was so readily available. As a result, people
viewed plant cultivation essentially as a means for ob-
taining necessary raw materials. It is suggested that the
cultivated plant inventory of Alto Salaverry represents
the result of such an emphasis on industrial plants whencultivation was limited both spatially and seasonally to
the small Moche Valley floodplain. Despite great species
variability, the quantity of food plants grown at
Alto Salaverry remained small because most of the
limited land area was devoted to cotton and gourd
production.By Initial Period times, areas of coastal desert were
opened to agriculture year-round through irrigation;
and the control and maintenance of these early irriga-
tion systems necessitated relocation inland near canals
and irrigated fields. With potentially vast areas open to
continuous cultivation, crop restrictions that were in
operation earlier on the floodplain were no longer appli-
cable. The increased quantity and relative frequency
of cultivated plants used by the people of Gramalote
compared to earlier sites indicate that they are the
product of irrigation agriculture near sites in the
Caballo Muerto area, many of which may now be
largely destroyed or deeply buried.
An increase in plant-seed size when Cotton Prece-
ramie and Initial Period samples are compared may
also be correlated with certain features of irrigation
agriculture. Average length and width measurements
for seeds from Cotton Preceramic sites were compared
with similar data from Gramalote for two plant species:squash and gourd.32 These are the only plants for which
even a small number of measurable seeds was-available
and measurements were significant. The best evidence
for seed-size increase comes from squash and secondly
from gourd. A comparison of samples for the two
30. s. Pozorski, op. cit. (in note 9) 87-91.
31. Ibid. 90-91.
32. Ibid. 108-109.
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430 Subsistence Exchange System in the M oche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski
periods reveals that the Initial Period squash material is
significantly (over 10%) larger. Taken together, gourd
and squash seed-size averages are larger in Initial
Period material, suggesting a trend that may be signifi-
cant. This increase in seed size is probably largely a
result of the regular and adequate water supply thatirrigation provided. Annuals like gourd and squash
grown on the floodplain received no additional water
after the seasonal flooding had subsided, and under
such unfavorable conditions plant growth and develop-
ment were retarded. With an irrigation system and
regular schedule, cultigens received adequate water and
therefore attained their full potential size.
For the inhabitants of Caballo Muerto, an inland
location meant settlement at some distance from the
abundant marine resources - resources which were tra-
ditionally considered the most stable and most abun-
dant. Certainly through the earliest· phase and possiblyduring the entire occupation, the inhabitants of Caballo
Muerto continued to rely heavily on marine products.
While the irrigated inland fields were supplying both
Caballo Muerto locally and Gramalote on the coast
with cultivated plant food and products, the marine
products collected in the area of H uanchaco Bay were
supplying all the animal protein consumed at Grama-
lote and well over half the protein volume consumed
during the earliest phase when Caballo Muerto was oc-
cupied. The collection of shellfish by the people of
Gramalote to supply the inland group is documented by
the large proportion of marine-derived species in the
faunal portion of the inland diet. The dominant species
at Caballo Muerto are the same species that were the
focus of the efficient Gramalote procurement system.
The specific orientation of this procurement system plus
the narrow range of non-subsistence site activities at
Gramalote suggest that the site might have been a sub-
sidiary or even a colony established to insure a con-
tinuous supply of marine products for the inland com-
plex.
Within Caballo Muerto, data from Huaca Herederos
Chica reveal that the marine protein supplied by
Gramalote was supplemented by meat from local in-
land sources. Local alternatives to the large-scale im- portation of marine protein were apparently being ex-
plored.
Deer contributed a substantial amount at first, but
these animals were probably soon severely depleted in
the Caballo Muerto area. More important are the
domesticated camelids which appear for the first time in
the Caballo Muerto material. The use of camelids as
food is an important feature of the Caballo Muerto
subsistence pattern because such large domesticated
animals can potentially provide a stable protein source
for inland people that is as reliable as shellfish.
In summary, Initial Period subsistence in the Moche
Valley is marked by the establishment of inland settle-
ments correlated with canal irrigation systems. Despite
the change in subsistence priorities implied by an
agricultural rather than a marine emphasis, the inland population continued to rely heavily on coastal food
products. Marine animal protein was supplied by a
coastal population of shellfish collectors in exchange
for industrial and food-plant products from the irri-
gated areas. Supplemental meat for inland sites from
deer and domesticated camelids revealed that other
animal protein sources were also being exploited.
Examples from Other North Coast Valleys
Subsistence data for early ceramic sites come largelyfrom coastal settlements. On the north coast, Huaca
Prieta, Huaca Negra, and Las Haldas have Initial
Period and Early Horizon as well as Cotton Preceramic
components. Like the Moche Valley, the north coast
valleys from Jequetepeque to Casma contain Initial
Period and Early Horizon sites located inland, pre-
sumably to manage newly developed irrigation
systems.33 These sites include Limoncarro and Monte
Grande in the Jequetepeque Valley; Jaguay in the
Chicama Valley; H uaca el Gallo and Huaca la Gallina
in the Viru Valley; Tanguche34 in the Santa Valley;
Cerro Blanco, Punkuri, and PV31-37 in the N epena
Valley; and Sechin Alto, Taukachi and Konkan, Cerro
Sechin, PalIka, La Cantina, Moxeke, and Pampa de las
Llamas in the Casma Valley. Unfortunately, subsistence
evidence is not available for these inland centers.
The Initial Period and Early Horizon deposits at
Huaca Prieta in the Chicama Valley and Huaca Negra
in the Viru Valley contain large proportions of shellfish
and fish, and at Huaca Negra the shellfish are mainly
restricted to a few large species.35 There is no indication
of a dependence on land mammals for any of the
animal protein at either site, but four burials of domes-
33. T. Pozorski, op. cit. (in note 1)282-283.
34. P. Kosok, Life, Land and Water in Ancient Peru (New York 1965)
194.
35. W. C. Bennett and J. B. Bird, Andean Culture History (American
Museum of Natural History, New York 1949); J. B. Bird, "Prece-
ramic Cultures in Chicama and Viru," in A Reappraisal of Peruvian
Archaeology, Society for American Archaeology, Memoir 4 (1948) 21-
28; W. D. Strong and C. Evans, Cultural Stratigraphy in the Viru
Valley, Northern Peru, Columbia University Studies in Archaeology
and Ethnology 4 (Columbia University Press, New York 1952)23-41.
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ticated llamas were recorded at the Temple of the
Llamas near Huaca Negra.36
Almost no plant remains were preserved at H uaca
Negra, but the inventory for Initial Period and Early
Horizon levels at Huaca Prieta is both varied and abun-
dant.
The Initial Period-Early Horizon component at the
coastal site of Las Haldas south of the Casma Valley
merits special mention. The magnitude of the early
ceramic occupation was not recognized by earlier
visitors to the site who tended to exaggerate the impor-
tance of the Cotton Preceramic component. 37 Subse-
quent excavations, however, indicate that the artificial
mouJ).ds and other architecture were built during the In-
itial Period occupation of the area.38 Marine animals,
especially shellfish, are extremely common - much
more so than in earlier Cotton Preceramic refuse,39 and the authors have noted many concentrations of
predominantly one species of shellfish. Upper ceramic
levels defined by Fung40 as Early Horizon contained
significantly fewer shellfish species, but many netting
fragments, suggesting increased emphasis on fishing in
preference to shellfish collecting.
Plant remains from the Las Haldas Initial Period and
Early Horizon phases are rare, but varied, and include
several non-industrial species such as maize, avocado,
and peanut. 41
As this brief evaluation indicates, subsistence data
from other coastal and inland early ceramic sites are
rare or nonexistent, thus making it difficult to assess
other sets of sites in terms of the economic symbiosis
documented here for Caballo M uerto and Gramalote.
There are features of each of the sites, however, that fit
well with the Gramalote-Caballo M uerto model. First,
although all specific data are from coastal sites, we
know that potentially complementary inland sites are
present in Chicama, Viru, and Casma as well as other
north coast valleys. The analogous location of these
36. W. D. Strong and C. Evans, op. cit. (in note 30) 29-31.
37. E. P. Lanning, op. cit. (in note 2) 63-64, 91; M. E. Moseley, op.
cit. (1975 in note 1) 60-62, 107.
38. R. Fung, Las Aldas: ubieacion dentro del proeeso historieo del
Peru antiguo, Dedalo 5, No. 9-10 (Museu de Arte e Arqueologia, Uni-
versidade de Sao Paulo, 1969) 60; T. Grieder, "A Dated Sequence of
Building and Pottery at Las Haldas," NPaeha 13 (Institute of Andean
Studies, Berkeley 1975) 99-112; T. Matsuzawa, "The Formative Site
of Las Haldas, Peru: Architecture, Chronology, and Economy,"
translated by I. Shimada, AmAnt 43 (1978) 652-673.
39. Fung, op. cit. (in note 38) 59-60.
40. Ibid. 195.
41. Ibid. 59-60, 195.
Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol. 6,1979 431
sites at the optimum point in each valley for con-
structing short and efficient irrigation canals argues for
irrigation agriculture of the type suggested for Caballo
M uerto. Second, the plant species documented for the
early coastal sites are generally varied and occasionally
abundant. Huaca Prieta plants, especially maize, would
seem too abundant to be grown locally, and Las Haldas
is over 30 km. from the nearest land suitable for even
floodwater farming. Such data point to a non-local and
probably inland source for plants used at these coastal
sites.
At Huaca Prieta, Huaca Negra, and Las Haldas, all
animal food is marine-derived, although camelid re-
mains are present near Huaca Negra. Subsistence activ-
ities at each site apparently focused on a few large
shellfish species, many of which were also common at
Gramalote. The apparent change from intensive shell-fish collecting to predominantly fishing at Las Haldas
may be indicative of further specialization of a different
type. Thus, it would seem that these coastal sites were
well-equipped to supply inland sites with marine
products. The camelids at H uaca Negra are the earliest
documented at a North Coast site, and they may have
been furnished from an inland center for ceremonial use
in the temple.
The elaborate non-domestic architecture of Las
Haldas at first appears incongruous when the site is
compared with early ceramic components at the other
coastal sites considered. The Initial Period and Early
Horizon inland sites in Casma, the valley nearest to Las
Haldas, however, are also much larger, more numerous,
and more elaborate than examples in any other North
Coast valley. 42 Thus, the Las Haldas-inland Casma set
of sites is best seen as a much magnified version of the
Caballo Muerto-Gramalote economic unit documented
for Moche.
In conclusion, it would seem that both of the key
features defined for Gramalote are present in one or
more of the coastal sites from which data are available.
These include evidence of 1) selective and intensive
shellfish procurement activities and 2) varied and abun-
dant plant remains which could not be supplied by localfloodwater cultivation. In contrast, the only aspect of
inland sites which makes them comparable to Caballo
M uerto is their inland location. What are lacking are
42. D. Collier, "Archaeological Investigations in the Casma Valley,
Peru," in 34th International Congress of Amerieanists (Vienna 1962)
411-417; T. Pozorski, op. cit. (in note 1) 270-272; J. C. Tello,
Arqueologfa del Valle de Casma, Culturas: Chavfn, Santa 0 Huaylas
Yunga y sub-Chimu, Vol. 1 (Universidad de San Marcos, Lima 1956)
32-83; D. Thompson, "Formative Period Architecture in the Casma
Valley, Peru," in 35th International Congress of Amerieanists Vol. 1
(1964) 205-212.
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432 Subsistence Exchange System in the Moche Valley, Peru/ Pozorski and Pozorski
critical subsistence data from these inland sites whichI
should confirm the interdependence of doastal and in-
land early ceramic sites during the transition to irriga-
tion agriculture.43
43. We w ould li ke t o thank B ett ina R osenberg, M ar y E li zabeth
Becker, and especially William and Barbara Conklin for their work
with the Gramalote textiles. S. Stillman Berry identified the shells in
our type collection used in the shell analysis. Figures 1, 2, 4, and 5
were drawn by J aphet Rosell, and Figure 3 is by Genaro Barr.
Shelia Pozorski is a research associate of the Section of
Man at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. She
received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin
in 1976. Archaeological fieldwork in Peru since 1970 has
included excavations at Chan Chan, the M oche Pyramids,
Galindo, and several smal,!r sites within the M oche Valley.
Thomas Pozorski, a 1976 Ph.D. from the University of
Texas at A ustin, is Assistant Curator of the Section of
Man at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. He
has worked in Arkansas (1969) and in Peru since 1970.
Past investigations include excavation at Chan Chan, the
Moche Pyramids, and Caballo Muerto in the Moche
Valley, Peru. Shelia and Thomas Pozorski are currently
co-directing study of prehistoric irrigation in the same
valley.