UCSB Anthropology Brown Bag Lecture Series Presents:

Early Intermediate Period Households on the South Coast of Peru: Excavations at Marcaya, an Early Nasca Domestic Site

By Kevin Vaughn

During 1997 and 1998 excavations were conducted by the author at Marcaya, an Early Nasca domestic site located in the Tierras Blancas tributary of the Nasca river. Calibrated radiocarbon dates and ceramics recovered at the site suggest that it had a relatively short occupation concentrated mostly during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. Marcaya is one hectare in size and consists of approximately 18 patio groups composed of houses and patios, or activity areas. Because the site was occupied during a relatively brief time period and since each patio group has the requisite components to sustain a single domestic unit, in this research patio groups were proposed to represent households. Thus, horizontal excavations were conducted at Marcaya to evaluate variability among the households in terms of artifact assemblages, quantity of exotic goods, activity areas, architectural quality, and spatial organization. Preliminary analysis of data collected suggest that the variability between households at Marcaya is relatively low. Nearly all households analyzed participated in daily, domestic tasks such as the preparation and consumption of food, the spinning of raw wool fiber, and appeared to be subsumed within a shared "pan-Nasca" belief system that is manifest in a form of localized household ritual. The brown bag will focus on findings and the most recent interpretations of the excavations.



Tuesday October 13, 1998; 12:30 p.m.
HSSB 2001A, The Anthropology Conference Room

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