INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY Nancy White - Touro Institute

What is the maritime hypothesis? It is the idea that
sedentary, year-round, large-scale settlement and the
development of complex society is possible without
agriculture in coastal areas such as western Peru,
where the resources are plentiful and dependable.
Mike Moseley, of the University of Florida, developed
this hypothesis to explain the foundations of
civilization in Peru. We have certainly seen early
sedentism before in this class, even 4,000 years ago on
the south Florida coast. But here the argument is that it
can lead to even more complex developments.
How does evidence at the site of El Paraíso relate to this hypothesis? A major center on the
desert coast, this site arose some 4,000 years ago during the preceramic period (before the
introduction of pottery). Recent excavations have confirmed a dependence upon seafood, but
there was also agriculture, especially of the industrial crop cotton. Beautiful cotton textiles, cloth,
nets, etc., have been preserved in this exceedingly dry desert. Most of the food plants were wild,
so the debate continues whether people would have needed farming to support the large
population base. Meanwhile another argument against the near-total dependence upon the sea is
that the periodic El Niño weather, which involves a warm current that kills off many species,
would have made it impossible. Not mentioned in the text (p. 371) is that Moseley obtained
evidence that during the times of El Niño, people just harvested different species that were not
affected or that were more abundant.
What is the Chavín horizon? Named after
the type site
of Chavín de Huántar, this is the Early Horizon culture
that may represent the earliest civilization, though
most archaeologists now think it is not a single culture
but demonstrates participation in a widespread
ideological and possibly economic system. In both
coastal and Andean areas, temple and plaza complexes
and stone and pottery crafts are adorned with motifs
that combine stylized geometric renderings with
figures of jaguars, caymans (lizards), and other
animals (many which live in the jungle!). The dating
of Chavín to the last millennium before Christ and the
emphasis upon jaguar and other such images suggests at least indirect connections with the
Olmec in Mesoamerica. On the desert coast this horizon style is manifested in the Paracas
culture, famous for its preserved colorful textiles which show the same artistic designs.