ANDEAN PAST - Latin American Studies Program - Cornell University

ANDEANPAST 6 (2000)yet been recovered at the site to suggest thatmaize was an integral component of the diet ofthe inhabitants. This absence is common tomany coastal Initial Period sites (Burger1985).Only a small number of squash seeds wererecovered, suggestingthe presenceofthiswidelyused cultigen (Vasquez et al. 1995). Thus, atthis point there is no evidence that anyonestaple crop supported Guafiape Phase popula~tions.The dentition of many of the burials pro~vides indirect evidence of a varied diet andarguesagainst reliance on a staple. John Verano(1996) noted that there were fewdental cariesin the sample of individuals examined. Suchcaries are generally associated with diets basedon single staples, such as maize, and becomeespeciallyprevalent in later coastalpopulations,such as the Moche and Chimu. Their absencehere suggests that the occupants were makinguse of a wide variety of foodstuffs. The analysisof the teeth also suggested that much of thismaterial wasground on stone mortars. Many ofthe teeth were extremely worn, suggestingconsumption of a gritty diet. In summary,it islikelythat the Guaiiape Phase populationof theupper valley was made up of farmerswho grewthe majorityof their necessitiesand accessedtherest through valley'wide trade in foodstUffs.However, until site occupations can be corre~lated with agricultural works and domesticrefuse, the evidence for this interpretation islargelyindirect.ChronologyThe ceramic material recovered indicatesthat Huaca EI Gallo/La Gallina is a MiddleGuafiape site and dates to the Initial Period.There is no evidence of Chavin~influencediconography. Artifacts diagno~ticof the EarlyHorizon, such as stone blades and panpipes, areabsent. The pottery assemblage is made upprimarilyof poorlyfirednecklessollas(pots) andstraight~sided bowls, often marked with fire,clouds. The clay is highly porous and friablearid has large inclusions. Decoration is limitedto finger,pressed and incised applique ribsgenerally attached horizontally at the vesselshoulder (Figure3 a, b). No instance of verticalribs wasfound at the site. The decorated sherdsrecovered conform to the Guaiiape Finger~pressed and Guaiiape Incised Rib varietiesidentified by the original Viru Valley Projectfrom their collections at Huaca Negra. A sIIiallnumber of modeled, Guafiape Punctate, andZoned,Punctate sherdswere alsorecovered,andtheir quantity as well as diversity of decorationincrease with time (Figure3 c, d; c.f. Strong andEvans 1952:207). Anc6n decorated sherds(Fine and Broad,Line Incised) were only recov~ered frompost~occupationalcontexts, generallylooted graves. Other diagnostic Guaiiape arti~facts recovered included the stone mortar andpesde from a burial (Zoubek 1998a; 1998b;1998c; 1998d), stone spindle whorls, and a jetniliror fragment recovered bylootersfromthe EIGallo pyramid. .The Huaca EIGallo pyramidOne of the goalsof the 1994fieldseasonwasto make an accurate map of the site. Duringthecourseof the mapping, the decisionwasmadetoclear the middle of the eastern face of the EIGallo pyramid of accumulated rubble that hadresulted from the collapse of the tiers of thepyramid and massive looter activity on thesummit. The reason for clarifyingthis area ofpublic architecture was to facilitate bettercomparisons between this site and that of thepresumably contemporary Huaca Los Reyesinthe Moche Valley. Both sites are located incomparable areas in up,valley quebradas.The EIGallo pyramid measures 68 m (N,S)x 95 m (E,W) and is the largest mound in theHuacapongo Basin (Figure 2 a, Figure 4). Likemany Initial Period pyramids,EIGallo facestheupstream source of water, the HuacapongoRiver. The mound lies230 m east of LaGallina.Like EI Gallo, the La Gallina pyramidisstone~coveredand rectangular, measuring38 mwide (E~W)and 61 m long (N~S),but it differs