Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 January 2017
The viru valley Project of 1946 was undertaken as an intensive and integrated study focusing the research of a number of anthropologists on the problems of a single, relatively small valley on the north coast of Peru. The ideal of the project was an analysis of the cultural history and prehistory of the Viru Valley from the time of earliest human occupation to the present. The final reports of the participants are now beginning to appear (Ford and Willey, 1949; Ford, 1949; Bennett, 1950) and these document the very substantial success of the project.
The author is indebted to John H. Rowe for guidance and criticism in the preparation of this paper. Appreciation is also expressed to Alex D. Krieger, A. L. Kroeber, T. D. McCown and Gordon R. Willey for many helpful suggestions.