The coastal plains of the States of Paraná and Santa Catarina, in Southern Brazil, were first settled around 6000 B.P. by shellmound builders, a successful fisher-hunter-gatherer population that inhabited the coastal lowlands practically unchanged for almost five thousand years. Shellmounds were typically occupied as residential sites as well as cemeteries, andare usually associated with rich alimentary zones. Around 1200 B.P., the first evidence of ceramics brought from the interior is found in coastal areas, and together with ceramics there is a progressive abandonment of shellmound construction in favor of flat and shallow sites. Here we consider if these changes were reflected in the postmarital residence practice of coastal groups, i.e., if the arrival or intensification of contact with groups from the interior resulted in changes in this aspect of social structure among the coastal groups. To test the postmarital residence practice we analyzed within-group variability ratios between males and females, following previous studies on the topic, and between-group correlations between Mahalanobis distances and geographic distances. The results suggest that in the pre-ceramic series a matrilocal, postmarital residential system predominated, while in the ceramic period there was a shift toward patrilocality. This favors the hypothesis that the changes experienced by coastal groups after 1200 B.P. affected not only their economy and material culture, but important aspects of their sociopolitical organization as well.

The archaeological site of Galindo, located in the Moche Valley, is one of the most important Late Moche (ca. A. D. 600—800) centers on the North Coast of Peru. The site was once thought to have been occupied only after the nearby Huacas de Moche, the paramount Middle Moche (ca. A. D. 300–600) center in the valley, was abandoned. Recent radiocarbon dates from the Huacas de Moche, however, indicate that it continued to be occupied well into the eighth century A. D. This paper presents data on the occupational history of Galindo recently obtained during the Galindo Archaeological Project (GAP). These data, along with similar data from the Huacas de Moche, present a new understanding of the occupational history of the Moche Valley during the first half of the Middle Horizon (A.D. 600–1000).

The lower Ica Valley on the hyperarid south coast of Peru is today largely depopulated and bereft of cultivation, yet its extensive archaeological remains attest to substantial prehispanic populations. This paper describes archaeological investigations to retrace changes in geomorphology, ecology, and land-use in Samaca, one of the riparian oasis basins of the lower Río lea, with the aim of investigating when, how, and why such changes took place. Archaeological interpretations of culture change in the region often invoke the impacts of major ENSO perturbations (El Niño). While our investigations confirm that major El Niño events around the end of the Early Intermediate Period likely offer part of the explanation for marked landscape change in the Samaca Basin, we also demonstrate the significance of more gradual, human-induced destruction of Prosopis pallida (huarango) riparian dry-forest. Huarango is a remarkable leguminous hardwood that lives for over a millennium and provides forage, fuel, and food. Moreover, it plays a crucial role in integrating fragile desert ecosystems, enhancing soil fertility and moisture, and accomplishing desalination and microclimatic amelioration. We propose that south coast valleys remained densely forested well into the Early Intermediate Period, attenuating the impact of El Niño events and supporting hitherto underappreciated agroforestry adaptations. Gradual deforestation eventually crossed an environmental threshold: river and wind erosion increased dramatically and precipitated radical desertification, feeding back into cultural changes in the Middle Horizon. Thus we argue Prosopis-human ecological relationships merit proper recognition in our archaeological interpretations of the south coast of Peru.

Se estudia la diferenciación temporal y la divergencia genética entre los períodos Formativo (300 a.C–400 d.C), Tiwanaku (400 d.C–1000 d.C.) y Desarrollo Regional (1000 d.C–1470 d.C.) del grupo inhumado en el ayllu de Quitor de San Pedro de Atacama (Norte de Chile), con el fin de conocer si existen cambios biológicos asociados con los períodos o fases del desarrollo cultural de la región. La muestra está representada por 326 individuos provenientes de diferentes sitios o sectores del yacimiento. Para evaluar las diferencias fenotípicas entre períodos se emplearon 37 caracteres métricos del cráneo y un conjunto de procedimientos de análisis estadístico uni y multivariado. En el marco de la teoría genética de los caracteres cuantitativos se espera que el parentesco de cada período junto con la varianza fenotípica, fluctúen de acuerdo con el tamaño efectivo y el aporte migratorio desde regiones próximas y más o menos distantes. En efecto, el parentesco promedio estimado para este ayllu (FST) fue de .03, siendo mayor en mujeres que en hombres. En general, de acuerdo con este valor es posible inferir que los habitantes de Quitor vivieron en una condición de mayor aislamiento que los grupos agroalfareros asentados en el Valle de Azapa (FST = .013). Además en el período Medio (Tiwanaku) se produjo un incremento moderado de la varianza fenotípica producida probablemente por un exceso de flujo gènico proveniente de regiones próximas.

The emergence of the Triple Alliance empire and the consolidation of political power in the Basin of Mexico is traditionally associated with a high level of economic integration achieved through regional market exchange. Although researchers debate whether the market system was dominated by commercial factors or political forces, the assumption that the pax azteca led to a single, basin-wide exchange system is not generally challenged. Yet an increasing number of stylistic and compositional analyses indicate that significant regional subdivisions existed within the Aztec core, although the spatial scale, nature, and significance of these systems remains poorly understood. This study contributes to the body of evidence suggesting that economic divisions existed under the Triple Alliance, by presenting spatial patterning in Aztec Red Wares (guinda or rojo pulido) ceramics. By combining both stylistic and compositional analyses of this ceramic ware, it is possible to demonstrate both the strength of economic divisions as well as map their boundaries for a significant portion of the Basin. The regional patterns in artifact distribution highlighted in this and prior studies underscore the complexity of exchange interactions that evolved under Aztec rule and which must be explained by future models of the Aztec market system.

Some Caribbean archaeologists have assumed that the individuals buried beneath the central plazas of Saladoid sites in Puerto Rico lived in those villages during their lives. They interpret these central place burials as providing immediate access to the ancestors during ceremonies performed in this public space. The central plaza is viewed as the axis mundi, and through ancestor veneration the dead were called upon to intercede with the gods on behalf of the living. However, cross-cultural studies indicate that burial practices often are determined by descent, and those clan members whose postmarital residence was in communities other than their clan villages often were returned to their clan village for burial. It is argued here that central place burials do not reflect ancestor veneration, but rather social solidarity among widely scattered villages.