Domestic architecture from the Late Archaic south-central Andean site of Jiskairumoko

Excavations at Jiskairumoko in the south-central Andes have produced the discovery of semi-subterranean domestic architecture. These structures, dating to the Archaic Period and forming the site’s basal occupation, are the first evidence for pithouse dwellings in the Andean highlands. We provide a detailed description of this new architectural tradition employing sub-surface remote sensing and GIS based intra-site spatial analysis of features from multiple excavation blocks. Results are contextualied within the broader framework of ethnoarchaeological research on intra-site spatial analysis as well as with respect to what is currently known about the changing social and physical environment of the south-central Andean Archaic.