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Economic Models, Ethnoarchaeology, and Early Pastoralism in the High Sierra of the South Central Andes

TitleEconomic Models, Ethnoarchaeology, and Early Pastoralism in the High Sierra of the South Central Andes
Publication TypeThesis
Year of Publication1990
AuthorsKuznar, L. A.
Academic DepartmentAnthropology
Number of Pages479
UniversityNorthwestern University
CityEvanston, IL
Thesis TypePh. D. Dissertation
AbstractThe domestication of food resources and the development of cultural complexity are two of the most important developments in the evolution of society. The domestication of South American camelids in the Andean highlands preceded economic specialization, sedentism, and political complexity. These developments become evident during the Initial Period (3000 BP), and have antecedents during the Late Archaic Period (6000-4000 BP). The archaeology of the Terminal Late Archaic levels (4500 BP) of the site of Asana were investigated in the hopes of shedding light on these developments in the south central Andean high sierra. An ethnoarchaeological survey of contemporary Andean pastoralists was conducted, and criteria which define pastoral sites archaeologically were obtained. These criteria were employed to identify the Terminal Late Archaic levels of Asana as a pastoral camp. Botanical and ethnographic studies were conducted to obtain a thorough knowledge of how pastoralists use the high sierra, and what limitations and hazards exist for Andean pastoralists. This information was used to develop mathematical models of pastoral activity which predict herd sizes and compositions. General utility theory and dynamic stochastic programming were employed to model the risk adverse utility of pastoralists, the growth potential of herds, and the effects of hazards in pastoral decision making. These models predicted the behavior of contemporary pastoralists accurately, and were used to formulate models of prehistoric adaptations to the high sierra. The settlement/subsistence system which existed during the Terminal Late Archaic period at Asana was reconstructed with the methodological framework described above. Asana was inhabited by a pastoral family and their herd of llamas during the dry season. The herd was raised for meat production, and this meat was transported away from the site and traded with people from other environmental production zones. This suggests that the process of economic specialization characteristic of Andean economies was well underway 4500 years ago. The results of this research imply that the domestication of animals is a response to decreasing foraging territory size, and conflict over resources.