Site Type: Logistical Camps
Based primarily on the distribution of diagnostic projectile points and associated environmental data in the Maymeja area, it appears that "logistical camps" are prevalent in the settlement organization of the Chivay source area during the Archaic. Foragers likely visited the Maymeja area as an embedded strategy, combining obsidian procurement with hunting as the high relief area and talus boulders shelter a relative abundance of wildlife. Today, hunters visit the area to shoot viscacha, and a small population of vicuñaare occasionally seen in the area.
Site size estimates for logistical camps were not included in this portion of the study because all of these sites are multicomponent and, in most cases, obsidian scatter sizes more accurately reflect later periods with greater intensification of production.
|
Logistical |
Logistical Campss |
All Data |
All Data |
All data in B1m - Archaic Sitesm |
|
|
No. |
6 |
137 |
|||
|
Altitude (masl) |
4723.8 |
286 |
4806.8 |
215.1 |
-83 |
|
Slope (degrees) |
13.15 |
3.3 |
11.5 |
5.9 |
+1.65 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
NW (83%) |
NW (45%), W (18%), SW (16%) |
|||
|
Visibility/Exposure |
8.5 |
7.1 |
15.1 |
11.9 |
-6.6 |
|
Dist. to Bofedal (m) |
257.7 |
223 |
219.7 |
275.3 |
+38 |
Table 6-20. Environmental characteristics of potentially Archaic Foragers logistical camps in Block 1.
The sites identified as possible Archaic Foragers logistical camps in this study are, on average, lower in elevation because the sample is small and one site in the low portion of Quebrada de los Molinos pulls down the average elevation. The sites are on slightly steeper slopes and they are predominantly on slopes with a northwest aspect at roughly twice the rate of the entire dataset of archaeological features in Block 1. The pattern of settlement location that prioritizes steeper slopes with a northwest aspect would ensure the maximum of afternoon sun and therefore higher temperatures. The viewshed analysis indicates that these locations are slightly lower visibility and exposure than is typical in the Block, although the standard deviation on these measures is quite high. Finally, the logistical camps are slightly further from bofedales than is typical in the Block 1.
The land-use patterns of these six potential logistical camps in the obsidian source area are consistent with models of forager behavior (Kelly 1992). In these models, access to water is not a top priority, as short stays at dry camps are common. Expedient shelters were probably used at these obsidian source logistical camps due to relatively high mobility and short stays. According to this locational model, places with higher ambient temperature would have been a top priority for logistical camps because of the generally cold environment and the limited built shelter offered in logistical camp construction. These settlements contrast with the later pastoralist settlement pattern that prioritizes access to pasture and water for the herd. It is sometimes difficult to differentiate small forager logistical camps from the common small pastoralist camps that were encountered on the tops of moraines and other exposed locations that have commanding views of bofedales where the herd was presumably grazing through much of the day.
However, as is apparent in Figure 6-7, only one pre-pastoralist projectile point style [A03-184] was identified on these exposed moraine sites in the center of the Maymeja zone, and this point was located relatively close to the obsidian exposures at 4900 masl. The point was found at an area later used by pastoralists (with good views of bofedales to the north and south), the site had no other features consistent with forager logistical sites in the area, and therefore it was not interpreted as such.
A03-580 "Molinos 2" [A03-580 - A03-586]
The lowest elevation site in Block 1 is "Molinos 2" [A03-580], at 4216 masl. It is located below a large breccia boulder that came to rest on a terrace on the south bank of Quebrada de los Molinos. The site is located along the principal trail that climbs up Molinos from the town of Chivay. The north side of the boulder serves as a small rock shelter with the following dimensions: width 5.5m, depth 2.1m, height 0.8m. The site has been bisected by a stream that has become heavily incised from torrential runoff events, perhaps most recently from the El Niño - Southern Oscillation of 1997-1998. The effect of this runoff on the archaeological site is twofold. First, the rock shelter has been filled in with debris, as is visible in Figure 6-9a, and the overall dimensions of the rock shelter have been greatly reduced as it was probably higher and perhaps deeper prior to the infilling. Second, the downcutting of the stream has revealed hundreds of flakes of obsidian and chert in profile in the terrace below (Figure 6-9b).
(a)
(b)
Figure 6-9. (a) Small rock shelter at "Molinos 2" [A03-580] is filled with debris from heavy runoff. (b) A density of flakes, predominantly of obsidian, are found in profile in the flood channel.
This site appears to have represented a regular travel stop between the obsidian source and the main Colca valley below. Projectile point evidence from the Early and Middle Archaic are relatively scarce elsewhere in the lower elevation portions of the survey, although 7% of the projectile points recovered during the Block 3 (Callalli) survey were characterized as Early and Middle Archaic. Steven Wernke's (2003: 541-542) survey in the main Colca valley found evidence of Early and Middle Archaic occupation at twelve sites in the form of diagnostic projectile points, and only one site (YA66) was below an altitude of 4000 masl.
A03-536 "Mamacocha 3" and A03-556 "Mamacocha 5"
These two sites share the characteristics of being located on lateral moraines that parallel the east-west direction of the Molinos drainage. Lithic scatters associated with large blocks of tuff that serve as small rock shelters are the principal features of these sites. A broken (longitudinally snapped) Middle Archaic 3e projectile point [A03-539.25] was found in one of these moraine sites; interestingly this point was made of andesite and was the only non-obsidian artifact found in this cluster of sites. A Late Archaic 3f obsidian point was also found in this area. Corral features and ceramics were identified here as well, indicating that the sites are multicomponent.
Figure 6-10. Lithic scatters are associated with shelter provided by large boulders located along moraines [A03-539]. One surveyor that is visible in blue provides scale.
The occupation of these sites was likely related to the use of resources in the upper Quebrada de los Molinos valley, although the moraines are not an obvious place for site locations. The sloping moraines are far from level and there is little open space between boulder, however the sites are probably located on these moraines due to factors that include insolation on these north-west trending moraines, the availability of water descending from Maymeja and the flanks of Hornillo, and the shelter offered by the large boulders.
A03-291 "Hornillo 9"
This high altitude site consists of an obsidian scatter that parallels a lava flow that trends northwest-southeast. The scatter is located in the sheltered area below the flow on ashy soil and while water is not presently available in this area, the site is level, it is relatively sheltered, and insolation is high.
Figure 6-11. Obsidian scatters were found on benches along the base of these viscous lava flows at 5040 masl [A03-291].
This site, and a neighboring site 70m downslope [A03-295] consist of obsidian scatters in areas sheltered by lava flows and the sites are adjacent to the lowest cost route out of the Maymeja area. The "Camino Hornillo" road [A03-268], described elsewhere, passes only 60m south-east of this area but, interestingly, no diagnostic artifacts were found that might connect these sites with the road. The only diagnostic artifact found at this site is A03-292, a possible 3b Middle Archaic projectile point with incomplete scar coverage made of clear Ob1 obsidian. At 5040 masl this projectile point represents the highest altitude diagnostic artifact found in the course of the survey. In some ways it is unsurprising that the only diagnostic point found at this site is from a time that predates camelid domestication: the camp offers no water or grazing and it would make little sense for herders to camp in this location when ample water and grazing opportunities lie on either end of Camino Hornillo.
A03-163 "Maymeja 4"
As shown in Figure 6-7, several diagnostic projectile points were found to the south-west of Maymeja. This access to the Maymeja area follows a trail that descends the lava flows from the western plateau of Cerro Hornillo. This trail is one of the most direct routes between the heavily traveled Escalera corridor to the south (in the Block 4 survey zone) and Maymeja. Just below the rim of the western plateau an obsidian scatter was found, along with one obsidian 3d projectile point [A03-124]; 3d is a style that is only diagnostic to the Archaic Period, generally.
At A03-255, another site approximately 500m to the south and on the broad rim of the Cerro Hornillo western plateau, another diagnostic obsidian projectile [A03-260] was found along with a number of ceramics. This area was a minor egress to the Maymeja area and perhaps was used by groups that were primarily interested in exploiting the bofedal in the lower part of Maymeja, and then crossing over to the Escalera area. It is also worth noting that the Camino Hornillo road [a03-268], along with a 4f Terminal Archaic projectile point [a03-266] were found just 500m east of here, but these features are interpreted as belonging to the Early Agropastoralist period described later.