Chipped Stone Technology and Agricultural Households in the Moche Valley, Peru

Chipped Stone Technology and Agricultural Households in the Moche Valley, Peru Public Deposited

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Creator

Surridge, Evan William
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Anthropology

Abstract

Stone tool technology has received little attention in the study of complex societies in the Andes, as archaeologists have focused heavily on elite crafts and architecture. Such tools, however, offer an important means of assessing the labor roles of particular social groups. This thesis examines lithic assemblages dating to the Early Intermediate Period (ca. 400 BC - AD 600) from Peru's middle Moche Valley and assesses variability in elite domestic economies. During an occupation of the valley by highland colonists, elite households were intensely involved in agricultural labor, as evidenced by high discard rates of stone hoes. These households may also have produced surplus tools for exchange. By the Middle Moche phase, middle valley elites and their retainers were only marginally involved in agricultural labor. Instead, their domestic economies focused on mobilizing the labor of other households through the redistribution of crafts and foodstuffs such as chicha.

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