Maney Publishing

The First Field Season of Excavations at the Alto del Molino Site, Pisco Valley, Peru
Author(s): Helaine Silverman
Source: Journal of Field Archaeology, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Winter, 1997), pp. 441-457
Published by: Maney Publishing
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/530676 .
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 441

The First Field Season of Excavations at

the Alto del Molino Site, Pisco Valley,Peru

Helaine Silverman
Universityof Illinoisat Urbana-Champaign
Urbana,Illinois

Little archaeologicalfieldwork has been conductedin the Pisco Valleyon the south coast of
Peru and Piscohas long been regardedas inconsequentialin the cultural dynamics of
the region'sprehistory.Yeta critical review of the literature and, especially,the resultsof
recent excavations at the Alto del Molino site reveal that Piscoplayed an important role
in the developmentof social complexityon the south coastat the end of the Early Horizon
(ca. 300-1 B.C.)through the early Early Intermediate Period (ca. A.C.1-300). ThePisco
Valleyis part of the larger context of thegreat cemeteriesof the nearby,desolateParacas
Peninsula and the valley contributesto our understanding of thoseelaboratemortuary
phenomena. In addition, a major regional culture called Carmenflourished in Piscofol-
lowing the abandonment of the Paracas cemeteriesand contemporaryPisco Valleysites.
Carmen is contemporarywith early Nasca culture of the Ica and Nazca valleysto the
south and is clearly related to that socialformation. The major Carmen occupationat
Alto del Molino providesimportant data for examining the nature of Carmen-Nasca
interaction.

Introduction New data from excavationsin spring 1994 at Alto del

The Pisco Valley on the south coast of Peru (FIG. 1) has
long been regarded as inconsequential in the dynamics of
south coast prehistory. It is dwarfed by the rich agricultural
land and architectural monuments of the dual-river Chin-
cha Valley immediately north. Artistically, Pisco is over-
shadowed by the succession of iconographically complex
polychrome styles in the Ica Valley, due south. Indeed,
Lanning (1960) considered Pisco so culturally derivative
that he treated its early pottery styles in a chapter entitled
"Chincha." This dismissive assessment of Pisco is particu-
larly evident in Menzel's (1971: 149-150) synthesis of
south coast culture history:
There never was an epoch during which Pisco was inde-
pendent or contributedvery originalideas. Throughout its
history Pisco always was a cultural province, whether of Ica
or Chincha. . . . it was fed by the prestige system of Ica-
Nazca. . . . in the epoch of the Toparnitradition . . . Pisco
completely aligned itself with Chincha. . . . in the cultural
world of the south coast . . . [Pisco] had no alliance other
than that of its own liking. (my translation)
No hubo nunca una ?poca en la cual el valle de Pisco fuera
independienteo contribuyera conideasmuyoriginales.A traves
desu historia,Piscoful siempreuna provinciacultural,yafuera
de Ica o de Chincha. . .. se aliment6 del sistema de prestigio de
Ica-Nasca. ... en la ?pocade la tradici6n Topara, . . . Pisco se
pas6 completamente al lado de Chincha. ... del mundo cul-
tural de la costa sur . .. [Pisco] no tenia otra alianza que la
de propiogusto. (original text)
Molino, a site in the lower Pisco Valley(FIG.i), however,
show that Pisco playedan importantrole in the cultural
trajectoryof the south coast, specifically,in the late Early
Horizon throughearlyEarlyIntermediatePeriod(ca. 300
B.C.-A.C.300), when regional societies of the Paracas,
and
Toparai, Nascaculturaltraditionsflourishedand inter-
acted (Silverman1991). This block of time is subdivided
into smallerperiodscalled"Epochs"basedon the ceramic
phasesidentifiedin the varioussouth coastvalleys;the Ica
Valleyanchorsthe relativechronologyshown in Figure2
(Lanning1960; Menzel, Rowe, and Dawson 1964; Rowe
1962; Wallace1985, 1986).
Previous Research in Pisco
Verylittle archaeologicalfieldworkhas been conducted
in Pisco. For the periods consideredin this article,there
were only threeinvestigationspriorto the author'sproject.
In 1955 Engel (1957) casuallyexploredthe upper Pisco
Valley,locatinglate Paracasand earlyNascapotteryon the
surfaceof severalsmallhabitationsites and in three tombs
on the hillsidesnearthe greatIncaadministrative centerof
Tambo Colorado (Lanning 196Q: 423-425; Wallace
1985). Wallace's(1971, 1986; see also Lanning 1960:
390-428; Menzel 1971) 1957-1958 survey of Cafiete,
Chincha, and Pisco was largely concerned with estab-
lishinga ceramicsequencethroughdefinitionandseriation

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442 Excavations at Alto del Molino, Peru/Silverman

Quebrada * R.
CAFIETE

Jahuay G0

pSPERU
Cabeza *Chongos Lima
Larga Alto del Molino
south coast

Cerro
Colorado

Paracas cI
Peninsula Q.

de NAZCA .

PACIFIC co
OCEAN

0 25 50 75 100 0

km

Figure 1. Map of south coast showinglocationof Alto del Molino and the majorsites and valleys
mentionedin the article.

of pottery styles. In 1985, Peters (1987-1988: 33) exca-
vated at Pachinga (possibly previously identified by Wal-
lace), which she identified as a Chongos-phase mound.
Soon thereafter she conducted salvage excavations at the
Chongos type-site, an important, large, late Paracas
through Chongos-phase settlement that had been men-
tioned in the literature several times with different names
(e.g., Lanning 1960: 428; Pezzia 1969: 35-48, 53; Wal-
lace 1971: 92, 96) but had not been investigated.
The paucity of data on Pisco's Early Horizon and Early
Intermediate Period occupations prompted the author,
Ruben Garcia Soto, Fernando Herrera, and Bernardino
Ojeda to visit published lower Pisco Valley sites in the
summer of 1993, preparatory to formulating a major re-
search program. We became particularlyinterested in sev-
eral mounds located at Alto del Molino, just outside the
modern port town of Pisco, because surface pottery indi-
cated occupation during the periods of interest to us.
Setting and Recent History of Alto del Molino
Alto del Molino is the traditional name of the area
(Castillo Negr6n 1947: 255-257) in which the archae-
ological site is located. The site is about two kilometers
from the Pisco River and approximately four kilometers
from the Pacific Ocean. It sits some three meters above the
valley floor on a terrace on the south side of the river.The

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 Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol.24, 1997 443

Cafiete Chincha Pisco Paracas Upper Lower Nazca Period Absolute dates
sites Ica Ica Valleys chronology (estimated)

Carmen Carmen Carmenand Nasca 4 Nasca 4 Nasca 4 EIP4 A.C.300 - 400

Nasca 4

Carmen Carmen Carmenand Carmen Nasca 3 Nasca 3 Nasca 3 EIP3 A.C.200 - 300
Nasca 3

QuebradaB Campana
QuebradaA Campana Campana Campana and Nasca 2 Nasca 2 Nasca 2 EIP2 A.C. 100 - 200

Chongos B Chongos B Topardand

Chongos A Chongos A Chongos A Chongos Nasca 1 Nasca 1 Nasca 1 EIP 1 A.C. 1- 100

Jahuay 3 Jahuay 3 Jahuay 3 Ocucaje 10 Ocucaje10 Ocucaje 10 Ocucaje 10

and Jahuay 3 and Jahuay3 and Tajo EH 10 100 - 1 B.C.

Jahuay2B Jahuay2B Jahuay2B Ocucaje9 Ocucaje9 Ocucaje9 Ocucaje9

Jahuay2A Jahuay 2A Jahuay2A and Jahuay2 and Tajo EH9 200 - 100 B.C.

Jahuay 1 Jahuay 1 Jahuay 1 Paracas style Ocucaje8 Ocucaje 8 Ocucaje8

and Pinta/ and Pinta/ and Tajo EH8 300 - 200 B.C.
Paracas Paracas
style style

Figure 2. Chronological chart for the late Early Horizon (EH) through early Early Intermediate
Period (EIP) on the south coast of Peru, based on ceramic styles and their constituent phases.

site is composed of six mounds or huacas (FIG.3), some of
which had been recorded individually by Wallace (1971).
There may have been more mounds in the past that have
been destroyed by agriculturaland urban expansion.
The site is traversed by a grassy depression that is fed by
filtration from a high water table (FIG.3) and drains into a
large, dry, roughly circular depression (FIG. 4) that local
informants identify as a former freshwaterlake, said to have
dried up some thirty years ago. South of Alto del Molino,
around Hediondo, is a large marshy area. The marshes and
lake would have provided important raw industrial materi-
als to the Precolumbian inhabitants of this area such as
reeds for basketry as well as wild food resources such as fish
and birds.
In this century Alto del Molino has been successively
and increasingly damaged by road construction, the expan-
sion of industrialized farming and, most recently, the con-
struction of an industrial park of the same name. Some 52
ha, or about 60% of Alto del Molino's approximately 88
ha, lie within that industrial park. In September 1993, just
after our reconnaissance in the lower Pisco Valley was
completed, Huacas 1 and 4, the largest and smallest
mounds at Alto del Molino, respectively, were levelled by
bulldozers from the industrial park and Huacas 2 and 3
were threatened with imminent destruction. Mechanized
land-levelling also disturbed pristine refuse deposits and
traces of walls between the mounds. This situation
prompted Fernando Herrera, supervisor of cultural patri-
mony in the Department of Ica office of the National
Institute of Culture (INC), and the author to carry out a
salvage project before all potential data were lost.
Excavations at Alto del Molino
Three areas of Alto del Molino were excavated in spring
1994. I excavated at Huaca 2 to show the owners of the
industrial park that the mound was archaeological, not
natural, as they claimed, and to determine the mound's
construction history. Huaca 2 is the focus of the present
article. Herrera excavated beneath the surface of the bull-
dozed Huaca 1 in order to assess the damage that had been
done there and reconstruct the missing archaeological
information. Both of us excavated test pits to determine
the nature and extent of prehispanic occupation at the site.
Recording of the excavations employed the Harris Ma-
trix. The term "Context" (always written capitalized) was
used for all excavated strata, features (e.g., burials, caches,
hearths, postholes, depressions, etc.) and architecture
(e.g., walls, floors, construction fills). Every Context re-
ceived a unique arabicnumeral. All earth was screened and
artifactsseparatelybagged and labeled by materialcategory
and Context number. Artifactual analysis is proceeding at
present.
Huaca 2: The Sub-Huaca Occupation
Today Huaca 2 (Santa Fe) measures approximately
100 m x 50 m and is 4.5 m high. Survey and excavation
indicate that this is the central one-third of the original
mound. Excavations were conducted on the south side of

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444 Excavationsat Alto del Molino, Peru/Silverman

huaca

E Z area
archaeological

It areaof waterfiltration
depressed
:-] modemhouses
L• ronceros.

UU cultivated area

I i7 ] walledindustriallots
_ --- dirtroad

- canal

Huamani - Huca 5 ...

4
HHuaua

Huaca 1

wall fragment

large broken 6
utilitarianvessel achmga -luaca
Huaca 3 :

to Panamerican Highway
PISCO
to
0 500

Figure 3. Site plan of Alto del Molino.

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TestPit3
Huaca#2-
excavatedarea 30
29
S2.4.Test Pft2
to
former
lake40
Av. Fermin Tanguis
toPisco
Figure 4. Contour line map of Alto del Molino showing location of depression (alleged former lake),
Huacas 1, 2, and 3, and numbered test pits (1-5) excavated around Huaca 2.
the mound in a gridded area measuring 10 m x 14 m
where the overburden of the mound had been removed
during mechanized levelling; I refer to this area as a sub-
huaca occupation. The eroded and bulldozer-shaved
mound face was partially cleared; this area is called the
huaca occupation.
Excavation revealed two contiguous and sequential do-
mestic occupations (FIG.s). The earlier component consists
of mud-walled architecture; the later occupation, immedi-
ately adjacent to the east, was built of cobblestones set in
mud. Only the lowest courses of this architecture have
survived the bulldozing of the area. In some cases, where
the bulldozer blade had lifted and removed the rocks, the
imprints in mud of the missing bottom row of cobbles
were visible. By extending the excavation a few centimeters
into the excavation profile beneath the huaca and beyond
the reach of the bulldozer blade, it was discovered that the
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Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol.24, 1997 445
S- 0 50 100
-
40
34 excavated
area
;
.
39
#3
S?Huaca
walls originally were at least 60 cm high, not 20-35 cm
high as is the case today. The walls may have supported a
superstructure of perishable material.
The mud architecture is composed of either compressed
mud containing a small amount of very small pebbles and
fragmented shell or it may consist of a pile of small rocks
and dirt, both plastered over with mud. Mud walls range in
width from 20-72 cm. The wide mud walls are double-
faced; they are actually two walls separated by a core of
small rocks and pebbles. Rarely, there are potsherds in the
mud walls; the earliest sherds observed are late Paracasin
style; the latest are Chongos. Occasionally, one or another
adobe-usually poorly shaped handfuls of the same mud
used to make the wall--was incorporated into the mud
architecture, e.g., in the Context 72 wall in Figure 5.
The mud architecture rests on Context 3, an apisonado
or unprepared dirt floor compacted by foot traffic, which
446 Excavationsat Alto del Molino, Peru/Silverman

r
\,

e?

re, 1,
4:.( 0 0~
Durfala
-
ede -4 -% -#

-
Conrrt#2
106 WOM
9
--"-
99co?
C9, 0 Contma DO
tructure
#2\-
0 09 b sb
99a Go
0
Context,
105 42Wal #
urial structure aI qp
O
Buria )
Bural
#5N .."-,,•w- ')\,a lc
rubbleblock
I o o

30i cement
dCO datum

Strace ofwall d) epreasion

~u1a9 posthole 00 *dm
2impreeeron
#Y7
____
1

m
1 2 ~ - Ipre~eI~
left by cobblee
C
cxxcowe e
co wall
E mud
alce

Figure 5. Floor plan of sub-Huaca 2 occupation.

itself rests on sterile gravel (FIG. 6). In the Context 3 The walls rest on loose sand or the naturally occurring
apisonado two post holes (Context 46a and 46b), three sterile gravel.
storage or refuse pits (Context 99), other larger depres- Context 20 is a major cobblestone containment wall
sions, and a hearth feature (Context 89) were discovered that forms the east face of a monumental platform (FIGS.5,
(FIG. 7). In the central Context 99b pit there was a concen- 6). The containment wall runs for more than 8.6 m in a N-s
tration of 36 Fisurella shells, other broken shell, and 18 direction. It enters the excavation profile to the north and
vertebrae of an unidentified animal. The western pit (Con- continues south of where excavation ceased. The wall is
text 99a) contained some shell and bone, as well as ash and 2 m high and is composed of 16 fairly even horizontal
charcoal. The eastern pit (Context 99c) contained abun- rows of cobblestones set in mud that rest on a two-row
dant ash, a piece of obsidian, a grater bowl fragment, and cobblestone foundation or zapata that itself rests on sterile
plainware sherds. These associated features indicate that gravel. Pit 1 (FIG.6), below Huaca 2, hit naturally occur-
the sub-huaca mud architecture was the locus of domestic ring gravel immediately under the modern surface and this
activities. gravel continued for more than two meters below surface.
The construction phase of cobblestones set in mud is Sterile soil throughout the excavation area was this same
independent of the mud architecture except in the case of gravel and it occurred at different levels beneath the sur-
the Context 11 cobblestone wall, which rests directly on face. The profile of the excavation (FIG.6), however, reveals
top of the Context 124 mud wall (FIG.6). In general, the a dramatic drop in the level of the gravel just where the
cobblestone walls are double-faced with a core of smaller Context 20 platform containment wall is. There are two
rocks, dirt, and mud. Whether of mud or cobblestone, all possible explanations for the apparent anomaly. One is that
of this sub-huaca architecture lacks prepared foundations. a substantial amount of human energy was expended to

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 Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol.24, 1997 447

328b

oo 000
0
000000.% o 530b

ooooooo
035
ootonot;
cloanld
3 0s L.

24 68119
2:BEnot;llenne
1135 134 10

MOW
2100
3+71 ,19o O O, o

00000030/M3571
321oooooooooooL- o

'o•O

0 00 000
I
I oa o
,00 ,•00 , o? cp on
,o

10102 -

L23notcl d00
00 % 10
5

9M A C=.
326c23
•l2
910o 6
fZo3 21•a 5

r 124
232 IIc 652
0w~t-is2oitom
324 m.r'
-335 "32bcn711s

Figure 6. Stratigraphic profile of the south side of Huaca 2. Six construction episodes of the huaca are
recognized (numbered I-VI).

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448 Excavations at Alto del Molino, Peru/Silverman

excavationprofileon south face of huaca

Context100
Vessel6
Context
99
Context Context Context89
99A 99C hearth

compactmud

Context46
postholes

Context95
Burial 1

apisonado
broken apisonado
Conet
Bual 5
ashy soil

sand
Scoarse

0 1
m

Figure 7. Detail of floor plan showing Context 3 apisonado and its associated features.

POTTERYIN THE SUB-HUACA OCCUPATION

bring in the gravel and then contain it. The other is that a
major geological disconformity exists and was faced with
the cobblestone wall; the origin of the disconformity could
be related to the prior existence of a lake and/or branch of
the Pisco River in the area. A technical study must be
undertaken to resolve the matter.
The monumental platform cannot be later in date than
the sub-huaca cobblestone architectural complex because
it is capped and crossed by the Context 47 cobblestone
wall of that occupation (FIG.5). The pottery associated with
both the mud architecture and cobblestone architecture of
the sub-huaca occupation is Chongos, possibly with imme-
diately antecedent Jahuay 3 sherds.
Clearly, the sub-Huaca 2 occupation was a special habi-
tation zone because it was built atop a monumental cob-
blestone platform. Dating to Chongos, the ceramic phase
of the Pisco Valley during Epoch 1 of the Early Intermedi-
ate Period (FIG. 2), this platform is the earliest and only
such architecture known in Pisco, and indeed on the south
coast at this time. Large-scale excavation is needed to
define the platform and to determine the cultural and
geomorphological nature of the area around it.
Most of the diagnostic Chongos ceramics from below
Huaca 2 consist of fine plainware bowls (FIG.8) and grater
bowls (FIG. 9). Several spouts and caps from classic Paracas
Necropolis-style double-spout-and-bridge bottles also
were recovered as were typical Chongos pattern-burnished
blackware sherds (FIG.10). Other plainware is heavy and
thick, with a gritty paste, sooted exterior, and charac-
teristicallystriated exterior surface finish. A few late Paracas
sherds (incised and/or post-fired painted and incised) also
occur in the sub-Huaca 2 excavations, mixed with the
Chongos material.
OTHER REMAINS IN THE SUB-HUACA OCCUPATION
Shell abounded in the refuse, most of it consisting of
small-sized species (analysis is underway). Tiny fish verte-
brae also were recovered. Despite the use of fine-mesh
screens, no macroscopic botanical remains were recovered
in the sub-huaca excavations, probably because of exten-
sive and intensive irrigation in the area in recent decades.
Soil sample bags were filled for each stratum and will be

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 Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol.
24, 1997 449

F )
ADM -W2

Figure 9. Sherds from Chongos grater bowls.

sub-huaca domestic occupation (FIG.6), suggesting a use

date after the mud-wall architecturalcomplex and perhaps
contemporary with the cobblestone architecture.
Context 100 was not a sub-floor storage facility in the
10
huaca because no floor is visible in the strata (Context 103
0
overlain by Context 10) that cover the pots and these strata
cmt
contain only Chongos potsherds. Also, the potsherds pre-
sent in the fill of the vessels were pre-Carmen in date.
Figure 8. Chongos plainware bowls.
Thus, the vessels appear to have originally stood upright
and in the open in Chongos times.
analyzed by a paleoethnobotanist. Poor preservation of
perishable materials also has precluded the recovery of
textile fragments or basketry known to occur at other
contemporary south coast sites such as the habitation Figure 10. Chongos black pattern-burnished pottery.
zones at Paracas (Tello and Mejia Xesspe 1979). Few
lithics were recovered and these have not yet been studied.

STORAGE FACILITIES
A row of six storage vessels (Context 100) was discov-
ered immediately west of the excavation area in the course
of cleaning the mound's south profile (FIG.6). Each vessel
had been sliced in half by the bulldozer that levelled the
south face of the mound, leaving the north half of the
vessel intact within the profile. Soil samples from inside
each vessel were collected and analysis may reveal the
original contents.
The vessels vary in size and have flat or conical bases
resting in a prepared ring of compact mud; they were
maintained in a vertical position by small cobbles placed
around their bases (FIG.6). The vessel walls were covered
with the same mud as the ring. The base of the smallest jar,
Vessel 6, was set in the Context 88 mud wall of the

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450 Excavationsat Alto del Molino, Peru/Silverman
INTRUSIVE BURIALS
Seven poorly preserved burials were excavated (see loca-
tions on Figure 5; they have Context numbers but here are
numbered as "Burials"for ease of reference) and more are
indicated by concentrations of fragmented bone on the
disturbed ground surface. The cists of these burials were
either intrusive in the mud walls and cobblestone walls and
associated floors or they were placed between the walls.
Although the burials are intrusive into the Chongos occu-
pation, they were covered by the Context 10 stratum of
Chongos refuse on which the mound was built. Therefore
the burials antedate the construction of the mound. Strat-
ification and the fact that the heads of Burials 5 and 7 each
were covered with a single Chongos bowl demonstrate
that these burials date to Chongos times.
Because the south side of Huaca 2 had been bulldozed
and cultivated, the upper portions of the burial cists were
missing, the flexed skeletons had been disturbed, and no
textile wrappings were present. There appears to be a
general preference for north-facing orientation. Burials 3
and 4 were maintained upright through the use of cobbles
at the feet (similar in concept to the cobbles maintaining
the vertical position of the six utilitarian storage jars in
Context 100).
As preserved, the tombs are cylindricalcists (D. 40 cm x
50 cm to 70 cm x 58 cm). The cists are not elaborate or
well prepared, with the possible exception of Burial 7,
whose cylindrical cist was outlined by fieldstones; this is
also the only excavated burial that is not in direct associa-
tion with architecture.
The Huaca and Its Construction History
The sub-huaca complex of Chongos domestic architec-
ture, storage vessels, and intrusive burials is overlain by a
thick stratum of Chongos refuse (Context 10) that appears
to have been deliberately collected by Carmen people in
order to create a level surface on which to erect Huaca 2 in
Early Intermediate Period Epoch 3. The huaca was built in
six major construction phases (roman numerals I through
VI on Figure 6). There is a hiatus between the sub-huaca
Chongos occupation and the Carmen huaca. That hiatus
corresponds to the Campana style of Early Intermediate
Period Epoch 2.
Huaca 2 has impressive architectural features. A finely
plastered mud staircase runs E-w on the mound's north
side, designated the LateralStaircase(Context 348, FIGS.11,
12). A Central Staircase, built after the Lateral Staircase,
traversesthe center of the mound on a N-s axis (FIG.11). It
is well-plastered, made of compressed mud, and has five
long steps which preserve traces of yellow and red paint.
The Central Passageway (FIG.11) that leads to the Cen-
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tral Staircase once bore a lively painted mural of which
traces of red paint have been found; also, painted wall
fragments were recovered from the massive Context 337
construction fill immediately abutting it. These wall frag-
ments bear bright polychrome geometric designs that are
readily comparable to the motifs on slipped Carmen pot-
tery, potsherds of which also were found in the Context
337 fill.
On the west side of the huaca, adjacent to the Context
301 wall, is a row of three small rooms numbered 1, 2, and
3 (FIG. 11). The north and south sides of these rooms are
defined by double-faced walls of cobblestones set in mud.
A fill of small rocks in a matrix of coarse sand that con-
tained scarce Carmen potsherds covered these rooms.
Thus, Huaca 2 was composed of corridors, staircases,
large and small rooms, and thick double-faced cobblestone
(sometimes with adobe supersections) containment walls
forming chambers for the massive dirt and rock rubble fill
that levelled the surface for new building episodes.
Dedicatory Burials for Huaca 2
In the process of cleaning the south face of Huaca 2 a
cluster of four burials, called Context 101, was found
between the Context 322 and 332 walls and below the
Context 323 fill (FIGS. 6, 11, 13). These burials overlie the
great Context 10 stratum of Chongos refuse (FIG.6) and
were sealed by the mud floor of construction stage IV. The
burials must date to Carmen times and are interpreted as
dedicatory for the huaca above.
The burials occupy an area measuring 1.3 m N-S x 1.5 m
E-W and are delimited by rows of cobblestones, forming
the walls of a funerary chamber for the multiple burial, of
which only the bottom row of rocks is preserved, the upper
rows having been destroyed by bulldozing. The bulldozer
cut the skulls of skeletons A, B, and C and disturbed the
skeletal remains. Nevertheless, enough articulation re-
mained to conclude that individuals A, B, and C had been
interred in a tightly flexed position, with the heads resting
on the drawn-up knees, and the individuals facing north.
There were no grave goods. Individual D was extended,
contorted, and placed under rocks in a prone position. The
right leg was flexed with its knee to the chest. There was no
left leg. The right arm crossed the back and enough of the
left arm was present to suggest that both arms had been
tied behind the back. The ribs were crushed and most of
those of the left side were missing. The head was covered
by a utilitarian vessel (broken by the overburden of earth)
covered with mud to maintain it in place. Analysis by a
physical anthropologist can evaluate the age, sex, and other
traits of these individuals.
 Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol.24, 1997 451

-
60
---
Larai,.
r 0:"o

~
341 3 42 a 345b
348
3 336b 347
2343

340
333
349MN

"~:; i~r??.
,

? i I
336a
]~

353 -?; cr

2 302 3
351
..........
350 .
- 3
.
a w354 3'1 _ -I
__-waral W77b
w•T•08, 0I L-cob '
--- b3---- ',30 almose Il c lto wa
,- - W26~3 3 C;

'
i 3347 r- . . .
II . . .
0055
326c 31

326a Mqa
wut
KOM
;51?
_,, 335 G., 327a
312 cameowrl

F~o m 0; 32332jq

" wallface c
322S 3352at ompact
mud
314 521 . . probable extemolon
We.Ible
:?17 '"1 of wal fil of cbls

372 aodwaldirt amd samd

mud mortar fll Ofdirt,
31ro wtth samd and rocks
cobbestome wal ok
320a 320c with
?b•••nmud
31 320b mortar~alenIa~

0 ' 5
1 II """
'M

Figure 11. Floor plan of the Carmen-phase architecture of Huaca 2.

Test Pits around Huaca 2 "woman's face" motif) was found. The clay of Stratum 4 in
Test Pit 5 is probably the same geological stratum as the
Five test pits (FIG.4), each measuring 2 m x 2 m, were Stratum 4 clay in Test Pit 1. Test Pit 2's sterile Stratum 3,
excavated around Huaca 2 to attempt to determine the composed of small and large rocks, corresponds to the
original extent of the mound. The salient information is sterile gravel underlying the cultural strata in the excava-
presented here. In Test Pit 2 a stratum of marsh reeds tions on the south side of Huaca 2.
(Scirpus sp.) was observed 33-64 cm beneath the actual
site surface. This appears to confirm the prior existence of The Other Huacas at Alto del Molino
a lake immediately sw of Huaca 2. Paracas Cavernas-style
sherds were recovered in Test Pits 3 and 4 and indicate the Huaca 1
probable prior existence of a Paracas occupation north of In summer 1993, Huaca 1 (FIGS.3, 4) covered approxi-
the huaca and just above the valley edge; this area will be a mately 2500 sq m and was estimated to be 12-15 m high.
target of future excavations. In Test Pit 5 a dense concen- It already had been diminished by agricultural bulldozing
tration of rock and of undiagnostic potsherds (except for and, as noted above, was totally levelled by the industrial
one badly eroded late Nasca sherd decorated with the park that September. Underlying the former mound Fer-

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452 Excavations at Alto del Molino, Peru/Silverman

miesing

337 306t
363

0 30901 1 2 3
cobb O
moleeI l
clIoo w
m
349 302 withmudmortar 0I ravel
SIoafeh ~adoree
ete•
- 306

ofvxcavNatonon -
... .
lifmir

Figure 12. Profile of the north face of Huaca 2 showing location of Lateral Staircase in the context of
other architecture discussed in this article.

nando Herrera discovered a complex of special architec- fill covering this architecture. Field observations suggest
ture that was composed of adobe-walled rooms, corridors, that construction began in Chongos or Campana times,
and a doorway, still to be fully revealed. An enormous possibly during the transition between the two phases.
amount of pottery was recovered from the deep stratified The occupational history of the bulldozed mound itself

Figure 13. Plan of the Context 101 burials. Note that the skull of individual D lies under the crushed
utilitarian vessel but to maximize graphic information it has been portrayed here as if above it.

S skullbroken rightmanadible

Cwall

crushed
E ) flexedburial utlitarianvesseI
- shown
excavatedl extended- --
skullfaces down burial

toe
mud
7-" .
bone.s
" • ...... cobbles

. .rocks removed
burial
Stoexamine
0 25 50
cm

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

is uncertain. In summer 1993, Carmen and Late Interme-
diate Period sherds were observed falling out of the
mound. Herrera's excavations indicate that centuries prior
to modern destruction, the tops of the sub-Huaca 1 mud
walls were damaged by Late Intermediate Period cobble-
stone walls. The nature of this locus in Carmen times
remains unknown.
Huaca 3
Herrera's two test pits on Huaca 3 (FIGS.3,4) intercepted
portions of architecture composed of cobblestones set in
mud. These partiallyrevealed walls were in association with
fine Carmen pottery. As Herrera's test pits were aban-
doned well before sterile soil was reached, there is every
reason to expect a deep stratification at Huaca 3.
Huaca 4
In summer 1993 Huaca 4 (FIG.3) was a barely detectable
rise. It was bulldozed before any information was recov-
ered.
Huaca 5
Initial inspection of Huaca 5 (Huamani) (FIG.3) revealed
the looted remains of at least one possible late Nasca tomb
made of loaf-shaped adobes. This tomb may be intrusive
into an earlier, possibly Carmen, occupation. Huaca 5 lies
outside the legal limits of the industrial park and appearsto
be in no imminent danger other than from continuing
vandalism.
Huaca 6 (Pachinga)
A major Chongos occupation existed at Pachinga (Pe-
ters 1987-1988; FIG.3), now largely destroyed by a squat-
ter settlement. Traces of architecture composed of fine
plastered adobe walls and clay floors still can be seen in the
one small remaining section of the original mound. Car-
men, Nasca, and Inca sherds also have been observed.
Local inhabitants state they frequently find burials when
they excavate the foundations of their houses or install
cisterns. These burials have not been documented.
Alto del Molino in Time and Wider
Geopolitical Context
Alto del Molino as a Paracas Site
Historically, the Paracas Peninsula mortuary sites (Tello
and Mejia Xesspe 1979) and the Ica Valley (DeLeonardis
1991; Massey 1986; Menzel, Rowe, and Dawson 1964,
inter alia) have been emphasized when considering Paracas
culture. But recently, a conceptual shift in our under-
standing has occurred in which Paracas is being under-
stood as a regionally varying cultural tradition. This new
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Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol.
24, 1997 453
view is evident in Wallace's (1985) comparative treatment
of Paracas pottery in Chincha, Pisco, Paracas, and Ica;
Silverman's (1991, 1994) discussion of Paracasin Nazca;
and the preliminary results of INDEA's (Instituto Andino
de Estudios Arqueol6gicos) Chincha project (Canziani
1992).
Although clearly Ica was the south coast's foremost
locus of Paracas artistic, cultural, and sociopolitical
achievement (DeLeonardis 1991; Massey 1986; Silverman
1996; Wallace 1962), the other south coast valleys cannot
be ignored. Pisco is one of the keys to understanding the
development of Paracas culture, macroregionally defined.
Engel (1957) recovered late Paracaspottery in the upper
Pisco Valley. Peters (1987-1988) identified a major late
Paracasoccupation at Chongos. There appearsto be a late
Paracaslocus at Alto del Molino. Survey and excavation in
Pisco will elucidate the valley's Paracassettlement pattern,
sociopolitical and economic organization, and inter-areal
network including the Paracas Peninsula whose major
Paracas Cavernas habitation and mortuary locus gave its
name to the archaeological culture yet remains to be fully
explained and contextualized.
Alto del Molino as a ChongosSite
Excavations at sub-Huaca 2, sub-Huaca 1, and Huaca
6-Pachinga indicate that Alto del Molino was an important
Chongos site. Chongos is the cultural name currently used
for what was previously called "ParacasNecropolis," based
on Tello's finds at the peninsular type-site (Tello and Mejia
Xesspe 1979; Wallace 1986). It is interesting, then, that
the intrusive nature of the sub-Huaca 2 burials at Alto del
Molino is reminiscent of the contemporary Paracas Ne-
cropolis burials on the Paracas Peninsula where even the
most richly wrapped bundles were placed in the aban-
doned houses and refuse of earlier inhabitants (Tello and
Mejia Xesspe 1979). But in the case of Alto del Molino it
is fair to conclude that the excavated burials were not rich,
for the cists are far too narrow to have accommodated a
thick layering of textiles; rather, the bodies in the sub-
Huaca 2 burials were squeezed into their narrow cists in a
tightly flexed position. Also, of the seven burials, only two
(Burials 5 and 7) are associated with ceramic grave goods;
Burials 1, 4, 5, and 6 were associated with unimpressive
burial offerings consisting of shells and undiagnostic pot-
sherds.
The Chongos type-site itself, located 8 km due east of
Alto del Molino, also was a major population center in
Early Intermediate Period Epoch 1 with habitation re-
mains covering at least 30 ha (Peters 1987-1988). Chon-
gos' mud and cobblestone architecture is readily com-
parable to the sub-Huaca 2 Chongos-phase domestic
454 Excavationsat Alto del Molino, Peru/Silverman
occupationat Alto del Molino. Furthermore,the layoutof
Chongosin distinctcompartmentalized com-
architectural
pounds and plazas(Peters 1987-1988: is
map) very remi-
niscent of the spatialpatterningof the ParacasNecropo-
lis/Chongos phasehabitationzone at CabezaLarga-Arena
Blancaat the neck of the ParacasPeninsula(Engel 1991:
figs. 39, 40). The samekind of elongatedcranialdeforma-
tion is found at both sites (del Pozo Florez 1988; Pezzia
1969: 41; Tello and Mejia Xesspe 1979). In addition,
Pezzia (1969: 36) states that the funerarycontext he
excavatedat Chongos remindedhim of low statusburials
at the ParacasNecropolis(see also Rowe 1995: 37). Peters
(1987-1988: 32) observedfragmentsof plaincotton cloth
on the Chongos site surfacethat are typicalof those used
to wrapthe great ParacasNecropolismummybundles;at
Chongos she also found dyed and decoratedtextile frag-
ments in the ParacasNecropolisstyle.
The lower Pisco Valley sites of Alto del Molino and
Chongos constitute the immediate regional context for
understandingthe mortuaryelaborationof the great ne-
cropolisat Paracas.Indeed, Rowe (1995: 35-38) has ar-
gued plausiblythat the more than400 mummybundlesof
this necropolisare not in theirplaceof primarydeposition
and that Chongos and/or other sites in the Pisco Valley
must be the true context of these dead. The Chon-
gos/Paracas Necropolis occupation at Alto del Molino
now must be consideredone of the key sites in such a
culturalreconstructionand continued surveyand excava-
tion in the Pisco Valleywill provideyet more information
for understandingthis culture,society,and time period.
Alto del Molino as a Campana Site
Littlecan be saidabout the natureof Alto del Molino or
the Pisco Valley in Early IntermediatePeriod Epoch 2
correspondingto the Campanaphaseof the Toparatradi-
tion. There is a hiatusbetween the Chongos and Carmen
occupationsat Huaca 2 at Alto del Molino. Continued
ceramic analysis is needed to determine if the gap is filled
by the sub-Huaca 1 occupation and at Pachinga. Extensive
survey must be conducted in Pisco to identify Campana
sites in the valley overall.
Alto del Molino as a Carmen Site
Carmen is the ceramic style and phase which succeeds
Campana. Huaca 2 is an outstanding example of Carmen-
period architecture. Despite the fact that Huaca 2 retains
only a third of its former size, its fine construction and
architectural complexity are impressive. Huacas 3 and 5
also had Carmen occupations; Huaca 1 may have had one.
Furthermore, there are Carmen sherds in the fields be-
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tween these huacas.Thus,Alto del Molino was a largeand
importantsite in EarlyIntermediatePeriodEpoch 3.
The Carmenoccupationat Alto del Molino was con-
temporarywith the denselyagglutinated15-ha settlement
of Dos Palmas(PV58-3; Rowe 1963: 10-11, plate I) and
with site PV58-2 (Wallace1971: 82-83). The locationof
these sites, at the neck of the Pisco Valley,is possibly
significantin termsof controlof irrigationwateras well as
proximityto the point of easycrossingbetweenPisco and
the upper Ica Valley.In addition,it is importantto note
continuingconnectionsbetweenthe PiscoValleyandPara-
cas Peninsulain Early IntermediatePeriod Epoch 3 as
evidencedby Carmenpottery recoveredby Engel (1966:
214, 215) at CabezaLarga-Arena Blanca.Continuedexca-
vation at Alto del Molino will contributegreatlyto our
understandingof the Carmen style and the nature of
Carmensocietyin Pisco.
Directions for Future Fieldwork
The resultsof preliminaryfieldworkat Alto del Molino
raise importantissues about archaeologicalcultures,cul-
turalidentities,and intersocietalinteractionon the south
coast in the late EarlyHorizon and earlyEarlyIntermedi-
ate Period.On the basisof geographicallydiscreteceramic
distribution(i.e., Chongosand Campanain Piscocontem-
porarywith Nasca 1 and 2 in Ica-Nazca)Wallace(1986)
and Menzel (1971) concludedthat Pisco was outside the
Nasca sphereof influenceduring Epochs 1 and 2 of the
Early IntermediatePeriod. Nevertheless, they cogently
argued the contemporaneityof Chongos and Nasca 1
basedon morphologicaland decorativefeaturesthatcross-
date the two ceramic styles such as tall-sidedinflected
bowls(Wallace1986: fig. 3b, c), gambreledbowls(Wallace
1986: fig. 3a), thin-walledincurvingbowls, and pattern-
burnishingon fine blackware(smudged) bowls. In addi-
tion, actualNasca 1 polychromeslippedand incisedtrade
pieces occur in Chongos contexts (Menzel 1971: 116-
118). Menzel (1971: 117) suggestedthat the Nasca 1 and
Chongos styles competed for prestigein Epoch 1 of the
EarlyIntermediatePeriod. ContinuingNasca and Chon-
gos-orientedresearchwill examinethe natureof the socie-
ties that produced these styles and the role of pottery and
other material culture and art in them.
This notion of prestige is particularly important when
considered in the context of the ParacasNecropolis mortu-
ary phenomenon for this cemetery contains a highly differ-
entiated population whose elite possessed, arguably, the
technologically finest and iconographically most elabo-
rated textiles ever produced in the Central Andes. Cultur-
ally, that population pertains to the Jahuay 3 and Chongos
phases of the Toparnitradition (Wallace 1986; Lanning

1960). As indicatedabove, a key issue to be resolvedin
south coast archaeologyis the context and relationshipof
the ParacasNecropolisdead to contemporarysettlements
in the Pisco Valleyof which Alto del Molino is a prime
example.
For the succeeding phase of the Early Intermediate
Period, Epoch 2, Massey(1986: 314, 317-318) sees the
relationshipbetweenPisco-Chinchaand Ica-Nazcaas one
of regional states in conflict. She postulates a foreign
Campanasociety dominatingpeople of the Paracas-Nasca
culturaltraditionin the upper Ica Valley.Renewed field-
workin Ica and restudyof Massey'scollectionsareneeded
to determinethe extent of Campanainfluencethere since
the style and correspondingcultureare so poorly defined
in their reputed Pisco-Chinchaheartlandand Nasca 1
pottery dominatesIca in the precedingepoch of the Early
IntermediatePeriod (Menzel, Rowe, and Dawson 1964:
251). Clearly,elucidationof the Campanaoccupationof
the PiscoValleyis a primetaskof such futureresearch.
In EarlyIntermediatePeriod Epoch 3, the great early
Nasca ceremonialcenter of Cahuachiwas at its zenith in
the Nazca drainageand Nasca was the prestige ceramic
ware of the south coast to judge from its wide areal
distributionand influence(Silverman1993: 29, 41). Yet
these facts should not diminish our appreciationof the
contemporaryCarmen achievementin Pisco, especially
given the paucity of fieldworkin this valley. By Early
IntermediatePeriod Epoch 3, Pisco society was techno-
logicallyadvancedwith a traditionof superbcraftsmanship
in pottery and textiles as well as fine architecture.It was
sociopoliticallycomplex, as evidenced by the great civic
and populationcentersof Alto del Molino and Chongos;
Dos Palmaswas a denselyagglutinatedhabitationsite and
other similarsites existed, and there were differentiated
burialsat Chongos and, of course, at the ParacasPenin-
sula. Pisco society was also culturallycosmopolitan;Pisco
alreadyhad contacts with contemporarysocieties of the
centralcoast and long-term close relationshipsto peoples
living in Chincha, Ica, and Paracas(Silverman 1991,
1996).
Although Pisco came undersuch massiveNascastylistic
influence in Early Intermediate Period Epoch 3 that
Pisco's Carmen style is considered non-Topari, Carmen
pottery-as manifested at Alto del Molino-is innovative
and iconographically varied rather than slavishly imitative
of Nasca. Carmen people of Pisco adopted elements of a
foreign, yet familiar, ceramic style (Nasca of Ica) from a
foreign, yet familiar, society (Nasca of Ica), imbued this
category of material culture with prestige as exotic goods,
and enhanced their own ceremonial activities, as seen in
the construction of the Alto del Molino huacas and large-
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Journal of Field Archaeology/Vol.24, 1997 455
scale use of panpipes, as a means of asserting effective
social power, marking social identity and territory, and as a
stage for actualizing or deploying these social identities.
Pisco's acceptance, adoption, and adaptation of Nasca
ceramic technology and its embedded ideology may have
visibly, pragmatically signalled Pisco's conscious lessening
of its own cultural markers of social identity (those of
Chongos and Campana which are interpreted by Wallace
and Menzel as being outside the Nasca sphere of influence)
so as to facilitate intersocietal interaction with Nasca peo-
ples. I have argued previously that the early Nasca social
formation was not organized on a state level of complexity
(Silverman 1993: 320-343). Here I manifest my corollary
belief that Carmen is not the result of a Nasca conquest of
Pisco (contra Massey 1986; Wallace 1986) and was, in-
stead, an autonomous society (or group of culturally affili-
ated societies) in a landscape of similarly complex polities
on the south coast. A major study of the Carmen occupa-
tion of the Pisco Valley is needed in which the nature and
evolution of this ancient social formation is traced and
interpreted in its own terms.
Conclusions
Alto del Molino raises and reiterates empirical and theo-
retical problems that long have been ignored on the south
coast because of the almost exclusive chronology-driven
nature of archaeology there (Silverman 1995). Further-
more, the traditional emphasis on which valley gave what
ceramic trait to whom misses larger and more important
issues raised in this article. Among the most crucial of these
issues is how geopolitical and social identities and territo-
ries were marked through a suite of cultural traits, some of
which, such as pottery and textile style, iconography, and
type of cranial deformation, are recoverable in the archae-
ological record.
On the south coast we should consider, for instance,
what the rarityin Pisco of the Ica Valley icon known as the
Oculate Being (see Menzel, Rowe and Dawson 1964)
meant in terms of Pisco's ethno-geopolitical and cultural
identity and how this affected interaction with Paracas
peoples of Ica in the late Early Horizon. Similarly,what do
panpipes and elements of Nasca ceramic design, layout,
and technology in Pisco tell us about interaction between
Nasca peoples of Ica (presumably) and Carmen peoples of
Pisco? What were the ideological, cosmological, sociopoli-
tical, and economic institutions that underwrote pottery
production and its use and what conditioned the spread,
modification, or rejection of particularceramic traits?What
factors encouraged or hindered intersocietal interaction
and how was this manifested in the material record? These
456 Excavationsat Alto del Molino, Peru/Silverman
questions raise issues that must be addressed in future
south coast research.
Rather than looking to diffusion from Ica-Nazca and
Chincha as the dominant or exclusive cause of change in
Pisco, internal evidence indicates that this valley's flores-
cent early Early Intermediate Period occupations were
cumulative, in situ, independent developments, although
Pisco was part of a larger sphere of interaction and Pisco's
cultural success at this time must have been facilitated by
the valley's proximity to and engagement with Ica and
Chincha.
I postulate a situation of peer-polity (Renfrew 1986) or
cluster interaction (Price 1977) between two cultural tra-
ditions and social formations, Toparat(Jahuay 3-Chongos-
Paracas Necropolis-Campana followed by Carmen) and
Paracas-Nasca, centered in two paired valleys, Chincha-
Pisco and Ica-Nazca, respectively, which themselves en-
gaged in intensive interaction. Although cluster interaction
was formulated for situations of pristine state formation,
Price (1977: 209) clearly states that it may be applicable
"to sequences elsewhere which for a variety of reasons
stabilized at the level of ranked society." As such it is
particularly descriptive of the evolutionary processes held
to be at work in the Nasca-Carmen interaction discussed
above. Similarly, Renfrew's concept of interaction among
polities at similar levels of sociopolitical complexity is not
restricted to states or even to ranked societies. Renfrew
(1986: 2) wants it "clearlyunderstood that the term 'pol-
ity' is not . . . intended to suggest any specific scale of
organisation or degree of complexity, but simply to desig-
nate an autonomous socio-political unit." His model is
applicable to societies at different scales of size and integra-
tion, including the south coast situation considered herein.
Pisco's cultural vitality lay in its narrow but well-fed
river, its direct access to the highlands (Huancavelica,
Ayacucho, and ultimately the Mantaro), its privileged posi-
tion for access to the Quispisisa obsidian source in Huan-
cavelica, its rich fishing waters, its proximity to two other
culturally important river valleys (Ica and Chincha), and its
close ties to th.e Paracas Peninsula. Ica Valley Paracas and
then Nasca stylistic influence in Pisco was filtered: it was
received and accepted culturally,sociopolitically, contextu-
ally and selectively; it was a manifestation of other ex-
changes that have left less tangible physical evidence in the
archaeological record. Social interaction was guided by
established rules of appropriate material and cultural be-
havior among certain categories of individuals. Pisco's
so-called lack of independence belies its very ethos. The
Pisquefios may, in fact, have had a very lively role in the
world of the late Early Horizon and early Early Intermedi-
ate Period.
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Acknowledgments
This fieldwork was carried out with permission from the
Comisi6n Nacional T6cnica Calificadorade Investigaci6n y
Conservaci6n de Monumentos Arqueol6gicos of the Insti-
tuto Nacional de Cultura (Acuerdo No. 086-93-
CNTCICMA/INC). The collaboration of Fernando Her-
rera and the assistance of the Ica office of the INC
throughout the project are gratefully acknowledged.
Dante Casereto is warmly thanked for his efforts to bring
the plight of the Alto del Molino site to the attention of
the Peruvian authorities. His concern and that of Pedro
Pablo Alayza Tijero were instrumental in facilitating the
project. Ruben Garcia Soto, resident archaeologist and
director of the Julio C. Tello Site Museum at Paracas, is
thanked for providing living and lab facilities for the proj-
ect. Cesar Tumay Wong was invaluable to the project in his
capacity as lab director. Bernardino Ojeda gave generously
of his time to help create the maps and plans that appearin
the article. The project benefitted greatly from the visits to
the site and comments of Ruben Garcia Soto, Jose Pinilla
Blenke, Peter Kaulicke, Krzysztof Makowski, and Ruth
Shady. Finally, the cooperation of Francisco Burga, of the
Alto del Molino Industrial Park, is sincerely appreciated.
Helaine Silverman (Ph.D. University of Texasat Austin,
1986) is an associateprofessorat the University of Illi-
nois; she holds a Helen CorleyPetit Professorshipin the
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.Her researchinter-
ests include the developmentof complexsocietyand urban-
ism, ideologyand power, death studies, the anthropological
study of art, and cultural patrimony preservation. She
has been investigating Paracas and Nasca culturefor
more than a decade and is the author of numerous schol-
arly articles and the books,Cahuachi in the Ancient
Nasca World (University of Iowa Press, 1993) and An-
cient Peruvian Art: An Annotated Bibliography (G. K.
Hall/Macmillan, 1996). Mailing address:Department of
Anthropology,109 Davenport Hall, University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801.
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Publicidad.
dcl Pozo Florez, C. Arturo
1988 INC. Guia de AntropologiaFisica.Paracas.Lima:Organi-
zaci6n de EstadosAmericanos,CONCYTEC,Musco Na-
cional de Antropologiay Arqucologia.
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