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Cordage, Textiles, and the Late Pleistocene Peopling of the Andes Edward A

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Cordage, Textiles, and the Late Pleistocene Peopling of the Andes Edward A University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Anthropology Faculty Publications Anthropology, Department of 4-2011 Cordage, Textiles, and the Late Pleistocene Peopling of the Andes Edward A. Jolie Mercyhurst College, [email protected] Thomas F. Lynch Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History, Bryan, Texas Phil R. Geib University of Nebraska - Lincoln, [email protected] J. M. Adovasio Mercyhurst College Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/anthropologyfacpub Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Jolie, Edward A.; Lynch, Thomas F.; Geib, Phil R.; and Adovasio, J. M., "Cordage, Textiles, and the Late Pleistocene Peopling of the Andes" (2011). Anthropology Faculty Publications. 136. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/anthropologyfacpub/136 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Anthropology, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Current Anthropology Volume 52, Number 2, April 2011 285 Cordage, Textiles, and the Late Pleistocene tajena 2002; Sandweiss 2008). High-altitude (12,500 m) en- Peopling of the Andes vironments are typically unwelcoming and pose unique adap- tive challenges to humans because of limited resource Edward A. Jolie, Thomas F. Lynch, Phil R. Geib, and availability, cold temperatures, and the biological conse- J. M. Adovasio quences of high altitude such as hypoxia, which affects work capacity, metabolism, and reproduction (Aldenderfer 1998, Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute, Mercyhurst College, 2003, 2006, 2008; Richardson 1993). Previous research doc- Erie, Pennsylvania 16546, U.S.A. ([email protected]) uments logistical forays into higher altitudes following degla- (Jolie and Adovasio)/Brazos Valley Museum of Natural ciation to obtain seasonally available foods and obsidian by History, Bryan, Texas 77802, U.S.A. (Lynch)/Department of at least 13,000 cal yr BP. However, permanent settlement is Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, not clearly indicated until after 11,000 cal yr BP at sites in New Mexico 87131, U.S.A. (Geib and Jolie). 11 XI 10 the central Andes including Asana, Pachamachay, and Telar- CAϩ Online-Only Material: Supplement A machay (fig. 1; Aldenderfer 1998, 2003, 2006, 2008; Nu´n˜ez, Grosjean, and Cartajena 2002; Rick 1980). Dating of these Harsh high-altitude environments were among the last land- early sites has been critical to reconstructing the tempo and scapes to be settled by humans during the Late Pleistocene mode of high-altitude colonization, but most existing dates between ∼15,000 and 11,000 calendar years before present derive from bone and obsidian, which are often unreliable, (cal yr BP). Successful colonization required physiological ad- and charcoal, which, owing to the use of old wood, may aptations to hypoxia and cultural adaptations to limited re- overestimate site age (Aldenderfer 1999; Dillehay 2000; Lynch sources and cold temperatures. How and when humans col- 1990; Rick 1987). Here we report six new accelerator mass onized Andean South America has been poorly understood spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates and observations on owing to controversial early archaeological sites and questions the plant-fiber-based artifact assemblage from Guitarrero about the impact of environmental factors, including the pres- Cave, a site that has figured prominently in debates over the ence of glaciers. Here we report the reexamination and direct initial peopling of the Andes and South America because of dating of six finely woven textiles and cords from Guitarrero its antiquity and exceptional preservation. These new data Cave, Peru, that identify South America’s earliest textiles and identify South America’s oldest textiles and revise Guitarrero’s show that occupation of the Andes had begun by ∼12,000 controversial initial occupation to between 12,100 and 11,800 cal yr BP. Additional evidence for plant processing and fiber- cal yr BP (∼10,200 radiocarbon years before the present [14C artifact construction suggests women’s presence among these yr BP]), as much as 2,000 calendar years younger than pre- earliest foraging groups. Previous research suggested use of viously thought. The results have implications not only for the highlands by small groups of male foragers between 15,000 the timing of high-altitude colonization but also for under- and 13,000 cal yr BP with permanent settlement only after standing the technological adaptations that made high-alti- 11,000 cal yr BP. Together these data amplify accumulating tude colonization possible and the gender of the hunter-gath- evidence for Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene technological erers who produced those technologies. sophistication and cultural diversity in South America and are consistent with hypotheses that long-term settlement of The Archaeology of Guitarrero Cave, Peru higher elevations occurred immediately following glacial re- treat. Guitarrero Cave is located in the intermontane Callejo´n de Huaylas Valley (2,500–4,000 m) in the north-central highlands Most scholars believe that humans colonized South America of Peru (fig. 1). Situated at an elevation of 2,580 m, exca- beginning at least 14,600 cal yr BP and that by 13,000 cal yr vations defined two early cultural complexes (Lynch 1980). BP the continent was a mosaic of diverse cultures resulting The earliest, Complex I, is characterized by flakes, scrapers, from adaptations to environmental variability (Dillehay 2000, a tanged triangular-bladed projectile point, and the remains 2008; Dillehay et al. 2008; Lavalle´e 2000; Lynch 1990, 1999; of deer and small game including rodents, rabbits, and birds. Steele and Politis 2009). Among these early settlers were trans- The overlying Complex II yielded the same and additional humant foragers occupying Pacific littoral settlements who species of animals. Cultural materials include triangular, lan- exploited marine resources but forayed into the valleys and ceolate, and other contracting-stem projectile points and ar- highlands of the Andes to support broad subsistence econ- tifacts made of wood, bone, and plant fiber. The fiber-based omies (deFrance, Grayson, and Wise 2009; Dillehay 2000; artifact assemblage includes four coils and two bundles of Dillehay et al. 2008; Lynch 1971; Nu´n˜ez, Grosjean, and Car- finely processed fiber indicative of artifact construction ma- terial, 53 lengths of unknotted and knotted cordage of variable ᭧ 2011 by The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. diameter, and three fragments of finely woven textiles of dif- All rights reserved. 0011-3204/2011/5202-0010$10.00 DOI: 10.1086/ ferent structural techniques (Adovasio and Maslowski 1980). 659336 Such exceptional preservation of plant remains allowed rec- Figure 1. Map of South America showing high-elevation areas and lo- cation of archaeological sites mentioned in text. A color version of this figure is available in the online edition of Current Anthropology. 287 ognition of abundant Bromeliaceae and Agavaceae plant- suggests use in binding or lashing, among other tasks. Stable fiber-processing debris that proportionally outweighs plant- carbon isotope measurements acquired during radiocarbon food remains in both the early and late deposits (Smith analysis corroborate microscopic identification of artifact raw 1980a). The stone industry compares well with those from material (see table 2 and below). The cordage, spiral inter- other early highland sites, and Guitarrero is interpreted as a linking, and close-twined textile are all made from agave or base camp used by mobile foragers who engaged in a broad- bromeliad (Agavaceae or Bromeliaceae) leaf fiber that was spectrum archaic subsistence economy during the Late Pleis- processed to varying degrees, while the open-twined mat frag- tocene/Early Holocene transition (Lynch 1980). ment is woven from rush (Cyperaceae) stems. Nearly 40 previously obtained radiocarbon dates suggest Two previously published descriptions of the Guitarrero intermittent human use of the cave, possibly as early as perishable artifact assemblage provide valuable data, but be- 15,000–14,000 cal yr BP (table 1). However, doubts remain cause of space constraints, they were unable to provide de- about the integrity of stratigraphy and cultural deposits and tailed specimen-by-specimen data and lacked the chronolog- the age of some artifacts and ecofacts (Aldenderfer 1999; Dil- ical certainty provided by direct dating (Adovasio and Lynch lehay 2000). Of the previous dates, only six of the earliest are 1973; Adovasio and Maslowski 1980). An unfortunate con- on undisputed artifacts, and these indicate an initial occu- sequence of this has been minimization of the technical and pation between 12,800 and 10,600 cal yr BP (10,500–9,900 stylistic variability present in the Complex II material as well 14C yr BP). It should be stressed that these are early AMS as a lack of appreciation of the textiles’ fineness. As a step dates that lack the precision of current technique and exhibit toward remedying this, we present detailed metric and analytic standard errors from 130 to 300 years. data for each of the directly dated specimens. We also consider available evidence supporting on-site fiber-artifact manufac- New Radiocarbon Dates and Artifact Analyses ture. A future report will consider our reexamination of
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