PEOPLE AND PLANTS IN NORTHERN PERU: AN ETHNOARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE USE OF PLANTS IN THE FISHING COMMUNITY OF HUANCHACO A Dissertation by ROSSANA PAREDES SALCEDO Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Vaughn M. Bryant Committee Members, Allison L. Hopkins Fred Smeins Alston V. Thoms Head of Department, Cynthia Werner May 2019 Major Subject: Anthropology Copyright 2019 Rossana Paredes Salcedo ABSTRACT Ethnoarchaeology studies modern patterns of human behavior to understand and reconstruct past cultural practices as reflected in the archaeological record. The well-studied flora, the good preservation of botanical remains, and the well-known cultural groups, make the northern coastal region of Peru an ideal study area to conduct ethnoarchaeological investigations on plant uses. Huanchaco is a beachside town located in northern Peru where the local fishing community relies on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) about the use of plants. TEK is observed in the construction of reed vessels, known as caballitos de torora, that they use daily for fishing. TEK has been transmitted since prehispanic times as evidenced in the archeological record. To understand the role of plants in the development of human subsistence strategies through time, this dissertation identifies past and present relationships between the fishing community and useful plants of Huanchaco. Modern botanical specimens were collected and identified, today’s fishermen and their relatives were interviewed about the modern plant uses, and plant remains from Initial Period (1500 – 1200 BCE) occupations were analyzed. Results show that the fishing community of Huanchaco use plants mainly for food, medicinal and industrial purposes. Plants from the Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Cucurbitaceae are the most predominant in the modern record and taxa from Poaceae, Solanaceae, Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae and Fabaceae in the archaeological record. Ethnoarchaeological studies along with historical and prehispanic evidence suggests that TEK on plant uses adapted through the generations in response to economic and technological changes that accompanied globalization processes. TEK on the use of plants still plays an important role in the everyday practice of strategies for subsistence in the fishing community of Huanchaco and is considered part of the Peruvian cultural heritage. ii DEDICATION To the human that has always believed in me. Mom, this is for you. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Vaughn M. Bryant, who guided me throughout this research and taught me how capable, strong and positive a human can be. I will always admire you Dr. Bryant for all your professional and altruistic work! Thank you to my mentor, Dr. Allison L. Hopkins, for helping me discover my ethnobotanical passion. I am glad I had the chance to learn from you how to connect with people through my research interests in recognizing the cultural importance of plant knowledge. I would like to thank Dr. Thoms and Dr. Smeins for their guidance and support throughout the course of my graduate program. Their expertise on archaeology and plant ecology contributed to the ethnoarchaeological focus of this research. Thank you for being such admirable professors and consistently reminded me that a language barrier should not be an obstacle in school. Thanks to Dr. Luis Huamán who introduced me to the palynological world for the first time during my undergraduate studies. Profe, I appreciate your unconditional help and motivation for me to become a professional in the study of plants. Thanks for the botany and life classes! As an international student and a shy person, it was hard to become used to this new school and social life. However, many kind people made it easier. Thank you to Angelina Perrotti, Tony Taylor, Casey Wayne, Chase Beck, Katelyn McDonough, Taylor Siskind, Mary Katherine Bryant and Crystal Dozier for making the pollen lab feel like home to me. Also, thanks to my non-pollen friends Paloma Cuello, Armando Inurreta and Shannon Hodges for making my bilingual life much cooler and my stomach much bigger. Thanks too to my dearest friends, Mauricio Carvajal, Mayra Mendoza, Ronald Juarez and Maria Alejandra Fernandez. Thank you for your unconditional friendship, emotional support, iv delicious food and many enjoyable moments. In addition, I thank my writing consultant, Alexis Smith, for helping me revising this manuscript. Finally, I would like to extend my endless gratitude to my family. Mami Rossana, Cinthya, Ana Paula, Lauren and Roko. This dissertation would not have been possible without you and your infinite love. Thanks for all the happiness and the encouragement, and for teaching me how to be a strong woman. v CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES This work was supported by a dissertation committee consisting of Professor Vaughn Bryant (advisor), Professor Allison L. Hopkins and Professor Alston V. Thoms of the Department of Anthropology, and Professor Fred Smeins of the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. The research in chapter II was completed by the student, in collaboration with Allison L. Hopkins of the Department of Anthropology at Texas A&M University and Fiorella Villanueva of the Magdalena Pavlich Herbarium at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia Lima, Peru The case study on totora use presented in chapter IV was conducted in part by Allison L. Hopkins of the Department of Anthropology and was published in 2018. Dissertation research was financially supported by the Department of Anthropology and the Palynology Laboratory at Texas A&M University. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................ iv CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES .................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. ix LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 I.1 Overview ....................................................................................................................... 1 I.2 Background ................................................................................................................... 2 I.3 Research Objectives ...................................................................................................... 5 I.4 Study Region Description ............................................................................................. 7 I.5 References .................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER II THE ETHNOBOTANY OF THE FISHING COMMUNITY OF HUANCHACO ....................................................................................................................... 21 II.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 21 II.2 Methods ....................................................................................................................... 23 II.3 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................ 24 II.4 Results ....................................................................................................................... 25 II.5 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 32 II.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 37 II.7 References ................................................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER III PALEOETHNOBOTANY OF THE EARLY INITIAL PERIOD OF GRAMALOTE IN NORTHERN PERU .................................................................................. 44 III.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 44 III.2 Methods ...................................................................................................................... 46 III.3 Results ...................................................................................................................... 47 III.4 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 50 vii III.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 59 II.6 References ................................................................................................................... 60