Elizabeth S. Wing

Subsistence Economy of El Paraíso, an Early Peruvian Site

Studies of food remains from the Preceramic monumental site of E1 Para�so, Peru (1800 to 1500 B.C.), have shed new light on a debate regarding the relative importance of seafood versus terrestrial resources and the role of cultigens in subsistence economies during the early development of Peruvian civilization. Fish was the primary animal food at the site whereas plant foods consisted of a mixture of cultivated resources (squashes, beans, peppers, and jicama) with an additional reliance on fruits (guava, lucuma, and pacae). Wild plants, especially the roots of sedges and cat-tail, also may have accounted for a substantial part of the diet. Cotton was a chief crop, used in making fishing tackle and the textiles that served as clothing and items of high value and status. As an example of the beginnings of civilization, El Para�so is a case in which impressive architecture was built on a relatively simple subsistence economy and energy was expended in the production of resources useful in local and regional exchange systems.

Zooarchaeology: Gathering Primary Data

INTRODUCTION Archaeofaunal specimens offer unique opportunities for biological and anthropological inquiry, providing insights into the relationship between humans and their environments obtainable in no other way. However, first- and second-order changes alter the image of former lives available from faunal remains. Because some second-order changes develop during the process of gathering and analyzing data, thoughtful application of appropriate methods is important. A zooarchaeological study consists of three parts: (1) identification, (2) analysis, and (3) interpretation. Some of the methods used for identification are introduced in this chapter and are followed by analysis (Chapter 7), and interpretation (Chapters 8, 9, and 10). Important aspects of collection management, publication, and curation follow these chapters (see Appendix 3). Clasons (1972) definitions of primary and secondary data distinguish between identification and analysis. The identification stage can be equated with collecting primary data and the analytical stage with deriving secondary data. Primary data are observations that can be replicated by subsequent investigators, such as element representation and taxonomic identification (e.g., Daly 1969; Lawrence 1973; Schmid 1972). Secondary data include age classes, sex ratios, relative frequencies of taxa, butchering patterns, dietary contributions, and procurement strategies. They are derived from primary data by means of indices and other quantification techniques. Primary data may be viewed as more descriptive and objective than secondary data and subject to less interpretive latitude. Using Lymans (1994a) terminology, primary data are based on observational units or empirical manifestations and secondary data are analytical products.

Maya and their animals

Hamblin, Nancy L. Animal Use by the Cozumel Maya. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1984. vii + 206 pp. including references and index.

Zooarchaeology: Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology

23.00 cloth.