Maritime Adaptations at Cerro Azul, Peru

Chapter 13 discusses Late Intermediate Period (~1000–1400 cal AD) and 20th-century fishing at Cerro Azul, a large site in the Cañete Valley on the Peruvian coast south of Lima. The authors provide data on the effects of the 1982–83 El Niño event on the local fisheries and use these data to examine the Cerro Azul zooarchaeological assemblage for evidence of El Niño events; they did not find signs of El Niño although events occurred while the site was inhabited.

The Fisherman’s Garden

Chapter 8 draws lessons about Peruvian maritime adaptations from the early Initial Period site of Pampa Gramalote (1500–1200 cal B.C./3450–1350 cal BP) in the Moche valley in northern Peru. Fishermen at Gramalote also cultivated plants important for their fishing, such as cotton, reeds, and gourds, and some of the plants they consumed. Other plant foods were acquired through exchange with valley farmers. Thus, the inhabitants of Gramalote practiced a mixed economy that allowed them to practice symmetrical exchange with the farmers.

Economic Organization and Social Dynamics of Middle-Holocene Hunter-Gatherer-Fisher Communities on the Coast of the Atacama Desert (Taltal, Northern Chile)

Chapter 3 summarizes research on maritime adaptations at Middle Holocene (~7,500 to 4,500 cal BP) occupations of the southern extreme of the Atacama Desert, centered around Taltal on the north Chilean coast. Through this period, the authors see increasing population, complexity, and sedentism, but the social system comes to an abrupt end at 4,500 cal BP. In this hyperarid region, marine resources were always extremely important.

Advanced maritime adaptation in the western Pacific coastal region extends back to 35,000–30,000 years before present

Maritime adaptation was one of the essential factors that enabled modern humans to disperse all over the world. However, geographic distribution of early maritime technology during the Late Pleistocene remains unclear. At this time, the Indonesian Archipelago and eastern New Guinea stand as the sole, well-recognized area for secure Pleistocene evidence of repeated ocean crossings and advanced fishing technology. The incomplete archeological records also make it difficult to know whether modern humans could sustain their life on a resource-poor, small oceanic island for extended periods with Paleolithic technology. We here report evidence from a limestone cave site on Okinawa Island, Japan, of successive occupation that extends back to 35,000−30,000 y ago. Well-stratified strata at the Sakitari Cave site yielded a rich assemblage of seashell artifacts, including formally shaped tools, beads, and the world’s oldest fishhooks. These are accompanied by seasonally exploited food residue. The persistent occupation on this relatively small, geographically isolated island, as well as the appearance of Paleolithic sites on nearby islands by 30,000 y ago, suggest wider distribution of successful maritime adaptations than previously recognized, spanning the lower to midlatitude areas in the western Pacific coastal region.