La Galgada: Peru Before Pottery

Author(s): Terence Grieder and Alberto Bueno Mendoza

Source: Archaeology, Vol. 34, No. 2 (March/April 1981), pp. 44-51
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41727123
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/';-=09 )(8*=-0/']

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by Terence Grieder and Alberto
n a desolate canyon in the high Andes ofnorth-
ern Peru, the secretsofone ofAmerica's oldest
civilizationsare comingto light.Five thousand
years ago, the ancient people who lived therebuilt
elaborate temples and tombsand shared a beautiful
art.For a thousand years beforethe introductionof
pottery,artists and craftmenworked in bone and
shell, stone,basketry and especially in textiles.The
arid climate at the ruins of La Galgada has pre-
served the richest collection of cultural material
available in the Andean highlands during the
period between 3000 and 2000 B.C.That period,
called the Preceramic,has begun to show the sur-
prisingbeginning ofone of the New World's great-
est styles and the originsofa distinctivelyPeruvian
civilization.
Studyofthe Peruvian Preceramic periodbegan
in 1946 when the archaeologist Junius Bird exca-
vated the ancient mound of Huaca Prieta on the
Pacific coast. In the time since the Huaca Prieta
excavations, countless Preceramic sites have been
identifiedin Peru and about a dozen or so have been
sampled by excavation. The Preceramic ended
about 2000 B.C.when potterymaking was intro-
duced,but how to definethe beginningofthe period
is a morecomplexissue. The termPreceramic has
sometimesbeen used to coverall ofthe millennia of
human occupation in Peru beforepottery.Now
thanks to a series ofPreceramic site excavations a
moremeaningfuldefinitionofthis importantperiod
is emerging.Archaeologists have determinedthat
duringabout 3000 B.C.the mostadvanced Peruvian
communitiesalready showed many traitswhich set
themapart fromthe earliest hunter-gatherersand
sedentaryfarmersand linked them with the later
Peruvian civilizations. These people lived in
densely settled towns with large temples and built
tombsforthe upper class whichheld burial offerings
oftextiles and jewelry.The principal thing they
lacked was pottery.
The site ofLa Galgada is located in the canyon
ofthe Tablachaca River,the main tributaryofthe
largest river on Peru's west coast. The unfailing
presence ofwater was surely the attractionto an-
cientfarmers.Even todaymany ofthe same plants
used byancient inhabitants growin the canyon,an
indicationthat the climate 5,000 years ago was not
toodifferent. The ancient inhabitants ofLa Galgada
raised Lima beans, peanuts, avocados, mangos,
bananas and several other foodplants as well as
abundant cottonalong the banks ofthe river.Al-
thoughgame animals must have been plentifulin
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Bueno Mendoza
the surroundingmountains, animal bones are
almost nonexistentin the debrisofthe ruins.This
may imply a diet based mainly on agricultural
products.
The site extends forabout one kilometeralong
the east bank of the river with three ceremonial
complexes formingthe nuclei of settlements.A
slightlydifferentpattern ofplatformsaround a
large temple, all apparently Preceramic in date,
was discovered on the opposite west bank. Since
1976 we have been studyingthe largest ofthe east
bank settlements.It contained about 50 houses but
others were destroyedwhen a road was built
throughLa Galgada in 1975. Ifall ofthe houses had
been occupied by families offive,this area had a
population ofover 250 people,whichprobablycon-
stitutedabout one-fourthofthe population ofthe
whole site. The road projectalso cut throughthe
templecomplexand coveredoverearly levels along
the façade ofthe large northtemplewhile destroy-
ing halfofthe later part ofthe small southtemple.
In 1978 excavations concentratedon the all-
importantsalvage ofthe southtemple.Then in 1979
and 1980 workfocusedon decipheringthe architec-
tural historyofthe large northtemple.The unusual
historicalsignificanceofLa Galgada is based in part
on its exceptionally fine and well-preservedar-
chitecture.These remains have dictateda conserva-
tive excavation approach in which the remains of
everysingle architecturalperiodare preservedand
only unrestorable rubble and exposed fill are re-
moved.The survival ofthe monumenthas the high-
est priorityin an effortto carefullyprobeand record
the deeper levels ofthis major temple complex.
The northtemplewas completelyrebuiltat least
fourtimes. The earliest excavated level, which
probablydates to about 3000 B.C.,contains a cere-
monial firepitchamber of a type foundalso at
Kotosh and Huaricoto which remained the typical
ceremonial structurethroughoutthe Preceramicin
the highlands. At that time the floorlevel was al-
ready 13 metersabove the base ofthe façade facing
the river.It seems likelythat thereare lower,earlier
levels still to be discoveredwithinthe mound.The
temple was completelyrebuilt in about 2800 B.C.
withnew ceremonial chamberson topand a massive
encirclingwall. Several centuries later the cham-
bers were filledwith two meters offill to support
new floorlevels, and a new encirclingwall was con-
structed.Then in about 2000 B.C.when the first
crudepotterybegan appearing on the site,the whole
northtemplewas encased in a still larger structure.
March/ 1981 45
April
 During this rebuilding the small circular ceremo-
nial firepitchambers which had stood fora
thousand years were replaced byrectangular rooms
forminga U around the square courtyard.Only the
stumpofthe large encirclingwall remains, and just
traces ofthe rectangularbuildings lie on topofthe
mound.
The massive templewalls appear to have served
onlyto retain filland make the templehigherand
moreimpressiveand do notseem to have been de-
fensive.In fact,the walls ofthe later south temple
never »reacheda defensibleheight. One can only
speculate about the use of the ceremonial firepit
chambers.The most commonmaterial foundon
their floorsis white, orange, red or green feather
down. The only other item lying directlyon a
chamber floorwas the lower half of a large deer
antler.These items suggest ceremoniesjust as the
architecturerecalls the Pueblo kivas of North
46 ARCHAEOLOGY
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America. Perhaps the ancient people sat on the low
bench levels around the firepitsto take part in their
rituals. In mostofthe chambersthereis notenough
floorspace fordancing or a dramatic ritual such as
sandpainting.
By about 2500 B.C.the southtemplecompoundhad
been established southofthe large northernmound.
Over the following700 years chamber after
chamber was constructedwith five successive en-
largementsofthe encirclingwall. The reuse ofthe
old ceremonial chambersas tombsis mostclear in
this compound.When a chamber was about to be
abandoned a roughwall oflarge stoneswas placed a
meterfromthe chamberwalls. Flat stoneswere laid
as roofbeams fromthe new wall to the old chamber
walls; then this structurewas buried under the
earth and rockfillleaving a stone-linedshaftlead-
ing to the new surface.The small subterranean
chambersheld fromthreeto fivebodies. Those dat-
 (Left)ThesoutheastcorneroftheNorthTemple at
La Galgada. (Above)Closeupofthesoutheast
curved
corner whichis characteristic
ofPreceramic
Thetwocorbels
architecture. once
(upperright)
supporteda higherwalllevel.
ing to the Preceramicperiodwere extendedon their
backs while thosebelongingto the transitionto the
Initial Ceramic period(2000-1500 B.C.)were flexed
in a seated position. These representthe oldest
knownAmerican examples ofshafttombsin which
the tombchamberwas reached by a shaftor tunnel.
In later times such tombs were widely used along
the west coast ofMiddle and South America. Other
tombs at La Galgada were built entirelynew into
the spaces between the encirclingwalls and be-
tweenthe twotemplecompounds.These examples,
whichdate to the later part ofthe Preceramic or the
beginningofthe Initial Ceramic period,were built
ofvery large unshaped or roughlyshaped stones.
They appear to be the prototypesforthe so-called
galleries ofthe Cha vín temples ofthe Early Horizon
period (1500-500 B.C.). Chavin temples had a
labyrinthofcorridorsor "galleries" but no real in-
teriorrooms.The gallery formas well as the mas-
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sive stones used in theirconstructionis anticipated
in the tombs at La Galgada.
The Preceramictemples are also notable forthe
ornamental constructionofboththe interiorand ex-
teriorwalls. Even in the earliest building, con-
structedofroundedwaterwornstones,a level pro-
jecting dado was built withstraight-linedtrapezoi-
dal niches set upon it. Such rectilinearformswould
seem to be hard to build with rounded stones but
theytooktheirfinalformin the thickmud plaster
whichcoveredthe stonewalls. In the later buildings
ofsquared quarrystone various wall articulations
were constructed:dados, projectingstringcourses,
projectionsover corbels,and a course ofhorizontal
niches. In the later walls thickand thincourses of
masonrywere alternated,but even those carefully
laid walls were probably plastered over with mud
and painted white. Some walls show an undercoatof
yellowbut the finalcoat always seems to have been
March/ 1981 47
April
 Thefirepitventinthe
rectangularchamber inthe
SouthTemple hasanopening
justinsidethedoorstep
which
airtothefirepit.
oncesupplied
a polished pearly white. The other early Peruvian
sites ofKotosh and Moxeke show representational
modeling of the mud plaster and painting on the
walls, but nothingofthat sorthas been foundat La
Galgada. There architectural ornament seems to
have been confinedto the pure abstract articulation
ofthe walls themselves.
TThe tombshave providedmostofthe otherexam-
ples ofarts and crafts,especiallyjewelry,baskets, a
stonecup and mortars,and textiles.Peru is famous
forits ancient textiles which comprise one ofthe
best preservedand numericallyrichestarchives of
ancientcráft.Along with similar Preceramic textile
fragmentsfromHuaca Prieta, GuitarreroCave and
a fewothersites,the La Galgada textilefragments
provide importantevidence ofthe early develop-
mentoftextilemanufactureand tantalizing glimps-
es ofits high artisticachievement.Aside fromthe
occasional use ofcoarser plant fibers,all ofthe cloth
at La Galgada was made of cotton,presumably
48 ARCHAEOLOGY
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grownlocally.None ofthe recoveredfragmentscon-
tains any wool. The preferenceforcottonis typical
ofall the knownPreceramictextiles.Blankets and
bags are the two most commonidentifiableitems,
each produced by its own characteristicPeruvian
technique, the blankets by twining,the bags by
looping.Each ofthese methodshas its natural range
ofexpression- weft-twining lending itselfto the
flatareas ofblankets and loopingadapting well to
the shaped formsofthe bags. But a numberofother
techniques have been found,such as netting,knot-
ted loopingand interlooping.All ofthese techniques
are commonto all the known Preceramic textile
groups.
It appears fromthe fragmentsin the burials that
men carrieda roundbag like a purse made byloop-
ing. These bags must have been objects ofspecial
pride forthey are works of art- ofthe nine bags
whose designs can be most fullyreconstructedno
twoare alike. Birds seem to have been the subjectof
three,twoseem to have related snake designs,two
had circular or curvilinear patterns and one was
rectilinear,all probablybased on some natural
themes,and one had a frontalfigurewithan elabo-
rate costume.This last design probablyrepresented
an anthropomorphicdeitytojudge fromthe frontal
pose and the costume.The same figureis commonin
later Peruvian art but is still notclearly identifiable
by name. The bags give no clue to their original
contentsexceptthat small baskets were placed in-
side such bags in one buriai.
The makers ofthe bags took full advantage of
the design freedompermittedby the looping
technique. None ofthe designs is painted on,but in
every case the color change is a change of thread.
The ancient designersevidentlyshared the modern
aesthetic ideal that the decoration should be inte-
gral to the structureofthe fabric.Despite the frag-
mentarynature ofthe textiles, the original colors
are well preserved: red, yellow,blue and black, as
well as natural brown and white have been re-
corded.
The firstloom-made textiles fromLa Galgada
belongto the end ofthe Precerainicperiod.The ear-
lier, non-loomtextiles oftenmust have been made
on a frameof sticks,but each manipulation dealt
withonlyone warp thread or at mostone pair. The
new elementwas the harness, a stickwithheddles
or stringsattached to alternate warp threads. By
raising the harness every other warp thread was
raised simultaneously.The earliest woven textiles
at La Galgada are narrow cottonbelts,showingthat
the loomwas at firstnarrow- about fivecentime-
terswide- and its harness raised onlythe fewwarps
required by that width. Thé widening ofthe loom
was a very slow process. Even a thousand years
later the standard widthofwoven textiles in Peru
was a mere 33 centimetersor about a foot.The deco-
ration ofPreceramic cloth was all done by ma-
nipulating individual threads which^was no longer
possible when the loom was used. An early woven
belt shows the plain cloth which was the natural
productofthe loom. Dissatisfied withits lack of
decoration,the weaver painted dark brownstripes

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across the belt. The browndye was slightlyacid and
eventuallydestroyedthe material. Not until tapes-
trywas inventednearly 2,000 years later did Peru-
vian weavers again achieve the structuralorna-
mentofclothfoundin the Late Preceramic twined
and looped fabrics.
In 1979 fourshell disks were discoveredattached
to an early woven cloth in the square patio of the
northtemple in a level with a radiocarbon age of
3540 B.P.± 50. When correctedbydendrochronology
to calendar years a date ofbetween 2140 and 1860
B.C.was produced. That date is of special interest
because three of the disks are decorated with de-
signs which show the transitionfromthe Pre-
ceramicart styleto the Chavin style.The powerful
and widespread Chavin style dominated Peruvian
art fromits great ceremonial center at Chavin de
50 Archaeology
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(Top,left)
Jewelryfrom a Preceramictomb includes
bonehairpins inlaidwithturquise,shelland
turquoisebeadsandshellpendants. Length of
hairpinsrangefrom 11.6to15.8centimeters.(Above)
Thisflexed burialwasfoundwrapped inlayersof
clothina LatePreceramic tomb intheSouthTemple.
(Left)A basketinsidea loopedcottonbagwaspartof
thefunerary fora manandtwowomen.
offerings
Width ,22 centimeters.
Huantar in the mountains about a hundred air
miles or 160 kilometerssouth of La Galgada from
about 1500 to 500 B.C.The presence ofa Chavin style
ornamentin such an early level suggests an earlier
and longer developmentof the Chavin style than
has been envisionedbefore.The simplestofthe or-
namenteddisks is made ofwhite shell withfourbird
heads on the rim,theireyes inlaid withred or green
stone. That circle is also the smallest, measuring
just 3.28 centimetersincludingthe birdheads. The
second iridescentshell disk is incised withan angu-
lar abstractdesign based on the head ofa raptorial
birdwitha hookedbeak. Red paint was rubbedinto
the incisions. While the firstdisk is characteristi-
cally Preceramic in style with its plain surfaces,
small size, simple birdheads and varicoloredinlays,
the second disk begins to show Chavin characteris-
 (Top,left)Stackedbaskets
from a LatePreceramic
tomb containeda cotton
bagwitha doublesnake
design.(Above)Fragmentarycottonbagwitha double
birddesign madeofdyedredandnatural tanorwhite
cotton.
Length, 35 centimeters. Loopedcotton
(Left)
textile
fragment decorated
withthelegsofan
anthropomorphic figure.
Length,16.4centimeters.

tics in its abstractangularity and the specification
ofa hooked beak. The thirddisk is entirelyin the
Chavin style. The fourheads are now those of
fangedfelinemonsterstypicalofChavin art and are
made ofmodular strips and bands. The shell is
orange spondylus importedfromthe Ecuadorean
coast and is deeplyexcised to hold bands ofred pig-
ment. The presence of this disk along with the
others implies the existence of the mature Chavin
stylebefore1800 B.C.Altogetherthe threedecorated
disks suggest that Peruvian art developed from
Preceramicto Chavin stylemorerapidlythan has
been thoughtpreviously.
La Galgada offersa variety of insights into
the cultural historyofPeru. It confirmswhat other
sites have begun to reveal- that Preceramic sites
were farfrombeing isolated primitivevillages.
Instead they formeda large region unifiedby
shared styles of art and architecture.The long se-
ries ofbuildings and othercultural materials found
at La Galgada provideevidence forthe rapid social
and cultural progressmade duringthe Preceramic
period. Already at this early time there is ample
evidence ofthe artistic principles and elements of
style and technique, as well as patterns of settle-
mentand land use, which are characteristicoflater
Peruvian civilization. The Preceramic represents
the beginningofa distinctivePeruvian civilization
unitedespecially by stylesofarchitectureand tex-
tiles long beforethe introductionofpottery.
For FuiixeeeiiR&ading on the Peruvian
Preceramic:Elizabeth P. Ben*»*»editor,7%e
DumbartonOaks Conference on Chavin(Washing*
ton,1X21971),has importantarticlesby Seiichi
Izumi on Preceramic and Cha vín styles at
Kotosh, and Luis G. Lumbreras on Chavin de
Huantar,JuntasBird»"Preceramic Cultives in
Chicama and Virú,"ta WendellC.Bennett,editor,
AReappraioalofPeruvianArchaeology (Society
forAmericanArchaeologyIMS, memoir4) mad
"Pre-ceramicArtfromHuaca Prieta,Chicama
Valley,"NawpaPacha 1 (Instituteof Andean
Studies,Berkeley,California1963):29-34,are
basic introductionsto the studyof the period;
RichardL-Burger and Lucy Salazar Burger,
"Ritual and Religionat Huaricoto," Archaeol-
OGY6 (19M): 26-32;WilliamJ. Conklin,"The Rev-
olutionaryWeavingInventionsofthe Early
Horizon? NawpaPacha 16 (Instituteof Andean
Studies,Berkeley1878),describes the develop-
mentof Chavin textilesas theygrew fromPre-
ceramic antecedents;Frédéric Engel, "A Pre-
ceramicSettlementon theCentralCoast ofPeru:
Asia, Unit If Tkanaactkm*oftiteAmerican
PhiiooophicalSociety53 (Philadelphia 1963,new
series),providescomparable material;RobertA.
Feldman,"Lifein AncientPeru,"Ffe&Mfuseiim of
NaturalHUtoryBulletin48 (Chicago 1977),de-
scribes an early temidesite at Aspero on the
Peruvian coast; Thomas F. Lynch,editor,Guita-
rreroCave: EarlyMan in theAndes (Academic
Press,IfewYork1980),is theimportantfinalre-
porton thatsite»

March/ 1981 51
April

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