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Elmo León

Elmo León
Elmo León

© Elmo León
© Universidad San Martín de Porres
Fondo Editorial
Primera edición traducida, 2016

Av. Las Calandrias 151 -291 Santa Anita, Lima 43 - Perú


Correo electrónico: fondoeditorial@usmp.edu.pe
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Facultad de Ciencias de la Comunicación, Turismo y Psicología


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Diagramación: Carlos Yépez Espejo | Oficina de Diseño y Multimedia USMP

Año 2016

Reservados todos los derechos. Queda prohibida, sin la autorización escrita de los
titulares del Copyright, bajo las sanciones establecidas en la ley, la reproducción
total o parcial de esta obra por cualquier medio o procedimiento, incluidos
reprografía y el tratamiento informático.

Impreso en el Perú
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ISBN: -xxxxxxxx
Registro del Proyecto Editorial Nº xxxxxxxx FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DE LA
COMUNICACIÓN, TURISMO Y PSICOLOGIA
Hecho el Depósito Legal en la Biblioteca Nacional del Perú Nº 2013 - 0x
To Duccio Bonavia, Donald Ugent and Luigi Piacenza
distinguished scholars on ethnobotany
which is basis of the Andean resources megadiversity

To my late beloved wife, Nancy Chavez,


who still young moved to heaven above…
miss you so much.
CONTENT
FIGURES .......................................................................................................................................................................... 21
DIAGRAMS AND MAPS .......................................................................................................................................... 23
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................................................... 25
FOREWORD .................................................................................................................................................................. 27

CHAPTER 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO PALAEODIET AND SOURCES ......... 29


THE ORIGINS OF THE HUMAN DIET .................................................................................................................. 31
The Role of the Cooking in Human Evolution .............................................................................................. 31
The Origins of Cooking ............................................................................................................................................ 32
Peruvian Food: A Taste of Childhood and Family ....................................................................................... 32
International NovoAndina Cuisine and Foreign Cuisine in Peru ......................................................... 35

COLLECTING SOURCES ON THE PERUVIAN PALAEODIET ............................................................... 39


Structure and Subject Matter of this Book ................................................................................................... 39
The Available Sources .............................................................................................................................................. 42
Pre-Hispanic vs. Modern Peru .............................................................................................................................. 42
Into the Sources ......................................................................................................................................................... 43
Ethnohistory and Ethnography: Their Contribution to the pre-Hispanic Cuisine ..................... 44
Direct Evidence: Organic and Inorganic Remains ...................................................................................... 44
Pre-Hispanic Foodstuffs—How Can We Know They Were Actually Prepared and Eaten? .... 45
The Scope and Limits of Technology in the Archaeological Recording of Foodstuffs ........... 47
‘Non-Peruvian’ Plants and Fruits Possibly Consumed in Pre-Hispanic Peru .................................. 49
Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes Grilled Five Thousand Years Ago... .................................................... 49
Kentucky Fried Chicken vs. Potatoes with Huacatay .............................................................................. 50
Remains of Fish, Molluscs, and Mammals Eaten in Pre-Hispanic Peru ............................................ 50

METHODS USED TO RECONSTRUCT PREHISTORIC FOODS .......................................................... 53


Can we know what a pre-Hispanic Menu Contained? ............................................................................. 53
Radiocarbon and the Remains of Ancient Food ......................................................................................... 54
Radiocarbon Calibration of Ancient Food Remains ................................................................................. 55
Radiocarbon and Some Problems Inherent to pre-Hispanic Foodstuffs ........................................ 55
Where can We Get Radiocarbon Dates for Pre-Hispanic Foodstuffs? ........................................... 56
Turning Radiocarbon Dates into Calendar Years ....................................................................................... 57
Specifying the Results of Radiocarbon Calibration .................................................................................. 59
Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Reconstructing the pre-Hispanic diet Through Modern Science ..................................................... 60 Cereals and Pseudocereals ................................................................................................................................. 146
Direct Evidence: Bone Biochemistry ................................................................................................................ 61 Kiwicha (Amaranthus caudatus) ....................................................................................................................... 146
Excrements and Pathologies Derived From the Food and From Bromatology ........................... 65 Cañihua (Chenopodium pallidicaule, Chenopodiaceae) ....................................................................... 148
Proteins, Fat, Carbohydrates, and Vitamins in Native Peruvian Foodstuffs .................................. 66 Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) ........................................................................................................................ 150
Locating the Archaeological Sites Where Food Remains Have Been Found ............................... 66 Corn (Zea mays) ....................................................................................................................................................... 160
Additional Considerations .................................................................................................................................... 68 Maize Chicha .............................................................................................................................................................. 177

Legumes ...................................................................................................................................................................... 180


CHAPTER 2: PRE-HISPANIC FOOD IN PERU ..................................................................... 71 Peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) ............................................................................................................................... 180
Oblique-Seeded Jack Beans, Jack Bean (Canavalia plagiosperma, Canavalia ensiformis) .... 188
THE MEANING OF FOOD IN PRE-HISPANIC POPULATIONS .......................................................... 73 Lima Beans (Phaseolus lunatus) ........................................................................................................................ 190
Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) ................................................................................................................ 195
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PRE-HISPANIC PERU ................................................................................................ 73 Tarwi (Lupinus mutabilis Sweet) ...................................................................................................................... 205
The Archaic or Preceramic Period ...................................................................................................................... 77 Pacay (Inga feuilleei) ............................................................................................................................................... 207
The Initial Period and the Chavín Phenomenon ......................................................................................... 79 Bean Chocho or “Fréjol Coral” (Erythrina sp.) ............................................................................................ 212
Regional Cultures (Early Intermediate Period) ............................................................................................. 81 Carob Tree or Algarrobo (Prosopis sp.) .......................................................................................................... 213
The Wari Empire ........................................................................................................................................................ 82 Long-Spine Acacia [Huarango, Espino, Faique] (Acacia macracantha) .......................................... 219
The Late Intermediate Chiefdoms ................................................................................................................... 83 Hierba de la Lancha [Acacia Blanca, Peladera] (Leucaena trichodes Benth) ................................ 219
The Inca .......................................................................................................................................................................... 83 Tahuari (Pithecelobium sp.) ................................................................................................................................. 220

FOOD IN PRE-HISPANIC PERU ......................................................................................................................... 85 Fruits ............................................................................................................................................................................. 220


Peruvian Pre-Hispanic Plants Used as Food ................................................................................................... 85 Pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merril, Ananas sativus) ..................................................................... 220
Custard Apple, Cherimoya (Annona cherimola Miller) ........................................................................ 223
Tubers and Rhizomes ............................................................................................................................................... 85 Soursop [Guanábana] (Annona muricata) ............................................................................................................
Achira (Canna edulis Ker-Gawler or Indica)................................................................................................... 85 Chili Pepper [Ají, Chojña, Huaica, Jima, Uchu] (Capsicum baccatum, Capsicum chinense,
Arracacha, White Carrot (Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancroft) ............................................................... 90 Capsicum pubescens y Capsicum frutescens) ............................................................................................. 227
Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) ....................................................................................................................... 93 Gourds (Lagenaria) .................................................................................................................................................. 236
Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp) ......................................................................................................................... 102 Squash [Calabazas or Zapallos] (Cucurbita) ................................................................................................ 237
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) .............................................................................................................. 104 Cucumber (Cucumis sp., Cucumis sativus) .................................................................................................. 247
Arrowleaf (Xanthosoma sp., Xanthosoma sagittifolium) ...................................................................... 117 Lucuma (Pouteria lucuma (R&P) Kuntze, Lucuma bifera Mol.) ........................................................... 248
Oca (Oxalis tuberosa Molina) ............................................................................................................................. 118 Avocado, Palta (Persea americana Mill.) ....................................................................................................... 251
Jíquima (Pachyrhizus tuberosus, Pachirhizus ahipa (Wedd.) Parodi) .................................................. 122 Huachulla (Solanum hispidum) ......................................................................................................................... 257
Yacon root (Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poepp. & Endl.) ......................................................................... 124 Guava [Guayaba, Bimpish, Guayabillo, Kima, Kumaski, Matus] (Psidium guajava) ................... 257
Olluco (Ullucus tuberosus Caldas) ................................................................................................................... 127 Peruvian Pepper [Molle, Aguaribay, Anacahuita, Gualeguay] (Schinus molle) ............................ 261
Totora (Typha angustifolia, Typha domingensis Schoenoplectus californicus Sweet Granadilla [Granadilla, Apicoya, Hutu, Tintin] (Passiflora ligularis Juss) .......................... 263
californicus y Schoenoplectus californicus totora) .................................................................................. 129 Passion fruit [Tumbillo or Maracuyá Silvestre] (Passiflora foetida) ................................................ 263
Wild Cane, Caña brava (Gynerium sagittatum) .......................................................................................... 131 Tumbo (Passiflora tripartita molissima) ....................................................................................................... 264
Reed or Carrizo (Phragmites communis) ....................................................................................................... 132 Kaywa [Caigua, Accoch] (Cyclanthera pedata) ........................................................................................ 264
Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) .................................................................................................................... 132 Mito [Papayo, Mito, Mitu, Quemish] (Carica candicans - Vasconcellea candicans,
Potato (Solanum tuberosum sp.) ...................................................................................................................... 133 Carica pubescens - Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis) ............................................................................. 265
Reeds (Cyperus, Scirpus sp.) ................................................................................................................................. 145 Palillo [Palillo Peruano] (Campomanesia linearifolia) ........................................................................... 266
Coquito (Cyperus esculentus var. leptostachyus Boeck) ....................................................................... 145 Peanut Butter Fruit [Ciruela del Fraile, Cansaboca] (Bunchosia armeniaca) ............................... 267
Sweet Cucumber [Pepino dulce] (Solanum muricatum Aiton) ......................................................... 269
Inca Berry, Peruvian Cherry [Aguaymanto, Capuli] (Physalis Peruviana) ........................................ 271

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Sapote (Capparis angulata, Capparis scabrida) ....................................................................................... 272 Canids ............................................................................................................................................................................ 318
Clavillo (Jusseia peruviana, Ludwigia Perúviana (L.) H. Hara) ............................................................. 273 Sechuran Fox [Zorro de Sechura] (Dusicyon sechurae, Pseudolopex sechurae) and Andean Fox
Wild Tomato, Cherry Tomato? [Tomate silvestre] (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., [Zorro Andino or Colorado] (Pseudolopex culpaeus) .............................................................................. 318
Lycopersicon peruvianum Dun., Solanaceae) ............................................................................................ 273
Tamarillo [Sachatomate, Tomate de Árbol] (Solanum betaceum) .................................................. 275 Mustelids ..................................................................................................................................................................... 319
Peach Palm [Pijuayo, Chonta de Comer] (Gulielma gasipaes, B. gasipaes K.) ............................. 276 Andes Skunk [Zorrino de los Andes] (Conepatus rex, Conepatus chinga rex) ............................. 319
Caimito] (Pouteria caimito R. et P. Radlk, Star apple = Chrysophyllum caimito L.) ................. 279 Peruvian Hairless Dog [Perros Peruanos] (Canis lupus familiaris) .................................................... 320
Wild Tuna [Tuna silvestre] (Opuntia floccosa) ......................................................................................... 280
Cactus (Haageocereus sp. L.) .............................................................................................................................. 281 Lagomorphs (similar to rodents) ..................................................................................................................... 326
Grass Seeds or Fruits [Semillas o frutas de grass] (Caryopses) .......................................................... 281 Brazilian Cottontail, Forest Cottontail, Tapet [Conejo Andino,
Conejo de Monte, Tapet ] (Sylvilagus brasiliensis) ................................................................................. 326
Flowers and Bushes ................................................................................................................................................ 281 Batrachians and Amphibians ............................................................................................................................... 327
Amancae (Hymenocallis amancaes, Ismene amancaes) ......................................................................... 281 Salamander (Caudata) ........................................................................................................................................... 327
Begonias [Begonia] (Begonia geraniifolia) .................................................................................................... 281 Northern Leopard Frog [Rana Leopardo] (Rana pipiens) ...................................................................... 327
Ccantu, Chinchircuma (Mutisia hirsuta) ....................................................................................................... 282 Lake Junín (Giant) Frog or Andes Smooth Frog [Rana de Junín or Rana Gigante]
Chilca (Baccharis prostrata, Baccharis latifolia) ........................................................................................ 282 (Batrachophynus sp., Batrachophynus macrostomus) ........................................................................... 328

Stimulants .................................................................................................................................................................. 282 Reptiles ........................................................................................................................................................................ 328


Coca, Cuca, Jibiro, Mumus, Pusashpan (Erythroxylum coca) ............................................................. 282 Sea Turtle [Tortuga Marina] (Chelonioidea) ............................................................................................... 328
Reptiles (Lacertilia, Reptilia) .............................................................................................................................. 328
Thallophyte Plants ................................................................................................................................................. 288
Algae (Cryptogamae, Macrocystis humboldtii vg. Pyrifera sargazo, Cañán (Dricodon guttulatum) ........................................................................................................................... 329
Eisenia cokeri, algas pardas) .................................................................................................................................................. 288 False Monitor [Iguana] (Callopistes flavipunctatus) .............................................................................. 330
Lizards [Lagartijas] (Teiidae) ............................................................................................................................... 330
Animals as Food ....................................................................................................................................................... 291 Yellow Rat Snake [Serpiente Voladora] (Spilotes pullatus) .................................................................. 331
Sea Lions [Lobos Marinos] (Pinnipedia, Otáridos) and Whales [Ballenas] (Cetacea) .............. 331
Megafauna ................................................................................................................................................................. 292
Megatherium tarijense ......................................................................................................................................... 292 Birds .................................................................................................................................................................................332
Scelidoterium ........................................................................................................................................................... 292 Tinamou [Perdiz Andina, Tinamú] (Nothoprocta cf. taczanoskii) ..................................................... 333
Equus andium ............................................................................................................................................................ 292 Cormorant, Guanay Cormorant [Cormorán, Guanay, or Patillo] (Phalacrocorax sp.,
Onohippidion saldiasi .......................................................................................................................................... 292 Phalacrocorax bougainvillii) ............................................................................................................................... 333
Peruvian Booby [Pájaro Bobo, Piquero Peruano or Alcatraz Piquero]
Non-Extinct Species ............................................................................................................................................. 292 (Sulidae, Sula variegata) ...................................................................................................................................... 336
Camelids ...................................................................................................................................................................... 292 Calidris [Playero], Puna Plover (Calidris sp., Charadris alticola) ........................................................ 337
Taruca, Deer (Hippocamelus antisensis) ....................................................................................................... 307 Seagull (Laridae, Larus sp.) .................................................................................................................................... 337
White Tailed Deer [Venado de Cola Blanca] (Odocoileus virginianus, Odocoileus Albatross [Albatros] (Diomedeae sp.) ............................................................................................................ 338
peruvianus) and Red Brocket [Ciervo Rojo] (Mazama americana, Mazama rufina) ................... 308 Puna Ibis [Yanavico or Ibis de Puna] (Plegadis ridgwayi) ...................................................................... 338
Peccary [Chancho de Monte, Jabalí Americano, Pecarí] (Tayassuidae) .......................................... 310 Melodious Blackbird [Tordo Cantor] (Dives dives) ................................................................................. 339
American Coot [Gallinetón or Gallareta Americana] (Fulica americana peruviana) ............. 339
Rodents ........................................................................................................................................................................ 310 Garza Blanca (Egretta sp.) .................................................................................................................................... 339
Guinea Pig [Cuy, Cobayo, Quwe, Wanchu] (Cavia porcellus) ............................................................. 310 Great Heron [Garza Grande] (Casmerodius sp.) ....................................................................................... 339
Vizcacha (Lagidium peruanum) .......................................................................................................................... 316 Aguilucho Grande (Geranoaetus fuscescens australis) ......................................................................... 339
Silver Teal [Pato] (Anas versicolor) .................................................................................................................. 339
Dabbling Ducks [Pato Silvestre] (Anas sp.) .................................................................................................. 339

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Crested duck [Pato] (Anas speculorides) ...................................................................................................... 340 Pacific croaker [Corvina Dorada, Guavina] (Micropogon altipinnis) ............................................... 370
Muscovy Duck [Pato Joque or Moscovita] (Cairina moschata) ........................................................ 340 Whitefin Weakfish [Corvineta Reina, Corvina Real] (Cynoscion albus) ........................................ 370
Pampero Peruano (Geossita paytensis) ......................................................................................................... 343 Ground drummer [Ronco, bocón] (Bairdiella spp.) ................................................................................. 371
Rufous-Collared Sparrow [Gorrión Andino or Vinchi] (Zonotrichia capensis peruviensis) ...... 343 Grunt [Corcovado, callana] (Orthopristis spp.) ......................................................................................... 371
Peruvian Pelican [Pelícano Peruano or Alcatraz] (Pelecanus thagus, Pelecanidae) .................. 343 Flathead Grey Mullet, striped mullet [Lisa] (Mugil cephalus L.) ........................................................ 371
Pigeons [Palomas] (Columbidae) ..................................................................................................................... 344 Palm Ruff, Blackruff [Cojinova, palmera, palmerita] (Seriolella violacea G.)] ............................. 373
Spot-Winged Pigeon [Paloma “manchada”] (Columba maculosa) .................................................. 345 Peruvian Weakfish, drum [Cachema, Cachema Sechurana or Ayanque] (Cynoscion analis) ..... 373
White-Winged Dove [Cucula o tórtola aliblanca] (Zenaida asiatica meloda) .......................... 345 Mahi-Mahi, common dolphinfish [Perico, dorado] (Coryphaena hippurus) ................................ 375
Eared Dove [Paloma de Campo o Tórtola “Torcaza”] (Zenaida auriculata) ....................................... 345 Peruvian Hake, Pacific Hake [Merluza] (Merluccius gayi peruanus) .................................................. 375
Sparrow [Gorrión Casero] (Passeridae) ......................................................................................................... 345 Pacific Menhaden [Machete o machuelo] (Ethmidium maculatum, Brevoortia maculata) ..... 376
Shearwater [Pardela] (Pruffinus, Procellaridae, Laridae) ....................................................................... 345 Spanish Mackerel [Pez Sierra] (Scomberomorus maculatus sierra J&S) .......................................... 376
Mimids [Calandria] (Mimidae) .......................................................................................................................... 346 Pacific Bonito [Bonito] (Sarda sarda, Sarda chiliensis chilensis) .........................................................376
Inca Tern [Zarcillo, Gaviotín, or Charrán Inca] (Larasterna inca) .......................................................... 346 Peruvian Rock Seabass [Cabrilla, cabrilla loca, cabrillón] (Paralabrax humeralis) .................... 378
Black Vulture [Gallinazo] (Coragyps atratus) ................................................................................................... 346 Brick Seabass [Cherlo, chancharro o choromelo] (Acanthistius pictus) ....................................... 379
Andean Goose [Huashua or Ganso Andino] (Cloephaga melanoptera) ............................................. 346 Bullet Tuna, bullet mackerel, wide corseleted [Barrilete negro, melva] (Auxis sp.) ................ 379
Andean Coot [Gallareta] (Fulica ardesiaca) ...................................................................................................... 347 Cabinza Grunt [Cabinza] (Isacia conceptionis) .......................................................................................... 379
Giant Coot [Gallareta Gigante] (Fulica gigantea) ............................................................................................ 347 Peruvian Grunt, Pacific sargo [Chita o sargo] (Anisotremus scapularis) ........................................ 380
Andean Avocet [Avoceta Andina] (Recurvirostrus [Recurvirostra?] andina) .................................... 347 Blue-Bronze Sea Chub [Salema, Chopa] (Kyphosus analogus) ........................................................... 381
Andean Flicker [Pito] (Colaptes rupicolor [rupicola?]) .................................................................................. 347 Sheephead, wrasses [Mulato, Peje Perro, or Vieja] (Pimelometopon sp.) ...................................... 381
African Penguin, Humboldt Penguin [Pingüino peruano] (Spheniscus demersus, Clingfishes, Pejesapo [Pejesapo or Shinguillo] (Sicyases sanguineus M&T) .................................. 381
Spheniscus humboldti) ................................................................................................................................................... 347 Peruvian Morwong [Pintadilla, Páramo or Pintacha] (Cheilodactylus variegatus) ................... 382
Pacific Chub Mackerel [Caballa, estornino] (Scomber japonicus peruanus, Scombridae) .............. 382
Sea Fish .................................................................................................................................................................................. 348 Giant Blenny, scaleless blenny [Borracho, Borracho Gigante] (Scartichthys gigas) ................ 383
Blenny, scaled blenny, trambollo or Chalapo Clinid [Trambollo or Chalapo]
Osteichthyes ...................................................................................................................................................................... 349 (Lepisoma philipii, Labrisomus philippii) ...................................................................................................... 383
Peruvian Anchoveta [Anchoveta or Peladilla] (Engraulis ringens, Engraulidae) ............................... 349 Flounder, [Lenguado de ojos chicos] Paralitchthys microps (Paralitchthys microps) .............. 384
Sardine or Herring [Sardina or Arenque] (Sardinops sagax sagax, Clupeidae) ................................ 353 Sea bass, Pacific Mutton Hamlet [?] [Mero] (Epinephelus sp., Alphestes fasciatus) ................ 384
Peruvian Silverside (Odonthestes regia regia, Atherinidae) ....................................................................... 355 Fine Flounder, lefteye Flounder, halibut,[Lenguado común] (Paralichthys adspersus) .......... 385
Dark-Spot Mojarra, Periche (Eucinostomus entomelas) ............................................................................... 356 Speckled-Tail Flounder [Lenguado de Cola Manchada] (Bothidae, Engyophrys sanctilaurentia) 385
Croaker, drums, minor Stardrum (Stellifer minor) ........................................................................................... 356 Spotted Scorpion Fish [Pez Diablo] (Scorpaena plumieri mystes) .................................................. 385
Peruvian Banded Croaker, drums (Paralonchurus peruanus) ..................................................................... 357 Sandperch [?] [Bacalao, Rollizo] (Mugiloides chilensis) ......................................................................... 386
Pacific Porgy [Marotilla, peje chino, sargo, taca] (Calamus brachysomus) ........................................ 359 Pacific Golden-Eyed Tilefish or Ocean Whitefish [Peje blanco, blanquillo]
Skipjack Tuna or Oceanic skipjack [Barrilete, listado] (Katsuwonus pelamis) .................................. 359 (Caulolatilus cabezon, Caulolatilus cabezon affinis Gil) ...................................................................... 386
Bullseye Puffer, Network puffer [Tamborín, botete diana] (Sphoeroides annulatus) ................. 360 Parrot Fish [Pococho perico] (Xenoscarus denticulatus, Scarus perico) ....................................... 386
Peruvian sea catfish [Bagre con faja –bagre del norte] (Galeichthys peruvianus) ........................ 360 Black Cusk-Eel [Congrio, congrio moreno] (Genypterus maculatus) ............................................. 386
Pacific Jack mackerel, Jack mackerel, Inca Scad [Jurel, Furel] (Carangidae, Trachurus Bonefish [(Pez) Zorro, Macabi] (Albula vulpes) ......................................................................................... 387
symmetricus murphyi, Trachurus picturatus murphyi) .................................................................................. 361 Catfish [Bagre negro] (Cathorops) ................................................................................................................. 387
Pompano, Paloma [Pámpano] (Trachinotus sp.) ............................................................................................... 363 Catfish [Bagre] (cf. Ariopsis) ................................................................................................................................ 387
Lorna Drum [Lorna, Cholo, Losna] (Sciaena deliciosa) ................................................................................. 363
Kingfish, Mis-Mis, Misho or Muchachita (Menthicirrus sp.) ....................................................................... 366 Cartilaginous Fish ................................................................................................................................................... 387
Croaker [Pintadilla, Peje Burro, Arnillo, Burro, Caracha] (Sciaena fasciata) ....................................... 367 Snake Eel [Ánguila] (Ophichthus sp.) ............................................................................................................. 387
Drums [Róbalo or Lubina] (Sciaena wieneri) ...................................................................................................... 367 Smooth-Hound and Spotted Houndshark [Tollo (Mustelus spp.)
Drums [Robalo or Lubina] (Sciaena starksi) ........................................................................................................ 367 and Tollo Manchado] (Triakis maculata) ...................................................................................................................... 388
Drums [Corvina, corvinilla] (Cilus gilberti, Sciaena gilberti A) .................................................................. 368 Sharptooth Smoothhound [Tollo blanco] (Mustelus dorsalis) ......................................................... 389

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Requiem shark, Galeorhinus sp. [Tiburón sopa de aleta, cazón o cazón de aleta] Snail [Caracolito] (Cerithium stercusmuscarum) ..................................................................................... 406
(Galeorhinus sp.) .......................................................................................................................................................................... 389 Snail [Caracolito] (Cerithidea valida) ........................................................................................................... 406
Pacific Guitarfish [Guitarra] (Rhinobatos planiceps) ............................................................................................... 389 Caracol cresta de gallo (Epitonium sp.) ....................................................................................................... 406
Chilean Angelshark, Angelshark [Angelote, Tiburón Ángel] (Squatina armata) ................................... 390 Caracol blanco (Polinices cf. Cora, Polinices uber) ................................................................................. 406
Rays [Raya] (Batoideo, Myliobatidae, Chondrichthyes, Dasyatis, Psammobatis caudispina sp.) ...... 390 Moonsnail [Caracol luna] (Polinices intermeratus) ..................................................................................407
Round Stingrays [Tapadera, Raya, Raya con Espinas] (Urotrygon sp.) ........................................................... 391 Concave Ear Moon Snail [Orejón, Abalón, Caracol Babosa, Chanque] (Sinum cymba) ........ 407
Blue Shark, Smooth Hammerhead Shark, Shortfin Mako Shark, Tiger Shark, Pacific Sharpnose Snail [Caracol] (Cymatium wiegmani) .......................................................................................................... 408
Shark, Great White Shark [Tintorera (Prionace glauca), tiburón martillo (Sphyrna zygaena L.), Caracol Rosado, Caracol Gringo (Bursa ventricosa) .............................................................................. 408
tiburón bonito (Isurus oxyrinchus, Lamna nasus, Lamnidae), tiburón tigre (Galeocerdo cuvier), Caracol Sapo (Bursa nana) ................................................................................................................................. 408
tiburón hocicón (Rhizoprionodon longurio), tiburón blanco (Carcharadon carcharias)] ............... 392 Chilean Abalone or Rock shell [Pata de Burro, Chanque, or Loco] (Concholepas concholepas) ... 408
Requiem Sharks [Tiburón o cazón] (Carcharhinus) ................................................................................................. 393 Snail [Caracol] (Thais callaoensis) ................................................................................................................... 410
The Fish of Huaca Prieta ...................................................................................................................................... 393 Caracol negro, caracol plomo (Thais –Stramonitae– chocolata) ..................................................... 411
Snail [Caracol] (Thais –Stramonita- biserialis) ............................................................................................ 412
Freshwater Fish ......................................................................................................................................................... 394 Snail [Caracol] (Thais –Stramonita– delessertiana) ........................................................................................412
Bryconamericus peruanus [Blanquito or Lisita de Río] (Bryconamericus peruanus) ............... 394 Snail [Caracol] (Thais –Thaisella– kiosquiformis) .................................................................................... 413
Pencil Catfish [Life] (Trichomycterus sp., Pygidium dispar) ................................................................. 394 Rock snail [Caracol de Roca] (Thais –Stramonita– haemastoma ....................................................... 413
Lebiasina binaculata [Pejerrey de Río or “Charcoca”] (Lebiasina binaculata) ........................... 394 Caracolito (Xanthochorus buxea) .................................................................................................................... 414
Caracol Buccino (Cantharus cf. Inca, Cantharus elegans, Cantharus fusiformes) .................... 415
Molluscs and Crustacea ...................................................................................................................................... 395 Snail [Caracol] (Solenosteira fusiformis) ....................................................................................................... 415
Chitons Caracol Buccino (Columbrella paytensis) .................................................................................................... 415
Chiton [Quitones / Barquillos] (Chitonidae and Polyplacophora) ................................................ 396 Caracolito (Anachis sp.) ........................................................................................................................................ 415
Chiton [Barquillo, chitón] (Chiton granosus) ............................................................................................. 397 Snail [Caracol] (Mitrella buccinoides) ............................................................................................................ 416
Chiton [Barquillo, chitón] (Chiton cumingsii) ............................................................................................ 397 Snail [Caracol] (Nassarius dentifer, Nassarius gayi) ................................................................................. 416
Chiton [Barquillo, chitón] (Enoplochiton niger) ....................................................................................... 397 Snail [Caracol] (Nassarius luteostoma) ........................................................................................................... 417
Chiton [Barquillo] (Chaetopleura hennahi) ................................................................................................ 398 Snail [Caracol] (Oliva peruviana) ...................................................................................................................... 417
Olive shell [Olivela] (Olivella sp.) .................................................................................................................... 417
Limpets Olive shell [Olivita] (Olivela columellaris) .................................................................................................. 417
Limpet (Fissurella crassa) ...................................................................................................................................... 398 Caracolito (Prunum curtum) ............................................................................................................................... 418
Giant Keyhole Limpet [Blanco o lapa reina] (Fissurella maxima) .................................................... 400 Snail [Caracol] (Mitra orientalis) ....................................................................................................................... 418
Keyhole limpet [Lapa viuda] (Fissurella latimarginata) ....................................................................... 400 Cancelaria (Cancellaria urceolata sp.) ........................................................................................................... 418
Peruvian Keyhole Limpet [Lapa] (Fissurella peruviana) ....................................................................... 400 Cancellaria indentata .............................................................................................................................................419
Keyhole limpet [Lapa “gaviota”] (Scurria parasítica) y Fissurella limbata ................................... 401 Cancellaria decussata ............................................................................................................................................ 419
Patela (Collisella ceciliana) ................................................................................................................................. 401 Alas de Ángel (Pholas chiloensis) ...................................................................................................................... 419
Green Chilean Limpet [Señorita o sombrerito chino] (Scurria viridula, Acmaeidae) ............ 401 Crassilabrum crassilabrum .................................................................................................................................. 419
Snail [Caracol] (Homolocantha multicrispata) .......................................................................................... 419
Small Snails [Caracolitos] ................................................................................................................................... 395 Snail [Caracol] (Bostryx turritus) ...................................................................................................................... 420
Caracol Negro or Caracol Turbante (Tegula atra), Caracol Negro (Tegula euryomphalus) ..... 402 Snail [Caracol] (Bostryx elongatus) ................................................................................................................. 420
Snail [Caracol] (Tegula tridentata) .................................................................................................................. 403 Caracol chayote (Drymaeus sp., Drymaeus tigris) ................................................................................... 420
Caracolito negro, lapa (Turbo niger, Prisogaster niger) ........................................................................ 404 Sea Snail (Naticide sp.) ......................................................................................................................................... 420
Snail [Caracolillo] (Littorina peruviana) ....................................................................................................... 405 Trochita] ([Caliptraea?] trochiformis) ............................................................................................................ 420
Snail [Caracolito] (Collumbella fuscata) ...................................................................................................... 405 Ferguson’s Cone [Cono de Ferguson] (Conus fergussoni) .................................................................... 420
Freshwater Snail [Caracol de Agua Dulce] (Physa venustula) ............................................................. 421
Snails and Cone Snails [Caracoles y conos] .............................................................................................. 405 Caracol de los Acuarios (Helisoma –Planorbis– sp., Helisoma peruvianum) ............................. 421
Caracol tornillo (Turritella sp.) ......................................................................................................................... 405 Landsnail [Caracol de Loma] (Scutalus mutabilis, Scutalus proteus, Scutalus versicolor) .......... 421
Caracol de Plantas (Systrophia sp.) ................................................................................................................ 424

16 17
Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Cups, saucer limpets [Piques] .......................................................................................................................... 425 Sea Urchin ................................................................................................................................................................... 451
Cup [Caracol “Pantufla,” Pique Señorita] (Creppatella dilatata) ....................................................... 425 Sea Urchin [Erizos de Mar] (Loxechinus albus) .......................................................................................... 452
Cup [Pique, Señorita] (Crepidulla incurva) .................................................................................................. 426 Piure, Ciruelo Colorado, Ciruelo de Mar] (Pyura, Pyura chilensis, Ascidiacea) .......................... 452
Cup [Pique, Señorita] (Crucibulum lignarium) ............................................................................................ 426
Cup [Pique, Señorita] (Crucibulum spinosum) ............................................................................................ 426 Percebe [Goose Bernacles?] and Crabs ....................................................................................................... 453
Cup [Pique] (Caliptrea trochiformis) ............................................................................................................... 426 Barnacles [Percebe, Pico de Loro] (Balanus spp.) ..................................................................................... 453
Percebe (Chthamalus cirratus) .......................................................................................................................... 453
Bivalves, Mussels, Oysters, Clams .................................................................................................................. 427 Taxonomically Unidentified Crabs (Pleocyemata cf. anomura and brachyura) ......................... 454
Black Ark [Concha Negra] (Anadara tuberculosa) ................................................................................... 427 Crabs [Cangrejos] (Calappidae) ........................................................................................................................ 454
Concha Prieta (Anadara nux) ............................................................................................................................. 427 Crab [Cangrejo Tijereta] (Petrolisthes spp., Porcellanidae) ................................................................. 454
Mussels [Concha Pata de Burro] (Anadara –Grandiarca– grandis) ................................................ 427 Cangrejo Violáceo, Jaiva Morada, or Cangrejo Colorado (Platyxanthus orbignyi) .................. 454
Mussels [Mejillón] (Glycymeris ovata) ......................................................................................................... 428 Rock crab [Cangrejo Peludo, Jaiva Peluda] (Cancer setosus) .............................................................. 455
Common Musse [Choro Común, Choro o Mejillón Mussel] (Aulacomya ater) ....................... 428 Cangrejo de Agua (Arenaeus mexicanus ...................................................................................................... 456
Mejillín Púrpura (Brachidontes purpuratus) ................................................................................................ 430 Cangrejo Araña (Maidias) and Cangrejo Piedra (Xanthidae) ............................................................... 456
Mussel [Choro or Choro Zapato] (Choromytilus chorus) .................................................................... 430 Rock crab [Jaiva] (Cancridae) ............................................................................................................................. 456
Chorito playero (Perumytilus purpuratus) .................................................................................................. 433 Sea Cucumber [Pepino de Mar] (Patabus mollis) .................................................................................... 456
Chorito negro (Semimytilus algosus) ............................................................................................................. 435 Crab [Cangrejo de Arena] (Hepatus chiliensis) .......................................................................................... 456
Ostra Negra (Ostrea columbensis) .................................................................................................................. 436 Crab [Cangrejo Negro] (Callinectes toxotes) ............................................................................................. 456
Oyster [Ostra] (Ostrea angelica) ...................................................................................................................... 437 Freshwater Crab [Cangrejo de Agua Dulce] (Hypollobocera) ............................................................ 457
Peruvian Scallop [Conchuela, Concha de Abanico or Señorita] (Argopecten purpuratus) ......... 437 Crab [Cangrejito] (Cycloxanthops sexdecimdentatus) ........................................................................... 457
Scallop [Conchuela, Concha de Abanico] (Argopecten circularis) .................................................. 439 Painted Ghost Crab [Cangrejo Carretero] ([Ocypode?] gaudicgaudii) .......................................... 457
Scallop [Ostión] (Chama pellucida) ............................................................................................................... 439 River crab [Cangrejo de Rio] (Hypollobocera sp.) ................................................................................... 457
Scallop [Ostión] (Pseudochama corrugata) ............................................................................................... 439 River crab [Cangrejo de Río] (Procambarus clarkii) ................................................................................ 458
Concha Pata de Mula, Piconuda (Trachycardium procerum) ............................................................... 439 Shrimp [Camarones] (Cryphiops caementarius) ....................................................................................... 458
Almeja Fina, Berberecho (Mexicardia procera) ........................................................................................ 440
Piconudo (Trachicardium sp.) ........................................................................................................................... 440 Insects: entomophagy .......................................................................................................................................... 458
Clam [Almeja] (Transenella pannosa) .......................................................................................................... 440 Humans: Anthropophagy or Cannibalism .................................................................................................. 460
Piojosa (Dosinia dunkeri) .................................................................................................................................... 440 Earth and Clays: Geophagy. Pre-Hispanic Chemical Cuisine .............................................................. 462
Concha Rayada] (Chione sp., Chione subrugosa) .................................................................................... 440 Salt ..................................................................................................................................................................................464
Venus shell... [Almeja or Almeja Rayada] (Protothaca thaca) ........................................................... 440 Breast Milk .................................................................................................................................................................. 465
Concha Tabaco (Protothaca aspérrima) ..................................................................................................... 442
Clam [Almeja] (Petricola rugosa) ..................................................................................................................... 442 FARMING, FOOD PRESERVATION, AND STORAGE TECHNIQUES ............................................... 467
Clam [Almeja, Taquilla] (Mulinia edulis) ....................................................................................................... 442 Pre-Hispanic Agriculture ...................................................................................................................................... 467
Almejita (Spisula adamsi) .................................................................................................................................... 443 Water Sourcing ........................................................................................................................................................ 468
Clam [Almeja, Señorita, Conchita, Palabrita, Mariposa] (Donax peruvianus, Donax obesulus) ... 444 Pre-Hispanic Irrigation Canals ........................................................................................................................... 469
Razor clam [Navaja or Pico de Pato] (Tagelus peruvianus) ................................................................... 445 Raised Field Systems (Waru-Waru and Ridges) ........................................................................................ 470
Razor clam [Chaveta] (Tagelus dombeii) ...................................................................................................... 446 Reservoirs in the Central Highlands ................................................................................................................ 473
Clam [Almeja] (Semele corrugata) .................................................................................................................. 446 Tuber, Grain, and Meat Preservation Techniques ...................................................................................... 474
Clam [Almeja] (Semele solida) .......................................................................................................................... 447
Wedge clams... [Machas] (Mesodesma donacium) ................................................................................. 447
Venus shell [Abanico, Piojosa, Concha Blanca] (Tivella sp.) ............................................................... 450 CHAPTER 3: THE PRE-HISPANIC DIET FROM
Cascabel Peruano] (Anomia peruviana) ....................................................................................................... 450 THE STANDPOINT OF MODERN SCIENCE .................................................................... 481
Clam [Almeja] (Eurhomalea rufa) .................................................................................................................... 450
Concha (Mactra velata) ........................................................................................................................................ 451 THE PRE-HISPANIC DIET OF PERU THROUGH CARBON AND NITROGEN
Concha Mariposa (Iphigenia altior) ................................................................................................................. 451 ISOTOPES AND COPROLITHS (EXCREMENT) ............................................................................................... 483

18 19
14,000 years of food in Peru

FROM HEARTH TO OVEN: PRE-HISPANIC PERUVIAN CUISINE ..................................................... 495


Firewood and Mortars .......................................................................................................................................... 495

PRE-HISPANIC CUISINE AND CULINARY TRADITIONS:


THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHIC DATA ..................................................................... 499
The Food and Cuisine of the oldest inhabitants of Peru .................................................................... 499
Reconstructing the Menu: Case Studies in Pre-Hispanic Peru .......................................................... 504 FIGURES
Andean Food in Ethnography and Ethnohistory ...................................................................................... 513
Dinnerware and Culinary Modes ...................................................................................................................... 514
Pachamanca, Stew, and Toasted Food .......................................................................................................... 522 Figure 1. Common Dining Area in the Peruvian Andes. Current ethnographical 45
Chicha and Food: Feasts in pre-Hispanic Peru .......................................................................................... 526 records are crucial in reconstructing the Precolumbian diet traditions (courtesy
of Eric Chávez).
THE NUTRITIONAL BALANCE .......................................................................................................................... 535
Vitamins ........................................................................................................................................................................ 535 Figure 2. Achira remains dating to 2914-2287 B.C. (upper right) and from Pampa de 89
Minerals ........................................................................................................................................................................ 537 Llamas, Lower portion of the Casma Valley (courtesy of Donald Ugent).
Protein and Fatty Acids .......................................................................................................................................... 541
Figure 3. Sweet potato remains found in Pampa de Llamas-Moxeque (Casma 99
DIET-RELATED DISEASES .................................................................................................................................... 543 Valley) dating to 2088-1243 B.C. (both in the upper and one on bottom right).
Tuberculosis, parasites, infections, and malnutrition ............................................................................ 544 Sweet potato macroremains of Huaynuná (bottom left), Casma, dating to
Anaemia, Caries, and Pellagra ............................................................................................................................. 549 2914-2287 B.C. indeed the oldest sweet potato found ever in Peru (courtesy
Parasites, Agents of Malnutrition .................................................................................................................... 555 of Donald Ugent).
Pre-Hispanic Scurvy ................................................................................................................................................ 557
Figure 4. Manioc representation. Mochica ceramic, ca. A.D. 400, Northern Coast, 115
CONCLUDING REMARKS .................................................................................................................................. 559 Peru (Larco Museum. Lima-Peru).

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................................ 591 Figure 5. Jiquima found in scientific excavations in Cahuachi (Nasca) dating to 125
A.D. 200 (courtesy of Maria Grazia Piaecnza, Luigi Piacenza –late- and Carolina
Orsini).

Figure 6. Potato archaeobotanical remains from Chilca (upper), possibly dating 139
to 7000 B.C. and Pampa de Llamas-Moxeque, Casma, (lower) ca. 2000-1250
B.C. (courtesy of Donald Ugent).

Figure 7. Corn archaeological remains of Huaca Prieta and Paredones, La Libertad, 169
dating to ca. 5200 B.C. (courtesy of Proceedings of National Academy of
Sciences).

Figure 8. Corn remains in association with pepper (Capsicum sp) and potato 174
(Solanum tuberosum) found in the archaeological site of Casa Vieja, Nasca
Culture dating to A.D. 200-400 (courtesy of José Roque).

Figure 9. Purple corn remains found in Cahuachi, the Nasca capital dating to ca. 175
A.D. 100-400 (courtesy of Maria Grazia Piacenza, Luigi Piacenza and Carolina
Orsini)

21
Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Figure 10. Corn cob, virtually completed preserved in Pedregal, Jequetepeque 176
Valley, Chimu Culture dating to A.D.1000-1470 (courtesy of Robyn Cutright).

Figure 11. Copper “sonajera” composed by beads representing peanuts, Mochica 183
Culture A.D. 100-800 (Museo Larco. Lima-Perú).

Figure 12. Cerámica representando a pacay o guaba (Cultura Moche, ca. A.D. 400 209 DIAGRAMS
(Larco Museum. Lima-Perú).

Figure 13. Macrobotanical algarrobo remains found in the site of Samaca (ca. A.D. 218 Diagram 1.
500-900) (courtesy of David Beresford-Jones). Feeding patterns based on tubers, rizomes, cereals and legumes in Precolumbian Peru. 560

Figure 14. Mochica pottery representing soursoap -guanábana- dating to A.D. 227 Diagram 2.
400 (Larco Museum. Lima-Perú) Feeding patterns based on fruits in Prehispanic Peru. 575

Figure 15. Avocado representation (Chimu-Inca pottery) (Larco Museum. Lima- 256 Diagram 3.
Peru). Feeding patterns based on animals in Prehispanic Peru. 579

Figure 16. Llama astragalus bone with cutting traces recovered from scientific 303 Diagram 4.
excavations in Pedregal (Chimu Culture, Jequetepeque Valley), dating to A.D. Feeding patterns based on birds in Precolumbian Peru. 582
1000-1460 (courtesy of Robyn Cutright).
Diagram 5.
Figure 17. Dog bone remains with cutting scars interpreted as butchery activity 325 Feeding patterns based on fishes in Precolumbian Peru 584
posible for human food. Pedregal, Jequetepeque Valley, Chimu Culture, ca.
A.D. 1000-1460 (courtesy of Robyn Cutright). Diagram 6.
Feeding patterns based on mollusks and crustacean in Precolumbian Peru 587
Figure 18. Bone cormorán-bird remains found in scientific excavations in 334
Quebrada Tacahuay (Tacna) dating to ca. 10000 B.C. Pay attention to the upper
part showing cutting traces revealing removing flesh to obtain food (courtesy
of Susan DeFrance). MAPS
Figure 19. Shrimp representación in pottery. Chancay Culture, Central Coast of 459
Peru, dating to ca. A.D. 1000-1460 (courtesy of Guido del Castillo, Andrés del Map 1.
Castillo, Museum, picture of Lida Casas). Archaeological sites where food remains were found in Peru mentioned in the book 67

22 23
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The ambitious purpose of this book in compiling and assessing the main finds of research
in respect of ancient Peruvian food would not have been possible without the help and
cooperation on a number of colleagues who were kind to me during my work by means of
scientific comments, approaching to me papers that were not easy to find, but also pictures,
drawings and all graphic stuff to ilustrate my book.

First of all, I would like to acknowledge the permanent support and sponsorship to my research
of my dear colleague Dr. Johan Leuridan, Dean of the Faculty of Communication Sciences,
Tourism and Psicology of the University of San Martin de Porres. Without his support the
book that you have in your hands, dear reader, would not be a fact. Thank you dear Johan.

Two close colleagues of mine who enthousiast contributed with my Project were Duccio
Bonavia (Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia) and Donald Ugent (Plant Biology
Department, Southern Illinois University Carbondale), an archaeologist and a botanist, what a
perfect combitation to my book. Duccio, my tutor and friend, helped me in finding difficult
bibliography and providing me with his precious comments all the time. He was a splendid
human being, and researcher who teached my for over 20 years not only science but ethic.

Sursum et cordam Duccio! Don followed my manuscript in preparation and were in contact
with me to assess my data and assessments as well to provide me his illustrations of most
of his important findings on the Central Coast of Peru. Duccio and Don passed away. Both
colleagues told me more tan once, they wanted to read my book. They are not more on our
earth but surely in our heart. I dedicated my book to these dears colleagues and friends.

Many other colleagues helped with data, graphics, personal communications, radiocarbon
data, comments and further assisstance. I should mention here, Richard Burger (University
of Yale), Paula Reimer (University of Belfast, Ireland), Juan Yataco (Museum of Archaeology,
University San Marcos, Lima),), José Roque (Museum of Natural History, University San Marcos,
Lima), Vaughn Bryant (Texas A&M University), Rafael Vega (Pontifical Catholic University
of Peru, Lima), Karl Reinhard (Environmental Archaeology and Forensic Science, School of
Natural Resources, University of Nebraska), Greg Lockard (University of New Mexico), Claudia
Grimaldo (University of Manchester, UK), Alden Yepez (Pontifical Catholic University of
Ecuador), Robyn Cutright (Department of Anthropology, Centre College, Kentucky), Hugo
Ikehara (Department of Archaeology, University of Pittsburgh), Koichiro Shibata (Department

25
Elmo Leon

of Humanities, University of Yamagata, Japan), Douglas Price (Department of Archaeology,


University of Wisconsin-Madison), Anne Katzenberg (Department of Archaeology, University
of Calgary), Jocely Williams (Department of Anthropology, University of Trent, Canada),
Eve Emshwiller (Department Botany de University Wisconsin-Madison), Amy McPherson
(Botanical Society of America), Kat Rodenhizer and Diane Sullenberger (Proceedings of
National Academy of Sciences), Carolina Orsini in representation of the late Luigi Piacenza
(Conservatore delle Raccolte Extraeuropee Raccolte Artistiche Castello Sforzesco), Christian
Isendahl (Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, University Uppsala, Sweden), Joyce FOREWORD
Marcus and Katherine Clahassey (Museum of Anthropology if the University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor), Susan deFrance (Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville), Tom
D. Dillehay (Department of Anthropology, University of Vanderbilt), Heather McInnis (DePaul Six years ago, Robyn Cutright, in her dissertation (2009) about food and foodways within the
University) and José Antonio Huldtwacker (Research Center, San Lorenzo Island, Lima). context of the Chimu Culture (ca. AD 1100-1460) in ancient Peru, she stated that to eat and cook
is the main human signature because they are cultural behaviors that isolate us from animals.
I owe a special thank to my dear colleague, David Beresford-Jones (University of Cambridge,
UK) not only for his help in providing data and comments on ethnobotanic but also for his Indeed food implies to join or to isolate people, to celebrate or to mourn, or just as a link for
kind help in correcting this english versión of the acknowledgments and foreword of this any family when dinning on a table where all sit around it to share experiences and dialogues
book. after the workday not only in modern times but also from the very begin of the human
prehistory. In this way we need to understand that each foodway and its implicances among
My last and deepest thank goes to my late and very dear wife, Nancy Chavez Cornejo and my us as humans is a series of a microcosmos of interactions that are subject os scope os a numer
9 years old boy, Adriano Leon Chavez. While working Adriano asked me “dad, tell me, what of anthropologists and other scientists focusing on food and its implications. A foodway can
was the toothbrush of the Incas? ….and my wife, my dear wife who was alive and so happy be a personal but also a common experience. Once foodway is a companion of any culture
in the presentation of this book in its Spanish versión, by October 2013, now, unfortunately it becomes a memory for each of its components, we as human beings. John Holzman (2006)
passed away even at her 47 years old after a cáncer in bad hands of supposed “cáncer healers”. calls it as “foodway legacy”.

Nancy was my permanent support and every single page of this book undergone her review… This legacy is exactly what we as peruvians mean as peruvian gastronomy with roots in our
even the title is an invention of Nancy…I miss you so much Darling and hope to join you after common ancestors some millenia ago. In my case, my family coming from the Northern Coast
this short life….you are my angel up in heaven. of Peru. I remember the meals mixture when my grandma, Dorila was cooking a stew of potatos
and meat while my mother, Gloria, preparing a cebiche. The sweet potatoes simply putted
at side of the hearth after a few minutes became candy-like sweet…actually a “bocatto de
cardinale”…Those memories when one was a child are virtually “frappant”. And now in the case
of my wife Nancy, unfortunately passed away one moth ago, tasting the delicious cuisine of
Camana from the southern coast, where soup of shrimpfs and rocoto relleno (filled pepper)
are the kings of the table….unforgettable tastes… This is what I call megadiversity reflected on
the dayly meal on the table…this is the meaning of Peru.

I do believe that there are many things to be reoriented in our country, espcially when talking
about politicians, but there must be no doubt that who as we, bornt in Peru were blessed for
having enjoyed our childhood in Peru the land of the thounsand culinary flavors.

The book that you have in your hands, dear reader pursuits to provide you some passages
of the Peruvian ancient food and fooways history. Its chronology is restricted from the very
begin of the human arrival in the Andes until 1532 when Spaniards conquered our lands, that
mean our most ancestral and native food and cuisine. It contains a compilation of 326 foods
based on scientific archaeological (archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological peer reviewed

26 27
Elmo Leon

reports). The list is arranged after the taxa: botanical, zoological and mineral remains and
complemented by some efforts in reconstructing some foodways and cuisine in ancient
Andes. We tryied to include taxonomical, linguistic, ethnographical, bromatological, genetic
and archaeological data for each for each taxón or species. Time data are already converted
from radiocarbon into calendar years, for the first time to provide the reader a real time frame
of the origin of each food from the Andes. We believe these data are part of the fundament
or background for our modern culinary tradition.

The book addresses both Peruvian and international readers who like for instance corn or
potatoes (even known as pop-corn or french pommes, respectevly) to let them know that
these are ancestral Andean roots. It invites the reader to explore the native food world our
the Peruvian ancestors, who further after 14 millenia became the Incas…

Chapter 1

AN INTRODUCTION TO
PALAEODIET AND SOURCES

28
THE ORIGINS OF THE HUMAN DIET

The Role of Cooking in Human Evolution


It is a fact that cooking is in fashion, even in science. We need just mention two excellent
books, Richard Wrangham’s Catching Fire. How Cooking Made Us Human (2009), and Frances
Burton’s The Spark that Ignited Human Evolution (2009). Both books put the spotlight on
the significance “cooking food” has in our evolution, i.e. the role cooking has had in the very
phenomenon of our transformation into human beings.

Under the slogan of cooking made us human, Wrangham explores the history of cooking
and its role in the very process of human evolution. For Wrangham, the crucial point here
is not that fire provided light, but that its heat allowed the first groups of hominids (pre-
sapiens) to cook their food and in many cases make it digestible, thus ensuring subsistence
in such ancient times. From this standpoint it is clear that cooking has had a primordial
significance since the dawn of humanity.

Wrangham likewise believes that cooked food catalysed such basic cultural and biological
changes as the opposing thumb, bipedalism, and even language and exchange. Experiments
in primatology have shown that once a gorilla has learned to eat cooked food it prefers
it to raw food. So at first the culinary art was not just an essential part of the process of
humanisation; it probably also gave rise, in one way or another, to the process that has
taken us to the twenty first century.

In the second book, Burton points out the determinant role of fire in evolution by reducing
the level of melatonin (of an animal nature) in human beings. Burton likewise claims that
cooking food had the effect of increasing the energy that can be obtained from it.

It is thus clear that intentionally started fires (which according to recent scientific research
it is now clear took place about one million years ago) provided not just the spark that
allowed humanity to have light at night and shelter from the cold thanks to the heat it
generated; it also was the element that allowed food to be cooked, and this ultimately led
to the state of humanisation par excellence. We thus have an evident pairing that can be
expressed with the formula “cooking = humanisation.”

31
Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

The Origins of Cooking Food is thus intrinsically a part of human beings, and all the more so in the case of Peruvians,
both because of the wide range of resources as well as because of the subjects just mentioned:
But how long has cooking existed in the world? Its origins are lost in time and even extend the family, society, our development since childhood, when tastes and memories are set in
to other pre-human species. Recent discoveries indicate that the Homo erectus from our brain and accompany us until the moment we die.
Zhoukoudian, in China, was already eating toasted hackberry (a type of berry) seeds some
400 thousand years ago (Larsen 2000: 14) when Homo sapiens, our current species, had not This is so much so that it can certainly be said that no Peruvian can avoid feeling happy when
yet appeared. Going back to Burton, what enabled a better development of the brain and the he/she is about to taste a traditional dish, be it olluquito con charqui, a nice arroz con pollo,
human species was precisely the energy raised by this primordial cuisine. a pachamanca or even our fusion or flagship dish, Peruvian cebiche, and not the Mexican or
Ecuadorian varieties, even though there are now some similarities with the latter in the far
Even so, the evolutionary impact of the discovery of cooking was not unique in this context; north of Peru.
socialisation also had an impact, so cooking food also brings about socialisation. Wrangham
says that cooking allowed not only the development of human beings but also made them It turns out that in the Andes—and quite possibly in other regions that correspond to large
more social because cooking can do by one person, groups or even families. It follows that civilisations like Persian, Hindi, Roman or Mexican civilisations—food is and has always
cooking food is not just a physical act; it also had a crucial role in the development of human been special due to the ecological variety of the resources and the unique combinations of
history and its basic principle: social being and family. condiments, which produced a wide range of flavours for our palate.

With this principle in mind, it is clear that cooked food does not just humanise; it also Three factors make an autochthonous food—in this case Andean cuisine—unique, a rich and
socialises when cooking takes place in a group, the results are shared, and what happened varied ecology; the use given to condiments in the Central Andes; and finally, the people
throughout the day is perhaps retold. themselves of this region and their ‘animistic’ perception that makes food “live.”

Both aspects of food preparation—evolution and socialisation—are instrumentalised We can illustrate the ecological wealth of Peru by simply drawing a line across the Central
whenever human beings introduce food preparation techniques, and even food storage Andes and checking the great variety of ecological tiers that extend from the littoral and
procedures. In this way we have inventions such as dehydration, fermentation, parboiling, the the riches of the Peruvian sea, across the Andes and down to the Amazon forest, which
invention of seasoning and dressings, in short the development of food technologies that abounds in tropical products. An environmental wealth is thus translated into a wealth
have enriched prehistoric cuisine since its origins (Wollstonecroft 2011). of resources.

We are now concerned with one of the major consequences of food preparation, and even To this diversity we must add seasoning and condiments. And although nowadays we clearly
more so in our environment—food as a cultural characteristic. Let us briefly explore this prefer—at last in urban areas—western and not Andean seasoning, even so we have for
concept and insert it in Peru. instance the chili pepper, the sine qua non condiment in Peru which is essential in almost all
dishes of an Andean style.

Peruvian Food: A Taste of Childhood and Family But without the third factor there would be no Andean food; we mean the animistic
perception, i.e. the fact that food comes alive. This vision is present since the time of the
A key book, The Prehistory of Food, edited by Chris Gosden and Jon Hather, is a sort of synthesis pre-Hispanic feasts celebrated within the context of ritual or funerary ceremonies that even
of food in the human past that appeared over a decade ago. Here Gosden (2005) claims that today endure in the patronal festivals in Lima. And food is exalted when we ask: will you add
food is not just essential for survival; besides, “it leads to culture” through it, and thus concludes some chili pepper? Huacatay? Rice? Food is thus an extension of human beings—one more
there are two main issues in prehistoric feeding. The first issue is of a methodological nature relative on the table, so to speak...
and emphasises the importance plants have in cultural development. In order to approach the
plant/human being relation, one must be familiar with such fields as genetics, biochemistry, and The living food even has a connection with the world of the dead, precisely because these also
bromatology. This maxim proved enlightening for the present writer, so that this line of holistic were not literally “dead for our Andean ancestors. This is why the cemeteries in contemporary
work inspired this book. The second issue raised by Gosden stresses the fact that a key point Lima become festive sites whenever a chanfainita is eaten accompanied by huainos and
that revolutionised history was the domestication of plants and animals, which led to a new trumpets in front of the tomb of a missing relative. Death does not mean sorrow but joy,
communication system, social reorganisation, and never-before-seen symbolic values in human because the dearest beloved who has departed has not really done so.
beings. This is precisely an area that has not been fully explored in the Andes.

32 33
Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

This is the ‘living” pre-Hispanic Peru in which food was also alive... The notion of ‘living food’ International NovoAndina Cuisine and Foreign Cuisine in Peru
has endured throughout millennia, and this is verified most intensely by Peruvians who have
lived outside our country. In fact, every time we travel abroad for a long time, my wife Nancy There is one more point here. This living nature is not just connected with society; it is also
tells me the following: “Peruvian food is the table, and hence the family, the feelings that have highly dynamic and exchanges characteristics with foods or cuisines both inside and outside
appeared since our childhood and which we miss when we are adults, living somewhere that Peru. The so-called NovoAndina cuisine is an interesting phenomenon in this regard that has
is not our place of origin.” materialised this type of mixture. In this concept, a traditional Peruvian dish is prepared that
combines various autochthonous Andean products and explores the inclusion of foreign
Here it is worth recalling that the living nature of food has ancestral origins. Arturo Jiménez products or recipes.
Borja made some notes in this regard in a fascinating study published in 1953. For instance,
Jiménez Borja recounts some deeply-rooted Andean stories that tell of maize cobs that have I believe this can be exemplified with the nature of Christmas in Lima in the 1970s, when a
a life cycle as if they were “human maize,” and which even have “feelings.” Anyone who has roasted turkey was served with applesauce, and people drank hot chocolate in the midst of
carefully observed Moche ceramics, where lima beans, maize and peanuts “turn into human summer in this part of the world. Even today the Christmas table comprises not just food
beings,” will evidently find that these stories must truly be the result of myths and legends from different places—turkey for instance, whose origin is claimed both by Mesoamerica and
that lie at the very centre of Andean civilisation. Arizona, and which is eaten especially in Thanksgiving in North America; or chocolate, which
actually is a European invention adding vanilla and sugar to cacao, which the Aztecs mixed
The animism of Peruvian food not only has connotations in the past; it also appears in our with maize and chili pepper—it also includes modern and autochthonous variations like sweet
intrinsic relation with our family, our loved ones with whom we have shared it since childhood. potato purée, which can be bought ... Ready-to-eat in the supermarkets in Lima. Culinary
In this regard we must recall its social nature as was argued above. It so happens that Peruvian traditions are thus highly dynamic, even in such commemorative occasions as Christmas...
food must be included in what Locher et al. (2005) call comfort food—the sort of need we
have as adults of eating, in moments of stress, the dishes we had as children that evoke It so happens that flavours can be explored to the utmost and some of them are widely
pleasant memories. This type of food is often greasy, sweet or full of carbohydrates, and is a accepted. Whilst in Mexico I saw people enjoy having chocolate bars with chili. In fact,
“compensation” for the unpleasant moments in life. whereas cacao (Theobroma cacao) originated in the Amazon and even the Upper Orinoco,
it was domesticated in Mesoamerica (at least since the Olmec, ca. 1000 B.C.); it was then
The phenomenon of food-family is definitely universal. A good Neapolitan friend of mine turned into chocolate and became a universal product because it is desired in tables all
told me a while ago that one can eat thousands of good pizzas but none like in Naples, very around the world.
rarely in restaurants and there is nothing like “home,” at the hands of a mother who puts her
passion in her cooking. He concluded: “A good pizza is delicious, but without passion it is The same holds for coffee, which originated in Ethiopia and was taken by the Arabs to Yemen
nothing.” across the Red Sea, and was used as a beverage since at least the sixteenth century; the award-
winning, Puneño Tunki coffee of Peru had its origins here. Or look at wine, which goes back
Pizzas, curries, ajíes and chiles are all part of cultures that shone in the past and are now about 7500 years to a vessel in a site called Hajji Firuz in the Zagros Mountains, in northern
major parts of universal legacies. This is why successive generations in these cultures Iran; wine has come a long way from Iran to Peru through thousands of years. Had it not been
have experienced these tastes since childhood. It is as children then, so say the experts so there would be no Tacama, no Ocucaje nor a Santiago Queirolo, nor the grape processing
in gastronomy, that our palates become sensitised and get used to the diversity of the of another kind that gave rise to our Pisco, the purest and most aromatic version of which is
traditional table. represented by a good Mosto Verde.

In Peru his tradition possibly goes back at least to the Inca Empire, as was shown by Turner Likewise, when enjoying a good beer we should remember that the oldest evidence of this
et al. (2010) in their study of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes in the teeth of the humans beverage come from the remains found at Godin Tepe (Iran), dated to around 3500 B.C. (Miller
buried in Machu Picchu, our famed national park. Turner and is colleagues found that most and Wetterstrom 1999). At that time beer was an ideal way in which to ingest carbohydrates
of the people buried here had almost not changed their food throughout their lifetime. It and vitamins.
follows that we always prefer the same foods and perhaps we always liked our seasoning
and our Andean resources. These have endured in one way or another up to the present day When we have a refreshing glass of Coca Cola the name recalls our coca leaves, because this
albeit often combined with Western edible resources that include for instance olive oil, a beverage is simply the result of mixing Andean coca with kola (an African nut that also has
plant that was domesticated in the Eastern Mediterranean six thousand years ago, in Syria an energising effect), but coca was already celebrated before this. This is proven by the fact
and Palestine. that the pharmacologist John Pemberton patented a combination of coca with wine (Coca

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Wine or Vin Mariani in the United States) since at least 1863 that would finally be known as Tourism, and Psychology—we considered the possibility of embarking on a new project that
Vin Français Cola, Pope Leo XIII, who allowed his image to be used in publicity and awarded would expand the data included therein on the type of food eaten by Peru’s most ancient
this beverage a medal. populations. I began preparing the outline of this book whilst engaged in the last academic
position I held in the University of Bonn, Germany, in 2008. The following year I proposed this
In the same way, when savouring “our” rice, the constant accompaniment of Peruvian dishes, plan to Father Leuridan and was given the go-ahead. With these brief lines I would now like to
we should remember that it clearly comes from one of the two centres of domestication of invite the reader to explore the world of the most ancient pre-Hispanic food, and the culinary
this cereal, i.e. China and India, some nine thousand years ago... adventure of fourteen thousand years of Peruvian history.

The Peruvian cuisine is thus the result of an impressive combination of migrations and cultural
contributions made by various parts of the world. It is perhaps not as well-known and tasted in
the realm of international cuisine, but for Peruvians its roots go back thousands of years. This fact
is precisely what gave rise to this book. It tries to delve into our roots through an examination of
food in the pre-Hispanic period, which is precisely when the main characteristics of our Andean
peoples appeared and were established some thousands of years ago. If we go back in such
an ancient history we will fully know at least some parts of it that will sketch these fourteen
thousand years of culinary in the Central Andes, that is to say, Peru.

In this context it is worth bearing in mind the legacy left by some of our ancestors, who were
precisely in charge of domesticating maize, the potato and quinoa, as well as many other high-
quality alimentary resources they bequeathed to the world. This is a good reason to feel pride.

It is a well-known fact that the potato not only saved some North European populations from
hunger in the nineteenth century, and that the European industrialisation would not have
been possible without its introduction (Kuester 1999: 1230). What it is regrettable is that we
do not know of similar cases in the context of pre-Hispanic Peru; speculating that this tuber
also saved Andean populations from hunger in that period is no absurd speculation. This is a
story that is yet to be written.

Another element that has yet to be assessed is whether it was ideal or not in the period that
interests us. Many myths have spread on whether the Andean population was healthy or
not. This book also explores this aspect in light of the new scientific information available.
No attempt will however be made to generalise, because more time and energy should be
invested in projects on food-derived palaeopathology.

Even so, some scientific studies apparently evince a decline in the quality of life at the time
of the Spanish conquest and even before, when the elites had access to better and bigger
food resources. For instance Klaus and Tam (2010) show that periodontal diseases and plaque
increased profusely amongst the native population of Lambayeque, on the North Coast of
Peru, after the Spanish invasion. A similar decline in the health of Ecuadorian and North
American aboriginal populations has also been shown.

It was in these circumstances that this book arose. Whilst working in Orígenes humanos en los
Andes del Perú (Human Origins in the Peruvian Andes), my first book—which also appeared
thanks to Father Johan Leuridan, the dean of the Faculty of Communications Sciences,

36 37
COLLECTING SOURCES ON
THE PERUVIAN PALAEODIET

Structure and Subject Matter of this Book


In the twenty first century, preparing a book on Peruvian pre-Hispanic food is no easy feat,
particularly if our starting premise is that nowadays there are several highly developed
sciences that make a permanent contribution to archaeology in the task of reconstructing
the past. And although today science develops along specialised lines, it tries to be holistic
when balancing the data in terms of a more objective assessment of the facts.

At first we based ourselves on the classic book by the great Hans Horkheimer (1960)
on the feeding modes in pre-Hispanic Peru, which is over half a century old, but we
soon realised two things. First, we realised that we would never be able to surpass
Horkheimer because he did not just review the archaeological evidence of food remains
found in various sites at the time of publication, he also made a balance of subjects
relating with food, from bromatology to farming. Second, on examining our databank
it was immediately clear that this would be impossible in just one volume, because the
sheer volume of the information amassed in more than fifty years is such that revising
Horkheimer’s masterpiece would require a much bigger book, and this despite the fact
that such a task is of the utmost importance nowadays. This is not the goal here and
we have focused instead on amassing the evidence in order to examine it. So from this
standpoint, this book should be considered incomplete.

Another handicap was the result of the readings made and the information available. In
many cases our colleagues only include lists of plant, animal or mineral remains but without
documenting as they should the contexts these remains were found in. In fact a crucial
characteristic required to know whether a given food was cooked or processed before its
consumption is that it exhibit traces of combustion such as charcoal or ashes, and yet in most
cases this is not noted. Many of these remains suggest instead that they were taken to these
sites but not necessarily eaten or at least prepared before their consumption; however, it can
evidently be inferred that in some cases the food was taken to these sites in order to be eaten
later. Even so, we cannot fully rule out the possibility that these actually are offerings. Here
only the taxa were included, whilst we await future research that clears up this issue.

39
Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

The second chapter, which takes up most of the book, includes the main information on The ethnohistorical notions of plants, animals and minerals consumed in pre-Hispanic Peru
Peruvian pre-Hispanic food. But once the taxa have been established, what information should have been mostly left aside because this type of literature abounds; in some cases it is of great
be included in each of them? quality and let us delve into subjects such as the food of the Inca or of previous populations.
The reader should therefore excuse the absence of the colonial chronicles. It should however
In order to answer this question we had to grapple with a much more difficult one—who be noted that whenever we had to resort to the chronicles, we did not always look up the
is this book meant for?—which actually is the starting point. We decided to approach this primary sources, which is a not too reliable procedure. In this context it is therefore worth
subject from a strictly scientific perspective, and it was prepared in this way because we repeating that this is not a book on ethnohistory. Should the reader be interested in exploring
wanted to give it solid foundations. This does not mean that it cannot be written intelligibly the reference data on pre-Hispanic nutrition he/she should consult the relevant primary
with the laymen in mind, and a brief glossary is included at the end of the text. Readers who sources, be they Bernabé Cobo, José de Acosta, and others.
do not find a given word in a conventional dictionary should use it because in a holistic essay
like the present one such technical terms cannot be avoided. As for the sources, there is one fact that must not be ignored. We have had enough time
to explore specialised journals on bromatology, taxonomy, and genetics and came to the
On the other hand, although the book is scientific in nature, it is meant for anyone who sad realisation that Andean resources are minimally represented. As regards plants, there
is interested in this subject, even students finishing school and university undergraduates are references to the potato, maize, maca, quinoa and occasionally to mashua, but the large
because, trite though it may sound, they definitely are the very foundations of Peru. But it range of edible plants in pre-Hispanic Peru are almost completely ignored by the firms
is also meant for scientists in all areas who are interested in the subject of autochthonous specialised in food engineering. Luis Valcárcel (1948: 25) was right some sixty five years ago
food, who I imagine includes bromatologists, nutritionists, physicians, parasitologists, when he pointed out that at the time there were no major studies on the bromatology of
botanists, zoologists, anthropologists, sociologists, and archaeologists. Given the culinary Peru’s Andean farming products.
moment Peru is undeniably living, this book will prove especially useful for chefs, cooks, and
people dedicated to gastronomy, and even hotels, when informing tourists of the origin of Scientific journals like Food Chemistry have included only scant international studies of
the items included in Peruvian dishes. They are the best spokespeople for our culinary past. Andean plants. In fact, the last major biochemical review dates to 1989 (Gross et al.), when
With the updated, albeit incomplete information due to the huge volume of data that had the composition of seven traditional Andean plants for human consumption was assessed,
to be reviewed, they can now disseminate the nature and history of Peru’s autochthonous and it was concluded that oca, quinoa, tarwi, olluco, mashua, cañihua, and kiwicha contain
foods, as well as answering frequent questions made by foreign diners like: what is the excellent proteins and carbohydrates that do not require replacement in the Andes. This is
origin of potatoes? Since when are they eaten? If an English translation of this book were an interesting starting point four our work. We hope that this essay will not just illustrate the
eventually possible, the dissemination of the gastronomic potential of Peru would expand antiquity and the characteristics of Peru’s pre-Hispanic food, but will also arouse the interest
in omnino globus. of local and international consortiums devoted to the alimentary industry. As we shall see in
the following pages, the potential is impressive.
Starting from the premise that this book is not exclusively meant for archaeologists but for
all the interested public, it was structured in terms of reproducing not “pre-Hispanic food in On the other hand, a careful reading of the sources seems to document the plural access
archaeology,” but “the archaeology or history of each food.” This presentation will facilitate to, and the consumption of, all types of resources by the various sectors in society since
the access to and the search for information, so the text is organised not by periods but by taxa the Terminal Pleistocene, some thirteen thousand years ago. We should however bear in
or by subjects related to feeding. An archaeological review that follows the chronology takes mind that this access probably became differentiated throughout time with the rise of
place once a taxa or species has been established, i.e. the oldest evidence comes first and social hierarchies. These differences worsened at the beginning of our era. The lesson is
then moves onward up to the Inca period, the endpoint of this study. The book is therefore thus that if some eight thousand years ago anchovies were eaten at will, at present the
structured by foods and not by periods. In this way the information can be found in regard price of this resource—which is so important because of its nutritional value—has to be
to the subject sought, be it plant, animal or mineral, depending on the interest of the reader. regulated in terms of making it available on the family table, as was long the case in the
periods under study here. Passing this type of law, promoting consumption and developing
Having established this, and starting from the taxa-based information centre, the main goal large-scale projects falls upon the Executive and particularly Congress, because it is absurd
evidently was to review the archaeological discovery of plants, animals, and minerals that that a country with such abundant maritime riches has at the same time such high levels of
were presumably eaten by pre-Hispanic populations. Even so, the information would remain malnutrition. Something has certainly gone wrong.
incomplete without a more holistic framework, which is the base idea of this book. As a
result every possible effort was made to add brief linguistic, biological, bromatological, The second chapter is specifically designed for simplified consultation. All the reader
ethnographic and genetic information on each species whenever it was available. needs do is looking up the desired species in the index and go to the corresponding page,

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

where several references for the species as well as archaeological data, including coprolites Of these expansion projects, the Inca was the most ambitious one, apparently moved by political
(ancient faecal remains) and others. The section on the taxonomic list is the most broad- and economic interests posing under the label of religious paraphernalia. If this book had to cover
ranging one. the Inca diet we would have to go far beyond its title, as we would have to include vast areas
once occupied by the Inca in north-western Argentina, northern Chile, a large part of Bolivia and
This core chapter is accompanied by two chapters. The first chapter is an introduction that Ecuador, and even Colombia. Just listing these areas rules out a colossal task that would require
presents the methods of analysis and information research in regard to pre-Hispanic food. The entire volumes devoted to these places. This book is thus limited to Peru, i.e. to what now lies
third chapter supplements the taxonomy with a series of ‘new’ information on pre-Hispanic inside its frontiers. And since organic remains like pre-Hispanic food is only preserved in dry coastal
food derived from specialised analyses in physics, chemistry and other areas where data can areas, remains of this kind are scant. We thus face a paradox, for the physical (nor ethnohistorical)
be obtained (stable isotopes, coproliths, and so on). Two subchapters, one on food-derived information on pre-Hispanic food in Peru is almost non-existent due to environmental conditions,
palaeopathologies and another one on the bromatological balance of alimentary resources particularly the pH of highland soils, precipitations, and other factors.
come before the conclusions.
Let us examine now the internal divisions of what is nowadays known as Peru. Although in pre-
Now let us see the case of a student interested in, say, the potato. Once the corresponding Hispanic times Peru was not divided into departments, an administrative division the French
section has been found in chapter 2, the student will find the common name of this scientific, model later imposed on it—and more recently the (flawed) ‘regions’—archaeology clearly
its scientific label and a brief taxonomic review should it be required. If the information is shows the presence of territorial demarcations of cultural groups, some quite large like the
available, the section then includes biochemical information on its nutritional value, its pre- Mochica (100 B.C.-A.D. 800), others small, like the contemporary Lima or Maranga cultures;
Hispanic and contemporary distribution, genetic studies and, more importantly, the history some had quite a short span like the Inca, which may have lasted for just two centuries, others
of this species in Peru from its origins to the Inca period. The radiocarbon dates of these a long one like the Cajamarca, which lasted for a thousand years. The case of the Amazon is
finds have been calibrated—i.e. turned into calendar years—especially the most ancient ones, somewhat more complex. It seems that this expanse is culturally connected with the great
whilst those in our era have not always been calibrated as the differences are not so large in Atlantic Amazon fan; there evidently was a great inter-Andean contact, but its cultural origins
comparison with the oldest ones. are different. So although this book considers cultural groups belonging to modern Peru, it
clearly has ‘blind spots’ as it leaves aside cultures that evidently established solid links with
these groups but lie outside the modern frontiers.
The Available Sources
Let us see two examples. From an ecological standpoint, the North Coast starting in Sechura
This book has tried to compile the available sources that include some type of documentation is a transitional zone vis-à-vis the equatorial tropics, which means its resources differ from
on feeding in pre-Hispanic Peru, but keeping ethnohistorical sources strictly as a reference. those found in the rest of the Peruvian Coast. In the Amazon, to the east, foodstuffs like
We will now review the sources used, with some preliminary considerations. the sweet potato are shared and extend beyond the frontiers; the same thing happens in
the Altiplano with quinoa—which Peru shares with Bolivia—or with molluscs and other
ingredients required for a good cebiche in Tacna, which can be the same in Antofagasta. “Our
Pre-Hispanic vs. Modern Peru cuisine” is a common Andean legacy that goes beyond the frontiers and should bear no flag
but be shared instead, thus announcing that we all come from one and the same people. So
A first issue is delimiting the information for Peru itself. Let us explore this briefly. the reader is forewarned that this book will remain incomplete until someone undertakes the
titanic task of writing on pre-Hispanic food in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and northern Chile—i.e.
A book on pre-Hispanic food in Peru is constrained by an obvious fact—contemporary a book on the pre-Hispanic food of our Central Andes that is much more consistent with the
borderlines do not correspond to past ones. We must therefore acknowledge right from the lesson our forefathers gave us.
beginning that this study is incomplete is we bear in mind modern borders. We know for a
fact that a large part of the Central Andes were occupied but not as Peru, and it initially was
instead a disjointed area divided into tribal groups. Several confederations later appeared, Into the Sources
which apparently became fused in at least three moments: a) the period archaeologists call
the Early Horizon, i.e. the spread of the Chavín belief system during the first millennium B.C.; Where can we find information for a book like the present one? We are entering a period when
b) the Wari Empire, from ca. A.D. 650 to A.D.1000; c) the Late Horizon, from the fifteenth writing had still not been invented, and this means that the whole written record is discarded.
to the sixteenth centuries (some recent studies are suggesting it probably began in the late There essentially are two major sources: the first sources are ethnohistorical ones, which abound
thirteenth century). in information (but not direct information, it must be admitted) if we limit ourselves to the

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

accounts the Spanish chroniclers gave regarding food, agriculture, fishing, cooking methods and
the storage systems of pre-Hispanic Peru, amongst other subjects. It has already been pointed
out that this field will only be partially covered due to the range of information used, and
the methods applied, in this book. Indeed, it was initially envisioned as an attempt at revising
Horkheimer’s book, which was an impressive feat due to all the topics it covered: the food
remains reported in archaeological excavations, ethnohistorical documentation, and essays
in pre-Hispanic bromatology and agriculture—fields that would nowadays require separate
volumes each. It should in general be clear that this book does not intend to replace, and much
less imitate, the enduring interdisciplinary approach spearheaded by Horkheimer.

Ethnohistory and Ethnography:


Their Contribution to the pre-Hispanic Cuisine
We clearly do not intend to approach the ethnohistorical sources in extenso. Now, although these
sources provide indirect information, on reading the accounts of feeding customs left by Father
Cobo or by Acosta it becomes clear that neither archaeology nor any other method (at least
thus far) will be able to make such inroads in this subject with such a wealth of detail. This means
the present study is incomplete. Some data from the chronicles have therefore been included
because of their value as regards foodstuffs and cooking methods during the first centuries after
the Spanish Conquest. Passages from these chronicles, cited by colleagues like Tamara Bray, who Figura 1. Comedor popular en el Altiplano central andino. Las observaciones etnográficas son fundamentales para la reconstrucción de la
studies feeding customs with ethnohistorical data, were included as a supplement. dieta prehispánica. (CORTESÍA DE ERIC CHÁVEZ).

Ethnographic references definitely are another major source (Figure 1). Although scant, these are
of crucial importance because they include observations made by travellers, scientists and other Coast, which has an ideal pH to preserve the organic remains that here interest us. This
types of people several decades ago or more recently, in the context of Peru’s autochthonous means that two points should be made. The first one is that since preservation is poor and
groups; these groups still preserve some alimentary traditions that open a window to the almost non-existent in both the highlands and the Amazon (except for carbonised organic
past, albeit with all due reservations as the acculturation of these groups in the twenty-first materials), we will never have a real picture of pre-Hispanic food in many of its parts.
century is clear. There likewise is ethnographic information on hunting, fishing, farming and food The second point is that even now in 2012, few projects include special fields like ethno-
preservation; these are interesting sources that have been used in the present study. botanics or zoo-archaeology. This means that in order to have a range of information, we
had to resort both to pioneering studies and more recent research.

Direct Evidence: Organic and Inorganic Remains This being said, it should also be acknowledged that the number of projects studying past diets
has also risen, and this has taken place alongside an improvement in recording methods, as is
The organic and inorganic materials left behind by the pre-Hispanic cultures are our second shown by the research currently under way of cultures like the Mochica under Gumerman’s
major source. Here we have to include all remains including faunal remains, macro-and direction. This is encouraging.
microbotanical remains, phytoliths, starch grains, malacological remains (shells, gastropods,
and so on), human bone pathology, bone chemistry (stable isotope analysis), food residues in
pre-Hispanic ceramics or other types of vessels, depictions of plants and animals in pottery, Pre-Hispanic Foodstuffs-How Can We Know
the remains left behind by cultivation systems such as irrigation canals, reservoirs, etc. As They Were Actually Prepared and Eaten?
regards this field, in general it must be acknowledged that the large mass of information
acquired last century was devoted to the development of large archaeological sequences Despite this trend, there is one issue we must grapple with: the nature of the finds. When a
starting with the material culture. It was only in a few cases, which were perhaps more scientific study was found that included a list of the foodstuffs eaten, it turned out in many
frequent as of the 1960s, that chronologies were developed for local sites on the Peruvian cases that it had not been possible to establish whether these contained carbon remains that

44 45
Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

proved their cooking. If the remains of food appear in an archaeological site this means they One of the greatest lessons Towle imparted was that in accordance with the subject-matter
were taken to the site, but not necessarily that they were eaten. This is why recording the of her book—ethnobotanics—she studied both edible and medicinal plants and not just the
context is essential, precisely what many archaeological excavations and research lack. On first ones. We should bear in mind that in not a few cases we have ethnographic evidence
examination, about 90% of the finds do not mention combustion remains. Stating that the of the simultaneous consumption of edible and medicinal plants, so food is ingested along
presence of plant remains or of a mollusc at a given site means that they were eaten is mere with “integrated phytomedicine.” For example, in modern Lima the demand requires that
speculation. Unfortunately this is what most frequently happens. Some cases are even more restaurants serve a sancochado (Andean stew) with some small muña (a kind a mint plant)
complicated, like those of various molluscs included here: there is, for instance, a considerable branches, which as we know have digestive properties. This however will not be easy to prove
list of molluscs from the site of Puémape (Elera et al. 1992), on the North Peruvian Coast, with archaeological remains because at present technology cannot specifically establish what
south of Pacasmayo, but no direct reference to their consumption. These have been included foodstuffs were combined in one dish.
here with all due reservations because these are anyway molluscs that were taken to this site,
many of them in order to be eaten; there is however no in-depth data in this regard.
The Scope and Limits of Technology
There are some exceptions. Such is the case of the French pre-historical school, whose in the Archaeological Recording of Foodstuffs
excavations often follow the décapage model (a very fine method that allows for the three-D
recording of a series of remains, thus reconstructing the activities that took place in that The current technology still does not have the ability to make such identification. It is also
site).An example of this method are the excavations headed by Danièle Lavallée, a French known there is a wide range of plants that may have been eaten, but for which no evidence
archaeologist and probably the best representative this school has in Peru. Lavallée made has remained. An interesting example is a study by Van der Eynden et al. (2003), which
two major contributions that now allow us to explore the domestic milieu in two completely identified 354 species of wild plants in Ecuador, many of which have edible fruits that are
different regions: the Central Puna of Peru, where the Telarmachay rock shelter lies, and the mostly eaten raw. Even so, Van der Eynden et al. claim these species comprise just a scant
seashore of Tacna, at a camp site called Quebrada de los Burros. part of the 6,186 vascular plants found in southern Ecuador. There still is a large gap that
The study of the latter site, where the palaeoicthyologist Philipe Béarez made an interesting has to be covered.
and significant study of the type of fishing and the fish consumed in the Middle Holocene,
truly is a model for research. Whenever we found studies of this type we went over them The same issue appears when we ask ourselves whether the pre-Hispanic Peruvians ate their
carefully because they include important data for this book. The work undertaken by Claude food raw or cooked, and whether this can be established through the technologies available
Chauchat at the Preceramic camps of Paiján is another example of the work done by the to the sciences that study the past. Here we must not forget what has already been noted
French school. In this case, however, the remains were more scattered, apparently due to regarding the preservation of archaeological materials, which declines in a gradient from
bioturbation and anthropogenic factors. west to east. On the coast organic remains evince an enviable preservation state that any
archaeologist would envy due to the type of soils, and to the unique combination of the
On the other hand, the work of taxonomic identification undertaken in the lab, like that Cold Peruvian Current and the Andes, which provide protection from Amazon convection.
carried out by Víctor Vásquez and his team in Trujillo, shows that Peru is not only able to Because of its aridity, the Peruvian coast and a large expanse of the Chilean coast are unique
form professional biologists of international standing, who undertake scientific ventures that in the world and contain plant macroremains that are thousands of years old. It must however
promote cooperation and stimulate that practice of science in Peru. be acknowledged that many of the cultivated plants may come from other zones, like
mesothermal valleys and probably even from the ceja de montaña, which means the Peruvian
A study that was very hard to summarise is Margaret Towle’s (1961) handbook, probably the desert must have been an arrival zone for previously domesticated plants. Conditions change
most important study of Peruvian ethnobotanics, which is still valid despite the time gone in the Andes. Here there are fewer remains than on the coast due to the types of soils and
by. Of its content we prioritised the plants for which there are indications of its consumption to precipitations. Dry zones are exceptionally found, like the famed Guitarrero Cave. The
in the pre-Hispanic period. Two more studies of this same subject have been published; one significance of Peru in this region is clear once we add to this legacy the more than fifty edible
of them is Donald Ugent and Carlos Ochoa’s (2006) handbook on Peruvian ethnobotanics, plants domesticated in the South American subcontinent.
the other a publication Alejandro Fernández and Eric Rodríguez (2007) made in Trujillo. Even
so, we must not forget out limitations. Not all the foodstuffs that were eaten have been Finally, pre-Hispanic organic remains are rare both in the ceja de montaña and the Amazon
found in the materials archaeologists excavate. Tubers that probably formed part of the pre- lowlands due to the climate and the high precipitation, yet paradoxically enough the first
Hispanic diet, like chago or mauka (Mirabilis expansa R. and P. Standley), have thus far not domestication of several plants, like peanuts, must have taken place in this region. Our
been documented in the archaeological record. This shows how powerless this discipline can picture is incomplete so no generalisations can be made. This was shown by molecular
be, and how much remains to be studied. studies like those carried out by Clement et al. (2010), which proved the significance of

46 47
Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

pristine Amazonian crops based on this research technology. We must not forget that this ‘Non-Peruvian’ Plants and Fruits Possibly
vast region has 138 plants that are cultivated, or which the natives have controlled and used Consumed in Pre-Hispanic Peru
since pre-Hispanic times.
One subject that should be included in this book is a list of the plants and fruits that are
The incomplete distribution of sites with organic plant and animal remains, and their not native to Peru but which may have been consumed here due to its geography, as well
subsequent concentration on the desert coast of Peru is compounded by other types of as the permanent exchange that took place since ancient times. My frustration mounted
missing evidence, such as the impossibility of recording the food [viandas y comidas] eaten whilst reading published materials when researching this book because no information could
whilst moving from one place to another. For instance, Bonavia (1982: 311) correctly notes that be included on, say, foreign fruits that are nowadays eaten in, and favoured by, the modern
many plants give fruits that do not need to be cooked and are eaten whilst working; pre- markets of Lima and other cities, or which simply do not appear in the chronicles or in the
Hispanic people may have done so too. archaeological record as regards the subject that interests us here.

Other factors, such as the lack of comparative collections and even the problems found when Víctor Patiño (2002) provides a good example. His magnificent book took shape during the
establishing whether the plants are cultivated or wild species, make recording the data even several decades this Colombian scholar devoted to the interdisciplinary study of fruits in
more difficult. On the other hand there also are fruits that leave no remains. or otro lado, hay American tropical countries. His list includes any “Peruvian” fruits but many of these are
también frutos que no dejan restos. There is little that can be added to the critical picture found in an area that extends from Peru to other countries, which means these are a common
Bonavia presented thirty years ago. heritage (e.g. heart of palm). Other lists in the book include fruits that Peruvians now eat, like
mamey (Mammea americana) or coconut, which are not native to Peru but are now part of
Another crucial observation Bonavia made concerns the exaggerated and biased importance its cuisine. Readers interested in the history of these fruits should read Patiño’s handbook,
some archaeologists ascribe to the mollusc shells found in archaeological sites. Each shell which includes scientific information as well as ethnohistorical data for several countries
represents a minimum amount of meat, so that many of them would have had to be gathered in northern South America, including Peru due to the excellent preservation of botanical
in order to prepare a dish like cebiche (Bonavia 1982: 387). remains on its coast.

Many of these issues in the archaeological record have been summarised by Jorge León in his The same holds for the South American crops included in the above-mentioned handbook
excellent handbook Botánica de los cultivos tropicales (2000): of cultivated American plants by Jorge León. Plants like peanuts, cassava or achira, which had
a major role and come from the Amazon were not domesticated in the Andes, yet they were
· The extent in which archaeological materials (seeds, fruits, and other parts survive still essential to the pre-Hispanic diet and in the imaginaire of Andean cultural development.
better than roots or tubers) have been preserved.
Another problem arises when analysing most of the archaeological sources that precisely
· The climate conditions that determine the preservation of organic remains (preservation have archaeobotanical data, i.e. the usually poor quality of the archaeological reports that
is best in dry than in humid places). purportedly include reliable data on the identification of plant remains from excavations. Yet
it must be acknowledged that greater efforts have recently been made at interdisciplinary
· Whether the area under study receives more attention than others (like Mexico and work, in order to at least prepare taxonomic lists of botanical remains.
Peru in America).

· The ability to establish taxonomic determinations based on ideal comparative Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes Grilled Five Thousand Years Ago…
collections.
As has already been noted, the presence of these remains in archaeological sites does not
It follows that the first three conditions—preservation of materials, climate, and the attention necessarily mean they were eaten. Hather (1991) in fact notes that only two of the plant
given to the area—work for us whilst the latter one—the lack of comparative collections and species included in Margaret Towle’s handbook on ethnobotany—cassava and achira—that
identifications—works against—but this is apparently changing thanks to major projects and have been found in Peruvian archaeological sites actually showed traces of combustion or of
reliable laboratory analyses. burning that could be interpreted as evidence the plants were cooked on a fire. This figure
can now grow thanks to the progress made in research, as was shown by Don Ugent and his
team with their archaeobotanical research at Casma. In this valley they recorded potatoes
and sweet potatoes that bore traces of having been roasted (see details below).

48 49
Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

In the twenty first century there clearly are other methods that can be used to recover One problem is that quite often the tools used in excavations are not adequate, for instance
this invaluable information, for instance the analysis of trace elements in bones or of the nets that do not catch minute bone fragments. Another problem is that some animals that
coproliths themselves, but this is something that will be discussed later on. Several studies were eaten leave no trace, either because they were too small, like insect larvae, or were too
are likewise showing that transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be used to prove big to be taken to the place they were eaten at, like whales.
whether the food remains found in archaeological vessels were raw or cooked (Koon et al.
2010). Biochemical methods are now being refined in order to recover proteins from various To this we must add the taphonomic problems due to several events that take place
archaeological materials in order to establish their role in prehistoric cuisine. When the once bone remains are in the ground, e.g. disturbation, landslides, acid soils, and even the
most recent technology is applied to pre-Hispanic Peruvian materials we will have at least alterations wrought about by insects or mice. (Taphonomy studies animal decomposition
an elementary idea of what was really eaten in Peru at that time, and perhaps what food from the moment of their death, particularly as regards their fossilisation.) Wing mentions an
preparation methods were used. interesting fact regarding the Peruvian site of El Paraíso (ca. third and second millennium B.C.),
where the first excavations yielded no bone remains until a two millimetre sieve was applied;
then large amounts of anchovy bones, the main food at this site, were found.
Kentucky Fried Chicken vs. Potatoes with Huacatay
We must not forget the fact that the presence of a given food at an archaeological site
The food problem in Peru concerns not just the government, the NGOs or the organisations does not imply its direct consumption, even when found in association with hearth or similar
that combat malnutrition; it also concerns the alimentary habits that are somewhat elements, and this also includes animal remains. For instance, finding molluscs or fish remains
predetermined by city life in Lima. This is the struggle the potato with chili pepper wages at an archaeological site, such as a camp on the Peruvian coast, only indicates that these are
against Kentucky Fried Chicken. manuports (i.e. animals taken to a camp dead or alive to be eaten, raw or cooked), but does
not conclusively prove they were eaten.
Paul Mangelsdorf, perhaps the most renowned student of Andean maize and a visionary of food
sciences, had already foreseen the problem of world nutrition several decades ago when he noted In order to verify that foods of animal origin were eaten at a given site, we need research
(1961: 288) that issues such as food, hunger and overpopulation were not future but present issues, that documents Ascertaining that food of animal origin was consumed in a given site requires
which had to be solved through several human attributes such as patience, tranquillity [calma], studies that document similar remains in other archaeological artefacts in said site and which
courage, creativity, expertise and above all long-term planning. At that time, Mangelsdorf noted, were in contact with one another, in terms of providing a more reliable and objective overview
the world’s food was essentially based on three cereals, rice, wheat and maize; on two sugar of the resources actually eaten there.
plants, the sugarcane and beets; on three rhizomes, the potato, the sweet potato and cassava;
on two legumes, beans and soy beans; and on two arboreal fruits, the banana and the coconut; Willis et al. (2008) have emphasised the neglect and the scant attention researchers and
finally, peanuts have a supplementary role. Most of these staples are evidently familiar and native archaeologists pay when recovering information on the field and when working in the lab,
to the Andes, and we are fortunate indeed to have these ancestral resources. But this essentially in this case with fish bones. There clearly are very few scientific reports that were able to
concerns having varied resources and not just staples. This is precisely the wealth of Peru, e.g. show cut marks that indicate the fish were cleaned, scaled, and prepared for consumption.
in roots and tubers, the most well-known of which is the “Irish potato.” Such is the wide range Only Susan DeFrance has shown this can be done when analysing the bird fauna at the site of
of varieties in the Andes, which Hermann and Heller (1997: 5) meant; hence the importance that Quebrada Tacahuay in Tacna. This means there is great uncertainty regarding whether these
looking back has in order to establish the origins of the Andean crops and wild plants, and the animal remains found during the excavation of archaeological sites were meant to be cooked
role they had. Weberbauer (1945) identified 58 food plants in autochthonous Peru, and it would for consumption or not.
be interesting to test how many of these were actually eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru.

Remains of Fish, Molluscs, and Mammals Eaten in Pre-Hispanic Peru


Zooarchaeology is another area of study of organic remains, i.e. the analysis of the bone remains
of animal used as food in the pre-Hispanic past (Reitz and Wing 1999). Elizabeth Wing summarised
the method and listed several problems that arise when analysing this type of remains in
archaeology, which mostly range from fragmented bones and vertebrate teeth, mollusc shells,
and echinoderm heads, to the exoskeletons of chitons, echinoderms, and crustacean.

50 51
METHODS USED TO RECONSTRUCT
PREHISTORIC FOODS

Can we know what a pre-Hispanic Menu Contained?


Can we reconstruct what items were simultaneously combined in the food? In other words,
can we establish what was in a pre-Hispanic menu based on the physical information
available in palaeoalimentary sciences, in the Andean pre-Hispanic context? The answer is
that this task is practically impossible, even with modern technology, if all we have to work
are just archaeological remains and no contemporary written sources that provide a partial
approach to this subject.

The key here is developing technologies that bring us closer to the specificities of pre-
Hispanic cuisine, because we are still at a rudimentary level as regards exploring this type
of information. This is crucial in Peru, because the debate hinges in part on whether the
foodstuffs that are to be presented in this book were intensely spiced or not before the
European colonisation.

Carmen Ulloa (2006: 314) pointed out that one of the most significant aspects of a given cuisine
is the combination of various spices, which give the food a unique taste (like contemporary
Peruvian cuisine). This is a complex task if we approach it only from an archaeological
standpoint because all we have is part of the documentation or the ingredients used
to prepare pre-Hispanic dishes. In many cases the original native spices have not been
recovered in the excavations or in the analysis of coproliths or excrement, or it simply was
the case that the teams in charge of making taxonomic identifications were not sufficiently
prepared to list these species during analysis and then publish them scientifically. Hence
our great handicap in providing the reader a full picture of “pre-Hispanic gastronomy.” We
will therefore strictly limit ourselves to presenting the information recovered scientifically
through archaeological means. We will save for a second edition of this book a more
extensive work compiling colonial and eventually republican sources, but always with this
book as a starting point. This would be a much bigger book but it would hold the deepest
root of Peruvian cuisine, which begins with the present publication.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

It is for this reason that we cannot talk of Peruvian gastronomy sensu stricto—we will The reader may here very well ask what does calibration a radiocarbon date mean, and what
never have the ingredients, the flavouring substances, or the ‘recipe’ itself. In any case an significance calibrated dates have for pre-Hispanic foods. We turn to this now.
effort has been made to recover some of the most basic recipes from the archaeological
information, which fortunately grows every day with techniques that can recover much finer As has been noted, radiocarbon dates are frequently cited in archaeological or historical
data. Ethnographic observations made by some authors have been included regarding the studies, Andean or Peruvian in our case, but without bearing in mind that these are not
use of fruits as well as of condiments and flavouring substances—subjects that are almost calendar or historical years. One thus usually finds in scientific publications thirty years old,
completely ignored by archaeology. and even in more recent ones, that archaeologists directly list the radiocarbon data without
any discussion, or instead subtracted 1,950 years from the radiocarbon result. This clearly is no
The following pages represent a prehistorian’s effort to combine several sciences in order to longer valid, as we will now see.
reconstruct the type, as far as the evidence permitted, of pre-Hispanic Peruvian food. It must
be confessed that this was no easy task; there were certain areas in which I felt like a complete
ignoramus—an impression that endured once the book was ready because now there are Radiocarbon Calibration of Ancient Food Remains
more questions and fewer answers than before.
Vries (1958) noted over fifty years ago that although the rate of radiocarbon in an organism is
During my years in the university, ceramic classifications were based on decorations in an attempt constantly decaying, the production of atmospheric radiocarbon has constantly varied. This
to establish what culture-style the materials belonged to. Nowadays many studies have changed in turn means that organisms consumed different rates throughout time, and that radiocarbon
methods because what they want to find out is what was done with the pottery, particularly dates must therefore be ‘calibrated.’ All dates in this book therefore had to be corrected.
with dinnerware. Besides there is a boom in pre-Hispanic forms of bowls, pots and jars, which
curiously enough seem to be contemporary with the intensification of agriculture that took In other words, all the remains that have been found of plants or animals, be it in pre-Hispanic
place just before the beginning of our era (Pearsall 1998: 318-319). The times are in fact a-changing. sites or even detected as trace elements in human bones, which indicate the last diet the
ancient Peruvian inhabitant had, must be not just dated but calibrated too. This will be
done throughout this book: a large majority of dates related with pre-Hispanic food will
Radiocarbon and the Remains of Ancient Food be presented for the first time in calendar years. The radiocarbon calibration method will
allows us to know, in statistically real physical dates, not just when a given food—e.g. maize,
It is well known that radiocarbon (C14) is first of all, a physical method that allows us to quinoa, anchovies or meat from a guinea pig or llama— was used or consumed, but also to
approximately establish when organisms died, which is tantamount to saying when the let us draw closer in real terms to when these were domesticated. This last point is crucial
stopped exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide with the atmosphere. One of the components because that is how we can value the real international weight, in temporal terms, of the pre-
of carbon dioxide is the C14 isotope, the only radioactive component. When an organism dies Hispanic domestication of plants. It should however be noted that due to the abundance of
it retains its last intake of C14, which decreases in time but can still be measured. It has been radiocarbon dates associated with Peruvian pre-Hispanic food, only the most ancient ones
shown that this radioactive isotope lasts for about forty thousand years, the date up to which had to be calibrated in order to explore their real antiquity. This is important because it has
past and present organisms be dated (e.g. Taylor 1987). been shown that the difference between radiocarbon and calendar years is greatest in the
period that extends between the Terminal Pleistocene and the Middle Holocene (ca. 12,000-
On the other hand, although the radiocarbon method is not precise, it does provide the 4,000 B.C.). Dates after Christ have in general not been calibrated because test results indicate
absolute time—in terms of probabilities—when an event took place because it dates one or the difference is much smaller. Even so, this will have to be done in future in order to make all
more organisms associated with that event. And when there is no writing, as seems to have required chronological corrections.
been the case in pre-Hispanic Peru, there is as yet no better method with which to discuss
a period in temporal terms. So in this book on pre-Hispanic food, C14 is the only way with
which we can establish its age and the time it appeared. Radiocarbon and Some Problems Inherent to pre-Hispanic Foodstuffs
But a review of the scientific literature shows the dates supposedly associated with plants, Even so, although the chronological information can be updated, there are some issues that
animals and minerals from the pre-Hispanic period were established simply by directly using must be briefly explained to the reader. There are in fact some caveats that must be borne in
and publishing the radiocarbon calculation, but without first converting it into calendar years. mind before beginning calibration. Ziólkowski (1994) mentioned some of the main difficulties
This book therefore tries to solve this problem presenting not just a large majority of simply which are here endorsed, such as the irregularities in the value used for the half-life of
non-radiocarbon dates, but also converted or calibrated into real calendar years before our era. radiocarbon, the Suess effect and the radioactivity standard, the lack of isotopic fractionation,

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

the errors in radiocarbon dating reports, the standard deviation of laboratory results, and the even (when no other possibility remains) a marine mollusc, which can exhibit distortions due
lack of accuracy in radioactivity. to the increased amount of calcium carbonate that must have altered the real concentration
of C14 in its organism. So isotopic fractionation is essential in order to attain come precision
This type of problematic affects all of the chronology related with pre-Hispanic food. Let in the dates that are to be corrected.
us take an example related with plant consumption. Huaca Prieta is one archaeological site
where a significant amount of Peruvian pre-Hispanic plants have been found on the North The bones of the individuals who fed on these resources obviously are our second source of
Coast of Peru. The earliest dates are almost useless because they were measured using information. And although there are very few dated human remains in pre-Hispanic Peru in
‘carbon-black’—the oldest radiocarbon method which was noted for its lack of precision comparison with other organic remains, they are available. Interestingly enough, recent research
(Olsson 2009: 1)—except for the recent and accurate chronology of this major site prepared is of an isotopic nature and is thus obtaining dates from the same organic ‘microremains’ and
by Dillehay et al. (2012). even from trace elements in bones, which not only support and supplements the research
undertaken with ‘macroremains,’ but are also often results obtained in AMS labs (Accelerator
As we shall see later, at Huaca Prieta several plants were found in domestic contexts, i.e. they of Mass Spectrometry); this means they are processed with recent technology that is often
were edible, but since they were dated using this method the dates can only be taken as a more accurate in chronological terms.
reference, at least until we have the report of Dillehay and Bonavia’s recent archaeological
research at this site. As has already been pointed out, one major issue that must be borne in mind before carrying
out calibration and its assessment is precisely the quality of the radiocarbon information
To the problem posed by old radiocarbon methods we must add another issue, which concerns available. First, the dates were processed using different technologies; the earliest ones
the type of organisms that are to be dated as well as the abnormal results that cannot yet from the 1950s-1960s are the least accurate, and those from the 1960s-1970s are partially so
be explained—for instance, the radiocarbon results yielded by seeds of seasonal plants like because the dates obtained with the AMS are evidently more accurate, and also had more
pumpkin and Chenopodium (possibly quinoa), and some peanuts from the preceramic site of sophisticated methods of Bayesian statistics. The revolution brought about by this procedure
Nanchoc (cf. Rossen et al. 1996). This shows the low precision radiocarbon has in these cases. led to the development of software for conventional computers in 1990-2000; at present,
information systems ensure convenience and much precision in this type of procedure.
Besides these problems that have been correctly pointed out by the above-mentioned
scholars, in this book we face the challenge of having to present results for the animals and Second, any attempt at correcting the radiocarbon dates for plant, animal, and mineral remains
plants eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru in calendar years. The truth is this is no easy task. consumed in pre-Hispanic Peru from the information published in the works of our colleagues
means that we have to depend on these studies and rely on them. This implies a risk per se
because one must assume that the dates obtained were directly associated with the remains
Where can We Get Radiocarbon Dates for Pre-Hispanic Foodstuffs? of food. It is for this reason that whenever possible we always tried to go to the direct source,
but this was not always possible.
First we have the dates directly obtained from the remains. This is relatively simple because
both plants and animals consumed C14, in the first case through photosynthesis, in the second
from eating plants. Turning Radiocarbon Dates into Calendar Years
Even so, many of the contexts with organic materials were established through the charcoal Assuming the types of handicap that have been presented and the problems that may derive
left in the fire and which lets us date the remains indirectly; this is by far the element that from them, we now need to briefly explain the procedure used to calibrate the radiocarbon
makes the radiocarbon results more reliable and accurate. Now, when the samples dated dates for this book. First, we used the calibration programme OxCal 4.1 (2010) from Oxford
come from the same plant and animal remains, we must bear in mind the variation between University because it has several digital tools, Bayesian statistical tools, and new proxies (in
them that is known as isotopic fractionation; this is a simple calculation that standardises this case, radiocarbon values for tree rings derived from recent research) that allow use to
the difference between the amount of carbon contained by a given organism, and the real upgrade calibrations and get more accurate results (Bronk Ramsey 2009).
amount in the organism itself, which can often vary due to internal biochemical fluctuations.
Such is for instance the case of plants that undergo photosynthesis, which apparently lose the A major question arises when choosing the dendrocurve (the proxy radiocarbon curve
C13 isotope in comparison with other land organisms. Marine organisms on the contrary have obtained from tree rings) that must be used when calibrating the remains of the food eaten
their mean C12/C14 values enriched due to the environment they live in. We therefore should by ancient Peruvians. There are two available curves with which to calibrate terrestrial
bear in mind isotopic fractionation when calibrating the date of Andean plants like maize or radiocarbon dates, one for archaeological sites in the Northern Hemisphere (the most recent

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

one called IntCal09), the other for the Southern Hemisphere (ShCal04) (Reimer et al. 2009, Specifying the Results of Radiocarbon Calibration
McCormac et al. 2004). The reader may conclude that given that the present territory of Peru
is in the Southern Hemisphere, logic dictates the corresponding curve should be used. But a Several specifications that the calibration program considers complicate the picture even
more in-depth examination of this matter shows this deduction is neither simple nor correct. more, but it is worth including them here. This may be somewhat tedious but it is important,
especially for my colleagues who are acquainted with this subject.
There are two reasons that make this a questionable choice. First, the radiocarbon information
derived from tree rings in the Southern Hemisphere mostly comes from outside South America. Having explained the curve chosen and the reservoir values used for Peru, we need now
Second, although in the modern epoch Peru has been located in the southern Southern explain how the programme’s setup was modelled to calibrate the dates that interest us.
Hemisphere, we should consider that little is as yet known of the history of variation in the The results were obtained using the programme’s conventional way. Once the calibrations
Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) that may have affected the Central Andean area with had been made they were assessed using the two conventional possibilities, to wit, one
rainfall and a warm climate. Now we know for certain that this line varies seasonally and that (68.2%) and two (95.4%) sigma; however, in most cases the mean available in the new OxCal
it can range between Paraguay (in the austral summer) and Mexico (in the austral winter). 4 programme was used in order to make the process more readable. The means usually are
Using the ShCal04 radiocarbon calibration dendrocurve may in fact be more advisable when exact and are not rounded off, so that readers will find conventional dates measured in highly
applied to zones in the Southern Hemisphere between latitudes 35º and 50° (Paula Reimer, precise years, and this should really come as no surprise. Even so, it should be noted that the
personal communication, 21.6.2010). results obtained with the means have a lower probability of being accurate because this is
a statistically valid, mean value of the real result, but at the same time it appears with just
The other option is using the IntCal09 calibration curve. In these case researchers often apply one value, thus avoiding the confusion of temporal distribution for readers who are not?
a value known as the reservoir value, which is like an adjustment of this curve in order to Interested in the subject of radiocarbon calibration.
adapt it to the Southern Hemisphere. These values have varied depending on the progress
made in research; the two most recent ones are 41±14 (McCormac et al. 2002) and even more We applied just 1 probabilities sigma (68%) in exceptional cases in order to shorter time
recently 40±20 (Hogg et al. 2009). Some studies in which this reservoir value was jointly periods depending on their age.
applied with the curve for the Northern Hemisphere in fact yielded interesting and significant
results in regard to Peru’s archaeological sequences; this even suggests using these values for Thanks to this procedure the dates are presented already corrected, and they appear in this
subsequent calibrations (cf. Unkel and Kromer 2009). Another possibility would be applying book as B.C. (Before Christ / before our era), or A.D. (Anno Domini or years after Christ), simply
the value resulting from the map of global preindustrial radiocarbon production which leaving out “cal,” as would be required in a specialised journal because we want to lighten the
includes the equatorial countries, and which corresponds to the 0-1 ppm gradient multiplied burden of academic symbols in a book that is scientific but is meant for the general public.
by 8, i.e. 0-8 radiocarbon years (Braziunas et al. 1995). However, as regards radiocarbon calibration, we would like to repeat that a time span of
centuries and even millennia will be given when mentioning a culture, but on mentioning the
After reviewing all of these possible calibrations we opted to follow some suggestions in find of food or plant remains a more accurate span will be given, almost always within the
using the ShCal04 dendrocurve for the Peruvian zone, but noting the inaccuracies that may aforementioned span. We may thus say, for instance, that “the Chancay culture developed
arise not just from the proximity to, and the uncertainties in, the history of the ITCZ in regard between ca. A.D. 1000 and 1460, and that cassava (Manihot esculenta) remains have been
to the latitude of Peru, but also because of the lack of tree rings that can provide South found in the site of Lumbra which belongs to this culture, and which date to A.D. 1380-1450,
American radiocarbon values (Paula Reimer, personal communication, 21.6.2010). When the evidently within the temporal span of this same culture.” Readers who want to carry out a
dating exceeded 9,250 radiocarbon years—i.e. the late Terminal Pleistocene and the Beginnings ‘recalibration’ can look up in the bibliography the sources where we found the dates.
of the Early Holocene—we had to resort to the second of the two options presented, i.e.
using the IntCal04 curve plus the Southern Hemisphere’s 40±20 offset (Hogg et al. 2009). A procedure that should be accepted and applied in a study like the present one are the MCMC
models (Markov Chain Montecarlo Models) in order to calibrate the radiocarbon sequences,
When calibrating we did not always have terrestrial radiocarbon samples, particularly in as recommended by the programme. However, a study like this one would require a different
molluscs that have been excavated and sent to the laboratory to be radiocarbonically dated. It study and another book. This means that we resorted to simple radiocarbon calibrations
is well-known that because of the reasons presented above, this type of material is not ideally respecting the above-mentioned parameters. It must however be acknowledged that much
suited for dating. This can be the case of the remains of marine molluscs, and eventually fish work has still to be done to calibrate the sequences that have been examined.
that come from pre-Hispanic middens. Marine09, the last corresponding marine curve, was
used when working with this type of material including the case’s reservoir value, in accordance Most of the radiocarbon calibrations were done on materials discovered in the same
to the reservoir values interface available online (http://intcal.qub.ac.uk/marine/). context and layer where the food remains were found. It was only occasionally that we

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

could directly calibrate a radiocarbon date that came directly from the organic remain that Direct Evidence: Bone Biochemistry
concerns us, and which in the best cases was done using charcoal. Organic plant and animal
remains that are believed to have been eaten as part of Peru’s pre-Hispanic diet should As has already been noted, the type of food eaten in the past can be reconstructed essentially in
therefore be dated. two ways, one of them indirect and the other one direct (Williams 2005). The indirect approach
works through the archaeological context (botanical and zoological remains, pollen, ceramic
To sum up, radiocarbon calibrations are probable results in calendar years and are not exact, residues) and ethnohistorical data, amongst others. The direct approach instead applies a
yet they will help us explore the real age of the major plant, animal and mineral resources that bioarchaeological analysis, i.e. trace elements or human bone chemistry, faecal remains, etc. The
comprised our ancestors’ diet. information is evidently affected by the quality of the preservation of the remains (the mean
type), the way in which the evidence was recovered (the size of the sieve, the use of flotation,
We now leave the long but essential section on radiocarbon applied to pre-Hispanic food, the site’s location), and even the potential contamination of the remains.
and turn to a brief introduction on the methods and techniques used in this book, that will
show the reader how the science can recover information in an interdisciplinary way, and in Bone biochemistry provides a first approach, i.e. the application of carbon 13 and nitrogen 15
abundant detail, on the foodstuffs used in the pre-Hispanic period, and if possible in what isotope analysis to the collagen of excavated pre-Hispanic human bones. This type of analysis
ways these were prepared. opens a good window with which to directly identify the real food eaten by ancient Peruvians
(Hastorf 1985) and this kind of study is being published since the late sixties, so this is a good
opportunity to disseminate them here.
Reconstructing the pre-Hispanic diet Through Modern Science
In the chapter on prehistoric food in Archaeological Chemistry (Goffer 2007: 307-309),
We mentioned Hans Horkheimer and his handbook on pre-Hispanic food at the beginning Goffer states that animals, human beings included, generate their own tissue by eating
of this book, and pointed out that it will not be replaced ever by this or any other book, food. It has been shown that food has determined—and still does—our way of life. The
given its wide coverage that only he could carry out, and because science has advanced so study of feeding habits and diets is thus crucial for an understanding of past societies.
much in half a century that it is simply impossible to collect all of the new data in one book Besides, very many studies have confirmed that various types of food are directly related
alone. Even so, were Horkheimer alive he clearly would have used these modern methods like with the variable amounts of the isotopes of some chemical elements in our organism, be
no one else, as is shown by the dedication he showed to pre-Hispanic Peru throughout his they dead or alive. In this way the study of the carbon and nitrogen consumed by human
academic career. beings in the past through food allow us to reconstruct their diet. Both elements are
natural components of the atmosphere, as well as of plants and animals. In both cases the
At present several fields in science contribute to the world of palaeofood including stable heavy isotopes C113 and N15 remain in very small amounts due to a process known
criminology, biology, bromatology, medicine, chemistry and so on. This research is applicable as isotopic fractionation that takes place in every type of living being, and concentrate in
not just to various past cultures, as it can even reach such times as when the very process of various ratios. The result is that both animals and plants are distinguished by their content
hominization was taking place. For example, Ungar and Scott (2009) presented an overview of these heavy and light isotopes.
of the diet the first humans had starting from the molar occlusions studied in the bone
remains of Homo rudolfensis, Homo erectus, and Homo habilis. They concluded that two Plants are a good example. These follow three photosynthetic processes known as C3, C4,
million years ago they chose to eat animals like Cebus apella or Alouatta palliata rather and CAM. 95% of plants, like potatoes, follow C3 whilst others follow C4, including maize,
than follow a hard-chewing diet. which was eaten almost continually in the pre-Hispanic Andes. When humans ingest these
plants, their record is automatically passed on to them, and this gives us a way to access
Now then, we owe much of what we currently know of food in the pre-Hispanic period to past feeding habits. We should however add that the characteristics of this photosynthetic
the Spanish chroniclers, and particularly to the accounts written by Juan de Betanzos in 1551 mechanism apparently are not the same in the Peruvian Andes. Cadwallader et al. (2012) made
(1880) and by the Jesuit priest Bernabé Cobo in 1653 (1893). Cobo listed a series of plants and a broad study of plant photosynthesis in Ica and found that it was not just maize that had
animals that were eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru, which makes it the sine qua non of any book C4 photosynthesis, but also other cereals like the kiwicha and quinoa. This has questioned
that deals with this subject. But here, as has already been noted, we will only tangentially previous studies that supported the presence of C4 in the human bone record.
touch this subject and will instead concentrate on the physical-chemical sciences in order
to reconstruct the pre-Hispanic diet. These methods should complement the two that have In an effort to find wider-ranging sources, Schwarcz (1991) noted that we should examine not
already been examined the direct analysis of foodstuffs and those found in archaeological just the stable isotopes in the food eaten but also in human bone as was posited by Goffer
contexts. (2007), as long as the information is complementary.

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The stable isotope line of research has had a spectacular development in the last ten years. Olive oil is another good example. It was imported from Palestine and its property was limited
This has been a boon for us, insofar as studies of this type are including the determination to the elite. The same thing seems to have been the case with fish, as the privileged classes
of stable isotopes recovered in remains of kernels and food, both in archaeological contexts reserved their consumption to themselves (Miller and Wetterstrom 1999: 1135).
and in ceramic sherds, where maize starch sometimes remains and shows what was cooked in
these vessels (Hart et al. 2007). Robert Tykot has made one of the best overviews, which we will cite here, of that part of the
method that has still to be explained (Tykot 2006). The results reached by the experiments
Larsen (2000: 16) mentioned the information derived from stable isotopes in a broader showed that different bone tissues can indicate differences in the diet, in this case the human
overview of this subject, and emphasised the fact that this is the direct method par excellence diet. In general, bone collagen is produced from the proteic part of the diet whilst bone
used to evince food consumption practices in the human past. This type of analysis has been carbonates and dental enamel (both formed by a calcium hydrophosphate called apatite) are
carried out ever-more intensively for the last twenty years in order to study trace elements formed by a mixture of food protein, carbohydrates, and fat. In this way the stable isotope
and reconstruct the prehistoric diet, including manganese, strontium and barium—which analysis of bone collagen and apatite allow us to quantify several component parts of the
concentrate in remains that come from food plants, and partially so in molluscs—as well as diet. And just as Williams anticipated, an individual’s diet can also be reconstructed through
zinc and copper, which are mostly present in foodstuffs of animal origin. the study of the stable isotopes in his/her hair; in fact this is the most accurate way because
it is the most precise combination of isotopes (Robbins 2002).
It is worth including here a very good summary of Jocelyn Williams’ doctoral dissertation
(2005). Williams made a fascinating study of several corpses from the Inca site of Puruchuco, The stable isotopes in teeth also contribute. Sealy et al. (1995: 290) Sealy et al. (1995: 290)
in the modern Lima district of Ate-Vitarte. Williams compared criminological studies and noted that the analysis of stable isotopes in dentine reveals the type of food eaten during
forensic anthropology, because these studies are frequently used in this type of research in childhood; besides, strontium can be used to track change in feeding behaviour, and therefore
order to establish what the deceased ate before death. possible past displacements or migrations. Besides, bone collagen and apatite are permanently
reabsorbed and recomposed by the organism, so that their isotopic compositions give an
For instance, the analysis of soft tissue (e.g. hair, skin, nails, muscles) allows the food the account of the feeding customs at least during the final years of an individual, whereas the
individual had just a few months before his/her demise to be traced, whilst the study of bone composition of the dental enamel can at least provide information regarding the type of food
isotopes reveals what food was eaten 10-25 days before death. eaten during the year in which the dental crown was formed.

Williams (2005) gave a general account of the applications these studies have in studying In America, the analysis of stable isotopes is being used somewhat frequently, particularly
the past. Williams mentions that by identifying the type of food its differential ingestion in regard to reconstructing the consumption of maize, because this plant is a C4 that made
can be detected in the elites and in the common people, in men and women, and in the a significant contribution to the pre-Hispanic diet, as was previously noted. Van der Merwe
social organisation; one can even document cultural changes and modifications in subsistence and Tschauner (1999) had already shown that once domesticated, plants with a C4 origin, like
strategies. Besides, one can assess the type of nutrition and health conditions in the past. So maize or sugarcane, became the largest suppliers of resources for the highest civilisations the
for Williams, isotopic studies can go far beyond, a position with which I concur. world over. The proportion of carbon isotopes in organisms that come from lakes or seas
is however more variable, and in general they have a higher content of nitrogen isotopes.
Williams adds that a poor diet turns into a poor health condition that is reflected in Organisms of this type often contribute much more carbon to bone collagen than maize
the low height of the individuals, in a higher mortality rate and an impaired cognitive itself or other plants. It is in this regard that Tykot emphasises that studies of this kind are
development, low immunity, and a decrease in the work capacity of adults. This type of particularly important in coastal and river areas, where C4 plants and a crassulaceae acid
food study is evidently essential not just for a study of the past, but also for the present metabolism for human consumption are available.
and the future.
Multivariate nitrogen and carbon methods were more recently presented for a more complete
A good example of the results that can be attained jointly with other areas in archaeology reconstruction of the prehistoric diet (Froehle et al. 2012). This actually is a good opportunity
overall is one that supports the proposal that as societies developed and became more for the development of this type of studies in Peru, given its environmental conditions.
complex, the dominant groups had access to more resources at the same time that these
decreased for the common people. Such was the case in Egypt and the Near East. A good To what extent is this type of study being applied in America? What progress does the method
example here is how food was sweetened—the only choices were fruits or honey. It has hold? It has, in fact, been successful in several places where human bone remains can be
been established that honey was controlled by the Pharaoh. Besides, in Dynastic Egypt a large analysed in good preservation conditions (Ambrose 1993). For instance, in a pioneering study
amount of honey has been found as elite offerings. using C13 isotopes almost thirty years ago, Chrisholm et al. (1982), were able to show that the

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ancient inhabitants of British Columbia in Canada consumed marine animals and C3 plants. I where these resources were obtained, as a complement to interdisciplinary work in the
still ignore whether there is a compilation of the many and various recent studies on the use reconstruction of the resources found in a given site.
of biochemistry (i.e. the stable isotopes found in human bones for the reconstruction of the
food eaten in the past), because most of the scientific literature focuses on methods and their
fine tuning, as happens with all new sciences. Excrements and Pathologies Derived From
the Food and From Bromatology
There are many handbooks of this kind, but I would briefly like to mention a specific one:
Biogeochemical Approaches to Palaeodietary Analysis by Ambrose and Katzenberg 2002, and In order to finish this introduction to the alimentary evidence of the past, we must point out
a pair of important supplementary articles (Burton and Wright 1995, Pate 1994, Katzenberg other resources or sources used. One major study is the palaeo-odontological analysis and
and Harrison 1997). The work by Ambrose and Katzenberg presents several contributions, the study of the human skeleton. Physical anthropologists recover invaluable information
particularly in regard to the potential animal bone isotopes have, but also human bones. for the determination of past food through the study of teeth (caries, plaque, hypoplasia,
In their study of bone isotopes in some Maya burials, Van der Merwe et al. (2000: 23-38) attrition) and skeletons (height, pathology, growth lines). This type of study however faces
concluded there was a greater dependence inland on maize throughout time, yet in Belize problems such as preservation conditions, the natural loss of teeth, and bone lesions due to
there was not such a strong dependence on this plant. pathologies such as anaemia and scurvy.

The research done by Burton and Price (2002: 159-171) provides a caveat in this regard. Following Williams (2005: 32), our direct evidence comprises the content of the intestines,
They noted that bone porosity and mineralisation can alter this kind of study. Besides, the coproliths, trace elements and the analysis of stable isotopes. Coproliths report the diet in
overall amount of calcium and the ratios of Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca in animal and plant resources the 24 hours before death, and there is as yet no way of establishing whether the diet shown
potentially consumed by humans must be fully established. A well-known and main critique by the excrements was typical or not.
of the method in this regard is bone alteration through diagenesis.
As for the bones, these provide different types of information. For instance, a dental crown
Burton and Wright (1995) in turn showed that the level of strontium in archaeological human records the type of food an infant has between one and five years of age, whereas bones do
bones is not just a way of measuring the relative meat-plant proportion of the prehistoric so between 10 and 25 years of age for adults.
diet, because it can also provide important data alongside with barium, on a mineral-rich diet.
Palaeo-scatology (Bryant and Dean 2006, Sobolik 2000) and palaeopathology (Verano 1997)
Even more recently, Evershed et al. (2008) were able to reconstruct the diet of the early are two complementary and necessary studies in order to directly trace the type of food eaten
peoples of the Near East, especially in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), based on the study of by the pre-Hispanic populations. The former manages to reactivate and hydrate human faecal
lipids that remained on the surface of the ceramic vessels. Reynard et al. (2011) were analysing remains in terms of examining the diet of its last twenty-four hours, albeit without knowing
calcium in human bones in order to determine the consumption of prehistoric dairy products. whether the food eaten was typical of this individual’s diet. The most remarkable food residues
The methods used to determine the chemical components held by the vessels through gas from an archaeological standpoint are those that definitely come from ancient human faecal
chromatography and mass spectrometry, had already been put forward and applied with remains. Coproliths are mineralised or desiccated faeces that hold micro- and macroscopic
excellent results for at least three decades (Heron et al. 1991). residues from which the diet of the individual who ingested them can be reconstructed, thus
providing crucial data such as caloric balance and nutritional consumption.
Finally, there are two already classic studies that deserve a brief mention here. Schoeninger
and Moore (1992) recounted how trace elements in human bones have been used to investigate The items this type of study recognises evidently are not the ones that were digested, and
marine- and maize-based prehistoric diets in North America. Of their observations it is worth therefore have to be supplemented with those that were digested and which are revealed by
emphasising that the manipulation of the feeding of South American camelids, who were steroids, DNA and proteic residues.
fed with marine products by humans, has been detected (Schoeninger and Moore 1992: 283-
284). Katzenberg and Harrison (1997) in turn made a succinct but most useful summary of the Nowadays faecal remains can determine the gender of the individual who defecated
possible human-bone-based biochemical interpretations. through hormone studies (Reinhard and Bryant 1992). Sobolik (2000) adds new techniques
like gonad steroids, which can be detected in coproliths and which can indicate the gender
Pate (1994) likewise made an extensive account of this mode of analysis but from an of the producers, i.e. they can specify whether the faeces are male or female. Sobolik also
archaeological perspective, in terms of reconstructing not just the type of food in a given mentions new coprolith-based research paths such as detecting the types of proteins present
population but also in terms of its variability, and even more of establishing the environments in the faeces, nutritional analyses, studies of pollen concentration (for instance, the pollen

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of Prosopis lasts longer than that of maize), parasites and nutrition, and so on. A study was
more recently published showing that coproliths also hold important information related to YACIMIENTOS ARQUEOLÓGICOS PERUANOS
mitochondrial DNA and diseases such as Haemophylus parainfluenza (Luciani et al. 2006). PREHISPÁNICOS CON RESTOS DE ALIMENTOS

Palaeopathology in turn is a mandatory companion because several human diseases arise


whenever there are alimentary diseases, such as anaemia due to iron insufficiency. Both
sciences have been introduced in the text in order to present their evidence and to explore
the significance both disciplines have, when applied to the diet of pre-Hispanic Peru.

Proteins, Fat, Carbohydrates, and Vitamins in Native Peruvian Foodstuffs


A complementary, brief and marginal but essential study in this book is an approach to the
biochemistry of the food eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru. Readers will find this contribution split
into two sections, one that appears throughout the account of each species that was part of
this food trove—for instance, when discussing the nutritional value of each resource whenever
it could be found—and the other section in a special chapter meant to briefly examine the
characteristics of each biochemical component of pre-Hispanic foodstuffs, including proteins,
carbohydrates, and lipids, along with vitamins and mineral elements, in terms of assessing
whether these sufficed or not for a good nutrition. I am fully aware that the biochemistry
of food is not my field and cautiously made direct reference to renowned scientific journals
such as Food Chemistry or National Research Council (NRC), and particularly to the quite
complete handbook The Cambridge World History of Food (1999, 2000, two volumes). This
is just a brief approach; readers interested in the biochemistry of native Peruvian foods can
consult other specialised sources.

Finally, a question that has to be answered: what fuel was used to cook the food? This can
be answered using ethnohistorical sources, yet for several decades now archaeology has
had a science that can help us in this regard: anthracology. It studies the charcoal left in
archaeological sites not just to identify the wood used, but also to determine the durability
and temperature of the fire. It is often used in the Northern Hemisphere, but now we have
the first dissertation on Peruvian anthracology (Moutarde 2006a and 2006b), which will be
briefly mentioned later on.

We now leave the methods used in this book and turn to some important clarifications in
order to avoid confusion.

Locating the Archaeological Sites Where Food Remains Have Been Found
One point that may prove annoying for my colleagues or for the scientific community (but
perhaps not for non-specialist readers interested in, for instance, the history of each species)
is that the radiocarbon-based age and the localisation of the food remains in each of them are
repeated throughout the book. This reiteration of site localisation (Map 1) and chronology has Mapa 1. Yacimientos arqueológicos peruanos prehispánicos con restos de alimentos

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

in mind readers who just want to review one or more taxa, such as students or the interested applied it when eating everyday food. The inclusion of information on traditional medicine
public who would not like to read the whole book, which is meant to be a sort of sourcebook. alongside food is essential, but it is the subject of another book.

Let us see this with one example. At least a dozen or so plant species were found at the famed Having reached this point, and before presenting the results of our research, we must briefly
Huaca Prieta site. Each one them was discussed in the corresponding section so that when raise once again the questions with which this book began: ¿is food a social, familiar or gender
discussing each species the name of the site, its location and chronology are included. This subject? What is the real scope of food—in our case, pre-Hispanic food—and how far can
may give the idea that it was my intention to expand the size of the text, but my argument is interpretations go? The following are some preliminary deliberations by way of questions.
that since the book is organised for interested readers who are not specialised in the history
of pre-Hispanic food, this iteration makes it easier for whoever wants to find out about a given
species, who can then go directly to the relevant section and check the available information
without having to go to the beginning of a chapter in order to find the chronology and location
of each site, which interrupts reading and is more complicated. This may seem redundant, but
it is meant for an advanced high school student or a university freshman.

Another example: readers interested in the potato can go directly to the corresponding
section and find all the information required on this plant without having to go over other
sections, as would be the case if all we were dealing with was chronology or the location
of the archaeological sites. AS noted above, university students (and school students, for
that matter) can go directly and search each plant, animal or mineral per item in the second
chapter. Here they will find all the information they want without having to read the rest of
the book if it is not required.

Additional Considerations
There also are several details that must be borne in mind before reading this account of pre-
Hispanic food. In the taxonomy list the reader will find that in some cases there is abundant
information whilst in others this is not so because we do not have it or it is extremely scant. This
essentially is because some plants like the potato, quinoa or maca have caught the attention of
researchers, whilst others like tarwi, in which half its weight is pure protein, are not taken into
consideration by our government but are paradoxically enough appreciated in Denmark.

It should likewise be noted that not all archaeological sites where food remains have been
discovered could be included, because there is a long list of studies that are being made in
Peru, but the book does include a sufficiently representative sample of them. The same holds
for the sources; some are unavoidable and their occasional absence is my responsibility. In
some cases, which certainly were not few, indirect sources had to be used because I was
unable to find the main study in order to find the citation or direct information. This procedure
was however carried out based on publications found in peer-reviewed journals, conventional
scientific journals or books that are managed and accepted following scientific conventions.

Another relevant issue here is the assessment of certain edible resources that in some cases
also had medicinal applications. This is the book’s weak spot, because after having finished
it is clear that our pre-Hispanic forefathers were familiar with ethnomedicine and must have

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Chapter 2

PRE-HISPANIC FOOD IN PERU


THE MEANING OF FOOD IN
PRE-HISPANIC POPULATIONS

At present, to the best of my knowledge, there still is no full anthropological study of Peruvian
archaeological food remains. This is a paradox. Due to the significance it has in modern Peru,
food has had a special role—both unifying and familial at the same time—and it can be
assumed it had the same significance in the Andean world.

We are aware in this regard that this book requires a major accompaniment, to wit—
anthropological assessments of the meaning food had in pre-Hispanic Peru. This field has as yet
been little explored and it involved the simultaneous use of the sources and methodologies
of two sciences, archaeology and anthropology. We are aware of this limitation and only
mean to point out that this gap is now being filled. Some major studies are available. Though
scattered, these have to be reviewed by way of an introduction because of the connotation
they have in this context. These scholars have made a general contribution towards the
interpretation of food in the pre-Hispanic periods, and also have an Andean experience. We
now turn to some of the points of view from which pre-Hispanic food can be studied.

George Gumerman (1997) prepared a doctoral dissertation on the foods found at the Chimú-
period site of Pacatnamú. This interesting study gives some suggestions that are useful for
our subject matter, i.e. pre-Hispanic food. Gumerman even managed to establish the types of
food and how often they were consumed, both by the common people and by their leaders.

Gumerman claims that food is intrinsically social, and that social relations are defined and
maintained through it, as has already been pointed out in the first part of this book. He
believes that the types of food can vary throughout time due to several factors. Food likewise
divides human groups between those who have access to power and those who belong to the
common people, as is all-too regrettably clear in groups with great social cleavages like Peru.
There is thus clear evidence of a differential access to food resources in pre-Hispanic Peru.

To this we must add the fact that food was also different by gender, age, and the occupation
of those who ate it. For instance, in complex societies specialised cooks are in charge of
preparing the food of those sectors involved in different activities. Let us see some examples.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

The study of stable isotopes is yielding some relevant data as regards gender. A significant For DeFrance, zoo-archaeology can also be used to show skill in regard to animal domestication.
study in this regard is the paper by Ericson et al. (1989) on the human bones found in the Her analysis touches the Andes and includes camelids as the basis of a pastoral economy
burials at the Huaca Negra site in the lower Virú Valley, on the Northern Peruvian Coast, which that included their domestication and the transportation of wool, fibre, fertilisers and meat
show the diet of males was more varied than that of females. throughout a large part of the Andean area (DeFrance 2009: 111).

For Peru we also have a paper by Hastorf (1991) that emphasises the role of women involved DeFrance also believes that three domesticated animals had a key role in the Central Andes:
in preparing chicha in the Mantaro Valley. Their role in preparing this important brew made guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus), dogs, and the Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata). Besides their use
them the centre of attention in festivities and political alliances, but at the same time it as food, guinea pigs had medicinal and ritual roles. Using data derived from the archaeological
separated them from power (Gumerman 1997: 114). and isotopic record—e.g. Chavín de Huántar, based on the studies made by Miller and Burger
(1995)—DeFrance posits that agricultural produce were exchanged in the vicinity of Chavín
Now, can we bring anthropological concepts to bear on this field? A pioneering concept, against other items such as dried llama meat (charqui), which was produced at higher altitudes
albeit of a structural type and which has been duly criticised, was developed by the famed in the Andes.
anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss. Lévi-Strauss revolutionised the concept of cooking in his
Triangle Culinaire (1969), where he defined three major types of food preparation: stewed, DeFrance then presents the case of the Mochica economy, where the exchange of llamas
roasted, and smoked. These however are mostly related with meat, which was certainly not and fish, presumably made in markets, had a key role—but as she herself notes, there is no
the case in the Andes or in Peru. conclusive evidence of markets at that time, i.e. the sixth century A.D.

Lévi-Strauss believed that stewing meat was a cultural way of cooking, given that water was DeFrance likewise includes the Altiplano cultures of Tiahuanaco and Wari. From a zoo-
added and that it maximised use as “nothing was lost” of the food. On the other hand roasting archaeological perspective, these were sustained by camelids even though other animals such
was for him a natural way of cooking because the food was directly exposed to fire, and part as fish have been recorded at Wari sites. Finally, during the brief Late Horizon charqui seems
of it could be lost. Smoking was a third cooking method that was likewise a natural, albeit to have been mostly consumed during festive ceremonies and by the Inca militia. DeFrance
slower, one. For Lévi-Strauss, other types of cooking fell within the angles of the triangle (2009: 114) ends her review recalling that fish was essential for the early development of
formed by each of these three basic cooking types. complex societies on the Central Coast of Peru, a point that was reflected on the cultures
that arose in these areas a few centuries prior to the arrival of the Inca.
This type of classification and reasoning have both been criticised, particularly by Shankman
(1969), who had challenged the model on the grounds that it lacks an argument, is missing DeFrance uses several lines of evidence at a global level to convincingly draw the premise that
cooking-methods, and so on. Lehrer (1972, cited by Gumerman 1997) also raised objections elite consumption goods existed. According to previous studies that will be reviewed below
against Lévi-Strauss’ classification because he believes it debases what had originally been (e.g. Miller and Burger 1995, Sandefur 2001), DeFrance believes that the Inca elite (i.e. in the last
conceived as a linguistic range and turns it into a culinary system. Even so Gumerman believes and most recent period of pre-Hispanic Peru) promoted the consumption of meat over other
the type of cooking provides an anthropological basis as the methods are indeed shared, thus types of food, as was the case with the Maya.
uniting human groups (Gumerman 1997: 108). He ends by raising several questions that can be
answered using interdisciplinary approaches on the subject of pre-Hispanic food, which is For DeFrance (2009: 124) the decision to eat mostly meat, particularly that of young animals
what concerns us here. (specifically domesticated for this purpose), is visible in the cut patterns left in bones when
removing the flesh, as was found by the studies made at the site of Chavín de Huántar in the
The approach developed by DeFrance (2009) is a supplementary yet important study that has Central Peruvian highlands. Things were different during the Wari Empire, when the elites
to be included due to the vastness of its scope. This approach provides tools with which to seem to have favoured the consumption of a wider range of animals. In DeFrance’s scheme,
understand how it was that food was distributed during Peru’s pre-Hispanic period, particularly the coastal elites in the Inca period also favoured the bigger fish (with more flesh) and huge
within the elite. amounts of types of shellfish (DeFrance 2009: 129).

The premise drawn by DeFrance is that all animals which provide food and other products On the other hand subject populations ate smaller fish, whose remains were more intensively
had a key role in the development of past societies. She believes archaeologists can use used. Another indicator of power that is reflected in the animals is that bigger fish for the
zoo-archaeological remains to explore both the ways and extent in which they developed consumption of the elite were imported and moved along vast distances, from the coast
status amongst the elites and its dimensions, as well as their condition as elements of to sites in the upper Andean highlands, as was seen at Chavín de Huántar and in Wari times,
power. specifically at Cerro Baúl.

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DeFrance concludes that animal foods used by complex societies were meant not just for
consumption but also to establish social distinctions; to legitimise the ruling elites; and to
ensure social unity through the symbolic manipulation of animals in ritual.

A practical application to Chimu cuisine was recently undertaken by Cutright (2009). Basing
herself on the work done by Bray, Dietler and Gumerman, Cutright posits that one can explore
the world of sociocultural processes through cuisine. Culinary decisions such as what and
how to eat, or how to cook, are potential openings that enable an understanding of the A BRIEF HISTORY OF PRE-HISPANIC PERU
multiple cultural changes that have taken place not just in modern times, but also in the pre-
Hispanic period.

Before moving on to our subject at hand, it is worth presenting a very brief outline of the
pre-Hispanic period, simply to familiarise the reader with the main dates and events. This
will allow the reader to position him/herself spatially and temporally in the Central Andes,
and will also provide some data on the environment in certain periods, which is important
because the climate has been connected in one way or another with the obtention of food
since the beginnings of human occupation.

The Archaic or Preceramic Period


Human groups in Peru, i.e. in the Central Andes, go back to fourteen thousand years B.C. Their
presence is recorded both in the highlands and on the coast, where they go back to twelve
thousand years B.C. So in principle these immigrant populations were quite similar in temporal
terms. At this time the Andes experienced several glaciations and the retreat of the glaciers;
this came to an end in the Terminal Pleistocene after the Younger Dryas glaciation around
11,000 B.C. It is believed that the scant human groups fed on the food resources derived from
the contemporary megafauna along with deer and small mammals, obviously supplemented
with several plants that were at initially wild.

Little is known of how these early peoples lived, but it seems they settled in seasonal camps
for very brief periods. We regrettably have no data on hunting modes or culinary preparation,
but it can be speculated that they may have stalked their prey and used wood- or stone-
tipped spears or javelins. In the highlands they must have used a series of rock shelters and
caves to protect themselves from the elements, whereas on the coast they would have built
camps, probably to exploit marine resources, and those from the lomas and the tributaries
of river deltas and river banks in the middle of the desert. The sea held several key resources
derived from the upswelling of zooplankton and phytoplankton; this however probably did
not take place as it happens nowadays, for the cold Peruvian Current only stabilised around
3,800 B.C. Little is known of local climate changes in the Central Andean area, but it is clear
that the Younger Dryas brought down the temperature in just a few decades. This must have
had an impact on the behaviour of these early settlers as regards their food needs. There
unfortunately are no human bone remains dating to such distant times, so that a reconstruction
from a bio-archaeological standpoint cannot be presented.

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A subsequent period extended from the last glaciation (11,000 B.C.) to around 4,000 B.C. The did not travel much in search of raw materials or stones. The stone blocks were carved in
number of sites increased, and demographic density also rose slightly. Temperatures gradually the quarries and were then taken to their dwellings, which included areas meant for tool
rose in the Andes throughout this period as happened in the rest of the world during the manufacture. Arrow points used to hunt have been found, as well as stone chips and cutting
Holocene. A marked and sustained temperature rise in the Central Andes is clear by 7200 B.C., knives, scrapers to prepare the skins used as clothes, and so on.
and it reached its peak in 6,200-4,800 B.C.
A particularly significant event took place in the fourth millennia B.C. It was then that the
A first achievement was attained in this period: the development of early horticulture Cold Peruvian Current stabilised, and with it the stock of marine resources available for food
[horticultura]. Studies undertaken in the highlands and the coast have shown that experiments became more permanent and stable. When we add agricultural development, it becomes
were made with resources such as gourds, legumes, chili peppers and even peanuts. This clear that a relative economic boom took place in this period. This probably gave rise to
happened both in the Andes and in the tropical or semitropical areas before 9000 B.C. Some more differentiation within the population, which in turn showed in the time these groups
biologists believe that plants dating to this period were already in a state of experimental devoted to activities other than subsistence, including ritual activities undertaken in public
domestication, and so it can be speculated that the origins of this process go back to the buildings that are usually called ‘temples.’ A step had been taken that led from the simple
Younger Dryas. Recent research is on the other hand painting a different picture of the encampment meant for a more ‘elementary’ life to a more complex society that probably
hunting and gathering period. The so-called Paiján complex from Pampa de los Fósiles, in the comprised shamans, the elite and a stratum of common people.
Cupisnique area, corresponds to an early culture that developed ca. 11,000-6,200 B.C. This
culture was characterised by populations that lived in camps and were highly mobile, but It was at this time, ca. 3800 B.C., that several public buildings were erected, particularly in the
it likewise included groups from the Jequetepeque Valley on the Northern Peruvian coast small coastal of what is known as the Norte Chico (Small South); these monumental works
that lived in semi-permanent camps and were therefore already experimenting with plant entailed the mass mobilisation of labour, and in their midst there arose the iconography that
management. Some of these populations were also building irrigation canals by 5600 B.C., would be developed in Chavín and would endure until the Inca Empire. In the Central Andes
which is quite an early date in the context of international agriculture. this period is currently known as the Late Archaic Period. Several plants and marine resources
were managed during this period that seem to have formed the base for what we will later
Experiments were being made at the same time—ca. 6000 B.C.—with camelid management, see. This alimentary base provided for a kind of economic boom and sedentism that enabled
so that this type of mammal was literally under domestication by 4,200 B.C. By then most of the construction of several large buildings such as Áspero, Chupacigarro-Caral, Las Haldas,
the plants in the Andes had been domesticated. Sechín Alto, Cotos, La Galgada, and the so-called ‘U-shaped temples” of the Central Coast
like El Paraíso, Cardal, Mina Perdida, and so on.
After Paiján, coastal populations comprised multiple human groups settled essentially on the
littoral, where they used marine resources such as fish, shellfish, algae and fowl. They lived in As for the environment, we should bear in mind that in this period the El Niño phenomenon
camps like those found at Paloma, close to San Bartolo, south of Lima, where they fed mainly became a recurring event on the coast at the same time that the southern Altiplano came
on gourds and anchovy, and buried their dead inside the huts. In the highlands the people out of a protracted drought and desertification process that lasted almost all of the Middle
found refuge in caves or shelters. Holocene, ca. 7,000-3,500 B.C. This gave rise to several active populations, and this finally led
to the domestication of, for instance, quinoa in an immediately subsequent period.
Little is known of their physical appearance, but it is known for instance that the Paiján people
had gracile bones, narrow faces, and hyperdolicocephalic skulls—a somewhat rare trait
amongst these early South American groups. They suffered from caries and arthritis. In the The Initial Period and the Chavín Phenomenon
highlands, the children buried inside Lauricocha Cave were oddly enough interred with semi-
precious stones and several other offerings, thus suggesting that infants received a special The Initial Period, which extends from ca. 2500 B.C. to 1000 B.C., is so called because it
treatment. Contemporary highland burials exhibit different physical characteristics—these indicates the development of pottery in pre-Hispanic Peru. Although pottery is significant
were small people with more robust bones and a wider face. The analysis of human bones and from a ritual standpoint—it bears the iconography with the beliefs the early peoples of the
genetic seem to indicate the presence of several populations in South America at that time, Central Andes had—it probably was not so from a functional point of view insofar as several
and specifically in the Andes. vessels had been used since ancient times.

Archaeologists have devoted much study to the stone tools dating to this period but this is By convention the Early Horizon comes next. This period extends from 1000 B.C. to 200 B.C.
simply due to their better state of preservation, for organic materials long ago vanished after and is characterised by the presence of the Chavín cult in the Central Andes, which spread out
so many thousands of years. These tools reveal that except in the case of obsidian, people from the ceremonial centre of Chavín in the Callejón de Huaylas. The architectural conception

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of the edifice indicates however that it was not an original idea and was instead the result Regional Cultures (Early Intermediate Period)
of several traditions that must have corresponded to different types of cults found on both
the Northern and Central coasts—platforms, truncated pyramids, U-shaped temples—as well Developing a chronology for this period is not easy as it comprises several major cultures that
as in highland sites (Kotosh in Huánuco, La Galgada in Áncash). Chavín is thus the outcome have been studied for over a century. If we have to do so we have a period that on average
of several traditions, and probably the offspring of previous cults. The human background extend from 100 B.C. to A.D. 700, but this lapse of time varies from one site to another.
of the Chavín phenomenon must have comprised several shaman castes ‘institutionalised’
by the groups [which ones?]; these shamans acted as ‘priests’ and used a paraphernalia that At this time the Central Andes had at least four main characteristics: the establishment of a
comprised ‘sacred’ and exchanged elements that included offerings and the consumption of State sensu stricto (with a sector of people working for it, i.e. bureaucrats); manufactures at
hallucinogens. the scale of, and specific to, the various cultures of the time (which entails specialists such
as farmers, fishermen, etc.); a unique art style [arte diferenciado]; and (according to some
Research undertaken in U-shaped temples showed they were built by several, probably scholars) the rise of the city, but it must here be noted that some believe in this regard that in
diversified [diversificadas: differentiated?], populations, which bear witness to their multiple the Andes cities, unlike in the Western world, had sui generis characteristics that made them
components. Even more interesting is the presence of buildings showing they were abandoned, look more like ritual centres with agglomerations of people. Unlike previous periods, this
intentionally burned and then rebuilt, a pattern typical of ritual conducts followed in this kind period saw an increase in the number of fortifications and in sites of a defensive nature, which
of ceremonial centre. A similar history is observable at Chavín de Huántar itself (Lumbreras perhaps delimited regionalism.
1993), which comprised at its centre several structures and galleries, courtyards or plazas,
stairways and so on. Its strategic location clearly indicates a connection between the coast, These characteristics were shared to a greater or lesser extent by cultures like the Lima,
the highlands and the tropical forest, so that several traditions merged. Chavín iconography Moche, Nasca, Recuay or Cajamarca, amongst others. Here we will discuss just three of them
includes birds, felines and serpents, in what has been interpreted as a combination of the because this book does not have to dwell on this period.
various environments found in the Central Andes. The galleries on the other hand held several
offerings, and it is now being posited that some openings served as smoke ducts and for the The Mochica culture is the classic culture par excellence (Castillo and Uceda 2008). It
sound of music, which must have penetrated other platforms. apparently developed out of a style known as Salinar, to which types of dwellings and
ceremonial centres have been ascribed, as well as fortresses and irrigation canals, which mean
Excavations have shown there was a town in the vicinity dedicated to textile (dyed wool, water control is key to an understanding of this phenomenon. Yet there also was another
tapestries), ceramic, and lithic (beads, polished tools) manufacture. Thus far the absence of culture known as Gallinazo that was spread over a larger area. It is believed the Mochica later
elite tombs is odd and it seems they did not exist. What is clear is the progress made in on incorporated Gallinazo and then established simple and complex settlements, both of
technology and art. Metal objects stand out in this regard, alongside the development of residential and a cult nature. All this brought about a significant demographic increase. Elite
several techniques. The pottery left behind by Chavín likewise comprises veritable art pieces. burials are also clearly present, indicating the vertical segmentation of Moche society. Part of
the paraphernalia becomes evident when we analyse the massive human sacrifices.
We thus see a clear social stratification and several lines of evidence that clearly show long-
distance contacts, i.e. exchanges. The evidence likewise indicates meat was prepared as Nasca is a similar culture that developed in the modern-day department of Ica, on the
charqui, and particularly high rates of maize consumption. South-Central coast of Peru. It literally developed in the middle of an extremely arid
environment. Its people established themselves in this environment and extracted water
The structures were abandoned towards the end of this period in 200 B.C., and the Chavín cult from the water table by building cisterns and ducts, which were used to irrigate and cultivate
paraphernalia gradually disappeared. Sites were located in the higher areas, and archaeologists several vegetable resources they consumed alongside those of a marine nature (Silverman
have interpreted this as an evidence of conflicts. Research is however needed to elucidate the and Proulx 2002).
connection between the Early Horizon and what is known as the Early Intermediate Period,
when the white on red pottery appeared. It is impressive that the Nasca managed to raise monumental shrines in this desert like
Cahuachi, which comprises some 150 hectares full of courtyards, tombs and offerings, and
Other parts of the Andes present different cultural varieties. Such is the case of Vicús in Piura, where large-scale pilgrimages took place. They lived in houses associated with public, probably
a little-studied culture which developed a remarkable pottery that is more related with the ritual, centres. The Nasca made impressive and elaborate ceramic and textile objects, many
Northern Andes, highly-skilled metalwork and deep tombs. Pucará is another culture with its of them of a votive nature. Their rituals were festive and were held with a series of musical
own characteristics, this time in the southern Altiplano, which grew high-altitude cereals like instruments and paraphernalia. They also built the famed lines or geoglyphs, which are now
quinoa, built temples and initiated the use of camelid caravans for transportation. taken to be totemic representations of a water cult.

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The Recuay culture developed in this period in the highlands of Ancash. It was characterised The Late Intermediate Chiefdoms
by the rise of several high-altitude sites in the midst of ceremonial places and areas where
activities such as grazing took place, for llamas and other camelids were key resources (Lau Several kingdoms appeared once the Wari Empire had split, probably due to several political
2002). The Recuay also produced a fancy pottery which reflected the hierarchy of the elite and environmental factors. These kingdoms had a high ceramic, metal and textile output as
and sacred as well as economic activities. They also distinguished themselves due to the well as commercial exchange systems and agricultural and fishing technologies that involved
versatility of their stone stelae, which are associated with elite burials. a complex social development that even involved the establishment of confederations. This
period extended from ca. A.D. 1000 to A.D. 1470.

The Wari Empire Archaeologists likewise believe that this was period of conflict, for many sites lie on the upper
parts of hills and mountains. The Chincha culture has some good examples of this. This culture
After these first cultural groups that date to the beginning of the Christian era, there appeared included a whole range of sea-based merchants with exchange networks that encompassed
a culture in Ayacucho that expanded around A.D. 600 and became the first Andean empire. all of the Andean area, and who travelled on small crafts alongside the littoral (Sandweiss
The Middle Horizon Wari Empire in the Central Andes is one of best-known culture thanks to 1992). Another case in point is the Chancay culture, north of Lima, which had several domestic
the current interdisciplinary research. We will here present it following Cook and Glowacki settlements and a particularly high number of cemeteries, and which cultivated all plants
(2003). known at present (Parsons and Hastings 1988). On the North Coast the Chimú built, the citadel
of Chan Chan amongst other sites, whilst the Lambayeque stood out due to their marvellous
The Wari State first began as a small confederation in the Early Intermediate that is known as metalwork (Moore and Mackey 2008). But a new empire would prevail shortly afterwards.
Huarpa. Starting in A.D. 600 it began to transform into an empire that collapsed in A.D. 1000.
The eponymous site of Wari lies close to modern-day Huamanga. This was its capital, where
some of the biggest and most complex architecture in the empire is found. The urban core, The Inca
which extends over three square kilometres, housed several architectural compounds with
many enclosures. Isbell and McEwan (1991) estimate the city had at least seventy thousand According to historical sources the Inca Empire developed from around A.D. 1470, but the
inhabitants during its heyday. evidence suggests that this happened long before. What is clear is that it gave rise to a society
that imposed its rule over almost all of Andean South America in a relatively brief span.
What was the climate like in this period? Although there are no specific palaeoclimatic studies
of this issue, we can speculate that a severe drought afflicted several parts of the Andes in the It is not easy showing that such an empire grew out of a ceramic style known as Killke, and it
sixth century of the Christian era, as was recorded in the ice layers of the Quelccaya glacier certainly must have had an impressive plan of expansion in administrative terms that had the
and as is shown by the data from the O18 isotope they hold (Thompson et al. 1985). Cook and support of accounting systems like the quipu, which by the way were a Wari invention.
Glowacki (2003: 176) believe this spurred the search for new arable and fertile land outside
Ayacucho in the late sixth century A.D. Following Glowacki and Malpass (1998), they suggest the The Inca used logos or symbols such as the trapezoidal architectural form. Llamas were used
drought may have led to an increase in the number of ceremonial offerings made to the huacas as sacrifices, in caravans, and eventually as food, particularly that of the ruling elite. As for
and ancestors, as well as in the number of festivals meant to gain control of water sources. maize, its massive consumption was standardised. The Inca also built an impressive road
system that connected almost all of the Andean area (Bauer 1992). The influence the panaca
Pottery is one of the essential and recognisable products manufactured by the Wari. or royal families had is known. These groups were organised by ayllus and in order to serve the
Archaeologists have identified two stages in their development, a first, non-secular stage with State they had servants who carried out the duties they were assigned. The Inca apparently
two styles—Chakipampa and Ocros—and a second one that is in general known as Viñaque. had a rigid legal system, so that transgressors rarely escaped their punishment, which could
The ceremonial ceramics in the first phase comprise the Conchopata and Robles Moqo styles, include the death penalty.
whilst the latter one comprises the Atarco and Pachacamac styles. Thanks to the sequence
developed by Dorothy Menzel it is assumed that during the Middle Horizon epoch 1 (ca.
A.D. 540-700), the first stage in Wari expansion was represented by the Ocros (disseminated
over the northern, central, and southern highlands) and Chakipampa (found on the coast)
ceramic styles. The Wari presence in the highlands during the second phase (ca. A.D. 700-800)
is evinced by the Viñaque style, and in the southern and central coasts by the Atarco and
Pachacamac styles respectively.

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FOOD IN PRE-HISPANIC PERU

We move on now to the analysis of the palaeodiet and finally enter the subject matter of this
book. It has been divided into plants, animals, and minerals. The information available for each
taxon appears as follows: definition, taxonomy, some characteristics of the species, genetic
information, origins, domestication, and finally a review of the archaeological finds and the
associated physical data that ensure its presence in the pre-Hispanic world. The reader will
find some entries that are not recognised as belonging to the Andean area, but which had to
be included because they appear in the scientific literature. A glossary has been prepared to
help readers who want to look up terms from various specialties, which is an unavoidable
issue in this book due to its interdisciplinary nature.

Peruvian Pre-Hispanic Plants Used as Food

Tubers and Rhizomes


Achira, Adeira, Imocona, Luano, Munay, sio (Canna edulis Ker-Gawler or Indica)
The plant known as achira is an American rhizome that can be domesticated and eaten, and
which has shown up in various Peruvian archaeological sites. It can be segmented in tube-
like shapes, and is then boiled or roasted for its domestic consumption. Donald Ugent (1984)
posits it has high nutritional value due to the amount of starch it has; besides it is easily
digested and holds great promise for future alimentary food purposes (National Research
Council 1989b: 11, Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 112).

Let us turn now to its bromatology. Its fruits are so bulky they can be the size of a human
forearm. Fresh tubers have up to 75% water and 6-14% sugars, like glucose and saccharose. It
has a high potassium content, but a low calcium and phosphorus content.

Corpoica (2003) made a bromatological study of fresh achira, and for each 100 grams recorded up
to 70% water, 130 calories, 0.9-2.7 g of proteins, 25.7-31 g of carbohydrates, 0.5-0.8 g of fibre, 0.1 g
of fat, 15-35 mg of calcium, 33-63 mg of phosphorus, 1.4-9.3 mg of iron, 0.01 mg of riboflavin, 0.03
mg of thiamine, 8 retinol equivalents of vitamin A, 0.4-0.66 mg of niacin, and 7 mg of vitamin C.

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Pérez and Lares (2005) made the most agreed-upon analysis of the biochemistry of starch Gade gave an account of the technique used to stew [cocción] achira in the upper Apurímac
in this plant. They list, in descending order, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, valley. Here they used ovens—literally a hole in the ground—lit with agave in which they
and—in lesser amounts—iron, calcium, and zinc. They believe this plant was domesticated placed stones that were then heated. Achira leaves were placed on top, and the rhizomes
in a macroregion that extends from southern Central America to northern South America were placed on top of them and were then covered with dry achira. Finally the whole lot was
(Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 163). covered and allowed to cook underground for some twelve hours. The end result was sweet
rhizomes with a high starch content, a quality noted at the beginning of this taxon.
As for the distribution of achira, Margaret Towle (1961: 33-34) notes that in Peru it extends from
sea level up to two thousand metres. She likewise points out that wherever they are found, Achira has many advantages as food [tema comestible]: it is quickly cooked, it can be eaten
the direct or indirect evidence for the presence of this plant indicates that pre-Hispanic raw or cooked and is easily digested, particularly by children, old-age people, or individuals
populations saw in it an excellent source of starch. with digestive problems (National Research Council 1989a: 28).

Before reviewing the scant samples found of achira in pre-Hispanic Peru, we should go over The domestication of achira is still debated. Herrera (1942b) suggested that it originally took
a brief presentation Daniel Gade made in a pioneering article (Gade 1966), particularly in place in the southern Peruvian mountains, while Cohen (1978) thought the North Coast had
regard to the origins of this important rhizome, and whether there is at least an ethnographic better conditions for domestication. The National Research Council (1989a: 29-35) has a
knowledge of its preparation. similar position when it claims that this plant was one of the earliest plants domesticated
in the Andean area. Its wild species are scattered all over the mid-elevation Andes, usually
Gade points out that the distribution of achira extends from Venezuela to northern Chile, in wet niches. Even so, it is believed in more general terms that its domestication may have
and includes the Amazon forest, Paraguay, the Antilles and Central America, ranging in begun on northern South America or southern Mesoamerica.
altitude from 0 to 2900 masl. He speculates that it originated in the tropical forest in a
South American precipitation environment, perhaps in what is now Colombia. Gade posits On the other hand, the size of the specimens recovered in the excavations made in Peru
it may have disseminated from the green oriental Andean region to the coast of Peru and indicates that if there was a change, it must have taken place in quite distant times because
Northern Chile. both archaeological and modern specimens are quite similar. Don Ugent used this argument
to posit that achira domestication began at an earlier date (Ugent 1984: 428). I believe that this
The interesting point four decades later is that Gade apparently was not wrong. The wild took place during the Early Holocene.
ancestor of achira may have developed in the Amazonian lowlands, given that this environment
had a low carbon dioxide level and a reduced seasonality, at least since the Late Pleistocene Jeffrey Quilter (1991: 398) is very cautious in this regard. He believes achira domestication is
(Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 111). still uncertain even by 2,500 B.C., and that it may have taken place even later.

The National Research Council (1989a: 27) in turn believes that this is a plant that originated Margaret Towle (1961: 139) pointed out that achira was probably domesticated since the
in Peru and Ecuador. Although its presence has been recorder on the coast sin the Preceramic beginning of the occupation of Huaca Prieta, around 3000 B.C. The radiocarbon dates from
Period (prior to 2200 B.C.), the Council believes that the Inca clearly established its massive this site are however currently under reassessment, and we still await the new publication of
consumption and enhanced its “genetic engineering”, thus attaining rhizomes that were up to the plants and the other finds related with the food of its preceramic inhabitants (cf. Dillehay
20 cm thick. et al. 2012), which were still unavailable as we went to press.

Gade on the other hand believed that achira was extremely important for early agriculture on Scholars in general believe the achira found since the Preceramic Period is a cultivated
the Peruvian coast, before the coming of maize and yucca. This assumption cannot be easily plant (Bonavia 1982: 313), which means a consensus has been reached regarding its date of
verified because as seen below, the number of this type of rhizomes that have been found is domestication.
lower in comparison to others.
Let us turn now to the evidence of achira in pre-Hispanic Peru, and first of all to
It is clear that any effort to reconstruct the techniques used to prepare achira will be ethnohistorical and ceramic sources. Ugent (1984: 418) and Vargas (1962: 111-112) correctly
complicated but it is worth going over Gade’s account (1966: 412), which is actually based on point out the first observations can be made on sculpted Mochica and Chimu ceramics.
Ernst Middendorf, a German nineteenth-century traveller in Peru. Middendorf described how Here achira appears both modelled and painted, thus evincing that populations in both
achira was cooked in a small oven known as “huatia,” where it was roasted over hot ashes and cultures were familiar with this plant. This also allows for a relative dating at both ends
yielded a nutritious and agreeable food. ca. A.D. 500 and A.D. 1100-1480.

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Seminario (2004: 22) correctly points out in the above-mentioned compilation by Ugent (1984)
that the chroniclers, strangely enough, do not mention achira in any other part of America
except for the Central Andes. This strengthens the idea that it originally was a Peruvian plant.
Ugent likewise points out that “achira” is a Quechua mode used to label the “edible achira,”
which seems to be another argument for the Andes.

Soukup (1980: 102) had already discussed this plant which he believed had been much cultivated
in the Inca empire, but it had been found when excavating some tombs in the Peruvian coast,
both raw and cooked. Let us turn now to the available evidence from archaeological excavations.

Ugent (1984) reported the earliest achira remains in the archaeological record. It was found
in the same context as sweet potato, and so can be dated to 2914-2287 B.C. in the site called
Huaynuná, in the Casma Valley (Figure 2).

The second earliest evidence thus far dates to the third millennium B.C. Only the remains of one
piece of achira (Canna edulis) have been found at La Galgada, a monumental archaeological
site in Pallasca—a province of the modern region of Ancash close to the Tablachaca Canyon,
some 1100 masl. The dates from this site range between 2600 B.C. and 1316 B.C., but the
specimen can be dated to 2147 B.C. (Grieder et al. 1988: 69, Smith 1988: 128).

The remains of two charred seeds were found at Caral, in a phase that on average dates to
2000 B.C. This means achira was eaten on the Central Coast at least on this date, if not before
(Flores Blanco 2006: 224).

Frédéric Engel (1966: 62) and Jeffrey Quilter et al. (1991: 280) have reported achira at El Paraíso
north of Lima, in a period close to ca. 2150 B.C., so it may have also been eaten at this site.

Cohen (1978: 32) reports that achira was already present in the lower levels of the Pampa
phase on the Central Coast of Peru, probably in the Middle Holocene (ca. 5000 B.C.), but
accuracy is difficult without a radiocarbon date. Cohen emphasises that this seems to have
been the most important rhizome throughout all of the occupation sequence, in comparison
with its present absence. Figura 2. Restos de achira de Huayuná -2914-2287 a.C.- (superior a la derecha) y de Pampa de Llamas, valle bajo de Casma. (CORTESÍA DE
DONALD UGENT).
Don Ugent (1984: 420) posits that the presence of achira at Pampa de Llamas, in the lower Casma
Valley, was extended through time, as it has also been found at other sites like Pampa Rosario and
San Diego, which date to ca. 800 and 300 B.C. His observations (Ugent 1984: 425) regarding the The characteristics of the traces of charcoal found on the remains suggest these were baked,
conditions the achira remains were found in are interesting, and give the impression that the inside either in the open air like a grill or in charcoal pits. The latter cooking method prevailed with
of the rhizomes was removed in order to extract the edible part of the plant. Besides, most of the achira rhizomes until the appearance of pottery, and is similar to that which was used with
specimens still had fragments of charcoal on their peels, and are thus interpreted as roasted achiras. potatoes and sweet potatoes in the lower Casma Valley. It is somewhat similar to the so-
called “huatia” Daniel Gade mentioned.
The fascinating point here is that Ugent found that some specimens had spiral-shaped traces,
which usually appear when the rhizome is peeled with a cutting element like a stone chip, as Huaca Prieta, on the North Coast of Peru, is a classic archaeological site where achira has also been
may well have been the case. This is the first evidence, about 4000 years old, of the removal discovered. Junius Bird et al. (1985: 233) reported its presence in layer “Q,” which is equal to at least
of achira peels before their consumption and cooking. 2819 B.C. The remains of chewed achira tubers, leaves, and branches evince that it was eaten.

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Margaret Towle (1961: 113) says the Mochica also cultivated achira, so it may have been eaten This is an umbellifer (like the carrot and celery) that was cultivated in Peru in the 600-3,200
during the first centuries of the Christian era. Towle likewise mentions the presence of achira masl altitude range. It is the only domesticated umbellifer in South America and is still limited
in the tombs of the pre-Hispanic cemetery of Ancón in late periods (probably ca. A.D. 1000- to its original environment, but has lately been successfully exported to Brazil. It is in fact now
1535). She points out the presence of achira in the Early Intermediate Period is recorded in the being grown in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and y Bolivia (Hermann 1997: 78-80).
Playa Grande ceramic style in the shrine of Pachacamac (Towle 1961: 127).
Hermann believes there are several reasons why arracacha holds the most promise for
Achira is also depicted on Nasca and Chimú vessels that even include the characteristics of the the future, in within the context of the minor Andean tubers. One of these reasons is that
plant’s epidermis (Towle 1961: 34). I have also seen depictions of achira in three ceramic pieces in arracacha is free of all undesirable substances in cooking which are present in other tubers,
the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú, one Middle Nasca piece e.g. oxalates in oca, mucilages in ulluku, or isothiocyanates in mashua.
(ca. A.D. 300), one late Chimú (ca. A.D. 1400), and a White-On-Red piece (A.D. 300 a.C.-100), that
probably came from the North Coast. What is the natural environment of arracacha? Where does it come from? Unlike other Andean
tubers which come from higher altitudes, the arracacha is highly versatile and adaptable to a
A significant amount of achira—in some cases with traces of roasting—was found in the Nasca wide range of altitudes, from tropical to mesothermal altitudes. It is a paradox that it is almost
shrine at Cahuachi, which dates to the first centuries of the Christian era (Piacenza and Pieri unknown in Peru, and yet it is posited that this is its place of origin. Hermann (1997: 85) pointed
2012: 3, 6). The high consumption of achira by the people of this culture has already been out in surprise that no Peruvian dish or standard cookbook includes the arracacha. Almost no
pointed out (Silverman and Proulx 2002: 52). one in Lima knows its existence, and it even has some negative connotations amongst our
Andean peoples.
Patterson and Moseley (1968: 116-117) reported achira first appears in the so-called Preceramic
VI at the La Pampa site (dating to ca. 2500-2300 B.C.), which we calibrated to 3090 B.C. It is As for the origins of arracacha, Father Soukup (1980: 68) believes it probably comes from
worth pointing out that this was a charcoal sample but it was associated with cotton seeds, Colombia, at altitudes ranging between 1700 and 2500 masl, and that Peruvian aborigines
thus dating this type of plant at Ancón. cultivated it particularly because its roots were highly valued for preparing picantes and
chupes.1* Soukup also says that Herrera recorded four classes of arracacha: “rumuracacha,”
At Los Gavilanes, a site close to the mouth of the Huarmey River, Bonavia (1982: 149) “arroz racacha,” “huaysampilla,” and “morada”. These notes support Hermann’s claim that this
documented the presence of some remains of Canna sp. (probably achira) starting in layer 1, tuber used to be eaten more frequently.
i.e. ca. 4000-3,000 B.C..
Let us turn now to the bromatology of this major tuber. The arracacha is essentially formed
On the other hand, iconographic evidence indicates that achira was already known and by starch, and from this standpoint it closely resembles the achira. The root is the edible
depicted by the Chavín culture during the first millennium B.C., as is evinced by the Tello part of the plant and it has a high content of carbohydrates (26 g), starch (23.5 g), ascorbic
Obelisk (Lathrap 1971, Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 110). acid, B-carotene, and especially vitamin A (1,760 mg) and niacin. The presence of ascorbic
acid and the way it facilitates the absorption of iron have to be emphasised (Larsen 2000). It
For later periods, e.g. the Chancay culture, Nelson and Bellido Cerda (2010: 50) have reported also has minerals such as calcium (65 mg), magnesium (65 mg), phosphorus (55 mg), iron and
the finding of achira in the archaeological middens of sites such as Chambara, Quipico and potassium. Its large edible range and unique qualities in comparison to other tubers are why
Rontoy (90-1,000 masl), which were radiocarbon dated to 1265-1625 B.C. it is preferable (Hermann 1997: 119).

Finally, Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 79) observed the presence of achira in the Los Pinos site, Are the ways in which it was prepared known? The National Research Council (1989b: 60) also
also of the Chancay culture in the Huaura valley, just four kilometres away from the sea. discussed this tuber’s importance and provided ethnographic data in this regard, particularly
from Colombia, where it is used in soups and purée, especially in locros and in the sancocho
colombiano.2* It can also be drunk as “guarapo” or arracacha chicha, prepared using the same
Arracacha, Creole Celery, Birraca, Waisampila, White Carrot (Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancroft) way as masato, particularly in the region of Cundinamarca (Colombia).
1 Denses soups made of boiled vegetables and animal meat, typical from southern Peru.
This tuber was frequently eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru, but in time its consumption fell or
worse, it stopped. We now turn to this food resource.
2 Stews of native vegetables flavoured with spices.

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Hodge (1954) lists the benefits this plant has as regards the ease with which it is cooked or Mochica. Reinhard et al. (2007: 534) however believe it may be a case of misidentification due
stewed (in this way it is ideal for newborn babies and children), and its typical consumption in to the altitude at which the arracacha is cultivated, as well as to the questionable nature of
the Andes in the form of locro, as has already been noted. the pollen analysed.

Martins (1976) noted an interesting fact in regard to the way arracacha was prepared in pre-
Hispanic Peru by broiling it on embers, i.e. it was roasted. This should not come as a surprise, Sweet Potato, Apichu, Batata, Huascai, Inch (Ipomoea batatas)
as that was the cooking method par excellence at the time.
Unlike the previous two tubers, references to the sweet potato abound as regards the subjects
Like other Andean tubers, the arracacha was also efficiently preserved. When desiccated it we touch upon before their archaeological record. Let us see its fascinating history.
lasts for an impressively long time as it can be stored for almost seven years, yet it preserves
10-12% of its protein content. The sweet potato had such significance that it literally laid down the alimentary foundations
both for the Inca Empire and the Maya culture (Cooley 1951). Its importance reached beyond
But let us turn once again to the question: where does it come from? Wild species have been the American continent, for once exported it was accepted by many populations all over
found in Peru and particularly in Ecuador; Hermann therefore argues that this is where it was the world. Cooley thus reports the case of the distant Mori (New Zealand), who store sweet
domesticated. Linguistic data support this hypothesis. potatoes in an especially-built bin in an underground part of their villages, which is considered
one of the most important parts of their surroundings.
Turning to Hodge (1954: 210), he notes that arracacha is disseminated from Venezuela to
Bolivia. In fact, since the Spanish conquest accounts show it was found all over the Inca The incidence of sweet potato consumption is also clear from its export outside America. The first
Empire. Hodge suggests that arracacha may have been taken to Colombia by the Incas but who did so were the Peninsular European settlers. The cultivation of the sweet potato had been
this is mere speculation because as we have just seen, this goes in the opposite direction of successful by the time the Spaniards arrived to America that it was widespread in Mesoamerica and
its origins. South America, and it was the Spaniards themselves who took it to Europe China, and Malaysia.
The Portuguese then took it to India, Indonesia, and Africa (Seminario 2004: 16).
It follows that although the origins of this plant are hard to trace, it can be concluded that
modern Colombia is the first possible candidate and Ecuador the second one; from there One issue that has yet to be solved is the pre-Hispanic presence of the sweet potato outside
it would have spread to the rest of the Andes. Even so, more interdisciplinary studies are America, specifically in Melanesia (Asia). In this context it has been claimed that it was introduced
required in order to be more conclusive. into Oceania by Polynesian travellers from the western coasts of South America—either Ecuador
or Peru—in A.D. 1000-1100, and that it reached New Zealand in A.D. 1250-1300 (Bourke 2009: 491).
We turn now to the archaeological record of arracacha in pre-Hispanic Peru. It must have
been widely eaten because Hermann (1997: 85) claims that the Spanish chroniclers noted it so. After a massive review of the evidence, O’Brien (2000: 209, 215) concluded there was enough
The main problem here is the actual evidence, because it really is scant. data to support the presence of the sweet potato in the central part of Polynesia by A.D. 1000,
and even in Micronesia as from A.D. 50. On combining the evidence from this part of Oceania,
The earliest evidence of arracacha consumption may come from Los Gavilanes, a site in the O’Brien posited that the sweet potato had reached the Fiji Islands ca. B.C. 500. She believes
zone of Huarmey. Weir and Bonavia (1985: 105) reported the finding of arracacha pollen in the Lapita spread this plant in 1500-500 B.C., and reached New Guinea through Melanesia
coprolites from this site, in a period averaging 3200-2200 B.C. Not only is its presence in this before the Europeans. The movement of the sweet potato from Melanesia to America may
major site excavated by Bonavia clear, it is also established that it was directly eaten as it was have been due to human or natural causes, through birds or floating seed pods. Even so it must
found in human excrement. be noted that both hypotheses must be examined in order to reach an objective conclusion.

Both Yacovleff and Herrera (1934) as well as Towle (1961: 74-75) noted that part of the Nasca Of the many studies that have been made of this remarkable tuber, we have chosen a
iconography that is similar to yucca, can also be interpreted as a depiction of the arracacha. comprehensive one that recently appeared (Loebenstein and Thottappilly 2009), and will
This claim must, however, be taken with due prudence. base ourselves on it in order to make a brief introduction to the sweet potato.

Arracacha remains were found in the excrement of three individuals in the Mochica site of Dos This tuber is a member of the Convolvulaceae family and belongs to the Ipomoea genus. This
Cabezas, at the mouth of the Jequetepeque Valley (Geyer et al. 2003). Radiocarbon datings genus encompasses at least some 600-700 species, about 500 of which appear in America in wild
range between A.D. 536 and A.D. 580 (Moseley et al. 2008: 83) and prove it was eaten by the or domesticated condition. Readers interested in taxonomy should see Austin and Huamán (1996).

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The sweet potato is easily grown, and tolerates droughts, high temperatures, and high humidity. Cooley (1948) claims the sweet potato surpasses the potato in many of its properties because
Yet as a plant with tropical origins it grows best in warm regions, but can be adapted to other, it has more fat, carbohydrates, fibres, sugar, starch, calories, and vitamins like carotene,
more temperate ones. The sweet potato stands out amongst other tubers and root crops in rivoflavin, and pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), a part of which has already been mentioned.
the world because of the large amount of vitamins and minerals it has (as shall be seen below).
It is also worth including here Hans Horkheimer (1960: 110) classic study. Horkheimer pointed
In terms of output, the sweet potato is according to Loebenstein and Thottappilly the seventh out that every 119 grams of sweet potato held 1.2 g of proteins, 0.2 g of fat, 27 g of carbohydrates,
most important crop. It yields more biomass and nutrients per hectare than any other crop, and 110 calorie units.
and has a unique role in assuaging hunger.
Purselove (1968, cited in the handbook by Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 120) also listed values
At present China has the largest amount of hectares dedicated to sweet potato cultivation—about of 70% humidity, 27% carbohydrates, and 1.5-2 % proteins. From the above-mentioned
80% of the total—and is followed by Vietnam (Thottappilly 2009: 4). The sad and paradoxical point bromatological studies it follows that the sweet potato is a great alimentary source, and that
here is that Latin America, the place of origin of the sweet potato, only grows 1.5% of the world it in fact was so in pre-Columbian Peru.
total output, a figure that shows how little Latin American countries do for tubers that should have
such a key role for their populations. In South America the largest producers are Brazil, Paraguay, We will now examine the data on the domestication of this important tuber. The origins of
and Argentina. In Peru the sweet potato is mostly grown on the North and Central Coasts, but it is the sweet potato have long ago been broadly located in the tropical Americas, but without
also cultivated in the intermontane valleys up to 2,800 masl, and even in the Amazon forest. It is pinpointing its precise location (Candolle 1886).
generally assumed that its best quality is obtained below 800 masl.
The famed botanist Vavilov (cited in Smith 1968) thought several decades later [later than what]
The sweet potato is highly versatile in terms of its planting. It has few problems with weeds, that it originated in Mexico and Central America, including Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica.
requires little care, and once sown it rapidly reproduces and even prevents soil erosion. It
grows at high altitudes above sea level and under varied climate conditions, yet it cannot A few decades ago O’Brien (1972) made a full analysis of this tuber and concluded that it had
withstand frosts (Loebenstein and Thottappilly 2009: 5). originated somewhere in North Eastern South America, and that it was the result of a process that
had begun around 2,00 B.C. at the hands of agricultural villages in tropical forest areas. In a later
Can the sweet potato counteract world hunger? The answer is yes, and this example will illustrate work O’Brien (2000: 215) moved the date back to 8000 B.C. (and incorporated new evidence) but
this. East of Africa the sweet potato is heralded as the “saviour of children and lactating babies” still in the same region, within the context of what she calls the early agriculture of tropical tubers.
because it essentially is the only food that saves them from famine. In these regions three million
children are blind due to xerophthalmia, which in turn is due to the lack of vitamin A, hence the On the other hand Austin (1987) suggested, from the standpoint of botanical morphology,
importance of the sweet potato in fighting this disease. The use the sweet potato has in Africa that the origins of sweet potato go at least seven or eight thousand years ago, thus agreeing
and its output in Asia provide lessons that should be learned in Peru. with O’Brien.

The biochemistry of the sweet potato will be briefly discussed before we move on to our On the other hand the outlook changes if we broach this subject from a genetic perspective,
review of archaeological finds and domestication. We have seen that this is a first-rate pre- which makes the search for the ancestors of sweet potato focus on Mesoamerica and México.
Hispanic alimentary source (in the past and for the future). This type of data has been extensively Firon et al. (2009: 13) mention previous studies which hold that Ipomoea batatas var. apiculata
discussed, and so it is worth pointing out some researchers’ main data, since these results should has the most direct connections with the domesticated sweet potato, and that Zhang showed
be reviewed within the context of the relevant role this tuber had in pre-Hispanic alimentation. that its greatest genetic diversity is found in Mesoamerica (Guatemala, México, Panama, and
El Salvador), thus marking this area as potentially its original area of domestication.
First of all, the sweet potato is very rich in carbohydrates, glucose, alcohol and beta-carotenes
(the latter are phytonutrients capable of producing vitamin A, antioxidants, and even improve Fuentes and Chujoy (2009) hold a similar position regarding the sweet potato in South America.
the human body’s immunological system). Based on Austin’s studies on botanical morphology, Fuentes and Chujoy concluded this tuber
was domesticated in the tropical Americas, but included the Orinoco as a possible centre in
At the protein level, the different varieties of sweet potato range between 1.3 and 10%. It also provides this process. Yet the archaeological, linguistic and historical evidence seem to suggest the
other vitamins like C, B2 (riboflavin), B6, and E, and even minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, primary domestication centre may have been either in Colombia, Ecuador, or North Eastern
copper, and iron; acids like ascorbic acid —it improves the capacity to absorb iron, as in the case Peru. It is therefore interesting that the genetic markers for sweet potato come from Peru,
previously discussed of the arracacha— (Larsen 2000) and it is low in cholesterol and fat. despite the fact that its greatest genetic diversity is found in Mesoamerica.

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Piperno and Pearsall (1998: 163) pointed out that the sweet potato must have been domesticated which would be the most ancient remains found thus far. Duccio Bonavia (1984: 8-13) however
inside a macrozone that comprises southern Central America and northern South America. seriously questioned this find due to the inappropriate descriptions and errors included in
this scientific publication by Frédéric Engel. It is worth going over some of the relevant points
Horkheimer (1960: 71) claims that in pre-Hispanic Peru, the sweet potato was profusely in this publication, as these may be the most ancient remains of sweet potato in Peru.
cultivated not just in the tropical forest but also on the coast and in the highlands, and added
that “camote” (its Spanish name) comes from “camotli,” an ancient Náhuatl word, thus leading Engel documented the presence of Ipomoea batatas remains in a preceramic layer (prior to
to the above-mentioned position of Piperno and Pearsall. the third millennium B.C.) in the above-mentioned sites, but he unfortunately did not report
the finds as in-depth as the case deserved. However, the relevant point here is his claim that
For Bonavia (1984: 17) the sweet potato originally came from tropical regions and then dispersed the potato (Solanum tuberosum) was also present in the same layer where the sweet potato
throughout various zones in South America. Nowadays it has adapted to all warm regions, both was found. Were we to believe these claims, we could speculate that both tubers (potato
on the Peruvian coast as well as in the intermontane valleys. Reading between the lines, this can and sweet potato) were consumed by the early Middle Holocene at about 3600 masl in the
be taken to mean a possible northern origin, albeit without specifying a region. highlands of Lima. The radiocarbon dates, which we calibrated (Engel 1970: 56) for the layer
with sweet potato, gave a date ranging between 7031 B.C. and 6903 B.C., but we still have to
Broadly speaking, we can conclude from the current state of research, as summarised by consider the questions Bonavia raised regarding these data (Bonavia 1984, 1988).
Pearsall and Piperno, that the sweet potato was already domesticated in the Early Holocene,
and that it originally came from modern-day Colombia, the Orinoco or even Mexico or On the other hand, Bonavia (1984: 9) correctly pointed out that whereas the remains have
Central America. We cannot however fully discard its possible domestication in Central been identified as sweet potato, it was not possible to ascertain whether they were indeed
Andean zones. domesticated plants. We did not have access to the work by Douglas Yen, the specialist who
identified the sweet potato in Chilca, but Bonavia points out only two 39 and 76 mm tubers
We now have to answer the question of the ancestors of the sweet potato. Jarret et al. were recorded. These measurements seem to make sense when compared with other sweet
(1992) used a botanical cladistic analysis to establish that the closest ancestors of cultivated potato specimens. Those from Pachacamac were 60 mm long while those from Casma were
Ipomoea batatas were Ipomoea trifida and wild Mexican tetraploids. Kobayashi (1984) in turn on average only 31 mm long, probably due to their preceramic nature (Ugent et al. 1983). There
had already confirmed that an Ipomoea trifida that includes all plants in the sweet potato seems to have been an increase in the size of sweet potatoes throughout time due to their
section can cross with Ipomoea batatas. Patricia O’Brien (2000: 215) herself concluded the manipulation, for they actually grew. This however is mere speculation if it is not discussed
sweet potato is the result of several “n” (the small pollen from Ipomoea trifida) and “2n” (the by botanists.
large pollen of Ipomoea trifida) crosses within the Ipomoea trifida complex (small pollen
from Ipomoea trifida). If we were now to remove the Chilca sweet potatoes from the scientific record, we would
find that most of the early evidence points towards the third millennium B.C. as the time
We now review the archaeological documentation in terms of establishing the antiquity of when this tuber actually appeared in pre-Hispanic Peru. Let us review the evidence.
sweet potato and its consumption in pre-Hispanic Peru.
First we will review the case of the Central Coast. Ugent et al. (1981: 401) note that sweet
The sweet potato finds from Peru are so important that this one of the few species examined potatoes were found in sites belonging to the Preceramic VI or Final Preceramic in the Ancon
in depth in “The Cambridge World History of Food” (Kiple y Ornelas 2000) in order to Sequence, i.e. the Tank Site and Punta Grande. On correcting the radiocarbon dates for both
establish its origins tuber and its domestication (O’Brien 2000: 207-208). It is thus worthwhile sites we have that in the first site, the earliest occupation that should have sweet potato
reviewing the available evidence in depth. dates 2323 B.C, and the second one to 2112 B.C., i.e. dates internally consistent in one same
region. The single Punta Grande date was taken from a sample of a burned plant, which points
It must first be noted that according to Martins (1976), sweet potatoes that had been burned to a domestic context. Cohen (1978) showed that sweet potato was eaten later at Ancón in
as a result of the cooking process have been identified in pre-Hispanic Peru, thus proving they ceramic periods, so if we accept his position, this tuber was permanently eaten in this zone in
were roasted on an open fireplace. It is regrettable that we cannot specify when this took place coastal Lima since the third millennium B.C.
as we were unable to find Martins’ dissertation. But as we shall now see, we have evidence that
supports this type of cooking, and it shall be presented from most ancient to most recent. These finds on the Central Coast are now being confirmed by recent archaeological research.
Sweet potatoes have been found to the north of Lima at Buena Vista, in the Chillón Valley, in the
A possible find of sweet potato (it is unclear whether it was domesticated or not) was made in form of starch as well as very small remains. These have been interpreted as the remains of food
the caves of Tres Ventanas and Quiqché, in the Chilca highlands of the Lima region (Engel 1970), eaten in a “feast” in the context of a ritual activity held in a temple and dated to 2193 and 2164 BC.

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To conclude with the Central Coast, Lanning and Patterson, who dedicated several years of research
to this zone, believed the most ancient remains of sweet potato in Peru should be at least 4000
years old (Bonavia 1982: 323). This means that this plant was already claimed to be quite ancient
fifty years ago. Their position should therefore be taken as correct until new data appear.

A similar case holds for the sites with preceramic sweet potato in the lower Supe and Casma
Valleys. The Supe Valle is now being intensively studied by archaeologists. The site of Caral—
also known as Chupacigarro—has a chronology of 2585-1938 B.C. (Shady et al. 2001) that is
supported by radiocarbon dates. Remains of sweet potato were found in this occupation, but
as yet there are no in-depth analyses. Even so, the remarkable thing here is that the remains
were partially charred, thus indicating they were exposed to the embers of an open air fire.

As for the sites in the lower Casma Valley, Don Ugent et al. (1981: 402 and 405) and Ugent y Peterson
(1988: 5) made one of the best reviews of the documentation on sweet potato since the third
millennium B.C. They reported a total of 18 specimens discovered in three sites by the Pozorskis’
expeditions in Casma, to wit (from most ancient to most recent): Huaynuná, Pampa de Llamas-
Moxeque, and Tortugas. Of these, only one specimen was discovered at the Late Preceramic site
of Huaynuná. It was in the same stratum as the potato (Solanum tuberosum) and the achira (Canna
edulis), so it can be speculated that these tubers were all eaten in the same period.

Let us turn now to the scientific report on the specimen of sweet potato that is—literally,
and by consensus—the oldest and scientifically documented in Peru. The specimen is only
18 mm long, but it must have been twice the size when it was cooked (Ugent et al. 1981: 407).
It is fusiform (like some modern specimens), has a peel on just part of the tuber, is cocoa-
coloured, and had sand grains. Parts of its surface showed charcoal, and is thus interpreted as Figura 3. Camotes procedentes del sitio de Pampa de Llamas Moxeque (Casma) con un fechado promedio de 2088-1243 a.C. (los dos
having been heat roasted in a fireplace. If we assume that this type of cooking was in general superiores y el de abajo a la derecha). Camote procedente de Huaynuná (abajo a la izquierda), Casma, fechado en 2914-2287 a.C. Se trata
frequent in pre-Hispanic Peru, it seems clear that sweet potatoes lost fewer nutrients during pues del camote, científicamente hablando, más remoto del Perú. (CORTESÍA DE DONALD UGENT).
cooking before they were eaten. For instance, amino acids like lysine are not modified when
cooked in this way (Padmaja 2009: 190), so the consumption of this tuber at this time may
have had this advantage. To finish with the sweet potatoes from Casma, Ugent et al. (1981) reported the presence of this
tuber at Tortugas. Direct datings cannot be established just like in the previous sites excavated
The calibrated radiocarbon dates gave the dates 2914 and 2287 B.C. Bonavia (1984: 17) reported by the Pozorskis (Ugent et al. 1981: 403), but one gave a date of 1463 B.C., which would be a
the same open-oven cooking in the archaeological site PV35-4, which was essentially a seasonal reference of the time it was consumed. It is thus clear that sweet potatoes were cooked on an
camp in the lower Huarmey Valley, and may have been a frequently used pre-Hispanic cooking open fire and consumed on a regular basis in the Casma Valley almost 5,000 years ago.
technique.
It is clear in both regions—coastal Lima and coastal Supe—that the earliest remains of sweet
Following the sequence of the lower Casma Valley, sweet potato has been excavated at Pampa potato date to the early third millennium B.C. It was perhaps for this reason that Deborah
de Llamas-Moxeque, another archaeological site some 20 km from the littoral and on the Pearsall (1998: 274) noted that the earliest evidence of sweet potato on the Peruvian coast
southern bank of the valley of the same name. The tubers of sweet potato were in the same date to about 2600 B.C. It is thus clear she does not accept Engel’s find in the Chilca Canyon.
layers than those from potato, so they existed at the same time. Their size is similar to those
found at Huaynuná; one however measured 40 mm, which can be taken to be an indication of What does seem clear is the finding of sweet potato starch grains on the surface of possible
slight growth, i.e. manipulation. stone grinding tools at the site of Caballete (lower Fortaleza Valley, on the Central Coast of
Ugent et al. (1981) believe that the fragments of charcoal on the skins indicate the same open- Peru), that have been dated to ca. ,540 B.C. (Haas et al. 2013). There is also evidence of these
fire cooking technique. These finds must be dated to ca. 2088-1243 B.C. (Figure 3). grains in the human and dog faecal remains analysed. This may be a direct evidence of the

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processing and consumption of sweet potato on the coast in the mid-third millennium B.C. human excrement) that it was still eaten in the Wari epoch. This means its consumption was
We will now review the remains of this important tuber in later times. frequent in this part of the Virú Valley (and by extension in others too), just like in Lima, Ica,
and Casma.
The first indications of sweet potato consumption in the pre-Hispanic period may have come
from ceramic depictions like those of the Mochica, where several scholars have documented Sweet potatoes were eaten in the Wari Empire (A. D. 650-1,000), as has already been noted.
this tuber’s figure (e.g. Vargas 1962: 109), and thus concluded that the people in this culture Bonavia et al. (2009: 242) reported finding a large number of roast sweet potato remains in
consumed it. We have also seen some Middle Mochica (ca. 400 A.D.) pieces that are clearly a camp called PV35-4 (ca. A.D. 800) that is on the north part of the mouth of the Huarmey
sweet potatoes, thus verifying the previous assertions. River. This line of evidence indicates the prolonged use and consumption of sweet potato
in this empire. This is also borne out by the significant amounts of sweet potato remains
The Paracas and Nasca also consumed sweet potato. Margaret Towle (1961: 78) says sweet found in the layers dating to the Wari period (A.D. 650-1000) in the excavation of the Beringa
potato remains have been found in archaeological contexts at Paracas, Ocucaje, and (Arequipa) site.
Cahuachi, all evidently on the South-Central coast (in the modern-day Ica region), and
dated to 400 B.C. to A.D. 600. Towle therefore believed sweet potatoes had only been As for the period archaeologists call the Late Intermediate, Perry (2002: 337) recorded the
cultivated in the Andes since the first millennium A.D. (Towle 1961: 141), and we have seen presence of sweet potato in a well recorded archaeological context dating to the late Chimú
she was not that far off. culture (A.D. 1470-1523) at a site called Manchán in the Casma Valley. It is worth noting that
Perry showed the sweet potato was smaller in more ancient times. Bigger specimens were
As for the Paracas, the extensive documentation on the mummies from the peninsula of the same later obtained at least in the Chimú period, in what is another indication of its manipulation
name in Ica provided several preserved sweet potatoes, which were discovered in the funerary in order to obtain bigger specimens for consumption.
context of Paracas Necropolis, and were dated to about 400 B.C. (Tello and Mejía Xesspe 1979: 473).
Ipomoea batatas was also found at Cerrillos, in the upper Ica valley, and so may have been part of Cutright (2009: 145) likewise discovered sweet potatoes at Pedregal, a site on the North Coast
the food the Paracas had at this site around 800-600 B.C. (Splitsloser 2009: 94). of Peru, within a Chimú domestic consumption context. It is thus clear the Chimú frequently
consumed it.
As regards the Nasca, the archaeological documentation Towle presented for Cahuachi was
recently corroborated. Significant numbers of sweet potatoes were found by the excavations We now return now to the Central Coast in this same period prior to the Inca. Harshberger
made at this site, some even bearing traces of having been subjected to fire, which means they made one of the earliest references to sweet potatoes in 1898, when he mentioned the remains
were roasted sometime in the first centuries of the Christian era (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 3, 5). in excellent state of preservation found by Max Uhle during his excavations at Pachacamac.
Regrettably no chronology is available in this regard, but we can presume the remains are Inca.
Continuing within the context of the Nasca culture, more specimens of sweet potatoes were
excavated at the Casa Vieja site, on the lower Callango Valley in Ica, some 260 masl. Roque et Other information is also available for Pachacamac, albeit with more control and a possible
al. (2003) note that these finds date to the Late Nasca stage and the rise of the Wari empire in chronology of A.D. 1000 and 1460. Ugent et al. (1981: 407) reported the presence here of a
this zone, and can be indirectly dated to A.D. 530-820 with the Palpa sequence (cf. Unkel 2006: tuber at least six centimetres long; following the author’s botanical reasoning, this means that
111). The significance the consumption of sweet potato had both for the Nasca (Silverman y when fresh it may have been twice as long. This specimen is clearly bigger than those found
Proulx 2002: 52) and the Paracas people in 500 B.C. and A.D. 500 is clear. in the preceramic epoch and so denotes the process of domestication.

As regards the North Coast, Margaret Towle (1961: 79) says that Yacovleff and Herrera identified In this same publication Ugent et al. (1981: 407) mention the first discoveries of sweet potato
the sweet potato in Mochica ceramics in this same period. Despite the scant evidence made in the Ancón burials on Peru’s Central Coast. These were published by Wittmack in
available at present for the northern region, it is clear that significant amounts of this tuber 1880-1887 and were dated to the Late Intermediate (A.D. 1000-1460). This type of discovery
were consumed; we simply require more research. simply confirms the long-lasting presence of this tuber in pre-Inca Lima.

Even so, there are at least two studies that must be mentioned in regard to the Mochica and The consumption of camote in this period has also been documented both to the north
the sweet potato. Ericson et al. (1989: 74) analysed human excrements from the Puerto Moorin and south of Lima. In the first case we have the Los Pinos site in the Huayra Valley, where
site (in the lower Virú Valley) belonging to the North Coast Salinar culture—probably from Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 79) noticed the presence of sweet potatoes in contexts belonging
200 B.C. to the first centuries of the Christian era—and found remains of sweet potato. This to the Chancay culture. Its rate of use was relatively high, so Lanfranco and Eggers believe it
shows its direct consumption by the Mochica people. There also are indications (also through consumption was relatively frequent.

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As for the second case, Ugent and Peterson (1988: 8) noticed the remains of two sweet potato it was believed to make women fertile—a point that still had not been verified by the time
specimens at a site known as La Centinela in the Chincha Valley, some 200 km south of Lima, León’s article appeared.
thus showing the Chincha also consumed it.
Seminario (2004: 28-29) also broached this subject and pointed out that maca was the tribute
It is somewhat ironic that the documentation of food remains from the Inca culture is scant, as given to the Spaniards during an inspection they made to Junín. It was used at the time to
will be seen below. Only a few specimens were found at the archaeological site of Panquilma. improve the fertility of foreign livestock. Seminario mentions Rea, who claimed in 1992 that
This site was occupied by the Inca since at least A.D. 1460. Cohen (1975: 53) believes this may the domestication of maca began in Junín two thousand years ago. We were unfortunately
be due to some problems with the analyses. unable to consult this paper and find out the reason for such a claim.

Finally, Margaret Towle (1961: 79) also reported the presence of sweet potato remains in an We now turn to this tuber’s biochemistry. Quiroz y Aliaga (1997: 173-198) is a summary of
Inca context at the site of Pachacamac. this plant’s bromatology. They point out that proteins comprise 10.2% of maca (in 100 grams:
156.7 mg of glutamic acid, 99.4 mg of arginine, and 91.7 mg of aspartic acid, amongst others),
carbohydrates comprise 59%, and lipids and minerals like potassium (2,050 mg per 100 grams)
Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp) and calcium (150 mg per 100 grams) comprise 2.2%.

We now turn to maca, one of the tubers that have won renown for Peru at the international Dini et al. (1994) likewise measured the biochemical composition of maca and confirmed
and the local level due to the properties it has been credited with. How significant is—and that its potassium content is largest, followed by calcium, sodium, iron, copper, zinc, and
has been—its consumption in biochemical terms? Is there any evidence that it was eaten in manganese, all these minerals all with low values.
pre-Hispanic Peru?
Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 23) said that maca contained steroids, alkaloids, and a significant
Let us turn first of all to the taxonomy. Mostacero et al. (2009: 277) classified maca as a zinc component. These actually are characteristic of a stimulant. This is another aspect that
biannual crop typical of the Andes, which is considered a sexually reinvigorating food. Maca should be explored in regard to pre-Hispanic Peru.
is widely cultivated in the Peruvian highlands, particularly in the Altiplano. Its roots are
consumed both fresh and in processed state due to its alimentary properties (Soukup 1980: Since when has maca been consumed? At present we have relatively recent dates in the
243). We should add that it has been shown (Quiroz et al. 1996) to be is highly adaptable to archaeological record, but it has been suggested that its cultivation may have taken place
various environments. Maca is a part of pre-Hispanic Peru that has still to be explored in terms simultaneously with the domestication of camelids in the Peruvian puna in 6000-5000 B.C.
of establishing where it was cultivated and consumed. (Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 5). However, no arguments have been given in support of this claim.

The National Research Council (1989a: 11) claims maca (the Peruvian ginseng) is a valuable Let us turn now to the available evidence. Lepidium was in fact documented in the cave of
tuber not just because of the food content of its rhizomes, which are rich in sugars and starch, Panaulauca, which lies at 4150 masl in the Junín puna, in layers dated to 3800 B.C. It is however
but also for its leaves, which are usually given to guinea pigs as food.. possible that it was found in older layers in this same cave (Rick and Moore 1999: 292). This
means that the oldest evidence corresponds to the transition between the Middle and the
Another advantage this plant has is that it can be stored for years if it is desiccated. As for its Late Holocene.
presence, this is a crop that grows from at least 4000 masl upwards. Its consumption must
have been highly prized, since two centuries ago in Junín one of the major items given in Interestingly enough, one of the earliest evidences of maca consumption on the Peruvian coast
tribute to the governors was precisely maca (National Research Council 1989b: 58). comes from the Dos Cabezas site (on the mouth of the Jequetepeque River Valley). Geyer et al.
(2003) reported the presence of maca remains in the excrement of at least one individual, who
Leon (1964) is another important study that points out the Spanish chroniclers who reached ate it before passing away. The radiocarbon dates given were A.D. 536-580 (Moseley et al. 2008:
Peru made references on maca that are identifiable with areas like Junín. 83). We have seen that Reinhard et al. (2007: 534) challenged some pollen species derived from
the faeces found at Dos Cabezas, precisely because it is a high-altitude product.
As for the customs regarding its consumption, León notes that maca was used both fresh
and desiccated. It was also often eaten using the pachamanca cooking method (in which the Just like in the case of other high-altitude crops, Hastorf (2002: 157) recorded maca remains in
tubers are placed in the deepest part of a hole) and eventually parboiled. The smallest tubers sites belonging to the Wanka culture, which is dated between A.D. 193 and the Late Horizon,
were the ones most eaten because they had the least fibres. Maca was also renowned because i.e. the Inca Empire in this area. The sites extend between 3,200 and 3,900 masl.

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The National Research Council (1989b: 64) includes a reference to Deborah Pearsall. There she borne in mind to have such an output, and which were surely considered in the past: a high
notes there are Peruvian archaeological sites where maca has been reliably found, and which productivity, a high quality of starch, tolerance to pests, and ease in storing it as flour or bread.
date to ca. 1600 B.C.
What type of cassava was the first to be domesticated? There is no consensus on this point, but
Quiroz and Aliaga (1997: 175) claim there is evidence that maca was cultivated in Puno in Inca it does seem clear that the bitter variety enabled the preparation of flour. The experts believe
times, but not much evidence is presented in this regard. that its storage was the basis for cultural complexity in the Amazon (Isendahl 2011: 455-457).

It has been posited in this regard that the stability brought about by the cultivation of
Cassava, Adtza, Caniri, Canri, Cuabe, Jimeca, Mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz) bitter cassava gave rise to the high productivity of these tubers, which were also subject to
interregional exchange. This process then gave rise, in A.D. 500-900, to the establishment of
This plant is typical of tropical America and was much cultivated due to its tuberous roots sedentary villages and a regional settlement in the upper Xingú valley in Brazil. In this case
rich in starch. Some taxonomic classifications like Gade’s (2003) include synonyms such as (and probably also in others) the starch in cassava may have been supplemented with the
Manihot utilissima, Manihot palmata, Manihot aipi, and Manihot dulcis. proteins derived from fish (Heckenberger 1998).

Cassava is an essential food in the tropical forest. It can be eaten parboiled, stewed or fried. This is a good example of the significance cassava has in regards to its massive consumption
It is also used to prepare alcoholic beverages like masato and tapiaco. Let us see now its and as food stock. The investment of time and effort in its cultivation is (and probably has
main characteristics, ethnographic preparation methods, bromatological values, origins, always been) highly “profitable” in terms of the intensity of its output. This is, in fact, the first
domestication and archaeological occurrence. source of calories in the tropics, and the sixth most important tuber in the Amazon. It is also
the most important domesticated crop in the Amazon, and the main carbohydrate for close
One characteristic worth emphasising is the effect the acids found in these tubers have. to 800 million people. It cannot have been less in the past.
The presence of cyanhydric acid (manihotoxine) means mostly “sweet” cassava is consumed
(Mostacero et al. 2009: 413). Even so, the presence of this acid is reduced by exposing cassava According to the evidence, cassava was undeniably a major food source not just for Amazonian
to the sun, precisely through a process of solar drying. cultures, but also for Andean ones. A single plant can give between 5 and 10 tubers, which
nowadays can yield up to 2 kilos. Under ideal conditions the output can reach up to 30 tonnes
Carl Sauer believed there are two varieties of cassava, to wit, “bitter” (Manihot utilissima) and per hectare of fresh tubers, but its mean output ranges between five and fifteen tonnes.
“sweet” (all other varieties of Manihot). The latter deteriorates rapidly whilst the former lasts
longer; the main problem here is the bitter variety may have a high content of cyanogenic What does linguistics tell us regarding cassava? “Manioc” comes from the Tupi word “maniot,”
glycosides, which may cause poisoning by prussic acid if the roots are not properly processed. whilst “cassava” comes from the Arawak word “cassabi,” which means “bread” (Clement et al.
The varieties of cassava are thus an issue in cultivation and feeding. 2010: 76). “Yucca” is a term from the Caribbean (Karasch 2000: 181). Horkheimer (1960: 67) in
turn noted that “yucca” came from the Antilles and that “ruma” was the Quechua and Aymara
An essential property mentioned by Mostacero and his colleagues is that the consumption of term for this plant. From this research standpoint, the origins of cassava thus point towards
cassava has anti-diarrhoeic effects. This is important because we will see that diarrhoea was the Caribbean and northern South America. We shall see that this partially agrees with the
a frequent pathology in pre-Hispanic Peru, particularly due to a series of infections that can archaeological evidence but not the biological data.
lead to death if they are not cured.
Carl Sauer (1952: 46), the renowned geographer, provided some relevant data not just on
Several details regarding the cultivation and properties of cassava are significant in this cassava domestication but also regarding its preparation, and so it is worth briefly including
context. This tuber has a long maturation process under specific conditions, such as relatively them here. It was claimed from the very beginning that once domesticated in Brazil, cassava
low temperatures in the American tropics (25-29 °C, but it can tolerate 16-28 °C) and no frosts. spread all over the Amazon basin eastwards.
It therefore does not grow over 2300 masl, or in soils with more than 1000 mm of annual
precipitation (Isendahl 2011: 455). Sauer also provided some details regarding its preparation as flour for “bread,” a regular
procedure that begins by grating, which was followed by compressing, and ended with its
Its output rises when cassava cultivation is successful, to the point that the frequency of its washing in order to remove the hydrocyanuric acid, and was finally baked in the form known
cultivation in the South American Amazon has given rise to some five thousand varieties; as cassava. It can be preserved for a long time once it has been made flour or as bread. We
suffice it to say that our Aguaruna have over a hundred of them. Some factors musts be have already seen the importance this tuber had in the case of the Xingú in Brazil. Sauer listed

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other ways in which cassava was prepared (stewed or roasted), as a pudding (tapioca), and In her handbook on Peruvian prehistoric ethnobotanics, Margaret Towle (1961: 141) claimed
even as an alcoholic beverage. cassava was domesticated only after the first millennium A.D. This assertion can now be
assessed because Linda Perry (2002) managed to prove that the cassava specimens found at
In this line of food preparation we have to mention masato. This is an Amazonian beverage Pampa de Llamas (Casma), and which were dated to 1800 B.C., have starch grains that are much
based on stewed and crushed cassava, which is then fermented through mastication and bigger than those from Manihot flabellifolia. It is therefore clear that cassava was manipulated
salivation on parts of the dough. It is diluted in water every time it is taken, and can long on the Peruvian coast in order to achieve a higher yield. It is worth noting in this regard that
sustain an Indian without other food (Soukup 1980: 260). this type of starch study is ever more developed, to the point that it is now possible to
establish the differences between Amazonian and Andean cassava from the types of starch
It is worth mentioning that one of the main goals behind cassava domestication was the grains—the broader forms appeared in the Amazon, whilst in the Andes the type of grains are
desire to concentrate a large amount of carbohydrates in the rhizomes. For Sauer, this plant almost the same as what they were three thousand years ago (Perry 2002).
has many uses because the leaves as well as the tubers are edible, and may be cooked like
spinach. Sauer also discussed the high output we have already pointed out, noting that several Rogers (1965) made an assessment of what was then known regarding cassava and its origins.
roots can grow radially, and that each plant may have up to eight kilos in the roots. The major points included the idea that it may have originally come essentially from Brazil,
as well as Venezuela and Mexico. The evidence clearly had grown since the time of Candolle.
Sauer also believed cassava was a resource highly used by the people of the Amazon forest
due to its multiple adaptation potential to various climates and low-fertility soils, including In Rogers’ argument, the Mexican evidence indicates that cassava was domesticated by the
their capacity to survive disasters. Yucatán Maya alongside maize, and so alternated both crops. Rogers believes that part of the
domestication process took place in Mesoamerica, particularly in Guatemala and Honduras.
We now turn briefly to the bromatology of cassava. When fresh it is primarily starch, a veritable He also believed that cassava became a significant part of the diet the first populations in
source of carbohydrates. The leaves however have vitamin A and proteins, and the roots when the tropical lowlands of Mesoamerica had, and that it had been taken from there to South
fresh may have calcium, vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin, properties that are lost America. Be it as it may, cassava was widely cultivated in South America, Mesoamerica and the
when the plant is boiled or desiccated (Karasch 2000: 181-182). Hence the importance the raw Caribbean by the time of the European arrival (Hawkes 1989).
ingestion of some resources has, obviously once the toxic substances have been removed.
The famed botanist Vavilov (in Smith 1968) thought cassava had its origins in Brazil and
Purseglove (1968, cited in Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 120) points out that cassava comprises 62% Paraguay. Following the principle of species concentration, Vavilov recognised in this case at
water, 35% carbohydrates, and 1% proteins. Schery (1947) also noted the benefits of cassava not least two potential centres of domestication, Brazil with 80 species and Mexico with 17.
just in South America but throughout the world. After 18 months under cultivation, rhizomes
have large amounts of saccharose and starch. Hershey (1994) on the other hand simply concluded, within the context of a broader study,
that cassava had neotropical American origins.
León (2000: 248) also noted that cassava provides more calories per area than any other plant,
including tubers and cereals. Although its roots are protein-deficient, they do have significant That same year Allem (1994) presented a required taxonomic clarification, and which is here
amounts of vitamin B, phosphorus and iron, but are low on calcium. briefly summarised. There are three cassava subspecies—Manihot esculenta ssp. esculenta (the
cultivated form), Manihot esculenta ssp. flabellifolia (its closest wild relative), and Manihot
We now turn to the data on cassava domestication and geographic origin. esculenta peruviana (probably not involved in the domestication process). Allem however
did not manage to pinpoint this plant’s geographical origins, and assumed it perhaps lies in
Candolle (1886) made one of the first studies on the origins of cassava, and posited it came eastern Peru or western Brazil. We will see below that other scholars have suggested the
from some geographical point in tropical South America like eastern Brazil. Following Candolle, northern Mato Grosso and Rondônia.
Schery (1947) agreed that cassava probably was first cultivated in Brazil.
An expert like Melina Zeder notes that the single-event domestication of cassava from Manihot
Carl Sauer initially believed cassava had its origin in north-western South America, in Colombia flabellifolia has already been confirmed by microsatellite studies in botanics (Zeder et al. 2006:
(Sauer 1952: 45), but later changed his position referring to an entomological study. Sauer 149). A consensus thus seems to have been reached as regards the taxonomic origins of cassava.
concluded that cassava came from the Venezuelan savannah (the lake of Maracaibo) and had
been spread by insects that transported the pollen across the Orinoco to the Río Negro and Dolores Piperno and Deborah Pearsall published a major handbook of tropical plants in
from there to the Amazon, later entering what are now Paraguay, Bolivia, and Perú. the late twentieth century, which included cassava and other species (Piperno and Pearsall

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1998: 163). They believe this plant must have been domesticated in areas south of Guyana, in the native populations in this zone were able to control the cultivation of sweet and black
southern Venezuela or in northern and central Brazil. Piperno and Pearsall also believe that cassava on patches of solid ground, and so the latter may have also been planted on fertile.
the high quality of starch, the large production volume and the high adaptability of cassava
to different soils were decisive factors in the demand for this crop. If we however compare the current results in cassava research from two standpoints—
botanical-cladistic and pure archaeology—there no agreement is possible. On the one
Christine Hastorf (1999: 40) noted, one year after Piperno and Pearsall published their hand, from an archaeological standpoint it can now be claimed that cassava came first from
handbook, that the domestication of cassava was not easy as it reproduces—unlike other Colombia and then from Panama. Aceituno and Castillo Espitia (2005) reliably recorded the
tubers—by replanting cuttings. It however has the advantage of producing all year long, but it presence of cassava starch grains in some sites in the Cauca and Porce Valleys, from central to
musts be supplemented with a protein product. northern Colombia, and which have a calibrated radiocarbon dating of 6400 B.C.

In his summary of cassava, Karasch (2000: 182) concluded that although experts in general Botanists on the other hand have reached two conclusions. First, Manihot carhaginesis is
agree on its Brazilian provenance, they do not pinpoint its place of origin which may be in potentially the closest wild ancestor to Manihot esculenta. Second, there are two separate
Central America, the Amazon, and even North Eastern Brazil. phylogenies, on one hand the Mesoamerican one and on the other a South American one.

Milton de Albuquerque, a researcher, went even further and believes that the origins of cassava, More recently, a review study (Isendahl 2011: 457) posited that the origins of cassava can
in its most primitive form, may lie in the zone of Goias and Bahía (cited by Karasch 2000). be approached from three evidentiary standpoints: botanical (where does domesticated
cassava descend from), geographical (the biomass within which the progenitor evolved), and
Nassar (2000) clarified this proposal and claimed that El Cerrado (a region that combines agricultural (the initial area of cultivation of the ancestor.
arboreal forest with permanent grass, as well as spaced-out grass and bushes is the area
where cassava was originally domesticated. This means all other sites simply are a result of Isendahl made the most recent review of cassava domestication and consumption. He
it migrating in an already domesticated state. Nassar established four centres of diversity for concluded, by means of a series of interdisciplinary studies, that the most probable ancestral
Manihot esculenta: southern Goias and eastern Minas Gerais, in the Brazilian savannah, south- candidate is the Manihot esculenta flabellifolia (Pohl) ciferri subspecies, and that El Cerrado
western Mexico, north-western Brazil, and south-western Mato Grosso and Brazil, including in Brazil, towards the south of the tropical Amazon forest, probably was where this plant had
the Bolivian lowlands. its geographic origins (thus taking up Nassar’s position, which we saw above), and that it was
in this same region where it was first cultivated. From here it spread to other parts of South
Seminario (2004: 14) recalled that Donald Lathrap based himself on the evidence provided by America, probably in the early Holocene (ca. 10,000 years ago), and it was only by 4500 B.C.
clay sherds found in the Colombian and Venezuelan Amazon that were used to make cassava that it was widely used and diversified in South America.
flour cakes, and which were dated three thousand years ago. For Seminario, this means its
cultivation would have begun seven or nine thousand years ago. From the archaeological and genetic data, Melinda Zeder et al. (2006: 149) concluded that
cassava originated in the southern Amazon basin and then rapidly spread through the Orinoco
This method for grinding cassava was also documented at the Real Alto site in Ecuador some to Central America. Zeder and her colleagues thus seem to be again pointing to El Cerrado as
three thousand years ago. This is a direct proof of the type of processing this plant was the centre of cassava domestication.
already undergoing by the late Holocene (Chandler-Ezell et al. 2006).
On the other hand the dating of Manihot esculenta pollen in other sites in the Mexican
Clement et al. (2010: 76-78) recently presented a relevant approach as regards the domestication Gulf and Belize, which range around 4600 B.C., clearly show this domesticated tuber rapidly
of cassava. This is the Amazonian tuber that has been most studied from a molecular point spread in Central America during the Middle Holocene. Pollen evidence is also available that
of view. Clement et al. concluded that the bitter cassava variety was most important for indicates the Maya cultivated cassava for consumption by 2600 B.C. (Isendahl 2011: 464). These
Amazonian populations as it is more resistant to the climate and the environment. Even so, Central American finds must therefore be considered when discussing domestication.
the cultivation of sweet cassava was apparently more intensive in the Amazonian west and in
the headwaters of rivers like the Ucayali and the Marañón in Peru. Science however moves on and is changing this picture. It now seems that cassava was
also domesticated in South America, for it has been found with even earlier radiocarbon
Bolder approaches combining several sciences, including the molecular ones, are providing dates. Phytogeographical analyses (Olsen and Schaal 1999, 2001) indicate that cassava was
invaluable data on the origins of cassava. After combining experimental studies and the domesticated from a variety of wild Manihot esculenta (Manihot esculenta subsp. Flabellifolia)
archaeological data available for the mid-Madeira River Valley in Brazil, Fraser (2010) claims that on the southern banks of the Amazon River basin, between Rondônia and the Mato Grosso,

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i.e. again within the land El Cerrado. Besides, this study has as its starting point the fact that But it is even more important that the grains were found on pestles and choppers (a type of
the biggest concentrations of wild cassava are found both on the western Amazon zone of stone small hand axes), thus suggesting that cassava was pulverised or mashed, thus evincing
Brazil and on the eastern lands of Peru. This means Peru may have been part of this incipient a technique used to prepare the food for consumption.
process of domestication, regarding which the consensus seems to be that it had its origins
in the Brazilian El Cerrado. Monagrillo and La Mula are other sites in this same zone that have similar evidence. On
reading these data the words of Lathrap come to mind, when he forecast several decades ago
But the most interesting thing as regards the conclusions these researchers reached, is that that cassava must have been already domesticated by 7000 B.C. (Isendahl 2011: 459).
their proposal on cassava domestication matches other areas where plants like peanuts,
various types of chili pepper (Capsicum baccatum, Capsicum pubescens, Capsicum frutescens), Pope et al. (2001) reported the discovery of pollen grains from possibly domesticate cassava
tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), coca (Erythroxylum coca), uncuncha (Xanthosoma sagittifolium), somewhat further to the north, in the sediments at the site of San Andrés (Grijalva River) in
and the pallar de los gentiles (Canavalia plagiosperma) were domesticated, thus forming an the Gulf of Tabasco, Mexico, with dates of about 4600 B.C. Here we end our brief summary
apparently homogeneous set in this zone (Isendahl 2011: 459). If human groups were behind of cassava in the northern context.
this process, it is not difficult to conceive them as progressive horticultors who were carrying
this out since at least the Early Holocene and probably before. The dissemination of this We turn now to Brazil. Curiously enough, here we have relatively recent evidence like that
important knowledge mast have been rapid due to the advantages the alimentary stock of from the Peruaçu basin in Minas Gerais, which dates to A.D. 1216 (Freitas and Martins 2000).
cassava and other plants had, but the specific details of this process are as yet unknown, and
are the subject of interdisciplinary research. But although southern Brazil is believed to be the area where cassava originated—as was
noted above—the archaeological evidence only has dates in the A.D. 1050-1300 range for the
We turn now to the archaeological evidence. We have to start with a paradox because as site of Januaira, where the remains of the tubers themselves have been found. Similar dates
Isendahl (2011: 461) correctly notes, although we can logically expect to find the most ancient were obtained from cassava starch in French Guiana. It is thus clear that archaeology has been
traces of cassava in the zone documented south of the Amazon delta, as was noted above, unable to document what botany suggests.
soil conditions did not allow preservation.
For Ecuador we only have the site of Loma Alta, where cassava starch grains have been found
Thus far, the earliest evidence of cassava in the South American context comes from the northern both in pottery as well as on the site’s floor. The dates obtained average around 3350-3010 B.C.
part of the continent, i.e. from Colombia. A site known as San Isidro, on the upper part of the On the other hand the radiocarbon dates for cassava phytoliths from the Real Alto site are
Cauca Valley, at 1700-1800 masl, has been reported. Here possible grains of starch in cassava were 2800-2400 B.C. (Isendahl 2011: 462).
found in the parts used as milling mortars. The radiocarbon calibration of the layer from which this
find comes dated it between 9589 B.C. and 9029 B.C. (cf. Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 200). From the South American picture it follows that archaeologically speaking, cassava is more
ancient in Colombia and Panama, less so in Mexico, and finally even less ancient in Ecuador
Even so, the most ancient concrete evidence of cassava comes from Colombia itself, at site and Brazil. Preservation factors have a key role in how clear a picture we have.
Y-021, some 875 masl in the Porce Valley, in the Central Cordillera. Here remains of starch
grains have been recorded in mortars’ pestles in phase III, which corresponds to ca. 4500 B.C. We now turn to the presence of cassava in Peruvian archaeological sites. We must however go
Pottery with cassava starch remains has been recorded in later periods, thus indicating the first into a thorny preliminary issue, that is to say the state in which this plant is found in the
continuity of the processing and consumption of this tuber (Castillo Espitia and Aceituno sites (this pertains to all other food remains, as was pointed at the beginning of this book). If
Bocanegra 2006). Cassava pollen was also found in the excavations at the Abeja site, in the there is any evidence of cassava, then it is clear that it was taken to the site for several reasons,
vicinity of the Caquetá River in the Colombian Amazon, in the middle of a tropical forest of including food.
low altitude (Mora et al. 1991). In this case the upper layer was dated to 3460 B.C., and so it
must be slightly earlier than this date. From all of these data we can conclude that at present, But if the remains are not charred or appear as processed starch, there little that can be said
cassava consumption has its deepest roots in Colombia. of its preparation or cooking prior to consumption. Analyses of the state cassava remains
were found in archaeological sites are very scarce—if any exist.
Still in the northern sphere but somewhat more to the north, Piperno (2006) and Piperno et al.
(2000) found grains of cassava starch on pestles in Panama, in a rock shelter called Aguadulce. In this regard Hather (1991: 662) cites Martins’ (1976) dissertation. Martins claims he has recorded
According to the phytoliths studied, the cassava in this case was already domesticated. The the presence of cassava with evidence that it was cooked on fire, i.e. that it was broiled in
mean oldest date here is 5935 B.C. so this is quite an early specimen from the Middle Holocene. pre-Hispanic Peru, but regrettably enough we cannot specify what context the remains were

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found in. Cassava would thus have been subjected to the same procedures we have seen in Cassava has been recorded slightly to the north of the Chillón Valley, in the lower Nepeña
the case of other tubers, at least for achira and the sweet potato. Valley, at sites like Cerro Blanco (Ikehara and Shibata 2005: 144, Ikehara 2010: 54). Both scholars
noted that starch remains from cassava were found in some of the largest vessels found at
The most ancient evidence for cassava should average to the third millennium B.C. Pearsall this site. They interpreted this as cassava chicha (i.e. masato) being prepared in the context of
(1998: 274) says it is a plant that appeared on the Central Coast of Peru since at least 2600 feasts in 1110-250 B.C.
B.C., which is somewhat late in regard to the remains from northern South America, and
particularly those of Colombia. This datum is fascinating as it apparently is the oldest evidence of masato being prepared,
not just on the coast but in all of pre-Hispanic Peru, and on the North-Central coast. This is
However, the recent research undertaken by Tom Dillehay in the Zaña Valley on the Northern obviously due to the excellent preservation of the remains, and not because this is where this
Coast is literally revolutionising the data on pre-Hispanic Peru’s pristine crops, as we shall see type of beverage had its origin.
throughout the rest of this book. The oldest evidence for cassava thus comes from Nanchoc,
in the modern region of Lambayeque. We should now dwell on the preparation of masato. Ikehara and Shibata based themselves for their
reconstruction on Antúnez de Mayolo (1984, in Ikehara 2010: 54). Ikehara and Shibata point out that
Small amounts of Manihot esculenta have been documented in the excavations undertaken first they would choose specimens of sweet cassava, which were then cooked in water, A part of
in the preceramic villages of Quebrada de las Pircas, on the North Coast of Peru, at about 450 it was set aside for mastication—and thus fermentation—whilst the other part was ground with a
masl (Rossen et al. 1996: 396). The oldest calibrated date in this layer is 6830 B.C. mortar until a paste formed. The chewed mass was mixed with the rest of the cooking water in large
vessels and allowed to stand covered for one or two days, after which it is ready for drinking.
The presence of cassava has also been documented through the starch that remained in the
plaque on the teeth of the human skeletons from Nanchoc, thus proving its direct consumption In comparison, Chocolate was originally taken fermented in the first millennium B.C., as was
at the time (Dillehay and Piperno 2008: 19624). These fragments of starch were analysed by discovered in Zapotec contexts in Mexico (Clement et al. 2010: 80).
Donald Ugent, who believes they correspond to domesticated cassava (Rossen et al. 1996). It
is thus clear that cassava was eaten in Peru since at least 6800 B.C. The location of this site According to Ikehara—based this time on Daggett (1983, in Ikehara 2010: 54)—another variant
in the lower Andes opens the door to possible connections with the Amazon plains, in what in masato preparation mixes part of the milled cassava with the chewed one in a vessel. It is
may be a way to explain the presence of plants from semitropical or tropical environments. only then that they are mixed with the cooking water inside the bowls and served.

Cassava was also found, this time as phytoliths, at the site of Quebrada de los Burros on the Even more fascinating is the reconstruction Ikehara has made of the vessels used to prepare
littoral of Tacna, with mean dates of 7900-4800 B.C. Other remains from this same period and drink masato. His research showed that the large neckless pots were used to store the
were found to be charred due to their cooking (Chevalier 2012a, 2012b: 465). liquid whilst the buckets were meant to ferment the mass.

These dates coincide with those Duccio Bonavia (1982: 149) obtained for the presence of These studies however yielded few maize remains in comparison with those of cassava.
cassava at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey Valley in 3200-2480 B.C. Bonavia is Ikehara used this to posit that in this period masato and cassava cultivation may have been
categorical as regards the identification of this species, which he believes was of the utmost more important than maize itself, which would have disseminated in somewhat later periods.
importance in the Preceramic diet. Part of the evidence indicates that it was roasted, due to This is not a far-fetched idea in light of the evidence.
the signs of combustion found in some of the remains. This cooking procedure corroborates
this form of food preparation that was quite frequent throughout these millennia. In this context it is worth recalling that Carole Daggett (1983), in her work on masato
consumption in groups like the Chayahuita (a population in the Peruvian selva baja, between
Moving forward in time, there is evidence of cassava in the Chillón Valley, North of Lima, in the Marañón and Huallaga Rivers), showed the nutritional properties this brew has, which
the third millennium B.C. The excavations at the site of Buena Vista (dated to 2193-2164 B.C.) accompanies everyday work and has a key role in social reunions and rituals.
unearthed microremains in the form of cassava starch in gourd vessels, which were obviously
interpreted as food. In this case Duncan et al. (2009) assumed the cassava present at the site We now turn to the archaeological record. The Casma Valley abounds in pre-Hispanic
was brought from the Amazon lowlands, which would have been perfectly feasible given the cassava. The earliest finds made in this valley (Perry 2002) come from Pampa del Rosario in
information here presented. One interesting point is that the cassava was eaten in gourds, the archaeological site of Pampa de Llamas, and date to 2088-1243 B.C. Cassava has also been
i.e. in modern terms a dish and food at the same time, but we do not know whether this found at the Las Haldas site (1040-895 B.C.). The dates are similar to those from the Chillón
happened in a ritual or domestic context. Valley but later than those from Huarmey, and begin around the second millennium B.C.

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Cassava peels have also been reported in this area in the Tortugas site, in the vicinity of Casma
Bay, which on average date to 1800-900 B.C. (Isendahl 2011: 462). The sequence continues in
the Pampa Rosario and San Diego sites, also in the Casma Valley, which date to 800-300 B.C.
Ugent (1984: 422) studied the remains of Manihot esculenta and concluded in general that it
was commonly consumed in this period on the Central Coast of Peru.

Perry (2002) presented a report on cassava domestication that was partly based on the remains
analysed by Ugent. Perry concluded that an important characteristic was the increase in size of
the tubers throughout time. This means the tubers were slightly bigger by the end of the pre-
Hispanic period than they had been in more ancient times. We have already seen the same trend
in the achira and the sweet potato. This means the horticultors who cultivated coastal tubers
experimented with this type of pre-Hispanic ‘genetics’ since the first time these plants appeared.

We thus come to the time of the Chavín culture in the first millennium B.C. In this context
the iconography shows cassava as part of the plants that were then known. Such is the case
of the Tello Obelisk, where it was depicted in association with the cayman (cf. Lathrap 1971,
Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 110). Both elements were clearly associated with a fully neotropical
environment.

Other evidence of cassava consumption corresponds to the Cupisnique ceramics, in the first
millennium B.C.

The remains of cassava from the Paracas culture must also date to around this time (Towle
1961: 61). Cassava remains were in fact found in archaeological work undertaken at the Cerrillos Figura 4. Yuca. Cerámica mochica, aproximadamente 400 d.C. Costa Norte peruana. (MUSEO LARCO. LIMA-PERÚ).
site in the upper part of the Ica Valley, in an early Paracas context dated ca. 800-600 B.C.
(Splitsloser 2009: 94).
verified this in the collections of the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia
Cassava was also found when the Paracas burial bundles were excavated, and dated to ca. 400 del Perú, which has a Moche piece from ca. A.D. 200.
B.C.-A.D. 100 (Tello and Mejía Xesspe 1979: 473).
We can now ask: was there cassava in the ceja de selva or in the tropical forest itself in pre-
There is more evidence from the first millennium B.C. For instance, Ikehara (2007: 128) reports Hispanic times? Despite the lack of organic remains in these zones to the east of the Peruvian
having found cassava in starch-form on the ceramic remains of a feast that was held at Cerro Andes, Pickersgill (1969: 60) speculates that populations like those of Yarinacocha (Pucallpa)
Blanco, in the Nepeña Valley, on the Central Coast of Peru, that date to ca. 1000-700 B.C. and Kotosh (Huánuco) based their economy on cassava cultivation (alongside Capsicum
chinense or ají limo) since at least the first millennium of the Christian era.
Similar dates (ca. 900-600 B.C.) were obtained in layers where cassava was found in the Tank
site at Ancón. Ugent and Peterson (1988: 7) cite Wittmack, who analysed the botanical remains from the
Ancón excavations and established the presence of cassava around A.D. 1000-1460.
The remains of this tuber have also been found, albeit in small amounts, in late phases of the
Central Coast sequence prepared by Lanning and Patterson (Cohen 1978: 37). The people of the Nasca culture also favoured the consumption of cassava (Silverman and
Proulx 2002: 52). Cassava tubers have for instance been found in domestic contexts at Casa
Moving on to the Christian era, Vargas (1962: 109) detected cassava depictions on the pottery Vieja site in Callango, in the lower Ica Valley (260 masl), that dated towards the end of the
of the Nasca and Chimú cultures, thus implying their cultivation and consumption on the Nasca culture and the early Middle Horizon (Roque et al. 2003). Although no radiocarbon
Peruvian coast during the last two millenniums through this evidence alone. Hans Horkheimer dates are available for this site, is estimated to have been occupied in A.D. 530-820 (cf.
(1961) also noted at the time that cassava appeared on Mochica pottery (Figure 4). We likewise Unkel 2006: 111).

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It is worth recalling that Margaret Towle (1961: 62) had already noted the presence of cassava Perry (2002: 337) reported the presence of cassava in a Chancay cemetery in the Chancay
in classic Nasca sites like Cahuachi, Huaca del Loro and Estaquería in the first centuries A.D., Valley, but without giving the specific site. Even so it is one more piece of evidence that the
and which are all in Ica. Modern research is proving her right. people here ate this tuber.

Cassava has also been recorded in significant amounts at the monumental site of Cahuachi The remains of cassava roots have been excavated at Manchán in the Casma Valley, a Chimu
(Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 3). Even more impressive is that in some cases these specimens site from their final southern phase (A.D. 1470-1523). Perry (2002: 337) points out the cassava
showed traces of combustion, which Piacenza and Pieri believe was due to their having found are of similar size, with a diameter of 1-2 cm from the first millennium B.C. to the
been roasted. This type of evidence simply corroborates the presence of this plant in fourteenth century A.D. but they can exceptionally be of larger size, particularly in Chancay
Nasca ceramics. sites. We should however bear in mind that these plants are neither carbonised nor desiccated.

Around this time, people from the Mochica culture on the North Coast began to consume Scant cassava remains were found at the Panquilma site in the upper Lurín Valley within an
cassava. Geyer et al. (2003) reported finding cassava remains in the excrement found in three Inca context (Cohen 1975: 53). Towle (1961: 61) reported the presence of cassava remains at the
human burials at the Dos Cabezas site, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley. The radiocarbon site of Pachacamac. It is thus clear that this tuber was eaten by the Inca on a regular basis.
dates gave the span A.D. 536-A.D. 580 (Moseley et al. 2008: 83). Reinhard et al. (2007: 535)
however questioned the validity of the identification made of cassava in these faeces.
Arrowleaf elephant´s ear, Uncuncha, Huirina, Mairino, Yantia, Yauía
The results of the analysis of human coproliths found at Puerto Moorin, in the lower Virú (Xanthosoma sp., Xanthosoma sagittifolium)
Valley, showed that cassava was eaten at this North Coast site from about the first to the
fourth centuries A.D. (Ericson et al. 1989: 74). The sample was relatively large, so it can be said This genus has close to forty species, ten of which are found in Peru. Apparently the most
that according to the coprolith study this was the fourth most-eaten vegetable resource. significant species in this country is Xanthosoma sagittifolium (L.) Schott, an herbaceous
species of the rhizome type that is spread over the regions of San Martín and Madre de Dios,
Still in the Moche area, Chapdeleine and Pimentel (2003) drew attention to a scene showing on the eastern Peruvian Andes, essentially at 25200-30000 masl.
cassava harvesting in a textile from the Castillo de Santa (Santa Valley) in ca. A.D. 300-400. It
is interesting that this textile was used to wrap a child. This kind of depictions gives us an idea The plant gives out a tuber with a highly productive white pulp. Its leaves and corms are edible
of how significant cassava cultivation and consumption was, even though the remains in many (Mostacero et al. 2009: 1057), and it has a high biochemical value as regards nutrition because
cases were not preserved due to soil conditions. it contains raw fibre, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, thiamine, riboflavin and
ascorbic acid, amongst other substances (Morton 1972). We should bear in mind the importance
We now move on in time to the Wari culture, i.e. to the Middle Horizon. Duccio Bonavia ascorbic acid has for the catalysis of iron in order to avoid anaemia (Larsen 2000). This tuber may
discovered a camp labelled PV35-4 to the north of the mouth of the Huarmey River, on thus have been particularly important, despite the fact that it has yet to be archaeologically
the shores of the La Honda beach. The researchers (Bonavia et al. 2009: 242) concluded recorded in Peru. According to Onweme (1978, cited by Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 120),
that cassava and maize were the items most consumed here. Tubers were documented in Xanthosoma comprises 70-77% water, 12-26% carbohydrates, and 1.3-3.7 proteins.
this case, along with some stems and a seed, and it was found to have been eaten roasted.
This settlement belongs to the Middle Horizon epoch 3, and so can be dated to around As regards domestication, Quero-García et al. (2010) state that Xanthosoma sagittifolium
A.D. 800. (L.) Schott is often associated to the sole cultivated species of this genus. Its cultivation
may have first taken place in eastern South America and from thence spread to the Antilles.
Beringa (A.D. 650-100), another Wari-period site where cassava has been found, is in the In fact, it is most intensely cultivated here. The tubers are quite adaptable to various
modern region of Arequipa and this tuber was clearly consumed at this site (Tung 2012: 49). environments and are often stewed or toasted; the starches can be removed by boiling. This
procedure is essential in order to remove the content of calcium oxalate crystals (Piperno
The people of the Chancay culture also ate cassava. Nelson and Bellido Cerda (2010: 50) and Pearsall 1998: 163).
reported having found cassava in archaeological garbage dumps at the site of Chambara in the
Huaura Valley, some 1000 masl. The radiocarbon dates averaged A.D. 1375-1625. Piperno and Pearsall (1998: 116) note that Xanthosoma sagittifolium was extensively cultivated
by the time of the Spanish arrival in a macroregion that extends from southern Central America
Cassava was also found in this same valley at the El Pino site, just four kilometres from the to northern South America, yet they do not discard the southern tropical South American
littoral, and was apparently frequently consumed (Lanfranco and Eggers 2010: 79). region as another centre of domestication of this plant (Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 163).

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In the South American context there is evidence of uncuncha starch traces on the surface extract saccharin. The long procedure begins by dipping the oca tubers in water immediately
of pestles from the San Isidro site, Colombia, with dates that average 9589 and 9029 B.C. after pulling them out of the ground for four days; they are then subjected to ice and solar
(Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 200). Towle reported the uncuncha had edible leaves and roots; rays in between having them trod on. The end result is a chuño with a high protein value and
the latter, when desiccated, are used like chuño (Towle 1961: 30). Towle also noted that in his a significant amount of starch (Soukup 1980: 302).
1917 work on Peruvian pre-Hispanic plants, Safford (in Towle, ibidem), seems to have identified
the depiction of one of these rhizomes on a pre-Hispanic vessel. We were unfortunately Margaret Towle (1961: 56-57) was one of the first who gave an account of the significance this
unable to find this. There supposedly are more depictions, but the sites where these were plant had in pre-Hispanic Peru. She claimed it was a typical crop in Colombia and Bolivia, and
found are not given. Piperno and Pearsall believe the remains of uncuncha processing and that there are at least two types of oca: the bitter oca (cjaya-oca) with white tubers, and the
consumption can be found in Peru’s Andean zones, but this is still being researched. sweet oca which comes in many colours. The first type has a high amount of calcium oxalates
and must be placed under the sun before eating. Oca chuño is specifically prepared with the
bitter type.
Oca, Apilla, Uncha (Oxalis tuberosa Molina)
Sauer (1952: 50) states that oca was cultivated alternately alongside potatoes. This is
We now turn to the pre-Hispanic evidence of another major Andean tuber: oca. From a interesting because this may have been the case in the pre-Hispanic Andes. This association
botanic standpoint, Oxalis is a vast genus that comprises over 800 species that are highly is support botanically because the high-altitude strip that extends from 2500 to 4300 masl
variable in their ecology and habitat. It has large concentrations in South America and South was used to domesticate not just potatoes and oca but also mashua and olluco, so they are
Africa (Emshwiller and Doyle 1998: 975). all interconnected (León 2000: 35).

In the handbook on Peruvian phanerogams prepared by Mostacero and his colleagues, the oca Oca is at present exported and consumed as exotic produce in Mexico and New Zealand,
is defined as a species native to the Andes that is cultivated in the Andean countries from albeit in small amounts (Hermann and Heller 1997: 9). In the Andean environment, Pastor et al.
Venezuela to Chile and Argentina. This is an herbaceous plant with a subterranean stem or (2008) point out, oca has had, and still has, a key role in rural communities’ reserves.
rhizomes that give out elongated tubers that are of white, pale yellow, orange and other colours.
These can be eaten raw, parboiled, or dehydrated in chuño form (Mostacero et al. 2009: 393). Let us turn now to the bromatology of oca. This tuber has given rise to a series of investigations
that will be briefly reviewed here.
Oca is one of the most important tubers in the Andes and is grown at altitudes ranging
between 2800 and 4100 masl, e.g. Solanum sp. and Ullucus tuberosus. According to the King and Gershoff (1987: 508) made a biochemical study of the contents of oca and found it
National Research Council (1989a: 12) it is currently under cultivation from Venezuela to the held 3-8% proteins, 83-88% carbohydrates, 0.5-0.6% fat, 4-5% fibre, and 368-374 gr of calories.
north, to the island of Chiloé (Chile) to the south. It has also been introduced into Mexico and As regards the amino acids, King and Gershoff emphasised their great variety and mention
even New Zealand (León 2000: 310). lysine, threonine, valine, isoleucine, and phenylalanine-tyrosine (with the highest values,
similar to olluco).
This is the second most-eaten crop in the Peruvian Andes, second to the potato. Its white and
fresh pulp is agreeable but slightly acid. Hodge (1951) states that ancient Peruvians dehydrated Gross et al. (1989: 28-29) analysed the biochemistry of these seeds and reported 87.9%
it just like they did with the potato in order to get a sweet taste. carbohydrates, 86.2% water, 5.6% proteins, 4.1% ashes, 1.4% fibre, and 1% oil. As for
polysaccharides, oca has no less than 20.92% sacharose and is thus the tuber with the highest
Stegemann et al. (1988) state that oca chuño was called caya, that it was brought about with rate in this index. Glucose, with 3.63%, is far above quinoa but far below the glucose found in
frosts—just like potato chuño—and was then threshed to extract as much water as possible. olluco. It follows that two values are important: amino acids and saccharose. Both must be
Cahui is a type of dehydrated oca, one of the few by-products that are sweet. Stegemann and assessed when discussing the pre-Hispanic nutritional balance.
his colleagues used a biochemical study to establish the high amino acid concentration of
oca, and so it can be concluded that its consumption in pre-Hispanic Peru was a major source In a comprehensive study of oca, Bradbury and Emshwiller (2011) repeat that it can be stored
of food and proteins. dehydrated (khaya) but can also be consumed fresh. In the latter form it is known as way’ku
(stewed) or misk’i (tasty). In their biochemical analysis of the contents in oca, Bradbury and
The Salesian missionary priest Soukup provides very illustrative data on the preparation of Emshwiller point out that its name is actually due to the presence of oxalic acid, which is
chuño. Soukup says that oca chuño (cjaya) was prepared through a process that desiccated evidently venomous and toxic. Besides, it also holds ascorbic, malic, tartaric, succinic, and
the tubers (which have a large amount of starch by exposing them to the sun in order to glutaric acids.

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Bradbury and Emshwiller emphasise on the harm the consumption of oxalates does, which The important point here is that type of tuber was found in many of the strata in this cave, so
they say are anti-nutritional and have toxic effects as well as lowering calcium absorption, we can infer that it was persistently consumed since at least 9000 B.C. Emshwiller (1999: 29),
kidney failure, and causing complications in the absorption of salts, magnesium and iron. perhaps the foremost expert on this tuber, insists these are wild plants that date to around
Even so we should not forget how ideal ascorbic acid is to the avoidance of anaemia 9000 B.C. (Smith 1980a: 100).
(Larsen 2000). This property should be emphasised when assessing how balanced the
pre-Hispanic diet was. The highlands of Lima are a second location where oca has been reported. Emshwiller (1999:
27-28) cites Pearsall (1992) and believes that the identification of this tuber made in Tres
As regards plant management, for Bradbury and Emshwiller it is clear that during domestication Ventanas Cave, in the highlands of Lima, could well be correct. However, the conditions the
the chemistry of oca was manipulated secondarily. find was made in and the lack of documented contexts mean one cannot be conclusive nor
can the presence of these remains be assessed despite the fact that they date to around
The National Research Council (1989b: 83-91) established that the nutritional value of oca is 10,000 B.C. and would virtually be the most ancient remains of oca in Peru.
as good as or better than that of potatoes. It holds 70-80% water, 11-22% carbohydrates, and a
mean 9% of proteins. The carbohydrates are particularly rich in sugars and are easy to digest. We can conclude for both the Callejón de Huaylas and the highlands of Lima, that there is
no clear evidence that oca had been domesticated by 9000 B.C., and no variety was present
What is the origin of oca and where was it domesticated? Eve Emshwiller (1999) made what is except for the wild version of this tuber.
possibly the most extensive recent study of oca. She points out that both Vavilov and Sauer
believed oca had originally been domesticated in the Andes. The following site in the archaeological record where oca was more convincingly discovered
and published is Paloma, in the Chilca Valley (Quilter 1989: 23). Its date averages to at least
Hodge and Bruechner then claimed it originated in southern Peru. They posited with 3500 B.C. and seems to be more reliable than the previous examples, but we should bear in
more geographical precision that oca had been domesticated in the Titicaca Altiplano, but mind that no analysis report has been presented.
Emshwiller believes that the species of Oxalis found in this zone have no connection with
cultivated oca. Oxalis (probably tuberous) has been found in the excavations at Pachamachay Cave in Junín, at
4300 masl (Pearsall 1978-1980: 65-66). The oldest level corresponds to a radiocarbon date of
Phylogenetics is also making a contribution to this issue. Emshwiller and Doyle (1998) made 2155 B.C. This time period, which is very similar to that of the other tubers thus far presented,
a study of coca based on samples of wild Oxalis that had originated mostly in Bolivia. In this is intriguing.
study both scholars were only able to establish some of the ancestors of oca whilst others
still had to be identified; in fact they urged more research in this area. Lanning claimed he had found oca at the site of Punta Grande on the Central Coast, in the
Ancón-Chillón region, which dates to ca. 2100 B.C. For Emshwiller (1999: 29), the presence of
The relationship between hybridisation and the origin of this plant was recently established. oca in this zone indicates that coastlands and highlands interacted, because this crop cannot
Octoploid oca may have been the result of the hybridisation of Oxalis picchensis Kunth (a be cultivated on the coast.
native to southern Peru) and the taxa of an as yet unnamed tuber. Even so, in a subsequent
study Emshwiller et al. (2009) concluded that oca had its origin in a group called Oxalis Oca has also been found in contexts pertaining to the Pucará culture on the South Andean
tuberosa Alliance. Only two species of this group have been identified, the above-mentioned Altiplano that dated to ca. 1300 B.C. and A.D. 50 (Whitehead and Bruno 2003).
Oxalis picchensis and Oxalis chicligastensis R. Kunth, which is a native of North-Western
Argentina. The other two species, which have still not been catalogued, come from North The following pieces of evidence come from the Mochica culture, so it can be posited that
Western Bolivia and the highlands of Lima. oca was also consumed in the second and first millennium B.C., at least on the Central and
North-Central Coast.
We leave now the question of the origins of this major tuber and turn to the archaeological
evidence. The Mochica site of Dos Cabezas is on the North Coast in the Jequetepeque Valley. Three
tombs were found here (Geyer et al. 2003). The analysis of human faeces established that three
It is possible that the oldest evidence of what is perhaps oca—still in undomesticated individuals ate oca regularly before their death (just below maize and guava). The site dates to
condition—comes from Ancash. Tubers that were classified in the Oxalis genus, albeit without A.D. 536-580 (Moseley et al. 2008: 83). It is intriguing that a highland crop has been found right
specifying the species, come from one of the deepest strata in Guitarrero Cave, some 2850 in the centre of the land of the Mochica, and this is frequent on the coast since the Preceramic
masl in Callejón de Huaylas. Period. Reinhard et al. (2007: 534) criticised the identification of this pollen type because oca

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grows at a different altitude than that at which the Mochica culture developed. Exchange could Jíquima had multiple roles. Its cultivation is ideal because it is invaluable for the environment
however be a working hypothesis that answers this problem (cf. Emschwiller supra). due to the nitrogen exchange. It has even been shown that it causes no droughts as some
suggestions propose. Its uses currently recorded in Bolivia include those of body disinfectant
Hastorf (2002: 157) reports that ocas remains have been found in Wanka archaeological sites and antitussive; it is also beneficial for the lungs and helps breathe.
in the upper Mantaro Valley, from at least A.D. 200 onwards. DeNiro and Hastorf (1985: 113)
reported the presence of oca at the site known as Ushnu dating to ca. A.D. 1100. The evidence Turning now to the jíquima’s bromatology, amongst the Andean tubers it has one of the highest
clearly indicates that Junín probably was a major producing area. protein contents (8-18%), particularly in its leaves, 45-55% carbohydrates, and 8-24% sugar.
Purseglove (1968, in Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 110) reported 87.1% water, 20.6% carbohydrates,
In his summary of oca, Emshwiller (1999: 29-30) points out that it was found at Pachacamac and 1.2% proteins.
and was depicted in the Pacheco-style pottery of the Wari Empire. DeNiro and Hastorf (1985:
113) proved the finding of oca remains in the Pachacamac shrine dating to the Inca occupation. Margaret Towle (1961: 52) located its origins in the headwaters of the Amazonian rivers, i.e. in
Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Subsequent investigations like those of Barbara Pickersgill
Towle reported having found a scant presence of oca in the Inca occupation of Pachacamac. (2007: 927) concluded that the earliest finds in archaeological sites come from Mesoamerica,
She also notes that Yacovleff and Herrera had found oca plants in some Pacheco-style where it was frequently consumed by later cultures (León 2000).
ceramics from Wari, as well as a possible depiction of this plant on a Chimú vessel.
According to Jorge León (2000: 210), it is clear that two species from one genus (Pachyrhizus)
were domesticated, one in Mesoamerica (Pachyrhizus erosus) and another one in the western
Jíquima, Ahipa, Jaspo, Namou, Wuiso (Pachyrhizus tuberosus, Pachirhizus ahipa (Wedd.) Parodi) part of the Andean Amazon rainforest (Pachyrhyzus tuberosus).

This tuber also had an essential role in the food of ancient Peru, but its consumption has at We now turn to the archaeological evidence of jíquima consumption in pre-Hispanic Peru.
present fallen on such hard times that it is dying out.
Yacovleff (1933) believed the jíquima was known by the native peoples, as is proved by its
The National Research Council (1989b: 39) describes the jíquima as a legume that stands out ceramic depictions. Yacovleff cited Father Acosta (1590) and mentioned that the fruits of this
due to the edible fruit it has in its roots, which can weigh up to a kilo. Its internal part is plant are fresh and wet, and in summer they quench the thirst. He then followed Bernabé
succulent, is of good taste and can even be eaten raw. According to this report the jíquima has Cobo in pointing out that it can be eaten raw as a fruit, and that it can even be used against
never been found in wild state, but it is pointed out that there is evidence of its cultivation in swellings and as an antibiotic.
Peru some two thousand years ago.
Probably the earliest find of jíquima, albeit in a non-cultivated state, was made in the previously
Father Soukup (1980: 303) stated that although the seeds are poisonous, the roots are edible mentioned and somewhat problematic caves of Tres Ventanas and Quiqché in the upper
and very nutritive. The ancient Mexicans knew the jíquima as xicamatl, hence its name, and so Chilca Valley, some 3700 masl in the highlands of Lima. Engel (1970: 56) claims that remains of
for Soukup the plant originated in this zone. this plant were found in strata that we have calibrated to 7031 and 6903 B.C. He also stated
that Douglas Yen was the specialist who identified them and established they were wild. It is
The jíquima is often cultivated in tropical and relatively temperate subtropical valleys. It adapts worth recalling in this context that Bonavia has questioned the validity of Engel’s reports, so
well between 1800 and 2600 masl, but it can reach some 3000 masl in Bolivia. This means that this information must be taken a reference only (Bonavia 1982: 316).
it is cultivated at similar altitudes to those in which other tubers—except maca—are grown.
Jïquima in general belongs to the group of tubers that were domesticated in the lower Andes Deborah Pearsall (1998: 274) gave jíquima a date of ca. 5700 B.C. on the Central Coast of Peru,
like the potato, the yacón, the arracacha and the achira (1500-3000 masl). At present it is planted but no details were given of the archaeological sites in question.
in the intermontane valleys and in coastal Ecuador, between 0 and 1500 masl (León 2000: 210).
Cohen (1978: 38) and Quilter et al. (1991: 280) also reported the discovery of jíquima at El
Sorensen et al. (1997: 13-74) devoted a comprehensive study to this tuber. They concluded that Paraíso, Chuquitanta, in the Chillón Valley (Lima), starting at the Gaviota phase ca. 2000 B.C.
ñame or yam is its botanical relative, and that although it is exported to other countries, at In this case the excavation documentation required for a better assessment is also missing.
present only a few Andean communities cultivate it, particularly in Bolivia and in North-Western At the site of Los Gavilanes in the lower Huarmey Valley, Bonavia (1982: 149, 315) documented
Argentina (in Peru only some communities in Tarapoto grow it). In another study, Sorensen (1988) possible jíquima remains that he dated to 2300 and 1480 B.C.; however, Bonavia emphasised
discussed previous taxonomic denominations that interested readers should read. that this was just Pachyrhizus sp., i.e. the genus and not the species.

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Although there is evidence of jíquima consumption in Peru before the Christian era, the
documentation required for a more conclusive assessment is lacking.

Moving on in time, Margaret Towle (1961: 51) cited Paul Mangelsdorf to note the presence
of jíquima in the context of the Paracas Necropolis culture just a few centuries before the
Christian era, particularly in ceramic depictions of this tuber. She was not mistaken, for jíquima
remains have been found in the excavations undertaken at the Cerrillos site (which belongs to
the Paracas culture) in its early period, ca. 800-600 B.C. (Splitsloser [sic] 2009: 94).

Some researchers believe it is in the context of the Nasca culture that we are more certain of
jíquima consumption. Vargas (1962: 111) for instance found it painted in Nasca ceramics and thus
deduced that it was consumed on the coast a few centuries before the Christian era. Several
finds have also been made in the Cahuachi shrine (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 3) (Figure 5). On the
other hand the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú has a vessel
in the Nasca 3 style that depicts jíquima and is dated to ca. A.D. 200-300. It is therefore clear
that the Nasca consumed jíquima during the first centuries of the Christian era (Silverman and
Proulx 2002: 52).

It is possible that the Moche also consumed jíquima. Bruecher (1989) drew attention to a
depiction of this plant on Moche pottery. What is missing here is archaeobotanical data.

To finish with this important tuber, it has also been found in the middens of Manchán Figura 5. Jíquimas descubiertas en las excavaciones del santuario de Cahuachi (Nasca), primeros siglos de nuestra era. (CORTESÍA DE
(A.D. 1470-1523), a site in the Casma Valley that corresponds to the final phase in the Chimú MARIA GRAZIA PIACENZA, LUIGI PIACENZA Y CAROLINA ORSINI).
southwards expansion (Perry 2002: 337).

In general there is still little information on this plant in pre-Hispanic Peru. What does seem to As regards bromatology, the impressive thing is that the leaves of the plant have 11-17% proteins.
be clear is that it was consumed by several cultures some centuries before the Christian era. However their tubers or roots stand out because of their carbohydrates 0.4-2.2% proteins and
high potassium levels (National Research Council 1989b: 115-122). Herrera (1942a: 28) also said
this plant has starch-rich tuberous roots that can be eaten raw and have a high nutritional
Yacon root, Arboloco, Aricoma (Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poepp. & Endl.) value. Yacón grows wild preferably between 900 and 2750 masl in Colombia, Ecuador, and
H. Robinson, Aolymnia edulis Wedd., Polymnia sonchifolia) probably in mid-altitude ranges in Peru.

For the National Research Council (1989b), yacón (or Peruvian ground apple) is nowadays For León (2000: 36), yacón is a tuber that was domesticated in the Andes. If so, it took place
consumed from Colombia to North-Western Argentina. It has white, sweet and juicy between 1500 and 3000 masl. Grau and Rea (1997) instead claim that it can be cultivated
tubers that are almost free of calories, and which can weigh up to half a kilo each. It is a between 900 and 3500 masl; this would mean it has a wide altitudinal range, and that it
good food for diabetics, and contains water, starch, sugar and albuminoids (Mostacero et can adapt both to a warm environment as well to a subtropical one. Grau and Rea state
al. 2009: 889). that Peruvian researchers are the ones who most devote their time to the study of yacón,
particularly as regards germplasm.
Yacón is a primary source of natural sugar. Because of its succulence it can be eaten raw,
but it is sometimes cooked. This plant would be a good candidate if one were to seek a Douglas et al. (2003) reported the significance of yacón consumption and its benefits. It has
substitute for some sugar sources as is proven by the presence of yacón chancaca,*3 which fructooligosaccharides of the insulin type with prebiotic qualities, i.e. it requires minimum
is similar to sugarcane. processing and makes food pass to the small intestine where it is fermented by bacteria,
which is beneficial for whoever consumes yacón. Hence the interest currently shown for this
3 * Naturally extracted honey-like syrup from this tuber. plant in New Zealand, Japan, and other markets.

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In his summary of Andean tubers, Seminario (2004: 27-28) points out that Father Bernabé Olluco, Melloco, Papaliza, Ruba, Ullucu, Ulluma (Ullucus tuberosus Caldas)
Cobo apparently made the first ethnohistorical reference to yacón when stating that it was
eaten as a raw fruit, that it had a very good taste, and that heat made it sweeter, adding that The National Research Council (1989a: 12) holds that olluco was one of the most important
it could be preserved for up to twenty days. tubers for the Inca, and that in some parts of the Andes it challenges (and surely did so in past
times) the position of potatoes as a source of carbohydrates.
Yacón, still according to Seminario was depicted both on Paracas textiles (400 B.C. and A.D.
100) and Nasca ceramics (100 B.C.-A.D.650), as follows from the notes made by Yacovleff, Hodge (1951) believes the olluco was (and is) a very important plant in the Peruvian Andes
Safford, and Lila O’Neale. Apparently it was likewise recorded in North-Western Argentina in whose popularity was just below that of the potato and maize. This was due to its high
the Christian era. nutrient content and pleasant taste; to its characteristics—it is frost-resistant and has a high
tuber productivity per plant—and to the many ways in which it can be prepared, chuño
It is worth pointing out that for Seminario, yacón may have originated in a region that extends included, which is quite similar to that of potato. So in general the food this tuber provides is
from Venezuela to North-Western Argentina. It may thus have been domesticated in any of of high quality and durability.
the Andean zones included in such a vast area. Zardini (1991) however notes that Peru, and
Colombia and Venezuela in second place, are places where seven yacón-related species have The olluco has many uses, particularly due to its high water content. It can be stewed, served
been identified, so its domestication may have taken place in this vast expanse. au gratin, ground, and cut but is rarely baked. It is also eaten in stews and soups (National
Research Council 1989b: 108).
We now turn to the archaeological evidence. As has already been pointed out, Yacón finds
are not limited to Peru. Zardini (1991) points out that its oldest use in Argentina was in In the mid-twentieth century Hodge found through ethnography that olluco was cultivated
several sites in this country’s northwest within the context of the Candelaria culture, ca. interspersed with oca, and hence was part of the Altiplano triad along with mashua (Oxalis
A.D. 1-1,000. tuberosum). Intriguingly here we have a triad like the one Vavilov found—in this case mashua-
oca-olluco—in which their cultivation is mutually beneficial. Therefore if any evidence is ever
Margaret Towle (1961: 96) believed that both ancient Peruvians and Bolivians had cultivated found any of these tubers was consumed, we can speculate that one or two of them were
yacón since pre-Hispanic times. She concluded (Towle 1961: 142) that it was domesticated cultivated in the same place.
in Peru at the beginning of the Christian era, i.e. some two thousand years ago. Towle also
pointed out that Safford studied yacón in Peruvian pre-Hispanic collections in the Smithsonian We have four sources of bromatological analysis that are worth comparing given this tuber’s
Museum, and that is also depicted on pottery. nutritional richness, which holds 3% starch, 10% sugar, 12% proteins, and 3% fat (Mostacero
et al. 2009: 154). The National Research Council (1989b: 108) gives 85% water, 14% starch and
What is the most ancient find of yacón in pre-Hispanic Peru? It apparently dates to the second sugars, and 12% proteins. It also has a high content of vitamin C (23 mg per every 100 grams).
millennium B.C. Cohen (1978: 37) reports that Margaret Towle found a specimen in the Tank
site at Ancón that could be dated to ca. 1800 B.C., but its identification was not easy because King and Gershoff (1987: 508) similarly give biochemical values of 10-15% proteins, 73-81%
these are starch remains. The evidence is thus inconclusive. carbohydrates, 3-5% fibres, and 370-381 grams of calories. Its amino acids are lysine, threonine,
valine, isoleucine, leucine, triptophane, phenylalanine, tyrosine (which has the highest value
Other finds date to the Christian era. We know the Nasca were familiar with yacón and of the components), and methionine.
consumed it because Whitaker and O’Neale documented this plant in an Initial Nasca
weaving from the first centuries of the Chastain era. Besides its presence as a major To finish this comparison of olluco’s bromatological values, Gross et al. (1989: 28) found it has 87.6%
foodstuff in the Nasca culture has been underscored by recent research (Silverman and water, 84.2% carbohydrates, 8.5% proteins, 5.4% ashes, 1.4% oil, and 0.5% fibre. This is the Andean
Proulx 2002: 52). plant with the highest rate of glucose (13.18%), fructose (11.13%), and even saccharose (6.08%).

Yacón was also consumed on the North Coast both by pre-Mochica and Mochica populations. Despite the variations in these bromatological date, the high protein value of olluco is clear—it
It has been found in the human excrement excavated at Puerto Moorin, a site from the Salinar can reach 15% (with important amino acids), and has a large amount of carbohydrates and sugars.
culture in the lower Virú Valley that dates to A.D. 17-300 (Ericson et al. 1989: 74). Despite this tuber’s biochemical richness the figures show that while at present some thirty
million people are eating olluco in the Andes, practically no one elsewhere is eating it
Cárdenas et al. (1997: 134) also documented yacón in the excavations at Huaca de la Luna, (Hermann and Heller 1997: 8). For Herrera (1942a: 27) the olluco is the crop par excellence of
which means the Mochica were already consuming this plant at least by A.D. 400-750. the Peruvian puna, which as we have seen is where its domestication may have taken place.

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Little is known of its domestication. First we must distinguish Ullucus tuberosus Caldas Moving onwards in time it is clear that the Wari consumed olluco. Margaret Towle (1961: 38)
aborigeneus Bruecher—the taxonomic denomination of the wild olluco native to Peru’s says Yacovleff and Herrera identified reliable depictions of olluco from traits such as stems,
Andean region (which was originally believed to belong to North Western Argentina, Peru leaves and tubers that are found in round and oblong forms in Pacheco-style Wari ceramics.
and Bolivia)—from Ullucus tuberosus Caldas tuberosus, the species native to South America Towle however also points out that Hodge has criticised this identification made through the
and which is cultivated in the Andes. shape of leaves, which could be potato leaves.

It has been posited that this tuber had its origin in the highlands between the Colombian and The olluco was also not unknown for the Chimú. Hodge reports that Lavallée published a
the Argentinian Andes (León 2000: 87), but there are as yet few studies in this regard. There Chimú textile where this plant’s fruits are visible.
apparently is evidence of a wild olluco in Cuzco, which is why some believe this is its zone
of origin. Finally, Hastorf (2002: 157) noticed the presence of olluco remains in Wanka sites in the
upper Mantaro Valley, at an altitude of 3200-3900 masl. This means they were then not just
It is known from ethnographical sources that in Peru they prepare chullqe—a prolonged dry- cultivated but also consumed.
storage method that prevents its spoilage. In order to prepare this the ollucos are boiled,
washed, and then left on the roof of a house for several days and nights in the dry season.
There also are other ways of dehydrating it (Escobar 2003). Totora, Enea, Huaricolla (Typha angustifolia, Typha domingensis Schoenoplectus californicus
californicus y Schoenoplectus californicus totora)
We turn now to the evidence of olluco consumption in Peru. An initial examination of the
scientific literature regarding olluco in pre-Hispanic Peru gives the impression that research is Usually two species are known as totora, Typha angustifolia and Schoenoplectus
still in its infancy. californicus. This is a genus of rhizome plants that comprises at least ten species, two
of which are found in Peru, Typha angustifolia and Typha domingensis (Mostacero et al.
A first point regards the type of cooking. Hather (1991: 662) points out that Martins’ dissertation 2009: 1059). The first species is found in muddy, flooded places and riverside ditches. Its
(1976) mentions the presence of burned olluco in pre-Hispanic Peru. This can be interpreted to leaves are typically used to manufacture rush mats and bed mats, which were so common
mean that the olluco may have been subjected to embers of fire, a type of cooking that as we in pre-Hispanic Peru.
have seen was quite frequent at the time.
Typha angustifolia differs from Typha domingensis in that it is an aquatic, herbaceous plant
Also scant are the actual remains of this plant that is now eaten by Peruvians. Perhaps the found in the regions of Cajamarca, Ancash, Amazonas, and Lima. The rhizomes are eaten
oldest specimen is the one found at Guitarrero Cave, in the Callejón de Huaylas. Here the (Towle 1961: 16).
excavations undertaken by Thomas Lynch and his team yielded a significant number of plants;
these were well-preserved despite the millennia in-between thanks to environmental factors Schoenoplectus californicus is another type of totora. Heiser (1978: 231-233) says it was
that favoured this process. The botanist C. Earle Smith identified the remains of desiccated previously part of the Scirpus (Scirpus californicus) genus. Nowadays this species is defined as
olluco in level 2a (Smith 1980a: 97), which despite having some stratigraphic problems can be Schoenoplectus californicus spp. totora (C. A. Meyer) Steudel.
dated to ca. 9000-8500 B.C. It is interesting that after having been consumed in this epoch, it
is then found almost always in the upper strata, which means it was consumed at least in the Two subspecies are accepted within this species that it is worth distinguishing, because
Early Holocene. they connote two different ecological environments inhabited by ancient Peruvians in
which they obtained food resources. Schoenoplectus californicus spp. californicus on the
A scientific reports claims to have documented “possible” olluco remains in the caves of other hand appears mostly on the coast, whilst on the other Schoenoplectus californicus
Quiqché and Tres Ventanas, in the upper Chilca Valley (Engel 1970: 56), which could date to spp. totora characterises the upper Andean zones (Banack et al. 2004: 12). The altitudinal
7031 and 6903 B.C. We have, however, seen the critique Bonavia (1988) made regarding the distribution of Schoenoplectus californicus spp. californicus is impressive as it extends from
scientific quality of these excavations. 0 to 3750 masl.
After such early dates there is a larger gap of several millennia until we reach the cultures
in the Christian era. Although almost unknown in coastal archaeological documentation, Totora is unfortunately declining as regards its species occurrence. Some fifteen years ago
MacLelland (2008: 54) noticed the presence of olluco trees in Moche pottery. Strangely it was considered one of the major species in the Cyperaceae genus in America (Macía and
enough these tubers are associated with monkeys. We thus are only able to assume the Balslev 2000: 82), which is no longer the case.
Moche consumed olluco because if they were acquainted with it, it follows that it was eaten.

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Several documents show totora was consumed in ancient Peru. Heiser (1978: 222) mentioned Kautz and Keatinge believe this type of crop can be dated to the time of the occupation of
Acosta, who noted in 1590 that alongside its multiple roles, totora was also eaten by the ancient Chan Chan (ca. A.D. 1450), the Inca period, and even the early colonial period.
inhabitants of Lake Titicaca. Heiser believed it was consumed due to its high carbohydrate
content. We now turn to the evidence of totora consumption as food in the pre-Hispanic period.
The archaeological evidence seems to be quite clear. Margaret Towle’s ethnobotanical
Heiser also cites Father Bernabé Cobo, who claimed in 1590 that the black and white totora handbook (1961: 16) had already shown that the rhizomes are edible, and that the ancient
roots in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca were used as “bread” by the Indians, and were sold in Peruvians knew this.
their towns in the plaza. Cobo also claims they were eaten raw once they had been peeled.
We can therefore wonder whether the Indians had realised the nutritional value the raw plant The oldest evidence of totora consumption seems to come from the lower Huarmey Valley.
has, which we will see when discussing its bromatology. Heiser cites La Barre (1948, in Heiser Thypha angustifolia has been found in a human coprolith that dated to ca. 3000 B.C. at site
1978: 228), who claimed the taste of totora largely surpassed that of celery as regards its PV-35-6 in this zone.
softness and delicacy. It follows that it is an edible rhizome that is probably easily consumed
or swallowed. On the North Coast, Bennett and Bird (1949) documented totora at Huaca Prieta and thought
they were food waste. Callen y Cameron (1960), who pioneered coprolith analysis, confirmed
Totora served several purposes in pre-Hispanic Peru. Banack et al. (2004) summarised its uses that human faeces from Huaca Prieta held totora residues. This was interpreted to mean that
at that time, which included building rafts, bridges boxes, straw mats, houses, and ropes, as their fibrous roots had formed part of this people’s diet. Although there are no radiocarbon
well as a fertiliser. It was also used as food, as is still done by the Uro in Lake Titicaca, as was datings to establish since when was totora eaten we can assume that it was in the Preceramic
already noted. period, i.e. ca. 2000 B.C.

Is the potential consumption of totora significant from a bromatological perspective? Although Cohen (1978: 30) likewise documented the presence of totora stalks, leaves and rhizomes at
we were unable to find direct data on this species we do have some for Typha domingensis, the La Pampa site on the Central Coast, which was dated around 3090 B.C.
and it can serve as proxy when discussing the alimentary balance. The most surprising point
is that it holds 16.1% proteins, 1.57% calcium, 0.53% magnesium, 0.79% phosphorus, and 7.3% Another important study of human coproliths was carried out at Puerto Moorin site in
potassium (Kinupp and Inchausti 2008: 851). It clearly shows that totora in general amount of the Virú Valley, on the North Coast, where the remains of Typha angustifolia were found
proteins and potassium. (Ericson et al. 1989: 74). This shows totora was still being eaten at the beginning of the
Christian era.
Was totora domesticated? A review of the botanical literature unfortunately only yielded old
references so that we cannot be conclusive. What does seem to be clear is that there are two Our final piece of evidence is of Schoenoplectus californicus found at the Huaca de la Luna,
positions in this regard, a sceptical and an affirmative one. Let us see the first position. In a which was dated to A.D. 400-650. This means the Mochica probably consumed it (Cárdenas
study that is over thirty years old, Heiser claims that totora was not cultivated in pre-Hispanic et al. 1997: 134).
Peru and yet admits its cultivation from the nineteenth century onwards, and conclusively
states that cultivation cannot be ascertained for earlier periods.
Wild Cane, Caña brava (Gynerium sagittatum)
An interesting fact in this regard concerns the presence of wells used to cultivate totora in
the vicinity of the citadel of Chan Chan. Heiser also mentions documents found by María Mostacero et al. (2009: 993) believe this plant had its origin in tropical, riverine, rhizomatous
Rostworowski which show totora cultivation in the vicinity of Trujillo and in Lurín, on the Central America where it formed the well-known reedbeds alongside the rivers, which can grow up
Coast (Heiser 1978: 230-231). These data can be taken as an indication of totora domestication, to 1500 masl. They claim this grass had several uses, from construction to curative, ones, but
maybe even in the pre-Hispanic period. It is a research path that should be followed. there was no evidence it had ever been eaten. Margaret Towle (1961: 18) drew attention to its
presence both in the burials of Paracas mummies as well as in pre-Hispanic basketry.
The other, affirmative, position is held by Kautz and Keatinge (1977), who believe there is
enough evidence to support the idea that totora was domesticated in pre-Hispanic Peru. They Ericson et al. (1989: 74) however showed that wild cane was eaten because it was found in the
excavated what were supposedly low-level fields (pools) and found totora that may have coproliths of people from the Puerto Moorin site in the lower Virú Valley on the North Coast,
been intentionally cultivated at the sites of Médanos, La Joyada, and Cerro la Virgen, in the within the context of the Salinar culture and in the first centuries of the Christian era.
environs of Huanchaco. The results seem conclusive.

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Reed, Carrizo or Caña Hueca (Phragmites communis) means it must be boiled in order to reduce their presence. Once boiled, mashua often
accompanies other tubers and meat as a stew. It is often exposed to the sun before cooking
This is a plant of the Arundienae tribe (a relative of the wild reed above) that vegetates near in order to sweeten it. Mashua can also be baked in a huatia, where it takes an aromatic smell
rivers, wet sandy terrains with saltpetre and alongside irrigation canals. It is used in rustic and the texture of the sweet potato. Towle (1961: 58) said of its taste that it was not pleasant
buildings and in handcrafts (Mostacero et al. 2009: 993). and that chuño is one of the ways it is most frequently eaten.

This is a type of grass that was apparently eaten at Puerto Moorin during its Salinar occupation, Is there data on mashua domestication? Not much. It may have taken place in the southern
around the first centuries of the Christian era. Ericson et al. (1989: 74) found remains of this Peru-Bolivia Altiplano, given the high variety of species found in this zone in terms of their
plant in the human faeces left behind by the people of this archaeological site. Bonavia et al. taxonomic filiation and the ecological adaptation of this plant (Ortega et al. 2007).This seems
(2009: 242) also found abundant burned remains of this plant, which was presumably used as possible. For the National Research Council (1989b: 67-69), mashua may have been originally
domestic fuel site PV35-4 at La Honda beach, immediately to the north of the mouth of the cultivated in the zones where potatoes were first cultivated. Grau et al. (2003) on the other
Huarmey River on the Central Coast. hand believe that its domestication must have taken place in the area between Ecuador and
Bolivia, given the maximum diversification found in this zone. They believe that its relative late
apparition in the archaeological scene means that its domestication probably took place later,
Mashua, Año, Añu, Isaña (Tropaeolum tuberosum) in comparison with other Andean tubers. Tropaeolum tuberosus pp. silvestre apparently is the
original form of this plant. We should add that it preferably grows between 2400 and 4300 masl.
The National Research Council (1989a: 11) catalogued mashua as an ornamental crop for the
Incas, but one whose consumption as food was also important. This apparently was a favourite We turn now to the archaeological information. The documentation regarding the presence
tuber crop because it does not require much attention and can be stored in the ground for of mashua in pre-Hispanic archaeological contexts is still very scant and dates only to the
a long time. Mashua is also considered the fourth most important Andean tuber, after the beginning of the Christian era. Christine Hastorf (2002: 157) reported its presence in Wanka
potato, oca, and the olluco (National Research Council 1989b: 67-69). Hodge (1951) likewise sites in the upper Mantaro Valley at 3200-3900 masl since at least A.D. 193, with the site
believed that mashua, alongside the oca and the olluco, formed the essential alimentary triad of Pancán as her reference. Huachumachay Cave, in the Jauja Valley, lies in this same zone.
in the Altiplano. Mashua remains have been documented in this cave’s sediments that date to A.D. 650-1350
(Pearsall 1992).
Mostacero et al. (2009: 398) state that this is an annual, climbing plant with tubers of various
colours that can reach up to eight centimetres. Mashua is often found close to brooks, near Whitehead and Bruno (2003) also reported mashua remains found in the southern Altiplano in
cultivated fields and so on. It usually has a bitter taste, but the bitterness decreases if it is contexts pertaining to the Pucará culture, which dated to ca. 1300 B.C.-A.D. 50.
dried under the sun. Mashua is cultivated alongside the olluco and the oca, so it is possible
that whenever a group ate mashua it also ate the other two tubers. Outside Junín, mashua has only been reported in Ayacucho. Margaret Towle (1961: 58) noted
that Yacovleff and Herrera had found mashua depicted in Pacheco-style pottery from Wari.
Turning to the bromatology of mashua we find that it had a significant amount of ascorbic This means it may at least have been consumed here approximately between A.D. 800 and 900.
acid, which entails high levels of vitamin C (National Research Council 1989b: 67-69). Gross et
al. (1989: 28) studied its biochemical components and found 85.8% carbohydrate, 85.4% water,
7.7% proteins, 4.8% ashes, and 0.7% fibre. The protein content thus is not negligible, nor that Potato, Acsu, Apalo, Catzari, Cchoque (Solanum tuberosum sp.)
of minerals like calcium, iron and phosphorus.
If ever a crop characterised the Andes—even abroad—it certainly is the potato. It was and still
It is worth including here the comprehensive report on mashua by Grau et al. (2003). The is so relevant in the history of world food, that it currently holds the fourth place amongst the
properties this tuber has include not just its biochemical content but also its beneficial impact essential staples for the human diet, surpassed only by wheat, rice, and maize. It was a staple
in its environment where it seems to provide protection against pests; it protects the soil, has part of the diet of Peru’s pre-Hispanic cultures and beyond the Andes. Even now it is hard to
a high productivity and is disease-resistant. These qualities may have benefitted associated envision a Peruvian dish that dispenses with potatoes. This tuber is now eaten even as fried,
crops like the potato, the olluco, and the la oca. many-coloured chips that are sold in supermarkets since the beginning of this millennium
thanks to the assessment and recommendations made by the Centro Internacional de la Papa
The data this report has on types of consumption and preparation are also invaluable. As (CIP), which is disseminating the consumption of various cultivars. Its applications (leaving
regards edibility, its bitter taste is essentially due to the presence of isothiocyanates, which aside medicinal uses, like in anti-inflammatories), for instance as potato starch, which go from

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paper to plastics, ensure the local and international impact of the potato will apparently Scientists nowadays believe the wild potato has two centres of diversity: the central Mexican
remained unsurpassed by that of any other tuber. region and the Andean Altiplano, from Peru to North Western Argentina (Luján 1996). Carlos
Ochoa (1998: 3), the foremost potato scholar, said there are over two hundred wild species
Once the Andes had been conquered, the potato must have arrived in Spain by 1570, and that give Solanum sp. Of these, over a hundred are concentrated in Peru and occupy several
from there it spread to Italy. The story of the role it had in the mid-nineteenth-century ecological zones. Ochoa says there are two subspecies, Solanum tuberosum ssp. andigena,
epidemic and famine in Scotland is well known. In Ireland it also became the main vegetable which is cultivated all over the Andes, and Solanum tuberosum sp. tuberosum, which was
food. The history of the potato in Europe goes as far as, for instance, the manufacture of domesticated in Chile. The first subspecies grows from the highlands of Mexico to Guatemala,
potato whisky. Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and the Argentinian Northwest, which is virtually
the major centre of potato diversity between 2000 and 4000 masl. The second subspecies
The potato also had major permanent impact in the history of Central Europe. A greater includes hundreds of crops of the Solanum tuberosum ssp. Tuberosum variety and has its
variety of this tuber was attained for culinary purposes once Parmentier introduced it in centre in the Chiloé archipelago (Chile); although adapted to cold conditions, it can germinate
France—after being imprisoned in a cell in Germany during the Seven Years War (Safford 1925: at sea level (Ortiz and Huamán 2001).
217-223). The attempts made to diversify potato varieties, says the National Research Council
(1989b: 93), were already observable in the Andes themselves, where the Indians had managed Ochoa believed that Solanum stenotonum may have had its origin in various places (it is a
to cultivate some two hundred varieties in just one field. This process had begun some ten polymorph), and so it may have been domesticated in more than one place, and even more
thousand years ago at an altitude of 4000 masl. Basing himself on previous studies (Hawkes than once (Bonavia 1993: 176).
1989, in Bonavia 1993: 176), Messer (2000: 188) claims that the greatest potato diversity is
found in the Titicaca region (Peru and Bolivia), where domestication probably came to an end Heiser (1979: 316-317) noted that the progenitors of Solanum andigena include Solanum
between eight and five thousand years ago. These data agree with those previously presented stenotonum and Solanum vernei. Messer (2000: 188) discussed the first species in order to
regarding the place where the associated tubers had been domesticated, i.e. mashua, añu explain the origins of the potato, and posited it hybridised with Solanum sparsipilum or some
(Tropaeolum tuberosum), oca (Oxalis tuberosa), olluco (Ullucus tuberosus)—in the end these other species to give Solanum tuberosum, which would have evolved from the subspecies
tubers all belong to one same group of plants that are adapted to a specific phytogeographic Solanum andigena form the northern Andes.
environment (Hawkes, en Bonavia 1993: 174). There seems to be a general consensus regarding
the time and place where the potato was domesticated, the area that surrounds Lake Titicaca There apparently is a consensus regarding Solanum stenotonum as the origin of the potato. It
around 6000 B.C. was at least four decades that Donald Ugent (1970) emphasised the domestication of modern
potatoes from this species because of its diploid nature. As for its origin centre, Ugent, like
Mostacero et al. (2009: 799) state there are some 1700 potato varieties, 273 of which are others, mentioned southern Peru and northern Bolivia.
Peruvian. Solanum tuberosum had its origin in the Andes of southern Peru and northern
Bolivia. It is cultivated because of its starchy fruits which are culinary and edible. Herrera Here it is also worth briefly summarising the work done by Bonavia (1993: 174), who is perhaps
(1942a: 28) in turn pointed out the potato is the noblest species in the Andes, and that Peru’s the archaeologist who most time devoted to the study of Andean ethnobotanics. Bonavia
native population was able to use nature to dehydrate and preserve it despite its high water believed the native potato species came from the western Andes, between 500 and 4500
content and its brief useful life. masl. Wild potatoes are easily crossed with others, and so a process of hybridisation must
have begun thousands of years ago. Following biologists specialised in this subject, Bonavia
Before discussing the origins of the potato, an issue on which much has been written (we likewise pointed out that the Altiplano was the area where the potato most likely originated,
certainly will not do so), we must inform readers of the present state of the taxonomy of the not just because it has the highest concentration of varieties, but also because there are
potato and its ancestors. Stevenson (1951: 159) pointed out that Hawkes believed the origin species—like ruki—that cannot reproduce themselves, i.e. they require human intervention.
zone of the domesticated potato comprises Peru and Bolivia due to the high concentration
of Solanum species in this region. Besides, Solanum tuberosum was part of a complex that For Bonavia, the Bolivian Solanum leptophyes is the native species most similar to the potato,
comprised Solanum andigenum—in the northern Andes, and in Peru and Bolivia—and Solanum but the most primitive species is in fact Solanum stenotomum, which is essentially distributed
chileanum in the southern Andes, particularly on the coastal plains of Chile. in northern Bolivia—an area that overlaps the distribution of Solanum leptophyes. Bonavia
Let us see now the position the botanists have. In general they believe these are varieties of therefore concluded that the potato was domesticated as Solanum stenotomum from the
one same species. Experts like Vavilov, Bukasov, and Juzepczuk believed it originated in Chile wild species Solanum leptophyes. It would then have spread northwards to Peru, and after the
and coined the label of Solanum tuberosum. formation of Solanum tuberosum spp. andigenum it became hybrid and introgressed.

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Bonavia also mentioned Grun’s hypothesis (Grun 1990, in Bonavia 1993: 176), which posits the the presence of combinations such as guinea pig or camelid meat with potatoes in the pre-
potato originated in the Solanum brevicaule complex; after selection it gave rise to Solanum Columbian past is thus interesting and seems probable, but such suggestions must be subject
stenotonum, and when mixed with unknown species it ended up as Solanum tuberosum ssp. to the archaeological documentation. Even so potatoes, according to recent studies, may
andigenum. The latter then had several introgressions and gave rise to the spp. Andigenum have antinutritional factors, particularly glicoalkaloids, and this must be borne in mind when
complex, which on mixing with species as yet unknown led to Solanum tuberosum ssp. assessing potato consumption in pre-Hispanic Peru (cf. León and Rosell 2007).
tuberosum.
Now, two questions that have to be raised in the context of pre-Hispanic food, come to mind
Despite the hypothesis presented—still according to Bonavia—most specialists favour the if we think retrodictively: if the Incas based their diet on maize, was it ideal for the organism
theory of a double independent domestication: one in the Andean tropical belt between 10° to combine it with potatoes? Was eating potatoes or dehydrated potatoes (chuño) more or
N and 25° S, at 2500-4800 masl, and another one between 35° and 45°, the temperate zone less healthy?
south of Chile, in 0-250 masl.
We can answer the first question by considering that the proteins in potatoes (like in legumes) have
We mentioned above some contributions applied genetics made to the study of potato origins. a high amount of lysine whilst the amount of amino acids with low sulphide content is low. This
The work done by Spooner et al. (2005) stands out in this regard. They analysed several potato makes it a good nutritional element, particularly when consumed with cereals as supplementary
varieties through cytogenetics, thus concluding the general validity of the hypothesis of a proteins. It was precisely for this reason—i.e. the higher protein/fat/carbohydrate density—that
cladistic division into a northern potato (Peru) and a southern one (Bolivia and Argentina), for the Inca favoured maize as the Empire’s main staple (Messer 2000: 196).
members of the Solanum brevicaule complex. Unlike previous hypothesis, this research suggests
instead the monophyletec provenance of potato originally from Peru (the northern variety). As regards the second question, it should be noted that dehydrated potatoes (chuño) lose
bromatological properties. An experiment was made to compare chuño with fresh tubers. It
We turn now to the bromatology of the potato. Ugent says it has 75-80% water, 12-20% starch, was concluded that the properties of the former diminish, particularly in minerals like zinc,
2% proteins, 3.3% fibre and ashes, as well as a large number of sugars, acids, and pectin. Daniel calcium, iron, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium (Haan et al. 2010).
Gade points out that in some potato varieties proteins come to 5% (Gade 1999: 1255), so that
we can speculate that certain types have more proteins than what potatoes usually offer. Interestingly enough, during the process of domestication horticultors set out to reduce the
Among the minerals we have to mention its iron, calcium, magnesium, sulphides, chlorine, size of the stolons in order to have a higher concentration of tubers below the stem (Rodríguez
and potassium content, as well as trace elements like copper, boron, manganese and iodine. 2010a). We can thus speculate that Preceramic Andean groups experimented in this regard.
Vitamins include C or ascorbic acid (antianaemic), B1 or thiamine, B2 or riboflavin, y and B3 or
nicotic acid (antipellagra) (Stevenson 1951: 168-169). As science advances, the potato is studied using other methods—e.g. genetics—in order to
reconstruct part of its development process, especially human manipulation, as happened
In his handbook of pre-Hispanic food, Hans Horkheimer (1960: 110) noted that every 100 with maize. Ortiz and Huamán (2001) suggest that wild potatoes suffered irreversible changes
grams of white potato provide 22 g of carbohydrates and 100 units of calories. The potato is due to human manipulation which introduced large amounts of isozymes, and so these
important particularly because of the starch it has. Horkheimer for instance records that the potatoes had to adjust to change. The potato’s genome sequence has even been determined
absence of vitamin C in the United Kingdom during the two world wars was alleviated by the (The Potato Genome Sequencing Consortium 2011).
potato (Stevenson 1951: 170).
After examining the origins and development of the potato, we have to present some of the
Woolfe (1987: 10), who devoted a whole book to the study of the potato, probably gave the native ways in which it was prepared and eaten. The texture of boiled potatoes is well known.
values that come closest to the average bromatological traits: 70% starch, 2% citric acid, 0.5- Reeve (1967: 294) cited Pedro Cieza de León in this regard. In 1550 Cieza said that the pulp of
1% proteins, 0.3-0.5% fat, 6-8% fibre, and 4-6% ash. cooked potatoes was as soft as that of cooked chestnuts. Reeve also cited Cieza as regards
the transformation of potatoes into chuño. The tubers were scattered over the ground at
To finish with the bromatology of the potato it is worth including the study by Bonierbale night in order for them to freeze. The following day unshod women and children trod on
et al. (2008). They noted that potassium (379 mg) is the most important mineral present in them to remove as much water as was possible, a process repeated for several days and nights
potatoes, and that ascorbic acid, nisin, thiamine and rivoflavin are likewise crucial for human until dehydration was over. The end product had a white colour and was used as flour. The
consumption. Bonierbale et al. also indicate that the ascorbic acid found in the potato antiquity of this technique is at present a matter of speculation. Suggesting that is probably is
decreases by 50 y 90% when it is cooked before consumption. The consumption of this acid an ancestral procedure is no flight of fancy. Daniel Gade (1999: 1255) in fact believes this is one
is extremely important as it promotes iron absorption in the human organism. Suggesting of the most ancient forms of tuber dehydration in the world.

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For Bonavia (1993: 175), potato cultivation is highly profitable as the tubers can be eaten
even before they are fully mature, sixty days after planting; potatoes provide more
calories and proteins in terms of time and space than any other plant; and their yield
is impressive because it be up to five times higher per land unit than that of plants like
maize, wheat or soya.

The National Research Council (1989b: 94-100) lists some significant species: “piquiña”
(Solanum stenotomum), which is widely accepted as the most primitive of domesticated
potatoes; “yellow” or “Limeño potatoes” (Solanum goniocalix); “phureja” (Solanum phureja);
“andigena” (a descendant of Solanum stenotomum), the progenitor of the most widely traded
potato (wider, rounder tubers with on average 12% protein and a high vitamin C content);
“chaucha” or “huayro” (the result of crossing “pitiquina” and “andigena”); “ajanhuiri” (which can
withstand frost at 3800-4100 masl); and “ruki” (probably the most resistant of all potatoes, it
is usually bitter and is processed as chuño).

Margaret Towle (1961: 84-87) gave two ways in which potatoes can be prepared: chuño and
moray (tunta or white chuño), both prepared using bitter potatoes. Chuño is the key ingredient
in “chupa,” a typical Andean stew. Potato flour is made out of moray, which unlike chuño is
washed for two months before it is dried and stored.
Figura 6. Restos de papa de dos sitios arqueológicos precerámicos peruanos. Arriba, de Chilca, posiblemente del 7000 a.C. y abajo, del
When were potatoes first eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru? One first issue here is that the presence sitio Pampa de Llamas-Moxeque, Casma, aproximadamente 2000-1250 a.C. (CORTESÍA DE DONALD UGENT).
of this tuber is limited to the remains that have been found, either as starch or as desiccated
specimens. On the Peruvian coast it is usually destroyed, and things are worse in the highlands
unless they are inside dry caves (Bonavia 1993: 177). The reader should bear in mind that in Frédéric Engel seems to have claimed the most ancient discovery of Solanum (still not
principle the remains found by archaeologists do not necessarily represent the oldest ones, all recognised as domesticated) in Peru from cave 1 at Quiqché and 2 at Tres Ventanas, in the
the more so considering that the botanical evidence clearly points to the southern Altiplano upper Chilca Valley, some 3700 masl in the highlands of the Lima region (Engel 1970, Ugent y
as this tuber’s centre of domestication. It can therefore be suggested that human groups were Peterson 1988: 8); The validity of these finds was severely questioned by Bonavia (1988: 13-17),
experimenting some eight or six thousand years ago in this region, but archaeology cannot who finds it hard to give credibility to these studies due to their clear methodological and
document it as yet due to the poor preservation of organic materials. theoretical deficiencies.

The oldest wild potato found in an archaeological site is of the Solanum maglia species. It The preceramic layers from which Solanum sp. presumably comes can be dated between
was represented by a small, dehydrated tuber and nine fragments of potato skin found at the 7031 and 6903 B.C. (at Quiqché and Tres Ventanas respectively). The truth is that Douglas Yen,
Monte Verde site in Llanquihue department ( in the Central Chile region), just 25 km away the specialist in tuber remains, did not say that it was possible to establish whether they are
from the Pacific Ocean and at 55 masl, Its age was 11,000 B.C. (Bonavia 1993: 183). domesticated or not (Engel 1970: 56).

Experts in ethnobotany like Deborah Pearsall (1998: 274) claim the oldest potatoes found in Ugent examined five potato tubers from Chilca on the coast south of Lima (Figure 6, upper row).
Peru come from the coast around 2600 B.C. We now turn to the available evidence. He described these as yellow and with elliptical starch grains, which made him believe they
were domesticated potatoes (Ugent and Peterson 1988). Yet it is hard to give credibility to
Before assessing the earliest potato samples in pre-Hispanic Peru it is worth going over the these finds (Bonavia 1984: 16) without a context and given the possibility that the materials
major assessment Bonavia made. He carefully examined the scientific publications from were mixed up.
a critical standpoint and concluded that the most acceptable evidence available comes In his analysis of the vegetable remains eaten at the site of Quebrada de los Burros, on the Tacna
from Huaynuná site, as shall be seen below. So whenever a site is mentioned, a critical littoral, Chevalier (2012a) reported the discovery not of domesticated potatoes but of Solanum
assessment will be provided. multifolium. The remains even had traces of carbon (which means they were subjected to fire).
The dates for the strata where the remains were found are 7900 and 4800 B.C.

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Moving onwards in time we have the possible discovery of potatoes MacNeish et al. (1975: 31) sites in the lower Casma Valley were analysed. They were positively identified as Solanum
made at Ayacucho that dates to 3800 B.C. This time period corresponds to the Chihua and tuberosum based on residual starch. Besides, the characteristics of the tubers examined were
Cachi phases (ca. 4200-2500 B.C.). If we accept this provenance, then Margaret Towle (1961: 87) different from those found in wild state.
was clearly right in claiming the potato was first cultivated in the Andean highlands and was
then taken to and/or exchanged with the coastal lowlands. Five samples of Solanum tuberosum e Ipomoea batatas were found at a site known as Pampa
de Llamas Moxeque (Ugent et al. 1982: 183-184) that were dated to about 2088-1243 B.C. (Figure
Besides the evidence—unfortunately poorly documented and published—for Chilca and 6, bottom row); at the site of Huaynuná at least six potato specimens were excavated, all of them
Ayacucho, there is also other evidence that comes from Lima. These are some sites where less than two centimetres in diameter and with colour skins that went from pink to cocoa
potatoes were probably found but their publication does not satisfy scientific standards, like brown. These potatoes must have been at least twice as big at harvest time. A comparison with
Pampa (Ventanilla), Punta Grande (Lima), and El Paraíso (in the lower Chillón River Valley). the archaeological potatoes from the Pachacamac collections shows they were of similar size.
Here coproliths or human faecal remains have been found with potato remains from 2500 Rudimentary dwelling structures were apparently also found in these contexts; the potatoes
B.C. Either way, despite the shortcomings in these publications we can accept these finds as a were taken from these dwellings. At Huaynuná the oldest date was calibrated to 2914-2287
reference (Bonavia 1993: 178). B.C. (mean, 2629 B.C.), whilst a similar date gave a mean of 2718 B.C. So from an archaeological
standpoint, potatoes can be dated on the Central Coast to the early third millennium B.C. At
Bonavia’s correct critical assessment aside, the concentration of potato finds on the Central least one of these dates came from carbon, which somewhat guarantees the result.
Coast is striking. Clearly no inference can be made without having in-depth publications. It
is however intriguing that all of them point to the third and second millennium B.C. as the In this same valley, literally on the beach and some 20 km south of the mouth of the
period to which the potato remains belong. For instance, let us turn to the case of The Tank Casma River, is another major site where potato remains were presumably found. This is
(Ancón, Lima), where Frédéric Engel (1968) made an important find of charred potatoes that the ceremonial centre of Las Haldas. Ugent (1984: 422) reported these finds associated with
were presumably sent to the radiocarbon lab (Cohen 1978: 37, Ziólkowski 1994: 354). The finds radiocarbon samples that were calibrated to 1328-390 B.C.
were made in what may have been a domestic context, and the remains of tubers were found
in a midden formed by their culinary preparation. The remains probably were associated with According to Pozorski and Pozorski (1979), this type of find means potatoes were already
other tubers and plants, in the middle of the debris from stone dwellings. The radiocarbon under cultivation at this time in the lower Casma Valley, possibly even using artificial irrigation
calibration gave 1759 B.C. If, as is assumed, the date of the carbonized plant is direct, it proves since at least the Initial Period, i.e. since the second millennium B.C. Ugent et al. (1982: 191)
the presence and the presumed consumption of this tuber in Lima, at least since the early suggest that irrigation for tuber cultivation may already have begun in the Preceramic Period.
second millennium B.C.
Ugent et al. (1982: 191) also point out that based on a comparison with the Solanum tuberosum
We have already seen that Solanum sp. was documented at El Paraíso, a site dated to 2150 series found at Chilca—virtually the ever oldest and smallest in Peru (over 30 mm in diameter
B.C. on the lower Chillón Valley north of Lima (Quilter et al. 1991: 280). But we do not know in size)—as well as by the analysis of starch grains (elliptical forms in Chilca and Casma, not in
whether the potato was cultivated, and we unfortunately do not have a lengthy report of the apices, as in their wild variety), it can be concluded that experiments with Solanum tuberosum
finds. This makes it difficult to take the finds at face value, as Bonavia (1984) noted. may have been taking place some ten thousand years ago.

As was noted above, perhaps the most reliable archaeological documentation of potatoes Even more fascinating is the fact that these researchers have found carbon remains on some
discovered in Peru come from the site of Huaynuná, in the lower Casma Valley (Pozorski and potato skins whilst other had no skin at all, which suggests they were peeled before eating—
Pozorski 1987, 1990; Ugent et al. 1982). Given the significance this plant has and its global perhaps to extract the burned part, or simply because they did not want to eat them with its
legacy, it is worth making an in-depth review of the data from this site. Huaynuná is some 13 skin on. They are believed to have been cooked in a fire—a sort of open oven. A similar datum,
km north of Casma Bay in Peru. The evidence from the site shows it was occupied since the albeit without a specific chronology, appears in Martins’ dissertation (Martins 1976, in Hather
Late Preceramic; it had a structure that can be taken to be a temple (with a central hearth, as 1991: 662), where the discovery of a burned potato is noted. It is thus clear that one of the
was typical at the time), as well as domestic areas (Pozorski y Pozorski 1990: 17). ways in which this tuber was prepared was by roasting or by exposing it to the embers. We
should bear in mind that according to Bonavia (1993: 178) we must be careful with this source.
It is clear the earliest inhabitants of the site lived on marine food, yet some of the most ancient
tubers in Peru were also found here. Ugent et al. (1982) described the potatoes found at the The research on the potatoes found in archaeological contexts in the lower Casma Valley
site in depth. According to Ugent et al., the impressive preservation of these remains is due has promised to follow up the production and consumption of potato in this part of Peru. In
to the hyper-arid coastal desert of Peru. A total of 21 potato tubers from four archaeological a slightly later work, Ugent et al. (1983) provided additional details of the potatoes found in

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the Casma Valley based on four sites (Huaynuna, Pampa de Llamas, Tortugas, and Las Haldas). varieties of one single species. Towle claimed that several of these tubers had the form and size
In this study we find that based on the forms and some other criteria, the authors believe of chuño. She believed it had been domesticated only since the first millennium before our era
these probably are local crops grown in this same valley, initially by taking advantage of the (Towle 1961: 141); now we know the potato was under cultivation in the third millennium, and it
seasonal swelling of the river and later on using artificial irrigation (Ugent et al. 1983: 42). can be presumed that it was domesticated some ten thousand years ago.

Ugent et al. measured the few samples of potatoes grown in pre-Hispanic Peru and reached After Towle it was Whitehead (2006: 270) who most recently assessed the potential presence
the conclusion that their size increased throughout time due to human manipulation. The of domesticated potatoes in the Formative context of Chiripa (ca. 1000-200 B.C.). Whitehead
specimens from Casma are thus generally smaller, comparatively speaking, than those from believes there is evidence of parenchyma with dermis, which could be an indication of the
Pachacamac and Chilca. Ugent et al. remind us that Max Uhle excavated potatoes that were presence of potatoes. Although she does not believe the potato was this culture’s staple food,
an inch in diameter, whereas the Casma specimens have on average a diameter of 1.4 cm. It its cultivation and consumption became ever more intensive. Whitehead and Bruno (2003)
should however be noted, as Ugent et al. do, that the size of the tubers must be markedly likewise reported the discovery of potatoes in contexts belonging to the Pucara culture at the
reduced—between 50% and even 90%—in relation to their original size. Before leaving behind site with the same name in the southern Altiplano.
the evidence from Casma, it is worth noting that Ugent et al. are right in emphasising the need
of interdisciplinary studies in order to explore the origins, development and consumption of It should also be noted that Vargas (1962: 108-109) observed forms in Altiplano pieces—within
potatoes in pre-Hispanic Peru. the context of the Tiahuanaco culture—that resembled the potato and which are similar to
conopas.
Although the species eaten in the past cannot be specifically determined through a stable
isotope analysis, we can instead infer that it may have been one of the tubers eaten at the Shortly afterwards, on the Peruvian coast, the Nasca also consumed various types of potatoes
site of Bandurria—to the north of Lima and in the environs of the city of Huacho (Coutts et (Silverman and Proulx 2002: 52). Roque et al. (2003) for instance documented the presence of
al. 2011: 207)—because the presence of C3 plants as part of the food eaten in 3000-1700 B.C. potatoes within the domestic context of the Casa Vieja site (Callango, Ica). Although we do not
has been established. have a radiocarbon chronology of the site, the finds do belong to the Nasca culture and the
early stages of the Wari Empire, i.e. A.D. 530-820 (cf. Unkel 2006: 111). Despite the lack of Nasca
There is more certainty as regards the microremains of starch that were discovered in some ceramic depictions of the potato (cf. Bonavia 1993: 177) its presence and consumption is clear.
fragments of gourds—which according to the reconstructions were once vessels—at the
archaeological site of Buena Vista, in the Chillón Valley north of Lima, dated to 2193 and 2164 Potatoes were also cultivated and eaten by the Mochica. This is borne out by ceramic
B.C. (Duncan et al. 2009). depictions like those in the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del
Perú and in the Museo Larco in Lima. But we also have direct evidence of this. Geyer et al.
Potato starch likewise seems to have been present in some vessels that were found in the (2003) have reported potato remains in the faeces of at least one individual buried at the Dos
excavations undertaken at Cerro Blanco in the Lower Nepeña Valley, in the context of feasts Cabezas site, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley. Radiocarbon dates range between A.D. 536
that were dated to 1100-250 B.C. (Ikehara and Shibata 2005: 144, Ikehara 2007: 128). and A.D. 580 (Moseley et al. 2008: 83). However, Reinhard et al. (2007: 534) have questioned
the identification of potatoes in these remains.
The information on potato consumption in the pre-Hispanic period can likewise be verified
through coproliths, i.e. the remains of human faeces from the past. Ericson et al. (1989: 72) Margaret Towle (1961: 86) thoroughly documented the presence of potatoes depicted
reported the finding of potato in human faeces at the well-known archaeological site of in various ways in Moche ceramics—as we saw in the above-mentioned collections—and
Puerto Moorin (Salinar culture), in the Virú Valley on the North Coast of Peru, which can be emphasised the significance this tuber had in the everyday life of the Moche. This plant was
dated to A.D. A.D. 17-300. More documentation is however needed. This would be irrefutable so ingrained amongst the Moche that it appears intermingled in several images and scenes
evidence of the potato consumption in pre-Hispanic Peru. that go beyond everyday life and deal with ritual subjects where the tuber is transformed,
hence Towle’s comment.
We now move to the southern Altiplano in eastern Peru, where there also seems to be evidence
of potato consumption that is slightly over two thousand years old. Margaret Towle (1961: 86) Margaret Towle (1961: 86) also documented the presence of this tuber in the Wari Empire (A.D.
claimed she had analysed potato remains excavated in a house of the Chiripa culture (in the part 600-1100) with the Pacheco-style iconography in Ayacucho.
of Lake Titicaca that belongs to Bolivia, which is included here for information purposes) which
could be dated to 900-100 B.C. Towle says of this find that it included twelve carbonised potato Potatoes probably were also consumed some two thousand years ago in the Junín puna.
tubers, which shows they were cooked over the fire, i.e. roasted, and that there already were Hastorf (2002) made an ethnobotanical study of edible tubers in the Upper Mantaro

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Valley, Junín, in well-known sites like Hatunmarca and Tunanmarca amongst others. She already noted. Another important piece of information is that starch grains are elliptical
concluded that medium to small potatoes were cultivated at least in A.D. 200-1000, and oval in form both in the Casma sites, as well as in those from Chilca and Pachacamac.
and more intensively towards the latter date. The sites lie between 3200 and 3900 masl. Ugent and Peterson believe these forms correspond to thousands of years of cultivation, so
Potato cultivation and consumption decreased considerably after A.D. 1000, and was horticultural management must have taken place quite early in time.
much lower during the Inca Period. Interestingly enough, the analysis of the ceramic
vessels’ walls in some of these archaeological sites that date to the early Christian era,
showed that potatoes were boiled and kneaded, and then cooked in these vessels (Hastorf Reeds (Cyperus, Scirpus sp.)
and DeNiro 1985: 190).
Cyperus is a very large family with some 120 genera and around five thousand species that
Perry (2002: 337) also found potatoes at the site of Manchán in a Chimu-Inca context, which grow in wet and swampy areas. Mostacero et al. (2009: 1060) claim that 26 genera and 224
evinces its inhabitants ate it during this culture’s final phase on the Central Coast of Peru in species are known in Peru. Bonavia (1982: 339) believes that although they were frequently
A.D. 1470-1523. Part of the occupation of the Pedregal site, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, used to make mats, baskets and so on, the rhizomes and roots may have been eaten in the
belongs to this same culture. Here Robyn Cutright (2009: 145) found potato remains albeit in pre-Hispanic period, so much so that in twentieth-century Puno the pith at the base of the
small amounts, which were part of this peoples’ diet. Vargas (1962: 108-109) also identified stem was eaten.
potatoes in Chimú ceramics.
Margaret Towle (1961: 25-26) notes that Whitaker and Bird (1949) found small reed tubers in the
The people of the Chancay culture also ate potatoes as was shown by Lanfranco y Eggers preceramic levels at Huaca Prieta, and assumed they were eaten. Reeds may thus have been
(2010: 79), who found remains of this plant at the Los Pinos site in the lower Huaura Valley, on eaten at this North Coast site some four thousand years ago.
the Central Coast of Peru.
Other remains of reeds were found in the analysis of human coprolith remains from Puerto
The site of La Centinela lies on another part of the coast some 200 km to the south of Lima, Moorin, Salinar culture, in the lower Virú Valley, which were dated between the first and the
in the Chincha Valley, close to the seashore. This site of Inca occupation dates to about A.D. fourth centuries A.D. (Ericson et al. 1989: 74).
1000 and A.D. 1470. Ugent and Peterson (1988: 8) excavated a mound here in the middle of the
site and found potato remains. One of these potatoes proved striking because it weighs about
3.48 grams without its skin. The potato had a diameter of about 25 mm and was of irregular Coquito, chauchilla, chufa (Cyperus esculentus var. leptostachyus Boeck)
circular shape.
This is a kind of rhizome with 55 species in Peru that range from tropical to temperate climates
Potatoes were also eaten in the Inca Empire, as was shown by Jocelyn Williams (2005: (Mostacero et al. 2009: 1064). Although we were unable to find the bromatological values that
166) through an analysis of stable isotopes in the bones of people from this period in the correspond to this species, it clearly has a high protein content in fibres and natural sugars.
Puruchuco-Huaquerones site, in the Rímac Valley. As regards iconography, Vargas (1962: 108-
109) has also observed potato forms in some Inca conopas. Bonavia (1982: 339) noted the relevant presence of this plant’s remains on the Central Coast
in Late Preceramic sites (ca. 4000-2000 B.C.), which indicates it was much eaten. Weir and
Towle (1961: 87) points out that Uhle excavated potato tubers in the shrine of Pachacamac, Bonavia (1985: 98) in fact found remains of Cyperus esculentus– in a coprolith from site PV35-6
possible in an Inca context. In a pioneering study, Harshberger (1898) made one of the first in the environs of Huarmey, that were dated to 2450 B.C. It is thus assumed to have been eaten
references to archaeological potatoes. Uhle formed the potato collection at the archaeological since the Preceramic Period.
site of Pachacamac. He noted that the potatoes on average had an inch in diameter, which
in his opinion evinced not domestication but eating wild specimens. It is however known The excavations the Italian team is carrying out at Cahuachi disclosed the find of a significant
from subsequent research that potatoes with that size had already been domesticated on the amount (350 grams) of these tubers, small, toasted, and mixed with peanut seeds and maize
Central Coast of Peru in the Late Preceramic Period. in a cotton bag. This suggested to the researchers that the Nasca ate it during the first
centuries A.D. In Ica (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 6). The tubers of this species are sweet and
Ugent and Peterson (1988: 7) also examined this collection. They corroborated the identification rich in starch.
made by Harshberger, but explained they must have been twice the size, allowing for humidity
decompression. The specimens came from the Temple of the Sun and from Pachacamac,
which may indicate they correspond to the Inca occupation of the famed shrine, as was

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Cereals and Pseudocereals It also has minerals, e.g. 236 mg of calcium, 453 mg of phosphorus, and 7.32 mg of iron, thus
surpassing quinoa with these values.

Kiwicha, Achita, Millima (Amaranthus caudatus) On the other hand kiwicha provides thiamine, riboflavin, and vitamin C (Centro Nacional de
Alimentación y Nutrición 2009: 14-15). It also has tryptophan, one of the eight amino acids
These are robust, annual herbs with seeds the size of mustard, and with some 50-60 species that are essential for the human being. Kiwicha is thus one of the most important nutrients
in the Amaranthaceae family. Kiwicha is cultivated especially due to its high alimentary value of pre-Hispanic Peru.
(Mostacero et al. 2009: 157).
To finish with the bromatology of kiwicha, it is worth including the biochemical results
Herrera (1942a: 26) believed that it may have been cultivated by the people in the Wanka reached by Gross et al. (1989: 28-29), as they supplement this picture. Gross et al. obtained
region, in the Central Sierra of Peru, in a zone that nowadays comprises the modern regions of 69% carbohydrates, 15.5% proteins, 9% water, 8% oil, 7% fibre, y 3.5% ash. They also found 2.11%
Junín, Huancavelica, Ayacucho, and Apurímac. saccharose, 0.99% galactose, 0.79% raffinose, and 0.20% stachyose. From these data it follows
that kiwicha has more proteins than cañihua or than quinoa itself but clearly much less than
In his account, Karash (2000: 76-78) points out that Amaranthus was originally gathered wild tarwi, which is the Andean grain crop with the highest protein content, probably the only one
by the American natives. At that time it must have been a major source of proteins and in the world of this type.
vitamins. For Karash, the Amaranthus cruentus species had already been domesticated in
Puebla (Mexico) around 4000 B.C. Recent bromatological studies of this major Andean cereal showed that its fibre is much
richer in proteins and high-quality fats in comparison to other cereals like wheat, barley or
Karash also points out that Carl Sauer established that the original core of Amaranthus extended maize itself (Repo-Carrasco-Valencia et al. 2009a). It should be pointed out that this study
from Mexico to North Western Argentina, including the Central Andes of Peru. Amaranthus was evinced that cooking this grain improved the digestibility of the proteins and starch it has. All
widely disseminated in the Aztec Empire by the time the Spanish conquered Mexico—it was of these properties must be taken into account when assessing the pre-Hispanic diet.
cultivated in chinampas—and was even a form of tribute. It is worth noting that Amaranthus
caudatus, the Andean species, has been documented in a vessel from the Argentinian Northwest In the ethnohistorical field, Bernabé Cobo identified kiwicha as bledo and distinguished it
at the site of Pampa Grande, in Salta, which dated to the beginning of the Christian era. from quinoa.

Kiwicha was rapidly exported outside the Andes once the Europeans were familiar with it. The National Research Council (1989: 139-148) holds that kiwicha is cultivated between 1500 and
Karash also notes that it was exported from Peru to Europe in the late sixteenth century. In 3600 masl, but it cannot withstand frosts. It is even said that it has been found already domesticated
fact, in 1601 it appeared in a publication Carl Clusius made at Antwerp. We should also note in Andean tombs more than four thousand years old, so its domestication may have taken place
that once exported, kiwicha was cultivated even by the Mongol nomads at over 3500 masl in since around the Middle Holocene. It is also stated that it contributed to the expansion of the Inca
a frontier area with the Himalayas, in Nepal. Empire, particularly in the areas that bordered with the Aymara in southern Peru.

Soukup (1980: 54) noted that the Indians in southern Peru believed it had a high alimentary We now turn to the archaeological evidence. Although its consumption is ethnohistorically
value and took it with chicha (half and half), toasted, as mazamorra4* or in puches. This is recorded in pre-Hispanic Peru—as seen in Bernabé Cobo, who pointed out that in the sixteenth
what we will now examine. century the “bledos” were white- and red-coloured seeds the Peruvian Indians ate (Towle 1961:
37)—the archaeological evidence is extremely scant.
We found some referential assessments that differ in certain regards, but in general support
the premise that this Andean cereal has a high alimentary quality. According to the National One of the presumed finds of kiwicha, and perhaps the most ancient in all of pre-Hispanic
Council Research its seeds have on average 12.8% grams of proteins, i.e. a high protein and Peru, was made by Richard MacNeish in the Ayacucho archaeological sites he excavated with
amino acid content essential for human beings. The latter include lysine (which helps absorb his team. Here MacNeish isolated a phase called Piki that was dated to 5600-3800 B.C., and
calcium) and methionine (which regulates the consumption of fats), which are rare in plant where he claimed to have found kiwicha. The relevant studies are however missing, as has
protein. The protein in kiwicha (which can come to 13-18%) is almost comparable with that of already been pointed out (Bonavia 1982: 341; León 2007: 225).
milk (casein) and far higher than that of any other cereal (National Council Research 1989b: 12).
Amaranthaceae (it is not clear whether wild or cultivated) were found amongst the food
4 * Porridge. remains at the ceremonial site of El Paraíso to the north of Lima, near the mouth of the

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Chillón River, which were dated to at least 2150 B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 280). Regrettably we Daniel Gade (1970) devoted a study solely to this grain. Although it is somewhat old, it posits
also do not have an in-depth study of these finds. that this is a native plant that helped support many generations of Indian populations at
extremely high altitudes. Like Mostacero and his colleagues, Gade states that no other grain
Bonavia (1982: 341) reported the presence of Amaranthaceae in epoch 2 (ca. 3200-2200 B.C.) is as resistant to such a combination of factors as frost, drought, salty soils and diseases, and
of the Los Gavilanes site, in the lower Huarmey Valley. In this case it is a wild plant that was even requires little care; this is an important condition because it may thus have supported
quite probably brought from the lomas or coastal valleys. Based on data provided by Javier populations at really high altitudes since very early times.
Pulgar Vidal, Bonavia drew attention to the presence of these two species—Amaranthus
edulis (achis) and Amaranthus caudatus (kiwicha)—in the Callejón de Huaylas, and so believes Turning now to the biochemistry of cañihua, Gade (1970: 55) believes no other Andean
that its presence in the Peruvian Preceramic Period should come as no surprise. crop surpasses it in terms of protein percentage (13.8%), which is higher than that of quinoa
(12.3%). Some reports even give it 15-19% of protein content and it does not have saponine
Geyer (2003) reported the presence of human excrement in a Mochica burial at the like quinoa, which makes it more processable. Cañihua also has two amino acids that make
archaeological site of Dos Cabezas, close to the mouth of the Jequetepeque River. The faeces it essential in an Andean context—lysine and tryptophan—hence its extreme importance.
had a possible kiwicha content that was radiocarbon dated to about A.D. 536-580 (Moseley et Its value in this regard lies in that it milk and its by-products are not much missed; the same
al. 2008: 83), but Reinhard et al. (2007: 536) have questioned this identification. holds true for quinoa.

Lockard (2005: 213) also documented the remains of Amaranthus sp., but it is not clear whether Gross et al. (1989: 28) established that cañihua has 66% carbohydrates, 9% water, 15% proteins,
these are the remains of a domesticated plant or not. Lockard simply mentions that it was 7% oil, 7% fibre, and 3% ash. As for saccharides, it has saccharose (3.03%), galactoside (0.22%),
frequently eaten not just during the Mochica occupation of this site (A.D. 600-800) but also and raffinose (0.16%), and other with minor values. The extremely high significance this cereal
in Chimú times (A.D. 1000-1460), and was by far the plant most eaten in this period. has as regards proteins follows from this bromatological overview. It is besides rich in iron
and calcium, as well as an excellent source of antioxidants (Repo-Carrasco-Valencia 2009b).
Kiwicha was also reported in the excavations and flotation work undertaken at the Nasca
Casa Vieja site, in the Ica Valley, which dates to the first centuries A.D. It may thus have been Although we have no archaeological evidence that this grain was consumed, Gade assumed
part of the food of this early people, as it held fifth place amongst the plants most eaten (over forty years ago) that its cultivation may have been significant for populations like those
(Cook y Parrish 2005: 139). of the Tiahuanaco culture, which could have taken benefitted with its high amino acid content.
Although the Inca later occupied this zone, it is little likely that they would have spread the
On the other side of the Andes, Kolata (1993) argues that kiwicha, and then quinoa, were an consumption of cañihua throughout the empire—we will see later on that this is supported
essential part of the Tiahuanaco diet in A.D. 500-1150. by modern studies—as opposed to the emphasis given to plants like maize.

Finally, in an Inca context, thanks to the stable isotope analysis of the bones in the human Besides having been a major food staple in the Altiplano, cañihua ashes, which have a high
burials found at Machu Picchu, Turner et al. (2010: 524) report that many of these individuals calcium content, seem to have been highly appreciated as llipta, i.e. as a companion to coca
who came from various parts of the Andes had eaten kiwicha whilst alive. Turner et al. state consumption, as happened also with quinoa ashes (Gade 1970: 60).
it was eaten in three ways: toasted, raw, and stewed.
As regards its preparation, Gade notes that according to the observations he made, in the
Altiplano the separation of the seeds is facilitated by washing them; this detaches the pericarp
Ca ihua (Chenopodium pallidicaule, Chenopodiaceae) and eliminates the bitter taste. The cover is then removed simply by applying pressure with
the foot. The cañihua is then usually left to dry in the sun. It is most frequently prepared as
In the Andes, this type of plant gives one of the seeds with the highest protein content (16- flour (cañihuaco) from toasted and ground seeds. Nowadays cañihua is taken with milk. It used
19%), and it is one of the rarest plants in that it has a balance of essential amino acids like to be ground in order to prepare an alcoholic beverage: pituscca (Herrera 1942a: 26). The grains
lysine, methionine, cysteine, threonine, and alanine (National Research Council 1989a: 12). are so beneficial that they are even used in medicine to prevent the effects of high altitude
Cañihua impressively grows in places where no other grain can grow, which have frost nine and against dysentery. Its ashes are also used as a repellent against insect bites.
months a year at 4200 masl and are three degrees below zero. It also grows in the middle
of rocks and is drought resistant. Mostacero et al. (2009: 144) say it is often cultivated in In its report, the National Research Council (1989b: 129-138) notes that cañihua has provided
central and southern Peru and at present in the regions of Cuzco, Puno, Apurímac, and for countless generations of Indians in the Andes, one of the harshest agricultural areas in
Huancavelica. the world where such important staples as maize, and even quinoa, cannot grow due to

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low temperatures and to nine months with frequent frosts. Cañihua apparently also resists Quinoa seems to have been successful shortly afterwards in Russia. The interest for quinoa
droughts, pests, and soil salts, which make it the strongest grain. Its leaves are particularly and the progress in its cultivation in Germany seems to have come together in a datum
invaluable because they have calcium. The Andes have been proposed as its place of origin, provided by Simmons (1965: 228), who suggests that it was used as food in Germany during
quite probably at very high altitudes, especially the Altiplano area. the First World War, thus showing it could be grown in temperate zones. Simmons even claims
that quinoa cultivation has had promising results in countries like Kenya. We now turn to this
There are only two recorded archaeological excavations that evince the discovery of cañihua aspect of this major Andean plant.
in pre-Hispanic Peru. Whitehead and Bruno (2003) found cañihua remains in contexts belonging
to the Pucara culture in the southern Altiplano, with dates ranging between ca. 1300 B.C. and At present most cultivated quinoa is found around Lake Titicaca, between Cuzco and Lake
A.D. 50. Lockard (2005: 206) in turn documented the presence of at least one cañihua seed at Poopó (Bolivia). This is why experts believe it was domesticated in this zone (cf. Gandarillas
the site of Galindo, in the middle Moche Valley, so it may have been eaten at this site at least 1979, Pearsall 1992).
during its Chimú occupation (A.D. 1000-1460). Given the distance and the late date in regard
to its origins, there clearly still is much evidence that has yet to be discovered. Mostacero et al. (2009: 144) report that this plant, which grows up to three metres high, is cultivated
in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, and is highly valued due to its high protein and vitamin values.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) Quinoa is often catalogued as a pseudocereal because its grains are actually fruits, and
even as an oil from a pseudocereal because it stores energy in the form of fat and starch.
Quinoa belongs to the family of the Chenopodiaceae, which has about one hundred genera Cusak himself says this is due to its exceptional balance between oil, protein, and fat. Yet
and one thousand five hundred species including beetroot (Beta vulgaris) and spinach (Spinacia its cultivation outside the Andes is rare despite its high protein content (National Research
oleracea), even though no eye will find them similar to each other. A Chenopodiaceae that is Council 1989a: 12).
more closely related to quinoa is cañihua, which is used as human and animal food, has the
highest protein value, and grows at higher elevations even than quinoa. The plants in this family Quinoa is in fact one of the three most important South American cultigens, alongside maize
frequently have salt in their leaves under the form of sodium or potassium chloride (Glimn- and the potato (Hunziker 1952). This cereal will be presented somewhat in-depth due to its
Lacy y Kaufman 2006: 88), an interesting datum in regard to the obtention and consumption relevance in the history of pre-Hispanic—and modern—food in Peru. Cusak (1984: 21) says its
of salt in pre-Hispanic Peru. significance is such that it has been acknowledged the world over as a potential major resource,
particularly for Third World countries. Its benefits may even give rise to an improvement in the
Despite this Andean cereal’s significance it has as yet been the subject of few studies, and in environment surrounding it due to its particular physiology, for instance its soil desalination
fact more research is required on this topic. It is known historically that Garcilaso de la Vega property and optimising its productivity, as well as its resistance to difficult conditions such
was the first to take quinoa to Spain, and Feuillée then took it to France in 1725. In 1846 Johann as droughts (Jacobsen et al. 1999-2000: 403).
Presl recommended its use in Czechoslovakia (Soukup 1980: 122). It is therefore clear that
international studies of this grain have long recognised its alimentary value. Latz (1995) says that Chenopodiaceae are in general adapted not just to alkaline soils, but also
high calcium carbonate levels, and still yield a high rate of edible seeds. This then is a highly
Whilst researching this book we found above all data on Germany and its interest in this profitable plant with a high yield, characteristics that may have been perceived within the
grain for at least a century, as it appears in journals specialised in alimentary bromatology. context of pre-Hispanic Peru.
For instance, Hanausek (1918) claimed that not only was its cultivation feasible in Germany, it
would also be enormously beneficial due to its alimentary advantages, which he compared Herrera (1942a: 27) in turn points out that quinoa is the most important Andean cereal. It is
with those of a cereal. Hanausek made some early observations regarding the way quinoa used to prepare a refreshing and nutritive beverage called aloja, which is usually taken in the
was prepared, as well as a detailed report on its anatomy and physiology that emphasised its Altiplano during festivals. Herrera mentions a white quinoa variety (paraccai-quinua); we now
role storing water. He explained that the seeds can be cooked in water or in milk, they can be turn to this and other varieties.
made into quinoa flour, or toasted in order to use them as a daily consumption food.
Are there several types of quinoa? The answer is yes. Studies have shown the presence of at
Regarding its bitter taste, Kickton and Krueger (1918) noted that it faded away after cooking for least 17 races and over 200 quinoa varieties just in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, and this without
twenty minutes, as well as if the grains were left in cold water the night before cooking. They including areas outside the Andes. This would be due to the fact that this grain has been
pointed out that it was included in soups and stews, and that chicha was also made out of quinoa. manipulated for thousands of years. By the time of the Spanish conquest quinoa was in fact
The leaves could also be eaten as vegetables, and were even given as fodder to ruminants and pigs. being cultivated from Northern Chile to Central Colombia.

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According to Gandarillas (in Cusak 1984: 24) there are five quinoa categories depending on As is well-known, quinoa is a plant that is in general bitter. Simmons (1965: 231) believes this
the altitude it is in: valley quinoa, Altiplano quinoa, saltpetrous quinoa, sea-level quinoa, and characteristic may be connected with the fact that it is resistant to plagues and diseases, and
possibly subtropical quinoa, the latter a Bolivian variety. Two of these are of interest here, that the pericarp in its seeds is covered by a resin called saponin from which the bitter taste
Altiplano and valley quinoa. We now turn briefly to them. derives (Dennler 1936), and which is often removed prior to human consumption López et al.
(2011) recently drew attention to the potential identification in archaeological materials of
Altiplano quinoa developed under extremely cold conditions, especially the ever-present the process whereby these toxic substances in quinoa were removed. This was achieved in the
threat of frosts and dryness in this area. This has made it a small plant (1-1.8 metres) that Inca site of Churupata (some three kilometres from the Villa La Candelaria, Bolivia).
grows relatively fast and gives small but resistant seeds. Few plants can in fact adapt to these
altitudes. Its adaptation range currently extends from 0 to 4,000 masl. When is quinoa planted and harvested? This is a summer grain that is planted between
September and November and is harvested in March, after a growth period of four-six months,
Valley quinoa, which was probably domesticated in the upper valleys of Peru, Ecuador, eastern which gives a maximum of twenty kilos of seed per hectare (Simmons 1965: 231).
Bolivia and southern Colombia, grows between 2000 and 3900 masl and is defined by the
seasonal cycle of Andean rainfall, which is clearly more frequent than that of the Altiplano Do we have any references regarding its preparation? Soukup (1980: 122) provides extensive data
(up to 2.5 metres a year), which is why it grows at a slower rate. Valley quinoa is associated in this regard, which will have to be summarised here. Using quinoa flour the Indians prepared a
with other types of crops like maize, and to those from higher altitudes (e.g. the potato). This type of bread called “kispiña,” which apparently can be stored for up to two years and still retain
datum lets us speculate regarding the possibility that quinoa was cultivated along with maize a high nutritional quality. It is also often prepared as a soup with milk (“ppeske”), toasting, salty
and potatoes in the pre-Hispanic period. or sugary form, or as toasted... with chili pepper or cheese. Quinoa is also used to prepare a
refreshing beverage, especially in Cuzco. Its tender leaves are consumed as if they were spinach.
It has been pointed out that quinoa belongs to the Chenopodiaceae genus, which is worth Quinoa stalks can be used to prepare “lluktaj” (ashes) and the “luqque” potatoes, cooked and
reviewing here in order to understand its diversity in the Andean context. No source surpasses kneaded like dough, and which are chewed along with coca. Other uses fall into the field of
Father (1980: 121-122), who classified it in eight species strictly related with our Andes: C. natural medicine. Soukup (et passim) for instance says that ground quinoa is used in poultices
Ambrosioides L. (paico, cashua), which is useful for stomach cramps; C. Insisum Poir (alcca, for bruises and dislocations, and there even was a quinoa broth with which a paste was made
paico); C. Multifidium L. (paico), also used as a digestive aid; C. Murale L. (which is known as that was apparently used when embalming the corpses of the ancient Peruvians.
hierba del gallinazo, culantrillo); C. Pallidicaule Aellen (cañihua, which we have just reviewed),
whose cultivated forms are puccoya, pacos, and sali, and which is generally eaten as a flour It is time to examine the biochemical value of quinoa because it is a cereal that must have
with a high nutritional value; C. Petiolare HBK, (lipcha); C. Quinoa Willd. (quinua, hupa, dahua, been often consumed in pre-Hispanic Peru. We were able to amass information in this regard
candonga, lipsa), which Soukup claims has been cultivated since the pre-Hispanic period and because this grain has been much studied from this perspective. Let us see the major sources.
was the main staple food of ancient Peruvians alongside the potato and maize, as well as a
ritual plant that the Incas offered in golden cups. Quinoa has a high nutritional value. Eiselen (1954) had already realised this and he tried to
present not just the alimentary benefits of quinoa, but also to introduce it into the international
For Soukup, the cultivated forms are “paraccai-quinua” (highly valued), “choclo-quinua”, “puca- market. Oelke et al. (1992) state that the quality and amount of proteins are higher than those
quinua” (lower quality, more bitter), “mesaquinua” (a hybrid of the previous two), “ckello- of standard cereals. The amino acids in quinoa are well-balanced and are recommended for
quinua” (quinua real or white quinoa, less bitter), “candonga” (another highly valued variety), human beings and animals, just like those of casein. According to these researchers, quinoa
“acacquinua,” and “yana-quinua”, bitter quinoa (wild and blackish, whose seeds are not used grains have a high calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and
due to their being bitter), and “coytojupa” (a greyish seed). zinc content that is significantly higher than other cereals, like maize or wheat.

Before discussing quinoa bromatology there are several interesting facts here. The National Cusak (1984) states there are ten amino acids in quinoa grains, with leucine, lysine, and valine
Research Council listed some of a botanical nature that we have to include here. Its height being the predominant ones that make a contribution to the development and repair of
usually ranges between half a metre and slightly over two metres, and its colour goes from muscular tissue. It is worth drawing attention to the presence of lysine in significant amounts
white, yellow and pink to hues such as dark red, purple and black. Its root system and its because no other plant in the world has such a high rate of this key amino acid, one of the
consistency make it wind-resistant and it can grow at extremely high altitudes, with poor eight that most matter for human beings. It also has tryptophan a crucial amino acid.
soils, low precipitation and extreme cold, which make it even more important than maize in
this regard (Cusak 1984: 21-22, National Research Council 1989a: 12). In percentages, Simmons (1965: 231) posits that quinoa comprises 14%-15% of proteins
(sometimes even 23%), 4% fat, and 51-58% carbohydrates. Horkheimer (1960: 110) recorded

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353 calorie units per 100 grams of quinoa, which is by far one of the highest values in a The original distribution of quinoa extender from 5°N to 30°S, but at present it only extends
plant product. from 5°S to 20°S. Simmons cited Sauer in this regard, who had noted quinoa was also present
in the island of Chiloé (Simmons 1965: 228).
For Gross et al. (1989: 28-29) quinoa has an exceptionally high content of phosphorus, calcium
and iron in comparison with wheat, and it also has high values for vitamin E and B-complex. From this all it follows that quinoa cultivation has fallen in regard to the past, and that
Quinoa likewise comprises 66% carbohydrates, 15% proteins, 9% water, 8% oils, 6% fibre, and reconstructing its phytogeographical dispersal will not be easy because we do not have the
3% ash, values that are similar to those previously recorded. Other saccharides with lower required studies. Besides these theories there is only one proposal concerning the process of
values are saccharose (which comes first with 2.79%, non-digestible galactose (0.23%), and quinoa domestication, which claims that it took place in the central Peruvian puna ca. 6000-
glucose (0.19%). According to Gross and his colleagues, the proteins in quinoa are of the 5000 B.C., at the same time that camelids were being domesticated (Pearsall 1978-1980).
highest quality in comparison with cereals and other Andean tubers.
What data do we have on the ancestor of quinoa? Heiser and Nelson (1974) claimed that
We thus find after the analysis that quinoa is rich in proteins, as well as in supplementary Chenopodium quinoa var. Melanospermum probably was a form of wild quinoa that was
minerals and vitamins that make its consumption significant. similar to the ancestor of quinoa. The observations they had made led these scholars to posit
three possible origin scenarios for domesticated quinoa. The first possibility is that quinoa
The National Research Council (1989b: 124) states that quinoa is “chisiya mama” in Quechua, i.e. developed from a domesticated “black seed” that may have spread from South America to
“mother grain.” Its significance as regards maize is evident, at least in certain parts of the Andes, Mexico; the second possible scenario includes two domesticated species both in Mexico and
probably those at extremely high altitudes. Although archaeology still does not have methods the Andes, which may have developed separately from two other species; the third scenario
that allow for in-depth reconstructions of culinary combinations or techniques, ethnographic data focuses on wild species that were similar but different, and which may have given rise to
show that it is often toasted or ground as flour, but it can also be boiled and added to soups. cultivated forms. Based on taxonomies, and on linguistic usages and studies, the researchers
concluded that both forms of Chenopodiaceae may have been independently domesticated.
We now have to briefly discuss the origins and domestication of quinoa. Let us see some of
the main positions held in this regard. In a more recent study Wilson (1988a, 1990) states that Chenopodium hircinum Schrad is an
ancestor of quinoa, even though the characteristics an Andean specimens separate them
Hunziker (1943) believed that Argentina’s Chenopodium hircinum Schrad was the ancestor of from the related southern varieties. Yet for Wilson the greater diversity of monophyletic
quinoa. Heiser took up his argument, but drew attention to the lack of supporting evidence quinoa is found in the Southern Andes, and its centre of domestication would have been
(Heiser 1979: 318). This means Argentina was considered right from the beginning as this cereal’s in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia (Wilson 1988b). Even genetic consistency suggests the
area of origin. northwards and southwards dispersal of quinoa. Gandarillas (1984), Tapia (1979), and Risi and
Galwey (1984) have the same position, which means that for these scholars the idea that
Simmons (1965: 234) subsequently considered that it was reasonable to speculate on the Andean quinoa is the original one seems to be well supported.
possibility that quinoa was locally selected amongst wild ancestors by people who needed
nutritive grains in order to supplement what was provided by the starch in tubers, and who had In this section we begin to review the archaeological evidence of quinoa consumption in pre-
no adaptable grasses in wild state in which they could have found the grains of some cereal. Hispanic Peru. In general, the human use of Chenopodiaceae literally goes back to the first
Simmons believes that a characteristic of human intervention in the process of domestication human beings. McConnel (1998) discovered remains of this type of plant in a rocky Carpenter´s
of this cereal is precisely the high altitude at which it is cultivated, in comparison with Gap in Australia that was dated between 23,000 to 16,000 years ago. During this epoch the
other plants. It follows that it would be unable to survive at such altitudes without human world was living the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and the humans exploited Chenopodiaceae
intervention. Simmons likewise notes that the Aymara call wild quinoa “isualla.” in response to the decrease in and fruits in the vicinity of the rock shelter. McConnel believes
that Chenopodiaceae were eaten when droughts struck and provided important proteins
It is clear that altitude and dispersal have varied throughout time since its domestication, and carbohydrates to the far-removed inhabitants of Australia. Zohari (2001: 220) in turn
even though Carl Sauer (1965) studied its net concentration in the Central-Southern Andes. claims Chenopodiaceae were domesticated at least five thousand years ago in the southern
Cusak (1984) in turns points out that it never spread successfully outside this area. Going back Altiplano, but he admits the radiocarbon dates are problematic.
to Simmons, he claimed that this plant frequently occurs at altitudes higher than 4000 masl
in countries like Bolivia and Peru. Heiser and Nelson (1974: 503) however noted that quinoa is The South American context includes several pieces of evidence that we have to briefly
usually cultivated from 2400 masl upwards. Yet its presence is race and falls in Argentina (Jujuy summarise before turning to Peru. Such is the case of the quinoa found in Mendoza (Argentina),
and Salta), Chile, and Ecuador, and it recently disappeared in Colombia. where this plant has been found in domesticated condition at sites such as Agua de las Tinajas,

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Gruta del Indio, Agua de los Caballos, and Reparo de las Pinturas Rojas, with dates that range from layers dated between 5316 and 3630 B.C. The remains of small stones and charcoal found
between 300 and 200 B.C. (Castro and Tarragó 1992, Lagiglia 2001). The sites found between in these same coproliths indicate that Chenopodium was cooked on fire before being eaten.
Salta and Catamarca, in modern-day Argentina, yielded evidence of quinoa that was dated
from about 400 B.C. to Inca times (Lennstrom 1992). MacNeish et al. (1981: 160) claim to have found seeds of what may be quinoa at the cave of
Pikimachay (Ayacucho) in the midst of some controversial archaeological contexts that may
The significance of quinoa was widely acknowledged in the colonial chronicles. Cusak date to between 6350-5460 B.C. (Piki Phase). The excavations have, however, been roundly
(1984: 21) has called it the alimentary reserve grain of the Inca Empire. In this regard he cites criticised and their validity questioned; there also is no archaeobotanical study of the
Garcilaso de la Vega and his Comentarios reales, where Garcilaso notes that quinoa came remains exposed, so the data here included only appears as reference. Bonavia (1982: 341) also
second for the Inca after maize. Simmons (1965: 223) claims other names for it are “hupa” questioned these preliminary determinations because what is clearly pending is a study of
or “jupa” in Aymara, “dahue” (in Chile), and “secksaholor” (in Atacama). We will now review these remains aimed at determining whether these are crops or wild plants.
some of the most important evidence recorded on the archaeological discovery of quinoa
in pre-Hispanic Peru. Chenopodium-Amaranthus was detected in pollen form in the Telarmachay rock shelter at
about 4420 masl, in the Junín puna, around 5600 B.C. (Van der Hammen and Noldus 1985: 381).
In his handbook on pre-Hispanic food Hans Horkheimer (1961) stated right from the beginning Although Van der Hammen and Noldus believe humans took this plant to the rock shelter it is
that quinoa was an important foodstuff for the Peruvian aborigines, and that its grains were unknown whether it was cultivated or wild, but we tend to favour the second option.
used to prepare chicha. Horkheimer also the pre-Hispanic ceramic vessels depict this plant,
which means it was well known (Horkheimer 1960: 64). The research undertaken at Panaulauca Cave in the Junín puna (in the modern-day district
of Tarma), at about 4150 masl, yielded a similar dating. Here Nordstrom (1990) recorded the
Since when has quinoa been eaten in Peru? Rossen et al. (1996) reported the discovery of a presence of quinoa as from 4150 masl and it was long used until A.D. 1350. The morphological
single Chenopodium sp. seed (which they claim is much more similar to quinoa and could analyses made by María Bruno show that is possible that quinoa was being domesticated in
be the oldest evidence of this cereal) at the site of Quebrada de las Pircas 1 in Nanchoc, in this preceramic epoch.
the mid-Zaña Valley on the North coast of Peru. This type of find comes from controlled
excavations. These are a series of domestic contexts where the remains of edible refuse were Bonavia (1982: 149) in turn reported the discovery of Chenopodium sp.—it is unclear whether
found—in some cases these were carbonised—in which (possibly) quinoa was found, amongst this is domesticated quinoa but Virginia Popper, the ethnobotanist who analysed these
other foodstuffs. The dating of this layer gave 6830 B.C., so it can be inferred that quinoa was remains, believes these were wild plants—at the site of Los Gavilanes in the lower Huarmey
consumed on the North Coast around this time at about 450 masl. Dillehay et al. (2007: 1890) Valley at least between 3100 and 2300 B.C.
later reported the discovery of a carbonised Chenopodium seed similar to that of quinoa
that was dated between 6000 and 5500 B.C., which corroborates the previous date. Besides, Cusak (1984: 24) claims that quinoa was used as food in pre-Hispanic Peru at least since 3000
Piperno and Pearsall (1998: 207) believe these Chenopodium remains correspond to both wild B. C. or even earlier.
and domesticated quinoa, in what can be considered as quinoa undergoing the process of
domestication. We now turn to the published evidence of quinoa in the Altiplano, a subject for which there
fortunately is abundant documentation. The site of Jiskairumoko (in the modern region of
Deborah Pearsall (1978-80: 65-67) has presented evidence of Chenopodium (a wild, non- Puno) is in the southern Altiplano and on the eastern side of the Andes, from whence come
domesticated member of quinoa) in the cave of Pachamachay close to Lake Junín at about many of the hypotheses regarding the origins of quinoa. Here Nathan Craig (2005) reliably
4,300 masl since the beginning of the human occupation, i.e. since ca. 8106 B.C. documented cultivated quinoa dated to about 2000 B.C. at 4115 masl. It is interesting that
the beginning of quinoa cultivation was connected with a better climate during the Final
It is believed within the context of the Junín puna, that the beginning of quinoa cultivation Holocene. In fact, considering the lack of rainfall and the dryness of the period known as
took place simultaneously with the domestication of camelids, i.e. in the sixth millennium the Middle Holocene, climate conditions mean that quinoa domestication was probably not
before our era (Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 5). attempted here at least between 6000 and 3000 B.C. (this is perhaps the reason why most
remains come from the puna and the Central Coast of Peru).
Paloma is a site on the Central Coast that comprises several Preceramic villages. Here Benfer
(1990, 1999) fund a large amount of organic remains. These included archaeological human With this datum alone we move beyond the limit set by Margaret Towle (1961: 141), who
faecal remains with residues of the food eaten. Chenopodium (Benfer 2008: 378) was found claimed the first millennium of our era was the period which saw the initial domestication of
here but it was not specified whether this was domesticated quinoa or not. These finds come quinoa. Science moves on.

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Bruno (2006), an archaeobotanist who has specialised in Andean quinoa, made one of the most Karen Mohr Chávez (1988, 1998: 18), another student of the Chiripa culture, posits that one of
important studies in this regard. Bruno uses the methodology whereby she observes changes the main characteristics this site has is the organisation of residential houses into a village in
in botanical morphology, particularly the width of the seed’s testa, in order to determine the which the excavations found quinoa (approximately between 1400 and 100 B.C.). The site of
domesticated condition of the grains. Based on her analysis she concluded that it is possible Kala Uyuni, which has been dated ca. 700 B.C.-A.D. 400 (also a Chiripa site) likewise had quinoa
that quinoa domestication may have begun at least a couple thousand years before our era. remains (Bruno 2008).
In this way she lines concurs with Pearsall.
Other finds of domesticated quinoa were made in the cave of Quelcatani (in the current
The history of quinoa in the Titicaca Altiplano takes us now to the Pucara culture. Christine department of Puno), where Einsentraut (1998) found remains dated to 850 B.C.
Hastorf (2008: 545) notes that being tubers, quinoa and potato cultivation had excellent
conditions in which to develop within the context of this culture. Hastorf points out the We now turn to the role quinoa had in the context of the Tiahuanaco culture, still in the
importance both crops had throughout the development of Pucara at least between 1235 B.C. Southern Altiplano. In fact, quinoa, along with potatoes, consolidated its position as a
and A.D. 519 (Mujica 1981), but more likely from 400 B.C. to A.D... (Klarich 2003, 2005, 2009; foremost grain in this region (Kolata 1993). Each domestic dwelling studied in the Altiplano and
Steadman 1995). which belonged to this culture’s rural context, had access to, and consumed, abundant quinoa
(literally 92-99% of organic remains recovered in archaeological garbage dumps). It is thus
Still in Pucara, Bruno and Whitehead (2003) go somewhat beyond the taxonomic documentation clear that Chenopodium quinoa was the most abundant and permanent grain in Tiahuanaco
and show the existence of two varieties if cultivated quinoa, i.e. Chenopodium quinoa and domestic contexts.
Chenopodium quinoa negra. The plants are associated with Pucara sites.
The excrement of three individuals who were buried in tomb 3 was excavated at the Mochica
Chávez (1992) made a significant analysis in this regard based on use marks in Pucara ceramics, site of Dos Cabezas, in the mouth of the Jequetepeque. Geyer et al. (2003) managed to identify
in which he found vessels that had been used for storage and to serve food. Some closed quinoa in these remains. The layer where these remains came from was dated to A.D. 536-580
vessels had been exposed to fire, thus indicating they had been used to cook, whilst the small (Moseley et al. 2008: 83), which means the Moche also consumed quinoa. Assuming that it
vessels and others with a red-painted lip showed traces of lime, which Chávez claims is taken was domesticated in the Altiplano, it is evident that it reached this part of the Peruvian coast
in conjunction with coca consumption. Chávez assumes that some of the biggest jar-type through exchange—the identification of quinoa pollen in these remains has, however, been
vessels may have been used for storage, transportation, preparation, and even to ferment challenged by the new analysis made by Reinhard et al. (2007: 534).
some alcoholic beverage, which may well have been based on native quinoa (in Klarich 2005:
204-205). Quinoa consumption has also been documented in Wari contexts in Nasca, to the point
that Orefici and Drusini (2003: 293) have inferred that these grains were introduced from the
Bruno and Whitehead (2003) analysed the quinoa remains documented for the site of Chiripa highlands to the coast in this place. This type of find was already evident in the Pacheco-style
(Bolivia), in the same geographical setting, which is approximately contemporary with Pucara. ceramics found at Nasca, and which date to about A.D. 800-900, in the height of the Wari
This type of crop was found in a context with domesticated plants in the Lake Titicaca epoch (Valcárcel 1948: 30).
basin like quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), cañihua (Chenopodium pallidicaule), and tubers
like the potato (e.g. Solanum tuberosum), oca (Oxalis tuberosum), and mashua (Tropaeolum Hastorf (2002) and DeNiro and Hastorf (1985: 113) have shown that quinoa was cultivated in
tuberosum) that had a major role in the development of complex pre-Hispanic societies in known Wanka sites like Hatunmarca, Tunanmarca, and Umpamalca, amongst others found in
the Andes during the Formative Period (ca. 1800 B.C.-A.D. 500). the upper Mantaro Valley between 330 and 3900 masl, so that quinoa farming must have taken
place at least by A.D. 200. The output fell as of A.D. 1460, apparently due to the pressure the
It is worth recalling that Browman (1986) had already documented the presence of quinoa in a Inca administration exerted in order to expand maize cultivation. In pre-Hispanic times quinoa
Chiripa culture context around 1350 B.C.-A.D. 50. It is relevant that the entire southern Altiplano was much consumed in this part of the central Peruvian puna, as was shown by Lennstrom and
plant complex, which includes quinoa, is associated with certain farming technologies like Hastorf (1992) with their isotopic research at the site of Pancán, a complex of archaeological
terraces and raised fields, which centuries later would characterise Tiahuanaco agriculture sites in the Mantaro Valley. It is thus clear that quinoa was the most widely cultivated and
(Erickson 1988). It is likewise evident that the climate—which at that time was wetter and consumed cereal in A.D. 650-1300.
probably warmer, thus giving rise to more grass and a higher water level in the lake after
the long drought in the Middle Holocene (7000-3000 B.C.)—brought about better farming Quinoa was also eaten by the people who inhabited our coasts in A.D. 1000-1460. Remains
conditions (Hastorf 2008). of Chenopodium quinoa have been found at the site of Galindo in the middle Moche Valley,
but they belonged to Chimu times (Lockard 2005: 213). On the other hand Ugent and Peterson

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(1988: 7) give an account of Wittmack’s botanical identifications based on the pioneering Maize is practically cultivated all over the world between 50º north latitude and 50º south
excavations of Reiss and Stübel at Ancón, where quinoa remains were found that can be dated latitude, and ranges from altitudes below sea level to those above 3600 masl (as in the
to A.D. 1000-1460. Andes), and from rainy regions with less than 25 cm of rainfall a year, like Russia, to others
with more than 1,000 cm a year as in the Pacific coasts of Colombia, or in America between
Again on the North Coast, the analyses of human coproliths from Puerto Moorin that come Canada and Chile.
from the Salinar culture (in the first centuries of the Christian era)show that the people in this
site in the lower Virú Valley ate quinoa, albeit in small amounts (Ericsson et al. 1989: 72). In her handbook The Ethnobotany of Pre-Columbian Peru (1961: 20-25)—which is still essential
despite the half-century that has gone by since its publication— Margaret Towle summarised
It is documented that quinoa was eaten in considerable amounts in the Inca Empire—toasted, what was then known about maize in Peru from an ethnobotanical standpoint. Towle notes
boiled and even raw, as food eaten by the individuals who were buried in Machu Picchu, who that by the time of the Spanish invasion, maize cultivation had spread from the Missouri River
evidently came from other high parts of the Andes (Turner et al. 2010: 524). to Chiloé Island in Chile, and it had turned into a crop that could not survive in nature without
human intervention.
Williams (2005: 166) noted the occurrence, within the context of the Inca culture, of trace
elements in bones that show quinoa was eaten, albeit in small amounts, by the people of the The adaptive capacity of maize seems to go hand in hand with the various ways it can be
Puruchuco-Huaquerones site in Lima. prepared for human consumption. Nowadays it is eaten in tortilla form mostly in Mexico,
Guatemala, and Honduras; in Peru as choclo, in Italy as polenta, in Kenya or Malawi as purée,
and has even become an important cereal in Indonesia and in parts of China. Probably no
Maize, Corn, Chawu, Chinqui, Sara, Sinki, Xequi (Zea mays) other plant surpasses this type o distribution and vast consumption. Human manipulation has
turned maize into the grain with the most modifications made to it, which include mutations,
We now turn to what is probably the most characteristic plant of native America—maize. We genetic diversity, and multiple adaptability. In fact, the number of its varieties largely surpasses
run however the risk of leaving aside important sources because this subject has been the that of any other plant species, so that it is a plant that is completely dependent on human
subject of much research (as Bonavia 2008 shows). Maize, a member of the Poaceae family, beings (Messer 2000).
is currently the most important gramineae in Latin America and Africa, and the second most
widely cultivated cereal in the world—from this standpoint its significance is obvious (Messer Because of our archaeological purposes and due to the sometimes incomplete nature of the finds,
2000: 97-111). it must be pointed that a deseeded maize ear is a cob (Mostacero et al. 2009: 1011-1012). This notion
will be useful below when reviewing the discoveries that have been made of this plant.
Originally cultivated in America, maize was introduced into Europe almost from the very
moment itself of the Spanish conquest in the fifteenth century. It spread so successfully From a linguistic standpoint a consensus seems to have been reached that the term maize
throughout the world that at a given time it was not just the main grain eaten in Central is of Taíno (the language of the Arawak people) or Caribbean origin, where it was known as
Europe, but also the most frequent food distributed in the African slave trade, and even the mahiz or marise, whereas in Quechua it is zara (Bonavia 2008: 7).
main food of journeymen in the British African mines in the late nineteenth century, and is
now the major cereal in Africa (Van der Merwe and Tschauner 1999: 535-536). Research needs let to the establishment of subdivisions at each species level, as is the case
with the race criterion, which evidently can be used to trace development lines. Bonavia (2008:
Yen (1959), for instance, reported it has been eaten since 1772 by the Maori people of New 9) for instance pointed out that in the late nineteenth century pod corn was distinguished
Zealand, who rapidly leaned how to transport it after it had been dried. It is a fact that maize from pop corn (also known as confite), dent corn, flour corn, and sweet corn. Grobman in turn
is the most widely cultivated and widely-used C4 cereal in the world, even in Africa. divided maize into some fifty races, five of which are primarily pre-Hispanic and nineteen pre-
Hispanic hybrids.
The adaptability this plant has, in which human groups have most interfered, is simply
impressive. At present, of all crops in the world, maize is the one that has most adapted Having seen the significance of this American cereal, we now briefly turn to its origins. Heiser
to various altitudinal and climate conditions. Maize also has been used, is used, and will be (1979: 310) correctly noted three decades ago that no American plant has received more
used in an impressive array of culinary preparations. Yet its edible uses do not have a great attention from scientists than maize, and this includes the study of its origins. How did such
human demand for only 20% of the world output is grown for this purpose, 65% is for animal a simple spike turn into ears with several rows of kernels? How did it turn into the main
consumption, and 10% is exclusively used to manufacture products, some of which are not staple of the Inca Empire? We will now see a brief history of research that has no pretence of
edible (Messer 2000). completion, and will t hen try to give answers.

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From a historical standpoint, the research on maize origins can be divided into two major evolutive relations within the Zea genus, and on the study of the genes involved in the evolution
periods. The first period is the 1930s, when George Beadle and Paul Mangelsdorf (both of the genome. Wilkes was the first to publish a full monograph on teosinte (1972) in which—
essentially based on phytogeography and on the work done by Vavilov, e.g. 1931) presented based on Vavilov’s similar position—he supported it as the closest ancestor to maize. Wilkes
two conflicting hypotheses on the origins of maize. We now turn to them. likewise considered that all hypotheses regarding the origins of maize led to three alternatives:
the direct evolution of a wild ancestor from a hybrid species; evolution from a hybrid species;
Beadle posited that maize is a domesticated form of teosinte (Zea spp.) that developed into a or evolution from a wild ancestor, but with repeated hybridisation with teosinte.
grass that grows mostly both in Mexico as well as in Guatemala. For him this plant’s principle
of domestication lay in that pre-Hispanic populations produced several mutations through In general, the studies made in the second period conclude that teosinte is the ancestor
natural selection that eventually turned teosinte into maize (Beadle 1939, 1977, 1980). of maize. For example, Itis (1983) posited that it was the result of a transmutation, i.e. the
transgenic evolution of teosinte. Similarly, within the context of modern DNA analysis, John
Mangelsdorf (1947, 1974, 1986) in turn believed that maize was instead the product of the Doebley and his research team studied and redefined the phylogenetic filiations between the
hybridisation of a yet-as undiscovered wild maize and Tripsacum (a rhizome-type relative grasses and the Zea genus, and contributed to our understanding of how the maize genome
of maize), in what later became known as the “tripartite” hypothesis. Mangelsdorf used the has evolved. Doebley et al. (1997) concluded the genetic evolutive changes showed (once
botanical race criterion and went slightly beyond by suggesting that the six races of maize had again9 that maize is derived from teosinte.
had separate origins, i.e. two in Mexico, one in Colombia, and three in Peru.
Even so, recent studies depict a somewhat more varied picture that once again opens the
It was clear from the beginning that both hypotheses essentially concluded not only that maize door to the possibility that maize may have followed a different and independent process
had different ‘progenitors,’ but also different places of origin, with Beadle suggesting Mexico- of domestication in the Andes. Such is the case of Vigoreux et al. (2008), who used Bayesian
Mesoamerica and Mangelsdorf the Andes. Although the latter hypothesis was considered statistics on a large number of maize samples representative of America and concluded that
valid and was widely accepted until the 1960s, Beadle’s hypothesis gained favour in recent both Mexico and the Andes are potential sources of maize’s genetic diversity.
decades, particularly due to the studies on chromosomes and morphological systematics (e.g.
McClintock 1929, Iltis 1983) that highlighted the differences in information available for both Finally, in this context we must add two crucial but once again contradictory positions that are
the proposed origin areas, and did nothing but complicate things. derived from two different research areas: on the one hand palaeobotany, which is essentially
based on phytoliths (a position represented by Dolores Piperno and Deborah Pearsall), and
A third, important position appeared during this first research period on the origins of maize that on the other the botanical-archaeological perspective (represented by Alexander Grobman
was actually based on a study made in the late nineteenth century (Harshberger 1896), which argued and Duccio Bonavia). Piperno and Pearsall (1998: 158-163) claim that maize and teosinte have a
that maize was derived from the hybridisation of teosinte and a plain wild grass. This position common ancestor and that both species have the greatest affinity. For them this means that
was later retaken by the palaeobotanist Mary Eubanks (1995), who reviewed the available genetic the place where maize was domesticated would have to be in southern and western Mexico.
evidence and concluded that teosinte actually is the ancestor of maize, but that its mutation was Besides, according to several indicators maize would have had to have been domesticated
gradual and slow. This is another theory on the “non-Andean” origins of maize. approximately between the Terminal Pleistocene and the Early Holocene. They also emphasise
that the molecular information does not suffice for a multiple domestication hypothesis
Before leaving this first phase in research we should briefly review it, particularly because (thus going indirectly against the work done by Vigoreux and his colleagues). For Piperno and
in recent decades there has been an explosion in genetic studies. We will just mention two Pearsall the original maize, which came from the Balsas River, spread and then adapted to
studies. In a review of the origins of maize, Melinda Zeder et al. (2006: 146) concluded that new conditions such as the altitude and the dry environment of the Central Andes, where it
from a phylogenetic perspective the matter had already been settled with the support apparently is more recent than in Mexico.
previously given to teosinte. Finally, Matsuoka et al. (2002), have a more nuanced position that
was also reached through molecular genetics, and which raises the possibility that although it Grobman though that wild maize hybridised with wild perennial teosinte, thus giving rise
is possible that multiple domestications took place and that there are multiple races of maize, to teosinte. In this process there was human intervention. There also are several pieces of
they all appeared out of teosinte. For Matsuoka et al. this process must have taken place at evidence showing that Andean—i.e. Peruvian—maize had already separated from its wild
least nine thousand years ago, so that once it had been domesticated in the highlands, maize Mesoamerican counterpart. Against Beadle and based on the evidence that clearly shows
spread to lower tropical zones. there is no proof of the evolution of teosinte into maize, Grobman holds there is no
similitude between them both. On the other hand Grobman and Bonavia believe maize was
A second period began in the 1960s that was characterised by the genetic studies that were independently domesticated both in Mexico and in the Andes, and probably also in Colombia.
making progress at the time. The researchers focused on observations regarding the diversity in Migratory birds may have taken wild maize to the Andes. This is substantiated with five types

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of evidence: the presence of three races of Preceramic maize— Proto-Confite Morocho, Andean maize independently from Mexico and Mesoamerica, given the existence of maize
Proto-Kculli, and Confite Chavinense—and their respective hybrids; a greater radiocarbon races that are exclusive to the Andes. Alexander Grobman and his colleagues (1961, in Bonavia
antiquity; the difference between chromosomal nodes; the absence of teosinte hybridisation 2008: 74-75) later made more studies supporting the variability of Andean maize races, their
with Casma maize; and the high variability of Andean maize (Bonavia 2008). adaptive capabilities, interracial hybridisation, and so forth. A great variability in races was
documented in the Peruvian Andes that turned this region into an active evolutionary centre
Leaving aside these hypotheses, we must examine some preliminary considerations of Bonavia’s for maize. It is worth recalling here the definitions of isolated races for Peru. First there is
on the domestication of maize. First, Bonavia posits that this is a plant that corresponds to groups Confite Morocho, which may be native to Ayacucho, and whose antecedent is called Proto-
of hunter-gatherers and not precisely to sedentary societies, and this is how its occurrence must Confite Morocho; Kculli, which is the origin of maizes with have high concentrations of
be understood. Maize would therefore not be a synonym of sedentism. What is evident is that anthocyanin (and consequently a purple colour) and which come from the central highlands of
throughout time human groups intervened to make this plant a more productive food, as can be Peru; Chullpi, from the Apurímac-Ayacucho region and whose ancestor is Confite Chavinense,
seen in the increase in the number of rows, the hardening of the cob, the development of naked from which all varieties of sweet maize are believed to come, and some of which may have
kernels that are more easily removed, an increase in its flavour, and so on. It is also worth noting been derived for toasting purposes (Bonavia 2008: 76). Interested readers should see the
that the changes that led to modern maize came to an end just about five thousand years ago, extensive discussion and explanation in Bonavia (2008: 77-121).
so that the technology and its adaptive process are quite ancient.
What has been said regarding its preparation and properties? The benefits of maize cultivation
In his vast synthesis on maize Bonavia (2008) gives an account of the origins of this plant, which in combination with that of squash and beans have been pointed out, and it has proven
he summarises into four hypotheses. The first one by Beadle and Galinat, holds that annual beneficial besides providing all food requirements: maize carbohydrates, squash oils, and bean
teosinte gave rise to maize; the second one, led by Mangelsdorf, argues that both annual proteins. It should however be noted that maize consumption can cause diseases such as
teosinte and maize gave rise to maize; the third one, which Mangelsdorf and Grobman defend, pellagra, niacin deficiency and child malnutrition.
was based on the idea that there can be three evolutionary lines: from maize to variable maize;
from maize to maize and annual teosinte; and from Zea diploperennis to annual teosinte and Even so, Bonavia (2008) suggests that this is a distorted image and that pellagra was not present
maize. Finally, the fourth hypothesis, which is defended by Wilkes and Mangelsdorf, suggests in pre-Hispanic Peru, nor is it connected with maize as assumed, precisely because following the
that annual teosinte was arrived at from perennial teosinte (Zea diploperennis), but wild maize principle of associated feeding, they cultivated and ate the three plants just mentioned.
also led to annual teosinte and modern maize.
While assessing this subject Messer (2000: 103) specifically mentions this triad when mentioning
Bonavia deals extensively with the domestication of maize, so interested readers in a Mexicans, who eat maize tortillas with beans and squash seeds. If for instance maize is eaten
complete account should see his study (Bonavia 2008: 67-121), as only a brief summary will be alongside beans, its deficiencies in lysine, isolysine, and tryptophan are overcome, so much so
given here. Bonavia points out there are in general two hypotheses on maize domestication: that the amino acids consumed are similar to proteins of animal origin. Besides, when maize
one that claims this took place in Mesoamerica, and another one which posits independent is prepared with a lime solution (CaO) it frees niacin, thus providing calcium to the human
domestication in Mesoamerica and the Andean area. We turn to them now organism (Super and Vargas 1999: 1248).

The first hypothesis is based on two areas—the Balsas River and Tehuacán—that provided key Going back to Messer, when he lists the ways maize was prepared he points out the simplest
information supporting the domestication of maize in Mesoamerica and Mexico. Mutations method probably was barbecuing the ears over hot sand or stones, or over ashes, so that
in annual teosinte would finally have led to maize in the lowlands of the Balsas River Basin (in these burst. Even so maize was more frequently boiled and then ground. After soaking the
the state of Guerrero, between 400 and 1200 masl); this position is based on genetic studies. cobs in an alkaline environment and washing them to remove the husks the kernels could
In the other area—still within the Mexican context—maize domestication would have taken be eaten directly as mote, or it was made into a paste by adding water in order to prepare
place in the highlands of the Tehuacán Basin (in the state of Puebla, between 1000 and 1500 tortillas (thin dough), arepas (thick dough), or tamales (wrapped-around paste with filling).
masl). Here maize in its modern version would have been the result of the hybridisation
of two of its wild relatives, diploid perennial teosinte and maize in an initial stage of its Margaret Towle (1961: 25) mentioned the ways in which maize was cooked, as well as its pre-
domestication. Bonavia (2008: 68-69) choose this hypothesis due to its greater support, both Hispanic presence and domestication. In the first case Towle mentions two types of maize
biological and archaeological. on the coast: pod corn or primitive pop corn, which were found in the earliest levels, were of
small size, and have been found at Ancón, the El Brujo site, and in the Virú Valley. The second
The second position regarding the domestication of maize is based on the proposal put forward type, which characterises more recent maizes and is even found in modern Peru, tends to have
by Paul Mangelsdorf among others, who argued for the possibility that the domestication of straighter-sided forms and bigger kernels.

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Towle finished her study of maize in her handbook citing other authors listing its various uses, phytoliths in the Aguadulce rock shelter in Panamá for which the oldest date is 5935 B.C.
highlighting for instance the preparation of a kind of tortilla in special occasions, as well as its What is even more impressive is that these finds come from maize starch recovered from
occurrence in archaeological burial contexts, which is especially mentioned by Stafford and the surface of some sort of mortar, from which it can be concluded that this plant’s kernels
Wittmack (Towle 1961: 25). Towle likewise noted that kernels were boiled (mote) or toasted were already being ground at this time. Piperno also published the presence of phytoliths
(cancha); that the latter was the prime ingredient used to prepare some type of beverage; that in the preceramic site of Las Vegas in Ecuador that date to about 4600 B.C. It is worth
some kind sweet juice could be obtained from the stalk, and oil from the ears; that chicha emphasising the potential that the study of phytoliths holds, even to detect whether
was prepared with maize kernels chewed by women to in order to ferment them; and that processed maize is a residual outcome of cooking (cf. Ravielle 2011).
the livestock could eat some parts of the plant as fodder. Towle thus glimpsed the multiple
functions maize had in the pre-Hispanic Andes. Ecuador is closer to our Central Andean area. According to recent studies, here there
apparently is phytoliths-based evidence of maize as it was being domesticated around 5000
We now have to turn to the bromatology of this major Andean cereal. Let us see first its B.C. Bonavia has a critical position in this regard in view of the difficulties there are in inferring
consumption in fresh form. Cárdenas et al. (1997: 140-141) specifically noted that whereas taxa from this type of microevidence.
purple maize holds 38.3% calories and 7.6% protein, the ears have 64.5% calories and 16.5%
protein. Besides, toasted maize or cancha provides 38% calories and 22.8% protein (almost the We now turn briefly to the Peruvian pre-Hispanic maize record, in which the remains have
same protein as fresh llama meat). According to this analysis it is clear that more proteins are been found in various forms. Perhaps the most striking form are the depictions on pottery,
ingested when eating cancha than when eating an ear. textiles, metalwork, and many other crafts left by the ancient Peruvian cultures.

In pre-Hispanic Peru maize was also eaten in dehydrated form, in which each kernel has 74.5% I would like to insist in that readers interested in a more in-depth review of Peruvian pre-
starch, 6.8-12% proteins, 12% water, 3.4% fat, and 1% fibre (Ericsson et al. 1989: 97). Hispanic maize should read the vast study by Bonavia (2008). Now then, there are several
ways in which the presence of maize in pre-Hispanic contexts can be documented both
Besides, Horkheimer (1960: 110) claims that every 100 grams of maize hold 73 g of carbohydrates as macroremains as well as microremains, and even through indirect evidence such as
and 343 calorie units (a very high value, below only that of quinoa and toasted maize). From all of dental lesions. Bonavia proposed in this regard that maize consumption can be recorded
these analyses it follows that in the Andean world maize was an extremely important food source. through the caries, because the carbohydrates and sugars found in maize favour this type
of pathology.
We will now review the archaeological evidence, which is certainly very rich. Let us briefly
see some records outside Peru that are important for this book, and then we shall examine Interest in the study of pre-Hispanic maize goes back over a hundred years. One of the earliest
the Peruvian evidence. finds was made in the late nineteenth century in the ruins of Pachacamac (Harshberger 1898).
This study only emphasises that maize is of Mexican origin and that it was much used by the
It is clear from what has just been presented, that the Mexican archaeological record has Inca, particularly in ritual events.
prevailed. Here we will use Bonavia’s extensive critical study as our main reference. Out of
about a dozen major archaeological sites we will review here the cases of Tehuacán (Puebla) Wittmack (1888) had studied the archaeological maize from Pachacamac some years earlier and
and Guilá Naquitz. At Tehuacán, Richard MacNeish and his team isolated a series of phases had classified it into three groups, according to his observations of the external shape of the plants.
where the impressive evidence of over 24 thousand maize remains was found. Here also
chewed stalks and dry maize leaves were found (Bonavia 2008: 129), so it is believed that other In the history of maize research, Margaret Towle discussed the macroremains discovered
parts of the plant were eaten. This study was able to document the sequence of increase in in various archaeological contexts of Peruvian coastal cultures, where few indeed had no
the size of the cobs throughout time due to human manipulation in order to attain better maize. Towle even made a major synthesis of the archaeological sites that have maize (1961:
results and more food, since about 5000 B.C. 21-25). We have to bear in mind that she had at the time the materials derived from classic
investigations like those carried out at Paracas, Pachacamac, Supe, Chuquitanta or by the Virú
Guilá Naquitz (close to Oaxaca) is another prominent site where maize has been found, either Project so although this is an important review, there is no radiocarbon documentation that
primitive or hybridised with teosinte, that dated to about 6700 B.C.—recent radiocarbon allows us to accurately know the age of these finds.
dates however showed some dated to 4200 B.C..
Let us carry out our review chronologically. To continue we need more modern references
Only one example will be given for Central America. Although her evidence does not come and the best way to do so is to base ourselves on Bonavia’s study, which makes an extensive
from the Central Andean area, Dolores Piperno (2009: 157) claims to have found maize analysis of preceramic maize in Peru (Bonavia 2008: 156-203). To this we obviously will add the

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references derived from our own research, because Bonavia left out all sites later than 1800
B.C. Even so, we are also unable to assess all sites where maize has been found, so that only a
summary will be presented here.

Possibly the earliest evidence of maize in a pre-Hispanic context comes from the lower Casma
Valley. Here Santiago Uceda excavated two sites that are important because maize appeared
early: Cerro El Calvario and Cerro Julia (Uceda 1986: 229-261). Bonavia (2008) found a clear
sequence when assessing the former. A corn cob was found in level 5 in association with a
sample that gave the date of 4192 B.C. Bonavia noted that although the sample deteriorated,
Alex Grobman believed it was a type of maize related with those found at the site of Los
Gavilanes—excavated by Bonavia himself—and at Guitarrero cave, excavated by Thomas
Lynch and his team, as we shall see below. The race is a mixture of Confite-Chavinense and
Proto-Confite Morocho. Purple-coloured glumes suggest a connection between this Huarmey
maize and the highland races (Bonavia 2008: 158).

Leaf remains and stalk fragments were found in stratum 3 at Cerro Julia, which was dated to
4888 B.C. Both the dates of Cerro El Calvario and Cerro Julia are consistent, and are perhaps
the most reliable and solid evidence of Preceramic maize from the Peruvian coast that dates
to the fifth millennium B.C. Figure 7. Maiz de Huaca Prieta y Paredones, La Libertad. Aproximadamente 5200 a.C. (CORTESÍA DE PROCEEDINGS OF NATIONAL
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES).
More recently, a significant report was published on the maize found in the excavations undertaken
at Huaca Prieta and Paredones, two sites that are practically on the seashore close to the mouth find, as well as of the other maizes found by the Ayacucho Project (Bonavia 2008: 190-198). He
of the Chicama River, on the North Coast (Grobman et al. 2012). In these archaeological sites concluded that of all these questionable maize finds, this one is not only the most reliable one
the authors discovered a total of 293 fossil pop corns and the remains of maize flour. Fifteen but also, according to the analysis made by Alexander Grobman, a maize race that proves the
AMS radiocarbon dates gave a range of 5245-300 B.C. The two races documented at the sites independent domestication of this plant in the Andes without Mexico or Mesoamerica.
during the Preceramic Period are Proto-Confite Morocho and Confite Chavinense (which was
also documented at the site of Los Gavilanes in the Huarmey Valley) (Figure 7). The significance The research undertaken on the Central Coast by several scholars, and above all by Bonavia,
of this study is that the maize found has no connection with teosinte, the primitive Mexican has made great contribution to our knowledge of pre-Hispanic maize. There are sites like
maize. This means that this plant was domesticated independently of Mexico. Besides, a new Culebras in the Casma Valley, Tuquillo north of the Huarmey Valley, and Áspero in the Supe
race was found that has been called Proto-Alazán. The interesting thing here is that this is a flour Valley, where maize has been found in Late Preceramic contexts that presumably date to the
maize, which opens the door to speculation. It is likewise that some of the ears were burned, third millennium B.C., but regrettably no radiocarbon dates are available. The publications on
thus showing they were subjected to fire in order to be eaten—a culinary technique that is quite maize for other sites that are now well-known, like Caral—which have been conscientiously
frequent with tubers, as we have just seen. examined by Bonavia (2008: 179-185)—unfortunately show having had little control in the
excavations. There are maize specimens in contexts that date to around 2500 B.C., but most
We now turn to the highlands in the Callejón de Huaylas. One of the oldest pieces of evidence come from construction fills that are of scant validity for scientists.
of the consumption of maize in Peru comes from Guitarrero Cave, at about 2850 masl. Here
Smith (1980b: 121-143) documented 26 maize cobs in Complex III—which in radiocarbon terms The site of Los Gavilanes (PV35-1), on the left bank of the Huarmey Valley, is worthy of special
is equal to about 6700 and 6000 B.C.—which he claims have some similarities with the Pira mention. Bonavia prepared an extensive monograph on this site (1982), where preceramic
maize from Colombia. maize has been unquestionably found and was studied by interdisciplinary teams that ranged
from the ethnoarchaeological to the ethnobotanical approaches. The condition in which this
In the chronological sequence we are following, it is now the turn of the maize Richard MacNeish group of plants was found is simply impressive because there were stalks, roots, leaves, cobs,
and his research team found in the large-scale excavations they undertook in Ayacucho. At and even whole plants. Besides, a series of radiometric dates were obtained that let us know
Rosamachay Cave, maize was found associated with two remains that were dated to about 4244 since when maize was handled at this site. It is therefore worthwhile making a brief summary
B.C. (cf. MacNeish et al. 1981: 123-124). Duccio Bonavia made an intensive examination of this (Bonavia 2008: 162-163).

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Los Gavilanes is a site on the right bank of the Huarmey Valley that comprises a system of 47 Perry et al. (2006) also reported having found maize at Waynuná, on the northern section
storage bins (which Bonavia calls “hoyos”) where maize was stored. Bonavia was able to show of the modern Arequipa region. This site is close to the Cotahuasi Canyon over 3625 masl,
that maize was placed with sand in order to preserve the kernels and the ears, and the bins practically at the upper cultivation limit of this kind of plant. Here maize was found in the
themselves had a total area of 1590 square metres. It has been estimated that a minimum form of starch and silicificated phytoliths that dated to 2000-1600 B.C. According to the
461 tons of maize were stored in all of the bins, which entails a large demand by the early researchers, the endosperms analysed suggest the presence of at least two races in this epoch.
population of this site. This is in fact an exceptional site because nothing similar has been Besides, the size of the kernels analysed leaves open the possibility that they were ground on
found in the context of the pre-Hispanic Andes. Maize appeared in epoch 2 and continued stone mortars in order to prepare some type of flour or some similar product, and that this
in use during epoch 3, which in radiocarbon dates means the bins would have in in use at was a flour maize, which has already been mentioned in the case of Huaca Prieta.
least during the interval 2884-1271 B.C. Besides, Bonavia documented ethnographically that
some people in Huarmey still stored maize in the sand until the second half of the twentieth For a more recent epoch, in the Initial and Formative periods, Ugent (1984: 422) reported
century, using river sand, saltpetre, and having previously dried the maize under the sun. finding maize at Las Haldas, a site some 20 km south of the Casma Valley on the Central Coast
of Peru. We calibrated the radiocarbon dates—particularly those from charcoal contexts
A major contribution made by Bonavia´s research is that he and Alexander Grobman were related with the samples—and obtained 1328-390 B.C. Maize has also been found in contexts
able to establish the presence of three races of maize, i.e. Proto-Confite Morocho, Confite that are almost parallel to the Chavín culture in Casma sites like Pampa Rosario and San Diego,
Chavinense, and Proto-Kculli. The first race mentioned clearly is the most abundant one. some kilometres away from the mouth of the river that dated to 800-300 B.C. (Ugent 1984:
For Bonavia, its high anthocyanin content indicates that this plant came from the Callejón 423), but these are dates that we were unable to calibrate.
de Huaylas. In fact, the maize found at Los Gavilanes also resembles that of Casma and
Ayacucho—all from the Middle Holocene—in this characteristic. Almost parallel to these finds is the maize starch that Ikehara and Shibata (2005: 144) claim
to have found in some vessels from Cerro Blanco, a site in the lower Nepeña Valley, in feast
The conclusive evidence that maize was found at Los Gavilanes comes precisely from the contexts. Ikehara and Shibata believe that the presence of this starch indicates the preparation
tusks that Bonavia (1982: 227) found in some of the faecal remains discovered in the site, and of maize chicha, but the scientific biochemical reports supporting this interpretation are still
which date to at least 3200-1860 B.C. pending. The dates of these contexts average 1100-250 B.C., which means that maize chicha
may have been prepared and taken since at least three thousand years ago.
Slightly earlier dates for domesticated maize was published from the research done by Weir
and Dering (1986: 28) at the site of Paloma, in the vicinity of Lima, which ranged between 5316 Following the context of the first millennium before Christ we come to Chavín the Huántar. Richard
and 3630 B.C. Robert MacBird however claims this is an intrusive maize and that it does not Burger excavated just two maize cobs in this famed archaeological site. They belong to the two
belong to that epoch (Weir and Dering 1986: 25). broadest Chavín phases, i.e. 850-460 B.C. and 460-390 B.C. (Burger 1984: 254). The presence of maize
in contexts belonging to this site let us state that it was eaten in situ in the above-mentioned epoch.
It has been claimed that maize has been found at Caballete (a site in the Fortaleza Valley 8 km
inland from the mouth of this river) and at Huaricanga ((in this same valley, but 23 km inland) with The consumption of maize was also confirmed here at the biochemical level. Burger and
dates that go back to 3000 B.C. (Haas et al. 2013). Even more important is that maize phytoliths and Van der Merwe (1990) showed through the isotopic analysis of human bones from Chavín de
starch have been found in certain parts of stone tools, so it is possible they were used to prepare Huántar and Huaricoto, that maize had a secondary role whilst plants such as the potato and
food with this plant. Its consumption is also proven because most of the human faecal remains quinoa formed the daily dietetical basis throughout the development of this civilisation.
found at the site have maize starch. Interestingly enough, maize was also eaten by dogs (it was
found in the coproliths), so it can be speculated that they accompanied these groups of humans. Maize has also been found in the context of the Paracas mummies, which have been dated
from around 400 B.C. (Tello and Mejia Xesspe 1979: 473). Ugent and Peterson (1988: 8) supplied
Vega Centeno (2007) found a single ear of maize in the archaeological site of Cerro Lampay— a direct date for a corncob recovered in Paracas Necropolis contexts of around 440 B.C.
also in the Fortaleza Valley—north of Lima. This ear can be dated by association to 2410-2064
B.C. It was found in the context of a midden with food refuse, so it is believed to come from Maize was also found in a Paracas context at the site of Cerrillos, in the upper Ica Valley, and
an event of this kind. was dated to about 800-600 B.C. (Splitsloser 2009: 93).

Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 79) on the other hand reported maize at the site of Puémape south Peter Kaulicke (1991: 414) observed the presence of maize imprints in the Loma Valverde site,
of the Jequetepeque Valley, at least since 3008 B.C. to 339 B.C., when maize was apparently in the Upper Piura River Valley, and with dates that ranged to around 160 B.C.-A.D. 450. This
eaten more intensively. means they correspond to the Salinar-Mochica occupation of this part of northern Peru.

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Somewhat more to the south but still on the North Coast we have Ericson’s report (1989: individuals in order to obtain information on stable C13 isotopes values for bones that date
72) on human faeces found in the Virú Valley, in the well-known Salinar archaeological site to 800 B.C.-A.D. 1100. The samples for these individuals came from Pikimachay, Rosamachay,
of Puerto Moorin in the modern region of La Libertad. The remains included maize, which the cist burials at the site of Trigopampa, the Mongachayoc zone in Huari, the funerary
means it was eaten by the population in this site. The dates that we were able to calibrate contexts of Marayniyoc, and the village of Qasapampa. The evidence also clearly indicates
average between A.D. 17 and A.D. 500, but they may perhaps date to around the first three that maize was consumed by the Wari who lived in the empire’s periphery, for instance
centuries of the Christian era. at Beringa, a site in Arequipa that dates to A.D. 650-1000, where it was one of the main
foodstuffs (Tung 2012: 49).
Even more important is the fact that maize was the plant most eaten by most of the
populations in the lower Virú Valley throughout the period examined, from the Early Lockard (2005: 208) identified a large number of maize cupules..., cobs, and kernels at the site of
Horizon (1200 B.C.) to the Wari epoch (A.D. 1000). This is one of the few cases in which it Galindo, in the middle Moche Valley, which correspond both to a Mochica (A.D. 600-800) and
can be said of a region that maize was the most important plant in its diet, at least since the a Chimú (A.D. 1000-1470) occupation, but more was evidently eaten during in Mochica times.
first millennium B.C. up to the Inca occupation. These coprolith-based studies were verified
by the analysis of stable C13 isotopes in human bones, which showed that maize was the Shelia Pozorski (1979: 170) reported the presence of maize slightly more to the south but still
essential component in the diet of the sites in the lower Virú Valley. In fact, researchers on the North Coast, in sites that range from the Moche Valley to modern-day Huanchaco,
claim that maize comprised 40%-50% of the diet since Gallinazo times, i.e. 100 B.C.-A.D. 100 and which extend from the Moche to the Chimú-Inca occupation. Pozorski points out that it
(Ericson et al. 1989: 86). was eaten at sites like the Huaca de la Luna (see also Cárdenas et al. 1997: 134). Galindo, a site
in this same valley, is striking because it has a 71% plant diet that means maize was of crucial
Because of the quality of the materials that have been preserved, we will now review the importance to its people.
record of pre-Hispanic maize in some sites belonging to the so-called pristine States, which
developed during the first centuries of our era, particularly on the coast. For the Huaca de la Luna itself, Cárdenas et al. (1997: 138-139) analysed the coproliths of some
Mochica people (ca. A.D. 400-750) and found that maize was frequently eaten, not just as
It should be noted that the evidence showing maize was known and was eaten go back to kernels, but also in cobs and even in stalks. This information is even more relevant because it
several vessels and other types of raw materials that show maize was massively consumed. For has been found that practically all of the maize was burned in zones like the urban centre of
instance, Margaret Towle (1961: 25) mentions several depictions of this kind in the pottery and Huaca de la Luna, which means it was cooked (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 192).
textiles of cultures like the Nasca, Paracas, Mochica, Wari, Chimú, and Inca. A year later Vargas
(1962: 109) identified maize in coastal vessels belonging to cultures like the Mochica and the Gumerman (1994) found similar consumption patterns at Pacatnamú, in the mouth of the
Nasca, as well as in Inca conopas. Jequetepeque River. Its presence in other sites is relatively important, with Choroval (Chimú-
Inca) standing out with 48%. In a subsequent study the Pozorskis (2003: 125) reported the
Besides this type of depiction, on the North Coast there is the Mochica site of Dos occurrence of 87 maize cobs at the Huaca del Sol, which means this plant was clearly eaten
Cabezas, which lies almost on the mouth of the Jequetepeque Valley. Here the excrement by the Mochica at this site.
of three individuals was found, so what they had before dying. Geyer et al. (2003) reported
the presence of abundant maize consumed by the individuals in the tombs dated to A.D. Gumerman and Briceño (2003) reported the abundant presence of maize ca. A.D. 400 at
536-580 (Moseley et al. 2008: 83). In comparison with other plants, maize was by far the Ciudad de Dios, a Mochica site in the middle Moche Valley. Several mortars have even been
plant food most eaten by this people. Males and females did not ear maize in the same documented at the site, and may have been used to process maize. Several stone hoes were
proportion, and the upper social groups ate it more (Geyer et al. 2003: 278). We should also found that may have been used to mow down the plants themselves.
however bear in mind that Reinhard et al. (2007: 536-537) claimed that the maize originally
came from the area where the Dos Cabezas site is, but no macrobotanical remains area As for the Central highlands of Peru, Christine Hastorf (2002) has documented that the
available that can confirm these finds. presence of maize in Wanka sites like Tunanmarca and Hatunmarca in the upper Mantaro
Valley in Junín, at 3,200 and 3,900 masl, had a boom during the Inca epoch. Her study of food
In the Ayacucho region maize was the main food resource during the Wari Empire. Finucane remains clearly showed that whereas maize was intensively cultivated by Wanka farmers since
(2009) has made an extensive review of the evidence and he claims that this was the main A.D. 200, it later fell in A.D. 1000-1460 and rose again during the Inca occupation. Hastorf
food resources from A.D. 800 and even up to the early Colonial period. Based on the evidence believes that this phenomenon was due to the tribute-like obligation the Inca set, and because
presented for the Preceramic Period, Finucane believes maize had an increasingly relevant of the imposition of large-scale chicha brewing.
role starting around the fifth millennium B.C. He based himself on a study of collagen in 107

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Figura 8. Tusas de maíz (e incluso fragmentos de tallo) que fueron descubiertas asociadas a ají (Capsicum sp) y papa (Solanum tuberosum, Figura 9. Tusas de maíz morado procedentes de las excavaciones del Santuario Nasca de Cahuachi, aproximadamente 100-400 d.C.
enteros, y fragmentados) del sitio de Casa Vieja correspondiente a la Cultura Nasca durante los primeros siglo de nuestra era. (CORTESÍA (CORTESÍA DE MARIA GRAZIA PIACENZA, LUIGI PIACENZA Y CAROLINA ORSINI)
DE JOSÉ ROQUE).

Various remains that include maize stalks, flowers, seeds and cobs were discovered at Casa highlands. Some of the cobs had traces of carbonisation, which means they were subjected
Vieja (Figure 8), a site that dates to Final Nasca and to the early Wari Empire in the Cayango to fire for cooking. The result evidently was roasted and even popped maize, like cancha. The
Valley (Roque et al. 2003) and which we can infer dates to A.D. 530-820 (cf. Unkel 2006: 111). site dates to the Wari Empire, i.e. ca. A.D. 800.

Piacenza and Pieri (2012: 4) reported finding a series of human faeces or coproliths in burials Maize was documented for this period at Cerro La Cruz (Chao Valley). In this case Vogel
at Cahuachi in which maize, even purple corn, was found, and is direct evidence of its realised there were three different cob shapes with eight, ten and twelve rows, which she
consumption (Figure 9). believes correspond to attempts at cultivation in the vicinity of this site (Vogel 2012: 126).

Margaret Towle (1961: 21-25) made a pioneering study of this point based on the maize found at Maize was long consumed in the lower Lambayeque Valley on the North Coast of Peru, at
Cahuachi (alongside others that had been found and analysed, which belonged to the Paracas and least in 1300 B.C.-A.D. 1400, that is to say from the Cupisnique to the Sicán culture (Klaus and
Nasca cultures at sites such as Wayurí, Estaquería, Huaca del Oro, and Ocucaje), and concluded that it Tam 2010: 596). At the same time Nelson and Bellido Cerda (2010: 50) reported the presence
was massively cultivated. This was confirmed by modern science through stable isotopes but mostly of maize in the middens of three Chancay sites on the Central Coast of Peru, in the Huaura
for the Wari Empire, which means it was due to an imposition (Kellner and Schoeninger 2008). Valley. The dates obtained at these sites average A.D. 1265-1625. Lanfranco and Eggers (2010:
79) likewise reported the presence of maize at Los Pinos, A Chancay site in the Huaura Valley.
Duccio Bonavia et al. (2009: 242, 254) found a significant number of cobs, kernels, cornsilks According to their statistics, maize consumption increased in this period.
and other fragments, and even a maize stalk. Maize (along with cassava) was by far the species
most eaten at the site. Most of the cobs are of the Protoconfite Morocho race, and a few are A large amount of evidence on maize consumption has also been documented for the Chimu
Proto Kculli and Confite Chavinense. In general the cobs were no more than seven centimetres culture. Perry (2002: 337) found evidence for this period in the Casma Valley at the site of
long. For Bonavia the purple colour of the glumes indicates these are plants cultivated in the Manchán (final Chimu phase, A.D. 1470-1523).

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The analysis of stable isotopes in the human bones from Machu Picchu (Turner et al. 2010: 524)
determined that the people buried in this site ate little maize. Here they even managed to establish
its culinary preparation, for it has been posited that maize was eaten boiled, i.e. as a “choclo.”

Hastorf and DeNiro (1985) made a major study in which they managed to identify the maize
embedded in ceramic vessel fragments of the early Wanka population in the Mantaro Valley.

The evidence indicates maize was boiled alongside quinoa, obviously for eating, that it was
most eaten in A.D. 100-300, and in Inca times it was prepared toasted, roasted and boiled
(mote). Large vessels and mortars where the kernels were ground were part of the tools used
to process maize.

Ugent and Peterson (1988: 8) reported maize remains at La Centinela, a site almost on the
seashore in the lower Chincha Valley, in a mound of food refuse alongside potatoes, sweet
potatoes, and guinea pigs. The context was dated to ca. A.D. 1190.

Williams (2005: 186) noted the possibility that the people of Puruchuco-Huaquerones, an
archaeological zone in the modern district of Ate-Vitarte, may have eaten toasted maize as
followed from the dental attrition found. In the excavations at Malanche 22, in a village that
virtually occupied a loma that is also on the Central Coast south of Lima, not far away from
the Lurín Valley or Chilca Ravine, Mujica et al. (1992: 88) found several remains of maize eaten
Figura 10. Mazorca de maíz, conservada en su panca. Pedregal, valle de Jequetepeque. Cultura Chimú, aproximadamente 1000-1470 d.C. by the people in this site at about A.D. 1200-1450.
(CORTESÍA DE ROBYN CUTRIGHT).
The research carried out by DeNiro and Hastorf (1985: 114) also showed the presence of maize
at Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley, that dates to Inca times.
Cutright (2009: 145) documented maize cobs and kernels on the North coast at Pedregal,
a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, which evidently are the remains of the people
who lived at this site (Figure 10). This study was also able to detect that during the Late Maize Chicha
Intermediate Period, the cobs with just a few rows eventually had 12 of them and thus more
kernels; this implies the development of farming technology in this period, and an attempt There being a significant number of studies of this maize-based beverage, all that we intend
to develop more varieties. Interestingly enough, maize was stored not just as cobs, but also here is simply to supplement the information given on pre-Hispanic maize. This means only
as shelled kernels. some overviews of chicha preparation and consumption, as well as the archaeological data,
will be included here.
Keatinge (1975: 226) had already reported the presence of maize at Cerro La Virgen, a rural site
in Chan Chan, as one of the main Chimu staples. Gumerman (1991: table 3.4) showed—in this If there is anything that symbolises Andean reciprocity par excellence, that clearly is maize
same cultural context—that both the elites and the common people ate maize albeit in very chicha. Nicholson (1960), basing himself on Otero (1951, in Nicholson 1960: 290), claims that chicha
low proportions at Pacatnamú, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley that dates to ca. A.D. connected humanity with the gods through the fecundation of earth. Nicholson described the
1300-1400. In the case of Pacatnamú, maize was stored in cobs and was rarely shelled. ways in which chicha was prepared in Peru using different types of maize in different regions,
particularly in Catacaos, Cuzco, and Puno. For instance, in coastal chicha maize undergoes a
The vast dissemination of maize on the coast during Inca times ca. A.D. 1650 [sic]-1520 process that includes it being soaked, germinating, smoked and dried in order to prepare jora.
was representatively evinced by the huge amounts excavated at Panquilma, a site in the
middle Lurín Valley south of Lima, some 25 km away from the coast. Cohen (1975: 50) Horkheimer had already observed the significance chicha had but he took a broad perspective,
in turn reported the discovery of some 6,500 maize cobs in an excavation of just a few pointing out the presence of old of chicha made out of quinoa ,cañihua, peanuts, carob seeds,
square metres. maguey, molle and masato (1960: 98). Horkheimer believed the name chicha was introduced by

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the Spaniards from the Antilles, where a very similar beverage was prepared. Its name in Quechua and concluded that chicha consumption definitely raised the level of carbohydrates in the
is aque or akha. Basing himself on Louis Baudin, Horkheimer claimed that Peruvian Indians ate little pre-Hispanic diet. Whereas raw and germinated maize provides fewer carbohydrates when it
but drank a lot, something he believed many Spanish chroniclers claimed about. Bonavia (2008: is used to prepare chicha, it has a higher carbohydrate content when ground or toasted. When
255-269) on the other hand specified that this term comes perhaps from Panama or from the Aztec placed in fermentation vessels, chicha likewise increases its saccharose content, which may
zone. In Aymara this beverage is called cusa. In the Caribbean the term is derived from chichal, with have increased the rate of smooth surface caries in people who consume chicha.
chal being saliva, which probably means the fermentation required to turn the starches into sugar.
It should also be noted that because of the fermentation process, chicha consumption causes
Bonavia (2008) made some observations that should be briefly included here. He believed the several dental pathologies like superficial caries, which have been detected for instance in
evidence clearly indicates that maize chicha was intrinsically connected with power, especially in cultures like Salinar at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley some centuries
the Inca Empire, and in particular with two activities that were of the utmost importance in the before our era (Lanfranco and Eggers 2010: 88). So apparently, maize chicha may have been
Andean context—hospitality and exchange. For the Inca, the consumption of maize chicha had taken for over two thousand years.
three main goals: facilitating social integration (in the context of religious, social, and State contexts),
institutionalising status (gender, age, class, provenance, etc.), and mobilising labour organised as mita The general method followed when preparing chicha in the Andes is to dissolve the sugars
or corvée labour (in order to institutionalise political feasts) (Bonavia 2008: 216-218). in the fermented kernels or berries in boiling or hot water; these sugars turn into alcohol
through bacterial fermentation in semihermetic vessels at room temperature (Goldstein and
Bonavia (2008: 223) likewise believes there may have been a series of vessels used for their Coleman 2004: 526). Jerry Moore made an illustrative summary of chicha preparation in the
consumption, for instance simple gourds for the common people, metal and wooden cups for context of his research at Manchán (1989), a Chimu administrative site in the Casma Valley.
the elite and, in certain cultures, Tiahuanaco keros and Moche stirrup spout vessels. The first phase obviously is preparation. One of the methods used to prepare chicha begins
by converting starch into sugar by mixing maize flour with human saliva, which provides the
As regards the degree of fermentation, Bonavia (2008: 225-226) followed the references given enzyme diastase that sets off the chemical process. The other method ferments the maize
in some chronicles when noting that sora must was far stronger than any wine made out of kernels, and this also converts the starches into sugars (Moore 1989: 686). The whole process
grape, and also pointed out that maize chicha can be toxic (because it holds phosphorus, can last from twelve hours to one or two days. Citing John Rowe (1946), Bonavia (2008: 259)
carbon oxide or arsenic). noted that this researcher had already claimed that chicha was prepared not just with maize,
but also with oca and molle. Besides, its traditional preparation had women chewing the pulp
In their research on pre-Hispanic chicha, Hastorf and Johannesen (1993) explain that nowadays and then spitting it into pitchers with hot water, where it is allowed to settle until it matures.
chicha has an extremely significant role in the Andean culture as a key component in ceremonial,
religious, political, and social transactions. In the Andes, preparing chicha is mandatory when This process left behind remains of it in patios, textiles, wicker, leaves or other types of
celebrating the harvest, in feasts or in festivals. It is also the symbolic stamp in in agreements, materials used to cover the liquid undergoing fermentation, mortars and grinding stones used
pacts and understandings between Andean peoples, which go from a desire to improve to get the jora, as well as hearths, charcoal and reddened vessels, wicker strainers or textiles
the harvest to wedding celebrations. Since it is shared in activities like these, chicha can be used as such, and bran—that is to say, the materials that had been separated from chicha and
considered as an element par excellence of reciprocity in the Andean area. Based on their which comprised fermented kernels, the remains of hulls, etc. Cobo claims that chicha was
research in Jauja, both Hastorf and Johannesen posit that chicha consumption rose amongst drunk in gourds on the North Coast.
the elite, particularly as of the Wanka II phase, and was t hen extremely intensive during the
Inca occupation of this zone. This trend was likewise evinced by the presence of more maize Goldstein and Coleman claim maize or jora chicha is the best known variety. Moore (1989:
grinding tools and even bigger vessels meant to hold the chicha prepared for libation feasts. 686) accurately summarised its manufacturing process, from its preparation to fermentation,
including the selection of the maize, its shelling, washing, germination, drying, and the milling
The significance chicha had in this type of activities in the Inca Empire, was recorded by the of the dry germinated maize.
Spanish chroniclers in the early Colonial Period. Although it is not easy going into specifics,
the data on chicha preparation and libation probably dates to the first millennium B.C. (if not The ethnobotanical studies in the Mantaro Valley likewise seem to support the intensification
before); here we have a Mochica vessel showing chicha being prepared. of chicha production at least since the Wanka II epoch, which corresponds approximately to
A.D. 1350-1450 (Hastorf and Johannesen 1993). In previous periods maize was consumed more
Maltose plus maltodextrins—in this case in maize—are highly acidogenic and cariogenic, as cancha and mote, whereas later it was ground and was most frequently prepared as chicha.
particularly after cooking and the subsequent gelatinisation that takes place when it reaches Hastorf and Johannesen claim that more chicha was prepared for libations and alliances with
a temperature of one hundred degrees. Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 88) specified this problem other groups, to avoid conflicts, reach agreements and so on.

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We should also bear in mind the well-known Inca site of Huánuco Pampa, where chicha was Simpson and his team (2001) made a very brief summary of current data on peanut domestication.
produced massively and in standardised fashion by the State. This left as evidence grinding For them the process may have begun somewhere in the Andean ceja de selva, where the
stones, mortars and other tools that suggest a series of banquets and feasts, which means the temperature and humidity conditions are suitable. This is a significant suggestion because it
chicha was not stored and was instead taken immediately (Bonavia 2008: 226). follows that the area of peanut domestication must have been some sort of “corridor” between
eastern Bolivia and Peru’s ceja de selva, and this would explain up to a point the archaeobotanical
Let us continue our review of pre-Hispanic plant food. record, which is so early for northern Peru, and to which we now turn.

Deborah Pearsall and Dolores Piperno held (over a decade ago) that the earliest evidence
Legumes of peanut cultivation came from Peru around 2000 B.C. (they also based themselves on the
data presented by Sauer). The dates have however moved backwards dramatically, as shall be
Peanuts, Groundnuts [Maní, cacahuate, choccopa, inchis] (Arachis hypogaea) shown in the following pages.

Johanna Dwyer and Ritu Sandhu (2000: 364-374) summarised the main points regarding peanuts, Piperno y Pearsall (1998: 164) concluded that the peanut was perhaps domesticated in a
so here we have to repeat their main conclusions. This is a major member of the legume very large area that extends from the eastern Andes to the Bolivian lowlands and western
family. In Greek arachis means legume, and hypogaea means below the ground. Arachis is a Brazil, and that Arachis montícola is the best candidate for the ancestor of the domesticated
genus of plants native to South America, and it was in this subcontinent that peanuts were peanut. Besides, the places where domestication took place can also be established through
domesticated and disseminated. Dwyer and Sandhu point out that peanuts were widespread the subspecies that have been found. Such is the case of Arachis hypogaea spp. fastigata
in the wet South American lowlands and even in the Caribbean at the time the Spanish arrived in Argentina and Bolivia, and of Arachis hypogaea hypogaea in the area to the north and
to America, but not on the coasts of Colombia or in Central America. Although there are northwest of the above-mentioned region.
some doubts in this regard, it is possible that the peanut may have been introduced into
Mexico from Peru (Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 132). The peanuts of the Peruvian variant found in Ecuador and Peru are known as runners (Arachis
hypogaea Hypogaea, var. Hirsuta), and are precisely the type frequently found in pre-Hispanic
We turn now to the origins of peanuts because a debate surrounds this legume. Candolle (1886) first sites (Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 131).
posited that it had its origin in Brazil. Vavilov then had a similar position on Paraguay (Smith 1968: 255).
Barbara Pickersgill, who is also an expert on Andean archaeobotany (1969: 54), believed that
Carl Sauer (in Towle 1961: 43) in turn believed that peanut cultivation must have been originally the peanut was native to Bolivia, in which he followed Krapovickas.
been associated with that of cassava, both in its sweet and its bitter varieties, which means
he partially meant Brazil. This proposal is relevant because it allows us to speculate that pre- This legume was extensively discussed in Patiño’s handbook on Peruvian tropical fruits
Hispanic peoples who were cultivating maize were also growing cassava; this means they may (2002: 411-416), which not only compiles data regarding their origin as well as their forms
have been complementary staples, but this is all clearly in the realm of conjecture. of consumption and preparation from an ethnographic standpoint. Patiño states that maní
is an Arawak term. Arachis hypogaea corresponds only to the cultivated species whose
Hans Horkheimer (1960: 66) also wrote on the origins of the peanut in his book on pre-Hispanic domestication process may have taken place on the Eastern slopes of the Bolivian Andes and
food. Based on Oviedo, Horkheimer noted that the term “maní” comes from Haiti, whereas north-western Argentina, as was posited by Krapovickas.
in Quechua it was known as inchis. He believed the peanut was important, for instance in
Mochica society, where it was depicted in anthropomorphic shape, and it has been abundantly Patiño points out that peanut consumption apparently spread all over the tropical Americas
found in archaeological sites on the Peruvian coast. For Horkheimer, the peanut was a first- because in 1493 Doctor Chanca, whom Patiño cites, and who was with Christopher Columbus
rate alimentary resource in pre-Hispanic Peru. at Hispaniola, noted that the Indians ate some kind of good-tasting “hazelnuts.”

According to Krapovickas (Simpson et al. 2001), who is perhaps the greatest authority on Patiño also points out that peanuts were intensively cultivated in subsequent centuries in the
this subject, the domestication of the peanut Arachis hypogaea var. hypogaea took place warm inter-Andean valleys of Ecuador, and even in the Marañón River basin. Archaeological
in Bolivia, probably as an adaptive response to a dry environment. Even so here Krapovickas peanut remains, Patiño notes, come mostly from Peru and north-western Argentina, with
points out that the peanut had its origins in the South Western Matto Grosso do Sul or the latter region giving dates that begin at A.D. 200, which means they are relatively late
in North Western Paraguay. Krapovickas emphasises human intervention throughout this in comparison with those from Peru. Besides, the aborigines of Bahia (Brazil) used to smoke
process, particularly in the case of Arachis stenosperma and Arachis hypogaea. peanuts in order to preserve them for one year, and thus have it available as food for a long

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period of time. We can wonder whether this condition raised its protein value, as was the
case of some of the tubers we have seen. And the answer is yes, as is shown below by the
results attained by Cárdenas et al. (1997).

Patiño also mentions that peanuts were eaten toasted, boiled or scrambled in holidays in
Lima during the eighteenth century. Patiño believed that the most varied forms of peanut
consumption are found on the eastern slopes of the Bolivian Andes, thus strengthening the
idea that this was its zone of origin, as has already been noted above. Peanut chicha, a tradition
that is likewise typical on the Peruvian coast, was prepared here. Peanuts are however also
eaten raw when the pods are thick and juicy (Bonavia 1982: 314).

Soukup (1980) in turn believed the peanut had its origin in Brazil because it is now grown both
in warm and warm-temperate regions.

Having presented the issue of the origins and domestication of this major plant, we must now
present the bromatological properties of its fruits, which really were a major source of fat and
proteins for the pre-Hispanic population and must therefore be considered when drawing a
nutritional balance.

Many are aware of the potential peanuts have, particularly as regards oils and proteins. Figura 11. Cuenta de collar representando maní, sonajera de aleación de cobre. Cultura Mochica (100-800 d.C.). (MUSEO LARCO. LIMA-PERÚ).
Peanut butter was developed in 1890, and was initially meant for sick people, due to the high
proportion of proteins and low carbohydrate content of this plant. Peanuts are nowadays
widely used as food and as culinary ingredient in Asia and Africa, amongst other continents. In his handbook on pre-Hispanic food, Hans Horkheimer (1960: 110) endorsed the proteic
By weight alone, peanuts have a higher proportion of proteins than beans. The peanut is the quality of toasted maize. Horkheimer believed that of all vegetable staples, the peanut had
vegetable with the highest proportion of vegetable protein in the world. the lowest amount of protein—26.9 g in every 100 grams (somewhat more than in Cárdenas’
study)—but it was held more fat by far (44 g) in comparison with its carbohydrate content
Unlike leguminous plants, peanuts store oil instead of starch. During their development, (just 27 g). In caloric terms the peanut has 559 calorie units, which means it is the legume with
cotyledon plants gradually increase the amount of fat and proteins that are characteristic of the highest amount of calories in the Andean world.
peanuts. The amino acids it comprises, in decreasing order of importance, are phenylalanine
(99 mg), valine (58 mg), isoleucine (48 mg), lysine (41 mg), threonine (31 mg), methionine, and As regards minerals and vitamins, the peanut has a large amount of potassium (670 mg),
cystine (27 mg), histidine (27 mg), and tryptophan (13 mg). followed by phosphorus (430 mg), magnesium (210 mg), and much lower percentages of iron,
copper, zinc, manganese, selenium, and iodine. As for vitamins, E, K, thiamine, rivoflavin, and
As for fats, they comprise 44%-56% of their total weight. But amazing as it may seem, peanuts vitamin B6 stand out (Dweyer and Sandhu 2000: 369).
have no saturated fats, which favours the control of cholesterol. The biochemical values listed by
Dwyer and Ritu (2000) are 25% protein, 46% fat, and 12% carbohydrates. Peanuts are also rich in Ceramic depictions have thus far been here considered as a reference regarding the consumption
nitrogen (564 k/cal), and besides unsaturated fat acids they also have also saturated fatty acids. of plants and fruits in pre-Hispanic Peru, and the peanut is clearly present in vessels like those of
Paracas, in the final centuries before the Christian era, or in Moche and Nasca vessels that date
We have already asked whether the consumption of smoked peanuts alters their bromatology. to the beginning of the Christian era (cf. Vargas 1962: 109-110) (Figure 11).
Cárdenas et al. (1997: 140-141) seem to have provided an answer. They have established the
bromatological values of the peanut in various states. When raw the peanut has 559% calories, We now turn to the archaeological data on peanuts. Just like with maize, Harshberger (1898)
24% proteins, and 48% fat, whereas parboiled it has 374% calories, 27% fat, and 16% proteins. also published one of the pioneering studies of Peruvian ethnobotanics. He believed the
Finally, toasted maize has 590% calories, 51% fat, and 27% protein. This means the best way to peanut was an American plant because all those that had been found in this continent
eat it is toasted, as it increases the amount of proteins and retains the fat level, as shown by were domesticated, thus clearly proving its provenance. Harshberger also mentioned
this study. the peanut remains Max Uhle found at Pachacamac in his pioneering excavations, which

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

characteristically had a more elongated form. Harshberger realised the significance Whitaker and Bird (1949: 6) also recorded peanuts during their excavation of Huaca Prieta,
the peanut had in pre-Hispanic Peru because he noticed the specimens found were as finds that should on average date to 3000 B.C.
big as those traded in modern markets. For him this supported its prolonged use and
domestication in Peru. Bonavia (1982: 149) found a series of maize seeds and shells at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower
Huarmey Valley, which had been clearly consumed in epoch 1 of this site, which comes to
In the history of the study of the pre-Hispanic peanut, Margaret Towle (1961: 42-43) was around 4000 B.C.
already able to perceive its significance not just thanks to its ceramic depictions various
coastal cultures left behind, but also because there was already evidence of its presence in Cohen (1978: 35) in turn reported finding peanuts at the Tank site of Ancón during the Gaviota
the still few excavations undertaken up to 1961, the year she published her handbook on pre- phase (ca. 2,000 B.C.), but the documentation in this regard is scant.
Columbian ethnobotany. Towle believed the peanut was widely represented in the cultures
of the Peruvian coast. She also noted that peanuts had been discovered in a Late Preceramic A peanut shell found at La Galgada, a site in Tablachaca Canyon in the province of Pallasca, at
site in Supe, and mentioned the specimens found at Ancon by the pioneering research carried about 1100 masl, has been documented and studied. It was found in the upper layers of this
out by Rochebrune, Safford, and Wittmack. site, so it possibly dates to 1316 B.C. (Smith 1988: 128).

We now turn to more modern information. The finds made in one of the best-controlled The presence of peanuts at the archaeological site of Pampa de Llamas-Moxeque, in the
excavations as regards archaeobotanical materials is Nanchoc, on the North Coast of Peru’s lower Casma Valley, which dated to 2088-1243 B.C., was reported by Ugent et al. (1984: 420).
middle Zaña Valley. This is a series of preceramic villages where a large amount of food
refuse has been found. Peanuts have been recorded at this site albeit in wild state, not just as Ugent reported having once again found peanuts slightly to the south at the ancient ceremonial
macroremains but also as residues in the dental plaque of some human burials. temple of Las Haldas, in layers dating to 1328-390 B.C. (Ugent 1984: 422). Peanut consumption
in sites on the Casma River mouth was documented with the finding of this plant at Pampa
Rossen et al. (1996: 398) found peanuts from level 2, which has a mean date of 6971 B.C. The Rosario and San Diego, which date to 800-300 B.C. The iconographic depiction of the peanuts
question on whether this is a domesticated specimen or not cannot be easily answered. In a found on the Tello Obelisk, which belongs to the final phase of the Chavín culture, must also
previous publication, the authors argued that the fruits’ morphology indicates the plant was still date to around this time (Lathrap (1971, Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 110).
not under cultivation, and was instead gathered in the vicinity of Quebrada de Las Pircas, an area
adjoining the research area. And yet in a more recent scientific contribution, Rossen et al. (2008) Margaret Towle (1961: 43, 141) pointed out that Yacovleff and Muelle had observed the presence
opened the possibility that the specimens found can perhaps be categorised as domesticated of peanuts both in the burials found both at Paracas as well as those from the Chillón Valley;
peanut as both their morphology and the size of the starch grains (which are quite similar to the former date to at least 300 B.C. Towle believed the domestication of this plant had only
those of Arachis hypogaea) suggest it was already under cultivation at that time. begun at this time, but we have seen that recent scientific research has disproved this.

It can thus be safely concluded that peanuts were eaten on the North Coast of Peru during this In a comprehensive study of pre-Hispanic food in the Moche Valley, Pozorski showed that
phase, either in wild or domesticated state (Dillehay and Pi perno 2008: 19624). This type of peanuts were also eaten, albeit in very small amounts, at Gramalote (1800 B.C.), as well as in
maize is found in small and hirsute form and a series of capillarities that correspond to its wild Early Moche (0-A.D. 300) and Early Chimu (A.D. 800-1000) sites in the Moche Valley (Pozorski
state, as has just been noted (Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 205), but there must be other, more 1979: 170). This showed the long span of peanut consumption in this part of Peru.
evolved ones that can be conceived of as domesticated ones. A subsequent determination
made directly on the peanut shells preserved at the site gave a date of 6611 B.C. (Dillehay et The scientific literature reviewed for this book clearly shows that the Mochica were major
al. 2007: 1890), which is compatible with the date previously given. and frequent consumers of this legume, who favouring including it in their food. According
to Gregory Lockard, the inhabitants of Galindo (A.D. 600-800) in the middle Moche Valley
A more modern line of research is detecting food remains preserved on human dental plaque. consumed peanuts in significant amounts (Lockard 2005: 208, 211). Lockard believes it was by
The consumption of peanuts at Nanchoc was in fact shown through the analysis of dental far the legume most eaten by this site’s Moche population.
plaque from this site. Although the count of peanut starch is lower than in the case of the
lima beans eaten (thus showing the significance lima bean consumption has had since that Peanuts were also eaten, albeit in lower amounts, by the Mochica of Huaca del Sol during
time), the dates found in the molars range between 7142 and 5802 B.C. This is perhaps a direct the first centuries of the Christian era. It has in fact been shown that the Moche, as regards
and conclusive piece of evidence of the consumption of wild or domesticated peanuts on vegetable, preferred eating peanuts, pumpkins and beans, in this order according to the
the Peruvian North Coast since the eighth millennium B.C. Pozorskis (Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 125).

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The excrement of the Moche people also provides evidence that they ate peanuts. Here we The Italian archaeological research team has likewise documented the presence of peanuts at
present three examples. Cárdenas et al. (1997: 134), who also identified peanuts at the Moche Cahuachi in very large amounts. It is even more surprising that it has been found cooked, toasted,
site of Huaca de La Luna around A.D. 400-750, have been able to record cotyledon shells in so it is clear that the Nasca ate toasted peanuts during the first centuries of the Christian era
some Mochica human faecal remains, which clearly evinces peanut consumption. (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 3). This same study shows that the dental study of the Nasca evinced a
type of wear that corresponds not just to the consumption of toasted peanut seeds, but also of
Geyer (2003) likewise reported peanut remains in the excrement found in three burials at Dos molluscs that seem to have been eaten along with sand remains, as was noted in the study made
Cabezas, an archaeological site in the Jequetepeque River mouth, thus proving it was eaten by Andrea Drusini, the project’s physical anthropologist (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 12).
before death. The dates range between A.D. 536 and A.D. 580. Moseley et al. (2008: 83) have
however questioned that the peanut pollen found really comes from this plant, just as they The Wari also ate peanuts, as was shown by the research Tiffiny Tung undertook at Beringa
have done with the other remains found in the Dos Cabezas excrement. (Arequipa), a site in the southern marches of the empire that has been dated to ca. A.D.
650-1000.
To conclude with the faecal remains from the North Coast, this time in the lower Virú Valley,
Ericson et al. made this study in some human remains from the site of Puerto Moorín (Salinar Moving forwards in time we find that peanuts were also eaten in significant amounts in the
culture), whose dates range between the beginning of the Christian era and around A.D. 300 period of time just before the Inca. Ugent and Peterson (1988: 7) note that Wittmack presumably
(Ericson et al. 1989: 72). Peanut remains were found in the excrement, thus clearly indicating it found it among the remains of the Ancón burials, which date to ca. A.D. 1000- 1460.
was eaten at this time in this part of the valley.
The Chancay people also ate peanuts. Nelson and Bellido excavated several archaeological
The Moche from Lambayeque also consumed peanuts. The Shimadas have recorded peanut rubbish dumps in the Huaura River at a Chancay site called Chambara where they found
remains in Moche contexts in the modern-day department of Lambayeque, with dates that maize, thus showing it was part of this people’s diet (Nelson and Bellido Cerda 2010: 50). The
range between A.D. 711 and A.D. 800 (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 33). radiocarbon dates come to A.D. 1375-1625.

But it was not just the North Coast’s Moche people who ate peanuts; the people of the Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 79) likewise documented peanuts at Los Pinos, a site also in the
Paracas and Nasca cultures, in the modern-day department of Ica, also did so. Huaura River Valley and again in a Chancay context. Their figures show the people of this site
heavily consumed this legume.
Peanuts were found in large amounts in the funerary contexts of the mummies of Paracas
Cavernas and the Wari Kayan Necropolis in the Paracas Peninsula, which have been dated to Peanuts have also been found in some archaeological garbage dumps in the lower Lambayeque
ca. 400 B.C. (Tello and Mejia Xesspe 1979: 473). Valley that date to A.D. 1300-1400, a period of time that includes several cultures that
consumed peanuts throughout time (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596).
One very interesting piece of evidence comes from Cerrillos, a Paracas archaeological site that
dates to ca. 800-400 B.C. It was reported that the peanuts found at this site were exceptionally Cutright found peanut remains somewhat more to the south, in the Jequetepeque Valley,
big and had apparently been preserved under thick layers of straw. Other sites in the vicinity which was part of the food eaten by this people albeit as a complimentary item (Cutright
of Cerrillos indicate how important peanuts were for the Paracas (Splitstoser 2009: 94). 2009: 144).

The Nasca also consumed peanuts intensively (Silverman and Proulx 2002: 52). Roque et al. Malanche 22 is a site on the Central Coast of Peru some kilometres to the south between the
(2003) have reported the presence of peanut fruits and pods in the archaeological site of Casa Lurín Valley and the Chilca Ravine. Here a village was found on a loma that had a series of
Vieja in the lower Calango Valley (Ica), at about 260 masl, which had an indirect date of A.D. storehouses and dwellings. Remains of peanuts were found in its garbage dumps, in a context
530-820, i.e. in the final phase of the Nasca culture (cf. Unkel 2006: 111). Unkel emphasised the that has been dated to ca. A.D. 1200-1450 (Mujica et al. 1992).
fact that peanuts grog between 500 and 1000 masl, and that it is found both on the coast and
in the tropical forest. Still in this period of time, Ugent and Peterson (1988: 8) published remains of peanut shells
excavated at the site of La Centinela in the Chincha Valley, some 200 kilometres south of
Margaret Towle (1961: 43) documented peanuts in Nasca at Cahuachi, Huaca del Oro and Lima, that date at least to A.D. 1000-1470 in Inca times.
Ocucaje, so we have evidence of it in this part of the Peruvian coast at around A.D. 400-800.
It was also present in the first phase of this culture, as is borne out by the depictions found in Cohen reported finding considerable amounts of peanut seeds in the Inca occupation of
the iconography of the initial styles of Nasca textiles. Panquilma, a site in the middle Lurín Valley south of Lima, which were grown and at this site.

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Finally, DeNiro and Hastorf showed the presence of peanuts in Inca times in this same valley, A more specific, albeit older, biochemical study points out that every 100 grams of Canavalia
almost in the Lurín River mouth (DeNiro and Hastorf 1985: 113). in dry condition hold an average of 331 calories, 25.4 g of proteins, 1.3 g of fat, 57.1 g of
carbohydrates, 96 mg of calcium, 343 mg of phosphorus, 4.9 mg of iron, 10 mg of vitamin
Peanuts clearly were intensively consumed throughout time by the people in various cultures, A, 0.46 g of thiamine, 0.15 mg de riboflavin, and 2.1 mg of niacin, but no ascorbic acid (Wu
particularly since the beginning of the Christian era. Leung and Flores 1961). It can thus be concluded that Canavalia in dry condition has a higher
protein, carbohydrate, and fat content. The relative significance of calcium and phosphorus is
striking, and it must be considered when assessing its presence in pre-Hispanic Peru, given the
Oblique-Seeded Jack Beans, Jack Bean, Baybean [Pallar de gentiles] complete lack, or scant presence of, mammalian meat.
(Canavalia plagiosperma, Canavalia ensiformis, Canavalia maritima)
We now turn to the archaeological evidence of this legume’s consumption in pre-Hispanic
Although little known nowadays, Canavalia was consumed by Peru’s pre-Hispanic population. Peru.
The data available is however scant.
Despite the scant presence of Canavalia in the archaeological evidence, attention has been
Canavalia is a genus that comprises close to forty species, twelve of which correspond to drawn to Canavalia plagiosperma and its domestication in the Andes around 4000 B.C.
Peru including Canavalia plagiosperma, a shrub that gives this type of legume (Mostacero et (Pickersgill 2007: 927).
al. 2009: 340).
The presence of Canavalia in relatively small but constantly present amounts at La Galgada,
What do we know regarding the origins and domestication of Canavalia? Clearly less that we an archaeological site in Tablachaca Canyon (in the modern-day province of Pallasca in the
know of lima beans. Deborah Pearsall and Dolores Piperno (1998) believe its domestication department of Ancash), makes Smith consider it as a significant edible resource at this site
may have taken place in the dry Circum-Caribbean area as well as to the east of the Andes, (Smith 1988: 128). Several parts of the plant (grains, seeds, shell, epidermis, etc.) have been
i.e. in the Amazonian Andes, the Bolivian low- and wetlands, and western Amazonia. Because found since the beginning of the occupation ca. 2600 B.C.
of the toxic condition of Canavalia in its natural state, Pearsall and Piperno believe that a
social network must have developed in order to disseminate the method used to remove this Towle (1961: 45) reminds us that Canavalia was found in Huaca Prieta since ca. 3000 B.C.
substance and thus contributed to its diffusion. Since the lima bean has similar characteristics, Lawrence Kaplan concurs and studied Canavalia in this same site but during its Cupisnique
it is possible that both processes took place hand in hand. occupation, so we can assume it was eaten at this time in this part of the North Coast

Jonathan Sauer and Lawrence Kaplan (1969) made a brief study that is worth summarising Patterson and Moseley (1968: 116) reported the presence of Canavalia in the Pampa de Ancón
here. They believe that Canavalia apparently had five wild ancestors, Canavalia maritima, phase, albeit with insufficiently documented contexts, for which radiocarbon have a mean
Canavalia brasiliensis, Canavalia dictyota, Canavalia piperi, and Canavalia boliviana. As date of 3075 B.C.
regards the presence of Canavalia in Peru, they mention that it frequently appears in Mochica
ceramics as well as in Paracas textiles. Sauer and Kaplan also specify that Canavalia ensiformis On the other hand, the analysis of the coproliths found at Los Gavilanes, in a stratum that
is believed to have originated in Central America and the Caribbean. dates to 3200-2200 B.C., showed Canavalia was eaten albeit in limited fashion (Weir and
Bonavia 1985: 99).
For Sauer and Kaplan there two characteristics that must be borne in mind in regard to
Canavalia: it is on the one hand a highly resistant plant that can survive in dry soils and Abundant remains of Canavalia were found at the site of Huaca Prieta in layers Q to E, which
withstand insect activity, and on the other hand it has a great capability to develop as it grows go from 2899 B.C. to ca. the first millennium B.C. Callen studied the residues of the food eaten
well wherever its beans fall. Unlike other legumes, Canavalia thus has a high adaptive and at this site found in the faecal remains, and claims Canavalia is the residue most frequently
survival capacity. present, with a date of 2899-2753 (Callen 1965: 335). This shows the importance this plant’s
consumption had.
Canavalia ensiformis and Canavalia piperi (mature) from Matto Grosso, Brazil, the Bolivian
lowlands and North Western Argentina comprise 23% proteins, 55% carbohydrates, and 1% fat Residues of Canavalia have been found in the archaeological human faeces from Puerto
(Purselove 1968, in Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 132). So according to the study, from a proteic Moorin (a Salinar site from the early Christian era) on the North Coast in the lower Virú Valley
standpoint Canavalia surpasses beans. (Ericson et al. 1989: 74). Canavalia was also eaten during the Mochica occupation (ca. A.D.
0-600) of Huaca de la Cruz, a site in the Virú Valley.

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Canavalia was also consumed on the South Coast. The Paracas for instance were acquainted with Dolores Piperno and Deborah Pearsall (1998: 163-164) have a broader position. They claim the
it and ate it. Paracas mummy contexts also held remains of Canavalia gladiata, which means it was lima bean may have been domesticated in an area that would extend from southern Central
being eaten in this peninsula since around 400 B.C. (Tello and Mejía Xesspe 1979: 473). America to northern South America, as well as to south-eastern Ecuador and north-eastern
Peru (as was the case of the pallar ancho).
It has been clear that the Nasca consumed Canavalia even since Margaret Towle made her
pioneering observations in her major study of pre-Columbian ethnobotany. Towle identified As with Canavalia, it is interesting that Piperno and Pearsall argue that the culinary techniques
Canavalia at Cahuachi, Huaca del Oro, Ocucaje, and Estaquería (Towle 1961: 45), and believed (cooking for a minimum of six hours in order to remove its toxic content) used both with the
that it had been domesticated in Peru only since the beginning of the Christian era (Towle lima bean and with Canavalia had a major role in spreading the domestication of both plants.
1961: 143). The recent finding of Canavalia at Cahuachi by the Italian archaeological mission The reader will probably wonder why. This procedure, and particularly lima bean desiccation,
has confirmed what Towle posited over fifty years ago (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 3). had to be known and disseminated in order to reduce or remove the toxic cyanine content,
which had to be done before consumption (Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 139).
The Wari also consumed Canavalia, apparently roasted. The remains of this plant have been
found in large amounts in association with lima beans, in the hearth of a contemporary camp Margaret Towle (1961: 52) points out the lima bean is a plant that naturally grows in temperate
on the north side of the Huarmey River mouth. Bonavia et al. (2009: 242) recorded the remains environments but which can adopt to several, and that wild forms of it have been found in
of lima beans and Canavalia in significant amounts in a hearth were they were roasted, and Guatemala, so this may have been its place of origin.
this was in a Wari 3 camp (ca. A.D. 800).
The lima bean evident food source, and it must be conceived thus within the context of pre-
The Chancay also ate Canavalia. Nelson and Bellido Cerda (2010: 50) found its remains in the Hispanic Peru. Its bromatological properties on average comprise 22 g of protein, 5 g of fibre,
Chancay garbage dumps at the sites of Rontoy and Chambara, which are in the Huaura Valley. 385 mg of phosphorus, 176 mg of magnesium, 1,874 mg of potassium, 23 mg of sodium, 74 mg
The radiocarbon dates range between .A.D 1265 and A.D. 1625. of calcium, 1.95 mg of manganese, 1.29 mg of copper, 4.24 mg of zinc, y 6.12 mg of iron. Besides
this, the main amino acids it contains are glutamic acid, aspartic acid, lysine, isoleucine, and
phenylamine (Olobhobo and Fetuga 1983).
Lima Beans [Pallar, Huarhui, Poroto] (Phaseolus lunatus)
It should however be pointed out that Larsen (2000: 26) claims consuming leguminous plants
We now turn to the lima bean, of which there is no question had a major role in the pre- like lima beans lowers iron absorption in human beings. If this is indeed so, it may not have been
Hispanic diet. Debouck (1991) notes the Phaseolus genus comprises some 55 species in America. an ideal dietary and nutritional companion of certain items that have a large amount of iron, like
beans, chuño or some shellfish, as it would have reduced the content of this important mineral.
The lima bean is a South American annual climbing legume that gives white seeds that have
a pleasant taste, and which have up to 19% protein. It was thus highly important in the pre- We turn now to the archaeological record of the lima bean in pre-Hispanic Peru. Margaret Towle
Hispanic diet even though it has glycoside and hydrogen cyanide, which are somewhat toxic based herself on the illustrations published by Larco Hoyle and noted the significant presence
(Mostacero et al. 2009: 360). this plant had in the ceramic depictions made by various cultures, particularly coastal ones like
Paracas, Nasca, Wari, and even Lambayeque. Towle believed it was highly consumed on the coast,
There are essentially to positions regarding the American origin of the lima bean. The first at least from 400 B.C. to A.D. 1450, i.e. throughout a large part of Peru’s cultural development.
positions is that of Marechal (1978), who claimed that the species P. maculatus, P. marechalii,
P. ritensis, P. jaliscanus, P. salicifolius, and P. polystachyus have a great affinity with Phaseolus The most ancient evidence of the lima bean in Peru thus far comes from Guitarrero Cave
lunatus. in the Callejón de Huaylas, at around 2850 masl. Its age is still however debated due to the
possible perturbation of the layer where it was found in. Here we shall dwell on this subject
The second position is held by Maquet et al. (1999). They argue their phylogenetic study because it involves not just the lima bean but also another group of extremely ancient plants
(using protein and isoenzyme electrophoresis, which was compared with wild Mesoamerican that were found in a good state of preservation in Guitarrero Cave.
and Andean lima beans) showed the Mesoamerican species are more distant from Phaseolus
lunatus than the Andean ones. Mesoamerican species would thus be part of the third The final report on the excavations undertaken at Guitarrero lists and presents evidence of
generation of the genetic pool, whereas the Andean ones (P. pachyrrhizoides, P. augusti P. aft. preceramic lima beans from level IIC (in the earliest part of the cave), which averages an age of
bolivianus) would be a second genetic generation. Maquet et al. therefore suggest that from around 8200-7800 B.C. (Kaplan 1980: 145-148) after our calibration of this stratum (León 2007:
a phylogenetic standpoint, lima beans would have had originated in the Andes. 175-179), the critiques made notwithstanding.

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There are two main positions in regard to the ethnobotanical findings of lima beans made camp (12BVII, House XIII). These specimens were examined by Hugh Cutler, one of the pioneers
at Guitarrero Cave. The first position is based on the stratigraphy and on the conventional of American ethnobotany, who classified them as such, and then by Kaplan. This apparently
radiocarbon method, while the second one is supported by a more recent research based gave a date of 4717 B.C. (Kaplan and Lynch 1999: 270), but the truth is there still is no specific
solely on lab dates obtained through AMS (Accelerator of Mass Spectrometry). In the former report of the context in which the sample was found (here it is worth bearing in mind the
position, Gary Vescelius concluded there were two occupations, one that started in 8000 critical Bonavia’s critical stance in regard to the lima beans found at Chilca; Bonavia 1982: 318).
B.C. and the second one in 5900 B.C. Leon subsequently proposed, based on radiocarbon Later AMS radiocarbon determinations obtained directly from the pod gave 4406 B.C., a date
calibration, that complex II, where lima beans (among other relevant plants) were found dates that is consistent with previously published ones—unlike those for Guitarrero Cave.
to 9600-6100 B.C. and has slightly older age after a radiometric assessment. It can thus be said
that the chronological inconsistencies do not invalidate the chronology in general terms, at Fragments, cotyledons and the skin of several lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus) have been reported
least in terms of an error of a millennium at most (Lynch et al. 1985: 864). in the excavations of La Galgada (a site in the Tablachaca Canyon in the modern-day province
of Pallasca, in the department of Áncash), at about 1100 masl, and whose dates range between
Turning to the second position, which is supported by radiocarbon dates based on materials 2600 and 1800 B.C. (Smith 1988: 130). Finding out why lima beans vanished once pottery was
deposited in the cave, Kaplan and Lynch (1999: 269) presented lima bean dates that had been introduced would be interesting, but this has apparently not yet been solved. Even more
directly measured with AMD and gave 1786 B.C. as the oldest date. The latter date is striking because relevant is that Earle Smith, who was guided by Kaplan—the expert on Phaseolus—claims that
it is extremely recent in comparison with the dates obtained for the other materials found in this the measures of the preceramic lima beans are similar to those of more recent ones when
cave. The question here is whether the sequence presented and corrected by Lynch and other fully domesticated (Smith 1988: 130); this indicates heir development and temporal depth
scholars is valid, or whether instead full credit must be given to the AMS dates. I believe AMS may since they were cultivated, probably in the early Holocene. The observation regarding the
not have sufficient capacity to remove contamination or some other noise effect that has still to “Big Lima” beans also concurs with that of Guitarrero itself, as well as with those observations
be studied, and unreservedly prefer the earlier dates. On the other hand, archaeology is based on made by Towle and Yacovleff and Herrera in the first half of the twentieth century. There is
the principle of association, which has to be its main tenet, whereas radiocarbon is the means used thus almost a consensus regarding the “Big Lima”: it apparently is native to the Andes.
to establish an absolute chronology. Readers can draw their own conclusions.
Capps (1987: 54) noticed the presence of Canavalia and lima beans in the excavations of Asia,
Turning now to the lima beans themselves, Lynch et al. (1985) reported that the seeds were a site on the Central Coast in the lower Mala Valley, ca. 1490 B.C.
found in units 122, 123, and 150, and Kaplan (1980) claims that the Guitarrero lima bean variety,
which is known as “Big Lima,” is different from other, smaller ones from parts of Central America, Huaca Prieta, a site that was made known by the pioneering research undertaken by Junius
and was independently domesticated since the beginning of the Holocene, just like happened Bird and his team in the 1940s-1950s, also held lima beans in its initial occupation layers (level
with the bean. Here we must emphasise an observation Yacovleff and Herrera made regarding Q), which dated to ca. 2899-2753 B.C. Bird et al. (1985: 234) noted that during the preceramic
the great variety in size and colour of the Peruvian lima beans found in archaeological sites period lima beans were most frequently found in association with beans, and concluded that
(Towle 1961: 53); this perhaps bespeak of the great temporal depth of lima bean cultivation in both legumes were intensively eaten since ca. 2000 B.C. The study of Huaca Prieta was also a
the Central Andes in Peru. pioneer in site analysis, with the then-innovative palaeoscatology or coprolith study. Callen
and Cameron (1960) thus found remains of legumes in “possibly” human faecal remains from
A direct and better-controlled evidence of lima bean consumption comes from the Nanchoc Huaca Prieta, which included what can be considered to have been lima beans.
Valley, just like other cultigens under review here. Piperno and Dillehay studied 39 dental
pieces from skeletons found in this complex of archaeological sites and cemetery, mostly Lima beans have been recorded for the Conchas phase at Ancón (ca. 2700 B.C.). They began to
from the Middle Preceramic Period. The dental plaque in an incisor had Phaseolus lunatus be eaten at Caral, in the Supe Valley, around 1600 B.C. It is worth noting that the seeds of this
starch which was recovered. This tooth was dated to a mean date of 6930 B.C., so it can be plant were excavated in partially carbonised condition, thus indicating they were exposed to
said for sure that lima beans were eaten at this time on the north coast of Peru. It should also fire in order to cook them (Flores Blanco 2006).
be pointed out that some believe the grain of starch in the lima bean had traits that hint at its
domestication, but this is a preliminary interpretation. Other teeth—mostly molars—also had Lima beans have been reported with slightly more recent dates for the site of Pampa de
this type of starch almost continuously throughout the occupation of Nanchoc. These teeth Llamas-Moxeque, in the lower Casma Valley (Ugent et al. 1984), with a date of 2088-1243 B.C.
that ate lima beans date to 7142-5802 B.C.
The Nasca also consumed lima beans and Canivalia (Silverman and Proulx 2002: 52). The
Next in the chronology is the Chilca Canyon, another major site where lima beans (Phaseolus archaeological data is scant, but Roque et al. (2003) have documented the presence of the
lunatus) have been excavated. Lima bean pods were found before 1963 by Frédérick Engel in a fruits and seeds of the pallar de los gentiles and of Phaseolus lunatus at Casa Vieja, a site

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in the lower Calango (Ica) Valley. No radiocarbon dates are available, but we can indirectly This leguminous plant is likewise well documented in other Paracas sites. Towle (1961: 53) for instance
infer that this site dates to A.D. 530-820 (cf. Unkel 2006: 111), i.e. Late Nasca during the Middle mentions that Paul Mangelsdorf reported lima beans in Paracas Cavernas funerary contexts.
Horizon or Wari Empire.
Lima beans were also found in the excavations of Cerrillos, an Early Paracas site in the upper
Kaplan and Lynch (1999: 266) reported an indirect date of 429 B.C. for lima beans from Ica Valley that dates to around 800-600 B.C. (Splitstoser 2009: 94).
Huacaloma, a site in Cajamarca. This date is consistent with another from this same stratum,
i.e. 228 B.C., so it is plausible that lima beans were eaten in this part of Cajamarca at that time. Duccio Bonavia et al. (2009: 242) documented the remains of a significant amount of lima
bean and Canavalia seeds in the hearth in which they were roasted in a Wari epoch 3 camp
Quilter et al. (1991: 280) reported the presence of lima beans at El Paraíso, a site that is quite (ca. A.D. 800). The colour range of the lima beans found at this site is interesting: black, dark
close to the Chillón River mouth north of Lima. This should date to ca. 2150 B.C. red, and cinnamon in order of preference (Bonavia et al. 2009: 261). The site is known as PV35-4
and lies on the littoral immediately north of the Huarmey River mouth.
Bonavia (1982: 149) documented lima bean remains at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower
Huarmey Valley, with dates that ranged between 2300 and 1480 B.C. The analysis of the lima Lima bean consumption seems to have increased in the Late Intermediate Period, albeit in association
bean specimens from this site was undertaken by Lawrence Kaplan, and it indicated that this with Canavalia. They have been found at Chambara, which dates to A.D. 1375-1625, while both were
plant was evidently cultivated first in the warm and humid inter-Andean valleys, and was then found at Los Pinos, a Chancay site in the lower Huaura Valley (Lanfranco y Eggers 2010: 79).
disseminated onto the coast (Bonavia 1982: 321).
A Chimu context provides another piece of evidence of the association of lima beans with
Pozorski (1979: 170) in turn reported a minimum presence of lima beans at the site of Alto Canavalia. Robyn Cutright (2009: 144) for instance reports finding the remains of lima beans and
Salaverry (1600 B.C.). She drew attention to the absence of this legume in Mochica and Chimu Canavalia at Pedregal, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, as remains of the food eaten.
sites in the Moche Valley, and even in the city of Chan Chan.
Perry (2002: 337) showed the discovery, still in the Late Intermediate Period, of lima beans at the
This observation aside, the Mochica clearly consumed lima beans in abundance. Geyer (2003) Chimu site of Manchan (final southern phase, A.D. 1470-1523), which is in the lower Casma Valley.
noticed the presence of lima beans remains in the excrement of three individuals buried at
Dos Cabezas (a site in the Jequetepeque Valley) that dated to A.D. 536-580 (Moseley et al. Lima beans and Canavalia were also part of the diet of the people of Panquilma—a site in the
2008: 83). Reinhard et al. (2007: 536) have however questioned this find. middle Lurín Valley—during its Inca occupation since around A.D. 1460, but they were not as
important as maize of beans (Cohen 1975: 53).
Lima bean remains have also been found on the North Coast in archaeological human faecal
remains or coproliths from Puerto Moorin, in the lower Virú Valley (Ericson et al. 1989: 74). Lima beans have been documented at around the same time—A.D. 1000-1470, including the
These remains belong to the Salinar culture, which approximately dates to the first centuries Inca Empire—at La Centinela, a site in the Chincha Valley that lies almost on the shoreline
of the Christian era. Cárdenas et al. (1997: 134) reported finding lima beans in Huaca de la Luna, itself some 200 km south of Lima (Ugent and Peterson 1988: 8).
in a Mochica context that dates to A.D. 400-750. We should bear in mind that in this same
study Cárdenas et al. report having found lima beans and skins in Mochica faecal remains, thus A recent analysis of stable isotopes in human bones from the tombs at Machu Picchu (Turner
directly showing its frequent consumption (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 138-139). It is even relevant et al. 2010: 524) established that many of these individuals ate raw lima beans throughout
that legume seeds (probably lima beans) in carbonised state have been found, thus implying their life, and eventually only one time cooked or boiled.
they were roasted, i.e. cooked.
Margaret Towle (1961: 45 and 53) was able to document Canvalia and lima beans in her study
Lockard (2005: 211) in turn reported finding at least one lima bean seed at Galindo, a North of Pachacamac under Inca occupation: this was confirmed by DeNiro and Hastorf (1985: 113).
Coast site in the middle Moche Valley, so it is possible that it was eaten at this site at least in
low intensity.
Common Bean [Fréjol, Ahuihua, Alorma, Biik, Chaucha, Porotillo] (Phaseolus vulgaris)
Both the Moche and the Nasca were equally frequent consumers of lima beans, as can be
seen in museum ceramic pieces. Margaret Towle noted the presence of this plant at sites like On Sunday 4th November 1492, barely three weeks after having first stepped on American soil,
Cahuachi, Huaca del Oro, the Ocucaje tombs and Estaquería (Towle 1961: 45). Christopher Columbus saw areas sown with “fabas” to the north of the island of Cuba whose
shape was quite different from those grown in Spain (Kaplan 2000: 271).

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For American aboriginal populations beans were and still are a very rich source of protein, its dissemination to South America; the second one envisioned primary domestication in the
and are also low in fat (except for seed oil), sodium and bad cholesterol (Sathe and Andes followed by transportation to Mexico (i.e. the opposite of the first scenario); finally, the
Despande 2003). Its delicate cultivation conditions notwithstanding, beans are by far the third case considered independent domestication in both regions.
most cultivated legume in the world, and for many populations they are the source of
meat-replacing protein. In a more mature account of the origins and domestication of beans, Kaplan (2000: 273-274)
explained that some traits characterised this plant whilst evolving, to wit its “gigantism” (an
According to both authors Asia is nowadays the first world producer of beans with 48.8% increase in the size of the seed and other parts of the plant); the suppression of dispersal
of the total output, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean with 26.98%, and Mexico mechanisms in the seed (a lower tendency of the pod to form spirals); and changing maturation
with 7.48%. Although Peru is below these levels, it has varieties that indicate the significance among other biochemical and physiological characteristics. There elements however have
Phaseolus vulgaris had in the Andes. For instance the muña variety can be catalogued as not been properly studied genetically.
a popcorn bean because it bursts when cooked, albeit not as spectacularly as its maize
counterpart (National Research Council 1989a: 12). Kaplan argued that cultivated Phaseolus can be distinguished from wild ones in archaeological
sites by the size of the seeds and the structure of “indehiscent” grains (for the dispersal of
Although not as widely disseminated as maize, beans are instead grown in a wider range of pollen and seeds). From his research, which is based not just on botanical tests but also on
ecological tiers. Graham and Ranalli (1997) prepared a significant compilation regarding the recent molecular evidence, it follows that the origins of the bean definitely lie in the Andes. A
origin, morphology, and domestication of beans. The major conclusions they reached is that key argument of his is the posited hypothetical presence of phaseolin, the bean’s main protein
beans originated in America and are now globally distributed from 52°N (e.g. Quebec) to 32°S component. It turns out that all of the world’s Phaseolus —Europe, Africa and the United
(Santiago de Chile), and from 0 to 3,000 masl. Human intervention in this process is beyond Stated included—have T-type phaseolin; since it is of Andean origin, it must have first set out
question. from the Peruvian Andes.

It should also be pointed out that the American Phaseolus genus includes 160 species, five of Paul Gepts, from the University of California, Davis, is another scholar who has made a major
which were domesticated in pre-Hispanic times; this includes both common beans (P. vulgaris contribution to the study of beans. In the work on the genetic pool he prepared with another
L.) and lima beans (P. lunatus L.). Cultivated bean varieties are known archaeologically from colleague (Koenig and Gepts 1989), Koenig and Gepts established that whereas Mesoamerican
North America up to Chile (Kaplan and Lynch 1999). beans had a range that extends from Mesoamerica to Colombia, the range of Andean beans
extends instead from southern Peru to Argentina. They thus posited the presence of two
We will now go over part of the history of this major plant, both as part of the diet in the independent domestication centres.
past as well as in the present. Much has been said regarding its origins. For instance, Burkart
and Bruecher (1953) believed the wild bean found in Bolivia, Peru and Central America was the In a subsequent study (Gepts 1990), as well as another one done in association with other
ancestor of the domesticated bean. So at that time it was already believed that beans had scholars (Singh et al. 1991), Gepts claims that the racial difference between Mesoamerican
originated both in Mexico as well as in the Andes. and Andean beans had developed since the diversification of the wild ancestors in both areas
took place. This position reinforced his previous conclusion regarding the presence of two
Vavilov in turn favoured the idea that it had originated in Mexico and Central America, but he independent and exclusive centres of domestication.
did not discuss this (Smith 1968: 255).
In a slightly more recent study than the above-mentioned one, Gepts and Debouck (1991)
Lawrence Kaplan has probably made the greatest contribution to our knowledge of the claim that beans developed evolving—both in Mesoamerica and the Andes since at least
history of beans. Kaplan long ago presented a summary in this regard (Kaplan 1965) that he seven or eight thousand years ago—into a big leguminous plant, and a very rich source of
later updated (Kaplan 1981). Kaplan discussed the closest filiation of Phaseolus vulgaris vis-à- protein for the pre-Hispanic populations of both American regions. It is worth mentioning
vis the species Phaseolus vulgaris L. Phaseolus aborigineus Buró, and Phaseolus aborigineus that Zohary (2001) reached the same conclusion in regard to independent domestications,
var. hondurensis Burk. For Kaplan several candidates, from various places, vied for the position both in Mesoamerica as well as in South America.
of ancestor of the bean.
The noted ethnobotanists Dolores Piperno and Deborah Pearsall (1998: 163) in turn concluded
Kaplan likewise concluded that no scientific group had ruled out the possibility of independent that the bean was domesticated in Guatemala as well as in the area of the Balsas River. They
domestications in Mesoamerica and South America. He therefore believed there were three did not, however, rule out other areas like northern Colombia, the area east of the Andes, the
possible scenarios. The first one posited the initial domestication of the bean in Mexico and wet Bolivian lowlands, and eastern Brazil.

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Basing themselves on the information other scholars provide, Piperno and Pearsall used several and energy. This detail is worth bearing in mind when assessing the occurrence of beans (and
independent lines of evidence ranging from phytolith and macroremains analysis to genetic the possible ways in which these were cooked) throughout the pre-Hispanic period.
studies to posit there were two centres of bean domestication, one for small seeds and one
for bigger seeds, which would have developed in the Peruvian Andes. Following Piperno and Here we conclude this summary of the origins and domestication of beans, and we now
Pearsall, a third centre of domestication may hypothetically have been in northern Colombia briefly turn to the bromatology of this major legume.
(Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 135).
Beans frequently provide 300-350 kilocalories for every 100 grams. They are also rich in
Debouck et al. (1993, including Gepts) pointed out that wild beans have been found in complex carbohydrates, vitamins B (especially thiamine, rivoflavin, and niacin), B6 and E,
concentrations in Ecuador and northern Peru, and that throughout its history Andean beans fibres, and some minerals in the form of significant amounts of calcium and iron, as well as
adapted to higher altitudes than Mesoamerican ones, as well as to the typical cold climate of copper, zinc, sodium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus. However, it is possible that
these areas. In this way they added data to the characterisation of Andean beans. one of its most significant contents is the proteins that comprise 15-25% per seed, followed
by carbohydrates (50-75% per seed). According to Rodrigo (2000) it is worth recalling that
Papa and (once again) Gepts (2003) used genetic analysis to insist on the presence, alongside part of the starch found in beans resists digestion in humans and therefore acts like fibre,
wild and domesticated beans, of ‘intermediate’ (under domestication) beans and the ‘frejol thus favouring the digestive system and combatting obesity. It is also known that beans help
de rama,’ which would have to be traced in order to complete the picture of this plant’s prevent colon cancer and reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood (this is especially
domestication, at least in Mesoamerica. true of the black bean due to its anthocyanin content). It is however known they inhibit the
fixation of several minerals in the body.
Zeder et al. (2006: 146) more recently accepted that from a genetic point of view there
were two centres of bean domestication, one in Mesoamerica and one in South America, as In a broader bromatological assessment, Mostacero et al. (2009: 361) claim beans are an annual
most positions posit. Yet unlike other students they claim no major morphological changes herb that has up to one thousand varieties and contains 19% protein, vitamins (A, B, B1, B2,
separate both beans. B5, C) and the above-cited minerals, as well as trigonelline, silicic acid, hemicellulose, and
toxoalbumin. This last substance is toxic, but it can be destroyed with prolonged cooking.
We should recall that beans, as Carl Sauer pointed out, was part of the triad beans-maize-
squash (as was already noted for maize), in what is an unparalleled symbiotic complex—while It is important that these scholars point out that dry bean seeds are an excellent diuretic, and
maize grows tall and required sunlight and humidity, beans climb around its stalk in order to are also used against anaemia and malnutrition. We can wonder, just like in the case of other
share light and their roots hold nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Finally, the squash tends to encircle resource of vegetable origin, whether the protein content of dehydrated beans rises or not.
the base of these two plants, as if it were the complex’s line of defence (Sauer 1952: 64), so
finding them together should come as no surprise. What evidence is there of bean consumption in pre-Hispanic Peru? Beans have a long history
of research in Peruvian archaeological contexts. The first beans to be studied were part of the
Duccio Bonavia et al. (2009: 277) has also pointed out that combining these three plants pioneering research carried out at Ancón in the late nineteenth century. Graham and Ranalli
in meals provides most of the carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins required for nutrition, (1997) cite the analysis made by Wittmack, who published a report of his study of the Ancón
particularly when one also consumes fruits like the cherimoya and ají, which have a large beans around 1880. As we shall now see, a series of studies documenting the discovery of
amount of vitamins. Potatoes, sweet potatoes and cassava, tubers which abound in Peru, pre-Hispanic beans ensued.
provided in turn large amounts of carbohydrates and calories. This is a key observation by
Bonavia and his team, because it addresses the issue of nutritional balance in the pre-Hispanic But before we turn to this point what international evidence do we have, especially for
period. Mesoamerica? The first datum available in the scientific literature is that the earliest (wild) bean
comes from Huachichocana Cave (Jujuy), in strata dated to 7600-4700. The Mexican data are
Besides, the common bean, just like the lima bean, is a legume that has the excellent property also obviously mentioned, particularly those for Ocampo (Tamaulipas), which date to 4000-
of fixing nitrogen in its roots. Although this is not directly consumed by human beings, it is 2300 B.C. The authors however point out that new AMS dates for wild—undomesticated—
highly beneficial for other plants like maize, which have their growth ensured when sown bean (Phaseolinae) samples from the well-known archaeological site of Guilá Naquitz have
close to beans, and this may even extend to other plants (Cabieses 1996: 203-205). been available for over ten years; once calibrated, the oldest date came to 6442 B.C. (Kaplan
y Lynch 1999: 264). In general terms we see that Mesoamerican beans date to the Middle to
Fernando Cabieses constantly mentioned that boiled pieces are perhaps more frequent on Late Holocene, which is when the process of domestication must have begun.
the coast because the boiling point takes longer in the highlands, and thus requires more fuel

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As regards variability, the authors show that whereas there are two varieties of Phaseolus For Kaplan this can only be explained if the process of domestication began much earlier than
vulgaris (1 and 11) in Mexico, in Peru there is just one variety (Pv4) at Guitarrero Cave; however, the most ancient finds made at Guitarrero Cave, i.e. probably during the Early Holocene as was
the discussion of the materials found in this cave will show the latter variety is older. It has suggested above, immediately after or (perhaps) simultaneously with the glacial thawing of
also been stressed that both the Mexican and the Peruvian findings share two characteristics— Younger Dryas, as of 10800 B.C. This suggests, as Kaplan noted, that the beans of the varieties
they are both domesticated, and they come from dry areas. It is known that Phaseolus vulgaris found were domesticated in Peru independently of Mexico.
grows and develops in more humid places, so Kaplan and Lynch suggest they may have even
been domesticated a long time before the dates shown. Following the chronology we come next to the Ayacucho Project (MacNeish 1981: 162), which
also documented beans in Pikimachay Cave, in strata they dated to around 4100 B.C. to 6000
If we list the remains of pre-Hispanic beans, we clearly have to carry out an in-depth B.C. There is however no specific published ethnobotanic report that supports this type of
examination of the finds made by the excavations undertaken at Guitarrero Cave (2850 masl) scientific information. Despite the contradictions present in the final reports of the Ayacucho
in the Callejón de Huaylas. These remains date no less than to the Early Holocene, quite study as regards this plant (cf. Bonavia 1982: 321) and in light of new evidence, we can at least
literally to just after the ice layers of the Younger Dryas glaciation retreated. raise the possibility that in Ayacucho the beans actually do date to the Middle Holocene, but
here we are fully within the realm of speculation.
Kaplan et al. (1973: 77) presented the first radiocarbon dates for bean seeds from this cave.
They analysed at least thirty seeds from the lowest strata. In their observations the beans As part of the AMS preceramic-bean dating project, Kaplan and Lynch (1999: 265, table 1)
had at least two colour compositions, dark red (red-purple) and red-dark brown (similar to published one date for a bean seed from Chilca (12BVII, House XIII), which is south of Lima,
the Ayacucho variety). They also had a varied shape: rounded ones, more flattened ones, and and which gave a calibrated result of 4406 B.C. Although in this case we also do not have
kidney-shaped beans. Five round-shaped beans and two pods in this series gave a radiocarbon specific analyses, we can raise the possibility that this bean had already been domesticated
date of 6531 B.C. We should bear in mind that Kaplan and his team had already anticipated in and that it was eaten by the ancient Lima population at least during the fifth millennium B.C.
1973 that the beans would date to at least 6000 B.C. Once calibrated, this statement confirms Conventional analyses are still however required in order to corroborate this hypothesis.
their first claim.
Paloma, a Middle-Late Preceramic (ca. 6000-2500 B.C.) site that comprises huts and burials lies
Even assuming the critiques regarding the radiocarbon chronology are “lateral” critiques (León in the same area. Here Robert Benfer (2008: 378) reported having found beans that go back to
2007), this still leaves open the possibility that the presence of domesticated beans in these at least 3630 B.C. (level 200). This bean was already domesticated, as was shown by Weir and
strata does in fact date to ca. 8500 B.C. because in Kaplan’s original report (1980: 145-148) they Dering (1986: 28).
were recorded in level IIa (i.e. ca. 9000 B.C.), and then in the following levels (especially in the
reliable level IId, i.e. 7800-7300 B.C. The persistence and continuity of beans in the various Leguminous plants that perhaps include beans have been found relatively frequently in
preceramic strata is an argument for their continuous consumption since they were first Pachamachay Cave (Junín), at around 4300 masl (Pearsall 1978-1980: 66-67), since at least 2155 B.C.
eaten. For Smith this continuity (as was noted by Bonavia 1982: 321) amounts to domestication
because he conclusively established that the beans from Guitarrero Cave’s Complex II were Remains of Phaseolus sp. (which can be either beans or lima beans) have more recently been
already domesticated, hence the presence of domesticated beans around 9200 B.C. reported at Quebrada de los Burros a site in a dry environment on the Tacna Littoral. The
dates average to 5400-4800 B.C. (Chévalier 2012a, 2012b: 465).
It was in these circumstances that new radiocarbon measurements were made using AMS,
which yielded different dates. For instance, Kaplan and Lynch (1999: 265, table 1) reported Some bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) skins were also found at La Galgada, a site in Tablachaca
the date for a domesticated bean seed in Complex IId that I calibrated to 2903 B.C. It should Canyon (Ancash), and have dates that range from ca. 2600 to 1800 B.C. (Smith 1988: 130).
be noted that in a subsequent study Kaplan himself questioned the accuracy of the AMS
method in regard to this type of plant. The dates clearly are not fully consistent, but given the Rafael Vega-Centeno (2007) found the remains of bean seeds on the Central Coast at Cerro
contexts and the massive amount of other remains we can be certain (even after discarding Lampay, in the Fortaleza Valley to the north of the department of Lima. These seeds were in
the oldest dates) that at least in Guitarrero Cave, beans were quite probably under cultivation a context that has been assumed to be food refuse and have been dated between 2410 B.C.
during the seventh millennium B.C. on the Santa River Valley floor (Lynch 1973: 77). and 2064 B.C.

From the standpoint of size, we should bear in mind that when studying the beans from all of The chronology of the well-known site of Caral is almost contemporary with that of Cerro
the excavation levels at Guitarrero Cave, Kaplan (1980) concluded that the size of the seeds Lampay and extends from 2585 to 1938 B.C. Shady et al. (2001) reported having found beans,
had not changed, and that they were even smaller in other contemporary archaeological sites. but the full evidence has yet to be presented. It is equally important in this regard pointing

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out that some of the beans found at this site had traces of having been scorched, so this is a It is well-known that the Mochica, Nasca and Chimu profusely depicted beans on their
good piece of evidence (and one of the few) that beans were exposed to fire, perhaps roasted ceramic pieces (e.g. Vargas 1962: 109). Vargas believes beans may have been cultivated by these
or grilled (cf. Flores Blanco 2006). cultures in the inter-Andean mesothermal valleys.

The site of Caballete in the Fortaleza Valley has more recently been excavated (Haas et al. 2013) The evidence for bean consumption abounds on the North Coast, particularly since the
and starch grains of the Phaseolus genus were found. This does not rule the possibility that these beginning of the Christian era with the coming of the Moche. Shelia Pozorski (1979: 170)
are actually beans. The interesting thing here is that these residues were over the surface of stone reported finding beans, albeit in very small amounts, in archaeological sites in the vicinity
tools that were perhaps used to grind or prepare this legume. Given that the context dates to 2540 of the Moche Valley like Gramalote (1800 B.C.), huacas with Early Moche and Early Chimu
B.C., this would be one of the first pieces of evidence of bean ‘milling’ on the coasts of Peru. occupations in this same valley, and even in the city of Chan Chan.

Feldman (1980: 317) has also reported finding beans at Áspero, which is almost on the Supe Even so, the low presence of beans thus far is low in comparison with what is found in all of
River mouth and has a similar chronology. the typical North Coast iconography, where this legume so frequently appears.

Thomas Patterson and Edward Moseley (1968: 117) noted the presence, during the excavation The site of Puerto Moorin, in the Virú Valley, was occupied from about the first to the fourth
of the Ancón sites, of beans from this same period that come from the Playa Hermosa phase, centuries A.D. Here Ericson et al. (1989: 73) studied faecal remains that show beans were
which averages to 2634 B.C. The available archaeological documentation is insufficient. frequently eaten at this time, which is contemporary with the beginning of the Mochica
culture, down even to the time of the Wari. This verifies bean consumption in this part of the
What is clear is that beans were eaten at El Paraíso, a site in the lower Chillón Valley north of North Coast.
Lima, since ca. 2150 B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 280).
176 bean skins have also been found at Huaca del Sol, in the lower Moche Valley, so the
Another piece of evidence from the Peruvian coast comes from the site of Alto Salaverry in Mochica evidently consumed this legume at this site (Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 125).
the Moche Valley, where domesticated beans were definitely present around 1600 B.C., as was
confirmed by Bonavia (1982: 322). Beans were likewise found at Huaca de la Luna in A.D. 400-750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 134). In this
same study Cárdenas et al. show beans always went with maize in Mochica food (Cárdenas
Pampa de Llamas, an archaeological site in the lower Casma Valley, held bean remains (Ugent et al. 1997: 138-139). It is thus possible that the Mochica also used the beneficial trio of maize-
et al 1984: 420-422) that date to 2088-1243 B.C., whilst Las Haldas, which is south of the Casma beans-squash as was already posited.
Valley, had beans that dated to 1328-390 B.C. Beans were consumed in this same zone, as was
corroborated by the excavations the Pozorskis (Ugent et al. 1984: 422) carried out at sites such Ryser (2008) documented the presence of beans in three sites in the Moche Valley, to wit,
as Pampa Rosario and San Diego, which date to 800-300 B.C. Santa Rosa-Quirihuac, Ciudad de Dios, and Galindo, and one site in the Chicama Valley—El
Brujo. The analysis of all of these sites was based on 340 bean seeds. The authors [which
Kaplan and Lynch (1999: 266) have presented four bean seed dates from Huacaloma, a site in ones?] showed that whereas beans were more important during the Moche epoch, lima beans
Cajamarca, which date to 763 B.C.-A.D. 19. were so during both the Initial Period and the Late Intermediate Period. From what we have
seen in regard to lima beans, they seem to be right in this last point.
It can be said, still within the first millennium B.C., that beans were also documented during
the study of the Paracas Necropolis burial bundles found in the Paracas Peninsula, in the The discovery of bean seeds in food consumption contexts in the upper Piura Valley (Loma
modern department of Ica (Tello and Mejía Xesspe 1979: 473). Valverde) certifies the Mochica from this site ate them in A.D. 350-450.

The beans found during the Cupisnique occupation of Huaca Prieta, in the Chicama Valley, A series of hearths with burned, i.e. roasted beans —an interesting datum on Mochica
must have a similar chronology. The same thing has been show through the study of the cuisine— was found at Santa Rosa-Quirihuac (which was partially mentioned above), a site
faecal remains or coproliths from this site (Callen 1965: 335). in the middle Moche Valley that corresponds to the Gallinazo and Early Moche cultures,
probably around A.D. 200. What is even more impressive is that at least ten types of beans
Beans have been found at Ancón—but these finds have no absolute chronology (Towle 1961: have been identified, thus showing its intensive cultivation and handling. They were found in
54)—as well as in the excavation of Cerrillos, a site in the upper Ica Valley, in an Early Paracas association with maize and some as yet unidentified cactus species (Gumerman and Briceño
context that dates to ca. 800-600 B.C. (Splitstoser 2009: 94). 2003: 230-231).

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Beans were found during the excavation of the site of Pampa Grande (Northern Mochica, in It is also clear that the Chimu people from the Central Coast ate beans during their final phase
Lambayeque), which dates to A.D. 711-800 (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 33). (A.D. 1470-1523), as was shown by Perry (2002: 337) when he found the remains of this plant at
Manchán, a site in the lower Casma Valley.
Like lima beans, the bean was frequently part of the food eaten by the people of the Nasca
culture (Silverman and Proulx 2002: 52). It has been found for instance at Casa Vieja, a site in Nelson and Bellido Cerda (2010: 50) reported the presence of beans at this same time on
the lower Calango Valley (Ica) in a Final Nasca and Early Wari Empire context, and was dated the Central Coast in the Huaura Valley in at least three Chancay sites—Rontoy, Quipico, and
indirectly to A.D. 530-820 (cf. Unkel 2006: 111). Chambara—that have a radiocarbon-dated chronology of A.D. 1265-1625-

Still in the context of the Nasca culture, Towle (1961: 54) reported beans both at Cahuachi as Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 79) also documented bean seeds at Los Pinos, a Chancay site.
well as at Estaquería. A large amount of beans was more recently found at the ceremonial
centre of Cahuachi, not just in excavation contexts but also in faecal remains as well as in Turning now to the presence of beans in the Andean highlands we find this plant was apparently
some human burials in this site (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 3-4). Piacenza and Pieri were able to also cultivated in Wanka sites (taking Pancán as reference) between 3200 and 3900 masl in the
reconstruct different modes of preparation such as toasting. It can thus be posited that the Mantaro Valley (Junín), since at least A.D. 193 up to the Inca occupation (Hastorf 2002: 157). Hastorf
Nasca ate toasted beans. Even more fascinating is the fact that some evidence was found that and DeNiro (1985) recorded bean remains embedded in some vessels at these sites that were used
pods were directly removed using parts of the petiole, much like it is done nowadays using to cook them. Their study showed they were boiled and kneaded and then cooked, but the reason
the thumbnail. These are just a few of the scant data available that opens a window on the that explains this evidence is not clear. It is also intriguing that based on starch identification, the
possible Nasca culinary process. analysis showed beans were prepared in vessels or pots where no other type of grain was cooked.

Bonavia (2009: 242) reports the presence of bean seeds at a site called PV35-4 that is In Inca times there was an intensive consumption and cultivation of beans, as is evinced by Cohen
immediately north of the Huarmey River mouth, on the littoral at La Honda beach. These (1975: 50), who identified some 5,500 bean seeds at Panquilma, in the middle Lurín Valley south of
beans were roasted [asados] in a hearth alongside cassava, maize and other items probably Lima, in an excavation that was just a few metres deep. These finds should date to ca. A.D. 1460-
around A.D. 800, i.e. in the Wari epoch. The authors pointed out that in this hearth besides 1520. Margaret Towle (1961: 55) also found beans in Inca contexts at the site of Pachacamac.
beans there were more skins from the other seeds. The beans were of reddish brown colour,
just like the ones we recall from Guitarrero Cave.
Tarwi, Chocho, Lupin [Tarwi, Chocho, Lupino] (Lupinus mutabilis Sweet)
Ugent and Peterson (1988: 7) cite Wittmack, one of the pioneers of Peruvian ethnobotanics,
who analysed the Ancón remains that presumably date from the Late Intermediate Period Tarwi is a fabaceae that belongs to the family of Andean legumes. Soukup (1980: 251) claims the
(A.D. 1000-1460), and in which beans were found. Cohen found beans that date to ca. A.D. term “lype” is derived from the bitterness of its grains. It is often cultivated in small amounts
1000 at the Tank Site in Ancón itself (Cohen 1978: 35). on the edges of the chakras (fields). The water it is boiled in to remove its toxicity (which is
inherent to the plant’s defence against insects) and its bitterness is sometimes used precisely
Beans were still being consumed on the North coast in A.D. 1000-1460, albeit not in the same as an insecticide, a laxative, or even against gastro-parasitic diseases (due to its alkaloid content,
intensity as in Moche times. They were eaten in several archaeological sites in the lower particularly sparteine and lupinine), diabetes, kidney diseases, and as a tonic.
Lambayeque Valley at least from the time of the Cupisnique (1300 B.C.) to that of the late
phase Sicán culture (ca. A.D. 1400) (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596). Tarwi is a privileged plant as it has a great nitrogen-fixing capacity—up to 100 kilos per
hectare. It also easily adapts to different environments, be they either temperate valleys or
Lockard (2005: 208, 211) also found significant amounts of bean remains during the Mochica the high altitudes of the Andes, and is strongly resistant to climatic impacts, droughts, rainfall,
(A.D. 600-800) and Chimu occupations of Galindo, a site in the Middle Moche Valley. temperature, altitude and so forth (Jacobsen and Mujica 2006: 459).

Cutright (2009: 144) found remains of beans somewhat more to the north in a Chimu site called As for bromatology, this seems to be the plant with the highest protein content in the Peruvian
Pedregal, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, but the percentages show it was not intensively Andes. According to the National Research Council (1989a: 13) its roots are extremely rich in protein
eaten. Remains of beans were likewise found at Cerro La Virgen, a Chimu site within the (40%), which is more than all beans (and more than soybeans or peanuts). It includes important
context of the citadel of Chan Chan, where they comprised a major part of this people’s diet amino acids for humans like lysine and cystine, a large amount of polysaccharides, and abundant
(Keatinge 1975: 226). vegetable oil that surpass soybeans. Tarwi has in fact been called the Andean soybean.

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Gross et al. and his team have also analysed the biochemical components of tarwi, i.e. 43.1% that is over thirty years old, Heiser then drew attention to the fact that more research was
protein (the mean being 41-51%), 20.9% oil (14-24%), 26.4% carbohydrates, 9.8% water, 6.8% still needed in order to clear this plant’s taxonomic issue. To date not much progress has been
fibre, and 2.8% ash (Gross et al. 1989: 28). made in this regard.

The galactose contained by tarwi (9.87%) also stands out—it is by far the largest in the Andean Margaret Towle (1961: 48) tried to synthesise the information regarding tarwi. She pointed
assemblage followed by stachyose with 4.67%. The low consumption of tarwi is probably due out that it grows naturally in the Andes from Colombia to the north, to Bolivia in the
to its bitter taste, which is why the aborigines soak it in water for one or two days in order to south, which is what Heiser in general claimed. In pointing out that tarwi’s centre of
lower it. Tarwi grows at 800 metres of altitude, but it is more frequently found at 3,000 masl. occurrence lies in Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, Jacobsen and Mujica (2006) suggest that this
In the Andes it is usually served in stews, in soups, and so on. would be its initial origin area and add that 83 varieties of Lupinus have been documented
in this region.
Mostacero et al. (2009: 366) note that Lupinus mutabilis is an annual herb that grows up to
one and a half metres high and holds 42% raw protein. It has to be washed for some five or six Is there any pre-Hispanic evidence of this legume? There is, but it actually is scant. Margaret
days as has been already noted in order to eliminate its major toxic and narcotic substances Towle and Hans Horkheimer mentioned a South Coast Wari iconographic design in the
that include saponin (Herrera 1942a: 26). Pacheco style (ca. A.D. 800-900), so it can be assumed that it was known and consumed in
Ayacucho at that time.
Jacobsen and Mujica (2006) made a more recent and complete assessment that emphasises
the large number of proteins in tarwi and their alimentary quality. According to this study Pearsall (1978-1980: 66-67) found remains of Lupinus in Pachamachay Cave at about 4300 masl,
this is a resource that can ensure nutritional security for the Andean people. Both scholars albeit in wild and undomesticated state; no radiocarbon date is available, but we can assume
however regret the lack of concern Andean authorities have for the increasing interest this it dates to the Late Preceramic, ca. 3,000 B.C.
plant is raising.
Remains of tarwi were found in three Mochica human burials excavated at Dos Cabezas, a site
As for fatty acids, Jacobsen and Mujica (2006: 461) mainly include 40% of oleic acid (Omega in the lower Jequetepeque Valley (Geyer 2003). Moseley et al. (2008: 83) determined three
9), 37% of linoleic acid (Omega 6), and 2.9% of linolenic acid (Omega 3). To this we must add radiocarbon dates between A.D. 536 and A.D. 580. The validity of this type of pollen from this
13% of palmitic acid [aceite palmítico]. site has been questioned as was already seen in the case of other plants, particularly due to
the altitude at which this legume appears (in a non-Mochica area), and because the type of
This same study claims that quinoa-tarwi-potato is a mutually beneficent crop combination. pollen is hard to identify (Reinhard et al. 2007: 535).
Jacobsen and Mujica also note that It is frequently consumed by humans as mote, or in
salads, cream soups, mazamorra, and the well-known cebiche serrano. “Tarwi milk” is also Tarwi has also been documented at the site of Pampa Grande (Moche V) in Lambayeque, and
recommended in case of lactose intolerance. it dated to ca. A.D. 800 (Pozorski and Pozorski 1981: 33).

Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 46) says that tarwi was frozen in order to concentrate its Christine Hastorf (2002: 157) showed tarwi was consumed by the Wanka people specifically at
proteins and lower its content of alkaloids and bitter ingredients. This datum is of the utmost Umpamalca in the upper Mantaro Valley (in the modern department of Junín), between 3,200
importance because it tells us of the technique used to alter the original conditions of our and 3,900 masl. The dates associated with this plant’s consumption go back at least to the phase
resources in order to benefit more from them, as is the case with the greater availability of Wanka I, i.e. A.D. 193, but its ingestion increased around A.D. 1000. We should add in this regard
proteins. that this is one of the few studies that have tried to find food adhered to the inside walls of the
vessels in which it was prepared. It was thus found that tarwi was boiled and kneaded in order to
What do we know of the origin and domestication of tarwi? Actually very little. According to be cooked in this area during the first centuries of the Christian era (Hastorf and DeNiro 1985: 190).
the National Research Council (1989b: 188), tarwi was domesticated at least some 1,500 years
ago, but do not provide any details. In any case this plant has been cultivated in the cold
climate areas of tropical zones and in high altitudes between 800 and 3,000 masl. Its mature Pacay [Pacay, Huaba, Ina, Inchipa, Pacae, Senan] (Inga feuilleei)
state makes it resistant even to frosts.
The pacay, which is commonly known nowadays as pacay, pacae or guaba in Peru, is a member
Heiser (1979: 319) mentioned the presence of several native species of tarwi both in Bolivia as of the leguminous family It depends on the humid environment in which it is found and can
well as in Peru, and this indirectly suggests that it had its origin in the Andes. In this publication resist temperatures over 25 °C.

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Mostacero et al. (2009: 308) mention that this is a tree that grows up to 15-25 metres high and
is distributed over various areas in the Andes, from the North and Central Coast to the jungle,
has appetising fruits, and strong wood.

Pacay perhaps had its origin in the lower section of the Eastern Andean cordillera but it can
grow at higher altitudes, a trait that made it important for the Inca (Dillehay and Piperno
2008). From there it spread to the Peruvian coast. Nowadays it is widely disseminated not
just throughout the Andean area, but also in the tropical lowlands of America. The shadow
it casts is highly appreciated on the North Coast, its wood is a good fuel, and the pods are
picked even by children. The present writer even learned how to make them fall off using
simple slings.

The significance of pacay’s fruit was recorded by the chronicles. At the time Europeans arrived
to Peru the pacay was cultivated both on the coast as well as in the highlands, i.e. in the
intermontane valleys. Pedro Pizarro for instance tells that Atahualpa sent a basketful of pacay
to Francisco Pizarro as a present (National Research Council 1989b: 277).

Patiño (2002: 182) claims pacay is Quechua whereas guaba is Taíno, from the northern South
American zone. Patiño says that the conquistadors led by Pizarro had already discovered
pacay at Puerto Viejo when they arrived to Ecuador, and Cieza says it was grown on the North Figura 12. Cerámica representando a pacay o guaba (Cultura Moche, ca. 400 d.C.). (MUSEO LARCO. LIMA-PERÚ).
Coast of Peru.

Pacay was later on grown in Lima as fuel and not for the fruit. Patiño says it was evidently the department of Lambayeque. Here Dillehay and Piperno (2008) reported pacay starch in
grown in the pre-Hispanic period. Here it is worth noting Patiño thoroughly documented the dental plaque found in the molars of skeletons found in archaeological excavations. The
pacay consumption in Central America, the Orinoco River basin, Brazil, Ecuador, and Colombia dates for these molars range from 7142 B.C. to 5802 B.C. Pacay was thus clearly eaten at that
since at least the mid-seventeenth century. time on the North Coast.

The bromatology of this plant indicates above all that it holds abundant sugars, water, and A find of similar age comes from the highlands of Ancash. This is a pacay seed found in stratum
vitamin C. According to the National Research Council (1989a: 14) its pulp is so sweet that it IId of Guitarrero Cave in the Callejón de Huaylas, at an altitude 2850 masl (Smith 1980a: 98).
could be called “ice cream beans”. Pacay in fact contains 1% protein and 15% carbohydrates, This stratum has been approximately dated to 7800-7300 B.C., but this must be taken just as a
mostly sugars. This fruit’s plant has great potential due to its property of incorporating nitrogen reference because the stratigraphy was somewhat altered, as was see when discussing beans
to the soil. It also has 53% calories, 85% water, and 1.4% vitamin C (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 140-141). and maize. Even so we must not forget that Duccio Bonavia had already drawn attention to
the taxonomic determination done by T. C. Earl Smith himself, who believed that all that had
We now turn to the archaeological evidence of pacay consumption in pre-Hispanic Peru. As been found in all levels of Guitarrero Cave was instead Inga adenophylla.
usual, our ancestors depicted it long with other edible resources, especially on pottery. Vargas
(1962: 110) reports its occurrence on Moche and especially Chimu ceramics (Figure 12). Margaret Deborah Pearsall (1999: 275) makes a far more modest claim in regard to the apparition and
Towle in turn mentioned the depictions of this plant on Moche, Chimu, and Inca vessels, consumption of pacay in pre-Hispanic Peru, and states that the first evidence date to ca.
as well as on some from Chimbote. In his ethnobotanical study, Soukup (1980: 220) noted 2600 B.C. Here it must be pointed out that in general, a series of pieces of evidence on pacay
there is significant evidence of the presence of pacay fruits and leaves in Peru’s pre-Hispanic cluster from the fourth millennium B.C., particularly on the coast due to the well-known
tombs. Herrera (1942: 28) believed this was the favourite fruit of the Inca, who cultivated it conditions for preservation in this zone.
abundantly. Let us now go over the evidence in chronological order.
Pacay (Inga feuilleei) remains have been found in very small amounts at Bandurria, a monumental
The most reliable information regarding the most ancient consumption of pacay in pre- preceramic centre close to the modern city of Huacho. It may thus have been part of the food
Hispanic Peru comes from Nanchoc, a tributary of the Middle Zaña Valley some 500 masl in eaten by the people who lived there in 3170-1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 135).

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Pacay remains were excavated in the archaeological garbage at Cerro Lampay (Fortaleza Valley, The Mochica culture also included pacay in its food. Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 125) showed
north of Lima) associated with a preceramic temple (Vega-Centeno 2007). The radiocarbon it was eaten in the lower Moche Valley at Huaca del Sol, during the first centuries of the
results gave a period of time of 2410-2064 B. C. Christian era. Cárdenas et al. (1997: 134) found the same thing at Huaca de la Luna, where it had
dates that ranged to A.D. 400-750.
Mercedes Cárdenas (1999) reported the occurrence of pacay remains at Las Salinas de Chao, a
site in the lower Chao Valley, with dates around 2000 B.C. The northern Moche also ate pacay. Geyer et al. (2003) examined the faeces from the burials
at the site of Dos Cabezas (in the Jequetepeque River mouth). It was established that at least
The presence of pacay has also been documented at Caral (Shady et al. 2001) in the Supe two of these individuals had eaten pacay before death. The indirect dating of this context
Valley north of Lima, with an indirect date of 2585-1938 B.C. For Shady and Leyva (2003: 115) gave A.D.536-580 (Moseley et al. 2008: 83).
pacay was the second most abundant plant at this archaeological site with 32%, and so may
have been part of the food eaten by the early population of this site in 2595-1951 B.C. Ericson et al. (1989: 74) documented pacay remains in human faecal remains from Puerto
Moorin, a site on the North Coast’s Virú Valley, which dates to ca. the first and the fourth
The pacay remains found at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey Valley, date to about centuries A.D. There is also other evidence in this same region of the Virú Valley that indicates
the same time, i.e. 4000-1480 B.C. (Bonavia 1982: 149). it was eaten during the Wari epoch. This means pacay consumption was continuous in this
area, where it has actually been found in human excrement.
A series of botanical remains were found at the monumental site of La Galgada in Tablachaca
Canyon (in the modern department of Ancash), at about 1100 masl Smith (1988: 130). These Lockard (2005: 208) furthermore documented pacay remains at Galindo, a site in the mid-
remains were part of the food, and inside them several pacay skins and six seeds were Moche Valley, both in its Mochica (A.D. 600-800) and its Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations.
discovered, which must have been eaten in 2600-1316 B.C. The research undertaken by Shelia Pozorski (1979: 170) in the archaeological sites in the
Moche Valley prior to that of Lockard’s showed pacay was eaten only in sites with a Chimu-
Mark Nathan Cohen (1978: 29) observed the occurrence of pacay seeds in the survey of La Inca occupation as of A.D. 1000. Cutright (2009: 144) found pacay remains at Pedregal, an
Pampa—a site that dates to ca. 3090 B.C.—in the context of the research undertaken by Lanning archaeological site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley. From all this information it thus follows
and Patterson. It is interesting that pacay leaves were found above all in camelid faecal remains, that at this site there was a clear continuity in its consumption.
which means they were feed in this way (just like with carob leaves, as will be seen below).
Moving on to the Central coast, Mark Cohen noticed the occurrence of a large amount of
Quilter et al. (1991: 280) also reported the presence of pacay seeds at the site of El Paraíso, pacay leaves at Cerro Campana, a site belonging to the Lima culture (ca. A.D. 100-600). The
which goes back to 2190 B.C. and is very close to the Chillón River mouth north of Lima. leaves were found in association with llama excrement, which made Cohen believe it was
used as fodder for this animal.
Thus far we notice the frequent consumption of pacay fruits (and eventually leaves) on the
Peruvian coast since ca. 3000 B.C. We now turn to the evidence of this legume as of the first The Nasca, somewhat more to the south, did not avoid consuming pacay. It has in fact been
millennium B.C. claimed that it was one of their major food sources (Silverman and Proulx 2002: 52). In the
pioneer book on Peruvian ethnobotany, Margaret Towle (1961: 47) had already noted that
The Pozorskis have undertaken prolific excavations in the Casma Valley that have paid special pacay was frequently identified at the shrine of Cahuachi in a clearly Nasca cultural context,
attention to the valley’s ethnobotanics, which were then analysed by Donald Ugent. They also i.e. one that dated to the first centuries of the Christian era. The Italian archaeological mission
documented pacay at the sites of Pampa Rosario and San Diego, and dated to ca. 800-300 at Cahuachi subsequently reported finding pacay in significant amounts, so it is assumed to
B.C. (Ugent 1984: 422). have been evidently eaten and not just used as an offering in rituals (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 3).

Ugent and Peterson (1988: 8) noticed the presence of pacay in the Paracas Necropolis funerary Towle herself reported pacay nor far away at Estaquería, Huaca del Oro, and in the burials
bundles from the Paracas Peninsula, dated from around 400 B.C. onwards. Pacay remains have in the zone of Ocucaje. She also pointed out that Paul Mangelsdorf had documented it in
also been excavated at Cerrillos, a site in the upper Ica Valley that has dates that go back to Paracas funerary bundles, as was also done by Ugent and Peterson (see above).
the Early Paracas epoch, ca. 800-600 B.C. (Splitstoser 2009: 94).
Pacay consumption in this zone persisted once the Nasca had been annexed to the Wari
Pacay was also eaten by the Cupisnique. Towle (1961: 48) reported it was found alongside Empire. David Beresford-Jones (2004: 42) thus found pacay remains that date to the Middle
Cupisnique pottery at Huaca Prieta, evidently within the first millennium B. C. Horizon (ca. A.D. 600-900) in his excavations at Samanca, in the lower Ica Valley. In this same

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Final Nasca and early Wari Empire context, Roque et al. (2003) have published the finding of Carob Tree [Algarrobo, Garroba, Guarango, Tacco] (Prosopis sp.)
pacay leaves, seeds, fruits and even flowers in domestic contexts at the site of Casa Vieja,
in the lower Ica (Calango) Valley. Although no radiocarbon dates are available for this site, Although it is not a domesticated plant, the carob tree has been manipulated by Peruvian pre-
indirect dating using the Palpa master sequence suggests they perhaps average to A.D. 530- Hispanic groups in such a way that Duccio Bonavia et al. (2009: 276) correctly called it a “stimulated”
820 (cf. Unkel 2006: 111). plant due to its high yield and consumption in pre-Columbian Peru, where it gave two harvests
per year. In order to summarise the main data available on this important genus, before beginning
The Wari occupation at the site of Bering, in the modern-day department of Arequipa, our review we shall use data taken almost exclusively from Beresford-Jones’ doctoral dissertation
corresponds to a similar period of time. Here the remains of pacay eaten by its inhabitants (2004) and Pasiecznik et al.’s monograph (2001) due to their up-to-date data.
have been found (Tung 2012: 49).
Prosopis is a nitrogen-fixing tree that can withstand extreme conditions of drought heat,
Just like on the North Coast and the Central-South Coast, pacay was evidently also known alkalinity, and salinity. It is even reborn several times after being cut. The carob tree is in fact
and consumed on the Central Coast. For example, Towle noted the use of pacay leaves to the most dominant tree in the vicinity of water sources, and the most characteristic tree in
cover burials both at Ancón and in the Chillón zone. Although she did not provide date the American desert ecosystems. Both Prosopis and Acacia provide high-quality nutrients for
regarding the chronology of this type of find, it seems to have been intensively used on the animals and humans and one type of fermented beverage that was still grown some decades
Central Coast. We should recall in this regard that Ugent and Peterson (1988: 7) mentioned ago on the North Coast of Peru, and even in Ica (Bonavia 1982: 331). Carob trees provide the input
that Wittmack was able to identify pacay fruits among the remains found by the excavations for timber, fuel, charcoal, fibre, cordage and even glue, as was just noted. Nord et al. (2004) for
Reiss and Stübel carried out at Ancón, which dated to ca. A.D. 1000-1460. instance observed that soil quality improved at Pampa de Chaparrí, an archaeological site on
the North Peruvian Coast, wherever carob leaves fell on the agricultural due to the hydrogen
Pacay was apparently also eaten by the people of the Chancay culture because it has been they provided. The knowledge of the properties of the carob tree persisted even in colonial
found at Los Pinos, a site in the Huaura Valley (Lanfranco and Eggers 2010: 79). times. There are many references that date to the beginning of the Spanish occupation of Peru
that describe how its fruits were turned into flour in order to make bread. When the present
Mark Nathan Cohen reports the occurrence of significant amounts of pacay seeds at Panquilma, writer spent summer during his childhood in this zone in the 1960s, he consumed bread and
a site in the middle Lurín Valley, precisely in A.D. 1460-1532, i.e. during its Inca occupation algarrobina,5 a custom that still endures.
(Cohen 1975: 58). The same thing happened in Inca times as is shown by the analysis made
at Pachacamac first by Margaret Towle (1961: 47) and then by DeNiro and Hastorf (1985: 113). The benefit brought about by this plant extends even to climatology. It has been shown that
It is thus clear that pacay was eaten on the Central Coast shortly before and during the Inca the rings of trees like Prosopis pallida can record events such as Enso phenomena, and are
occupation of this zone. even used in dendrochronological studies (López et al. 2005).

The high quality of the charcoal derived from carob was noted above. Pasiecknik et al. (2001:
Bean [Pea?] [Chocho or “Fréjol Coral”] (Erythrina sp.) 81-82) pointed out that Prosopis is an excellent firewood for producing caloric energy due to
its high tannin and lignin content and low humidity as it does not fracture when combusting,
Erythrina sp. is a leguminous plant of tropical and subtropical origin. It is usually used due nor does it give off sparks or give out much smoke. And yet it gives a strong fire and much
because of the medicinal or ritual properties it has due to its chemical content, but some heat, to the point that it has been called de “wooden anthracite.” We can imagine Peru’s pre-
varieties have edible fruits. Although here we cannot define the species it probably was Hispanic populations—not just the coastal ones but also those living in the intermontane
Erythrina edulis, which is cultivated and whose seeds are edible. This is a first-rate food valleys—warming themselves with the heat of burning carob, particularly on the coast.
because it has 24% protein, 50% carbohydrates, and a high phosphorus and iron content, so
it is more important from the standpoint of protein than other Andean cereals like maize, or The taxonomy of Prosopis has undergone a series of changes that we must cover before
tubers like the potato (Mostacero et al. 2008: 347-348). turning to our archaeological review. It is part of the leguminous family (Fabaceae) that gives
out seeds in pods. According to Pasiecznik et al. (2001) it can be concluded that Prosopis
At present only two examples of its consumption in pre-Hispanic Peru have been recorded. juliflora is found both in Mesoamerica as well as in northern South America, Prosopis pallida
Smith (1988: 130) noticed the presence of this type of legume at La Galgada in Tablachaca is mainly found on the Peruvian-Chilean coast, and Prosopis tamarugo is found in the desert
Canyon in the modern-day province of Pallasca, in the department of Ancash and at about in far-south Peru and northern Chile.
1100 masl, where it was probably eaten since 2600 B.C. It has also been found at Pachacamac,
where it was dated to the Inca occupation (DeNiro and Hastorf 1985: 113). 5 Syrum obtained from the Algarrobo tree.

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The largest number of species is however concentrated from Bolivia to Argentina; in northern We now turn to the bromatology of carob seeds because these actually were part of the pre-
Chile and Bolivia we find Prosopis chilensis while further to the south is Prosopis nigra, which has Hispanic diet. These have a high sugar, carbohydrate (30-75%) and protein (7-22%) content.
been found in Argentinian archaeological sites from the Holocene (Beresford-Jones 2004: 45-46). Both the seeds and the pods are sweet and obviously edible. Every year each tree can yield
on average 20-50 kilos of fruits in whatever environment it is in. For instance, Beresford-Jones
Some modifications were made after Bukart (1976) prepared his taxonomic classification but (2004: 88) points out that a set of studies made by the Universidad de Piura found that the
these are essentially for Argentina, which is not of our concern here. Interested readers should specimens of Prosopis pallida in that zone had 46% saccharose, 8-13% protein (including lysine
turn to the extensive monograph by Pasiecznik et al. (2001: 19-29) in this regard. in particular, one of the eight essential amino acids for humans, and with one of the highest
proportions in the world at 26,000 ppm), and vitamins E, C, and potassium.
For the purposes of this book and due to the wide range of plants that have to be examined,
here we just present the conclusions that were reached by Beresford-Jones in an up-to-date Prosopis has several applications besides its properties as food. For instance, extracts taken
overview of the classification of Prosopis in Peru (Beresford-Jones 2004: 51-52). There are two from its leaves and bark are used against mouth and throat infections, ulcers, bronchitis,
species in Peru, two on the coast and two in the highlands. Prosopis pallida predominates on general pains, and parasites. In our countries it is particularly used to treat conjunctivitis, liver
the coast, while Prosopis juliflora (and its hybrid, which is known as P. juliflora-P. pallida) is stones, and venereal diseases. Nor should we forget the benefit it provides as a cover against
found mostly on the north coast. sunstroke and protection against the wind, as may well have been the case on the Peruvian
coast. Yet it can also cause some harm such as the dental lesions (caries) brought about by the
There are two different species in the highlands. Prosopis chilensis (Molina) Stunz, the first consumption of the natural sugar found in this fruit (cf. Lanfranco and Eggers 2010: 88). We
species, is found mostly in dry, high altitude intermontane valleys mostly in southern Peru also must not forget that the preparation of fermented algarrobo in Ica as a nutritious tonic
but not on the coast, as was clarified after some taxonomic confusion. The fourth separate has been documented (Soukup 1980: 337).
population is Prosopis laevigata, which is found close to Calca (Cuzco) at about 3,000 masl in
southern Peru. Propopis seeds were in fact part of the pre-Hispanic alimentary stock not just because of its
properties, but also due to the sweet nature of its pericarp (Giovanetti et al. 2008). In South
More recently a fifth group was defined. This is Prosopis limensis, which has been reassessed America its consumption and management go back to the early Holocene. Fernández-Distel
for the North Coast of Peru. Beresford-Jones believes it is applicable for the entire Peruvian (1986) has apparently found mortars and residues left behind by this activity, for instance at
coast (Beresford-Jones 2004: 52). Huachichocana Cave in the vicinity of Jujuy, in the puna of the Argentinian North-West, with
a date of over 10 ka. and in Mexico, Smith detected several decades ago the abundance of
Just like other scholars, Patiño (2002: 409) believed that Prosopis chilensis was found in Peru Prosopis remains in the excavation of Tehuacán, where it dates to ca. 6500 B.C. (Smith 1967).
as well as in Bolivia, Central Chile, and north-eastern Bolivia. This is a mistake, as will be
shown in the following paragraph. When discussing Prosopis juliflora, Patiño noted that it Pasiecznik et al. (2001: 8) divides South America into two periods as regards the use of Prosopis.
was called tacco in Quechua, and that this term is often used in various parts of Peru for During the first period, from 6500 B.C. to A.D. 800, it was used mostly as food, fuel, and a basic
the “guarango.” raw material. This product was developed on a more sustainable basis as of A.D. 1000. By 300
B.C. carob was in fact being used as lintel at sites like Chanquillo, in the Casma Valley (Guezzi
To conclude with the taxonomic section, Beresford-Jones concluded that Prosopis chilensis 2007), and in buildings at Huaca Prieta around 2500 B.C. (Strong and Evans 1952).
does not exist on the Peruvian coast; what does exist are mostly Prosopis pallida, which
can be renamed Prosopis limensis (as was seen in the above-mentioned fifth group), and Although the carob is always present in archaeological literature of Peru, It is not easy
the P. juliflora-P. pallida complex. This is an important observation due to the amount and documenting when it was used for human consumption because its wood was often reused
the quality of the organic materials of this kind found in excavations undertaken on the to make tools. The only references are its association with, for instance, seeds in garbage
Peruvian coast. dumps that were left behind as evidence of their consumption, and eventually the (less likely)
discovery of micro-level remains like starch or similar substances. It has been assumed that its
We now list some of the characteristics this tree has. Prosopis pallida is the biggest and can fruits may have been directly eaten but also cooked or toasted, as was for example the case
reach from 8 to 20 metres, while Prosopis juliflora only reaches up to 12 metres high. The of Inca sites in the zone of Catamarca in Argentina (Caparelli 2011).
roots of Prosopis pallida can reach depths of 20-25 metres, where they extract water from
the groundwater. David Beresford-Jones (2004: 102) reported finding the well-known “Huayuri For Peru, Claude Chauchat (1992: 355) suggests—correctly in my opinion—that the early North
huarango” (close to the town of Palpa in Nasca), which according to studies made by the Coast people were already eating carob in the context of the Paiján culture, i.e. as of 11,000
Universidad de Huamanga and the Universidad Agraria de La Molina is 1,064 years old. B.C., because this tree abounds in this region; its remains have not, however, been recovered

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in excavations due to the lack of plant preservation. And yet some type of grinding stones, culture (during the first centuries of the Christian era) have been analysed. The results obtained
which abound at this time, may have been used to grind carob kernels for alimentary purposes. by Ericson et al. (1989: 74) showed there were carob seeds in these coproliths and had therefore
Chauchat sees no other way in which to explain the massive presence of this type of stone tool. been eaten. We even have evidence they were eaten in this part of Peru during the Wari epoch.

Carob fragments that include remains of starch have been found at the site of Buena Vista, Cárdenas et al. (1997: 134) reported finding Prosopis chilensis at Huaca de la Luna at around A.D.
where a preceramic temple was erected north of Lima, in the Chillón Valley (Duncan et al. 400-750, so the Mochica in this zone may have eaten carob pods. In this same valley, Lockard
2009). It is worth pointing out these remains were found as an edible remain over the surface (2005: 208, 211) found remains of Prosopis chilensis at Galindo during its Moche occupation
of a squash vessel, thus showing their consumption. This site was dated to 2193-2164 B.C. (A.D. 600-800).

Prosopis chilensis was found at the site of Los Gavilanes, not just as macroremains but also as Prosopis was also eaten by the Paracas in Ica; Prosopis limensis has been recorded at Cerrillos,
a significant amount of seeds and pods and in most of the coproliths from this site, which is a site in the upper Ica Valley, within an Early Paracas context (ca. 800-600 B.C.) (Splitstoser
in the lower Huarmey Valley and dates to 3100-1480B.C. (Bonavia 1982: 149). 2009: 93).

The preceramic temple of Cerro Lampay developed almost at the same time in the Fortaleza The monumental site of Cahuachi, which is believed to have been a Nasca shrine, pilgrimage
Valley north of Lima. Here Vega-Centeno (2007) documented Prosopis pallida seeds in a centre, and cemetery, provided significant information regarding not just the use of carob
context with garbage and food residues that was dated to 2410-2064 B.C. wood to raise the buildings, but also as food (Silverman 1993, Silverman and Proulx 2002:
52, Piacenza 2005). Silverman, for instance, managed to excavate over 21 kilograms of plant
Mercedes Cárdenas (1999) excavated carob seeds at the site of Las Salinas de Chao, among the remains from garbage dumps left behind after consumption, which included what she
food refuse left behind by its population around 2000 B.C. classified as Prosopis chilensis. Cahuachi has a radiocarbon chronology that comprises more
than 100 dates, which when taken under low resolution dates gives ca. A.D. 166-956 (Nasca
Reviewing the evidence in chronological order, Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 79) reported 8). This last date is relevant because it comes precisely from a garbage dump that held carob
finding carob in archaeological contexts which dated to 3008-339 B.C. at Puémape, a site south seeds (but it is too old to make associations).
of the Jequetepeque valley. This means it was eaten at Pacasmayo during the two thousand
years before the Christian era. Silverman concluded that approximately 34% of total plant weight exclusively comprised
carob fruit. The only percentage higher than this was that for maize. Carob trees were also
The same thing seems to hold true for the ceremonial site of El Paraíso in the lower Chillón found in coproliths from the Cahuachi cemetery, which evidently indicate their consumption
Valley north of Lima. This was shown by Quilter et al. (1991: 280), who documented the as food. Towle (1961: 56) observed the presence of carob wood both at Cahuachi as well as at
presence of Prosopis sp. seeds in the sites rubbish, which was dated to 2150B.C. Carob wood Huaca del Loro in the Nasca Valley. Towle also mentioned its abundant presence at Ancón, for
also seems to have been used at this time at Huaca Prieta (Towle 1961: 56). which there are no absolute dates.

Depictions of carobs are also present on Mochica ceramics and show their potential Beresford-Jones excavated the site of Samaca and found abundant carob (Prosopis pallida)
consumption throughout the time this major culture developed on the North Coast. Yacovleff macroremains at a Middle Horizon site on the right bank of the Ica River (lower section), in
and Herrera (1934, 1935) found them associated with deer hunting scenes and identified them the district of Ocucaje and at 220 masl, close to the Tablazo de Ica (Figure 13). The remains
as Prosopis juliflora. The presence of this species in northern Peru during the first centuries of were in the midst of other botanical remains in garbage dumps and were partially associated
the Christian era is thus clear. Beresford-Jones (2004: 218-219) notes that Yacovleff and Herrera with charcoal, which means they can be interpreted as possible food remains (Beresford-
claimed carob resin could be used to repair pre-Ceramic pottery. Jones 2004: 397-448). The site does not have radiocarbon dates that allow for an accurate
chronology, but since the pottery found goes from Nasca 5 to Nasca 8 it can essentially be
Carob consumption by the Mochica people in Piura is also evident. This was evinced by the assumed to have been occupied throughout the Middle Horizon, between A.D. 50 and A.D.
discovery of seeds in the garbage due to their consumption at Loma Valverde in the upper 900. Piacenza and Pieri on the other hand documented carob skins and seeds in the human
Piura River (Kaulicke 1991: 414), with dates that average to A.D. 350-450. Horkheimer (1960: 78) faecal remains found in some burials from the monumental site of Cahuachi in Nasca, which
drew attention to the abundance of carob woods in Moche ceramic depictions. is a direct indicator that carob was consumed by its inhabitants (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 4).

Also on the North Coast but more to the south, in the lower Virú Valley, is the site of Puerto PV35-4 is a North Coast site in the Huarmey River mouth that also belongs to the Middle
Moorin; here a series of faecal remains from its ancient inhabitants in a context from the Salinar Horizon, but which has been dated to its early stage (in this case ca. A.D. 800). Here Bonavia

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part of food refuse have been found at Los Pinos, a site belonging to the Chancay culture (A.D.
1000-1460) that is in the Huaura Valley north of Lima (Lanfranco and Eggers 2010: 79).

Carob consumption also took place in the Chimu culture, as in the case of the Pedregal
archaeological site (lower Jequetepeque Valley), where its remains have been found. It is
possible these are food refuse.

Carob seeds were also eaten by the Chimu people, as was shown by Gumerman (1991: table
3.4), this time at the site of Pacatnamú. Here it was found that both the elite as well as the
common people ate these seeds. The algarrobo was, in fact, the second most important food
source of vegetable origin at this site, second only to guava.

Finally, Mark Nathan Cohen (1978: 29-30) reported finding an algarrobo seed in a Late
Intermediate context at the Ancón necropolis. Its presence in general seems however to have
been scant on the Central Coast, in comparison with the North and South Coasts.

Long-Spine Acacia [Huarango, Espino, Faique] (Acacia macracantha)


The long-spine acacia or huarango is a species native to subtropical and tropical zones found
from North to South America. It has somewhat rough legumes that are seven centimetres
long. It is found all over the coast of Peru and grows from sea level up to 2200 masl, and it
vegetates in desert zones, sand dunes, dry ravines and in the brush alongside rivers. Its wood
is highly appreciated as fuel (Soukup 1980: 39, Mostacero et al. 2009: 304).

Weir and Bonavia (1985: 101) reported finding the pollen of Acacia huarango in some
Figura 13. Fragmentos de vainas y semillas de algarrobo documentadas del sitio de Samaca (ca. 500-900 d.C.) (CORTESÍA DAVID coproliths from Los Gavilanes, in a stratum that was dated to 3200-2200 B.C. These scholars
BERESFORD-JONES). consider that this plant was eaten by the people of this site on the Central Coast, in the
Huarmey area. The relative significance of its pollen made Weir and Bonavia conclude that
the flowers were eaten. This is perhaps one of the few pieces of evidence of the ingestion
found twenty carob seeds, in this case Prosopis pallida—its endocarp and a whole pod—as of flowers.
well as fragments of de Prosopis sp. (Bonavia et al. 2009: 262).
Acacia macracantha has been documented by the excavations at Huaca de la Luna, in the
Piacenza has also reported carob seeds from other Nasca archaeological sites (Piacenza lower Moche Valley, so it may have been part of the food eaten by the Mochica people at
2005). This biologist selected several sites where he has gathered plants. What is clear is the this site (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 134).
discovery of carob seeds and pods in domestic contexts at the Late Nasca and Early Wari
Empire (from A.D. 530 to A.D. 820) site of Casa Vieja, in Ica (Roque et al. 2003).
Hierba de la Lancha [Acacia Blanca, Peladera] (Leucaena trichodes Benth)
The remains of Prosopis pallida have also been documented at Cerro la Cruz (in the Chao
Valley) within the context once again of the Wari Empire and of the Casma culture (ca. A.D. This shrub has seeds that can be eaten. It is found on stony soils at the edge of irrigation
900-1350). Its fruits may thus have also been eaten here. canals, and it grows between 200 and 2300 masl (Mostacero et al. 2009: 309)

There likewise is evidence of carob consumption on the Peruvian coast during the Late The remains of this species have been found at Huaca de la Luna in the lower Moche Valley, so
Intermediate Period, ca. A.D. 1000-1460. It is interesting that carob seeds that may have been it is possible the Mochica who lived at this site around A.D. 400-750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 134).

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Tahuari (Pithecelobium sp.) Collins (1949, 1960) made one of the first studies of the pineapple; though dated, many of his
conclusions are still valid. Collins believed this fruit had been part of the diet eaten by the
This is a relative of the carob tree, but according to Mostacero et al.’s handbook of pre-Hispanic populations of South America and the Caribbean. For Collins, Ananas comosus
phanerogamous plants (2008: 313-314) not one of the nine Peruvian species seems edible. (L.) Merril appears in its cultivated form but the ancestral one is not known. It is worth noting
Pithecelobium sp. has a merely tropical connotation, yet it has been documented among here that Ananas comosus has been derived into many varieties, three of which are the most
the remains found at the site of La Galgada in Tablachaca Canyon (Ancash). However we do relevant ones, i.e. cayenne, red Spanish, and queen pineapple.
not really know whether its round-shaped fruits were eaten (Smith left this possibility open),
particularly in the upper strata of the site in 1200-1800 B.C. (Smith 1988: 130). When the Europeans reached America they found a large number of races that the American
aborigines had developed while cultivating the pineapple, from which we can infer the
antiquity of this process. The natives ate it not just fresh, but also prepared beverages like
Fruit chicha and guarapo, and also used it in a series of medicinal applications, including as
treatment for stomach diseases and even carcinogenic ones.
Pineapple [Piña, Achupalla, Ananá, Cancá, Chihuy, Piña Negra] (Ananas comosus (L.) Merril, Ananas
sativus) When summarising the origins of the pineapple, Rohrbach et al. (2003) pointed out the first
European colonists found it widely distributed throughout tropical South America and the
We now face a serious quandary. This is a fruit which thus far there is not a single instance Caribbean, and mentions the Orinoco, the Amazon and the area around Rio de Janeiro. The
in Peru’s archaeological record. And yet the ethnohistorical references and data suggest the Europeans themselves helped disseminate this plant, just like they did with others they took
possibility that it was eaten, perhaps not frequently but on occasions, particularly in the outside the Americas like the lemon, the orange and the banana, which had spread all over
eastern region of Peru. America in less than two decades in the sixteenth century (Columbus 1506, in Rohrbach 2003:
1). Wilson (2007: 87) notes that the ancient inhabitants of the Caribbean were already eating
The pineapple belongs to the family of the Bromeliaceae and probably had its origin over a pineapples at the time of the European arrival. The Europeans first had contact with this
vast expanse of land (Central and South America) in which it was cultivated and had several fruit shortly after Columbus arrived at Guadeloupe Island in 1493; about a century later the
orchard forms (Mostacero et al. 2009: 948). The term ananá comes from Guaraní, which is pineapple was a first class crop in America that had spread over the entire continent.
why some believe it had its origins both in Brazil as well as in the Guianas. Father Soukup
(1980: 57) says it was discovered in Brazil in 1555, and Father Acosta claimed it was a fruit that Do we have information regarding its domestication? Yes, but not as extensive as for other
was completely eaten without its skin and had good taste. species. We should however emphasise that its process of domestication played an important
role not just in reducing the size of the inner seeds, but in also increasing the size of the
For some time now the best scientists engaged in studying the pineapple are at Hawaii fruit so that it became juicier and more delicious as the experiments done by the Ancient
University in Honolulu. Once the pineapple reached the Old World it met with a resounding American aborigines who cultivated it increased.
success.
There are two hypotheses regarding the groups who domesticated the pineapple. The first
The smooth cayenne pineapple, which nowadays is so treasured in Peru’s markets, had its origin hypothesis claims that Ananas comosus ananassoides was domesticated by the Tupi-Guarani, and
in French Guiana, from whence it was exported to France by Perrottet in 1819, and from thence after a migration it reached the Antilles, the northern Andes and Central America. The second
to all the markets in the world (Rohrbach 2003: 2). At present Thailand and the Philippines hypothesis was developed by Leal and Antoni, and claims this genus may have had its origin in an
are the biggest producers and exporters in the world, and Brazil in America. We must bear in area that lies between 10°N-10°S and 55°-75°W (which by the way includes the Peruvian Amazonian
mind the Spanish introduced the pineapple into the Philippines in the early sixteenth century, Andes). It has also been claimed that south-western Brazil may have been its secondary centre
shortly after the discovery of America, so it has a long tradition there. of origin and dissemination. Finally, it is possible that modern pineapples originated in the Paraná
River region (Paraguay) because here there is a concentration of wild varieties.
What origin did the pineapple have? Barbara Pickersgill (2007: 927) believes it comes from the
tropical Amazonian lowlands of South America because the most ancient fids of this plant Clement et al. (2010: 85) recently confirmed that the pineapple was widely disseminated at
come from this area. the time of the European arrival, which indicates it was widely consumed in tropical America,
from Mesoamerica and the Antilles to the Central Andean Valley—where some special crops
Piperno and Pearsall (1998: 156) on the other hand believe the pineapple had its zone of origin developed, in which Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela stand out—and as far south as Paraguay.
south of Brazil and in Paraguay. This would validate the above-mentioned positions. This position differs from the previous one.

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Clement and his colleagues claim the wild pineapple was found practically throughout the Arqueológico of the la Universidad Nacional del Cuzco. Margaret Towle (1961: 30) supported
entire region east of the Andes, from the northern shores of South America to the south of this claim based on the characteristics of the leaves.
Brazil and Paraguay. The greatest variety and morphologies were however found in South
America north of the Amazon River. Clement et al. (2010: 86) therefore believe that this region Hans Horkheimer (1960: 74-75) held the position that the pineapple had been cultivated in
is the place where the pineapple originated. Other studies based on genetic, biochemical, and ancient Peru based on chroniclers like Pedro Cieza de León, Miguel de Estete, and Garcilaso
morphological data posit the Guianas was the origin zone where the pineapple was. Based de la Vega, but he did not mention any pre-Hispanic finds.
on biological calculations, Clement concluded the pineapple was already being used in wild
state around 8000 B.C., and that it was domesticated around 4000 B.C. Margaret Towle (1961: 30) included this plant in his book on the ethnobotany of pre-Hispanic
Peru. She believed it was grown in tropical South America. Towle noted that the first reference
Coppens d’Eeckenbrugge et al. in turn posit, based on Persall’s data, that the pineapple was was made by Miguel de Estete, who mentioned “small pineapples that can be found on the
domesticated some 3,500 years ago (Coppens d’Eeckenbrugge et al. 2011: 30-31). Genetic data coast.” Clement (et al 2010: 86) pointed out that in Peru the earliest archaeological pineapple
support two domestication processes. On the one hand there is the Guyana shield, which found comes from the coast and can be dated to 1200-800 B.C., yet their bibliography (Pearsall
holds the largest cytoplasm variety (the hybridisation of A. cosmosus var. cosmosus and A. 1992: 178) includes not one specific reference to this finding in any of the three sources Pearsall
cosmosus var. ananassoides [A. cosmosus erectifolius derives from the latter]), and on the lists. It is thus clear that although no archaeological documentation of pineapple consumption
other we have the Upper Amazon, i.e. the headwaters of the Amazon River, which may also in pre-Hispanic Peru is available, it may appear in future once the recording and la methods have
have been a centre of pineapple diversification. been honed—yet unlike other pre-Hispanic fruit, it is not expected to have abounded.

It follows that scholars have yet to agree on the domestication of the pineapple and
whether it took place north of the Amazon River or in Tupi-Guaraní territory. The only Custard Apple, Cherimoya [Chirimoya, Amuesha] (Annona cherimola Miller)
point agreed upon is that it must have been domesticated in a South American tropical
Amazonian environment. For Mostacero et al. (2009: 202) the custard apple is a plant native to Peru’s intermontane
valleys, whilst others claim it originated in Mesoamerica. Its tree can grow up to 10 metres
What do we know of the pineapple’s bromatology? The Office of the Gene Technology Regulator high, and it is well known for its aromatic flowers and its fruit, which can have a diameter of
published a consensual report (2008) on this species which calls it one of the most significant up to 25 cm. The custard apple grows between 1500 and 2200 masl. Another major study
fruits in terms of its global output, just behind the banana and the lemon. The pineapple is an points out it is found from Venezuela to Bolivia, and that it can grow under temperatures that
excellent source of manganese and it has vitamins such as C1 and B1 (thiamine), as well as fibres, range between 16 and 20 °C (Moutarde 2006b: 26).
calcium, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, ascorbic acid, carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin
(OGTR 2008: 21). In the context of pre-Hispanic Peru we must bear in mind the antianaemic Do we have any information regarding its origin? After carrying out an interdisciplinary study
properties of ascorbic acid, as it facilitates iron absorption (Larsen 2000). of the custard apple, Duccio Bonavia and some of his colleagues concluded that there was a
consensus on it being native to Ecuador and Peru, and that its cultivation had practically not
Patiño (2002: 292-307) made an extensive presentation of the pineapple in his handbook on undergone any major change for a very long time (in Morales 2003 and Popenoe 1921, in Bonavia
American tropical fruits. From his presentation if follows that most of the historical references et al. 2004: 510). They also claimed the custard apple was not introduced in Peru in A.D. 1630 as
on this fruit come from the Eastern Andean Cordillera. was claimed by Pozorski and Pozorski (1997) and instead went much further back, as will be seen
below. They likewise claimed the custard apple grew and was eaten both on the North Coast as
Patiño makes a large reference list of the presence of the pineapple in the Antilles, Panama, well as on the Central Coast since at least the Final Preceramic Period and up to the Inca epoch.
Colombia, the Orinoco, the Amazon, Ecuador, and other areas where it is widely disseminated.
One concentration zone found by Spanish travellers lies in the frontier area between Brazil, Southern Ecuador seems to actually have had a decisive role in the origin and domestication
Colombia and Peru, which is a relevant datum as regards the latter country. Cieza de León of custard apple, just like previous scholars believed. Wolters (1999, in Schedelman 2001-2002:
claimed in this regard having seen pineapples on the North Coast as far as Trujillo, while 25) thus described ceramic vessels from the Valdivia culture that dated to 3600-1500 B.C. with
Acosta claims that it did not grow in that area but was brought instead from the Andes, and depictions of custard apples. It seems the antecedent of this fruit lies in the Loja zone in Ecuador.
it was not of good quality.
Guzmán (1951, also in Schedelman 2001-2002: 25) on the other hand believed the custard apple
It is now worth making the effort of archaeologically documenting the pineapple. Vargas came from the Marañón’s intermontane valleys, including southern Ecuador. More recent
(1962: 110) claims having seen the depiction of this plant in a wooden vessel in the Museo research of a molecular type suggests there was a second domestication centre in Mesoamerica.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Despite the time gone by, we should also bear in mind that Margaret Towle also claimed Gumerman (1991: table 3.4) provides more evidence that the Chimu ate custard apples on
the domestication of the custard apple began in the early Christian era and in Peru (Towle showing that it was consumed somewhat frequently at Pacatnamú, a site in the Jequetepeque
1961: 143). River mouth during its Chimu occupation around A.D. 1300-1400.

The National Research Council (1989b: 229-240) in turn posits the custard apple comes from Margaret Towle (1961: 38-39) pointed out that Safford had seen ceramic depictions of this
the Ecuadorian Andes (there is a large density of wild custard apple trees in the Loja area as plant in Peruvian funerary contexts, and that several of its seeds had been preserved in the
was noted above), while in Chile it is considered its national fruit . burial contexts of Ancón.

What do we know of the custard apple’s nutritional value? Like several other Andean fruits it There is also evidence that the Nasca consumed custard apples. Roque et al. reported the
was a high percentage of sugar and carbohydrates, but is low in acids. It has moderate amounts presence of its seeds in domestic contexts at the site of Casa Vieja in the lower Calango
of calcium and phosphorus (35 mg per every 100 grams). Although it is low in vitamin A, it is a Valley, in the modern Ica department, at around 260 masl (Roque et al. 2003). Although no
good source of niacin, thiamine, and rivoflavin. Scheldeman (2001-2002: 36) summarised the radiocarbon dates are available, it has been suggested that this site was occupied between
bromatological values several researchers gave for the custard apple and gave the following A.D. 530 and A.D. 820 (cf. Unkel 2006: 111).
components: water (73-77%), proteins (1-1.9%), fat (0.1-0.2%), carbohydrates (18-24%), fibres (1.3-
2%), calcium (25-34 mg), phosphorus (30-47 mg), and ascorbic acid (4.3-29 mg), amongst others The coastal Wari people also consumed this fruit. A seed was excavated in site PV35-4,
present in low amounts. immediately north of the Huarmey River mouth. This is a camp that has been dated to around
A.D. 800 (Bonavia et al. 2009: 253).
We now turn to the archaeological data. Bonavia (1982) reported the discovery of custard
apple in epoch 3 (the most recent one) of Los Gavilanes, i.e. ca. 2400-1000 B.C. Finally, Lanfranco and Eggers documented the presence of custard apples in Chancay contexts
at Los Pinos, a site in the Huaura Valley (Lanfranco and Eggers 2010: 79).
Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 79) report the presence of custard apple in various sites in the
Puémape complex south of the Jequetepeque Valley, at least in 3008-339 B.C. Thus it may well
have been consumed on the North Coast throughout the last two thousand years B.C. Soursop [Guanábana] (Annona muricata)
The evidence from Huarmey and the Jequetepeque thus indicate the custard apple was eaten This is a plant of the Annonaceae family found in the tropical lowlands between 1000
on the Peruvian coast since around 3,000 B.C. and 1150 masl. Warm and humid environments favour its development, and the fleshy
fruits usually weigh up to four kilos. The plant itself is benign as regards its capacity to
Custard apple seeds have also been found for instance at Puerto Moorin in the Virú Valley, rehabilitate soils.
with a slightly earlier date of around 200 B.C. This confirms its consumption on the North
Coast of Peru throughout the first millennium B.C. (Ericson et al. 1989: 76). Guanábana is a Taíno word from the Greater Antilles. Patiño (2002: 68) says it was known
in the early sixteenth century in Puerto Rico and the Antilles. In his monumental study of
Lockard (2005: 206) in turn documented possible custard apple remains—pericarps and American tropical fruit trees, Patiño claims the soursop is partially native to Peru due to
seeds—during the Mochica occupation (A.D. 600-800) of Galindo, a site in the middle Moche the documentation presented by Eugenio Yacovleff, who published Chimu ceramics that
Valley. These remains comprised 68% of the fruits eaten at this site, which means it was depicted this fruit. This observation had previously been made already by Margaret Towle
frequently consumed. (1961: 39). Intriguingly enough the pre-Hispanic and colonial history of the soursop is tied
to the North coast, yet in the late eighteenth century it was frequently mentioned as being
Another type of evidence is provided by ceramic pre-Hispanic depictions, particularly those under cultivation in the fields around Lima.
from the Chimu culture (Vargas 1962: 111). It should also be noted that depictions of this plant
also appear in the Mochica occupation of the Santa Valley, as well as in Nasca pottery, during The bromatology of the soursop gives for every 100 grams, 38 mg of calcium, 43 mg of
the Wari period in Huarmey, and in the North Coast’s Chimu and Chimu-Inca ceramics. It is phosphorus, and 19 mg of vitamin C (Centro Nacional de Alimentación y Nutrición 2009: 25).
thus clear the custard apple was not just known and was consumed on the Peruvian coast Mostacero et al. (2009: 202) claim it can come from various zones in tropical America and
since the beginning of the Christian era up to the Inca period that marks the chronological that it has 12% sugar—most of it glucose—, some fructose and pectin, as well as vitamins B1,
period studied in this book. B2, B5, and C.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

As regards its origin, from a linguistic standpoint everything seems to suggest words from
Haiti, Taíno or the Antilles, which would mean it is a species from northern South America or
the Caribbean.

Botanical research suggests the soursop had its origin in the Caribbean area, in northern South
America or in Brazil (Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 156).

Bonavia et al. (2004) made a fascinating interdisciplinary study of the soursop and concluded
that it was evidently eaten since at least the Early Horizon, both on the North Coast as well as
on the Central Coast of Peru, but it was apparently eaten before this in Ecuador. The evidence
available for all subsequent archaeological periods in Peru indicate it was eaten right up to
Inca times. Here we should point out that the soursop did not appear in Peru in A.D. 1000, as
was claimed by Pozorski and Pozorski (1997), and is in fact much more ancient.

Let us now see the scant archaeological evidence we found. Lanfranco and Eggers reported
soursop at Puémape, a site south of the Jequetepeque Valley, in contexts that date to 3008-
ca. 1200 B.C. (Lanfranco and Eggers 2010: 79). It is thus possible that soursop was first eaten
since around 3000 B.C.

Bonavia et al. (2004) made a detailed list of the archaeological sites where soursop has been
found from around 200 B.C. up to the Chimu epoch; the list focuses particularly on the North Figura 14. Representación de guanábana en cerámica. Cultura mochica (ca.400 d.C.). (MUSEO LARCO. LIMA-PERÚ).
Coast, including the Moche and Wari Empire site in the Virú and Jequetepeque Valleys. The
evidence clearly indicates it was consumed in abundance on the North Coast of Peru.
his interesting work on Pedregal, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, Cutright (2009: 144)
Bennett and Bird in 1960, and Mason in 1964 (Bonavia et al. 2004: 512), reported soursop in the likewise found that this group based its botanical diet on soursop consumption (34% of all
Early Intermediate Period, but did not present the evidence. Larco Hoyle in 1938 and Towle in plant foods found at this site).
1961 (ibid) both included Mochica ceramic depictions of soursop (Figure 14).
Bonavia et al. (2004) also mention the discovery of soursop remains at Los Pinos, a Chancay
These depictions are now being corroborated by the excavations undertaken in the land of the site in the Huaura Valley that dates to ca. A.D. 1000-1460. This fruit was thus also clearly eaten
Mochica. For instance, Vásquez and Rosales identified soursop remains in the urban areas of on the Central Coast.
the Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, which means the Mochica ate it throughout
the first centuries of the Christian era (Vásquez y Rosales 2004: 362).
Chili Pepper [Ají, Chojña, Huaica, Jima, Uchu] (Capsicum baccatum, Capsicum chinense, Capsicum
According to the research undertaken by Pozorski, a site has been identified in the Moche pubescens y Capsicum frutescens)
Valley where the soursop was the most-consumed fruit (Pozorski 1979: 170). It was also widely
consumed throughout the Chimu epoch at the archaeological site of Chan Chan itself, where Chili pepper or ají is without question the permanent companion to Peruvian food, but it also
it was by far the most eaten fruit, second only to the lucuma (Pozorski 1979: 170). has alimentary and medicinal properties, and is even a means of human interaction. Heiser
and Smith support this citing Alexander von Humboldt, who claimed chili pepper was as
More recently, the investigations at Cerro La Cruz (in the Chao Valley) found soursop remains, essential for Native Americans as salt was for Europeans (Heiser and Smith 1953: 214). Besides,
which mean this fruit must have been consumed there ca. A.D. 900-1350 (Vogel 2012: 126-128). in his overview of chili pepper Andrews points out that about 20% of the people on earth eat
it, and that its consumption is rising (Andrews 2000: 281-287).
A high soursop consumption is observable both on the northern and southern Chimu
peripheries. Perry (2002: 337) documented its presence at Manchán, an archaeological site in Father Soukup (1980: 104-105) claims Capsicum comes from the Greek kaptein, which evokes
the Casma Valley belonging to the southern phase of the Chimu culture (A.D. 1470-1523). In the spicy flavour some species have. Ají is essentially used in the Andes not just to spice food

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but also as a medicine, for instance as an analgesic against dental caries, to cure ailments was cultivated on clayish soils and very humid and montane secondary forests, between 60
caused by “el aire” (toasted), as an anti-inflammatory medication, and eventually against and 3600 masl. Margaret Towle (1961: 81) claimed most of the diversity of Capsicum pubescens
influenza. Andrews (2000) reminds us that once the capsaicin (which is responsible for the had its origin in the Andes. Piperno and Pearsall believe Capsicum pubescens is somehow
spicy taste) found in chili pepper enters our organism it does not have an acid effect but an separate from other Capsicum (1998: 153). Andrews (2000) drew attention to the fleshy nature
alkaline one that stimulates the appetite and strengthens our defences. of this chili pepper, which deteriorates rapidly and thus prevents its transportation, except in
quite restricted fashion.
As regards the consumption and cultivation of chili pepper, it has always gone hand in hand
with maize. Perry et al. (2007: 988) pointed out that every time maize is found in some pre- Moving on to the Peruvian context, Capsicum pubescens (National Research Council 1989b:
Hispanic site in the Americas it is usually associated with chili pepper remains, and that once 196) is cold-resistant and is grown between 1500 and 2900 masl. This report says the Incas
the pre-Hispanic populations included ají in their diet they never stopped consuming it. valued it mostly due to its intense flavour. The wild ancestor of rocoto is not known but it
must be related with the ulupica (Capsicum cardenasii). We must bear in mind that it was
Gnerre’s linguistic studies of the plants in the New World made him say that among the highly valued not just in food, but also as an excellent repellent (Orozco and Lentz 2005: 171).
Andean peoples the “pepperoncino” substituted for salt (Gnerre 2002: 1251). Margaret Towle
(1961: 98) called ají a “condimento en la cocina andina prehispánica.” Capsicum baccatum L. var. pendulum is a third species that is also known as “ají escabeche,”
“ají verde,” “ají Amarillo,” and—when dehydrated—“ají mirasol;” this is a particularly spicy
Mostacero et al. (2009: 784-785), who authored a handbook that is nowadays essential in species. It is believed to have originated in northern Bolivia, but it was cultivated from the
its field, point out that at present there are 25 species of wild chili pepper and just five ceja de selva to the Gran Chaco and southern Brazil, including western South America as far as
domesticated ones. We therefore now turn briefly to the taxonomy of the ají, before Ecuador. The National Research Council (1989: 197) posits that it may have originated in a vast
discussing its origins and domestication and reviewing the archaeological finds. expanse that extends between southern Peru and the southern Amazon region that includes
Paraguay and Bolivia, with the latter being the place where its cultivation began. This species
The above-cited handbook considers that Capsicum annuum, one of the first species grows in relatively low-altitude ecological tiers, up to 1100 masl.
domesticated, is native to Mexico (chile jalapeño) but later spread to Central, North, and South
America. Another study based on molecular analyses concluded that Capsicum annuum was Barbara Pickersgill is perhaps the scientist that has devoted more time and effort to the study
domesticated in Mexico as well as in northern Central America (cf. Clement et al. 2010: 84). of this plant, and she authored one of the earliest studies (1969) on the origins of the Peruvian
chili pepper. Basing herself on the excavations at Huaca Prieta and Punta Grande, Pickersgill
The dates for Capsicum annuum (ají largo, ají verde, or ají pimiento) obtained in the excavations claimed that Capsicum baccatum (the ají mirasol) is the species that was found at both sites.
at Coxcatlán (Mexico) range on average to 6600-4750 B.C., but in this case it was not possible Besides, this plant would have reached the North Coast along with four others that were
to determine whether it was domesticated or wild chili (Buckler et al.1998: 160). probably domesticated in Bolivia or in southern Peru.

Previous studies of another kind made by Pickersgill (1971) indicated this species originated Capsicum chinense (which is known in Mexico as “chile habanero,” and in el Peru as “ají panca”)
in Mexico. The significant influence this type of ají or chili had can be traced nowadays for is the fourth species of chili pepper; its origins seem to lie in the northern Amazon zone.
instance in its yellow colour, and the presence of this colour in other types of chili pepper It later reached Mexico through Cuba after the Spanish conquest (hence its name; it had
would be the result of their hybridisation with Capsicum annuum (Pickersgill 2007). previously been taken there by the Arawak of northern South America). It should be noted
that many handbooks include the ají limo (mochero) or Colorado in this species, but we found
Capsicum annuum contains capsaicin that gives it its strong and spicy flavour, which stimulates it included in the Capsicum annuum. Var. perroletti species.
the appetite and gastric secretions. In Peru there are two varieties of this species that are
essential in every diner’s table (and we can imagine the same held true in pre-Hispanic times). Barbara Pickersgill (1969) claims for Capsicum chinense that it was domesticated in the
One of these varieties is Capsicum annuum var. longum, which is also known as “paprika chili lower Amazon basin and then spread to the coast at the same time that pottery developed.
pepper.” Capsicum annuum var. Perroleti, the other variety, commonly known as “ají limo,” Pickersgill believed that it was quite likely that the people of Yarinacocha and Kotosh may
is quite characteristic of the Peruvian North Coast. Piperno and Pearsall (1998: 153) believe already have been growing Capsicum chinense around 2000 B.C., so ají panca may have been
Capsicum annuum is related with Capsicum frutescens and Capsicum baccatum. eaten around this time in this part of the eastern Andes.

Capsicum pubescens R & P, the second domesticated species, which is also known as “rocoto,” Capsicum frutescens, the fifth species of chili pepper, which is commonly known as tabasco in
originated in the western South American Andes, from whence it expanded up to Mexico. It Mexico, and as “pipí de mono” (lit. monkey peepee) in Peru, probably originated in Mexico or in

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the Caribbean. Candolle (1886) posited that its native area extended from the Peruvian coast up per 100 grams), and this besides its 6 gr. of protein, 23 gr. of fibre, 116 mg, of calcium, 200 mg
to Brazil. Vavilov instead claimed that it came from Mexico and Central America (Smith 1968: 255). of phosphorus, 15 mg of iron, and 25 mg of carotene.
Piperno y Pearsall (1998: 163) however established that it was domesticated in a macrorregional
area that extended from southern Central America to northern South America. Andrews (2000: 285) emphasises the fact that chili pepper has a high nutritional value. The
impressive thing is that it has more vitamin A per weight than any other plant on earth, and
What was the origin of chili pepper? Is there any data regarding its domestication? The experts when eaten raw it has more vitamin C than lemons themselves, and it preserves more of this
on Capsicum believe the origins of this genus lie in Bolivia (McLeod et al. 1982, Perry et al. vitamin even when ripe or dry. In the case of Capsicum pubescens, just its high vitamin C and
2007: 986); Brazil however has a large variety of species, and this means it cannot be ruled out antioxidant values make it a major alimentary source (Viñals et al. 1996). Andrews also believes
as the pristine zone of this genus. that its significant amounts of magnesium and iron, along with its vitamins and minerals, made
chili pepper an essential accompaniment for pre-Hispanic food.
Piperno and Pearsall (1998: 153) in turn believe chili pepper comes from central Brazil and
Bolivia, and that it then reached the Andes due to birds and humans. We now turn to the archaeological evidence. Perry et al. (2007) correctly noted that the
documenting of chili pepper in America has been hindered above all by the environment,
Andrews (2000) cites Pickersgill—probably the major student of chili pepper—and points out which means that we only have finds made in dry coastal environments, as well as a few
that the early humans who first peopled South America at the end of the last Ice Age found reports that mention chili pepper pollen.
wild chili pepper, which was then spread by birds and other agents from its areas of origin
to other areas, i.e. from the zone south of the wet Amazon forest and the semidry area of El What is clear is that chili pepper was extensively cultivated probably before 2500 B.C., as was
Cerrado in Brazil to the rest of the subcontinent. Its dispersal was such that the Spanish word suggested by Jeffrey Quilter (1991: 398). This at least was evinced by the review Perry et al.
ají is apparently Arawak, a group in the Caribbean zone that took chili pepper to other parts of (2007) made of domesticated chili peppers consumed from the Bahamas to the Andean area.
America. “Chili,” on the other hand, is a Náhuatl term. Patiño (2002: 437) believes ají is a Taíno The point made therein that is worth citing here is that the most ancient chili pepper remains
word from Colombia, whereas uchu is Quechua. The dispersal of chili pepper was quite rapid were found as phytoliths at the Aguadulce rock shelter (Panama) that date to around 3600
and it was accepted by many Native American cultures. Patiño also pointed out that Cobo B.C., as well as in the Loma Alta complex at Ecuador ca. 4250 B.C. It should be noted that the
noted that ají was preserved as an escabeche (i.e. marinated), especially when travelling, or Aguadulce chili pepper was recovered in the form of kernels that had been ground in some
dried once it had been ground. kind of mortar, so it follows it was already being ground at this time in this part of America.

On reaching Africa and Asia thanks to the Spanish conquistadors, chili pepper was rapidly Because of the significance chili pepper had in Mexico it is worth pointing out here the most
accepted because food was already strongly spiced in these areas, e.g. with the African ancient Mexican remains come from the Tehuacán valley. They date to the eighth millennium
melegueta pepper or the black pepper from India; this means that it was not just the potato B.C. Other archaeological sites where chili pepper has been found, from the Bahamas to the
that made an international contribution for ají, our goo condiment, also made one. Andes, date to around the fifth millennium B.C. (Clement et al. 2010: 84).

Andrews (2000) believes the origins of chili pepper are still not clear because the genus We now turn to the chili pepper record in pre-Hispanic Peru. Vargas (1962: 110) already noted
Capsicum is defined by the production of capsaicin; even so, its centre of diversity evidently several decades ago the presence of chili pepper depictions in Moche, Nasca, and Chimu
lies in an area that extends from Bolivia to south-western Brazil. Andrews concluded that the pottery, which meant its consumption on the Peruvian coast since at least the beginning of
South American tropics were the nucleus of domestication of chili pepper. She thus supports the Christian era is not in question.
previous research.
Margaret Towle (1961: 80-81) evidently was one of the first scholars in the history of
Clement et al. (2010: 84) summarises this stating there are at least three major independent ethnobotanical research who studied chili pepper, and she also made special reference to
centres of chili pepper domestication, i.e. Mesoamerica, the Andes, and the low-altitude South Nasca and Chimu pottery with depictions of this plant.
American tropical region. In general one or more chili pepper species was domesticated in each
of these areas. Margaret Towle (1961: 139) held chili pepper had been possibly domesticated Perhaps the ají found in Guitarrero Cave is most ancient in Peru (Smith 1980a: 101-102).
since at least the late Preceramic Period ca. 3000 B.C. This site is on the Cordillera Negra in the Callejón de Huaylas at about 2850 masl. The
problems this cave’s stratigraphy raises notwithstanding, chili pepper (Capsicum chinense,
Bromatology is a subject that we must broach briefly. Heiser and Smith (1953) pointed out that which probably entails the presence of ají limo) has been found in a little-altered layer
the special nutritive value of chili pepper was due to its high vitamin C content (150-180 mg and was dated to around 9000-8500 B.C. (the dates from Guitarrero cave were previously

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discussed in León 2007: 175-176). The identification of this species was also verified Next in the chronology come the excavations made at Huaynuná, a Final Preceramic site in
by Barbara Pickersgill, an expert in this subject. The most impressive thing here is that the lower Casma Valley that found a series of botanical remains studied by Ugent et al. (2004:
Pickersgill claims these are cultivated chili peppers, which means they are amongst the 420), and which include Capsicum sp. It can be concluded by association that these remains
earliest cultivated plants in the world. date to 2914-2287 B.C. For Perry et al. (2007: 987), the chili pepper from Huaynuná is important
because a diagnostic morphotype of the Capsicum pubescens species has been identified; this
And regarding the domestication of chili pepper, perhaps the most striking point here is means rocoto was being eaten in the lower Casma Valley some 4,500 years ago.
that from the morphology observed by Smith, it follows that this specimen shows traces of
having been domesticated. This shows the antiquity of the domestication process as regards For Perry and his team, should this information be confirmed by macrobotanics it would mean
chili pepper in the Andes, which perhaps goes back to the Younger Dryas itself, i.e. the last that at least three species of chili pepper were being eaten on the Peruvian coast and highlands
glaciation ca. 11,000 B.C. (cf. Richerson et al. 2001). around 2000 B.C., i.e. Capsicum pubescens, Capsicum chinense, and Capsicum baccatum, that
is to say rocoto, ají limo, and ají escabeche.
The Ayacucho Project also holds documentation on Capsicum but it is unfortunately lacking
in details, which are so important in science (MacNeish et al. 1981: 162). Ají may have been Perry and his team reported the discovery of Capsicum sp. at Pampa de Llamas-Moxeque,
discovered there within a context belonging to the Chihua phase, which was dated to around in this same region, which dated to 2088-1243 B.C. The remains of Capsicum sp. were found
5600-4140 B.C. Bonavia (1982: 325) reports that García Cook claimed the species identified within this zone at the sites of San Diego and Pampa Rosario that date to ca. 800-300 B.C. This
in Ayacucho’s Jaiwa phase, which dates to around 8000-6000 B.C. is Capsicum annuum, but means ají was intensively eaten in the lower Casma Valley.
Bonavia has also questioned this taxonomic determination because it lacks support.
Capsicum sp. has also been documented as starch residues in gourd containers found at Buena
Alejandro Chu (2008: 138) reported that his excavations at Bandurria, a site close to the modern Vista, a site north of Lima that dates to 2193-2164 B.C. Since these are food residues, it is clear
city of Huacho, yielded just one ají seed, so that its consumption at this site may have taken Capsicum sp. was eaten (Duncan et al. 2009). This is one of the few clear indicators that ají
place in 3170-1610 B.C. was directly eaten.

Capsicum sp. was found not just in large amounts but also in all occupation levels at the Capsicum remains that date at least to 3008 B.C. were found at Puémape, a site quite close to
ceremonial site of La Galgada, in Ancash, at about 1100 masl. Earle Smith noticed the specimens the littoral south of the Jequetepeque Valley (Lanfranco and Eggers 2010: 79).
had an ivory colour, which is strange in the case of the Andean chili pepper (ají limo?), and its
dates start at 2190 B.C. (Smith 1988: 140-141). Some remains of Capsicum sp. that date to 2410-2064 B.C. were recorded in the rubbish left
behind as food refuse at Cerro Lampay, a site in the Fortaleza Valley north of Lima. It also
The Capsicum baccatum species of chili pepper has been found in layers ‘D’ to ‘Q’ at Huaca appears slightly later at Caral, almost around 2000 B.C. Caral (Flores Blanco 2006: 281).
Prieta, on the North Coast of Peru, which means it dates at least to between 2899 and 1586-
771 B.C. (mean, 1183 B.C.). Bird et al. (1985: 236) state that Pickersgill, who examined the remains, Mercedes Cárdenas (1999) reported the discovery of Capsicum remains among the edible
believes that Capsicum baccatum var. Pendulum (ají amarillo or escabeche) was already remains from Las Salinas de Chao on the North Coast of Peru, with dates that go back to
domesticated. The other species were found in the upper layers, always up to 771 B.C. Her 2000 B.C.
observations show red- and orange-coloured chili peppers appeared in the lower levels.
For Pickersgill, the colour selection indicates domestication because orange chili pepper is Patterson and Moseley (1968: 117) reported some decades ago having found ají in the vicinity of
not found in the wild. Callen (1965: 335) and Callen and Cameron (1960) found Capsicum sp. Ancón, starting in the Playa Hermosa phase up to 2634 B.C., but no contextual archaeological
seeds in human faeces or coproliths from Huaca Prieta, so there can be no question that it documentation was presented. The presence of chili pepper in the Conchas phase in this
was consumed by the people of this site in the above-mentioned epoch. Ají escabeche was same complex of sites at Ancón, which dates to 2722 B.C., has also been observed. Cohen
therefore being eaten 5000 years ago on the North Coast of Peru. Capsicum chinense was also (1978: 36) also reported the presence of Capsicum chinense around 2000 B.C. at the Tank site
eaten at Huaca Prieta in the same epoch (Perry et al. 2007: 986), so it is possible that ají limo at Ancón, so ají limo was also eaten at that time in Lima. Cohen later noted the variety he
was also being consumed on the North Coast since around the third millennium B.C. most found—albeit sporadically—in the sites he studied in Lima was the ají escabeche variety.

Capsicum sp. (no further taxonomic specification is available) was found in strata that dated Bonavia (1982: 325) mentions that Fréderick Engel documented the presence of Capsicum
to 2200-1480 B.C. at Los Gavilanes (Bonavia 1982: 149), in the lower Huarmey Valley. frutescens (we can assume this was “pipi de mono”) at Asia, south of the Mala Valley, with an
approximate date of 1490 B.C.

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Another type of reference to chili pepper is found, for instance, in Chavín iconography, i.e. Perry (2002: 337) in turn found Capsicum at Manchán, a Chimu (final phase, A.D. 1470-1523) site
throughout the first millennium B.C., at altitudes like that of this site in the Callejón de Huaylas, in the Casma Valley, and Keating (1975: 226) found it at Cerro La Virgen, a part of the Chan Chan
at 3150 masl (Lathrap 1971, Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 110). citadel on the North Coast.

Chili pepper (simply identified as Capsicum sp.) was also recovered in the excavations of At Pacatnamú Gumerman (1991: table 3.4) noticed during the Chimu occupation too, that chili
El Paraíso, a Preceramic U-shaped temple in the Chillón Valley north of Lima that dates to pepper (non-specified species) was eaten around A.D. 1300-1400 both by the common people
around 2150 B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 280). and by the elite; it would seem however that the latter ate it more, thus giving the impression
that it was more of an elite food item. Part of the occupation of Pedregal, a site in the lower
In a regional study of the North Coast, Shelia Pozorski (1979: 170) reported the occurrence Jequetepeque Valley, also belongs to the Chimu; here Cutright (2009: 145) reported finding
of Capsicum sp. in various archaeological sites in the vicinity of the Moche Valley, i.e. Alto remains of Capsicum frutescens.
Salaverry (1,600 B.C.), Gramalote (1800 B.C.), several sites with Early Moche and Early Chimu
occupations, and even Chan Chan and various Chimu sites in the vicinity of modern-day All of this information simply emphasises the fact that chili pepper (part of it limo was
Huanchaco. Its presence is clearly more significant in Early Chimu and Chimu-Inca sites. In consumed in significant proportions by the Mochica and (particularly by) the Chimu culture.
a subsequent article Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 125) mention the discovery of 27 Capsicum
sp. and Capsicum annuum (ají limo?) peduncles in a Chimu context. Capsicum has also been Chili pepper was also known and consumed by the pre-Hispanic population of Ica, i.e. the
documented at the site of Pampa Grande (Lambayeque), which dates to ca. A.D. 711-800 Paracas and the Nasca. Margaret Towle (1961: 81) had already noted the presence of chili pepper
(Shimada and Shimada 1981: 33). in Paracas Cavernas and Paracas Necropolis—i.e. since 400 B.C.—as well as its depiction in
pottery. Towle observed that these specimens were big and of similar proportion to modern
There are some cases in which several species of chili pepper have been identified at one ones, so she believed ají had undergone an extensive period of manipulation. Significant
site. Cárdenas et al. (1997: 134) reported the discovery of species such as Capsicum annuum amounts of Capsicum frutescens have in fact been found in the recent excavations of the
(including the perroletti variety, i.e. ají limo), Capsicum frutescens (“pipí de mono”), and monumental Nasca site of Cahuachi (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 3).
Capsicum pubescens (rocoto) in Mochica contexts at Huaca de la Luna, a site in the lower
Moche Valley, which date to ca. A.D. 400-750. It is also worth mentioning that in this same Helaine Silverman and Donald Proulx (2002: 52), two authorities on the Nasca culture, believe
study Cárdenas et al. (1997: 138-139) identified the occurrence of Capsicum sp. in all Mochica the consumption of Capsicum frutescens was favoured.
human faecal remains; this means it was a staple par excellence, and at least in once case
Capsicum pubescens (rocoto) was eaten. As for the Late Nasca context, Roque et al. (2003) found the remains of ají (Capsicum sp.)
fruits and seeds in Casa Vieja, a site in the lower Ica Valley at an altitude of around 260 masl;
Chili pepper has also been found in other human faecal remains in the North Coast of Peru. it belongs to the end of this culture and the early Middle Horizon, and can be indirectly dated
The Capsicum baccatum species (ají amarillo or mirasol) has been identified in the excrement to A.D. 530-820 (cf. Unkel 2006: 111). We now turn to materials belonging to the Wari Empire.
of the three individuals buried at Dos Cabezas, a site that is almost on the Jequetepeque River
mouth (Geyer et al. 2003), which has been indirectly dated to A.D. 536-580 (Moseley et al. Roasted Capsicum (probably frutescens, i.e. “pipí de mono”) was found in a hearth at PV35-4,
2008: 83), which means the Mochica evidently consumed ají. It seems to have been consumed a site north of the Huarmey River mouth, at the zone of La Honda beach, that dates to ca.
mostly by the upper tiers of society, as follows from the comparative analysis of these tombs. A.D. 800 (Bonavia 2009: 242, 260), so it was evidently eaten in this way since at least this time.
Interestingly enough, the reassessment Reinhard (et al. 2007: 536) ´made of the pollen found It is worth pointing out that Capsicum frutescens has also been found at Caral in the Supe
in the excrement corroborated the presence of chili pepper. Valley, so it was quite probably consumed at this site approximately between 2595 and 1951
B.C. (Shady and Leyva 2003: 115).
On the other hand the coprolith analysis Ericson et al. (1989: 74) made of the faecal remains
from Puerto Moorin, a site in the lower Virú Valley, clearly showed chili pepper was eaten at Chili pepper was also eaten during the Late Intermediate Period. Klaus and Tam (2010: 596)
least during the first centuries of the Christian era. summarised the plants consumed in the lower Lambayeque Valley between A.D. 1300 and A.D.
1400, and listed it as part of the produce found in several sites.
There is also evidence that the Moche consumed chili pepper at Galindo, a site in the middle
Moche Valley because Lockard (2005: 211) found some remains of this seed in domestic refuse Nelson and Bellido Cerda (2010: 50) on the other hand documented Capsicum in rubbish
contexts; these have only been classified as Capsicum sp. dumps at Quipico, a Chancay site that lies at about 940 masl in the Huaura Valley. Ají remains

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were also found in this same valley but closer to the shore at El Pino, another Chancay site The archaeological record per se of Lagenaria evidently does not imply its consumption, so
(Lanfranco and Eggers 2010: 79). here we will only focus on the finds where it can be verified gourds were actually eaten.

Although this species is not widely found in other archaeological sites in Peru, Towle (1961: One of the earliest pieces of evidence of the occurrence of gourds comes from the Tres
81)—following previous studies by Safford—had already documented it in tombs close to Ventanas and Quiqché Caves, in the upper Lurín Valley south of Lima, at an altitude of over
Lima (presumably belonging to the Late Intermediate Period-Inca, i.e. A.D. 1000-1532), 3700 masl (Engel 1970: 56). Despite the problems raised by this excavation, we can speculate
these finds date to 7031-6903 B.C.
As for Inca contexts, Williams (2005: 166) managed to document through stable isotope
analysis, that chili pepper was eaten in small amounts at the Puruchuco-Huaquerones site. Lagenaria siceraria also appears in the Arenal complex in Lima that has been connected with
the Middle Holocene, during the sixth millennium B.C. (Cohen 1978: 32). Even more interesting
Capsicum baccatum or ají amarillo also seems to have been eaten and grown at Panquilma, a is the fact that this plant had already been domesticated by then (Cohen 1978: 39). So bearing
site in the middle Lurín Valley during its Inca occupation (Cohen 1975: 60). this in mind it is possible that it was domesticated over 7,000 years ago.

Although we cannot delve into this subject, we do want to emphasise the fact that Lagenaria
Gourds (Lagenaria) siceraria was found among the excrement of two burials at Dos Cabezas, a site in the mouth of
the Jequetepeque Valley (Geyer 2003). The burials have been dated to A.D. 536-580 (Moseley
Gourds (Lagenaria, “mati” in Quechua) have been particularly known since the Preceramic et al. 2008: 2003). This is clear evidence that gourds were eaten by the Mochica.
Period, when they were already used as containers, vessels of bottles, and even as floaters
or turned into musical instruments (maracas). Gourds were even used for their medicinal
properties and occasionally as food (Cutler and Whitaker 1961). Squash [Calabazas or Zapallos] (Cucurbita)
Some genetic studies are available that allow us to explore the origins of this plant. Zeder In the pre-Hispanic period American squash are second only to maize, so in this case we must
et al. (2006) claim that Lagenaria is native to Africa and that it was probably exported to examine the evidence somewhat more extensively then in previous cases.
America across the ocean. Lagenaria has apparently been found wild in Zimbabwe; five wild
congeners have even been found in the northern half of Africa (Decker-Walters 2004), but It is worth beginning our review of Cucurbita with the study by Decker-Walters and Walters
curiously enough the most ancient finds of Lagenaria siceraria come from Egypt and Zambia that was published in the Cambridge World History of Food (2000: 335-351). Squash has been,
around 2000 B.C. Indeed, one issue in this regard is the lack of a wild species that allows us to and still is, a subject of fascination for explorers, botanists, gold seekers, European settlers,
study its development from that condition to domesticate. This premise is supported by the horticulturalists, and—evidently, as evinced by out subject of interest—the American aborigines.
fact that this same species is found in Africa and America.
The botanical study of this plant began at least in the nineteenth century. The pioneering
Even so Erickson et al. (2005) claimed, in a study that combined archaeological evidence studies in archaeology are however the finds Junius Bird made and the studies made by
and genetics, that Lagenaria reached America in domesticated condition; that the first Whitaker, both of which in fact took place in the late 1940s when the radiocarbon method
palaeo-Americans brought it in the early Holocene from Asia and not from Africa. Erickson had just been discovered.
and his team showed the genetic markers of the most ancient Lagenaria, both Andean and
Mexican ones, had the Asiatic sequence and not the African one. Decker-Walters (2004) The genus Cucurbita has long been studied. Taxonomy is a major issue, and interested readers
hold a different position; they claim Lagenaria was exported from Africa to America, but it are directed to Cutler and Whitaker 1956 and Cutler and Whitaker 1961: 470. Here we will review
underwent an independent domestication process in America. The debate in this regard is this plant’s taxonomy, which in turn entails its origins and domestication; then we will turn to
still not over. the uses given to squash before reviewing the archaeological finds. For interested readers, two
good overviews of the Cucurbitaceae genus are Bisognin (2002) and Teppner (2004).
When discussing the domestication of Lagenaria, Piperno and Pearsall (1998: 140) insist that
gourds are native to the semidry tropical African lowlands south of the equator, and that the Before broaching the subject of taxonomy it is worth pointing out that throughout its history
seeds were disseminated by flotation. As regards the antiquity of Lagenaria siceraria, Smith Thomas Whitaker (from the Department of Agriculture of the United States of America) is the
(2005: 9444) points out that in the Oaxaca Valley (Mexico) it dates to 7970 B.C. scientist that has devoted most time and effort to the study of cucurbitaceae. For instance,

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Whitaker studied the relationship between wild and domesticated squash using all the then- In Mexico, Cucurbita moschata appears in the sixth millennium B.C. Here it must be pointed out
available lines of evidence, be they archaeological data, experiments at hybridisation or that the latest finds of Cucurbita moschata have been made in the upper Zaña (Lambayeque)
morphological comparisons. The pioneering word undertaken by Whitaker and Cutler (the Valley, where this species has been recorded with dates that range around 8200 B.C. (Piperno
latter a researcher who joined the former) has been supplemented with a series of studies of 2011: 276). Out view of this plant has therefore now changed.
a phylogenetic and isoenzymatic nature, particularly those headed, amongst others, by Deena
Decker-Walters, Hugh Wilson and Laura Merrick. Piperno and Pearsall (1998: 142-143) pointed out the relative taxonomic isolation of the
Cucurbitaceae and their lack of introgresion. Each is derived from a particular common
Taxonomically speaking there are five domesticated and twenty wild species of squash that ancestor and prefers specific environmental conditions; for instance, C. moschata tolerates
live in various environments that range from tropical to temperate ones. At present both the high temperatures and a strong humidity. Its potential ancestor is found, as has already been
archaeological and the genetic evidence suggests that domesticated species were selected noted, north of Colombia and in the central Pacific area in Panama. This seems to be have
independently from their wild progenitors. The morphological and botanical characteristics been borne out by genetic analyses (Nee 1990, Sanjur et al. 2002).
of each species can be found in Whitaker and Bohn (1950: 65).
Barbara Pickersgill (2007: 927) on the other hand believes that Cucurbita moschata and
Now, the five domesticated species have dates that range between 15,000 and 5,000 years Cucurbita ficifolia are plants that were domesticated independently of each other in the
ago. The native Americans domesticated the small and white wild species that gave rise to a Andes, the former some 5000 years ago, and the latter 4000 years ago. C. maxima and C.
whole range of varieties. Although the mature fruit was not eaten due to its bitter and little- andreana apparently evolved in Mexico from C. moschata and subsequently reached South
oxygenated taste (and which is, by the way, toxic) prior to its domestication, it is possible America.
that the fruits were gathered whilst still young in order to eat them after having boiled them
several times, as can be shown with the peduncles found in archaeological sites. The major As for C. pepo, it is believed to have been domesticated in two zones, the first being Florida
success attained by the process of domestication was in fact eliminating the bitter taste around 10,000 B.C. and the second one Mexico ca. 8000 B.C. The dates for this plant’s
of the American squash, besides having made it less fibrous and thicker as well as having domestication draw close to 10,000 both at Tamaulipas (cf. Whitaker et al. 1957) as well as
generated pulps with softer textures and more colourful rinds. at Guilá Naquitz (Oaxaca) (cf. Whitaker y Cutler 1971: 124). Zucchini is nowadays savoured in
Italy precisely due to this species. The new obtained directly from the seeds using the AMS
The domestication of the five squash species— C. argyosperma, C. ficifolia, C. maxima, C. method seem to confirm this time period that begins in 8208 B.C. It thus seems this plant
moschata, and C. pepo— took place successively on five occasions. C. argyosperma, which is was already being domesticated around 8000 years ago (Smith 1997: 933-934, Smith 2005,
probably derived from C. sororia, was domesticated south of Mexico around 5,000 B.C. This Teppner 2004).
type of squash was cultivated not just as food but also for use as a container, and it is even
possible that its pulp may have been used as detergent due to its saponin content (Huber Although C. maxima and C. maxima Dutch (i.e. zapallo loche and macre) are found scattered
1990: 56). Cutler and Whitaker (1956) and Whitaker and Bohn (1950) in turn considered C. throughout South America, the most ancient evidence of its domestication appears in Peru
argyosperma as a variant of C. ficifolia. around 2500 B.C., and its closest ancestor would be C. maxima andreana. Once domesticated
it dispersed in the south—probably from Bolivia—and not northwards as some have suggested.
C. moschata (lacayote) is a species that should be of our utmost interest due to its frequent Pickersgill (1977) raises the possibility that C. maxima was derived from C. andreana, which has
occurrence in Peru’s archaeological record. Decker-Walters and Walters (2000: 345) explained more branches. Based on genetic analyses Nee (1990) concurs that this is feasible.
that the oldest evidence of its domestication was probably found in southern Mexico around
5,000 B.C., and around 3,000 B.C. in Peru (this is presumably based on Huaca Prieta; even so we Cucurbita ficifolia has been recorded in Peru as a domesticated species between 6000
must consider the more recent finds made by the excavations undertaken in sites in the upper and 3000 B.C. Pickersgill (1969: 55) believed it had been domesticated in Peru and that it
Zaña Valley) (see Piperno 2011: 276). reached Mexico at a relatively late date (“lacayote” is a term that derives from Náhuatl).
But we must not forget that Cucurbita ficifolia is found in the wild in Bolivia, and that it
It is worth pointing out the way scholars assess Peru’s archaeological specimens. These differ is a high altitude plant.
from the Mexican specimens by their wrinkled rinds and the sharp edges of the seeds. This
has made them suggest Peru as a second domestication centre of C. moschata, and perhaps As a resource, squash had a series of functions and uses, particularly as food. Nee (1990) says
even as an independent centre of domestication of this species, all the more so if we consider the quality of the pulp varies and ranges between what can be found in a specimen that is 4-15
its diversity in the Colombian zone, which is exceptional in comparison with its Mexican cm in diameter and what can be held by Cucurbita maxima, which has a diameter of up to one
counterpart. metre and weighs 300 kilos. Squash must therefore have had a high yield.

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For instance, when Decker-Walters and Walters (2000: 34) discuss the preparation and To this we can add some references as examples as part of our goal of assessing the pre-
consumption of squash, they noted that seeds, flowers, sprouts, and leaves (i.e. almost all of Hispanic nutritional balance. The Cucurbita moschata (lacayote) species can give us an idea of
the plant) of both mature and immature plants are edible and were actually eaten. The best the alimentary value this type of plants had in Peru’s past. The Squash Production Guide gives
seeds are found in mature plants but immature squash can be eaten raw, even if it has to be the following figures: for every 100 edible grams of this fruit we have 85-91 g of water, 0.8-2
first boiled and then seasoned. g of proteins, 0.1-0.5 g of fat, and 3.3-11 g of carbohydrates plus vitamins A, B1, B2, C, niacin,
calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and above all iron (SQG 2000, Whitaker and Bohn 1950). We
Whitaker (1981: 461) holds in this regard that both the seeds and the pulp, be they immature thus find there is an essentially large amount of water, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins,
or mature, can be prepared in various ways—coated with sugar, pickled, boiled, dried, fried, which concurs with the above-mentioned values.
baked or grilled. Whitaker claims that in the pre-Hispanic period the seeds were mostly eaten
raw, toasted or fried, and that the pulp was used as a detergent. It has likewise been recorded What archaeological evidence does the archaeological record have of squash consumption?
that seeds were boiled or dried (under the sun or over ashes) and stored for a long time, Before discussing the Peruvian case we must briefly review its antiquity in Ecuador. The study
and we can speculate that this also was the case in pre-Hispanic Peru. We can once again of phytoliths Dolores Piperno has undertaken for at least three decades also resulted in the
wonder here whether the nutritional value of squash rose when in dehydrated or dried state. discovery of the most ancient South American Cucurbita, this time in Ecuador. Piperno and
Whitaker and Cutler (1965) discussed the significance of its ingestion in regard to the amount Stothert (2003) identified Cucurbita phytoliths in sites OGSE-80 and M5 A4-67 of the Las
of sugar and starch, and the highly nutritional quality of its seeds. Vegas culture in the Santa Elena Peninsula (Ecuador), which have dates that average to 9836
B.C.; this is equal almost to Younger Dryas, the last Ice Age. The most surprising thing is that
Bonavia (1982: 330), who was quite knowledgeable as regards Andean ethnobotanics, believed Piperno and Stothert believe this type of squash was already domesticated. For them this
the cucurbitaceae probably were the main staple during the pre-Ceramic period because means they can suggest that squash domestication processes took place at the same time as
even their flowers can be eaten once boiled, and the same holds for their peduncles and in Mesoamerica, or even earlier, at least in this part of South America.
young, immature fruits. Bonavia likewise claimed the seeds must have been eaten when in
wild state because in this condition the pulp is unpleasant and scant. Bonavia also mentioned Piperno (2009: 155) reports the discovery of Cucurbita moschata phytoliths in the Aguadulce
the triad formed by squash along with maize and beans, which we mentioned when discussing shelter in Panama that date to this time ca. 6000 B.C., Piperno (2009: 155).
the latter two crops, which along with squash sufficed to cover the basic alimentary needs of
the American aborigines. We turn now to the history of squash in Peru. The first scientific and reliable information
to be assessed comes from the upper Zaña Valley. The oldest squash remains found in
When discussing the cucurbitaceae, Patiño (2002: 398-403) points that some Native American Peru, in a scientifically-proven consumption context, come from the upper Zaña Valley in
peoples added the leaves, hearts and even the flowers of some species to the soup. Patiño the department of Lambayeque. Cucurbita was found and dated around 6830 B.C. in the
also points out that Cobo noted that squash was sometimes cooked and served to Indians, excavation of Pre-Ceramic sites in the Nanchoc area (on the northern coast of Peru) at around
African Americans and Spaniards roasted or stewed. 450 masl (Rossen et al. 1996: 396).

As for the biochemistry of squash, students have developed a general approach for its This determination was then verified by directly dating the dried and burned seeds from a
contents that presents them part by part; this will prove convenient when reviewing the habitation floor in site CA-09-27, which gave 6455 B.C. The remains of the fruits from this
archaeological record. plant were found partially charred and desiccated, and this evinces their consumption. Yet
the seeds of this type of squash apparently were wild and not cultivated (Rossen et al. 1996:
The seeds for instance have potassium (1.111 mg on average, i.e. a high amount), phosphorus (852 398). These dates, which correspond not just to squash but also to the other plants listed for
mg, also a respectable amount), magnesium, copper, and zinc. They are likewise particularly Nanchoc that were found domesticated and not in their pristine areas, entail the reformulation
fatty as they have 30-35% of oil per weight (Decker-Walters and Walters 2000: 349). The of statements such as those that posit that Andean agriculture began around 4500 B.C. (cf.
highest proportion of iron is found in the leaves and particularly in the seeds, which according Richerson n.d.). It must however be noted that at the time this publication came out there was
to this analysis are quite nutritive. Calcium on the other hand is found in almost all parts of some uncertainty regarding whether this was domesticated or wild squash.
this plant. In general this is thus a first-rate food.
All doubts were dispelled with subsequent studies. Remains of Cucurbita moschata seeds
Few studies show the sprouts do have a nutritional value. Although squash sprouts do have were recovered in this North Coast Valley in a domestic context found in a camp belonging
a large amount of vitamin A (1,000 mg), mature fruits have more (1,000-7,810 mg). Other to the Late Paiján culture that was dated to 8423 B.C. (Dillehay et al. 2007: 1890, Piperno
elements found in squash are carotene, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, and ascorbic acid. and Dillehay 2008: table S2, supporting information). This date is fully consistent with that

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

obtained from the dental plaque of a human buried at Nanchoc, in which Cucurbita moschata Leaving aside the imprecisions regarding a marine organism-based dating, the gourds and
starch was found that dated to no less than 8401 B.C. The most impressive point here is that squash found in layer “M” date to 3354-2631 B.C., which is clearly far too accurate for a standard
Piperno and Dillehay were able to establish that this was Cucurbita moschata, and that it was deviation. Strangely enough, Whitaker and Bird (1949: 2) had correctly foreseen that these plants
already domesticated. Besides its frequent presence in the dental plaque analysed indicates were used at Huaca Prieta in 3000-1000 B.C. They claim that gourds (Lagenaria) were mainly
it was regularly consumed (2008: 19624). This breaks the date barrier Margaret Towle had long used as vessels, fishing net floats and so on, whilst the cucurbitaceae were on the other hand
ago set for the beginning of the domestication of C. moschata in the Late Preceramic. a major source of food. The latter have also been found in the possibly human faeces of the
ancient inhabitants of Huaca Prieta, which means they were eaten (Callen and Cameron 1960).
Next in the chronology comes the Cucurbita found in Guitarrero Cave, at about 2850 masl in
the Cordillera Negra in the Callejón de Huaylas, in Peru’s central highlands. Smith (1980: 104) It should also be noted in this regard that Pickersgill (2007: 927) pointed out the presence, in
reported finding this plant, but establishing whether it was C. moschata or C. maxima was not the Andean area, of Cucurbita moschata dated to ca. 5000 B.C.
possible. It comes from complex II, so it dates in general to around 9000-6700 B.C.
Squash (Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata) was found in large numbers in the excavations
A less reliable context is that of the find made in the excavations at Pikimachay in Ayacucho, of La Galgada, a site in Ancash that lies at around 1100 masl, with dates that begin at 2600 B.C.
where MacNeish et al. (1981: 160) reported the presence of Cucurbita in the Piki phase (which
has been dated approximately to 6350-5460 B.C.); the archaeobotanical report is still missing There is also significant evidence of squash and its consumption in Lima for at least five
and is required in order to be certain. thousand years. Both Patterson and Moseley (1968: 115) as well as Cohen (1978: 38) claim
they found squash and Lagenarias (and especially C. ficifolia—lacayote—the earliest in the
More recently, Beárez (2012a, 2012b: 465) documented Cucurbita remains and phytoliths sequence) in the Encanto phase at Ancón north of Lima, but they have not presented the
at Quebrada de Los Burros, a site on the Tacna littoral. This was a seasonal camp that was contexts that bear witness to their finds.
occupied ca. 7900-4800 B.C.
Despite the critiques raised against the Ancón sequence (cf. Rick 1983), the resultant calibrated
The discovery of C. moschata in the excavations undertaken at Huaca Prieta (Whitaker and radiocarbon date for the important occurrence of C. ficifolia was 3452 B.C. Cohen believes
Bird 1949), which dates to ca. 3000 B.C., is well known, and similar remains have been found this plant was already domesticated. Margaret Towle suggested as much in her ethnobotanics
at Tehuacán (Whitaker and MacNeish 1964). We shall pause here to review the data regarding handbook (Towle 1961: 139). The persistence of these remains during the Late Holocene on this
the finding of squash at Huaca Prieta due to de interest this famed archaeological site stirs. part of the coast seems to be confirmed by the discovery of squash at the Pampa de Ancón
w site (Patterson and Moseley 1968: 117), which was calibrated to 3075 B.C.
Whitaker and Bird (1949) reported their finds and we also have the final report made by Bird et
al. (1985: 236-237). For instance, they point out that some 11,000 rind fragments, and over 1,300 Although several species of squash occur throughout the sequence of the site of La Pampa
seeds from squash and gourds were found in just two excavation pits. The remains of these (Cohen 1978: 39), they gradually diminish. Cohen therefore believes the squash was not a
plants, which come exclusively from layer M and excavation pit HP3, have been analysed. significant food on this part of the Central Coast, at least in periods subsequent to the above-
mentioned ones.
The remains of de Lagenaria, Cucurbita ficifolia, and even Cucurbita moschata were recovered
in Preceramic level R (Bird et al. 1985: 237). The evidence points out in this regard that Lagenaria The burned and unburned remains of Cucurbita ficifolia have been found in the excavations
siceraria and Cucurbita ficifolia were grown simultaneously. However, the chapter on radiocarbon of Paloma, a site south of Lima in the Chilca Valley, that date to at least 5316-3630 B.C. (Weir
at Huaca Prieta (Bird et al. 1985: 53) shows that layer R is not dated, so we do not have a direct and Dering 1986: 28, Benfer 2008: 377), which means it was clearly eaten at this time on this
reference to an absolute date for these samples. Cutler and Whitaker (1961: 472) reported then part of the Central Coast.
that the Huaca Prieta remains were the earliest found in America of C. moschata. Towle (1961:
94-95) concludes that Lagenaria or gourds were not eaten in the pre-Hispanic period. The remains of Cucurbita ficifolia Bouché and Cucurbita maxima Duch (zapallo loche?) were
found quite close to the Casma River mouth at Huaynuná. A series of botanical remains were
The only thing that can be said here is that these plants were used before layer “Q” formed, found here, e.g. gourds that were studied by botanical experts like Ugent, who dated them to
i.e. before 2899-2753 B.C.; in other words, squash were being eaten and used to make gourd 2914-2287 B.C. (Ugent et al. 1982, Pozorski and Pozorski 1990).
utensils at least around the beginning of the third millennium B.C. On the other hand two
dates are available for layer “M,” which gave up most of the squash and gourd remains, one Caral is another site that has been researched, particularly due to its monumental size. It lies
from a seashell and the other from a jumble of plants. some 23 km inland up the Supe Valley north of Lima. Radiocarbon calibration dated the site

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

to 2585-1938 B.C. Shady et al. (2001) reported a series of architectural remains associated with beginning of the Christian era (does loche therefore have highland origins?). This species has
the macroremains of plant and alimentary resources. Cucurbitaceae were listed among them also been recorded in the Cupisnique levels at Huaca Prieta, during the first millennium of our
but no species was specified. era (Towle 1961: 91).

Two squash seeds, for which no major details have been given, were found in the excavations In this context it is worth mentioning the research undertaken by Ericson et al. (1989: 77). Through
of the site of Bandurria, close to Huacho and north of Lima. This means it may have been the study of coproliths they showed the inhabitants of Puerto Moorin, a site actually in the lower
consumed here between 3170 and 1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 138). Virú Valley, ate squash at least since the beginning of the Christian era, albeit in small amounts.

Following the chronology of Huaynuná, the presence of Cucurbita maxima was recorded at Pampa Shelia Pozorski (1979: 170) claims the sole fruit eaten at the site of Padre Abán (2300 B.C.) was
de Llamas-Moxeque, a site also in the Casma Valley (Ugent et al. 1984: 420) that dates to 2088- Cucurbita sp. (no species was given). It was important as plant food in other sites like Alto
1243 B.C. It can thus be concluded that both plants were cultivated and used, at least in the lower Salaverry, which dates to 1600 B.C. (94%), but its significance gradually declined in Moche and
Casma Valley, throughout the last millennia B.C. The sequence of the use and consumption of Chimu Shelia Pozorski (1979: 170).
Cucurbita maxima in Casma extends throughout time, because these same scholars excavated it
at the sites of Pampa Rosario and San Diego, which they date to 800-300 B.C. Jeffrey Quilter et al. (1991: 280) report having found a significant amount of seeds of C.
ficifolia, C. maxima and C. moschata at the site of El Paraíso north of Lima, in the lower
Duccio Bonavia also found Cucurbita moschata at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey Chillón Valley, thus evincing these three types of squash were being eaten since at least 2150
Valley in strata that dated to 3200-1480 B.C. B.C. Cucurbitaceae have also been found in the coproliths or faeces of the people who lived
at this site. Seeds of Lagenaria siceraria belonging to this same epoch have also been found.
Buena Vista is another recently-excavated site where squash (Cucurbitaceae) have been This type of information provides an actual view of the combination of squash that was being
reported, not just for food consumption but also to make gourds. Here Duncan et al. (2009) eaten in Lima some 4,000 years ago.
found this type of plant’s starch and microremains belonging to? three of the species
documented above at Huaca Prieta (C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. ficifolia). Buena Vista has Moving on to the record for the first millennium before our era, Cucurbita sp. has been found
been dated to 2193-2164 B.C. in a fully early Paracas context at Cerrillos, a site in the upper Ica Valley, around 800-600 B.C.
(Splitstoser 2009: 94), which means the Paracas also consumed squash. We should however
Rafael Vega-Centeno (2007) reported many fragments of gourd and squash (Lagenaria siceraria not forget Vargas (1962: 110) had already documented the presence of squash in Paracas and
and Cucurbita pepo) rinds and seeds in the lower Fortaleza Valley north of Lima. They were Chimu pottery.
found in what can be surmised was edible refuse that dates to 2410-2064 B.C.
It is likewise clear the Nasca people ate squash (Silverman and Proulx 2002: 52), as is shown
Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 79) reported the discovery of Cucurbita sp. on the North Coast below. Squash (Cucurbita maxima) and gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) seeds were found when
at Puémape, a site south of the lower Jequetepeque Valley, dated to at least 3008-1000 B.C. excavating domestic contexts at Casa Vieja, a site in the lower Calango Valley, in the modern
department of Ica (Roque et al. 2003). These finds possibly date to ca. A.D. 530 and A.D. 820,
The famed Virú archaeological project also left a major report for the North Coast which i.e. Late Nasca and the early Wari Empire (cf. Unkel 2006: 111).
analysed 525 specimens of Cucurbitaceae found in archaeological deposits that dated to ca.
2,000 B.C.-A.D. 1100 (West and Whitaker 1979). It was found that whereas Cucurbita maxima was Cucurbita maxima had already been reported in Late Nasca contexts in the Ica Valley even
frequently found in the earliest phases, Cucurbita moschata was more common in later ones. before radiocarbon had been discovered, ca. A.D. 600 (Carter 1945).

The presence of seeds from Cucurbita moschata has been reported at sites, like Castillo de It is possible that when Cutler and Whitaker (1961: 473) said C. maxima having been found
Tomabal or Huaca de la Cruz, from the Gallinazo epoch (Towle 1961: 91). This species appears at Ocucaje (ca. A.D. 650) they actually had the same reference in mind, but this cannot be
since the Middle Holocene at Nanchoc, some 100 km north of Virú (Dillehay and Piperno conclusively established. In this same report, Cutler and Whitaker say they identified the
2008), so this hypothesis seems to be finding support. same species at San Nicolás, a site that dated to ca. A.D. 1200. They also reported finding the
same species at Chulpaca (Ica), which dated here to A.D. 1300-1400.
These authors have suggested that in this part of Peru there was an independent process
of domestication of Cucurbita maxima. The latter is more typical of colder highland zones, A good amount of Cucurbita maxima has been recorded at the site of Cahuachi in Nasca
whereas Cucurbita moschata is found in lowland zones; the switch took place almost at the (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 3).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

The following information shows the Moche frequently ate squash. Few remains of Cucurbita this same epoch but in a different valley—Casma—at Manchán, a site that dates to the Chimu
maxima and Lagenaria siceraria were discovered in the excrement found in the two burials from epoch. The same thing holds for Cerro la Virgen (Keatinge 1975: 226), a site within the context
Dos Cabezas, a site in the Jequetepeque Valley (Geyer 2003). The burials were dated to A.D. 536- of the Chan Chan citadel where Cucurbita remains were found as food residues. It is thus
580 (Moseley et al. 2008: 2003), i.e. the final part of the Mochica occupation. Reinhard et al. clear that both the Chimu as well as the Lambayeque frequently consumed squash shortly
(2007: 536) have, however, questioned the find of the pollen. What this study does in fact leave before the Inca presence in the zone.
clear is that squash was eaten within the context of the Moche culture. Even so the presence
of C. maxima had already been posited several decades ago by Margaret Towle (1961: 90), who Gourds or Lagenaria have also been widely recorded in sites belonging to the Chancay and
observed depictions of this fruit on Moche pottery. Yet Pozorski and Pozorski (1981: 33) reported Chincha cultures (Towle 1961: 94). This implies that gourds were intensively used on the coast,
the presence of these remains in a Mochica context that dated to A.D. 711-800. at least from the first millennium B.C. up to Inca times.

Lockard (2005: 206) also reported the finding, albeit in small amounts, of Cucurbita maxima, Cohen (1975: 58) showed Lagenaria and Cucurbita moschata remains have been found in the
Cucurbita moschata and Lagenaria siceraria at the site of Galindo, in the middle-Moche Late Horizon—i.e. the Inca epoch (A.D. 1460-1532)—at Panquilma, a site in the middle Lurín Valley.
Valley, both during the Mochica (A.D. 600-800) and the Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations.
Towle (1961: 92) did the same for this same species at two Chincha sites. Puruchuco-
On the other hand, the research undertaken by Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 125) shows this Huaquerones is part of this network of sites. Using stable isotope analysis, Williams (2005:
type of Cucurbita sp. was frequently consumed (897 peduncles have been found) at the site 166) was able to establish that squash was eaten in small amounts. It should be noted here
of Huaca del Sol during its Mochica occupation, during the first centuries of the Christian era. that Margaret Towle (1961: 91, 94) had recorded the presence of squash as well as gourds
Here we must pay special attention to Lagenaria siceraria. Impressively enough, at the Huaca (Lagenaria) in Inca contexts at Pachacamac. DeNiro and Hastorf (1985: 113) in turn verified the
del Sol an almost 25% increase in Cucurbitaceae seeds took place in regard to the origins of discovery of Cucurbita moschata at the shrine of Pachacamac during Inca times.
this plaint in the earliest sites of the Archaic Period; this clearly means squash was one of the
vegetables that most transformations had whilst under cultivation by the Moche, and that its
consumption gradually rose. Cucumber (Cucumis sp., Cucumis sativus)
Cárdenas et al. (1997: 134) identified the remains of C. maxima in a Moche context (ca. A.D. 400 This is the type of find in which one must be careful with its taxonomic identification, as it
and 750) at Huaca de la Luna, a site in the lower Moche Valley. It is on the other hand clear may be a plant that is not native to the Andes. It can therefore be assumed this is a pumpkin
the Moche were acquainted with, and consumed, squash because it was depicted in Moche or squash variety, yet in one case it has been identified as C. sativus, i.e. cucumber. Cucumis
pottery, as can be seen in pieces from the Larco and Trujillo museums. belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family and is therefore related to the pumpkin. Bisognin (2002:
718) claims that C. sativus originated in India some 3,000 years ago and that its ancestor was
The Wari clearly also consumed squash. Its remains have been found in the excavation Cucumis sativus var. hardwickii. It grows between 1,500 and 2,000 masl, especially in warm
of Beringa (Arequipa), a site that dates to ca. A.D. 650-1000, but the species has not been zones. The cucumber was rapidly cultivated east of the Himalayas, from where it spread to
identified (Tung 2012: 49). China and Europe.

We likewise have ample evidence that squash was consumed by several Peruvian cultures Mostacero et al. (2009: 550) confirmed this is a species native to the Intertropical Asia. Its
in the Late Intermediate Period. Wittmack for instance found squash in the tombs at Ancón fruits are rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, B5 and C, as well as minerals like potassium, calcium,
(Ugent and Peterson 1988: 7). These remains may date to the Late Intermediate Period, ca. A.D. phosphorus, iron, sodium, silicon, sulphur, chlorine, and magnesium.
1000-1460.
Cucumis has been found during the excavation of a series of Preceramic camps south of Lima
Cucurbita moschata was found when excavating the archaeological garbage at Chambara and at Chilca, which date on average to 3794-1530 B.C. This may thus far be the oldest evidence of
Quipico, two Chancay sites that have been radiocarbon dated to A.D. 1365-1625 (Nelson and this plant’s potential consumption in Peru.
Bellido Cerda 2010: 50). Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 79) documented Lagenaria siceraria and
Cucurbita sp. within the same cultural context at Los Pinos, a site in the Huaura Valley. The Mochica also consumed Cucumis sp., as was documented by the analyses undertaken at
Huaca de la Luna, where Cárdenas et al. (1997: 136) managed to identify it. We can therefore
The Lambayeque Valley is a region with a long proven record of Cucurbita consumption, at assume it was part of the food eaten by the Moche in this valley ca. A.D. 400-750.
least in A.D. 1300-400 (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596). Perry (2002: 337) found Cucurbita remains in

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Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 79) found remains of Cucumis sativus at El Pino, a site on the pottery of the Moche, Lambayeque, Nasca and Paracas cultures. This means it was present
Central Coast in the lower Huaura Valley which they believe belongs to the Chancay culture. and was widely scattered throughout the Central Coast since the first millennium B.C.

The most ancient lucuma remains found probably are the seeds from stratum IIb at Guitarrero
Lucuma [Lúcuma, Cumala, Locma, Lucma, Pucuna Caspi, Rucma] (Pouteria lucuma (R&P) Kuntze, Cave (Smith 1980a: 101) that date to ca. 8500 B.C. It apparently was permanently consumed
Lucuma bifera Mol., Lucuma obovata H.B.K.) since then, because its remains have been found in the upper layers of this archaeological site.

This is one of the fruits that were consumed with relative frequency in the pre-Hispanic Andean At Pikimachay Cave in Ayacucho, MacNeish et al. (1981: 162) reported the presence of lucuma
context. Mostacero et al. (2009: 647) believe it was a species native to the intermontane in the Chihua phase, i.e. ca. 5600-4140 B.C. The ethnobotanic report regrettably remains
valleys of Ecuador, Chile, and Peru, and that it was grown by the ancient Peruvians. Although it unpublished, as has already been noted, which means this datum must be exclusively taken
originally grew between 2000 and 2800 masl, it can grow in different soils, particularly those as a mere reference.
that have rich organic nutrients. This plant can withstand dry environments and occasional
but not excessive rainfall, as well as permanent water sources. Lucuma was also recorded at Paloma, a site south of Lima that comprises some sort of
domestic settlements in contexts that have been dated to 5316-3630 B.C. (Capps 1987: 33).
Unlike many fruits, lucuma has a large amount of solid matter and is a good source of
carbohydrates (rich in starch, it provides the daily dose) and calories. Lucuma can be directly Hundreds of lucuma seeds date before 2899-2753 B.C., were found at Huaca Prieta (on the
consumed and it has vitamin A (including provitamin A), carotene (particularly relevant), Chicama River mouth) in section HP3 (Bird et al. 1985: 235). It is therefore assumed the fruit
vitamins B1, B2 B3 (niacin), B5 and C, as well as phosphorus, calcium and iron (the latter in was directly eaten.
significant amounts).
Deborah Pearsall (1999: 274) claims the oldest dates for lucuma on the Peruvian Coast go
Besides being edible, this plant’s wood has good calorific properties. Moutarde (2006: 170) back to 2600 B.C. It was only for this period that Margaret Towle (1961: 139) considered its
claims its wood is good as firewood, and it apparently was the main fuel used to feed the cultivation may have begun.
fires during the most recent occupation of Pachacamac, i.e. in the Inca epoch. The presence
of lucuma in an archaeological site can therefore entails not just its use as food, but also as Caral, in the Supe Valley and some 25 km from the river mouth, is slightly more recent in
a source of heat. chronological terms. Here the excavations found remains of Lucuma obovata. The indirect
date for these remains is 2585-1938 B.C. (Shady et al. 2001).
Lucuma can be stored for several years in dry condition, and one single tree can give some
500 fruits a year. Some can weigh up to a kilo, but the vast majority are much lighter. Bonavia (1982: 149) also reported having found lucuma at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower
Huarmey Valley, which dated to 3100-1480 B.C.
Patiño made ample reference to lucuma in his handbook on tropical fruit Patiño (2002: 162-
163). Patiño claims the first appearance of lucuma in the historical record is in Diego Trujillo’s Similar dates that fall around 2700-2000 B.C.at the Tank site in Ancón, north of Lima, correspond
1531 account for a place inland from the port of Manta (Ecuador). Lucuma was grown in Lima to the discovery of some lucuma seeds. It can thus be inferred that at this time it was eaten in
and its environs in the sixteenth century and in Trujillo in the eighteenth century, as well as in this Central Coast site (Cohen 1978: 36). Lucuma seeds would subsequently abound in other
the northern Andean valleys and in Cuzco. Central Coast sites, and this indicates the significance its consumption had in these societies.

Lucuma is a fruit that was identified several decades ago on Peruvian pre-Hispanic pottery, Pouteria lucuma was found at the Final Preceramic archaeological site of Huaynuná (Pozorski
e.g. some Nasca and Chimu pieces. It can thus be assumed it was eaten on the Peruvian coast and Pozorski 1987, 1990). Several of the botanical remains found here have been studied. Ugent
and eventually in other regions too. Yet very little is known of its process of domestication. et al. (1984: 420) identified this plant at this site between 2914 and 2287 B.C. The excavations at
Pampa de Llamas, a site in the lower part of this same valley, likewise recorded the presence
Margaret Towle (1961: 76-77) believed the lucuma had its origins in Peru, and that it had of lucuma in a later epoch, i.e. 2088-1243 B.
essentially been cultivated for its edible fruits. Towle also noted that its seeds or cotyledons
are frequently found in archaeological sites like Paracas, Ancón, Castillo de Tomabal or Huaca With her archaeological excavation at Salinas de Chao (on Peru’s North Coast), Mercedes
de la Cruz (in its Gallinazo occupation) in the Virú Valley, as well as in Cahuachi and in Huaca Cárdenas (1999) recorded the presence of lucuma seeds were left behind by its inhabitants
de Oro in Nasca. Towle likewise pointed out that ceramic depictions of lucuma abound in the when feeding. Their dates go back to 2000 B.C.

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Las Haldas lies south of the Casma River mouth. This site is an early ceremonial centre comprised up to 80% of all vegetable products eaten at Caracoles, Chan Chan, during the
where Ugent et al. (1984: 422) recorded the presence of Lucuma bífera; it was dated, through Chimu-Inca epoch.
association, to 1328-390 B.C.
Cutright (2009: 145) in turn found lucuma as part of the Chimu diet at Pedregal, in the lower
Buena Vista is an archaeological site some kilometres north of Lima in the Chillón Valley. Here Jequetepeque Valley. Keatinge (1975: 226) found it in the garbage of rural sites around the Chan
Duncan et al. (2009) found lucuma (Lucuma bífera) starch on squash fragments, which are Chan citadel, as has already been noted.
assumed to have been the vessels used to eat this fruit. The date for this site averaged 2050-
1650 B.C. This supports the direct consumption of lucuma by the ancient people of Peru. Lucuma was also eaten in the archaeological sites of the lower Lambayeque Valley throughout
a period of time that extended from 1300 B.C. to A.D. 1400 (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596).
Cerro Lampay, in the Fortaleza Valley north of Lima, is an archaeological site that dates to
2410-2064 B.C. where lucuma (Pouteria lucuma) was found (Vega-Centeno 2007). Quilter et al. The Nasca likewise ate lucuma. For instance, Piacenza and Pieri (2012: 3) recorded much of its
(1991: 280) likewise noticed its considerable presence in the rubbish left behind as food refuse remains at Cahuachi. This was corroborated by Silverman and Proulx (2002: 52), who claim
at the archaeological site of El Paraíso in the lower Chillón Valley, not far from Ventanilla, lucuma was consumed by the Nasca people.
immediately north of Lima. In this case the approximate date goes back to 2150 B.C.
At Beringa, which dates to the Wari epoch (A.D. 650-1000), Tiffiny Tung (2012: 49) reported
Pozorski and Pozorski (1986: 390) in turn reported the presence of Lucuma bifera as having finding lucuma, which makes its consumption at this site in Arequipa highly likely.
been consumed at Pampa de Llamas, a site in the lower Casma Valley in 2088-1243 B.C.
Lucuma has also been identified amongst the botanical remains found at Ancón by Wittmack
The Paracas also ate lucuma. Its remains were recorded in the study of Cerrillos, a site in the (Ugent and Peterson 1988: 7), which may date to ca. A.D. 1000-1460.
upper Ica Valley that dates to ca. 800-60 B.C., where this fruit may have been eaten at this
time in this zone (Splitstoser 2009: 93). We have already seen that lucuma was eaten on the Central Coast in the Preceramic. This trend
persisted in subsequent periods. Nelson and Bellido Cerda (2010: 50) report having found lucuma
It is likewise clear that lucuma was eaten on the north coast, not just during the Mochica remains in the excavation of the archaeological garbage of the Chancay culture at sites such as
occupation but also by the Chimu. It was eaten by the people of Puerto Moorin, a Salinar site Rontoy, Quipico, and Chambara, which means it was likely eaten by its inhabitants in A.D. 1265-1625.
in the lower Virú Valley, as was shown by the study of the human faecal remains this people
left (Ericson et al. 1989: 74), and which were dated to around the first and the fourth centuries Lucuma was also found at Los Pinos, a Chancay site in the Huaura Valley (Lanfranco and Eggers
of our era. This is a direct evidence of its consumption. 2010: 79). The research done by Perry (2002: 337) somewhat more to the north, in the Casma
Valley, recorded its presence at Manchán, a site belonging to the Chimu in its southern variant
Lucuma bifera has been found in the excrement of at least two burials at the site of Dos (A.D. 1470-1523).
Cabezas, in the Jequetepeque River mouth (Geyer 2003). It is thus clear it was eaten during
the Mochica epoch. The dates gave a time period of A.D. 536-580 (Moseley et al. 2008: 83). The evidence that coastal populations continued intensively consuming lucuma was found
in the excavation of Panquilma, a site in the middle Lurín Valley south of Lima, where large
It should also be noted that lucuma was eaten by the Mochica of Huaca del Sol, but it is amounts of its seeds have been found that date to its Inca occupation (Cohen 1975: 53). A
present in small amounts (Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 125). The Pozorskis explain that it came good example confirming this type of consumption is Malanche 22, a village on a loma south
from a cultivated tree, and that this fruit was the favourite one. Huaca de la Luna, where of Lima not far away from the Lurín Valley. Here Mujica et al. (1992: 86-88) found the remains
lucuma remains have been found in Mochica contexts, rises in front of Huaca del Sol (ca. A.D. of lucuma in a context that can be dated to around A.D. 1200-1450. Margaret Towle (1961: 77)
450-700) (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 136). also found the remains of lucuma cotyledons in her archaeobotanical analysis of the Inca
occupation levels at Pachacamac.
The remains of this fruit have been found in no small amount at Galindo, a site in the middle
Moche Valley, where they date to A.D. 600-800, i.e. the Mochica occupation as well as that
of the Chimu (Lockard 2005: 208). Avocado [Palta, Aguacate, Apache, Avocado, Palltai, Parité] (Persea americana Mill)
Lucuma was frequently eaten during the Chimu occupation of the Moche Valley and of We now turn to avocado, another plant that also has a significant presence in pre-Hispanic
Chan Chan, even during the Inca epoch (Pozorski 1979: 171). At Alto Salaverry (B.C. 1600) it Peru’s archaeological record. Its significance was such that Hastorf (1999: 52) believes avocado,

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alongside maize and guava (the fruit most eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru) were turned in part into noted that it was wild and not domesticated. Even so, the incongruent dating suggests it may
a memory of places and things, of ancestors and lineages; in other words, avocado helped the be earlier still. This was evinced by the samples of avocado seeds that show cultivation, and
Andean people craft a social world and define the environment. which presumably date to 7641 B.C.

Hastorf (1999: 41) points out that Bergh claimed the Peruvian avocado tree had its origin in Buckler IV et al. (1998) in turn showed that the avocado from Guilá Naquitz may date to
northern South America. This is a perennial tree that lives all year long, so it is suited for use 6670 B.C. (but they acknowledge this may be an intrusion), whilst at Coxcatlán it date to
as a permanent resource. ca. 6660 B.C. It must be pointed out that the sample is bigger as it comprises 71 specimens.
These evidently are similar dates, so it can be assumed that avocado was consumed in
Avocado is disseminated over the tropical and subtropical America. In Peru it is grown in the Mexico since this time.
coastal valleys, the high valleys in the highlands and in the Amazon forest. It grows on well-
drained soils with rainfall (Moutarde 2006b: 136). Still, C. Earle Smith wondered what differences existed between Mexican and Peruvian races
(1968: 258), a point that regrettably has not been fully explored (like the above-cited reference
Almost all experts agree that avocado was domesticated at Coxatlan, in Puebla (Mexico), from Father Acosta). This probably is a line of research that can isolate them and examine
between 8000 and 7000 B.C., where it appears as our first evidence. Here researchers found their age in depth, both in South Americas as well as in Central America.
not just domesticated but also wild avocado, which means the process of domestication
could be observed from the growth in size of the seeds throughout time (Smith 1966: 169). Here we must unavoidably cite some observations made in Patiño’s handbook on American
Students like Candolle at first posited the avocado was native to Mexico (1896), and so did tropical fruits (2002: 77-88), where it is noted that “palta” comes from a dialect of the Jivaro
Anderson (1952). Hodgson (1950) also claimed from the beginning that Persea americana Mill. language (in intermontane Ecuador), which was incorporated to Quechua as paltay as the
Originated in the Mexican highlands and was taken from there to Peru. tree’s name. When discussing the avocado in Peru, Patiño mentions the data provided by Cieza
de León, who stated that at the time of the Spanish Conquest it was grown on the North
Jaroslav Soukup (1980: 317-318) likewise claimed avocado had its origin in southern Mexico, Coast, from Tumbes to Trujillo.
from where it spread all over Southern and Central America. More recently, Piperno and
Pearsall (1998: 156) claimed its original habitat lies somewhere between Central America and In the seventeenth century the best known avocados were found in the Ica Valley on the
the northern Andes including Colombia. coast, and in Azángaro in the highlands. Acosta pointed out that whereas Mexican avocado
was smaller and had a thinner skin to peel off, the Peruvian ones were bigger and had a thicker
Mostacero et al. (2009: 222) are of the same opinion—they believe avocado originally came rind that was completely removed. As for the type of food consumption, Patiño (2002: 87)
from southern Mexico, Guatemala and the Antilles, and that it later disseminated to South points out it was one of the main fruits in tropical America. He believes it was a staple at
America. harvest time. On the other hand, eating it with salt or sugar may be a custom due to the
Spanish colonists.
The study by Heiser (1979: 314-315) is a major work on avocado despite its age. Among his most
important conclusions are that there are three varieties; that modern avocado is the result The consumption and culinary preparation of avocado happened quite early. Dolores Piperno
of hybridisation; and that although it was likely introduced from Mesoamerica into South and Deborah Pearsall (1998: 200) found charred remains at the site of San Isidro (Colombia)
America, a South American origin still cannot be ruled out. that had the surprising date of 9589-9029 B.C. However, Piperno and Pearsall have questioned
their being domestic.
Galindo-Tovar et al. (2007) summarised the history of avocado in America. They mention
previous studies that indicate it was taken from Mexico to Peru through Ecuador at the time Is avocado a good food? It certainly is first-rate, particularly due to its highly-digestible fat,
of the Valdivia culture, around 2200 B.C. It is striking that they cite Father Acosta when he which was a significant condition in an environment like that of pre-Hispanic Peru, which had
distinguished Mexican and Peruvian avocados, with the latter being bigger and having a no large mammals, so it may have partially supplemented its inhabitants’ physiological needs.
harder rind. One avocado can hold 175-400 calories. Its fat (30% of the fruit’s pulp) is highly digestible
as has already been noted, and it abounds in B complex as well as vitamins A, thiamine,
Since all of the available evidence points towards a Mexican origin for avocado, and specifically riboflavin, vitamin D in lower amounts, and a little vitamin C (Mostacero et al. 2009: 222). It
the remains found in the cave of Guilá Naquitz, it is worth presenting more detail in this also has starch, saccharine, crystallised resins, water, sugar, tannin [tanino], malic acid, and
regard. In a review of the oldest plants in Mexico using AMS, Smith (2005) concluded that the acetic acid. The dry seeds are used against parasites, like the so-called solitaria or Taenia
avocado from level XXIV at Guilá Naquitz should be dated to ca. 6033 B.C., but it should be solium. We should bear this in mind when discussing palaeoparasites in pre-Hispanic Peru.

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Besides its abundant vitamin and mineral content, Hodgson (1950: 287) emphasised its laxative The North Coast’s pre-Hispanic population apparently were great avocado eaters, as we
properties and its ability to lubricate the intestines. shall now see. We find it first in the Gallinazo occupation of Castillo de Tomabal, in the Virú
Valley, around the beginning of the Christian era (Towle 1961: 40-41). Its remains have also been
We now turn to the archaeological record of avocado in pre-Hispanic Peru. Thus far, the found in the excrement of two Mochica individuals from Dos Cabezas, a site in the lower
oldest evidence of its cultivation in Peru comes from coastal Ancash. Bonavia (1982: 149) Jequetepeque Valley (Geyer 2003). Radiocarbon dated the faces to A.D. 536-580 (Moseley
discovered at least 13 avocado cotyledons at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey Valley, et al. 2008: 83). Reinhard et al. have however questioned the finding of avocado due to the
which dated to 3200-1400 B.C. Bonavia (1982: 314) likewise pointed out that a comparison of quality of the pollen present in the excrement analysed (Reinhard et al. 2007: 536). In any case
cotyledon size suggests the Los Gavilanes avocado must have been already cultivated, or at this would be a direct evidence of the consumption of avocado.
least domesticated. The avocado found at Huarmey includes site PV35-6, which is quite close
to Los Gavilanes; here an avocado cotyledon was found in a context that was dated to 2450 Shelia Pozorski (1979: 170) showed that avocado was already being eaten in the environs of the
B.C. (Weir y Bonavia 1985: 90). For the moment it is thus clear that avocado was eaten in Peru Moche Valley during the occupation of Alto Salaverry (ca. 1600 B.C.), as well as at sites like
at least four thousand years ago. Gramalote (1800 B.C.) and the Early Moche huacas (the Huaca del Sol included); during the
Chimu and Inca epochs it was however eaten more consistently and in lower intensity on this
The archaeological site of La Galgada, also in Ancash, lies at 1100 masl in the Tablachaca part of the North Coast. It therefore seems clear that avocado was long eaten in the Moche
Canyon (in the modern province of Pallasca). Here Grieder et al. (1988: 69) and Smith (1988: Valley. Lockard (2005: 208) likewise found remains of Persea americana in relatively significant
128) noticed the presence of avocado cotyledons. The oldest ones date to 2600 B.C. Their amounts at Galindo, a site in the middle Moche Valley, both in Moche (A.D. 600-800) as well
characteristics made Smith, the ethnobotanist in charge of the study, believe these fruits as Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) contexts. On the other hand, the Mochica of Pampa Grande, a site
come from a tree sown and intentionally cultivated around the archaeological site. in Lambayeque that has been dated to A.D. 711-800, usually ate avocado.

Deborah Pearsall (1999: 274) claims the oldest avocado on the Peruvian coast dates to ca. 2600 There also seems to have been a long tradition of avocado eating in the lower Virú Valley,
B.C., so she may have meant the finds made at La Galgada. which is also on the North Coast. Ericson et al. (1989: 77) showed through coprolith analysis,
that the people from Puerto Moorin, a Salinar site that dates to ca. the first centuries of the
Margaret Towle (1961: 41) in turn says Junius Bird found avocado seeds from the Cupisnique Christian era, ate avocado, as its remains were found in the faeces they studied. The evidence
occupation of Huaca Prieta, i.e. ca. 1000 B.C. onwards. extends up to the Wari occupation. This is one of the few instances in which we can assume
the data on avocado consumption by human groups on the North Coast is truly reliable.
Vega-Centeno (2007) excavated a rubbish dump at Cerro Lampay, in the Fortaleza Valley some
220 km north of Lima, close to a Preceramic temples-and-patios complex. He found two Avocado has been found slightly more to the north in the middens in the lower Lambayeque
earrings made out of avocado seeds, thus implying it may have been eaten. They were dated Valley, evidently due to their consumption ca. A.D. 1300-1400 (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596).
to 2410-2064 B.C.
Avocado was also a part of the food eaten by the Chimu, as was shown by Cutright (2009:
Mercedes Cárdenas (1999) found avocado remains at Salinas de Chao, a site on the North 144) for Pedregal, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, albeit in small amounts. Something
Coast of Peru, left over from the food eaten by the people at this site since at least 2000 B.C. similar has been seen in the Moche Valley. For instance, vessels from Chimu-Inca contexts
depicting avocado can be seen in the Larco Museum (Figure 15).
Flores Blanco (2006: 234) found clear evidence, albeit in small numbers, that avocado was
eaten at Caral. Actually just one piece of avocado (Persea americana) has been found in this The Paracas also ate avocado. The remains of this plant were excavated at Cerrillos, a site in
site in the Supe valley, which dates to 2595-1951 B.C (Shady and Leyva 2003: 115). the upper Ica Valley, and were dated in an Early Paracas context; this means it was eaten by
its inhabitants around 800 and 600 B.C. (Splitstoser 2009: 94). Some centuries later, the Nasca
The avocado (Persea americana) found at Pampa de Llamas-Moxeque, an archaeological site also found the avocado to be a major food (Silverman and Proulx 2002: 52). Towle (1961: 40-41)
in the lower Casma Valley, which was studied by Ugent et al. (1984: 420), is somewhat later. The had already pointed this for the Nasca occupation of Cahuachi (ca. A.D. 100-500).
dates for the site comprise the period of time that extends from 2088 to 1243 B.C. The site of
Las Haldas is also in the Casma Valley but to the south. Here Ugent et al. (1984: 422) reported Avocado was also frequently eaten on the Central Coast since at least the first millennium
the presence of Persea americana with an associated date of 1328-390 B.C. The continuity of B.C. up to the Inca epoch. Cohen (1978: 36) reported the presence of its seeds at the Tank Site
avocado consumption on the Central Coast is documented by the discovery of this plant’s (Ancón) north of Lima, with dates that ranged between 900 and 600 B.C. Avocado has not,
remains at sites like Pampa Rosario and San Diego, which have been dated to 800 and 300 B.C. however, been found in any other Lima site right up to the Late Intermediate Period, starting

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Huachulla (Solanum hispidum)


Little is as yet known of this plant, which in taxonomical terms is a relative of the potato (even
though it has here been considered a fruit). Its fruits look like small, yellow-veined tomatoes,
and its leaves apparently have antianaemic, anticough, and antitumoral properties.

Only one fruit has thus far been recorded in an archaeological context. It was found in level IIa
of Guitarrero Cave, in the Callejón de Huaylas, at around 2850 masl, which means it dates at
least to 9000 B.C. It has an acid taste and is a relative of the species known as cocona (Smith
1980a: 103).

Guava [Guayaba, Bimpish, Guayabillo, Kima, Kumaski, Matus] (Psidium guajava)


Ruehle (1948) claims Psidium guajava belongs to the Myrtaeae genus, which includes for
instance the cinnamon tree and the eucalyptus.

Ruehle believes this plant originated in tropical America, as was claimed by Candolle in 1886.
It is found in tropical America at altitudes that range from 0 to 1500 masl. Pickersgill (1969: 57)
instead claims the guava originally did not grow in Peru, and that it comes instead from the area
east of the Andes, i.e. the montaña. When Duccio Bonavia (1982: 323) examined the evidence for
guava in Peru since the preceramic period he concluded that it was a fruit that must have been
taken to the coast from somewhere along the astern Andes, as is claimed by Pickersgill.

Figura 15. Representación de palta o avocado en cerámica Chimú-Inca procedente del la costa norte. (MUSEO LARCO. LIMA-PERÚ). Mostacero et al. (2009: 567-568) likewise hold that although guava is now grown in both
American hemispheres, particularly due to its rich and aromatic fruits, and its high vitamin
C content, it must have had its origin in tropical America, Mesoamerica, in Brazil and in Peru.
at around A.D. 1000 in the well-known Ancón necropolis. Margaret Towle (1961: 40-41) likewise
reported its discovery in the Inca occupation of Pachacamac. DeNiro and Hastorf (1985: 113) in The bromatology of guava is of major importance as it was the most-eaten fruit in pre-
turn showed avocado remains excavated at the Inca occupation of Pachacamac. Hispanic Peru. During the Second World War, its low cost and high vitamin C output made
it a remarkable source of this vitamin for US troops (Mostacero et al. 2009: 309). It also has
Middens with avocado remains have been excavated by Nelson y Bellido Cerda (2010: 50) in abundant fibre, iron, phosphorus and calcium, as well vitamins like A and C (particularly the
the archaeological sites of Chambara and Quipico, in the lower Huaura Valley, on the Central green guava); the latter has on average 218 mg for every 100 grams of edible portion (oranges
Coast, which date to A.D. 1365-1625 and belong to the Chancay culture. For this same valley in comparison only have 90 mg). Nowadays, more use should be given to this little-known
Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 79) reported avocado remains in the Chancay site of Los Pinos. potential. B1, B2, B5, and G4 are other vitamins found in guava. It also holds mineral salts.
Interestingly enough, one of the properties of this tree’s bark is that it combats tuberculosis.
One curious datum is that the only depiction of avocado on an archaeological object is in All of this should be borne in mind when discussing public health in the pre-Hispanic Andes
Vargas (1962: 111), who saw what he believes is an avocado sculpted in an Inca conopa. It was and the alimentary balance.
apparently found in the Apurímac Valley, i.e. at least under 3000 masl, in the ceja de selva.
Guava has about the same vitamin content as other fruits, like the apple and the banana, but
Cohen (1975: 53) analysed the botanical remains found at Panquilma, a site in the middle Lurín fewer calories. It should also be noted that white guava has more vitamin C than pink guava.
Valley south of Lima, which correspond to the Inca or Late Horizon occupation. He found
a few avocado seeds in a midden, which means it was also eaten here shortly before the Hastorf (1999: 41-52) points out guava is a highly productive tree because it gives out fruits all
Spanish arrived. year long, which probably is one of the reasons it was the most eaten fruit in pre-Hispanic

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Peru. As has already been noted, Hastorf believes guava may have had a major role, alongside seeds come from immature fruits, which made Smith believe they were thrown away. Given
avocado and maize, in the remembrance of things and places, ancestors and lineages, thus the dryness of this area, the seeds evidently came from other zones (Smith 1988: 140) where
giving rise to a veritable social network. they were originally grown using artificial irrigation (Smith 1988: 141). They date to ca. 2190 B.C.

Patiño (2002: 3) notes that Father Acosta distinguished the Antillean guava, which did not have Remains of guava have also been found at Huaca Prieta on the North Coast, in layers R to C
a good taste, from the white ones found in Peru, which he believed were best. So this was a of excavation pit HP3 (Bird et al. 1985: 235), just like most of the plants found at this site, and
particularly good fruit. Besides, the antidiarrhetic properties of guava, which were known since at least in a layer older than 2899-27 53 B.C.
the Spanish conquest, are probably due to its tannin content (Patiño 2002: 8). Patiño also believes
that guava is a Taíno term from the Antilles, and that Francisco Pizarro’s men had already noticed Bonavia (1982: 149) recorded guava remains at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey
the presence of guava in San Mateo Bay, Atacames, and Puerto Viejo, where it was found in large Valley, which dated to 3100-1480 B.C. Bonavia included Áspero, Alto Salaverry, and El Paraíso
numbers and was of high quality. Guava was also grown on the North Coast of Peru, in Tumbes and when reviewing this fruit’s occurrence in preceramic sites, i.e. sites found on the Central Coast
Trujillo. It follows from a remark made by Father Cobo that it was intensively consumed in Peru, as that date to between four and two thousand years B.C. (Bonavia 1982: 323).
he found some 10 or 12 classes of guava, of different sizes and shape. At the time of the Spanish
contact the guava was widespread almost all over the tropical Americas (Patiño 2002: 195-196). Guavas microremains have been excavated at Buena Vista—a site in the Chillón Valley north
of Lima—that date to 2050 [sic?] -2650 B.C. This is guava starch found in gourd [calabaza]
The advantages guava has go beyond its fruit. Moutarde (2006: 146) pointed out that the vessels, from which it can be inferred that guava was eaten by the ancient inhabitants of this
wood from its tree can be used as fuel, and more precisely to cook. Soukup (1980: 338-339) on site (Duncan et al 2009). This is a clear piece of evidence that guava was in fact eaten using
the other hand argues that guava was frequently grown in pre-Hispanic Peru, and that both its this type of vessel.
leaves as well as its fruit are regularly found in tombs dating to that period.
Some remains of guava seeds were found at Cerro Lampay (a site in the Fortaleza Valley north
The oldest guava thus far found possibly comes from Paloma, a site some 65 km south of of Lima), in a midden context with organic remains that had been eaten, and which dated to
Lima in the Chilca Valley that lies close to a loma, where it dated to ca. 5316-3630 B.C. (Weir 2410-2064 B.C. (Vega-Centeno 2007).
and Dering 1986: 28, Capps 1979: 33). Weir and Dering classified these remains as domesticated
specimens. This would mean that guava was being eaten in Peru over seven thousand years The sequence for Caral, a monumental site in the Supe Valley north of Lima, begins almost at
ago and that it had already been domesticated, thus suggesting this process had begun earlier. the very end of the Cerro Lampay sequence. Shady et al. (2001) have reported the presence of
guava, which can be dated to 2585-1938 B.C. Flores Blanco (2006: 277) notes that guava was the
Guava fruits and seeds have also been reported for the Pampa phase (Ancón, north of Lima) fruit most eaten at Caral throughout its occupation. Flores Blanco also pointed out that guava
around 3075 B.C. (Cohen 1978: 32), and even for the Playa Hermosa phase—which dates on was found in a hearth, thus clearly showing it was cooked in the fire (Flores Blanco 2006:148).
average to 2634 B.C.— and the Concha phase at 2722 B.C. (Patterson and Moseley 1968: 116- This type of culinary preparation is striking—it has been shown that guava was sometimes
117). However, the chronology and the finds lack association and contexts. All of these dates subjected to heat, and this is a point that should be more explored.
were accepted by Deborah Pearsall (1999: 274). In her review of pre-Hispanic plants from the
neotropics [neotrópico], Pearsall accepted all of these dates and pointed out that guava Guava remains have also been recorded around this same epoch in the oldest part of the
appeared on the Peruvian coast since 5700 B.C. occupation—ca. 3008 B.C.—of Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley (Lanfranco
and Eggers 2010: 79).
Guava was the most eaten plant at Bandurria, a site close to Huacho (Chu 20008: 138), where
it comprises about 90% of all excavated vegetables. Mostly seeds have been found in almost Quilter et al. (1991: 280) reported also having found an abundant amount of guava in the
all of the archaeological contexts excavated at this site, with the dates falling within a time excavation of the ceremonial site of El Paraíso, which is immediately north of Lima, close to
period of 3170-1610 B.C. the Chillón River mouth. It apparently was the fruit most eaten at the site.

It is thus clear that the oldest evidence of guava consumption goes back to the Middle In his report of the plants excavated and eaten at the site of Asia, Capps (1987: 54) reported the
Holocene, and that strangely enough it is concentrated in the sites around Lima. presence of guava Capps (1987: 54) in the lower Mala Valley, which had a mean date of 1490 B.C.

A few remains of guava fruits and seeds were recorded at the excavation of La Galgada (in Guava remains have also been found at Cerrillos, a site in the upper Ica Valley, where they
the Tablachaca Canyon, Áncash), a ceremonial sites with dates that begin at 2600 B.C. The dated to 800-600 B.C. (Splitstoser 2009: 94). It can thus be said the Paracas ate this fruit.

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Ugent et al. (1984: 422) recorded the presence of Psidium guajava at Pampa Rosario, a site Guava was found among the fruits eaten by the inhabitants of the Lambayeque Valley in A.D.
close to the Casma River mouth, which gave the (non-calibrated) date of 810-450 B.C. 1300 B.C. and A.D. 1400, i.e. from the Cupisnique to the Sicán (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596). This
Margaret Towle (1961: 141) believed guava probably had been domesticated in Peru only in means there is a long tradition of guava consumption in this zone.
the first millennium B.C.
Cutright (2009: 145) found guava remains on the North Coast in domestic contexts at the lower
The pre-Hispanic inhabitants of the North Coast also ate guava since early times. Shelia Jequetepeque Valley, which clearly are the remains of food eaten by the Chimu. Gumerman
Pozorski (1979: 170) has shown it was eaten in at least two sites, i.e. Alto Salaverry, where it (1991, Table 3.4) found guava was the major fruit (by far the most important vegetable source
dates to 1600 B.C., and another site in the Moche Valley from the Moche epoch. in the site) at Pacatnamú, on the Jequetepeque River mouth, where it was eaten both by the
elite as well as by the common people (and more frequently by the latter) around A.D. 1350.
Guava was also eaten by the Mochica people. Towle (1961: 73) long ago reported it in the
Mochica occupations of Castillo de Tomabal and Huaca de la Cruz, in the Virú Valley. Guava remains that date to this same epoch have been found in middens at the sites of
Quipico and Rontoy, on the Central Coast, thus showing they were part of the food eaten
The excrement of three individuals excavated at the archaeological site of Dos Cabezas, on the by the Chancay people ca. A.D. 1265-1405 (Nelson and Bellido Cerda 2010: 50). Lanfranco and
Jequetepeque River mouth, were analysed and found to hold abundant guava remains. These tombs Eggers (2010: 79) found guava remains at Los Pinos, a site in the Huaura Valley that has been
were dated to A.D. 536-580 (Moseley et al. 2008: 83). It should be noted that guava was consumed ascribed to the Chancay culture.
in larger amounts by the upper-class individual, whilst the woman found in the tomb ate a smaller
amount. It is worth pointing out that Reinhard et al. (2007: 536) have accepted the presence of guava Large numbers of guava remains have been found for the Inca occupation of Panquilma, a site
in the excrement here found. This is another piece of evidence that guava was eaten directly. in the middle Lurín Valley, thus showing the persistence of its consumption on the Peruvian
coast throughout time (Cohen 1975: 53). And Margaret Towle (1961: 73) mentioned guava seeds
On the North Coast Lockard (2005: 211) found evidence of guava consumption in a Mochica having been found in the Pachacamac shrine, as was later reported by DeNiro and Hastorf
(A.D. 600-800) context at Galindo, albeit in small amount. Guava was also found at the Moche (1985: 113), which were dated to Inca times.
Huaca del Sol site, in the lower Moche valley, but this was a cultivated tree (Pozorski and
Pozorski 2003: 125).
Peruvian Pepper [Molle, Aguaribay, Anacahuita, Gualeguay] (Schinus molle)
Cárdenas et al. (1997: 138-139) in turn found guava seeds in Mochica faecal remains, so that its
direct consumption by this population is proven. Peruvian pepper or molle is a small tree that can grow up to 12 metres long. It grows along
rivers on the Western Cordillera from sea level up to 2300 masl (Kramer 1957: 322), but it can
The presence of guava in Nasca contexts at Cahuachi and Estaquería, on the Central-South Coast, reach up to 3500 masl (Moutarde 2006b: 24). This is a highly beneficial plant that could be
is evident (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 3). Citing O’Neale and Whitaker, Towle noted these scholars had used in various ways, which is why it is included here. Let us see the history of this major plant
already recorded depictions of this plant on Initial Nasca weavings. Guava was also found in the in Peru.
tombs at Ocucaje, all of which date to around the beginning of the Christian era. In brief, Silverman
and Proulx (2002: 52) have shown the significant presence guava in the diet of the Nasca people. Schinus molle is probably one of the most representative species of the Schinus genus,
especially due to its coral-red fruit that has a very thick skin that looks like pepper, hence its
Guava was also eaten in the department of Ica in the Middle Horizon. Beresford-Jones (2004: common name. As regards its distribution, it is found in countries like Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and
422) found its remains when excavating middens at Samanca, in the lower Ica Valley, that Colombia. In Peru it grows both on the Western and the Eastern Cordilleras, from the littoral
date to the Middle Horizon around A.D. 600-900. Interestingly enough, Erythroxylum coca coastlands to the Amazon forest.
var. Coca is an Andean tree that flourishes under the shadow of guava and pacay trees. These
crops appear to be associated, and may have been so in past times. And although it does Mostacero et al. (2009: 464, 466) note that the Schinus genus has some 30 species that are
not belong in this book, it is not strange finding evidence of guava associated with coca native to South America, four of which are Peruvian. For Mostacero and his team, Schinus
consumption from the first millennium B.C. right up to the Inca epoch. molle is a species native to the intermontane valleys of south, central and northern Peru that
thrives in hollows, ravines and riverine bushland. It is found on the coast in desert areas, in dry
Abundant evidence of guava consumption is available for the Late Intermediate Period (ca. A.D. ravines, in sand dunes, and is relatively able to withstand very dry environments. The process
1000-1460). For instance, Ugent and Peterson (1988: 7) point out that that Wittmack identified followed when processing the seeds by making them mature and drying them in order to
guava in the Ancón burial contexts, which may belong to the above-mentioned period. prepare the famed “pimienta andina” is well known.

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Three parts of the plant are usually used in Peru—the fruits, the leaves’ juice, and the sap in The role this and other types of chicha had will be discussed later. These scholars believe molle
the tree trunks. The fruit has peperine and is usually washed in warm water; its slightly sweet chicha was the beverage par excellence of the Wari Empire, and that the Incas later replaced
skin is gently rubbed in order to release the liquid that will be used to prepare molle chicha it with maize chicha. Such is the case of Beringa (Arequipa), a Wari site (A.D. 650-1000) where
(Kramer 1957: 322-323). This substance can also be used as syrup, or fermented as vinegar. maize, along with molle, was the main staple. For Tiffiny Tung, the presence of large amounts
Some parts of the plant have beneficial properties that include alleviating rheumatism and of molle peduncles and of ceramic vessels with molle remains suggest that whole bunches of it
ophthalmia. Molle is even known to repel cockroaches. were being brought in order to process them, quite likely into chicha (Tung 2012: 49).

Peruvian pepper leaves are an excellent fertiliser when planting maize. Its seeds were exported More recently, Valdez (2012) published an article where he presents the operational chain
as a substitute for pepper when the Spaniards began its commercialisation, albeit without followed when preparing molle chicha, and describes a series of vessels similar to those
realising its long-term collateral effects (Goldstein and Coleman 2004: 525). Moutarde, who used when preparing maize chicha. Valdez has drawn attention to the possibility that the
authored the only overview thus far made of anthracology in Peru, claims that its wood was consumption of this type of chicha was more extensive than was previously assumed; much
used as fuel, and so the kitchen hearths may have been fed with molle. less research has, in fact, been devoted to its identification than to its maize counterpart.

When Soukup (1980: 368) discusses molle he says ancient Peruvians grew it essentially to Finally, Cohen (1975: 60) reported finding some molle seeds from the Inca occupation of
prepare chicha by rubbing the mature fruits in warm water until it took over a sweetly taste. Panquilma, an archaeological site in the middle Lurín Valley.
This was then filtered through a cloth and left to ferment for 3-4 days. This chicha was taken
alone or combined with maize chicha.
Sweet Granadilla [Granadilla, Apicoya, Hutu, Tintin] (Passiflora ligularis Juss)
Besides its antispastic properties, Peruvian pepper was also used to prepare honey out of its
resin (Cerrate de Ferreira 1979), a point also made by Horkheimer (1960: 83-84). This climbing plant had its origin in tropical America and grows in the intermontane valleys
between 800 and 2500 masl (Mostacero et al. 2009: 529).
In his study of tropical American fruits, Patiño (2002: 207) points out that the molle tree was
planted by the ancient Peruvians near to places of religious worship. As a result, Catholic The sweet granadilla was grown in pre-Hispanic Peru not just for its pleasant and edible pulp,
priests had them cut down because of the idolatry they entailed. but also as an offering for the huacas (Soukup 1980: 311), but there evidently is very scant
documentation in this regard. Although it was used as food in ancient Peru, it is possible that
What evidence do we have for molle in Peru’s pre-Hispanic archaeological record? Weir and the granadilla is native to a vast area that extends across the Andes from Venezuela to Bolivia.
Dering (1986: 28) excavated molle remains at Paloma—a site close to San Bartolo south of Margaret Towle (1961: 68) had already pointed out that Yacovleff and Herrera had described it.
Lima—that probably date to 5316-3630 B.C. Its earliest apparition is associated with guava,
which we have just seen, and took place some six thousand years B.C. on the Central Coast The evidence at present available is only indicative of the presence of the sweet granadilla
of Peru. in pre-Hispanic Peru. Some Pasiflora seeds (which for C. Earle Smith, one of the greatest
ethnobotanists, are from sweet granadilla) were recovered in the excavations of the ceremonial
Schinus molle seeds have also been found at the site of La Pampa with a date of ca. 3090 B.C., site of La Galgada, in the Tablachaca Canyon (Ancash), which date on average to 1870 B.C.
as well as in other, later sites on the Central Coast (Cohen 1978: 30). (Smith 1988: 138). It is therefore possible that future excavations will provide more evidence.

Bonavia (1982: 149) had already noticed the presence of Schinus molle remains at Los Gavilanes, a
site in the lower Huarmey Valley; they held the earliest dates for this site since at least ca. 4000 Passion fruit [Tumbillo or Maracuyá Silvestre] (Passiflora foetida)
B.C. Bonavia believes it may have been more extensively used since the Preceramic Period than is
assumed. For instance, Lynch (1980: 9) identified molle pollen in all strata of Guitarrero Cave (in This is a species native to South America that is often found amongst the brush and in
the Callejón de Huaylas), i.e. since at least 9200 B.C. In his review, Bonavia states that the remains salpetre and clayish soils, near irrigation canals, on hill slopes and in the tropical forest. It
of this plant have been identified in sites like Asia (south of Lima), where it dates to ca. 1460 B.C., grows between 25 and 1250 masl (Mostacero et al. 2009: 532).
and on the Central Coast starting with the Pampa Phase, i.e. 3075 B.C.
Only one piece of evidence for this fruit has been found in a pre-Hispanic Peruvian. Cárdenas
From this moment on the use of molle was not recorded until A.D. 650. Goldstein and Coleman et al. (1997: 136) reported (wild) passion flower remains at the site of Huaca de la Luna. It can
(2004) and Goldstein et al. (2008: 133-166) thus recorded molle chicha as a pre-Hispanic beverage. thus be assumed the Mochica consumed it in this archaeological site ca. A.D. 400-750.

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Tumbo (Passiflora tripartita molissima) Geyer et al. (2003: 276) reported finding the remains of kaywa fruits in the excrement of
three individual males from tomb number 3 at Dos Cabezas, an archaeological site in the
This plant is often found in Peru’s highlands on slopes, wooded ravines, on the edge of roads, Jequetepeque River mouth. The radiocarbon date of this find is A.D. 536-580 (Moseley et
and so on. It grows from 2000 to 3500 masl. al. 2008: 83). Reinhard et al.’s assessment (2007: 536) verified the identification of kaywa
at this site is correct, which means the determinations are reliable. Pottery, on the other
Tumbo has slightly acid and fragrant yellow-coloured fruits that are rich in nutrients such as hand, also shows its presence in Mochica contexts (ca. A.D. 300-400). The evidence for its
proteins, vitamins A, B1, B2, B5, and C, minerals like calcium, iron, and phosphorus, including consumption is therefore clear.
niacin and carotene (Mostacero et al. 2009: 532).
The scant kaywa remains discovered by Lockard (2005) in the excavations at Galindo, in the
Margaret Towle (1961: 68) listed it as a fruit that was also eaten in ancient Peru, but without middle Moche Valley, come from a later period, i.e. a Chimu context that dates to A.D. 1000-
providing specific data. Towle mentions its presence in the Mochica culture since the beginning 1460.
of the Christian area but perhaps in wild state or eventually in horticulture.
Cárdenas et al. (1997: 134) recorded kaywa remains in a Mochica context at Huaca de la Luna,
Hans Horkheimer (1960: 74) recorded a depiction of tumbo on a Paracas Necropolis-style a site in the lower Moche Valley, ca. A.D. 400-750.
ceramic vessel.
Kaywa was likewise found in the excavation of the middens at Chambara, a Chancay site in
the Huaura Valley at around 1000 masl, which has been radiocarbon dated to A.D. 1375-1625
Kaywa [Caigua, Accoch] (Cyclanthera pedata) (Nelson and Bellido Cerda 2010: 50).

This an annual herbaceous vine cultivated for its fruit, and which grows up to 10 or 20 cm long,
originated in the tropical Americas and is widespread from Mesoamerica to north-western Mito [Papayo, Mito, Mitu, Quemish] (Carica candicans - Vasconcellea candicans, Carica pubescens
Argentina (Mostacero et al. 2009: 551, 553). Kaywa is a cucurbitaceae that was probably - Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis)
domesticated in pre-Hispanic Peru, but little is known of its history. It is known not just for
being edible but also for its medicinal properties as it reduces negative cholesterol, is diuretic, Readers will probably be surprised to find this fruit in pre-Hispanic Peru, particularly because
and has anti-inflammatory properties. they are acquainted with the tropical papaya (which is frequently sold in the markets).
However, in the pre-Hispanic Andes we are before two different species, the Andean papaya
Kaywa can be sown in all regions of Peru up to around 2100 masl. It is an important staple (Carica pubescens) and mito (Carica candicans -Vasconcellea candicans). We must therefore
because it contains pectin, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamin C, salts and minerals (like iron, distinguish the papaya (Carica papaya L)—which seems to be native to Mexico, as posited
calcium, phosphorus, selenium, magnesium, and zinc). Its high fibre content is highly valued by Soukup (1980: 107), or Central America and the Caribbean (Piperno and Pearsall 1998:156)—
(Tommasi et al. 1999). from the papayo or mito strictly speaking. C. pubescens flourishes in the Peruvian Amazon
forest. It is the most widespread species of Andean papaya, from Panama to Argentina and
Soukup (1980: 149) says kaywa was domesticated in pre-Hispanic Peru, and that some (like Chile (National Research Council 1989b: 253-254).
Juan de Arona) noted that it can be eaten filled with meat. Its roots used to be employed for
dental cleaning. Mostacero et al. (2009: 538) claim C. pubescens (the Andean papaya) is mainly found on the
lomas of the Western Andes, where it grows up to 2800 masl. Nowadays it is found practically
Probably the oldest evidence of kaywa consumption comes from Chilca, a series of preceramic all over Peru.
camps south of Lima, where it was found as part of the alimentary refuse (Capps 1987: 48). The
dates obtained for this site and which were associated with kaywa average between 3794 and Patiño (2002: 132), basing himself on Horkheimer (1973), believes Carica candicans (mito) is a
1530 B.C. This same study (Capps 1987: 54) reported the presence of kaywa in contexts in Asia, species native to the Andes south of Ecuador, not just in the highlands but also on the coast.
a site in the lower Mala Valley, that date on average to 1490 B.C. Margaret Towle (1961: 69) in turn noted it grows wild on the Eastern Andes and on the coastal
lomas. Hans Horkheimer (1960: 81) claimed this was the wild papaya, and also pointed out that
The ceramic depictions of kaywa both in Cupisnique as well as in Moche times (Towle 1961: its leaves were used to soften meat when cooking—a typical characteristic modern papaya
108) let us suggest that it was known and eaten on the North Coast since 1000 B.C. Towle also has in this same task.
believed kaywa was domesticated in the Andes since the first millennium B.C. (Towle 1961: 141).

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By the early seventeenth century colonists report the presence of papaya, particularly in various Margaret Towle (1960: 141) believed this plant was domesticated in Peru only since the first
countries in Central America. Francisco Pizarro and his men saw papaya (obviously without millennium before our era.
noticing its species) in Puerto Viejo, on the Ecuadorean coast, when they passed that way in
1531. For Patiño, this shows it had been domesticated in this region and probably to the south Although there is scant evidence of the presence of palillo in Peruvian archaeological contexts,
too, on the North Coast of Peru. So it is possible that the papaya was already under cultivation it did appear at quite an early epoch and was relatively well disseminated. The earliest
by the time of the Spanish Conquest. The first immigrants reported one type of papaya (Carica evidence of its potential consumption in Peru comes from Caral, where it came third among
septenlobata) close to Pozuzo (an affluent of the Huallaga River) (Patiño 2002: 136-137). the resources of vegetable origin found in the excavations of this well-known archaeological
site in the Supe Valley, which was dated to 2595-1951 B.C. (Shady and Leyva 2003: 115).
Even so, it is possible that the papaya was also eaten in the pre-Hispanic Andes. Daniel Gade
(1999: 1255), a prolific ethnobotanical researcher, notes in this regard that Carica papaya Margaret Towle (1961: 72) reported the remains of this fruit at El Paraíso, a site in the lower
originally came from the eastern Andean valleys—i.e. the ceja de selva—but that its most Chillón River Valley, where they probably date to ca. 2150 B.C.
ancient use (including that of food) is recorded for Mesoamerica. In future it would therefore
be worth having interdisciplinary studies in terms of taxonomically documenting the species Mark Nathan Cohen (1978: 36) also reported the presence of this type of fruit’s remains in the
that are excavated and studied in the Peruvian Andes. early part of the Early Horizon Tank site at Ancón, around 800 B.C.

Is there any evidence of the pre-Hispanic consumption of the two or three species of Carica But Nasca is where we have more evidence available on the potential consumption of palillo.
described above in the Andean region? There is, in fact, but not much, and the evidence goes Towle (1961: 141) had already reported its presence at Cahuachi, which many consider the
back to the beginning of Andean archaeobotanics. For instance, Ugent and Peterson (1988: major Nasca ceremonial centre including Huaca del Oro. More recently, during its excavation
7) mention the presence of “papaya” in the botanical collections from the excavations Reiss of the ceremonial centre itself the Italian archaeological mission recorded no less than 16
and Stubel made at Ancón. The collections are held by the Berlin Museum, and a modern kilos of palillo, found as offerings made in the site. According to Piacenza and Pieri (2012: 9),
identification and analysis would be interesting. These finds suggest the possibility that this this volume makes this fruit the most significant one found at this major archaeological site.
type of papaya was consumed in Peru around Lima since the beginning of the Christian era. They report the fruits are between 1 and 3 cm in diameter, but noted there are no depictions
on the pottery.
Yet there apparently is a more ancient evidence of papaya consumption. Carica candicans
(mito) seeds have been found at Paloma, an archaeological site south of Lima close to San Again, Margaret Towle (1961: 141) reported palillo among the remains from the Inca epoch
Bartolo, which date to 5316-3630 B.C. (Weir and Dering 1986: 28, Capps 1987: 33). excavated in the Pachacamac shrine.

Vargas (1962: 111, fig. 18) on the other hand recorded the presence of a “papaya” (mito?) fruit
in Nasca pottery. It appears from what can be seen that he is correct. It should also be noted Peanut Butter Fruit [Ciruela del Fraile, Cansaboca, Ushum, Usuma] (Bunchosia armeniaca)
there is a type of Carica (papaya) in Mochica pottery, as is being shown in this book thanks to
the courtesy of the Museo Larco. This is a tree or bush that grows in Peru and is cultivated for its fruits, the edible peanut butter fruit
which has a fleshy and reddish pulp and an olive-green skin (Mostacero et al. 2009: 442-443).
In brief, although very little information is as yet available, it is clear that mito (and possibly other
Carica species) was being eaten on the Peruvian coast since around seven thousand years ago. According to the Centro Nacional de Alimentación y Nutrición (2009: 24-25), this fruit has
21.5 g of carbohydrates, 20 mg of calcium, 53 mg of phosphorus and 36.8 mg of vitamin C,
which means it was important in the pre-Hispanic diet, particularly on the coast, where it is
Palillo [Palillo Peruano] (Campomanesia linearifolia) often found due to the above-noted circumstances. It grows between 1500 and 2400 masl
(National Research Council 1989a). It probably originated in the Amazon forest (Piperno and
According to Mostacero et al. (2009: 563), palillo is a native species to the Amazon forest of Pearsall 1998: 157).
Eastern Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Bolivia. Readers should not confuse it with the modern
turmeric, the flavouring used in Peru that is of Persian origin. Palillo is found in transitional Patiño (2002: 202-204) points out that in eastern Peru the peanut butter fruit is known as
forests, and eventually in cultivated form. Its fruit is fragrant like that of guava, and it is “cansaboca” and “indano”. He also draws a distinction as regards the “ciruela” because the
edible in its natural state. It has vitamins such as B1, B2, and B5, and minerals like calcium, Spanish gave this name to two species, i.e. the one we are now discussing and another one
iron, and phosphorus. called Spondias purpurea, which means we must be careful when reading the chronicles.

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What he does find correct is that the description of a “(red) flesh-coloured fruit” that was determination because this plant does not grow in the environs of the lower zone occupied by
“soft and sweet to excess,” shows Francisco Pizarro found Bunchosia at Puerto Viejo. Soukup the Moche, and because its pollen leaves few traces in excrement. Pozorski and Pozorski (2003:
(1980: 95) also points it is red and sweet. 125) however recorded “cansaboca” in a Mochica context at Huaca del Sol, and emphasised
that its fruits may come from a cultivated tree.
The peanut butter fruit is relatively abundant in Peru’s archaeological record, for instance in
the excavation of the preceramic villages at Nanchoc, on the North Coast. Here it was found Research at Huaca de la Luna also recorded remains of Bunchosia armeniaca. Margaret Towle
as a food residue, as some remains were found charred and dried (Rossen et al. 1996: 398). The (1961: 61) reported that Julio C. Tello found three jars bearing depictions of this fruit.
remains come from level 4, which has been calibrated to 7214 B.C.
Margaret Towle mentioned the finding of this type of fruit on the Central Coast at Vista
It was also found in layers “R” to “D” of the excavations at Huaca Prieta (Bird et al. 1985: 234), Alegre and Playa Grande (Lima), which it can be speculated date to just a few centuries before
which means it comes from the oldest layers in the site, before 2899-2753 B.C. the Christian era.

Deborah Pearsall (1999: 275) agrees with this chronology, and dates the earliest Andean The people of the Nasca culture also ate Bunchiosa. Roque et al. (2003) published their finding
finds of this fruit to ca. 2600 B.C. Margaret Towle believed its cultivation began around of this fruit at Casa Vieja in Samanco, a Late Nasca and Wari site in the lower Ica Valley (A.D.
3000 B.C. 530-820). According to the author [sic], this type of plant grows between sea level and 3000
masl. It should also be noted that several remains of this fruit were found in the Nasca shrine
Some specimens of Bunchosia armeniaca were recorded in the excavations of La Galgada, a of Cahuachi (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 3).
site in the Tablachaca Canyon (Ancash), with dates that can go back to 2600 B.C. The analysis
seems to indicate that the trees which gave these fruits were artificially irrigated. The size of Bunchiosa was eaten on the Central Coast some centuries before the Inca occupation, just
these fruits also shows these are cultivated specimens (Smith 1988: 132-133). It thus seems that like it had been before. Such was the case of the Chancay people. Nelson and Bellido Cerda
Margaret Towle was right. (2010: 50) found remains of this fruit in the middens of Chambara and Quipico, two sites in
the lower Huaura Valley that date to A.D. 1365-1625. It was also eaten in a Chancay context in
Bunchosia armeniaca was apparently still being consumed, but this time on the North Coast. this same valley at Los Pinos, a site some 4 km from the sea (Lanfranco and Eggers 2010: 79).
Lanfranco and Eggers (2010: 79) found its seeds at the site of Puémape, where they dated to
3008-339 B.C. It is likewise clear the Chimu ate this fruit. Perry (2002: 337) verified this at Manchán, a site
in the Casma that belongs to this culture’s southern variant (A.D. 1470-1523). Pedregal, in the
Ugent et al. (1984: 420) reported the presence of Bunchosia armeniaca at Pampa de Llamas, lower Jequetepeque Valley, is another Chimu site where Cutright (2009: 144) found remains
on the Central Coast in the lower Casma Valley, which was dated to 2088-1243 B.C. Its of Bunchiosa associated with the remains of other foods eaten by the ancient inhabitants of
consumption in the lower Casma Valley was documented through excavations, in which these this valley.
plants were found at Pampa Rosario and San Diego, sites that were dated to 800-300 B.C.
(Ugent et al. 1984: 422). As for Inca culture contexts, Cohen (1975: 59) noticed a marked occurrence of Bunchiosa
remains at the site of Panquilma (in the middle Lurín River Valley), starting at A.D. 1460. The
Cohen (1978: 35) recorded the presence of peanut butter fruit in the Tank site at Ancón, in Lim, specimen Margaret Towle (1961: 61) found in the botanical materials excavated at Pachacamac
where it dates to ca. 1000 B.C. belongs to this same epoch.

Pozorski (1979: 170) recorded the consumption of this fruit in the Moche Valley and somewhat
more to the north in this zone—but still on the coast—at sites that date to 1600 B.C., like Alto Sweet Cucumber [Pepino dulce] (Solanum muricatum Aiton, Solanaceae)
Salaverry, Moche occupation sites in the Moche Valley, and even right up to the Chimu epoch
in the city of Chan Chan. The sweet cucumber belongs to the Solanaceae family, so it is a relative of the potato. Despite
being a tuber, it is included in this section due to its condition as a “fruit.”
Bunchosia armeniaca was evidently eaten by the three individuals buried at Dos Cabezas, a
Mochica archaeological site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley (Geyer 2003). The remains of For the National Research Council (1989a: 14), the sweet cucumber is another species that is
this fruit have been found in the excrement from these individuals and radiocarbon dated entering international trade and holds great potential for the Andes, particularly in areas like
to A.D. 536-580 (Moseley et al. 2003). Reinhard et al. (2007: 535) criticised this taxonomic Europe, North America, and the Canary Islands, amongst others.

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Prohens et al. (1996) point out that the cucumber spreads rapidly and is cultivated on various It should also be added that according to Patiño, Acosta claimed having found the pepino
soils, even under conditions of moderate salinity or flooding for several days. So it is in some only on the “coastlands of Peru” but not elsewhere. He also points out that Bernabé Cobo
way resilient. In the Andean area it can grow from sea level up to 3500 masl, albeit without described the colour of the sweet cucumber: purple, yellow and white, with the first being
frosts. more typical and with variations present longitudinally. Also, the best were those from Trujillo,
Ica, and Chincha (Patiño 2002: 222).
How is the sweet cucumber’s bromatology defined? First of all by its content of vitamin C
(45-70 mg for every 100 grams), vitamin A, just 7% carbohydrates, and above all 92% water What of the archaeological record of the sweet cucumber? At present little evidence is
(National Research Council 1989b: 300). It also has antiscorbutic properties and regularise renal available in Peruvian sites; however, Margaret Towle showed in her handbook on Peruvian
functions. In Peru it is eaten directly as a fruit, and its consumption is a tradition thousands ethnobotanics (1961: 84) that we have a series of ceramic depictions of this fruit, especially
of years old (Fernández and Rodríguez 2007: 209). So like all solanaceae, it is a good source of for the Salinar, Mochica, and Nasca cultures. The present writer has also seen them in
vitamin C (León 2000: 322). Middle Moche pieces that date to ca. A.D. 400 in the collections of the Museo Nacional de
Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú and the Museo Larco. It can thus be inferred
Where did the sweet cucumber originate? This issue has been debated for decades. While that it was consumed by the people from this famed culture. Its consumption by the Nasca
some scholars (e.g. Correl 1962; Heiser 1964, 1979) claimed Solanum capirense may have been was likewise corroborated by Silverman and Proulx (2002: 52).
the wild ancestor of Solanum muricatum, others (Bruecher 1966) hold the opposite position.
Vargas (1962: 111) includes the Paracas modelled pottery in this list. And since it also appears in
According to the genetic studies of wild cucumbers, Blanca et al. (2007) showed the greatest a Cuzco Inca conopa, this confirms the sweet cucumber was present in both the coastal and
centre of Solanum muricatum diversity was in northern Ecuador and southern Colombia, highland pre-Hispanic diet.
and therefore suggest this zone as its origin centre. They also recorded a series of other wild
plants involved in this process that are still unknown. It should be noted that this analysis Virtually the only palaeobotanical evidence of the consumption of sweet cucumber comes
included Peruvian cucumber plants from sites like Chimbote, Ayacucho, Lima, and the Virú from the North Coast of Peru. Its seeds were found in the faecal remains from Puerto Moorin, a
Valley. Salinar site in the lower Virú Valley that dates to the first centuries B.C. (Ericson et al. 1989: 74).

The National Research Council (1989b: 303) notes that cucumbers must be native to some
temperate area in the Andean highlands—a more general statement. Its depictions however Inca Berry, Peruvian Cherry [Aguaymanto, Capulí, Tomatillo] (Physalis Peruviana)
show it was evidently known and consumed in pre-Hispanic Peru.
Physalis Peruviana belongs to the family of the Solanaceae and has similar characteristics to
Jorge León (2000: 323) has a more sceptical position, for he claims there are no wild species the tomato and the potato. It is an herb that usually grows on the coastal valleys, on the edge
from which it could be derived. For León, the closest species is Solanum tabaoense. of canals and in farm fields. Mostacero et al. (2009: 797) claim it is native to the Andes even
though it is now grown in warm countries between 600 and 3240 masl. Its fruits are of round
Margaret Towle (1961: 84, 141) in fact claimed it was of Peruvian origin, and that it was shape, yellow, and sweet.
domesticated since the first millennium before our era. Towle believed the cucumber was
one of the fifteen species domesticated around that time in Peru. As for its bromatology, Physalis Peruviana has carotene (as vitamin A), thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic
acid, and above all vitamin C and ascorbic acid (which means it has antiscorbutic properties) which are
Patiño (2002: 222-223) claims in regard to the sweet cucumber that its Quechua name was essential for all human organisms (Gutiérrez et al. 2007), and it also improves iron absorption (Larsen
“cachon,” and that it was called “pepino” due to its similarity to a Spanish cucurbitaceae 2000). The minerals it has include sodium, iron, sodium [sic], copper, sulphide, with phosphorus and
(Cucumis sativus) the Conquistadores tried to establish in America. potassium being particularly abundant. It also has a considerable amount of pectin. Its main acid is
citric acid, but it also has tartaric and malic acid (Khare 2007: 1186). Soukup (1980: 322) says it was eaten
Patiño also points out that Cieza de León evoked the sweet cucumber when listing the “unique in pre-Hispanic Peru, and that it was introduced into Europe only in 1779.
American fruits from the irrigated plains of the Peruvian coast.” It is also informative that Inca
Huayna Capac ate this fruit when he passed through the Chimu kingdom, and was impressed Although there is scant documentation regarding its ancestral consumption, it may well have
by its sweet taste. Cieza de León would later point out how delicious this fruit was whilst he been one of the most eaten fruits. The analysis of the remains of human faeces from sites
was in Chincha. He claimed one had to eat several of them in order to feel satisfied. along the Peruvian coast is clearly required because of the advantages it presents for the
preservation of organic remains.

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One good example is the analysis of human coproliths from the sites of Chilca, Asia, and El Paraíso, Clavillo (Jusseia peruviana, Ludwigia Perúviana (L.) H. Hara)
where John Jones (1988: 84) found Physalis Peruviana seeds, from which it can be concluded that
this fruit was being eaten since around 3000 B.C., and continuously up to the first millennium B.C. This is plant from the Onagraceae family whose fruits grow in the valleys of the Central
Of these three sites, the clearest evidence comes from El Paraíso, which is immediately north of Peruvian Coast. Probably the only report of Jusseia peruviana consumption comes from the
Lima in the lower Chillón Valley, and which was occupied since 2150 B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 280) study Cohen (1978: 29) made of this plant’s remains at site PV45-26, in the lomas de Encanto,
close to Ancón and north of Lima, date to ca. 3500 B.C.
Physalis Peruviana pollen was found in human faecal remains from the archaeological site of
Los Gavilanes (lower Huarmey Valley, Central Peruvian Cost) in a context that was dated to
3200-2200 B.C., so it is may have been part of the food eaten by this early people (Weir and Wild Tomato, Cherry Tomato? [Tomate silvestre] (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., Lycopersicon
Bonavia 1985: 99). peruvianum Dun., Solanaceae)

It is thus clear that Physalis Peruviana was being eaten on the Central coast at least five Janet Long (2000: 351-358), when summarising the history of the tomato in The Cambridge
thousand years ago, but more research is still required in this regard. World History of Food, included important information that must be briefly included here.
This plant can adapt to several climates and environments and has a high vitamins A and C
It is known that Physalis Peruviana was eaten in the Andean region in subsequent pre-Hispanic content, more than is usually believed.
periods (Pickersgill 2007: 927). More evidence comes from the site of Galindo, in the middle-
Moche Valley, where Lockard (2005: 211) was able to record a large amount of this fruit’s seed Although the wild tomato is known as Lycopersicum esculentum, there actually are seven wild
in the midst of food contexts from the Mochica (ca. A.D. 600-800) and mostly from the species all from the South American northwest. The wild relatives of tomato are confined
Chimu occupation (A.D. 1000-1460) occupation of this site. Both North Coast populations to a coastal swath that extends from Ecuador to northern Chile, including the Galapagos
therefore ate Physalis Peruviana. Islands. In fact the Lycopersicum esculentum var. cesariforme (cherry tomato) is possibly the
oldest direct ancestor of the modern tomato, and the only wild tomato found outside South
It is known that in colonial times Physalis Peruviana was grown around Lima in the eighteenth America, for instance in Mesoamerica and Mexico.
century, and that it was grown around Cali, in Colombia, shortly after the Spanish Conquest
(Patiño 2002: 220). In this regard, Rick and Holle (1990) reached the conclusion, through phylogenetics and hybridisation
botanical studies, that the Central Andes, i.e. Peru and Bolivia, were instead a secondary centre of
wild tomato variability, which means it is not the primary domestication area.
Sapote (Capparis angulata, Capparis scabrida)
Daniel Gade (1999: 1255) has drawn attention to the edible fruit of an egg-shaped, acid-tasting
This is a xerophytic plant that is distributed across the South American Amazon area. In Peru it tomato tree (Cyphomandra betacea) of South American origin. Fernández and Rodríguez (2007:
is found in Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque, and La Libertad from 0 to 1600 masl. Its wood and ... 208) hold that although the tomato in wild condition is native to the western Central Andes,
[derivados en gomas] are highly appreciated. The same holds for Sapote as food, particularly due when the Spaniards reached America only the Mexicans grew it in the maize fields; however,
to the pulp of its fruit which comprises 15% carbon hydrates [hidratos de carbono], 19% proteins, 6% they claim it was of no importance. Fernández and Rodríguez even claim that in Mexico the
fat, vitamins A and C, mucilages, resins, organic acids, tannins, saponins, calcium, iron, magnesium, term “tomato” meant Physalis ixocarpa. This means there is some debate regarding this plant,
sodium, and potassium, which give it a high nutritional value (Rodríguez et al. 2007). and it is not really clear that tomato itself was being cultivated by the Mexicans.

Sapote seeds have been found at Huaca Prieta (Bird et al. 1985: 237). Like many of the plant Nevertheless, since there are no archaeological remains or linguistic references, Long (2000)
remains found at this site they come from the deepest layer, i.e. “R,” which means they must concluded the Andean people did not cultivate the tomato even though they were acquainted
be earlier than 2899-2753 B.C. with in wild state, while the Mesoamericans and Mexicans did grow it. One piece of evidence
of its introduction into the Andes in the Hispanic period is that it retained the natural or
Capparis angulate was found in the excavation of Huaca de la Luna in the lower Moche Valley. Aztec name tomatl.
This means the Mochica may have eaten it ca. A.D. 400-750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 134).
It is also interesting, as Long notes, that the tomato has a history quite similar to that of ají—
It has likewise been recorded—albeit for a much longer period of use, from A.D. 1300 to A.D. 1400—in both species are native to South America and were domesticated in Mesoamerica.
the middens with food remains in the lower Lambayeque Valley (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596).

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In fact, the zone where tomato domestication took place was perhaps the Puebla-Veracruz In this regard, the tomato first appears in the chronicles in 1578. After an El Niño phenomenon,
(Mexico) area, which James Jenkins claims has the greatest variety of tomatoes. Its form was the people in the corregimientos of Trujillo and Zaña, on the North Coast of Peru, were
originally similar to that of the cherry tomato. The experiments made to domesticate it made starving and alleviated it by consuming carob pods and cooked guava seeds. A witness from
it larger and it ended up as L. sculentum. Establishing how the cherry tomato’s seeds migrated Túcume claimed the tomato was used as emergency food.
to Mesoamerica is extremely difficult. It may have taken place both by water or by the wind,
and even through birds. The seeds may even have been taken by humans with contacts that In Peru, the wild species L. hirsutum H. et B. and L. Perúvianum Mill are known. Some students
probably began around 1600 B.C. claim friar Tomás de Berlanga, de bishop of Panama, took the tomato from Peru to Central
America. José de Acosta noted already in 1587 that a “delicious” sauce was made from the
The oldest evidence of L. sculentum being consumed comes from Tehuacán in the Valley tomato.
of Mexico ca. 9000-5090 B.C. At Tehuacán, the molcajetes (grinding vessels) have been
interpreted as actual tomato processors, in which it may have been ground jointly with chili Some observations have to be made here. Vargas (1962: 112) for instance claims phytomorphic
in order to prepare pastes or sauces (molli: sauce). depictions of tomatoes are extremely rare, and one may be of Inca origin. Jenkins (1948) in turn
had already suggested that although the tomato conquered Europe from Mexico, it had really
The tomato was taken to Spain once the Spaniards had conquered America. From there it been brought there from some part of Peru or Ecuador, either in wild or cultivated condition,
moved to Italy, where the Mediterranean climate and type of food (of roman roots) ensured because its centre was the South American coast from 0° to 30°S. Here Jenkins posits that
its rapid dissemination. In fact, the first reference to the tomato in Italy was made in 1544 by the wild form Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme was found in this region. Others
Petrus Andreas Mathiolus, who gave it its name of pomi d’oro. Shortly afterwards, in 1575, claim that L. esculentum derives from L. pimpinellifolium, which is native to Peru and Ecuador.
Piero Antonio Michel called the tomato poma peruviana (Long however believes Michel However, the Veracruz-Puebla region has a wide range of tomatoes, so we can assume this
had no idea Peru was the real origin centre of the tomato). It was only in 1692 that Antonio may have been another origin centre.
Latini published the recipe for tomato sauce in Naples, which it had reached from Spain
precisely in the same way it was prepared by the Aztecs—ground with chili as a sauce (Long The archaeological record holds little data on the Andean tomato. For example, Weir and
2000: 356). Dering (1986: 28) found remains of Lycopersicon esculantum at Paloma, a site close to San
Bartolo, some 65 km south of Lima, which date to ca. 5316-3630 B.C.
The presence of the tomato in pre-Hispanic Peru is as yet scant and not widespread. At first
it was initially suggested that it had its origins in Peru (Candolle 1886). Anderson (1952) and Lycopersicum was also found in the excavations of Casa Vieja, a Nasca site in the Ica Valley, so
Vavilov (Smith 1968: 255) concurred, but the latter also included Ecuador, Chile, and Bolivia as it must have been consumed there throughout the first centuries of the Christian era (Cook
origin areas. and Parrish 2005: 139).

Smith (1968: 263) however noted that the only archaeological evidence available at the time Horkheimer (1960: 75) believed that although tomato cultivation was not too widespread in
he published dated to 800 B.C. (uncalibrated) and came from Coxcatlán (Mexico). Smith Peru, it did take place in the pre-Hispanic period.
also points out tomato comes from the Náhuatl tomatl. Even so, its biggest distribution is
on the Pacific coast of South America, so the logical conclusion would be that it was first
domesticated in this area. Tamarillo [Sachatomate, Tomate Andino, Tomate de Árbol] (Solanum betaceum)
The National Research Council (1989b: 191) believes the tomato is of Peruvian origin but A native of the eastern Andes, tamarillo grows from 500 masl upwards. These are small trees
apparently it was not used as food, as did happen in the Mesoamerican zone. It apparently that give slightly elongated and pedunculated fruits 4 to 10 cm long that have a bitter taste.
had its origin on the Peruvian coast, and when it reached Europe it was described as a yellow When parboiled they become bittersweet and hold significant amounts of vitamins A, B. C,
fruit that was believed to be poisonous. Even so it entered the United States in 1710, and by E, and iron.
1779 it was already being used as ketchup.
Tamarillo is often grown alongside the ají. It is included in our food list because Fernández
Patiño (2002: 442-445) points out that the tomato takes its name from the Náhuatl xitomatl, and Rodríguez (2007: 205) claim that although it does not appear among the archaeological
and that the Indians probably consumed it as a fruit and not as a vegetable, as is the case remains found on the coast, some ceramic vessels have been found close to Trujillo with
nowadays. He also claims those who have studied the Lycopersicum genus believe the tomato tomato depictions. Evidently this all is just pure speculation as long as no scientific proof is
is native to the Andes. presented in this regard.

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Peach Palm [Pijuayo, Chonta de Comer, Chontadura, Pijibay, Pupuña] (Gulielma gasipaes, Bactris no other scholar has studied this plant using so many approaches. Let us see some aspects
gasipaes Kunth) that are of interest in this book. The name pijuayo is of unknown origin (probably Chibcha),
but in Quechua Patiño recorded the terms “chonta de comer” and “chontadura.” For Patiño,
This plant is included in our record even though thus far no Peruvian archaeological context this is the fruit of the most important palm in America since the pre-Hispanic period. This is
proves its consumption. The peach palm however had its origin in the Amazon and is partially borne out by the long list of names in other Native American languages he lists.
Peruvian in origin, so it may have been consumed before (it was domesticated in the pre-
Hispanic period). It should therefore be borne in mind when reviewing the pre-Hispanic Patiño claims this plant was known by the Inca, perhaps only as tribute in wood for arms or
diet—at least at a speculative level—due to its significant oil (cholesterol-less) content and for ceremonial uses. He also says, citing the chronicle by Cieza de León, that when Francisco
its content of 11% protein. Pizarro was exploring the Colombian littoral, the Indians gave provided him with maize and
fruits of the pijibae palm, which “was a very good thing.” Patiño likewise reports we owe
Two taxonomic precisions regarding this species are in order. Up to two decades ago it was Humboldt and Bonpland the first taxonomic definition of this plant, which was based on the
known as Gulielma gasipaes, but this has been corrected to Bactris gasipaes Kunth (Uhl and collections they assembled in Colombia in 1801. Gasipaes is in fact the Latinised form of the
Dransfield 1987). Second, based on botanical arguments Bernal (1989) posited that Bactris Indian name for the Magdalena Valley (Patiño 1963).
gasipaes should be used as a synonym of what was previously called Bactris ciliata, and that
the latter taxon should be eliminated (this means it is just one single species). It should also be noted that the map showing this palm’s possible dispersal since the discovery
of America includes the first part of the Amazon basin, which comprises the lower section
Thus a revision of the genus Bactris in Mostacero et al. (2009: 1034-1036) shows no reference is of the Ucayali and Marañón basins, as well as the departments of Amazonas and Loreto, and
made to B. cilata. Both precisions have been made because the major handbook on Peruvian with a lower density in modern-day Madre de Dios. Other countries in the map are Panama,
ethnobotanics—which this writer believes is still valid (Towle 1960: 28-29)—separates both Colombia, Ecuador, and Brazil in the affluents of the Amazonian rivers.
taxa; this means some taxa have changed in the forty plus years that have gone by since its
publication. Augusto Weberbauer (1945: 147) in turn mentioned Gulielma ciliata as pijuayo, In the second study Mora-Urpi et al. (1997) present what probably is the biggest summary
which the Indians of Tarapoto often grow for its edible fruits. available for this species. It is therefore worth including some of the main conclusions
they reached. Mora-Urpi et al. (1997) believe this is the most significant food resource in
The peach palm is a type of palm from the Arecaceae family that is spread throughout the the Amazonian lowlands of South America, and that once it was domesticated the Indians
world [se halla difundida globalmente] as well as in various regions in tropical South America, disseminated it rapidly all throughout the entire Amazon basin. For these scholars the main
from Honduras to Bolivia. Towle (1961: 28) says this plant has many uses, and this is precisely value this plant has is the ease with which it is grown in traditional agroforestry systems,
why the Amazon peoples undertook its domestication. its good yield even in low-fertility soils, the ways in which it is prepared and its alimentary
quality as well as its multiple uses, including construction. This plant has regrettably been
In Peru the peach palm is grown in almost every village by the people of the department of neglected and is little appreciated since the Spanish conquest, when it was substituted with
Loreto. Its soft, red- or orange-skinned fruit is eaten and called the palmito. Although hard, other crops like maize. Still, there is a growing interest for the chonta de comer that began
even the white pit is edible. It is believed that the potential of palm consumption suffices as a some decades ago.
daily food, as in the case of the Aché group. In fact the pejibaye was the most important fruit
in all of the neotropical contexts in the Americas (Piperno and Pearsall 1998: 58). Piperno and The uses given to its fruits are many, of which its use as food is the most important one. As
Pearsall believe it was definitely domesticated in the pre-Hispanic period. regards its consumption, Mora-Urpi et al. (1997: 20) point out the easiest way of preparing
the fruit was to simply boil it and to eat the mesocarp. Another popular way in which it is
Pijuayo grows in humid and warm environments with mean temperatures of 25° or more. It consumed is as pijuaína, a chonta-de-comer-based beverage. Mostacero et al. (2009: 1036)
prefers acid soils (ph5) in environments with rainfall and between 1700 and 4000 masl. This is note in this regard that pijuaína is prepared by removing the mesocarp, which is then chewed
the most important palm since the pre-Columbian period (Mora Urpi 1993). Its seeds have 30% and fermented for one or two days. It is eventually left to ferment for eight days; water is then
oil, similar to that of the coconut (Soukup 1980: 78). added in order to consume this alcoholic beverage in celebrations.

Now, in order to dwell upon this plant we need to summarise two major studies, one by Patiño A type of ensilado6 (fermented and preserved for a long time) is also often prepared. In this
(1963), still essential despite its age, and the more recent one by Urpi-Mora and his team (1997 case the pulp is cooked and pressed and then it is compressed into a hole in the ground, where
[above and in the bibliography it says: Mora-Urpi]). The first attempt at systematising the
studies on pijuayo were made by the Colombian Víctor Patiño (1963, 2002: 464-537). Probably 6 Ensilado literally means something that is stored underground in a silo. Trans.

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it is covered with leaves. This preparation is ready to be consumed in a month and can last for Is there any evidence of its consumption in pre-Hispanic Peru? It is not easy ascribing an
up to a year. It can even be diluted with water or carried across long distances wrapped in the alimentary use to the remains of pijuayo found in pre-Hispanic contexts. The same is true
above-mentioned leaves. The fruits were also dried or smoked in order to preserve them and for its absence as the conditions of the Amazon soils have not allowed its preservation.
make them last. Eating the heart of the plant was of secondary importance. Morcote-Ríos and Bernal (2001) made an interesting summary in this regard of palms found in
archaeological contexts from pre-Hispanic America. The record comprises some 50 species
The biochemical characteristics of the chonta de comer speak for themselves. The results in various sites. The most ancient one is a charred palm endocarp type from the zone of
exhibit a great variability but in order to highlight the potential this fruit has, here we will give Rondonia (Brazil), which dates to 14,000 B.C.
the highest values (interested readers can consult the original piece in the bibliography listed
below). It can have up to 11.3% proteins, 29% oil (without cholesterol), 79% carbohydrates, and We must also recall that Anita Roosevelt recorded a large amount of palm fruit remains at the
18% fibre. As regards minerals, every 100 grams have 162 mg of potassium, 10.9 mg of calcium, site of Piedra Pintada since at least the ice age (ca. 11,000 B.C.) (Oliver 2008). Both finds thus
6.1 mg of iron, 2.7 mg of sodium, and 2.1 mg of zinc. Its high vitamin C (lost when cooked) and clearly show its consumption began at quite an early date, and that it musts have turned into
carotene content is known. As for essential amino acids, we have arginine (6%), glycine (4.3%), an Amazonian tradition (which also involves Peru).
lysine (4.3%), leucine (3.6%), valine (3.1%), threonine (3%), isoleucine (2.3%), histidine (2.2%), and
tyrosine (2%), amongst others (Mora-Urpi et al. 1997: 21-23). Even so, the record of palm consumption begins to grow as of 7200 B.C., particularly that
of Acronomia, Attalea s.l., Astrocaryum, Syagrus, Elaeis, Onenocaropus and Bactris, precisely
We now turn to the origin and domestication of this palm. Some scholars like the renowned the family under discussion here. All of these are edible fruits, which in many cases are still
Vavilov, defend one single origin in the south-western Amazon, i.e. in its headwaters (including consumed nowadays by the natives.
Peru). Others posit multiple origins, both in the aforementioned area as well as in the eastern
Andes and the lowlands of Central America—a far bigger surface. This hypothesis is also defended In an ethnographic-type study, Van der Eynden et al. (2003: 584) recorded the consumption
by Piperno and Pearsall (1998: 156), who posit a large zone for this plant’s origin that extends from of chonta mesocarps. This made them, assume it was eaten in this region probably since the
the flat and lowlands of Central America up to South America. In any case what seems to be clear pre-Hispanic period. Can this also have been the case of Peru?
is that the multiple variety of races shows the importance the Amazon had in this process.
For Peru Towle (1961: 28) points out the discovery, citing a study by Rochebrune (1879), of a
As regards Peru, Seibert (1950) posited that it was native to the Huallaga Valley because it comb made out of this type of plant in the tombs at Ancón, but without giving the age of
had been found there in wild state, thus proving what Vavilov claimed. This proposal was this material.
apparently supported more recently by Clement et al. (1997), who likewise posited that
Bactris gasipaes originally came from B. chichagi, and that it is definitely from the South West
Amazon (which includes practically all of the Peruvian montaña) or the Colombian North [Caimito] (Abiu = Pouteria caimito R. et P. Radlk, Star apple = Chrysophyllum caimito L.)
East. These scholars pointed out that some races are of Peruvian origin, e.g. the Putumayo,
Tigre, Pampa Hermosa and—in part—Tembé races. The presence of the Peruvian montaña in This is also a palm fruit and it appears as Pouteria when the taxonomic reference is given at
this process is thus clear. Oliver (2008) is of the same opinion. the genus level, whilst Chrysophyllum concerns the subfamily. Parker et al. (2010) devoted an
exhaustive study to this palm fruit, which has been so much used and consumed by various
Barbara Pickersgill (1977) in turn believes several of the South American plants underwent peoples of Central and South America. Of their finds it is worth mentioning that whereas the
an independent domestication process, including Bactris gasipaes. More recently, based on seeds in natural state have less pulp, the domesticated ones have little skin and much pulp,
genetic relations studied from the Mora-Urpi classification and allele analysis, Hernández- are less acid and more sugary.
Ugalde et al. (2010) concluded there were two ancient areas of domestication of Bactris
gasipaes Kunth in the eastern Andes. It may thus have been domesticated in order to have For Mostacero et al. (2009: 646-647) this plant is native to the western part of the South
its branches (possibly to make weapons), and only then did they notice the significance of American Amazon, approximately on the frontier between Brazil and Peru, yet its distribution
its edible fruit (because of its oleaginous nature, the starch it contains, and its fermentation extends up to Central America. Its fruit contains vitamins A, B, B1, B2, and C, minerals such as
potential [capacidad de fermentación]). iron, calcium, and phosphorus, and it even has tonic properties—something that will be worth
bearing in mind in our overall balance of the pre-Hispanic diet.
When reviewing the domestication of Bactris, Clement et al. (2010: 81-83) mention genetic
analyses that were made in various parts of South America. Mora-Urpi et al. (1997: 27) pointed The members of Francisco Pizarro’s expedition who landed on the modern-day coast of
out the Chibcha of Colombia were already growing this plant 2300 years ago. Esmeraldas, in Ecuador, found caimitos in San Mateo and Manta. Besides, Cieza de León

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mentioned its presence at Puerto Viejo and claimed the North Coast of Peru was the Cactus (Haageocereus sp. L.)
southernmost area where caimito was found. In the early twentieth century it was frequently
found in the Putumayo, Marañón, and Caquetá regions (Patiño 2002: 159-160). The reader can This is a genus that comprises several species found from Piura to northern Chile (Mostacero
well see that although in Peru there is no archaeological record of the caimito, it may well et al. 2009: 192).
have been eaten during the pre-Hispanic period.
Capps (1987: 33) recorded the remains of this type of fruit, which may have been eaten by the
people of Paloma, a site on Peru’s Central Coast ca. 5316-3630 B.C.
Wild Tuna [Tuna silvestre] (Opuntia floccosa)
This is a kind of small, brownish-yellowish and edible globular berry. It grows between 300 Grass Seeds or Fruits [Semillas o frutas de grass] (Caryopses)
and 4835 masl (Mostacero et al. 2009: 197).
The research undertaken by Weir and Dering (1986: 38) shows caryopses were the main seeds
Patiño (2002: 99) claims tuna is a term derived from the Taíno group, which is widespread or fruits eaten at Paloma, a coastal archaeological site some 65 km south of Lima, between
in South America. The consumption of its fruit was widespread at the time of the Spanish 5316 and 3630 B.C., as was shown by the study of the coproliths found at the site. Apparently
Conquest in Cuba, the Antilles, Mexico (where it is known as nopal), Ecuador, and evidently the grinding stones used to grind this dry fruit were also found.
in Peru. Patiño also pointed out that in Chuquimayo it is known as tuna de comer. He believes
that no tuna was domesticated in pre-Hispanic America except in Mexico, where there was a
domesticated tuna cactus [tunal domesticado]. Flowers and Bushes
Novoa (2006) devoted a study to the tuna. He claims the results of the research carried out Amancae (Hymenocallis amancaes, Ismene amancaes)
suggest it was domesticated in Mesoamerica over 9000 years ago. Novoa concludes that
other species, like Tephrocactus and tunilla, may also have been eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru. This is an Aymara (amancaya) and then Quechua (amancay) term for a herb with white bushes
whose flowers were eaten by the Late Holocene people of Paloma, a site some 65 km from
Novoa (2006: 175) also points out the evidence of a potentially more ancient consumption of Lima in the Chilca Valley (Benfer 2008: 377). The excavations undertaken before this by Edward
tuna in Peru comes from the rock shelter of Pachamachay, in the Junín puna, at more than 4100 Lanning and Thomas Patterson at site PV45-26, an Encanto-complex loma encampment
masl. This find was made in a stratum that dates to ca. 8100 B.C. Novoa believes this may have north of Ancón (Lima) found tuber remains (similar to small onions) belonging to this plant
been Austrocylindropuntia floccosa, which is commonly known as huaraco. in a midden (Cohen 1978: 29). Although the dates given for this complex have been heavily
criticised, it can be estimated that this occupation took place around 3500 B.C., and thus
Rick and Moore (1999: 292) also note the presence of Opuntia in the Junín puna, in strata from coincides with the finds made at, and the dates for, Paloma.
the caves of Panalauca, with dates that fall between 3800 and 330 B.C. It may thus have been
part of the menu eaten by the inhabitants of the cave. It is thus clear this loma plant’s flowers and rhizomes were apparently being eaten during the
Final Preceramic Period in sites close to the coastal lomas.
It is interesting that Weir and Bonavia (1985: 104) found the pollen of Opuntia floccosa in the
faecal remains left by the people of Los Gavilanes, a site close to Huarmey (on the central
Coast), with dates that fall at least to 3200-2200 B.C. They were thus probably eaten by the Begonias [Begonia] (Begonia geraniifolia)
early populations of this site. Its presence as pollen does not rule out the possibility that the
flowers from this cactaceae were eaten. This species is believed to be edible, yet it contains oxalates and cucurbitacin (Laferriere 1991).
It is essentially spread across the lomas of the Peruvian coast.
Later cultures were acquainted with Opuntia floccosa and consumed it, as is shown by Paracas,
Nasca, Moche and even Inca pottery, but it should be noted that it really appears only in the Although it may seem unusual, Benfer (2008: 377) and Quilter (1989: 23) reported partially
latter two. For Novoa, the species found in Moche iconography may be Opuntia MacBride charred—i.e. probably prepared for food—begonia tuber remains similar to the potato as
Britton & Rose, which means it may have been eaten not just by the Moche, but also by Peru’s of level 300 at the site of Paloma (south of Lima), which have been radiocarbon dated to ca.
desert foxes. Hans Horkheimer (1960: 79) had already drawn attention to how frequent tuna 4881 B.C. The students in fact believe these were the plants most eaten throughout this time.
appeared in Mochica and Nasca pottery. Besides, Glendon Weir found clear evidence of its consumption at this site in chewed tubers.

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These scholars even believe it is even possible their process of domestication had already and its physiological use as a narcotic. He points out that this plant was first used for medicinal
begun. purposes because cocaine had already been isolated by 1860 in Göttingen (Germany) in order
to use it as an anaesthetic. Martin believes that in South America, coca leaves were first used
as a narcotic in a shamanic context, and also had other medicinal uses. He gives, amongst
Ccantu, Chinchircuma (Mutisia hirsuta) other examples, Moche, Nasca, and Inca ceramic pieces with depictions of this plant, which
makes it clear it was an ancestral resource.
Yacovleff and Herrera (1935: fig. 62) illustrated the presence of flowers from this species, which
were apparently eaten, in some Inca keros. This was shown by the study of human coproliths The account left by Tschudi is one of those included by Martin. Tschudi had an Indian servant
from the Salinar occupation of Puerto Moorin, a site in the lower Virú valley. The remains of who tried the effects coca has, and who did not have to eat for five days and slept for just
this flower were found in the above-mentioned excrement (Ericson et al. 1989: 74). two hours a day.

Shortly afterwards Timothy Plowman (1979), who probably is the scholar who best knows
Chilca (Baccharis prostrata, Baccharis latifolia) this plant, marked a shift with a study that assembled different pieces of information on
coca available up to that moment. One of his major contributions was establishing that the
This is a shrub from the Asteraceae family, which frequently grows in the Peruvian highlands. It traditional coca comes from the Amazon, and that it has more leaves. Plowman claims this
seems to have been used not just as dye (green and yellow) but also as food, and it may have species is native to the montaña region east of the Andes, between Ecuador and Bolivia; it is
had some type of function once eaten. The study made by Ericson et al. (1989: 74) showed grown between 500 and 1500 masl, where it is favoured by the high precipitation, moderate
this as they found the remains of this shrub in the faecal remains of the people of Puerto temperatures (15-18°C), and well-drained soils rich in minerals.
Moorin, a North Coast site in the lower Virú Valley, which they dated to the first centuries of
the Christian era. As regards the required taxonomic precision, Plowman (1979: 51-58) also established that
the coca variety found on the Peruvian coast and in the western Andean valleys, including
the upper Marañón River, is the Trujillo coca, which is known since the pre-Hispanic period.
Stimulants In a more recent study, Plowman and Henshold (2004) made a broader synthesis of coca
taxonomy. This paper is an essential study on this plant’s biology.
Coca, Cuca, Jibiro, Mumus, Pusashpan (Erythroxylum coca)
In this regard we should emphasise that Mostacero et al. (2009: 397) described E.
Coca belongs to the Erythroxylum P. Br. genus, which is distributed across the American tropics novogranatense (Rusby) var. truxillense (“coca de Trujillo”), and point out that it is distinguished
and comprises some 250 species. It is a bush 2-3 m high whose leaves hold an alkaloid called by the somewhat sweetish taste its leaves have, and that it is usually grown on the edges of
cocaine, which in turn has an active principle. It is a narcotic and is used as a local and surface the agricultural fields in the modern-day departments of Amazonas, San Martín, La Libertad,
anaesthetic; it lowers the glandular secretion and stimulates the central nervous system, Huánuco, and Lima.
which favours physical activity (Mostacero et al. 2009: 395). In countries like Peru or Bolivia
the veins are removed from the dry leaves; an alkaline paste (llipta or ashes) is then added and It is true that coca nowadays has a negative connotation. But is it possible that it was once
this all is chewed for a long time, thus restoring the nervous system and strengthening it. This consumed not just due to its narcotic effects, but also as food? The truth be said, although
tradition is thousands of years old. its bad reputation (due to modern Western society) is known, little has been said regarding
its nutritional value. This concerns not just the leaves but also the other parts of the plant;
It is possible that the consumption of coca leaves was frowned upon in ancient times, and for instance, the remains of pre-Hispanic human faecal remains often show some parts that
what is worse it still is for some. For instance, Gutiérrez Noriega and Von Hagen (1951) assessed nowadays are not considered edible—at least by our creole society—were being eaten. In
its consumption and concluded it was addictive, toxic, and had secondary effects such as order to explore what concerns us here, i.e. the alimentary properties of various Andean
tachycardia, hypovitaminosis, malnutrition, ocular pathologies, hepatomegaly, and even resources, we must consider what has been scientifically written in order to fully assess this
changes in the thyroid gland. subject, without any bias and following a strictly biochemical criterion.

Two decades passed before the benefits of coca were re-discovered by Martin (1970), who A first look at the bromatology of coca leaves is simply impressive. It has vitamins B1 and C
made a more holistic study that included not just taxonomic discussions, but also the Andean as well as riboflavin, so much so that two ounces of chewed coca (chacchada) a day fulfil the
tradition of coca consumption. Martin thus showed consumption was two thousand years old body’s daily vitamin intake. It also benefits the intestinal tract and promotes food absorption.

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Penny et al. (2009) beg to differ. They found, using plasma spectrometers and chemical It should be pointed out here that an expert like Ramiro Castro de la Mata (2003) claimed the
agricultural methods, that every 100 grams of cocaine leaves held 20.28 g of proteins (with alkaloids in coca inhibit calcium absorption in human beings.
lysine as the main amino acid), 3.51 mg of betacarotene, 16.7 mg of vitamin E but above all
calcium (990-1,033 mg), 29 mg of iron, 2.7 mg of zinc, and 225 mg of de magnesium; the main There is no need to dwell on this subject because there is an extensive literature on this point;
alkaloid is cocaine, with 0.56 mg per every 100 grams. The conclusion Penny et al, reach is that suffice it to point two studies that are illustrative. The first one is an interdisciplinary review
coca does not even provide 10% of the required food for a child, and that its leaves are not to of coca that draws a positive conclusion regarding its alimentary properties. Stolberg (2011),
be recommended as food. And yet, even so we should note the high calcium value that not its author, cited the previous study by Plowman and concluded that coca leaf consumption
even Penny et al. can deny. covers the daily requirements of calcium, phosphorus, riboflavin, and vitamin A. We should on
the other hand remember that in 1976, Ralph Bolton claimed that coca consumption regulates
Against Penny and her team, a previous study in which Timothy Plowman took part found that the metabolism of human glucose [regula el metabolismo de la glucosa humana].
every 100 grams of coca leaves held 18.9% proteins, 46.2 g carbohydrates, and 5 g fat, as well as
vitamins A, C, B6, B12, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, ฀-Tocopherol, folic acid, biotin, biotin [sic] and Bray and Dollery (1983) made a more extensive study, particularly regarding the pre-Hispanic
pantothenic acid. Calcium, iron, iodine, magnesium, zinc, sodium, aluminium, barium, potassium, coca consumption tradition and the evidence of its use. Bray and Dollery claim its consumption
manganese, and chrome were also recorded (Duke et al. 1975). Mostacero et al. (2009: 397) in in various parts of the Andes was massive; they also study its pharmacological effects and
turn pointed out that coca leaves have calories, carbohydrates, fibre, calcium, phosphate, iron, provide interesting archaeological data in order to evince the antiquity of its consumption.
magnesium, vitamin a and riboflavin. We thus have two positions; it is however cleat that the They review the ceramic, lithic, and organic remains from both the Peruvian and Chilean
nutritional value of this plant, from a biochemical standpoint, has been underestimated. coast. Tools such as lime containers, small spoons and so on clearly show how massive its
consumption was in the pre-Hispanic period. On the other hand, palaeodental studies show
In regard to the bromatology of the uses given to coca leaves, it is worth including here the coca leaf consumption gave rise to a series of caries, as has been shown for some pre-Hispanic
interesting paper by Barrios Healey (2010), as it is a study exclusively devoted to this subject. populations from northern Chile (Langsjoen 1996).
Barrios Heally gives the following values for coca leaves: 20.06 mg of nitrogen, 3.68 mg of
fat, 47.50 mg of carbohydrates, 9.40 mg of betacarotene, 2.76 mg of alpha carotene, 6.47 mg The Quechua name given to coca was mumus or Mother Coca, as claimed by Diego González
of vitamin C, 40.17 mg of vitamin E, 0.73 mg of thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin, 0.88 mg of Holguín and Friar Martín de Murúa (Bray and Dollerly 1983: 269). In Aymara instead it is kkoka,
vitamin B2, 8.37 mg of niacin, 2,097 mg of calcium, 412.67 mg de of phosphorus, 1,739.33 mg which means the quintessential plant (Soukup 190: 174).
of potassium, 299.30 mg of magnesium, 39.41 mg of sodium, 17.39 mg of aluminium, 6.18 mg
of barium, 136.64 mg of iron, 12 mg of strontium, 6.75 mg of boron, 1.22 mg of copper, 2.21 mg In an interesting overview of coca, Plutarco Naranjo (1981) laid bare the vile human interest in this
of zinc, 9.15 mg of manganese, and 0.12 mg of chrome (Ministerio de Salud, 1996, in Barrios leaf that has been used for thousands of years in the Andes: whereas in the pre-Columbian period
Healey 2010). This is a more comprehensive analysis that presents not just the wide range coca was used as an energiser and as a medicine, the Spaniards used it since the sixteenth century
of mineral and vitaminic values for coca leaves, but also its calcium contribution which was to exploit the Andean Indians as it endowed them with more energy that they would use working
noted previously, in regard to the lack of dairy products. for the colonists—and as a drug it nowadays has become the scourge of humanity. Naranjo drew
attention to the fact that it was only centuries later that the anaesthetic properties of coca were
This is, in fact, the most relevant biochemical content of coca leaves, to the point that it has identified. For example, Naranjo recounts an anecdote told by Father Bernabé Cobo, who had
been said to be the vegetable with the highest worldwide calcium content, even though its to undergo a dental extraction. An Indian suggested he should chew coca, and Cobo claims this
absorption is not ideal (209 mg, even more than kiwicha, which has 179 mg). Several factors had a sedative effect, which enabled the extraction to be painless. As far as the present writer is
depend on this absorption, including for instance the consumption of vitamins D and K, the concerned, even today it is not unusual to find that in the most remote parts of the Andes, people
adequate protein and physical activity levels, and potassium, magnesium, zinc, and boron use coca leaves or flour whenever a physician recommends calcium consumption.
consumption. We cannot specify whether pre-Hispanic individuals were predisposed for this,
as it would require a specific study that has not as yet been made. We now turn to the archaeological evidence. At the time of the Spanish conquest coca was
being consumed from Nicaragua to Chile, and from sea level up to the Andean cordilleras.
Using a comparative table Barrios established, basing himself on a report by Harvard University, What has been found will therefore only reflect a small part of what the consumption of coca
a study by Guyton (Tratado de fisiología médica), as well as other references, that every 100 leaves may have represented.
grams of coca have 19.90 g of protein (surpassing for example the 14 g found in quinoa), 9.8 mm
of iron, and above all a high content of vitamin E, and additionally vitamin C and B complex, Perhaps the most reliable and ancient discovery of coca consumption was made by Tom
which have been mentioned above. The reader can draw his or her own conclusions. Dillehay and his team at Nanchoc (Dillehay et al. 2010). This is borne out by the presence of

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potassium and calcium among the remains of the leaves consumed. Besides, these studies In the Moche Valley itself, Cárdenas et al. (1997: 136) recorded coca remains in the lower valley at
showed that around 6000 B.C., coca leaves were being chewed not just in ceremonies but by the site of Huaca de la Luna, so it is believed to have been consumed by the Mochica of this zone
common people in domestic contexts. This entailed the intentional preparation of lime for around A.D. 400-750. They also recorded at least one piece of Mochica human faecal remains
its consumption in order produce an alkaline ... [medio] with which to activate the functions which had coca seeds. Its direct consumption, including not just leaves but seeds too, is thus clear
of the coca leaves. (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 138). This is a good piece of evidence, precisely because of what was pointed
out at the beginning of this section, coca does not mean just cocaine, it also was food.
Continuing with our review of the finds in chronological order we have the work done by
Richard MacNeish et al. (1975), who claim having found coca in their excavations at Ayacucho Again, Tom Dillehay (1979) reports having found some coca leaves, this time in deposits at the
that dated on average to 4200-3500 B.C. However no more evidence for this presumed find Huancayo Alto site on the Central coast, in the middle Chillón Valley, with dates that date on
has been provided, to the point that Plowman (1984) has questioned it, essentially due to the average to 800-200 B.C.
lack of documentation.
Coca remains, interestingly enough, have been found at the site of Beringa (Arequipa), which
Plowman himself pointed out that coca was already under cultivation around 2500 B.C. in the dates to A.D. 650-1000. It is thus seems clear the Wari consumed coca (Tung 2102: 49).
coastal valleys of Peru, which was adapted to a dry climate and that it was therefore already
being frequently chewed. Coca was also consumed on the South Coast. Thanks to a dental analysis of the prehistoric Chiribaya
populations (A.D. 900-1400) of coastal Peru close to Ilo, Indriati and Buikstra (2001) showed they
Although zones outside Peru are not the main subject of this book, cultural areas did extend consumed coca. This is an undeniable proof that this plant was eaten during the pre-Hispanic
beyond the modern frontiers. Applying this to southern Peru means we must review what period. A group of 86 mummies of individuals aged between 20 and 55, from the sites of Chiribaya
was happening in the far Chilean north. Through a radioimmunological study of human hair Alta, Algodonal, Yaral, and Chen Chen, was studied in this regard. The results showed this type of
from 76 mummies from various cultures in northern Chile, Cartmell et al. (1991) showed that chewing gave rise to a type of cervical caries, which in some cases expose the roots themselves.
cocaine (which can be absorbed through the capillary fibres of the individual who is chewing The caries are on the back of the mouth [parte posterior del aparato dental] and match practices
coca) was being consumed at least around 2000 B.C. Cartnell and his team also noted the that are still known today. This type of consumption has been verified in up to 855 of the cases, as
antiquity of the evidence available both for Ecuador (ca. 2500 B.C.) as well as at Tiahuanaco well as through the study of the hairs from these same individuals.
(ca. A.D. 400).
Aufderheide et al. (1991) in turn showed the presence, in the Chiribaya culture from southern
Continuing with the review of the Peruvian record we have Culebras, a Late Preceramic site Peru, of coca quids placed inside the mouth and associated with coca leaves inside textile bags.
on the Central coast that dates to around the third millennium B.C. Here shell and Lagenaria
containers with pulverised lime, which was consumed along with coca, have been found in Christine Hastorf (1987) found one coca leaf and two endocarps at some archaeological sites
funerary contexts. in Junín (in the Central Andean Altiplano) that date between A.D. 1000 and the Inca epoch,
and at 3200-3900 masl. These sites include Tunanmarca, one of the biggest in pre-Hispanic
Preserved coca leaves have even been found on the Central Coast at the site of Asia, as well Peru. Other remains have been recovered at Umpamalca. The coca remains were found in
as in some sites in the Chillón Valley that date to the early second millennium B.C. (Bray and contexts with large amounts of maize, tubers, and possibly quinoa.
Dollery 1983: 271).
Coca leaves were found at Hatunmarca, another large site, this time in a funerary context
As regards Moche and Nasca pottery, it is clear a series of ceramic vessels from both cultures that probably took place at the beginning of the colonial period. Timothy Plowman believes
depict coca, even people chewing it, which means it was consumed on the Peruvian coast these leaves are of the Huánuco coca variety. In general it seems to have been consumed
between A.D. 100 and 650. The details shown include spatulas used to remove the lime from particularly by the elites. Hastorf points out that since coca does not grow in this region, it
the lime gourds used when consuming coca. Cook and Parrish (2005: 139) documented the must have been imported from the nearby ceja de montaña zone. Besides, these coca leaves
remains of this plant in the excavations of the Nasca site of Casa Vieja in the Ica Valley. are smaller and thicker than those of the truxillense variety.

Lockard (2005: 211, 213) found coca remains at Galindo, a site in the middle Moche Valley, that Plowman (1984) has also recorded coca in contexts pertaining to coastal cultures that
must have been consumed during the Mochica occupation. The remains were found only in developed during the Late Intermediate Period and the Late Horizon (A.D. 1000.-Inca Empire).
elite contexts, which may mean it was exclusively consumed by this social group. Finally, Sandweiss and Wing have reported finding coca leaves within the Inca period at Lo
Demás, a site in the Chincha River mouth whose main economic activity was fishing.

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Thallophyte Plants ancestral consumption of algae in Peru. Here Noriega extensively documented coastal
and highland traditions regarding the consumption of algae and yuyos in festivities and in
Algae (Cryptogamae, Macrocystis humboldtii vg. Pyrifera sargazo, Eisenia cokeri, algas pardas) everyday dishes, particularly those based on cushuro (Nosctoc commune) and cochayuyo
(Porphyra columbina); on the North Coast instead, red algae of the Gigartina family (e.g.
Algae were also part of the food eaten by our pre-Hispanic ancestors. From a taxonomic Chondracanthus chamissoi, Gigartina paitensis and Gigartina glomerata) were favoured.
standpoint algae are ... [un todo a la vez]: marine unicellular organisms and plants. This is Besides being used as food, Noriega drew attention to the medicinal consumption of algae
why it has been included in this botanical appendix of thallophyte plants. Algae are in fact in the highlands especially that of Macrocystis pyrifera due to its iodine content, which
eukaryotic, photosynthetic macro- and microorganisms that live both in salty and fresh prevents ailments like goitre.
waters as well as on soils.
Noriega reminds us that the algae eaten in the pre-period came not just from the seashore
As regards size, algae can be very variable and range from microorganisms like plankton to but also from the rivers, lagoons and lakes in Peru, so we must imagine our ancestors finding
others that are 54 m long, like some found in Peru’s Pacific Ocean. Algae consumption by these remains [restos] in several different environments.
human beings is known as phycophagy. Its history goes back thousands of years, particularly
in populations that lived of coastal marine resources like those in South-Eastern Asia who According to Cruz-Suárez et al. (2000), from a nutritional standpoint Macrocystis pyrifera
still favour them, e.g. Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Philippines, and Hawaiians (Aaronson is low in calories and has a high concentration of minerals like magnesium (1.90%), calcium
2000: 231). (1.2%), phosphorus (0.2%), potassium (5.5%), and iodine (0.1%), as well as vitamins (especially
carotene and ascorbic acid), proteins (5-12%), carbohydrates (which are not too digestible),
In a list of the algae eaten both nowadays and in the past, Aaronson (2000: 233-238) fibres (4-8%), and a low lipid content. This means there was a high nutritional potential for
lists the fourteen following edible species for Peru: Nostoc commune (cushuro), Nostoc the ancient peoples of the Peruvian coast, as well as for catalysing iron adsorption in order
parmeloides, Nostoc sphaericum, Nostoc verrucosum (nostoc: yuyucha), Chara spp., to combat anaemia (Larsen 2000).
Cladophora sp., Monostroma sp., Monostroma guaternaria (monostroma: lechuga de río),
Ulva fasciata (cochayuyo), Ulva lactuca (cochayuyo), (ulvas: lechuga de mar), Durvillea Aaronson (2000: 245) however has drawn attention to some algae that still adsorb proteins
antarctica (cochayuyo), Gigartina chamissoi (cochayuyo), Gigartina glomerata (cochayuyo), [que retienen la absorción de proteínas]. In any case their amino acids, ascorbic acid,
Grateloupia doryphora (cochayuyo), Porphyra columbina (cochayuyo), Porphyra leucosticta carotenes, cinnamic acid, flavonoids, melanoidines [melanoidinas], peptides [fostatidos],
(cochayuyo), and Rhodoglossum denticulatum. polyphenols, reductones, tannins, and tocopherols are a great contribution for the
organism and have antioxidant effects. In pre-Hispanic Peru people used to eat cochayuyo
From a nutritional standpoint, algae are in general low in carbohydrates, but slightly rich in (dehydrated seaweed), which contributes iodine and oligoelements [oligoelementos] to the
lipids. Microalgae on the other hand are particularly rich in proteins, and this makes them a human diet. It should be pointed that cochayuyo was eaten even in the Peruvian highlands,
major food both for humans as well as for animals (Aaronson 2000). which involved its transportation (Antúnez de Mayolo 1996: 33).

Seaweed in particular contains a significant amount of unusual amino acids present in The importance algae consumption had since the Peruvian Preceramic is still not well
proteins and acids-iodine [?: aminoácidos no usuales en proteínas y ácidos-yodo]. Macro- known, but Duccio Bonavia (1982: 345) pointed out that students find algae almost in every
algae on the contrary are rich in carbohydrates but low in protein. Besides they are major settlement that dates to this time. Such is their abundance that seaweed is found in almost
sources of vitamins B and E, and to a lesser extent of vitamin C and betacarotene, which all archaeological sites on the Central Coast that date to the fourth and third millennium
are well-known antioxidants. They also have minerals like potassium, calcium, sodium, B.C., but regrettably no clear taxonomic determination is given. Bonavia pointed out that
phosphorus, magnesium, strontium, iron, zinc, boron, aluminium, copper, titanium, nickel, for Moseley, the volume of big seaweed comes second after that of molluscs. Seaweed
vanadium, chrome, cobalt, molybdenum, and gallium. They also contain ... [yodina]. In other is found in remains such as air bladders [vejigas de aire] or as stalks (in large amounts),
words, these foods are extremely rich in nutrients for human beings. Readers interested but the leaves, which are the edible parts, are not found. Bonavia however noted that
in the morphology, taxonomy, and some properties of Peruvian algae should see the although seaweed can be dried and eaten due to its high carbohydrate content, it is not
introduction prepared by Sánchez Romero (1973: 239-242). In general, Sánchez Romero lists easily digested by human beings.
39 algae families for the Peruvian coast and almost 150 species.
Let us turn now to the archaeological record for seaweed in pre-Hispanic Peru. Yacovleff
In an extensive study published by the Universidad de San Martín de Porres, the same and Muelle (1934: 134) reported finding seaweed in a Paracas funerary bundle in association
press behind this book, Cristóbal Noriega (2010) included interesting data regarding the with cotton. This must date to ca. 400-50 B.C., which means seaweed may have been eaten

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at this time. Ugent and Peterson (1988: 8) also note that seaweed was found in the Paracas in some sites in the Moche Valley: Padre Abán (2300 B.C.) and Alto Salaverry (1600 B.C.),
funerary bundles. Gramalote and Caballo Muerto in the second and third millennium B.C., and also in the
huacas of Moche (200 B.C-A.D. 600.) including Chan Chan (A.D. 1000-1532).
Margaret Towle (1961) also pointed out its presence in the iconography of a Nasca ceramic
vessel, which she interpreted as a possible aracanto (Macrocystis humboldtii vg. pyrifera), Ericson et al. (1989: 77) on the other hand reported finding algae remains in human excrement
a type of seaweed (alga parda or marrón) this culture apparently was acquainted with. It from the famed North Coast archaeological site of Puerto Moorin, in the lower Virú Valley,
should be noted that Macrocystis pyrifera is a big seaweed that can reach up to 50 m. Its which dated to the first centuries of our era. It is thus clear that algae were consumed in
habitat is the tide zone and it has a vast world distribution, but it seems to be more present this region at least since this epoch, and presumably at an earlier date too.
in the Southern Hemisphere. In South America it is found in Peru, Patagonia, and Tierra del
Fuego. Yuyo (Gigartina cf. chamissoi) for instance has been recorded at Caral, and it therefore was
quite likely part of the food eaten by the early peoples of the Central coast in 2600-1800
Horkheimer (1960: 82) pointed out that in Quechua this plant was called cochayuyo B.C. (Flores Blanco 2006). It is well-known that it grows wild on the seashore. This same
(seaweed), and that once dried it was used as an ingredient in soup. He believed this seaweed species has been recorded in the residues of the food eaten in the middens of Galindo, a
was perhaps exchanged with the Peruvian highlands. site in the middle-Moche Valley, during its Mochica occupation (A.D. 600-800) (Lockard
2005: 206).
The oldest algae found come from Los Gavilanes. The remains of Macrocystis humboldtii
vg. Pyrifera were found in this site in the lower Huarmey Valley (Bonavia 1982: 156), which The properties of algae like Macrocystis integrifolia were also applied to the preservation
has been dated to the Preceramic Period, i.e. since at least the third millennium B.C. At this of fish, as is the case with a series of fish (Peruvian silverside [pejerrey]) heads wrapped
site Bonavia also recorded Eisenia cokeri or algas pardas around the same time. Part of the in the leaves of this species at the Nasca archaeological shrine of Cahuachi during the
remains were found burned, from which it follows they were cooked and used for human first centuries of our era (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 5-6). According to Piacenza and Pieri,
consumption. Bonavia was able to associate the collection of algae with that of chiton [?: these leaves may have prevented the putrefaction of the silverside given their alginic acid
quitones], because both live close to the rocks. content. These fish would have been carried 40 km from the seashore to the site itself, so
it seems this technique was effective.
Macrocystis pyrifera consumption has been strongly recorded throughout time in this same
zone. For instance, Bonavia and his team reported the presence of significant amounts of
this type of algae (sargassum) in a Middle Horizon 3 (ca. A.D. 800) camp on the littoral zone Animals as Food
immediately north of the Huarmey River mouth (Bonavia et al. 2009: 263). To this we can
add that remains of this type of algae were found in the Paracas contexts stored in the The animals eaten throughout the pre-Hispanic period obviously are a second type of
Museo Nacional. resource. Although they apparently were complementary with plant foods, animal resources
must have been crucial for survival in societies that depend on the sea.
Callen (1965: 336) in turn pointed out the finding of algae remains in the coproliths of human
faeces discovered during the excavation of Huaca Prieta, so it is clear algae were being Let us review first of all the extinct species consumed, and then the conventional species
eaten on this part of the North Coast since at least the fourth millennium B.C. eaten in the Andes.

In addition to these finds, Moseley (1975) had already identified algae in the Pampa phase There is a group of animals who lived in the Ice Age that is no longer alive, some of which
(ca. 3000 B.C.) and in the subsequent phases from Playa Hermosa to Gaviota, i.e. up to ca. may eventually have survived well into the Holocene Period. The oldest human groups in
2000 B.C. in Lima. Patterson and Moseley (1968) believed algae were already being eaten Peru may thus have used their flesh and bones as food.
as a dietary supplement by the early people of the Peruvian coast. Their list mentions that
Engel identified algae from the Gigartina and Rhodophycea families—which he classified as When the first inhabitants entered the Andes they found a group of animals who were
cochayuyo—at the site of Asia (Lima), presumably with an indirect date of 1490 B.C. already there since the Ice Age, and which may eventually have survived until well into the
Holocene. They were part of the so-called megafauna and probably part of the food eaten
Macrocystis—according to Bonavia (1982: 345), and based on Moseley and Willey’s work— by our most remote ancestors. But except for three sites, there is as yet no evidence in Peru
was found among the remains from Áspero, in the Supe Valley (Lima). Aaronson (2000: that human groups fed off of this megafauna. The following animals may have been used as
230) also recorded the presence of algae—which was probably for human consumption— food, at least from 14,000 to ca. 10,000 B.C.

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Megafauna Although there are four models of camelid lineages, here we will only go over the one
that has archaeological support (interested readers should see Bonavia 2008). This model
Megatherium tarijense includes two wild camelids, the vicuña and the guanaco. Their domesticated forms would
be the alpaca (a domesticated vicuña) and the llama (a domesticated guanaco).
This is a species of the well-known megatherium that has been reported by MacNeish (1970)
and Hoffstetter (1986) within the context of the finds made in Pikimachay Cave, in Ayacucho, Camelids are of the artiodactyl order and the Camelidae family. Lama glama Linné (llama)
and which are part of the Ayacucho complex ca. 15,400-14,600 B.C. has been found in the Pleistocene both in Argentina as well as in Bolivia, and it was
domesticated during the Holocene in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru. Lama
guanicoe Miller 1976 (guanaco) has been documented in southern and western South
Scelidoterium America since the Holocene. On the other hand, Lama pacos Linné (alpaca) is found in
Argentina as a domesticated animal since the Holocene in Bolivia and Peru [sic: se halla en
This has also been reported in contexts of apparent consumption at Huargo Cave (Huánuco) Argentina como animal domesticado desde el Holoceno en Bolivia y Perú.]
that have a radiocarbon date of 14,190 B.C. (Hoffstetter 1986).
Muizon points out that the extinct Paleolama was widely dispersed across Bolivia, Ecuador,
Peru, and even northern Florida throughout the Middle and Final Pleistocene. Hemiauchenia,
Equus andium another relative, is a genus found both in North America as well as in Argentina from the
Middle to the Late Pleistocene.
This is a type of horse that has been excavated in the Ayacucho complex in Pikimachay Cave,
which apparently dates to 15,400-14,600 B.C. (Hoffstetter 1986). It may have been eaten by the The guanaco is the smallest of the camelids, so it may well be the most ancient species
ancient inhabitants of this cave. in this genus. It has a much bigger habitat than the vicuña; it extends from 8°S to 53°S, and
extends across deserts, grasslands, savannahs, shrub areas, puna, and even extremely dry
deserts and tropical areas. The guanaco has a high water and energy metabolism, which
Onohippidion saldiasi means it can live for a long time without drinking water. These animals are between 1.20 and
1.75 m long and can weigh 120--130 kilos (Bonavia 2008: 23-29).
This species has been identified in the remains, probably eaten by humans, found at Huargo
Cave (Huánuco) that date to 14,190 B.C. (Hoffstetter 1986). The vicuña is, on the other hand, the smallest of the camelids. An adult can weigh on
average up to 38 kilos and can reach a height of up to 86-90 cm high. In some cases they
have been known to reach up to 45 kilos. There are two vicuña subspecies, i.e. Lama vicugna
Non-Extinct Species vicugna (distributed from 18 to 29°S) and Lama vicugna mensalis (which is found from 9°30’S
to 18°S). The vicuña is a perfectly adapted animal as regards its blood pressure, and its
Camelids hooves have developed callosities suited for soils like that of the puna and other stony
floors. It usually lives between 3000 and 5200 masl (Bonavia 2008: 34-45).
Andean camelids are the biggest domesticated mammals in the Andes. We could try to
prepare our review using various references, but instead we will follow the superb handbook Wheeler says the llama (Lama glama), on the other hand, descends from Lama guanicoe (as
on camelids published by Duccio Bonavia (2008), supplemented with other studies. shown above in Muizon’s taxonomic synthesis). It is the biggest species of all the camelids
here discussed, and weighs 100 kilos on average (it can reach up to 155 kilos). It is highly
Camelids always had a significant role due to the various uses they had: their meat was adaptable to literally every environment, particularly because it can hold much water in its
eaten, their fibre gave wool, their excrement was used as fuel and as fertiliser, their bones stomach, and this can last from weeks up to months. The llama is distributed from southern
were used to mare utensils, and their skin to make wool and leather (Lavallée 1990: 30, Colombia to Chile, and Argentina, and its favourite areas extend from 3000 masl upward;
Stahler 2008: 129). nowadays it is concentrated in the Altiplano (Bonavia 2008: 45-51).

A taxonomic revision is in order before reviewing the presence and probable consumption of Finally, the alpaca may descend from the vicuña even though no wild populations of it have
camelids as food in Peru’s archaeological resources. Studies like that by Christian de Muizon ever been found. Jane Wheeler believes the subspecies Lama vicugna mensalis is its ancestor.
(2008: 1-10) are essential for this task. Let us make a brief summary of this study. It is much smaller than the llama, is often less than 1 m high and weighs 62-64 kilos; this is

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perhaps one of the reasons it is not a beast of burden. Unlike sheep, this camelid species The domestication of camelids is an issue that was fully covered in the most extensive study
grazes without harming the grass. It can also adapt rapidly to various environments, and does available on this subject (Bonavia 2008). Here we must distinguish the llama and the alpaca
not even require a dry environment. Even so it finds adapting to low altitudes difficult, so its from the other species because these are the only two camelids which were domesticated
distribution tends to concentrate between 4000 and 5200 masl, and it is more commonly (Horkheimer 1960: 42). Horkheimer believed there was a special, short-necked llama which
found between 4300 and 4800 masl. It is in fact more adapted to the bofedales. The alpaca appears in Moche pottery. Horkheimer had in fact observed many camelid depictions in
can withstand temperatures like those found in the highlands of Piura (15 degrees on average), various pre-Hispanic cultures such as Moche, Wari, Tiahuanaco, and even in Recuay and Chimu
as well as the freezing temperatures of the Titicaca Altiplano (Bonavia 2008: 52-56). As far as pottery, as well as in the classis Inca stone conopas, particularly those of alpacas.
food goes, the alpaca gives little meat but more fat, even more than the llama, which averages
to 1500 kilo-calories. The alpaca was used essentially to obtain wool. At lower altitudes it can Going back to domestication, Megnoni (2008) points out in a review of pre-Hispanic camelids
experience a series of pathologies. in the Andes that there may have been two domestication centres, one in the Central Andes
and another one in the South Central Andes. Both regions would have undergone similar
Having made a general review of the taxonomy and of Andean camelids and gone over their processes, starting with the intensification of camelid use (which began ca. 6500 B.C.) and up
description, we now have to examine the nutritional value of their meat as they were in fact to the use of corrals that limited the movement of these animals and brought about changes
consumed. As a food source, an average adult llama, which can weigh almost up to 90 kilos, in their leg bones. There is in fact evidence of the use of corrals in both zones, both in the
can yield 957 kcal/kg of live weight. For every 100 grams of llama meat Horkheimer (1960: 110) open-air site of Asana in southern Peru as well as in Inca Cave in north western Argentina. This
gave 15.7 grams of proteins, 2.7 of fat and 110 calorie units. made Megnoni believe there were several independent domestication centres over some
2,300 km; however, without supporting evidence this position remains speculative.
Cárdenas et al. (1997: 141) presented the bromatological values both of llama meat, both
fresh and as charqui. The former has 140% calories, 69% water, 24.8% proteins, and 30% fat Bonavia in turn presented a review of camelid domestication that will be briefly summarised
(the biggest amount of fat and protein in the mammals eaten by the ancient Peruvians). Its here (Bonavia 2008: 193-206). For Bonavia, the best documentation available in this regard
bromatological values increase significantly as charqui up to 317% calories, and particularly comes from the excavations made at Telarmachay, in the Junín puna, by Danièlle Lavallée and
up to 57% proteins (fat falls to 7.5%). Clearly in the pre-Hispanic period, the consumption of her team. These studies evinced a process that took place between ca. 7000 and 5200 B.C.,
camelid meat (whenever there is evidence of it) in any of its two forms, was the protein basis starting with the generalised hunting of guanaco and vicuña in 5200-400 B.C. and ended with
obtained from land animals. the rise of domestic animals between 4000 and 3500 B.C. (Bonavia 2008: 195).

Few studies are available regarding the processing of llamas prior to their being eaten, but The changes that arose throughout and after this process can be tracked through zoo-
one can well imagine they were used to the utmost (as can be observed ethnographically). archaeological analyses. Jane Wheeler reports modifications in the animal’s dental patterns
Contemporary herders use almost all parts of this animal, including the flesh, the internal and certain diseases such as diarrhoeas, which were caused by bacterial epidemics that only
organs, blood, tissues, sinews, and skin. The llama’s main role supposedly was transportation. strike when camelids live huddled in corrals with large amounts of excrement. Like Megnoni
Adult males can carry up to 30 kilos a day over 20 km. They are even able to carry up to 45 suggested (see above), there are several places where domestication may have taken place
kilos over shorter distances (Sandefur 2001: 182). Gade (2000) tried to explain the enigma including the central Peruvian puna, the salt flats in the southern highlands and so on. For an
of why this type of animal does not provide milk, and suggests that the low maternal milk extensive discussion readers should turn to the detailed references in Bonavia (2008: 193-206).
productivity has somehow extended to our time in the form of lactose intolerance.
How were camelids hunted? What techniques were used to trap them? No study has as
Howe do camelids feed? Duccio Bonavia prepared a hefty volume on these animals and yet been made reconstructing the trapping techniques used when hunting animals in Peru,
presents an up-to-date picture of this subject. The research undertaken on the coast shows but it is worth including here accounts like that left by Father Bernabé Cobo (1893: 225-
these animals feed on carob seeds and pods, reeds, fruits, and grass. 226). When explaining the types of hunting, Cobo claims Peruvian Indians hunted out of
necessity and that it cost them much effort because they had no animals that could help
As regards camelid adaptation to the puna, Rodríguez and Quispe (2007) claim these animals them. The game (like camelids) was hunted using arrows and other launchable weapons, but
have acclimated themselves to altitude sickness, which can affect other species but has no lassos and traps were also employed. The chaco was the most common hunting method.
major effect on camelids. Their adaptability to the Andean environment is such that their It was always used by the community with the permission of the governors or of the Inca.
hooves do not even harm the puna grass (as was noted above), and they are also able to digest When the Inca king decided to hunt he amassed twenty thousand Indians who spread in a
grasses that have a high lignin content. semicircle over a vast expanse in order to corner the animals, which were mostly vicuñas,
guanacos, and deer. As they moved forward they drew closer and then the surplus people

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formed rows in order to stop the animals from fleeing. Some of the hunters were armed Guitarrero Cave, which lies at about 2500 masl, and which has already been mentioned on
with clubs for the killing; at the end they kept ten or twenty thousand animals and let the more than one occasion in regard to plants, is another site with very early dates for camelids.
rest go because the Inca the Inca had what he needed. It should be noted that vicuñas were Thomas Lynch reports the presence of camelid remains since at least 9200 B.C. Even one date
always let go once they had been shorn. of 9690 B.C. for site Pan-12-58, which lies at a higher altitude than Guitarrero, seems to be
associated with a presence of up to 75% camelid bones. There are camelid bones at Pampa de
Caycu is another hunting technique that corners the animals and makes them enter inside Lampas, a site also in the Callejón de Huaylas that has early Holocene dates, so camelids are
some sort of corral built between mountains and narrow areas. well represented in this part of Peru since quite an early date (Bonavia 2008: 83).

Moving on from camelid domestication and hunting, we will now review the evidence for Lauricocha Cave (in the Raura Cordillera, Ancash) is another Early Holocene site (ca. 8,500
camelids in pre-Hispanic Peru. This account will be based first of all on the excellent review B.C.) where camelids remains have been excavated. Augusto Cardich, who was in charge of the
prepared by Bonavia,, which is based on Peru’s pre-Hispanic depictions of these animals in excavations, claims he found camelid bones as food refuse (Bonavia 2008: 85).
various media, and then on a review of Bonavia’s account, including some results of our own.
Next in this inventory of camelids in early sites is the evidence for the punas of the modern-
The Central Andean iconography clearly has depictions of Camelids since quite early times day department of Junín, where many experts believe domestication took place.
left by the Cupisnique, Vicus, Gallinazo, Moche, Nasca, Recuay, Wari, Lambayeque, Chancay,
Chimu, and Inca cultures. The most famed ones are those of llamas, particularly a short- Several archaeologists, including Ramiro Matos and John Rick, have excavated the Pachamachay
necked variety as Horkheimer noted (Bonavia 2008: 170-172). rock shelter, which is some 7 km west of Lake Junín at about 4250 masl. Here it was found that
the biggest part of the fauna (95%) comes from Early Holocene (ca. 8000-6000 B.C.) camelid
We now turn to the documentation of llama bones found in Peru’s archaeological sites that bones. In the subsequent phase the accumulation of camelid bones has been interpreted
can be considered pre-Hispanic food. The reader should be forewarned that frequently only as a result of “specialised hunting;” finally, the process of camelid domestication may have
the family is given, and in the best of cases the species too. This section will therefore be taken place around 2500 B.C. and thus gave rise to herding. Panaulauca (4150 masl) is a site
devoted to data on llama and camelid finds in general. A subsequent section will discuss the close to the Pachamachay rock shelter where a significant amount of camelid bones from the
species as far as the data allows. We beg the readers’ forgiveness for using indirect citations Holocene has been found (Bonavia 2008: 87-90).
(Bonavia 2008), but we believe Bonavia’s handbook is as reliable as the original datum.
But it evidently was in the Telarmachay rock shelter, at about 4420 masl in the Junín puna, close
Camelid remains, but not precisely those of llamas, have been discovered at Jaywamachay to modern San Pedro de Cajas, that this process was best examined. Using fine archaeological
Cave in Ayacucho, in what is known as the Puente phase (MacNeish et al. 1981: 155), i.e. ca. recording techniques, Danièlle Lavallée and her team literally recorded hundreds of thousands
10,085-6960 B.C. The variety of the bones found suggests that several body parts from these of camelid bones here; in many cases these bones bore combustion marks due to their culinary
animals were processed in this cave. The occurrence of more camelid bones increases in processing before being consumed. According to the excavations, in time camelids became
subsequent phases, so that a focus on catching and selecting this type of animal is visible in the most consumed resource. It was here that evidence has been recovered of some sort
this part of Ayacucho throughout the Early Holocene. of trench in the ground where thermofractured stones and camelid fragments (presumably
llamas) were found; the latter were cooked using hot stones, in what can be considered to be
The most ancient finds perhaps are those from the well-known Pikimachay Cave in Ayacucho some kind of pachamanca that dates to 6200 B.C. We will return later on to Telarmachay and
itself (Huanta). MacNeish noticed the occurrence of llama bones in layers “j”, “h,” and “i1,” its remains of camelids.
which have been dated to ca. 14,000 B.C. Caution is required in the face of such an impressive
antiquity because the reports do not provide the data required in order to be conclusive as In the central puna itself we have evidence from the Uchkumachay (Tilarnioc) rock shelter at around
regards the apparition of this type of camelids before Younger Dryas, yet the data cannot be 4050 masl, which was excavated by Peter Kaulicke. Here we apparently also have a domestication
ruled out either. process that began in 7000 B.C. and extended up to 5500 B.C. (Bonavia 2008: 93-94).

Next, according to the research undertaken in Ayacucho, is the presence of alpacas and In the south, in the highlands of Moquegua, we have evidence not just of camelids but also of
modern llamas around 8000 B.C. Camelids are present throughout all of the preceramic their being processed for consumption. Mark Aldenderfer (1990: 489-490) excavated the surface
occupation of this zone, from 6500 to 2000 B.C. (Bonavia 2008: 95-98). MacNeish mentions site [yacimiento superficial] of Asana, which lies at 3435 masl in the sierra of the Osmore Valley. A
corrals with camelid bones in subsequent phases between 2213 and 1670 B.C., and even in the domestic level was recorded in a layer that dates to 3370-3106 B.C., where camelids were processed
Huarpa culture when caravans were already in use (Bonavia 2008: 106, 121). for human consumption. Some interesting structures were found here, such as small trenches that

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Aldenderfer believes worked as heaters and/or illuminators, and even rocks that may have been Nepeña Valley, that have been interpreted as feasts and which have dates that fall between
used as tables where camelids were processed or butchered. Bones used as scrapers, hearths and 1100 and 250 B.C.
even grinding stones evince this process. Bone analysis showed whole animals were carried in
order to attain the highest yield. The high presence of long bones indicates the consumption of Bonavia (2008: 106) likewise pointed out the presence of camelid bones at Puémape, a
these camelids’ meat. Other river stones—i.e. grinding stones—show traces of having been used to Cupisnique site (ca. 1500-400 B.C.). In the Lurín Valley on another part of the coast, Burger
grind grains or seeds of unknown taxonomy (perhaps Chenopodiaceae?), yet for Aldenderfer they claims having found camelid remains at Cardal (ca. 1170-740 B.C.) that were for human
point out that the diet was being supplemented with vegetables. consumption (Bonavia 2008: 106).

A camelid cranium that may be a llama was found in the excavation of Los Gavilanes, a site Camelid remains have been found at the site of Acha in Caravelí (Arequipa) that date to ca. 925
that dates to 2300-1460 B.C. (Bonavia 1982: 200). Bonavia (2008: 100) points out that camelid B.C., and which may have been part of the food eaten by the people who lived here (Bonavia
excrement is present probably since 3000 B.C. at this same site, which means camelids go 2008: 108). More camelid remains have been excavated at Michinal, a site in the ceja de selva
a long way back here. This is one of the first pieces of evidence (if not the earliest one) of of Cajamarca that dates to the second and third millenniums B.C.
camelids on the Peruvian coast alongside those from Lima, which appear below.
Llama (Lama glama) has been found in an early Paracas context in the excavation of Cerrillos,
Lanning and Patterson claim there were camelids in the Central coast’s Chillón Valley around a site in the upper Ica Valley (ca. 800-600 B.C.) (Splitstoser 2009: 93).
4200-2500 B.C. Camelid remains have been documented at El Paraíso, a site in the Chillón
Valley, Lima, also around 2500 B.C. (Bonavia 2008: 100). Jean Guffroy (1989: 193) excavated camelid remains at Ñañañique—a site in Chulucanas
(Piura)—that fall ca. in 1500-400 B.C. These remains abound since the beginning of the site’s
Moving forwards in time we have Huaricoto in the department of Ancash. Located at about occupation. Also in Piura, but towards Pariñas (Talara), there is a site called PV7-18 where
2750 masl and dated to 2200-1800 B.C., the site held 25% camelid bones, so it is possible they camelids were apparently being eaten from 450 B.C. to A.D. 600 (Bonavia 2008: 118).
were part of what humans were eating; this is more frequent around 900 B.C. and even 400
B.C., with an increase in average to 69% (Bonavia 2008: 95, 101). Llama bones were excavated in Bonavia (2008: 109) reported the occurrence of camelid bones at about 3930 masl in southern
the Temple of the Crossed Hands at Kotosh, a Late Preceramic (second millennium B.C.) site in Peru at Kaluyo, a site (province of Azángaro, Puno), as well as at Pucará (province of Lampa,
the Huánuco department close to the Higueras River. Their consumption endured throughout Puno), so it may have been part of the food eaten by the people of this cultures throughout
the first millennium of the Christian era (Bonavia 2008: 95, 124). the first millennium of the Christian era.

The analyses Melody Shimada carried out at Huacaloma, a site at about 2700 masl in the Bonavia (2008: 112) likewise points out that during the occupation of Chavín de Huántar,
suburbs of the modern-day city of Cajamarca, showed that at least half of the camelids found camelid long bones comprised 20-30%. Luis Lumbreras believes that pieces of camelids
here had been killed for food, so it is clear they were being consumed at this site from 2000 (llamas and alpacas) were boiled or roasted [hervidos o rostizados] and were then served
to 200 B.C. Likewise at Kuntur Wasi (in the province of San Pablo, Cajamarca), camelids were in vessels. There were also many rib and leg bones cut into proportional sections. It should
the animals most eaten throughout the first millennium B.C. (Uzawa 2007). likewise be noted that studies have shown that at Chavín birds, dogs, vizcachas and guinea
pigs were eaten, as shall be seen in subsequent animal taxa.
Camelid consumption persisted throughout the first millennium B.C. (Bonavia 2008: 103, 109,
121). Bonavia mentions their presence at Huayhuaca (Apurímac), a site that dates to the first The site of Pikicallepata in Quispiscanchis, Sicuani (Cuzco), excavated by Karen Mohr Chávez
centuries of the Christian era. In Huancavelica there were both alpacas as well as llamas. This (Bonavia 2008: 117), has yielded abundant camelid remains that were part of the site’s diet,
is one of the few studies that were able to identify the species. probably in the first millennium B.C. Marcavalle is also in Cuzco at about 3314 masl; here
a significant amount of camelid remains have been excavated, so apparently mostly young
Huaca Lucía-Chólope is a site in the department of Lambayeque, Ferreñafe province, where llamas were being slaughtered (Bonavia 2008: 117).
a series of camelid bones have been identified amongst remains such as those of guinea
pig, lizards and molluscs, so this animal may have been part of the food eaten by its early In his overview, Bonavia (2008: 119) mentions several Early Horizon coastal sites—i.e. prior
inhabitants in 1400-700 B.C. (Bonavia 2008: 118). to the first millennium B.C.—where camelid remains have been found, e.g. Huaca Cortada,
Huaca de los Reyes, Huaca de la Cruz, and Huaca Guavalito (La Libertad), or in sites in Casma
On the coast, Ikehara and Shibata (2005: 144) managed to identify long bones and parts like Pampa Rosario, Pampa de Llamas, and the Moxeque complex. Camelids were found
of camelid vertebrae in food consumption contexts at Cerro Blanco, a site in the lower at Huarmey at the site known as Bermejo, and in Lima at Faro de Supe (Chancay). Camelid

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remains from the first millennium B.C. reach the ceja de selva, for instance at El Cerezal, a Kaulicke reported llama being eaten slightly more to the north at Loma Valverde, a site in the
site in eastern Cajamarca that lies at about 510 masl on the Tabaconas River; in this case the upper Piura River that he dates to ca. A.D. 160-450, i.e. throughout the Mochica occupation.
remains are from llamas (Bonavia 2008: 120).
The study of coproliths in some Salinar sites at Puerto Moorin showed llama was being eaten
The zooarchaeological research undertaken by Shelia Pozorski (1979: 169) shows the llama in this part of the Virú Valley, at least since the beginning of the Christian era (Ericson et al.
evidently was the main source of meat and the main food of animal origins in sites that lie 1989: 74). This is a direct evidence of llama consumption shortly before the beginning of our
on the lower Moche Valley, including Chan Chan to the north. A subsequent study claimed era on the North Coast of Peru.
llamas were the main source of meat at Huaca del Sol in the Mochica period. The same thing
holds true for the Huaca de la Luna, where camelid remains abound (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 134) Likewise in the Santa and Virú Valleys, sites like Suchimancillo and Castillo de Tomaval show
and include llama, guanaco, and alpaca (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 189). the presence of corrals. These sites thus suggest places where llama caravans were provisioned
(Bonavia 2008: 129).
The evidence of camelid processing for consumption includes not just charred llama bones
with cut marks, but also large amounts of dung. Most of these animals were very young Bonavia presents a tight summary of camelid remains associated with the Moche culture
adults, thus suggesting their control and the presence of herds raised especially for meat. that clearly shows llamas were above all raised, consumed and used as transportation by the
Besides, these were ... [ganado de casta] in a context where a greater efficiency in the Moche people. In this context, Sheila Pozorski shows the treatment they were given when
slaughter of these animals as soon they reached adulthood was attained; in other words preparing them in the Moche Valley itself (Bonavia 2008: 131). She reconstructed the process
they did not gain weight and consumed invaluable fodder (Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 122). like this: the animal was skinned and the carcass was dismembered by cutting at the joints.
From this we can infer the high quality of the meat eaten by the Moche, which was also The long bones were split, quite likely to extract the marrow in order to eat it. The analysis
verified by Vásquez et al. (2003: 58). recorded that at least a third of the bones were burned, particularly in the vertebrae and
ribs. After studying the evidence, Pozorski concluded that llama meat was frequently roasted
Keatinge (1975: 226) reports that llama was eaten at the Cerro La Virgen site (the rural zone (especially the ribs and the backbone). Camelids on the other hand usually ate fodder and
of Chan Chan in the Chimu epoch. The llama appears in domestic consumption contexts at carob fruits, which gave them a special flavour.
Caballo Muerto (ca. 1200 B.C.) and even at the city of Chan Chan, including the Inca occupation
of this zone. Shelia Pozorski recorded four llama bones with cut marks at Huaca Herederos Lockard (2005: 201) showed, also in the context of the Moche culture, the high consumption
Chica, a part of the Caballo Muerto complex, and she interprets this as the dismembering of llamas that took place during the Mochica occupation of Galindo, particularly by the elite,
of bodies for their preparation and consumption. This actually is one of the scant pieces of in ca. A.D. 600-800. Quite the contrary, this fell during the Chimu epoch and lost favour to
evidence showing camelids were cooked for eating (Bonavia 2008: 106). agricultural produce (which may have been due to some climate change). There apparently
was a differentiated access to llama meat, with the elite being favoured.
Van Gijsehem (2001: 261) recorded camelid remains in a “kitchen zone” at the site of Huaca de
la Luna, which were probably eaten along with the coco or zuco fish, as well as other molluscs We now turn to the Nasca on the Central-South Coast. It is known that the people of Cahuachi
and loma snails. found their main source of animal protein in camelids, quite possibly llamas, at least from A.D.
200 to A.D. 600 (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 4). Large amounts of guano have likewise been found
We now turn to the evidence of camelids in the first centuries of the Christian era (100 B.C.- at Cahuachi, and a llama corral was even found at Paredones, a Nasca site not far away from
A.D. 600), and we still continue with Duccio Bonavia’s camelid handbook. Cahuachi (Bonavia 2008: 134-135).

First there is evidence of camelids in the Callejón de Huaylas at 4500 masl at a site called Llamas are also found in the Callejón de Huaylas at Pan 12-59, a Recuay site (i.e. A.D. 100-800)
Huachanmachay, in the headwaters of the Casma River. Camelids are known in this zone since that had 88% camelid bones (Bonavia 2008: 109). This suggests this culture either greatly
the early Holocene, as has already been noted. consumed this animal, or instead used it for transportation.

There is a strong presence of camelid bones, particularly llama bones, in the sites of the Llamas were also part of the food eaten by the ancient Wanka people in the upper Mantaro
ancestors of the Mochica, and of the Mochica themselves. It is striking that llamas comprise Valley (3200-3900 masl), at least from A.D. 200 up to the Inca occupation (Hastorf 2002).
up to 92% of the food [producto] consumed in the Moche Valley, at the sites of Cerro Arena Sandefur (2001) claims the Wanka populations in this zone depended more on the llama than on
(60 B.C.) and Galindo (A.D. 679-828). Such rates were not equalled by any other product eaten grains during the first centuries of the Christian era because these animals were not vulnerable
at these sites, so its high consumption even before the Mochica themselves can be inferred. to seasonal changes like grains and tubers, and were even able to withstand drought.

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The Wari also ate llamas. At least four of them have been identified in the excavation of Cerro
Baúl (Moquegua) that bore marks of having been processed for consumption, along with
other, smaller ones. Llamas clearly comprised the largest part of this people’s diet. One llama
had bone cut marks that have been interpreted as its ritual dismemberment, i.e. the animal
was sacrificed. As has already been noted, the chronology of this site ranges between A.D. 631
and A.D. 1000. It is worth noting that at least three llamas seem to have eaten coastal plants,
so they are believed to have been transported from that zone (Moseley et al. 2005: 17269).
More recently, Tiffiny Tung (2012: 52) has pointed out the presence of the remains of llamas
consumed by the people of Beringa (a site in Arequipa), in a full-fledged Wari Empire context.

When examining the camelid remains recorded for the Middle Horizon, Bonavia concluded
that during the Wari Empire herding was less intensive because the Wari apparently favoured
agriculture more. For instance, at the well-known site of Conchopata there is 28% less camelids
(Bonavia 2008: 138).

There similarly is a series of evidence from the Wari occupation of the coast, for instance at
Batán Grande, where a high number of llamas was found in Huaca del Pueblo 14. Shimada, who
studied the site, believes the llama excrement contained carob leaves and fruits, a custom
already evinced by the Moche. The llama was also the main food at Huaca Chotuna in the
Middle Horizon. At Pampa Grande there also was a large amount of llamas that were meant
not just for transportation, but also as food (Bonavia 2008: 139).

About 20% camelids have been found around this time in the shrine of Pacatnamú as well as
in the site of Cañoncillo (Jequetepeque), where 50% of the fauna comprised llamas. Sheila
Pozorski identified cut marks in the bones due to skinning. On the other hand a series of sites
in La Libertad like El Brujo, Galindo, and San José de Moro had llama remains in significant
percentages [en cierto porcentaje], so they may have been part of the food eaten in this
region in A.D. 600-1000.

Camelids were also found in site Virú 631. Max Uhle pointed out their presence Ancón (Lima).
There were also camelids in Pacheco and Huaca del Oro, Wari sites in Ica (Bonavia 2008: 142-146).

We now turn to the Late Intermediate Period, where the continuity of llama consumption is
clear. We find one of these major continuities in Lambayeque, where llama remains have been
reported in several archaeological sites in the lower valley as residues left behind by the food Figura 16. Astrágalo de camélido (llama) del sitio Pedregal (cultura Chimú, valle de Jequetepeque), aproximadamente 1000-1460 d.C.
eaten by the people of various cultures, at least from Cupisnique (1300 B.C.) to Sicán (A.D. (CORTESÍA DE ROBYN CUTRIGHT).
1400). Its consumption was more frequent in the latter stage of the Mochica culture ca. A.D.
600 (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596).
the llamas were carved before being cooked (Figure 16). Cutright cites studies like that done by
Robyn Cutright (2009: 158) carried out research slightly more to the south with her excavation Víctor Vásquez from the University of Trujillo—which recorded the remains of corrals and of
of Pedregal, a Chimu site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley. Cutright showed the llama was the camelid raising at Santa Rita, a site in the Chao Valley—or by Rosales, who has shown camelid
main animal eaten by the people of Pedregal. She claims part of the llamas consumed here raising at Túcume, a site in the Lambayeque Valley that raises the possibility that llamas were
was raised in corrals in this same site, and that they probably were fed carob seeds, as has bred on the coast. This changes the idea that these animals were exclusively bred in the
been seen at some Moche sites. A series of cut marks have also been detected that indicate highlands (Cutright 2009: 160).

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Elizabeth Wing pointed out for the Late Horizon or Inca epoch that camelids reach up to 86%
The shrine of Pacatnamú is almost on the mouth of the Jequetepeque River. Here Gumerman at the site of Huánuco Pampa, whilst at La Pampa, Corongo (Áncash) we have a concentration
(1991) found the people buried at this site had eaten llama, particularly the elites, a trend we of camelid bones. On the other hand the site of Minaspata (3,100 masl) has over 90% camelids
have already seen in a Moche context. masl) (Bonavia 166-167).

Bonavia mentions the presence of camelid bones in a series of highland sites that extend from Likewise in Lima, the excavation of the Temple of the Sun at Pachacamac found a significant
north to south and which belong to this period (A.D. 1000-1460). They include Huamachuco amount of camelids. Bonavia ends his review of the camelid record at the site of El Gran
and southern Tarma (where Jeffrey Parsons claims there was a high concentration of llamas) Pajatén in the montaña (department of San Martín), where corrals have been found, and in
amongst others, as well as Rakasmarka, Palcamayo (Junín), and even the site of Kuélap the ceja de selva along the Pampaconas River, La Convención (Cuzco), where the presence of
(Amazonas). Throughout this period camelids were also found at Ayacucho, particularly at camelid bones has been noted (Bonavia 2008: 168-169).
the sites of Rosamachay and Ayamachay, as well as in Pikimachay Cave, which is known for
holding the oldest evidence for Peru (Bonavia 2008: 146-147). The is a significant amount of evidence for the llama during the Inca Empire in various sites
in the modern department of La Libertad, which include not just bones but also coproliths.
Llamas also existed in the south as is shown by the site of El Yaral (Moquegua), where a Further south on the Central Coast, at Cajamarquilla, Bonavia found a large amount of
significant number of naturally dried up llamas and alpacas were found in contexts pertaining coproliths, possibly llama, in the same Inca context.
to the Chiribaya culture (A.D. 950-1350). According to Hermann Trimborn, the discovery of
llama remains has been reported for the site of Tocucho (Caplina Valley, Tacna) (Bonavia 2008: Yocelin Williams (2005: 186) claims the dental study of the mummies from Puruchuco-Huaquerones,
149-150). in the modern district of Ate-Vitarte, show the area’s inhabitants were eating charqui during the Inca
occupation, albeit in small amounts. This is thus a direct evidence of its consumption.
Bonavia examined the llama remains found from the north to the south coast in this same
period and mentions a site [un yacimiento] in Tumbes where many llama bones were found in Not far away from this site but also in Lima, is Pueblo Viejo-Pucará on the left bank of the Lurín
Chimu sites [sitios], for instance at Cabeza de Vaca, Pirámide del Sol, and San Pedro. Moving Valley; here Watson (2008) reported the presence of corrals for camelids that were probably
towards the south Bonavia lists Bayóvar (Illescas Peninsula). Alfredo Altamirano made the brought from the Huarochirí highlands in the Late Horizon, i.e. during the Inca occupation.
analysis and concluded camelid meat was eaten toasted, boiled [tostada, hervida] and as Clearly at least the elites at this site ate this animal’s meat. Besides, the tombs of the people
charqui. The accumulation of camelid dung indicates the llamas were raised in the vicinity of who may have herded them were found in the vicinity. Watson presents evidence showing
these sites (Bonavia 2008: 152), a characteristic we have already found. camelids were being eaten in residential areas. The marks on some of the bones apparently
indicate direct exposure to a fire, i.e. roasting [asado]. Other cuts in the bone are interpreted
Still moving southwards we find the Huaca del Pueblo (Túcume) in the Lambayeque Valley, as evidence of skinning during preparation and removal of the flesh (Watson 2008: 140). So
where Shimada recorded up to five metres of camelid dung. A layer 50 cm thick of llama this type of cooking was also practiced on the coast in Inca times.
excrement was found at a site called Cerro Sapame in La Leche Valley; the dung contained
carob seeds, earth [?: tierra], leaves, maize cobs and even shrubs. We now turn to the alpaca in the archaeological record. We should bear in mind these are
animals that were probably raised mostly for wool rather than for consumption due to their
Bonavia examined the evidence for the Moche Valley, still more to the south. In general the meagre amount of meat, save for the fact that it is fatty.
sites belonging to the period immediately before the Inca, like Chan Chan, had just 36% of
camelids (Bonavia 2008: 152-153). It was precisely in these marginal areas in Chan Chan where Lavallée’s team probably is the one that has best documented the process of alpaca domestication
llama was eaten. In some sectors the butchery practices were even evinced, for instance the (Lavallée et al. 1985: 66-67). They believe the alpaca had already been domesticated ca. 5600
presence of the animal’s forepart and hind legs; in others the cranium and the backbone prevail B.C. in the Telarmachay rock shelter at around 4420 masl in the Junín puna (close to San Pedro
(as was already known in the first millennium B.C.); and still in other sectors the emphasis is de Cajas, in the central Peruvian puna. Late Preceramic sites like Acomachay and Cuchimachay
on the hind section and in other parts of the animals. Since there are no burned bones, the seem to show this trend since at least 4000 B.C. (Bonavia 2008: 92-93).
authors assume the meat was boiled (Bonavia 2008: 154).
Yet as far as antiquity goes we should point out the possibility, despite the absence of the
The Casma and Nepeña Valleys have a series of sites that contain llama remains. The same is respective zooarchaeological studies, that the most ancient alpacas come from Jaywamachay
true of Cerro Azul and Lomas de Chilca, immediately south of Lima. Camelid remains are also and date to ca. 8000 B.C., or a more reliable 6550-5100 B.C. (Bonavia 2008: 95-96). Bonavia
present at Huaca del Oro (Nasca), and especially in Chiribaya sites like Estuquina. likewise notes the occurrence of alpaca bones at the site of Asia (Cañete) that fall within the

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third millennium B.C. Also at Paracas: Cabezas Largas, ca. 3000 B.C., and Santo Domingo de 8000 B.C., which shows their remains were processed for consumption (Lavallée et al.
Paracas, in the form of a vicuña skin (Bonavia 2008: 101). 1985: 64).

Bonavia (1982: 201) recorded the remains of alpaca hairs at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Guanaco bone remains have been found at Quebrada de los Burros, a site in Tacna. Lavallée et
Huarmey Valley, in a context that was dated to 2300-1480 B.C.; however, their specific use al. (1999: 45) note they were found in all levels, starting from ca. 7200 B.C. It should be pointed
cannot be identified. that that the respective documentation is still missing because the study is not yet over.

In his handbook on camelids, Bonavia (2008: 118, 125) reported the occurrence of alpacas at From both studies we can reach the preliminary conclusion, thanks to the dedication shown
the site of Pucara (Lampa province in Puno) ca. 200 B.C. and even in the first centuries of our by Danièlle Lavallée’s French School, that the guanaco was being consumed both in Peru’s
era. The alpaca is also present in the context of Huayhuaca, a site in Huancavelica. puna and coast since around 10,000 or 9000 years ago.

The remains of at least nine of these animals have been found at Cerro Baúl, in the context Although the radiometric age of the guanaco remains from Pampa Colorada, a site in Camaná
of the Wari occupation in A.D. 631-1000. They were apparently meant for sacrifice in a ritual (Arequipa) is hard to establish, it may go back up to at least 6000 B.C. (Bonavia 2008: 101).
event (Moseley et al. 2005: 17269).
Robert Benfer reported the presence of guanaco bones at Paloma, a site close to San Bartolo
Bonavia (2008: 99) has pointed out that the alpaca bones analysed at the Chiribaya site of El beach south of Lima, which roughly date to 3000 B.C. (Bonavia 2008: 101).
Yaral (Moquegua) evince herding of this type of camelid ca. A.D. 900-1000, probably to grow
fibre for textiles. Finally, in their faunal analysis of the Old Temple of Chavín de Huántar and its associated
domestic settlements, Miller and Burger (1995: 430) found that guanaco meat was being eaten
We thus find that in general, in pre-Hispanic Peru the alpaca was meant to acquire wool and since at least 900 B.C.
other by-products. It still isn’t clear whether its meat was eaten or not, but it would not come
as a surprise. We now leave the camelids in order to continue our review of the animal species that were
probably eaten, and some that were in fact consumed, by the people of pre-Hispanic Peru.
We now turn to the pre-Hispanic vicuña. We actually have very few specimens of this species
that have been identified. One of the oldest pieces of evidence of vicuña consumption comes
in fact from the Telarmachay rock shelter, where it was the main food eaten, at least since Taruca, Deer (Hippocamelus antisensis)
the beginning of the human occupation of this site around 8000 B.C. The site is close to San
Pedro de Cajas, as has already been pointed out, in the middle of the puna of the modern The Hippocamelus genus is represented by two living species, H. bisulcus and H. antisensis.
department of Junín, at ca. 4420 masl (Lavallée et al. 1985: 64). The latter is smaller and has a lighter-coloured coat. It is mostly distributed over the
northern Andean countries. This animal migrates to higher areas in summer and lower
Bonavia (2008: 101) reported the find Fréderic Engel made of vicuña at Chilca, a site south of ones in winter because of the cold. It prefers the rugged terrain that extends from 2500
Lima, which dated to ca. 3025 B.C. It has also been found at Asia, Cañete (Lima), where it dates to 5200 masl, where it feeds mostly on herbs and shrubs. The taruca measures on average
to the third millennium B.C. about 145 cm and weighs between 60 and 75 kilos. Although a shy species, it freezes in
the presence of human groups In Peru its tradition is connected with the material used to
The people of the Wanka culture occupied the upper Mantaro Valley (3200-3900 masl) and manufacture leather (Díaz 1995).
partially fed themselves with vicuña meat starting in A.D. 200 (Sandefur 2001: 181).
The taruca is one of the possible foods eaten by the early people of Telarmachay, at 4420
In conclusion, there is very little evidence of the consumption of vicuña meat, but we can masl in the Junín puna, where it has been documented in layers that date at least to 8000 B.C.
glimpse that it was eaten both on the coast and in the highlands since quite an early date. (Lavallée et al. 1985: 64), i.e. the first occupation of this rock shelter.

We turn now to the guanaco—a wild species—in the pre-Hispanic record. This is one of Carmen Cardoza (1993: 392) reported the discovery of taruca bones with traces of
the first alimentary resources recorded at 4420 masl in the Telarmachay rock shelter, in combustion at Chavín de Huántar, in the Gallery of Offerings, that date to the period
the central Peruvian puna in the department of Junín. The bones of this animal have been 1218-812 B.C. We cannot thus rule out the possibility that it was eaten, but it may also
found in fragmentary condition in significant amounts that were dated starting from ca. have been an offering.

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The remains of a taruca have likewise been found in the excavation of Cerro Baúl, and Ruth Shady and Hermilio Rosas (1979: 123) in turn report that bones of Odocoleius virginianus
correspond to the Wari occupation in A.D. 631-1000 (Moseley et al. 2005: 17269). The report have been found in the excavation of Alenya (Bagua Bajo), at about 522 masl on the Utcubamba
does not state whether it was consumed or not. River, close to the Marañón River (department of Amazonas), in what may be interpreted as
part of the food eaten by this culture ca. 1500-1200 B.C.
In short, although these animals seem to be associated with the remains of various human
occupations, the evidence is actually scant and it cannot be reliably proved if they were indeed The remains of Odocoileus virginianus (white tail deer) were found in significant amounts
eaten. The issue remains open and will only be settled once more research has been carried out. in the excavation of the town adjacent to the famed temple of Chavín de Huántar since at
least 900 B.C., which means it was evidently consumed in this zone since that time (Miller
and Burger 1995: 428). Thanks to the research done by Carmen Rosa Cardoza (1993: 392), the
White Tailed Deer [Venado de Cola Blanca] (Odocoileus virginianus, Odocoileus peruvianus) and red brocket has been identified, albeit in small amounts, in the Gallery of the Offerings
Red Brocket [Ciervo Rojo] (Mazama americana, Mazama rufina) at Chavín de Huántar, in the period ca. 1218-812 B.C. It is not known whether they were
consumed or not.
Álvarez-Romero (2005) described Odocoileus virginianus as a deer species known as the mid-
sized white tailed deer, which is characterised by its long and relatively thick neck, and its coat Peter Kaulicke (1991: 414) found deer remains (Odocoileus virginianus) further to the north in
that changes according to the season. It has a highly variable weight that ranges between 18 domestic contexts at Loma Valverde, in the Upper Piura. They dated to ca. 300 B.C.-A.D. 450,
and 215 kilos. As its habitat, this species prefers wooded areas but is able to adapt to a series which means the Mochica population was already consuming it. These remains also included
of ecosystems. They do not form big families and migrate from 10 up to 200 km. bones of Mazama americana, which is another type of ‘red’ deer that was also part of the diet
in this part of Piura. The presence of these animals’ faecal remains close to the archaeological
Barrio (2010) defined the red brocket as a species that is found from Colombia to Argentina, sites suggests they were kept close to the site, and one could even speculate they were being
weighs 20-30 kilos, and is often associated with a habitat in the tropical eastern Andes. raised in some kind of corral.

Cervids most likely were present since the beginning of the human peopling of Peru, and were Vásquez et al. (2003: 53) recorded the occurrence of the bones of Odocoleius virginianus at
therefore part of the human diet. This was shown by the study Elizabeth Wing (1980: 155) the site of Huaca del Sol in Moche—up to 40%—but llamas clearly were more abundant. We
made when analysing the remains from Guitarrero Cave, where cervid bones are found since have to mention in this regard the depictions of deer this culture made.
Complex I, i.e. ca. 9500 B.C. In 8500-6700 B.C. cervids were the food that most provided meat
to the inhabitants of the cave, as they come second only to rodents. The bones of two deer were found in the excavation of Cerro Baúl (A.D. 635-1000). Moseley
et al. (2005: 12769) claim these animals were eaten.
An even older date was obtained in strata from the Puente phase in Jaywamachay Cave,
Ayacucho, where long cervid bones (from an unidentified species) were found (MacNeish et White tailed deer have been recorded in the food middens left by the ancient population
al. 1981: 157); this gives a time period of approximately 10,085-6960 B.C. of the lower Lambayeque Valley between 1300 B.C. and A.D. 1400 (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596).
Lockard (2005: 201) also showed the significant presence this animal had in the diet of the
We have evidence from more controlled excavations at Nanchoc, in the upper Zaña Valley (in Moche people of Galindo (ca. A.D. 600-800), a site in the middle Moche Valley, and partially
the department of Lambayeque), and in the middle Jequetepeque Valley. Here Dillehay (2011: so during the Chimu occupation of this site. The presence and probable consumption of the
333) reported finding the remains of Odocoileus virginianus and Odocoileus peruvianus in white tailed deer on Peru’s North Coast is thus clear.
contexts that indicate they were food resources and which dated to 8011-5954 B.C. Mazama
sp. was identified in this same zone with dates between 9700 and 9200 B.C. The white tailed deer was apparently also eaten by the Wanka in the Junín puna, in the upper
Mantaro Valley. Cervids were hunted here as a supplement for their food since at least A.D.
Odocoleius virginianus has also been found in the remains of food at Pampa de Llamas, a site 200 (Sandefur 2001: 181).
in the lower Casma Valley, where it has been dated to the period 2088-1243 B.C. (Pozorski and
Pozorski 1986: 398). The bones of this animal have been found in great numbers, so it may have Watson reported finding partially burned deer bones at the site of Pueblo Viejo (on the
been frequently eaten. Central Coast in the Lurín Valley). The bones have cut marks in the diaphysis, and were even
intentionally split in order to extract the bone marrow as part of food preparation (Watson
The research done by Sheila Pozorski on the North Coast of Peru reported deer remains, and it 2008: 136-137). This is one of the few, scant pieces of evidence of its consumption.
comprised a significant part of the diet at the site of Caballo Muerto (dated to ca. 1200-200 B.C.).

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The northernmost find of white tailed deer thus far comes from Loma Saavedra, a site on the quwi (Quechua). The English term guinea pig may refer to Guinea [?: Guyana] on the coast of
banks of the Zarumilla River (Tumbes, a short distance away from the frontier with Ecuador). Africa, or to a type of colonial coin (Stahler 2008: 124). Its distribution is on the other hand
Its fates fall between A.D. 1070 and A.D. 1520, which corresponds to the Jambelí, Garbanzal, vast, not just across the Andes as far as Chile, but also for instance archaeological sites in the
Chimu, and Chimu-Inca cultures (Moore 2007a: 16). savannah of Bogotá. It was so widespread that Sauer tells us the chroniclers found it in an area
that extended from the Antilles as far as Yucatán.

Peccary [Chancho de Monte, Jabalí Americano, Pecarí] (Tayassuidae) Valdez and Valdez (1997) proved not just the inefficiency shown by archaeologists when
documenting these remains, but also the scant attention that has been paid to them. For
This is a fruit-eating ungulate of neotropical provenance (López et al. 2006). The only evidence example, one problem when excavating guinea pigs in situ is that according to the ethnographic
of peccary found in a Peruvian context comes from the Nanchoc sites in the upper Zaña evidence marshalled by Valdez and Valdez they are usually found in every room and not in
Valley and the middle Jequetepeque Valley. Here, Dillehay (2011: 333) says, peccary has been specific sites. They may have eventually been eaten by dogs (Cutright 2009: 161), a not-too
found to have been a possible alimentary source in strata that dated to 9700-9200 B.C. It rare occurrence. I myself recall as a child (1970s-1980s) in the Hacienda Cultambo, (middle
should be noted that the sites lie in the low-altitude Andes of northern Peru, which can be Jequetepeque Valley, La Libertad), that the guinea pigs in the house belonging to my relatives
points of connection between this zone and the Amazon. where we used to spend the summer holidays were in many places and just a few in the
kitchen.

Rodents Let us now consider some general characteristics of this species. Daniel Gade (1967) is one of
the scholars who first made a holistic study of the guinea pig in the context of the Andean
Guinea Pig [Cuy, Cobayo, Quwe, Wanchu] (Cavia porcellus) culture. Gade believes the guinea pig species is more related to the chinchilla and the capybara
than to rodents. As regards its ancestor, it was domesticated from Cavia cutleri Bennett,
We now turn to an animal that is typical of Andean, and nowadays Peruvian, cuisine, and which was originally described in the department of Ica in the late nineteenth century.
which certainly is characteristic of Peru: the guinea pig or cuy. Guinea pigs were the main
source of meat for some in pre-Hispanic Peru, because although camelids are evidently much A guinea pig measures on average 20-28 cm, and weighs between 500 grams and one kilo. Gade
bigger, they do not reproduce at the same rate as the cuy and they are not killed in order also says it was consumed by pre-Hispanic populations and that in one cooking method—
to prevent strife among them; in fact, usually a male and many females are left alive, which roasting—it was eviscerated and had its stomach filled with pebbles in order to facilitate
means cuy consumption may have been massive. Hans Horkheimer (1960: 44) believed the cooking. Guinea pigs lived inside the house, where one usually finds 8-15 individuals.
guinea pig was native to Peru, probably to the highlands.
Edmundo Morales (1994) studied guinea pigs from several perspectives and supplemented
When the Spaniards reached the New World the found the guinea pig widely distributed, Gade’s work. For Morales, the domestication of the guinea pig began in the Altiplano, where
from the Venezuelan northwest to central Chile and northern Argentina. In a fascinating wild cuys (Cavia aparea) still live. Besides the ease with which it reproduces (up to 72 offspring
study, Piguière et al. (2012) presented evidence of sixteenth-century guinea pig remains found every year), it can live up to nine years but on average live three. Its high adaptive capacity
in excavations in Belgium and England—i.e. almost immediately after the Spanish conquest— means it can live in temperate environments as well as in cold altitudes, i.e. from sea level
that according to the contexts were kept as curios or as pets. Although it is believed that at up to 4000 masl. The amount of calories found in guinea pig milk is far higher than in most
this time guinea pigs were not considered eatable in Europe, it is worth recalling that in his mammals, which means it is a significant source of fat. On average every family has at least
Theatre d´agriculture (1563), the French agronomist O. de Serres pointed out that the connins twenty guinea pigs.
d´Inde exported from Brazil, had been domesticated in France for food. De Serres himself
pointed out that for guinea pigs to have a good taste, they must be prepared with several Before reviewing the presence of the guinea pig in Peru’s archaeological record let us examine
species. This means the question regarding whether guinea pigs were being eaten in Europe its nutritional value, and then its origin and domestication. The cuy probably is the animal
right after the conquest is still open. Andean people from all walks of life had access to, with a high supply of high-value animal
protein. The well-known study by Bolton (1979: 240) estimates the chemical composition of
In wild state the guinea pig is part of the Cavia genus, which was widespread in South guinea pig meat comprises 70% water, 20% protein, 7% fat, and 0.8% minerals. An average cuy
America since the Miocene. Once domesticated it was given different names in the native should provide at least 100 grams of pure protein. In his study of food in pre-Hispanic Peru,
languages, like wanchu (Aymara); conejo peruano or nativo (Spanish); acuri, huimbo or cobayo Horkheimer gives 95 calorie units for every 100 grams of guinea pig (Horkheimer 1960: 110).
(Colombia); cobaiao porquinho da India (Brazil); acurito (Venezuela); curiel (Cuba); and cuy/ Bolton points out the consumption of at least six guinea pigs a year per individual, combined

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with the protein and vegetable carbohydrates, should fulfil FAO’s recommendations. Besides, midst of refuse, were selective factors that influenced its domestication. It was subsequently
recent studies indicate guinea pig consumption is a main factor in the struggle with tuberculosis easy finding it in pre-Hispanic kitchens and even in our time [?: incluso en nuestra época].
(Gregoire et al. 2010).
We now begin the archaeological review. In the South American context, the most ancient
Let us return now to the study by Bolton (1979) mentioned above. He made his observations guinea pig remains seem to come from Tequendama, a site in Colombia, and to date to 9000-
in Santa Barbara, a town in the province of Canchis (Cuzco). Interestingly enough, in this case 5000 B.C. Danièlle Lavallée (1990: 28) says in Colombia, guinea pig appears in many sites
guinea pig is important not just for this population, it is also distributed in the midst of a ritual belonging to this early period like El Abra, Sueva 1, and Nemocón. This means it had already
in moments when food is scant. For Bolton, the extensive knowledge the Indians in this zone dispersed in northern South America shortly after the last ice age.
have of the guinea pig apparently allowed them to realise the high value guinea pig protein
has in terms of the development of antibodies with which to fight infectious diseases. This is In his famed Peru before the Incas, Edward Lanning (1967: 18) had already considered the
a point that should also be considered when discussing the issue of pre-Hispanic pathologies significant role the guinea pig had in the diet of Peru’s pre-Hispanic population, which was
derived from food ingestion. one of the major alimentary sources in pre-Columbian Peru, and that it had a role comparable
to that of fish.
We now turn to the origins and domestication of the guinea pig. Sauer (1952: 52) believed
this animal was the earliest one to be domesticated in the Peruvian Andes. He believed its MacNeish and his team claim the research they carried out in various early archaeological
domestication was based on patterns of preference in fertility, size, and colour. A suggestive sites in Ayacucho recorded domesticated guinea pigs in the Puente phase—i.e. 10,085-6960
observation Saur made is that the alteration or manipulation of the guinea pig in wild state B.C.—but not all of the evidence required to fully support this find has been published (León
has been significant; this entails a great antiquity so the archaeological documentation will 2007: 224). This find corresponds to Jayhuamachay, a site that lies at about 3350 masl.
be limited in this regard, and it can even be considered that its domestication began long
before the dates to be discussed below. This should be borne in mind when we present the Stahler (2008: 125) has drawn attention to the discovery of guinea pig bones that he believes
archaeological record. On the other hand, Hans Horkheimer (1960: 44) was convinced the may have been selected or ‘trapped.’ He believes this may mark the beginning of this animal’s
guinea pig had been domesticated in Peru. manipulation towards the end of this phase [Puente] at Ayamachay, a rocky shelter in a wet
environment in Ayacucho that lies at 3000 masl and dates to ca. 8000 B.C. The trapping and
In recent years Spotorno et al. (2006) seem to have shown through haplotypes and genetics collecting of guinea pigs perhaps indicates the use of triangular mouse traps; we should not,
that guinea pigs are derived from a wild ancestor called Cavia tschudii. They posit that its however, discard the use of ‘encierros.’ i.e. some type of pigeonholes where the animals were
domestication took place in three phases, an early one (probably in Puno or in the southern placed in.
Altiplano), another during the colonial period, and finally a third phases from which modern,
pre-selected guinea pigs derive. This type of selection, trapping and “enclosing” of guinea pigs persisted in Ayacucho during
the Jaywa and Piki phases, i.e. in 6350-5460 B.C. However, Richard MacNeish believes a large
Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 27) in turn pointed out that at the time of the Spanish conquest concentration of charcoal found in the rock shelter of Ayamachay (Ayacucho), where the
this animal was found from the coast up to the selva baja; that there were up to four varieties bones of a dozen guinea pigs lay, can be taken to be one of the first signs of truly domesticated
were being raised; and that it was considerably bigger in size, but this requires further research. guinea pigs in a Chihua phase context in 5600-4140 B.C. However, there are no specific studies
We have just seen some parts of this position in Sauer. that prove this.

Stahler (2008: 123-126) made a summary of the guinea pig in the pre-Hispanic period, in Lavallée (1990: 29) has pointed out that Elizabeth Wing claimed the domestication of the
which he raises a debate concerning the closes non-domesticated ancestor. Most point to guinea pig took place between 5500 and 2500 B.C. because shortly after this last date there
Cavia aperea as the most likely candidate even though molecular research indicates that the is a continuous increase of the remains. Still, Lavallée adds that more studies are required in
ancestral species is Cavia tschudii tschudii (Drunnum and Salazar Bravo 2010), which spread order to establish that these really were domesticated guinea pigs.
over almost all of the Amazon; some experts however believe it was a variant of Cavia aperea.
Other guinea pig remains found at Rosamachay, a site that lies at about 2650 masl in Ayacucho
Cavia tschudii has a more restricted distribution from Peru to the northernmost part of Chile, itself belong to this same epoch. Even so, the size of the height of the diastema in guinea
and partially in the Argentinian northwest. Stahl points out that domesticated guinea pigs can pig jaws dating to the first millennium B.C. categorically shows they had already been
essentially be identified through changes in the head and in their size. Stahl likewise notes domesticated by this epoch, and we even have a guinea pig mummy from Rosamachay Cave
that the living conditions of this carrion-eating type animal, and the fact that it feeds in the that dates to ca. 500 B.C. (Stahler 2008: 125).

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Guinea pig remains that date to an early epoch perhaps come from the earliest levels to the molluscs, fish, and llama remains. These animals were evidently eaten at the site, but we do
early Holocene of Guitarrero Cave, in the Callejón de Huaylas. But as was noted by Peter not know whether they were all eaten at the same time.
Stahler (2008: 125), they may have been introduced fully domesticated in this zone from the
Central Andes to the north only since the first millennium B.C. Guinea pig was also consumed by the Mochica who lived at Huaca del Sol, in the lower
Moche Valley, as an alternative resource to the llama (the main meat source at this site), as
Cuy has also been documented during the third millennium B.C. in the Huallaga basin, shown by its remains found as food residues at the site. Vásquez et al. (2003: 53) found up to
particularly in the Kotosh site at about 2000 masl, but without specifying whether they were 285 of guinea pig remains among the animals consumed at this site.
domesticated or wild animals (Stahler 2008: 125).
The presence of guinea pigs has been recorded around A.D. 400 at Ciudad de Dios, a site
Elizabeth Wing (1972) showed the presence of guinea pig remains at the archaeological site of in the middle Moche Valley, which means the Moche living in this zone also consumed it
Kotosh in Huánuco, presumably from the late third millennium B.C. (Gumerman and Briceño 2003: 235). This was also confirmed by the cuy find at Pampa Grande,
a site in the Lambayeque Valley that belongs to Moche V, i.e. A.D. 700-800 (Shimada and
Bonavia (1982: 176, 200-201) likewise documented guinea pig remains at Los Gavilanes, a site in Shimada 1981: 30).
the lower Huarmey Valley with dates ranging from 3200 to 1480 B.C. The preservation of these
remains is such that in this case they are guinea pig hair. The Paracas and the Nasca were eating guinea pig on the Central-South Coast two thousand years
ago. Cavia porcellus was found at Cerrillos, a major early Paracas site (ca. A.D. 800-600) in the Ica
Izumi and Melody Shimada (1985: 8) pointed out that guinea pigs have been identified at Valley (Splitstoser 2009: 93). As for the Nasca, Kellner and Schoeninger (2008) found through O13y
Huaca Lucía (Bosque de Poma), in the department of Lambayeque. This site dates to the Initial N15 [?]—i.e. through the stable isotope analysis of human bones—that part of the meat eaten by
Period, ca. 1300 B.C. the people of Las Trancas in A.D. 100-1000 (including the Wari occupation) came from guinea pigs.
Lidio Valdez showed guinea pig consumption was a second source of protein for the Nasca of
Domesticated guinea pigs have also been excavated at Chavín de Huántar with a date of ca. Cahuachi (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 4), a point supported by previous research like that of Johnny Isla
900 B.C., as well as in northern Cajamarca in contexts dating to the second millennium B.C. at Usaca , where these animals were found in a domestic context (Silverman and Proulx 2002: 57).
(Stahler 2008: 125).
Guinea pig was being eaten by the people of the Recuay culture in A.D. 200-800 at Chinchawas,
Miller and Burger (1995: 427) reported finding guinea pigs in the well-known site of Chavín de a site some 3850 masl in the Callejón de Huaylas excavated by Georges Lau (2002).
Huántar since at least the Urabarrio phase ca. 900 B.C. This means it was already being eaten in
this part of the Callejón de Huaylas, and at a highest rate than all other species eaten at this site. Cuy was also part of the food eaten by the Wari at Cerro Baúl (Moquegua) in A.D. 635-1000
(Moseley et al. 2005: 17269) , as well as at the site of Conchopata, in the same time period
The study made by Carmen Cardoza points out that guinea pig remains were also found in (Finucane et al. 2006: 1171).
the excavation of the Gallery of the Offerings at Chavín de Huántar, which dated to 1218-812
B.C. (Cardoza 1993: 373). It may also have been consumed around this same time at the site of Guinea pig remains have even been found in the Rivero Citadel during its Chimu occupation.
Kuntur Wasi in Cajamarca (Uzawa 2007: 6). Even so, establishing whether these animals were Thanks to the research carried out by Keating (1975: 226) at the site of Cerro La Virgen (Chimu
in fact eaten is not easy due to the lack of evidence for their processing and of any type of culture), we also know that cuy was being eaten at Chan Chan. The guinea pig remains found
combustion. at Cerro Arena, and which date to ca. 60 B.C., are particularly relevant. Cuy apparently was a
relatively important part of the food eaten by its early inhabitants
Shelia Pozorski (1979: 169) documented guinea pig consumption at Cerro Arena, in the lower
Moche Valley, as part of an archaeological project that comprised several North Coast Guinea pig remains have been found in domestic contexts in various sites in the lower
sites. This is also true of Moche sites like Huaca de la Luna, where Cárdenas et al. (1997: 138) Lambayeque Valley. This can be interpreted as cuy consumption throughout a very long
managed to identify cuy fibres in Mochica faecal remains, which makes it clear it was eaten period, from the Cupisnique (1300 B.C.) to the Sicán (A.D. 1400) cultures (Klaus and Tam 2010:
by the Mochica population. To this all we should add the depictions of guinea pigs on both 596). Cuy was an important part of the diet of the people who lived at Pedregal in the Chimu
Mochica and Chimu pottery. epoch (ca. A.D. 1000-1460), where it came second (19%) only to the llama (Cutright 2009: 158).

To this we can add that Van Gijsehem (2001: 261) found a cache of food remains on the floor Lockard (2005: 201) reports the relative amount of guinea pigs eaten at Galindo, a site in the
of one of the enclosures at Huaca de la Luna that included guinea pigs and several species of middle Moche Valley, not just during the Mochica occupation of this site (ca. A.D. 600-800)

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but also under the Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460). The analysis concluded cuy was eaten with the and 5000 masl, but it can sometimes come down as low as 600 masl. Crags are its habitat, but
same intensity both by the lower population strata as well as by the elites, which means it was always in areas close to water and plants on which it can feed. They are very agile, so the best
the most popular food, at least at this site. way to catch them is using traps (Pearson 1948).

Melissa Vogel (2012: 127) recorded guinea pig remains at Cerro La Cruz (Chao Valley), which To the best of my knowledge there is no study of the way this species was treated or prepared.
dates to A.D. 900-1350, as well as the wild plants taken to the site to feed them. However, the vizcacha pampeana, one of its relatives, has been studied in Argentina during
the Late Holocene. It was shown that once the animal had been killed it was skinned using a
The guinea pig apparently was also part of the Wari diet. Tung (2012: 52) reports the occurrence ventral aperture in the skin; it was then sectioned in the hind part and the head was removed.
of cuy bones at the site of Beringa (Arequipa) in a Wari context (A.D. 650-1000). The muscles were then removed and finally the marrow was extracted, probably to expose it
during boiling. Although this is not the Andean vizcacha, we can surmise a similar process was
The Wanka of the upper Mantaro Valley (3200-3900 masl) also ate guinea pig between A.D. followed with this animal (Quintana y Mazzanti 2011).
200 and the Inca period (cf. Hastorf 2002: 157).
Let us see some of the pre-Hispanic evidence. One of the oldest vizcacha remains excavated
Ugent and Peterson (1988: 8) report having found several remains of guinea pig bones at El in archaeological contexts comes from Guitarrero Cave (2850 masl) in the Callejón de Huaylas.
Centinela, a site in the lower Chincha Valley that is almost on the seashore some 200 km It was found starting in complex I, i.e. ca. 9500 B.C., at the very beginning of the Holocene and
of Lima; this means cuy was also eaten here. Lo Demás is a site in this same valley that was almost at the end of the last ice age. Although there are no remains of combustion of any
occupied in Inca times, in which fishing was the main activity. Here Sandweiss and Wing (1997) trace of some other form of preparation, it is clear the animals were taken to the cave with
reported a series of evidence showing the presence of guinea pigs, including bones, coproliths, some end in mind, which includes that of using them as food.
and mummified remains.
Chauchat and his team (1992: 145) have found vizcacha remains on the coast that date to a
Williams (2005: 166) found through stable isotope analysis of bones and organic remains, that very similar time. These remains were quite probably eaten at the sites in Pampa de los Fósiles,
the people of the Puruchuco-Huaquerones site in the Lima Valley ate guinea pig at the time of which belong to the Paiján culture and date on average to 9300 B.C.
the Inca Empire. Isotopic studies likewise showed the guinea pigs were fed first maize and then
quinoa. Corrals for cuy had previously been found in some kind of patio, thus supplementing Lavallée et al. (1985: 64) excavated somewhat more recent vizcacha remains at Telarmachay, in
the isotopic result (Horkheimer 1960: 44). the Junín puna, that begin appearing ca. 8000 B.C. It is assumed that it was part of the food
eaten by these early peoples who lived at an altitude of 4420 masl.
Watson (2008: 137-138) recorded the presence of guinea pigs that were eaten at the site of
Pueblo Viejo-Pucará in the Lurín Valley during the period of the local Inca occupation. Marcus Vizcacha remains were also found at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey Valley. Here
et al. (1999: 6569) found cuy remains in significant amounts within a Chincha context at Cerro Bonavia (1982: 176, 200) recorded their presence since at least 2200-1480 B.C.
Azul, a site in Cañete that is also on the Central Coast. Guinea pig were found throughout all
of the Caribbean, and even in La Hispaniola by the time the Spaniards reached America, which From these first pieces of information we can surmise these animals were probably consumed
means it must have been taken there from the Andes by sea (Stahler 2008: 126). since the beginning of the Holocene in both the central Peruvian puna and the intermontane
valleys as well as the coast. This means it may well have been an important part of the food
Loma Saavedra, an archaeological site on the southern banks of the Zarumilla River in Tumbes, eaten by the first Peruvian peoples.
close to the modern-day frontier with Ecuador, probably marks the northernmost presence of
the guinea pig. This site dates to A.D. 1070-1520, so it is contemporary [se conjuga] with several Miller and Burger (1995: 427) subsequently found vizcacha remains at the famed site of Chavín
cultures like Jambelí, Garbanzal, Chim, and Chimu-Inca (Moore 2007a: 16). de Huántar in the Callejón de Huaylas since at least 900 B.C. It is believed to have been part of
the food eaten by the early inhabitants of this site. Vizcacha remains have likewise been found
in the Gallery of the Offerings at Chavín, where they date to 1218-812 B.C. (Cardoza 1993: 372);
Vizcacha (Lagidium peruanum) it is however not easy establishing whether they were eaten or not.

There are three species, L. peruanum, L. viscacia, and L. wolffsohni, the former of which is The studies done at Huaca de la Luna, a site in the lower Moche Valley, showed the
known as vizcacha. It usually lives in the western Andes in the central Peruvian puna, as well occurrence of vizcacha bones in Mochica contexts that date to A.D. 300-750. However,
as on the coastal lomas both of Peru and northern Chile. It is frequently found between 3000 the main point here is they were charred. This has been interpreted as a result of their

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being cooked, which means this animal was part of the Moche diet (Vásquez and Rosales Quilter et al. (1991: 279) report the scant presence of fox bones (no taxonomic specification is
1998: 188). The Moche of Pampa Grande, a site east of the modern city of Chiclayo, in given) eaten at least since 2150 B.C. at the site of El Paraíso, which is almost on the mouth of
the department of Lambayeque, apparently also ate vizcacha in A.D. 711-800 (Shimada and the Chillón Valley north of Lima.
Shimada 1981: 30).
Five fox vertebrae were found at the site of Los Gavilanes, in contexts that date to 3200-1460
Vizcachas were also eaten at Cerro Baúl, albeit in small amounts, at the time of the Wari B.C. (Bonavia 1982: 200). The remains of this animal have also been found in Mochica contexts
Empire in A.D. 631-1000 (Moseley et al. 2005: 17269). (ca. A.D. 400-750) at Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 134).
The northern Moche apparently also knew and ate Ducycion sechurae, as follows from the
finds made at Pampa Grande, a site on the coast of Lambayeque (Shimada and Shimada 1981:
Canids 30). We should recall in this regard that Moche pottery includes fox depictions.

Sechuran Fox [Zorro de Sechura] (Dusicyon sechurae, Pseudolopex sechurae) and Andean Fox [Zorro The research undertaken by Carmen Rosa Cardoza (1993: 372) in the Gallery of the Offerings at
Andino or Colorado] (Pseudolopex culpaeus) Chavín de Huántar recorded the occurrence of Dusicyon sechurae in the time period 1218-812
B.C. These remains have been found in contexts of offerings, but it may have been part of the
We have grouped here two species under the common denomination of fox. The Sechuran food eaten by the people of Chavín.
fox is a typical animal of the frontier region between Peru and Ecuador, but it may also
have occupied other environments such as the wet tropical forest and even areas like the Pseudolopex culpeus or Andean fox was found in the excavation at Cerrillos, a site in the
department of Lima. The fossil remains of this animal have been found in Piura and Guayas upper Ica Valley that dates to A.D. 800-600. It may have been consumed by the Paracas at this
(Ecuador) (Martínez and Cadenillas 2011). On the other hand the Andean fox Pseudolopex time (Splitstoser 2009: 93).
culpaeus has the latter name—derived from the Mapuche [?: mauche] term culpem, which
means madness—due to its habit of revealing himself to the hunter, this facilitating its hunt. The excavation of Cerro Baúl (Moquegua) found at least one Andean fox (Moseley et al. 2005:
This is the biggest fox of its genus in South America. It is slightly smaller than the wolf and has 17269-17270), but it has been attributed a ritual function.
one of the largest distributions, from Nariño in Colombia to Tierra del Fuego in Chile, where
it has adapted to several habitats up to 4800 masl. Both are essentially solitary and highly Finally, fox remains have been identified in the lower Lambayeque Valley, in midden contexts left
carnivore animals (Romo 1995). behind by the consumption of food by cultures from Cupisnique (1300 B.C.) to Sicán (A.D. 1400).

Let us turn now to the archaeological record. The most ancient remains of the Sechuran fox
come from Quebrada Tacahuay, a site south of Ilo in the modern department of Moquegua Mustelids
that is almost on the seashore. Here, the excavations found some bones of Dusycion sechurae
that have been dated to 9370-9377 B.C. (DeFrance y Umire 2004: 271). This shows its current Andes Skunk [Zorrino de los Andes] (Conepatus rex, Conepatus chinga rex)
distribution does not reflect the past one, as we have just seen.
These are mustelid mammals endemic on the American continent that live in caves, cracks
The remains of Sechuran fox that were possibly eaten by the first inhabitants of the north in stones and in hollow trees. The most ancient remains of this animal in Peru come from
coast were found at the site of Ascope 5 (unit 4), in a Paiján context that dates to 7725 B.C. complex I at Guitarrero Cave in the Callejón de Huaylas, which dates to ca. 9500 B.C. (Wing
(Chauchat 1992: 311). 1980: 155). It may have been eaten by the people who then lived in this. It was in fact consumed
even more in 8500-6700 B.C.
The Andean fox (Pseudolopex culpaeus) rivals the Sechuran fox in age as it has been found
in the excavations of the archaeological sites in the upper Jequetepeque Valley as well as Lavallée et al. (1985: 64) reported the occurrence of Andes skunk bones in the rock shelter of
at Nanchoc, in the upper Zaña Valley (department of Lambayeque). Its presence is probably Telarmachay, in the Junín puna; they were found in the most ancient strata that date to ca.
associated with human consumption in dates that surprisingly range between 11,572 and 5954 8000 B.C.
B.C. The interesting thing about these sites is that both foxes were eaten, as Ducicyon sechurae
appears somewhat later in 8011-5954 B.C. (Dillehay 2011: 333). This means both fox species Rodríguez Loredo (2012) report having found skunk bones in domestic contexts—which
probably were part of the food eaten by our most ancient ancestors both on the north and presumably means they were eaten—at Quebrada de los Burros, on the Tacna littoral, with
the south coast, during the last glaciation and shortly afterwards. dates that fall between 7900 and 4800 B.C.

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Andes skunk was subsequently also eaten at Chavín de Huántar since at least 900 B.C. (Miller Which dog breeds had their origin in South America? Is it correct calling the hairless dog
and Burger 1995: 429). “Peruvian”? Given the relevance of this subject, there are three sources of information that
will be presented to the reader so each can draw his or her own conclusions.
Watson (2008: 137) reports finding skunk remains, possibly the result of their being consumed,
in the Inca occupation of Pueblo Viejo-Pucará, an Inca site in the Lurín valley. First, Gilmore (in Allison et al. 1982) lists nine South American dog breeds:

· Inca (medium size).


Peruvian Hairless Dog [Perros Peruanos] (Canis lupus familiaris) · Long-haired Inca (medium size).
· Peruvian pug-nosed (small bulldog-like) [One of the first to be identified in 1896 by Max
Were dogs eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru? It is very likely. In a review of dogs in the Cambridge Uhle’s excavation at Pachacamac, Lima].
world history of food, Stanley Olsen (2000: 508-517) says there is some evidence of its · Fuegian (small terrier-like) [South American terrier].
consumption by native Americans, including the fact that they were strangled in order to · Ona (medium setter-like).
avoid shedding the blood, which was then extracted and poured in gourd vessels. This blood · Tehuelche (large, foxhound-like).
was then cooked, i.e. it was coagulated by placing it on hot stones, whilst the meat was placed · Techiche (small terrier-like).
on plant leaves and then boiled. · Hairless (small) (Mexican and not Peruvian, as is commonly believed, until new evidence
appears).
Olsen says some parts, like the backbone and the ribs (curiously enough the same is true · Perro cimarrón (wild of European Stock).
of the llama, as was already noted) seem to have been favoured, as well as the encephalic
mass—a practice proven by archaeology as dog crania with holes have been found. Olsen has This same study by Allison et al. (1982) reports the discovery of eight dog mummies from
the theory that dogs are domesticated wolves, and that the initial process may have taken Arica, which date from ca. 500 B.C. to Inca times.
place between China and the Ukraine.
In Peru, dog remains usually have two sources. On the one hand there is a sizable number of
The oldest domesticated dog in the world probably is the one found in Russia at Eliseevichi I, on dog burials, and on the other they are frequently found among the refuse in archaeological
the banks of the Dnieper River, with dates that range between 17,000 and 12,900 B.C. (Sablin and sites, thus suggesting their consumption amongst other possible uses.
Khlopachev 2002). Based on the bones from various archaeological sites, from Alaska to South
America, Leonard et al. (2002) showed through genetic analysis that Canis familiaris, a native to Second, we have one of the first scholars who discussed dogs as food in pre-Hispanic Peru:
America [?: nativo de América], entered this continent with the first groups of humans who peopled Hans Horkheimer (1960) and his pioneering study of this subject. Horkheimer classified
it by crossing through Bering Strait. The clades found in the analysis also show that one remained the dogs of aboriginal America as follows: Canis caraibicus, a small hairless dog with high
isolated—the American one—and that dogs had arrived domesticated from a series of lines from Asia body temperature; and Canis ingae—alco in Quechua—of which there are three variants: a
and Eurasia. These scholars drew attention to the fact that both dogs and gourd vessels [calabazas- shepherd dog, a small, long-haired dog, and one type of dog with just the shepherd’s nose.
recipientes] are two of the most ancient domesticated species in America, not precisely as food but For Horkheimer, Canis ingae is by far the dog most frequently found in Peruvian pre-Hispanic
tor utilitarian reasons (but there is evidence showing they were both eaten at an early date). burials, i.e. the hairless dog is less frequently found.

Even so, some claim the dog was domesticated from the wolf in China around 14,300 B.C., Third and most recently, Vásquez et al. (2009: 20) made a major summary of this issue, albeit
precisely when the cultivation of rise was under experimentation (Pang et al. 2009). paying special emphasis to the “hairless dog.” Nehring (cited by the author [which one?])
had already concluded in the late nineteenth century that there are three dog races in pre-
Prates et al. (2010) summarised the scientific information available for South America at Hispanic Peru: the Peruvian dachshund [perro salchicha peruano] (hairless, with different traits
the moment the dogs spread. They conclude the introduction of the domesticated dog in than the other two varieties); the long-haired Inca dog [perro inca de pelo largo] (which is
different parts of the Andes, and particularly in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, must have taken bigger and usually lives in high-altitudes); and the short-haired Peruvian bulldog, which is a
place in the Middle Holocene, or even better the late Holocene. type of mastiff that seems to have vanished. All of these races are compatible with those
mentioned by Gilmore (see above).
We thus find there are three points that seem clear: that the dog entered America already
domesticated; that this may have taken place in the Terminal Pleistocene or the Middle The classic but still useful study by Pedro Weiss (1976) comes next. Weiss distinguished
Holocene; and that it descends from the wolf itself (lupus). and described the “chino,” “viringo,” “ccala,” or “calato” races, with the latter actually being

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a pathology: hereditary ectodermic hypoplasia [hipoplasia ectodérmica hereditaria]. The Elizabeth Wing (1972) mentioned the dog as a food source in archaeological sites such as
reader should bear with me as I explain the origin of this dog, as this is currently a subject of Pacopampa (Amazonas, ca. 1000 B.C.) and Kotosh (Huánuco, around the third millennium B. C.).
interest for the public.
Ikehara and Shibata (2005: 144) point out the possible consumption of dog in one of the feasts
This race is characterised not just by its lack of hair, but also of canines and premolars, which they have identified at Cerro Blanco, a site in the Nepeña Valley at least in 1100-250 B.C. The
means its identification is feasible. It is found depicted in the iconography of Moche, Chimu, parts eaten are some of the vertebrae, ribs, and leg bones.
Vicus, and Chancay pottery (Vásquez et al. 2009: 26), which means it was widespread across the
Peruvian coast from the beginning of the Christian era some two thousand years ago. One of Cardoza (1993: 372, 379) reported the discovery of dog bones in the Gallery of the Offerings at
the most important observations made by Vásquez et al. (2009: 29) concerns what is probably Chavín de Huántar. These remains date to ca. 1218-812 B.C. It should be noted that the bones
the oldest identification of a hairy dog in the tomb of the lord of Sipán, i.e. at least A.D. 200, are scorched, which means they were subjected to fire and perhaps cooked, but it has not
which comes close to the dates for the Mesoamerican hairless dogs. Assuming it reached been proven they were eaten.
the Andes from Mesoamerica, Schwartz (1997, cited by Vásquez et al. 2009: 31) concludes it
reached what is now Peru shortly after A.D. 500, and then it dispersed. We should, however, In a discussion of the Peruvian hairless dog, Cardoza identified some of them (Canis
recall the hairless dog did not have a sacred import for the Moche; on the contrary, it seems caraibicus) from the two mandibles along with other pieces like the incisors, the molars, and
to have been part of its domestic life. the premolars (key diagnostic pieces when determining the “hairless” species, particularly
the lack of a fourth premolar which is a congenital trait of this breed). Cardoza claims several
In order to finish with this subject we now turn to the invaluable study by Alana Cordy-Collins jaws were found, which means there was more than one dog of this breed. Besides, the fact
(1994). She believes the hairless dog comes from the western Mexican Colima culture in 250 that they have scorched areas quite probably means they were eaten, in what is known as
B.C.-A.D. 450, where a large number of vessels depict it, even wearing some kind of coat. cynophagy (Cardoza 1993: 383). Now, if they come from the Gallery of the Offerings and have
On the contrary, the depictions of the Peruvian hairless dog go back to the Moche period, the dates given in the preceding paragraph, then it turns out that these dogs probably go back
a culture that spread from Piura to Huarmey, and there is no earlier archaeological evidence to 1200 B.C. If this is correct, then we wonder whether their Mexican peers are older or not.
than this. What we do have according to Cordy-Collins, is abundant depictions of hairless There is still room for discussion.
dogs in later cultures like Chancay and Lambayeque. Cordy-Collins therefore bases herself on
the pottery and claims this dog must have been taken from Mexico to Peru around A.D. 300- In an integral study of the food eaten in some archaeological sites close to the Moche Valley,
400. We now turn to the archaeological record where we find several breeds, one of which Shelia Pozorski (1979: 169) concluded that at least sites like Caballo Muerto (since about 1200
is the hairless one. B.C.), Mochica sites like Huaca de la Luna, and part of the citadel of Chan Chan, had dog
bones that were the remains of the food eaten by these peoples on the North Coast of Peru.
Perhaps the oldest Peruvian dogs ever found come from sites in the upper Zaña Valley A subsequent study (Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 124) recorded piled-up dog bones that were
(department of Lambayeque), in archaeological contexts that date to 8011-5954 B.C. interpreted as part of the food eaten by the Mochica of Huaca del Sol, in the Moche valley,
during the first centuries of our era. Dogs have also been identified at Huaca de la Luna in
Next in the chronology comes the discovery MacNeish made of Canis familiaris, which dates this same zone (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 134) and even in another Moche site like Pampa Grande,
to ca. 8600 B.C. yet it is still questionable due to the lack of documentation (León 2007: 224). in the modern-day department of Lambayeque, throughout its Moche V occupation, i.e. in
Schwartz (1997) mentions the discovery in Ayacucho itself, of dogs in the cave of Rosamachay, A.D. 700-800 (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 30). From this all it follows that dogs were probably
which date on average to 4307 B.C. consumed on the North Coast as part of a tradition since the first millennium B.C.

Lavallée et al. (1985: 251) subsequently recorded one Canis familiaris in a stratum she dated Somewhat more to the north, Jean Guffroy (1989: 193) revealed the discovery of what he
to ca. 5700-4480 B.C. in the Telarmachay rock shelter, in the Junín puna. This find is important called big dogs in the middens of the ceremonial site of Ñañañique in Chulucanas (Piura), with
because it shows dog was present in the central Peruvian puna in the Middle Holocene and dates that fell between 1500 and 400 B.C.
at 4420 masl.
Domesticated dog remains have been excavated at Huaca Lucía-Chólope (department of
Another early find of Canis familiaris comes from the most recent stratum of Guitarrero Cave Lambayeque) in an Initial Period context, i.e. since 1300 B.C. (Shimada and Shimada 1985).
in the Callejón de Huaylas (Wing 1980: 153). These remains belong to a period that extends from
the late Preceramic (ca. 3000 B.C.) to more recent times, but they may also have been part of the Miller and Burger (1995: 429) in turn documented the occurrence of what perhaps are dog
food eaten by the people who lived in the cave. More studies are required in order to prove this. remains in the vicinity of the site of Chavín de Huántar since at least 900 B.C. Around the same

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time Uzawa (2007: 6) reported the presence of dogs at the site of Kuntur Wasi (Cajamarca). In
both cases it is by no means certain that they were eaten as food.

But as has already been noted, there can be no question that dogs were not just depicted
in Moche pottery—probably Peru’s most renowned pre-Hispanic documents—but have also
been found in Moche burials [?: y son probablemente los más reconocidos documentos
prehispánicos peruanos]. As regards the first point mentioned, the presence of the
domesticated dog in the first centuries of the Christian era was recorded, for instance in the
famed Moche site of Sipán (Alva and Donnan 1993).

Vásquez et al. (2009) made an interesting study of the dog in the context of the Mochica
culture in order to determine the Mochica breeds and morphotypes; they based themselves
on an analysis of pottery depictions, sculptures and bone evidence. Vásquez et al. concluded
that Moche society had a “primitive” (hairless variety) dog and another one called the
“Chiribaya shepherd” (a new morphotype for pre-Hispanic Peru). They believe the analysis
of the latter breed’s DNA seems to confirm that it was an isolated breed, which can be
considered to support its validity. Brothwell et al. (1979) had previously concluded there
were in fact two breeds or types based on an integral study of 42 pre-Hispanic dogs, which
dated to ca. 1000 B.C.-A.D. 1320.

Two juvenile [juveniles] dogs have also been found at Cerro Baúl, a site in Moquegua, with
dates that fall between A.D. 631 and 1000 (Moseley et al. 2005: 17269). The authors however
do not mention whether they were eaten or instead sacrificed in funerary contexts (they
favour a ritual function interpretation of the context). The possible breed of these animals is
not mentioned. Figura 17. Restos de huesos de perro con marcas de cortes para la extracción de carne y probable consumo. Pedregal, valle de Jequetepeque,
Cultura Chimú, aproximadamente 1000-1460 d.C. (CORTESÍA DE ROBYN CUTRIGHT).
Dog remains have also been found in the excavation of Cahuachi (Nasca), in what seems to be
a domestic context. Dogs may thus have been part of the food eaten by its first inhabitants
during the first centuries of the Christian era (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 5). Cutright (2009: 158) recorded dog remains at Pedregal, a site on the North Coast in the lower
Jequetepeque Valley He believes dogs occasionally served as food because they found bones
With his excavation and analysis of Chinchawas, a site in the Callejón de Huaylas, George Lau with the cut marks left when removing the flesh (Figure 17); however, this animal usually was
(2007) showed that dogs were at least partially eaten in small amounts in Recuay contexts a companion to the families that occupied this site. This also is one of the few pieces of
between A.D. 300 and 950. evidence of dog consumption.

Dog bones have also been found in domestic middens in some sites in the lower Lambayeque In another part of Peru, in the highlands of the modern department of Junín, Christine Hastorf
Valley, which were dated to ca. 1300 B.C.-A.D. 1400. Dogs may thus have been eaten by the (2002: 157) reports that dogs were partially consumed by the Wanka people between A.D. 200 and
ancient inhabitants of this region (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596), but it was not established whether the Inca occupation of this area. Hans Horkheimer (1960: 42) had already drawn attention to the
this was a hairless dog or not. This identification was confirmed for the site of Túcume in the presence of hairless dogs of the Canis caraibicus type in Chimu pottery depictions. Horkheimer
department of Lambayeque (ca. A.D. 1300). The remains found had cut marks in the epiphysis likewise reported that the same Wanka (A.D. 200-1470) mentioned by Hastorf, were known as “dog
of the long bones, so we may surmise they were eaten by the Lambayeque. It is even more eaters.” This however was apparently due to religious reasons because the Huarochirí manuscript
striking that they have cut marks at the atlas (neck) bone, which probably is the way they were claims they did so to propitiate their god Huallallo (Salomon and Urioste 1991: 70). For Horkheimer
killed (Vásquez et al. 2009: 26). If we accept this, then this would be one of the scant pieces this was a completely different attitude from that shown in Mexico where dogs were raised and
of evidence of the hairless dog being eaten in the Andes. fed in order to kill and eat them later. However, recent research seems to question this.

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Schwartz (1997) has recorded dog remains in Chiribaya contexts in the vicinity of Ilo, which Batrachians and Amphibians
date on average to A.D. 1200-1400.
It is likely that the oldest remains of amphibian that were part of our ancestors’ diet come from the
Moving on in the chronology, we now turn to the presence of dogs in Late Horizon or upper Zaña Valley (Lambayeque) and the archaeological sites excavated by Tom Dillehay and his
Inca Empire contexts. For instance, there is evidence that dogs were eaten at the site of team. Bufonidae y Ranidae have been found here in contexts that date to 8011-5954 B.C. (Dillehay
Puruchuco-Huaquerones, albeit in small amounts. This was pointed out by Jocelyn Williams 2011: 334).
(2005: 166) using stable isotopes in bones and other organic human remains. These dogs were
fed terrestrial food and marine plants (e.g. algae), whereas those from the sites in the upper Bufo has also been found in significant amounts at Quebrada de los Burros, a site on the littoral
Mantaro Valley ate more maize and tubers. of Tacna, in 7900-4800 B.C. It may have been eaten at this time (Rodríguez-Loredo 2012).

Lucia Watson (2008: 133) managed to identify some dog bones in Pueblo Viejo-Pucará, a site A few amphibian remains have been extracted by the excavation of El Paraíso, a site that
400-800 masl in the Lurín Valley. The bones were jumbled with a large number of camelids dates to ca. 2150 B.C. and is close to the Chillón River mouth, north of Lima (Quilter et al.
raised in corrals, but no mention is made of their being eaten. 1991: 279). This type of animal may have been part of the food eaten on the Central Coast
at this time.
The site of Lo Demás is also on the Central Coast, practically on the Chincha River mouth.
Here Daniel Sandweiss and Elizabeth Wing (1997: 55) reported finding dog bones in the Inca Two toads (Bufo arequipensis) were recorded by the excavations at Cerro Baúl, in Moquegua
period (A.D. 1480-1535). (Moseley et al. 2005: 17270). They are believed to have been part of the food eaten by the
Wari, who lived in this site in A.D. 631-1000. According to Cutright’s archaeological research
The dog remains from Huánuco Pampa and the famed shrine of Machu Picchu (Schwartz 1997) toads were also eaten, albeit in very small amounts, by the people of Pedregal, a Chimu
date to this same period. It is not clear whether they were food or not. (A.D. 1000-1460) site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley (Cutright 2009: 158). Toads were
also found in the excavation of Huaca de la Luna, a site in the lower Moche Valley. They
Finally, it is at present likely that the northernmost dog remains, which were probably date to the first centuries of the Christian era, which means they may have been eaten by
consumed, are the ones found at Loma Saavedra, on the southern banks of the Zarumilla the Moche (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 341). This same report says Shimada and Shimada
River (Tumbes) and very close to the frontier with Ecuador. They were found in middens that (1981: 30) found toad and frog remains at Pampa Grande (Lambayeque) that correspond to
dated to A.D. 1070-1530, i.e. they correspond to cultures like Jambelí, Garbanzal, Chimu, and the Moche V phases, i.e. ca. A.D. 600-700. In this case the toad was classified as Bufo, cf.
Chimu-Inca (Moore 2007a: 16). marinus or blombergi, and the frog as Ranidae. They both may have been part of the food
eaten by the inhabitants of this site.

Lagomorphs (similar to rodents) Sandefur (2001) recorded toads as part of the food eaten by the Wanka in the upper Mantaro
Valley (3200 masl) since at least A.D. 200.
Brazilian Cottontail, Forest Cottontail, Tapet [Conejo Andino, Conejo de Monte, Tapet ] (Sylvilagus
brasiliensis)
Salamander (Caudata)
The forest cottontail is spread from Mexico to the Atlantic coast line of Brazil. Its habitat
ranges from tropical forests and jungles to temperate woods. It does not appear at high At present there is just one piece of evidence that comes from the archaeological research
altitudes, yet in Colombia it is found in moors and high mountain ecosystems (Durant 1986). undertaken by Tom Dillehay (2011: 334) and his team. They report having found the bones of
this animal in archaeological contexts in the upper Zaña Valley, in the modern department of
Thus far we have only found the record of one of these animals in Peru’s archaeological Lambayeque, and with dates that range between 9700 and 9200 B.C.
context. In Guitarrero Cave, in the Callejón de Huaylas, Elizabeth Wing (1980: 153, 155) recorded
the presence of the forest cottontail, which was probably consumed. The layers it comes
from date to ca. 8500 B.C. Northern Leopard Frog [Rana Leopardo] (Rana pipiens)
This batrachian lives in wet forests and grass. It can grow up to eight cm long. Some varieties
have adapted to cold climates (Smith and Keinath 2007).

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The remains of this frog species have been excavated in Alenya (Bagua Baja), an The zooarchaeological analysis of the deepest strata of Guitarrero Cave, in the Callejón de
archaeological site that lies at 522 masl close to the Utcubamba River, in the department Huaylas, identified anura that probably date to 9500 B.C. (Wing 1980: 155). They may have been
of Amazonas. The indirect dates for this site average between 1500 and 1200 B.C. (Shady part of the food eaten by the earliest inhabitants of this part of Peru’s highlands.
and Rosas 1979: 111).
Shady and Rosas (1979: 111) have reported lizards, albeit without taxonomic identification, at
It is worth noting amphibian remains have also been found at Huaca de la Luna, where they Alenya (Bagua Baja), a site that lies at 522 masl close to the Utcubamba River, and so may have
date to ca. A.D. 400-750, which means the Mochica may have eaten them (Cárdenas et al. been part of the food eaten at this site at least in 1500-1200 B.C.
1997: 132), but no evidence of their consumption has been presented.
The Mochica also seem to have eaten the Peru Pacific iguana (Tropidurus peruvianus) and the green
iguana (Iguana iguana) species because their remains have been found at Huaca de La Luna, with dates
Lake Junín (Giant) Frog or Andes Smooth Frog [Rana de Junín or Rana Gigante] (Batrachophynus sp., between A.D. 400 and A.D. 750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 132). Attention has been drawn in this regard to
Batrachophynus macrostomus) the major source of protein this species was for the Mochica (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 363).

This is a purely aquatic amphibian that provides 13.7% protein, and 80% fat, and is thus a first- Two lizards (Lacertilia) have been found in the excavation of Cerro Baúl (A.D. 631-1000) in
class alimentary source for the people of the Junín puna (Manyari and Ianaconne 2006). Moquegua (Moseley et al. 2005: 17270).

The remains of this frog species have been found in a stratum dated to 5600-4480 B.C. at the They were also consumed by the people of the lower Lambayeque Valley for a long period
Telarmachay rock Shelter, which lies at 4420 masl close to San Pedro de Cajas (Junín) (Lavallé of time that extended at least from the Cupisnique (1300 B.C.) to the Sicán culture (A.D. 1400)
et al. 1985: 66-67), so they may have been consumed starting at this time. (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596).

Batrachophynus macrostomus has also been recorded by the zoo-archaeological analysis The iguana (Iguana sp.) has likewise been identified at Pedregal, a Chimu site in the lower
of Huaca de la Luna, a site in the lower Moche Valley, where it dates on average to A.D. Jequetepeque Valley, not far from the Pacatnamú shrine (A.D. 1000-1460) (Cutright 2009: 158).
400-750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 132); it is thus assumed to have been consumed by the
Moche.
Cañán (Dricodon guttulatum)
Reptiles This is a small lizard whose habitat extends from about the latitude of the modern department
of Tumbes and southern Ecuador to Chincha, on the Central Coast of Peru. It is a diurnal,
Sea Turtle [Tortuga Marina] (Chelonioidea) herbivore animal, and lives in deep burrows in the sand (Salízar Vásquez 2008).

The remains of four sea turtles were found in layers “J” and “O” at Huaca Prieta, and can thus be Cañán is known to feed essentially on Acacia huarango, Acacia macracantha, and Scutia spicata
dated to a brief span before 3000 and 2000 B.C. (this despite the lack of precision in the dates). (Pollack Velásquez et al. 2007). Cárdenas et al. (1997: 40-41) present this lizard’s bromatology
and state it holds 232% calories, 4.2% fat, 4.6% ash, 25% calcium, and above all 225% carotene,
Some remains of Chelonidae have also been found at Ostra, a site immediately north of the as well as the highest content of thiamine in comparison with all other species: 8.2%. Yet the
city of Chimbote in the Santa River mouth, with dates ranging between 5462 and 3711 B.C. most impressive thing is that it has 45.6% protein, which means it is an extremely important
(Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44). food as regards this type of nutrient.

Allan Holmberg (1957) published a now-classic study in this regard that is still a classic despite
Reptiles (Lacertilia, Reptilia) being over half a century old, its holistic approach still unequalled. Holmberg says the cañán
was still being eaten at the time of his fieldwork; that they lived in pairs and made their nests
The most ancient evidence of reptile consumption comes from Quebrada Tacahuay south in holes they made in the sand close to carob trees, whose fruits were their sole subsistence
of Ilo, on the littoral of Moquegua. A series of Lacertilia remains were found here in a strata source. Adults can grow up to a metre long and are hunted mostly in the summertime, when
associated with archaeological remains dated to 10,730-9370 B.C. (DeFrance and Umire they leave their burrows for a short while in order to feed themselves. They are hunted with
2004: 271). traps formed by a sort of strips made out of maguey or reeds that can reach up to tens of

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metres and which are placed close to the carob trees; when the animals come out of their Yellow Rat Snake [Serpiente Voladora] (Spilotes pullatus)
burrow they cannot reach the fruits and the hunters can catch them even by hand.
A few remains of this type of serpent have been recorded in the archaeological sites of the
Cañán has been eaten on the North Coast of Peru since very ancient times, as was shown upper Zaña Valley (Lambayeque), which dated to ca. 8011-5954 B.C.
by the study Claude Chauchat made at Pampa de los Fósiles (unit 7) in the context of the
Paiján culture, which has a mean date of 7876 B.C., virtually the oldest on the Peruvian coast
(Chauchat 1992: 90). It is said it was the most important food for these first inhabitants of the Sea Lions [Lobos Marinos] (Pinnipedia, Otáridos) and Whales [Ballenas] (Cetacea)
North Coast (Chauchat 1992: 356).
Sea lions have been eaten since Peru was populated, first in the south and then in other
The remains of Dricodon guttulatum have been discovered in archaeological contexts in parts as follows from the archaeological record. The most ancient remains come from a site
sites in the upper Zaña Valley (Lambayeque), with dates that fall between 8011 and 5954 B.C. called Quebrada Tacahuay south of Ilo, in the modern department of Moquegua. They were
Dricodon sp. has even been dated since ca. 11,572 B.C., so it may have been part of the food found in a stratum that has been radiocarbon dated and calibrated to 10,730 and 10,080 B.C.
eaten by the most ancient inhabitants of this zone (Dillehay 2011: 334). (DeFrance and Umire 2004: 271).

The Moche are also known to have consumed this type of lizard. Shimada and Shimada (1981: Lavallée et al. (1999: 45) reported the presence of pinnipeds in the Preceramic layers of
30) reported the remains of these animals at Pampa Grande, a site in the modern department Quebrada de los Burros (Tacna), which they dated to at least 6200 B.C.; however, the
of Lambayeque that dates to A.D. 711-800. documentation presented is still scant. Their number is minimal in comparison with the fish,
and they may have been hunted using harpoons, or simply by beating isolated animals found
Cutright (2009: 158) found in his archaeological research at Pedregal, a Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) on the rocks or the beach to death. A subsequent publication noted that the remains of
site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, the bone remains of cañán that were eaten at this site, Otaria flavescens were found at this site, but with dates that fall between 7900 and 4800
albeit in minimal amounts. Cárdenas et al. (1997: 132) have also recorded this species at Huaca B.C. The remains had a series of marks left by cuts and by burning, thus clearly indicating their
de la Luna in A.D. 400-750, which means the Mochica also consumed it. processing for consumption. Remains of Arthocephalus australis were found that bore similar
marks (Rodríguez Loredo 2012: 154).
Fernández and Rodríguez (2007: 217) points out that stalks of ... [chilco hembra] (Bacharis
glutinosa) are used ethnographically to trap the cañán. Other examples of very ancient evidence of sea lion (Pinnipedia) consumption come from
the deepest layers of the Ring Site, in the Mollendo area south of the modern city of Ilo,
which is just 750 m away from the current seashore (Sandweiss et al. 1989: 52). The materials
False Monitor [Iguana] (Callopistes flavipunctatus) used for radiocarbon dating were not appropriate for such ancient remains, but they may
go back to 9560 B.C. It was evidently frequently eaten until 3800 B.C., which means it was
The false monitor [iguana] lives in the riparian forest [?: monte ribereña]. Its biochemical a favourite animal of the ancient Mollendinos. The presence of marine harpoons [arpones
properties include 112% calories, 73% water, and a not inconsiderable 24% protein, and above marinos] proves they were hunted.
all calcium (1,231%), phosphorus (727%), and niacin (6.3%) (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 140-141).
Elizabeth Reitz and Dan Sandweiss (2001: 1094) report having found sea lion (Pinnipedia) and
The work done by Claude Chauchat and his team showed this lizard was eaten since at least dolphin—albeit in very small numbers—remains at Ostra, a site immediately north of the
10,250 B.C. at Pampa de los Fósiles 14 (unit 2), south of the modern city of Pacasmayo, on the Santa River mouth and of the city of Chimbote, with dates that range between 5462 and
North Coast of Peru (Chauchat 1992: 274). False monitor [iguana] remains have also been found in 3711 B.C.
the upper Zaña sites and perhaps correspond to archaeological contexts that date to 8011-5954
B.C., so it may have been part of the food eaten by the people in this zone (Dillehay 2011: 334). Further north at the site of Paloma, in the Chilca Valley, Reitz (1988: 316) observed the presence
of a series of sea lion (Otaria flavescens) bones. Although they are not represented among the
edible samples, the remains were however carried to the camps where they were presumably
Lizards [Lagartijas] (Teiidae) consumed. The lack of bones perhaps indicates they were previously quartered and cut into
sections on the beach. The dates for the layers where these finds come from range between
Lizards of this species were part of the food eaten by the early people of Pampa de los Fósiles 5316 and 3630 B.C.
14 (unit 2) in the context of the Paiján culture, and date to 10,350 B.C. (Chauchat 1992: 274).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Bird et al. (1985: 243-244) report the presence at Huaca Prieta, on the northern Peruvian Tinamou [Perdiz Andina, Tinamú] (Nothoprocta cf. taczanoskii)
coast, of Rattus sp. Canidae (they were unable to specify whether this was a dog or a fox),
Artocephalus (sea lion), and Cetacea (small whale or dolphin). Most of these remains come The tinamou is one of the first birds that formed part of ancient Peruvian cuisine (probably
from the deepest layers but not from the final occupation of the site. The Pinnipedia (sea Nothoprocta pentlandii), a kind of big partridge that runs relatively fast and cannot fly.
lions) were present in the food eaten by the population of Huaca Prieta since the oldest
periods prior to 3000 B.C. Some bones of Canidae, Pinnipedia, and Artocephalus have traces Cárdenas et al. (1997:140-141) documented the bromatology of partridges, so we can have some
of butchery cuts, whilst those of the Cetacea evince traces of combustion. This is a clear sign idea of its alimentary significance even though these are not the same species. Partridges have
that both the sea lion and the whale were prepared with fire, probably roasted. 279% calories, 18.6% protein, 22% fat, 411% phosphorus, and 5.6% niacin. Its ingestion was
therefore an essential part of the diet in the pre-Hispanic period. These same scholars also
Patterson and Moseley (1968) report sea lion consumption starting around 5000 B.C. with the point out that its meat is exquisite, and that it had a first-rate value as regards the protein
Encanto phase of Ancón, north of Lima, but the lack of documentation means we cannot be consumed by the Moche.
more conclusive.
The evidence for its most ancient consumption was found in Moquegua. Tinamou remains
Lanfranco et al. (2009: 5) observed that sea lions were part of the food eaten at Puémape, a were found in a site called Quebrada Tacahuay on the southern Peruvian Littoral south of the
site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, during the occupation dated to 3008-2329 B.C. modern-day city of Ilo. Here the dates range on average to 10,730-10,080 B.C. This means it was
probably eaten at that time, literally during the last ice age (DeFrance and Umire 2004: 271).
On the other hand Creamer and his team (2011: 186) reported the presence of sea lion bones at
Huaricanga, a Late Preceramic site that dates to ca. 3600-600 B.C. This site is in the Fortaleza The remains from Guitarrero Cave (Wing 1980: 155), in the Callejón de Huaylas, starting in
Valley some 23 km away from the sea. complex I, i.e. 9500 B.C., date to around this same time.

Sea lions were also been eaten in Mórrope and Lambayeque, at least from Cupisnique to the The archaeological research carried out by Richard MacNeish and his team in Ayacucho also
Late Sicán times, from 1300 B.C. to A.D. 1400 (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596). found tinamou remains at Ayamachay during its Puente phase, i.e. ca. 10,085-6960 B.C. after
my calibration (MacNeish et al. 1981: 157).
Shelia Pozorski (1979: 169) made a comprehensive study—also for the North Coast—of the
food eaten by the ancient peoples in the area that extends from Huanchaco to the Moche Tinamou has also been detected in the archaeological sites in the upper Zaña Valley in Lammbayeque,
Valley, as was documented by the presence of sea lions in many [lobo marino] of these sites, where it was probably consumed by human groups in 8011-5954 B.C. (Dillehay 2011: 333).
including Padre Abán (2300 B.C.) and Alto Salaverry (1600 B.C.), Moche sites with early Chimu
(ca. A.D. 800) occupations, and even in parts of the Chan Chan citadel. The frequency in which Rick and Moore (1999: 288) Rick y Moore (1999: 288) documented the intense consumption
these otaridae were eaten in the above-mentioned sites, as well as at Choroval (Chimu-Inca) of this bird throughout all of the preceramic period in their excavation of Panalauca (in the
and Alto Salaverry, where the highest proportion of bones was found, is striking. In this regard district of Tarma and in the Junín puna), ca. 10,000 B.C.-A.D. 1195.
we should bear in mind the Mochica depictions of sea lions.
It follows from these finds that the tinamou adapted to a series of environments during the
last ice age, and that it was a resource frequently eaten by the first Peruvians after their arrival.
Birds
Notropacta was later documented at Huaca de la Luna (in the lower Moche Valley) in the
Birds are one of the major resources associated with the Peruvian Current. Sánchez Romero midst of Mochica development (A.D. 400-750), and so it may have formed part of their diet
(1973: 416) has recorded 90 species on the Peruvian littoral, including resident and migratory (Cárdenas et al. 1995: 132).
birds. Although archaeology does not let us reconstruct the methods used to catch the birds,
they clearly were many. Father Cobo (1893: 225-226) says they were hunted using nets and were
killed more for their feathers than for their meat (Cobo possibly means the cultures at the Cormorant, Guanay Cormorant [Cormorán, Guanay, or Patillo] (Phalacrocorax sp., Phalacrocorax
beginning of the Christian era, when textiles and other handcrafts frequently used bird feathers). bougainvillii)

We shall now review the bird remains found in archaeological contexts, which are believed to This is a species that has adapted to the Peruvian Current. It is found from the southern
have been used by humans as food. Peruvian coast up to the northern coast of Chile. It lives in colonies on the littoral on islands

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Rodríguez Loredo (2012) recently documented cormorant remains bearing traces of combustion
and cut marks at Quebrada de los Burros, a site on the Tacna littoral, and have dates ranging
between 7900 and 4800 B.C.

Cormorant remains were also found in the excavation of the archaeological sites at Nanchoc,
in the upper Zaña Valley. They date to 8011-5954 B.C., so this bird may have been part of the
food eaten in this area (Dillehay 2011: 334).

Cormorant remains have been found at Ostra, a site north of the modern city of Chimbote
and the Santa River Mouth. It was consumed by the people of this site between 5462 and 3711
B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1094).

From this record it clearly follows that birds were part of the diet eaten by the most ancient
Peruvians since the ice age, particularly on the northern and southern coast.

In general it is known that birds were also part of the food eaten by the people from the preceramic
site of Huaca Prieta (Bird et al. 1985: 241). There is a report that I have thus far been unable to read
and which apparently is important, but it is only available through the above-mentioned study.
I mean a study Diana Matthiesen made of the bird remains found at Huaca Prieta. One of her
conclusions is that some bones have cut marks showing they were processed, and others show
they were subject to combustion. Most of the species are local ones, and only a few are migratory
birds. Seabirds are overwhelmingly present; they include cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae), which
were being eaten on the north coast since at least the third millennium B.C. This is significant
Figura 18. Restos de consumo de cormorán o guanay en las excavaciones de Quebrada Tacahuay (Tacna) aproximadamente 10000 a.C. Nótese because the flesh was probably removed from this type of birds and roasted prior to consumption
en la parte superior las huellas de corte para remover la carne para consumo humano. (CORTESÍA DE SUSAN DEFRANCE). some three thousand years ago.

A similar piece of evidence comes from the Central Coast of Peru about a thousand years after
and headlands. The cormorant essentially feeds on anchovies (Sánchez Romero 1973: 416), so Huaca Prieta. Cormorant bones were found at Caral that show they were roasted. Proximal
its associations in pre-Hispanic sites should come as no surprise. fragments of this bird’s femur and sternum belonging to this context have been found, which
means it was evidently being eaten at least in 2600-1800 B.C. (Flores Blanco 2006: 148). These
The first sign in our review of cormorant consumption comes from Quebrada Tacahuay, a site modifications are interesting because they are the parts close to the animal’s legs and crop, which
south of Ilo on the southern Peruvian coast. Here over two thousand bone fragments indicate usually have more meat.
this was the animal most eaten at this site since at least 10,730 B.C. (DeFrance and Umire 2004:
271), i.e. since the last ice age (Figure 18). Bonavia (1982: 194) points out that cormorant bones are amongst the most numerous at Los Gavilanes,
at least since the third millennium B.C. The oldest ones were however found at La Laguna, site PV35-
Also on the south coast, the cormorant was not just the bird but also the most eaten animal at least 106, which is also in the Huarmey area and was dated to 5320 B.C. (Bonavia et al. 2001: 304). The
throughout the seven thousand years of human occupation of the Ring Site south of the modern city cormorant was thus quite frequently consumed on the Central coast some seven thousand years ago.
of Ilo, just 750 metres away from the seashore. Sandweiss et al. (1989: 52) exhaustively documented
this animal in domestic consumption contexts since the beginning of this human occupation, ca. The cormorant was also the bird most eaten by the people of Gramalote, a site close to
9600 B.C.—if we accept the reliability of the radiocarbon results obtained for seashells. Huanchaco on the North Coast, since 1800 B.C. (Pozorski and Pozorski 1979: 425).

On the North Coast, Chauchat (1992: 90) and his team found cormorant remains in domestic Rick and Moore (1999: 288) found the remains of this type of bird in Panaulauca Cave in the
contexts at Paiján-Pampa de los Fósiles 12 (unit 7). They dated to ca. 7876 B.C., which means it puna of Junín at about 4150 masl, in strata that have been dated to 3800-1620 B.C. This means
was being eaten at such a distant age. it may have been part of the food eaten by this cave’s inhabitants in said period.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

The Mochica, Chimu, and Nasca later ate guanay somewhat frequently. In this context it is Peruvian booby remains (probably Sula variegata) have likewise been found at Huaca Prieta. It
worth recalling the depictions of this bird the Mochica left in their pottery. It was eaten for was apparently consumed since the beginning of the occupation, i.e. since at least the third
instance at Galindo, a site in the mid-Moche Valley, both during its Mochica (A.D. 600-800) as millennium B.C. (Bird et al. 1985). This bird, along with seagulls and pelicans, comprised 80%
well as its Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations, and was thus a favourite staple in the diet of of the birds eaten at this site.
these ancient peoples (Lockard 2005: 201). Cutright (2009: 158) also identified some cormorant
bone remains in Chimu-context (A.D. 1000-1460) middens at the site of Pedregal, in the lower On the Central Coast, Sula variegata was also frequently found at Los Gavilanes, a site in the
Jequetepeque Valley, so it can be inferred that it was consumed at least sporadically. lower Huarmey Valley. It is believed to have been eaten here by its preceramic population
ca. 3200-1480 B.C. (Bonavia 1982: 194). Close by is PV35-4, a Middle Horizon 3 (ca. A.D. 800)
Roselló et al. (2011: 79) excavated Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna and managed to recover camp on the littoral immediately north of the Huarmey Valley. Here Bonavia et al. (2009: 265)
cormorant remains albeit in very small amounts, so it may have been part of the food eaten excavated the remains of this species, which may have been part of the food eaten by the
by the Mochica in these sites in A.D. 470-600. Interestingly enough, some of these bones have people living at this site. Even earlier remains of the Peruvian booby have been found at La
cut marks which show they were prepared for consumption. Laguna, site PV35-106 north of the Huarmey River mouth, where it dates to 5320 B.C. (Bonavia
et al. 2001: 304).
The same thing seems to be true of the Nasca. At least those who lived in the Cahuachi
shrine quite possibly ate this type of bird, because it is found at this site in domestic contexts The Peruvian booby may likewise have been part of the food eaten by the Mochica, albeit
(Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 5). in very small amounts, as was shown by Roselló et al. (2001: 78) with their findings at Huaca
de la Luna and Huaca del Sol, in the Moche Valley, ca. A.D. 470-600. Vásquez et al. (2003)
supplemented these finds and documented cut marks on the bones that were probably made
Peruvian Booby [Pájaro Bobo, Piquero Peruano or Alcatraz Piquero] (Sulidae, Sula variegata) to dismember the birds prior to their consumption. This means the Mochica living at this site
learned how to prepare this bird’s flesh (as well as the guanay, as was seen above).
This species is distributed along the coast from Peru to Arica. It nests on cliffs and on the flat
surface of the islands off the coast. It feeds above all on anchoveta, just like the guanay we The bones of Peruvian booby have also been found in domestic contexts at the site of
have just seen (Sánchez Romero 1973: 416, 429). This is the second species on the Peruvian and Cahuachi in Nasca. It would come as no surprise to find it was eaten by the early peoples of
Chilean coast that is associated with the Cold Current (Reitz 2001: 164). It feeds mainly on fish this so-called “desert” culture (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 5).
like the anchovy and the Chilean jack mackerel (Ludynia et al. 2010); just like with the guanay
bird, its association with the remains of these fishes in Peru’s archaeological sites should come
as no surprise. Calidris [Playero], Puna Plover (Calidris sp., Charadris alticola)

The most ancient evidence of the consumption of Peruvian booby goes back to 10,730- As of this writing, the only actual evidence for the consumption of this bird come from the
10,080 B.C., when the area of Quebrada Tacahuay south of Ilo, in the modern department of site of Quebrada Tacahuay south of Ilo, on the littoral of Peru’s southern coast. Although the
Moquegua, was being occupied by its first inhabitants still during the last ice age. The Peruvian remains are few, it apparently was part of the food eaten by the early people at this site. Its
booby was by far the most-eaten bird at this site after the cormorant (cf. DeFrance and Umire bones were recorded in a stratum that dates to 10,730-10,080 B.C. (DeFrance and Umire 2004:
2004: 271). 271), so it may have been eaten at that time.

This species was also found in the excavation of Quebrada de los Burros, a site on the Tacna littoral, Scant remains of Charadris alticola have been recorded at Panalauca Cave, which lies at about
where it dates to 7900-4800 B.C. It may also have been eaten here (Rodríguez Loredo 2012). 4150 masl in the Junín puna. The remains were found in strata that were dated to 3800-1620
B.C., so it may have been part of the food eaten by the early people living at this site (Rick and
The Peruvian booby was one of the ten most eaten food resources since the Early Holocene in Moore 1999: 288).
the Ring Site south of the city of Ilo, in the Mollendo area. This site is just 750 metres away from
the seashore. It comprised domestic encampments that were mostly dependent on marine
resources. Sandweiss et al. (1989: 52) have recorded the bones of this bird in contexts that Seagull (Laridae, Larus sp.)
can be interpreted as food since at least 9000 B.C. It was constantly consumed, particularly
since ca. 7500 B.C. This means these birds were quite frequently eaten since Peru began to be The most ancient record of seagull consumption Peru perhaps comes from Ostra, a site
populated. north of the Santa River mouth, in the modern-day city of Chimbote. Here the bones of

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

this bird were found in an archaeological stratum that dates to 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Melodious Blackbird [Tordo Cantor] (Dives dives)
Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44). No data has however been provided showing it
was cooked. The remains of this bird found at Galindo, a site in the middle Moche Valley, probably
correspond to its consumption both during the Mochica (A.D. 600-800) and the Chimu (A.D.
The bone remains of some birds found in the middens of Huaca Prieta have been classified 1000-1460) occupations (Lockard 2005: 201); however, more evidence is clearly required before
as belonging to the Laridae family; they were probably consumed since 3000 B.C. (Bird et al. it can be considered as part of the pre-Hispanic food.
1985). It comprised a large part of the bird food eaten at this site, as was seen in regard to
Sulidae.
American Coot [Gallinet n or Gallareta Americana] (Fulica americana peruviana)
The somewhat significant presence (up to 16%) of seagulls has been reported for the Huaca
del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna in the Moche Valley; it may have been eaten, as is borne out The remains of this bird have been found at Huaca de la Luna. They dated to A.D. 400-750, so
by the cut marks on the bones (Vásquez et al. 2003: 51). The continuity of seagull consumption it may have been part of the food eaten by the Mochica who lived in this part of the Moche
on the North Coast is visible at Pedregal, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, where Valley (Cárdenas et al. 1995: 132). However, without any traces of preparation its consumption
Cutright (2009: 158) found some remains in what apparently is a domestic context—the food can be doubted.
residues left behind by this Chimu rural population. On the other hand it must be pointed out
that this bird appears on Moche pottery.
[Garza Blanca] (Egretta sp.)
Lockard (2005: 201) likewise reports seagull being eaten throughout both the Mochica (A.D.
600-800) and the Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations of Galindo, albeit in small amounts. The Egretta may have been part of the food eaten by the ancient Mochica because its remains
have been found at Huaca de la Luna; they date on average to A.D. 400-750 (Cárdenas et al.
In the case of the Nasca culture, the excavations of the Cahuachi shrine found seagull remains 1997: 132) but there is no evidence of its consumption.
in domestic contexts. It can thus be inferred that its people ate it throughout the first centuries
of the Christian era (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 5).
Great Heron [Garza Grande] (Casmerodius sp.)
In her interesting thesis on camelid raising at Pueblo Viejo-Pucará, a site in the Lurín Valley,
Lucia Watson (2008: 140) observed the presence of some seagull bones that had traces of The remains of this bird were recorded by the excavation of Huaca de la Luna in the lower
their having been directly placed on fire as if for cooking. This means seagulls were also being Moche Valley. It may have been part of the food eaten by the Mochica throughout the first
eaten on the coast in Inca times. centuries of the Christian era (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 342).

Albatross [Albatros] (Diomedeae sp.) [Aguilucho Grande] (Geranoaetus fuscescens australis)


Albatross has been found in the excavation of Huaca de la Luna, on the lower Moche Valley. It This bird was recorded at Huaca de la Luna in the lower Moche Valley. Its date ranged between
may have been part of the food eaten by the Mochica people in the first centuries of our era A.D. 400 and A.D. 750. It may thus have been eaten, but it was more likely used in falconry, as
(Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 342). was pointed out by its discoverers themselves (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 134).

Puna Ibis [Yanavico or Ibis de Puna] (Plegadis ridgwayi) Silver Teal [Pato] (Anas versicolor)
At present the only find thus far comes from the uppermost layers of Panalauca Cave, at The remains of just one specimen of this bird have been found at Panalauca Cave, at around
about 4150 masl in the Junín puna, which dated to ca. 1620 B.C.-A.D. 1195 (Rick and Moore 1999: 4150 masl in the Junín puna. They were found in the upper strata that date to ca. 1620 B.C.-
288). It may thus have been part of the food eaten by the people living in this cave, but no A.D. 1195 (Rick and Moore 1999: 288). Just like in the previous cases, it is not easy establishing
data have been given regarding its preparation. whether it was consumed or not.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Dabbling Ducks [Pato Silvestre] (Anas sp.) As regards linguistics, Daniel Gade (2000: 559-561) points out in the Cambridge World History
of Food that contrary to what is usually believed due to the name, this duck actually does
The remains of this duck were excavated at Huaca de la Luna se. It probably was part of the not have anything to do with “muscovite;” it can, however, be connected with the canard
food eaten by the Mochica in the first centuries of the Christian era (Vásquez and Rosales musqué (pato almizclero). Other names given it are for instance pato criollo, pato real, pato
2004: 342). machacón, and pato perulero. In Brazil it is known as the pato do mato. It obviously has a
Quechua name— ñuñuma—while in Chibcha it is sumne, and tlatalacatl in Náhuatl.

Crested duck [Pato] (Anas speculorides) As regards its domestication, Gade believes there are two possible scenarios. In the first
scenario, the duck was first caught in the grain fields where it used to eat; in the second
Rick and Moore (1999: 288) reported the presence of a few remains of this bird in the upper scenario, the eggs were removed by human groups in order to hatch them in specially prepared
strata of Panalauca Cave, at about 4150 masl in the Junín pun. They date to CA. 1620 B.C.-A.D. places, so that thirty days later, when the ducklings were born, they bonded with those who
1195, and so may have been part of the food eaten by this cave’s inhabitants. cared for them. The areas posited as centres of domestication for this bird comprise the
Central Andes, the southern Caribbean coast, the Paraguay region of the Chaco in Argentina,
and the lower Amazon basin (Donkin 1989). Donkin emphasises the preference this bird had
Muscovy Duck [Pato Joque or Moscovita] (Cairina moschata) for cultivated grains, its gregarious behaviour, and particularly its compatibility for cohabiting
with humans.
The Spanish settlers first found this bird in the Lesser Antilles, the Caribbean, Honduras,
Mexico and northern South America. It was exported quite early to Europe, where it was The bone, ethnohistorical, and ethnographic evidence that Angulo (1998) examined led him to
described around 1555. It was used by the Aztecs at the time of the Spanish Conquest, and it is the conclusion that the Muscovy duck was domesticated in southern Brazil and the Bolivian
believed to have been domesticated in the Amazon, particularly on the northern part of the and Paraguayan lowlands, i.e. the Chaco. For Angulo, insect control was the main reason it
American [sic] subcontinent (Stahler 2008: 121). was domesticated by the communities that raised it. Another characteristic this bid has is its
resistance to disease and its reproductive efficiency.
Sauer (1952: 48-49) believed this was the only native American animal. Its name apparently
comes from the Muisca Indians of Central Colombia. Stahler (1988: 122) says the term joque The Muscovy duck has three characteristics once domesticated, i.e. the males grow twice as
was perhaps derived from the smell of muscone [muscona almizclada] (the strong smell some large as the females; they give out a hiss; and have a constant polygamous sex drive.
animals and plants have); it may also come from Mexico or from the Muisca Indians on the
Miskito Coast in Nicaragua. In America the Muscovy duck is grown not just for its meat, but also for its fat and, to a
lesser extent, for its eggs. Gade cites Raymond Gilmore, who mentioned the preparation of
This is a tropical nesting bird that avoids human habitation. It lives wild across a vast American a dry Muscovy duck meat-based aromatic powder, and particularly this duck’s insect-eating
expanse, from the Pacific coast of Mexico to southern Peru, northern Argentina and Uruguay capability that makes it extremely useful in tropical areas as it keeps the fields clean and
(Stahl et al. 2006: 658). Its domestic form extends from the Araucano villages in Chile up to may thus have been very useful for pre-Hispanic farmers. When it was exported to Europe
the tropical areas of Mexico. the Germans called it tuerkische Ente, but it was the French who managed to cross it with
the conventional duck (Anas platyrhynchos) and obtained the canard mulard. This is an
Let us review some of its characteristics. Stahler (2008: 122) says the Muscovy duck is exceptionally strong duck that has been overfed, thus hypertrophying its liver in order to
remarkable because of its large size, which is due to sexual dimorphism. Adult males can grow make paté de foie gras, particularly in south western France.
up to 84 cm and weigh four kilos (and even six when domesticated. At night they frequently
move to the trees, and they tend to be close to water sources on rivers, small lakes and Stahl (2005) and Stahl et al. (2006) probably are the most recent efforts made in order to
mangroves. These ducks are extremely strong and they give out a whistle when setting out to characterise this species not just from an anatomical and taxonomic standpoint, but also in
fly, otherwise it is silent and remains quiet. If flies in flocks when free, but once domesticated terms of providing archaeozoology the tools it requires to document this major Peruvian (and
it remains in the group and mates with several females. The male is omnivorous and tends to Mexican) alimentary source. It is known that it is used ethnographically in domestic labours
be strongly territorial. It feeds on aquatic plants and animals, reptiles, insects, and termites; such as the cleaning of drains and irrigation areas. Stahl defined this bird’s characteristics
it is in fact a strong, insectivorous animal at night on the fields. Its meat is quite meagre in osteologically from 35 specimens held in museum collections, as well as the bones from
comparison with the fowl domesticated in Asia. two Ecuadorian sites on Guayas Bay; one of them is Peñón del Río, where this bird’s remains
have been found in a cultural context where raised fields were used. Although Stahl was

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

unable to establish whether the Muscovy duck was domesticated in Ecuador, he did raise the Stahl (2008: 123) has pointed out that this bird’s feathers are found in Chimu textiles, which
possibility these animals were exchanged with Panama, considering the relations between means its presence on the North Coast in A.D. 1000-1460 is clear. They have also been found
both American regions. in Inca contexts in north western Argentina. Here we should draw attention to the fact that
Muscovy duck has been documented around this time in Santa Elena Peninsula (Ecuador), in
Citing Larco Hoyle, Hans Horkheimer (1960: 44-45) pointed out that the depictions on Mochica the excavation of human burials (Lavallée 1990: 28).
pottery show there were at least five types of duck—an animal this people was quite familiar
with—in pre-Hispanic Peru. At least one of them is the black duck [?: pato negro (choca)] Enrique Angulo (1998) made a major review of this species in Peru, which must be summarised
found in the Titicaca area. Following Gilmore, Horkheimer believed Cairina moschata may here. Angulo examined the evidence for human-Muscovy duck interaction in the pre-Hispanic
have originated in Peru; he also noted that Garcilaso de la Vega claimed some sort of dry, period and even in more recent times. One of his major points is that the ethnohistorical data
aromatic duck meat powder was manufactured in the Inca Empire. claims it was raised by families in fully domestic contexts. Angulo notes the evidence of this
duck’s depictions in Olmeca (Mexico) contexts since 2000 B.C., and in Ecuador even since
Let us turn now to the archaeological evidence. There are in fact few remains of this animal 1600 B.C., which includes the above-mentioned Chorrera culture.
in pre-Hispanic Peru. Its remains have been found quite scattered throughout South America
in various archaeological contexts: Panama, Venezuela, Trinidad, Ecuador, Peru, the Bolivian
lowlands, and the far Argentinian northwest. Pampero Peruano (Geossita paytensis)
Stahl (2008: 123) reported the presence of Muscovy duck bones at El Hatillo, Sitio Sierra, and The remains of Geossita paytensis have been excavated and identified in fully Mochica
Sitio Conte (Panama), where it was dated to the terminal Pleistocene, i.e. to at least 12,000 contexts at Huaca de la Luna (in the lower Moche Valley), in A.D. 400-750 (Cárdenas et al.
years ago. It has also been found in the western lowlands of Ecuador (at the sites of Salango, 1997: 134).
Ayalán, Penon, and Jerusalén), which date to some thousand years before our era. Although
there is no reliable chronological framework, they seem to have been eaten mostly in periods
that have A.D. dates. Many relatively recent bone remains have also been found in Bolivia at Rufous-Collared Sparrow [Gorrión Andino or Vinchi] (Zonotrichia capensis peruviensis)
the site of Pailón (A.D. 600-1300) (Pruemers 2002).
Cárdenas et al. (1997: 134) reported a series of this bird’s remains in a Mochica context at Huaca
Lavallée (1990: 28) pointed out that within the South American context, the Muscovy duck de la Luna that dated to ca. A.D. 400-750, so it can be assumed it was being eaten.
is an animal that does not belong to the Andean Cordillera, which means its origins must be
traced elsewhere.
Peruvian Pelican [Pelícano Peruano or Alcatraz] (Pelecanus thagus, Pelecanidae)
In Peru, the Muscovy duck appears both on the North Coast’s Moche and Chimu pottery
(Bennett 1939: 84, Donnan 1978). The use of its feathers is likewise documented in Chimu Pelicans prefer eating anchovies. They live on the islands and cliffs of the Peruvian littoral
textiles (O´Neill 1984). Lavallée (1970: 28) notes the oldest references on ceramic depictions (Sánchez Romero 1973: 416, 430).
appear in cultures like Salinar, Vicús, and even Virú starting in the first millennium B.C. (ca.
1300-500 B.C.). In the Ecuadorian context Lavallée observed depictions of this bird in Chorrera The bones of pelicans eaten at Quebrada Tacahuay, a site south of Ilo in the modern
pottery, on the southern Pacific coast of Ecuador (Lavallée 1990: 28). department of Moquegua, were the most ancient ones at the time the study was made, as
they had been found in a stratum that dated to 10,736-10,080 (DeFrance and Umire 2004: 271).
Kaulicke (1991: 414) reports Muscovy duck bones found in domestic food contexts at Loma
Valverde, in the upper Piura Valley, with dates that range between A.D. 350 and A.D. 450. It was Another of the most ancient pieces of evidence of pelican consumption was found at the
thus eaten not just by the Mochica people living in this area, but also by the Salinar people. Ring Site, in the area of Mollendo (Moquegua). These are camp-type human occupations that
lived quite close to the seashore (south of the city of Ilo) and essentially fed on food. The
Cárdenas et al. (1997: 132) report the presence of Anatidae—i.e. quite possibly Muscovy duck— layers where these remains come from date to before 7300 B.C. (cf. Sandweiss et al. 1989: 52).
at Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, with dates that range between A.D. 400 and
750, and may thus have been part of the food eaten by the Mochica. Shimada and Shimada Ostra, the site where Sandweiss and Reitz (2001: 1094) found pelican remains, lies north of
(1981: 131) also reported this duck during the Moche occupation of Pampa Grande, a site in the the modern city of Chimbote. Although scant, this animal was part of the food eaten by the
modern department of Lambayeque ca. A.D. 711-800. people who lived at this site ca. 5462-3711 B.C.

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Pelecanus thagus is probably the species found at Huaca Prieta (Bird et al. 1985), that was Spot-Winged Pigeon [Paloma “manchada”] (Columba maculosa)
eaten since 3000 B.C. Shelia Pozorski analysed a series of archaeological sites that lie some
20 km south of this area, between Huanchaco and the lower Moche Valley. Pozorski recorded The remains of this pigeon species, which was probably consumed in A.D. 631-1000, have been
pelican consumption at sites like Padre Abán (ca. 2300 B.C.) and Chan Chan throughout the excavated in the Wari site known as Cerro Baúl (Moseley et al. 2005: 17269).
Chimu-Inca occupation (Pozorski 1979: 169). A significant amount of birds were eaten but they
have not been identified. Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 123) also recorded pelican consumption
at Gramalote, in the vicinity of Huanchaco, since 1800 B.C., as well as at the Mochica site of White-Winged Dove [Cucula o tórtola aliblanca] (Zenaida asiatica meloda)
Huaca del Sol. Cárdenas et al. (1997: 132) reported the presence of this bird at Huaca de la Luna,
so it may have been part of the Mochica diet at this site in A.D. 400-750. Bone concentrations of this bird have been found in some enclosures at Huaca del Sol and
Huaca de la Luna in the lower Moche Valley. They apparently bore cut marks, so they may
Bonavia (1982: 194) reported the strong presence of pelican bones on the Central Coast at Los have been consumed in A.D. 670-780 (Vásquez et al. 2003: 51). This bird would have been
Gavilanes—a site in the lower Huarmey Valley—between 3200 and 1480 B.C. Bonavia et al. important due to the availability of its meat (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 186).
(2009: 265) also recorded some pelican remains that were probably consumed in the Middle
Horizon 3 camp site (ca. A.D. 800) that lies on the littoral north of the Huarmey Valley. Pelican
was thus clearly long eaten in the lower part of this valley. Eared Dove [Paloma de Campo o Tórtola “Torcaza”] (Zenaida auriculata)
In Ica the Italian archaeological team headed by Giuseppe Orefici reported the presence This bird was apparently eaten by the Mochica at Huaca de la Luna, a site in the lower Moche
of significant amounts of pelican bones in apparently domestic contexts. It is thus quite Valley (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 342).
likely that the Nasca ate its meat in the first centuries of the Christian era (Piacenza and
Pieri 2012: 5). The presence of eared doves has been recorded at Cerro Baúl (Moquegua) throughout its Wari
occupation (A.D. 631-1000). They were apparently eaten (Moseley et al. 2005: 17270).

Pigeons [Palomas] (Columbidae)


Sparrow [Gorrión Casero] (Passeridae)
Pigeons have apparently been part of the food eaten by our first Peruvian ancestors since the
last Ice Age or Younger Dryas. A small number of young pigeons, which were grouped under A species like Passer domesticus may have been part of the food eaten by the people of
the general heading of Columbidae, have been found on the North Coast of Peru in Paiján Guitarrero Cave since at least 9500 B.C. The remains of this bird have been found in the
contexts in the middens of Pampa de los Fósiles, which date to ca. 9000-7000 B.C. (Chauchat deepest strata at this site (Wing 1980: 155).
1992, Credou 2008: 27).
Remains of passerines have been recorded in the excavation of archaeological sites in the
Pigeon remains have likewise been found in archaeological contexts in sites found in the upper Zaña Valley, with dates that range to about 9700-9200 B.C. (Dillehay 2011: 334). The
upper Zaña Valley in Lambayeque. Their dates range between 9700 and 9200 B.C., so they sparrow may thus have been part of the food eaten by the earliest peoples of pre-Hispanic
may have been part of the food eaten by the early inhabitants of this area (Dillehay 2011: 334). Peru.

A series of birds eaten at the archaeological site of Huaca Prieta since ca. 3000 B.C., have been
grouped under this family. Shearwater [Pardela] (Pruffinus, Procellaridae, Laridae)
Quilter et al. (1991: 279) reported the presence of a few pigeon remains that may have been This is a type of migratory bird found in cold and temperate climates like that of the Peruvian
part of the food eaten by the people of El Paraíso, a site that is almost on the Chillón River coast. The excavation Sandweiss et al. (1989: 57) conducted at the Ring Site south of the
mouth, since ca. 2150 B.C. modern city of Ilo, in Moquegua, recorded shearwater remains. Although scant, they do point
out it may have been consumed since at least 8000 B.C.
Pigeons were probably also eaten in A.D. 711-800 by the Mochica of Pampa Grande in
Lambayeque (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 131). It should likewise be pointed out that the Bonavia (1982: 195) found shearwater remains at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey
Mochica depicted this type of bird on their pottery. Valley that can be dated to ca. 3200-1480 B.C.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

The analysis undertaken at Huaca de la Luna (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 132) showed the presence Andean Coot [Gallareta] (Fulica ardesiaca)
of shearwater remains, in contexts that were dated to A.D. 400-750. It can be assumed it was
part of the food eaten by the Mochica who lived in the lower Moche Valley. This coot species has been excavated in the upper strata of Panalauca Cave, which lies at
4150 masl in the Junín puna. The radiocarbon dates for these layers date on average to 1620
B.C.-A.D. 1195 (Rick and Moore 1999: 288). It may thus have been part of the food eaten by the
Mimids [Calandria] (Mimidae) inhabitants of this site.

The oldest possible record of mimid consumption comes from the upper Zaña Valley, where
Dillehay (2011: 333) recorded a series of bone remains in very early archaeological contexts Giant Coot [Gallareta Gigante] (Fulica gigantea)
that were dated to 8011-5954 B.C.
Rick and Moore (1999: 288) documented the remains of this bird species in Panalauca Cave,
At El Paraíso, a site close to the Chillón River mouth north of Lima, Quilter et al. (1991: 279) which lies at about 4150 masl in the Junín puna. The strata where it comes from was dated to
found that some bones belonged to this bird family. They may have been part of the food 1620 B.C.-A.D. 1195, It may have been part of the food eaten by its early inhabitants.
eaten by the people who occupied this preceramic site at least since 2150 B.C.

Andean Avocet [Avoceta Andina] (Recurvirostrus [Recurvirostra?] andina)


Inca Tern [Zarcillo, Gaviot n, or Charrán Inca] (Larasterna inca)
Rick and Moore (1999: 288) recorded a few remains of this bird in their excavation of Panalauca
This is a rocky shore bird found on the Peruvian coast. DeFrance (2005: 1137) recorded a few Cave, which lies at about 4150 masl in the Junín puna. The remains were found in strata that
bones from this bird that probably was part of the food eaten by the people of Quebrada dated to between 10,000-3800 B.C., and 1620 B.C.-A.D. 1195, and may thus have been part of
Tacahuay, some 30 km away from the modern city of Ilo, on the Southern Coast of Peru. Their the food eaten by the people living in this cave.
dates ranged between 10,736 and 10,080 B.C.

Sandweiss et al. (1989: 57) found one bone belonging to this bird at the Ring Site south of Ilo Andean Flicker [Pito] (Colaptes rupicolor [rupicola?])
(Moquegua)—the outcome of consumption ca. 7500 B.C.
Many remains of this bird have been documented in some strata in Panalauca Cave, which lies
at about 4150 masl in the Junín puna. The strata span all of the human occupation between
Black Vulture [Gallinazo] (Coragyps atratus) ca. 10,000 and 330 B.C. (Rick AND Moore 1999: 288), which means it was probably consumed
by those who lived in the cave.
Shimada and Shimada (1981: 131) report black vulture remains in their list of birds found at
Pampa Grande, a Moche site in Lambayeque. The context is not reliable, so this bird was
perhaps part of the food the Moche ate in A.D. 711-A.D. 800. African Penguin, Humboldt Penguin [Pingüino peruano] (Spheniscus demersus, Spheniscus
humboldti)

Andean Goose [Huashua or Ganso Andino] (Cloephaga melanoptera) Probably one of the earliest pieces of evidence of Humboldt penguin consumption comes
from the Ring Site south of Ilo, in the Mollendo area. This is a site with occupations that lived
Rick and Moore (1999: 288) have documented a significant number of Andean goose remains mainly exploiting the littoral as it is just 750 metres away from the seashore (Sandweiss et al.
at Panalauca Cave in the Junín puna, at about 4150 masl. They were found in strata that date 1989: 52). It follows from the radiocarbon dates that its consumption goes back at least to
to 10,000-1620 B.C. If there was any evidence it was eaten, it would make it one of the birds 8000 B.C.
with the highest consumption records ever.
Rodríguez Loredo (2012) reported finding Humboldt penguin remains at Quebrada de los
Burros, in the Tacna littoral, that dated to 7900-4800 B.C. The bones had cut marks that
evinced it was eaten.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Reitz (2001: 164) says the presence of this species indicates the subtropical area had a cold Fish was eaten very early not just on the coast but also in the Peruvian highlands. Although
temperate climate. Klaus and Tam report that Humboldt penguin was eaten in a compilation very little information is available, MacNeish et al. (1981: 160) identified remains at a site called
of the food eaten by the inhabitants of the lower Lambayeque Valley, in the period that Puente that dated to 5460-6350 B.C. It is regrettable that no specific information is provided
extend at least from the Cupisnique (1300 B.C.) to the Sicán (A.D. 1400) cultures. regarding the species found here.

This species was also found in the excavations of the site of Los Gavilanes, in the lower Besides the remains found in archaeological contexts, we also have evidence that fish was
Huarmey Valley, in a context dating to 2300-1480 B.C. (Bonavia 1982: 223). eaten thanks to isotopic and coprolith studies. For instance, the human faeces found at El
Paraíso, a site north of Lima in the lower Chillón Valley that dates back to 2150 B.C., included
The remains of this penguin species were recovered in the excavations undertaken at the traces of fish bones (Quilter 1991: 280).
site of Pampa Grande (Lambayeque) in Mochica context, and dated to ca. A.D. 711-A.D. 800
(Shimada and Shimada 1981: 131). Bird et al. (1985: 242-243) recorded the discovery of a series of fish remains at the well-known
site of Huaca Prieta, which evidently were part of the food eaten by this people. 80% of the
remains come from the lowest strata and clearly indicate they were more frequently eaten
Sea Fish in older periods. It seems, despite the small size of the bones and spines that smoothounds
[tollo], rays and sharks were eaten. Regrettably no scientific names are given that would
We now turn to the sources that include data regarding fish consumption in pre-Hispanic have given more credence to the report. The only reference the report makes is to the
Peru. Twenty-five fish species were mostly consumed along the Peruvian littoral, at least until Chaetodipterus genus, a type of swordfish found on the Pacific coast of South America.
the 1970s; there are however some seventy species ideal for human consumption, which can
comprise up to 9-17 kilos per capita per year (Sánchez Romero 1973: 237). The question is We will now review what is known of the fish eaten in the pre-Hispanic period. Since the
whether this was the record of fish eaten and individually consumed in the pre-Hispanic taxonomic variety is not affected by domestication or by multiple taxonomies, as was the case
periods. with the Andean plants, here I have taken the liberty of simply dividing the fish into osteichthyes
and chondrichthyes. Taxonomic determinations are based on Chirichigno’s fish handbook (1998).
I am not aware of any effort made to reconstruct the fishing techniques used in Peru’s pre-
Hispanic context based on a comprehensive overview of the archaeological data. It is therefore
worth citing in this regard some of the observations made by Father Bernabé Cobo, who was Osteichthyes
a great observer during the early [primera: NO] stages of the colonial period, particularly
considering that part of what he recorded was of native origin. Peruvian Anchoveta [Anchoveta or Peladilla] (Engraulis ringens, Engraulidae)
When discussing fishing techniques used at sea, in rivers or in lakes, Cobo (1893: 227) points Peruvian anchoveta is highly consumed on the coast. It actually is a small fish 12-18 cm long that
out that fishhooks, nets, and basket traps were used, and that it was usually two people who form huge shoals on the Peruvian littoral and in northern Chile up to 80 km in the open sea.
fished from small rafts using small nets. The area where they lay their eggs extends from Chicama to Huarmey (Sánchez Romero 1973:
159-160). The shoals often draw closer to the shore, especially during the summer, because the
One type of fishing that took place both in the marine littoral as well as from river banks, temperate band in the sea narrows as it is pressed by the marine flow from the west.
involved building stone ‘fences’ made out of stones and tight-fitting wooden stakes, so that
when the water ran through the fish were left behind and could even be caught by hand. Cobo The Peruvian anchoveta is characteristic of the cold waters of the Peruvian Current (Reitz 2001:
claims Peruvian Indians frequently used barbasco (a preparation made out of ground plants 164). Its yield is one of the most important for Peru despite the weather crisis. It is widely spread
that seems to come from the Amazon), which seems to have a sleeping effect on fish, thus throughout the Southern Pacific from 4°S (Piura, Peru) to 42°S (Isla Chiloé, Chile), and the Peruvian
facilitating their being caught. A river branch was usually dried up in order to catch shrimp. banks are the most important ones in all of the world (Tarifeño et al. 2008). Several accounts
left by the first Spanish chroniclers who saw the anchoveta being fished all concur in that the
When discussing the rafts made out of reeds such as the well-known ‘caballitos de totora’ Indians caught them using buckets, baskets and even just their hands (Béarez 2012: 103).
(tule boats), Cobo claims Indian fishermen could sail up to 20 or 40 km into the sea in groups
of twenty or forty (Cobo 1893: 219); this distance is considerable, particularly considering the The anchoveta is by far one of the major fish species that supported civilisation on
small size of these rafts. Another type of raft, also small, is frequently found in the south, the western South American coast, as can be seen just by reviewing the archaeological
particularly in northern Chile, where it is made by inflating the skin of a sea lion. documentation below.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

The anchoveta is found all year long, and moves southward in the summer, between January McInnis (2006: 383) reported the presence (albeit scant) of anchoveta remains at site PC-500
and March. It feeds on the plankton found in the marine currents close to the coast. The in the Pampa Colorada complex, which lies almost on the Ocoña River mouth (Arequipa).
anchoveta lives in shoals in the trophic chain of the Peruvian sea, as it is part of the food Here a camp has been found that dated to 9200-7490 B.C.
eaten not just by other fish but also by guanay birds, for instance (Gálvez Mora and Quiroz
Moreno 2008: 70). Fishing it requires the use of netting, and this must be borne in mind when Béarez (2012: 107) likewise reported the presence of anchoveta also on the South Coast at
discussing the antiquity of its presence in coastal Peru’s archaeological sites. Tacna in Quebrada de los Burros, in strata they dated to 7900-4800 B.C.

The bromatological values of the anchoveta have to be included here because it was a According to the evidence, the possible anchoveta remains Tom Dillehay (2011: 334) and his
major food source for the pre-Hispanic population. A first glance confirms we are before an team found in the sites in the upper Zaña Valley (Lambayeque) are even older, and have been
excellent nutrient base. FAO claims every 100 grams of anchoveta hold 21 g of protein, 9 g of dated to 9700-9200 B.C.
fat, 276 mg of phosphorus, 1.4 mg of iron, 8.7 mg of vitamin C, and 0.01 of vitamin B1. It follows
then that these values for protein and fat are among the highest found in the fish that live on One of the sites on the Central Coast where anchoveta was eaten earliest is Paloma, some
the Peruvian sea; they were thus a major part of the diet of the pre-Hispanic population, and 65 km south of Lima in the vicinity of the Chilca River mouth, and close to a loma with
should still be so. seasonal resources. A large number of organic remains was found here, including 56 camps
and over 200 burials that provided abundant and invaluable information. Reitz (1988: 313) says
Is there any t race of the preservation and culinary preparation of the anchoveta in the pre- anchoveta comprised almost 60% of marine remains, which means the people here were
Hispanic period? Although no direct evidence is available, we do have ethnographic evidence somewhat dependent on this fish in 5316-3630 B.C. according to the calibrated radiocarbon
of this. Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 24) claims the anchoveta was preserved in saltpetre (as was dates for this site. Reitz points out that anchoveta shoals can live in dips on the beaches, and
noted in a previous chapter), and that it was often toasted in order to be eaten along with in some cases they can be caught in the best of cases with netting or with some type of big
toasted maize. spoon or a similar instrument.

We now turn to the archaeological record. According to the scientific literature, the most One of the most significant finds made at Paloma was a storage pit with anchoveta that had
ancient evidence of anchoveta consumption apparently comes from Quebrada Tacahuay, their head cut off; Robert Benfer (2008: 372) believes this was done for better preservation
a site south of Ilo on the Moquegua littoral. Here, DeFrance and Umire (2004: 271) found (lime or salt were probably added, as happened with saltpetre according to Antúnez de
anchoveta remains that were eaten along with cormorants by our most distant ancestors, Mayolo). Other storage bins have complete anchovetas. This shows the farsightedness of this
in a stratum that was dated to 10,370-9370 B.C. The significant presence of this fish at the Lima people in the late Middle Holocene, at least since 6000 years ago.
site made the researchers consider the possible use of netting at such an early date. We
can thus imagine the people on the coast of Moquegua eating anchoveta (roasted perhaps?) Anchoveta remains have been found at Ostra, a site on the right bank of the Santa River
and cormorant whilst still in the Ice Age. On the other hand, should the use of netting be mouth and just a short distance away from the modern city of Chimbote. They were probably
confirmed, we would have to completely reconsider the precocious use of these fishing part of the food eaten by the people at this site in 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001:
techniques on the Peruvian coast. More research is required. 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44).

Following the chronology we come next to also very early anchoveta remains from Pampa de Also on the Central Coast is the study Harvey Coutts et al. (2011) made of stable C13 isotopes
los Fósiles 12 (unit 7) that belong to the Paiján culture and date to ca. 7,876 B.C., which means and other trace elements in the skeletons of some offerings made at Bandurria, a site some 70
it was being eaten on the North Coast since the early Holocene (Chauchat 1992: 47). In this km north of Lima. They verified that the main foods eaten were fish and molluscs. If this data
same area, albeit at Ascope 5 (unit 4), in the department of La Libertad, Chauchat (1992: 47) is combined with that which has been excavated archaeologically, we reach the conclusion
noticed the presence of anchoveta in a site that has been dated at most to 88733 B.C.; it is that in fact the foods most consumed were anchoveta and sardine. This was confirmed by
thus possible that this fish was being eaten at this time, on average 36 grams. the excavations of Bandurria, which turned up anchoveta remains that date to 3170-1610 B.C.
(Chu 2008: 136). Due to the large amount of remains found, Chu claims that marine fish and
Since it is essentially caught using netting as at Quebrada Tacahuay, it can be speculated invertebrates formed the alimentary base of this people.
that this method was also used at Ascope, which means it would have been a usual
technique on the Peruvian coast. However, more research is needed in order to be A considerable amount of anchoveta has been found on the northernmost Peruvian coast in
conclusive in this regard. the mounds of the site known as El Porvenir, which is close to the Zarumilla River (Tumbes)
and to the frontier with Ecuador. Its dates range between 4700 and 300 B.C. (Moore 2007a: 15).

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Lo Demás is a site in this same area but north of the Chincha River mouth. Here Sandweiss et
A large amount of anchoveta (Engraulis ringens) was found at Cerro Lampay, in the Fortaleza al. (2004: 332) report that in Inca times the people essentially based their diet on anchoveta
Valley (on the coast of the department of Lima), in the midst of the refuse left by humans and sardines.
eating and which can be dated to 2410-2064 B.C. (Vega-Centeno 2007).
Béarez et al. (2003: 58) likewise recorded 11% anchoveta remains in enclosures 24 and 25 of
Abundant anchoveta remains have also been found in the monumental centre of Caral in the the Pachacamac shrine, in the lower Lurín Valley, in A.D. 1520—evidently at the end of the
Supe Valley (Shady et al. 2001, Flores Blanco 2006: 278), which dates to 2585-1938 B.C., which Inca Empire.
were used by its people as food. The available information shows it was the major resource
since the initial occupation of Caral in the third millennium B.C. as it comprised between 74
and 93% of the food eaten by this people. Besides, Flores Blanco (2006: 148) reports finding Sardine or Herring [Sardina or Arenque] (Sardinops sagax sagax, Clupeidae)
anchoveta in a hearth at Caral, so it was clearly cooked in the fire. Anchoveta was definitely
the most-eaten fish in Sector A (74% of all the remains found at this site) (Shady and Leiva Gálvez Mora and Quiroz Moreno (2008: 70) aver that the sardine is a small-sized, highly
2003: 115). This is one of the few pieces of data on its preparation, in this case exposed to the migratory species that lives in shoals and feeds several predators. We can assume it was
fire as roasted anchoveta. fished using nets, so perhaps watercrafts were used. Sánchez Romero (1973: 188-189) says
this species lives along the coast as far as the Galapagos Islands. It is fished above all in
Jeffrey Quilter et al. (1991: 279) showed that at the archaeological site of El Paraíso, in Lima, the summer, measures 22-37 cm, and weighs on average 162 grams, and very rarely up to 300
people who lived around this preceramic ritual edifice since ca. 2150 B.C. depended on marine grams. Reitz (2001: 164) summarised the presence of sardines in the oldest occupations on
resources, specifically on the anchoveta. the Peruvian coast.

Bonavia (1982: 194) reported finding anchoveta in significant amounts at Los Gavilanes, a site in the The most ancient sardine remains comes from Quebrada Tacahuay, a site south of Ilo on the
lower Huarmey Valley, with dates that ranged between 3200 and 1480 B.C. It is worth pointing out Moquegua littoral, where a few of these fish have been found in a stratum that is associated
that Bonavia and other colleagues (2009: 242) found a few remains of anchoveta in a heart at the with archaeological remains that are dated to 10,736-9370 B.C. (DeFrance and Umire 2004: 271).
Wari (A.D. 800) site called PV35-4, albeit in the beach zone north of the Huarmey River mouth. This As was the case with anchovy, which was found in abundance at this site, it has been inferred
fish was clearly being eaten for thousands of years on this part of the Peruvian coast. that nets were used at that time to fish sardines.

In regard to fish-eating consumption traditions on the Peruvian coast, the anchoveta was also Following the chronology, probably one of the oldest pieces of evidence showing sardines
long eaten in the Lambayeque area, from at least the Cupisnique culture up to Late Sicán, i.e. were eaten on the North Coast comes from the Paiján-culture contexts in the sites at Ascope.
A.D. 1300 a.C.-1400 (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596). Anchoveta also comprised a significant part of Chauchat (1992: 311) found sardine remains in the middens of the groups who peopled this
the food eaten by the ancient people in the Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) site of Pedregal in the zone, which have been radiocarbon dated at 7333 B.C. Chauchat estimated that on average
lower Jequetepeque Valley, where it comprised up to 37% of the fish eaten there (Cutright these small fish weighed 41 grams (which is far less than the mean given above). Just like at
2009: 166-167). Quebrada Tacahuay, these were probably caught using netting—another indication that this
technique was in use at such a remote past (Gálvez Mora y Quiroz Moreno 2008: 72).
The remains of at least two anchovetas have been found later at Cerro Baúl (Moquegua), during
the Middle Horizon or Wari Empire; the site lies at about 2590 masl and dates to A.D. 631- Sardines were also eaten in a quite distant past at Quebrada de los Burros, in the modern-
1000 (Moseley et al. 2005: 17269). This involved the transportation of these fish from the Pacific day Tacna Region (Lavallée et al.. 1999: 42), where their remains have been found in layers
Ocean to the southern highlands of Peru, where they were consumed. This datum also raises the belonging to the Middle Holocene and which were dated at 7900-4500 B.C. Lavallée claims
question of whether the anchoveta was also eaten in other parts of the Peruvian highlands in these feed on plankton, which is found offshore, so they may have been fished using watercraft
the pre-Hispanic period using the preservation method used for instance at Paloma. and netting fin (Lavallée et al.. 1999: 43), which is what I have been claiming in regard to the
anchovy.
Cerro Azul, a Chincha site some 120 km south of Lima in Cañete, was a veritable centre of
anchoveta extraction and processing (Marcus et al. 1999: 6568). The structures excavated Paloma, some 65 km south of Lima and 7.7 km from the sea, is another site where sardine remains
there show anchoveta comprised 25%-50% of the food eaten by the inhabitants of this site. have been found. Reitz (1988: 314) reports this fish comprised 8.8% of marine vertebrates. The
The intensive consumption of this fish throughout almost 13,000 years, particularly on the dates range between 5316 and 3630 B.C. We have already seen that the people in this site also
coast, is thus clear. ate the anchovy as its main food source.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

The remains of this fish have been found at Ostra, an archaeological site on the northern al. 1997: 131, Roselló et al. 2001: 77). In a subsequent study, Vásquez et al. (2003: 37) concluded
Peruvian littoral north of the mouth of the modern-day city of Chimbote, and were dated to that hake and this sardine species were the fish most eaten in A.D. 570-685. It has also been
5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44). suggested that since these fish live out at sea, they had to be fished using small watercraft,
which means the Moche used tule boats.
Duccio Bonavia (1982: 195) also excavated several sardine remains at Los Gavilanes, a site in the
lower Huarmey Valley, which have been dated to 3200-1480 B.C. Thanks to the archaeological research undertaken by Shimada and Shimada (1981: 131) it is also
known that the Mochica who lived in Pampa Grande, in the modern-day Lambayeque region,
Alejandro Chu (2008: 136) also found sardines in the excavations he made at Bandurria, a site probably consumed this fish in A.D. 711-800.
close to Huacho and north of Lima, which was dated to 3170-1610 B.C. This fish, along with
the anchovy, comprised the major part of the food eaten by the early people of this site, and As with anchovies, so too were sardines moved from the coast to the highlands of
from what we have seen also in other sites dating to the late Holocene. This combination of Moquegua, as is verified by the finding of at least four specimens at the Cerro Baúl site
anchovies and sardines prevailed in the diet of the early Central Coast population. (Moquegua), which dates to the time of the Wari Empire (Moseley et al. 2005. 17269), at
around 2,590 masl.
Sardine distribution extends up to Tumbes, as was shown by Jerry Moore (2007a) with his
excavations at El Porvenir, a site on the southern flank of the Zarumilla River and very close to On the North Coast the Mochica and Chimu continued eating sardines, as was shown at
the border with Ecuador, between 4700 and 300 B.C. Pedregal, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley (Cutright 2009: 167). Even so, Cutright proved
that they were eaten more frequently at this same site by the people of Late Moche times, ca.
Vega-Centeno (2007) found sardine (Sardinops sagax) remains at Cerro Lampay, a Preceramic A.D. 800. There was thus lower sardine consumption in Chimu times in comparison with the
temple over 200 km north of Lima. They have been dated to 2410-2064 B. C., and were Moche, probably due to climate change.
consumed in the midst of several feast-type activities that hinged upon the erection of public
edifices. Gumerman (1991) found a similar trend in sardine consumption on the North Coast at
Pacatnamú during Chimu times.
Sardinops sagax has been found in large amounts at the monumental site of Caral (Shady et
al. 2001, Flores Blanco 2006). The dates range between 2585 and 1938 B.C. Sardines were the Joyce Marcus et al. (1999: 6568) in turn reported having found large amounts of sardines at
second most important fish for the people of this site since the beginning of the occupation, Cerro Azul (Cañete), a site on the littoral some 120 km south of Lima, which were dated to
after anchovies. They were also placed on the embers to be cooked, as was shown by Flores the Chincha culture ca. A.D. 1000-1470. Sardines were the second most important fish at this
Blanco (2006: 148) and by Shady and Leiva (2003: 115). site after the anchovy, and were meant first of all for consumption and only secondarily for
export.
Quilter et al. (1991: 279) reported having found the remains of sardine consumption at Paraíso,
a site close to the mouth of the Chillón River north of Lima, which were dated to ca. 2150 Sandweiss et al. (2004: 332) found a large amount of sardine remains, the basic foodstuff at
B.C. Significant amounts of this fish have also been documented at Los Gavilanes, a site in the a site called Lo Demás, which dates to Inca times and is to the north of the mouth of the
lower Huarmey Valley, which dates to the third millennium of our era (Bonavia 1982: 194). Chincha Valley.

Few sardine (Sardinops sagax) vertebrae have been excavated in the Gallery of the Offerings Finally, sardines comprised 11%-44% of the fish eaten in enclosures 24 and 25 of ramp pyramid
at Chavín de Huántar, and they fall in the period 1218-812 B.C. (Astocóndor 1993: 474). Although III B at Pachacamac, a site on the Central Coast in the lower Lurín Valley, which dates to A.D.
these remains do not come from consumption or alimentary preparation events, they may 1520 (Béarez et al. 2003: 58).
have been part of the diet of the people of Chavín.

The people of Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, also ate sardines, at least Peruvian Silverside (Odonthestes regia regia, Atherinidae)
between 200 B.C. and the beginning of our era (Elera et al. 1992: 19).
This is a pelagic fish species that is often 14-30 cm long and weighs 44 grams on average. It is
Unlike the scant archaeological documentation for anchovies among the Mochica, it has been often fished from the shore using nets and fishhooks (Sánchez Romero 1973: 184). This fish is
confirmed that Sardinops sagax was eaten at the sites of Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol often close to the littoral.
in the Moche Valley specifically during the Mochica occupation, in A.D. 470-600 (Cárdenas et

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

The archaeological record still holds little evidence of Peruvian silverside consumption in The site of Puémape, close to the mouth of the Jequetepeque River, is not far away from
comparison with that of anchovy. At present the oldest evidence comes from Caral, where Pampa de los Fósiles. Here Elera et al. (1992: 19) reported the presence of minor stardrum
scant remains of this fish have been found in the middens, the remains of the food eaten at during the Salinar occupation, i.e. from ca. 200 B.C. to the beginning of our era.
this site in the Supe Valley, which dates to ca. 2595-1951 B.C. (Shady and Leyva 2003: 115).
A few vertebrae of minor stardrum (Stellifer minor) were documented in the Gallery of the
The Mochica apparently also ate the Peruvian silverside during the first centuries of the Offerings at Chavín de Huántar ca. 1218-812 B.C. (Astocóndor 1993: 474).These however may not
Christian era because it was found in the excavations at the Huaca de la Luna, in the lower have been edible offerings.
Moche Valley (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 341).
The Mochica on the contrary did eat this fish. Cárdenas et al. (1997: 131) have reported the
The remains of at least one Peruvian silverside (Atherinidae) were recorded at the archaeological presence of minor stardrum remains at Huaca de La Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, with
site of Cerro Baúl during the Wari occupation (A.D. 631-1000) (Moseley et al. 2005: 17269). Like dates that fall in A.D. 400-750.
other marine species from the Pacific Ocean, this implies its transportation at least to this
place, which is over 80 km away from the sea. Minor stardrum bones have been reported for Cerro Azul (Cañete), where they were found in
human feeding contexts that date to the Chincha (A.D. 1000-1460) and Inca occupation of this
The Nasca also ate Peruvian silverside. Piacenza and Pieri (2012: 5) have reported the interesting zone (Marcus et al. 1999: 6568).
find of a series of silverside heads buried in some sort of silo, and covered with algae of the
species Macrocystis integrifolia, so it can be assumed that the algae may have been used as a The minor stardrum was also consumed by the ancient inhabitants of enclosures 24-25
preservative when moving fish from the sea to Cahuachi, some 40 km away. This type of find, of ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley, which dates to A.D. 1520.
which shows interest in preserving this fish, allows one to speculate on the possible use of This means it was eaten here at least during the final Imperial Inca phase (Béarez et al.
these techniques throughout all of the pre-Hispanic period. 2003: 66).

Dark-Spot Mojarra, Periche (Eucinostomus entomelas) Peruvian Banded Croaker, drums (Paralonchurus peruanus)
The dark-spot mojarra is on average 24 cm long, lives in shoals on soft bottoms (0-100 m With its long record and great antiquity in Peru’s archaeological sites, the Peruvian banded
deep) and bays, and eventually in estuaries and lagoons. It has a tropical area of origin and its croaker comes close to that of the anchovy.
distribution extends from California to Northern Peru (Chirichigno 1998: 347, 415).
This fish lives in sandy seabeds and bays, so it can be caught by lining and eventually with nets
The only—scant—dark-spot mojarra remains were found in the middens at Pampa de los too. Paralonchurus peruanus is a fish that belongs in the cold waters of the Peruvian Current
Fósiles 12 (unit 7), in a zone that lies between Pacasmayo and Paiján on the North Coast, that (Reitz 2001: 164). Sánchez Romero (1973: 181) points out that it is mainly distributed along the
dates to ca. 7876 B.C. (Chauchat 1992: 47). North and Central Coast. Its size ranges between 17 and 56 cm, and it weighs 800 grams on
average. It is fishes particularly during the Southern Hemisphere’s spring and summer.

Croaker, drums, minor Stardrum (Stellifer minor) Probably the earliest evidence of this fish’s consumption comes from the archaeological site
in the upper Zaña Valley, in the modern-day Lambayeque region (Dillehay 2011: 334), where its
The minor stardrum is a small fish (15-20 cm long) that weighs about 100-200 grams. It is remains have been found in strata that dates to 9700-9200 B.C. and 5855-3029 B.C.
associated with the Peruvian Current and lives in shallow waters in muddy and sandy sea
floors, so it can be fished all year long using nets and fishhooks. It essentially feeds on small Ancient Peruvian banded croaker remains also come from the Paiján culture, which mainly
crustacea and it is found from Paita to Valparaíso (Sánchez Romero 1973: 208). lived in the Paiján-Pampa de los Fósiles area south of Pacasmayo. In this case this fish’s remains
come from a site that was dated to 6556 B.C. on average (Chauchat 1992: 47). Researchers
The evidence showing the minor stardrum was part of the Peruvian diet is quite ancient estimate that 1,178 grams was the mean weight of the fish eaten here, i.e. more than one kilo
and was found at Pampa de los Fósiles 12 (unit 7), a site between Pacasmayo and Paiján, (Chauchat 1992: 356), and that it has a significant alimentary value from the perspective of its
in the middens left by the people who inhabited this site ca. 7876 B.C. (Chauchat et al. body mass in comparison with smaller fish.
1992: 47).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Later in the record we have (in minimum amounts) the people in Paloma, a site in the Chilca landsnail. This will obviously remain within the realm of speculation as long as the methods
Valley some 65 km south of Lima, who according to Elizabeth Reitz (1988: 314) ate Peruvian and analysis archaeologists use do not improve.
banded croaker. The radiocarbon dates indicate that it was consumed in 5316-3630 B.C.
The Chimu seem to have continued the tradition of eating this fish on the North Coast.
At Ostra, a Preceramic camp north of the city of Chimbote, the Peruvian banded croaker was Pozorski (1979: 168) found remains of Paralonchurus peruanus in large amounts at the site of
infrequently eaten in 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44). Chan Chan, but the tradition goes back to A.D. 2300, in the Moche Valley, in sites like Padre
Abán and Gramalote.
The remains of Paralonchurus peruanus were also found in the excavations at Bandurria,
a monumental Preceramic site close to Huacho and north of Lima, with dates that range This trend towards an intensification of Peruvian banded croaker consumption was likewise
between 3170 and 1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 136). observed in the Chimu occupation of Pedregal, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley where it
comprised no less than 44% of the fish eaten (Cutright 2009: 166-167) both by the elite as well
Vega-Centeno (2007) found a few Peruvian banded croaker remains at Cerro Lampay, an as by the rural population. It was thus widespread in this zone throughout various populations.
archaeological site on the North-Central Coast in the Fortaleza Valley, which has been dated
to 2410-2064 B.C. Gumerman (1991) showed at Pacatnamú (which is almost on the mouth of the Jequetepeque
River) that Paralonchurus peruanus was the most eaten fish species in Chimu and Inca times.
Bonavia (1982: 194) also found remains of Peruvian banded croaker at Los Gavilanes, a site in the
lower Huarmey Valley, so it may have been eaten by its inhabitants at least in 3200-1480 B.C. Marcus et al. (1999: 6568) found the bones of the Peruvian banded croaker on the Central
Coast at Cerro Azul, a site in the mouth of the Cañete Valley south of Lima. Although few,
At present the Gallery of the Offerings in Chavín de Huántar is the only place where this evinces its consumption by the people of the Chincha culture (A.D. 1000-1460) and even
Paralonchurus peruanus has been found in the Peruvian highlands, in the period 1218-812 B.C. during the Inca occupation of this zone.
(Astocóndor 1993: 474).
Paralonchurus peruanus was also eaten in enclosures 24-25 of ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac,
Puémape, a site on the North Coast in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, covers a similar period. in the lower Lurín Valley, a context that was radiocarbon dated to A.D. 1520 (Béarez et al. 2003: 66).
Here Lanfranco et al. (2009: 5) reported the remains of Peruvian banded croaker, which was
an essential part of its people’s diet in 3008-2329 B.C. It is even known to have been eaten
in the upper Piura River at Loma Valverde, a site dated at 350 B.C-A.D. 450, i.e. the Mochica Pacific Porgy [Marotilla, peje chino, sargo, taca] (Calamus brachysomus)
population here also ate this fish (Kaulicke 1991: 414). It was also eaten south of Piura by the
Mochica who lived at Pampa Grande, a site in the modern-day region of Lambayeque ca. A.D. The Pacific porgy is a benthonic fish found in coastal environments with sandy seabeds and
711-800 (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 131). It is therefore clear that this fish was much eaten on of varying depth. It grows up to 50 cm long and it is found from California to Pisco (Sánchez
the North Coast, and also more to the south. Romero 1973: 217).

The Moche in La Libertad apparently had Paralonchurus peruanus frequently. Roselló et al. There is scant evidence of this fish in the archaeological record. At present the earliest data comes
(2001) documented the relatively significant consumption of this fish at Huaca del Sol and from the upper Zaña Valley (Lambayeque), where Tom Dillehay (2011: 334) and his team found the
Huaca de La Luna in the Moche Valley ca. A.D. 470-600. The analysis of the fish remains by remains of Calamus brachysomus in archaeological contexts that date to 9700-9200 B.C.
Vásquez and Rosales (1998: 186) seems to show they were transported whole from the sea to
the site in a Mochica context, probably to salt and dry them. This species is extremely rare among the food remains left behind by the ancient Peruvians,
but it has been found at Ostra, a site north of the mouth of the Santa River that dates to 5462-
Van Gijsehem (2001: 261) showed that Paralonchurus peruanus was the main food in a 3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44).
kitchen sector at the Huaca de la Luna, in association with a type of clam, llama meat,
and cormorant. This is one of the few cases in which we can draw closer to answering
the question of what foodstuffs were eaten together in the pre-Hispanic period. If this Skipjack Tuna or Oceanic skipjack [Barrilete, listado] (Katsuwonus pelamis)
combination is valid, we can assume that at Huaca de La Luna the Moche had at one time
a dish with—possibly roasted [asados]—llama, cormorant, Peruvian banded croaker, and This is a member of the tuna family. It is one of the pelagic species that most migrates in the
high seas. It adapts to several temperatures and travels a lot. Its mean size is 60 cm and its

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

weight 3.5 kilos. Specimens up to 90 cm long and 12 kilos have been rarely caught (Sánchez Based on these data it can be said that catfish has been eaten on the Central Coast for about
Romero 1973: 170-171). 7000 years.

The skipjack tuna was probably eaten by the ancient dwellers of enclosures 24 and 25 of ramp In Lima, one of the scant pieces of evidence of its consumption comes from El Paraíso, which
pyramid III B in the monumental Pachacamac site, in the lower Lurín Valley, during the final is north of Lima in the vicinity of the Chillón River, with dates from middens that begin in 2150
phase of the Inca Empire ca. A.D. 1520 (Béarez et al. 2003: 66). B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 279).

A similar age was established for catfish consumption at El Porvenir, a site in the zone of
Bullseye Puffer, Network puffer [Tamborín, botete diana] (Sphoeroides annulatus) the Zarumilla River, in the modern Tumbes Region, which is quite close to the border with
Ecuador. The dates for this site range between 4700 and 300 B.C., so catfish consumption in
The bullseye puffer lives in rocky reefs and in areas close to the sands. It can g row up to 48 this northernmost part of Peru in this period is highly likely (Moore 2007a: 15). These dates
cm. Its area of distribution extends from San Diego to Pisco, including the Galápagos Islands rival those available for other sites on the Peruvian coast, and it opens the possibility that
(Chirichigno 1998: 437). Sphoeroides annulatus was probably eaten in small amounts by the more remains of this fish will be found not just in Tumbes, but also in Ecuador itself.
people of Ostra, a site north of the modern city of Chimbote and on the mouth of the Santa
River, on the Central Coast. The dates available for this site average to 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Catfish was also eaten by the people at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley,
Sandweiss 2001: 1094). at least between 200 B.C. and the beginning of our era (Elera et al. 1992: 19). The tradition of
catfish consumption persisted even in Chimu times, albeit in small amounts Cutright (2009:
167) documented the presence of catfish remains on the North Coast at Pedregal, a site in the
Peruvian sea catfish [Bagre con faja –bagre del norte] (Galeichthys peruvianus) lower Jequetepeque valley, during its Chimu occupation (A.D. 1000-1470).

Galeichthys peruvianus is a benthonic catfish-type fish. It lives in sandy-muddy environments The Mochica also ate catfish. Roselló et al. (2001: 77) and Cárdenas et al. (1997: 131) found the
not far from the coast and in shallow waters, and it can be fished from the shore using nets remains of this fish in the sites of Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol in the Moche Valley, in
and hooks. The Peruvian sea catfish is also found in river mouths and in mangrove swamps. Mochica contexts that dated to A.D. 470-600.
In Peru it is found between Chimbote and Pisco, but the ‘northern variety’ is concentrated
between Puerto Pizarro and Talara (Sánchez Romero 1973: 222). Catfish no longer than 25-35 Lockard (2005: 201) reported the presence of catfish remains in Chimú contexts at Galindo, a
cm and which do not weigh more than 600 grams are common. In fresh condition they hold site in the mid-Moche valley. It was little eaten during both the Mochica (A.D. 600-800) and
136% calories, 75% water, 17.6% proteins, 16.8% fat, just 16% calcium, 173% phosphorus, and 5.0% the Chimú (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations.
niacin (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 140-141). It clearly is a good food source. Béarez (2012) points out
that its pectoral and dorsal fins are poisonous just like those of all catfish, so the pre-Hispanic Catfish have also been found in small amounts in the excavations at Cerro Azul, in Cañete, that
population must have taken its precautions in order to fish and eat them. dated to A.D. 1000-1470 and to Inca times (Marcus et al. 1999: 6568).

The oldest evidence of Peruvian sea catfish consumption comes from Quebrada de los Burros,
a site on the Tacna littoral where Béarez (2012: 107) reports it in strata that go back to 7900 B.C. Pacific Jack mackerel, Jack mackerel, Inca Scad [Jurel, Furel] (Carangidae, Trachurus symmetricus
murphyi, Trachurus picturatus murphyi)
Early documentation also comes from Ostra, a site immediately north of the city of Chimbote
and on the Santa River mouth, with dates that average 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss This is a pelagic fish species (it lives between the tide and continental shore. That abounds in the
2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44). Southern Pacific ocean. It measures 60 cm on average. According to FAO (2010), every 100 grams of
Chilean jack mackerel holds 21.6 g of proteins, 3.9 g of fat, 325 mg phosphorus, and 1.8 mg of iron.
Galeichthys peruvianus was also found in the excavations at Bandurria, a monumental This is one of the fish with highest proteic content eaten in the Peruvian Andes. It lives in shoals,
Preceramic site close to Huacho and north of Lima, with dates that average to 3170-1610 B.C. so it can be inferred that it was fished with nets and probably from watercraft. It lives all along the
(Chu 2008: 136). coast, but is mostly concentrated between Chimbote and Callao. Its size ranges between 41 and 74
cm long, with the most frequent one being 45-70 cm, and it weighs on average 2.2 kilos. It is usually
Very few remains of catfish (Geleichistis [sic] peruvianus) have been found at Caral, and it may fished using hooks or nets (Sánchez Romero 1973: 177). Reitz (1988: 317) noted that the Chilean jack
have been eaten by the inhabitants of this site in 2595-1951 B.C. (Shady and Leyva 2003: 115). mackerel abounds more in winter, yet Béarez (2012) claims it draws closer to the coast in summer.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

The earliest evidence of Chilean jack mackerel consumption—and the most ancient along We now jump in time to the Wari Empire (A.D. 631-1000). The remains of Chilean jack mackerel
with anchovy—comes from Peru’s southernmost coast at Quebrada Tacahuay, which is south (Carangidae) were found in the excavations at Cerro Baúl, in the highlands of Moquegua
of Ilo on the coast of Moquegua. Here DeFrance and Umire (2004. 271) have reported the (Moseley et al. 2005: 17269), thus evincing anew the movement of fish to the high altitude
presence of bones in archaeological contexts that imply it was eaten since at least 10,730 B.C., areas—2590 masl in this case—as was the case with other fish species reviewed here.
i.e. since the end of the last ice age.
On the North Coast, Roselló et al. (2001: 77) and Cárdenas et al. (1997: 131) pointed out the
Also in Moquegua, the oldest dates obtained for layers with Chilean jack mackerel bones in the Ring presence of Chilean jack mackerel remains at the sites of the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca
Site south of the city of Ilo, in Mollendo, may go back to 8000 B.C. (cf. Sandweiss et al. 1989: 54). de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, with dates that ranged between A.D. 470 and A.D. 600,
i.e. the time of the Moche culture. Complete specimens of this fish were found in the urban
In the littoral of Tacna Chilean jack mackerel would have been eaten by 7900 B.C., as was area of the Huaca de la Luna. The researchers believe this could mean the fish were moved
evinced at the site of Quebrada de los Burros (Lavallée et al. 1999: 41-42). The size of the fish this way in order to salt or dry them, so it is possible that the Mochica expanded their protein
found at this site is at least 50 cm—a large size, even when compared with modern averages. intake by eating the Chilean jack mackerel, given the effects this type of techniques have on
Although when this site’s occupation began the consumption of this fish seems to have been, preservation (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 186).
its demand grew towards the end of its occupation around the fifth millennium of our era,
and reached second place amongst the fish eaten at this site. Chilean jack mackerel was also eaten on the North Coast at a later period, in the Chimu
culture (A.D. 1000-1460), as was shown by Cutright’s research (2009: 158) at Pedregal, a site in
Chilean jack mackerel was eaten in much lower amounts at Paloma, an archaeological site the lower Jequetepeque Valley.
some 65 km in the Chilca Valley south of Lima, some 7 km away from the sea (Reitz 1988: 314).
Robert Benfer (1990) found a series of villages and human remains from the Middle Holocene. Marcus et al. (1999: 6568) found few remains of Chilean jack mackerel for this same period on
The fish bones were found in layers that date to 5316-3630 B.C. the Central Coast at Cerro Azul, where it was eaten.

Chilean jack mackerel was part of the food eaten in small amounts by the people of Ostra, which Finally, Béarez et al. (2003: 58) report that this fish was the most eaten species in enclosures
is north of the modern-day city of Chimbote and on the Santa river mouth. These remains were 23-25 of ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley ca. A.D. 1520.
in a stratum dated to 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44).

It was also almost certainly eaten by the people of Bandurria, a site on the Central Coast close Pompano, Paloma [Pámpano] (Trachinotus sp.)
to Huacho and north of Lima ca. 3170-1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 136).
Trachinotus is a pelagic species that can grow up to 60 cm long, lives close to the littoral and
Chilean jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi) was eaten at Caral, albeit very sparingly. According on the sandy seabed (Sánchez Romero 1973: 204).
to Shady and Leyva (2003: 115) the dates range on average between 2595 and 1951 B.C.
The archaeological record of its (probable) consumption has evidence only for the North
The remains of Chilean jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi) have been found on the Central Coast some three thousand years ago. This is a fish that was discovered in the midden at
Coast at Cerro Lampay in the Fortaleza Valley, where it was the second most important Puémape, a site south of the Jequetepeque River mouth, in Cupisnique to White-on-Red
species at this site, which dates to 2410-2064 B. C. (Vega Centeno 2007). Horizon contexts, i.e. from 1000 B.C. to the beginning of our era, which means Trachinotus
may have been eaten on the North Coast in this period.
Significant amounts of Trachurus murphyi were found at Los Gavilanes, in the lower Huarmey
Valley, as part of the food eaten at this site in Preceramic times in 3200-1480 B.C. (Bonavia 1982: Trachinotus has been found outside context at Pampa Grande (in the Lambayeque Region), so
194-195). Also in this zone is site PV35-106, La Laguna, where Trachurus sp. was found, which dated it may have been eaten by the Moche in A.D. 711-800 (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 131).
to 5320 B.C. Its consumption on the South and Central coasts since very ancient times is clear.

The bones of Trachurus symmetricus have also been discovered in the excavations at Puémape, Lorna Drum [Lorna, Cholo, Losna] (Sciaena deliciosa)
a site immediately south of the mouth of the Jequetepeque River at least between 200 B.C.
and the beginning of our era, as was shown by Elera et al. (1992: 19). Interestingly enough, it is Sciaena deliciosa is one of the fish that belongs in the Peruvian Cold Current (Reitz 2001:
on the south coast that the earliest consumption of this fish was recorded. 164). It may have been caught through hook and line fishing or even with nets. Although

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it can live throughout the entire Peruvian coast it usually concentrates in its northern and Like Béarez, Reitz claims these are high seas fish, but are occasionally found on rocky and
central sections. This is a pelagic fish at home in waters close to the shore (the area where sandy seabeds; furthermore, they sometimes draw close to river deltas.
the waves), but it is also found on sandy seabeds. The lorna drum measures 16-32 cm long
(Sánchez Romero 1973: 178), rarely grows more than 50 cm, and weighs more than 1.5 kilos The consumption of Sciaena deliciosa, along with that of other types of fish, could have given
(Béarez 2012: 99). rise to the ingestion of parasites by the pre-Hispanic population. Raúl Patrucco et al. (1983:
393) detected the presence of Diphyllobothrium pacificum eggs in the faecal remains of an
The oldest record of lorna drum consumption is in Arequipa, at a site called Quebrada Jaguay individual from Los Gavilanes—a Central Coast archaeological site in the Huarmey Valley
that is very close to the littoral and just 14 km to the northeast of the modern city of Camaná. that is very close to the Peruvian littoral—that dated to 2642 B.C. Patrucco et al. believe this
It was dated to 11,040-9384 B.C., i.e. to the last ice age (the Younger Dryas). Here Daniel individual quite possibly ate fish like lorna drum, Chilean jack mackerel, medusafish or corvine
Sandweiss et al. (1998) found that its ancient inhabitants caught (very likely using nets) small drum raw, thus allowing the parasite to lodge in his intestines.
(17 cm on average) lornas for food.
Duccio Bonavia (1982: 194) documented the remains of lorna drum as part of the food refuse
The lorna drum was also part of the alimentary stock of the people in the sites at Pampa left by the early people of Los Gavilanes since around the third millennium before our era. It
Colorada. This site is a few kilometres away from Quebrada Jaguay on the Ocoña River mouth was also eaten in the Huarmey Valley at a much earlier date (ca. 5,320 B.C.) at La Laguna, site
on the coast of Arequipa, and its dates range between 9200 and 5400 B.C. (McInnis 2006: 373). PV35-106, to the north of the Huarmey River mouth (Bonavia et al. 2001: 304). Bonavia et al.
(2009: 265) noted the presence of lorna drum remains at site PV35-4—a camp with Middle
South of Camaná is Quebrada Tacahuay, a site south of Ilo on the Moquegua littoral, that Horizon 3 affiliation (ca. A.D. 800) on the Huarmey Valley’s littoral. The tradition of lorna drum
dates to 10,730-9370 B.C. (DeFrance and Umire 2004: 271). consumption in the lower part of this valley is thus clear.

The Ring Site is also on the Moquegua littoral south of Ilo, in Mollendo. Here Sciaena deliciosa Vega-Centeno (2007) reported the presence of lorna drum (Sciaena deliciosa) at the
was eaten in domestic contexts since 8000 B.C., which means it was eaten on the Peruvian archaeological site of Cerro Lampay where it was evidently eaten in 2410-2064 B.C.
coast since at least then (Sandweiss et al. 1989: 54). Abundant remains of lorna drum found in
the excavations, so it is believed to have been the fish most eaten at this site. Remains of Sciaena deliciosa that dated to almost the same period have been found at Caral
(Flores Blanco 2006). Besides, one of these fish was found calcined in a heart; it is therefore
Quebrada de los Burros (Tacna) is also on the South Coast. Here Lavallée et al. (1999: 41) clear that it was placed on the fire in order to cook it. According to Shady and Leyva (2003:
found remains of Sciaena deliciosa amongst the remains excavated since 7900 B.C. (but they 115), lorna drum (Sciaena deliciosa) was not much eaten at this site (just 0.22% of all fish eaten).
could also belong to Sciaena callaensis). This was the species most eaten in this site. The This is one of the few pieces of evidence that shows fish being prepared or cooked: roast
observations made by Philipe Béarez, the palaeoicthyologist in Lavallée’s team are interesting. [asada] lorna drum some 4,500 years ago.
He claims that lorna drums are fish that feed on molluscs and crustaceans, so they draw close
to the shore and can be easily caught. According to Béarez, this fish could have been caught It was also part of the diet during the earliest occupation of Puémape, a site in the lower
by angling. Béarez also measured the lornas found at this site, which ranged between 9 and 52 Jequetepeque Valley that dates to 3008-2329 B.C (Lanfranco et al. 2009: 5). Its presence on the
cm (Béarez 2012: 112). North Coast is perhaps somewhat later.

These finds all suggest an intensive consumption of Sciaena deliciosa on the southern Peruvian Quilter et al. (1991: 279) reported the presence of lorna drum in their excavations in the temple
coast since the last ice age. of El Paraíso, which dates to 2150 B.C. and is north of Lima, close to the Chillón River mouth.

Moving along in time is a site called Ostra north of the modern city of Chimbote. Here Reitz A small amount of lorna (Sciaena) was found in the Gallery of the Offerings at Chavín de
and Sandweiss (2001: 1094) report that Sciaena deliciosa comprises 16% of the marine species Huántar, with a mean date of 1218-812 B.C. These are offerings, but it is possible that this fish
eaten. The dates available for this site average to 5462-3711 B.C. (Sandweiss 1996: 44). was also eaten here (Astocóndor 1993: 474).

The archaeological site of Paloma, in the Chilca valley some 65 km south of Lima, dates to this Lorna consumption rose on the North Coast during the first millennium of our era, as was
same epoch. It comprised several camps with a large amount of organic remains left by the documented by Shelia Pozorski (1979: 168) for the ancient population of the Moche Valley. It
Middle Holocene people. Reitz (1988: 314) found lorna drum remains among the food refuse, was apparently also consumed, especially at Alto Salaverry (1600 B.C.) and Chan Chan, for its
thus showing as a food it was second only to the anchovy. The dates range to 5316-3630 B.C. density in the middens at both sites rose.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Slightly more to the north, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, Cutright (2009: 158) researched This type of fish was little eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru. For instance, the excavation team at the
a rural Chimú site called Pedregal and documented that its ancient dwellers only occasionally Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, has documented the scant remains left by the
ate lorna drum. Not far from this zone, in the Middle Moche Valley, Lockard (2005: 201) Mochica during the first centuries of our era (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 342).
excavated a few remains at Galindo from the Mochica (A.D. 600-800) and Chimú (A.D. 1000-
1460) occupations. The remains of this fish has been found in the excavations of the Huaca de la Luna in the lower
Moche Valley, which dates to A.D. 400-750, so it may have been part of the Mochica diet
In the Moche context there is also evidence of somewhat frequent lorna drum consumption (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 131). Joyce Marcus et al. (1999: 6568) in turn excavated Menthicirrus remains
in the lower Moche Valley at the sites of the Huaca de la Luna and the Huaca del Sol, in the at Cerro Azul, during the Chincha occupation in A.D. 1000-1460 and during the Inca period.
Late Moche stage in A.D. 470-600 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 131, Roselló et al. 2001: 77). Besides,
Vásquez and Rosales (1998: 186) claim they were evidently taken whole to the Huaca de la
Luna, so they assume the lorna drum was dried or salted just like the Chilean jack mackerel. Croaker [Pintadilla, Peje Burro, Arnillo, Burro, Caracha] (Sciaena fasciata)
Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 123) claim the lorna drum was the fish most eaten by the Mochica Chirichigno (1998: 435) records its distribution between Paita and Valparaíso. Just like in the
inhabitants of the Huaca del Sol in the lower Moche Valley. It was also eaten by the Moche previous case only one piece of evidence is available. Joyce Marcus et al. (1999) found some
at Pampa Grande, in the modern Lambayeque Region, in A.D. 711-800 (Shimada and Shimada drum remains at Cerro Azul, a site on the littoral of the Cañete Valley that dates to the
1981: 131). It follows from this all that lorna drum comprised a significant part of northern pre- Chincha culture (A.D. 1000-1460) and the Inca occupation.
Hispanic cuisine since the beginning of our era, slightly over two thousand years ago.

As has already been widely documented, fish from the Pacific Ocean appear in the Cerro Drums [Róbalo or Lubina] (Sciaena wieneri)
Baúl site. In this case we mean at least one lorna drum (Sciaena deliciosa) that was probably
eaten during the activities carried out in the site during the Wari occupation (A.D. 631-1000) Sciaena wieneri lives in habitats very close to the corvine drum and can move through the
(Moseley et al. 2005: 17269). area where the waves break, because they feed on crustacea that live buried in the sand and
on Pacific sand crab, and can thus be harpooned under the surface. Chirichigno (1998: 435)
Lorna drum was eaten at a later time in small amounts (3-7%) at Cerro Azul in the lower identified Sciaena wieneri in Guañape Island.
Cañete Valley, almost on the littoral, in a Chincha cultural context (A.D. 1000-1460) and even
during the Inca occupation of this site (Marcus 1999: 6568). The oldest remains of Sciaena wieneri come from Quebrada de los Burros, a site in the Tacna
littoral and has dates that begin at 5400 B.C. (Béarez 2012: 107).
Sciaena deliciosa was also eaten, albeit to a lesser extent, by the inhabitants of enclosures 24-25 of
Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley south of Lima, with a date of A.D. 1520 (Béarez et al. 2003: 58). Philipe Béarez et al. (2003: 66) found the remains of Sciaena wieneri in enclosures 24 and 25
of ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac (in the lower Lurín Valley), which had an average date of
A.D. 1520, and so may have been consumed in this site at least during the Imperial Inca epoch.
Kingfish, Mis-Mis, Misho or Muchachita (Menthicirrus sp.) The specimens at this site weighed up to seven kilos, so Sciaena wieneri must have been the
main source of protein for its inhabitants.
Chirichigno (1998: 307-308) discussed several species that include this genus, because lacking
a taxonomic determination we are forced to consider the possibility of having to identify
several species. Thus far the archaeological record only holds one piece of evidence. This is a Drums [Robalo orLubina] (Sciaena starksi)
fish similar to the lorna drum or the corvinita that is little known in the archaeological record.
According to Sánchez Romero (1973: 209) it can grow up to 40 cm and weigh 500 grams. This This is a benthic-pelagic fish that lives in sandy and sandy-rocky seabeds. It can be between 40
is a temperate-water benthic fish [pez bentónico] that lives on the sandy and muddy seabed cm and 1 m long, and weighs up to 25 kilos (Sánchez Romero 1973: 204). Its area of distribution
close to the shore. It is a common species in the littoral that is associated with the Peruvian extends from Huanchaco to Pisco, so it can be said that this is an almost exclusively Peruvian
Current, of pleasant taste, and is often fished with a net or by angling all year long. fish in the modern sense of the word.

Menthicirrus was found in small amounts in the Gallery of the Offerings at Chavín de Huántar, The vertebrae of this fish have been found at Caral, so we can deduce its potential consumption
in the time period 1218-812 B.C. (Astocóndor 1993: 474). in 2600-2000 B.C. Large amounts of Sciaena starksi were consumed in this Preceramic site
towards the end of is occupation ca. 1800 B.C. (Flores Blanco 2006).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Sciaena starksi has also been identified at the Huaca de la Luna, a site in the lower Moche believes is not seen today (Lavallée et al. 1999: 41). The large size not just of this fish but of
Valley, and may have been part of the diet of the Mochica people in the first centuries of our others as well and their current decrease in size, should be the subject of an ichthyological
era (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 342). inquiry in order to better improve Peru’s marine resources.

Marcus et al. (1999: 6568) report the remains of Sciaena starksi at Cerro Azul, a site in the A similar radiocarbon date was obtained also in the Moquegua littoral zone in the excavations
Cañete littoral, in Chincha (A.D. 1000-1460) and Inca contexts. at the Ring Site south of Ilo, in Mollendo. Corvina was eaten here since around 7600 B.C. It was
also found, albeit in small amounts, at the complex of sites at Pampa Colorada, immediately
to the northeast of Camaná on the coast of Arequipa, with dates that range between 9200
Drums [Corvina, corvinilla] (Cilus gilberti, Sciaena gilberti A) and 5400 B.C. (McInnis 2006: 373).

This fish is found all over the Peruvian coast, and is more abundant in the Centre and South. A similar age has been documented for corvina consumption in the middens of the Paiján
It is a pelagic fish that lives in sandy seabeds, but of waters close to the coast. It likes to go culture south of Pacasmayo, at Pampa de los Fósiles 13 (unit 1), a site where the radiocarbon
where the waves break to hunt for the Pacific sand crab and the crustacea buried in the sand, dates average 6556 B.C. (Chauchat 1992: 47, 356). According to these studies corvina was
and it is easily fished using nets, hooks, and even harpoons [arpones de punta] (Béarez et al. abundantly eaten at this time, particularly in the sites at Ascope. The mean weight of the
2003: 60). Its size ranges between 25 and 100 cm, and its weight from two to four kilos, but the fishes was 533 grams but they could reach almost two kilos, which supports the claims Béarez
specimens are clearly smaller in the southern coast of Peru. It is caught using ... [chinchorros] made for Tacna.
and its exquisite meat is highly appreciated (Sánchez Romero 1973: 179).
Corvina drum (Cilus gilberti) was documented at Bandurria, a site close to Huacho (Lima), so it
Although it does not have the biochemical potential of the anchovy or the pacific bonito, was part of the diet of the people who lived at this site. This is a Late Preceramic monumental
it does have a higher proportion of vitamin B1 with 0.08 mg per each 100 grams. It also edification that dates to ca. 3170-1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 136).
has 19.5 g of protein (that is to say, it is not far removed from the mean values for other
fish listed here), 4.5 g of fat, 182 mg of phosphorus, 1.1 mg of iron, and 1.5 mg of vitamin C Cilus gilberti was also documented at Caral, a site dated to 2595-1951 B.C. (Shady and Leyva
(FAO 2010). Reitz (2001: 164) believes it belongs to the group of fish in the Cold Peruvian 2003: 115). Several vertebrae and otoliths from Cilus gilberti have been found in this site, thus
Current. implying it was eaten in 2600-1800 B.C. Several bones were found semi-calcined in the context
of hearths (Flores Blanco 2006: 157-158), so we can well imagine corvina was roasted [asada]
The most ancient evidence of corvina consumption in pre-Hispanic Peru comes from since the third millennium B.C. on this part of the coast.
Quebrada Tacahuay, a site south of Ilo on the littoral of Moquegua. Here a human camp
with food remains was found, which in this case were associated with this fish, which date to Corvina remains have been discovered at Cerro Lampay, an archaeological site in the Fortaleza
10,730-9370 B.C. (DeFrance and Umire 2004: 271). Valley north of Lima. Vega-Centeno (2007) believes they were eaten during ritual activities
held whilst building temples in 2410-2064 B.C.
There is also evidence of its consumption on the North Coast in the early Holocene. The
archaeological research undertaken by Tom Dillehay et al. (2011: 334) shows this fish was Shelia Pozorski (1979: 168) documented a series of corvina remains between the modern city of
probably eaten in the sites found in the upper Zaña Valley (Lambayeque), where they have Huanchaco and the lower Moche Valley. These are food remains eaten at least since 2300 B.C.,
been dated to 9700-9200 B.C. as was shown at the site of Padre Abán. It is interesting that its consumption rose considerably
during the Chimu-Inca occupation of Choroval.
Like the lorna drum, remains that are believed to be corvina were also found on the South
Coast at Quebrada de los Burros (Tacna), which dates to at least 7900 B.C., but it was more Corvina remains due to human consumption have been found at Cerro Azul, on the littoral
abundant in later layers (5000-4000 B.C.; Lavallée et al. 1999: 41). Corvinas usually live in south of Lima in the Cañete Valley, in a Chincha cultural context (A.D. 1000-1470) .C.), and even
sandy littorals, especially where the waves break. Béarez believes angling must have been the Inca occupation of this site (Marcus 1999: 6568).
somewhat difficult because the waves sometimes break far away from the shore. This would
have made shore fishing difficult, so Béarez suggests the corvina was more likely fished Béarez et al. (2003: 66) reported corvina consumption, albeit in small amounts, in
from small watercraft (Lavallée et al. 1999: 43), which raises the possibility these were being enclosures 24-25 of ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley, with
used some seven thousand years ago, which clearly is mere speculation. A corvina from the a mean date of A.D. 1520. This means it was eaten at this site at least during the final
layers that dated to 5000-4500 B.C. was 1.40 m long and weighed 30-40 kilos, which Béarez Imperial Inca epoch in Lima.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Pacific croaker [Corvina Dorada, Guavina] (Micropogon altipinnis) Ground drummer [Ronco, bocón] (Bairdiella spp.)
Micropogon altipinnis can be fished from the shore using hooks or nets. It has been Bairdiella is a tropical fish found from Mexico to Paita (Piura) (Chirichigno 1998: 405). It has
abundantly documented in the middens of the Paiján culture south of Pacasmayo at the been found at Ostra, a camp site that is very close to the sea shore to the north of the city of
site of Pampa de los Fósiles 13 (unit 1), where the radiocarbon dates obtained averaged Chimbote, as part of the refuse left after eating it. The dates for this site average to 5462-3711
6556 B.C. (Chauchat 1992: 47, 356). According to these studies, abundant Micropogon B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1094).
altipinnis was eaten starting in this epoch, particularly in the Ascope sites. The mean
weight of the fish eaten ranged between half a kilo and two kilos. Credou (2008: 60), who Bairdiella has also been found—context-less—at the site of Pampa Grande (Lambayeque)
made the most detailed study of this type of fauna, established that in those ancient where it was dated to A.D. 711-800. It may have been eaten by the Mochica (Shimada and
times this fish weighed between half and five kilos, thus providing abundant food for the Shimada 1981: 131).
Paiján people. Although it has been claimed that Paiján-type points may have been used
to harpoon fish of this size, Crédou’s study does not support this hypothesis due to the
brittleness of these points. Grunt [Corcovado, callana] (Orthopristis spp.)
Micropogon altipinnis also seems to have been found in archaeological contexts in the Upper A few remains of Orthopristis were found in the excavations at Ostra, a site north of the city
Zaña Valley sites (Lambayeque). Here Tom Dillehay (2011: 334) reports fish remains in contexts of Chimbote and of the Santa River mouth. Its dates average between 5462 and 3711 B.C. (Reitz
dated to 9700-9200 B.C. It is thus clear that this fish has been eaten on the North Coast since and Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44).
quite ancient times.

Micropogon has been found in small amounts due to its having been eaten at Ostra, a site Flathead Grey Mullet, striped mullet [Lisa] (Mugil cephalus L.)
north of the Santa River mouth and the city of Chimbote. The dates for this site give an
average of 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1094). Micropogon altipinnis has also been The flathead grey mullet lives out at sea on the seabed, so nets or some kind of tool, fishhook
documented at the Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, and may thus have formed included. Its presence on the Peruvian coast is interesting because this is a tropical sea fish, but
part of the food the Mochica had in this part of the valley during the first centuries of our era it clearly is highly mobile and moves from warm to eventually cold waters (Reitz 2001: 164).
(Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 342)—a tradition that was, after all, initiated by the Paiján people
some eight thousand years ago. Sánchez Romero (1973: 195) says its mean size is 20-30 cm, but it can reach 45 cm. Some juvenile
specimens head inland through the rivers searching for less salty zones. They are fished all
along the Peruvian littoral, almost all year long. For instance, there is modern day evidence
Whitefin Weakfish [Corvineta Reina, Corvina Real] (Cynoscion albus) of their being fished and dried under the sun at Virrilá in Piura, and it could hypothetically
been feasible in the pre-Hispanic epoch (José Antonio Huldtwacker, August 2011, personal
The whitefin weakfish has a tropical distribution that extends from Mexico to northern Peru communication). Its distribution extends from California to the Galápagos Islands.
(Chirichigno 1998: 411). Crédou (2008: 47) includes it among the fish eaten by the Paiján people
on the North Coast of Peru since at least 9000 B.C. She estimates that one specimen weighed The consumption of flathead grey mullet is significant because it contains 106% calories, 76%
over ten kilos, which means this fish held second place for this culture in terms of biomass. water, 2.6% fat, and above all 19.4% proteins, and 194% phosphorus (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 140-141).

Elera et al. (1992: 19) documented Cynoscion albus at Puémape in the lower Jequetepeque There is however one point to consider. The flathead grey mullet must have been ingested
Valley, since at least 1000 B.C. and the beginning of our era. cooked in order to avoid the presence of parasites and other potential infestations, but this
means a significant loss of vitamins (vitamin C falls 16%, B2 20%, and even worse is B1, which falls
Quilter et al. (1991: 279) have also sown the presence of Cynoscion albus at El Paraíso, a site 78%). The alternatives were clear: eat the fish raw and run the risk of developing pathologies,
north of Lima and in the vicinity of the Chillón Valley that dates to 2150 B.C. or eat it cooked, which meant no pathologies but with a lower vitamin consumption index
(Antúnez de Mayolo 1996).
Thanks to the research undertaken by Shimada and Shimada (1981: 131) we also know that the
Mochica of Pampa Grande (Lambayeque) probably consumed Cynoscion albus (corvina real) Paiján-Pampa de los Fósiles (12 and 13), a series of human camps south of Pacasmayo, is
in A.D. 711-800. one of the first (if not the earliest) coastal sites where the flathead grey mullet has been

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

documented. In this case the oldest radiocarbon date averaged 10,249 B.C. (Chauchat 1992: At Cerro Azul, in Cañete, a few remains of flathead grey mullet have been found during the
47, 356), which means the flathead grey mullet probably was one of the earliest and most Chincha (A.D. 1000-1470) and even the Inca occupations. They had been eaten (Marcus et al.
abundantly eaten fish in Peru within the context of the Paiján culture; its remains abound in 1999: 6568).
Paiján archaeological contexts.
The remains of this fish found at Loma Saavedra also date to this time. This is a site south of
Still in northern Peru, the remains of flathead grey mullet were documented by the the Zarumilla River and close to the Peruvian frontier with Ecuador that dates to A.D. 1040-
archaeological work done by Tom Dillehay (2011: 334) and his team, who suggest it may have 1520, i.e. the Chimu, Garbanzal, Jambelí, and Chimu-Inca cultures (Moore 2007a: 15).
been part of the diet of the people in the upper Zaña Valley between 9700-9200 B.C. and
5855-3029 B.C.
Palm Ruff, Blackruff [Cojinova, palmera, palmerita (Seriolella violacea G.)]
The remains of flathead grey mullet excavated at Quebrada Tacahuay, a site on the southern
Peruvian littoral south of Ilo, in the modern-day Moquegua Region, are even older. Here they This is a pelagic fish that lives on sandy seabeds close to the beach, but it migrates between
have been found in an archaeological context that dates to at least 10,730-9370 B.C. (DeFrance the high seas and the coat. In order to fish it one must have nets or hooks (Sánchez Romero
and Umire 2004: 271). 1973: 177), as well as watercraft. It often feeds on anchovies, Pacific sand crabs, and Peruvian
silverside, and may weigh up to 2,600 grams. Its size ranges between 54 and 67 cm, but there
These data clearly show that the flathead grey mullet was one of the first fish to be eaten on are smaller specimens. Its meat is highly valued, especially when fresh.
the Peruvian coast after the ice age.
The palm ruff lives in temperate waters between Talara and Valparaíso, but it abounds on the
The site of Ostra is north of the city of Chimbote and it dates to 5462-3711 B.C. (Sandweiss Central coast of Peru. Flores Blanco (2006) reports having found its remains in the midden at
1996: 44). It is a simple camp adapted to the sea. Reitz and Sandweiss (2001: 1086) found Caral, where it was apparently eaten in 2600-1800 B.C.
that the presence of flathead grey mullets averages more than 7%, which means it was eaten
somewhat frequently. Bonavia found palm ruff remains at Los Gavilanes, in the lower Huarmey Valley, that dated
to 3200-2200 B.C. Bonavia (1982: 195). La Laguna, site PV35-106, where the palm ruff was also
It was also eaten by the early people of El Paraíso, a site close to the Chillón River mouth eaten, is close to Los Gavilanes and dates to 5320 B.C. (Bonavia et al. 2001: 304). Perhaps this
north of Lima, which has been dated to ca. 2150 B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 279). fish’s consumption in Huarmey is traditional.

On the North Coast after the Paiján cultural tradition, the successive human occupations show Alejandro Chu found palm ruff (Seriolella violacea) in the excavations at Bandurria, in the
the flathead grey mullet was highly consumed. Shelia Pozorski made a study of the food eaten vicinity of Huacho and north of Lima, with dates that ranged between 3170 and 1620 B.C. (Chu
by the early populations in the lower Moche Valley and Huanchaco, which documented the 2008: 136).
relatively significant presence of this fish since the Final Preceramic Period at sites like Padre
Abán (ca. 2300 B.C.) and Alto Salaverry (1600 B.C.), but it was eaten more during the Chimu Inca The research team at Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, identified the remains of
occupation in the zone of Chan Chan (Pozorski 1979: 169). this fish during the first centuries of our era, so the Mochica may have eaten it (Vásquez and
Rosales 2004: 342).
The flathead grey mullet has been found in the excavations made at the Huaca de la Luna in a
Mochica context, so it was part of their diet in A.D. 400-750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 131).
Peruvian Weakfish, drum [Cachema, Cachema Sechurana or Ayanque] (Cynoscion analis)
Its remains have been found, albeit in very scant amounts, in the Chimu occupation of
Pedregal, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, thus showing it was also consumed in this zone For Sánchez Romero (1973: 181) this species is frequently found on the North and central coast,
(Cutright 2009: 168). where it lives in shallow waters, usually on sandy and rocky seabeds. Its size ranges between
19 and 52 cm, and it has a mean weight of 350 grams (Sánchez Romero 1973: 181).
The Moche who lived in the Huaca de la Luna and the Huaca del Sol in A.D. 470-600 also did
the same (Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 123, Roselló et al. 2001: 77). Thee Mochica of Pampa The Peruvian weakfish can be fished from the shore using nets and hooks because it often
Grande, a site in the modern-day Lambayeque Region, quite probably ate flathead grey mullet lives close to the beach, where there are whirlpools and shoals of fish form both in tropical
too in A.D. 711-800, as follows from the research done by Shimada and Shimada (1981: 131). as well as in temperate waters between Colombia and Chile (Coquimbo).

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One of the most ancient pieces of evidence of Peruvian weakfish consumption comes from Peruvian weakfish was also eaten in small amounts in enclosures 24 and 25 of Pachacamac,
the Ring Site south of Ilo, in the zone of Mollendo (Moquegua). Sandweiss’s excavations south of Lima in the lower Lurín Valley, in a context that was dated to A.D. 1520 (Béarez et
showed that it was eaten here since 7500 B.C. (Sandweiss 1989: 54). It has likewise been al. 2003: 66).
reported at Quebrada de los Burros in the Tacna littoral, with dates that go back to 7900
B.C. (Béarez 2012: 107).
Mahi-Mahi, common dolphinfish [Perico, dorado] (Coryphaena hippurus)
Reitz observed the presence of Peruvian weakfish south of Lima at Paloma, where it was eaten
in small amounts (Reitz 1988: 314). Paloma comprises a series of camps and burials where organic Mahi-mahi is a pelagic high seas fish in tropical waters that feeds voraciously on smaller fish,
refuse from their food has been found. The site gave radiocarbon dates of 5316 and 3630 B.C. crustaceans and cephalopods. It can grow up to two metres. It is found far away from the
shore, which means high-seas fishing from watercraft using nets or hooks. Mahi-mahi is found
This fish was also eaten in small amounts at Ostra, a site north of the modern city of in warm seas from California Chile (Sánchez Romero 1973: 220).
Chimbote, which has dates that average to 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086,
Sandweiss 1996: 44). At present the remains of this fish have only been documented in the urban zone of the Huaca
de la Luna, in a Mochica context that dates to A.D. 400-750 (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 186).
The remains of Peruvian weakfish have been found at Cerro Lampay, a Preceramic site of
a monumental nature in the Fortaleza Valley, on the coast of the Lima Region. Here Vega-
Centeno (2007) found the remains of this fish eaten by the ancient inhabitants of this site Peruvian Hake, Pacific Hake [Merluza] (Merluccius gayi peruanus)
around 2410-2064 B.C. It was apparently also eaten at Caral during the same period (Flores
Blanco 2006). The Peruvian hake lives close to the shore and out at sea between 0°30 and 13°56`S, so it is
assumed that watercraft were required to fish it. It measures 20-55 cm long (and sometimes
Puémape is a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley. Here Lanfranco et al. (2009: 5) noticed reaches up to 80 cm), and weighs 512 grams on average (Sánchez Romero 1973: 174). According
remains of Peruvian weakfish, which were among the fish eaten in 3008-2329 B.C. to Cárdenas et al. (1997: 140-141), its biochemistry when fresh is 90% calories, 78% water, and
a not inconsiderable 19.3% protein, so in this it is almost like the flathead grey mullet. It also
It is very likely that what Bonavia recorded at Los Gavilanes, in the lower Huarmey Valley, holds 30% calcium, and particularly a great amount of phosphorus.
was Peruvian weakfish, which was dated—at least for epoch 2—to ca. 3200-2200 B.C.
(Bonavia 1982: 195), In comparison with other fish, Peruvian hake appears relatively late in the pre-Hispanic record.
Elera et al. (1992: 19) found its remains at Puémape, in the occupation that extended from 200
Although scantly documented in the Gallery of the Offerings at Chavín de Huántar in 1218-812 B.C. to the beginning of our era.
B.C., Peruvian weakfish (Cynoscion analis) may have been consumed at this site (Astocóndor
1993: 474). Although it does not abound on the North Coast, the Peruvian hake frequently appears
in Peru’s archaeological records. Roselló et al. (2001: 75) and Cárdenas et al. (1997: 131) have
The Mochica also ate Peruvian weakfish. Its remains have been found at the Huaca de la Luna documented Peruvian hake as comprising at least 4% of the food consumed at Huaca de la
in the lower Moche Valley, with dates that ranged between A.D. 400 and A.D. 750 (Cárdenas Luna and Huaca del Sol, in the Moche Valley. And in a subsequent study of the plain that
et al. 1997: 131). It may even have been eaten dry and salted, because it was documented that extends between both huacas, Vásquez et al. (2003: 37) documented a high percentage of this
it was brought whole from the sea to this site (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 186). fish eaten by the Moche in A.D. 571-685. Complete skeletons of this fish have been found in
the urban zone of the Huaca de la Luna, which for Vásquez and Rosales means it was dried
Peruvian weakfish was apparently also eaten by the Mochica of Pampa Grande (Lambayeque), or salted—an interesting observation in a Mochica context (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 186).
which dates to ca. A.D. 711-800 (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 131). It is worth noting that because of the environment it lives in, fishing Peruvian hake must have
involved the use of tule boats.
The Chimu who lived at Pedregal, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, also ate Peruvian
weakfish, albeit in small amounts (Cutright 2009: 158). Cutright (2009: 167) documented remains of Peruvian hake in very small amounts during the
Chimu occupation of Pedregal—a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley—in A.D. 1000-1460,
The Chincha who occupied Cerro Azul, a site in the Cañete River mouth, ate this fish in small amounts and in somewhat higher amounts during the late Moche occupation of this same site.
even during the Inca occupation of this site on the Central coast (Marcus et al. 1999: 6568).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Pacific Menhaden [Machete o machuelo] (Ethmidium maculatum, Brevoortia maculata) quarter of which is protein, a biochemical luxury amongst fish nutrients on the Peruvian coast.
Other values (also in every 100 grams) are instead below those found in the anchovy, like 258
The Pacific menhaden is a pelagic fish that lives at a mean depth of five metres in temperate mg of phosphorus, 0.7 g of iron, 1.6 mg of vitamin C, and 0.01 mg of vitamin B1. Horkheimer
to cold waters. It forms shoals, so it is easier to fish using nets. It is found from the South (1960: 110) claimed every 100 grams of bonito held 135 calories.
Coast of Peru to northern Chile. Its size can range between 16 and 34 cm, and has an average
weight of 206 grams (Sánchez Romero 1973: 188). It is fished all year round. Sánchez Romero (1973: 168-169) believes the bonito is characteristic of the Cold Peruvian
Current even though it is more accessible during the summer months, when the coastal strip
The consumption of Pacific menhaden in Peru goes back to the Middle Holocene. Lavallée gets narrower. The bonito is a carnivorous fish that preys mainly on anchovies and eventually
and her archaeological research team have identified its remains at the site of Quebrada de on some crustacea. It usually moves about at low depths.
los Burros (Tacna), where it dates to 6275-4500 B.C. (Lavallée et al. 1999: 42).
The bonito is an almost permanent resource because females are constantly laying eggs in
Very few remains of Pacific menhaden have been found left in the middens of Cerro Lampay high number. Their mean length in Callao is 60 cm and they weigh three kilos. Bonitos live
as food refuse. Vega-Centeno (2007) reports having found it in this site that is on the North- at 14-23°C temperature and move in shallow waters, some six and a half metres below the
Central Coast (Lima Region) and dates to 2410-2064 B.C. It was being eaten almost at the same surface (Sánchez Romero 1973: 168). They can be fished using nets or fishhooks, but this is best
time at Caral, in the Supe Valley (Flores Blanco 2006). done using watercraft.

Remains of have been found in the Gallery of the Offerings at Chavín de Huántar (Áncash) Bonito bones were found in the food refuse in the middens of the Quebrada de los Burros, a
that dates to the time period of 1218-812 B.C. It may have been part of the food eaten by the site in Tacna (Lavallée et al. 1999: 42). This shows it was eaten in 6200-4500 B.C. The Ring Site
inhabitants of this site (Astocóndor 1993: 474). in Mollendo lies slightly more to the north. Here Sandweiss (1989: 54) found the remains of
this fish albeit in small amounts, which dated to ca. 7500 B.C.
On the other hand, Bonavia documented significant amounts of Pacific menhaden remains at
Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey Valley, which means it comprised a significant part The initial evidence thus makes it clear that bonitos have been eaten in Peru for about nine
of the food eaten by Preceramic people in this valley (Bonavia 1982: 194). thousand years.

Scant remains of this fish (Sarda chiliensis chilensis) have been found in the archaeological
Spanish Mackerel [Pez Sierra] (Scomberomorus maculatus sierra J&S) excavations at Caral, in the Supe Valley, so it can be assumed that it was eaten here in 2595-
1951 B.C. (Shady and Leyva 2003: 115).
The Spanish mackerel is a pelagic fish found in warm coastal waters that lives close to the
beach. It can be fished by angling. Spanish mackerel usually measures 60-70 cm, and weighs up Vega-Centeno (2007) found that bonito (Sarda chiliensis) was eaten at the Cerro Lampay
to five kilos. It is found from California to Pisco Bay (Sánchez Romero 1973: 200). archaeological site (in the Fortaleza Valley, in Lima) around 2410-2064 B.C. It was also
eaten around this same time at Caral, a site in the Supe Valley, as reported by Flores
Bonavia (1982: 194) documented this fish in his excavations at Los Gavilanes, a site in the Blanco (2006).
lower Huarmey Valley, at least in 3200-1480 B.C. It has also been found in a Mochica
context in the urban site of Huaca de la Luna, between A.D. 400 and A.D. 750 (Vásquez Elera et al. (1992: 19) pointed out that bonito was eaten at Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque
and Rosales 1998: 186). Valley, during the Cupisnique and Salinar occupations, i.e. from 1000 B.C. to the dawn of our era.

The bonito was without question one of the fish most eaten on the North Coast. In her
Pacific Bonito [Bonito] (Sarda sarda, Sarda chiliensis chilensis) study of the fauna and flora eaten by the pre-Hispanic populations of the North Coast, Shelia
Pozorski (1979: 169) found the presence of bonito bones at Alto Salaverry (1600 B.C.) and at
The bonito is one of the most representative fishes of Peru’s pre-Hispanic diet. It is a subtropical Chan Chan (A.D. 1460). It was clearly eaten at these sites, albeit in very small amounts.
pelagic species that is found from Máncora to Talcahuano (Chile), and which measures about
80 cm (FAO 2010). Béarez says it can weigh up to eight kilos. Since anchovies are its main food Vásquez and Rosales (2004: 342) reported the presence of this fish at the site of Huaca de la
it follows it and thus draws closer to the coast in summer. The bonito is probably the fish with Luna in the lower Moche Valley, and so it may have been part of the Mochica diet during the
the highest amount of proteins eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru—almost 23.4 g per 100 grams, a early centuries of our era in this region.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

At Cerro Azul, a Chincha (A.D. 1000-1470) and Inca archaeological site in Lima, Joyce Marcus et Béarez et al. (2003: 66) have also shown that seabass was eaten at least in enclosures 24 and
al. (1999: 6568) found the remains of bonito that were part of the food eaten by its inhabitants. 25 of ramp pyramid III B in Pachacamac, and dated to A.D. 1520.

The ancient Tumbesinos also ate bonito. Jerry Moore (2007a: 15) found several bones belonging
to this fish at Loma Saavedra, a site on the southern banks of the Zarumilla River that is quite Brick Seabass [Cherlo, chancharro o choromelo] (Acanthistius pictus)
close to the modern-day frontier in Ecuador. The bones were found in contexts that were
dated to A.D. 1070-1520, and so belong to the period in which cultures like Jambelí, Garbanzal, This is a benthic fish that lives in rocky waters with sandy seabeds, and which can swim upriver
Chimu, and Chimu-Inca developed. in river mouths. It feeds mainly on crustacea and can measure up to 45 cm. It is quite common
on the North Coast, and its distribution extends from Ecuador up to Chile (Sánchez Romero
Bonito was also eaten in low amounts by the ancient population of the Pachacamac 1973: 212).
archaeological site in the lower Lurín Valley south of Lima. Its remains have a mean average
date of A.D. 1520, i.e. during the final phase of the Inca Empire (Béarez et al. 2003: 1520). At present it is known to have been eaten only by the Mochica. Its remains have been reported
at the Huaca de la Luna site in the lower Moche Valley, and dated to the first centuries of our
era (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 342).
Peruvian Rock Seabass [Cabrilla, cabrilla loca, cabrillón] (Paralabrax humeralis)
The Peruvian rock seabass is a cold water species found on the Peruvian coast (Reitz 2001: Bullet Tuna, bullet mackerel, wide corseleted [Barrilete negro, melva] (Auxis sp.)
164). It lives on rocky seabeds and it can be fished using fishhooks (Béarez et al. 2003: 60), but
watercraft are believed to have been used for this. The seabass feeds on crustacea and small This is a circumtropical species that lives in the warm seas of the world. Its mean weight is 12
fishes. It measures on average 22-42 cm, and weighs 1,200 grams. Its meat is highly prized, but kilos (Sánchez Romero 1973: 173). The bullet tuna has been found at Cerro Baúl and was dated
it is often salted in Northern Peru (Sánchez Romero 1973: 178). to the main occupation of this site by the Wari Empire (A.D. 631-1000) (Moseley et al. 2005),
which clearly indicates it was carried from the seashore up to an altitude of 2590 masl.
The consumption of seabass goes back at least to around 7500 B.C. at the Ring Site south of
the city of Ilo, in Mollendo (Sandweiss et al. 1989: 52). Béarez (2012: 107) found it in contexts
that go back to 7900 B.C. at the Quebrada de los Burros site on the Tacna littoral. Cabinza Grunt [Cabinza] (Isacia conceptionis)
Seabass has been eaten on the coast of Lima since at least the Middle Holocene. This was This is an epipelagic, coastal and gregarious species that lives on the seabed of bays and
evinced by a report authored by Elizabeth Reitz (1988: 314), who studied the fauna from feeds on crustacea. It can weigh up to 300 grams and measures between 16 and 24 cm. the
Paloma, a site south of Lima in the vicinity of the Chilca valley bot far from the modern San cabinza grunt is often associated with the lorna drum. It is fished using fishhooks or ... [cortina],
Bartolo Beach. The dates range between 5316 and 3630 B.C. particularly in calm waters (Béarez 2012: 103).

Ostra is a site north of the Santa River mouth and close to the city of Chimbote that lies The cabinza grunt has been found among the remains left behind by the inhabitants of the
almost on the littoral. Seabass remains that dated to 5462-3711 B.C. have been documented Quebrada de los Burros site in Tacna (Lavallée et al. 1999: 42), which can be dated to at least 6270-
here (Reitz y Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44). 4500 B.C. Béarez claims this species readily bites the hook even though it is away from the shore,

At Cerro Lampay, a site in the Fortaleza Valley, Vega-Centeno (2007) found remains of seabass Few remains of cabinza grunt have been found in the excavations made at Ostra, a site north of
eaten in 2410-2064 B.C. Chimbote that dates to ca. 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44).

Peruvian rock seabass also had an alimentary role because its remains have been found in kitchen The cabinza grunt was eaten by the people at the site of Paloma, some 65 km south of Lima in
contexts at the site of the Huaca de la Luna and the Huaca del Sol in the lower Moche Valley. These the Chilca Valley, and around 7 km away from the sea. Reitz (1988: 314) reported cabinzas that
contexts date to A.D. 470-600 (Roselló et al. 2001: 77), which clearly means the Moche were eating it. may have been eaten in 5316-3630 B.C.

Marcus et al. (1999: 6568) have reported the presence of seabass—albeit small amounts— Flores Blanco (2006: 157) reported finding cabinza grunt vertebrae at Caral, where it was
during the Chincha (A.D. 1000-1470) and Inca occupation of Cerro Azul, a site that is in Cañete. probably eaten in 2600-1800 B.C. It should be pointed out that Flores Blanco found this fish’s

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

remains calcined as if they had been subjected to fire in order to cook them, and thus proves The Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, was occupied by the Mochica in A.D. 400-
it was prepared at this time. 750, and the remains of Peruvian grunt have been found here; it may well have been part of the
Mochica diet (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 131). The Mochica of Pampa Grande, a site in the modern-day
The cabinza grunt was part of the food eaten in enclosures 24-25 of the ramp pyramid III B at Lambayeque Department, also ate Peruvian grunt in A.D. 711-800 (Shimada y Shimada 1981: 131).
Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley, where it dated to A.D. 1520, i.e. it literally dates to the
end of the Inca Empire (Béarez et al. 2003: 66). Marcus et al. (1999: 6568) found in more recent times that small amounts of Peruvian grunt were
eaten at the site of Cerro Azul in Cañete, during the Chincha (A.D. 1000-1470) and Inca occupation.

Peruvian Grunt, Pacific sargo [Chita o sargo] (Anisotremus scapularis) Peruvian grunt was also eaten in small amounts in ramp pyramid IIB at Pachacamac, which
dates on average to A.D. 1520, a final imperial Inca context (Béarez et al. 2003: 66).
The Peruvian grunt is a benthic fish that lives on sandy seabeds, in rocky areas and where
the waves ... [resaca], and it is fished using fishhooks (Béarez et al. 2003: 60). It belongs to
the group of fish characteristic of the cold waters of the Peruvian Current (Reitz 2001: 164). Blue-Bronze Sea Chub [Salema, Chopa] (Kyphosus analogus)
The Peruvian grunt has a mean length of 40 cm and weighs seven and a half kilos. It lives
in temperate waters at low depths. Juvenile specimens particularly get close to the shore A few remains of this species have been found at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey
and can be fished all year long (Sánchez Romero 1973: 216). The Peruvian grunt ranges from Valley that dates to 2300-1480 B.C. (Bonavia 1982: 222).
northern Peru to northern Chile, and it ventures into areas where the waves break in order to
look for clams [choritos] and purple keyhole limpets [lapas].
Sheephead, wrasses [Mulato, Peje Perro, or Vieja] (Pimelometopon sp.)
The Peruvian grunt has been found in the food refuse at Quebrada de los Burros in Tacna,
which may date to 7900-4500 B.C. (Lavallée et al. 1999: 42). Even earlier remains were found This is a slow-swimming benthic fish [pez bentónico de natación lenta] that lives on rocky
at the Ring Site south of the modern city of Ilo, and which date to ca. 8000 B.C. (Sandweiss seabeds in temperate waters close to the coast, and feeds on algae and invertebrates. It can
1989: 54). Béarez, who was in charge of reconstructing the type of fishing technique, believes be fished using hooks all-year long. Its range extends from the Lobos de Afuera Island (Peru) to
that angling would have been easy because the fish draw close to the shore. Sandweiss et al. the Gulf of Arauco (Chile). It can grow up to a metre long (Sánchez Romero 1973: 229).
(1989: 58) reached the same conclusion.
Some bones of this fish species have been found at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey
A significant amount of Peruvian grunt was also eaten at Paloma, a site in the Chilca Valley Valley, which dated to 3200-1480 B.C. (Bonavia 1982: 222). Bonavia et al. (2009: 265) also
south of Lima, near an extinct loma and very close to the sea. Reitz (1988: 314) showed that recorded this type of fish remain at site PV35-4, a camp on the littoral immediately north of
according to the radiocarbon dates, it was eaten in layers that date to 5316-3630 B.C. the Huarmey Valley. This fish had traces of burning, which implies it was grill cooked.

Haemulidae, which can be included in the Peruvian grunt taxon, have been reported in the
excavations undertaken at Ostra, a site on the right bank of the Santa River mouth and north Clingfishes, Pejesapo [Pejesapo or Shinguillo] (Sicyases sanguineus M&T)
of the modern city of Chimbote. They dated to 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086,
Sandweiss 1996: 44). Sicyases sanguineus or pejesapo is a typical species found in rocky and pebbly shorelines. Its
adhesive disk allows it to cling to rocks, and it thus lives some time out of the water. It grows
Bonavia (1982: 195) recorded Peruvian grunt remains at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower up to 35 m long and its distribution extends from Salaverry to Punta Arenas (Chile). It can be
Huarmey Valley that dates at least to 3200-1480 B.C. fished all year long (Sánchez Romero 1973: 227) and it feeds on molluscs (Béarez 2012: 105).

Elera et al. (1992: 19) mentioned having found Peruvian grunt in the middens of Puémape, a site Sicyases sanguineus is included in the family of small fish (Gobiesociedae) that were eaten by
in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, in the Cupisnique and Salinar epochs (ca. 1000 B.C. to the the ancient Peruvians, in which it stands out because it can grow up to 30 cm long. It is found
beginning of our era). along the Peruvian-Chilean littoral.

Galindo is a site on the middle Moche Valley on the North Coast. Here Lockard (2005: 201) According to the radiocarbon datings of the layers in which Sicyases sanguineus was found
found the remains of Peruvian grunt that had been eaten by the Mochica around A.D. 600-800. at Quebrada de los Burros (Tacna), these can be dated to ca. 7900-4800 B.C. Béarez (Lavallée

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

et al. 1999: 43) claims the pejesapo can be collected walking, as is the case with octopi and to 7900-4500 B.C. Because of their habitat, it is possible that they were fished angling from
several other shellfish. They are caught in the rocks left uncovered by the tides, where they watercraft.
can survive several hours and even days, simply by hand or using a harpoon.
Sandweiss (1989: 54) reported discovering bone remains of Pacific chub mackerel not far away
Sicyases sanguineus was also eaten at Cerro Azul, a site in the Cañete littoral, in Chincha (A.D. at the Ring Site south of Ilo, in the zone of Mollendo, which dated to ca. 8000 B.C. This means
1000-1460) and Inca contexts, which means it was still being eaten on the Central Coast at this that Pacific chub mackerel has been long eaten.
time (Marcus et al. 1999: 6568).
Bonavia (1982: 195) found the remains of Pacific chub mackerel in medium-sized amounts at Los
Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey Valley, in a stratum that dates at least to 3200-2200 B.C.
Peruvian Morwong [Pintadilla, Páramo or Pintacha] (Cheilodactylus variegatus)
Roselló et al. (2001: 77) recorded the remains of Pacific chub mackerel at Huaca del Sol and
According to Béarez (Lavallée et al. 1999: 42) this is a benthic fish species that lives on rocky Huaca de la Luna in A.D. 470-600, in Mochica contexts.
seabeds covered by algae, and less frequently on sandy and rocky seabeds. It is 25 to 35 cm
long but it can grow up to 50 cm long, and it weighs a kilo and a half. It is fished all year long, Pacific chub mackerel has been found, albeit in small amounts, as part of the food eaten in
particularly using fishhooks. It is found between Paita (Peru) and Talcahuano (Chile) (Sánchez enclosures 24 and 25 of ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley, which
Romero 1973: 223). date to the final imperial Inca occupation ca. 1520 (Béarez et al. 2003: 58).

Peruvian morwong remains have been excavated in the food refuse left at Quebrada de los
Burros (Tacna) and they can be dated to 7900-4500 B.C. They may have been fished by angling. Giant Blenny, scaleless blenny [Borracho, Borracho Gigante] (Scartichthys gigas)
Sandweiss (1989: 54) likewise reported a good amount of remains at the Ring Site south of Ilo,
in the zone of Mollendo, which considering the radiocarbon dates found at this site dated at At present the most ancient evidence of this fish being eaten comes from Quebrada de los
least to ca. 8500 B.C. Burros, a site on the Tacna littoral where it has been found in strata that date to ca. 5400 B.C.
(Béarez 2012: 107).
Peruvian morwong was also eaten at Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, as shown by
the archaeological research undertaken by Elera et al. (1992: 19). Lockard (2005: 201) recorded The giant blenny was quite likely eaten at Puémape, a site in the Jequetepeque River mouth
the remains of Peruvian morwong at Galindo, in the middle Moche Valley, where it was eaten that dates at least to 200 B.C. and the beginning of the Christian era (Elera et al. 1992: 19). This
by its Mochica population in A.D. 600-800. Cárdenas et al. (1997: 131) have on the other hand means the giant blenny appears later in the record than other species.
recorded its remains at the Huaca de la Luna, a site in the lower Moche Valley, which means
the Mochica may have eaten it in A.D. 400-750. It has also been recorded at the Huaca de la Luna, where it was presumably eaten by the Mochica
who lived in this site during the first centuries of our era (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 342).
Peruvian morwong was also found amongst the fish eaten at Cerro Azul, a site on the littoral
south of Lima in the Cañete Valley, in a Chincha context (A.D. 1000-1460) and even during the Giant blenny bones have likewise been found among the refuse left behind by the people
Inca occupation of this site (Marcus et al. 1999: 6568). of Cerro Azul, a site in the Cañete River mouth, during the Chincha (A.D. 1460) and the Inca
occupation of this zone (Marcus et al. 1999: 6568).

Pacific Chub Mackerel [Caballa, estornino] (Scomber japonicus peruanus, Scombridae)


Blenny, scaled blenny, trambollo or Chalapo Clinid [Trambollo or Chalapo] (Lepisoma philipii,
The Pacific chub mackerel is a fish found in the Cold Peruvian Current (Reitz 2001: 164) that Labrisomus philippii)
lives close to the beach, and which can be caught by angling. Sánchez Romero (1973: 171) notes
that it lives not far away from the coast. These are small fish that measure 26-34 cm long and This is a benthic fish that lives on sandy seabeds, but it often draws close to the coast and
weigh 114-368 grams. is preferentially fished with fishhooks, and eventually with nets (Béarez et al. 2003: 60). It
usually is 35 cm long on average and it weighs 200 grams. It is fished all year long, especially in
Fish from the Scombridae family of a pelagic nature have been found as food refuse left in November. It is found mainly between the Lobos de Tierra Island (Peru) and Coquimbo (Chile)
the middens at Quebrada de los Burros (Lavallée et al. 1999: 42), in excavation layers that date (Sánchez Romero 1973: 225, 227).

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The chalapo clinid has been found in North Coast sites like Padre Abán (2300 B.C.), Alto Fine Flounder, lefteye Flounder, halibut, [Lenguado común] (Paralichthys adspersus)
Salaverry (1600 B.C.), and in some zones of the Chan Chan complex (Pozorski 1979: 169). Elera
et al. (1992: 19) also recorded its remains on the North Coast at Puémape, a site south of the This is a pelagic fish that lives half-buried in sandy and muddy seabeds off the beaches, and yet
Jequetepeque River mouth, so it may have been eaten in this area at least between 200 B.C. it likes to venture where the waves break in order to catch Pacific sand crabs, which means it can
and the beginning of our era. be fished using nets, fishhooks or harpoons with points (Béarez et al. 2003: 60). Fine flounders can
grow up to 80 cm long, but most frequently range between 35 and 55 cm long, and weigh 1-3 kilos
On the other hand, according to the archaeological research undertaken by Cutright (2009: (very rarely five). The people of Puémape, south of the Jequetepeque River mouth, were already
158), small amounts of trambollo remains have been found at Pedregal, a site in the lower eating this type of fish at least between 200 B.C. and the beginning of our era (Elera et al. 1992: 19).
Jequetepeque Valley, within the context of the Chimu occupation (A.D. 1000-1460).
The most ancient evidence of the fine flounder apparently come from the site of Quebrada
The Moche also ate trambollo during the first centuries of the Christian era, for its remains de los Burros on the Tacna littoral, where the remains of this fish have been found since ca.
have been found at the Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche valley (Vásquez and Rosales 5400 B.C. (Béarez 2012: 107).
2004: 342).
Bonavia (1982: 195) recorded the presence of the fine flounder in the Huarmey Valley in small
Trambollo remains have also been found—albeit in small amounts—in Chincha (A.D. 1000- amounts, at least in 3200-1480 B.C.
1460) and Inca contexts at Cerro Azul, an archaeological site on the coast of Cañete, which
means it was eaten on the coast in late periods (Marcus et al. 6568). Cárdenas et al. (1997: 131) recorded flounder remains at the Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche
Valley, so it can be inferred that it was part of the food its population ate ca. A.D. 400-750.
Béarez et al. (2003: 66) have shown that the ancient inhabitants of the Pachacamac ramp
pyramids, in the lower Lurín Valley), ate trambollo at least during the final phase of the Inca Flounders have been found in small proportion in the middens and in the food remains left
Empire, as its mean radiocarbon date comes to A.D. 1520. behind by the people of Cerro Azul in the Cañete Valley, in Chincha (ca. A.D. 1000-1460) and
Inca contexts (Marcus et al. 1999: 6568).

Flounder, [Lenguado de ojos chicos] Paralitchthys microps (Paralitchthys microps) Flounders were also eaten by the inhabitants of the Pachacamac ramp pyramids in the lower
Lurín Valley, where Béarez et al. (2003: 66) found a date of A.D. 1520, i.e. during the final
According to FAO (2010), Paralitchthys microps has 19.1% proteins and 0.5% fat, as well as Imperial Inca phase.
phosphorus, iron, and vitamin B1.

Daniel Sandweiss et al. (1989: 62) found remains of Paralitchthys microps at the Ring Site south of Speckled-Tail Flounder [Lenguado de Cola Manchada] (Bothidae, Engyophrys sanctilaurentia)
the modern-day city of Ilo, in Moquegua. The site’s inhabitants began to eat it around 8000 B.C.
At present the evidence of the potential consumption of this fish comes from the upper Zaña
Valley, in Lambayeque. Here Tom Dillehay (2011: 334) reported it in archaeological contexts
Sea bass, Pacific Mutton Hamlet [?] [Mero] (Epinephelus sp., Alphestes fasciatus) that date to 9700-9200 B.C., which means that it has long been eaten.

This species lives in rocky seabeds at shallow and middle-depth warm waters. It can grow up Bothidae (which quite probably are speckled-tail flounders) have been found in the excavations
to 1.20 m long and is usually fished using a net or a harpoon (Sánchez Romero 1973: 196). made at Ostra, a site north of the Santa River mouth and the city of Chimbote, which dated
to 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44).
Few remains of the Pacific mutton hamlet have been found at Ostra, a site that lies very close
to the Santa River mouth, so it may have been part of the food eaten by the people that
inhabited this site in 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44). Spotted Scorpion Fish [Pez Diablo] (Scorpaena plumieri mystes)
Bonavia (1992: 195) recorded some Pacific mutton hamlet remains at Los Gavilanes, a site in the The spotted scorpion fish has been excavated by the research team of the Huaca de la Luna,
lower Huarmey Valley, in a stratum that dates to 3200-1480 B.C. To these finds we must add in the lower Moche Valley, so it may have been eaten by the Mochica throughout the first
the depictions of this fish found on Mochica ceramics. centuries of our era (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 342).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Sandperch [?] [Bacalao, Rollizo] (Mugiloides chilensis) The black cusk-eel has also been recorded in the excavation of the Huaca de la Luna, in
the lower Moche Valley, and so it may have been part of the Mochica diet during the first
Codfish have been eaten in the southern Peruvian coast since the early Holocene, as was evinced centuries of our era (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 341).
by the finds made at the Ring Site, which is south of Ilo (Moquegua) and only 750 meters away from
the sea shore. Here Sandweiss (1989: 62) has reported the presence of cod bones since ca. 8000 B.C.
Bonefish [(Pez) Zorro, Macabi] (Albula vulpes)
This fish was found in very small numbers at the Pampa Colorada group of sites close to the
Ocoña River Mouth, to the northeast of Camaná, which have dates that range to 9200-5400 The bonefish lives between California and Chimbote. Gálvez Mora and Quiroz Moreno
B.C. (McInnis 2006: 373). (2008: 70) note that it lives in tropical waters with temperatures that are over 20 °C. Some
are highly migratory but swim close to the surface, thus forming concentrations with many
specimens.
Pacific Golden-Eyed Tilefish or Ocean Whitefish [Peje blanco, blanquillo] (Caulolatilus cabezon,
Caulolatilus cabezon affinis Gil) The oldest find in Peru was probably made at Pampa de los Fósiles 12 (unit 7), which is on
the North Coast between Pacasmayo and Paiján, and which has a mean date of 7876 B.C.
Sánchez Romero (1973: 184) notes that it has been found from Manta (Ecuador) to Chimbote (Chauchat 1992: 47).
(Peru), but it usually is concentrated in northern Peru. This fish lives on sandy and shelly
seabeds. Its size ranges between 20 and 55 cm long. It is usually eaten fresh and salted. It is The remains of this fish have also been excavated at Ostra, a site north of Chimbote and
fished using nets or fishhooks. on the Santa River mouth, which dates to 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086,
Sandweiss 1996: 44).
The Pacific golden-eyed tilefish was probably eaten—albeit in very small numbers—at
Pedregal, a Chimu site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, and its date ranges to ca. A.D. 1000-
1460 (Cutright 2009: 158). Catfish [Bagre negro] (Cathorops)
This type of fish was eaten since at least 10,250 B.C. at the site of Pampa de los Fósiles 14 (unit
Parrot Fish [Pococho perico] (Xenoscarus denticulatus, Scarus perico) 2), south of Pacasmayo, where Chauchat (1992: 274) found it in a context pertaining to the
Paiján culture.
Shelia Pozorski (1979: 169) has reported the presence of this fish at Alto Salaverry and at Chan
Chan, in the middens of both sites. This means it was eaten in this part of the North Coast ca.
1600 B.C.-A.D. 1400. Catfish [Bagre] (cf. Ariopsis)
At present this species has only been found at the site of Pampa Grande (Department of
Black Cusk-Eel [Congrio, congrio moreno] (Genypterus maculatus) Lambayeque) which dates to A.D. 711-800, so it may have been eaten by the Mochica who
peopled this site (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 31).
This fish can grow up to more than a metre long, but it usually measures 50-90 cm. It is a
benthic species that can live in sandy-muddy seabeds up to a depth of 300 metres.
Cartilaginous Fish
At present the archaeological record for this fish mostly comes from the North Coast. Very
low percentages of its remains have been found in two North Coast sites—Alto Salaverry,
which dates to ca. 1600 B.C., and part of the architectonic complex of Chan Chan during the Snake Eel [Ánguila] (Ophichthus sp.)
Chimu-Inca occupation (Pozorski 1979: 169).
Vásquez and Rosales (1998: 182) found the remains of some type of snake eel, which hails from
Black cusk-eel remains have been found in the same proportion—i.e. very small amounts—at tropical climates, in a context in the urban area of the Huaca de la Luna that has been dated
Gramalote, a North Coast site close to Huanchaco that has been dated to 1800 B.C. (Pozorski to A.D. 400-750.
and Pozorski 1979: 423).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Smooth-Hound and Spotted Houndshark [Tollo (Mustelus spp.) and Tollo Manchado] (Triakis Besides, the research undertaken by Elera et al. (1992: 19) showed Mustelus was also eaten at
maculata) Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, from 1000 B.C. to the beginning of our era.

These live on sandy seabeds, in both tropical and subtropical waters. They can be caught from These studies showed that Mustelus was eaten in smaller amounts during the Moche epoch
the shore just using cords and simple nets. Sánchez Romero (1973: 189) defines four major and Early Chimu. Such is the case of the Huaca del Sol in the Moche Valley, where Pozorski and
species, i.e. sharptooth smoothhound (Mustelus dorsalis), Mustelus maculatus, speckled Pozorski (2003: 123) noted the presence of few Mustelus remains, the residue of the Mochica
smoothhound (Mustelus mento), and Mustelus spp. aff. Dorsalis. food eaten during the first centuries of our era.

The sharptooth smoothhound is the most abundant species but Mustelus maculatus is Cutright (2009: 167) also found Mustelus was eaten, albeit in small amounts, by the people of
the biggest one, and can reach up to two metres. The Mustelus spp. aff. Dorsalis species is Pedregal, a site on the North Coast in the Jequetepeque Valley, during the Chimu epoch (A.D
characteristic of the Peruvian coast. The most frequent sizes range between 55 and 70 cm, and 1000-1460). Mustelus was recorded at La Mina, a site in the valley of the same name, thanks
may weigh up to 2.4 kg. They are fished all year long in the littoral. to the analyses Vásquez and Rosales (1994: 86) made, so it is possible that in this zone the
Mochica may have eaten it since the first century of the Christian era.
According to FAO (2010), every 100 grams of Mustelus [tollo] have 18.7 g of protein, 229 mg of
phosphorus, 0.7 of iron, 0.04 of vitamin B1, and—most notably—29.3 mg of vitamin C, which Mustelus was also eaten since quite early dates in Piura. Kaulicke (1991: 414) reported this in his
make it the main provider of this vitamin in comparison with other fish found on the Peruvian excavation of the Loma Valverde site, in the upper Piura Valley, around 350 B.C.-A.D. 450, i.e.
coast. Antúnez de Mayolo (1996) drew attention to the fact that when cooked Mustelus loses whilst the Salinar and Mochica cultures developed in this zone.
92% of its vitamin B2 component.

The oldest remains eaten in Peru have been found at Quebrada de los Burros (Tacna), in strata Sharptooth Smoothhound [Tollo blanco] (Mustelus dorsalis)
that were dated to 6275-4500 B.C. In this site Mustelus spp., Trakidae reached up to 1.20 m
and almost ten kilos (Lavallée et al. 1999). Bonavia (1982: 195) found Mustelus remains at Los The only remains thus far found of the sharptooth smoothhound were discovered in the
Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey Valley, which appeared since the beginning of the Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, in Mochica contexts that dated to A.D. 400-750
human occupation of this site, i.e. ca. 4000 B.C. (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 131).

Mustelus sp. has likewise been excavated at Bandurria, a site close to Huacho and north of
Lima, and was so part of the food eaten by the ancient people of this site ca. 3170-1610 B.C. Requiem shark, Galeorhinus sp. [Tiburón sopa de aleta, cazón o cazón de aleta] (Galeorhinus sp.)
(Chu 2008: 136).
This species can be confused with tollo (Mustelus sp.). Females grow to about two metres
Lanfranco et al. (2009: 5) have noted that Mustelus remains formed part of the diet of the long while the males are slightly smaller, and weigh 25-35kilos. These are pelagic fish that are
early population of Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, which dates to 3008- usually found as shoals. Their liver potentially has the highest vitamin A content thus far found.
2329 B.C. Mustelus and ... [“angelote”] comprised 62% of the food eaten at this site. Galeorhinus sp. is widely distributed along the Peruvian coast (Sánchez Romero 1973: 236).

Another of the oldest pieces of evidence of Mustelus consumption comes from Caral, where At present Galeorhinus sp. has only been recorded by the excavations undertaken at the
it has been found in food refuse that dates to 2600-2000 B.C. (Flores Blanco 2006). The Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley. The remains date to the first centuries of the
biomass of Mustelus eaten at Caral, at least ca. 1800 B.C., is impressive. Christian era, so this fish may have been part of the food eaten by the Mochica in this zone
(Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 341).
Mustelus was also frequently eaten on the North Coast since ca. 2300 B.C. This was shown by
the study of pre-Hispanic food undertaken within the framework of the Chan Chan-Moche
Project. Pozorski (1979: 168) was able to establish that although its consumption was low, it Pacific Guitarfish [Guitarra] (Rhinobatos planiceps)
was constant in at least three sites, to wit Padre Abán, Alto Salaverry, and Gramalote, in the
lower Moche Valley. For instance, it was the main source of meat for the people of Gramalote Sánchez Romero (1973: 192) points out that the Pacific guitarfish is similar to rays and can be
since around 1800 B.C. (Pozorski and Pozorski 1979: 424). one metre long. The weight usually ranges between two and five kilos. This is a shallow water

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

benthic species that lives on flat, sandy seabeds. It can be fished from the shore using nets or The earliest evidence showing Chondrichthyes being eaten was found in sites in the upper
fishhooks. Zaña Valley (in the modern-day Lambayeque Department), in strata dated to 11572-5954 B.C.
(Dillehay 2011: 334). The consumption of Chondrichthyes is striking because these sites are
The Pacific guitarfish was found by Bonavia (1982: 195) in his excavations at Los Gavilanes, a nowhere near the littoral. It is therefore assumed that some type of resources was used in
site in the lower Huarmey Valley, and it dated to 2200-1480 B.C. Bonavia and his team also order to preserve them until they reached their destination.
recorded its remains in site PV35-4, a Middle Horizon 3 (ca. A.D. 800) camp in the littoral north
of the Huarmey valley (Bonavia et al. 2009: 265). The remains have traces of burning, which in Eagle rays (Myliobatidae) and ... [“espinosas”] (Psammobatis caudispina, Rajidae) have been
Bonavia’s opinion indicates they were grill-cooked [cocinados a la brasa]. found at Quebrada de los Burros, in strata dated to 6275-4500 B.C. (Lavallée et al. 1999: 42).

The Pacific guitarfish was scarcely eaten at Gramalote and Alto Salaverry, two North Coast Chondrichthyes (which also include cartilaginous fish such as sharks) have been found in the
sites in the Moche Valley (Pozorski 1979: 168), i.e. since at least 1800 B.C.. It was likewise eaten excavations undertaken at Quebrada de los Burros (Tacna) (Lavallée et al. 1999: 42). In general,
at Chan Chan. this type of fish dates to 7900-4500 B.C. in this site. Since these are pelagic fish, Béarez suggests
that they may have been fished using nets (Lavallée et al. 1999: 43).
At Pedregal, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley that dates to Chimu times, Cutright reports
having found Pacific guitarfish, albeit in very small amounts (Cutright 2009: 169). Cutright also A few remains of rays were recorded in the excavations of Huaca Prieta on the North Coast,
reports that more Pacific guitarfish was eaten in this site during its Late Moche occupation thus indicating they were fished and probably eaten. We can speculate, despite the problems
ca. A.D. 800. that arise when dating these and other remains found at this major site, that rays were being
eaten since the second or third millennium B.C.
Lockard (2005: 201) found scant remains of this fish at Galindo that dated to the Mochica (A.D.
600-800) and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations. Roselló et al. (2001: 77) and Pozorski and From these data we can conclude that rays were part of the food eaten by the pre-Hispanic
Pozorski (2003: 123) report having found remains of Pacific guitarfish at the Mochica Huaca de populations in both the North and the South Coast since literally the last Ice Age. Rays are
la Luna and Huaca del Sol sites in the lower Moche Valley, which dated to A.D. 470-600. thus one of the earliest fish eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru.

Quilter (1991: 279) points out that eagle rays (Mylobatidae) were part of the food eaten 2150 B.C.
Chilean Angelshark, Angelshark [Angelote, Tiburón Ángel] (Squatina armata) by the ancient people of El Paraíso, a monumental site in the vicinity of the Chillón Valley, in Lima.

The Chilean Angelshark is a pelagic fish that can live in sandy and muddy seabeds, and can The remains of the rays eaten by the Mochica in the upper Piura Valley were recorded in the
grow up to 1.50 m long. Its distribution extends from Northern Peru to Northern Chile (Sánchez research Kaulicke carried out in this area (Kaulicke 1991: 414). The dates indicate they were
Romero 1973: 203). eaten between 350 B.C. and A.D. 450.

The Chilean Angelshark can be fished from the shore using nets or fishhooks. The angelshark, Cárdenas et al. (1997:131) reported finding the remains of Dasyatis sp. or stingray [“raya coluda”]
like the Mustelus, was an essential part of the diet of the early people of Puémape, a site in at Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, which was thus part of the Mochica diet in A.D.
the lower Jequetepeque Valley, as posited by Elera et al. (1992: 19) and Lanfranco et al. (2009: 400-750. We should bear in mind in this regard the Mochica ceramic depictions of this fish.
5). The date of this occupation ranges between 3008 and 2329 B.C.
Rays have also been found in contexts with food refuse left behind by the populations in the lower
Lambayeque Valley throughout a long period of time (Cupisnique, 1300 B.C.-Sicán, A.D. 1400) (Klaus
Rays [Raya] (Batoideo, Myliobatidae, Chondrichthyes, Dasyatis, Psammobatis caudispina sp.) and Tam 2010: 596). This shows the long tradition ray consumption has on the northern coast of Peru.

Rays live in sandy-rocky environments and were frequently eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru. Their
ingestion is significant particularly because it has a 31% protein content, which is quite close Round Stingrays [Tapadera, Raya, Raya con Espinas] (Urotrygon sp.)
to the protein content of land animals (it has more than what is found in fresh llama meat,
which has 24%). This means rays probably were the marine animals that provided the most Round stingrays can be caught from the shore either using fishhooks or nets. The remains of
protein to our ancestors (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 40-41). this species have been recorded in the urban area of the Huaca de la Luna, and may have been
eaten by the Mochica population of this site in A.D. 300-750 (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 186).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Blue Shark, Smooth Hammerhead Shark, Shortfin Mako Shark, Tiger Shark, Pacific Sharpnose Shark, which may thus have been part of the food eaten by these early settlers of the lower Huarmey
Great White Shark [Tintorera (Prionace glauca), tiburón martillo (Sphyrna zygaena L.), tiburón Valley. Bonavia noted that both species live close to the shore and can be fished by angling,
bonito (Isurus oxyrinchus, Lamna nasus, Lamnidae), tiburón tigre (Galeocerdo cuvier), tiburón as is still being done at present.
hocicón (Rhizoprionodon longurio), tiburón blanco (Carcharadon carcharias)]
Rays were also eaten on the North Coast in the Moche Valley at sites like Padre Abán, Alto Salaverry
Of the sharks we must mention the blue shark (Prionace glauca) that is also known as “azul” or Gramalote during both the Moche and the Chimu occupations. It follows that though it was not
or “azulejo.” In Peru this fish can grow at most up to two metres long, but common specimens heavily consumed, it was indeed eaten in almost all periods (cf. Pozorski 1979: 168).
usually measure one metre long. The blue shark is a warm- and temperate water pelagic species
that lives both close to the coast and in the high seas. It is extremely voracious, aggressive, and The Mochica who lived at Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, ate great white sharks
feeds on fish and cephalopods. Fishermen consider it is one of the most dangerous sharks. It is (Carcharadon carcharias) ca. A.D. 400-750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 131).
usually fished using nets. This is a cosmopolitan fish for its distribution extends from Alaska to
Chile (Sánchez Romero 1973: 232 y 235). Carcharhinidae and even rays were also found by the excavation of the Mochica occupation of
Pampa Grande (Lambayeque) in A.D. 711-800 (Shimada y Shimada 1981: 131).
The smooth hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena L.), another shark that was eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru,
is also known as “cruz” or “cruceta.” This species can grow up to four metres long (specimens that A shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) tooth was found in a Wari context (A.D. 631-1000) at
were almost two metres long have been recorded at Puerto Pizarro). This shark lives in the high seas Cerro Baúl, a site in the highlands of Moquegua (Moseley et al. 2005: 17269). This is an important
and in coastal waters, feeds on small fish, and is considered a dangerous species. Its liver has a high find because it shows that the shark, or part of it, was taken 83 km inland from the coast up to
vitaminic content. Its distribution extends from California to Chile (Sánchez Romero 1973: 234-235). an altitude of almost 2590 masl.

The shark remains excavated at Quebrada de los Burros (Tacna) probably are the oldest eaten by The smooth hammerhead shark (Sphyrna zygaena) was also eaten throughout a long period
coastal groups of humans in the Early Holocene (6275-4500 B.C.). The blue shark or “tintorera” (from Cupisnique in 1300 B.C., to Sicán in A.D. 1400) in the lower Lambayeque Valley (Klaus y
(Prionace glauca, Charcharhinidae) was for instance eaten here. Tam 2010: 596).

The shortfin mako shark or “bonito” (Isurus oxyrinchus, Lamnidae) was also eaten at this site. This We even have previous documentation because the remains of this shark were found in the
is an equally aggressive species that draws closer to the shore, and may thus have been more excavations at the site of Pampa Grande (Lambayeque), which was dated to A.D. 711-800, i.e. in a
easily accessible to the early populations. Since these are pelagic species, Béarez concludes that Late Mochica context (Shimada y Shimada 1981: 131).
they must have been fished from the shore using nets that had been laid out perpendicularly
to the coast, or instead using chinchorro rafts. The presence of the remains of very small fish
indicates the use of very fine nets that may have been cast from watercraft. This once again Requiem Sharks [Tiburón o cazón] (Carcharhinus)
raises the question of whether nets were used to catch these sharks seven thousand years B.C.
Béarez, the ichthyologist in Lavallée’s project, believes these shark species can grow up to three This fish was found in the food refuse at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey Valley, so that
metres long and weigh over a hundred kilos, which means they comprised a high percentage of it dates at least to the third millennium B.C. (Bonavia 1982: 194).
the meat the people in this site potentially ate.
Thus far we have listed the fish found in archaeological contexts, which in the best of cases
Quilter (1991: 279) reports that some time later, around 2150 B.C., sharks (Carcharhinidae) comprised included the respective taxonomic identifications. Before leaving marine fish behind, there is
a small part of the diet of the early inhabitants of El Paraíso, a site north of Lima and almost on the however a category that is find important because although no species data is provided, it does
Chillón River mouth (Quilter 1991: 279). provide some generalities.

The presence of Carcharhinidae was detected at Ostra, an archaeological site that is some sort of
camp close to the littoral north of the Santa River mouth. This means it may have been eaten at The Fish of Huaca Prieta
least in 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44).
Callen and Cameron (1960: 39) published their analysis of the faeces found in a human burial
In his excavations at Los Gavilanes, Duccio Bonavia (1982: 194) recorded the presence of both at the well-known North Coast site of Huaca Prieta. This type of analysis is essential as it
the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) and the Pacific sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon longurio), directly establishes what food was ingested by our pre-Hispanic ancestors. One interesting

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conclusion drawn by Callen and Cameron is that the individual ate fish and marine produce Molluscs and Crustacea
abundantly before dying. Layer F is the context and while it has not been radiocarbon
dated, its position between two layers means that it can be dated between 1576-771 B.C. Within the context of Peru’s sea and land, molluscs and crustaceans occupy the following
and 2817-1191 B.C. Bird et al. (1985: 241) claims that fish and marine mammals were the major position in human consumption as regards volume, and potentially protein content too. The
dietary resources in the Preceramic epoch. exoskeleton of molluscs and bivalves have been found in archaeological sites, so clearly other
types of invertebrates such as Dosidicus gigas (Humboldt squid) were most probably eaten
by the ancient Peruvians, yet no trace has been found of them. The list here made dos not
Freshwater Fish include the whole range of pre-Hispanic human consumption—a point we would do well to
bear in mind.
Bryconamericus peruanus [Blanquito or Lisita de Río] (Bryconamericus peruanus)
The study of mollusc remains found in faeces or coproliths has an enormous potential but there
The archaeological research undertaken at the Huaca de la Luna has documented the significant are as yet very few studies in this field. Bird et al. (1995) for instance point out that in the case of
presence of this fish in this zone in the lower Moche Valley, and which was occupied by the the human burial at Huaca Prieta, which probably dates to the second millennium B.C., seashells
Mochica in A.D. 400-750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129). It holds 60% calories, 72% water, 13% were eaten even without first having removed their shell simply by roasting [asado] them. This
protein, 1% ash, 140% calcium, and is particularly rich in niacin (2.12%) and vitamin C (4.8%) was found recorded in the human faeces remains studied by Callen and Cameron (1960). Bird
(Cárdenas et al. 1997: 141). et al. (1995: 241) report various genera and occasionally some species, including Mytilus (mussel,
choro), Dosinia (semele, almeja blanca), Protothaca (Venus shell) Donax (wedge shell), and Anadara
(arck shell, concha negra) amongst the bivalves. As regards gastropods (terrestrial snails), Diadora,
Pencil Catfish [Life] (Trichomycterus sp., Pygidium dispar) Fissurela (keyhole limpet, lapa), Tegula (lapa), Crepidula striolata, Nautica, Sinum cymba, Bursa,
Ocenebria, snail (Thais), Concholepas (rock shell, pata de burro), Nassarius, and Mitra.
The pencil catfish is a freshwater fish that was found in the excavations at the Huaca de la
Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, specifically in the Moche occupation that dates to A.D. Crab claws indicate the ancient people of Huaca Prieta ate this crustacean probably during the
400-750. It may thus have been part of the food eaten by this people (Cárdenas et al. 1997: second millennium B.C. (Callen and Cameron 1960). Although all seem to be edible, very few
131). The catfish’s biochemical content is 80% calories, 80.9% fat, and 15% protein (Cárdenas of them show traces of having been roasted [asados]. The largest bivalves (clams, choros, and
et al. 1997: 140). keyhole limpet, lapas) are the ones that most frequently appear. Snails and Concholepas (rock
shell pata de burro) were also consumed in relatively high amounts. Although there is no clear
Gálvez Mora and Runcio (2009: 55-87) recently published an in-depth study of this fish not chronological sequence that shows that changes in the diet of the people of Huaca Prieta,
just in Mochica iconography, but also in archaeological contexts. This catfish shared its molluscs were apparently eaten mostly in epochs that followed the early periods of this site.
habitat with Cryphiops caementarius (Víctor Vásquez, in Gálvez Mora and Runcio) which
has yet to appear in the archaeological record, but which it is hard to believe was not eaten. We now turn to a list of molluscs and crustacea in terms of their respective orders and
taxonomic families (if applicable) for which archaeological information is available, i.e. whether
they were definitely or quite likely eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru, paying special attention to the
Lebiasina binaculata [Pejerrey de Río or “Charcoca”] (Lebiasina binaculata) oldest evidence.

The remains of this fish have been recorded in the excavations of the Huaca de la Luna, so it
very likely was part of the food eaten by the Mochica in this part of the Moche valley in A.D. Chitons
400-750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 131). Cárdenas et al. (1997: 140-141) give the bromatology of this
fish: 75% calories, 76% water, 14% protein, 160% calcium, 165% iron, and particularly niacin (3%) Chiton, Acanthopleura echinata [Barquillo, Barbón, Barbudo] (Acanthopleura echinata)
and vitamin C (5.1%).
Its name derives from the fact that whereas other species have ... [cerdas], Acanthopleura
We now leave the fish eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru and turn to other types of resources. echinata has spines in its cingulum. This is one of the biggest chitons on the Peruvian coast.
It also lives in rocky environments and it is found from Paita to Chile (Bonavia 1982: 188).
Scholars have recognised its high nutritional value (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 184).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

A fair number of Acanthopleura echinata in the process of being cooked have been found, but Chitons were also part of the food eaten at Pampa de Llamas, a site in the lower Casma Valley
these were apparently eaten raw because there is no evidence of their being roasted [asado] that dates to 2088-1243 B.C. (Pozorski and Pozorski 1986: 397).
or cooked. This find took place at a site called PV35-4, a Middle Horizon 3 epoch (ca. A.D.
800) camp on the Central Coast’s littoral immediately north of Huarmey. Bonavia et al. (2001: Chitons have also been found in the ceremonial site of El Paraíso, close to the Chillón River
303) reported having found Acanthopleura echinata at La Laguna (PV35-106), a site close to mouth north of Lima, with a date of around 2150 B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 280).
the former one that dates to 5320 B.C., so the consumption of Acanthopleura echinata in the
lower Huarmey Valley is well documented. These molluscs have been excavated in the middens of sites such as Padre Abán, Alto Salaverry,
and Gramalote, i.e. since at least 2300 B.C. in the vicinity of the lower Moche Valley. Their
This species has also been found at Galindo, in the lower Moche Valley, during the remains have also been found at Choroval, a Chimu-Inca occupation (Pozorski 1979: 168). The
Mochica occupation of this site (A.D. 600-800), as follows from Lockard’s data (2005: tradition of chiton consumption is thus long.
195). Vásquez et al. (2003: 38) and Vásquez and Rosales (2004: 340) in turn documented a
minimum amount of this species in the archaeological zones of Huaca del Sol and Huaca
de la Luna that date to the Late Moche Period, ca. A.D. 571-685, so it may have been also Chiton [Barquillo, chitón] (Chiton granosus)
eaten at this site.
According to the research undertaken by Bonavia at Los Gavilanes, it is quite likely that this
species was not part of the diet, at least at this site (Bonavia 1982: 188). Chiton granosus lives
Chitons [Quitones / Barquillos] (Chitonidae and Polyplacophora) in the rocky littoral environment zone, between Paita and Chile.

The most ancient chiton remains thus far found by scientific expeditions, which have t races Chiton granosus has been found in the excavations of the Mochica occupation (A.D. 600-
showing they were eaten, come from the Quebrada Tacahuay site on the coast of Moquegua, 800) of Galindo, a site in the middle Moche Valley, so it was already being eaten at that time
just south of the modern-day city of Ilo (DeFrance and Umire 2004: 271), in a layer that was (Lockard 2005: 195).
dated to 9730-9370 B.C.

Early evidence of chiton consumption has also been found for instance at the Pampa de Chiton [Barquillo, chitón] (Chiton cumingsii)
los Burros site in Tacna (Lavallée et al. 1999: 38), where it was found that these were roasted
[asado] directly over bonfires that have been radiocarbon dated to 6454-4501 B.C. This type of mollusc has only been recorded at the Huaca de la Luna and the Huaca del Sol in
minimum amounts, in a Mochica context that dated to ca. A.D. 571-685 (Vásquez et al. 2003:
The evidence for chitons found in the Ring Site south of Ilo, in Moquegua, is even more 38). There is no certainty as regards its consumption.
ancient. Here Sandweiss et al. (1989: 63) found large numbers of chitons in contexts clearly
derived from consumption and which date to the first occupation of this site ca. 9500 B.C.
It should be noted that chitons were also found in domestic contexts at Pampa Colorada, Chiton [Barquillo, chitón] (Enoplochiton niger)
a complex of sites in the Ocoña River mouth, in the Arequipa littoral, with dates that range
between 9200 and 5400 B.C. (McInnis 2006: 381). Although common in Chile, Enoplochiton niger seems to be found mainly in Peru. Bonavia
(1982: 188) documented this species—which also lives in rocky littoral environments—as part
Another chiton species (Polyplacophora) was eaten at Paloma, a site some 65 km south of of the food eaten by the preceramic population of Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey
Lima in the Chilca Valley. Here Benfer (1990) found several Middle Holocene camps. Reitz Valley. Close by is La Laguna (PV35-106), a site also north of the Huarmey Valley that dates to
(1988: 314) identified this species in layers that were radiocarbon dated to 5316-3630 B.C. 5,320 B.C., where Bonavia et al. (2001: 303) found from the remains that Enoplochiton niger was
the animal most eaten here.
A small amount of chitons have been documented at Cerro Lampay, an archaeological site in
the Fortaleza Valley on the coast of Lima (Vega-Centeno 2007). El Porvenir is a site in this same Creamer et al. (2011: 186) found chitons at Huaricanga, a preceramic public building-type site
valley, albeit on the other bank, where Creamer et al. (2011: 1859) have reported the presence on the left bank of the Fortaleza River Valley, on the Central Peruvian Coast, that dates to
of chitons that were apparently eaten and whose consumption was somewhat significant in 3600-620 B.C. Its consumption comprised 4.2% of the remains found—relatively little, but it
the diet (almost 11%). The site has been dated to 3720-1280 B.C. was the fourth most eaten mollusc at the site.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Bonavia et al. found thirty quite well-preserved chitons (Enoplochiton niger), with their An even older date for Fissurella sp. comes from Quebrada Tacahuay, south of the city of Ilo
plates and ... [placas y cinturones], close to a hearth on the littoral north of the Huarmey (Moquegua), where the remains of this species have been found in association with human
River mouth at site PV35-4, have been found at site PV35-4, (Bonavia et al. (2009: 263). All remains that date to 9730-9370 B.C. (DeFrance and Umire 2004: 271).
were missing their foot and visceral mass [contenido visceral], which had been evidently
removed before they were eaten, probably in raw condition as they showed no traces of Fissurella sp. was reported, albeit in small amounts, in the excavations of Pampa Colorada, a
having been cooked. This type of food can be dated to ca. A.D. 800, ad this is a Middle complex of sites close to the Ocoña River mouth on the coast of Arequipa, with dates that
Horizon 3 camp-type site. fall between 9200 and 5400 B.C. (McInnis 2006: 381).

Cárdenas et al. (1997: 129) and Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 123) noted the presence of At Paloma, Robert Benfer’s excavations found camps and human burials, along with a large
Enoplochiton niger at the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche Valley, amount of refuse left during the occupation of this site (Benfer 1990). Limpets were found
so the Mochica may have eaten it. here in layers that date to entre 5316-3630 B.C.

Lockard (2005: 195) reported several edible remains of this species at the Moche site of Galindo Fissurella crassa has also been dated around this time—5320 B.C.—at La Laguna, a site (PV35-
(in the middle Moche Valley), which was occupied mainly in A.D. 600-800, so Enoplochiton 106) that is almost on the littoral north of the Huarmey Valley (Bonavia et al. 2001: 303). Capps
niger may already been eaten around this time. (1987: 49) in turn reported finding a significant amount of this type of limpet at the site of
Chilca, so it may have been eaten between 3794 and 1530 B.C.

Chiton [Barquillo] (Chaetopleura hennahi) Fisurella sp. (limpet) has been found, albeit in scant numbers, in the archaeological middens
of Bandurria, a site close to Huacho north of Lima, so it may have been part of the resources
Chaetopleura hennahi has been reported in the Cupisnique, White-on-Red, and Chimu eaten by the inhabitants of this site between ca. 3170 and 1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 138).
occupations of the site of Puémape, thus showing its continuity throughout time at least
between 1000 B.C. and A.D. 1000-1470 (Elera et al. 1992: 17). Very few limpet remains were found in the excavation of Cerro Lampay, a site in the Fortaleza
Valley north of Lima (Vega Centeno 2007), which dates to 2410-2064 B.C. Porvenir is a site
in this same valley but on the other side of the rive that dates to 3720-1280 B.C. Creamer et
Limpets al. (2011: 185) reported that Fissurella was eaten up to 20% more than other molluscs, so it
comprised a significant part of the food eaten in this part of Lima in the above-mentioned
Limpet (Fissurella crassa) epoch.

Fissurella crassa lives in the rocky intertidal zone from Galapagos to Chiloé Island. Bonavia Fissurella sp. has also been found in many archaeological sites on the North Coast, from the
claimed its consumption in the pre-Hispanic period was relatively high, particularly in central Moche River mouth to the modern-day town of Huanchaco. It is present in the diet since
and southern Peru (Bonavia 1982: 185). Limpets cling to rocks and must therefore be removed 2300 B.C. at Padre Abán, up to sites that date to Inca times like Choroval (Pozorski 1979: 167).
using some kind of tool.
Some limpet remains have also been found in the food refuse of El Paraíso, a site close to the
One of the earliest pieces of evidence of medium-scale limpet consumption comes from Chillón River mouth north of Lima, which probably date to 2150 B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 280).
Quebrada de los Burros in Tacna (Lavallée et al. 1999: 37), a site that comprises small camps
with hearths used to cook this type of gastropod. Radiocarbon dates obtained in these Lockard (2005: 195) likewise reported a significant amount of limpet remains left behind as
hearths range to 6454-4501 B.C., but there are some indications that suggest it may have been food remains at Galindo, a site in the middle Moche Valley that dates to A.D. 600-800.
consumed since at least 7900 B.C.
This species of limpet was also recorded by Bonavia et al., albeit in small amounts, at a Middle
Assuming the validity of the dates obtained for the seashells from the Ring Site in Moquegua, Horizon 3 (ca. A.D. 800) site known as PV35-4, which is on the littoral north of the Huarmey
just south of the modern city of Ilo, limpets would have begun to be eaten in this zone around River mouth Bonavia et al. (2009: 262).
9500 B.C., and were constantly consumed throughout this site’s occupation up to 3800 B.C.
(cf. Sandweiss et al. 1989: 63). Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 123) have pointed out the presence of Fissurella sp. at Huaca
del Sol, in the lower Moche Valley, and so it was eaten by the inhabitants of this site during

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

the first centuries of the Christian era. The presence of this mollusc at the Huaca de la Luna Keyhole limpet [Lapa “gaviota”] (Scurria parasítica) y Fissurella limbata
was also corroborated by the research undertaken by Cárdenas et al. (1997: 129) around A.D.
400-750. These are often found moving between chitons and limpets, and they leave their trace over
[??: e impregnan su huella sobre] Fissurella limbata (Guzmán et al. 1998: 28-29, 31-32), so they
Béarez et al. (2003: 59) reported the presence of a few limpets in enclosures 24 and 25 of live lodged in other molluscs. Their high nutritional value is well-known (Vásquez and Rosales
ramp pyramid III B in the archaeological shrine of Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley, a 1998: 184). Reitz recorded their presence at the site of Paloma, on the coast some 65 km south
context dated to A.D. 1520. of Lima, in association with the above-mentioned bivalves. It was [fue] apparently eaten by
the ancient inhabitants of this site. The calibrated dates of the layers these remains come
from range between 5316 and 3630 B.C.
Giant Keyhole Limpet [Blanco o lapa reina] (Fissurella maxima)
Scurria sp. has been recorded, albeit in small numbers, at Pampa Colorada, a complex of sites
The giant keyhole limpet, which clings firmly to the rocks on the littoral and withstands in the vicinity of the Ocoña River mouth on the Arequipa littoral, with dates ranging between
the pounding of the waves, is greatly esteemed for its meat (Bonavia 1982: 185). It lives from 9200 and 5400 B.C. (McInnis 2006: 381).
Manta (Ecuador) to Valparaíso (Chile) (Sánchez Romero 1973: 264), and is likewise highly
known for its great nutritional value (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 184). Bonavia has however suggested that this probably is an incidental species at preceramic sites
that may not have been eaten at all (Bonavia 1982: 185). Both Fissurella limbata and Scurria
Duccio Bonavia (2009: 262) showed the giant keyhole limpet was present in site PV35-4, on parasítica are amongst the molluscs most recorded at PV35-4—third and ninth, respectively—a
La Honda beach north of the Huarmey Valley, but it was not frequently eaten. Bonavia et al. site on La Honda beach north of the Huarmey River mouth dated to ca. A.D. 800 (Bonavia et
likewise recorded the presence of this limpet at a site known as La Laguna (PV35-106) close al. 2009: 264).
to Huarmey, where it has been dated to 5320 B.C. Its consumption thus seems to go back at
least to the Middle Holocene. Bonavia et al. recorded this same species at La Laguna (PV35-106), a site close to the coast on the
northern side of the Huarmey Valley, which means it dates to ca. 5300 B.C. (Bonavia et al. 2001: 303).
This type of limpet has also been found in no small amounts of food refuse (particularly
that left behind by the ruling elite) during the Mochica occupation of Galindo, a site in the Fissurella limbata was found at Galindo, a site on the North Coast’s middle Moche Valley. Here it
middle Moche Valley, which dated to ca. A.D. 600-800 (Lockard 2005: 195). has been recorded among the Mochica, and was especially eaten by the elite (Lockard 2005: 195).

Statistically significant remains of this species have also been reported at Huaca de la Luna Fissurella limbata was found when the molluscs from the Huaca de la Luna site, in the Moche
and Huaca del Sol, with dates that ranged between A.D. 571 and A.D. 685 (Cárdenas et al. Valley, were analysed (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129). Both Fissurella limbata and Scurria parasitica
1997: 129, Vásquez et al. 2003: 38). thus have a relative presence at Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna in a fully Mochica context
that dates to ca. A.D. 571-685 (Vásquez et al. 2003: 38).

Keyhole limpet [Lapa viuda] (Fissurella latimarginata)


[Patela] (Collisella ceciliana)
Fissurella latimarginata was found in the excavations undertaken at Puémape, a site in the
Jequetepeque River mouth (Elera et al. 1992: 17), during its Cupisnique (ca.1000-200 B.C), Just one fragment of Collisella ceciliana has been detected in the food refuse left by the
White-on-Red Horizon (300-100 B.C.) and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470) occupations. ancient inhabitants of Cerro Lampay in the Fortaleza Valley (Vega-Centeno 2007). The dates
for this site range between 2410 and 2064 B.C. It is to be wondered whether this can be
considered food residue.
Peruvian Keyhole Limpet [Lapa] (Fissurella peruviana)
The Peruvian keyhole limpet has been recorded at Puémape, a site in the Jequetepeque Green Chilean Limpet [Señorita o sombrerito chino] (Scurria viridula, Acmaeidae)
River mouth (Elera et al. 1992: 17), during its Cupisnique (ca.1000-200 B.C), White-on-Red
Horizon (300-100 B.C.) and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470) occupations. This is a big limpet that lives in the rocky littoral environmental zone, on rocks covered with
algae, and which is only occasionally eaten (Bonavia 1982: 185-186).

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The green Chilean limpet has been found for instance at El Paraíso, a site north of Lima close Tegula atra has likewise been found in the middens of archaeological sites like Padre Abán
to the lower Chillón River Valley, so it can be dated starting in 2150 B.C. (2300 B.C.), Alto Salaverry (1670 B.C.), Gramalote (1810 B.C.), Caballo Muerto (Early Horizon, i.e.
ca. 1200-300 B.C.), and even in sites that date to the Chimu-Inca epoch (Pozorski 1979: 167).
Scurria viridula has also been recorded in the excavations at the Huaca de la Luna, in the
lower Moche Valley, where it dated to ca. A.D. 400-750, and so was part of the Mochica diet Pedregal is a site also in the lower Jequetepeque Valley where Cutright recorded Tegula atra
(Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129). remains during the Chimu epoch (Cutright 2009: 178). Gumerman showed the Chimu people
of Pacatnamú also ate this snail (Gumerman 1991). El Túnel is a site in this same area that
The green Chilean limpet was also recorded in the excavations at Puémape, a site in the lower dates to the initial phase of the Mochica culture (around the first century of our era), where
Jequetepeque River during its Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.) and significant amounts of Tegula atra have also been recorded (Vásquez and Rosales 1993: 86).
Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470) occupations.
Tegula atra was eaten in significant amounts—especially by the elites—at Galindo, in the
North Coast’s middle Moche Valley, by the Mochica, and somewhat less by the Chimu
Small Snails [Caracolitos] (Lockard 2005: 195). This same snail species was found in domestic contexts in the Huaca del
Sol and the Huaca de la Luna alongside Tegula euryomphalus, with dates that go back to A.D.
470-600; this means it was also eaten in the centre of the Moche culture (Cárdenas et al. 1997:
[Caracol Negro or Caracol Turbante (Tegula atra), Caracol Negro (Tegula euryomphalus)] 129, Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 123).

This snail lives in a rocky littoral environment but on small rocks, and it is not eaten nowadays Gumerman and Briceño likewise showed the relative abundance of this snail in Santa Rosa
even though its meat is delicious (Bonavia 1982: 186) and has a high nutritional value (Vásquez Quirihuac (ca. A.D. 100) and Ciudad de Dios (ca. A.D. 400, in a fully Mochica context), two sites
and Rosales 1998: 184).It is found from Pacasmayo to the Strait of Magellan and the Patagonia. in the middle Moche Valley (Gumerman and Briceño 2003: 237).

Lavallée and her team found a series of hearths at Quebrada de los Burros. Here a few snail Tegula atra had a low occurrence in the excavation of a Middle Horizon epoch 3 (ca. A.D. 800)
(Tegula) remains that were part of human consumption were uncovered (Lavallée et al. 1999: camp site on the littoral immediately north of the Huarmey Valley (Bonavia et al. 2009: 264).
38). The radiocarbon dates range between 6454 and 4501 B.C., but they may go back to the Tegula sp. has likewise been reported among the food remains left by the Mochica in the site
eight millennium B.C. Since they were found in combustion contexts, it is conceivable that of Pampa Grande (Lambayeque), with dates that range between A.D. 711 and 800, as has been
they were eaten roasted [asados]. interpreted (Shimada y Shimada 1981: 32).

Sandweiss et al. reported finding Tegula atra, albeit in small amounts, at the Ring Site south Tegula euryomphalum has been recorded in the excavations of Puémape, a site in the lower
of Ilo, in the modern department of (Sandweiss et al. 1989: 63). They go back to ca. 8000 B.C. Jequetepeque River during its Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.) and
Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470) occupations (Elera et al. 1992: 17).
Tegula has also been found among the food refuse at the site of El Paraíso, which is in the
lower Chillón Valley north of Lima, and for a period that begins around 2150 B.C. (Quilter et This snail species has also been recorded in the excavations of enclosures 24 and 25 of ramp
al. 1991: 280). pyramid III B at Pachacamac, thus evincing its consumption (Béarez et al. 2003: 66). The mean
radiocarbon date gave A.D. 1520.
Cárdenas recorded this type of snail in her excavations at Salinas de Chao as part of the food
eaten since at least 1900 B.C. (Cárdenas 1999).
Snail [Caracol] (Tegula tridentata)
Tegula sp., Tegula euryomphalus, and Tegula atra comprise less than 1% of all the molluscs
consumed in Caral’s Sector A, which dates to 2418-2185 B.C. (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114). Tegula tridentata lives in the rocky littoral environment, and is sometimes appears
associated with Tegula atra (Bonavia 1982: 186). Tegula atra and Tegula tridentate were
Tegula atra (the ‘caracol turbante’) was excavated in the Gallery of the Offerings at Chavín de found in association at the site of La Laguna (PV35-106), on the littoral to the north of the
Huántar, where it dated to 1218-812 B.C. (Sandweiss and Rodríguez 1993: 406-407). Although Huarmey River mouth; they dated to 5320 B.C. (Bonavia et al. 2001: 303), and are assumed
this was an offering made at this site, it may have been part of its people’s diet. to have been eaten.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

[Caracolito negro, lapa] (Turbo niger, Prisogaster niger) Prisogaster niger has been somewhat frequently found at Santa Rosa-Quirihuac and Ciudad
de Dios, two sites in the middle Moche Valley (Gumerman and Briceño 2003: 237). Turbo niger
This mollusc lives in small, algae-covered rocks in the littoral and the supralittoral environment; was recorded by the excavations of Pampa Grande (A.D. 711-800), a site in the modern-day
it is of scant alimentary value due to its size (Bonavia 1982: 186), but others disagree (Vásquez Lambayeque department so it may have been part of the diet eaten at this time (Shimada and
and Rosales 1998: 184). Shimada 1981: 32).

The consumption of this bivalve species goes back around to 8000 B.C. if we consider the This type of snail has been found as a relict of the food eaten in enclosures 24 and 25 in ramp
finds Sandweiss et al. made at the Ring Site south of Ilo, in Moquegua (Sandweiss et al. pyramid IIB at Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín valley (Béarez et al. 2003: 66), which gave a mean
1989: 63). date of A.D. 1520.

This mollusc has also been found in the Tacna littoral at Quebrada de los Burros, with dates
that range between 7900 and 4500 B.C. (Lavallée and Béarez 2012: 128). Snail [Caracolillo] (Littorina peruviana)
Prisogaster níger comprises just 0.16% of all of the molluscs found at Caral in the Supe Littorina peruviana lives in rocky areas in the infralittoral zone. It is considered to be of very
Valley. They were found in this site’s Sector A, so it dates to ca. 2418-2185 B.C. (Shady and low alimentary value (Bonavia 1982: 186). It is found from Nicaragua to Chile (Sánchez Romero
Leiva 2003: 114). 1973: 266).

These snails were also eaten at the site of El Paraíso north of Lima, in the lower Chillón Valley, Littorina peruviana has been found in very low numbers at Galindo, a site in the North
since around 2150 B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 280). Coast’s middle Moche Valley, in contexts pertaining to the Mochica culture (A.D. 600-800)
per Lockard (2005: 195).
A small number of snails (Turbo niger) have been excavated in some archaeological sites in the
lower Moche Valley like Padre Abán and Caballo Muerto, even in the Chimu-Inca epoch (2300 Cárdenas et al. (1997: 129) and Vásquez et al. (2003: 38) reported this type of snail at Huaca
B.C.-A.D. 1460) (Pozorski 1979: 167). del Sol and Huaca de la Luna in the Moche Valley, with dates that fall in the late stage of the
Mochica culture in A.D. 571-685.
We know from the research undertaken by Robyn Cutright at Pedregal, a site in the lower
Jequetepeque Valley, that this small snail species comprised a relatively significant part (11% of Elera et al. (1992: 17) in turn reported the remains of this mollusc at Puémape a site in the
molluscs) of the food eaten by this population in the Chimu epoch (Robyn Cutright 2009: 177). lower Jequetepeque River, for its Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.) and
Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations.
La Mina is a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley where Mochica tombs have been found
that date to the first century of our era, i.e. the first phase of this culture. Here, Vásquez and
Rosales (1994: 86) recorded the remains of this type of mollusc, so it was quite probably part Snail [Caracolito] (Collumbella fuscata)
of the food eaten by this people.
Collumbella fuscata may have been part of the food eaten by the ancient inhabitants of
This type of small snail has been recorded in the excavation of Puémape, a site in the lower Puémape, a North Coast site on the littoral south of the Jequetepeque River mouth, as
Jequetepeque River, for its Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.) and Chimu remains that go back to the Chimu occupation (ca. A.D. 1000-1460) have been found (Elera et
(A.D. 1000-1470) occupations (Elera et al. 1992: 17). al. 1992: 18).

Lockard (2005: 198) excavated Galindo in the lower Moche Valley, where he found significant
numbers of Prisogaster niger; this was part of the food eaten in the Moche culture (A.D. 600- Snails and Cone Snails [Caracoles y conos]
800), but was little consumed during the Chimu occupation of this site.
[Caracol tornillo] (Turritella sp.)
Cárdenas et al. (1997: 129), Roselló et al. (2001: 76), and Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 123) have
reported the presence of this snail in the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna, where it At present it has only been recorded in the Chimu occupation of Puémape, a site in the lower
comprised 1.6% of the molluscs eaten in this zone. Jequetepeque Valley (Elera et al. 1992: 17).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Snail [Caracolito] (Cerithium stercusmuscarum) Quilter et al. (1991: 280) showed this snail was eaten at El Paraíso, a site in the lower Chillón
Valley north of Lima, at least since 2150 B.C.
This mollusc has been recorded at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque River, in
its Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.) and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) Shelia Pozorski (1979: 167) reported the presence of Polinices uber at Chan Chan, which shows
occupations (Elera et al. 1992: 17). There is no evidence of culinary processing, but we can it was eaten in negligible amounts on the North Coast at least in A.D. 1000-1460. It was also
speculate that it was indeed consumed. eaten during the Chan Chan occupation of Pacatnamú, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley
(Gumerman 1991), and somewhat frequently at Pedregal—a site not far away from Pacatnamú—
during the Chimu period (Cutright 2009). It was eaten in higher numbers at Pedregal during the
Snail [Caracolito] (Cerithidea valida) late Moche occupation around A.D. 800. This is confirmed on reviewing the results attained
by the research undertaken by Vásquez and Rosales (1993: 86, 91) at La Mina, a site on the left
The only evidence of its probable consumption comes from the archaeological sites in the bank of the Jequetepeque River mouth that dates to the early Mochica culture, around the
upper Zaña Valley, where Tom Dillehay (2011: 334) has reported the presence of this species’ first century of our era. Polinices uber is also by far the most eaten mollusc. The evidence of
remains in strata that date on average to 8011-5954 B.C. its consumption is that it is the only mollusc species in this site that has traces of combustion,
which means it was subjected to fire in order to roast it.

[Caracol cresta de gallo] (Epitonium sp.) This species has likewise been found at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque River,
where it has been identified in its Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.) and
This mollusc has only been recorded during the Chimu occupation (ca. A.D. 1000-1470) of Puémape, Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470) occupations.
a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley (Elera et al. 1992: 17), and is assumed to have been eaten.
Polinices uber was consumed at Galindo, albeit in small amounts, both in Mochica (A.D. 600-800)
as well as in Chimu times (Lockard 2005: 195). Also in the Moche Valley, the presence of this snail
[Caracol blanco] (Polinices cf. Cora, Polinices uber) has been reported in small number at Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol, with dates that range
to A.D. 571-685 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129, Vásquez et al. 2003: 38). The Mochica of the site of Pampa
This gastropod feeds on other snails, which it pierced in order to eat their flesh. It lives on Grande (Lambayeque) also consumed Polinices uber in A.D. 711-800 (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 32).
the sandy intertidal seafloor up to a depth of a hundred metres (usually at a depth of 15-20
metres), and is found from Baja California to southern Peru. Polinices sp. was also eaten in enclosures 24 and 25 of ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac, in the
lower Lurín Valley (Lima). The radiocarbon date of this context is A.D. 1520, which falls in the
Lanfranco et al. (2009: 5) observed that in the most ancient occupation of Puémape, a site Inca Empire (Béarez et al. 2003: 66).
south of the lower Jequetepeque Valley, Polinices uber was the most important food item at
the site—it comprised about 59% of the diet along with [??: así como] Balanus tintinnabulum
in 3008-2329 B.C., which means it was eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru some five thousand years ago. Moonsnail [Caracol luna] (Polinices intermeratus)
Polinices uber was also significant for the diet of the people of Pedregal, a site in this same At present the only find made of this snail comes from Puémape, a site in the lower
valley but in Chimu times, where it comprised 38% of all molluscs (Cutright 2009: 177). The Jequetepeque Valley where Elera et al. (1992: 17) have reported it for the Cupisnique (1000-
data on this species thus evidently comes from the North Coast. 200 B.C.) and White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.) occupations.

Sandweiss et al. (1989: 63) observed the presence of scant remains of this species at the Ring
Site south of Ilo (Moquegua), where it was eaten around 4000 B.C. Concave Ear Moon Snail [Orejón, Abalón, Caracol Babosa, Chanque] (Sinum cymba)
Polinice sp. was part of the food eaten at Caral, where it was found, albeit in scant numbers, in The concave ear moon snail lives in the sublittoral zone on sandy-muddy floors, but it is not
Sector A of this site, with dates that range to 2418-2185 B.C. (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114). often used as food according to Bonavia (1982: 186).

With his excavations at Bandurria, Alejandro Chu (2008: 138) showed that Polinices uber was Only one fragment of the concave ear moon snail has been found in the excavations of Cerro Lampay,
the second mollusc most eaten by the inhabitants of this site in 3170-1610 B.C. a site in the Fortaleza Valley north of Lima (Vega Centeno 2007), which dates to 2410-2064 B.C.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

This snail has also been found in the excavations of Huaca del Sol, in the lower Moche Valley, makes a major contribution to the coastal diet. Some kind of lever, like stone chips or tools,
during the first centuries of the Christian era (Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 123), as well as in the had to be used in order to remove it from the rocks, as was reconstructed by Bonavia with his
Huaca de la Luna in A.D. 400-750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129). It is thus likely that it was eaten experiments in shellfish gathering at Huarmey.
by the people of these Mochica sites.
Chilean abalone has a high alimentary value. Lavallée et al. (1999: 39) point out it probably
At Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, Elera et al. (1992: 17) have reported the has the highest amount of protein in comparison with other molluscs (21%). It also has a high
presence of this mollusc during its Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.) sodium (318.6 mg), potassium (317.3 mg), and magnesium (119.1 mg) content in every 100 grams.
and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470) occupations. The significance of sodium as regards its salt content and the benefit of the body’s acid base
balance—and other properties like the fact that it enables an efficient digestion—follow from
this mollusc’s consumption in pre-Hispanic Peru.
Snail [Caracol] (Cymatium wiegmani)
The most ancient evidence of Chilean abalone consumption comes from Quebrada Tacahuay,
Thus far this snail has only been found in the zone of Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque a site south of Ilo on the coast of Moquegua, where its remains have been found in a stratum
Valley (Elera et al. 1992: 17), in Chimu contexts (ca. A.D. 1000-1470), but it is not clear whether that dated to 9730-9370 B.C. (DeFrance y Umire 2004).
it was eaten or not .
Chilean abalone comprises the second most important group of molluscs eaten that was
excavated at the Ring Site (in Moquegua south of Ilo). Sandweiss et al. found it was present
[Caracol Rosado, Caracol Gringo] (Bursa ventricosa) from the beginning of the occupation, i.e. ca. 9500 B.C. if we accept the validity of the shells’
radiocarbon dates (Sandweiss et al. 1989: 63).
Bursa ventricosa lives at a depth of about 50 metres, but in Callao it has been gathered at
four metres. Bonavia claims this type of gastropod may have been part of the diet since the A significant amount of Concholepas concholepas was found in the Pampa Colorada complex
Preceramic Period (Bonavia 1982: 187). on the Arequipa littoral, almost on the Ocoña River mouth, where site PC-500 was excavated;
they are believed to have been collected as food. This site has dates that range between 9200
Bursa ventricosa was likewise recorded in the excavations undertaken by Elera et al. (1992: and 7490 B.C. (McInnis 2006: 340).
17) at Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, during the site’s three occupations, i.e.
Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.), and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470), so its Large numbers of Chilean abalone were roasted in simple hearths in the archaeological site
long-lasting consumption along the North Coast of Peru can be inferred. of Quebrada de los Burros since at least 7900 B.C. (Lavallée et al. 1999: 37). It apparently was
the major component in the diet of this people, the first inhabitants of Tacna (Lavallée and
Lockard (2005: 195) recorded just one specimen of Bursa ventricosa in a Chimu context— A.D. Béarez 2012: 128).
1000-1460—at Galindo, a site in the middle Moche Valley
From this information it follows that Chilean abalone was often eaten on the South coast of
Peru since literally the last Ice Age, some ten thousand years ago.
[Caracol Sapo] (Bursa nana)
Duccio Bonavia et al. (2001: 303) found remains of Chilean abalone among the food refuse of
Bursa nana has thus far been recorded only at Puémape (Elera et al.1992: 17), a site in the lower La Laguna (PV35-106), a site close to the Huarmey River mouth, which dated to 5320 B.C.
Jequetepeque Valley where it is exclusively associated with the Chimu occupation (A.D. 1000-
1470), so we can assume that the inhabitants of this site ate it. This mollusc was also found to have been part of the food eaten by the early inhabitants of
Tablada de Lurín, a site close to the mouth of the Lurín Valley on its right bank, with dates that
fall between 5621 and 5040 B.C. (Makowski 2004).
Chilean Abalone or Rock shell [Pata de Burro, Chanque, or Loco] (Concholepas concholepas)
Capps has reported the presence of Chilean abalone at Paloma, a series of Middle Holocene
Duccio Bonavia (1982:187) believed that Chilean abalone was one of the species most huts south of Lima that date to 5316-3630 B.C., as well as at Asia in the Mala Valley, which
consumed in Peru during the Preceramic Period. It lives in rocky areas in the littoral, and still dates to 1490 B.C. (Capps 1987: 36, 58).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

It is thus clear that Chilean abalone was eaten on the Central Coast since at least the Middle Thais callaoensis has been reported, albeit in scant number, in the excavation of the mausoleum
Holocene. of a Mochica individual from the beginning of our era at La Mina, a site on the left bank in the
lower Jequetepeque Valley (Vásquez and Rosales 1994: 86).
Concholepas concholepas was the third most eaten mollusc (10.33%) at Caral, a site with
monumental archaic architecture, at least in 2418-2185 B.C. (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114). Thais callaoensis has been found at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley but only in
two of its occupations, Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.) and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470) (Elera et al.1992: 17).
Scant remains of Chilean abalone have been excavated in the middens at Cerro Lampay, close
to the Fortaleza Valley (Vega-Centeno 2007). The dates from this site show snails were eaten
in 2410-2064 B.C. For this same valley Creamer et al. reported just a 2.94% occurrence of [Caracol negro, caracol plomo] (Thais -Stramonitae - chocolata)
Chilean abalone in 3600-600 B.C. at Huaricanga, a Late Preceramic site, and 6% at Porvenir, a
site also in this valley just six kilometres away from the littoral, with dates that fell in 3720- Lavallée et al. claim this snail has a high protein value (20.6%, just below that in machas)
1280 B.C. (Creamer et al. (2011: 185-186). as well as the highest rate of magnesium in comparison with other molluscs (538.7 mg per
every 100 grams) (Lavallée et al. 1999: 39). Its ingestion was thus highly nutritional for the pre-
El Paraíso is a site close to the Chillón River mouth north of Lima, where Quilter et al. have recorded Hispanic population of the Peruvian coast.
the remains of Chilean abalone, which possibly date to 2150 B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 280).
This snail lives on the rocks in the littoral environment and is frequently gathered, even today. In Peru
This mollusc was thus much consumed on the Central Coast of Peru in 5000-2000 B.C. it is found from Paita to Mala (Bonavia 1982: 187), and as far as Valparaíso (Chile). It is usually caught
between May and December. It is usually found in association with clams [choros], so it should come
Chilean abalone was frequently eaten on the North Coast since the first millennium B.C. Its as no surprise if both species are found in archaeological sites (Sánchez Romero 1973: 255).
consumption has been documented both in Alto Salaverry (1600 B.C.) as well as at Choroval, as
part of the Chimu-Inca occupation of the North Coast (Pozorski 1979: 168). The site of Galindo is It was found at Quebrada de los Burros, a site in Tacna, that Thais chocolata was roasted
not far away in the middle Moche Valley. Here Lockard recorded a small amount of Concholepas [asado] for consumption in hearths. The radiocarbon dates for these hearths came to 7626
concholepas remains from Moche times, between A.D 600 and 800 (Lockard 2005: 195). Cárdenas and 4501 B.C., but it is believed that some dates go back to the eighth millennium B.C.
et al. (1997: 129), Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 123), and Vásquez et al. (2003: 38) likewise noted the
occurrence of Chilean abalone in a Late Mochica context dating to A.D. 571-685 at the Huaca de Similar dates (around 8000 B.C.) were given for the remains of this snail found at the Ring Site
la Luna and the Huaca del Sol, in the lower Moche Valley. in southern Ilo (Moquegua), where Sandweiss et al. recorded Thais chocolata in a domestic
food context (Sandweiss et al. 1989: 63). A somewhat more recent date for this mollusc was
Concholepas concholepas has been recorded at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque reported for La Laguna, site PV35-106 in the littoral close to the Huarmey River mouth, which
Valley, associated with the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.), and was supposedly consumed around 5320 B.C. (Bonavia 2001: 303).
Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470) occupations (Elera et al. 1992: 17). Its consumption in certain parts of
the North Coast thus seems to be a tradition. Lanfranco et al. observed the presence of Thais chocolata as part of the diet of the people
at Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, in 3008-2329 B.C. (Lanfranco et al. (2009: 5).
Chilean abalone has also been excavated—albeit in small amounts—at site PV35-4, at La Honda
beach, immediately to the north of the Huarmey River mouth (Bonavia et al. 2009: 264). Thais chocolata also frequently appears at sites like Ancón, a midden known in Lima that has a series
of occupations, one of which can be tentatively dated in the late Preceramic, around 3000 B.C..
It has also been found as food remains in enclosures 24 and 25 of ramp pyramid III B at
Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley, and has a date that averages to A.D. 1520, i.e. in the final This type of snail was also reported by Quilter et al. for the ceremonial site of El Paraíso in
phase of the Inca Empire (Béarez et al. 2003: 66). the Chillón Valley, north of Lima, where it was evidently consumed, probably since 2150 B.C.
(Quilter et al. 1991: 280).

Snail [Caracol] (Thais callaoensis) Mercedes Cárdenas recorded Thais chocolata at Salinas de Chao on the North Coast, where
it was eaten by humans at least since 1900 B.C. (Mercedes Cárdenas 1999). Also on the coast
Thais callaoensis lives in the rocks in the littoral environment and even in the sublittoral zone, is Asia, a site in the Mala Valley where Capp reported Thais chocolata amongst the food
and is found from Paita to Mala (Bonavia 1982: 187). remains left by the inhabitants of this site around 1490 B.C.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Thais chocolata was also reported by Pozorski in some North Coast sites, and in different periods since the late Preceramic—ca. 2330 B.C.—at Padre Abán, as well as at Alto Salaverry, Gramalote,
around the Moche Valley (Pozorski 1979: 167). It was clearly eaten since at least 1600 B.C., as can and parts of the Chan Chan citadel, albeit in scant number (Pozorski 1979: 167).
be shown at Alto Salaverry, and also during Moche and later in Chimu-Inca occupations.
Like Thais biserialis, some remains of Thais delessertiana have been recorded only at Pacatnamú
Still in the Moche Valley, Cárdenas et al. (1997: 129), Roselló et al. (2001: 76), and Pozorski and (Gumerman 1991), where it was eaten during its Chimu occupation. A Mochica burial was recorded
Pozorski (2003: 123) recorded at least 1% of Thais chocolata in the remains of the food eaten in the Early Mochica (around the beginning of the Christian era) site of La Mina, on the other ...
by the Moche people of Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna in A.D. 470-600. In the middle [vertiente] of the Jequetepeque Valley, which included a series of snails of this species; although few
Moche Valley, Gumerman and Briceño noted the presence of this snail at the sites of Santa in number, they may have been part of the food eaten at the time (Vásquez and Rosales 1994: 86).
Rosa-Quirihuac (ca. A.D. 100, i.e. the Gallinazo culture-Moche 1) and at Ciudad de Dios (ca.
A.D. 400) (Gumerman and Briceño 2003: 237). It has also been noted that the Mochica of Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 123) found some remains of this snail at Huaca del Sol, so it was
Pampa Grande also ate it (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 32). quite likely eaten (albeit in very small numbers) by the Mochica at this site during the first
centuries of the Christian era. This was confirmed by Cárdenas et al., who recorded it at Huaca
Thais chocolata has likewise been recorded at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque de la Luna in A.D. 400-750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129). Thais delessertiana was also eaten by the
Valley where Elera et al. (1992: 17) have reported it in the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White- Mochica people of Pampa Grande (Lambayeque) in A.D. 711-800 (Shimada y Shimada 1981: 32).
on-Red (300-100 B.C.), and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470) occupations.
Thais delessertiana was also found at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley where
This snail was also identified amongst the food remains at Pedregal, a Chimu site in the lower Elera et al. (1992: 17) identified it in the site’s three occupations—Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.),
Jequetepeque Valley (Cutright 2009: 178). La Mina is a site in this same valley where a Mochica White-on-Red (A.D. 300-100), and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470).
tomb that dated to around the first century of the Christian era was found. Here Vásquez and
Rosales (1994: 86) recorded a few remains of this snail, which must have been part of the food
eaten by the Moche people at this time. Snail [Caracol] (Thais - Thaisella - kiosquiformis)
Thais chocolata was also recorded as food residues in the excavations of enclosures 24 and 25 Lockard (2005: 185) showed the presence of this type of snail—albeit is small amounts—in
in ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac (in the lower Lurín Valley). The radiocarbon date for this Galindo, a site in the middle Moche Valley. This has been interpreted as meaning this snail
context is A.D. 1520 (Béarez et al. 2003: 66). could have been part of the food its Mochica population had in A.D. 600-800.

Snail [Caracol] (Thais -Stramonita - biserialis) Rock snail [Caracol de Roca] (Thais - Stramonita - haemastoma)
Very little is as yet known regarding the consumption of this type of snail in Peru’s archaeological This snail lives in the rocky littoral environment and in some cases in the sublittoral zones and
record. All that could be established is that in his excavations at Pacatnamú, Gumerman (1991) is spread all over the Peruvian coast (Bonavia 1982: 187). It has a high nutritional value (Vásquez
was able to identify some remains of this species, which was part of its population’s diet and Rosales 1998: 184).
during the Chimu epoch. It may likewise have been eaten by the Mochica, as it has been found
at the site of the Huaca de la Luna in A.D. 400-750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129). Lanfranco et al. (2009: 5) documented its presence—5.43%—in the earliest human occupation
of Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley dated to ca. 3008-2329 B.C. Cutright
Carlos Elera et al. (1992) noted that this species has been found at Puémape, a site in the lower (2009: 177) observed the presence of Thais –Stramonita during the Chimu occupation (A.D.
Jequetepeque Valley, in Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.) and Chimu 1000-1460) of Pedregal, a site in this same valley.
(A.D. 1000-1470) contexts.
Lockard (2005: 198) documented large numbers of Thais –Stramonita at Galindo, a site on the
Northern Coast of Peru in the middle Moche Valley that were part of the food its people had
Snail [Caracol] (Thais - Stramonita - delessertiana) particularly during the Moche epoch in A.D. 600-800, and much less in Chimú times.

This gastropod does not frequently appear in Peruvian sites, but in her study of pre-Hispanic Roselló et al. (2001: 75) documented Thais –Stramonita at the Huaca del Sol and the
food around the Moche Valley and at Chan Chan, Pozorski was able to record its presence Huaca de la Luna in the Moche Valley that dated to A.D. 470-600 (Cárdenas et al. 1997:

412 413
Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

129). It has also been recorded, albeit in small amounts, in the Middle Horizon epoch 3 (ca. [Caracol Buccino] (Cantharus cf. Inca, Cantharus elegans, Cantharus fusiformes)
A.D. 800) camp site PV35-4, which is on the littoral north of the Huarmey Valley (Bonavia et
al. 2009: 264). Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 123) have documented the remains of this type of snail at Huaca
del Sol, in the lower Moche Valley, so it is highly likely that it was eaten by the people of this
Elera et al. (1992: 17)found the remains of this mollusc at Puémape, a site in the lower culture during the first centuries of our era. Cantharus elegans in turn has been documented
Jequetepeque Valley, in contexts belonging to the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red in small amounts at La Mina, a Moche site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, approximately
(300-100 B.C., and Chimú (A.D. 1000-1460) cultures. during the first century of our era (Vásquez and Rosales 1994: 86).

Béarez et al. (2003: 66) documented the remains of this type of snail as food residues in Cantharus elegans has also been found at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley
enclosures 24 and 25 of ramp pyramid IIIB in the Pachacamac archaeological shrine in the where Elera et al. (1992: 17) recorded the remains of this species in association with the White-
lower Lurín Valley, which were dated on average to A.D. 1520. on-Red Horizon (300-100 B.C.) and Chimú (A.D. 1000-1470) cultures.

The only evidence of the possible consumption of Cantharus fusiformes comes from Pampa
[Caracolito] (Xanthochorus buxea) Grande (Lambayeque), a site where Shimada and Shimada (1981: 32) have found it in Mochica
contexts that dating to ca. 711-800 B.C.
The utmost northern distribution of Xanthochorus buxea extends to the mouth of the
Jequetepeque River.
Snail [Caracol] (Solenosteira fusiformis)
One of the most ancient finds of Xanthochorus buxea comes from the well-known site of
Caral, where Flores Blanco (2006: 148) reports it was eaten albeit in small amounts. These Solenosteira fusiformis lives at a depth of between five and eight metres on sandy, and muddy
snails were subjected to fire for cooking, because hearths have been found at this site. We surfaces, and on algae. Its distribution extends from Panamá to Chincha (Bonavia 1982: 187).
thus know that it was eaten on the coast of Peru since at least 2600 B.C. Another report points
out that Xantochorus buxea was excavated at Caral in Sector A and dated to 2418-2185 B.C. Elera et al. (1992: 18) found this type of snail on the North Coast at Puémape, south of the
Although it scantly appeared (0.24% of the molluscs eaten), Xantochorus buxea may have mouth of the Jequetepeque River, during the White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100) and Chimú
been part of the food its ancient inhabitants had (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114). (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations, so it may have been part of this site’s diet.

Xantochorus buxea has also been found at Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, where Solenosteira fusiformis has also been found at the Huaca de la Luna in the lower Moche Valley
Elera et al. (1992: 17) reported it for the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (300-100 during the early centuries of our era, so it is possible that it was part of the food eaten by the
B.C.), and Chimú (A.D. 1000-1470) occupations. Mochica (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 341).

In her study of the resources found in Chimú times at Pedregal, in the lower Jequetepeque
Valley, Cutright (2009: 178) discovered that this site’s population fed minimally on this snail. [Caracol Buccino] (Columbrella paytensis)
According to Lockard (2005: 198), Xantochorus buxea was eaten in small amounts at Galindo, Columbrella paytensis was documented at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley,
in the middle Jequetepeque Valley, between A.D. 600 and 800. but only for Chimú times (Elera et al. 1992: 18). It is not clear whether it did form part of the
food eaten at this archaeological site.
Xantochorus buxea has been detected at the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna with
a similar date (A.D. 470-600) (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129, Roselló et al. 2001: 76). It has likewise
been recorded in food residues from the excavations made in enclosures 24 and 25 of ramp [Caracolito] (Anachis sp.)
pyramid III B in Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley. Radiocarbon dates gave a mean of A.D.
1,520 (Béarez et al. 2003: 66). Elera et al. (1992: 18) documented Anachis sp. at Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley,
particularly during the Chimú occupation (ca. A.D. 1000-1460), so it may have been part of the
food eaten at this site.

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Snail [Caracol] (Mitrella buccinoides) Nassarius sp. formed part of Moche food at Pampa Grande (Lambayeque), where the dated
obtained range between A.D. 711 and A.D. 800 (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 32).
Elera et al. (1992: 18) noted the presence of this type of snail on the North Coast in the White-
on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100) and Chimú (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations at Puémape south of the
Jequetepeque River, so it may have been part of the food eaten at this site. Snail [Caracol] (Nassarius luteostoma)
It has also been found in a Mochica context at Huaca de la Luna in the lower Moche Valley Elera et al. (1992: 18) recorded this type of mollusc in the White-on-Red occupation (ca. 200
(Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 341). B.C.-A.D. 100) of Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley and almost on the littoral, so it
may been part of the food available at this site.

Snail [Caracol] (Nassarius dentifer, Nassarius gayi)


Snail [Caracol] (Oliva peruviana)
Bonavia believes that it is possible this species was not eaten due to its small size. The species
grouped in Nassarius live in the rocky sublittoral zone at a depth between four and thirty Bonavia (1982: 188) believes this species was not used for human consumption, and was
metres. They are often gathered along with Aulacomya ater or the common mussel (Bonavia instead required to make adornments and other objects. It usually lives at depts. Of five
1982: 188), so its association in archaeological sites should come as no surprise. to eight metres, somewhat buried or on the surface of the sandy soil.

Sandweiss et al. (1989: 63) found that the oldest human occupation strata at the Ring Site south Oliva peruviana has been found in domestic consumption contexts at the Ring Site in
of Ilo (Moquegua) held few remains belonging to this species, which was evidently eaten around southern Ilo (Moquegua), with dates that probable average to 9000 B.C. (Sandweiss et al.
9500 B.C., if we accept the validity of the radiocarbon dates available for the shells from this 1989: 63).
site. This means its consumption goes back almost to the earliest people of Peru.
Oliva peruviana has been documented by the research undertaken in the Gallery of the
Nassarius gayi was the seventh most-eaten mollusc at Bandurria, a site in the vicinity of Offerings at Chavín de Huántar, with dates that gave the period 1218-812 B.C. (Sandweiss
Huacho with dates that range between 3170 and 1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 138). and Rodríguez 1993: 407), but it is unknown whether it was eaten or not.

Nassarius sp. was found in the excavations at Caral, in the Supe Valley, but in small amounts of Elera et al. (1992: 18) documented the remains of this mollusc in more recent times at
total available for molluscs (0.45%), and with dates ranging between 2418 and 2185 B.C. (Shady Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley. It may have been part of the food stocks at this
and Leiva 2003: 114). site during the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.) and Chimú (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations.

Quilter et al. (1991: 280) documented the presence of these gastropods at El Paraíso, an
archaeological site north of Lima in the Chillón Valley, which dated to ca. 2150 B.C. Olive shell [Olivela] (Olivella sp.)
A small percentage of this gastropod has been found at Pedregal, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Olivella sp. is a snail found in the excavations at Pacatnamú, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley,
Valley that was occupied mostly during Chimú times, and it may have been part of the food eaten which means it was part of the diet of the people who lived here during the Chimú occupation
by its people (Cutright 2009: 178). Gumerman (1991) showed that this species was also eaten in this (A.D. 1000-1460) (Gumerman 1991).
same period at the nearby site of Pacatnamú. And Elera et al. (1992: 18) documented the remains of
Nassarius dentifer in this same zone but at Puémape, in contexts belonging to the Cupisnique (1000-
200 B.C.) and White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100) cultures. Vásquez and Rosales (1994: 86) likewise Olive shell [Olivita] (Olivela columellaris)
reported finding some remains of this species on the other side of the lower Jequetepeque Valley
at La Mina, a Mochica site during its early occupation that dates to around the first century of our Olivela columellaris is a type of snail found at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque
era, so Nassarius dentifer may have been part of the food its early population ate. Valley, on the North Coast’s littoral (Elera et al. 1992: 18). The contexts where it was found
date to Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimú (ca. A.D.
Both Cárdenas et al. (1997: 129) and Roselló et al. (2001: 75) reported this species in the edible 1000-1460) times.
remains found at the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna, which dated to A.D. 470-600.

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The consumption of this type of snail has likewise been reported at Huaca del Sol, in the lower (1992: 18) reported this type of mollusc for the various occupations of Puémape, a North
Moche Valley, so it was eaten by the Moche during the first centuries of our era (Pozorski and Coast site on the mouth of the Jequetepeque River that is almost on the littoral, at least
Pozorski 2003: 123). during the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimú (A.D.
1000-1460) cultures.
Cárdenas et al. (1997: 129) documented the remains of this snail at the Huaca de la Luna that
dated to A.D. 400-750, so the Mochica must have included them in their diet. It was also
eaten by the Mochica inhabitants of Pampa Grande (Lambayeque) in A.D. 711-800 (Shimada Cancellaria indentata
and Shimada 1981: 32).
This type of mollusc has been identified at Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley (Elera
et al. 1992: 18), during the Cupisnique occupation (1000-200 B.C.)
[Caracolito] (Prunum curtum)
Bonavia (1982: 188) claims that despite being found in archaeological sites, this species was Cancellaria decussata
probably not eaten due to its small size. It lives on sandy soils and at a depth of 16-20 metres
below sea level. In modern times this species extends from Tumbes to Pisco. Elera et al. (1992: 18) showed that this mollusc may have been eaten at Puémape, a North Coast
site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley close to the littoral, during the Cupisnique (1000-200
Prunum curtum (snail) has been found—albeit in very small amounts—in the excavations B.C.), White-on-Red (200 B.C.- A.D.100), and Chimú (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations.
undertaken in the Gallery of the Offerings at Chavín de Huántar. It was dated to 1218-812 B.C.
(Sandweiss and Rodríguez 1993: 407), but can hardly be considered food.
[Alas de Ángel] (Pholas chiloensis)
Prunum curtum has also been found at the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna, where
it comprises at least 0.3% of the total food remains; these were to A.D. 570-600, but were A species that is literally scattered all over the littoral of the South American Pacific Ocean
apparently used for personal adornment, because the shells have perforations used to suspend (in Chile it is known as comé), Pholas chiloensis has been recorded at some North Coast
them (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129, Roselló et al. 2001: 76). This means Bonavia’s conclusion may archaeological sites like Padre Abán, Alto Salaverry, and Gramalote in the vicinity of the
be correct. Moche Valley, between 2300 B.C. and the early Christian era.

Pholas chiloensis was probably eaten at Puémape at least in 200 B.C.-A.D. 100 and in Chimú
Snail [Caracol] (Mitra orientalis) times, ca. A.D. 1000-1460 (Elera et al. 1992: 18). This same species has been reported, albeit
in a minimum amount, at Galindo, a site in the middle Moche Valley during the Mochica
Elera et al. (1992: 18) found the remains of this type of mollusc on the North Coast at Puémape, occupation (A.D. 600-800) (Lockard 2005: 195).
in the lower Jequetepeque Valley and almost on the littoral, in occupations belonging to the
Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimú (A.D. 1000-1460)
cultures. Crassilabrum crassilabrum

Mitra orientalis has also been documented in the excavations at Huaca del Sol, in the lower This type of mollusc has only been found at Puémape in the lower Jequetepeque Valley,
Moche Valley, which means it was eaten by the Mochica in the early centuries of our era where Elera et al. (1992: 17) documented it in contexts belonging to the White-on-Red (300-
(Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 123). 100 B.C.) and Chimú (A.D. 1000-1470) cultures.

[Cancelaria] (Cancellaria urceolata sp.) Snail [Caracol] (Homolocantha multicrispata)


Cancellaria urceolata is of tropical provenance and has been documented at the Huaca This type of snail has only been documented at Puémape in the lower Jequetepeque Valley,
de la Luna in the lower Moche Valley, and so it may have been part of the food eaten by and only during the Chimú occupation (Elera 1992: 17).
the Moche during the first centuries of our era (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 341). Elera et al.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Snail [Caracol] (Bostryx turritus) Vásquez and Rosales have documented Ferguson’s Cone in the Huaca de la Luna, in the lower
Moche Valley, so it was perhaps part of the Mochica diet during the first centuries of our
A negligible amount of snails from this species have been documented at Galindo, a North era (Vásquez and Rosales 2004: 341). According to the information provided by Shimada and
Coast site in the middle Moche Valley, in domestic contexts dating to A.D. 600-800 (Lockard Shimada (1981: 132), the Mochica of Pampa Grande (Lambayeque) apparently consumed this
2005: 195), so it is possible that it was eaten by the Mochica. species because it was found in the excavations made at this site, which dated to A.D. 711-800.

Snail [Caracol] (Bostryx elongatus) Freshwater Snail [Caracol de Agua Dulce] (Physa venustula)
Bostryx elongatus has its habitat in the mountains and is found beneath stones or on bushes; The analyses Vásquez and Rosales (1994: 86) made at La Mina, in the lower Jequetepeque
it is also common on the central coast up to 800 masl (Bonavia 1982: 188). Valley, reported just one fragment from this type of snail, and in the context of a Mochica
tomb that probably dated to the first century of our era.

Caracol chayote (Drymaeus sp., Drymaeus tigris)


[Caracol de los Acuarios] (Helisoma - Planorbis - sp., Helisoma peruvianum)
This is an endemic species that has been excavated in some archaeological middens,
particularly on the North Coast, including Alto Salaverry (in the Moche Valley), which Helisoma peruvianum is a land snail that lives in wetlands and ponds. Bonavia (1982: 188)
dates at least to 1670 B.C.; Cerro Arena (60 B.C.), and Galindo (A.D. 600-820), so it can be documented some specimens of this species at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower Huarmey
inferred that it was eaten throughout this time on the North Coast of Peru (Pozorski 1979: Valley, and were dated to 3000-2300 B.C.
1966, table 1).
The research carried out by Vásquez and Rosales (1994: 86) documented Helisoma peruvianum
Recent research has also shown that this type of snail was more intensively eaten at Galindo, in scant numbers at La Mina, an early Mochica site (probably from the first century of our era)
in the middle Moche Valley, during the Chimú occupation (Lockard 2005: 195). in the lower Jequetepeque Valley.

This type of snail has also been found at Huaca de la Luna with dates that ranged between
Sea Snail (Naticide sp.) A.D. 400 and A.D. 750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129), and at Pampa Grande (Lambayeque) with
dates ranging between A.D. 711 and A.D. 800 (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 32), so it is presumed
The only find thus far made of the possible consumption of sea snails were made during the to have been eaten in pre-Hispanic times.
excavation of archaeological sites in the upper Zaña Valley, in the modern Lambayeque-region
which dated to 8011-5954 B.C. (Dillehay 2011: 334).
Landsnail [Caracol de Loma] (Scutalus mutabilis, Scutalus proteus, Scutalus versicolor)
[Trochita] ([Caliptraea?] trochiformis) The habitat of Scutalus mutabilis is in the mountains as well as on plants. It is very common on
the North Coast of Peru and up to 1000 masl (Bonavia 1982: 188). We will now see how it has
This is a unique mollusc found at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley in its been long eaten, particularly on the North Coast, since humans began to occupy this region.
three occupations: Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.), and Chimú
(A.D. 1000-1470) (Elera et al. 1992: 17). It may thus have been eaten by the people who There are some prominent studies on this species that it is worth briefly presenting here.
inhabited this site. César Gálvez et al. (1996) made a key study of the role the consumption of land snails had
in ancient Peru, which includes archaeological observations and important ethnographic
observations, describing modern ways in which snails were gathered and prepared. We now
Ferguson’s Cone [Cono de Ferguson] (Conus fergussoni) turn briefly to it.

This mollusc species found in equatorial waters from the Gulf of California to Tumbes Gálvez et al. give an account of Scutalus sp. since the beginning of the Holocene. Its strong
(Sánchez Romero 1973: 272). presence in the middens of the Paiján culture (11000-6000 B.C.) is evinced, as well as in sites

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

that extend from the first millennium B.C. to the epoch prior to the Inca. This means its use in Reitz (1988: 314) found that the molluscs eaten by the early people of Paloma south of Lima in
pre-Hispanic Peru is one of the most long-lasting ones. the Chilca Valley, close to what may have been a very active loma some seven kilometres from
the sea was Scutalus. Radiocarbon dates fell between 5316 and 3630 B.C. As their common
The study Gálvez et al. made focuses on the North Coast valleys, especially the Virú, Jequetepeque, name indicates, these are molluscs that live in the lomas.
and Moche Valleys, but it is clear that Scutalus mutabilis must have been frequently consumed
in places like Lima and Cajamarca, where the snails can be gathered between 500 and 1800 Callen (1965: 335) noted the presence of snails—albeit without specifically establishing the
masl during the winter months, particularly when there is a greater concentration of fogs—i.e. species—in human faecal remains at Huaca Prieta on the North Coast, which can be dated at
humidity—their favourite habitat. It has also been observed that Scutalus mutabilis abounds least to the fourth millennium B.C., and which are a direct evidence of its consumption.
whenever there is an ENSO phenomenon due to the rains and moisture this generates, with
figures close to a hundred specimens per square decimetre (Gálvez Mora et al. 1996: 55-56), so The Scutalus sp. snail was eaten at Caral in Sector A but only comprised 3.7%. Its dates ranged
its occurrence may also be connected to changes in the climate. between 2418 and 2185 B.C. (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114).

A bromatological study by Duccio Bonavia, Claude Chauchat, and Holger reported values of Scutalus was likewise found in the excavations at El Paraíso north of Lima, in the lower Chillón
74.8% calories, 4.6% ashes, 4.7% fat, 1% proteins, and 8.4% carbohydrates (Gálvez Mora et al. Valley (Quilter et al. 1991: 280). The site dates to around 2150 B.C.
1996: 57).
This snail has also been documented at the site of Pampa de Llamas, in the lower Casma Valley,
Gálvez et al. likewise documented ethnographically the consumption of this type of snail on where it was eaten and dates to 2088-1243 B.C. (Pozorski and Pozorski 1986: 390). Mercedes
the North Coast. Gillin for instance reported they were eaten parboiled, while Gerdt Kutscher Cárdenas (1999) in turn documented Scutalus sp. at Las Salinas de Chao, a site in the valley of
claimed they were “purged,” i.e. detoxified before consumption. One common way of doing the same name, with a date of at least 1900 B.C.
so, particularly in the Jequetepeque Valley, was spraying them with maize flour until they lose
the slime; the internal flesh was then removed (especially the feet and the head, because the Capps (1987: 58) reported the consumption of Scutalus in Asia, a site in the lower Mala Valley
other organs taste bitter). In general, Gálvez et al. do not go into details but believe they were that dates to around 1490 B.C.
eaten raw, roasted, boiled or parboiled, and even toasted. César Gálvez himself collected five
kilos of land snails in the Moche Valley in just one hour. These are at present eaten in cebiches, Scutalus spp. (caracol de loma) was detected in the malacological analysis of the organic
stews and as snail soup. Nowadays these snails abound in most of the sites located in the remains found in the Gallery of the Offerings at Chavín de Huántar. They gave a date of 1218-
vicinity of the modern-day town of Paiján, south of Pacasmayo (Chauchat 1992: 358). 812 B.C., so they may have been part of the food this culture ate (Sandweiss and Rodríguez
1993: 407).
As noted above, the caracol de loma was eaten since the time of the Paiján culture, which is
virtually the first on the Peruvian coast around 10,000 B.C. This also means this early population The greatest evidence of caracol de loma consumption goes back almost two thousand years
exploited the resources found in the lomas since the very beginning. ago on the North Coast—i.e. the Mochica occupation—in some of the sites studied by the
Chan Chan Project in the Moche Valley in La Libertad. Here the remains of these snails have
It has already been pointed out that Gálvez Mora (1999: 43) believes Scutalus mutabilis was an been found in the middens that grew out of the food eaten at sites like Padre Abán, Alto
extremely significant edible resource for the human groups of the Paiján culture in the middle Salaverry, Gramalote, Caballo Muerto, Cerro Arena, Galindo, and even Chan Chan, which
Chicama Valley and the Moche Valley. They in fact appear associated to early Holocene indicates its large-scale consumption since at least 2330 B.C. up to the Inca occupation (A.D.
middens around 9500 B.C. 1460) in the area that extends from modern-day Huancaco in the north to the Moche Valley
in the south (Pozorski 1979: 166, table 1).
Even more ancient dates were found further north. Dillehay et al. (2011: 335) documented
the presence of these snails in archaeological sites in the upper Zaña Valley that dated to It should here be noted that abundant Scutalus proteus remains have been found at Galindo
11572-3029 B.C.—a record in terms of duration, with this snail species literally consumed for in association with Moche remains. It was the mollusc most eaten at this site in A.D. 600-800,
thousands of years. and even during the Chimú occupation (Lockard 2005: 195).

Scutalus sp. has been found in significant amounts in the Pampa Colorada sites complex close Cutright (2009: 178) recorded the presence of Scutalus proteus at Pedregal, a site in the lower
to the mouth of the Ocoña River, in the littoral of the modern region of Arequipa, with dates Jequetepeque Valley, but it was not frequently eaten. This type of snail was also documented
ranging between 9200 and 5400 B.C. (McInnis 2006: 381). among the remains of a cooking zone in the Huaca de la Luna, in the Moche Valley, which

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

evinces it was consumed by the Moche at this site in A.D. 300-600 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: Cups, saucer limpets [Piques]
129, Gijsehem 2001: 261).
Cup [Caracol “Pantufla,” Pique Señorita] (Creppatella dilatata)
A species known as Scutalus versicolor was also documented at the Huaca de La Luna, at
about A.D. 400-750 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129). This snail is found in the sublittoral zone and is often adhered to the valves of some
lamellibranchia, especially mussels (Aulacomya ater), and is eaten in large amounts in modern
Further to the north, in the modern-day region of Lambayeque, Shimada and Shimada times (Bonavia 1982: 186).
(1981: 32) discovered that the Mochica had consumed this species in A.D. 711-800.
Its ingestion literally goes back to the beginning of human occupation in Peru. Sandweiss et
Scutalus proteus has also been documented at the Huaca del Sol (Pozorski and Pozorski al. (1989: 63) found remains of this species in domestic contexts that indicate its consumption
2003: 123). Also in the middle Moche Valley are the sites of Santa Rosa-Quirihuac, which at least since 9500 B.C. at the Ring Site on the coast of Moquegua, immediately to the south
dates to the Gallinazo-Moche 1 period, i.e. ca. A.D. 100, and Ciudad de Dios which dates of the modern-day city of Ilo.
to A.D. 400, when the Moche were in full development, and where a significant amount
of Scutalus has been found (Gumerman and Briceño 2003: 237). Bonavia et al. (2001: 303) showed that this snail was consumed at La Laguna (PV35-106), in the
lower Huarmey Valley close to Los Gavilanes, which was dated to 5320 B.C.
Scutalus was also eaten at Pacatnamú (Gumerman 1991), but according to the statistics of
this research it was apparently consumed mostly by the common people but not by the Crepipatella was somewhat frequently consumed (fourth place in molluscs) at the monumental
elite. This is one of the few cases in which we find the caracoles de loma eaten mostly by site of Bandurria, which dates to 3170-1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 138).
the subject populations.
Some pique remains were also found in the excavations at Cerro Lampay, to the north of
Elera et al. (1992: 18) also showed the occurrence of Scutalus proteus at Puémape, a site the modern-day region of Lima (Vega-Centeno 2007). The radiocarbon results of the midden
in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, particularly during the White-on-Red occupation (200 where these were found average 2410-2064 B.C.
B.C.-A.D.100).
Cerro Blanco is somewhat more to the north in the lower Nepeña Valley. Here Ikehara and
A significant amount of these snails has likewise been recorded at the site of Cerro Shibata (2005: 144) found that the piques señorita were an important part of the feasts they
Lampay, a preceramic temple in the Fortaleza Valley, on the coast of the modern-day believe were held at this site in 1100-250 B.C.
department of Lima (Vega-Centeno 2007). The radiocarbon dates for this site gave the
range 2410-2064 B.C. The piques señorita were likewise documented at Caral in the Supe Valley, but it is even more
important pointing out that these were found in hearths, which means they were clearly eaten
According to Piacenza and Pieri (2012: 4), it is also highly likely that it was eaten by the roasted or after being exposed to fire, at least in 2600-1800 B.C. (Flores Blanco 2006: 148).
inhabitants of the monumental site of Cahuachi.
Even earlier dates are available for pique consumption at Huaricanga, a site on the left bank
Its significance must extend further back in time, because its ceramic depictions also of the Fortaleza River some 23 km from the littoral, with dates that range between 3600 B.C.
appear in the Inca culture. and 620 B.C. This is the third mollusc most eaten at this site with 7.8% (Creamer et al. 2011: 185).

Quilter et al. (1991: 280) also pointed out the presence of pique at El Paraíso, a ceremonial
[Caracol de Plantas] (Systrophia sp.) site close to the mouth of the Chillón River north of Lima, which has been dated to 2150 B.C.

This is a land mollusc that comes from the Amazon forest, i.e. rainy tropical biota. Bonavia Crepipatella dilatata was found, albeit in very small amounts, at site PV35-4 to the north of
(1982: 188) identified some specimens of this species in epoch 2 at Los Gavilanes, a site in the mouth of the Huarmey River, which dated to ca. A.D. 800 (Bonavia 2009: 264).
the lower Huarmey Valley. Strophocheilus popelairianus has been excavated at Alenya (Bagua
Baja), a site in the Utcubamba River zone in the modern-day Amazonas region at about 522 This type of snail also seems to have been part of the Mochica diet, at least in the first century
masl, which dates to 1500-1200 B.C. (Shady and Rosas 1979: 111). of our era, as its remains have been found at a site called La Mina, which is in on the left bank
of the lower Jequetepeque Valley (Vásquez and Rosales 1994: 86).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

It was also found in the excavations at Cerro Culebras, north of the lower Chillón Valley Bivalves, Mussels, Oysters, Clams
in Lima, in contexts that dated to A.D. 100-550, which can be interpreted as having been
part of the food this people ate during the first centuries of our era (Bazán del Campo Black Ark [Concha Negra] (Anadara tuberculosa)
1988: 31-33).
Anadara tuberculosa is a bivalve on the Peruvian coast that is only found in the marshlands of
Béarez et al. (2003: 66) found pique (Crepipatella sp.) remains in enclosures 24 and 25 of the modern region of Tumbes, where it lives in muddy soils, among the roots of the mangroves.
ramp pyramid IIIB at Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley, in a context dated to around It can be taken to Lima without taking any special precautions because it has a great tolerance
1520 B.C. to conditions outside the water (up to seven days). It extends from California (Unites States)
to Tumbes (Peru) (Sánchez Romero 1973: 274).
It was also consumed in regular amounts in Inca times at Pueblo Viejo-Pucará, a site in the
Lurín Valley (Watson 2008: 121). The oldest evidence of its consumption comes from the camps of Amotape in Piura,
where Richardson (1979: 282) found remains that can be calibrated to around 10535 B.C.
This was a group of hunters from almost the end of the ice age that settled in the zone
Cup [Pique, Señorita] (Crepidulla incurva) of Sullana and Talara.

This is a small mollusc that usually lives adhered to another as a parasite. Béarez (2012: 131) Elera et al. (1992: 18) recorded the remains of Anadara tuberculosa at Puémape, a site in
found it at Quebrada de los Burros, a site in the Tacna littoral, so it may have been part the lower Jequetepeque Valley, particularly during the White-on-Red occupation (ca. 200
of the food its early people had in 7900-4500 B.C. B.C.-A.D. 100).

Crepidulla incurva was also found at Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, during According to the research carried out by Kaulicke (1991: 414), the earliest settlers in the Alto
the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.), and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470) Piura at Loma Valverde, a site occupied by the Mochica and Salinar between 350 B.C. and A.D.
occupations (Elera et al. 1992: 17). 450, were already eating Anadara tuberculosa, albeit in small amounts.

Anadara tuberculosa has been found in small amounts in the domestic garbage,
Cup [Pique, Señorita] (Crucibulum lignarium) consumption relicts at the Huaca de la Luna and the Huaca del Sol in the Moche Valley,
which date to around A.D. 470-600 (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129, Roselló et al. 2001: 75). We
The only find of this species comes from the excavations at Puémape, a site in the lower see that Anadara tuberculosa was preferentially eaten almost since the dawn of human
Jequetepeque Valley, where it was found in contexts belonging to the White-on-Red occupation in this zone.
(300-100 B.C.), and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470) cultures (Elera et al. 1992: 17).

Concha Prieta (Anadara nux)


Cup [Pique, Señorita] (Crucibulum spinosum)
Elera et al. (1992: 18) found the remains of Anadara nux during the Chimu occupation (ca. A.D.
This species has thus far only been documented at Puémape, a site in the lower 1000-1460) at Puémape, south of the mouth of the Jequetepeque River on the North Coast,
Jequetepeque Valley, where Elera et al. (1992: 17) found it in the White-on-Red (ca. 300- which means it may have been eaten at this time.
100 B.C.) and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1470) occupations.

Mussels [Concha Pata de Burro] (Anadara - Grandiarca - grandis)


Cup [Pique] (Caliptrea trochiformis)
Although these shells were gathered to make utensils or tools, they may have been also
Caliptrea trochiformis lives on the lower zone of the rocky littoral and is found in the eaten at Cabeza de Vaca, a site some six kilometres from the city of Tumbes, on the left
sublittoral zone, adhered to rocks or the valves of some mollusc. Little used as food, it is bank of the river. The workshop dates to A.D. 1100-1520, i.e. the Chimu and Inca occupations
instead used as bait when fishing (Bonavia 1982: 186). (Hocquenghem and Peña Ruiz 1994: 214).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Mussels [Mejillón] (Glycymeris ovata) Scant remains of Aulacomya ater were recovered at Cerro Lampay, a site on the northern
coast of the modern-day Lima region (Vega-Centeno 2007). This, as has already been noted, is
Elera et al. (1992: 18) showed that mussels were quite probably part of the diet of the people a complex of preceramic public buildings that dates to 2410-2064 B.C.
of Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, during the White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D.
100) and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations. The remains of Aulacomya ater were found at Caral (Shady et al. 2001) in the Supe valley
north of Lima, that were apparently eaten by its people. The site gave was dated to 2585-1938
B.C. In another report Aulacomya ater just comprises 1.61% of Sector A at Caral, which means
Common Mussel [Choro Común, Choro o Mejillón Mussel] (Aulacomya ater) it may have been eaten in very small amounts at this site on the Peruvian coast that dates to
2418-2185 B.C. (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114).
The habitat of Aulacomya ater is the rocky floor of the littoral, where it lives adhered at
depths ranging between three and thirty metres in large colonies and clumps, so one has Aulacomya ater was eaten at Huaricanga, a public preceramic monument in the Fortaleza
to dive to gather it. Its ingestion is widely documented in Peru since the beginning of the Valley some 23 km away from the seashore, on the Central Coast, and dating to ca. 3600-670
human occupation of the coast. From an alimentary standpoint it was important because it B.C., albeit in small amounts (Creamer et al. 2011: 186).
has 13% proteins and at least 2.3% fat, a large proportion of sodium (329.3 mg for every 100
grams), potassium (172.2 mg for every 100 grams), calcium (119.4 mg for every 100 grams), and Elera et al. (1992: 18) have documented the remains of this bivalve at Puémape, a site almost
magnesium (102.2 mg for every 100 grams) (Lavallée et al. 1999: 39). on the littoral in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, where it was eaten only during the Chimú
occupation of this site.
Almost forty years ago Aulacomya ater was the most consumed bivalve on the coast, but
this now does not seem to be the case. It should come as no surprise that it is found Quilter et al. (1991: 279-280) claim this type of bivalve was one of the main foods eaten by
associated with other snails like Thays chocolate. It is most gathered between May and the people of El Paraíso, a site almost on the mouth of the Chillón River north of Lima, which
December. Its range extends from Salaverry to the Straits of Magellan (Sánchez Romero they began to eat ca. 2150 B.C.
1973: 256, 274).
Aulacomya ater (the common mussel has been excavated in the Gallery of the Offerings at
The consumption of choro mussels by the first Peruvians goes back to the dawn of the human Chavín de Huántar, and was dated to the period 1218-812 B.C. (Sandweiss and Rodríguez 1993:
settlement of modern-day Peru. Sandweiss et al. (1989: 63) found in their excavations at the 407). Although this was an offering, it may have been consumed by the inhabitants of this
Ring Site south of the city of Ilo (Moquegua), that it was eaten since at least 9500 B.C. famed site.

The remains of the common choro have been documented at the other end of Peru Bonavia et al. (2009: 264) showed the choro was the main mollusc eaten (over 37%) at site PV35-
in the upper Zaña Valley (in the modern region of de Lambayeque). This is a series of 4 in the vicinity of Huarmey during Middle Horizon epoch 3, around A.D. 800. The evidence
archaeological sites that date to 8011-5954 B.C., so here it was also consumed quite early that this mollusc was eaten in this zone is also documented by the discovery of this species
(Dillehay 2011: 334). at the site of La Laguna (PV35-106), where it dated to 5320 B.C. (Bonavia et al. 2001: 303). It is
therefore clear that this mussel was eaten in the lower Huarmey valley for thousands of years.
Aulacomya ater was eaten in small amounts at Paloma in the Chilca Valley south of Lima. Here
several camps and organic remains due to human consumption have been found. Reitz (1988: Mercedes Cárdenas (1999) recorded a large percentage of Aulacomya ater at Salinas de Chao,
314) and Capps (1987: 36) established the presence of this species in 5316-3630 B.C. Interestingly a site in the lower section of the valley with the same name on the North Coast. The dates
enough, the remains of choros were found in the faeces discovered at Paloma, thus providing for this site average 1900 B.C.
a direct evidence of its consumption at that time (Weir and Dering 1986: 38). This is one of the
few cases where its ingestion is clear. Aulacomya ater was also found in the monumental site of Cahuachi in Nasca, so it may have
been eaten by this people throughout the early centuries of the Christian era (Piacenza and
On the other hand Bonavia (1982: 227) found fragments of Aulacomya ater at Los Gavilanes, Pieri 2012: 4).
in the lower Huarmey Valley, also in human faecal remains, in strata that dated to 3200-1460
B.C., so it was evidently eaten at this site. La Laguna (site PV35-106) is not far away, almost on Aulacomya ater was recorded in small amounts at Cerro Culebras, a site in the Chillón Valley,
the littoral on the right bank of the mouth of the Huarmey River. Here Bonavia et al. (2001: in a culture pertaining to the Lima culture (A.D. 100-550). This could be interpreted to mean
303) notices the presence of Aulacomya ater, which was dated to 5320 B.C. the people in this culture ate it (Bazán del Campo 1988: 31-33).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Watson (2008: 121) points out that Pueblo Viejo-Pucará, a site in the Lurín Valley, favoured the the upper Zaña Valley (in the Lambayeque region). Here choro remains were found in strata
consumption of choros during the Inca occupation. These were also part of the food eaten dated to 8011-5954 B.C., which means Choromytilus chorus has long been eaten in Peru.
by the people of enclosures 24-25 in ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín
Valley, and which has been dated to A.D. 1530, i.e., just before the Spanish contact (Béarez et Lavallée et al. (1999: 37) excavated Quebrada de los Burros (Tacna) and found a series of
al. 2003: 58). hearths with ashes and the remains of choros roasted in them. Radiocarbon dates show this
consumption took place in 7900-4500 B.C. This is one of the few pieces of evidence that
choros were roasted ten thousand years ago.
[Mejillín Púrpura] (Brachidontes purpuratus)
Even so, the dates obtained for the choros zapato from the preceramic strata at Quebrada
Brachidontes purpuratus is apparently an uncommon species in the list of seafood on the Tacahuay, a site in the littoral south of Ilo, in the modern region of Moquegua, gave an average
Peruvian coast, but there evidently remains much that has to be explored in this regard. date of 10730-9370 B.C., which implies it was already being eaten at this early date.

Pozorski (1979: 166) recorded the remains of these molluscs, albeit in very small numbers, in Sandweiss et al. (1989: 63) found a large amount of Choromytilus chorus at Ring Site, an
all of the sites she studied from modern-day Huanchaco to the Moche Valley, for instance archaeological site known on the coast of Moquegua south of Ilo and very close to the
Padre Abán, Alto Salaverry, Gramalote, Cerro Arena, Huaca de la Luna, Galindo, and Chan seashore. If the radiocarbon samples taken from molluscs are given credence, this means
Chan, which comprise a period that extends from 2300 B.C. to A.D. 1460. This means that it Choromytilus chorus was being eaten since around 9500 B.C. its consumption rose around
was eaten in small amounts by almost all communities in this part of the North Coast of Peru. 8000 B.C.

Pozorski and Pozorski (1986: 397) likewise reported that this mollusc was frequently eaten at Choromytilus chorus was also found in the middens left by the people of Paloma, a site south
Pampa de Llamas, in the lower Casma Valley, in the period 2088-1243 B.C. of Lima in the Chilca Valley that is just seven kilometres away from the coast (Reitz 1988: 314,
Capps 1987: 36). The radiocarbon dates of the layers where these remains come from average
Elera et al. (1992: 18) found the remains of this mollusc in the middens at Puémape, a site 5316-3630 B.C.
on the North Coast littoral in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, where it was eaten by the
Cupisnique (1,000-200 B.C.) and White-on-Red (200 B.C.- A.D. 100) cultures. The site of Tablada de Lurín in the lower Lurín Valley can be dated to 5621-5040 B.C. Here
Makowski (2004) found the remains of camps where the first people in this zone briefly stayed
Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 123) discovered the remains of this type of shell at the Huaca del and ate large amounts of choro.
Sol, which corresponds to the Moche culture, so it is assumed that it was part of the food
eaten by this well-known northern culture. Lanfranco et al. (2009: 5) have reported the finding of choro zapato in the earliest occupation
of Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, which date to 3008-2329 B.C.

Mussel [Choro or Choro Zapato] (Choromytilus chorus) Choromytilus chorus was also eaten somewhat frequently at Bandurria, a site on the coast
close to Huacho. The dates obtained at this site average 3170-1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 138).
This is a staple food par excellence not just in modern Peru but surely also in pre-Hispanic
Peru, as we will now see. Choromytilus chorus was the main edible resource—37% of the molluscs eaten—at Huaricanga
in 3500-670 B.C. (Creamer et al. 2011: 185). This site rises on the Central coast some 23 km away
Cárdenas et al. (1997: 140-141) claim the consumption of boiled choros provides 76% calories, from the littoral, on the left side of the Fortaleza River, and is part of the preceramic building
84% water, 14.8% proteins, 1.8% fat, 2.1% ash, and 1.3% niacin, particularly iron (5.8%), which complexes in this part of the Andes. This same study confirms that choro was the main mollusc
means Choromytilus chorus is highly nutritious (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 184). These early eaten at Porvenir (up to 42%), a site also in the Fortaleza Valley only six kilometres away from
coastal populations of Peru must have gathered Choromytilus chorus by diving because the littoral. The dates for this site average between 3720 and 1280 B.C. (Creamer et al. 2011: 185).
it belongs in the rocky infralittoral zone that is always below sea level (between four and
thirty metres). Large amounts of choros were found in the excavations at Cerro Lampay (Vega Centeno 2007)
on the North-Central Coast, in the Fortaleza Valley, which date to 2410-2064 B.C. On the
At present, the oldest evidence that Choromytilus chorus was perhaps part of the pre- North Coast, Mercedes Cárdenas (1999) found this type of choro at the site Las Salinas de
Hispanic diet comes from the archaeological contexts Tom Dillehay et al. (2011: 334) found in Chao which was eaten at least since 2000 B.C.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

According to Shady’s excavations, Choromytilus chorus also formed part of the diet of the Given the relatively small size of this bivalve, Vásquez and Rosales suggest that its decrease in
people of Caral (Shady et al. 2001). The site is dated to 2585-1938 B.C., which means these amounts may have been due to its overexploitation, at least before Mochica times during the
molluscs were eaten during this period, and according to their number abundantly so. Flores first millennium before of our era.
Blanco (2006: 148) also found choros in a hearth, thus clearly indicating these were subjected
to fire at this time to cook them. In this case these are roasted choros just like at Quebrada de This type of choro was also found in the excavations Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 123) made
los Burros (see above), a cooking method frequently used in pre-Hispanic Peru. It has likewise at the Huaca del Sol, in a fully Mochica culture between A.D. 300 and A.D. 600. Similar dates
been documented at Sector A in Caral (Shady y Leiva 2003: 114), which dates to 2418-2185 B.C., were obtained at Huaca de la Luna (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129).
where the presence of Choromitylus chorus comes to 41.26% and is by far the mollusc most
eaten at this site (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114). Piacenza and Pieri (2012: 4) reported the discovery of Choromitylus chorus in the excavations
at Cahuachi, a Nasca site, so it clearly was consumed by the people of this culture during the
El Paraíso is slightly more to the south near the mouth of the Chillón River. Here Quilter et al. first centuries of the Christian era.
(1991: 279-280) found that choros were one of the main food resources, at least since the time
of the first population of this site ca. 2150 B.C. Choros were found in small amounts in the excavations at Cerro Culebras in the lower
Chillón Valley, in contexts pertaining to the Lima culture (ca. A.D. 100-550) (Bazán del
All of this abundant information tells of the intensive consumption of choros on the Central Campo 1988: 31-33).
Coast ca. 6000-2000 B.C.

Elera et al. (1992: 18) showed the choros zapato were eaten at Puémape, which is almost in the [Chorito playero] (Perumytilus purpuratus)
littoral in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, by the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red
(200 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimú (A.D. 1,000-1,460) cultures. This means it has long been eaten Perumytilus purpuratus lives on the upper rocky intertidal zone on the shoreline as well as
in this part of Peru. on the rocky bottom. Bonavia (1982: 184) believes it was not eaten by humans due to its very
small size but others differ (cf. Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 184). This species ranges from Peru
Choromitylus chorus was also recorded during the excavation of the Gallery of the Offerings to the Straits of Magellan (Sánchez Romero 1973: 274).
at Chavín de Huántar, with a date of 1218-812 B.C. (Sandweiss and Rodríguez 1993: 406), but
there is no clear evidence of its consumption. A few remains of Perumytilus purpuratus were found in the hearths of the site known as
Quebrada de los Burros in Tacna (Lavallée et al. 1999: 37). The excavation of the hearths
Pozorski (1979: 166) on the other hand recorded at Padre Abán that Choromytilus chorus where these were roasted was dated to 7900-4500 B.C. which means Perumytilus purpuratus
comprised 31.5% of the diet of the ancient population of this site—one of the largest amounts has been eaten since that time in pre-Hispanic Peru already cooked.
of this mollusc eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru. The site has a date of at least 2330 B.C., so the
choro already was an important component of the diet at this time. Earlier dates for choritos go back to 9000 B.C. at the so-called Ring Site south of the city of
Ilo in Moquegua, which is almost on the shoreline (Sandweiss et al. 1989: 63). Heather McInnis
The percentages in which this mollusc was eaten were also relatively significant ones in other (2006: 343) found small amounts of Perumytilus purpuratus to the north on the coastlands of
sites Shelia Pozorski studied, like Alto Salaverry, Gramalote (7.1%), and Caballo Muerto (21.9%), with Arequipa, almost in the mouth of the Ocoña River, which he dated to 9200-7490 B.C. These
dates that range between the second millennium B.C. and our era. Unlike Béarez, Pozorski (1979: 172) remains were surely part of the food eaten by the groups who settled at this encampment.
believes the choros may have been removed from the rocks and gathered during low tide.
Perumytilus purpuratus was also documented at La Laguna (PV35-106), a site on the northern
Cutright (2009: 177) has reported finding the remains of choro zapato on the North Coast at Huarmey Valley that dates to 5320 B.C. (Bonavia et al. 2001: 303).
Pedregal, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, albeit in small amounts that were eaten by the
inhabitants in the context of the Chimú culture. It is also known that the people of the Central Coast ate Perumytilus purpuratus. Reitz
(1988: 314) and Capps (1987: 36) identified large amounts among the food remains at Paloma,
The site of La Mina, which dates to the first phase of the Mochica culture (ca. the beginning a Middle Holocene site south of Lima, in the Chilca Valley. The strata from which these
of our era) is not far away from Pedregal, on the left bank of the lower Jequetepeque Valley. remains come date to ca. 5316-3630 B.C. It is in fact the mollusc most eaten at this site.
Here Vásquez and Rosales (1994: 86, 89) recorded the largest amount of Choromitylus chorus Capps (1987: 58) also found the remains of this mollusc at Asia, a site in the Mala Valley that
eaten, and their occurrence suggests that it is highly likely these were gathered by diving. date to 1490 B.C.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Perumytilus purpuratus (chorito) was eaten somewhat frequently at Bandurria, a Central Lucia Watson (2008: 122) reported the occurrence of choritos at Pueblo Viejo-Pucará, an
Coast site that is very close to Huacho, with dates that range between 3170 and 1,610 B.C. Inca site—i.e., Late Horizon—in the Lurín Valley, which was also eaten around this time on
(Chu 2008: 138). the Central Coast. These data were confirmed by Béarez et al. (2003: 66) whose research
documented the discovery of Perumytilus purpuratus in enclosures 24-25 of ramp pyramid III
Perumytilus purpuratus was found in the excavations of Caral, where it had tenth place (0.9%) B at Pachacamac, with a mean date of A.D. 1520, i.e. at the end of the Inca Empire.
among the molluscs most eaten at this archaeological site. The remains come from Sector A,
which means they can be dated to 2418-2185 B.C. (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114). Flores Blanco
(2006: 157) claims this type of mollusc was found along with the remains of combustion in the Chorito negro (Semimytilus algosus)
hearths, thus concluding that it was placed on the fire to cook it, i.e. it was roasted.
Semimytilus algosus lives along the rocky littoral environment and is the most frequent
Choritos playeros have also been identified on the North Coast at Salinas de Chao in population in this zone along with Perumytilus purpuratus, but it is not eaten at present (Bonavia
the valley of the same name, where Mercedes Cárdenas (1999) headed archaeological 1982: 183-184). Even so it is believed to have been eaten and was a major nutritional source
excavations and obtained dates that began at 1900 B.C. (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 184). It extends along the coasts of de Peru and Chile (Sánchez
Romero 1973: 274). It was gathered on the lower part of the rocks in the intertidal zones.
A small fragment was found in the excavations at Cerro Lampay, an archaeological site
north of Lima that is dated to 2410-2064 B.C. (Vega-Centeno 2007). This chorito species has been consumed in Lima since at least the Middle Holocene. The
excavations by Benfer and his team (1990) revealed that it was eaten at Paloma, close to
Even so, Ikehara and Shibata (2005: 144) excavated large amounts of choritos at Cerro an extinct loma south of Lima in the Chilca Valley in 5316-3630 B.C., and reached 25% of
Blanco (in the lower Nepeña Valley), which just like Cerro Lampay is believed to have been the molluscs eaten (Capps 1987: 36).
a building where ritual activities were held. These remains were found in contexts that date
to 1100-250 B.C. Minimum amounts were found in the excavations at the monumental preceramic site
of Bandurria, so it may have been part of the food eaten at this site. The dates range
Quilter et al. (1991: 280) reported a significant amount of choritos at El Paraíso, a site that is between 3170 and 1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 138).
almost on the mouth of the Chillón Valley, where they were eaten since at least 2150 B.C.
Semimytilus algosus holds fourth place among the molluscs eaten at Caral, but it only
Perumytilus purpuratus has also been identified in the excavations of the Gallery of the comprised 4.29% in Sector A of this monumental site dated to 2418-2185 B.C. (Shady and
Offerings at Chavín de Huántar. It has an average date of 1218-812 B.C. (Sandweiss and Leiva 2003: 114).
Rodríguez 1993: 407), but it is as yet unknown whether it was eaten or not.
Scant remains have been documented at Cerro Lampay, an archaeological site north of Lima
Elera et al. (1992: 18) found remains of this type of chorito on the North coast at Puémape, that dates to 2410-2064 B.C. (Vega-Centeno 2007). On the contrary, a relative amount of
in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, which means it was eaten in at least three periods: remains was excavated at Cerro Blanco, a site in the lower Nepeña Valley, which according to
Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimú (A.D. 1000-1460). Ikehara and Shibata (2005: 144) were eaten in feasts around 1100-250 B.C.
There is thus a long tradition of eating this mollusc on the North Coast.
Pozorski and Pozorski (1986: 397) documented a significant amount of these remains at
The Mochica who lived at Huaca de la Luna in A.D. 400-750 were also acquainted with Pampa de Llamas, a site in the lower Casma Valley that dates to 2088-1243 B.C.
Perumytilus purpuratus, so it may have been part of its diet (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129).
Quilter et al. (1991: 279-280) reported the presence of chorito at El Paraíso, a site north of
Perumytilus purpuratus held second place among the most eaten molluscs at site PV35-3, Lima and almost on the mouth of the Chillón Valley, among the refuse left by the people
a sort of camp from Middle Horizon epoch 3—i.e. ca. A.D. 800—which is on the littoral who lived here, at least since 2100 B.C.
immediately north of the mouth of the Huarmey Valley (Bonavia et al. 2009: 264).
Semimytilus algosus holds fourth place amongst the molluscs most present at site PV35-
Perumytilus purpuratus was a major part in the diet of the early Lima culture (ca. A.D. 4, which dates to A.D. 800 and is on a beach zone immediately north of the mouth of the
100-550). Bazán del Campo (1988: 31-33) found a series of remains from this shells at Cerro Huarmey River (Bonavia 2009: 264). Bonavia et al. (2001: 303) also reported the discovery
Culebras, a site in the lower Chillón Valley. of this type of bivalve in this same zone at the site of La Laguna (PV35-104), in the lower

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Huarmey Valley and in a littoral context that dates to 5320 B.C. Just like the continuity Ostrea columbensis has also been found in shell workshops at Cabeza de Vaca, some six
in the consumption of other molluscs, the evidence seems to indicate this was also the kilometres away from the city of Tumbes, which date to the Chimú and Inca occupations (ca.
pattern in the case of the chorito in the lower Huarmey Valley. A.D. 1100-1520) (Hocquenghem and Peña Ruiz 1994: 214). It is believed even so that it may have
been part of the food eaten at this site.
As part of the Chan Chan Project, Pozorski (1979: 166) managed to document the
consumption of Semimytilus algosus in some of the site she studied: Padre Abán, Alto
Salaverry, Gramalote, and in minimum amounts in later sites up to the Chimú culture, Oyster [Ostra] (Ostrea angelica)
which means it was eaten in this zone since at least 2330 B.C. It was evidently also eaten in
previous epochs, as with the Moche, for it has been found in the excavations at the Huaca Elera et al. (1992: 18) discovered remains of Ostrea angelica during the White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D.
del Sol, ca. A.D. 300-600 (Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 123), as well as in the associated 100) and Chimú (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations of Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley.
Huaca de la Luna (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129).

Elera et al. (1992: 18) showed the presence of the chorito at Puémape which is also on the Peruvian Scallop [Conchuela, Concha de Abanico or Se orita] (Argopecten purpuratus)
North Coast, which was eaten in three periods: during the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.),
Red-on-White (200 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimú (1,000-1,460) occupation. This is a species of the Pectinidae family that lives at the bottom of the sandy and gravel zone
in the sublittoral, at depths of 4-30 metres, that was highly regarded for its meat (Bonavia 1982:
Lockard (2005: 195) documented the food eaten at the site of Galindo in the middle 184). It certainly was an essential part of the pre-Hispanic diet (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 184).
Moche Valley during the Mochica occupation (A.D. 600-800), which was eaten with less
intensity during the Chimú occupation (A.D. 1000-1460). Argopecten purpuratus ranges from Nicaragua to Coquimbo (Chile), but in Peru it concentrates
from Sechura to Asia. It is found at a depth of 6.50-19 metres, in sheltered areas and in
Semimytilus algosus has also been found in the excavations at the monumental site of association with algae, so its presence entails diving (Sánchez Romero 1973: 257).
Cahuachi, so it was probably also consumed by the Nasca people during the first centuries
of the Christian era (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 4). Probably the earliest remains showing this shell was eaten come from the upper Zaña Valley
(in the Lambayeque region), where Tom Dillehay (2011: 334) and his team recorded remains in
The presence of Semimytilus algosus was also recorded at the ceremonial site of Cerro strata whose date averages to 8011-5954 B.C.
Culebras which belongs to the Lima culture (A.D. 100-550). This indicates it was part of
the alimentary stock of the people who lived in this site in the Chillón Valley (Bazán del Few remains of Argopecten purpuratus have been excavated at Cero Lampay, a site north
Campo 1988: 31-33). of Lima that dates to 2410-2064 B.C. Even so, at present the documentation available on
the consumption of this mollusc comes from La Laguna, a site north of the mouth of the
Chorito was also in regular demand during the Inca occupation of the site of Pueblo Viejo- Huarmey River that dates to around 5320 B.C., where it comprised over 9% of the diet of the
Pucará in the lower Lurín Valley, as follows from the archaeological research undertaken early population in this zone (Bonavia et al. 2001: 303).
by Lucia Watson (2008: 121).
Argopecten purpuratus has been found in middens—the remains of the food eaten—at
Semimytilus algosus comprised 10%-14% of the total molluscs eaten in enclosures 24-25 Bandurria, a site close to Huacho on the Central Coast of Peru (Chu 2008: 138).
of ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley, which has been dated to
A.D. 1520, i.e. literally at the close of the Inca Empire (Béarez et al. 2003: 58). Argopecten purpuratus was also excavated in the garbage of the domestic dwellings in Chilca,
south of Lima, so it may have been consumed in this site between 3794 and 1530 B.C. It should
be noted that its consumption comprised 19% of the total, which means it was significant in
[Ostra Negra] (Ostrea columbensis) the diet of this early group (Capps 1987: 49). Capps himself (1987: 58) noted its presence in
Asia, a site in the Mala Valley that dates to 1490 B.C.
Domestic accumulations of shells where Ostra columbensis abound have been at El Porvenir,
a site on the southern banks of the Zarumilla River (Tumbes) with dates that range between Mercedes Cárdenas (1999) excavated Salinas de Chao, a site on the North Coast of Peru, where
4700 and 4300 B.C. They comprise 97% of the food (Moore 2007a, 2007b, 2011). she documented a large amount of Argopecten purpuratus. This means it may have been
eaten somewhat intensively in this zone since at least 1900 B.C.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Quilter et al. (1991: 280) noticed the remains of Argopecten purpuratus in the archaeological rubbish Watson (2008: 121) documented a sizable amount of Argopecten purpuratus in domestic
at the ceremonial site of El Paraíso in the Chillón Valley north of Lima, which dates to 2150 B.C. contexts during the Inca occupation of Pueblo Viejo-Pucará, a site in the Lurín Valley. Béarez
et al. (2003: 66) reported the presence of this type of bivalve as food residues in enclosures
Remains of Argopecten purpuratus were identified in the Gallery of Offerings at Chavín de 24-25 of ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley, with a mean date of
Huántar, with dates that ranged to 1218-812 B.C. It may have been part of the diet at this site A.D. 1520.
even though these remains do not come from domestic contexts (Sandweiss and Rodríguez
1993: 407).
Scallop [Conchuela, Concha de Abanico] (Argopecten circularis)
Argopecten purpuratus has likewise been documented in sites on the North Coast like Padre
Abán and Caballo Muerto even in the Late Intermediate Period, albeit in low frequencies. Elera et al. (1992: 18) documented this type of Argopecten circularis at Puémape, in the lower
These sites fall between 2300 B.C. and A.D. 1460, which means it was eaten throughout this Jequetepeque Valley during the White-on-Red occupation (200 B.C.-A.D. 100).
period on the North Coast.
It was also eaten by the inhabitants of the Ostra archaeological site immediately north
In the modern-day Piura region slightly further north is Loma Valverde, a site in the upper of Chimbote, with dates that average 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and Sandweiss 2001: 1086,
Piura River, in the province of Morropón, for which Peter Kaulicke (1991: 414) reported the Sandweiss 1996: 44). Cárdenas et al. (1997: 129) reported the presence of Argopecten
discovery of Argopecten purpuratus in the midst of the food refuse left by the Salinar and circularis during the Mochica occupation of the Huaca de la Luna, in the lower Moche
Mochica population of this area ca. 350 B.C.-A.D. 450. Valley, ca. A.D. 400-650.

Argopecten purpuratus was found in the excavations at Puémape in association with the
Cupisnique (1,000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) Scallop. [Ostión] (Chama pellucida)
occupations (Elera et al. 1992: 18). Lockard (2005: 195) reported a very low consumption of
Argopecten purpuratus during the Moche occupation (A.D. 600-800) of Galindo, in the lower Bonavia (1982: 184) documented the remains of Chama pellucida in the lower Huarmey Valley,
Moche Valley. so it is possible that it was eaten since the third millennium B.C. According to Bonavia this is a
species that is found strongly adhered to large rocks in the high and low tide marks. The rocky
The consumption of Argopecten purpuratus has also been reported in Mochica contexts at littoral is its habitat. This is a warm-seas species.
the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna, in the Moche Valley (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129,
Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 123).
Scallop [Ostión] (Pseudochama corrugata)
The Mochica of Pampa Grande (Lambayeque) also seem to have consumed Argopecten
purpuratus, at least in AD. 711-800 (Pozorski and Pozorski 1981: 32). Elera et al. (1992: 18) have shown that this mollusc was found the middens of Puémape, in the
lower Jequetepeque Valley, so it is quite possible that it was consumed at least during the
Miller and Burger (1995: 435) found remains of Argopecten purpuratus in the town beside the Chimu occupation of this site (A.D. 1000-1,460).
temple of Chavín de Huántar, which was literally an exotic item in a site far-removed from the
sea (at least 120 km in a straight line) in 500-400 B.C. Since these are offerings it is not easy
establishing whether it was eaten. [Concha Pata de Mula, Piconuda] (Trachycardium procerum)
The research undertaken at the monumental site of Cahuachi likewise found Argopecten Trachycardium procerum has a high nutritional value (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 184). Once
purpuratus as part of the food eaten by its people during the first centuries of the Christian again, Elera et al. (1992: 18) documented the discovery of Trachycardium procerum at Puémape,
era (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 4). in the lower Jequetepeque Valley. It may have been part of the food eaten by its inhabitants
during the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimu (A.D.
Argopecten purpuratus has been documented in the excavations of the ceremonial site of 1000-1460) occupations. It may thus have been eaten for a very long time.
Cerro Culebras—which belongs to the Lima culture (A.D. 100-550). It is therefore clear that
this type of mollusc was already being eaten in Lima by its ancient inhabitants (Bazán del
Campo 1988: 31-33).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

[Almeja Fina, Berberecho] (Mexicardia procera) gathered on sandy soils close to rocky areas, at a depth between one and thirty metres in
the intertidal area.
At present only one find has been made of this bivalve at Pampa Grande (Lambayeque), a
Mochica site, dated to ca. A.D. 711-800. It may thus have been eaten since then (Shimada and Scant remains of Protothaca thaca have been excavated at the site of Quebrada de los Burros in
Shimada 1981: 132). Tacna (Lavallée et al. 1999: 38). The clams were roasted directly over the campfires, along with
wedge clams (machas) and rock shells chanques. The hearths were radiocarbon dated to 7900-
4500 B.C.
[Piconudo] (Trachicardium sp.)
Further north from Quebrada de Los Burros is the Ring Site south of Ilo, in Moquegua. Here
Peter Kaulicke (1991: 414) reported the presence of the mollusc called piconudo at Loma Sandweiss (1989: 63) documented remains of Protothaca thaca that were apparently eaten
Valverde, a site in the upper Piura Valley that was dated to 350 B.C.-A.D. 450, i.e. the Salinar since around 4000 B.C.
and Mochica occupations. It formed part of this people’s diet, albeit in small amounts.
Even so, at present the earliest possible case in which this clam was eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru
was found by Tom Dillehay et al. (2011: 334) in the Upper Zaña Valley (Lambayeque), where it
Clam [Almeja] (Transenella pannosa) has been found in contexts that date to 8011-5954 B.C.

This species lives buried in the sandy littoral environment, and is quite frequent in the sea Protothaca thaca has also been found south of Lima in the middens of Paloma, a site that
south of Callao. Bonavia (1982: 185) reported its presence at Los Gavilanes, a site in the lower comprises several camps, human burials and food refuse left by its inhabitants (Reitz 1988:
Huarmey Valley, so it may have been consumed since the third millennium B.C. 314). The strata where it was found date to 5316-3630 B.C.

Only a small clam fragment was found at Cerro Lampay in the Fortaleza Valley north of Lima
[Piojosa] (Dosinia dunkeri) (Vega-Centeno 2007). The site, as has been shown, dates to 2410-2064 B.C. Small amounts
of Protothaca thaca were found in the hearths at Caral in the Supe Valley, some even with
Elera et al. (1992: 18) have documented this mollusc on the Peruvian north at Puémape, a site charcoal remains indicating they had been roasted [asadas] around 2600-1800 B.C. (Flores
in the lower Jequetepeque Valley. It may have been eaten during the White-on-Red (200 B.C.- Blanco 2006: 148). Protothaca taca was likewise discovered at Caral in Sector A with a date
A.D. 100), and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations. of ca. 2418-2185 B.C. It may have been eaten then but in very small amounts, as it comprises
0.49% of the molluscs eaten (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114).

[Concha Rayada] (Chione sp., Chione subrugosa) Quilter et al. (1991: 280) showed that Protothaca thaca was eaten at least since 2150 B.C.
in places like El Paraíso, in the lower Chillón Valley and very close to modern-day Lima.
The oldest evidence that Chione was eaten comes from Ostra, a site north of Chimbote Protothaca thaca was excavated among the food remains found at Pampa de Llamas, a site in
where it has been found somewhat frequently. This site is dated to 5462-3711 B.C. (Reitz and the lower Casma Valley that dates to 2088-1243 B.C. It has been found in such amounts that it
Sandweiss 2001: 1086, Sandweiss 1996: 44). must have filled large containers (Pozorski and Pozorski 1986: 397).

Elera et al. (1992: 18) recorded the remains of Chione at Puémape in the lower Jequetepeque Kaulicke (1991: 414reported clam remains in the domestic areas of Loma Valverde, a site in the
Valley, so it is possible that it was eaten in the White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100) and Chimu upper Piura River, in the modern Piura region. Based on this evidence, Kaulicke believes that
(A.D. 1000-1460) cultures. this site’s Salinar population ate this mollusc around 350 B.C.-A.D. 450.

A large percentage of Protothaca thaca has been documented somewhat further to the north
Venus shell... [Almeja or Almeja Rayada] (Protothaca thaca) at El Porvenir, a site on the southern bank of the Zarumilla River (Tumbes) and almost on the
frontier with Ecuador, which dated 790-400 B.C. (Moore 2007a: 15).
This is a mollusc that lives buried in the sandy littoral zone, which in recent times has
been little eaten (Bonavia 1982: 185). It is known to have a high nutritional value (Vásquez Clam remains have been found for later dates in some North Coast sites like Padre Abán,
and Rosales 1998: 184). According to Elizabeth Reitz (1988: 314), Protothaca thaca can be Caballo Muerto, and Caracoles, all around the Moche Valley (Pozorski 1979: 166), and all dating

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

to at least ca. 2300 B.C. It is striking that at Gramalote (a site that dates at least to 1810 B.C.), Quebrada Tacahuay, a site south of the modern-day city of Ilo in the Moquegua littoral, in a
this clam comprised 13.6% of the food found in the middens, which means it was an important stratum that was radiocarbon dated to 10730-10080 B.C.
component in the diet of this North Coast people.
Mulinia edulis has also been found in considerable amounts at Quebrada de los Burros, a site
Cutright (2009: 177) found few remains of Protothaca thaca at Pedregal, a site in the lower in the Tacna littoral dated to 7900-4500 B.C. (Lavallée and Béarez 2012: 128).
Jequetepeque Valley, where it was eaten during the Chimu epoch. Puémape is in this same
zone in the Jequetepeque Valley. Here Elera et al. (1992: 18) documented the remains of this Mulinia edulis came third among the molluscs eaten by the inhabitants of the monumental
species, which means that it was probably eaten during the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White- pre-Hispanic site of Bandurria, which dates to 3170-1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 138).
on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) epochs.
Evidence that this bivalve was eaten, this time from the Late Holocene, come from Caral, a
Lockard (2005: 195) also reported the presence of this species during the Mochica occupation site excavated by Ruth Shady. Flores Blanco (2006: 157) reports that remains were found in
(A.D. 600-800) of Galindo, a site in the middle Moche Valley, albeit in very small amounts. semi-charred hearths. This means they were roasted before being eaten around 2600-1800
Pozorski and Pozorski (2003: 123) likewise documented this species in their excavation of the B.C. It was likewise reported that Mulinia edulis is also found at Caral (sector A), but it just
middens at Huaca del Sol during its Mochica occupation in the first centuries of our era, as comprises 1.15% of all molluscs. It may thus have comprised a small part of the diet of its early
well as in the Huaca de la Luna (Cárdenas et al. 1997: 129), which has similar dates, which means inhabitants in 2418-2185 B.C. (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114).
the Mochica were familiar with Protothaca thaca and ate it.
Mulinia edulis clams have been found—albeit averaging only 2.17%—in the excavations at
Dating to this same epoch—i.e., the Mochica epoch—is La Mina, a site on the left lower Huaricanga in the Fortaleza Valley north of Lima, with dates that range between 3600 and
Jequetepeque Valley where a very small amount of remains of this bivalve, which may have 600 B.C. It may have been part of the diet of the people who inhabited this site (Creamer et
been eaten, has been found (Vásquez and Rosales 1994: 86). The Italian team at Cahuachi on al. 2011: 186).
the other hand found several remains of this type of clam, which means the Nasca ate it
during the first centuries of the Christian era (Piacenza and Pieri 2012:4). Quilter et al. (1991: 280) documented the remains of this bivalve in the middens left behind as
refuse of the food eaten at El Paraíso, a site immediately north of Lima in the mouth of the
Chillón River, dated to at least 2150 B.C.
[Concha Tabaco] (Protothaca aspérrima)
Few remains have been found at Ring Site south of the city of Ilo, in Moquegua (Sandweiss et
Protothaca aspérrima was found on the North Coast at Puémape, a site in the lower al. 1989: 63), so it is highly likely that it formed part of the food eaten by the inhabitants of
Jequetepeque Valley, particularly during the White on Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100) and Chimu (A.D. this site since around 8000 B.C.
1000-1460) epochs (Elera et al. 1992: 18).
Mulinia edulis was also found in the analysis of enclosures 24-25 of ramp pyramid III B at
Pachacamac, in the lower Lurín Valley, as was noted by Béarez et al. (2003: 66), which means
Clam [Almeja] (Petricola rugosa) it was part of the food the people in this zone ate at least in A.D. 1520, according to the
radiocarbon dates obtained.
Petricola rugosa has been excavated in very small amounts at Caral, in the Casma Valley, and
more specifically in Sector A, which dates to 2418-2185 B.C. (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114).
[Almejita] (Spisula adamsi)
The research undertaken by Elera et al. (1992: 18) recorded this mollusc at Puémape, in the
lower Jequetepeque Valley It is therefore very likely that it was eaten during the Cupisnique Spisula adamsi is known for its high nutritional value (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 184). The
(1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) occupations. research by Elera et al. (1992: 18) documented it at Puémape in the lower Jequetepeque Valley,
so it was probably consumed at this site during the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red
(1000 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimu (1000-1460) occupations.
Clam [Almeja, Taquilla] (Mulinia edulis)
It has also been found by Mercedes Cárdenas (1999) in her excavations at Salinas de Chao,
This type of clam was consumed in pre-Hispanic Peru since the late last Ice Age. DeFrance and where it was determined to have been the most important foodstuff in this people’s diet
Umire (2004: 271) documented the few remains of the clams eaten by the first inhabitants of since at least 1900 B.C.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

The same can be said for La Mina, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, where an early It was perhaps most eaten during the Mochica (A.D. 600-800) and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) occupation
Mochica tomb was found with remains of this mollusc, albeit in small amounts (Vásquez and of Galindo, a site in the middle Moche Valley, especially by the elite (Lockard 2005: 195).
Rosales 1994: 86).
Cutright (2009: 177) reported, also for the North Coast, that palabritas comprised 33% of all
molluscs eaten at Pedregal (a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley), so it was a major part of the
Clam [Almeja, Se orita, Conchita, Palabrita, Mariposa] (Donax peruvianus, Donax obesulus) diet of this rural Chimu population. In this same valley, the people of Pacatnamú ate this mollusc
preferentially during the Chimu occupation (Gumerman 1991).
This type of bivalve is found buried in sandy soils, particularly south of Piura (Bonavia 1982:
185), and it has a high nutritional value (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 184). Cárdenas et al. (1997: 129) and Roselló et al. (2001: 75-76) found that palabritas were eaten by the
Mochica population at the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna in the Moche Valley, with dates
It is quite probably eaten since 8011-5954 B.C., as was shown by the archaeological research ranging between A.D. 470 and A.D. 600. It was, in fact the mollusc most eaten (it provided 2.7% of all
undertaken by Tom Dillehay et al. (2011: 335) in the upper Zaña Valley (Lambayeque), which is the meat eaten) at the Huaca del Sol or in the Moche Valley, in a Mochica context, ca. A.D. 300-500.
at present the earliest record of this bivalve being eaten.
Several shells from this type of mollusc have been found in houses and kitchens in these classic
An early record of palabritas being eaten was found on the Central Coast. Donax obesulus Moche sites. These for instance include a Gallinazo-Moche settlement that dates to ca. A.D. 100
was found in the excavations at Sector A of Caral, with dates that range to 2418-2185 B.C., so in the Middle Moche Valley called Santa Rosa-Quirihuac, where a significant presence of Donax
it may have been consumed at this time (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114). was detected; an even more significant presence was recorded at Ciudad de Dios, a Moche site just
four kilometres away from the previous site, ca. A.D. 400 (Gumerman and Briceño 2003: 231-238).
Donax obesulus has been documented in North Coast archaeological sites since at least 2300
B.C. (Pozorski 1979: 166, table 1). It is not too representative, but it is interesting that it was Vásquez et al. (2003: 37) drew attention to the significant presence of this mollusc in the plain
found in all of the sites Pozorski studied, including Padre Abán, Alto Salaverry, Gramalote, that extends between the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna in the Moche Valley, where it
Caballo Muerto, Cerro Arena, Huaca de la Luna, and above all Cerro La Virgen, a Chimú-Inca comprised 64% of the molluscs eaten during the Final Moche occupation (ca. A.D. 571-685). The
occupation where it comprised 25% of the diet. According to Pozorski, palabritas can simply Lambayeque Moche, like in the case of Pampa Grande, consumed this type of mollusc ca. A.D.
be gathered by hand when the tide retreats. 711-800 (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 32).

Mercedes Cárdenas (1999) found a large amount of Donax peruvianus in her excavations at The clams from this species were a major resource in the zone of Lambayeque, at least from the
Salinas de Chao (North Coast), with dates that begin at 1900 B.C. Cupisnique culture to Late Sicán, i.e. ca. 1300 B.C.-A.D. 1400 (Klaus and Tam 2010: 596).

Kaulicke (1991: 414) reported the presence of this type of clam in domestic contexts somewhat It is also known that considerable amounts of this mollusc were eaten in Chimu times (A.D. 1030-
further to the north at Loma Valverde, a site in the upper Piura River, in 350 B.C.-A.D. 450, i.e. 1230) by the people of Santa Rita B, a site in the Chao Valley (Bethard et al. 2008: 25).
the Mochica and Salinar populations in this region.
The people of Pueblo Viejo-Pucará, a site in the lower Lurín Valley, ate small amounts of this
In their research on the type of food eaten at Cerro Blanco (a site in the lower Nepeña Valley), mollusc in Inca times (Watson 2008: 120).
Ikehara and Shibata (2005: 144) found the remains of this type of clam, which had been part of
the feasts they reconstructed at this site and that were held in 1100-250 B.C. In their excavations in ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac, in the Lurín Valley, Béarez et al. (2003:
58) found the mollusc most eaten in enclosures 24 and 25 was Donax obesulus, which comprised
Donax obesulus was found in the Gallery of Offerings at Chavín de Huántar, in the period 38% of all molluscs eaten here. This context gave a date of A.D. 1520, i.e. during the fall of the
1218-812 B.C. (Sandweiss and Rodríguez 1993: 406). Although it was not found in contexts of Inca Empire in this zone.
domestic consumption, it may have been part of the food the people in this well-known
archaeological site had.
Razor clam [Navaja or Pico de Pato] (Tagelus peruvianus)
Donax obesulus was also documented at Puémape, at least since the time of the Cupisnique
(1000 B.C.) culture, through the White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100) and even during the Chimu Tagelus peruvianus is found from Panamá to Tumbes and Valdivia (Sánchez Romero 1973: 278).
culture (A.D. 1000-1460); so it is very likely that it was eaten at this archaeological site in those Elera et al. (1992:18) reported the discovery of this mollusc at Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque
times (Elera et al. 1992: 18). Valley, where it apparently was used as food, particularly during the Chimu occupation of this site.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Razor clam [Chaveta] (Tagelus dombeii) The Mochica ate Semele corrugata at the Huaca del Sol in the lower Moche Valley (Pozorski
and Pozorski 2003: 123), and those of the Huaca de la Luna had it in similar epochs (Cárdenas
This type of mollusc was very probably eaten at Puémape, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, et al. 1997: 129).
during the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (300-100 B.C.), and Chimu (A.D. 1000-
1470) occupations (Elera et al. 1992: 18). Vásquez and Rosales (1994: 86) documented Semele corrugata at La Mina, a site in the lower
Jequetepeque Valley that belongs to the initial phase of the Mochica culture. It was also eaten
by the Pampa Grande (Lambayeque) Mochica around A.D. 711.800 (Shimada y Shimada 1981: 32).
Clam [Almeja] (Semele corrugata)
Semele corrugata was reported at Loma Valverde, a site in the upper Piura River, and dated to ca.
The habitat of Semele corrugata is the sandy littoral is the Central and South Coast (Bonavia 350 B.C-A.D. 450, which corresponds to the Salinar and Mochica occupations (Kaulicke 1991: 414).
1982: 185), where it is found from Chimbote (Peru) to the Chonos archipelago (Chile) buried
at a depth of some 10 cm. However, unlike machas, it is found farther away from the littoral
and is concentrated on the South Coast, particularly around Pisco (Sánchez Romero 1973: 257). Clam [Almeja] (Semele solida)
The consumption in Peru of this type of clam, which has a high nutritional value (Vásquez Elera et al. (1992: 18) showed the presence of the remains of this type of clam, which probably
and Rosales 1998: 84), goes back to the Terminal Pleistocene. DeFrance and Umire (2004: 271) was part of the diet eaten by the people of Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley,
excavated Quebrada Tacahuay, a site on the littoral immediately south of Ilo in Moquegua, during the Cupisnique (in the first millennium B.C.) and Chimu (ca. A.D. 1000-1460) cultures.
where they found few remains of Semele corrugata in a stratum that was dated to 10730-
10080 B.C.
Wedge clams... [Machas] (Mesodesma donacium)
Semele sp. has been found in negligible amounts (0.34%) but it quite possible was part of
the food eaten by the ancient people of Caral’s Sector A, dated to 2418-2,185 B.C. (Shady Mesodesma donacium was one of the bivalves most eaten during the pre-Hispanic epoch.
and Leiva 2003: 114). Its habitat is the sandy, mid-littoral zone where it lies buried, and it is characterised by its
good locomotion and the greatly developed foot (Bonavia 1982: 185). Lavallée et al. (1999: 39)
Like Protothaca thaca, only a fragment of Semele corrugata has been excavated in an claim it may hold the largest proportion of protein among all of the shellfish that were eaten
archaeological midden at Cerro Lampay, in the Fortaleza Valley (Vega-Centeno 2007). The by ancient Peruvians (23.2%), as well as a high calcium value (171.8 mg for each 100 grams).
site dates to 2410-2064 B.C. We should recall in this regard that calcium is essential for the organism as it forms and
strengthens bones, prevents circulatory diseases, has cicatrizant properties, etc. We therefore
Capps (1987: 36 and 58) found some remains of this species at Paloma, in the vicinity of need to bear these values in mind when assessing the quality of the pre-Hispanic diet.
Chilca south of Lima, with dates that ranged between 5316 B.C. and 3630 B.C., as well as in
Asia (in the Mala Valley) at ca. 1490 B.C. Mesodesma donacium comprises 143 kilo/calories for each 100 grams. With these 100 grams
as a referential value, these have sodium (248.3 mg), potassium (119.7 mg), and magnesium (83.6
Some time ago Patterson and Moseley (1968: 117) reported the presence in their excavations at mg). Mesodesma donacium can be gathered both on the beach as well as on sandy bottoms. Its
Ancón, of Semele corrugata in the Camino component of the Playa Hermosa (Ancón) phase, spatial distribution extends from Sechura Bay (Peru) to Chiloé Island (Chile) (Sánchez Romero
which dates to 3063 B.C. We have seen, however, that there is no in-depth documentation 1973: 257), 5-15 metres behind the tide line, so that it can be pulled out using the foot, especially
of these finds. during the summer months (Nancy Chávez Cornejo, personal communication, 17.8.2010).

Shelia Pozorski (1979: 167) reported the presence of Semele corrugata in some North Coast Macha consumption in Peru goes back in time to the arrival of the first human groups
sites between ca. 2300 B.C. and the time of the Inca, but it is worth pointing out that to this part of the Andes. Some macha shell mounds reach up to ten metres high, which
this clam was important in the diet of sites such as Gramalote—which dates at least to shows how intensively this bivalve was gathered and eaten since the preceramic epoch
1810 B.C.—and Caballo Muerto—which developed between the Initial Period and the (Carré 2007).
Early Horizon (ca. 1800-300 B.C.); for instance, at Gramalote it comprised up to 25% of the
resources eaten (Pozorski and Pozorski 1979: 422). Mesodesma donacium has been eaten on the South Coast since the last Ice Age. Daniel
Sandweiss et al. (1998) discovered that 99% of the molluscs at Quebrada Jaguay, a site in the

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

vicinity of the modern city of Camaná, are machas. The dates for this site range between Alejandro Chu (2008: 138) reported that the macha was the mollusc most frequently eaten at
11040 B.C. and 9384 B.C. Bandurria, in the vicinity of Huacho north of Lima. The radiocarbon dates for this site range
between 3170 B.C. and 1670 B.C.
A few kilometres to the north on the littoral is the complex of sites known as Pampa Colorada,
which is almost on the mouth of the Ocoña River (Arequipa). Here Heather McInnis (2006) As with choros, a massive amount of machas has been excavated at Cerro Lampay, a Preceramic
headed intensive excavations and found a large amount of machas at site PC-500, with dates ceremonial site in the Fortaleza Valley on the coast of Lima (Vega-Centeno 2007). These finds
ranging between 9200 B.C. and 7490 B.C. Machas are massively found in the others sites, of were dated to 2410-2064 B.C.
which there are dozens.
The presence of Mesodesma donacium has been documented at Caral (Shady et al. 2001) as part
One of the earliest finds of macha consumption comes from Quebrada de los Burros (Lavallée of the marine resources gathered during the occupation of the site, which is estimated to have
et al. 1999: 37), an archaeological site where hearths or campfires were found in encampments taken place in 2585-1938 B.C. Machas had a significant role among the food eaten by its inhabitants,
made out of perishable materials. These hold a regular amount of machas, many of which had and may have even been subjected to fire as they have also been found in hearths (Flores Blanco
traces of charcoal, due to their exposition to fire. The dates given by these hearths range to 2006: 148). In another Caral (Sector A) report it is claimed that in 2418-2185 B.C. macha (Mesodesma
7900-4500 B.C. donacium) was the second most-eaten mollusc after choro with 27.35%. (Shady and Leiva 2003:
114). Just like at Quebrada de los Burros, here we see the machas were simply roasted.
Mesodesma donacium was also eaten in Southern Peru even in most ancient times, as follows
from the finds made at the Ring Site on the coast of Ilo, in Moquegua. Here Sandweiss et al. Mesodesma donacium has been found in Ancón sites belonging to the Conchas phase
(1989: 63) have reported its presence since the beginning of this site’s occupation ca. 9500 B.C., (Patterson and Moseley 1968: 117), which dates to 2722 B.C.
as follows from the validity of the radiocarbon dates obtained from seashells. This is the third
most-eaten mollusc at this site. Although Mesodesma donacium was not significant in the diet of the archaeological sites
between the Moche and Huanchaco Valleys studied by Pozorski (1979: 166), it was still a part
But Mesodesma donacium was apparently also eaten at quite an early date on the North of their diet. It has been found at Padre Abán, Alto Salaverry, and Galindo. The first of these
Coast, as shown by the excavations made by Tom Dillehay (2011: 334) in the upper Zaña Valley, sites dates at least to 2300 B.C., and Galindo up to A.D. 800, so machas were eaten in this
where it has been found several archaeological sites that date to 8011-5,954 B.C. part of Peru at this time.

At Paloma, a Middle Holocene site south of Lima in the Chilca Valley, just seven kilometres The machas found at the Huaca del Sol, a site in the lower Moche Valley, also date to around this
away from the sea, Benfer (1990) and Capps (1987: 36) excavated a large number of camp sites time, so here they were also eaten by the Moche (Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 123). Pozorski and
of a domestic nature, where the remains of the machas eaten were found. The radiocarbon Pozorski (1986: 397) reported the presence of large pockets of Mesodesma donacium due to its
dates place this in 5316-3630 B.C. A similar date—5320 B.C.—was documented for macha consumption at Pampa de Llamas, a site in the lower Casma Valley that dates to ca. 2088-1243 B.C.
consumption at La Laguna (PV35-106), a site in the littoral zone immediately north of the
Huarmey Valley (Bonavia et al. 2001: 303). Again, Capps (1987: 58) showed that at Asia (a site in Quilter et al. (1991: 279) reported the high occurrence of machas at El Paraíso, a site quite close
the Mala Valley, on the Central Coast) most of the molluscs eaten were machas ca. 1490 B.C. to the mouth of the Chillón Valley, where they were eaten since at least 2100 B.C.

Krzysztof Makowski (2004) pointed out that machas were the major item consumed at the Machas (Mesodesma donacium) were also excavated in the Gallery of the Offerings at Chavín
preceramic site of Tablada de Lurín (Lima). The site, which comprises a series of camps and de Huántar with a mean date of 1218-812 B.C. (Sandweiss and Rodríguez 1993: 406), but it is as
lithic workshops, is close to the mouth of the Lurín Valley and dates to ca. 5621-5040 B.C. yet unknown whether they were eaten or not.

Creamer et al. (2011: 185) reported that in 3600-670 B.C. the mollusc most eaten at Huaricanga, Elera et al. (1992: 18) reported the presence of Mesodesma donacium at Puémape, a site in the
a public preceramic monument on the left margin of the Fortaleza Valley, some 23 km from the lower Jequetepeque Valley, throughout all of the periods studied: Cupisnique (1000 B.C.-A.D.
sea, was the macha—38% overall. A lower proportion of machas (12%) was found at Porvenir, 200) White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460).
a site in this same valley, which dated to 3720-1280 B.C. (Creamer et al. 2011: 185).
Puémape is south of the lower Jequetepeque Valley on the North Coast, and its oldest According to Lockard (2005: 195), machas were on the other hand the second bivalve most
occupation is dated to 3008-2329 B.C. Lanfranco et al. (2009: 5) showed that machas comprised eaten by the Mochica (A.D. 600-800) and the Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) of Galindo, a site on the
over 11% of this site’s diet. North Coast in the middle Moche Valley.

448 449
Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

The excavations an Italian team has undertaken in the Cahuachi shrine, in a Nasca context, Eurhomalea rufa was excavated at Caral, where it was probably eaten albeit in very small
reported the discovery of Mesodesma donacium as the residue of food eaten during the first amounts (1.15%) in Sector A, which dates to 2418-2185 B.C. (Shady and Leiva 2003: 114).
centuries of the Christian era (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 4).
Pozorski (1979: 166) also found the remains of this clam in some North Coast archaeological
Bazán del Campo (1988: 31-33) has also noted that Mesodesma donacium is the major mollusc sites like Padre Abán, Alto Salaverry, and Gramalote, which date to ca. 2300-1200 B.C. The
found in the excavations at Cerro Culebras, a Lima site (A.D. 100-550) in the lower Chillón percentages in which it was consumed in these sites are not however significant.
Valley.
Pozorski and Pozorski (1986: 397) also found the clams consumed at Pampa de Llamas, a site in
Mesodesma donacium was also a significant part of the diet of the people of the Central Coast the lower Casma Valley, that dated to 2088-1243 B.C.
in late epochs, like in Inca times. So much so that for instance Watson (2008: 121) reported
finding significant amounts of machas at Pueblo Viejo-Pucará, a Late Horizon—i.e. the Inca Clam remains (Eurhomalea rufa) have been found in the middens of El Paraíso, an
epoch—site in the Lurín Valley. archaeological site north of Lima and close to the mouth of the Chillón Valley that goes
back to 2150 B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 280). Elera et al. (1992: 18) also showed that this type
Mesodesma donacium comprised 18-29% of the molluscs eaten by the people of enclosures of clam was quite probably eaten at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, by
24-25 in ramp pyramid III B at Pachacamac, the archaeological shrine in the lower Lurín Valley the people of the Cupisnique (1000-200 B.C.), White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100), and Chimu
that dates to ca. A.D. 1520, i.e. the final phase of the Inca Empire, just shortly before the (A.D. 1000-1460) cultures.
Spanish (Béarez et al. 2003: 58); the importance its consumption had is therefore significant.

[Concha] (Mactra velata)


Venus shell [Abanico, Piojosa, Concha Blanca] (Tivella sp.)
Elera et al. (1992: 18) showed the presence of Mactra velata at Puémape, a site in the lower
Bonavia (1982: 184) documented some Tivella specimens (probably Tivella hians) at the site of Jequetepeque Valley, so that it may have been eaten in the White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100)
Los Gavilanes, which usually live buried in the sandy soil. and the Chimu (A.D. 1000-1460) epochs.

The oldest evidence of its possible consumption come from the excavation of archaeological
sites in the upper Zaña Valley that have been dated to 8011-5954 B.C. (Dillehay 2011: 334). Concha Mariposa (Iphigenia altior)
Gumerman (1991) found the remains of Tivella in his analysis of the food remains from Iphigenia altior was documented in the excavations Tom Dillehay (2011: 335) made in the upper
Pacatnamú, in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, where it was apparently eaten in considerable Zaña Valley, in archaeological contexts that date to 8011-5954 B.C., so it may have been eaten
amounts. So this type of mollusc was also eaten by the people of the Moche culture. since quite an early de time

[Cascabel Peruano] (Anomia peruviana) Sea Urchins

Anomia peruviana is a mollusc that has been found at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Sea urchins have been eaten in Peru since at least 5,000 years ago. Bird et al. (1985: 242) point
Valley, so it may have been eaten during the White-on-Red (200 B.C.-A.D. 100) and Chimu (A.D. out that their spines are common in the excavated layers of the site of Huaca Prieta, but no
1000-1460) periods (Elera et al. 1992: 18). reference is given regarding its chronology. These remains presumably date to at least the
second millennium B.C.

Clam [Almeja] (Eurhomalea rufa) Even more ancient are the green sea urchins found in the excavations at Quebrada de los
Burros in the Tacna littoral, in strata dated to 7900-4500 B.C. (Lavallée and Béarez 2012: 135).
A series of hearths with remains of Eurhomalea rufo, which have been dated to 7626-4501
B.C., were excavated at Quebrada de los Burros, an archaeological site in Tacna (Lavallée et al. Echinoderms like this type of urchin were eaten at sites like El Paraíso north of Lima, at least
1999: 38). since 2150 B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 280).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Bonavia (1982: 190) documented the presence of two species of Echinoidea in his research Percebes [Goose Barnacles?] and Crabs
at the site of Los Gavilanes: Tetrapygus niger (erizo gallinazo) and Arbacia spatuligera (erizo
rojo or erizo colorado). Both live in the rocky littoral, but Bonavia (1982: 390) believes the
former was eaten more throughout the Peruvian coast since the Preceramic epoch. Barnacles [Percebe, Pico de Loro] (Balanus spp.)
Sea urchin remains were found in the middens at Cerro Lampay, an archaeological site Balanus lives in the rocky littoral environment and it surely formed part of the pre-Hispanic
dated to 2410-2064 B.C. (Vega Centeno 2007), which means it may have been eaten during diet around 3000 B.C., as follows from the research done by Bonavia (1982: 189) at the site
this period of time. of Los Gavilanes

It is therefore clear that the list of sea urchin consumption could grow if the archaeological The oldest remains found in pre-Hispanic Peru seem to be those of the site of Quebrada
research teams determined the taxonomy of these marine species. Tacahuay (DeFrance and Umire 2004: 271), where they were found associated with evidence
of human activity in a stratum dated to 9730-9370 B.C. The barnacles found in the complex of
sites at Pampa Colorada, close to the mouth of the Ocoña River on the littoral of Arerquipa
Sea Urchin [Erizos de Mar] (Loxechinus albus) have somewhat similar dates of 9200-5400 B.C. (McInnis 2006: 381).

This type of sea urchin was consumed since at least 6500 B.C. at the site of Quebrada de Reitz (1988: 314) reported the presence of crustacea, crabs and barnacles (Balanus spp.) at
los Burros in the Tacna littoral. Paloma, an archaeological site south of Lima in the Chilca Valley, where they were eaten by
the early inhabitants of this zone ca. 5316-3630 B.C.
Loxechinus albus has also been found in the excavations at Bandurria, a monumental
preceramic site on the Central Coast north of Lima and close to the modern city of Huacho. Barnacles was also found in the excavations at Huaca Prieta, usually attached to the shells of
The dates obtained for the site range between 3170 and 1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 134). the molluscs. According to the site’s chronology, these may date to the second millennium B.C.

The remains of barnacles percebes (Balanus tintinnabulum) dating to 3008-2329 B.C. have been
[Piure, Ciruelo Colorado, Ciruelo de Mar] (Pyura, Pyura chilensis, Ascidiacea) found at Puémape in Lambayeque, and were most probably eaten as part of the diet of this people.

A species from the Ascidiacea group like Pyura chilensis (en echinoderm similar to the sea Lockard (2005: 195) documented scant remains of Balanus in the excavations at Galindo, a site
urchin that is commonly known as piure, ciruelo colorado or ciruelo de mar) was important in the Moche Valley, but it has also been found at Pampa Grande (Lambayeque) with dates
at the site of Padre Abán (with almost 17% of the overall consumption), so it was eaten since that go to A.D. 711-800 (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 32).
at least 2300 B.C. (Pozorski 1979: 168).
On the Central Coast, not far from Los Gavilanes, Bonavia (2009: 264) observed the presence
At Los Gavilanes, in the lower Huarmey Valley, Bonavia (1982: 191) reported the presence of of pico de loro (Balanus) on the beach at site PV35-4 north of the Huarmey Valley, which
significant amounts of Pyura chilensis, a species that lives on the rocks below the water, but belongs to the Middle Horizon (ca. A.D. 800).
it can also do so on the hard surface of the brown algae. Bonavia notes that the Huarmey
fishermen ate it as a cebiche with just a dash of lemon and salt.
[Percebe] (Chthamalus cirratus)
It is also found in significant amounts during the final Preceramic on the Central Coast, so
Bonavia believes that it was one of the molluscs most eaten on the coast in the pre-Hispanic Chthamalus cirratus has been documented in the excavations at Puémape, a site in the lower
period, even though it is usually left out in the reports of archaeological excavations. Jequetepeque Valley, and was dated to ca. 200 B.C. (Elera et al. 1992: 19), but there is no clear
evidence that it was eaten.
Bonavia et al. (2001: 304) also documented the remains of ciruelo de mar for an even older
date as 5320 B.C. at La Laguna, PV35-106, a site also on the littoral to the north of the The percentage of Chthamalus cirratus at the site of Galindo during its Moche occupation
Huarmey Valley. ca. A.D. 600-800 was significant for its people, and particularly for the elite (Lockard 2005).

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Taxonomically Unidentified Crabs (Pleocyemata cf. anomura and brachyura) Lavallée et al. (1999: 40) reported the presence of Platyxanthus orbignyi (Xanthidae) (of a
larger size than the ... [tijeretas]) in the middle levels—7900-4000 B.C.—of Quebrada de los
The alimentary value of the crab in fresh condition is 93% calories, 78% water, 17% proteins, Burros, on the Tacna littoral. It is worth pointing out they were frequently consumed because
1.9% fat, 1.8% ash, and particularly thiamine and vitamin C (each approximately 2%) (Cárdenas they appear throughout all of the sequence (Lavallée and Béarez 2012: 135).
et al. 1997: 140), so its presence should indicate a major alimentary potential.
This species was also mentioned by Bonavia (1982: 190) at Los Gavilanes, where it was part of
At present, apparently the earliest evidence of these crustacea having been eaten—the the diet of its preceramic population since around 3000 B.C.
common crab in particular—comes from the upper Zaña Valley in the modern-day Lambayeque
region, where Dillehay (2011: 334) documented a series of remains from these animals in a Alejandro Chu (2008: 134) reported the presence of Platyxanthus orbigny or cangrejo violáceo
stratum that dates to 8011-5954 B.C. So in Peru crabs have been eaten for over 10,000 years. in the food refuse left in the middens by the early people of Bandurria, a monumental
preceramic site in the vicinity of Huacho north of Lima, which was dated to 3170-1610 B.C.
A few crab remains, albeit without any taxonomic identification, were excavated at Cerro
Lampay, a site close to the mouth of the Fortaleza Valley on the modern-day coast of Lima Platyxanthus orbigny was eaten on North coast sites like Padre Abán, Alto Salaverry, and
(Vega-Centeno 2007). This is a midden with the food refuse close to a preceramic temple that Caballo Muerto, and even in Huaca de la Luna and Gramalote (ca. 1800 B.C.)—where it
dates to 2410-2064 B.C. comprised at least 5% of all food resources in this site—and others in the Chimu culture, i.e.
Chan Chan, that is to say 2300B.C.-A.D. 1460 (Pozorski 1979: 168).
Here we should likewise mention the crabs (just like that) Patterson and Moseley (1968: 117)
found in the Playa Hermosa phase of Ancón north of Lima. Although the documentation and This crab species has also been found at Puémape (a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley)
the radiocarbon dates for it are scant, we got an average of 2634 B.C. with a date of ca. 200 B.C. (Elera et al. 1992: 19).

Platyxanthus orbigny has been eaten by the Mochica and its ancestors on the North Coast,
Crabs [Cangrejos] (Calappidae) because they were found as part of the food eaten at the Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la
Luna in the Moche Valley, in A.D. 470-600 (Roselló et al. 2001: 78, Pozorski and Pozorski 2003:
Vásquez and Rosales (1998: 182) found this type of crabs in the Mochica urban site of Huaca de 123). According to Vásquez et al. (2003: 43), Platyxanthus orbignyi was the main crustacean
la Luna in A.D. 400-750. Although there is no evidence of its consumption, it is possible that the eaten at these sites in A.D. 571-685, i.e. during the late Moche culture in the valley of the
Moche may have eaten it, as is suggested by its multiple depictions in this culture’s ceramics. same name. This species also was a relatively major component of the diet of the Mochica
population of Galindo (Lockard 2005).

Crab [Cangrejo Tijereta] (Petrolisthes spp., Porcellanidae) Platyxanthus orbignyi was also documented at Pampa Grande (in the modern region of
Lambayeque), a Late Moche site (A.D. 711-800) (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 131).
In their excavations at the site of Quebrada de los Burros in Tacna, Lavallée et al. (1999: 40)
found the remains of this small crab that lives below the rocks in the intertidal zone, and is Robyn Cutright (2009: 177) found Platyxanthus orbignyi in the lower Jequetepeque Valley at
captured in a simple way since at least 7600 B.C. Pedregal, where it was eaten by the rural Chimu population that occupied the site ca. A.D.
1000-1460.

[Cangrejo Violáceo, Jaiva Morada, or Cangrejo Colorado] (Platyxanthus orbignyi)


Rock crab [Cangrejo Peludo, Jaiva Peluda] (Cancer setosus)
This species lives in the rocky-sandy ground of the infralittoral zone, at depths ranging
between ten and fifteen metres. It is widely consumed on the Peruvian coast because it is a This type of crab was eaten not just during the earliest stages of Quebrada de los Burros,
species that measures at least 10 cm long and weighs no less than 400-500 grams. in the Tacna littoral, but also up to the Middle Holocene, i.e. 7900-4500 B.C. (Lavallée and
Even so it is worth noting that thus far the oldest evidence of this crab having been eaten goes Béarez 2012: 135). It grows more than 10 cm long and weighs no less than 400-500 grams, which
back to 9000 B.C. as it has been found on the North Coast in the camps of the Paiján people, means it is edible.
in the middle Chicama Valley.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

[Cangrejo de Agua] (Arenaeus mexicanus) of this species were part of the food eaten at Puémape, a site in the lower Jequetepeque
Valley, ca. 200 B.C. (Elera et al. 1992: 19).
Arenaeus mexicanus has been documented at the urban site of Huaca de la Luna, so it is
possible the Mochica consumed it ca. A.D. 400-750 (Vásquez and Rosales 1998: 182). Remains of Callinectes toxotes were found at the site of Pampa Grande in the modern-day
Lambayeque region, which was dated to ca. A.D. 711-800 (Shimada and Shimada 1981: 131).

[Cangrejo Araña] (Maidias) and Cangrejo Piedra (Xanthidae)


Freshwater Crab [Cangrejo de Agua Dulce] (Hypollobocera)
Bird et al. (1995: 242) reported the presence of at least two crab species in the food remains
left at Huaca Prieta, i.e. a species (cangrejo araña) belonging to the Maidias family, and a This crab species was discovered in the excavations at Puémape, a site in the lower
cangrejo piedra (Xanthidae), so they may have been part of the food these early settlers had Jequetepeque Valley. It is not clear whether it was eaten or not, and its presence can be dated
some five thousand years ago. towards 200 B.C. (Elera et al. 1992: 19). Hypollobocera was also found at Galindo, in the Moche
Valley (Lockard 2005), both in the Mochica and in the Chimu context.

Rock crab [Jaiva] (Cancridae)


Crab [Cangrejito] (Cycloxanthops sexdecimdentatus)
This has been found in the urban zone of the Huaca de la Luna in the Moche Valley, specifically
in the context belonging to the culture of the same name in A.D. 400-750. Cycloxanthops sexdecimdentatus has been documented in the excavations at Puémape, in the
lower Jequetepeque Valley, which has been dated to ca. 200 B.C. (Elera et al. 1992: 19). It is not
clear whether it was part of the food eaten by the inhabitants of this site.
Sea Cucumber [Pepino de Mar] (Patabus mollis)
Patabus mollis is present in the middens of Bandurria, in the vicinity of Huacho and north of Painted Ghost Crab [Cangrejo Carretero] ([Ocypode?] gaudicgaudii)
Lima, which was dated to 3170-1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 134).
The remains of Ocypodo gaudicgaudii have been found at Puémape with dates that range
around 200 B.C., so it may have been part of the food eaten by the people who lived at this
Crab [Cangrejo de Arena] (Hepatus chiliensis) site (Elera et al. 1992: 19).

Bonavia (1982: 189) found the remains of this crab at the site of Los Gavilanes in the lower
Huarmey Valley, so its consumption can be dated to ca. 3000 B.C. This species lives in a sandy River crab [Cangrejo de Rio] (Hypollobocera sp.)
environment in the infralittoral zone, at depths that range between ten and fifteen feet. At
present it is being consumed in large amounts. Although scant, the oldest evidence of its consumption seems to come from the middle
Chicama Valley, where Gálvez Mora (1999: 44) excavated it at the domestic sites in Quebrada
Elera et al. (1992: 19) pointed out the presence of this crab at Puémape, a site in the lower Cuculicote; here the first human groups on the North Coast, i.e. people of the Paiján culture,
Jequetepeque Valley that dated to ca. 200 B.C., but it has not been conclusively shown that lived at least ca. 10,000 B.C.
it was eaten.
According to the research undertaken by Vásquez et al. (2003: 43), Hypollobocera was
Lockard (2005) reported the presence of this species at Galindo, in the Moche Valley, in part of the food eaten at the sites of Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol in A.D. 571-685,
Mochica and Chimu contexts in ca. A.D. 600-800 and A.D. 1000-1460. i.e. in a Mochica cultural context. It should also be noted that its meat can carry parasites
that lodge in human lungs, so it must be eaten well-cooked. As for the finds made at the
Huaca de la Luna, Vásquez and Rosales (2004: 363) note that these crustacea abound in
Crab [Cangrejo Negro] (Callinectes toxotes) the North Coast’s archaeological sites, and can even be caught just by hand.

Just like in the case of other types of crab, it is possible that the remains that have been found The excavations Shady and Rosas (1979: 111) made at Alenya (Bagua Baja), a site in the vicinity
of the Utcubamba River in the modern-day region of Amazonas, recorded the remains of this

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crab but the taxonomic classification was not supplied. The site literally lies on the ceja de
selva at 522 masl, and can be dated to 1500-1200 B.C.

River crab [Cangrejo de Río] (Procambarus clarkii)


Procambarus clarkii was eaten at El Paraíso, a site north of Lima close to the mouth of the
Chillón River, since ca. 2150 B.C. (Quilter et al. 1991: 280).

Shrimp [Camarones] (Cryphiops caementarius)


Shrimp are crustacea and the species Cryphiops caementarius is the most common one in
Peru. It can be up to 30 cm long and weighs up to 200 grams. Its distribution extends from
6° and 33°S in the rivers of the Western Andean watershed, particularly in those of Arequipa
which carry a larger amount of water.

Orefici and Drusini (2003) have apparently also found Cryphiops caementarius in the rubbish
of the Nasca and Wari cultures (ca. A.D. 100-1000) in Ica. In a subsequent report, other
members of the Italian archaeological research team at Nasca mentioned the finding of
shrimp, sea urchin, and crab remains at the monumental site of Cahuachi, which dated to the
first centuries of the Christian era (Piacenza and Pieri 2012: 4).
Figura 19. Representación de camarón. Cultura Chancay, Costa Central, aproximadamente 1000-1460 d.C. (CORTESÍA GUIDO DEL CASTILLO,
There is also evidence of this shrimp species in the ceramic depictions left by cultures like MUSEO ANDRÉS DEL CASTILLO, FOTOGRAFÍA DE LIDA CASAS).
the Moche, Nasca itself in its Terminal phase (ca. A.D. 400-600); Chancay (Figure 19) on the
Central Coast of Peru (A.D. 1000-1460); and Inca-Ica pottery (A.D. 1460-1532) (Francisco Merino
and Lyda Casas, personal communication, 23.1.2013). Shrimp were also consumed by the Wari the fat of their immature eggs, which were simply removed with the teeth; all the rest was
because the remains of this species have been found at Beringa, a Wari site in Arequipa, in discarded. Ethnographic reports support the consumption of worms, beetles, and so on. It is
contexts that dated to A.D. 650-1000 (Tung 2012). Its widespread consumption on the coast, also reported that a group of Indians harvested a worm species in the Peruvian ceja de selva
which can even go back to the Preceramic epoch, is thus evident. More studies are required in called poshori, which piled up on maize.
order to document them in the analyses.
Dufour and Sander’s list of the insects eaten by South American populations includes for
instance Pediculidae (lice), coleoptera—Cerambycidae, Elmidae, Passalidae— (beetles),
Insects: entomophagy Diptera—Stratomidae—(flies), Homoptera—Cicadidae and Membracidae—(cicadas and
cigarritas), Hymenoptera—Formicidae, Meliponidae, Vespidae—(ants, bees, and wasps),
Despite the scant evidence available, entomophagy must have been a custom not just in pre- Hesperidae—Megathymidae and Saturnidae—(butterflies), Noctuidae (owlet moths,
Hispanic Peru but in all of South America. Even so, it may be surmised that there was a greater Lacosomidae and Notodontidae (moths), Corydalidae (insects), Aeschnidae (dragonflies),
availability of insects in the tropics, and so more of them would have been consumed in this area. Acrididae (locusts), and Tettigonidae (grasshoppers).

In their summary of insects used as food, Dufour and Sander (2000) mention for instance The nutritional value of insect ingestion is evidently high. It should be noted that the
the giant queen ants (Atta) of Colombia, which have probably been consumed since pre- biochemical table points out in this regard that a female ant], for instance, has 39.7%-48.1%
Hispanic times. Not only was this ant considered some type of delicatesse, its aphrodisiac proteins at a rate of 580-628 kilo/calories, whereas termites have 58.9% and ants 52.6%
properties were also esteemed. According to Alfred Wallace (cited by Dufour and Sander), proteins (the latter when smoked). Even so, one issue concerns the problems we have in
Atta were in fact eaten raw in the Amazon Valley, especially their abdomen because of establishing the date in which it was consumed in the pre-Hispanic period.

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In fact, the recorded consumption of insects in pre-Hispanic Peru is extremely scant. Weir and and Dillehay (2001) likewise noted that the emphasis was on human males, and even the anvils
Bonavia (1985: 98) identified remains in the form of a beetle’s chitin (coleoptera in faecal matter, where the flesh of the victims was processed have been found.
i.e. coproliths) at site PV35-6, which dates to 2450 B.C. and is in the Huarmey area on the Central
Coast. This is no news for Weir and Bonavia because insects were already being eaten in pre- Robert Feldman (1980) reported evidence that could be interpreted as cannibalism at
Hispanic North America. What is still missing is research in this regard. And it is precisely on this Áspero, a site in the lower Supe Valley. Feldman however cautiously pointed out that these
subject that Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 24) claims that larvae, insects, caterpillars, and could be due to subsequent activities that altered this preceramic site. The intriguing thing
ants were sources of protein and lipids in the pre-Hispanic diet. We can only hope that research here is the (apparently) homogeneous account of human body parts in which bones from
in palaeoscatology will expand the list of insects eaten in that period. the pelvis, feet, cranium, and the long bones predominate, but without any intentional cut
marks or combustion as yet being reported

Humans: Anthropophagy or Cannibalism Bonavia (1982: 397) on the contrary believes that at Los Gavilanes, the removal of the bones
was due to the constant modifications brought about by the erection of the preceramic
Cannibalism is certainly a taboo subject, but it is at the same time attractive (due to the buildings, and so was not inclined to interpret the disturbed remains, frequent in Late
natural human morbidness). It has been defined as the act of eating tissue derived from Preceramic sites, as evidence of cannibalism.
individuals from one’s same species; the reason for this can be quite varied in the case of
humans: nutritional, social, economic, political, and even cosmogonic Carbonell 2010: 539). There seems to be another piece of evidence of this practice somewhat further to the
north, in Piura. At Loma Valverde, in the upper Piura Valley, Kaulicke (1991: 414) observed
Lindenbaum (2004) presented a recent approach in which she tries to systematise what has the presence of burned human bones in domestic contexts, which could be interpreted as
been written on this subject until the turn of the century. She points out that there are a series an indication of ‘roasted’ human beings. Some of these bones, Kaulicke says, bore traces of
of studies showing anthropophagy not just in prehistoric but also in modern times. Lindenbaum having been bitten by dogs.
classifies cannibalism into two types, i.e. endogamous and exogamous. The first type involves
eating a human from the same group one belongs to, whilst the exogamous type is the opposite. The ceremonial centre of Ñañañique is also in Piura, in the province of Chulucanas. Here
Endocannibalism frequently appears in the form of mortuary or funeral consumption, where Jean Gufroy (1989: 193-194) reported the discovery of broken and burned human bones
the body is usually ingested for reasons of affection, renewal, or the group’s reproduction. among consumption refuse. The dates for this site range between about 1500 and 400 B.C.
Exocannibalism, on the other hand, involves an act of aggression in which someone’s body is
consumed by his or her opponent, particularly in the case of conflicts or wars. In his study of the human bones found in the Gallery of the Offerings at Chavín de Huántar,
José Pablo Baraybar (1993: 394-402) concluded these belonged to eight individuals: three
Frequent cases of cannibalism are mentioned for the South American Amazon rainforest. adults, three teenagers, and a child between one and three years of age. The cadavers were
Cannibalism for social control is also mentioned (Carbonell 2010: 539). The most ancient dismembered by disarticulating some joints, and by the deliberate fragmentation brought
evidence of cannibalism in the world comes from Gran Dolina (in the Atapuerca highlands), a about by some blunt object. Cuts were also found in certain bones that are explained by the
prehistoric site in modern Spain about a million years ago, in a context pertaining to a species techniques used to remove muscular insertions. It was shown that some parts like heads,
called Homo antecesor. In this case it was cannibalism out of necessity, i.e. nutritional. necks and body had already been cut off before the remains were subjected to fire. Even so
it was mostly scorching, for burning or incineration have been documented on scant cases.
It is possible that the oldest evidence of cannibalism in pre-Hispanic Peru, presumably from a ritual For Baraybar, the fact that some limbs were missing as well as the smoking process both can
context, come from the upper Zaña Valley in Lambayeque (Rossen and Dillehay 2001). Here John be interpreted as possible evidence of anthropophagy (Baraybar 1993: 398).
Verano and Jack Rossen (2011) reported possible evidence of cannibalism at an archaeological site
called CA-09-52, which dates to 8011-5954 B.C. This site is in the vicinity of the Quebrada de las It is worth adding in regard to this subject that Lumbreras (1989: 206-216) listed the occurrence
Pircas, not far away from the Cerro El Coche, in the upper Zaña Valley and in the locality of Nanchoc. of a series of human bones that have been removed, scorched, cut, and destroyed, both in
A small circular pit was found with highly fragmented human bones. This indicator would not be late Preceramic (ca. 4000-2000 B.C.) and Early Horizon (1200 B.C.-0 of our era) ritual contexts
valid without the discovery made at a nearby site called CA-09-77 which has dates that range and domestic sites like Huacaloma (Cajamarca) and Huaca Prieta (La Libertad). These could
between 5855 and 3029 B.C., where very small fragmented bones were found alongside animal be interpreted as the residue left behind by cannibalistic practices, but they are neither
remains, which the researchers presume were carved ... and were then consumed. Sonia Guillén, an conclusive nor sufficiently clear to determine whether this type of activity was indeed
expert in bioanthropology, has examined these remains and concluded they were fragmented in frequent. Even so, from what has been said, particularly from the research undertaken by
fresh condition, shortly after death. Many of the bones also showed traces of combustion. Rossen Dillehay and his team, it clearly seems to have been present.

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Earth and Clays: Geophagy. Pre-Hispanic Chemical Cuisine made out of plants like quinoa or cañihua, and which is used to chew (chacchar) coca
(Browman 2004: 136-138).
Earths and clays were eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru, albeit essentially for medicinal and nutritional
ends. The consumption of clays is so current that even today these can be bought and sold Several researchers had shown interest for this type of consumption. In his handbook on pre-
for little money, for instance at Azángaro (Puno), and they have a nice taste because salt and Hispanic foodstuffs, Horkheimer (1960: 86) for instance pointed out that the ancient Peruvians
cheese are added (Omar Pinedo, personal communication, 30.7.2012). Let us turn to this now. ate earth simply because they needed mineral supplements unavailable because they did not
have livestock and its derivatives. According to Mejía Xesspe our aborigines ate lime, which
According to Browman (2004: 133), the consumption of edible earths is meant to provide was augmented with salt to eat potatoes and other tubers—probably in order to eliminate
supplementary minerals, counteract harmful components found in the human diet (such as toxins, as has just been noted.
phytotoxins), and it is carried out in regard to certain medical treatments. Newman (2000: 843)
in turn points out that clays contain potassium-rich mica and feldspars, so their consumption Georg Petersen (2010: 19) mentions a natural greyish-white product that he calls edible plastic
in pre-Hispanic Peru should come as no surprise. The reader should not fault us now for clay that “sticks to the tongue”—a sort of white chalk that was eaten since pre-Hispanic times
following Browman’s work as a guide, given its interdisciplinary nature. for alimentary reasons. For Petersen, edible earth could be obtained in the Arequipa-Chupa
and Huajachani-Azángaro regions; it was even prepared with human or rectangular shapes in
When touching the subject of pre-Hispanic Geophagy we face one problem first of all, order to be eaten like a sweet or with cooked potatoes.
for as Browman himself points out, archaeological excavations hardly document this type
of consumption; this means that we will have to base ourselves mostly on other types Besides the consumption of clays and earth, another important subject is the chemical
of reference (chronicles, ethnography, and so forth). However, we shall see below that treatment that the preparation of pre-Hispanic food may have undergone. There obviously
there are some indications that suggest this type of consumption has taken place since the is no archaeological documentation that can be used to explore this subject. We therefore
Preceramic Period. turn to the rich ethnographic source provided by Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo, the weakness
of his archaeological sections notwithstanding. Antúnez de Mayolo also mentions the so-
The need to eat earths and clays has its starting point in the premise that it helps complete called chaco or pasa, which were much used both as food as well as a condiment during
the human diet. Browman for instance points out how camelids lick minerals rich in hydrated tuber-harvesting season in order to avoid digestive disorders, and even to season toasted
phyllosilicates (smectites, kaolinite, chlorites, and illites) found in earths known as p’asa o maize, thus providing a large range of minerals. On the other hand Antúnez de Mayolo claims
ch’aqo, which heal gastrointestinal problems caused by the ingestion of phytotoxins in major that limestones were calcined albeit with brine, and was most used in health treatments or
highland domesticated plants, like solanine in potatoes, saponin in quinoa, lunatin in beans, culinary preparation. The diluted lime was added to the food when it was being prepared or
etc. This means an essential function is the detoxification and adaptation of plants that cooked (boiled or toasted (Antúnez de Mayolo 1996: 42-43). Does this procedure have pre-
are important for human consumption, as is attested by both ethnography and by Andean Hispanic roots?
ethnohistory itself.
Ashes were also used when consuming coca and maize. Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 43) points
Based on a study of ethnographic samples, Browman classified the earths eaten even today out in regard to the chemical properties ashes have, that the ashes left behind by burning the
into four groups that he believes can be documented in archaeological excavations. They are: stalks of some plants like quinoa or cañihua were consumed when chewing coca or eating
phyllosilicates, sodium and calcium, sulphur minerals, and finally iron and copper. toasted maize.

OF these the phyllosilicates group is represented in human consumption for instance by p’asa, Another interesting point concerns the effects of lye, because Antúnez de Mayolo claims
i.e. smectites (potassium, magnesium or iron Potassium aluminium hydrated silicate that are it was used along with ashes in the pre-Hispanic cuisine (Antúnez de Mayolo 1996: 43). For
prepared like a sauce to accompany cooked tubers and which can be eaten several times a instance, the ashes of the wood used previously to cook the food were mixed with water,
week in order not just to eliminate these tubers’ phytotoxins, but also to provide rich mineral and maize, squash (Cucurbita maxima), fique buds (Fourcroya andina) and mutuy (Cassia
components to the Andean diet. tomentosa) were then processed using this lye. This treatment would have improved the
quality of the nutrients and it reacted with the alkaloids these plants held, lixiviating them
The sodium and calcium group, and particularly that which derives from saltpetre, are and and making them non soluble. Antúnez de Mayolo claimed using lay expanded the range of
have been diet supplements. For instance we have katawi, a mixture of lime or calcite with dietary oligoelements available in the diet. It may thus have had a major role in the culinary
illite or sylvite that is also prepared as a sauce and is consumed with quinoa or cañihua preparation and subsequent digestion of Andean foodstuffs. Only a high-resolution chemical
(p’asao chako); then there is llipta or lye, which is nothing more than calcined lime usually analysis of the cooked plants can shed some light in this regard.

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Let us turn now to the archaeological record of Geophagy in pre-Hispanic Peru. Was sand Petersen (2010: 11) says that natural salt was gathered by Peru’s pre-Hispanic peoples particularly on
consumed in that time? The human burial from Huaca Prieta, which probably dates to the the shores of the Pacific Ocean, but also around Lake Titicaca. He adds that other sources were
second millennium B.C., had faeces which showed sand packets. Callen and Cameron (1960: the Huallaga River basin, and in general all lakes and springs on the eastern flank of the Andes. The
39) believe this individual probably consumed them—intentionally or by chance—before chroniclers instead mention other places with salt outcrops like in the vicinity of Oruro, Puerto
death, for instance to heal a disease. Callen and Cameron point out that sand or geophagy Viejo, Tumbes, and the Salinas de Huacho (Huaura). The chronicles also tell us there were salt
may be connected with blood recovery in the face of a potential anaemia, an interesting outcrops in Trujillo, Collique, Jauja, and even in inclusive Chilca.
hypothesis they tried to support ethnographically.
Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 42) claims that in pre-Hispanic Peru impure salts were favoured when
Weir and Bonavia (1985: 98) found some sand and earth in the faecal remains from site PV35-6, eating and this may have caused cancer, but it was stopped by the consumption of maize chicha.
which dates to ca. 2450 B.C. and is close to the mouth of the Huarmey River on the Central In most of the cases the salt was obtained by processing salty waters or wood, but mineral salt
Coast. Weir and Bonavia claim this was a frequent practice amongst the aborigines, and that was also used.
it may have been necessary whenever no food was available, or when mineral supplements
had to be ingested; it may also have had medicinal reasons, including eliminating intestinal Hans Horkheimer (1960: 84-85) emphasised the ease with which the peoples who had settled on
parasites, or eventually alleviating stomach infections. the littoral of pre-Hispanic Peru gathered sea salt. Horkheimer claimed that the formation of layers
of sodium chloride, as at Salinas de Huacho, gives out sixty thousand tonnes a year of salt. Besides,
Glendon Weir and Vaughn Bryant (in Browman 2004: 134) reported geophagy in Ayacucho there is a large amount of ceramic sherds around this site, thus evincing it was frequently visited
some five thousand years ago because they had access to MacNeish’s excavations. We now in the pre-Hispanic period in order to acquire this resource. These people may have used salt to
turn to Browman’s record. exchange it with highlanders for other produce such as wool and potatoes. Another place salt was
found is the Salinas de San Blas. Horkheimer points out the intriguing fact that in pre-Hispanic Peru
Browman has also noted that lye with earth was discovered in Chiripa contexts in the Andean salt was not added during cooking, and was instead licked straight from blocks of salt.
Altiplano, with dates that range between A.D 510 and A.D. 470. Browman likewise points out
that lye or llipta was found inside some vessels from the Pucara site, in the same context from An important study of the pre-Hispanic salt exploitation system from an archaeological standpoint
the Pucara culture that dates to the last centuries before our era. Besides, gypsum was found was made on the North Coast at the site of Salinas de Chao, in the valley of the same name. Here
in Nasca contexts according to the research carried out by Kroeber y Collier. Mercedes Cárdenas (1997, 1999) found evidence showing that human groups were exploiting salt at
least since ca. 1900 B.C. For instance, a series of mortars that may have been used to gather brine
Paz Soria, also according to Browman, seems to have shown that p’asa was eaten along with and obtain salt by evaporation were found on the surface of site 7. The mortars were associated
potatoes and other tubers within the context of the Tiahuanaco culture. This same type of with crushing stones that were perhaps used to grind the salt.
edible earth has been detected in samples from the Estuquiña culture (Moquegua), just a few
centuries before the Inca Empire. Browman ended his major review citing Rowe (1946), who Pozorski et al. (1983) documented the presence of a salt upwelling at least two thousand years ago
had drawn attention so many decades ago to the fact that in the Inca Empire edible clays on the Casma River mouth, close to the hacienda La Munga. Here there are Chimu and Chimu-Inca
were gathered and frequently exchanged in the southern highlands (Browman 2004: 134-135). settlements that Pozorski et al. believe had the role of exploiting this major resource in the pre-
Hispanic epoch. This upwelling was partly due to marine transgression and partly to the low aquifer
There is scant evidence as regards the ways in which the clays and earths were consumed. flow in the above-mentioned region, which means the minerals settled throughout centuries of
For instance, in her excavations in tola (artificial archaeological mounds) contexts at Manabí irrigation. This is one of the few documented sites where this resource was perhaps obtained.
(Ecuador), Mercedes Guinea (2006) identified a series of small, baked earth- and carbonate-
based packets (paquetillos) called tamales, bollos, and empanadillas that dated to A.D. 1100. Another interesting study concerns the Salinas de San Blas (Morales 1998), which are at 4100 masl
This line of research must be encouraged in Peru because it is part of the culinary preparation. in the modern-day Junín Region. Daniel Morales found evidence of salt exploitation close to Lake
Chinchaycocha. A camp was excavated here that dates to the Late preceramic (ca. 3000 B.C.),
whose inhabitants exploited the salt continuously for thousands of years.
Salt
Kuester (2000: 431) claims that salt was valued not just as a condiment or as a supplement Breast Milk
of food, but also for its use preserving food for a long time. This systematic exploitation
throughout the world goes back at least 2,500 years especially through the evaporation of sea Readers by now may be wondering why breast milk has been included amongst pre-Hispanic
water or even or even to salt fish, as was seen in previous chapters. foodstuffs as strictly speaking it is not of animal, plant or mineral origin and is instead

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anthropogenic (but it is of animal origin to a point). The reason is that breast milk was supplied
by Andean women who breastfed children in pre-Hispanic Peru, and therefore nourished
them in their early years. We have no coprolith or table isotope studies for the newborn
or for babies, so here just the main characteristics and properties of breast milk that can be
attributed not just to Peru but to other cultures as well will be mentioned. The field is ready
to be explored following using research approaches.

When assessing the significance breastfeeding has had for humans in past times, Antoinette FARMING, FOOD PRESERVATION,
Fauve-Chamoux (2000: 626-634) points out that breast milk (in general) comprises 87 g of
water, 1.5 g of protein, 4 g of fat, 6.8 g of carbohydrates, 7 g of lactose, and 2 g of minerals, as AND STORAGE TECHNIQUES
well as vitamins and casein. We will be in condition to expand this point only when the food
eaten by the newborn is analysed.

Having reviewed the plants and animals that may have been consumed in pre-Hispanic
Peru, a very brief account must be given of pre-Hispanic farming in order to complete our
presentation of the archaeobotanical and archaeozoological picture. This will give readers an
overview of Andean human skill in developing agriculture, the basis of Peruvian society since
about nine thousand years ago, in such a complex environment.

This is just a very brief introduction to this subject. The emphasis will be on some recent
discoveries that are not well-known, like the book La recuperación de tecnologías indígenas
(Herrera 2011), or the pre-Hispanic irrigation channels Tom Dillehay and his team from Vanderbilt
University discovered in the Upper Zaña Valley, which date to ca. 5600 B.C.—an impressive and
extremely early date in the context of the origins of agriculture throughout the world.

The reader should bear in mind this is not a complete presentation of pre-Hispanic agriculture;
these are just some brief and incomplete notes meant to contextualise Andean ethnobotanics. Two
books are here suggested for interested readers: R. A. Donkin’s Agricultural Terracing in the Aboriginal
New World (1979) for those interested in an overview of agricultural terraces in the Americas; and
Alexander Herrera’s above-mentioned book La recuperación de tecnologías indígenas. Arqueología,
tecnología y desarrollo (2011) for a more recent account that focuses on the Central Andes.

Pre-Hispanic Agriculture
The development of pre-Hispanic agriculture began with the coming of the first inhabitants
of this part of the Andes and reached its climax with the Inca. Herrera (2011) made an extensive
and up-to-date study of pre-Hispanic agriculture, and it is worth citing its main conclusions.
The first horticultors must have practiced dry farming, taking advantage of seasonal floods
and perhaps using small canals and ditches. In time, the development of farming technology
perhaps had its focus not just in the intermontane valleys but also in the dry lowlands, like
the valleys on the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

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But the development of Andean agriculture was not easy due to the specific characteristics Pre-Hispanic Irrigation Canals
of the Peruvian terrain. John Earls (1998) made a good presentation of its development. Earls
emphasised three major problems the Incas overcame through intelligent management— Our aim here is just to give the reader some examples of the creativeness and skill found in
poor soils, geoecological spatial diversity, and climate uncertainty. We will now briefly go this type of engineering, which attained a high crop yield.
over each point.
Perhaps the most ancient evidence of the use of irrigation canals, not just in Peru but in the
Geoecological diversity is shown by the impressive presence of 104 of Holdridge’s (1947) life whole world, comes from the headwaters of the Nanchoc Valley in Zaña (Lambayeque), which
zones, for instance ingenious ways in which spatial diversification and the diversification of is very close to La Libertad. Here Dillehay et al. (2005) reported the presence of at least three
seasonal labour lowered farming risks. Spatial heterogeneity is likewise reduced by zoning canals, and perhaps an older fourth one, in the vicinity of the Cerro El Coche, close to the
and technology that mitigated the risk due to climate. Earls believes that agricultural zone of Tierra Blanca and Quebrada Canutillo. All these canals have in common that they take
experimentation and astronomical observations in terms of controlling agricultural timing advantage of the slope in order to irrigate the fields, which essentially grew squash [calabazas].
helped in this task. In this context the Moray observatory is pointed out as an example of
this type of technology; besides, Earls claims maize a palynological study suggests maize The three upper canals date between 4156 B.C. and A.D. 1285, which entails the early and
was grown at this site. He believes this system of related tasks had its origin at least in the prolonged use of this type of irrigation, which is contemporaneous with the so-called
Wari Empire. emergence of complex Andean civilisation. Even so, these researchers have documented an
even older canal, for the mean date obtained surprisingly was 5579 B.C., which is probably
the most ancient irrigation canal in America (and perhaps in the world). Dillehay et al. (2005)
Water Sourcing? believe this is quite a basic canal that is just 20 cm deep and 50 cm wide, which carried the
water driven by gravity to a squash field. It was established that around that time the river’s
Although the mesothermal valleys in the Central and Eastern Andes are the place of origin waters channels were man-made down driven until they reached five metres above this same
of many Andean plants, many of the pre-Hispanic cultivated plants reviewed here come level, which implies a basic hydraulic design in order to make the water go up. Some hoe-like
from the coastal desert environment. stone tools have also been ascribed to this time and may have been used to harvest or in
other agricultural labours. At this time cassava, peanuts, squash and quinoa-like seeds were
This type of environment gave rise to farming techniques like irrigation, which drove pre- already under cultivation.
Hispanic farming on the dry Peruvian coast.
Ian Farrington studied pre-Hispanic irrigation canals in pre-Hispanic Peru (1980) and it is worth
Mark Cohen (1978: 25) points out in this regard that the ancient peoples used the water going over his conclusions. Farrington made a detailed presentation of the characteristics
from puquios in areas far removed from the irrigated valley, by digging up to the level of two canal systems he personally studied: Moche and Cusichaca, on the coast and in the
where the plant roots could tap onto underground waters. Katharina Schreiber and Josué northern highlands. Like Farrington notes, the impression one gets, particularly from the way
Lancho (1995) published an interesting study in this regard on the Nasca puquios, which they the canal that diverted water in sloping areas was managed, is of a great knowledge and
defined as underground filtration galleries that provide water to the fields and for domestic management of water discharge velocity, not just to irrigate but also to control local erosion.
use in valleys where no water is found on the surface. Finally, Farrington believes that pre-Hispanic irrigation canals are the result of the ample
experience of farmers who knew their environment by heart, local hydrology included, which
Schreiber and Lancho hold that the construction and use of these puquios goes back to can be easily explained for relatively flat lands, but is much more complex when it comes to
ca. A.D. 500, i.e. the final phases of the Nasca culture. The engineering of these systems diverting water from inclined areas to flat ones.
includes accessories such as the “ojos” found along the path followed by the puquios, i.e.
holes that were dug to allow oxygen into the underground canals and let them be cleaned. Various cultures used irrigation canals, including the Wari. Moseley et al. (2005) reported
The galleries seem to have been built first by digging trenches; the roof was then filled the presence of irrigation canals and terraces in the vicinity of Cerro Baúl (Moquegua),
in with wooden beams and ... [bases], and the trenches were then filled in. Some puquios the southernmost Wari bulwark on its frontier with Tiahuanaco. The canal system was
were over a kilometre long but most ranged between 250 and 500 metres. A study of the developed on Cerro Mejía and Cerro Petroglifo, two hills adjacent to the site. Each hill had
settlement patterns also showed that the main settlements were strategically sited beside low-status residents living on the inclined area whilst the elites lived in the summit and in
these water extraction systems. This is obtaining water in a desert. the highest parts. The canal, which had a 400-litre per second capacity, began in the highest
part and descended through low-relief grooves that ran down Cerro Petroglifo and irrigated
the terraces on Cerro Mejía. A canal branch passed through “El Paso,” the area between

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Cerro Baúl and Cerro Mejía, ad reached the upper part of both hills. The farming settlers in the deep canals seems to have been used to cultivate water plants and even to raise fish;
grew maize, potatoes, tubers and other foodstuffs including Schinus molle, the well-known this could have incorporated lake birds to the system, which in turn would have been part of
“Peruvian pepper [pimienta],” which is a kind of small seed used to ferment chicha. 324 the pre-Hispanic population’s diet. Besides, these systems avoid the leaching of the salts and
hectares were irrigated according to the calculations made by Moseley et al. (2005: 17265), brought about a microclimate that favoured the crops. The system was fed with water derived
and these could have supported around two thousand people. The canal system was about from rivers, rains and from groundwater (Ordóñez Colque 2006).
20 km long but it was abandoned after A.D. 1000, when the colony was deserted.
Gondard (2006) has likewise explained the multiple roles raised fields have and concisely
Another example of irrigation comes from the North Coast. Charles Ortloff (1995) devoted presented the impressive range of benefits provided by its use in the Titicaca zone. These
a study to reconstructing the engineering and the functioning of Chimu irrigation canals. include lowering the risk in tuber grain cultivation, a regular distribution of drainage, extending
Ortloff points out that a massive irrigation system was developed through a canal network moisture to benefit the crops, lowering the risks posed by frosts, lowering the Ph, and above
that diverted water from the coastal valleys under Chimu political control. Impressively, an all the impressive increase in the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus available once the fields
inter-valley network up to 70 km long was also implemented in order to have a balanced water are raised, and all of this in terms of attaining the maximum productivity of the earth.
supply. Building and maintaining these canals required great knowledge of civil engineering, as
well as of hydraulics and water flow. The National Research Council (1989a: 8) believers it was an ingenious technique used to
regulate framing output in areas susceptible to drought, floods, or simply to floods. Attempts
Several implements have been found like yupanas (counting tables that were probably used at reconstruction have even estimated that raised fields could have trebled the output of
to calculate angles of inclination and other hydraulic calculations such as the velocity of the potatoes. One of the keys in this process was the exchange of energy between day-time and
water, the slope, and so on), tools used for maintenance and to calculate angles, thus giving night-time. The canals that receive solar energy by day give it off at night, thus protecting
us an idea of the planning that went into the design of these water canals. the grains and the sown fields from the frost—this literally is a big, self-regulating energy and
temperature machine that benefits agriculture. The temperature in the areas under cultivation
are thus stabilised and tempered. The areas immediately around can be several degrees colder.
Raised Field Systems (Waru-Waru and Ridges) And to this we must add the richness of a soil that has been fertilised with algae, thus ensuring
not only a high agricultural performance, but also a high output eventually.
Raised field farming is an ingenious system used in South America in order to attain the maximum
exploitation possible of land. Intriguingly, researchers were long unaware of this type of farming In answering the question of why the raised fields were built, Godard points out there are
technology. One of the first to observe it may have been Karger, the German consul in Argentina two main positions. The first one, held by Alan Kolata, believes they were an outcome of the
in the late nineteenth century. Karger had been officially commissioned to study Peruvian hydraulic control of the Tiahuanaco State cultivation. The second position is held by Erickson
agriculture, and he identified raised fields as an ancient farming technique whilst on the train based on his excavations at Huanta (Puno), and posits instead that these works were of a social
from Juliaca to Sicuani. Ironically his Peruvian companions were unable to answer the questions nature and a result of agreements reached by communities in order to ensure a more rational
made by their German visitor (Gondard 2006: 46). We now turn first to the information available agricultural exploitation of the earth.
for the southern Altiplano around Lake Titicaca, and then to an overview of South America.
What was grown on these farming systems? Erickson believes that high altitude crops like
The ancient peoples of the southern Andean Altiplano made the most of the lakeshore or of potatoes, cañihua, and quinoa were sown once the problem raised by flooding had been
the land close to the lake. These areas are not so harsh, have a more temperate climate and overcome. The process of selection these types of plants had undergone, and quinoa in
relatively more precipitation, but they do run the risk of being flooded and do have poor soils. particular, meant they had developed the capacity to grow under low temperatures intense
C. L. Erickson (1988) is probably the scholar who has most studied these areas. solar radiation, and in the presence of grain pests. This type of technology must have gone
hand in hand with dry-freezing, food preservation techniques that allowed grains and meat
What are raised fields? Why were they built, and how? For Erickson, these are huge raised to be stored for unlimited time. Also used were tools such as digging spades, hoes, and clod-
platforms that provide water flow, and improve soil conditions and the temperature for breaking sticks, as well as plates of wood or stone Erickson claims the analyses show raised
cultivation. The fields are built by excavating parallel canals, and the earth in-between them fields were less alkaline and held more nutrients, which favoured the crops.
is piled up to form long, low-lying mounds on flat or convex surfaces.
Erickson also points out that the analysis of pollen made by Fred Wiseman showed that
The system is designed to avoid the risk posed by frosts. The canals that run between the soil samples evince quinoa and potato cultivation (Erickson 1988: 10). How were they built?
raised fields provide the required, essential moisture during long or short droughts. The water In trying to explain the construction, functioning, and distribution of raised fields, Denevan

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(2006: 17) claims their preparation included the transfer of earth materials in order to ‘raise’ the rise of the Tiahuanaco civilisation. Bandy (1992) believes this technique was complemented
the fields over the natural surface, particularly when there is poor drainage. by the use of canal sediments as fertilisers in anticipation of the soil’s depletion, and the
improvement in thermal conditions in the canals in order to avoid the effects of frosts.
Even so, viable locations for raised fields are restricted in the southern Altiplano. Bouysse-
Cassagne (1992: 114, fig. 4) points out raised fields were applicable only in floodable areas like Were there raised fields in other parts of South America? Yes, there were. Denevan (2006)
those around the Azángaro River to the northeast of Lake Titicaca (in the vicinity of Juliaca, made an overview of their history and verified their pre-Hispanic presence in countries
Buena Vista, and Paucarcoya, which clearly is the largest zone of raised fields), and south of like Colombia, Guyana, Ecuador, the Orinoco area and, in Peru, in the Casma Valley and the
the lake, in the areas of Desaguadero (6,500 hectares) and Pomata (5,100 hectares), which both Altiplano.
have the biggest expanses of same field constructions in the Altiplano.
The raised fields in the Casma Valley were detected by Denevan during an analysis of the
When did this type of farming technology appear in the Altiplano? According to Bouysse- condition the Peruvian coast was in after the 1970 earthquake. Pozorski et al. (1983) in turn have
Cassagne, Kolata mostly associates Puno’s raised fields with the Tiahuanaco 3-5 phases, i.e. extensively reported the presence of these fields. Pozorski et al. based themselves especially
during the first millennium of our era. After making an in-depth description of the raised on the studies made in the vicinity of the La Muenga canal, in the Casma River mouth, and
fields in the Altiplano, Smith et al. (1968) were unable to reach a satisfactory chronological made comparisons with a series of slightly raised fields which exhibit similar patterns to those
conclusion regarding this question. Erickson (1994) later mentioned four thermoluminescence found in the Guayas area in Ecuador, and even amongst the Beni in the Bolivian Amazon.
dates from which he deduced there were two phases in the construction and use of thee They estimated this canal may have covered more than 3000 hectares in non-specified pre-
raised fields northeast of Lake Titicaca at Huata, a site south of Pucara (in the Puno Region): Hispanic times—probably during the Chimú or Chimú-Inca occupation of this zone.
a first phase ca. 1000 B.C. and A.D. 300 that is associated with Kaluyo, Wankarani, and Chiripa
pottery. It is interesting that this first construction phase was contemporary with the Pucara
culture, and that it benefitted from the last time there was a high water level due to rainfall Reservoirs in the Central Highlands
and a wet phase.
A relatively recent study summarised pre-Hispanic irrigation in Peru (Lane 2009), which will be
There was then a period in which the raised fields were abandoned, followed by a second used here in order to present a brief overview of this subject. Pre-Hispanic irrigation systems
phase of use in A.D. 1000-1450, this last date being when the Inca conquered this region have been studied above all on the coast and less so in the highlands, and the Altiplano
(Erickson 1994 n Godard 2006: 43). Bouysse-Cassagne (1992) also notes that the raised fields in this case. Lane (2009: 171) claims the reason why there are few studies for the highlands
south of the lake were still in use in A.D. 350-1100. This picture points towards the end of the is due to the ruggedness of the terrain. Yet the systems have common characteristics like
second millennia B.C., at least in the southern Altiplano. canals and reservoirs, the geographical differences notwithstanding. With its more or less
permanent river drainages, the coast was provided of permanent water by means of irrigation
Erickson also discussed the chronology and explained that although some radiocarbon dates canals, filtration galleries, and embankments designed to use flowing waters for farming and
suggest these technologies were used between 1000 B.C. and A.D. 1100, directly dating raised herding. On the contrary, the verticality of the highlands was used instead in water storage
fields has proven much more difficult; however, the thermoluminescence dates of ceramic technologies. Students of pre-Hispanic irrigation systems believe in the highlands water had
sherds found in the canals seem to support this chronology. Erickson was able to localise multiple tasks, including herding and above all farming.
archaeological sites—simple villages and enclosures—that seem to have been places from
where agriculture was controlled, to judge by the organic remains of the plants found, as well Lane made a contribution when he classified hydraulic architecture into two large groups,
as some farming tools. Remains of fish, camelids, guinea pigs and so on have likewise been which were defined from moisture-dryness. ‘Dry’ hydraulic architecture includes terraces,
found in these places, thus suggesting domestic activities that were related with farming. irrigation canals and chakras [i.e. cultivated fields], whilst moist architecture comprises raised
The associated cultural materials seem to indicate that the Pucara culture developed this fields, q’ochas, water embankments, reservoirs, and silt storage. Lane believes the latter fed
agricultural system. It is strange that raised fields seem to have been no longer used after the the bofedales meant to enrich the pastures where camelids grazed. These last technologies
decline of Pucara, and were then reused in the late Aymara epoch. characterised in particular cultures like that of the Lupaca of the Andean Altiplano (Erickson
1988, 2000, Murra 2002). Their contribution focuses on the use of bofedales in an area within
In this context, Erickson and Candler (1989) claim that in order to increase the efficiency of the Callejón de Huaylas. One of the most impressive silt storage sites is called Colpacocha,
raised fields during the Late Formative Period and the first centuries of our era, the people who which can hold three million cubic metres of water, whilst Agococha, a water dam, held 687
lived close to Lake Titicaca may have permanently stored irrigation waters using a technique thousand cubic metres of water; this points towards large-scale hydraulic engineering in this
they call splash irrigation. This in turn would have brought about part of the boom that led to part of the Cordillera Negra, probably during the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1000-1460).

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Tuber, Grain, and Meat Preservation Techniques is to be transported or left for a long time in the green mountains so that animals cannot eat
it. To eat the food without running any risk one just has to remove the outer part. The same
The immediate answer on being asked whether Peruvians eat dehydrated food will perhaps thing holds for a bush called amarakay; after it has been boiled, maize and pulses are briefly
be chuño and charqui, which are based on two permanent Andean resources, the potato and dunked in in it and made immune to insects, worms or rodents.
llama meat. Both are ancestral forms of food processing and consumption that are at least
three thousand years old. We have eaten them, and still do so, but perhaps less than we used Antúnez de Mayolo also mentioned the waicha—which protects tubers from worms—and
to—perhaps due to globalisation—but they are still on our plates. But what about the ways in the ishmuña (Minthosthosthacys tomentosa), which makes worms leave the tubers and die
which food was preserved in the pre-Hispanic period? What role did sand, lime, salt and ice outside it, perhaps because of its calcium arsenate content. It is possible that capsaicin (found
have in this process? Can this be documented by archaeology? We will now present a very in chili pepper) may have also been used to preserve meat. This possibility is open, considering
general overview of the above-mentioned points. that chili peppers go back to around 9000 B.C.

Ethnography is one of the key techniques that will let us answer at least some of these Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 45) also mentioned the use of bentonite, which absorbs
questions. A first-rate informant here is Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo, even though some humidity; of sand, which was combined with cereals, pulses, and so on in order to prevent
consider his publications are not scientific enough. Antúnez de Mayolo has studied and rodent and insect infestation; and finally the use of clays to bury tubers like cassava or
published some very interesting data in regard to food preservation and consumption, so the sachapapa (a wild Amazonian potato), thus preventing floods from affecting them, so
reader will find his name throughout this book; these references must not be taken literally, they could be later recovered and consumed. Maize storage at Los Gavilanes, in the lower
but are invaluable due to his lifespan. We now list the ethnographic methods Antúnez de Huarmey Valley some five thousand years ago, is a typical case of food preserved in sand,
Mayolo summarised, which can give us an idea of their range, something that the pre-Hispanic where bentonite may have had an effect. It is intriguing that no similar sites have been
record has not (yet) yielded. found for later periods.

Above all, Antúnez de Mayolo (1980, 1996) assumed that our Andean ancestors were fully Second, besides employing natural substances as agents, the weather and the environment
acquainted with the biochemistry of foodstuffs and with the concept of metabolism; he along with a supplementary human intervention were also used. The technique of dehydrating
mentioned “chemical inhibitors” and “inter elements” in this regard. This type of information through heat and cold may have been used. Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 45-46) also points out
was included here because it will hardly be found out by archaeology, given the problems that searing -dehydration was a practice commonly used to preserve meat, fish, cereals, and
faced by available methods in recovering organic data. Antúnez de Mayolo is probably the tubers. In this case heat blocks the enzymatic action whilst the wind favours dehydration.
scholar who has most focused on this field. There obviously is no archaeological evidence of this, but should the methods of analysis
improve in the future, we may be in position to detect these ancestral practices.
We turn first to natural substances that are mostly found on the soil of the coast and the
intermontane areas that may have been used for this purpose. As regards preservation, Another procedure is boiling-dehydration, which was used in particular to preserve vegetables,
Antúnez de Mayolo states that saltpetre (naturally upwelling sodium nitrate and potassium and to a lesser extent cereals, pulses, tubers and some dry legumes.
nitrate) and caliche (hardened calcium carbonate) were used to dehydrate and preserve food.
This premise suggests that in future the remains found in excavations must be more closely Here it is also worth mentioning the freezing-leaching method. In this case the water found in
examined in terms of detecting these substances in order to corroborate these observations. the food was first removed, and then the bitter, alkaloid properties were removed by washing
the food.
On the other hand salt and the salty sands of the littoral were used to preserve fish on the
coast, whilst it dehydrated under the sun and the wind. Lime was also used to prevent tubers Leaving aside the food preservation techniques and turning to the biochemical processes that
from getting maggoty. Smoke was also used to dehydrate meat and tubers. According to take place through boiling , the question that arises on reviewing the publications made by the
Antúnez de Mayolo, this method is frequently used in the Amazon to prepare meat. Although prolific Antúnez de Mayolo is whether cooking made these foodstuffs ‘edible’ and uninfested,
it does not belong in ethnography, the significance of salting or desiccating fish is clear; we or at least ruled out the possibility of any infestation taking place. This question is certainly
need just recall that fish was salted since ca. 11,000 B.C. at Quebrada Jaguay, in Camaná, still important in the final overview made in this book, when discussing palaeoparasitology and
during the ice age (cf. McInnis 2006: 10). the diseases caused by the ingestion of food in bad condition. For instance, Antúnez de
Mayolo (1996: 46) mentioned tocosh, which is a generic name for the treatment of the fungi
One interesting piece of information in Antúnez de Mayolo concerns the use of casana in the and bacteria that affect the use of potatoes, maize, and olluco as food and as antibiotics
Amazon; this is a toxic substance that is prepared like dough and spread over the food that (forerunners of penicillin).

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Antúnez de Mayolo that when storing food, both raw and cooked, places with a mean which was thus highly ‘movable.’ The investment made in, and the benefits accruing from,
temperature of 5 ºC were chosen, but other zones with a higher temperature (12 ºC) were also preparing moraya more than compensated the procedure.
used (Antúnez de Mayolo 1996: 46).
Potatoes stored in both ways could even resist bugs, rats, and other insects for years. The
We now leave Antúnez de Mayolo for a moment and turn instead to some of the products wonderful thing here is not just that this eased transportation and storage, but that the loss
mentioned in order to explore whether there is any relevant documentation in Peru’s of water in the case of chuño turned into just 10% water as opposed to 75% for carbohydrates.
archaeological record.
Experts believe that chuño was eaten by the Inca elite, while moraya was instead meant for
Chuño is one of the techniques—probably the most well-known one—used to preserve all social classes.
tubers including the potato. On this topic we have some ideas gleaned from the scientific
information we compiled. The National Research Council (1989a: 10-11) made a good summary, In his handbook on pre-Hispanic Peruvian food, Hans Horkheimer (1960: 110) notes that every
which we will now briefly present. 100 grams of chuño have 1.8 g of protein, 0.2 g of fat, 77 g of carbohydrates, and 323 units of
proteins, which is a high figure in the context of this type of plant.
Nights are so cold and daytime so dry at high altitudes in the Andes, that the tubers left
outdoors for a few days are desiccated because they freeze in-between at night. Throughout Chuño, as was noted above, can also be made using oca (kaya), olluco (llingli), and boiled
the process people trample the potatoes during the day to remover the water acquired at potatoes (papa seca). It is worth noting that although the Spanish chroniclers did include
night whilst freezing. The outcome was known as chuño and was a staple of the Inca diet. It is chuño in their accounts, the analysis of stable isotopes in human bones from the burials at
impressive that chuño can be preserved for years without any refrigeration or great care being Machu Picchu have established its consumption, presumably before the Inca period (Turner
needed. The National Research Council reports that even today chuño can support 80% of et al. 2010: 524).
the Andean population despite the problems farming faces.
Horkheimer (1960: 88) had already drawn attention to the types of preservation, for instance
There is, however, another position in this regard. Although chuño is a practical and efficient of oca grains that once dry are stored as preserves. They did the same with potatoes when
way of storing potatoes, Haan et al. (2010) experimented with different types of chuño and they dried by adding muña, a type of natural Andean mint that was quite effective in providing
concluded that once dry, the tuber loses a considerable amount of minerals such as zinc, protection from fungi, bacteria or insects; it was already noted some paragraphs above that
potassium phosphorus and magnesium, especially in the case of white chuño. This should be Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo had pointed out that Minthosthosthacys tomentosa was used to
borne in mind when discussing the disadvantages chuño has. protect tubers—something that it will be very hard to document archaeologically.

Latcham (in Horkheimer 1960) presented a more specific account of chuño processing. Here it is We now leave the dehydration of potatoes and turn to the effects it has on llama meat or
claimed that first the potatoes are spread on the ground over straw and are exposed to sunlight charqui. The latter is camelid meat that has been desiccated in high altitude environments
and the nightly frosts for twelve days in different positions, so that their entire surface is exposed. like the puna at more than 3700 masl at least, under the dry Andean sunlight and during the
The potatoes are placed over a new layer of straw once they are soft and not frozen, and then nightly frosts. Charqui is prepared while the flesh is still on the bones, except for the toes and
they are trampled in order to extract the remaining water. Finally, the potatoes are left outdoors head (but the specific presence of the bones depends on the tradition followed in each study
for some more days until they were completely dry but not when the sun shone, nor at night so site where charqui was prepared).
as to avoid the frost. They were stored once they had turned into chuño for the winter season.
This Quechua term is so important that it has even been adopted by the English language, in
As regards moraya, Horkheimer (1960: 88-89, based once again on Latcham) states its which jerky means boned, desiccated meat, which probably passed through Spain as charque
preparation involved first selecting the potatoes that were to be used, then came their or charqui (Stahl 1999: 1347).
process of desiccation under the sun, and were later rehydrated with water several times. The
water was changed from time to time until the bitter taste was gradually removed. The advantages this type of food has are, for instance, that it can be preserved in good
condition for a long time (3-4 months on average and even more), ad that it facilitates its
Once the process was over the moraya or tunta was boiled, and above all toasted. Eventually transportation (Miller and Burger 2000).
the moraya was grated and turned into a kind of flour. Horkheimer points out that both methods
reduced the size and weight of the potatoes and made them lighter for transportation. In the Stahl (1999: 1359) also pointed out that meat in charqui form prevents the formation of bacteria
form of chuño, the potato loses at least a third of its weight, and up to a sixth part as moraya, and increases—through desiccation—the biochemical content of salt, proteins, fat and ashes.

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Charqui has twice the amount of calories as fresh meat, sometimes at a rate of 4:1, so it is a the location of kitchens in sites and their layout. Joyce Marcus et al. (1999) studied the output
first-rate food. It can be rehydrated by soaking it several times and is usually eaten in soups and the cooking, particularly of fish and guinea pigs, during the Chincha and Inca occupations
and stews. Scholars have reached a consensus that it was usually eaten during Inca rituals, but (A.D. 1000-1470).
also in military contexts. Charqui was in fact stored in the colcas as tribute in order to provide
food for combatants (Stahl 1999: 1359). The team excavated some kind of elite family residential dwelling with servants or retainers.
There were a dozen rooms and four patios. The most striking thing was a large kitchen with
There is, however, one conceptual discussion regarding charqui that we must briefly touch. It several rooms for food storage and processing, especially fish. Another associated structure
concerns the two positions regarding its preparation that are held on the one hand by Miller that was excavated was made out of rammed earth [tapia] and had some fifteen rooms, seven
and Burger and on the other by Valdez. of which were used to dry and store fish— anchovies and sardines in particular—by filling
them in with sand. These anchovies were part of the surplus output of this culture’s fishermen
Miller and Burger envisioned charqui within a context of definitions, i.e. the way the camelids and were most likely taken to the highlands by caravans of llamas. As evidence we have the
are killed, which is not slitting their throat as in the Western tradition, but by cutting through patios and courtyards that lie around the sites, and which contained llama excrement.
the belly. Finding an overlarge number of camelid (llamas included) heads, toe, and leg bones
at Chavín de Huántar, Miller and Burger (1995: 438-440, 2000) posit that this was because The fishermen of Cerro Azul on average fished twenty species of fish such as anchovies,
charqui was prepared at this site since at least 900 B.C. using other parts of the body. Valdez sardines, flathead grey mullet, Pacific bonito, and even small sharks and manta rays. The big
(2000) however has questioned the evidence available for Chavín. specimens were eaten by the people in these sites and the small ones were exported. It is
however clear that anchovies and sardines were often eaten because their bones are found
The technique used to record these animal parts has been used in other sites like Kotosh not just in the storage structures but also in kitchens, patios and on the floors.
(Huánuco), where Elizabeth Wing (1972) noticed the increase in this type of body parts. Miller
and Burger therefore believe that this may have been the same procedure, i.e. that meat was Anchovies were mainly caught using baskets. Other techniques were cast nets, which
being dried in this major highland temple. were used in rocky areas, and curtain-type nets that were used on the beach Marcus et
al. 1999: 6568).
Hans Horkheimer (1960: 90) also mentioned this technique. For him, charqui is no more than
salted and dehydrated meat. Horkheimer pointed out that fish were also dried by placing Sand was also used to preserve a series of organic foodstuffs in pre-Hispanic Peru. Such was
them under the sun in order to take them to the highlands. He claimed that drying up food the case at Cerro Azul, where Joyce Marcus (1987: 55-56) found that there were several rooms
was the most characteristic technique of food preservation in Peru, and that it was even used full of sand during the Inca occupation in which anchovies, sardines and other small fish were
with modern foodstuffs. Such is the case of preserves, especially when tenderising meat, stored in perfect condition.
which in pre-Hispanic Peru was done using papaya leaves—here Horkheimer once again cites
Latcham and describes how the Indians wrapped the meat in these leaves. Sandweiss (1992) excavations at Lo Demás, a site that dates to the Inca epoch, likewise
uncovered fish-preservation systems, like some kind of racks or grills on which fish were dried,
Peter Stahl (1999) made a very interesting study of charqui where he examined it through mats on which they were dried on a large scale, and a large amount of salt—in comparison
photon densitometry. He concluded that the site of Chavín de Huántar was a production with other animals—in fish. Robyn Cutright notes that Sandweiss believes that preserving fish
centre of charqui or chalona (dried mutton). with salt is clearly of pre-Hispanic origin.

Cerro Azul (Cañete) is one site where the consumption of dried meat has been documented To this it should be added that Heather McInnis (2006: 10) has presented interesting evidence
during the Chincha and Inca occupations (A.D. 1000-1432) (Marcus et al. 1999: 6569). According from Quebrada Jaguay, not far away from the city of Camaná, that suggests the whole process
to Marcus et al. the common people had access to charqui but not to whole llamas—the of salting fish, which includes the removal of the heads and a specific distribution of the
charqui eaten sometimes included parts of the spinal column. bones, goes back to the Terminal Pleistocene ca. 11,000 B.C. This probably is one of the most
ancient preservation processes found in America.
Finally, let us go over some important data regarding food storage structures. In pre-Hispanic
Peru storage, both of plant and animal foodstuffs, was of the utmost importance. In her excavations at Pedregal, a Chimu site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, Cutright (2009)
observed that food was stored below floor level in especially made holes, as well as in vessels
Information on Cerro Azul regarding the processing and preservation of fish like the anchovy that were embedded in the floor of small storage rooms, and in storage containers. In Pedregal,
is available. Archaeological excavations have on very few occasions been able to document a rural Late Moche and Chimu site, maize was shelled for storage.

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Elmo Leon

Another Chimu settlement like Puerto Pobre was also characterised by having food stored in
this same way (Koschmieder and Vega-Centeno 1996).

In the above-mentioned study, Cutright (2009: 191) notes that Carol Mackey found a series
of big jars at Farfán that were used to store chicha during the Chimu-Inca occupation of the
Jequetepeque Valley.

Cerro La Virgen is a site in the so-called “zona de barriada” or the area surrounding the well-
known citadel of Chan Chan. Here Keatinge (1975) made an interesting study of the layout of the
rooms used by the rural people who worked for the Chimu State. Some kind of storage units
that literally were silos in the floors, as well as vessels that were also used for storage, have been
found in the rooms inside these houses that are usually rustic and of irregular shape.

The silos were daubed with a layer of mud and their surface was lined with pebbles in order
to provide them with a structure and greater stability. On the other hand the vessels used
for storage were simply placed inside holes in the ground. Many of them had small pebbles
around their edge and half a squash was eventually used to stop the mouth and avoid Chapter 3
unwanted substances. Keatinge was unable to identify the type of food placed inside these
vessels, but from information available from other Chimu sites it is believed that it may have
included maize, among other foodstuffs.
THE PRE-HISPANIC DIET FROM
D’Altroy and Hastorf (1984) documented a series of storage structures at Hatun Xauxa, an
archaeological site in the Mantaro Valley at around 3600 masl. These structures were built as part
THE STANDPOINT OF
of the Inca provisioning system in this part of the empire. The colcas had water and ventilation
that favouring the preservation of the items stored, including maize, potatoes, quinoa, fruits,
MODERN SCIENCE
salt, fish, firewood, and chicha. The excavations showed that abundant maize and quinoa kernels
in particular were stored. Vessel fragments were associated with a large amount of potatoes and
lupinus (Fabaceae) (chochos). Ethnography has shown that tubers were stored in roof supporting
stocks...and/or in gourds placed on the floor with branches of Mintostachys sp. (Andean mint)
in order to better preserve them and drive coleoptera away (pirwa storage structures).

We should recall that two square metres of Peruvian silverside remains covered with algae
(Macrocystis integrifolia) have been found at Cahuachi, in a Nasca context (Piacenza and Pieri 2012:
5-6), which shows that fish was already being preserved on the Peruvian coast at least since the first
centuries of our era. In this case this algae species, which contains alginic acid, was being used; the
acid adheres to the fish like a film and prevents its spoiling, but the effect is short-lived. Even so,
Piacenza and Pieri believe that fish may also have been dried or immersed in salt (in brine).

We cannot end this brief introduction to storage structures in pre-Hispanic Peru without
mentioning Los Gavilanes, a site specifically meant for maize storage some five thousand
years ago. The people who settled in the lower Huarmey Valley stored maize massively and
efficiently. The cobs were removed from the panca, piled up in holes and covered with sand.
There were 47 silos that could have stored between 460 thousand and 700 thousand tons,
which evidently shows the significance this activity had on the Peru’s pre-Hispanic coast.

480
THE PRE-HISPANIC DIET OF PERU
THROUGH CARBON AND NITROGEN
ISOTOPES AND COPROLITHS (EXCREMENT)

Two uses have been made in this book regarding isotopic applications in archaeological
research. We have previously noted the significance radiocarbon isotopes in calibration, as
they allow us to specify the actual time an event took place in. Another important issue in
which isotopes can make a contribution is the type of food our ancestors had. After presenting
the taxonomy of the food actually and potentially consumed, we now supplement it with
additional biochemical data—which includes isotopes and other methods—and the analysis
of human faecal remains (coproliths or palaeoscat) in order to reconstruct the ancient diet,
albeit with the exceptions that arise (cf. Cadwallader et al. 2012). Let us then enter this topic.
We present the data divided into two parts, one in regard to the Preceramic Period, and
another in in regard to the periods that extend since about the first millennia B.C. We now
turn to the first and most ancient one.

Elizabeth Wing (1980: 159-162) made one of the first pioneering studies with stable isotopes
on the fauna and vegetables consumed in various sites in the Callejón de Huaylas. Wing
studied strontium isotopes and reached the conclusion that more meat was eaten at sites
found at higher altitudes than those in valleys. This explains the higher consumption of plants
throughout the process of domestication as well as those that had been domesticated at an
early date as in Guitarrero Cave, which precisely is in an intermontane valley.

Benfer (2008: 377) reported the analysis of stable isotopes DeNiro made with various human
bones from Paloma, a preceramic coastal site south of Lima, in the Chilca Valley. Benfer
showed that on average the peoples on the coast based their diet on marine products, which
agrees with the analysis of macroremains presented in the first part of this book. Barium and
strontium concentrations gave similar results. Fluorine studies likewise provide a more solid
base to the predominance of the marine diet. It should be noted that the dates at Paloma
range between 5316 and 3630 B.C. (Benfer 1999).

The study Burger and Van der Merwe (1990) made was possibly foundational in this regard
for the Andes. Burger and Van der Merwe analysed stable isotopes in human bones from two

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

sites, Chavín de Huántar and Huaricoto, a small temple in the Callejón de Huaylas. Chavín is of land animals and plants like beans, quinoa, potatoes, cassava, sweet potato, olluco and
some 3150 masl and is considered the major religious centre of the Peruvian Formative Period. mashua, amongst others.
The researchers reported five human bone specimens for this site, both from the Initial Period
as well as the Early Horizon. Four of the samples were crania of people who served the temple In Kunturwasi on the contrary there was a higher trend towards maize consumption in 800-
(men, women, and infants). The main conclusion the analysis reached is that maize comprised 500 B.C. According to isotope O13, its consumption was apparently encouraged between 500
less than one fourth part of the carbon proteins in the bones of the individuals analysed; the B.C. and the year one A.D. Marine animals also comprised part of the diet the people at this
rest comprised other types of plants, possibly potatoes and quinoa, as well as camelid meat. site had despite being some 80-120 kilometres from the mouth of the Jequetepeque River.

Assuming the validity of the isotopes, we can conclude that the coast was highly dependent Although no isotopic record is available, the authors supplemented the alimentary picture for
on fish and marine resources, whereas in the highlands there was an intense consumption of these early populations in Cajamarca with data from Shimada (1985, in Seki and Yoneda 2005: 125),
tubers and cereals, in which maize had a not-too significant role. who claims camelids were eaten in these zones, particularly since 250 B.C., whereas before this
deer were more frequently eaten. We thus see that plant foods were supplemented with camelids.
We now turn to pre-Hispanic Cajamarca, both in Pacopampa—i.e. in the vicinity of the ceja de
montaña—as well as in other sites in the intermontane valleys in this same department. Tykot Seki and Yoneda (2005) even tried to establish the dinnerware used and drew attention to
et al. (2006) made a significant contribution in this regard. They presented a series of stable the constant increase in open-bowl-type vessels, which were probably meant to serve food.
isotopes bone analysis in human bones that included, nitrogen, carbon, C13 and even bone
apatite, in order to establish what proteins were eaten. As for maize consumption, Seki and Yoneda believe that it may have been connected with
certain practices regarding the multiple uses this plant had not just as a cereal, but possibly
The first site we turn to is Pacopampa, some 2140 masl in the province of Chota (region of also in chicha preparation (which seems to have been shown at Cerro Blanco, as seen above)
Cajamarca), that dates to the Initial Period and the Early Horizon, and which is characterised and even fodder for camelids, whose number constantly rose.
architectonically by plazas and temples. Its iconography shows a connection with the famed
site of Chavín de Huántar. The bone samples come from a monumental site in its vicinity known We turn now to the Central Coast. Here another group of sites—in this case Cardal and
as El Mirador, which is believed to have been part of the Pacopampa complex. Abundant food Manchay Bajo in the Lurín Valley to the south of Lima—has been the subject of this type of
remains were found in this context. The associated ceramics suggest that this zone was occupied study. This complex is part of a tradition of public or ceremonial buildings that are U-shaped,
ca. 900-600 B.C. Eleven human ribs were analysed. The isotopic results show that at least 25% of and which are presumably the forerunners of what was found at Chavín de Huántar. They
the diet was based on maize but the proteins must have come from animals such as camelids, are often dated between 2000 and 200 B.C. Maize phytoliths had already been identified at
guinea pigs and so on. Maize thus had a higher consumption in Pacopampa in this epoch. Cardal. Several human bones from burials both from Manchay Bajo and Cardal were subjected
to isotopic analyses.
Seki and Yoneda (2005) used stable isotopes to establish what food was consumed in the
Cajamarca region, albeit in its intermontane zone outside the Pacopampa area. The site of Remains were also found at the Mina Perdida site, which is also in the Lurín Valley. This is a
Huacaloma, a temple two kilometres to the southwest of the modern-day city of Cajamarca, U-shaped temple that dates to 2000-900 B.C. Here mostly fish were eaten. The archaeologist
has dates that go from about 1500 B.C. to A.D. 50. Around 250 B.C. there was a series of Richard Burger, who excavated this site, therefore believes these were farmers who obtained
enclosures that resembled small rooms, some of which evinced the presence of hearths. the fish through exchanges made with beach-sites like Chira-Villa. The results show the
people of Cardal also fed on maize alongside marine resources, albeit to a lesser extent than
Kunturwasi, another prominent archaeological site where this type of research has been at Pacopampa. We should remember that fish and shellfish remains abound in this context—
undertaken, lies some 30 km away from the city of Cajamarca, in the headwaters of the Cardal—but their combination with maize is clear.
Jequetepeque Valley. In this site the radiocarbon dates average between 1000 B.C. and 50 B.C.
The authors studied 37 human bone remains both from Kunturwasi and Huacaloma as well The project also included the Tablada de Lurín in the valley of the same name, some 12 km
as from Loma Redonda and Colguitín, two other sites in the vicinity of Huacaloma, in the from the littoral. This is some sort of cemetery with a large number of tombs that can be dated
Cajamarca Valley. Of these, 17 came from adult men (mostly 20-40 years old, with just one between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200. Several excavations yielded a large amount of food refuse,
sexagenarian), and 10 from adult women (mostly young, about 20 years of age). which indicates that marine products such as fishes and bivalves had a special role. These data
have been corroborated with stable isotope analyses. These established the five individuals
The studies established that the people of Huacaloma consumed very little maize, both at the analysed fed primarily on fish and marine mammals, but C13 indicated that maize comprised a
beginning of its occupation (1500 B.C.) as well as at its end (500 B.C.). They instead depended significant part of the diet. We see that the data approximately matches that of Cardal.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Villa del Salvador is a site in this same region that helps supplement this type of trend. This and even closer to Lima. It has been dated to around A.D. 600-1470. Bergfield says the marine
is a large sandy area in front of the Pacific Ocean on the coast immediately south of Lima, component in the diet at both sites was significant, agriculture was intense, and that it combined
that dates to the beginning of the Early Intermediate (ca. 100 B.C.-A.D. 100). This is a large with gathering fishing and other marine resources. We thus find that on the Central Coast—at
pre-Hispanic cemetery with a large number of offerings. Falk et al. (2004) and Pechenkina and least in Ica—resources were combined in the pre-Hispanic diet from 300 B.C. to A.D. 1470.
Delgado (2006) have emphasised that two different populations have been identified. The
first group is taller even with the skull deformed and was connected with agriculture, whilst For Chongos we have a more specific analysis that is worth including here in terms of
the second group is of smaller height, did not have deformed skulls, and were highlanders and reconstructing the diet at this site (Dietz 2009) and of our goal of reproducing the cooking
herders. Both groups were sampled in order to trace what type of food they ate, including methods of pre-Hispanic Peru. The remains include guinea pig hairs, which Dietz believes
stable carbon and hydrogen isotopes in bone apatite, as well as dental enamel in order to were passed on to the food at the time it was grill roasted. In this case apparently little care
establish the C3-C4 diet and the potential consumption of marine products. The analyses was taken when the skin of this animal was removed whilst preparing it.
indicated a predominance of these staples (fish and molluscs), which even gave rise to parasitic
infections typical of coastal fishermen, but the diet was supplemented with plants, as had There likewise was a differential access to food in gender terms. Males seem to have had a
been suggested by the activities these individuals carried out. diet that combined marine and agricultural items, and in fact ate more meat than the women.

It is therefore clear that several sites show that food consumption varied; the littoral sites In general, the population of Chongos can be interpreted as a mixture of fishermen and
indicate the predominance of fish consumption, whilst others evinced the beginning of maize farmers with a slight predominance of the latter activity, as is shown by the high rates of
consumption, which was apparently increasing. caries, gum hypoplasia, systemic infections, cribra orbitalia, and so forth.

According to the isotope analysis of human bones, it was precisely in the first millennium Tykot et al. (2011) presented a stable isotope analysis based on segments of hair derived from
of the Christian era that maize consumption gradually began to predominate in the record. seven individuals from the site of Chongos. They concluded there were major differences in
In a somewhat pioneering article, Burleigh and Brothwell (1978) showed through the isotope the food this people had particularly due to the seasons [la rotación de estaciones], so that
analysis of carbon derived from ten pre-Hispanic dog hairs from Ecuador and Peru, that a maize was not a permanent staple. The evidence presents individuals from the Paracas and
considerable part of their diet comprised maize. Although no context is provided with which Topará cultures, who possibly even covered vast expanses of land making the most of the
to determine the age of these remains, Burleigh and Brothwell state that most of them came surrounding environment, and which resulted in diversification.
from the Central Coast, and the oldest may date to ca. 1800 B.C.
José Pablo Baraybar (1999) made an interesting study in which he reconstructed the pre-
Samples were in fact taken at Ancón, Mala and Chancay, so we can speculate they extend Hispanic diet on the Central Coast with skeletons found in the Malanche 22 site, in the lomas
from the first millennium B.C. to late times such as the development of the Chancay culture that extend between the Lurín site and Chilca Ravine south of Lima, and which were dated to
between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries A.D. These are coastal cultures that bred ca. A.D. 1200-1450. Baraybar found that the people at this site essentially ate land resources,
dogs which were fed on maize. An examination of table 1 in Burleigh y Brothwell (1978: 357) but there was one woman who mostly fed on marine resources. These people made the most
clearly shows that the Chancay culture had a greater dependence on maize, i.e. greater than of loma resources, where they probably practiced agriculture.
in previous cultures. This suggests that its consumption gradually increased in late periods in
all of the Central coast’s archaeological record. We now turn to this type of information from the North Coast. Celeste Gagnon (2004, 2008)
made an interesting study of dental pathology that provides us with an idea of what type
There are other sites in this same zone where human remains, e.g. hairs, were acquired for of food the ancient people of Cerro Oreja had. This is a cemetery and a pre-Hispanic urban
a food consumption analysis. Bergfield (2007) specifically reviewed several chemical trace centre from Gallinazo and Salinar times (i.e. ca. 400 B.C.-A.D. 400) in the lower Moche Valley,
elements that were essentially used to reconstruct the diet and a partial pathology of three right in the middle of what would later be the area of the Mochica culture. Gagnon examined
key sites, Chongos, Huaca Malena and Buena Vista (which has already been discussed). Let us a total of 681 burials, most of them Salinar and Gallinazo, studying caries and dental abscesses,
see these results. and the ante-mortem loss of teeth. She concluded that both adult women as well as infants
who showed an increase in caries and periodontal diseases, were eating more staples which
Chongos is an archaeological site in the Pisco River some 14 kilometres from the Pacific Ocean. carbohydrates and sugars, like maize or potatoes. The male diet seems however to have
It has been dated to 300B.C.-A.D. 400, i.e. the transition between the Paracas and the Nasca been more evenly balanced between animal and plant resources. So by this period maize
culture, which in this zone is known as the Topará tradition. Seventy human remains from this site consumption in the Moche Valley was already significant, but a gender-based differential
were analysed. Huaca Malena in turn is in the Asia Valley, between the Mala and Cañete Rivers access to food is noticeable.

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Ericson et al. (1989) attempted to reconstruct the pre-Hispanic diet studying stable isotopes Besides the taxonomic identification of the remains, Cárdenas and his colleagues analysed
in human bones in conjunction with coproliths at several sites in the famed Virú Valley. A the content of five faecal remains in order to establish what people ate before they died. It
remarkable site they analysed was Puerto Moorin (ca. A.D. 200 a.C.-100), from whence came is clear that all had eaten maize (at least in three cases this included stem and cob fibres, so
25 human coproliths that essentially contained plant fibres and carbon. They also found the evidently they ate other parts), lima beans, beans, and chili peppers. They also ate fruits like
following, in order of frequency: minute bone fragments, shells, seeds, hair, and fish vertebrae, the guava, coca seeds, and—in one case only—guinea pig and river fishes. The joint analysis of
as well as sand and mud. the organic remains found in the excavations as well as the content of the coproliths made
Cárdenas and his colleagues conclude that the Mochica inhabitants of the Huaca de la Luna
Ericson and his colleagues believe many of these foods were cooked due to the presence of had a balanced diet of on average more than 2,300 calories and 60 grams of proteins a day.
carbon or carbonised vegetables, and they ate vegetables (maize, beans, potatoes, peanuts)
with fish and shells that had proteins of animal origin. Although the specific content of The ingestion of lipids from the meat of llamas, guinea pigs, birds, iguana lizards and fish may
each human faecal remain has not been singled out, we can hypothesise based on the data have been catalysed and regulated through chicha consumption. This allowed the easy digestion
that the last supper these individuals had probably included at some point—or at the same and absorption of maize carbohydrates as well as a better splitting of proteins and amino acids;
time—the above-mentioned vegetables with fish, shellfish and seeds (the sand and mud may it also passively broke up the fatty acids of guinea pigs, limited the absorption of calcium
have been eaten with the food by chance, but as has already been noted we must bear in and phosphorus when eating fish, and enabled a better synthesis of vitamins to take place,
mind the importance of its mineral content). The analyses corroborate that at least some of especially vitamin E. Following Antúnez de Mayolo, Cárdenas and his colleagues suggest that
these items were subjected to fire from embers, which we have seen was a typical cooking drinking Cyperus sculentus (coquito) could have regulated the amount of uric acid and iron in the
procedure in pre-Hispanic Peru. This is, then, one of the few times in which we can come close organism; the leaves and bark of Salix chilensis (sauce amargo) may likewise have been used as
to reconstructing the pre-Hispanic diet. a purgative, Scutia spicata (negrito) as an astringent substance and a tranquiliser, and Equisetum
giganteum (cola de caballo) as a diuretic. In this regard we must recall that the consumption of
As regards the human diet, which is the subject that concerns us, the same study cited in diuretics must have been mare more frequent than has been believed because as Melissa Vogel
the previous paragraph seems to indicate outstanding progress in the effort to detect a (2012: 127) points out, it is clear that the food prepared at the site of Cerro La Cruz (Chao Valley,
maize-based diet through the analysis of stable isotopes. Using independent research lines— ca. A.D. 900-1350) may have been accompanied by the consumption of flor de arena (Tiquilia
coproliths and the analysis of stable N15 and C13 isotopes—Ericson et al. (1989) were able to paronychioides) and grass [grama] (Paspalum peruvianum). This means both the Wari and the
determine several natural products eaten by the people of the Virú Valley since about the Chimú would have known the properties of both plants.
beginning of the Christian era up to A.D. 1000 (including the Mochica and Wari in this valley),
which we have already seen in the previous sections on the vegetable and animal species Can we reconstruct what it was that the Moche ate at this site? Cárdenas et al. (1997: 138-139) made
presented in the previous chapter. a study of this kind. They explain that coprolith A had maize fragments, grains, fibres and stems
(probably due to its diuretic properties), bean shells, and remains of guinea pig and chili pepper
A long list of food items has been established thanks to the coproliths. Amongst others (Capsicum pubescens and Capsicum frutescens). We can imagine they ate this combination of
it includes maize, sweet potato, cassava, chili pepper, yacón, peanuts, lima beans, carobs, food alone or as a group. In another case there is maize, but along with peanuts, rocoto, beans,
and lúcuma. In other words, this verifies the taxonomic list of plants found in, for instance, and coca. Except for the guinea pig and the still unidentified fish, the food essentially comprised
the excavations at Huaca de la Luna. The rationale behind the location of the sites had a fibres and vegetables. Cárdenas et al. furthermore claim that the configuration and colour of
determining role in regard to the consumption of local resources—whereas populations close the faeces suggests these individuals consumed food that held little water. Did the Moche in
to the littoral would eat more marine products supplemented with farm food, people inland general eat like this some 1500 years ago? Only studies of this type can provide answers and
preferred animal resources and local plant foods Maize was the common denominator eaten more promising perspectives on a veritable reconstruction of pre-Hispanic cookery.
in all recorded sites. This trend is observable since at least the Gallinazo phase, presumably
slightly before the beginning of the Christian era. Gumerman is one of several archaeologists who in recent decades have studied stable isotopes
in human bones, particularly those from North Coast archaeological sites. Gumerman (1988)
We can continue this analysis on the North Coast, this time in the Huaca de la Luna, studied 14 young male individuals from the archaeological site of Pacatnamú, a ceremonial
which dates to A.D. 400-750, and thus examine the Mochica diet (Cárdenas et al. 1997: centre located on the mouth of the Jequetepeque River on the North Coast. Collagen-based
138-139). The work Cárdenas and his colleagues have made reconstructing this diet is radiocarbon dates ranged around A.D. 1100, but the site is believed to have been occupied in
excellent, and provides much information based on the recovery of organic remains from A.D. 600-1460, i.e. between the final phase of the Mochica culture, the Wari occupation, and
human excrement. the Chimu epoch.

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Bone collagen was used to reconstruct the diet of the people who lived in this site. These Gerónimo, particularly in C3 and C4 resources (which include plants such as potatoes and
actually had been victims of violence, whose bodies exhibited traumas and even post-mortem maize), albeit with a wider range of edible resources. The trend towards a greater dependence
exposure to the elements. Prior to this analysis, the excavations revealed that the middens of land resources is observable in the cemetery of El Yaral in the middle valley; here both
left behind by human consumption included fish bones, marine shellfish, llama and alpaca carbohydrates and proteins were obtained almost exclusively from C3 and C4 plants, as well
bones, and the remains of C4 plants like maize and C3 like beans, pumpkins, chili peppers, as from zones immediately adjacent to the middle valley. The C13 values in bones from El Yaral
and fruits. Three population groups were analysed in order to establish their origins. Indeed, may even indicate that most of the proteins were obtained for instance from eating camelids
one group was identified that essentially fed on marine products whilst others fed on land (Tomczac 2003: 270-273).
resources, and partially had a mixed diet. This means these groups had a varied diet.
It follows, from the study of stable isotopes in human bones from the Chiribaya cemeteries
Also at Pacatnamú, John Verano and Michael DeNiro (1993) made a stable isotope study on in various altitudinal tiers, that whereas the inhabitants of each ecological tier consumed
human bones that includes C13 and N13 in a collagen series. They managed to establish that mostly local resources, those in the littoral were mainly fishermen whilst those in the highest
some individuals combined marine and land products in their diet, but it is possible that other part (El Yaral) were herders. Even so, the cultural links and even the exchange networks that
groups in the same part of the littoral may have consumed more marine resources, whilst a surfaced in the valley’s material culture were present as cohesive factors (Tomczac 2003: 275,
third group, which probably came from higher-altitude areas (presumably Cajamarca), had Knudson and Buitkstra 2007).
a more land-based diet. The pattern has a slight resemblance to that of the Chiribaya, who
essentially fed on products from areas adjacent to their home territory. More recently, Knudson et al. (2007) provided data on the seasonal dependency of the diet
through the study of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes obtained from Chiribaya sites such
A study of stable isotopes—this time human hair from four adults, two newborn babies, and as El Yaral and Chiribaya Alta. In the case of at least of one female individual it was verified
a child from Pacatnamú itself—was undertaken by a group of researchers (White et al. 2009). that while she ate mostly marine resources almost all of her life, she changed her food in the
This shows that in Moche times less fish was eaten than in the Lambayeque epoch, so that a last twenty months, which is when maize became important. Knudson et al. hypothesise that
change took place in the type of food consumed by the people who were buried here. an El Niño is one of the factors that may have influenced this change in the diet, particularly
in the individuals who lived in Chiribaya Alta.
We now leave Pacatnamú for the Chao Valley which lies to the south but is still on the North
Coast. Here a study of stable isotopes—in this case carbon 13 and nitrogen 15—was made with Having seen the ample coastal evidence available, we will now review this type of source in
eleven human burials from the Santa Rita B archaeological site, which is in the lower Chao order to approach the diet of cultures that lived in the highlands. Our review begins with the
Valley, at an average altitude of 484 masl, some 25 km from the Pacific Ocean (Bethard et al. Wari Empire, but with the caveat that our review may include parts of the coast due to the
2008: 19-27). The Chimú occupation of the site comprises 400 enclosures and some corrals. The varied expansion of cultures like the Wari or the Inca.
dates range between A.D. 1030 and A.D. 1230. Studies have shown the intensive consumption
of maize among this people. It is likewise known that Donax peruviana (palabritas) was eaten Brian Finucane et al. (2006) analysed the human and animal remains from the well-known
as a supplement, so these people depended mostly on maize consumption. Wari site of Conchopata in Ayacucho (2700 masl), which was occupied ca. A.D. 550-1000.
Stable isotopes (C13 and N15) were used and it was concluded that maize was the main staple,
We now turn to the scientific data available for the South Coast. The Chiribaya culture is one both for people (the rural population and the elite) and animals.
that has most been studied from this perspective. Here Paula Tomczac (2003) analysed finds
from the Osmore Valley in the southernmost Peru, which extends over some 139 km up to the Two types of management follow from the study of camelids. Some came from pastures with
southern Peruvian puna. The Chiribaya culture held sway over the middle and lower sections C3 plants, possibly tubers, whilst other camelids ate maize. In the cases of the animals from
of the valley during the Late Intermediate Period (ca. A.D. 1000-1450). high-altitude sites it is possible that these were alpacas because the way these animals graze
is known. It is worth noting that one camelid had isotopic values from which it can be inferred
Tomczac examined stable C13 and N15 isotope levels in human bone remains from several that it may have eaten marine algae like cochayuyo (Porphyra columbina). It is possible that
archaeological cemeteries in the valley’s littoral up to 2000 masl. The individuals buried in this animal was brought here from the coast, and even from Camaná, as happens nowadays.
the cemetery of San Gerónimo, close to the littoral, had bones that indicated they obtained
most of their proteins from marine resources, supplemented with C3 carbohydrates from Guinea pig bones were also found in these contexts, which were probably also eaten. The
land resources. The nearby cemetery of Chiribaya Alta showed that the people in this zone study showed that these animals were fed above all with maize. The high N15 values in human
likewise consumed marine resources. Chiribaya Baja, another cemetery somewhat higher up infants reflect an intensive maternal breastfeeding particularly during their first year of life. As
on the river bank, exhibited a higher dependency of land resources than the cemetery of San for food differentiation, it was found that both males and females had equal access to various

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resources. The analysis showed that in Conchopata, maize was the food staple par excellence A report by Burger et al. (2003) for the famed archaeological shrine of Machu Picchu presents
both in children as well as in adults, for males and females, and even for animals like camelids the results for stable isotope analysis in bones from human skeletons. The mean C13 in the
and guinea pigs. individuals studied was -11.9‰, which means 65% of the bone collagen came from C4 plants.
This means that maize may have been the main food staple. It should be noted that the mean
Finucane (2007) studied stable C13 and N15 isotopes in the bones from six individuals from was similar in men and women, which can be interpreted as equal access to this staple.
the site of Vinchos (Ayacucho). He showed these individuals essentially ate maize during the
transition that extended from the fall of the Inca Empire to the beginning of the colonial Another significant conclusion reached is that there were diverse C13 values, which reflects a
period, i.e. A.D. 1490-1690. Unlike Conchopata, no sign that camelid meat was eaten has been varied diet. For Burger et al. this is explained by the varied provenance of the individuals buried
found in this population. Research has also shown the fields where maize was cultivated were at Machu Picchu. Such variability seems likewise reflected in the strontium values found in
fertilised with dung. These results show maize became the main food staple from the time of the bones. The consumption of both marine and high-altitude resources—that may well have
the Wari Empire to that of the Inca Empire, at least in this site. In a more recent study of stable come from the Titicaca Altiplano—was detected. This means the human composition was
isotopes, Finucane (2009) concluded that maize was the main food in the Ayacucho region variable and came from various parts in the Central Andes.
even in A.D. 800. This means maize was the dietary base between 800 B.C. and A.D. 1535, i.e.
for 2,300 years up to Inca times. More recently, Turner et al. (2010) published the results of their research on the food of the
people buried at this site. In this case the researchers used strontium and nitrogen isotope
Continuing with the Wari context, albeit a regional one (Ica) now, there is another study markers in dentine and dental enamel, as well as O13. The study was based on 71 adult
that is worth including in this review of the attempts at reconstructing pre-Hispanic food individuals. The analyses showed the wide range of food eaten by these individuals who
through stable isotope analysis. Kellner and Schoeninger (2008) studied hydrogen 15 and apparently were retainers—literally yanacona or mitmacona immigrants—who managed and
oxygen 13 isotopes and concluded that maize was the main grain consumed, at least at Las served the temple, came from various parts in the Andes and were not part of the elite.
Trancas, close to the monumental site of Cahuachi, while animal proteins came mostly from Strontium analysis established some came from the coasts of Southern Peru or Northern
camelids and guinea pigs. Kellner and Schoeninger point out there is scant evidence of the Chile, or from the Andean highlands.
consumption of marine resources, and that men and women had equal access to chicha. Just
like at Conchopata, both the elite and the common people ate maize. Before migrating to Machu Picchu and being buried, these individuals had more llama meat in
their homelands and presumably also kiwicha, lima beans, quinoa, fish and other items (potatoes
We leave Ayacucho and move to the zone of Junín. An invaluable interdisciplinary project and chuño); quinoa and lima beans were what they had most eaten. Later they had more maize
studied the archaeological sites in the upper Mantaro (Junín) Valley. The study made a as adults and left behind the food they ate when younger. Very few of them changed their food
comprehensive exam of the Wanka culture and the Inca occupation in the area close to habits during their life which bespeaks in this regard of very conservative societies.
Tunanmarca (D’Altroy and Hastorf 2002). According to D’Altroy and Hastorf there are three
relevant phases, Wanka 1 (A.D. 1000-1350), Wanka 2 (A.D. 1350-1450), and Wanka 3 (A.D. 1450- The analysis of O13 detected that during their childhood, these people drank water from
1533). Hastorf (2002) states that maize, potatoes and quinoa were frequently cultivated, but various sources. Wright et al. (1997) found that agriculture in Machu Picchu and its environs
during the Late Horizon—i.e. the Inca occupation—maize was preferred to the detriment could not have supplied a population of more than one thousand inhabitants, so they people
of other crops due to imperial pressure. Stable isotopes in 47 human skeletons from this who lived here did so temporarily or were simply passing through.
site were studied in order to confirm this trend (DeNiro and Hastorf 1985, Hastorf 2002). A
first conclusion is that maize, potatoes and quinoa were probably grown in this zone since Another important contribution that was recently presented as a doctoral dissertation
2000 B.C., which means they were eaten since early periods. Besides, the cultivation and examines the food of the people in the well-known site of Puruchuco-Huaquerones in Lima.
consumption of maize did indeed increase towards Inca times, both in rural populations and Jocelyn Williams (2005) from Alberta University (Canada) studied stable carbon and nitrogen
amongst the elite (Hastorf 2002: 176), as was also the case in Conchopata. isotopes in a total of 72 mummified individuals, most of them from the Inca Period (A.D. 1476-
1532) and natives to the coast, i.e. local people. Williams analysed five types of tissue: bones,
Finally we turn to the Inca Empire. The archaeological site of de Waman Wain, which hair, skin, nails and muscles. She established that maize was their main food; then came the
was studied by Richard Burger, is in the Callejón de Huaylas at about 3500 masl. The meat from animals like llamas and guinea pigs, and even additional C3 plants like potatoes and
materials found evince occupations that extend from the Early to the Late Horizon. other tubers (albeit cyclically, probably in winter, at harvest time).
Burger presented the results achieved by the study of three cranial fragments dating to
the Inca occupation. Carbon and hydrogen isotopes indicate that during this phase the The dental studies made with the remains from individuals likewise clearly indicate their basic
people mostly ate maize. diet abounded in carbohydrates, particularly maize-derived ones, and as a result there were 25

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dental caries. Due to the dental wear it is believed that charqui and toasted maize were eaten.
Although the site lies close to the sea, the isotopic evidence shows no marine food was eaten.
Williams likewise noted that men had more access to maize (probably as chicha) and fish.

In a subsequent study (Williams and Katzenberg 2007) it was established that more tubers
(e.g. potatoes) and more maize were eaten during the winter months. The study of stable
isotopes in the hair indicates the diet of the people of Puruchuco-Huaquerones was varied.
For Williams and Katzenberg this means that grains were not stored except for toasted maize FROM HEARTH TO OVEN:
or as fermented beverages.
PRE-HISPANIC PERUVIAN CUISINE
As part of her isotopic studies, Williams (2005: 196) also examined five individuals from the
Cajamarquilla site, which was mainly occupied during the Late Intermediate Period (ca. A.D.
1000-1470). She concluded that unlike Puruchuco-Huaquerones, more C3 plants (quinoa,
potatoes and other tubers) were eaten than maize. Williams believes this is a model for what This section will examine just some of the archaeological sources that can provide details on
happened at Puruchuco, i.e. that various tubers and seeds were eaten in the sites within the how the pre-Hispanic people organised their space, their habitation areas and their houses in
valley of Lima, but with Inca control the pressure to expand maize consumption increased, as terms of the preparation and consumption of food.
Hastorf claims for the upper Mantaro Valley.
It is a fact that careful excavations that reveal this kind of data have only recently appeared.
Andrushko et al. (2006) studied a total of 43 skeletons from the famed site of Sacsayhuaman Up to the 1970s, archaeology paid attention mostly to ceramic sherds, pieces of metal and the
and 89 individuals from Choquepuqio in order to determine the type of food they ate and architecture. The interest in expanding our knowledge of the types of food in pre-Hispanic
the subsequent pathologies. The former site is in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Cuzco Peru only appeared some forty years ago.
and the second is in the Lucre Valley, some 30 km away from this city. Both were occupied in
Inca times. Here we shall include some additional anthracological data recently published regarding the
fuel used in kitchen fires. First we shall see how pre-Hispanic groups may have organised to
The analyses showed that the high maize consumption, particularly at Sacsayhuaman, resulted procure fuel, i.e. the initial activity required for cooking. Then we will reconstruct as far as
in 79% of dental caries as well as bacterial infections and abscesses in the skeletons under possible the activities that surrounded the preparation of food and the related tasks.
study. This can be attributed to the imposition of maize consumption by the Inca. Hypoplasias
that were probably generated by nutritional deficiencies in children up to seven years of age
were also identified. Andrushko et al. (2006) believe, much like other scholars, that the rise Firewood and Mortars
of a diet that was increasingly based on maize and other Andean cereals led to conditions
that were derived from anaemia or were related with it. This is evinced by cribra orbitalia and At the beginning of this chapter we discussed combustion structures but we did not really
porotic hyperostosis, which have been recorded at Sacsayhuaman. discuss the issue of firewood, which is essential if the kitchen fire is to last and be effective.

Deborah Pearsall (1978-80: 66) documented the use of wood, camelid dung and champa7*
since around 8100 B.C. in Pachamachay Cave, in the Junín puna, at about 4300 masl. The
woods Pearsall identified were Margyricarpus strictus, Schinus molle (molle), Chuquiraga
huamanpinta (huamanpinta), Ribes, Dodonaea viscosa, Proustia pungens, Polylepis, and
Ephedra americana (cola de caballo).

Fanny Moutarde (2006b) devoted her whole dissertation to Peruvian anthracology and the
second volume deals with the wood used as fuel in pre-Hispanic Peru. Moutarde mentions
several plants, shrubs and trees that may have been used for this purpose: Schinus molle

*
7 Grass and wood.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

(molle), Ambrosia arborescens (altamisa, which reaches up to 4000 masl), Mutisia acuminata As was already noted, human faecal remains have been shown to hold remains of Chenopodium
(huariruma, which reaches up to 3,800 masl), Tessaria dendata (pájaro bobo), Verbesina (which need not be quinoa) associated with small stones and charcoal remains. This implies
tomentosa (putka), Eriotheca ruizii (Schum.) Robyns (pati), Bursera graveolens (HBK) Tr. et that this type of grain was probably ground on the mortars along with Solanaceae, and was
Pl. (palo santo), Espostoa melanostele (Vaup.) Borg (porgón), Capparis avicennifolia HBK then fire cooked or roasted. A piece of wood which has traces of having been used to make a
(guayabito del Inca), Cercidium praecox (R&P) Harms (palo verde), Acacia huarango Ruiz ex J. F. fire to cook the food before ingestion also dates to this time (Benfer 2008: 379).
Macbride (huarango, from 0 to 1000 masl), Acacia macracantha H&B ex Willdenow (huarango,
faique), Inga feuillei DC (pacay, guava, from 0 to 3000 masl), and eventually Mimosa pellita The excavations at Paloma recorded other materials used as fuel. These are branches and
H&B ex Willd (uña de gato), Salix chilensis Molina (willow), and even Pouteria lucuma (lúcuma). shrubs found in the lomas close by to the archaeological site, such as Piqueria sp., Croton
alnifolius, Heliotropium (heliotrope), and Tillandsia sp. This is evinced by their frequently
Gynerium saggitatum (caña brava) has been found in charred condition in cooking context in being found burned (Weir and Dering 1986: 29).
the Chimú Pedregal site, on the North Coast. It was a firewood much used by these people
alongside carob trees (Cutright 2009: 186), and probably even before. These data on the plants chosen as fuel can be supplemented with an interesting study made by
Hastorf et al. (2005). Hastorf and her colleagues studied the wood used as fuel in at least five Late
Even so Moutarde (2006: 124) insists that carob wood—(Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC var. Intermediate Period and Late Horizon—i.e. the Inca empire—pre-Hispanic sites in A.D. 1300-1350.
juliflora (Kunth) Burkart) and Prosopis pallida (H&B ex Willd.) H.B.K)—is exceptionally good The sites of Hatunmarca, Tunanmarca, Umpamalca, Chuccus, and Marca, which lie on the upper
as firewood when making and keeping a fire alive, as was shown by Beresford-Jones (2004) in part of the Mantaro Valley (to the north of the modern city of Jauja) between 3200 and 3400
her dissertation, which was reviewed when discussing the properties of the carob tree. In this masl, belong to the Wanka and Jauja cultures, both as autonomous polities and then under Inca
regard, Cutright (2009: 185) concluded from her excavations at the Late Moche-Chimú site of occupation.
Pedregal (in the lower Jequetepeque Valley) that the main fuel used here was carob wood.
Hastorf and her colleagues concluded that at least a dozen plants provided firewood for the
Plants that abound on the Peruvian coast, like Tillandsia (achupalla), were used directly kitchens and other uses—Buddeja sp., (colle) Polylepis sp. (queñual), Oreopanax sp., Colletia
as coal fuel at Cerro La Virgen, which is part of the rural zone of the Chan Chan citadel. spinosissima (akash), Caesalpinia (chara), and Alnus jurulensis HBK (aliso, a good fuel). The use
Remains of Tillandsia have been found in holes with hearths that were used to cook food of three types of wood— Buddeja, Colletia, and Alnus—rose under the Inca. As for Caesalpinia
(Keatinge 1975: 223). there even is evidence that it was used as firewood by at least 2200 B.C. in Huarmey, and
specifically at the site of Los Gavilanes (Weir and Bonavia 1985: 107).
Nor should we forget the potential of camelid dung as fuel. In this regard we should bear in
mind the above-mentioned study by Cutright (2009) on Pedregal, where piles of camelid dung We should add that grass was used as fuel in hearths even during periods like the Wari Empire.
and maize husks have been found that may have had this use. Such was the case of a camp located on the beach north of the Huarmey Valley, which
probably dates to A.D. 800. Here Bonavia et al. (2009: 242) documented abundant saltgrass
The site of Bandurria, a monumental architectural centre, is near Huacho to the north of Lima. (Distichlis spicata) and reeds or carricillo (Phragmites communis) that were evidently used as
Its dates range from 3170 B.C. to 1610 B.C. (Chu 2008: 134-135). Here Tillandsia sp. appeared fuel to keep the fire alive.
profusely in the excavations. Alejandro Chu believes this was the main fuel used to make fire
at this site, as it is mainly associated with hearths and burned materials.

Mortars were a key element in all pre-Hispanic cookery. Milling and grinding are inconceivable
without them. Let us review some of the data that concerns them.

Paloma, to the south of Lima, in the Chilca Valley, is an archaeological site where a large
amount of organic remains have been recovered. It was occupied from 5316 B.C. to 3630 B.C.
(Benfer 1999). At least 75% of the food here was based on fish and a large part on shellfish.

Benfer, the archaeologist who heads this project, reports that at that time, in the huts or
villages he had excavated, mortars were already used for milling. The analysis of these mortars’
surfaces showed that it was not just plants that were ground for small fish were also ground,
possibly anchovies and sardines (Benfer 2008: 377).

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PRE-HISPANIC CUISINE AND CULINARY
TRADITIONS: THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL
AND ETHNOGRAPHIC DATA

The Food and Cuisine of the oldest inhabitants of Peru


Leaving aside the fuel and firewood of pre-Hispanic cuisine, how did the people organise
themselves to cook? The oldest data from an archaeological standpoint probably come
from two projects developed by the French school in Peru, and which were headed by
Danièle Lavallée, from the Université Paris 1. One of the sites was on the coast, in the Tacna
region, and the other one was in the highlands, in the puna of the modern Junín region. The
results achieved by both projects will be here briefly presented, as we are here interested in
finding out the oldest “Peruvian” traditions in food preparation, between 10,000 and 5,000
years ago.

Quebrada de los Burros, in Tacna (Lavallée et al. 1999) is one of the most remote and interesting
sites connected with this issue. This is a kind of camp on the coast that dates to the Early
to Middle Preceramic Period (about 8000-4500 B.C.). It lies between the Caplina and Sama
Rivers, just a few kilometres away from the modern Chilean border. Hearths, mostly shallow
ones] used to cook were found in the oldest layer. The radiocarbon dates of these ovens
come from layer N3, which means they can be dated between 6454 and 6095 B.C. One of
them may even date to 7287 B.C.

It has been noticed that hearths built in this period were protected from the wind, because they were
intentionally built alongside a small stone promontory. The hearths overlap; this means they were
built on the same sites so that the fires were lit in the same places. A large number of pata de burro
snails (Concholepas concholepas) were roasted in these preceramic ovens; a small number of other
kinds of snails (Tegula) as well as limpets (Fissurella) and black mussels [choros] (Chroromytilus).
Mesodesma [machas] (Mesodesma donacium) and choritos (Perumytilus purpuratus) were also
roasted. All of these hearths and habitation areas were found in encampments which had on the
floor an arc-form three-metre in diameter that opened to the west.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Hearths were still used in a second phases in the occupation of the archaeological site in Atlantic mackerel, chita [Anisotremus], bonitos, and morwongs, as well as several sharks and
5,991-4,501 B.C., of which ashes and charcoal remains have remained as evidence. In general rays. Béarez notes they may have fished from the shore a fishing line and a hook, and from
the same species of shells and snails were roasted on a direct fire as in the earlier phase. boats using netting.
Some had a burned surface due to combustion. The presence of a hearth about 20 cm thick
was documented in the most recent phase. Despite the existing doubts, it may have been The most impressive thing here is that the use of netting is being suggested for the Middle
used to open Mesodesma through heat. It is also remarkable that a harpoon point made out Holocene, i.e.—if we consider the dates—the seventh millennium B.C., but no direct evidence
of mammal bone was also found in the midst of these remains, thus evincing harpoons were has as yet been found. The development of net-making can even be followed right up to the
used to fish at this time. Nasca culture. For instance, nets of various forms and sizes made using cotton fibres have
been reported at the shrine of Cahuachi. Piacenza and Pieri (2012: 5) believe this perhaps
The palaeo-icthyologist Philippe Béarez (Lavallée et al. 1999: 38-40), a member of Lavallée’s entails different types of fishing. We should not forget that fish such as anchovies are present
team, authored one of the few reconstructions available made in terms of documenting since ca. 10,000 B.C. in the context of the Paiján culture, so the use of netting since the last
the provenance of the shellfish and fish eaten at Quebrada de los Burros. His results at the ice age should come as no surprise.
site indicate that the people gathered shellfish since ca. 7600 B.C. and exploited shellfish in
practically all biotypes in the area around the site, from the marine littoral (at a depth of Returning now to the analyses made by the palaeo-icthyologist Philippe Béarez (2012: 99-123),
four metres) to the rocky promontories close to the river’s mouth. The gathering of shellfish he concluded that the people in the camps at Quebrada de los Burros in Tacna, must have had
probably did not entail the use of specialised tools, as they were simply collected using a vast knowledge of the sea and its environs since 7900 B.C. They were acquainted with the
baskets or nets to take the shells and molluscs back to the camp. In the case of gastropod range of fish found in the Peruvian Cold Current and accordingly developed techniques adapted
molluscs attached to rocks, these were perhaps extracted using stone chips. On the other to the exploitation of the littoral environment such as fishing hooks. They may also have used
hand, net fishing since the terminal Pleistocene (11,000 B.C.) should come as no surprise some kind of raft to catch fish from deep-sea environments, like horse and Atlantic mackerel,
due to the evidence shown for Quebrada Tacahuay. Here anchovies and sardines for human cabinza grunts, and bonitos. Rushes and perhaps sea lion skins may have been used to make
consumption were literally caught off the coast of Moquegua during the last Ice Age. rafts, as could still be verified ethnographically many years ago. Béarez also points out that local
fishermen could have benefitted when hundreds of fishes were washed out and beached.
One question that is still unanswered is why the big molluscs were taken back whole to
the camp instead of previously extracting the meat in order to reduce the weight. Their We now turn to the Telarmachay rock shelter, which is some 4420 masl in the vicinity of San
transportation is explained with the fact that they could be heated in the campfire in order Pedro de Cajas, in the modern Junín region. The deepest layer was dated to 8000-6000 B.C. It
to extract the meat. has been suggested that the fire in, this layer was made by striking stones or rubbing wooden
sticks as was found at Guitarrero Cave, where five branches where found with hollows where
Molluscs must have been placed directly over the embers or very close to the fire to cook sticks were placed in order to rub them and cause ignition (Lavallée et al. 1985: 279-280).
them. There are, however, accounts that suggest they may have been eaten raw directly after
being extracted from the sea. Such may have been the case of the site of Gramalote, which According to Lavallée and her team, the fuel used to cook was perhaps found in fragmented
is close to Huanchaco. Here Shelia and Thomas Pozorski (1979: 424) found recurring fracture bones, moss, dry branches, grass, and perhaps even camelid dung. There were three types of
patterns that may have been caused by repeated glows from pebbles; they believe these hearths, plain open hearths, hearths surrounded by stones, and stone-lined hearths. The first
fractures are due to the way the molluscs were opened to extract the meat, both bivalves and two were mainly used in 8,000-6,000 B.C.; the third was built later (Lavallée et al. 1985: 280-
gastropods. 281). The open ovens in this first epoch suggest two types of cooking, roasting and grill-type
cooking. It cannot be established whether the vicuña or guanaco meat was placed directly
A series of dark spots and even carbonised parts are clear evidence that the shellfish were over the embers or not, i.e. whether it was spit roasted or hung over the flames (roasting).
subjected to fire to open and cook them. The hearths meant for this may have been used
repeatedly. Crabs would have been cooked over the embers or small racks made out of A question the reader should ask is how water was boiled 10,000 years ago, when there was
branches, as is evinced by a series of charcoal particles that have remained as residues left no pottery or fire-resistant vessels. Lavallée et al. (1985: 282) believe the remains of animal
behind by this procedure. stomachs or vesicles may have been used as vessels and filled with water. Stones were heated
as far as possible before they were calcined, and were submerged in the water held in the
A large amount of crustacean remains were also found in the levels excavated at Quebrada de animal vessel. When it boiled it could have been used as a cooking base for broth or stews.
los Burros beginning at ca. 7600 B.C., as well as a large range of fish, particularly sardine, horse Thermofractured stones due to this procedure have been found at Huaca Prieta, a site on
mackerel, lorna, sea bass, machete [Elopidae?], cabinza grunt, pejesapo [Sicyases sanguineus?], the North Coast. In this case Lavallée] believe the stones heated as far as possible would

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

have boiled water in pumpkins and not in bags or in vessels made out of animals. This type Several stone tools were also found close to the ovens or hearths. This shows the food was
of fracture is quite common and gives an idea of how frequent this procedure was. This processed alongside the cooking areas, and was added as cooking took place. This evidence
technique has apparently been documented in other more or less contemporary sites with appears around 8,000 B.C. (Lavallée et al. 1985: 300).
Los Gavilanes, like Áspero or Río Seco de León, where stones used to roast the food have
been reported (Bonavia 1982: 268). This must have been the method par excellence used to Hearths that lie quite close to the rocky wall of the shelter also suggest the possibility
boil water between 10,000 and 2500 B.C. before the development of pottery. that meat was hung to dry it by smoking, a frequent technique not just in South American
ethnography but also in Peruvian ethnography (Lavallée et al. 1985: 283).
How long has the pachamanca cooking technique existed? Lavallée and her team found some
evidence at the Telarmachay rock shelter that could be interpreted as the remains of this type We now leave the Junín puna and move to another example rescued through a type of
of cooking in level VI, which means it could be 8,000 years old in Peru. The hearth was slightly detailed archaeological excavation (which is known as décapage). We include it here because
excavated in the ground. The inside walls were lined with stone slabs and were then covered it can provide data in terms of understanding how space was organised for subsistence and
with earth. The internal heat generated by the oven fractured the stones and gave rise to a food preparation in the earliest periods of pre-Hispanic Peru. This is the work of Claude
type of fracture known as thermofracture, which has evidently been found at Telarmachay. Chauchat on the North Coast, between the modern-day port of Pacasmayo and the site of
Paiján (Chauchat et al. 1992).
What items were cooked using this technique? Lavallée believes cut-up camelid or deer meat
was placed in these hearths alongside tubers; the latter cannot be determined because there This group of people lived on the North Coast in ca. 11,000-7,000 B.C. They were nomads, at
are no vegetable remains in the excavations due to the type of climate and soil present in the least as regards the zone that extends between Pacasmayo and Paiján, and fed essentially on
Peruvian puna, which does not preserve organic remains. It is striking that the stones used in reptiles (up to 74% desert tegus), fish (16%), land mammals like vizcachas and deer (just 7%),
pachamancas were small. Lavallée believes that cooking might have been fast. If we assume and birds. The desert tegus and lizards could clearly be caught with traps in the vicinity of
that this shelter was a way station and that the people who lived there were acquainted their camps, whilst the fish had to be taken from the sea to their dwelling zones. We may
with this technique, it can be assumed more evidence, as yet unknown, exists in this zone. thus speculate on the presence of some type of method used to preserve food for medium
It is therefore clear that this potential “pachamanca” in the Telarmachay rock shelter, in the distances.
vicinity of San Pedro de Cajas (Junín), is the oldest in Peru and dates to 6000 B.C.
According to Julie Crédou (2006) they may also have fed on shellfish and molluscs, but these
Once the technique required to cook food underground had been found, it was applied must have been eaten in situ as they cannot resist transportation to sites that are at least 15
at several sites. For instance, Engel (1957b) found at Río Seco a “series of circular platforms km away from the shoreline.
full of pebble-type stones, which were removed when they fell apart due to the heat.”
Thermofractured stones have also been found on the upper part of the cooking pits at The presence of small fish like sardines and anchovies suggests they may have used some
Jiskairumoko, a site in Puno, which have been interpreted as the first evidence of the well- kind of netting or meshes, as was speculated when discussing these fishes. The netting must
known huatia of southern Peru, at least until 3000 B.C. (Craig 2005: 386). have been “primitive,” like that found nowadays on the north that is known as “cortina” or
“agallero” (Gálvez Mora and Quiroz Moreno 2008: 72). Fishing using fish hooks must have
Danièle Lavallée made an interesting deduction. Due to the scarcity of fuel in the puna, food evidently prevailed.
may have been processed up to a minimum before boiling. The discovery of may fragmented
bones close to the hearths suggests that the marrow was also extracted and was perhaps Birds are a type of fauna of which very little is known from an archaeological and taphonomic
eaten roasted or in soups prepared as was noted above, boiling the water by immersing hot perspective in terms of the lists of foods consumed by ancient Peruvians. The recent research
stones in it. undertaken at sites like Quebrada Tacahuay is an exception. Yet we must review this point in
view of the documentation presented in this book.
There are other relevant details in this 6000 year B.C. cuisine. For instance, a hearth was
discovered not just with stone tools like knives, but also cobbles with traces of their use in Susan DeFrance and her team showed that birds were part of the food eaten by ancient
grinding, i.e. part of the tools used to prepare food. One pebble showed traces of having been Peruvians since the last glaciation—ca. 11,000 B.C.—at the site of Quebrada Tacahuay, in the
used to fracture bones (Lavallée et al. 1985: 311). On the other hand, finding grinding tools in vicinity of the modern city of Ilo (Moquegua). Thanks to her detailed analysis, DeFrance
the archaeological record should come as no surprise, as all we need recall is that ground showed that the birds were hunted or captured. This activity was undertaken on several
maize remains have been found in sites in northern South America. occasions and left behind the ashes and fragmented bones of the birds that were processed
in order to consume them.

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DeFrance also managed to identify the traces of food preparation through the calcination of Horkheimer notes that food was cooked in relatively simple ways, e.g. over stones warmed in an
bird and even fish bones. The colours due to combustion were identified and ranged from dark open fire, as was documented by the burned and thermofractured stones found at Huaca Prieta
to whitish hues; most of these specimens came from the hearths and places of combustion and other coastal sites (Horkheimer 1960: 87), as was noted above. The food was cooked over
themselves. Many of the bones also showed cut marks received as part of their processing the embers, on ashes, ceramic vessels or in holes (pachamanca); roasting and toasting were the
prior to cooking using stone tools, probably cutting stone chips that acted as prehistoric classic methods, as in the case of maize. Horkheimer cited Bernabé Cobo in particular. Cobo
knives. gave “locro” as an example. This is a typical, stew-like dish that has chili pepper, potatoes and
potato flour, to which fresh or dried meat, and even dried fish, are added. Cobo stated that
Bones of larger mammals, like seals and sea lions, have this type of cuts, which means they Andean food was cooked in this way without frying. He believed this was primitive—we would
were also prepared for consumption. In birds the cuts were mostly located in the pectoral say it was healthier. But Horkheimer was apparently right as regards the limited diversity in the
wing area, so we can imagine that the bones in this part of the bird were removed in order to types of culinary preparation, as we are finding in the archaeological record.
roast or spit roast them.
Is there another way of establishing what pre-Hispanic Peruvians ate? We believe there is. One
If we now take a chronological leap from this ancient period to a period of time before the way could be through the study of ancient human faeces, which aw we have seen can reveal
Incas, we can briefly present the case of the research undertaken in the Mantaro Valley, in the what food was ingested up to at least the last 24 hours before death. The bioarchaeological
central puna of Peru. These are high-altitude occupations between ca. A.D. 100 and the Inca study of a human burial from Huaca Prieta that probably dates to the second millennium B.C.,
Period, i.e. populations with a perfect command of farming and herding. is an example of the potential this type of study holds. Let us review some revealing details.

The plants cooked here have been partially identified (Hastorf and DeNiro 1985). For instance, At the time of death, the individual had at least three varieties of fruit in the stomach and a
this study concluded that food was frequently prepared in big, jug-type pots with lips. First a high fish content. A modern nutritionist could interpret this group of foods as a balanced diet—
series of grains, legumes and tubers were boiled and then squashed, after which some were varied and not concentrating on one single species at a time (Callen and Cameron 1960: 39).
toasted. Here we should mention tarwi, beans, potatoes, quinoa, olluco, oca and maize, but
the latter was eaten boiled (mote) or toasted (cancha) since ca. 100 B.C. Fragments of marine shells, crab claws, and remains of sea lions and even birds were found in
the faeces. This shows the large range of the early diet on the Peruvian coast, but it also points
Based on the archaeological research in the Mantaro Valley, Coleman (2008) drew attention towards a digestion that subjected to challenging habits.
to the mortars in sites such as Hatunmarca o Tunanmarca, which were meant to grind grains
like maize, quinoa, and kiwicha. She also suggested that big mortars that were long used Strangely enough, fish do not seem to have comprised a significant part of the diet despite
correspond to families with a long tradition behind them. This point may give an idea of the the fact that the sea is quite close. What do exist are combinations of cultivated plants,
familial concept of cuisine in pre-Hispanic Peru. fruits and marine shellfish. Bird et al. (1985: 241) however emphasised that marine foodstuffs,
including fish and mammals, were eaten in more ancient epochs. We thus probably have
Additional studies suggest some speculations regarding the combination of inputs during the incomplete data.
culinary preparation. Such is the case of room D3R1 in the Cerro La Cruz site (Chao Valley),
which is dated between A.D. 900 and A.D. 1350, and was related with the Wari, Casma, and The remains allow us to presume the use of cooking-types like roasting, which as has been
Chimú cultures. Maize, chili pepper, squash, guava and carobs were found in situ in this room. seen throughout this book, seems to have been the technique par excellence of the pre-
Coleman speculates with the possibility that these were the ingredient in one (or some) Columbian Andean world. According to Bird et al. (1985: 240), the food was simply subjected
dish(es), particularly in regard to the viability of combining maize and chili peppers as is done to fire (without peeling it or removing the skin), which calcinated the exterior and completely
nowadays (Vogel 2012: 127). or partly cooked the inside. They were then eaten with the roasted skins.

Some mammal bones—e.g. dogs, foxes and sea lions—had been cut up into pieces, in what can
Reconstructing the Menu: Case Studies in Pre-Hispanic Peru be interpreted as a slaughterhouse. Finally, some dolphin or whale bones had been roasted.
We should recall, in this regard, that Bonavia et al. (2009: 265) found dolphin bones with chew
Hans Horkheimer (1960) made one of the most important and pioneering studies of pre- marks in the camp type-site of Middle Horizon epoch 3 (ca. A.D. 800) on the littoral north
Hispanic food in Peru. Some of Horkheimer’s data will be included here because the time that of the Huarmey Valley; its consumption is thus clear, but we have not documented it in the
has passed since its publication notwithstanding, it can help us fill out the culinary scenes that taxonomy of the list presented.
are reconstructed through archaeology.

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Before we leave Huaca Prieta, it is worth recalling the Callen (1965: 335, 337) has identified plant Although it is not typical to the coastlands, arrowroot may have been cultivated in the vicinity
seeds that were simultaneously eaten fresh and toasted in the faecal remains or coproliths of the Buena Vista site. Finally, carob starch was found on the pumpkin’s surface, specifically
from the people who lived in this site on the edge of the Peruvian North Coast littoral, the starch from this plant’s sweet seeds. These would be the oldest microremains of carob as
since at least the fourth millennium B.C. This means that combining culinary techniques was food that have been found in pre-Hispanic Peru (Duncan et al. 2009: 13204).
customary at that time. And it so happens that in this field, pioneers of Peruvian ethnobotany
like Duccio Bonavia et al. (2009: 242) have pointed out that the people who lived in a camp Duncan et al. believe the combinations of starches documented by the pumpkin vessels
that dated to Wari times (ca. A.D. 800), north of the mouth of the Huarmey Valley, essentially provide data of what plants were eaten simultaneously. They also do not reject the possibility
ate roasted cassava and sweet potatoes. that two of them—carob and cassava—may have been used to prepare fermented beverages.
The ingestion of this type of beverage at the archaeological site of Buena Vista, either as part
Buena Vista is another archaeological ceremonial site that dates to some millennia B.C., and of a feast or as a potation, must be associated with activities related with the erection or
is about 35 km away from the mouth of the Chillón valley, where the food its inhabitants ate destruction of temples (this, of course can be extended to include other sites of this type). In
has been analysed. It is worth reviewing the data because this site opens a window to Peru’s this case, the above.-mentioned activity took place in relation with the ritual burial of the Fox
“culinary past”, as it is provides one of the few cases in which the content of the gourd vessels temple of this preceramic site in Lima.
was identified.
Bergfield (2007: 67) analysed stable Ba/Sr isotopes from human hairs in Buena Vista, and
Duncan et al. (2009) presented the results of their research, which was based on an examination concluded that the people in this site had scant access to marine resources. When they did
of the grains of starch from edible plants excavated in archaeological contexts. This showed have access, it was the men who consumed more marine resources than the women, a trend
that the tools under study had been used in the production and serving of food. Gourds observed in other pre-Hispanic sites.
(Lagenaria) and pumpkins (Lagenaria) were excavated in the central context of the Zorro
temple in the archaeological site of Buena Vista, which is in the lower Chillón Valley (Lima) A list has been made at Cerro Lampay of the plants and animals that were eaten during a period that
and dates to ca. 2193-2164 B.C. According to the archaeologists the remains of food were is almost contemporary with Buena Vista. Rafael Vega-Centeno (2007) reported his excavations in
found under the surface inside a subterranean hole—a custom that is also visible in other this site, which lies almost on the mouth of the Fortaleza Valley, some 220 km to the north of Lima,
ritual Preceramic sites in Peru like Kotosh. between 60 and 80 masl; nowadays it is some eight kilometres away from the seashore.

The middens where the food lay comprised remains of plants, some mollusc shells, and Cerro Lampay comprises a series of public edifices or temples that rose on the Central Coast
the remains of small fishes. Archaeologists found a large amount of remains of chili pepper before the development of pottery, in a period currently known as the Archaic Period. It
(Capsicum sp.), guava (Psidium guayaba), lucuma (Pouteria lucuma) and pumpkins [calabazas] is characterised by the presence of mounds with a quadrangular courtyard and an below-
(Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita moschata y Cucurbita ficifolia). Sweet potato (Ipomoea surface circular area below the surface, which is typical of various similar sites. The age of
batatas), cassava (Manihot esculenta), and potato (Solanum sp.) sins were also found. These this architectonic complex is based on a total of 27 radiocarbon dates, which gave a date of
plant remains were found in association with other, non-edible ones like cotton (Gossypium 2410-2064 B.C., i.e. in the late third millennium B.C. From the analyses made it follows that the
barbadense), fragments of agave leaves (Furcraea andina), small, partially burned branches and feasts were related with construction activities of a ritual nature, as well as with a sense of
charcoal (Duncan et al. 2009: 13202). oneness of the group that undertook them.

To these plants we must add those uncovered by a microscopic analysis of the surface of the The middens that grew out of the food consumed in these activities hold fishes like the
pumpkins and gourds found in relatively good condition. What is important here is that a pumpkin horse mackerel, amongst others. Few remains have traces of having been roasted, some show
fragment (which it was believed had been mostly used as food) held starch from another plant; carbonisation, and there even are pebbles that have broken up due to the fire, which all evince
it is therefore inferred that it was used as a vessel, either to hold or to serve food. These seem combustion.
to have been cassava (Manihot esculenta), the potato (Solanum), arrowroot or yuquilla (Maranta
arundinacea), carob algarrobo (Prosopis), and chili pepper (Capsicum). Of this group, cassava Bivalves and the incomplete bones of fish were also found, as well as fragments of pumpkin
seems to have been brought from an Amazonian lowland zone that may have been as distant skin. In general, the fragmentary condition and the processed state of the plant and animal
as Brazil, whilst arrowroot (like the potato) has been documented in the archaeological site of remains suggest these were edible products (Vega-Centeno 2007: 163).
Huaynuná, on the central Coast of Peru, in the mouth of the Casma Valley, some 315 km to the
northeast of Buena Vista, and which has been dated between 2050 and 1650 B.C. We now turn to the data on pre-Hispanic food for the North Coast, particularly in cultures
like the Moche and the Chimú. Cutright (2009) made one of the major archaeological studies

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to date in terms of reconstructing the food and the types of cooking applied at the Pedregal façade, a living room, bedroom and kitchen in the middle, and a patio with corrals where
site, which was occupied from Late Moche times to the Chimú period. other activities were carried out. The spatial organisation around the kitchen thus seems to
be a tradition that has spanned thousands of years.
Van Gijseghem (2001) made an interesting study of the areas which had rooms meant for
food preparation in the Huaca de la Luna, a Moche site. Van Gijseghem documented kitchen The pottery found is limited to plain, utilitarian wares, e.g. pots, bowls, plates, jars and other
areas that were evinced by culinary refuse, combustion areas and burned clay. The ceramic types of storage jars. A large amount of organic remains, both plant and animal, left over when
wares found in the kitchen areas are plain and are undecorated. The kitchen includes a series the food was prepared and consumed, has also been found. The stone artefacts found are
of burnt adobe bricks and a large grinding stone. Here the remains of molluscs like clams mostly clodbreakers that were evidently used when farming the fields around the dwellings.
or palabritas (Donax obesulus), land snails (Scutalus proteus), cormorant (Phalacrocorax sp.) The traces left on the surface of these stone tools are proof of their use (Cutright 2009: 188).
and camelids were also found, above all remains of Peruvian banded croaker (Paralonchurus Camelid and guinea pig dung was also frequently found in the rooms excavated, from which it
peruanus). A kind of cylindrical chimney and ten large pots lined against a wall were also follows that these animals lived freely in corrals or inside the house, like the guinea pigs this
found in this area. The combination of fish, clam, land snail and llama consumption is proven writer saw in Cultambo as a child, which were kept both as pets and as food.
because the remains of these items were found mixed in the hearths. Plain wares and storage
jars were also found associated (Van Gijsehem 2001: 261). Cutright then points out—based on the studies made by John Topic—that a system of similar
dwellings during the Chimú occupation was discovered at Chan Chan. Because there is one
Another broad study specifically meant to examine how it was that pre-Hispanic groups kitchen, Topic believes that one family lived per dwelling. Kitchen patterns are similar both at
organised themselves for of cooking, was the subject of a doctoral dissertation (Cutright 2009, Chan Chan and in Pedregal. There is an entrance, a central section with a hearth, and at least
2010) on the Pedregal archaeological site. This settlement was occupied from the Middle one bench that was probably used as a seat.
Moche epoch (ca. A.D. 300) to the Late Moche period (ca. A.D. 850), the Late Intermediate
Period (A.D. 1000-1460), and right up to Inca times. Robyn Cutright conscientiously excavated Places where pestles could be placed were set up in the benches themselves. Some of the
the food residues left behind by the people in this site and made a detailed record of their pestles had traces of their use, such as pounding or crushing. Lockard (in Cutright 2009:
provenance. It is therefore worthwhile summarising her finds, just like we have done with the 130) found a similar pattern of central hearths and benches attached to the kitchen walls at
research made by Tamara Bray (see below). By their very nature, this is one of the few studies Galindo, a site in the Moche Valley that dates to the final Moche epoch and the beginning
of this type that is relevant for the goals set for this book. of the Chimú culture (A.D. 600-900). This seems to have been a typical pattern on the
North Coast for at least a thousand years. Cooking and eating must have taken place there.
Pedregal is an archaeological site on the on the right bank of the valley floor in the lower
Jequetepeque Valley, literally in front of the Cerro Faclo. Cutright documented that its people The results reached by Cutright and Lockard are more than interesting, as they let us see what
lived in small rooms during the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1000-1460), which they cared was the main source of food for the Chimú of the Jequetepeque Valley. An examination of
for and maintained. The site also has areas for food preparation—literally kitchens—as well as the botanical remains shows fruit were preferred, particularly guava and the pacay. In all, fruit
small silos in the ground meant to store food and in some cases rubbish or refuse, and even comprised 35% of plant food at this site. Tubers like the potato and the sweet potato had a
to store and finish chicha processing. lesser participation, but Cutright believes they were eaten more than has been documented.
Legumes like lime beans or beans instead only comprised almost 2% of plant foods.
Cutright’s descriptions are fascinating, and let us envision the activities the people in this
site during Chimú times carried out in regard to their food. The hearths on the floor, which We should bear in mind that the population of Pedregal comprised mostly rural inhabitants,
were used as ovens, were set up with pebbles in order to structure them and provide support so its food is not necessarily representative of Chimu society as a whole.
for the vessels where food was prepared. Mortars and pestles were found close by to these
combustion areas, which means that food or grains were processed. Large mortars have been Crops were grown close to what is now known as the Pampa de Faclo, i.e. they were local
found, usually inside the kitchens. crops. Palynological research showed the presence of maize, and potato pollen, as well as
that of other plants like the chili pepper. The remains of fishes such as suco and anchovy
The walls’ lower section had benches that were also found in the kitchens, so they may have have also been found; since these are open sea fishes, they may have been acquired through
been used as seats. The remains likewise found in these rooms indicate that some of them exchanges made with other populations. Both at Pedregal and Pacatnamú, the fishermen lived
were used as dining rooms and even as bedrooms (Cutright 2009: 120-124). The author recalls and practiced their craft of fishing, processing and salting fish amongst the other people.
that as a child in the early 1970s he spent his holidays at Cultambo (also in the Jequetepeque Apparently such was not the case of fishermen on the south coast, who specialised and even
Valley), where this type of domestic spatial organisation existed at the time, with an outer isolated themselves. This is an issue that requires more research.

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From the percentages of food remains that have been recovered, it is known that the people Regarding camelid quartering, Rodríguez Loredo (2012) noted in a recent publication that
in this site collected mostly gastropods, i.e. snails were often eaten. lower limbs and cut marks were found at the site of Quebrada de los Burros, in the Tacna
littoral, which date to 7900-4800 B.C. This means the animals were processed by removing
Cutright’s dissertation on Chimú cuisine at Pedregal includes a chapter that reconstructs the their limbs.
type of cooking and food preparation that is worth repeating here because it is an exceptional
case. She used ethnoarchaeology for this. Depending on the type of food, it was first carved Another interesting effort in reconstructing camelid processing for food was made by Shelia
up or even salted, maize was husked and/or ground, and so on. and Thomas Pozorski (2003: 122-124) in their study of the Templo del Sol, a Mochica ceremonial
site. The Pozorskis claim very young adult llamas were chosen, which ate valuable fodder. The
During the harvest the food was prepared not just to eat but also for storage, as when maize study of the cut marks in the bones indicates the animal was dismembered after removing
or chili pepper were dried. The discovery of whole maize plants at Pedregal suggests they the leather, usually at the joints. They believe a large part of the small chunks of meat may
were taken thus to the site and were then processed, and had their leaves, roots and stem have been cooked with the bones; the flesh however was cut according to the divisions in the
removed except for the dried leaves, which were removed in the field. It has in fact been skeleton in order to get larger chunks, thus reducing them to more manageable chunks. The
verified that the kernels of maize were frequently removed from the cob and stored, but they long bones were broken up to extract the marrow.
were also stored on the cob. This means maize was processed at the site. It is clear that some
parts of the plant were used as food and as fuel. Beans and lima beans were on the contrary Most of the bones are not burned, and this made the Pozorskis believe they were cooked or
peeled before being taken to the site. boiled in containers of vessels. Even so, the highest frequency of burned bones corresponded
to ribs and vertebrae, which can be interpreted to mean they may have been roasted. From what
If we go back in time, in Late Moche times, around A.D. 800, the people of Pedregal ventured we have seen in this book, this part of the animal was favoured in the pre-Hispanic world.
out to the open sea to catch fish like the anchovy, but during the Chimú occupation they
preferred to get their fish from the shore close by, as with the suco (Cutright 2009: 175). As for the vegetables eaten, the Pozorskis have pointed out that the three favoured by the
Moche were squash, peanuts, and beans, supplemented by chili peppers. Lucuma was the
On the other hand the milling process is evinced by the presence of mortars, some of which favourite fruit (Pozorski and Pozorski 2003: 127).
were embedded on the floor or in benches; they were also found outside the houses. Small
mortars were instead used to grind chili peppers (Cutright 2009: 201). Let us see now how they processed fish. Processing was similar because almost all the bones
have been found at the site. It is possible that some fish were ground, salted or dried but this
Maize, cotton and soursop remains appear outside the houses, in what was a kind of patio where practice was infrequent—unlike sites like Lo Demás and Cerro Azul south of Lima, where the
these plants were processed. The significance soursop consumption had at this site is striking. fish were essentially processed and preserved to be exchanged and transported. The drying
of the meat may have begun before this, as was suggested by Pozorski and Pozorski (1986: 388)
How were the meat and fish processed at Pedregal? Fish, llamas, guinea pigs and dogs were for the site of Pampa de Llamas in the lower Casma valley, where they found dried fish in a
butchered for domestic consumption. Cutright believes that camelid butchering was a male stratum that was occupied in the period 2088-1243 B.C.
task, whilst guinea pigs were left to the women. All of the bones from these animals found at
Pedregal also indicate they had been completely cut up. The cooking ware and dinnerware used to cook and eat at Pedregal present a very interesting
research path is. Pots are the most common wares. Cutright (2009: 233-236) points out that
According to ethnographic reports, camelids may have had their throat slit or a cut in the these pots were clearly used when serving food, especially liquids and concoctions like soups
abdominal cavity in order to stop the heart. The procedure may have continued with the or stews. The soot many of these pots are covered with evinces they were placed directly
removal of the skin, the dismembering of the limbs at the joints and the removal of the over the fire to cook.
entrails. The camelid bones were not fragmented during butchering, but were after being
subjected to culinary preparation. Pots are found in large numbers in the burials in the Jequetepeque Valley, thus showing their
significance. Their presence during the Chimú occupation comprises about 30%. One of the
Cutright brings up that according to the research done by Aldenderfer (1998, in Cutright 2009: Chimú pots at Pedregal had a textile fragment, probably a covering. jars, another type of
214); camelids were processed and cut up into five parts, i.e. head-neck, forelimbs, trunk, cooking ware, have been found in similar amounts as the pots.
hindlimbs, and the lumbar region. Following Aldenderfer’s concept, the trunk was apparently
favoured. For instance, the markings at the joints are typical of dog femurs camelid astragali, Food was served in ceramic vessels and gourds as well as in clay plates (Cutright 2009: 238).
which means the legs were removed. Even so, the accounts left by the chroniclers suggest that gourd bowls were perhaps the ones

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most used every day. This type of tableware however comprises a minimum percentage at These studies also documented a very interesting technique used to preserve herring smelt.
Pedregal, at least since the Lambayeque occupation ca. A.D. 800-900. A series of smelt heads were found wrapped in the leaves of some kind of algae (Macrocystis
integrifolia). Piacenza and Pieri interpreted this as a fish “conservant” that was used to preserve
Another type of vessel Cutright identified are the large jars or paicas meant to store food the fish whilst being taken from the seashore to Cahuachi, some 40 kilometres away.
or liquids. This type of vessel is relatively big and has a rounded base that must have been
embedded in the floor of the house. Cutright reports in this regard that it was not rare What types of tools were used in cooking? Piacenza and Pieri reported having found a series of stone
finding that many of the floors had been dug precisely in this shape, thus proving this chips—quartzite, basalt, diabase, some of chalcedony—and blades ... that seem to have been used as
hypothesis. “knives,” as well as grinding tools like pebbles, mortars, and so on. There also were wooden tools like
spoons, ladles and ... carefully carved and smoothed, which may have also been used for this.
The vessels used in preparing food include “graters”, a type of ceramic bowl which has a series
of diagonal markings on the walls like bulging parallel lines that would have been used to grate According to Piacenza and Pieri, food was cooked in clay pots of various sizes. This seems to
some foods in order to soften them. This type of vessel does not abound in the inventory be evinced by the presence of soot, particularly on the base of vessels of an approximately
of cooking instruments of Pedregal (Cutright 2009: 244). Finally, the presence of mortars globular shape. Bigger pots may have served as chicha containers.
presumably means maize milling and that of pestles chili pepper grinding, but evidently there
are no biochemical studies that support this. It has already been noted that roasted sweet potatoes have been found at Cahuachi (Piacenza and Pieri
2012: 6). Piacenza and Pieri mention in this regard the properties that toasting has, as both the quality
Although there is as yet no study of the changes in culinary style that have been documented and the taste of the food improve. Carbohydrates, on the one hand, turn into sugary substances and
at Pedregal, Cutright (2010: 40) does note a major conclusion Swenson reached in his the cuticle’s fragmentation makes the grains more edible, and on the other hand toasting preserves
archaeological research in the Jequetepeque Valley itself. Swenson suggested that the clear the food and allows it to be transported, so that it can be eaten whilst walking or travelling.
difference between Late Moche and Late Intermediate ceramics in domestic contexts can be
interpreted in terms of culinary changes that took place from one period to another. Cut gourds (Lagenaria siceraria) may have been used to hold and serve liquids, and perhaps
soups. This took advantage of their shape. The gourds were closed using wooden stoppers.
We now move southwards. The Italian team working in the monumental Nasca shrine of
Cahuachi, close to the city of Nasca, made another interesting study that is concerned with Another fascinating field of study concerns changes in feeding traditions because, as was
documenting culinary and feeding techniques in the pre-Hispanic period. Although no report noted at the beginning, these are the ones that least change throughout time. Can these
as extensive as Cutright’s dissertation for northern Peru is available, the data, though brief, is changes be explored and their cause ascertained?
particularly valuable, particularly as regards the preservation of the remains found. We will
now present a brief summary. A pioneering study in this regard was undertaken at Los Gavilanes (Bonavia 1982: 197, 200). Here
it was shown that whereas in 4000-3000 B.C. it was mostly sea lion and horse mackerel that
Piacenza and Pieri (2012) reported finding several plants, but the important thing here is that were eaten, in 3000-1400 B.C. sharks, birds, and anchovies were the types of meat preferred.
these had traces of having been prepared, i.e. cooked. For instance, they found cassava, sweet This trend was probably due to the gradual settling of the cooling and upswelling of the
potato and achira specimens which had been subjected to fire, thus making it clear that the Cold Peruvian Current. Or perhaps it was, as Bonavia suggested, because in winter sea lions
Nasca ate these tubers roasted. do not go to the coast to mate; if the human occupation at Los Gavilanes was just a seasonal
occupation, its inhabitants would not have had access to this resource. The higher presence
Piacenza and Pieri also report having found a considerable amount of purple maize, as well of anchovies may likewise be reflecting the massive amounts of anchovies netted. These
as the remains of substances with this same colour on the inner surface of some gourds; the captures are instead perhaps associated with late sites where great stocks of anchovies were
gourds had been cut like bowls. Based on this evidence, Piacenza and Pieri deduce that these stored, like Cerro Azul in Chincha (Marcus et al. 1999), which we have already discussed.
bowls may have held this type of liquid, i.e. some sort of “purple maize juice” that would be
the original version of the modern chicha morada or purple chicha.
Andean Food in Ethnography and Ethnohistory
The microtraces of bean pods found are extremely interesting, and allow for a reconstruction
of the technique used to remove the seeds. Piacenza and Pieri believe the nails were used for At this point we ask the reader to bear with us as we briefly leave the archaeological record
this, as is still done today—a simple but efficient technique, and quite domestic indeed. and review some data derived from Andean ethnography and ethnohistory. These data will
supplement our data which, if limited to archaeology, seems insipid and incomplete.

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The following lines include several descriptions derived from ethnography and ethnohistory, In the first case we have a study by John Hildebrand and Melissa Hagstrum (1999) that is both
which provide detailed illustrations of some alimentary customs, the culinary way in which food more recent and focused than that of Horkheimer, and which tries to reproduce some conducts
was prepared, the organisation that sprung around cooking, and so on. These descriptions are regarding the preparation of food in pre-Hispanic Peru. This study will be cited here because it
revealing and supplement the archaeological record, which many find lifeless. In fact, several of can shed some light on the issue at hand, and more specifically on Andean dinnerware.
the following references can be applied when reconstructing the past, at least up to a certain
point. First we will discuss the dinnerware and cooking methods citing Hans Horkheimer (1960: Hildebrand and Hagstrum studied contemporary Wanka populations in the Mantaro Valley.
92-98), who recounts some details that are important in terms of forming an approximate idea Pots have a predominant position in their account of the ceramic wares used in food. The
of feeding modes in the pre-Hispanic past. The interesting thing about Horkheimer is that he pots come in four sizes (small, medium-sized, family size, and broad-sized), the vessels (small,
made an effort to develop a comprehensive reconstruction of this cuisine. medium-sized and broad-sized) come second, and third come the corn poppers (small,
medium-sized, and broad-sized).
From ethnographic comparisons, Horkheimer believes fire may have been made with the sparks
given by a wooden stick, and it could have been kept alive using bits of cotton or straw. When In this context pots are mainly used to boil and stew (soups, potatoes, meat) while the vessels
gathering plants and fruits baskets, nets or small sacks made out of camelid or sea lion skins may are flatter, have a wider mouth and can be used to boil (and even fry) quinoa. The corn poppers
have been used. Ceramic vessels, usually 3-4 cm in width and a diameter of up to 1.5 metres were have an even more flattened shape and a wider mouth, and are used especially to toast maize
used for storage, simply placing them on the floor. Whenever large amounts of grains or maize kernels. The average lifespan of the pots are 2.4 years: 1.4 years for the big pots, 2.2 years for
were available they were stored in this kind of urn, for which a support hole was dug in the the vessels, and 1.3 years for the corn poppers. The question is whether these time ranges are
ground. For Horkheimer, evidence of this type abounds in sites like Cajamarquilla or Huaycán, in the same as in the pre-Hispanic past.
the vicinity of Lima, and this confirms the results of some of the studies reviewed here.
Tamara Bray (2003a, 2003b) authored an interesting essay in pre-Hispanic cuisine. She coined
As regards feeding traditions, Horkheimer points out that both the Aymara and the the phrase “Inka haute cuisine” based on the range of dishes and on the long time invested
Quechua only ate two times a day, between 8-9 in the morning and 4-5 in the afternoon. in preparing food in the Inca Empire. After the dryasdust archaeological and botanical
The description of a typical Andean kitchen is quite revealing and it seems to complete the presentation above, we shall devote a large section to Bray’s work on the pre-Hispanic cuisine.
archaeological record: the kitchen was usually located outside the habitation rooms, which This is one of the few exceptions here made because Bray reviewed the Spanish chroniclers
were just one or two. The ovens, open or partially covered with a mat, were made using in regard to alimentary modes and cooking in the first decades after the Spaniards arrived
plain stones or mud, and had a hole in the base for the fire. The upper part had two or three to Peru. In her introduction to this subject Bray cites Cobo and Atienzo, who claimed in Inca
apertures where the lidless wares were placed on. times the dinnerware of the common people comprised pots, large pitchers, cups and jugs.
The second room in the house was usually set aside to store large and small vessels, some on
Camelid (llama or alpaca) dung was used when no firewood was available. The niches in the floor whilst others were buried, and above all to store alcoholic beverages (Bray 2003a: 6).
the walls may have been used as shelves. Jars or jugs were held by vines that hung from
protruding stones. No tables or chairs were used, so they simple ate squatting on the floor. Bray believes pots were used to cook (boiling or stewing) while a type of pan was used to
In Inca times men and women supposedly ate turning their back to each other; the man toast. The largest variety of jugs, pitchers, and cups was used to prepare and drink chicha,
would eat and the woman would eat what he left over. which shows how important this beverage was. In fact, the analysis of a large number of Inca-
style ceramic vessels reduces them to two types: the aryballos and two-handled pedestal
Cooking tools were taken in the case of festivities or when purchasing in non-local markets which pots (Bray 2003a: 17-20).
the woman carried along with the children. Although we know from the archaeological evidence
that wooden and ceramic spoons did exist, the food was usually eaten with the hands. There were The reference to dinnerware is once again Cobo (Bray 2003a: 10). Pots, pitchers, and dishes
several types of plates, bowls, jugs, and cups, some of which were made out of wood, particularly made out of gourds, pottery or wood were used, as well as small pans. Bray cites him in order
in Inca times. Even so the most frequent wares were plates and bowls made out of pumpkins. to reconstruct a typical pre-Hispanic kitchen:

They have inside their houses all the instruments necessary to grind, prepare, and cook their basic
Dinnerware and Culinary Modes foodstuffs. Each house, no matter how small, had a hearth behind the door which consisted of
a small, had a hearth behind the door which consisted of a small, clay oven, no taller than one
We can now combine some of our information sources in order to approach the dinnerware palm and closed on all sides save for a small mouth through which one stirs the fire; one the
and the types of culinary preparation from the standpoint of ethnography and history. top part are two or three round holes on which they place the cooking pots (Bray 2003b: 103).

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In her ethnoarchaeological research in the Mantaro Valley Hagstrum (1989) found that the Chicha was also made out of maize. Women were in charge of its preparation, as Bray emphasises
autochthonous populations had five or six cooking vessels per family. The pots were for soups (2003b: 132). Part of the process involved chewing the kernels and then spitting them into a
and stews, while rice was prepared in the vessels. In general the lifespan of these cooking vessel with warm water. More kernels were then added and the desired fermentation level
vessels was two years. The vessels used in repairing and consuming beverages were on the was sought. Besides being the most consumed beverage by the inhabitants of the Inca Empire
contrary few but lasted longer, between five and twenty years. However, on the North Coast and a social element par excellence, chicha was also used in ceremonies in which intoxication
the vessels used for chicha seem to have had a shorter lifespan (Cutright 2009: 189). was a ritual obligation. It is not hard explaining current behaviours whose roots seem to
extend into the past. The impressive amount of chicha, its storage in large ceramic vessels,
Cutright (2009: 222) made an effort to reconstruct Chimú dinnerware. She believes the serving and the wide range of cups and drinking vessels related with this product indicate that it was
ware comprised a kind of flat-based plates with high walls, deeper than those Bray described of utmost importance. Bray also reports the presence nowadays of handcrafted vessels in the
for Inca times, so they could also have been used to serve the stews. They also had black Peruvian highlands that can hold up to 45 litres of chicha.
polished pots. For me the culinary techniques used at Pedregal in A.D. 1000-1450 were boiling,
stewing, and serving “wet” foods like soups and stews. The ways in which maize was prepared were captured by some Quechua words that
ethnohistorians believe may go back to ca. A.D. 1000. Tonko means boiled and toasted maize,
Gillin (1940) made an interesting albeit ethnographic study that can provide some details on ttanta is maize bread (let us imagine a “tortilla”), api means gelatinised food (i.e. cooked at 100
what the use of pre-Hispanic dinnerware may have been like. Gillin reported that in the 1940s, degrees centigrade), and allpi means maize flour (Antúnez de Mayolo 1981).
each family living in the Moche Valley had between five and ten ceramic pots.
Bray mentions other grains and tubers frequently eaten in the Peruvian Andes. Both the
We now turn to the available references to food preparation in ethnography and ethnohistory. potato and quinoa evidently stand out. Citing Murra, Bray holds life in this part of the Andes
would have been impossible without these tubers and grains, alongside olluco, mashua, maca,
Bray (2003a: 10) says that men could not eat in the same plate as a woman because it and quinoa. Potatoes for instance were roasted, boiled or stewed. Other potatoes that were
boded ill. In communal festivals the guests usually took their own food and chicha. Food not eaten in these ways were separated and exposed to the sun and frost to make chuño
was also stored at home. Cobo notes that maize, chuño and quinoa were stored in large (dehydrated potato). Cobo (Bray 2003a: 7) claims the uses given to chuño included making
jars or jugs inside or outside the house, in the place so designated. For Bray, produce like soups thicker. Flour of rehydrated, toasted and ground chuño was also made.
sweet potatoes or chili peppers may have had to be stored for a long time in special
purpose vessels. Stews also required large amounts of water, so we can infer there were Oca was eaten raw, stewed or roasted. Like the potato, it could be dehydrated and stored
many storage vessels for liquids. for a long time. The olluco was not just eaten, because its medicinal properties alleviating
stomach and labour pains were known. The list of seeds eaten included peanuts, which were
Bray first approaches the way maize and other plants were prepared. The chroniclers state usually eaten toasted (Bray 2003b: 99).
that food essentially comprised maize, potatoes and beans. Little salt was used but it was
seasoned with a lot of chili pepper. The grains most eaten include maize, which the chroniclers For Bray, quinoa was the major grain that supported high-altitude populations in the Andes.
claim was the most eaten one in the Andes. Once dried it was eaten boiled or toasted. Bray She cites Rodríguez de Ocampo, who claimed quinoa was used as an ingredient in beverages
cites Cobo, who says maize was toasted (cancha) in perforated pans, and was then ground to (chicha) or eaten stewed like rice. She then notes, following Cobo, that quinoa was often
turn it into the flour used to make “tortillas” in ceramic pans placed over the fire. This means cooked with other herbs, chili pepper in particular, with which a dish called piski was prepared.
tortillas were not exclusive to Mesoamerica and Mexico, and were also present in the Andes. Kiwicha and cañihua were other grains eaten at high altitudes and both, as we have seen, had
The ethnographic data can give us an idea in this regard. It is known that some twenty five a high protein content.
years ago, maize tortillas cooked over flat stones were eaten at Simiris (in the district of Santo
Domingo, province of Morropón, Piura) (Manuel Merino, personal communication, 25.7.2012). Based on Cobo’s account, Bray reports the preparation of legumes that could be washed and
eaten raw, stewed and boiled, or dehydrated to store them. They were also toasted and milled
According to Bray, Cobo described another type of preparation: balls of maize dough known to get flour, which was used particularly in beverages and poultices. Tarwi was also cultivated,
as humintas, which could be roasted directly over the charcoal, usually accompanied the but clearly to a smaller extent (Bray 2003a: 7).
stews and were typical on festive occasions. Peruvian Indians apparently were also acquainted
with popcorn because they had a type of maize called pisancalla, which was toasted and In Andean America, the chili pepper is the most widely dispersed plant. Frequently prepared
popped until it opened (Bray 2003b: 97-98). This means that the tamal, the humita, and the as a sauce, it is so pleasing that the Indians could eat many grains and tubers—even sour
toasted cancha eaten today are ancient traditions. ones—accompanied with a spicy sauce. Mint was used as a condiment in stews and was eaten

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raw, minced, dry or ground. Bray cites here Atienza, who claimed chili pepper was the main more as in the form of salted meats (fresh meat cut up into thick and thin strips that were
seasoning followed by salt, which was good enough to cool the body heat, and with a bit of hung out in the cold, and then thinned using two stones). Fresh meat was prepared only as
chicha to drink. Following Cobo, Bray distinguishes three types of salt, sea salt, mineral salt, a stew with much chili pepper, chuño, potatoes and other legumes. A type of dry stew was
and the salt collected from streams after boiling the water in vessels. often prepared with fish.

As for meat, it is said that the common people ate it sparingly as it was a privilege of the We have already noted that Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo provided first hand ethnographic
elites. In any case domesticated animals like dogs, Muscovy ducks, camelids and guinea pigs data, which is why we will include here some relatively long descriptions that will help
formed part of the domestic food, but only occasionally. People who lived on the coast reconstruct pre-Hispanic food.
had a more frequent access to fish, either fresh or dried. Cobo claims there was not much
variety in the way meat was prepared because it was either stewed, dried (like charqui), or Some of the information Antúnez de Mayolo (1996) presents in regard to the consumption
roasted. Roasting underground using hot stones was known as pachamanca (Bray 2003a: 8), of animal protein, the properties of vegetables, native cooking methods and more is not
and we saw its origins in the rocky shelter of Telarmachay, in the central puna (Junín) some based on clear scientific studies. Even so we cannot discard them because the data show a
8,000 years ago. great acquaintance with traditions he must have witnessed, and we hence believe his account
literally opens a “window” to the past.
The elite apparently had a more sophisticated diet, but as Bray correctly notes there are few
references in this regard. For instance she cites Garcilaso de la Vega, who claims the Inca ate Antúnez de Mayolo claims that animal proteins were derived from various sources. Fish, for
select maize, soft potatoes, white llama meat, high-quality fish, white guinea pigs, much fruit instance, were eaten raw, as kanka (slightly roasted), toasted, on a barbecue or in locros. On
and Muscovy ducks, and also drank a chicha that was fermented for about a month. the coast in particular fish were dehydrated by burying them under layers of salt and bentonite
(which by the way has detoxifying properties). Caliche was used to preserve anchovies, which
Bray (2003a: 8) cites Murúa, who claimed that the diet followed by Mama Ocllo consisted of were eaten toasted and with toasted [torrado] maize (Antúnez de Manolo 1996: 24-25).
maize taken almost every day, either as locro or as mote, combined in various ways with other
plants. Dinner was accompanied with chicha. Ethnohistorians in general seem to agree that Another type of animal protein consumed came from land and sea molluscs. We should also
the Inca elite ate selected maize and meat, whilst the common people ate more tubers and include here insects and birds. The latter were supposedly caught using traps or nets, as was
vegetables. also verified by the research undertaken at the Quebrada Tacahuay site. Partridges and ducks
were also sources of animal protein. As for camelids, most of their meat was turned into
Bray mentions an interesting concept—diversity. The ability to prepare various dishes for the charqui, which means it went to the storage houses; it is possible that the entrails were eaten
occasion was apparently exquisite, as well as that of preparing one single dish with many when the animal was captured (Antúnez de Mayolo 1996: 25).
ingredients.
Marine mammals like eared seals, which could weigh over 300 kilos, provided large amounts
In general, the cooking method mentioned in ethnohistorical sources consists in boiling food, of meat and fat. According to Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 25) there were “aquariums” in the
which ended up as soups or stews. Roasting was also frequent, and the sources indicate that coastal rivers made using stone walls, whilst netting may have been used in the Amazon.
the food was usually placed directly over the charcoals. Roasting over embers and toasting Ethnographic reports of turtle breeding may give us an idea of what happened in the past. It
were the usual preparation techniques. Bray notes that Bertonio included in his dictionary a will not be easy proving this for the pre-Hispanic period, and ethnographic references must
word for pots used to toast. The embers were frequently used to prepare maize flour (Bray be handled cautiously.
2003a: 9).
Besides these sources of meat, Antúnez de Mayolo lists some other species eaten for their flesh
When reviewing ethnohistorical documentation we should briefly cite Bernabé Cobo (1893: like the Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata), the pavo de monte or pavo peruano (also known as
173) at least once, in order to illustrate some culinary aspects that cannot be approached aruncha), the white-winged guan or perus (Penelope albipennis), and the tinamou or perdiz de
through archaeology alone. The produce most consumed in pre-Hispanic Peru were maize, Puná (Tinamidae). Two other species—the “gallina de papada” and the “huayco gallareta”—were
chuño, dehydrated and green potatoes, and quinoa. probably a part of the stock of fowl used as food in the past, but unfortunately no remains have
as yet been recorded. We were unable to find the respective taxonomic references.
Cobo claims the dishes in Peru were limited: a stew called motepatasca was prepared
with maize, chili pepper and some herbs, with maize being cooked until the kernels burst; To this list we have to add guinea pigs and collared peccaries even though the latter have
another stew called pisqui was prepared with quinoa seeds. As for meat, these were eaten not been archaeologically recorded; it is however possible that these were domesticated,

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because Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 28) claims having seen them under human care. Capybaras, Honey is one of the hardest food items to record archaeological. Its consumption is feasible
tapirs and dogs may also have been eaten, but we only have archaeological evidence for the when there are bees. Although no archaeological evidence is available in this regard, Antúnez
latter. Finally, camelids must have supplied at least enough meat for the whole population. de Mayolo believes that it is possible the natives knew how to transform starch into dextrin
and so toasted the grains, ground them and left them in vessels without any fat or salt. This
According to Antúnez de Mayolo, vegetables were eaten both cooked and raw. Despite the procedure was used to prepare the api, i.e. a mazamorra or a kind of pudding that is essential
lack of archaeological documentation, Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 30) claims on the basis of during breastfeeding. Either way, it could have been obtained from boiling maize stalks or
ethnographic observations that people used to eat leaves, shoots and the heart of plants. from leaching the fructose in the cuticle of molle seeds (Antúnez de Mayolo 1996: 40).
People would eat fresh vegetables and when these were lacking consumed them dehydrated.
Antúnez de Mayolo likewise claims that potato or olluco leaves were eaten in various dishes, As for vinegars and fermented beverages, Antúnez de Mayolo claims vinegar was used to
including the well-known chupes. The leaves must have been eaten above all when they were ferment maize chicha. He also claims (Antúnez de Mayolo 1996: 40-42) that ashipa, which has
germinating, as in the case of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and gourds (Lagenaria siceraria). a juicy bulb, was cultivated on the edges of the farmed field, so an abundant sweet juice was
taken. But chicha consumption was even more intense. Antúnez de Mayolo claims it had three
Ulloa (2006: 322) based himself on the chroniclers and claims that mashua (Tropaloeum goals, i.e. avoiding the diseases carried by the waters (the boiling and fermentation destroyed
tuberosum) and mastuerzo (Tropaloeum majus) flowers, flower buds, and leaves were eaten as parasites, yeasts, and bacteria), and thus acted as some kind of germicide; it provided almost a
salads in Inca times. To this list Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 34) adds contoya (Lobelia sp.), huicontoy third part of the daily calories and a large amount of nutrients; finally, chicha enables a better
(Tillandsia sp.), mutuy (Cassia tomentosa), pataw (Tropaleoum majus L.), pisonay (Eritrina edulis absorption of the nutrients the human body requires.
triana), quishuar (Buddeja utilis kranzlin), and others. Unfortunately there is no reference to
these species in the archaeological record, but they do appear in these ethnographic sources. It Contrary to what most chroniclers state, Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 47-48) claims that food
is quite likely that in future, more detailed research will document them, was spiced with a great variety of flavouring and fragrant plants. Cooking methods were also
varied. Some of these were for instance caui (a reduction of tuber oxalates in starchy sugars. by
A different way of preparation included ash alkalis, as was done with squash or suyu (Cucurbita exposing them to the sun), susana (food cooked using ashes), kaska (meats slightly roasted in a
maxima), the fruits of Fourcroya sp. (chuchau), or the flower buds of Cassia tomentosa (mutuy) fire, kalapurka (a stew usually made with guinea pigs and using hot stones), huaytiyani (cooking
(Antúnez de Mayolo 1996: 32). in a hole burned by the fire; in this case the cooking was known as phayana and huaycuni,
whereas a simple boiling was timpuni or wallaqueña), kamka ([toasted cereal), putukkchi (soft,
As for the consumption of bulbs, rhizomes, roots and tubers, Antúnez de Mayolo lists a series toasted grains), chupi (food prepared in a liquid environment), lawa o sakue (somewhat thick
of wild tubers that may have been eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru, including aaraku, amancay, creams), uchu (waika; it is given this name when the spicy taste predominates), chamca (a
apilla, cuncu, and akatraq (all part of Solanum sp.), acausho (Neowedermannia vorwerckii), sweet mazamorra or pudding), machka (cereals or pulses toasted and milled), sthancu (cereals
achancara (Begonia fagopryoides A, DC), aucca papa (Dioscorea sp.), chumpac (Oxalis sp.), combined with fat and other elements, like chicha, blood, and so on), champu (a dough with
and chanquillo (Pachyrryzus sp.), to name just a few. According to Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: little liquid in it that has been slightly fermented), humintas (balls made out of soft or mature
36-37), the advantage tuber, roots and relatives have is they are more resistant to the climate maize, which were wrapped in leaves and then served), and ttanta (concentrated hard bread
(droughts and frosts ten degrees below zero) and can be stored underground for some time. with many nutrients).

As regards cereals and grains, Antúnez de Mayolo (1996) states that quinoa and cañihua were We now turn to flavouring substances because if these are native products, then some of
the most cultivated crops in the upper quechua and lower puna zones (approximately 3500- them may surely have been used in pre-Hispanic seasoning. Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo
4200 masl)—but quinoa was also grown on the Peruvian coast. We have already seen that (1996: 32-33) and Carmen Ulloa (2006: 315-322) give us a chance to peek inside this world of
kiwicha, which has a high alimentary potential, was also eaten. supplementary data on pre-Hispanic Peruvian food.

As for pulses, Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 39) claims the major ones were Canavalia (cazza or Antúnez de Mayolo posits that several pre-Hispanic condiments not only supplemented the
parca)—which was still eaten toasted in the eighteenth century—lima beans (native to the diet, but also contributed to nutrient absorption because they contained substances that
banks of the Manu River), Inca beans, pashuru or Inca fava beans [habas del inca: broadbeans?] activated the functioning of glands and organs.
(Eythrina edulis L.), and carobs (Prosopis chilensis).
Ulloa (2006) claims that the significance of the supplementary consumption of these
The domesticated oilseeds include peanuts and sacha inchic (Plukenetia volubilis L.), a seed that flavouring spices lies in that they were a sine qua non element in ancestral Peruvian cuisine.
not only has a high oil content but also a high protein content (Antúnez de Mayolo 1996: 40). She mentions marmaquilla (Ageratina azangaroensis), whose branches were used to cover

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and aromatise the pachamanca; kiwicha (Amaranthus caudatus L.), quishuar (Buddleja incana Beans, quinoa and fresh meat (or dried meat, as charqui) were eaten in stews like locro, which
L. Ruiz & Pav.), and Buddleja coriacea, which is considered the Andean saffron crocus and was included chili pepper, chuño, potatoes and other vegetables. A similar, fish-based stew was
used to aromatise and give colour to the food. also frequently eaten. Stews were spiced with chili pepper, salt and other herbs.

Ulloa includes in her list the achira (Canna edulis), the fruits of which are as we know Following the ethnographic data provided by Gillin, Cutright believes that on the North Coast,
edible, while the leaves were used in the Andes to wrap food; chili pepper (Capsicum L.), stews and soups may have been enriched by including gastropods and small snakes. Gillin
he common denominator in Andean spices as it is not only a food because it has fungicide, notes that even today, maize is previously boiled when used to prepare tamales, humitas and
antiviral and antibacterial properties; papaya (Carica papaya); paico (Chenopodium mote. It should be added that humitas are prepared with fresh maize but the tamal used dry
ambrosoides L.), a well-known herb used in stews, soups and chupes because of its maize or mote.
medicinal properties; canelo (Drimys granadensis L.); palillo (Escobedia grandiflora L. F.
Kunze), which is not to be confused with Campomanesia, discussed above, and which is The boiling process often uses ashes in order to facilitate the removal of the skins. Gillin also
also known as suana or saffron crocus; muña (M. mollis, M. tomentosa, M. diffusa y M. reports that cacti are burned on the North Coast, and their ashes are used especially when
andina), which is used in Peru in at least tens of spices in soups, meat and stews and even maize is boiled for this end. Here we should bear in mind the observation made by Antúnez
to season the trout of Lake Titicaca; molle (Schinus molle L.), used as an aromatic spice de Mayolo regarding the use of ashes in cooking, as has already been noted.
in chicha and vinegar; wakatay (Tagetes minuta and Tagetes graveolens); and chincho
(Tagetes eliptica), with essential aromatic oils. By now the question that readers are probably asking is whether there is any archaeological
evidence that supports boiling. Studies involving ceramics with traces of use or content
To this interesting list we must add that of Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 33), which includes residues are still extremely rare in the Central Andes. For instance, Cutright notes that
spices such as amancay (Senecio condimentarius), Tagetes, anchis (Satureja elliptica R&P), Phaseolus (beans or lima beans), maize and the remains of small fish were found in pots in
canlli (Margyricarpus sp.), carpunya (Pipar carpunya R&P), cayhua (Diantera multiflora R&P some human burials at Farfán, a site that corresponds to the Lambayeque culture (ca. A.D.
sic Tschudi), chilca (Baccharis sp.), achiote (Bixa orellana), miskiuchu (Capsicum frutescens), 800-1350); it can be inferred that these items were cooked in this type of vessel.
piuchuysita (Nectandra pichurim HBK-Mez), and so on.
Cutright (2009: 225) reports that at Pedregal, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley with
Antúnez de Mayolo (1996: 48) claims the pre-Hispanic population ate three times a day. The Mochica occupations, some of the long bones (we are assuming these are camelid bones)
first and last times took place inside the house, while the second one was a multi-family affair had traces of having ‘rubbed’ against the edges of the pots in which they were cooked. These
that took place at noon, whilst resting at work. The food taken at noon probably included traces took the form of a gloss (a kind of patina) and are interpreted as evidence of having
dried fruits, sugar and chicha to restore their energies. The last food was taken in the afternoon been boiled in the vessels. Cutright found food remains in the form of greasy bone fragments.
and was frugal. Antúnez de Mayolo states that even today, the natives begin eating with dried
food like a toasted, dried or half-ground cereal, slightly roasted and half boiled potatoes or Even so, the cooking method par excellence in pre-Hispanic Peru seems to have been roasting
pulses, a not-too liquid stew, and when dinner was over, chicha. or a direct exposure to fire. According to Cutright (2009: 226), Cobo claims it was a typical
way of cooking food in the Andes. It usually took place directly over charcoal or in pits dug in
Before ending this section on dinnerware and Andean cuisine from an ethnographic and the ground. Our review of archaeological food suggests this is correct.
ethnohistorical perspective, it is worth reviewing briefly some cooking techniques that may
have been used during the pre-Hispanic period. The pachamanca probably was the most common cooking technique. Robyn Cutright, whose
work in Pedregal has been extensively cited here, made an interesting description of this pre-
Hispanic cooking technique. She says that hot stones were placed inside a hole and then a
Pachamanca, Stew, and Toasted Food series of previously seasoned tubers and meats were placed, after which more stones were
added (nowadays they also add banana leaves). The pit was then covered with earth and
We see that for most of the chroniclers, boiling and stewing were two of the most common the food was allowed to cook for several hours. Cutright emphasises that in this case the
ways in which food was prepared in the Andes. Cobo, for instance, is the chronicler who key is knowing the correct placement of the food and correctly estimating its cooking time.
most space dedicates to the preparation of maize, boiled and then served in stews. Cutright Nowadays this technique is usually practiced by men and is usually associated with large
(2009: 224) in turn recalls that Cobo claimed that maize was used to prepare a dish known feasts of a communal type. The watia technique is somewhat different: a fire is lit inside a pit
as motepatasca by boiling the kernels still on the cob accompanied with chili pepper and until it is sufficiently hot; it is then put out and the food that is to be roasted is put inside the
other plants. pit, which is finally covered until everything has cooked.

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We have evidence of this type of cooking at Telarmachay (near San Pedro de Cajas, in the Junín 55-56) found that during the Inca occupation there were several rooms full of sand and with
puna) that dated to ca. 6200 B.C., as was previously noted. It has also been recorded both at perfectly preserved anchovies, sardines and other small fish.
Jiskairumoko (Puno) as well as at Río Seco (Chancay, Central Coast) between the second and
the third millennium B.C. (Craig 2005). The excavations undertaken by Sandweiss (1992) at the site of Lo Demás likewise found fish
preservation systems, the grills used to dry it, straw mats for large-scale salting, and a large
We should likewise bear in mind that this cooking technique was an international invention in amount of salt. Sandweiss believes, just like Cutright had pointed out, that preserving fish
Palaeolithic times, so that the pachamanca is not exclusively Andean. Even so, it is true that through salting is a method that goes back in time up to the pre-Hispanic period.
this tradition has endured amongst Peruvians for over eight thousand years.
In her excavations at Pedregal, a late Chimú site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley, Cutright
Carl Sauer (1952: 10-11) made an interesting description of pachamanca in which he noted (2009) found that food was stored in holes especially dug in the floor for this purpose, as well
that this cooking technique extends from Cape Cod (Massachusetts, USA) to Chiloé (Chile), as in vessels that were dug into the ground in the floor of small storage rooms, or in storage
i.e. from 41°N to 42°S, which is to say almost all of the American continent. The object here containers. At this same site maize was stored with the kernels already cut off. Another Chimú
is cooking various items—usually fish, meat, tubers and grains—by combustion and smoking settlement like Puerto Pobre also stored food in this way (Koschmieder and Vega-Centeno 1996).
inside a hole underground. In the island of Chiloé, for instance, a hole is dug in the sand close
to the littoral and it is filled up with coal on top of which goes a layer of algae followed Cutright (2009: 191) also notes that Carol Mackey found several large jars for chicha storage at
by shellfish, fish, potatoes, ocas, leaves for cooked grains, and finally by algae again. Sauer the site of Farfán during the Chimú-Inca occupation of the Jequetepeque Valley.
likewise mentions that the Indians of Baja California cook tubers and grains in underground
holes with coal. Cerro la Virgen is a site in the so-called “zona de barriada,” the outlying areas surrounding the
citadel of Chan Chan. Here Keatinge (1975) made an interesting study of the composition of the
According to Cutright (2009: 227) toasting is another dry-cooking method over a hot surface, dwellings of the rural population that worked here for the Chimú State, which are usually rustic
which yields a crispy product. Cutright states that Cobo noted that maize was toasted in clay and of irregular shape. Here some kind of storage was found—silos in the ground and the remains
pans with holes that were quite similar to bread in Western societies. This was the food most of vessels that had this same purpose. The silos were daubed with mud and their openings on
commonly taken after work, particularly as maize flour. In fact I remember that one of the the surface were lined with pebbles in order to structure and stabilise them. The vessels used in
ways I learned to eat maize as a child was when my grandmother gave me ‘máchica,’ in which storage were on the other hand simply placed in holes in the ground, also with pebbles around
flour was made and was then toasted. the edges and eventually half a pumpkin used as a lid in order to avoid the presence of undesirable
substances. Keatinge was unable to identify what types of food were stored in these vessels, but
Chicha was another way in which maize was prepared, this time as a beverage. According to the data available for other Chimú sites suggests it may have been maize and other foodstuffs.
Cutright (2009: 228), Gillin claimed that in the early twentieth-century Northern Coast of
Peru, the aboriginal population in this zone consumed at least two litres per day, and so was D’Altroy and Hastorf (1984) documented several storage structures in the archaeological site
definitely an essential part of the daily diet. of Hatun Xauxa in the Mantaro Valley, some 3600 masl. These storehouses were built as part
of the Inca supply policy for this part of the empire. The colcas had water and ventilation, thus
Chicha is prepared in at least three stages, germination, boiling and its mixture in order to favouring the preservation of the items stored such as maize, potatoes, quinoa, fruits, salt, fish,
produce fermentation. On the North Coast, the distinctive trait of jora (germinated maize) firewood, and chicha. The excavations showed particularly larger amounts of maize kernels
production is that the kernels are allowed to pop throughout various days. The kernels are and quinoa were stored. Fragments of jars [cántaros] were found in association with large
then boiled for one or two days; the resulting liquid is cooled and then strained, and sugar is amounts of potatoes and Lupinus, Fabaceae (chochos). Ethnographic observations showed
added to it. It can be taken in 4-6 days. Gillin points out that chicha can be made from other the tubers were stored in the roof and/or in gourds placed on the floor (pirwa storage) with
plants like molle, as was partly seen above. branches of Mintostachys sp. (the Andean mint), which ensures a better preservation of the
tubers and drives the coleoptera away.
Chicha was not just a common beverage; it was also used in elite rituals. Cutright notes that
the Inca had a special service formed by women (acllacuna) who fermented chicha and We now leave the subject of culinary preparation, dinnerware, and preservation, and turn to a
manufactured textiles for the State. very interesting topic that has been dealt with for some time now—the consumption of food
and maize chicha in contexts that seem to have been feasts, which are usually related with the
Sand was also used in pre-Hispanic Peru to preserve several types of organic food. Such was erection of public or domestic buildings, agreements exchanges or ritual ceremonies inter alia.
the case at Cerro Azul, on the coast a few kilometres south of Lima. Here Joyce Marcus (1987: It behoves this book to cover this topic as it concerns the food eaten in the pre-Hispanic period.

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Chicha and Food: Feasts in pre-Hispanic Peru takes however firsts place with jars that could hold no less than 700-2,000 litres (Ikehara 2010:
55). This means these events were a frequent occurrence, and that they were present in almost
One subject that is drawing the attention of scholars researching food consumption is the all Peruvian cultures.
preparation of chicha using different seeds and plants and its ingestion as a beverage, both in
pagan as well as ritual occasions. We now turn to this record, albeit briefly, in order to explore Ikehara and Shibata suggest that it is possible that each community that reached the site
the interesting world of this liquid beverage since ancestral times. provided the vessels made by its members. Most vessels were apparently of local provenance.

Jennings (2004) explored the consumption of chicha in pre-Hispanic Peru and concluded that The event that gathered most people together, which may have taken place around 700 B.C.
it intensified throughout time. Even so its perennity means that it did not entail specialisation used some 92 vessels to prepare food and beverages, and to serve the food. The groups which
as its preparation was sporadic. Jennings and Brenda Bowser (2008) then published a book partook in this feast apparently took their own vessels with them (an interpretation borne
devoted to chicha and its significance in the pre-Hispanic world. Both emphasise basic areas out by the high variety of wares found). Ikehara and Shibata estimate that over 300 litres of
of interest, e.g. that the process of fermentation not only enhances food consumption, it also liquids were stored in the vessels, and 68 to 113 people were presumably present (Ikehara and
preserves surpluses, detoxifies food and even lowers the time it took to cook it. Shibata 2005: 137, 144).

When presenting the evidence of feasts in pre-Hispanic Peru we can begin with the research On the other hand there are several vessels that seem to have been meant to ferment maize
undertaken at Cerro Blanco, which showed the consumption of food in vessels specially and cassava in order to consume chicha made with both types of plant. This means that for
chosen for this (Ikehara and Shibata 2005, Ikehara 2007). Both scholars made interesting Ikehara and Shibata, both the chicha made out of maize and out of cassava (or masato) were
studies of this site, which lies on the right bank of the Nepeña River. Here the vessels used consumed on the Central Coast at least three thousand years ago.
to prepare and serve food, food remains, and other artefacts consistently abound in similar
ratios for three events that were related with feasts. As for the serving ware, like the bowls used for the food, Ikehara and Shibata assume due to
their small size that these may have been used individually with just one hand. Bigger bowls
When did this happen? According to the radiocarbon evidence the dates range between 1100 would have been passed along in larger groups in accordance with the analogies proposed by
and 450 B.C. The researchers suggest these were recurring activities, albeit spaced throughout ethnoarchaeology.
this period of time. The vessels were classified in terms of their use, i.e. those used to serve
food (bowls and bottles), food preparation (pots, jars [cántaros], and buckets), and others whose We now turn to the southern Altiplano in order to explore the proposition that the Pucara
function has yet to be established (pots and handle-less bowls or compoteras). Neither the pots people were already consuming chicha made out of quinoa two thousand years ago. It has
nor the buckets bore traces of soot but they did have microscopic remains of cassava, potato also been posited that during the late Formative Period food was prepared and consumed in
and maize starch, which is why Ikehara and Shibata believe these plants were previously boiled the central plaza of Pucara. Karlich (2009: 296) found garbage and charcoal remains left behind
in other vessels and were then macerated; the soup derived from these plants may have been when food was prepared. It can be assumed that quinoa may have been present amongst these
eventually placed alongside the remains of a cooked camelid, in a context that certainly was not remains. No evidence of permanent dwellings has been found in this epoch. If this is correct,
a frequent one and corresponded to a festivity (Ikehara 2007: 148). this would be one of the first examples of Andean spatial organisation for the consumption
of food that had the plaza as its central element. We have already seen the work done by
In a subsequent study Ikehara (2010) argues that the largest vessels were meant for feasts Chávez (1992) in this cultural context, which posits that some ...-type vessels were used both
and were not exclusively for domestic activities. Ikehara also reviewed the archaeological to prepare and eat food. Chávez also claims that quinoa-based alcoholic beverages were also
literature in terms of estimating the capacity the vessels had in different periods, in order to prepared. This type of ‘chicha’ may have been consumed in the centre of the Pucara culture.
prove these were vessels made with the same goal in mind, preparing beverages for feasts.
If we accept the results attained by the Italian mission at Cahuachi, then purple chicha or
Of the sites examined by Ikehara we need just mention some remarkable ones by periods, e.g. chicha morada is another beverage that was consumed in pre-Hispanic Peru. A not-too-
Kotosh/Wairajirca (Huánuco), in 1800-1400 B.C., where the vessels could hold more than 77 documented but extremely interesting study was preliminary presented by Piacenza and Pieri
litres; Huaca de la Luna (ca. A.D. 300-600), where vessels held up to 170 litres; sites belonging (2012: 3), in which they claim to have found more than 15 kilos of gourds (Lagenarias) with a
to the Lima culture (ca. A.D. 300-60), with ceramic containers that could hold up to 343 litres; series of violet-coloured stains inside. Piacenza and Pieri believe this is some kind of ‘chicha
Cajamarquilla (A.D. 600), with ceramic vessels that could hold up to 175 litres; Cerro Baúl, in morada’ or purple chicha considering the huge amount of purple maize found at the site, but
Moquegua (see above), with vessels that held up to 150 litres; Conchopata (Wari), which dates no analysis has yet been made. Giving free rein to our imagination, this would be the earliest
to A.D. 600-800, and has vessels that held up to 800 litres; Cerro Azul, on the Central Coast, evidence of the consumption of ‘purple chicha’—obviously fermented— around A.D. 400.

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Maize chicha was also taken in Wari, and this plant was the main edible resource of this ∙ Vessels used to prepare beverages (jars with a particularly wide mouth).
Ayacucho-based culture. Cook and Glowacki (2003) have made a praiseworthy study as regards ∙ Vessels meant for the consumption of beverages (keros, beakers).
the reconstruction of the food consumed by this empire’s elites. They however acknowledge ∙ Vessels used to serve beverages (jars with a decorated neck and urns).
the problems they meet with when reconstructing the Wari imperial cuisine. This was due ∙ Vessels used to eat and possibly drink (especially the standard bowls).
to the lack of scientific reports that analyse the flora and fauna found in the archaeological ∙ Vessels in which food was served (typically wide, deep dishes).
sites excavated, or the remains of the foods prepared in the vessels and sherds found. Faced
with these problems Cook and Glowacki turned to three sources, ethnohistory, ethnography, Cook and Glowacki recall that it has been suggested that both the Inca aryballoi and keros had
and the remains found in the excavations, which they believe reflect diners eating as part of their origin in Wari times; this evidently implies that the Inca carried out the same activities
the State’s administrative activities. This type of banquet took place in the open air, in patios on a more standardised scale. Both the everyday tableware and the pieces decorated with
surrounded by narrow chambers. This patio and rooms complex is typical of Wari architecture, iconography in both empires—Wari and Inca—had a common base.
both in the capital city as well as in the provinces (Cook and Glowacki 2003: 174-175).
One interesting suggestion is that due to their practicality bowls may have been used both
Cook and Glowacki approached this type of feasts with the ceremonial pottery known as to eat and to drink liquids. In the latter case they were only half full, as it is assumed from
Robles Moqo and Conchopata as their starting point. These are distinguished by their huge ethnographic observations that these vessels may have been placed on the knees of seated
size and comprise urns, jars and ceremonial cups in various shapes, including keros. These diners. On the other hand the drinking cups are distinguished by their carefully crafted
wares also included vessels modelled like llamas, twin drinking vessels similar to the Inca decoration in comparison with the plain bowls, which may have been meant for a more
pacchas, and vessels that have a cup connected to a human or animal effigy. massive consumption. This was more practical due to the frequent custom of intentionally
smashing the vessels (Cook and Glowacki 2003: 194).
A first argument concerning the presence of this type of vessel in the patio of the main Wari
political centres suggests they were used in libations (Cook and Glowacki 2003: 178). These The rituals performed during this type of festivities held with elite guests were usually
centres must have been run by Wari rulers who were in charge of matters of State, and as part related with deity and ancestor cults. The feast system included terraced fields meant for
of them organised rituals in which these vessels had a decisive role. The vessels known as the cultivation of maize and its by-products, as well as to prepare maize chicha. Because of
Robles Moqo have also been found on the coast in sites like Maymi, in the Pisco Valley, thus the architectonic evidence and Wari ceramics, Cook and Glowacki believe that food and
proving that these activities were widespread all over the Wari Empire. beverages had a key role in this empire’s expansion. Other provincial sites like Pikillacta and
Azángaro also had this type of spatial distribution, which implies rituals held in banquets
A second argument has the evidence of the food prepared for the banquets as its starting where chicha was imbibed in compliance with the Wari administrative and governance
point. For Cook and Glowacki (2003), the best evidence for this type of activity currently systems. We attempted to calibrate some of the radiocarbon dates available for the
available comes from the two centres of Pikillaqta—the major imperial southern administrative Conchopata urns, but this did not prove possible due to the way the original publication
centre—and Wari itself (Ayacucho). was made (Cook and Isbell 2002).

A series of wide-mouthed jars and vessels have been reported at Pikillacta; ethnographic Chicha consumption, even in the Ayacucho region itself, goes back to a previous culture
analogies show these are usually used to prepare molle chicha (which does not require known as Huarpa. Leoni (2004) discovered a series of grinding stones at Ñahuinpukio that had
boiling), are known as rakis, and their mouth has a diameter of 40-55 cm. A sector that was maize kernels on them. This has been interpreted as part of the process of chicha preparation,
identified as a kitchen, and which operated during the site’s construction, had several holes in thus confirming in Brian Finucane’s opinion that chicha and maize were the main alimentary
the ground that were a perfect match for the diameter of the above-mentioned vessels, and resources in Ayacucho at the beginning of the Christian era. We have seen that based on their
some even included the remains of a similar fragmented vessel. These vessels with a relatively studies, Cook and Glowacki (2003) showed that maize chicha was also intensively consumed
wide mouth may have been used to store the chicha and ferment it. From researchers like at Wari sites like Marayniyoc and Conchopata.
Chávez we know that this type of underground storage not only prevents the weight of the
liquid from breaking the vessel, but also allow chicha to remain fresh and cool. The select elite consumption apparently was common in other pre-Hispanic cultures of Peru,
as was shown by Gumerman (1991) on the North Coast. Gumerman excavated and researched
Due to the type of distribution of fragmentation in the vessels, it is assumed that whereas the alimentary customs of the dominant sector of the Sicán or Lambayeque culture that
garbage was removed from the patios where the feasts took place, in the adjacent rooms was established in the famed Pacatnamú shrine, on the mouth of the Jequetepeque Valley,
food was prepared. Cook and Glowacki (2003: 182) believe the associated vessels can be split between ca. A.D. 1000 and 1460. Whilst the elite lived in differentiated zones, the rural
up into five types: population essentially dedicated itself to fishing and farming in order to support the upper

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stratum. Besides this division, the daily food they ate was also different. The average individual (female pins) have been discovered inside; this may mean that women had a key role in the
essentially ate maize while the elite consumed more camelid meat and chili pepper, both of preparation of this brew.
which were considered ‘sumptuary’ items. Not many comparisons can be made with this type
of information because this is a relatively new line of research. The building has compartments where the kernels were milled, boiled, and fermented. The
milling room, where maize kernels were probably ground, had a roof fully made of thatch and
The trend towards a more varied and better diet amongst the elites is also visible since the the chemical analysis of the ground revealed a large amount of phosphates, which evinces
most ancient times, as was shown by the analysis of the malacological and faunal remains this activity. At least seven holes for combustion were found in the north room, each of them
from the Mochica site of Galindo, in the middle Moche Valley, which dates to around A.D. with a pair of stone pedestals. These structures originally supported vessels of the oven-type
600-800. According to Lockard (2005: 196) it seems clear that elite populations had a more ceramics that are now broken and associated with ashes. A large amount of Schinus molle
varied access to clams, black snails and especially bean clams or conchitas (Donax obesulus), was found among the waste in this room; this probably means that this plant was processed
and even to llama meat, while the common people did not have access to such resources. in order to obtain its saccharose, which was then stored in resin bags. This ground syrup was
used to ferment molle chicha.
Moseley et al. (2005) made another study of this kind as regards the consumption of food and
beverages in the Wari Empire, this time in the famed archaeological site of Cerro Baúl, which For Moseley et al. (2005: 17267) it is not clear whether two different types of chicha (jora
rises on a geologic mesa over the Torata River, in the arid highlands of Moquegua. Cerro Baúl and molle) were prepared in this workshop, or whether the former was mixed with the latter.
was occupied by the Wari slightly before A.D. 600 for political and strategic defence reasons, After boiling the macerate was taken to the fermentation area in at least 12 containers where
like an embassy on its southern frontier with the Tiahuanaco Empire through which they may it stayed for 3-5 days for fermentation, depending on the strength desired. It was t hen placed
have communicated. in jars [cántaros] from which it was directly served. Each container may have held 150 litres of
de chicha which gives about 1,800 litres per lot, which clearly is a high figure.
Moseley et al. (1995) noted that part of the Wari paraphernalia and ceremonies at their Cerro
Baúl colony comprised the offering of tribute in exchange for food, beverages and eventually Moseley et al. even estimated the amount consumed based on the capacity of the cups
presents. Chicha was the preferred beverage. Food and beverages were served in this colony or keros (the smallest on average held 12 ounces) assuming each had four keros. The cups
in accordance with the rank individuals had. This also included rewards such as food vessels. and other offerings were then probably burned together along with the building where this
Human settlements dating to the Wari epoch have been found at Cerro Mejía, the hill to the activity took place as an offering, as was often the case in other pre-Hispanic sites. Maize and
north of Cerro Baúl. These are the non-sumptuary homes of the common people. The layout molle were apparently previously stored outside this chicha processing area in a room some
of these family or multifamily dwellings surrounded by low stone walls included an open 12 metres to the north of this area.
patio where general activities were carried out. These patios are connected to rooms which
may have had thatch roofs and were perhaps used as kitchens, for storage or as bedrooms According to Moseley et al., all of the inhabitants of the Cerro Baúl complex ate maize,
(Moseley et al. 2005: 17265). Chenopodium (i.e. probably quinoa), legumes (probably beans and lima beans), peanuts and
chili pepper, whilst the people living on the summit had access to chicha, coca, and tobacco.
Unlike this type of room, an enclosure on the upper part of Cerro Mejía has the characteristics
of an elite residence. This is a four-room complex around a central patio north of a series This type of beverage must have been taken along with food, particularly camelids and guinea
of platforms that probably were of a ritual nature. For Moseley et al. passageways, niches pigs, the latter apparently pertaining solely to the lords. Less consumed were vizcachas, two
and courts indicate elite distinctions. The northern enclosure was especially equipped for kinds of deer, tinamous, pigeons, squabs and even at least ten kinds of fish imported from the
banquets with three large combustion areas where the food was cooked, and four box- Pacific Ocean, from the shore some 83 km to the Southwest and up 2800 masl, where the
shaped stone structures—a kind of oven where large boiling vessels may have been placed. Cerro Baúl site lies.
The researchers argue that these vessels were probably used to cook the grains and fruits to
sugary and fermented dough, as well as to prepare the chicha that may have gone with the The chronology of these events at Cerro Baúl and Cerro Mejía is based on 33 radiocarbon
food served during the reception ceremonies held in the adjacent room. dates, processed in three labs and taken from charcoal, one of the most reliable materials in
archaeology for a reliable chronology. We took the sequence in general and arrived at a mean
A whole architectonic complex has been detected on the upper part of Cerro Baúl itself, A.D. 635-997, but it may have been reused up to A.D. 1138.
where palaces, temples, food storage areas and a chicha brewery have been detected. This
brewery has been studied in depth, so it is worth briefly going over its characteristics given Subsequent research and experiments that tried replicating molle chicha showed that
its novelty in archaeological research. The brewery is of trapezoid shape and many tupus the accumulation of molle seeds found at the Cerro Baúl site actually correspond to the

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procedure followed when preparing this chicha. Goldstein and Coleman (2004) tried to sacrifice. Evidence was also found of the consumption of fruits that may have been used to
replicate its preparation based on ethnographic observations from Moquegua and they did prepare the liquor.
succeed. After use, the amount of seeds was six times bigger than that found at the Cerro
Baúl site, but this could be explained by the dryness of this zone. For Goldstein and Coleman, The discovery of big jars [tinajas] dating to Lambayeque and Chimú times has been reported
the potential preparation of molle chicha can also be documented at Conchopata, a Wari Prieto (2004: 142), including one that could have held 408 litres. The jars were associated with
archaeological site in Ayacucho. In this case however the seeds concentrated in the storage textile pieces used perhaps for transportation or to cover the jars, and large wooden lids
containers reached on average some 10,000 units, whereas at Cerro Baúl they were more to preserve the contents. Even more fascinating is the discovery of large “wooden stirrers
scattered in the wastage left by its preparation. Goldstein and Coleman (2004: 528) believe [removedores]” in the shape of large spoons, supposedly used to stir the chicha whilst
this can be interpreted as a communal output. preparing it. Several small pots were found in this same room that had been on fire for a long
time; Prieto interprets this as a group of characteristics indicating this area was a chichería
We have seen that chicha especially that made from maize has had a key role in various pre- or chicha brewery. Although there is in fact a series of pre-Hispanic spoons, these must be
Hispanic societies. Chicha was the everyday beverage and not just a crucial element in social analysed in order to establish their use at that time, as in the case of the Pillistay site on the
and ritual interactions (Moore 1989). Moore (1989) reported his research on chicha preparation coasts of Arequipa and in the vicinity of Camaná.
and the contexts in which it was consumed at the Chimú site of Manchán in the lower Casma
Valley. This site extends over some 63 hectares and is by far the biggest Chimú settlement in On the other hand the research undertaken by Georges Lau (2002) showed the presence of
the south. It comprises several enclosures—administrative ones, cemeteries, and even corrals festivities in contexts pertaining to the Recuay culture. Here solid and liquid consumption
where llamas were raised. took place as part of communal political rituals held since at least A.D. 500 to about A.D. 800
in the site of Chinchawas, in the highlands of Ancash, at some 3580 masl. The contexts contain
The research undertaken of the Chimú occupation of Manchán showed that chicha was not abundant camelid bones, particularly feet bones, in what Lau believes evinces the preparation
just prepared communally, but was also prepared individually in various domestic contexts. and consumption of a large number of these animals during the ceremonies.
Moore found what he estimated to be 300 kilos of bran in a pit that was apparently used to
strain the chicha. According to his estimates this gives some 513 litres of chicha, of which more Joan Gero (2001), who focused her research on “gender” in this same area of the Callejón de
may have been consumed than at present (Moore 1989: 687). Even so, Moore found evidence Huaylas, presented an interesting paper on the role women had in festivities held within the
comparable to those which ethnohistory presents in regard to specialisation, as suggested for context of the Recuay culture, in which maize chicha was consumed.
instance by María Rostworowski, who suggested the presence of a trade such as “chichero”
(chicha brewer) on the North Coast. It so happens that throughout the Chimú occupation of Gero excavated the site of Queyash Alto, where she found evidence of feasts such as jars and
Manchán there was no specialisation nor did the State exert any pressure in this regard; chicha vessels, which she interprets as libation vessels and maize chicha containers dating to the first
was instead prepared domestically. centuries of the Christian era. Other artefacts and evidence such as bowls, spoons, cut marks
on llama bones and the remains of hearths indicate activities pertaining to feasts. Gero also
Strong evidence has also been found of maize chicha being prepared during the Chimú found elements that correspond to the female gender such as tupus (pins), and so on, which
occupation of the site of San José de Moro, in the excavations that Luis Castillo has been heading Gero believes can be interpreted as elite women who participated in this type of ritual.
for several years now. The report for the 2005 fieldwork season (Prieto 2005) documents 13
occupation layers all from the Chimú occupation, and the evidence they provide allows one Sandefur (2002) made an interesting study of some patios in the site of Hatunmarca in the
to infer that chicha brewing was a specialised and intensive occupation. Prieto believes this upper Mantaro Valley, in the puna of Junín, at more than 3000 masl, and found evidence of
activity was controlled by the Chimú administrative centre of El Algarrobal de Moro, which banquets dating particularly to the Wanka II epoch. These activities are evinced by the tools
is in the vicinity of San José de Moro. A significant number of vessels with soot were found used to cut and dismember, as well as the cuts in the bones of camelids found in the meat
in one sector of the excavation, and these would have been used for boiling whilst making extraction zone. Thin-necked vessels type vessels, and maize were found in the contexts.
jora. Prieto estimates that some 1,400 litres of chicha were produced just in this sector alone Sandefur believes this can be interpreted as the consumption of maize chicha.
(Prieto 2005: 48).
Finally, Tamara Bray published an important study of chicha consumption in the Inca culture
The maceration of chicha would have taken place in an outer patio. Boiling [??: cocción] and in the above-mentioned volume. Bray presents an interesting perspective in terms of
the subsequent settling would have taken place in another area. The patio may have been characterising maize chicha as an Inca tax standardised with the aryballoi. She cites a study
used to serve chicha to the diners and visitors. The discovery of a burial that corresponds by Arminda Gibaja (2004, in Bray 2008: 108) that I was unable to find, which documents the
to this period is interesting, and Prieto tries to explain as an offering derived from a human discovery of the chemical remains of chicha on the walls of aryballoi from Ollantaytambo,

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thus clearly showing the Inca stored maize chicha in this type of vessel. Bray also showed that
while the smallest aryballoi came mainly from Cuzco and were apparently connected more
with ritual offerings, the medium- and large-sized ones are mostly found in the Inca provinces
throughout the empire, and were essentially used to prepare large amounts of chicha for
festivities involving a larger number of people.

We have thus far presented the reader with a brief overview of pre-Hispanic food. There
are however some questions that follow from reading the book, and which are precisely THE NUTRITIONAL BALANCE
those which were raised by several previous scholars like Hans Horkheimer or Santiago
Antúnez de Mayolo, and perhaps also by recently deceased ethnobotanists like Don
Ugent or Luigi Piacenza: was the diet of Peru’s pre-Hispanic populations balanced or not?
What of public health in regard to the diet? The brief notes that follow are meant to
spur the study of both issues. This is a brief essay that presents our current knowledge as Did the pre-Hispanic Peruvian diet give rise to pathologies? Here we will discuss first some of
regards these research areas. the biochemical bases of feeding in general and will attempt to contextualise them with the
Andean resources, and will then finish with these diet-derived pathologies.

At this point it is worth briefly discussing the vitaminic properties and the mineral content
of the Peruvian products that were eaten in the pre-Hispanic period. Since this writer is no
expert in this subject or in this specialised field, I will base myself on the Cambridge History
of World Food (2000), one of the best sources on the international diet. The goal is to obtain
information of this kind on Andean pre-Hispanic food, so as to be able to assess the role of
alimentary biochemistry in the epilogue to this book.

In 1897 the Dutch scholar Christian Eijkman was studying beriberi in the Dutch East Indies
(Indonesia) when he realised that it was triggered by the consumption of cooked white rice.
Fifteen years later the Polish scholar Casimir Funk posited that it was not just beriberi that was
caused by the lack of substances known as “vitamins,” but also pellagra, scurvy and rachitism.
The age of vitamins had been born.

We have seen that pellagra significantly affected pre-Hispanic populations due to the lack of
niacin brought about by a high consumption of maize. Even so, this disease was only definitely
eradicated after it decimated whole populations in southern Europe and in the southern
United States. Let us turn now to some of the main characteristics of the vitamins consumed
by ancient Peruvians.

Vitamins
Wolf (2000: 740-750) notes that vitamin A Wolf (2000: 740-750) is a liposoluble substance that is
vital for the health, the reproduction and the survival of all vertebrates on earth. Human beings
only require 1-1.5 grams a day. Although it is not found directly in plants, these have carotenoids
and betacarotenoids that on entering the organism turn into vitamin A. In general there are
betacarotenoids in all vegetables with a yellow or red colour. Yet the main sources for this
vitamin are animal livers and eggs, precisely foodstuffs which were missing almost completely in

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the diet of the early people of the Andes. The major pathologies derived from this deficiency or requirements many be moderately covered if maize is eaten alongside foods that contain
from the inadequate consumption of this vitamin are nyctalopia (night blindness), xerophtalmia, ascorbic acid, like fish (Wilbur et al. 2008: 970).
and a high infection potential in children, as it destabilises the immune system. Some experiments
also seem to show that children who have not taken milk have a higher possibility of developing Glenville Jones reviewed and updated the main characteristics of vitamin D (Jones 2000: 763-
nyctalopia. If this disease is not solved it ends up in blindness. Diarrhoea and respiratory diseases 768). The sun is its main source and it prevents rachitism, a relation that was discovered only in
have been observed in some cases. In the ranking of diseases caused by a vitamin A deficiency, 1919. Jones suggests that it was precisely because of this that most great civilisations appeared
Peru appears under the heading “severe.” This should make us ponder whether this problem in tropical environments, and that the people who inhabited these zones may have used few
existed in pre-Hispanic times, but we should not forget that fish liver oil, especially oily ones clothes in order to receive solar energy, and even spent most of the day out in the open.
like salmon, has a significant vitamin A content. Sweet potatoes and yellow maize have beta-
carotene, but typical pre-Hispanic Andean staples like potatoes and cassava do not. The interesting point here is noting that precisely the same circumstances may hold for the
Andean area (now Peru) because pre-Hispanic dwellings were never big and were instead
We can now briefly review the main results attained by the study of the B complex, i.e. small, and give the impression that few activities can have taken place in such small rooms. It
thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, cobalamin, and folic acid (Roe 2000: is therefore possible that ancient Peruvians carried out their activities in the open most of the
750-754). The B factor was first isolated but it then derived into vitamin B1—thiamine—whose time, which for conscious or unconscious reasons may have prevented or at least avoided an
absence or a deficiency of which causes beriberi. Vitamin B2 later included riboflavin (which increase in the rate of rachitism. Rachitism is also prevented in populations that have access
used to be known as vitamin G in honour of Joseph Goldberger and his classic studies of to marine or river resources such as fish with a high fat content. This point must be considered
pellagra in the United States). The isolation of vitamin B3 established that it is a pantothenic in regard to our sea and rivers in the pre-Hispanic period.
acid, but it is sometimes incorrectly called niacin. Biotin (known as vitamin H in German labs
from haut, skin in German) and folic acid, which used to be called vitamin M because monkeys We now turn to vitamin E (Jones 2000: 769-774). This vitamin has tocopherol, which in the
needed it, have also been documented. Andes is found in quinoa and maize. This was at first a free radical that is found in some plant
oils as well as in animal fat, including fish. Its major properties include preventing abortions,
The absence or low ingestion of thiamine may lead to diseases such as beriberi or muscular and it may also be beneficial for the cardiovascular and muscular system. On the contrary,
paralysis. A disorder in the consumption of nicotinic acid or niacin may cause pellagra, a vitamin E deficiency apparently causes neuronal and muscular degeneration. Besides, when
disease that as we have seen may have been frequent in pre-Hispanic Peru due to a diet vitamin D is inhibited by the human organism it can generate several problems in the liver, or
that abounded in maize but included few animal proteins (which have tryptophan-acid and cause a cystic fibrosis whenever there is pancreatic blockage.
combat pellagra). This disease is expressed by dermatitis and/or diarrhoea. In this context
it is believed that nicotinic acid is a key factor in the development of some bacteria. It was Vitamin K, which has phylloquinone, is found particularly in legumes like beans, but also in
precisely the above-mentioned Joseph Goldberger who devoted more time and research to chili pepper, avocado, and maize. It has several functions that are carried out by coagulant and
pellagra due to the difficult pathologies present in the United States in 1914. anticoagulant proteins, and by two bone proteins. So if there is a deficiency in its intake there
is a risk of non-coagulation and bleeding; in some cases this can lead to death, particularly in
As for riboflavin, its deficiency is observed when populations do not eat enough green children (Thierry Palmer 2000: 774-784).
vegetables, which causes fissures at the corners of the mouth, dermatitis, and so on. It was
also shown that people who suffered pellagra in the United States had a diet that was poor in
riboflavin and niacin. The absence of pantothenic acid may be associated with malnutrition, Minerals
that of folic acid with anaemia, and that of cobalamin with pernicious anaemia.
What of the minerals contained in pre-Hispanic food? One first mineral to consider is calcium
Hughes (2000: 754-763) summarised vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Its deficiency in the organism is because it is proven that its absence can lead to osteoporosis and rachitism when as we have
directly connected with scurvy. Recent research is showing that its absence does not seem to already seen, alterations in the consumption of vitamin D intervene. Spencer (2000: 785-797)
be connected with deficiencies in the immune system or with infections, as happens with the provides a summary of this invaluable mineral. The interaction of vitamin D, calcium, and the
common cold. Even so it is possible that it may have anti-infection functions, that it favours parathyroid hormone is crucial for calcium metabolism. Osteoporosis is more frequent in
the lipid metabolism, and even lowers cholesterol. Nor should we forget that Pauling believed women about one decade after menopause, whereas in men it can take place much later. In
that ascorbic acid increased the production of lymphocytes or white globules. The properties general 800-1200 mg of calcium a day are required. Calcium also requires minerals to interact
of vitamin C are strengthened when dehydrated potatoes or chuño are eaten, as this prevents and fix. Such is the case of phosphorus, which also interacts with proteins.
the saturation of phenolic acid in the organism. Besides it is known that the organism’s iron

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Magnesium likewise is an essential nutrient that is highly important for regulating the cardiac of iron than the previous groups and had no anaemia but did suffer from malaria, brucellosis,
rhythm and the intravascular function. Its low consumption is associated with arrhythmia and diarrhoea, and common warts [this means a fish-based diet actually was an open door to a
brain-vascular dysfunctions. Men require 300 mg of magnesium a day and women 400 mg. series of pathologies. It should also be noted that anaemia can lead to heart pathologies such
Magnesium also promotes the intestinal absorption of calcium. Fluorite is another mineral as coronary diseases.
that interacts with calcium and prevents dental caries, particularly in children, and also
normalises the bone structure. Zinc seems to be localised in the intestine along with calcium; Another element that activates anaemia and which is also relevant for the pre-Hispanic
its daily recommended intake is 12-15 mg a day. Strontium and proteins seem to interact with Andean area is the occurrence of nematodes that infect the blood of human beings, including
calcium; the latter lower its presence in bones. Interestingly enough, alcoholism is connected ancylostoma, intestinal worms, whipworms, etc. There are three ways in which these parasites
with osteoporosis due to the pancreatic disorders it generates. can cause anaemia. The first way is through anaemia as a chronic disease; the second one
arises due to the competition over the nutrients found in the individual; and the third one is
Iodine is another mineral to be considered. Hetzel (2000: 797-811) made a summary of the by loss of blood. Malaria parasites also depend on the iron of their host.
importance the consumption of this chemical element has, and the diseases that appear
whenever there is iodine deficiency, like goitre and cretinism. Nowadays we consume iodised Magnesium is another mineral in the diet of ancient Peruvians that must be assessed.
salt precisely to avoid the goitre, as was shown by several experiments made since the early Mountokalakis (2000: 824-834) points out that the main causes for low magnesium absorption
twentieth century. A deficiency in iodine consumption reduces the production of the thyroid in human beings are for instance malnutrition both in terms of proteins as well as of calories,
hormone. Disorders due to the absence of iodine or its low consumption have been listed, prolonged diarrhoea, chronic diseases, renal deficiency, and some metabolic and endocrine
and they include abortions, congenital anomalies, an increase in perinatal mortality, cretinism, disorders. On the other hand the symptoms associated with the disordered consumption
mental deficiencies, goitre, hypothyroidism, and retarded physical development. of magnesium are for instance neuromuscular manifestations such as convulsions, ataxia,
apathy, coma, tetanus (on rare occasions), cardiac disorders—especially ventricular ones—
Iron is probably the most prominent of the minerals because its consumption can be metabolic effects such as hypokalaemia, hypocalcaemia, and possibly others such as learning
documented through a series of biological evidences in pre-Hispanic human remains (Kent and retardation, dysplasia of dental enamel, and so on.
Stuart-Macadam 2000: 811-824). There are many sources where iron can be obtained but in
general those of animal origin seem to be the main ones, with vegetables as the supplementary Based on previous research, Mountokalakis also drew attention to the content of ‘heavy’ water,
ones (particularly molluscs and dry legumes). Besides, water can contain iron, especially if it which unlike non-heavy or non-treated waters basically contains calcium and particularly
comes from wells like those used on the coast to extract water from the water table, which may magnesium, which prevents cardiac diseases. 300-350 mg is the daily recommended dose of
have been a pre-Hispanic supplement. It has been shown that humans in general only require 10 magnesium; in children this falls to 100-200 mg a day. It is found in cereals, legumes, marine food,
mg of iron a day. It can also be inhibited in the organism by several factors, which in pre-Hispanic etc. The daily recommended dose of phosphorus is 1,600-2,400 mg a day, which in women comes
Peru may have been calcic phosphate. On the contrary, citrus may have been iron absorption to 1,200-1,600 mg a day. It has also been shown that a balance between the consumption of calcium
fixers or promoters, as well as various Peruvian fruits and chili peppers. And although the pre- and phosphorus is required (0.5/1). A disorder in the consumption of phosphorus can lead from
Hispanic diet did not focus on the consumption of animal meat, the need for iron was at least dysfunctions in renal functioning to the loss of bone density and an increase in fractures.
partially covered in infants because they absorb 40% of the iron in breast milk.
We now turn briefly to the required consumption of potassium in pre-Hispanic Peru. Newman
Kent and Stuart-Macadam point out that there are several kinds of anaemia, but a review of (2000: 843-848) holds that potassium is the third element in importance for human beings
its characteristics show that microcytic hypochromic anaemia is the one type that may have after calcium and phosphorus. It is found mainly in seawater in the form of natural brine as
existed in the pre-Hispanic Andes—this type is precisely the one that arises due to the absence sodium chloride, as well as in mica and feldspar. It is known that clays contain these elements,
of a basic diet that contains iron. The body fights infections, bacteria or swellings, and even so pre-Hispanic geophagia should come as no surprise. Potassium has crucial properties; for
neoplasms or rheumatoid arthritis by lowering the amount of iron. In the pre-Hispanic Andes instance, it regulates the mechanical function of soft muscles like the heart and even vascular
there were few ways in which animal iron could be directly obtained, but newborn babies and muscles; it regulates protein synthesis, controls renal functions and so forth. Potassium is
those that were breastfed acquired it through the lactoferrin found in breast milk. Examining found in practically all foods, but hypokalaemia and even hypertension can appear whenever
the mortality index of the newborn and breastfed babies in pre-Hispanic times is important. its intake is deficient. The National Academy of Sciences states that humans must consume at
least between 1,875 and 5,626 mg of potassium every day. It has been shown that people who
The combination of resources, an element that has a determinant role, should also be borne in ingest four grams a day avoid many diseases. Of native Peruvian foodstuffs, fish and potatoes
mind when assessing pre-Columbian anaemia. For instance, it has been shown that populations are recommended in this regard. It is likewise evident that the first human groups consumed
that consume milk had anaemia, whereas those who had milk and fish ingested a third more more potassium, which is ideal in the daily diet.

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Sodium is another basic mineral. Wilson and Grim (2000: 848-856) connect it with salt in Fluorine in turn reduces the incidence of dental caries and osteoporosis, and it combats
terms of its use in the consumption, preservation and storage of food, and fish in particular, the demineralisation of calcified tissues. Manganese, an essential component of plants
which is made more resistant to bacterial attacks by extracting water and its subsequent and animals, regulates the reproductive and development functions, and prevents skeletal
dehydration. These effects must be similar in the processing of some plants. Sodium is the abnormalities and defects in the metabolism of lipids and carbohydrates. Molybdenum
sixth most abundant element in nature, and 40% of the weight of salt is sodium. It has a fixes nitrogen and nickel as a catalyst of the development and metabolism of vitamin B12,
crucial role in maintaining and regulating blood pressure and its volume in the organism, and of selenium as a possible replacement of vitamin E. Finally, silica seems to act against
so it has the task of carrying nutrients to the cells; it also metabolises carbohydrates and hypertension, arteriosclerosis, osteoarthritis and dermatitis, whilst in the Andes vanadium is
proteins. It has been shown that the ingestion of sodium acts as electrolytes in children’s found in algae and helps transport glucose in plasma, as well as in the effects of oxidation-
infectious diarrhoea, thus controlling the loss of water and salt. Human beings who do not reduction.
consume salt experience apathy, anorexia, low pressure and finally circulatory collapse,
shock and death, as has been observed in cases of cholera. Wilson and Grim note that in Zinc is the last element that we must review. Prasad (2000: 868-875) notes that the symptoms
prehistoric times human on average ingested 690 mg a day, 148 mg derived from vegetables caused by its deficient consumption include diarrhoea, dermatitis, alopecia, infections,
and 542 from meat; even so the recommended dose nowadays is 2,400 mg a day. The diet deficiencies in the immune system and above all anaemia and malnutrition. Even so it should
of the first human groups had a low consumption of sodium in comparison with that of be considered that zinc consumption blocks copper absorption, which as we have seen is also
potassium, which is ideal for health. an essential element.

We now need to examine why the ingestion of phosphorus was essential in both pre-Hispanic
and—evidently—modern Peru. Anderson (2000: 834-843) made an interesting summary that is Proteins and Fatty Acids
worth briefly presenting here. Although it would seem that phosphorus is a toxic element, it is
an essential nutrient for human health when it appears in nature as phosphate salts. Phosphates Before making a biochemical assessment of food in pre-Hispanic Peru we still have to review
are found mostly in animals, but vegetables also make a contribution in this regard. In the the group of proteins and fat acids. The importance the consumption of linoleic acid has
Andes phosphates are found mostly in fish, maize, potatoes and most of the fruits eaten. The for human beings has been proven. Even so, the data requires a more in-depth review due to
peanut, in particular, a resource that was highly consumed in the pre-Hispanic period, seems the information regarding the proteins found in local Andean foodstuffs. Kenneth Carpenter
to be a good source of phosphates, as well as molluscs and crustacea. (2000: 882-888) claims that proteins are the muscular engine and includes a list—based on
other studies—which shows the amino acids required by rats: lysine, tryptophan, histodine,
Nielsen (2000: 856-868) partially summarised other trace elements found in Andean products. phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine, threonine, methionine, valine, and arginine. On the other
There are seven biochemical elements known as trace and ultratrace elements. The trace hand the non-essential amino acids are glycine, alanine, serine, cystine, tyrosine, aspartic
elements are copper, iron, and zinc, and the ultratrace elements are cobalt, iodine, molybdenum, acid, glutamic acid, proline, hydroxyprolina, and citrulline. Carpenter showed that a much
and selenium. Chromium and boron are some additional elements that have been studied, but larger amount of animal protein is available than in vegetables. In the protein table, poached
their specific biochemical functions are not fully clear. There are however four more elements eggs have the highest content (86 mg) and are followed by grilled salmon (50 mg), Cheddar
that are essential for humans, i.e. arsenic, nickel, silicon and vanadium, as well as fluorine and cheese (25 mg), salami (25 mg), and milk (21 mg). As for legumes we have beans (25 mg) but
lithium. We will now explore the main characteristics of each of these elements. unfortunately not tarwi, which is the tuber with the highest protein content in the whole
planet. The table also includes potatoes (10 mg) and sweet potatoes (4 mg).
Arsenic is for instance used in the treatment of several pathologies, including nutritional
disorders, neuralgia, rheumatism, asthma, malaria, tuberculosis, cardiac muscle problems, and Sauer (1952: 53) believes that Peru’s pre-Hispanic nutritional diet was incredibly low in protein
various haematological anomalies. On the other hand the preservative properties of boron, and above all in fat. For Sauer the main protein supply was provided by goniocalyx (found in
which were discovered during the Second World War, increase the body fat when required, potatoes) and some other quinoa and maize proteins. Little can be said of animal proteins
and regulate the amount of potassium in the liver; it also seems clear that the ingestion of because the frequency in which guinea pigs were eaten is still unclear, and it is known that
boron prevents osteoporosis and regulates the organism’s micromineral metabolism. As for llamas were rarely eaten. Sauer claimed that the Andes had too little fish, fuel or game,
chromium, its contribution as a hormonal regulator is known, as well as its role regulating the and on this basis he believed that even the Inca had to venture onto other lands in order
aorta plaques, the metabolism, and above all regulating glucose. to satisfy the desired protein level. A series of diseases were mentioned in this regard that
would be the result of a farming-based diet, particularly maize (Bryant 1995). Yet it should be
Among its properties copper includes preventing anaemia and osteoporosis; it contributes acknowledged that thus far there is no long-term study on the biochemistry of pre-Hispanic
to bone formation, to the cardiac function, to myelinisation, keratin, and the spine. Peruvian foodstuffs and an ideal nutritional balance.

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One subject that has yet to be discussed is the presence of minerals in the food eaten in pre-
Hispanic Peru. Sodium is one element that carries out several functions in the human organism
because liquids, the body’s acid-base equilibrium and even sugar, have to be regulated. And
although salt was obtained both in natural ocurrences and salt pans, it actually abounded
more in some foods such as molluscs and crustacea from the Peruvian sea.

Calcium is another essential mineral as it is the one which is most present in the human
organism. It is a well-known fact that no animal milk was available for the newborn or infants, DIET-RELATED DISEASES
and breast milk was apparently used to try and compensate this lack during the first years
of life of children. This was shown by the analysis of the N15 isotope in the human remains
of babies and children—mummies—from the site of Puruchuco-Huaquerones, where Jocelyn
Williams (2005: 190-191) found that mothers breastfed their children until they were four years
old, but this may have stopped slightly before, at three years of age. Williams notes that in Although we cannot expand on this subsection, we do have to present at least a summary of
ethnographic terms, in modern publications breastfeeding on average lasts one or two years, another type of record—the diseases caused by a deficiency in the pre-Hispanic diet, because
but in some cases, like the Jivaroan peoples, it lasts seven years. In this context we should these do not just concern the past, they potentially concern the present too.
recall that Horkheimer (1960: 46) pointed out that in 1609 Garcilaso noted that due to the lack
of bovine milk, mothers often breastfed their children for more than two years. How can we establish whether nutrition was good or poor in pre-Hispanic Peru? How far can
we go in establishing a good nutrition through combinations of the foodstuffs? Were they
Horkheimer (1960: 99-110) presented a pioneering early review of the bromatology of pre- aware that iron absorption, for instance from fish, was inhibited if it was eaten simultaneously
Hispanic foodstuffs in his oft-cited handbook, which is worth summarising here. Horkheimer with maize, and that it was best eaten with some tuber, like the potato or the sweet potato?
began by comparing the archaeological and historical evidence available in the late 1950s The question can even be made for present times: is it known that when white rice is eaten—
with the available data on current plant and animal consumption, and noted that farming which is how most Peruvians like it—this is a rice from which the husk has been removed and
conditions as well as the consumption of fish and molluscs have fallen, and the same thing which can cause xerophtalmia, blindness or beriberi? We should however remember that
had happened with the consumption of mammal protein. He then discussed some positions although it has a low protein value, rice has more carbohydrates than wheat.
regarding the bromatological content of quinoa and cañihua as major sources of proteins,
iron, and vitamin D. Horkheimer claimed that the cultivation of these plants could not replace Having presented the main staples of the ancient Peruvians, this is a good moment to make
foods based on European livestock, and that their consumption had a local or regional basis, an assessment, as far as the evidence allows it, of whether they had a balanced diet and were
yet it was not so extended that any generalisations could be made. healthy, moderately healthy, or suffered instead diseases due to deficiencies in their diet.

Horkheimer concluded that from a bromatological perspective, the diet of pre-Hispanic Peru On summarising the foodstuffs eaten by human beings since the most ancient times in The
was not balanced. Whereas on the coast seafood exerted a strong influence, in the highlands Cambridge World History of the Food, Clark Larsen (2000: 28) points out that nutrition
it was essentially a vegetarian diet except in the case of the elite. The highland diet mostly anomalies can be detected through the study of prehistoric human bones, which are generally
comprised carbohydrates as it was based on the potato and its by products like chuño and detectable in specific characteristics of the teeth, crania, long bones and even coproliths or
moraya, particularly during the months in which these items were most consumed. In case of past human faecal remains. In general, Larsen’s conclusions are partially applicable to the
alimentary need, the use of coca alleviated this problem. Andes, like the thesis that the rate of porotic hyperostosis increased once farming had been
adopted, and that the heightened consumption of maize may have led to iron deficiency
(maize limits iron consumption per se), particularly if the sources that provide it fall, as
happens when eating fish. The latter may give rise to the presence of several parasites in the
human organism, including the ingestion of contaminated water, and, again, iron deficiency.

The same thing holds for the documenting and assessment of criba orbitalia, which is often
associated with sedentary farming populations, and which is assumed to be due to a lack of
iron that is reflected in the cranial bones. Hyperostosis on the contrary may be due to episodes
of anaemia during the first years of growth and development. After all, iron deficiency is due

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to several factors that may include parasitic infections, haemorrhages, and loss of blood. In Enterobios vermicularis in turn causes enterobiasis, a disease that is characteristic of many
children anaemia may be due to the low weight of the newborn, sex, and even having the parts of the world and especially tropical countries. It lodges in the intestines and usually lays
umbilical cord in a position that affects the foetus. its eggs around the anus thus causing an itch; when one scratches the larvae are transmitted
to the hands and contagion thus takes place.

Tuberculosis, Parasites, Infections, and Malnutrition A significant number of diseases are due to a lack of iron, which gives rise to the chronic
disease anaemia. Susan Kent (2000: 919-939) defines it as a below-normal number of red blood
In pre-Hispanic Peru tuberculosis was a disease in part due to a deficient diet. Wilbur et al. cells, and among the causes she gives Kent includes hypoferremia—an iron-deficient diet—
(2008: 976) point out that tuberculosis was present in the human genus 35,000 years ago, which would have been the main cause in the Andes. Although several Peruvian foodstuffs,
and dendritic DNA suggests it may even be 2.5 million years old. In a summary of this type both vegetables and animals, have iron, Kent lists a series of inhibitors for its absorption that
of disease, Wilbur et al. state that it is caused by several factors including ecology, the type include calcic phosphate and peanuts. In general, the more phytates (phosphorus) that are
of food eaten, the immunology function and the genetics of the pathogen agent and its ingested, the lower iron absorption will be.
receptor. Even so, it is a fact that the type of food may cause the dispersal of the bacillus
Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In her account of anaemia, Kent shows that although it was not too frequent during the
Palaeolithic Period, it did increase in the Neolithic when agriculture was developed, and
The direct consumption of infected animals is an originary source of this disease. Another expanded during the Bronze Age, and did so even more intensely in recent times, as in the
source is its transmission from human to human by sneezing or coughing, as may well have case of the Anasazi during the first centuries of the Christian era. It so happens that anaemia
been the case in the pre-Hispanic context. Once tuberculosis has spread outside the primary is one of the few pathologies that can be documented by the bones archaeologists find when
area of infection, the bacillus establishes itself in the bone lymphatic system where arterial anomalies like porotic hyperostosis is detected (which is known as cribra orbitalia when the
blood pressure creates tension and elevates the oxygen content which is ideal for the pathogen eye sockets are affected), and a ‘sieve’-type porosity on the outer part of the cranium.
agent. Osteoblasts are stimulated under these conditions and thus destroy the bones, and as
the disease advances an anoxic environment develops in the blood. This type of alteration In the Americas, an iron-poor diet along with a series of infectious diseases gave rise to several
is visible in the long bones, the spinal column, ribs, joints, etc. It is precisely under these cases of anaemia. In some pre-Hispanic cultures the predominant ingestion of maize was
circumstances that poor nutrition makes the antimicrobial activities decrease. Iron levels also not the main cause for anaemia, which was instead due to sedentism and to certain parasitic
have a role here; when these are inadequate macrophagous bactericidal activities decrease diseases that spread rapidly. It would be worth exploring these results in the Andes and checking
and thus contribute to the disease (Aufderheide and Rodríguez Martin 1999: 118-140). whether all cases of anaemia in pre-Hispanic Peru were solely due to maize and no other agent.

Several diseases derived from food or water infections were apparently frequent in pre- Anaemia was also frequent in other pre-Hispanic populations like the Maya, as is observed
Hispanic Peru. Panikker (2000: 1033-1048) summarised these diseases, e.g. Diphyllobothriasis in in very many skulls exhibiting porotic hyperostosis, which includes children six years old and
the tapeworm group (Cestoda), which usually appears when fish is eaten raw. Diphyllobothrium upwards. At Chichen Itzá 675 individuals affected by anaemia have even been recorded.
latum is between three and ten metres long and it adheres to the mucosa of the large intestine.
From the faeces it can pass to fresh water where it lays its eggs; when these are ingested by In Peru and Ecuador the consumption of fish and marine foodstuffs apparently was ideal
fish as larvae they perforate the intestine walls and develop in infectious form lodged in the to include iron in the diet, yet health conditions gave rise to several diseases, especially
fish’ muscles. The people who eat these fish raw suffer several problems such as diarrhoea, respiratory diseases and pneumonia, which were even lethal for 67% of the individuals in
vomiting, fatigue, abdominal pains, fainting, and megaloblastic anaemia. This picture may have one culture. Parasites apparently had a major role here because they enter fish and can be
been possible in pre-Hispanic Peru due to the conditions in which the food was eaten and transferred to human beings, and they then compete for iron in humans. This is not found to
imbibed. such an extent in highland populations that fed mainly on maize and far away from the sea.
Even so, we should not forget that coastal populations that fed on fish and shellfish were
As for nematodes, in pre-Hispanic Peru two types of parasites have been documented. The already combining plants and animals in their diet since the Late Preceramic (ca. 3000 B.C.).
first one is Trichuriasis trichiura, which can be up to 40 cm long and usually lives in the colon;
their eggs settle in the faeces, from which they move to the ground and can attack another However, Philip Walker et al. (2009) recently challenged this classic interpretation by
human being. Finally, when assessing Trichuriasis, Leles et al. (2010) state that the consumption questioning the hypothesis that anaemia is caused by iron deficiency, particularly in children.
of Chenopodium (as in paico or quinoa?) has an antihelmintic function as both have even been This seems instead to cause porotic hyperostosis, which is manifested as a rapid loss or red
found associated in coproliths. blood cells, i.e. haemolytic and megaloblastic anaemia (the former is also caused by malaria).

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According to these researchers, the real cause of anaemia is a deficient ingestion of vitamin peoples, or with climate change, rainfall, insects and plagues. In her summary, Larsen notes
B12 (cobalamin) associated with symptoms of neurological instability, which may even have that the nutritional state can also be assessed in prehistoric populations through anomalies in
led pre-Columbian populations to anthropophagy, as was the case of the Pueblo Indians in growth. Such would be the case of, for instance, populations that developed smaller femora
southern North America. This is a subject that has yet to be explored in Peru in terms of after maize was introduced into their. This hypothesis should be tested for pre-Hispanic Peru.
assessing whether resources such as coca or marine bivalves, which have vitamin B12, had a
role in counteracting the effects of iron deficiency in the organisms of our forebears. The adequate ingestion of food can also be reflected by a decrease in the size of the cortical
bones, which can usually be observed on the outer surface of the long bones. Low calcium
Scurvy and rachitism are other diseases due to malnutrition. Whereas the former is due to consumption can similarly degenerate into osteoporosis, but there are other factors that
a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid, which reduces the process of bone remineralisation), the trigger this type of pathology. Finally, an increase in the density of the so-called Harris lines
latter is caused by the absence of vitamin D (found essentially in fish) and mostly affects can also indicate alimentary deficiencies, but these may be due to other agents, and can be
infants and young people; it may even be caused by not being exposed to the sun. Frequent reabsorbed during adulthood (Larsen 2000: 15-23).
results observed include a deficient bone mineralisation, particularly in the long bones.
In this same handbook on food, when discussing alimentary deficiencies Ortner and Theobald
In the case of odontological research, it is clear that food consumption causes teeth wear, a (2000) attribute them to a deficiency in vitamins C and D, iodine and iron deficiency, excessive
type of decalcification by erosion, attrition, and abrasion. Populations that eat hard foodstuffs fluorite deficiency in protein calories, and a deficiency in trace elements.
will leave teeth with large cavities, whereas populations eating softer ones will have teeth
with smaller cavities and narrow wear lines. The deficiency in vitamin D, which causes rachitism, can likewise be due to poor renal
functioning and eventually to a disease called osteomalacia, which is due to a decrease in
Caries and even the loss of teeth may lead to serious infections and eventually death. Teeth calcium particularly in pregnant women or in breastfeeding babies, as they retain the calcium
with wear marks and food residues concentrate from bacteria to cariogenesis. Cariogenic from their mothers’ bodies.
diets also give rise to hypoplasia and hypocalcification. All of these symptoms [cuadros] can
be assessed by studying palaeopathology. Ortner and Theobald emphasise the singular fact that vitamin C must be permanently
consumed because the human body does not store it. It is hard to trace in the archaeological
Alimentary deficiencies can also be detected in the dentition through the so-called Wilson record. Fluorosis can also reveal the consumption of water with fluorite. All of these elements
bands, which are usually correlated with hypoplasias. Dental enamel is highly sensitive to a must be considered when assessing nutrition.
low nutrition. It is claimed that a high consumption of maize along with a lower intake of
animal proteins would have these bands as a result, which in turn expose the population to Nutrition and infection are other major subjects that have yet to be assessed (Cohen 2000).
infections, particularly the younger ones. Some researchers even attribute the reduced size of Parasites may cause diarrhoea and accelerate the flow of nutrients in the intestine and
the teeth to maize consumption. interfere with nutrition from the intestine to the blood vessels. Parasites destroy or consume
human tissues— usually red blood cells that must be replaced—in the case of diseases such
Zein, a maize protein that is deficient in leucine and isoleucine, has likewise been connected as malaria or ancylostomiasis.
with retarded human growth unless it is supplemented with the consumption of beans.
Besides, although maize has niacin (vitamin B3), it is bonded with other chemical elements Parasites like taenia compete with humans in the consumption of vitamins and minerals in
that prevent its absorption by the human tissues, thus raising the risk of generating pellagra the human intestinal tract. The infection may end up with the organism refusing to consume
that is observable in cutaneous reactions, mental alterations, and diarrhoea. nutrients in an attempt to destroy the invader, as is the case when the body retains iron. Parasites
often gather in wet and warm environments, as well as in the midst of large populations and in
Even so, it has been shown that some Native American groups treated maize with wood food containers. Food or water contaminated with faeces are extremely rare problems in mobile
ash and silt, thus freeing niacin and avoiding pellagra. We have already seen ethnographic populations. The eggs of parasites are usually found in the faeces in areas close to them, so
observations as well as some coproliths that indicate that both silt and wood were consumed that on being stepped on they can enter the organism through the sole of the feet. They then
in pre-Hispanic Peru. The question is whether these were exceptions or were instead migrate to the intestine, consume red blood cells, and reproduce through their eggs.
traditionally taken during ingestion.
It is therefore worth presenting a brief review of this issue. No pretence is made of having
Weight loss in adults, slow growth in children, malaria, gastroenteritis, intestinal infections reviewed all of the existing literature, but it is still worthwhile as a supplement to this book in
and intestinal parasites are other diseases that appear instead within the context of farming terms of answering the question of whether pre-Hispanic Peru had a good diet or not.

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First, parasites must not have been unknown for the pre-Hispanic population. For instance, of parasites can be found, especially eggs and larvae. We are thus in a virtually privileged
some of the fowl found in the puna, like partridges and ducks, were raised to eliminate liver position to delve in this fascinating area that is partially related with the diet.
flukes (Fasciola hepatica), thus limiting the proliferation of this worm that settles in human
and animal tissue (Antúnez de Mayolo 1996: 25). In this regard it is not just the study of faeces in pre-Hispanic sites that is important—their
location is also significant. To the best of my knowledge, except for the pioneering efforts of
Although few studies provide information regarding the condition of the food eaten in pre- Duccio Bonavia no study has considered possible infections and pathologies due to exposure
Hispanic Peru, it is clear that the existing salubrity and the alimentary balance were not ideal, to faeces in a pre-Hispanic settlement.
and this gave rise to several types of diseases. A conclusive answer however has yet to be given.
Bonavia (1982: 225) showed the presence of faeces at the mouth of the maize bins at the
Such is the case of the studies that allow us to follow this type of research line, like the site of Los Gavilanes, in the lower Huarmey Valley. If faeces are found in this area, we have
study made at the camp-type site known as PV35-4 on a beach north of the Huarmey Valley, to ask whether our ancestors really defecated where they ate and stored food. This will
and which was dated to Middle Horizon 3, i.e. ca. A.D. 800. The analysis of human faecal not be an easy question to answer without specific studies. In this regard, Bonavia (1982:
remains at this site made by Bonavia et al. (2009: 269) found bird bones and feathers, fish 229-232) documented at Los Gavilanes the presence of eggs belonging to Heteroderia sp.,
bones and scales, mammal bones and hair, shells of univalve and bivalve molluscs, charred a helminth present due to the ingestion of contaminated plants. Faecal remains contained
remains, charcoal, wooden fragments, etc., which means that at least some of them come abundant vegetable fibres indicating the consumption of plants, both leaves and roots, yet
from foodstuffs that were not washed, or which were simply picked up from the sand. no cell contained meat fibres, so in this site at least the consumption of vegetables was the
rule. Given the list and the evidence thus far reviewed, it can be said that this was a common
This same study recounted the location of human faeces and concluded that humans defecated denominator in our pre-Hispanic Andes.
in the hearth zones where food was cooked. Bonavia et al. (2009: 281) noted the same thing
at Los Gavilanes (coastal Peru), that is to say at least 2,000 years earlier, and mentioned the
faecal remains found at the site of Paloma, where human coproliths were documented on the Anaemia, Caries, and Pellagra
floor of the houses. This type of behaviour has yet to be analysed. There are indications that
people defecated or urinated where they ate, which seems to be an ideal environment for the We now turn to the chronological record of these diseases in pre-Hispanic Peru.
proliferation of parasites amongst other diseases. Why did people defecate where they ate?
Only more specific studies will shed light over this issue. One of the most ancient pieces of evidence of malnutrition was found whilst Sonia Guillén
(1985: 426-427) studied the human bone remains from the Telarmachay rock shelter. Of the
Having presented a list of the main diseases derived from Peru’s pre-Hispanic diet, we have to three burials studied, two evinced nutritional disorders both in the woman more than fifty
see some basic ideas or notions regarding our subject. years old as well as in the infant, who had an infection that was probably due to malnutrition.
Both burials come from level VI, which means they date to around 6000 B.C.
We begin with palaeopathology, which is broadly defined as the study of disease in ancient
populations. Verano and Lombardi (1999: 94) believe there are three major sources with which In a pioneering article for Peruvian archaeology, Benfer et al. (1978) published the results of the
this subject can be studied in the Andes, to wit, the Spanish colonial chronicles, the sculpted research undertaken with the hair from some Peruvian mummies. It is worth pointing out that the
depictions in Andean ceramics, and the bones of the individuals themselves, which are our two mummies found in Paracas—one of which was dated to a very early context in 7866 B.C., and
most reliable and direct source. Now, one of the major problems the bones show concerns the other one to 4337 B.C.—both evince anaemia which the authors attribute to malnutrition.
nutritional disorders (Verano 1997). In fact, the intensification of farming activities and social
stratification led to a less-varied diet, which exacerbated the effects of infectious diseases Sites like Paloma, on the coast south of Lima, were the focus of the study by Robert Benfer
and parasitism. and his team, which aimed to examine the effects the diet had in Preceramic populations
in the area ca. 5316-3630 B.C. Reitz (1988: 314) points out that marine foodstuffs comprised
In this regard, an additional research point clearly concerns pathologies due to the diet and almost 90% of the diet whilst only 10% came from the land—animals and mammals. Fish
its sanitary conditions. in fact comprised 76% of the biomass exploited and were the main source of meat. The
researchers analysed a large number of human skeletons from burials found at this site. They
In an overview on this subject in regard to pre-Hispanic America, Carvalho Gonçalves et al. concluded that the process of sedentism due to an improvement in the population’s diet not
(2003) concluded that arid regions, including the Peruvian desert, have the great advantage only diminished the rate of infant mortality, but also lowered the living standards of the adult
of a dry climate and the potential for the preservation of human faeces in which the remains population (Benfer 1990; Benfer 1999, 2008; Quilter 1989).

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Benfer was able to establish that at this time part of the infant population suffered anaemia An interesting analysis of human coproliths in several archaeological sites in the lower Virú
(cribra orbitalia in the frontal bones) but this disease apparently fell in less ancient populations, Valley showed that maize consumption can disturb iron metabolism and have several effects,
just like parasitism. It is possible that this type of anaemia and parasites were due to a diet such as anaemia due to iron deficiency, porotic hyperostosis, and so on (El-Najjar 1976, in
based on fish and marine mammals (Benfer 1990: 301). Ericson et al. 1989: 97). For El-Najjar maize does not have phytase, an enzyme that counteracts
phytic acid, which is precisely what affects iron absorption. Besides, starch-based foods
Caries only appear when the consumption of plants and carbohydrates begins to increase usually limit the absorption of iron. These deficiencies in iron consumption would have a
towards the end of the occupation, i.e. the fourth millennium B.C. Similar results were greater impact on infants, who cannot absorb it from food.
obtained with the analysis of dental wear. Whilst at first there was very little dental abrasion,
this seems to have increased once plants gained significance in the diet. Osteomas in the male John Verano (1994) later studied human bone remains from three Mochica sites—Pacatnamú, La
ear, which usually appear when one dives, are a pathology that is not directly derived from Mina (both in the lower Jequetepeque valley), and the well-known site of Sipán (Lambayeque).
the diet but from catching molluscs and other edible marine animals. An interesting detail of One of his results was that indicators of nutritional deficiency—for instance, the hypoplasia of
a sanitary type is the discovery of shell fragments associated with faecal remains, which were dental enamel, cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis or non-specific periostitis—are actually
found during excavations in some kind of latrine. Benfer believes the shells may have been rare, thus giving him the impression that the Mochica had a balanced diet. Even so there was
used in the Preceramic period like toilet paper, but this is mere speculation (Benfer 2008: 376). a strong presence of dental caries which gave rise to infections that Verano attributes to
the high consumption of carbohydrates, something which we have seen happened in several
More recently it was that the people in the site of Quebrada de los Burros, in the Tacna agrarian societies the world over, but there is some discussion in this regard (Verano 1994: 324).
littoral, had cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis between 7900 and 4800 B.C. This may
be indicating some symptoms of malnutrition, but the relevant point is that no caries lesions The anaemic condition of pre-Hispanic peoples apparently did not improve in later periods.
were found (Dalabarde et al. 2012). Verano (1992) even showed that bone samples from the Early Moche period have less signs of
anaemia than those from later Moche periods, and he believes that in later populations social
It is thus clear that anaemia and malnutrition have been present since Peru was populated and stratification did not allow access to better resources. The skeletons analysed from Pacatnamú
not just on the coastlands but on the Central puna too. (Late Moche, ca. A.D. 600) exhibited less characteristics of anaemia than the human bones
from more recent epochs like the Late Intermediate Period. This simply corroborates previous
A cutting-edge study on the identification of the food eaten from an analysis of dental information, i.e. that more recent pre-Hispanic populations suffered from anaemia.
plaque was made with human bone remains from Nanchoc, in the Zaña valley on the North
Coast. In this case plaque must not be interpreted as a pathology but as an invaluable source On another part of the coast south of Lambayeque is the archaeological site of El Brujo.
of information on the food ingested. We have seen that several plants like the pumpkin Here Backo and Verano (2001) recorded an individual who had an infection due to chronic
(Cucurbita moschata) or peanut (Arachis hipogaea) clearly were already being consumed by tuberculosis in the Moche culture (A.D. 200-450).
7200 B.C. Piperno and Dillehay (2008) reported the presence of plaque on human molars and
canines, thus providing direct evidence of their consumption during the late Early Holocene Izumi Shimada et al. (2004: 381-382) showed the presence on the North Coast—albeit in a
and the Middle Holocene. Starch from the seeds of beans or lima beans (Phaseolus) and later period—of cribra orbitalia, dental enamel hypoplasia, dental caries, porotic hyperostosis
pacay (Inga feuilleei) were discovered in the plaque of the teeth studied. Pumpkin (Cucurbita and Harris lines, particularly in low resource populations from the Sicán culture at sites such
moschata) pulp and peanut fragments were also recovered in the plaque studied. These finds as Batán Grande, El Brujo, and Huaca Loro in Lambayeque (ca. A.D. 900-1100). We may also
were made in preceramic layers that dated to 7173-5816 B.C. infer that here there was not much access to iron or that this was a case of malnutrition.

We now turn to the Mochica and their ancestors on the North Coast. Anaemia was identified The results of a study on very long-term cultural development from the Lambayeque
long before them in a child ten to eleven years old that was buried in the site of Alto Salaverry culture to the early Colonial Period—ca. A.D. 900-1750—are even more interesting. Applying
south of the mouth of the Moche River, on the North Coast (Trinkaus 1977). The remains analyses that integrated several methods—including the macroscopic observation of lesions,
had evidence of cribra orbitalia, which for Trinkaus is indicative of this type of pathology, radiographic images and CT, the analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and DNA (IS6110)—
i.e. a lack of iron consumption. The child was buried in a part of the structure of a temple Klaus et al. (2010) documented destructive lesions that were diagnosed as tuberculosis and
at this site that must date to ca. 1600 B.C. For Trinkaus this may have been essentially due chronic tuberculosis in three native adults, a teenage woman from the early colonial period,
to the consumption of large molluscs and the lack of an adequately balanced diet, and iron and in the cranium of a sub-adult individual from the sites of Íllimo (A.D. 900-1100, very close
in particular, which may have been represented by small mammals. Large molluscs mostly to Túcume), the Caleta de San José (Chimú culture, ca. A.D. 1375-1450), and San Pedro de
contain haemocyanin, a copper-based protein, but no iron. Mórrope (ca. A.D. 1536-1750). All cases of tuberculosis were verified through genetic analysis.

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What of the Nasca did they suffer anaemia and malnutrition? Indeed they did. The pioneering consumption of maize, or the eventual libation of maize chicha. They consider this a highly
study in the field of clinically-diagnosed anaemia identification was the study authored by Allison cariogenic product. The consumption of maize has been documented in various population
et al. (1973), which was based on bone lesions in mummified soft tissues, and bone lesions in a child sectors and not necessarily in the elite.
from the Nasca culture dated to about A.D. 700. The researchers were even able to identify and
isolate Mycobacterium tuberculosis (which has also been detected in the Chiribaya culture). We now move to evidence of this kind in cultures that preceded the Inca in the Late
Intermediate Period (ca. A.D. 1000-1460). The Chiribaya, on the coast of Moquegua, is a case
Cribra orbitalia apparently was a frequent disease on the South-Central Peruvian Coast. In study. Blom et al. (2005) based themselves on an enormous collection of human bone remains
Chongos (Ica), a site occupied from 200 B.C. to A.D. 400, Dietz (2009) identified this disease in (1,465 skeletons from the Field Museum of Natural History and 953 skeletons excavated in
over half of the individuals studied. Dietz concluded that this was due to the evident anaemia the Moquegua context) from various parts on the Peruvian coast and found many cases of
in this population. anaemia, particularly in children and teenagers; this however seems to be due not to the diet
The study of caries and dental plaque in regard to food, a subject that is closely related with but to diseases such as tuberculosis and to parasites. Even so, the burials that were closer to
the study of the pre-Hispanic diet has now been studied for several decades. Steward (1931) the littoral—which may be indicating that these were people who consumed more fish and
included a poor nutrition among the factors generating caries in pre-Hispanic Peru. Elsay et marine products—had less cribra orbitalia than those from higher altitudes. Many children
al. (1977) reported one of the first studies of pre-Hispanic teeth based on 101 skeletons from from the Chiribaya culture (at sites like Estuquiña, El Yaral or Chen Chen) died precisely
the department of Ica and from cultures like Paracas, Nasca, Tiahuanaco, and Inca. Most of because of tuberculosis.
the jaws with teeth affected by caries and plaque belonged to the Paracas and Inca cultures,
whilst those from Nasca and Tiahuanaco were affected to a lesser extent. It is possible that Wilbur et al. (2008: 972-973) examined each site in a more recent overview of the occurrence of
in the highlands, water with fluorine contributed towards a better preservation of the dental tuberculosis in the Chiribaya culture; it is therefore worthwhile examining somewhat in depth
health of the people in those regions (Elsay et al 1977: 138). At the site of Los Gavilanes, in the variables this pathology caused amongst the ancient inhabitants of the Osmore Valley
the lower Huarmey Valley, Bonavia (1982: 203) recorded plaques that ultimately gave rise to in Moquegua. For instance, at Chen Chen we have a population with a moderate ingestion
gingivitis and which were caused by abrasion due to the consumption of hard foodstuffs of iron despite feeding on non-sea animal proteins and maize (probably camelids and other
animals). The presence of cribra orbitalia in 36% of the adults and of porotic hyperostosis in
Within the context of the Nasca culture it is worth noting that caries and dental abrasion more than 50% are good indicators that tuberculosis was instead endemic, as well as showing
have been found in individuals from the monumental site of Cahuachi. Piacenza and Pieri the presence of macroparasites. Wilbur et al. believe that although in this case iron was indeed
(2012: 12) documented the consumption of toasted peanuts and jíquima along with a series of consumed, it went to the microbacteria.
molluscs that were apparently consumed with sand.
At the site of Estuquiña (ca. A.D. 1200-1460) we have the evidence of at least ten people
Moving along in time we have to examine the evidence for this type of disease within found in tombs who suffered tuberculosis. The individuals who lived here fed both on marine
the context of the Wari culture. Cribra orbitalia is present in some of the Wari burials at resources as well as on C3 and C4 plants. Although there was a higher iron consumption at
Conchopata, albeit with a low index and having apparently been healed (Tung and Cook this site, it is probable that the population here suffered more from tuberculosis because they
2006), so that some kind of alimentary deficiency can also be inferred here. This type of manipulated camelids, animals which potentially had these bacteria and disseminated it.
disease derived from low iron consumption was however more evident among the child
population at sites like Beringa (ca. A.D. 600-1150) in the modern region of Arequipa, but it has On the other hand, as was expected the occurrence of tuberculosis was higher at El Yaral, an
also been detected in adult populations, both male and female. It has been estimated that inland site that evinced a greater dependency on maize. What these cases in general show is
at least 40% of the child population at this site during the Wari occupation died of anaemia that tuberculosis depends on several interrelated factors like those listed above, and not just
due to the frequent occurrence of cribra orbitalia. Tung and Cook also point out that the on the type of food.
anaemia may have been brought about by the presence of intestinal parasites rather than by
a deficient nutrition. This may have been because of the condition of the water, which they There are several studies that do touch this subject but within a very broad temporal span. This
probably took from the same river where they caught the shrimp, in the Majes and Camaná makes them extremely interesting because they trace the occurrence of this type of disease
Valleys. The evidence also indicates it was due to the excessive consumption of maize and in the longue durée. For instance, Klaus et al. (2010: 2588) noted that tuberculosis apparently
molle, foodstuffs that also increased the index of dental abscesses and are cariogenic. reached its peak in Peru around A.D. 1000. It is possible that social differentiation contributed
to this result. The doctoral dissertation prepared by Julie Farnum (2002) does in fact seem
Tung and Cook (2006) also found that more than 70% of the people interred in the Wari to support this, as it shows that the differences between the elite and the common people
cemetery of Conchopata, Ayacucho (ca. A.D. 600-1000) had caries due to the intensive gave rise to several diseases amongst the latter due to an unequal treatment, a differentiated

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access to resources and so forth. This seems to have been precisely the case on the North
Coast of Peru during the Lambayeque culture and the Colonial Period. As has been noted, the presence of Harris lines is an indicator of potential alimentary
deficiency. The significance of this type of trait goes back some decades, for Allison et al.
Toyne (2002) made a broad study of some 1200 individuals and concluded that most children (1974) had already documented it in a considerable number of skeletons from cultures like
and teenagers frequently suffered dental enamel hypoplasia and porotic hyperostosis. Paracas, Nasca, Huari, Tiahuanaco, and Inca. The researchers detected more lines of this type
in coastal cultures in comparison with highland ones; according to their study the Tiahuanaco
Mujica et al. (1992: 93-94) claim to have detected evidence of cribra orbitalia in a child a were in fact healthier. The main groups affected were children and teenagers, but the authors
year and a half old at the Malanche 22 site, which is on a loma between the Lurín Valley and discussed other causes that may have caused this type of line.
Chilca Ravine south of Lima; the child was dated to A.D. 1200-1450. Baraybar conducted the
palaeopathological analysis and concluded that although this type of disease was healing at In her study of the mummified remains from Puruchuco-Huaquerones in Lima, Williams
the time the child died, it does evince a high carbohydrate diet that somehow inhibited iron (2005: 97) documented the presence of both cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis in
consumption, a circumstance that is repeated in several of the contexts we are reviewing. the individuals studied. It turns out that whereas half the people analysed suffered from
the first disease, 33% suffered the second one (infants in particular), which gives us an idea
Lanfranco and Eggers (2010) have presented a study of dental caries in a total of 263 individuals, of the poorly balanced food these people ingested. This trend is likewise evident in the
i.e. more than 5,600 teeth studied. The human burials come from Puémape, a site south of the high tuberculosis index, which affected more than half of the individuals analysed. Other
Jequetepeque Valley with samples dated between 3008 and 339 B.C., and Los Pinos, a cemetery diseases like osteoarthritis, periostitis and fractures are interpreted by Williams as evidence
site in the Huaura Valley that dates to the Late Intermediate Period (ca. A.D. 1000-1450) and of alimentary deficiency.
which can be assigned to the Chancay culture. Some of the dental lesions, like the caries, are
not just due to foodstuffs like cooked maize, which contain gelatinised carbohydrates—as
is evident in the Chancay occupation—but also to the consumption of natural sugars from Parasites, Agents of Malnutrition
non-domesticated tubers in wild state. The caries present in the Salinar epoch occupation at
Puémape (339 B.C.) can be explained in this way. The presence of parasites in the pre-Hispanic period due to the type of food is at least 5,000
years old. We have already mentioned the presence of parasites such as Diphyllobothrium in
The presence of diseases like pellagra has been above all associated, in the American context, the human coproliths from Los Gavilanes (in the lower Huarmey Valley) as a result of ingesting
with a diet poor in proteins and vitamin D (which is precisely found in meat, milk and so on, fish, and this was dated to ca. 3200-1480 B.C.
which were not part of the pre-Hispanic diet, and the absence of niacin), and an increase
in the consumption of maize (Buikstra, in Bryant 1995: 217, Brenon and Paine 2000). Pellagra We should recall in this regard the identification of this type or parasite made in faeces found at
causes dermatitis, diarrhoea, dementia and eventually death. Jocelyn Williams (2005: 190) the site of Huaca Prieta. Bonavia holds that in both cases they seem to be due to D. pacificum as
however argues there are mechanisms that make maize more alkaline and endow it with the has already been noted, and the result of eating raw or little cooked fish, particularly lorna drum,
potential to absorb proteins, particularly when planted associated with beans (bear in mind Chilean jack mackerel, cojinova or corvina. The presence of these parasites entails a moderate
here the triad maize-pumpkins-beans), as was the case in the Peruvian Andes, so this subject is anaemia of the microcytic/hypochromic type (Bonavia 1982: 230).
open to debate. If this is so, then a maize-based diet would have provided better nutrition to
the people of Puruchuco-Huaquerones, and by extension to other regions where the massive On the other hand, the presence of Enterobios vermicularis in at least one faecal remain from
consumption of this cereal prevailed. Los Gavilanes can be considered the cause of infections and pruritus because this type of
nematode eggs often migrate outside the digestive apparatus. Besides Ascaris lumbricoides
An invaluable study of the type of pre-Hispanic food and the pathologies it can give rise has been found, which may have more dangerous effects such as pneumonia, intestinal
to comes from the burials at the famed site of Machu Picchu (Verano 2003: 65-117). In an obstruction and acute appendicitis (Bonavia 1982: 231-232).
extensive palaeopathological study of 178 skeletons of individuals from different parts of
the Andes including the coast, Verano concluded that dental diseases predominated—e.g. On a Middle Horizon epoch 3 (ca. A.D. 800) site known as PV35-4, which is on the beachline
caries, abscesses, periodontal diseases, and even ante-mortem dental loss—due to a high north of the Huarmey Valley, Bonavia et al. (2009: 270) managed to document many eggs
consumption of carbohydrates like maize or potatoes. Another factor behind so many caries of Trichuris trichiuria and Chriptosporidium sp. in human faecal remains. The first parasite
may have been coca chewing, which gave rise to inflammations, abscesses and loss of teeth. frequently passes from one person to another so its transmission is not complex, and it causes
There are besides nine cases of anaemia in adults, who had it since childhood. As we know, intense infections and diarrhoea. Its survival is facilitated by the conditions found in warm and
this disease can be due to parasites, infections or the diet. sheltered soils, as is the case on the Peruvian coast. The infection takes place when the eggs

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are eaten directly or indirectly on the ground. The second parasite appears in cosmopolitan megavisceral syndrome (cardiomegalia, gastric ectasia, and megacolon with a large amount
areas and can cause the faecal contamination of the environment as well as of water, food, of faeces). Nests of these protozoa were in the myocardio, thus indicating the disease was
and even the air. It causes acute diarrhoea, which can be more problematic in children and can already chronic.
even end in death (Bonavia et al. 2009: 283).

Let us see other evidence from the Middle Horizon. Fouant et al. (1982) documented amoebas Pre-Hispanic Scurvy
in cyst form that are known as Entamoeba in the excrement of bodies belonging to the
Wari culture; they may have caused dysentery or amoebic dysentery. This type of parasite We left scurvy for this final section on food-derived diseases, not because it is a secondary
is transmitted when non-boiled water is taken or contaminated food is eaten. Guhl (2005: pathology, but because of the scant research that has been made in this regard.
237) noticed the occurrence of Trypanosoma cruzi (flagellated protozoa) parasites in several
individuals from the Chiribaya Alto site; these frequently cause the Chagas disease, which Here we can only report in this regard the study by Ortner et al. (1999), who studied the
is characterised by an infection tht can result in the long term in malnutrition and anaemia. documentation on scurvy in pre-Hispanic Peru. Out of a total of 363 crania from various
Rothhammer et al. (1985: 495) claim that this type of disease is partly due to guinea pig and archaeological sites, Ortner et al. were able to detect the presence of scurvy in 38 individuals.
camelid raising—these animals may have hosted Trypanosoma infestans, especially before Nineteen of these come from Pachacamac and apparently had different occupations; two are
domestication. Rothhammer detected this problem in various cultures on the South American from Chilca and probably date to 2000 B.C.-A.D. 300; eight are from the Chicama Valley and
Pacific Coast, from southern Peru to northern Chile, including the well-known Chinchorro date to A.D. 300-800, i.e. they belong to the Mochica culture; one comes from Huarochirí and
culture. dates to A.D. 1100-1450; another one is from Caudivilla (Junín) and dates to the same period,
and two crania are from the zone of Huacho, in A.D. 500-1450.
It was precisely in the case of the Chiribaya culture that Martinson et al. (2003) found a
series of parasites that passed from mammals—llamas, guinea pigs, dogs—to human beings This means that the disease disseminated since at least 2000 B.C. to just before the time of the
on ingestion. These include for instance Pulex sp., a type of flea that causes plagues and Inca, and from the north coast to the central coast, including the central highlands. In all cases
typhus. Human beings were evidently infested by them by consuming guinea pigs and dogs. one observes porosity (hyperplasia) in the cortex of the crania and lesions in the left sphenoid
Trypanosimiasis has also been documented and it resulted in a megacolon in a human mummy. wing where we find inflamed vessels in response to the scurvy-derived pathology. For these
Besides, a facial skeleton with osteolytic lesions in this same cultural context is interpreted researchers this is a clear indication of this disease. Interestingly enough, the pre-Hispanic group
as leishmaniasis. mainly affected by it comprised children between seven and twelve years of age.

Martinson et al. found evidence of T. trichiura among the human faecal remains at the
Chiribaya site of San Gerónimo. Even so, the common denominator in almost all Chiribaya
mummies is the taenia, particularly D. pacificum, a frequent outcome of eating fish. Carvalho
Gonçalves et al. (2003: 114) states that the presence of T. trichiura increases in terms of the
temperate climate and has been present in South America not just in pre-Columbian times,
but also during the Colonial Period. In the above-mentioned Chiribaya contexts there is also
evidence of ticks.

There is a relatively pioneering study that should be mentioned in the context of this culture.
Salo (1984) et al. announced the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a Chiribaya
mummy through a DNA analysis of a pulmonary lesion. The mummy dried up spontaneously
and came from the Alto Chiribaya cemetery site, in the lower Osmore Valley, and even has a
radiocarbon dating of A.D. 995-1134.

Fornaciari et al. (1992) observed that Trypanosoma cruzi, which entails the presence of “Chagas
disease,” have also been detected in the remains of an Inca mummy. In this case the authors
examined a mummified woman some twenty year of age from Cuzco that is at present in the
National Museum of anthropology and Archaeology of Florence (Italy). The remains exhibited

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CONCLUDING REMARKS

A brief review from a chronological standpoint clearly shows that the radiometric results
completely turned around the history of the antiquity of domesticated plants in pre-
Hispanic Peru. We just need scan overviews like that of Smith (1965), who sketched a history
of American cultigens that included the following in chronological order: squash (Cucurbita
ficifolia), Canavalia, lima beans and chili pepper between ca. 2300 and 1500 B.C. in the zone of
Huaca Prieta. In its time this sequence was completed with the finds made in the Virú Valley,
which included plants only since about 800 B.C.; it started with maize, and then came the
Gallinazo culture (in this framework from the year 0 to A.D. 400) with plants like peanuts,
beans, avocado, and lucuma, amongst others (Smith 1965: 327).

In her study of pre-Hispanic food at Puruchuco, Williams (2005: 29) mentions the significance
food has in the world and the agents that influence its consumption. An interesting aspect in
countries like Peru and others in South America is that they produce tropical fruits and vegetables,
but eat less of them than other countries like Denmark. Children in Kenya likewise eat more
cereals and less meat, whilst adults have more meat. This is not just a matter of resources but of
education regarding the properties of foodstuffs, which must also be learned in Peru.

Although our overview is not the biggest, we at least have a sampling of the pre-Hispanic
foods that we need to assess briefly in order to answer the question this book raised regarding
the alimentary quality of the resources presented. Let us therefore make some general
observations on pre-Hispanic Peru’s diet. We start with plant foods (Diagram 1) and follow the
same order as throughout the book.

The case of achira is interesting, for this rhizome dates to at least the beginning of the third
millennium B.C. (some even believe it could go back to the sixth millennium). Judging by the
sites where it has been found, its occurrence is clearly focused on the central coast and in
the Andean highlands below 3000 masl. Besides, the fact that it has been found in charred
condition at Caral, Ancón, and Casma indicates that it was roasted on the Central Coast since
at least four thousand years ago. The evidence amassed clearly shows it was eaten.

Don Ugent, the botanist who examined the remains from the Casma Valley, established that
there were spiral-shaped cut marks in this rhizome, which can be interpreted as the result of

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TIME CHART OF TUBERS, RIZOMES, CEREALS AND LEGUMES IN ANCIENT PERU which improved the absorption of the scant iron found in this tuber; it also does not contain
undesirable substances like oxalates during the cooking process. These properties increase
11 000 10 000 9 000 8 000 7 000 6 000 5 000 4 000 3 000 2 000 1 000 0 a. C.
with the added value of dry storage for up to seven years and retaining about 12% of its
Achira protein value. This is thus a major past food resource that should be retaken now.
Arracacha
Sweet potato
As for its consumption in pre-Hispanic Peru, once the tuber arrived—probably from northern
Maca
South America—it was found in the lower Huarmey Valley in an archaeological site known
Cassava
Oca
as Los Gavilanes since at least 3200 B.C. The evidence indicates it was eaten at that time by
Jiquima
a human group because it has been directly found as pollen in human excrement. Nasca
Yacón
iconography shows that this culture consumed it in the first centuries of the Christian era, but
Olluco
it is also possible that the Mochica ate it too. One can thus speculate that this tuber was more
Mashua extensively consumed due to its great properties and the ease in its preparation. We have
Papa the impression that no archaeological record is available due to the deficient preservation of
Kiwicha any remains other than pollen or starch. The impression that this plant was more extensively
Quinoa consumed in pre-Hispanic Peru thus seems warranted.
Corn
Peanut The sweet potato is a tuber that apparently had a key role in the diet of pre-Hispanic Peru,
Lima beans not just because of its carbohydrates but because of its ascorbic acid content which made
Common beans possible the absorption of its low protein density. And if, as has been shown, it was usually
Pacay
cooked by subjecting it to a bonfire or a hearth, then its lysine content would not have lost its
Algarrobo/Carob tree
value. We should remember that this is one of the ten amino acids that are crucial for humans;
it has a relevant role in the absorption of calcium (in the Andes animal calcium is missing
a procedure followed before its consumption. Some specimens likewise have charcoal stains, almost completely) and in the formation of antibodies and enzymes (infection prevention).
which evidently indicates they were roasted beside hearths at least four thousand years ago. The question here is whether ancient Peruvians consciously used this type of knowledge
The same thing was found at Cahuachi, the Nasca shrine, so this type of cooking endured when fire cooking the sweet potato, a move that was so beneficial for the human organism.
throughout time. If carobs, beans, quinoa and mashua, which are all rich in lysine, were all cooked in this way,
then we could risk giving an affirmative answer; this however will not be possible because this
These data, supplemented with those from Huaca Prieta—where achira remains were found is precisely the type of record that is missing.
that included not just the tubers but the chewed leaves and branches too—clearly indicate
its consumption either cooked or baked since almost five thousand years ago. The findings Research indicates, like in few other cases, that the sweet potato was definitely eaten in the
Bonavia made at the site of Los Gavilanes, in Huarmey, simply reinforce these dates for achira pre-Hispanic period, and furthermore that it as roasted. It is evident that it was cooked in
consumption. the Nasca shrine of Cahuachi, in Ica, because remains have been found that were placed on
open hearths. To judge by the evidence from Caral—in Supe—and Huaynuná—in Casma—this
The constant ingestion of achira in pre-Hispanic Peru, which is mostly documented on the type of cooking seems to go back at least to the third millennium B.C. Bonavia even recorded
Central Coast up to 2000 masl, implies an optimal ingestion of a large amount of starches it in a site on the lower Huarmey Valley that dates to the Wari period, i.e. A.D. 650-1000, so
that were essential for the life of these early inhabitants. It is also widely documented for the that roasted sweet potatoes seem to have always been with us. If we had better publications
Moche, Nasca, Lima, and Chancay cultures, and in the highlands—particularly in Ancash—from on the finds made at Chilca Canyon we could assume that this type of ‘barbecued sweet
the Preceramic Period to Chavín. It is evident—either due to the lack of documentation in potatoes’ are at least eight thousand years old—but these are mere speculations.
archaeology or to its real distribution—that this plant was consumed in Central Peru some five
thousand years ago in significant amounts, and that it covered the starch and carbohydrates According to the data available, there is evidence that sweet potatoes were consumed in
requirements of pre-Hispanic populations. domestic contexts—i.e. evidence of culinary activities—by the common people of the past,
as in the case of Punta Grande, but this also happened in ritual contexts, as in the ‘feast’ at
Arracacha was another major tuber in pre-Hispanic Peru. It was even more special because Buena Vista in the Chillón Valley—both events are dated to 2200 and 200 B.C., which means
it was not just an excellent source of starch and carbohydrates but also of ascorbic acid, it was consumed in various occasions.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

Despite the deficient documentation of sweet potatoes in Chilca Canyon as well as at Once its consumption had been adopted it became very popular, as can be seen not just in
Huaynuná, the remains come from strata which also held potatoes. We can thus speculate the pottery of cultures like Moche or Nasca, but also in the finds made of remains that had
not only that both tubers were being eaten at the same time on the Central Coast, but also cassava—even coproliths— particularly from the first millennium B.C. to Inca times.
that others were also being consumed—probably achira, as was noted above.
The studies regarding the origin and domestication of cassava have had divergent results.
On the other hand the human excrement found in the excavations at the Puerto Moorin site, Whereas botany and cladistics show that it must have originated in southern Brazil, in the
in the Virú Valley, bears witness that during the final centuries before the Christian era—and area known as El Cerrado, from where it spread northwards, archaeology and linguistics
even during the Wari occupation of this zone (A.D. 800-900)—its inhabitants were eating seem to point towards northern South America (Colombia in particular, and by extension
sweet potatoes on the North Coast of Peru. So there is little to discuss in this regard. Venezuela and the Caribbean). On the other hand the Mesoamerican and Mexican
evidence (which include the southern zone of the Gulf of Mexico) have dates that go
Another relevant point is the probable manipulation of the size of sweet potatoes throughout back at least to the Middle Holocene, but the Colombian dates are still the earliest
time—both within the context of the sites in Casma as well as those of the Chimú—from ones. We should however emphasise that the nature of the Brazilian terrain including El
slightly more than one centimetre to more than six (which when multiplied by two gives us Cerrado, does not allow the preservation of organic remains, so that not much can be
an idea of its original size) between 3000 B.C. to A.D. 1500—i.e. some four thousand years of inferred regarding this issue.
experimentation, probably always with the intention of improving its quality and size. The
question then is: did they know genetic engineering, or was this just intuition? Agricultural The discovery of roasted cassava both at Cahuachi (a Nasca context) as well as at a Wari
engineers have the floor. camp (in the lower Casma Valley), are additional pieces of evidence that underline the type
of tuber cooking we have been discussing from the very beginning. On the other hand the
Since when was the sweet potato eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru? The answer is at present discovery of milling to make flour or other ground-up substances allows one to suppose
twofold: if we accept the data Engel published for Chilca Canyon then it would be about that similar techniques for cassava processing probably existed in the Peruvian Amazon, and
7000 B.C.; however, if we accept the better-controlled data of the Pozorskis and the analyses these unfortunately have left no evidence due to preservation factors. Some inferences have
made by Don Ugent, then a more prudent date would be 2900 B.C. Once included in the therefore to be made through ethnography while exerting all due caution.
diet, sweet potato was a very constant presence in various cultures that extended from the
North Coast to Ica. The oca is another invaluable tuber due to its protein content. This means that a tuber
documented at a given site can be interpreted as a good source of amino acids.
Maca is a more complex case. We still have very little evidence of its consumption. It was
apparently domesticated in the Central Andean Altiplano, and everything seems to indicate Although there are some indications that Oxalis may have been consumed some ten thousand
this took place in the modern Junín region. This can be dated to about 4000 B.C., but we still years ago both in the Callejón de Huaylas as well as in Lima, between 2000 and 3000 masl,
have insufficient data. Nor is its consumption on the coast clear, but it may have taken place these do not strictly refer to the ocas as a domesticated plant but as a wild plan of this genus.
in the Mochica context. This means the process of domestication must have taken place between this moment and
that when the first real indications appear around 3000 B.C. Besides, for experts its presence
Attributing maca consumption to the Central Altiplano indicates that those who ate it had on the coast entailed its exchange or transportation, because this is not its original habitat.
not just abundant animal proteins, but also of good quality. The 10% proteins that each tuber
has must have been a significant resource for highland Andeans, particularly in modern-day Oxalis seems to have been eaten regularly on the Peruvian coast from this moment on. And
Junín and probably in Puno, i.e. the area around the lake during the first centuries of the although it is found on Moche, Chimú and Wari ceramics, the finds concentrate in the modern
Christian era. Junín region, thus suggesting it may well have been where its domestication and distribution
took place. There is no need to emphasise that this is the realm of botanists; all that was done
Cassava was another major tuber. Besides a large amount of starch and sugar it also has minerals here is make some remarks.
that are nutrients for human beings, like calcium and certain vitamins, but only 1% proteins;
most researchers concur that it is often supplemented with fish. Besides, as alimentary stock Jíquima is another prominent tuber in the pre-Columbian period, but its cultivation and
it survives in good condition for several years and this means it can support large populations, consumption are currently fading away. It improves the soil where it is planted due to the
as was noted in regard to the Xingu in Brazil. It was believed that cassava had been eaten in amount of hydrogen it generates, and is often cultivated in association with potatoes. It can
Peru since the third millennium B.C., but the finds Tom Dillehay and his team made in the thus be deduced that cultures that ate jíquima also ate potatoes. This holds true for the
Nanchoc Valley, in the southern Lambayeque region, show it was eaten there since 6800 B.C. Mochica, the Paracas and the Nasca, among others.

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

It is hard to pass judgement on the antiquity of jíquima consumption, the main problem being given the low presence of mammal protein. The evidence goes back to the beginning of our
the lack of reliable documentation for the caves of Tres Ventanas and Quipché, in the highlands era in the vicinity of the Mantaro River, in the modern Junín region. Mashua was also eaten in
of Lima, which have been dated to 7000 B.C. Even so, a specialist like Deborah Pearsall agrees Ayacucho during the Wari Empire ca. A.D. 800-900.
that this plant goes back to around 5700 B.C. The evidence begins to accumulate around the
third millennium B.C. and is more frequent from around 400 B.C. to later periods. Cultures But given its significance, there is no question that the top spot in this discussion falls to the
like Moche, Nasca, and Chimú evidently consumed these tubers and used its known anti- potato. Here we will not concern ourselves with its origins; interested readers are referred
inflammatory and disinfectant properties. to the documentation in the section on Solanum tuberosum. What is at present clear is that
the species in the Solanum genus do in fact have several uses, which presumably include that
Yacón was apparently domesticated throughout a large expanse of the Andes from Colombia of food. Such may have been the case of S. maglia in in the midst of a Terminal Pleistocene
to North-Western Argentina, but some scholars believe this process may have taken place context at Monteverde, a site not far away from Puerto Montt. The evidence published in
in Peru. Two of the substances derived from this tuber are a wonder—the large amount of scientific publications, which was unfortunately poorly documented, only allows for the
proteins in their leaves, and natural sugar. possibility that wild potatoes were used as food both in Ayacucho as well as in Chilca Canyon
some nine to eight thousand years ago. According to botanists, its domestication—for which
Three areas are known where yacón was eaten—Nasca-Ica, Lima, and the North Coast the evidence is lacking, all the more so considering the difficult conditions in which this type
Moche—but we can speculate that other cultural groups also ate it. of organic material is preserved as starch—would also have begun in this period.

The case of olluco is crucial because although there is very little documentation on its In archaeology, if we start from facts that are supported and have been analysed, then we
presence in pre-Hispanic Peru, it is worth studying in depth because it has great properties as have to agree with Pearsall when she states that the most ancient evidence of domesticated
measured by the protein, sugar, and particularly by the vitamin C index. It is known to have potatoes appear only in the third millennium B.C. The finds made by the Pozorskis, which
been placed cooked almost grill-like. along with the analyses made by Don Ugent showed some of the characteristics some of the
most ancient potatoes in the Andes had, fall in this period. But perhaps the most striking fact
Olluco consumption since the most ancient period is one of the best documented records. is that the potatoes had traces that showed its peels were removed with a cutting instrument
The evidence comes from Guitarrero cave in the Callejón de Huaylas, and if we accept some (which may for instance have been a stone flake), which shows they had been at least peeled,
stratigraphic problems present in this archaeological site it is possible that its consumption possibly in a context prior to consumption, i.e. a culinary one. Some of the traces suggested
dates to at least 9000-8500 B.C. Lower-quality evidence from the questionable caves of Tres the possibility that the potatoes had been exposed to fire, quite possibly to roast them with
Ventanas y Quipché on the other hand suggests that it was also eaten in the highlands of Lima coal or in an open hearth. This same procedure of cooking on an open fire was evinced by
around 7000 B.C. Margaret Towle in a Chiripa cultural context in the Bolivian Altiplano. And there were starch
grains in this same site that Towle believed corresponded to chuño (dehydrated potatoes).
Although there is no evidence available for subsequent periods, the olluco was clearly known This virtually is the first evidence of a culinary procedure in Peruvian history. Other pieces of
and eaten by the Moche, Wari, Chimú, and Wanka cultures, and so was part of the diet of evidence, for instance in the vicinity of the Mantaro River after A.D. 1000, clearly indicate that
these pre-Hispanic populations both on the coast and in the highlands, probably longer than potatoes were also boiled and kneaded.
is believed. Its ingestion ensures a greater consumption of proteins and vitamin C, amongst
other nutrients found in olluco. Besides, human excrement remains found at Puerto Moorin and Dos Cabezas, in the modern La
Libertad region, seem to reliably verify that some people in this culture were eating potatoes
The two species of totora are another edible root eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru. Its consumption during the first centuries of our era.
probably ensured the presence of two essential elements for pre-Hispanic groups due to
the 16% proteins and 7% calcium it holds. The archaeological data assembled in this book As of the third millennium there is much evidence that essentially comes from the North
suggests that totora may have been an ideal supplement on the North Coast, particularly in Central and Central Coasts—including Chincha and Nasca—the Central puna (Junín), and the
the La Libertad region, since at least four thousand years ago, as well as in the Huarmey Valley Titicaca Altiplano where remains have been found indicating its cultivation and consumption
and even on the Central Coast. One overwhelming fact is that most of the totora residues in pre-Hispanic Peru. They were also well-preserved even in Pachacamac during the Inca
have been found in human faeces in these sites, which is direct proof of its ingestion. occupation of this famed shrine.

Mashua, a tuber that originated in the southern Altiplano is associated with olluco, oca, and Although the distribution of the potato is problematic because preservation is not ideal, we
even the potato. Its consumption entails the ingestion of 7.7% proteins which is considerable, can speculate that it was known in a bigger area than what the current archaeological repertoire

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presents; in fact, at present it is much larger than that of any other tuber considering the Chenopodium in unknown condition (wild or domesticated), with an average date of 6000-
various Andean regions up to the Southern Altiplano. Research using finer-grained methods 3000 B.C., both on the Central Coast and in the puna of Junín or Ayacucho (the more reliable
will surely allow the handling and usage of the potato as food to be better documented. site being Telarmachay). All that remains doing is doing research to discard it or correct it. In
fact, what seems to be clearest is the evidence Maria Bruno found in the shelter of Panaulauca,
The role some rhizomes like reeds (Cyperus sp. and Cyperus esculentus) had in the pre-Hispanic where quinoa had apparently already been domesticated around 3000 B.C. On the other hand
diet is as yet unknown, particularly as regards its protein, fibre, and natural sugar content. this date is not far from that which has been ascribed to Jiskauromoko in Puno, a site where
They are known to have been taken both in the valleys as well as in the Altiplano, and that domesticated quinoa clearly was found. It is thus possible that this process began almost
they were eaten since around four thousand B.C., because their remains have been found in simultaneously in both puna areas.
human excrement both on the North Coast as well as in the Huarmey Valley. The Nasca also
consumed reeds. There is scant evidence of the culinary preparation of quinoa, but Chávez has discovered
a series of vessels in a Pucará culture context (1000 B.C.-A.D. 50) that held substances that
Cereals also had a major role in the pre-Hispanic Andean diet. Let us begin with kiwicha. showed they had been used to place and cook quinoa as well as lime, which made the
Its value in proteins and amino acids with essential properties like lysine (which helps with researchers presume that coca was also processed, and even that some sort of fermentation
calcium absorption) and methionine amongst others, make kiwicha a first-rate food. Although or quinoa chicha may have been prepared.
its area of origin is not clear, the mapping of the archaeological sites where it has been
found place it essentially in the Altiplano and—across the highlands—literally over a large Still in the Altiplano but now in the context of the Tiahuanaco culture, the excavations
part of the coast. Wild kiwicha may have been consumed in Ayacucho around 5600 B.C., but showed the massive amount of quinoa remains in the domestic sediments of this culture,
it was apparently only domesticated in more recent millennia. It is also interesting that a which indicate that the alimentary base of its people lay on quinoa and secondarily on the
map showing the location of kiwicha—albeit mostly in wild state—extends not just over the potato.
Peruvian coast, but also across the southern Andes. Is this its origin place?
The evidence likewise indicates that domesticated quinoa was consumed by the Moche, the
Cañihua is the major plant resource as regards its protein content, which is not surpassed by Wari and the Chimú, as well as by coastal populations before the coming of the Incas as
any other. If we add amino acids like lysine and tryptophan, as well as its high oil content, then well as by the Wanka in the Central Puna, including some of the individuals buried at Machu
we clearly can call it the food par excellence of the puna. Picchu. Its consumption evidently was in high demand since at least 3,600 years ago, and
possibly some time before.
This is an extreme cereal because it can be cultivated at very high altitudes and is very
resistant, so it is believed to have been an alimentary stock for populations living in this type But there is no question that the most representative plant in the Central Andes, alongside
of environment, including those affected by frosts. It is somewhat anecdotal that kiwicha the potato and quinoa is maize. The human manipulation it has been subjected to since its
appeared during the excavation of Galindo in the Moche Valley. The Mochica however domestication made it more adaptable to different environments. And although its Mexican
evidently ate it and so we can assume that it was also eaten by other coastal cultures, and all or Mesoamerican origins are clear, the information Bonavia and Grobman provide plus the
the more so by the cultures inland. recent finds at Huaca Prieta on the North coast, suffice to hold that wild maize, carried
perhaps by birds as pollen, landed in the sheltered intermontane valleys and gave rise to a
The Andean pre-Hispanic cereals include maize and then quinoa, but it is possible that this potentially independent domestication in the Andes.
ranking changed depending on the altitude at which one lived. Let us begin with quinoa.
Despite being a cereal with such a high proteic value, quinoa unlike maize has not yet received One argument favouring a positive reply to the question regarding how balanced the pre-
the attention it should. Hispanic diet was, arises precisely when discussing the cultivation triad of maize, squash,
beans presented in this book. The plants mutually benefit each other in their development
What can apparently be concluded is that quinoa in fact had its origin in the Central- and contribute to the diet of the human groups cultivating them. The combination of maize
Southern Andes, probably around six thousand B.C. The evidence indicates that quinoa with carbohydrates, squash oil and bean proteins, along with some fruits like guava and legumes
domestication underway was already present around 6800 B.C. at Nanchoc, in the upper like carobs, should have sufficed—as Bonavia claimed—to sustain the pre-Hispanic population,
Zaña Valley, in a land where this cereal is not native to. It is only logical that the process of even with bromatological values that draw close to those of animal protein. These three
domestication probably must have begun before this period; based on the archaeological plants evidently are much present in the archaeological record. This is precisely one of the
evidence we can speculate that this happened one or two thousand years earlier. This arguments Bonavia raised against those who claim pellagra was extensively spread throughout
hypothesis does not seem to be that far-fetched when we consider the discovery of the Central Andes, which we tried here to asses with the scant information available.

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It is likewise known that two basic varieties developed in the Andes, i.e. sandy maize and pop But—this is the second result—it did not have the same significance everywhere. This is
corn. One can be used for milling and to make dough to eat, as happened in Mexico, while the understandable given the high variability in microregions, which must have correlated with a
pop-corn probably appeared when the kernels were beside the embers and they began to ‘pop,’ great diversity in edible resources in the different environments. This simple means that more
as is still the case today. In Peru maize must have been prepared in both ways throughout the site research that provides more information in this regard is required.
pre-Hispanic period, which is why the chroniclers noted the presence of humitas and tortillas.
The former tradition survives, the latter does not. The point here is improving our recording The continual increase in the significance of maize is verified not just by its persistent presence
methods in order to better document the ways in which pre-Hispanic maize was prepared. in the archaeological record, but also by the discovery of large storage bins like those of Los
Gavilanes in the lower Huarmey Valley. (This is a peculiar site because there is no other like
Now then, preparing maize (and purple maize in particular) raises its protein level. Whereas it on the Peruvian coast, and it gives us an idea of the need there was of installing storage
their percentage naturally reaches 7.6%, on being boiled (choclo and mote) it reaches 16.5%. bins that would literally hold tons of maize cobs since around 3000 B.C. Los Gavilanes also
The same thing happens with calories, which reach their highest level toasted as popcorn confirms the inventiveness of the pre-Hispanic population with their idea of covering these
with almost 23%, but fall when parboiled. On the other hand, its carbohydrate content is just bines with sand in order to prevent the food from spoiling.
slightly higher than that of quinoa.
The answer to the question whether maize was eaten is yes, and not just because of the stains
We have reviewed the archaeological record and shown that the oldest maize in Peru found left by the fire that partially burned the cobs—which means they were roasted since at least
at Huaca Prieta dates to 5250 B.C., followed by the maize found at Casma. The value of seven thousand years ago—but also because it has been found in pre-Hispanic faecal remains,
the finds made at Huaca Prieta lies in that they not only show an independent process of particularly at Mochica archaeological sites, and even at earlier sites like Puerto Moorin (in the
domestication in Peru, i.e. in the Central Andes, but also that the Peruvian races were already Virú Valley) or Dos Cabezas (in the Jequetepeque Valley), and Cahuachi (Central-South Coast),
definable in that millennium. It should be noted that pop corn and flour maize were already the Nazca shrine. The massive presence of purple maize at this site has attracted attention
known by six thousand B.C., which suggests two different ways this plant was prepared in but it actually is not a strange thing; in fact, this same phenomenon has been documented in
Peruvian food seven thousand years ago. other coastal sites, precisely due to the cyanogenic factor, which indicates this is a highland
crop. Besides, this is confirmed by the study of stable isotopes in human bones.
As for the maize found at Cerro Julia and Cerro el Calvario, two sites in Casma which clear
and scientifically excavated contexts, it simply corroborates the existence of Peruvian maize And although it was eaten by pre-Hispanic populations, it is possible that at certain moments,
in the sixth and fifth millenniums B.C. If we include Rosamachay and Guitarrero Cave in this certain types of maize were meant to be exclusively eaten both by the elite as well as by
review, its presence since the Middle Horizon becomes evident but (this is the most important males.
point) with native Peruvian races like Proto Confite Morocho and Confite Chavinense, and
even the last race discovered at Huaca Prieta called Proto-Alazán. This means there is a solid It is also evident that maize must have been prepared by grinding, as is shown by the analysis
supporting base for the Grobman-Bonavia hypothesis on independent maize domestication of starch at Huaynuná, a site in the lower Casma Valley known for being where the most
in pre-Hispanic Peru since (at least) the Middle Holocene (ca. 6,000 B.C.). ancient potato remains in Peru were found. Maize, as has already been noted, was eaten as
popcorn not just in preceramic times, but also for instance in the case of the Wari camps in
The effort at manipulation was in fact due to the need of obtaining more and better-quality the vicinity of the mouth of the Huarmey River, where popped or partially burned maize has
food, to the point that during this process 12-row maize was generated, for instance during been found.
the Chimú occupation of Pedregal, a site in the lower Jequetepeque Valley.
Another cooking method was simply by boiling, i.e. our well-known (and delicious) choclo—
The evidence presented in this book also points towards two results. First, the significance of when fresh—or mote—when mature. It was apparently possible to infer this type of cuisine
maize increased throughout time; whereas it was still a—probably incipient—consumer plant from the evidence both for the Inca occupation of Machu Picchu, as well as for the sites in
by 5000 B.C., several thousand years later, at the beginning of our era it had become one of the Mantaro Valley. In the latter case maize starch was specifically found on the inner walls of
the essential cereals of pre-Hispanic Peru, and was definitely the major one for the Incas, who the ceramic vessels in which it was apparently boiled. Quinoa was also boiled in these same
imposed its cultivation in various intermontane Andean regions. There are valleys, like Virú vessels. Archaeologists also claim there is a clear evidence that maize was prepared roasted
on the North Coast, where maize is the plant that has most been found by archaeological and toasted, i.e. in the early Wanka occupation of Junín since A.D. 200. This means mote and
excavations (up to 50%) as of the first millennium B.C.; during the Mochica occupation of cancha have been eaten in this region modern-day for at least two thousand years. Toasted
Huaca de la Luna it comprised up to 71% of the food eaten by its inhabitants, and it was also maize or cancha was eaten by the inhabitants of Puruchuco (Ate-Vitarte, Lima) during the Inca
the most eaten plant in the Wari Empire. occupation of this site, as was evinced by the attrition in their teeth.

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On the other hand we should not forget that maize was eaten along with other types of our era, where the strong dental wear of the individuals here buried has been interpreted as
resources by populations like that of Chincha—south of Lima—where mounds of food refuse a result of high peanut consumption. We should likewise bear in mind the so-called peanut
have been found that contained maize, sweet potato, cassava and guinea pigs. chicha, which is particularly typical of Bolivia—one of the countries where it had its origin.

Chicha was another way in which maize was consumed. In this case my research on the central One thing we should bear in mind is that the peanuts were extremely big and the favourite
coast seems to show that it may have been drunk since at least the first millennium B.C. Chicha food at Cerrillos, a Paracas site in the Ica Valley. Some packets of peanuts were found below
has been found in ceremonial ritual contexts, when architectonic modifications were made in thick layers of stray, which indicates they were placed to preserve them in this way.
the temples. And it clearly was imbibed, as is shown by the high record of pre-Hispanic caries that
are partially due to the consumption of maltose and maltodextrin, both cariogenic substances, Lima beans are legumes that also stood out in the pre-Hispanic diner’s table. Although its
particularly after cooking and gelatinisation, which are harmful for teeth. We should not forget presence is not overwhelming numerically, it is present in almost each and every record for
in this regard the uncooked and ungerminated maize saccharose that was used for this. the coastal cultures. Its presence is remarkable due to its alimentary properties; proteins,
which comprise 22%, stand out and even though they may have had a toxic effect in the past,
Later finds of maize appear all over the Peruvian coast, from Piura to Ica. This suggests this this was handled using desiccation. Its bromatological properties include its potassium and
plant was eaten on the South Coast, so if there is no record of it in this region it probably is phosphorus content, which must be taken into account when considering the dietary balance.
due to the lack of preservation, or research has simply still not found it.
Establishing what is the oldest evidence of lima beans in pre-Hispanic Peru is not easy. The
My assessment of tubers, rhizomes and cereals ends here. The novelty here seems to be new evidence and new radiocarbon dates from Guitarrero Cave indicate it could go back to
that the domestication of the olluco preceded that of all other plants in this section as it 9600 or 5600 B.C. The first date is problematic due to the possible alteration of the strata
took place in 9000 B.C. The sweet potato, cassava, and jíquima enter the scene in 7000-5500 where the lima beans were found in; as for the second one, although it comes directly from
B.C., i.e. when the climate improved. In chronological order they were followed by quinoa, the lima beans themselves, there is a possibility that some kind of contamination took place
maize and kiwicha in 6200-4000 B.C., i.e. in the Maximum Holocene when the temperature due to the log time they were in storage. As for the first date, we likewise have to emphasise
rose. Potatoes, maca, arracacha, oca, and achira appeared in that order in the pre-Hispanic their large size and large colour range; for botanists, this may be indicating that this plant had
food record in 4200-3000 B.C., when the Peruvian Current stabilised and the climate became already undergone some of the phases of experimentation in its domestication process. This
steady. Mashua and yacón close the list; the oldest case goes back to the first millennium B.C. would support the idea that lima bean domestication may have begun in the Andes even
before 9000 B.C. We are talking of a period closer to the Younger Dryas, the last ice age.
We now turn to the Peruvian legumes. Peanuts are a relevant case because its original territory
is vast—it extends from the Peruvian ceja de selva to the Bolivian tropical forest and southern It we wonder since when have lima beans been eaten, the research at Nanchoc, in the upper
Brazil—yet it was present in Peru at Nanchoc with a date that goes back almost to 7000 B.C., Zaña Valley, clearly indicates the presence of dental plaque in part of the human dentition in
but it was still under domestication. Part of this documentation is also found in the plaque of the sites in this zone, which have been dated to 7100-6900 B.C. This also is an additional piece
the human burials in this zone, which show its direct consumption at this time. Peanuts beside of evidence of the great antiquity of the Guitarrero lima beans. It is therefore clear that lima
are an excellent source of proteins and fat or oil, which were potentially nutritive for the pre- beans have been eaten since ca. nine thousand years ago.
Hispanic population. The amount and quality of the amino acids found in combination in this
plant is unique; fat, on the other hand, reaches more than 50% and contrary to common belief The subsequent presence of lima beans in other cultures is evident, but attention should be
is non-saturated, which favours the control of the cholesterol that is harmful for health. Like drawn to the presence of potential lima bean remains in the faeces of the ancient inhabitants
many other Andean foodstuffs, peanuts were eaten toasted, which considerably increased its of Huaca Prieta, which is almost on the littoral on the mouth of the Chicama River, and in
quality and proteic amount. Toasted peanuts are thus more nutritive. the modern-day La Libertad region. This is another clear evidence of its consumption almost
5000 years ago on our North Coast.
Peanut consumption abounds in the archaeological record from 7000 B.C. to Inca times, e.g.
in various coastal cultures like Moche, Nasca, Lambayeque or Chancay. In the case of the Even so, the remains of this legume are not just found on the coast, but also in highland sites in
Mochica it was the most-eaten legume, but there is also direct evidence of its ingestion Áncash or Cajamarca, between 1,000 and 3,000 masl. The record shows that it was regularly eaten
(seeds and shells) in the faeces. up to Inca times. In fact, some of the individuals buried at Machu Picchu had eaten lima beans.

As regards its preparation, it has already been noted that it was most frequently eaten toasted. Reconstructing the ways in which lima beans were prepared in the pre-Hispanic period is
The best example comes from Cahuachi, a Nasca shrine that dates to the first centuries of also difficult. Human faecal remains have been found at Huaca de la Luna, a Moche site, with

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lima bean skins and residues of burned lima beans, which can be interpreted as “roasted lima The presence of tarwi indicates that there is a high possibility that it was eaten, thus taking
beans,” a simple and quite frequent cooking method in the pre-Hispanic culinary inventory, advantage of its great alimentary potential—this legume holds up to 40% proteins, i.e. less
as we are now seeing. Bonavia made a similar find in a camp dated to A.D. 800 on the coast than half its weight. To this we must add its high content.
of Huarmey. The size of the lima beans eaten here and their varied colours drew Bonavia’s
attention. We can speculate that these were also boiled, but there is no evidence of this. Tarwi formed a triad alongside potatoes and quinoa, so we can assume they were eaten conjointly.
Both it and quinoa clearly held a great alimentary potential for the pre-Hispanic table.
Beans are the most recurring foodstuff in the pre-Hispanic food inventory. Evidence for
an independent process of domestication—not just botanical and archaeological, but also The evidence for this plant’s consumption is restricted to the last two thousand years and
genetic—of this legume in the Andean area has been presented. Mexico was another centre it appeared in Mochica and Wanka contexts, where it was prepared by boiling. Although it
of domestication. possibly comes from the southern Altiplano there is no evidence for this, surely because of
the deficient preservation of organic remains in this zone.
The presence of beans in Peru’s pre-Hispanic diet is quite relevant because this legume holds
up to 25% proteins and various vitamins that the Andean population needed, in conjunction Although usually considered a fruit, the pacay actually is a legume that was also much eaten
with other products. We should also not forget that beans were grown alongside maize and in pre-Hispanic Peru. Its presence in archaeological contexts implies a large supply of vitamin
squash in a kind of triad that has been mentioned here several times, so it was always part of C, and particularly water and calories.
the pre-Hispanic table.
Pacay has been eaten since at least 7100 B.C. as follows from the evidence found at Nanchoc,
One datum that should be considered is that we do have evidence that dry bean seeds are a and 7800 B.C. if we consider the data from the famed Guitarrero Cave, but it has still to be
palliative for anaemia and malnutrition. This is probably because of the process of desiccation established whether it was still undomesticated pacay. What is clear is that it was already
(due to a trend in other resources, which enhances its proteic quality and quantity, thus making eaten by 7100 B.C. because it has been found in the dental plaque of some of the human
it more efficient in the treatment of these diseases. dentition found at Nanchoc, in the upper Zaña Valley. Its presence is repeated even in human
faeces such as at Puerto Moorin, on the North Coast at the beginning of our era, so it was
The oldest available evidence for beans certainly comes from Guitarrero Cave, and just like frequently part of the pre-Hispanic diet.
in the case of lima beans its date can average 9000-6000 B.C. Smith categorically claims that
beans had already been domesticated in the Callejón de Huaylas by 9200 B.C. If we take the The carob is another major legume that is usually found in archaeological dumps. Its high
most recent datings, its antiquity could go back up to 6000 B.C. This mater is open to debate. sugar (natural saccharose), carbohydrate, and protein content turned its pods into an
invaluable feeding resource in the pre-Hispanic period. It should also be noted that it also
Beans appear not just on the coast but also in the highlands. There is direct evidence that it was has high potassium, and vitamins C and E values. Yet the type of sugar it holds meant that its
consumed, for instance the human faecal remains from Puerto Moorin, on the North Coast, consumption brought about a series of cariogenic lesions. During the early human occupation
with dates that go back to the beginning of our era. And beans were permanent companions of Peru it apparently was a highly valued alimentary source, but this decreased as of A.D. 1000.
of the Mochica according to the results yielded by the archaeological research at Huaca de la
Luna. Although its consumption was intense in Moche times, for some reason it fell with the Its use as food is one of the most ancient in pre-Hispanic Peru. For instance, Claude Chauchat
Chimú. Beans have also been found at Cahuachi in human faeces, so this is direct evidence assumes that the Paiján mortars from the North Coast of Peru, between southern Pacasmayo
that the Nasca ate them. and the Moche Valley, were perhaps used to grind its seeds in order to eat them later. Conclusive
evidence of its consumption comes from Buena Vista, a site in the Chillón Valley north of
Little is known of how beans were prepared. For instance, at Santa Rosa-Quirihuac they have been Lima, where carob remains left behind from some dinner have been found on the walls of
found in hearth a combustion context, which means they were eaten roasted. The interesting squash bowls. It is thus clear that it was eaten since at least 3200 B.C. What probably happens
thing is that up to ten types of beans were found at this site, which supports its manipulation. with the evidence is that it has not been identified, or it simply has not been presented.
Beans were eaten toasted at Cahuachi, and have been found thus in human excrement. One
thing that may interest the culinary world is that bean pods have been found that were removed The evidence for carob consumption extends over a large part of the Peruvian coast,
using the nails; this may seem logical but to the best of my knowledge it is the first time it has particularly on the North and Central coast. It has also been found in human faecal remains
been shown archaeologically. We also know beans were boiled in the context of the Wanka at the site of Puerto Moorin, so it was clearly eaten in this zone since the beginning of our
culture, in the modern-day Junín region, because they have been found embedded in ceramic era. Carob remains were likewise found in the faeces of the Nasca. Its significance can be
vessels. The researchers believe they were then kneaded to prepare other dishes and eat them. illustrated for instance with Pacatnamú, where it was second only to guava.

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We now turn to the fruits that were consumed in pre-Hispanic Peru (Diagram 2). Many TIME CHART OF FRUITS IN ANCIENT PERU
carbohydrates, water and particularly vitamins and minerals are obtained from them. Fruits
11 000 10 000 9 000 8 000 7 000 6 000 5 000 4 000 3 000 2 000 1 000 0 a. C.
are always present in archaeological sites as discarded seeds or skins, so we can imagine
they were profusely consumed. We should add that those with vitamin C or ascorbic acid Pineapple
Cherimoya
were essential because they facilitated iron absorption in the organism of the pre-Hispanic
Soursop
population.
Chili pepper
Squash
There are several positions regarding the origin of the pineapple, yet no one doubts that it Avocado
is of tropical origin or that its centre lay in the Amazonian savannah in Brazil, from where Guayaba
it may have reached the tropical zones of Peru. Its dissemination at the hands of the Molle
Europeans shows that it was widely accepted, probably even before their intervention. Sweet Granadilla
Although no archaeological evidence is available, it may have already been present in Tumbo
wild condition in some part of Brazil around 8000 B.C., and its domestication may have Kaywa
begun around 4000 B.C. Papaya-Mito
Palillo
Pineapple also does not appear in the Peruvian archaeological record (because organic remains Peanut butter fruit
are not preserved in the Peruvian Amazon), but its consumption cannot be ruled out due to Sweet cucumber

its vitaminic properties (C and B1), along with minerals like calcium, and fibre. We should bear Inca berry
Peach palm
in mind that its ingestion allows a better absorption of iron, so that if it was present in the
Wild tuna
pre-Hispanic diet it was ideal in this regard.

In Peruvian archaeology, the pineapple only appears on the coast in 1200-800 B.C., but the
references are not clear. The Spanish chroniclers likewise provide some information regarding Chili pepper consumption provided not just an invaluable source of vitamin C (ascorbic acid
its cultivation on the coast, so this is a subject that remains to be studied. for the pre-Hispanic population that ate it), they could also benefit from its high protein
content (rare in fruits), as well as calcium, phosphorus, and carotene. We should not forget
Cherimoya had its origin in southern Ecuador and northern Peru, and was eaten quite that chili pepper has more vitamin C than the lemon itself. It therefore follows that its
frequently by the pre-Hispanic population. Its main contribution lies in its sugar, carbohydrate consumption may entail a better iron absorption in the sites where it has been documented.
and ascorbic acid content. Its consumption since around 3000 B.C., clearly shows these
alimentary conditions were available for the pre-Hispanic population, particularly on the The type of chili pepper eaten so long ago as 9000 B.C. in Guitarrero Cave is of the limo
North and Central Coast, for instance for the Nasca. variety. Scholars agree that it was a domesticated chili pepper, so its process of domestication
perhaps goes back to Younger Dryas (11,000 B.C.), the last ice age. The ají limo is also present
Soursop consumption in the pre-Hispanic context also entailed the obtention of saccharose, in the Callejón de Huaylas itself around 2100 B.C. From this moment on it is found in various
water, minerals and vitamins B and C. Like cherimoya it was consumed in southern Ecuador forms throughout Peru, but in many cases the variety has yet to be specified.
but evidently also in Peru, at least since ca. 3000 B.C. This fruit essentially appears in the
archaeological record for the North and partly the Central Coast. It was much eaten by The ají escabeche variety was documented in Huaca Prieta—which is almost on the mouth
the Chimú, as is shown by Pedregal, where it comprised up to 43% of plant foods in this of the Chicama River—around 3000 B.C. The remains of this variety were also found in the
Jequetepeque Valley site. faeces of this population. Specialists concluded that limo, escabeche, and rocoto varieties of
chili pepper were already being eaten in various parts of Peru by 2000 B.C. The pipí de mono
Chili pepper or ají is another fruit for which we have ample information regarding its variety was being eaten on the Central Coast of Peru around 1490 B.C.
consumption. Its almost permanent association with maize, both in cultivation as well as in
consumption, is almost proven. Perhaps nowadays every time we have corn-on-the-cob with The research at Huaca de la Luna is very interesting because it allows us to conclude that the
chili pepper (choclo con ají), we are actually seeing a part of this tradition. Different kinds of Mochica ate various chili peppers in their dishes, such as limo, escabeche, rocoto, and pipí de
chili pepper —rocoto, ají limo, ají mirasol, ají panca, and pipí de mono—have a long record in mono. The latter was the variety most eaten by Nasca, as is claimed by experts on this culture.
Peruvian archaeology. The lack of research and of chili pepper remains in southern Peru precludes all references,

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but since the escabeche variety originated in Bolivia it evidently may have been eaten by the Several pre-Hispanic Peruvian cultures consumed avocado but the finds come particularly
population of southern Peru. from the North Coast. Here it was present even in human faeces, which shows its direct
consumption.
Squash is another botanical resource that was apparently profusely consumed in the
pre-Hispanic period. C. moschata is a prominent species with new dates that go back But the fruit most eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru according to the documentation here assessed
to 8200 B.C., which indicates Peru was a centre where this species was domesticated was the guava. Although its provenance is not specifically known, it probably was in the
independently of Mexico. This may also have been the case of C. ficifolia. C. maxima Amazon as some researchers have suggested. What is clear is that the record of its consumption
(in its loche variety) probably originated on the North Coast of Peru around 2500 B.C. abounds. This implies a high absorption of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), which means that iron
The rich pulp was an excellent food source, particularly of oils—its content reached nutrients may have been better assimilated by the organisms of the pre-Hispanic populations.
up to 35% in squash seeds—as well as a greater presence of phosphorus and potassium. Guava also has more vitamins than other known fruits, like bananas. It has been eaten since
The highest proportion of iron is in its leaves, and it is presumed that several parts of around 5300 B.C., and its consumption gradually increased on the Peruvian coast. Guava, coca,
the plant were eaten in the past, and especially their germinates, due to their vitaminic and pacay are associated and their development had beneficial effects, particularly on the
content—carotene, ascorbic acid, and so on. North Coast. It is also known that this date marks the first presence of molle in archaeological
contexts, and this later gave rise to what is known as molle chicha in other contexts.
The antiquity of squash consumption (in this case C. moschata) in pre-Hispanic Peru goes
back to ca. 8400 B.C., as shown by the recent research undertaken by Tom Dillehay and his There is very scant information on the grenadia. Its record probably begins around 1870
team in the upper Zaña Valley. The discovery of this plant in the dental plaque of the people B.C. in the Callejón de Huaylas. On the other hand there is evidence of the consumption
who ate it is conclusive. Researchers claim that it has been found in different environments of passionfruit in a Moche cultural context around A.D. 400. Tumbo has similar provenance
throughout Peru (Áncash, Ayacucho, etc.). Huge amounts of squash (C. moschata) seeds and dates.
have been found on the North Coast at Huaca Prieta, not just in contexts but also in human
excrement too. The caigua (Cyclanthera pedata) has been reported on the Central Coast with dates that fall
around 3800 B.C. Its consumption provides a high amount of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates
Little evidence is available as regards the ways in which squash was cooked. It was apparently and even proteins. The papaya has a high content of vitamin C amongst others, and dates that
roasted in most cases, because remains are occasionally found with burned areas due to the go back to 5200 B.C., whilst Campomanesia with its high calcium, iron, and phosphorus values
combustion it was subjected to in the hearth, or eventually because of the pots’ heat. goes back to around 2600 B.C. This fruit has a high vitamin B content and comes from the
Peruvian. Brazilian, and Bolivian Amazon; it should be noted that it was the most eaten fruit at
Lucuma is another fruit that was consumed relatively frequently. Unlike other fruits which Cahuachi (Nasca) during the first centuries of our era.
held a large amount of water, Lucuma has a solid, thick texture and makes a big contribution
in carbohydrates, starch, various vitamins, minerals, and above all a high iron percentage that The ciruela del fraile (peanut butter fruit, Bunchosia armeniaca) is a fruit that has lost favour
is not common in fruits. This is a highly profitable resource because its wood is excellent despite having a high vitaminic potential, particularly due to its carbohydrate and vitamin C
firewood, its dried fruits can be stored for years, and its trees are highly productive. Lucuma content. The oldest evidence of its consumption comes from Nanchoc, a site in the upper
was eaten since around 8500 B.C. if we consider the evidence from Guitarrero Cave, and it was Zaña Valley on the North Coast, around 7200 B.C. It can be found at various altitudes up to
widespread in many archaeological sites up to Inca times. This was one of the favourite fruits 300 masl. It was permanently consumed in Inca times, but apparently not abundantly.
eaten by the Moche, and there is evidence that shows they planted lucuma trees.
The sweet pepino, which was also present in the diet of some of our pre-Hispanic population
Although its archaeological record is not so extensive, avocado did form part of the diet of essentially holds water and vitamin C, and has an anti-scurvy effect. Although it comes from
ancient Peru. Its pulp is highly digestible and provides a large amount of carbohydrates and Ecuador and Colombia it is frequently found in Salinar sites some centuries before our era,
vitamins. It should be noted that dried avocado seeds were used against parasites. Botanists particularly on the North Coast.
believe the avocado was domesticated in Mexico and was then taken to Peru around 2200
B.C., because it has been documented at that time in the Valdivia culture. However, the dates On the other hand our well-known aguaymanto or capulí was also present in the pre-Hispanic
in which it was consumed in Peru are earlier; for instance, it has been found in the lower diet. We should not forget the amount of ascorbic acid it has or its iron absorption capacity,
Huarmey Valley around 3000 B.C. The cotyledons and other characteristics of Peruvian and it also holds vitamins and minerals. Several pieces of evidence indicate that it was eaten
avocado are different from the Mexicans, so some researchers use this to posit that Peru on the Central Coast since ca. 3000 B.C. Its seeds have been found in the excrement at the site
probably was another centre of domestication of this essential plant. of Los Gavilanes, so its consumption at that time is clear.

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The wild tomato was eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru since at least 5300 B.C., and it was present in ORÍGENES DEL CONSUMO DE ANIMALES EN EL PERÚ PRE HISPÁNICO
the Nasca culture.
11 000 10 000 9 000 8 000 7 000 6 000 5 000 4 000 3 000 2 000 1 000 0 a. C.

Although there is no record of it, it still is possible that chonta or peach palm was eaten in Llamas

the pre-Hispanic period. It has a high nutritional potential not just because of its vitamins, but Venado de cola blanca
Cuy
also because of its high iron content. The same thing can be said for the caimito. Finally, the
Vizcacha
wild prickly pear was already eaten on the Central Coast around 3000 B.C.
Zorros
Perros
Coca is one plant that always gives rise to comments and debates. It has been included Batracios /Anfibios
in this book as a stimulant, but the bromatological evidence indicates it potentially was a Lagasrtijas
food resource for the pre-Hispanic population. It truly is an alkaloid, but several parts of Lobos marinos/ballenas
the plant—like its leaves and their calcium content—may have had a determinant role in a
society without dairy products. We have already assessed the various biochemical studies
and its consumption evidently was due not just to its stimulant effects. Its presence goes
back at least to 6200 B.C., as follows from the research undertaken by Tom Dillehay in the favoured for consumption or to prepare what is known as charqui, i.e. dry and salted llama
upper Zaña Valley. Then we have a series of contexts that include coca leaves and go beyond meat. The latter considerably increased the proteic value of meat (up to 57%) and made it last
consumption, which could be interpreted instead as rituals. This subject is still being studied. longer.

Thallophyte plants, i.e. algae, were also profusely eaten in the pre-Hispanic period, and this We have seen that at Telarmachay a series of fragmented rocks were found inside a pit in what
entailed an excellent nutritional potential that included elements such as magnesium, calcium, can be interpreted as a pachamanca, which quite probably included camelid flesh; this was
phosphorus, potassium, and even vitamin C (ascorbic acid) which, as is known, makes iron associated with pestle-like grinding stones, which evidently indicates the cooking process. In
absorption viable. Algae also hold 10-12% proteins and are an ideal foodstuff. Its consumption Asana (in the highlands of Moquegua), on the other hand, a series of pits were found in the
is evident since around 3000 B.C., but we can speculate that it began before and that it was ground that may have acted as heaters, ‘tables’ or kitchen stone tools where camelids were
extensive on the Peruvian coast wherever it took place. Conclusive evidence that algae were processed; the latter’s long bones had cut marks that evinced their butchery during the fourth
eaten comes from Virú, a site on the North Coast where algae remains were found in human millennium B.C.
excrement, which can be dated to around the first centuries of our era.
The occurrence of llama bones is extensive, as shown by Bonavia’s compendium of camelids in
Assessing the significance and antiquity of the consumption of animals in pre-Hispanic Peru is the Andean area, but the evidence of their consumption is always scant. For instance, pieces
also a complicated matter. We have seen that the information is found segmented and just as of camelids have been found at the site of Chavín de Huántar, particularly from the rib area
with plant foods, there is little evidence the animals were cooked (Diagram 3). and the legs; it is therefore believed these animals were roasted and served in bowls, but not
enough evidence is available to make a detailed reconstruction.
Camelids are the first case to be examined here. Being the biggest mammals in the Andes,
they clearly were a major source of animal proteins. Llamas have an overall weight of 90 kilos, Some cases, like that of the Mochica culture, can be characterised by llama consumption
and each 100 grams of flesh provide over 24% proteins and almost 30 grams of fat. It is known as food and as a major source of meat and proteins. For instance, Huaca del Sol held a large
that camelids were essentially used as beasts of burden, but we cannot rule out that once number of cut and calcined llama bones, which can be interpreted as roast llama meat
domesticated they were eaten as of 5400 B.C. onwards. There even is some more ancient that the Moche ate on the North Coast during the first centuries of our era. Young llamas
evidence of the processing and consumption of these animals from Pikimachay Cave, but it formed the herds used to provide meat, so it can be inferred that at this site the Moche
still is not clear. In any case, once domesticated camelids would have formed a permanent preferred soft meat. The Chimú likewise dismembered llamas to cook and eat them, as was
alimentary stock for the pre-Hispanic population both in the highlands as well as on the coast. documented here.

Little is as yet known of how camelids were processed. A series of zoo-archaeological studies We can speculate regarding the processing these animals underwent from the moment they
have shown they were cut up and processed before consumption. The cuts in the diaphysis, were killed. Shelia Pozorski claims they were first skinned and then dismembered; the body parts
as well as in zones like the sternum and the spinal column seem to be commonplace in were then cut at the joints in order to make them smaller. Ribs and vertebrae are most of the
the archaeological sites where camelid remains are found. It follows that some parts were bones burned, so it can be inferred that the Moche favoured the flesh from these body parts.

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The associated presence of some foodstuffs warrants speculation regarding possible No zoo-archaeological reconstruction has thus far been made of guinea pig processing, but
combinations, for instance llama meat, coconut and snails (caracol de loma) alongside other the ethnographic observations are quite clear in this regard. Some of them state that the
molluscs. animal is killed by breaking its neck; its skin is then removed and the animal is carved before
it is cooked. It should come as no surprise that guinea pigs were essentially roasted on the
For more recent times—immediately prior to Inca times, and in Inca times proper—it has hearth, a typical procedure followed with many pre-Hispanic foodstuffs.
been found that llama flesh was also eaten in some sites in Tumbes like Cabeza de Vaca.
According to the study made by Alfredo Altamirano the meat was previously processed and The fox is another animal that formed part of the pre-Hispanic diet, or at least two species,
was particularly roasted, toasted, and boiled. the Sechuran fox and the Andean fox. Its remains are spread all over Peru, but establishing
what species were eaten is not easy because there actually is no evidence of burned canids
We should also ask ourselves what the roasted meat of these llamas tasted like, because or with traces of combustion.
the llama excrement found in several of the sites analysed included maize, carob, and other
fruits. It can be surmised that it had a good taste even though we do not know what it was What is clear is that dogs were eaten in pre-Hispanic Peru. No information is available
seasoned with. regarding their culinary preparation, but records from other parts of America indicate the ribs
and the spinal column were particularly favoured. Considerations on the dog races found in
The taruca, the white-tailed deer and the collared peccary are three other mammals that pre-Hispanic Peru aside, these animals had a clear and wide distribution in the Andes since
should be borne in mind as part of the pre-Hispanic alimentary resources. The taruca may ca. 8000 B.C. Even so, it is not that clear whether dogs were consumed or not. We only have
have been a substantial contribution to the diet of the first high altitude populations, at evidence for this on the Central Coast in the first millennium after Christ. Later there is much
least from 2500 masl upwards, whereas the white-tailed deer was spread over a larger area in more documentation on dog consumption, particularly for Moche and Chimú contexts on
pre-Hispanic Peru; this means it was eaten in various parts of the Andes, particularly during the North Coast. The bones have cuts in the atlas that are interpreted as having been made to
the Moche period, but the evidence of its oldest consumption probably dates to the early kill the animal; however, there is also a series of cuts in the epiphysis of the long bones, which
Holocene around 10,000 B.C. The white-tailed deer was eaten both on the coast as in the several scholars believe are cuts made in order to remove the flesh from the bones prior to
highlands, in the puna, and even in the ceja de selva. In some cases it was shown that the long its preparation and consumption.
bones had been cur in order to extract the marrow and eat it.
Amphibians and batrachians seem to have been part of the pre-Hispanic diet since around
Interestingly enough, the collared peccary has been found at Nanchoc, in the upper 8000 B.C. They then appear in many contexts on the coast and in the central puna. Once
Zaña Valley, but its natural habitat is not here but in the Amazon. One can well imagine a again however, there is no clear evidence of their consumption because there are no remains
varied environment by 9200 B.C., or simply exchange networks that go back to the earliest of these animals with combustion marks, which would show they were roasted. The same
occupations. thing holds for the famed Junín frogs and for salamanders.

The guinea pig certainly is a characteristic rodent of the Central Andes, which probably was Several reptiles have been found in various sites, and can be interpreted as residues of pre-
first domesticated in the southern Altiplano and around the modern-day Puno region. It must Hispanic foodstuffs. Iguanas may have been eaten as well as the desert tegu, which have an
have been a major alimentary source because it comprises 20% proteins and 7% fat, which enormous potential in calcium and proteins. These animals are known to have been consumed
were essential nutrients for our pre-Hispanic forebears. Its distribution and consumption were since the Paiján epoch because they have been found in large amount in the middens of Paiján
extremely vast by the time of the Spanish conquest, so we can deduce it was profusely eaten camps. Their consumption—roasted or spit roasted on the Northern Coast therefore dates
in various parts of the Andes. to around 8000 B.C.

Considering the Ayacucho documentation, the domestication of the guinea pig seems Marine mammals evidently were part of the pre-Hispanic menu. Their consumption is
to have paralleled that of the camelids around 5600 and 4100 B.C. There is a series of probably quite ancient and goes back to ca. 10,700 B.C.—i.e. during the last ice age or Younger
evidence that indicates guinea pigs were consumed at high altitudes. The Moche, for Dryas—on the Tacna littoral. This type of mammal surely guaranteed a large amount of animal
instance, consumed guinea pigs, as is evinced by their excrement. It is possible that guinea protein and fat.
pigs, molluscs, fish and llama meat were for instance prepared in one same Moche site.
Strangely enough the viscacha has a similar distribution, albeit more restricted than that Let us turn now to birds (Diagram 4). A coup de l’oeil clearly shows birds were eaten since
of guinea pigs. The dates when the consumption of this animal began also go back to the the last glaciation, particularly on the southern littoral. For instance, the Andean partridge
early Holocene. or tinamou has been found at Quebrada Tacahuay (in the vicinity of Ilo, in Moquegua)

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TIME CHART OF BIRDS AS FOOD IN ANCIENT PERU Pelicans, on the contrary, were eaten earlier, around 10,700 B.C. at Quebrada Tacahuay, in the
vicinity of Ilo on the coast of Moquegua. During the pre-Hispanic period it was probably
11 000 10 000 9 000 8 000 7 000 6 000 5 000 4 000 3 000 2 000 1 000 0 a. C.
eaten both on the North as well as on the Central Coast.
Tinamou
Cormorant
Pigeons apparently were also consumed since the early Holocene around 9700 B.C., as
Peruvian booby
well as shearwaters and long-tailed mockingbirds ca. 8000 B.C. There is, however, no
Seagull
Muscovy Duck
clear evidence of its consumption, even though its continuous presence in archaeological
Peican
contexts and middens suggests it.
Pigeon
Shearwater Humboldt penguins may also have been part of the pre-Hispanic diet but there is not much
Mimids evidence other than the presence of its remains, which were probably transported for
Penguin consumption by human groups since ca. 8000 B.C.

Our bromatological assessment unfortunately cannot go far due to a lack of figures for these
species, specifically for each of them. Even so they evidently were taken in many cases to the
in contexts that date to 10,700 B.C., as well as in Guitarrero Cave around 9,000 B.C. The respective archaeological sites in order to prepare and feed on them, even when the ice age
ingestion of this bird involves a great nutritional potential in proteins, calories, fat, and had just ended.
phosphorus alone.
From a bromatological standpoint we have more sources on the fish eaten in pre-Hispanic
The probable consumption of cormorant in this same site has the same age, while on the Peru (Diagram 5). When it comes to fish we should first of all give the anchovy its proper place.
North Coast it dates to 8000 B.C. in a Paiján cultural context. A series of marks and burn marks Public monuments like Caral, Áspero and the truncated pyramids of the Central and North
showing it was subjected to fire have been documented in some bones belonging to this bird Coast exist to a large extent due to the enormous stock of anchovies, along with the plants
at sites like Huaca Prieta, on the North Coast of Peru. At Caral there seems to be evidence that were already being consumed throughout the transition from the Middle to the Late
that roast ormorants were prepared: several fragments of femurs and sternums suggest the Holocene around 4000-3500 B.C. The anchovy is a fish that was much eaten by the pre-
possible consumption of this bird’s pectoral zone and the lower limbs, which somewhat recalls Hispanic population in almost every Preceramic site, particularly between 3500B.C. and the
our modern day customs (nowadays we would say legs and breasts). Cormorant consumption time of the Inca. Its alimentary significance lies in its content of iron, protein, and phosphorus,
is clear in other, later cultures (Mochica, Chimú, Nasca). as well as certain vitamins. Its most ancient association with alimentary consumption goes
back to ca. 10,700 B.C. on the South Coast of Peru (Moquegua).
The Peruvian booby is one of the birds eaten around this same epoch. It has been found in
Preceramic sites as well as in the Huaca de la Luna, so it has been inferred that the Mochica An interesting datum is that a way to prevent the anchovy flesh from spoiling using Calclum
cooked and ate it. nitrate wrappings (caliche) had already been found at least by 5300 B.C. The head was removed
in order to ensure better preservation. As regards preparation, all that is known from certain
Gulls were probably eaten on the Central Coast since 5300 B.C. Later, it is evident that the records is that the meat was roasted beside the hearths, but it can be assumed that once
Moche ate them because the bones of these birds have been found with cut marks in certain pottery was used some of the dishes were stewed; what is missing here is more research in
areas, indicating their dismemberment for culinary processing. The same thing has been found order to confirm this. The amount of anchovies consumed was so huge that in Chincha, in
in coastal Inca contexts. Inca times, there were storage houses solely to store and preserve these fish, both for local
consumption as well as for exchange. The history of the sardine on the table of pre-Hispanic
There also are several ducks and herons for which there is no certainty as regards their Peru is similar, albeit in a smaller proportion in comparison with the anchovy.
consumption. They do appear in archaeological contexts, so it is possible that they were part
of the pre-Hispanic diet. The consumption of Peruvian silverside on the coasts of Peru is more recent and goes back to
2500 B.C. The record is not as thick, but we do know that it was eaten both on the North and
Again, it is not easy establishing whether the Muscovy duck was eaten, and all the more so the South Coast, and that in Wari times it was even exchanged with the highlands at sites like
considering Angulo’s hypothesis which claims this bird was used to exterminate plagues. This, Cerro Baúl. During the first centuries of our era the Nasca used algae to keep the silversides
however, does not rule out it being eaten. in good condition, as was evinced by the excavations made at Cahuachi.

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TIME CHART OF FISHES AS FOOD IN ANCIENT PERU then in various coastal sites, and somewhat more on the Central and South Coast. Mackerel
has also been found in the Moche sites examined in this book. Its occurrence indicates a
11 000 10 000 9 000 8 000 7 000 6 000 5 000 4 000 3 000 2 000 1 000 0 a. C.
good ingestion of proteins, calcium, fat, phosphorus, and iron.
Peruvian anchovy
Sardine
The pámpano is a fish eaten almost exclusively on the North Coast. It appeared much later
Peruvian silverside
around the first millennium B.C.
Croaker
Drum
Peruvian sea catfish
The record for the lorna drum is far older and it probably is the oldest fish eaten in Peru at
Pacific Jack mackerel
Quebrada Jaguay, a site close to Camaná where it goes back to 11,040 B.C. It was subsequently
Lorna/drum eaten particularly on the Central and South Coast, and apparently less on the North Coast.
Corvina/drum This is one of the most eaten fish of pre-Hispanic Peru.
Flathead Grey Mullet
Palm Ruff The corvine drum is another fish that was widely eaten quite early. Its bigger size and its
Peruvian Weakfish proteic, fat and vitamin C content made it an invaluable addition to the pre-Hispanic diet. It
Perico abounds on the far southern coast of Peru, between Tacna and Moquegua, since ca. 10,700
Robalo B.C. Similar dates for this fish have also been recorded in Paiján contexts on the North
Peruvian Hake Coast, so it was eaten a long a large part of the coast. The few data available regarding its
Pacific menhaden preparation simply indicate that it frequently was just roasted beside the hearths.
Pacific bonito
Peruvian grunt
The flathead grey mullet is another important fish. Its consumption began both on the
Smooth hound/Tollo
North as well as on the South Coast since around 10,000 B.C., but it seems to have focused
on the first of these two regions, where it even reached Tumbes in the period immediately
before the Inca.
The mojarrilla was also part of the pre-Hispanic diet since around 7800 B.C., particularly on
the North Coast. The medusafish is the most recent addition to resources of this kind, particularly on the
Central Coast of Peru, ca. 3200 B.C. Bonavia was able to verify its consumption at least four
The Peruvian banded croaker was favourite fish in pre-Hispanic Peru, especially on the North thousand years ago in the Huarmey Valley.
Coast, and secondarily on the Central Coast. Its consumption goes back to 9700 B.C. and
it has been found in sites very far inland, so it was presumably salted or dried in order to The Peruvian weakfish is also widespread and its consumption record begins in 7500 B.C.
preserve it until it reached its destination. The banded croaker has been found associated on the Moquegua littoral; it then spread to other parts of the coast. As for mahi-mahi, the
with other foodstuffs like llama and cormorant flesh, and even with snails, so it can be only record available is that of the Mochica area, but there may be more evidence that has
speculated that when these groups fed they combined these resources. not been included here. Snooks on the other hand are much more recent and their remains
date to 2500 B.C. on the Central Coast.
The Pacific porgy is another fish that appears quite early in the archaeological record since
9700 B.C. on the North and Central Coast, but in less profusion. The skipjack tuna is also scant The hake merluza is found exclusively on the North Coast, and only around 200 B.C. Like
and has been found only in Inca context, but we cannot rule out there are other records that many other fish in our list for pre-Hispanic Peru it has about 20% protein as well as a
I was unable to go over. The tamborín is a similar case—it has been found only in one site on sizable proportion of calcium, iron, phosphorus, and vitamins, which means it was a high-
the Central Coast and dates to around seven thousand years ago. quality food.

More data is available on the Central Coast for the Peruvian sea catfish, at least since 5300 The oldest record of Pacific menhaden comes from the South coast, at Tacna ca. 6200 B.C. and
B.C. Its high calcium and protein content made it an essential foodstuff in the diet of the pre- then spread to other sites in this zone as well as part of the Central Coast, but not northwards.
Hispanic population, particularly on the North Coast. It is possible that the consumption of the Pacific bonito, which apparently began around 7500
B.C., provided a large amount of proteins, minerals, and vitamins. The Peruvian grunt appears
The significance the Chilean jack mackerel had in the pre-Hispanic epoch is clear just from in the South Coast’s archaeological record around 8000 B.C., and it was consumed both on
the archaeological documentation. It appears in 10700 B.C. on the Moquegua littoral and the South and the Central Coast. Sicyases sanguineus or pejesapo, and the Peruvian morwong

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

were consumed as of 6200 B.C. mainly on the South and Central Coast. The horse mackerel TIME CHART OF MOLLUSCS AND CRUSTACEANS AS FOOD IN ANCIENT PERU
has been found in archaeological contexts on the South Coast starting in 6200 B.C., the giant
11 000 10 000 9 000 8 000 7 000 6 000 5 000 4 000 3 000 2 000 1 000 0 a. C.
blenny around 200 B.C., the Chalapo clinid around 2300 B.C., and the mero ca. 5400 B.C.
Chiton
Chiton/Barquillo
This list closes off with the fine flounder, which was frequently eaten since 3200 B.C., and the
Limpet
speckled-tail flounder since 9700 B.C.—one of the most ancient ones. The final part of the
Black snail
record includes the black cusk-eel, which goes back to 1600 B.C., while the bagre negro was Chiliean abalone
eaten since the Paiján occupation around 10,200 B.C. Tollo consumption was more widespread Land snail
since 6200 B.C., and the raya is found in many sites since around 11,200 B.C., which makes it Black ark
the most ancient fish in the record. Its high protein content seems to surpass that of all other Common mussel
fishes. To finish this review of marine fish we have the sharks, which were eaten in considerable Mussel
amounts as of 6200 B.C., like the blue shark off the coast of Tacna. Scallop
Wedge clam
River fish like, catfish life, and Peruvian silverside can be looked up in the book. They must have Sea Urchin
supplemented the diet of the valley dwellers both on the coast and in the highlands. Clearly Barnacle
there is not enough information in this regard due to the lack of research and of publications. Purple crab
Shrimp
We now briefly turn to the potential and antiquity of mollusc and crustacea consumption
(Diagram 6). Besides protein, this type of fauna contains several minerals that are crucial for
humans like magnesium, sodium, salt, and potassium inter alia. The various species of chiton instance, are typical of the far North Coast and were consumed since ca. 10,500 B.C. The “choro
and barquillo are present in certain sites since quite early. The former appeared in 6400 B.C. común” also appeared quite early in the pre-Hispanic record ca. 9500 B.C., and is widespread
in the Tacna littoral, and the latter in Huarmey in 5300 B.C. all over the coast. The antiquity of the “choro zapato” goes back to 8000 B.C. Both species of
choros are likewise strongly represented in the inventory of molluscs consumed, particularly
The various purple keyhole limpet presented in this book were part of the pre-Hispanic diet on the Central and South Coast, ant to a very lesser extent on the North Coast.
since 9500 B.C. A whole malacological family of little snails can be reviewed and it probably
formed part of the diet people had since the Early Holocene. Scallops date to 8000 B.C. and are widely represented in several coastal sites including
the North Coast, like in the previous case. Several clam species are present in various
The pata de burro snail was widely consumed in pre-Hispanic Peru since 9700 B.C. Thais archaeological sites on the littoral with dates that range between 10,000 and 9500 B.C. This
chocolata or caracol negro has a high protein content and it probably fed the pre-Hispanic also is an alimentary stock that must be borne in mind when considering the diet of these
coastal population since at least 7600 B.C. There was a score of snails that formed part of the pre-Hispanic populations.
alimentary stock presented in this book and which go back to the middle Holocene, which
had a high nutritional potential. Ensis macha or macha is a representative bivalve of the Peruvian coast. It has been dated on the
South Coast in Moquegua to ca. 11,000 B.C. Its presence in various sites indicates that it long was
The land snail (Scutalus) is probably the most studied of those eaten wherever there were an essential pre-Hispanic foodstuff. In some sites it has been found with traces of having been
lomas, but the evidence is concentrated on the North Coast since the time of the Paiján burned, which suggests it was cooked simply with the heat given out by the hearths.
culture around 11,000 B.C. In his excavations in the upper Zaña Valley, Dillehay dated them
at 11,400 B.C., so snails—which were probably roasted—are one of the earliest eaten in pre- Sea urchins were also consumed but in more recent dates, ca. 2500 B.C.
Hispanic Peru.
The marine diet was supplemented with barnacles, which have been documented since
On the other hand the consumption of piques like the caracol pantufla goes back to 9500 9700 B.C., and with various species of crabs whose dates begin around 8000 B.C., with the
B.C. Several other piques species were also part of the pre-Hispanic diet, and were apparently Platyxanthus orbignyi crab the crab which most abounds in the archaeological remains. Crab
concentrated on the North Coast. ingestion was significant not just because of their protein content, but also for their thiamine
and vitamin C. The fifteen crab species listed in this book were all found in archaeological
Bivalves are the molluscs that most appear in the pre-Hispanic record. Conchas negras, for excavations, thus clearly indicating they were consumed in most cases. On the other hand

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Elmo Leon 14,000 years of food in Peru

shrimp has only been found once in a context at Cahuachi, the main Nasca shrine at the throughout time. Even so, this does not explain the large maize storage bins dated mostly to
beginning of our era. the third millennium B.C. I discussed this point with Bonavia several times and he believed
that the picture was incomplete, which was why it was hard to get an overall image of what
There were other types of pre-Hispanic consumption like entomophagy. Although there is only was happening since the Late Preceramic Period; besides there were other sites similar to
one piece of evidence of coleoptera consumption in the faecal materials of one individual Los Gavilanes. But it is obvious that many other plants, like cereals and tubers, were more
that dates to ca. 2450 B.C., it is possible that there is more evidence as yet not recovered. important at higher altitudes where simply cannot be grown, as is the case of the central and
Some types of insects are quite important in terms of fat and protein. Although the people in southern puna. What is apparently clear is that the Inca imposed its consumption and made
the past had no knowledge of the ‘Western’ bromatology of this type of resource (like many it the major foodstuff in their empire.
others), it is possible that they were able to intuitively glimpse some of these properties by
experience. Our attempt to establish certain culinary techniques through the archaeological record alone
achieved poor results indeed because ethnography was not used. Kitchens seem to have been
We should recall in this regard the insect-eating Amazonian customs, which are not few. As extremely practical, with hearths and later with clay pots. The dinnerware was simple expect
Bonavia pointed out, this type of record should come as no surprise in the near future, once when preparing chicha or other types of fermented beverages. Readers will notice that more
archaeology’s recording methods become finer-grained. attention was given to an exam of the preceramic evidence, i.e. the most ancient one in
Peruvian sites. The surprising thing here is the wide range of resources—over three hundred
The same holds for geophagy, a subject that has been broached by pioneers like Duccio and this can easily rise.
Bonavia. ‘Earth’ is often found when pre-Hispanic human excrement is analysed. Our Andean
forebears were acquainted with the essentially palliative and healing properties of this type of The evidence likewise indicates that the highland populations that were experimenting with
ingestion, as well as the mineral properties of clays and earths—so they ingested them. Several pristine crops did so almost concurrently with those on the littoral, especially with the recent
chemical properties were apparently known by these peoples, including ashes, alkaloids and research undertaken on the South Coast. These people ate a myriad fishes and molluscs.
so on. Ethnographic data era essential for a clearer picture of the significance of geophagy, Besides, the recent evidence clearly shows that marine resources were exploited along with
as it lets us value the significance its ingestion had for the everyday life of the pre-Hispanic some very early plants, like pumpkins or squash, beans, chili peppers, and eventually peanuts.
population. The same holds for salt, which was found accumulated in various sites by marine
or lacustrine factors, and so on. The health condition of the pre-Hispanic population is hard to assess. We have included here
over a dozen cases of parasite-induced diseases, but it is still not clear whether these were
Since our main goal here is establishing the list of pre-Hispanic foodstuffs, dating and assessing due to the ingestion of spoiled food, simply because some foodstuffs already had parasites,
them, here we will not go into the techniques used to prepare and cook certain species, or or due to malnutrition. All three cases are feasible. However, the bromatological data clearly
even the farming technology. We have been reassessing the real age of past events, so here shows that a wide range of resources was available for consumption, and that a balanced diet
we should draw attention to the real antiquity of certain types of technology such as artificial existed not just on the coast but on the highlands as well. It is regrettable that no Amazonian
irrigation, which has now been dated to the sixth millennium B. C. Dates here are not worth data are available because many of these plants had their origin in the arc that extends from
in and of themselves, but by what they imply in the world history of these technologies, Asia the Andes to the tropical forest, and it is crucial for a reconstruction of their specific routes
included. Artificial irrigation techniques that appeared at such an early date do not abound and histories, as well as to assess alimentary preferences.
in the world. This was a result of the precocious and innovative Andean horticulturists, who
rose in the Middle Holocene Culinary techniques, on the other hand, seem basic, probably because there is no fine-grained
register that can detect them. Placing the fish, the tuber, mollusc or cereal beside the fire
We have seen, on the other hand, the significance the desiccation of various natural resources seems to have been the technique par excellence. Following the ethnographic accounts, their
had, starting with potatoes, charqui and many others. The biochemical values and some ingestion must have been supplemented with a series of herbs or condiments that we are in
resulting beneficial effects of chicha, amongst other beverages, have to be emphasised. These no condition to perceive, because there is no evidence that provides this kind of information.
effects, which must one day be assessed through chemical analyses published in peer-review Heating techniques like thermal stones which has been translated here as pachamanca and
journals, were most often been posited by Antúnez de Mayolo. which go to 6200 B.C., were somehow replicated in other puna sites, as was surmised by
Danièle Lavallée, a French archaeologist who authored one of the excavation reports that can
This chapter had two objectives. The first was to try and broadly verify the type of be used as a yardstick against which other reports of this kind can be compared. Procedures
information found in the archaeological contexts from over 120 sites in Peru. The impression such as boiling or stewing cannot be ruled out, but the information available is extremely
we get is that although maize was not at first too important, it gradually gained significance scant; it does, however, warrant speculation regarding this type of cooking in pre-Hispanic

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Peru. We have gone over some documentation for the Wanka culture in this regard, in which
a series of tubers and cereals were boiled for consumption in large vessels. Fruits were eaten
directly just like we now do, which means their vitaminic properties and mineral content
must have been intact at the time of ingestion.

Cutlery was not used, just like the chronicles reported. It was only used when preparing food
or in elite or ritual contexts. If I may speak out of personal experience, my grandmother
Dorila taught me to eat with my hands—obviously clean, because I washed them up as soon BIBLIOGRAFÍA
as I returned from school. To tell the truth, I still dislike the metallic flavour of the fork in my
mouth. In their ancestral wisdom, the Japanese apparently did the same.
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Someone said that Peru has all regions; I would add that we have all flavours, and our palate Biogeochemical Approaches to Paleodietary Analysis.
Aceituno, F.J. and Castillo Espitia, N.C. (2005) Mobility strategies Published in cooperation with the Society for Archaeological
has developed the subtleness required to perceive them; hence many of our friends in the in Colombia’s middle mountain range between the Early Sciences. Kluwer Academic Publishers. New York.
Northern Hemisphere who taste the Peruvian cuisine are infatuated with it. But as my wife and Middle Holocene. Before Farming 2: 1–17.
says, the base ingredients are in Peru: our seasoning, our chili pepper, and some other spices Ambrose, Stanley and M. Anne Katzenberg, pp. 159-171. Published
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