La Galgada: Peru Before Pottery

Author(s): Terence Grieder and Alberto Bueno Mendoza

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/';-=09 )(8*=-0/']

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by Terence Grieder and Alberto Bueno Mendoza

n a desolate canyon in the high Andes ofnorth- the surroundingmountains, animal bones are
ern Peru, the secretsofone ofAmerica's oldest almost nonexistentin the debrisofthe ruins.This
civilizationsare comingto light.Five thousand may imply a diet based mainly on agricultural
years ago, the ancient people who lived therebuilt products.
elaborate temples and tombsand shared a beautiful The site extends forabout one kilometeralong
art.For a thousand years beforethe introductionof the east bank of the river with three ceremonial
pottery,artists and craftmenworked in bone and complexes formingthe nuclei of settlements.A
shell, stone,basketry and especially in textiles.The slightlydifferentpattern ofplatformsaround a
arid climate at the ruins of La Galgada has pre- large temple, all apparently Preceramic in date,
served the richest collection of cultural material was discovered on the opposite west bank. Since
available in the Andean highlands during the 1976 we have been studyingthe largest ofthe east
period between 3000 and 2000 B.C.That period, bank settlements.It contained about 50 houses but
called the Preceramic,has begun to show the sur- others were destroyedwhen a road was built
prisingbeginning ofone of the New World's great- throughLa Galgada in 1975. Ifall ofthe houses had
est styles and the originsofa distinctivelyPeruvian been occupied by families offive,this area had a
civilization. population ofover 250 people,whichprobablycon-
Studyofthe Peruvian Preceramic periodbegan stitutedabout one-fourthofthe population ofthe
in 1946 when the archaeologist Junius Bird exca- whole site. The road projectalso cut throughthe
vated the ancient mound of Huaca Prieta on the templecomplexand coveredoverearly levels along
Pacific coast. In the time since the Huaca Prieta the façade ofthe large northtemplewhile destroy-
excavations, countless Preceramic sites have been ing halfofthe later part ofthe small southtemple.
identifiedin Peru and about a dozen or so have been In 1978 excavations concentratedon the all-
sampled by excavation. The Preceramic ended importantsalvage ofthe southtemple.Then in 1979
about 2000 B.C.when potterymaking was intro- and 1980 workfocusedon decipheringthe architec-
duced,but how to definethe beginningofthe period tural historyofthe large northtemple.The unusual
is a morecomplexissue. The termPreceramic has historicalsignificanceofLa Galgada is based in part
sometimesbeen used to coverall ofthe millennia of on its exceptionally fine and well-preservedar-
human occupation in Peru beforepottery.Now chitecture.These remains have dictateda conserva-
thanks to a series ofPreceramic site excavations a tive excavation approach in which the remains of
moremeaningfuldefinitionofthis importantperiod everysingle architecturalperiodare preservedand
is emerging.Archaeologists have determinedthat only unrestorable rubble and exposed fill are re-
duringabout 3000 B.C.the mostadvanced Peruvian moved.The survival ofthe monumenthas the high-
communitiesalready showed many traitswhich set est priorityin an effortto carefullyprobeand record
themapart fromthe earliest hunter-gatherersand the deeper levels ofthis major temple complex.
sedentaryfarmersand linked them with the later The northtemplewas completelyrebuiltat least
Peruvian civilizations. These people lived in fourtimes. The earliest excavated level, which
densely settled towns with large temples and built probablydates to about 3000 B.C.,contains a cere-
tombsforthe upper class whichheld burial offerings monial firepitchamber of a type foundalso at
oftextiles and jewelry.The principal thing they Kotosh and Huaricoto which remained the typical
lacked was pottery. ceremonial structurethroughoutthe Preceramicin
The site ofLa Galgada is located in the canyon the highlands. At that time the floorlevel was al-
ofthe Tablachaca River,the main tributaryofthe ready 13 metersabove the base ofthe façade facing
largest river on Peru's west coast. The unfailing the river.It seems likelythat thereare lower,earlier
presence ofwater was surely the attractionto an- levels still to be discoveredwithinthe mound.The
cientfarmers.Even todaymany ofthe same plants temple was completelyrebuilt in about 2800 B.C.
used byancient inhabitants growin the canyon,an withnew ceremonial chamberson topand a massive
indicationthat the climate 5,000 years ago was not encirclingwall. Several centuries later the cham-
toodifferent. The ancient inhabitants ofLa Galgada bers were filledwith two meters offill to support
raised Lima beans, peanuts, avocados, mangos, new floorlevels, and a new encirclingwall was con-
bananas and several other foodplants as well as structed.Then in about 2000 B.C.when the first
abundant cottonalong the banks ofthe river.Al- crudepotterybegan appearing on the site,the whole
thoughgame animals must have been plentifulin northtemplewas encased in a still larger structure.

March/ 1981 45
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 During this rebuilding the small circular ceremo- America. Perhaps the ancient people sat on the low
nial firepitchambers which had stood fora bench levels around the firepitsto take part in their
thousand years were replaced byrectangular rooms rituals. In mostofthe chambersthereis notenough
forminga U around the square courtyard.Only the floorspace fordancing or a dramatic ritual such as
stumpofthe large encirclingwall remains, and just sandpainting.
traces ofthe rectangularbuildings lie on topofthe By about 2500 B.C.the southtemplecompoundhad
mound. been established southofthe large northernmound.
The massive templewalls appear to have served Over the following700 years chamber after
onlyto retain filland make the templehigherand chamber was constructedwith five successive en-
moreimpressiveand do notseem to have been de- largementsofthe encirclingwall. The reuse ofthe
fensive.In fact,the walls ofthe later south temple old ceremonial chambersas tombsis mostclear in
never »reacheda defensibleheight. One can only this compound.When a chamber was about to be
speculate about the use of the ceremonial firepit abandoned a roughwall oflarge stoneswas placed a
chambers.The most commonmaterial foundon meterfromthe chamberwalls. Flat stoneswere laid
their floorsis white, orange, red or green feather as roofbeams fromthe new wall to the old chamber
down. The only other item lying directlyon a walls; then this structurewas buried under the
chamber floorwas the lower half of a large deer earth and rockfillleaving a stone-linedshaftlead-
antler.These items suggest ceremoniesjust as the ing to the new surface.The small subterranean
architecturerecalls the Pueblo kivas of North chambersheld fromthreeto fivebodies. Those dat-

46 ARCHAEOLOGY

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 (Left)ThesoutheastcorneroftheNorthTemple at
La Galgada. (Above)Closeupofthesoutheast
curved
corner whichis characteristic
ofPreceramic
Thetwocorbels
architecture. once
(upperright)
supporteda higherwalllevel.

ing to the Preceramicperiodwere extendedon their sive stones used in theirconstructionis anticipated
backs while thosebelongingto the transitionto the in the tombs at La Galgada.
Initial Ceramic period(2000-1500 B.C.)were flexed The Preceramictemples are also notable forthe
in a seated position. These representthe oldest ornamental constructionofboththe interiorand ex-
knownAmerican examples ofshafttombsin which teriorwalls. Even in the earliest building, con-
the tombchamberwas reached by a shaftor tunnel. structedofroundedwaterwornstones,a level pro-
In later times such tombs were widely used along jecting dado was built withstraight-linedtrapezoi-
the west coast ofMiddle and South America. Other dal niches set upon it. Such rectilinearformswould
tombs at La Galgada were built entirelynew into seem to be hard to build with rounded stones but
the spaces between the encirclingwalls and be- theytooktheirfinalformin the thickmud plaster
tweenthe twotemplecompounds.These examples, whichcoveredthe stonewalls. In the later buildings
whichdate to the later part ofthe Preceramic or the ofsquared quarrystone various wall articulations
beginningofthe Initial Ceramic period,were built were constructed:dados, projectingstringcourses,
ofvery large unshaped or roughlyshaped stones. projectionsover corbels,and a course ofhorizontal
They appear to be the prototypesforthe so-called niches. In the later walls thickand thincourses of
galleries ofthe Cha vín temples ofthe Early Horizon masonrywere alternated,but even those carefully
period (1500-500 B.C.). Chavin temples had a laid walls were probably plastered over with mud
labyrinthofcorridorsor "galleries" but no real in- and painted white. Some walls show an undercoatof
teriorrooms.The gallery formas well as the mas- yellowbut the finalcoat always seems to have been

March/ 1981 47
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 Thefirepitventinthe
rectangularchamber inthe
SouthTemple hasanopening
justinsidethedoorstep
which
airtothefirepit.
oncesupplied

a polished pearly white. The other early Peruvian grownlocally.None ofthe recoveredfragmentscon-
sites ofKotosh and Moxeke show representational tains any wool. The preferenceforcottonis typical
modeling of the mud plaster and painting on the ofall the knownPreceramictextiles.Blankets and
walls, but nothingofthat sorthas been foundat La bags are the two most commonidentifiableitems,
Galgada. There architectural ornament seems to each produced by its own characteristicPeruvian
have been confinedto the pure abstract articulation technique, the blankets by twining,the bags by
ofthe walls themselves. looping.Each ofthese methodshas its natural range
ofexpression- weft-twining lending itselfto the
TThe tombshave providedmostofthe otherexam- flatareas ofblankets and loopingadapting well to
ples ofarts and crafts,especiallyjewelry,baskets, a the shaped formsofthe bags. But a numberofother
stonecup and mortars,and textiles.Peru is famous techniques have been found,such as netting,knot-
forits ancient textiles which comprise one ofthe ted loopingand interlooping.All ofthese techniques
best preservedand numericallyrichestarchives of are commonto all the known Preceramic textile
ancientcráft.Along with similar Preceramic textile groups.
fragmentsfromHuaca Prieta, GuitarreroCave and It appears fromthe fragmentsin the burials that
a fewothersites,the La Galgada textilefragments men carrieda roundbag like a purse made byloop-
provide importantevidence ofthe early develop- ing. These bags must have been objects ofspecial
mentoftextilemanufactureand tantalizing glimps- pride forthey are works of art- ofthe nine bags
es ofits high artisticachievement.Aside fromthe whose designs can be most fullyreconstructedno
occasional use ofcoarser plant fibers,all ofthe cloth twoare alike. Birds seem to have been the subjectof
at La Galgada was made of cotton,presumably three,twoseem to have related snake designs,two

48 ARCHAEOLOGY

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had circular or curvilinear patterns and one was
rectilinear,all probablybased on some natural
themes,and one had a frontalfigurewithan elabo-
rate costume.This last design probablyrepresented
an anthropomorphicdeitytojudge fromthe frontal
pose and the costume.The same figureis commonin
later Peruvian art but is still notclearly identifiable
by name. The bags give no clue to their original
contentsexceptthat small baskets were placed in-
side such bags in one buriai.
The makers ofthe bags took full advantage of
the design freedompermittedby the looping
technique. None ofthe designs is painted on,but in
every case the color change is a change of thread.
The ancient designersevidentlyshared the modern
aesthetic ideal that the decoration should be inte-
gral to the structureofthe fabric.Despite the frag-
mentarynature ofthe textiles, the original colors
are well preserved: red, yellow,blue and black, as
well as natural brown and white have been re-
corded.
The firstloom-made textiles fromLa Galgada
belongto the end ofthe Precerainicperiod.The ear-
lier, non-loomtextiles oftenmust have been made
on a frameof sticks,but each manipulation dealt
withonlyone warp thread or at mostone pair. The
new elementwas the harness, a stickwithheddles
or stringsattached to alternate warp threads. By
raising the harness every other warp thread was
raised simultaneously.The earliest woven textiles
at La Galgada are narrow cottonbelts,showingthat
the loomwas at firstnarrow- about fivecentime-
terswide- and its harness raised onlythe fewwarps
required by that width. Thé widening ofthe loom
was a very slow process. Even a thousand years
later the standard widthofwoven textiles in Peru
was a mere 33 centimetersor about a foot.The deco-
ration ofPreceramic cloth was all done by ma-
nipulating individual threads which^was no longer
possible when the loom was used. An early woven
belt shows the plain cloth which was the natural
productofthe loom. Dissatisfied withits lack of
decoration,the weaver painted dark brownstripes

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 (Top,left)
Jewelryfrom a Preceramictomb includes
bonehairpins inlaidwithturquise,shelland
turquoisebeadsandshellpendants. Length of
hairpinsrangefrom 11.6to15.8centimeters.(Above)
Thisflexed burialwasfoundwrapped inlayersof
clothina LatePreceramic tomb intheSouthTemple.
(Left)A basketinsidea loopedcottonbagwaspartof
thefunerary fora manandtwowomen.
offerings
Width ,22 centimeters.

across the belt. The browndye was slightlyacid and Huantar in the mountains about a hundred air
eventuallydestroyedthe material. Not until tapes- miles or 160 kilometerssouth of La Galgada from
trywas inventednearly 2,000 years later did Peru- about 1500 to 500 B.C.The presence ofa Chavin style
vian weavers again achieve the structuralorna- ornamentin such an early level suggests an earlier
mentofclothfoundin the Late Preceramic twined and longer developmentof the Chavin style than
and looped fabrics. has been envisionedbefore.The simplestofthe or-
In 1979 fourshell disks were discoveredattached namenteddisks is made ofwhite shell withfourbird
to an early woven cloth in the square patio of the heads on the rim,theireyes inlaid withred or green
northtemple in a level with a radiocarbon age of stone. That circle is also the smallest, measuring
3540 B.P.± 50. When correctedbydendrochronology just 3.28 centimetersincludingthe birdheads. The
to calendar years a date ofbetween 2140 and 1860 second iridescentshell disk is incised withan angu-
B.C.was produced. That date is of special interest lar abstractdesign based on the head ofa raptorial
because three of the disks are decorated with de- birdwitha hookedbeak. Red paint was rubbedinto
signs which show the transitionfromthe Pre- the incisions. While the firstdisk is characteristi-
ceramicart styleto the Chavin style.The powerful cally Preceramic in style with its plain surfaces,
and widespread Chavin style dominated Peruvian small size, simple birdheads and varicoloredinlays,
art fromits great ceremonial center at Chavin de the second disk begins to show Chavin characteris-

50 Archaeology

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 (Top,left)Stackedbaskets
from a LatePreceramic
tomb containeda cotton
bagwitha doublesnake
design.(Above)Fragmentarycottonbagwitha double
birddesign madeofdyedredandnatural tanorwhite
cotton.
Length, 35 centimeters. Loopedcotton
(Left)
textile
fragment decorated
withthelegsofan
anthropomorphic figure.
Length,16.4centimeters.

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

March/ 1981 51
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