PACAICASA MAN: DISCOVERY, LOCATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REMAINS - HISTORY - 2025

The man of Pacaicasa, according to the American archaeologist Richard MacNeish, was the first human being to inhabit Peru. This researcher based this claim on the remains found in the Pacaycasa district, which were dated to 20,000 BC.

Within the discovered complex of MacNeish, the remains that would prove the human presence were found inside a cave called Pikimachay. This is in a high place and its name means "flea cave".

Political Division of the Department of Ayacucho - Source: Discjockey

Although no human remains were found either in the cave or in the surroundings, various tools and animal bones did appear. MacNeish even claimed that he had found evidence of the presence of megafauna captured by the inhabitants of the area.

However, MacNeish's conclusions have been questioned by numerous paleontologists. For these, the human presence in Peru after those claimed by the American and the remains found can be explained differently.

Discovery

Richard MacNeish was the director of a large archaeological project funded by the United States National Science and the Robert S. Peabody Institute: the Ayacucho-Huanta Archaeological-Botanical Interdisciplinary Project.

The objective was to carry out an archaeological investigation of the entire Ayacucho region. The mission led to the study of more than 600 different places dating from the late Pleistocene to the conquest.

MacNeish himself recounted in one of his books how he discovered the Pikimachay cave, on a fairly rugged path that led to the town of Pacaicasa. This find occurred in 1969 and the author believed he had found evidence of the first human presence in the region.

Location

The Pikimachay cave, where the remains that led to the Pacaicasa man hypothesis were found, is located about 12 kilometers north of Ayacucho.

The site is located about 2,740 meters above sea level, on the road to Huanta.

Geologically, the site is located in the Andes of southern Peru. It is an area with a mild and quite dry climate, with an average temperature of 17.5º.

Etymology

The name of the town that has given its name to the discovery, Pacaycasa, comes from the Quechua Pacaycasa, which means “hidden snowy mountain”. This town is the capital of the Ayacucho district of the same name.

Characteristics of the remains

As noted above, most of the archaeological remains of the complex were found in the Pikimachay cave. According to experts, this is because the cave was a natural refuge for humans in the area.

At that time, the ancestors of men used to reside in caves. It was there where they performed their rites, ate, stored food and took refuge in case of any danger or bad weather.

MacNeish time

MacNeish named the deepest layer of the cave the Pacaicasa Phase. In his opinion, this phase corresponded to the first period in which the site was occupied.

The remains that he found in that stratum were dated by radiocarbon tests. For stone tools and animal bones, the result was that they came from between 20,000 and 13,000 BC. C.

In his conclusions, MacNeish temporarily divided the levels inside the cave:

- Pacaicasa: between 20000 and 13000 BC. C, during the lithic

- Ayacucho, between 13000 and 11000 BC. C, in the time of the hunter gatherers

- Huanta, between 11000 and 8000 BC. C, a level occupied by hunter-gatherers

- Bridge and Jaywa: between 6000 and 4000 BC. C.

- Piki: between 6000 and 4000 BC. C., in the archaic

- Chihua and Cachi: between 4000 and 2000 a. C., in the archaic period

Measurements

The cave in which the remains were found is about 24 meters wide and 12 meters high. It is located in the center of the Allqowillka hill.

Archaeological evidence

According to MacNeish's conclusions, the lithic artifacts found in the Pikimachay Phase would be the oldest tools made in the entire Andean country.

In total, some 71 instruments made of stone were found, in addition to around 100 cores and flakes that were used as tools. The material with which the tools were made was volcanic tuff, obtained from the same cave. The exception is a tool made from basalt.

As noted, no human remains of any kind appeared in the cave. For this reason, the hypothesis about the existence of the Pacaicasa man is based on indirect evidence.

The Pacaicasa Man theory soon met with considerable opposition. Various archaeologists doubt that there was a human presence in the Pacaicasa phase and discard that the lithic instruments found were really tools.

Similarly, animal bones are not solid proof for these experts either.

Meeting place

MacNeish concluded that Pikimachay Cave was a meeting place for various clans. For the American, these families came together to collaborate in skinning the captured animals and cooking them later.

However, other archaeologists do not share that conclusion. For them there is no evidence of the presence of stoves or charcoal, so it could not be proved that food was cooked there.

Critics who accept the existence of the Pacaicasa man claim that the groups of the time must have been nomads. These did not cook the animals, but ingested them as soon as they were hunted. Later, they used the skins for shelter and the bones to make tools.

Other experts believe that the man from Pacaicasa, if he existed, must have been mostly a collector. Thus, their livelihood depended on the fruits they gathered near the cave.

Tools

As indicated, many archaeologists doubt that the lithic instruments found were actually tools.

Those who do accept that theory claim that the most important finds have been flakes, knives, hoes, biface, and scrapers. The latter were used to remove the meat from the animals, which would confirm that the man from Pacaicasa was a hunter.

Controversy

One of MacNeish's finds was the remains of a megaterium, a large bear. Pointed stones were found next to this animal and the American claimed that they were weapons used to catch the megaterium.

However, experts like Lavallée flatly reject that interpretation. For him and many other archaeologists, the megaterium died a natural death.

In addition, those who deny the MacNeish hypothesis claim that the supposed stone tools are, in fact, lithic pieces created by nature itself and not by man.

Another interpretation, contributed by Lynch and Narváez, some of the lithic tools are real. However, they point out that its correct dating would be around 12000 BC. C., about 8000 years after what MacNeish indicates. The authors would therefore have been the so-called Guitarrero men.

References

1. Pedagogical Folder. Man from Pacaicasa. Obtained from folderpedagogica.com
2. History of Peru. Pacaicassa man. Obtained from historiadelperu.info
3. Carmen Verónica Ortiz Torres; Carlos Toledo Gutiérrez. Pickimachay: The first settlers. Obtained from mnaahp.cultura.pe
4. SA Expeditions. Tracing Peru's Human History Around Ayacucho. Retrieved from saexpeditions.com
5. Wikizero. Pikimachay. Retrieved from wikizero.com
6. César Ferreira, César G. Ferreira, Eduardo Dargent-Chamot. Culture and Customs of Peru. Recovered from books.google.es
7. Life Person. What is the Man of Pacaicasa ?. Retrieved from lifepersona.com