PAIJÁN MAN: CHARACTERISTICS AND DISCOVERY - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The man of Paiján is the name that receives one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the world, where human fossils and enough evidence have been found to develop a whole theory about who inhabited that region approximately 12,000 years BC

The archaeological complex of Paiján, located in the Chicama river basin, belonging to the La Libertad region of what today corresponds to Peru, represents one of the archaeological bastions with discovered human fossils.

Image via peruroutes.com

Of the remains found in that area, it is considered that they belonged to the first men who inhabited the Peruvian Pacific coast.

The discovery of the Paiján man, where complete bodies of women and young people have been reconstructed, has allowed the investigation of the Paiján culture and a whole series of vestiges that made it one of the pillars for the prehistoric civilizations of America.

Among the fossils found, there are also:

-Remains of large animals such as horses, elephants and felines

-Rudimentary weapons and structures that could have been homes, which allows us to deduce that the Paijanenses developed tools and weapons necessary for survival.

It is estimated that the presence of the Paiján man extended to the Moche Valley, towards the south.

Discovery of the man from Paiján

The discovery of the archaeological potential of Paiján has fallen on the archaeologist Larco Hoyle, who in 1948 identified Punta Paiján, a pointed stone object that was estimated to fulfill the functions of a weapon or tool.

However, the discovery of the human fossils that would give rise to the research on the man of Paiján would come decades later, in 1975, at the hands of the French researcher Claude Chauchat.

The discovery of Chaudat were the almost intact remains of what had been a woman and a child. It was deduced that they would have more than 10,000 years buried.

Other scientists who provided specialized contributions also participated in the discovery of the man from Paiján.

The investigations continue to this day, in order to elucidate more details about the daily life of this community and the natural conditions they had to face.

Together with human fossils, the Paiján complex has been a place of archaeological wealth, such as weapons and basic tools that show the work and use that the Paijanenses applied to the stone, placing them in a position of great importance in terms of innovation. and elaboration of lithic tools.

The difficulty of locating the existence and actions of the man of Paiján in specific chronological points has been one of the greatest difficulties that researchers have faced since its discovery in the middle of the 20th century and their continuous research, reflection and analysis until today.

Characteristics of the man from Paiján

It is deduced that the man of Paiján came from Asia, being one of the first to travel along the west coast of the American continent to settle in Andean lands.

The vestiges analyzed have evidenced a certain social organization in the Paijanense community, as well as ceremonial and cult practices at that time.

According to the discoveries, it has been concluded that the men of Paiján had changing behaviors throughout their existence; the remains of weapons found, and their chronological location, have allowed us to think that they must have faced large animals (some deduce that they could face gigantic saber-toothed tigers).

However, it has also been determined that the man from Paiján may have abandoned hunting with the passage of time, redirecting his gaze towards the coast, seeing that fishing provided great benefits without the same risks.

Likewise, they sought to domesticate and exploit minor terrestrial fauna, such as rodents and small mammals, for their benefit.

The human remains found had particular characteristics: the burials were made with the body in a flexed or fetal position, sometimes on some support such as embers, and covered from the surroundings by land.

It has been deduced that the man of Paiján had ceremonies and rituals before death, and the position of the buried was a way of worshiping the possibility of life after death.

As discovered, bodies were sometimes accompanied by small objects, or their position pointed in a specific direction.

As for the ceremonial and religious traditions of the Paijaneneses, there have not been many vestiges that have been recovered.

Contrary to civilizations that would emerge millennia later, the presence of ornaments and precious objects around ceremonial rites was not yet common in human organizations.

With this it is not ruled out that the man of Paiján had his own ways of carrying out his cults and ceremonies; perhaps the burials and the way in which they were carried out represents the closest thing to the ceremonial rituals of the Paijanenses.

Houses and tools of the man of Paiján

Paijanense civilization was able to build rudimentary houses, also made of stone, with circular shapes, to cut off the force of the wind, and without a roof, or with a light covering of leaves.

The large number of spearheads and stone projectiles worked under pressure by the members of the Paijanense community, have given the region where they were located a particular denomination: Paijanense lithic horizon.

The man of Paiján not only made tools for close combat, but also small stone projectiles that could be thrown at a long distance to wound or kill any beast.

However, the fact that the Paijanenses have abandoned hunting over the centuries suggests that perhaps these weapons were not as effective against the great beasts of the moment.

The tools had such a composition that they could be adjusted to other objects and supports, which allowed great portability and gave an indication of the ingenuity around their manufacture and use.

References

1. Chauchat, C. (sf). The Paijan Complex, Pampa de Cupisnique, Peru.
2. Ossa, PP (1975). Paijan in Early Andean Prehistory: The Moche Valley Evidence. Thirteenth Pacific Science Congress. Bundoora: La Trobe University.
3. Rosario, JG, & Millones, M. (1999). The earliest human remains in northern Peru: balance and projections. Archeology Bulletin, 55-67.