HUACA PRIETA: CERAMICS AND ARCHITECTURE - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Huaca Prieta is an important archaeological site found in Peru. The remains are located in the Department of La Libertad and their importance lies in the fact that they were the oldest found so far. The discoverer of the settlement was the American archaeologist Junius Bird, who found them in excavations made in 1946.

The researcher discovered the first deposit in a dark-colored mound, hence the name given to the site. For the first time in the history of Peruvian archeology, the remains found were subjected to the carbon-14 test. The results caused great shock, as its age far exceeded what was expected.

Huaca Prieta. By Véronique Debord-Lazaro (Flickr: View from top of Huaca del Brujo), via Wikimedia Commons

At the site, objects were found that helped to understand a little better the way in which its inhabitants lived, being able to distinguish even remains of food. Likewise, he highlighted the discovery of several ceramic objects and the evidence of a large textile production.

Man from Huaca Prieta

When Junius Bird discovered the Huaca Prieta site, he changed the beliefs in which, until that moment, Peruvian archeology had moved. Thanks to the dating carried out with radiocarbon-14, a fairly exact date of the antiquity of the remains found could be given.

After doing the tests, the result was that they dated from more than 4000 years ago, placing, therefore, around 2500 BC. This meant that they were by far the oldest remains found to date from the Pre-Ceramic Period.

Compared to what had been found from that historical period, the difference was enormous. The oldest known was associated with the Chavín culture and did not exceed 1200 years BC. C.

In addition, recent excavations in the area have found even older remains. Some of these date back more than 8,000 years, reaching 15,000 years ago in some cases.

What were the inhabitants like?

One of the causes that make Huaca Prieta such a momentous discovery is that for the first time a settlement of farmers from the Pre-ceramic era with advanced knowledge in some areas was discovered.

For example, it is known that they lived in semi-underground rooms and that they were skilled at making textiles. In addition, evidence was found that they used pyrography mattes as early as 2500 BC. C.

What is known about the inhabitants of the area comes from the analysis of the remains found. By studying the type of tools, housing or food, you can get a rough idea of ​​their way of life.

At the site, although there was apparently no funerary construction, 33 skeletons were found. They were all positioned in the same position, with their knees bent and covered with mats.

His way of life

The way of life during the Pre-Ceramic Period, at least in Huaca Prieta, was very much based on the proximity of the river mouth. This provided a multitude of resources, which the inhabitants took advantage of perfectly. Obviously, that does not mean that they did not exploit the land, as was the case elsewhere in the region.

The utensils found, among these tools to catch fish, indicate that this was one of the most frequent ways to get food. Not only did they take advantage of what was near the surface, but it appears they used nets, as well as fishing in deeper water.

Other means of fishing used were diving (due to the remains of mollusks found) or catching with hooks. Finally, the experts are convinced that they built quite sturdy boats.

Whale ribs have been found in the houses, although they probably came from the cetaceans that washed up on the coast.

Regarding agriculture, the evidence indicates that they grew products such as avocado, garlic or pumpkin. A very interesting aspect is that it seems that they also planted medicinal plants; some historians believe that they were able to trade in these, something very advanced for the time.

Utensils

Apart from those used for fishing or working the land, the men of Huaca Prieta made pumpkin mates, possibly to transport water. It is also claimed that they used these utensils for cooking.

Textile findings

One of the most important finds at the archaeological site was the tissues. Among these, some remains made with cotton stand out, showing beautiful iconographic representations.

Perhaps the most famous is that of the Condor de Huaca Prieta, with a coiled serpent. Similarly, another representation of a snake with two heads stands out.

The technique used - since looms did not exist - was that of weaving. The only way to make these fabrics was by hand and, sometimes, the techniques of ringing and knotting were also used.

During the latest investigations, quite a few woven baskets were found in Huaca Prieta. Archaeologists have determined that the remains suggest that they were a more advanced town than previously thought.

Ceramics

One of the aspects that characterize the Pre-Ceramic Period is that the pottery techniques that would make ceramics possible were not yet known. That period began with the arrival of some forms of agriculture, although quite rudimentary.

From there until the end of that historical era, around 1500 BC. C, there were several advances in many fields, but not in the ceramic one; for example, the first ceremonial centers began to be built.

In Huaca Prieta, the oldest place found belonging to that period, various utensils have been found that later were normally made with ceramics. Among these, pumpkins stand out for different uses.

The most spectacular find in this sense was that of two mates that Junius Bird himself unearthed; they were two mates that were found in burial 903 at the site.

The complexity of their design, as well as the iconographic representations that appear in these, make them a worthy antecedent of later pottery art.

Many historians affirm that the decoration of both mates resembles that found in the Valdivia culture, in Ecuador. These great potters decorated some of their ceramics with similar motifs.

Architecture

Since work is still being carried out at the Huaca Prieta deposit to this day, it should not be ruled out that new data would appear that would provide more information. Until now it is known that there is no non-domestic architecture and, therefore, nothing similar to ceremonial or funeral constructions.

The inhabitants of the town built semi-underground rooms. The material used was stone and clay. As previously mentioned, whale ribs have been found as beams for houses.

Huaca Prieta consists of a set of small houses, oval or square. The entrance to the houses is quite narrow and most, being below ground level, have stairs to access the interior.

The stones used to build the houses came from the riverbed. Researchers have found that these are the typical boulders found in water sources. Likewise, the mud was extracted from the same place.

According to experts, there was a reason why the houses were not built at ground level: they did not know how to build independent walls that were strong enough.

References

1. History of Peru. Huaca Prieta. Obtained from historiaperuana.pe
2. Forssmann, Alec. Excavated a settlement about 15,000 years old on the north coast of Peru. Obtained from nationalgeographic.com.es
3. Archeology of Peru. Huaca Prieta, the oldest evidence in the world on the use of indigo. Obtained from arqueologiadelperu.com
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Huaca Prieta. Retrieved from britannica.com
5. Ewen, Alexander. Huaca Prieta Provides More Proof of What Indians Already Knew. Retrieved from newsmaven.io
6. Mercyhurst College. Basketry from Peru's Huaca Prieta. Retrieved from sciencedaily.com
7. Guevara Protzel, Carmen Maria. How an Ancient Mount Excavation in Peru Led to the Discovery of an Ancient 15,000-Year-Old Civilization. Obtained from inkanatura.com