ALLOCTONIST THEORY OF FEDERICO KAUFFMANN DOIG - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The alloctonist theory of Federico Kauffmann Doig consisted of an alternative explanation to the official theory about the origin of Andean culture. According to this Peruvian anthropologist, the remote origins of Peruvian high culture were located beyond the borders of present-day Peru. Specifically, it pointed to the coastal Ecuadorian city of Valdivia as the original center.

In this sense, the alloctonist theory contrasted with the autochthonous one. The latter proclaimed that Peruvian culture was indigenous, having started with the Chavin culture.

The autochthonous one was the hypothesis that had been accepted more, but that was refuted by Federico Kauffmann Doig. For this anthropologist, the centers of high culture in Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia did not emerge spontaneously and independently. These would come from a common nucleus that later spread.

At first, Kauffmann Doig expounds his theory on alloctonism in his 1963 work Origen de la Cultura Peruana. In it, he argues that the spread of the Olmec culture could have given rise to the Chavín civilization.

After some studies carried out by various archaeologists on the Ecuadorian coast in the 1970s, the alloctonist theory was reformulated. Valdivia was then raised as the initial focus from which culture radiated to Mexico and Peru.

Main arguments in the alloctonist theory of Federico Kauffmann Doig

Unknown origin of the Chavín culture

One of the main arguments on which the alloctonist theory of Federico Kauffmann Doig was based was the origin of the Chavín culture. This civilization developed during the Late Formative period in the highlands of the north-central region.

It was characterized by an exotic artistic style. Its name is due to the Chavín de Huántar archaeological site, discovered by Julio Tello in 1920. At the site, typical sculptures and ceramics of this style were found.

For a long time, this was considered to be the earliest manifestation of civilization in the Andean area. Recent discoveries have ruled out this possibility.

However, Kauffmann Doig thought that in the Peruvian lands there were no elements to explain the transition towards the flourishing of this culture. The difference between pottery from this period and earlier ones was obvious. Therefore, it located its origin outside that territory.

Lack of evidence on the jungle origin of the Chavín culture

Julio Tello, considered one of the fathers of Peruvian archeology, assumed that the Chavín civilization came from the Amazon. His conclusions were derived from the representations in art of various jungle species such as the jaguar, anaconda or the eagle.

In this sense, the alloctonist theory of Federico Kauffmann Doig rejected these conclusions. This archaeologist considered that the argument did not have the necessary force.

Furthermore, as other experts also pointed out, eagles and falcons are typically Andean and not jungle. These birds appear very frequently in Chavín art.

Disparity of dates between the Mesoamerican Formative and the Andean

By the time Federico Kauffmann Doig's alloctonist theory was proposed, both the Olmec and Chavín civilizations were considered the mother cultures of Mesoamerica and Los Andes, respectively. The evidence suggests that both were based on practically identical religious and cosmological ideas.

However, the data available at that time maintained that the Mesoamerican Formative period was much older than the Andean one. This was based on the particular characteristics of their ceramics. Therefore, it was more logical to assume that the Olmec culture had spread to the Andean territory.

The domestication of corn

The main cereal of the American continent, corn, was domesticated for the first time in the Tehuacán Valley in Mexico. This would occur in the year 8000 a. C.

This was the information that was being handled when Kauffmann Doig proposed his theory. Some recent research calls both the place and the date into question. There are studies that leave open the possibility that such domestication occurred independently in other places, such as Peru.

In any case, the statement was one of the underpinnings of the alloctonist theory of Federico Kauffmann Doig. This gave more basis to his diffusionist thesis.

Foreign elements in the pre-ceramic Andean world

Some of the elements that were present towards the end of the Agrícola Incipiente stadium in Peru, seemed to be external to that culture. Among them were the first cultist centers, primitive corn and its cultivation, rudimentary ceramics, the looms with which they made the fabrics and the iconography in their decorations.

In this way, all of the above reinforced Kauffmann Doig's idea of ​​the foreign origin of Andean civilization.

A new approach to the alloctonist theory of Federico Kauffmann Doig

In 1956, the Ecuadorian archaeologist Emilio Estrada discovered the remains of the Valdivia culture. These archaeological remains show that its inhabitants cultivated corn, beans, squash, cassava, chili peppers and cotton plants. The latter were used in the fabrics of their clothes. The Valdivia culture developed on the western coast of Ecuador.

At that time it was the oldest recorded civilization in the Americas (between 3500 BC and 1800 BC). The fact that it predates both Mesoamerican and Andean civilizations gave a new focus to alloctonist theory.

Then the thesis gained strength that the spread of both cultures came from there. In essence, Kauffmann Doig's theory proposed that the origin of Andean culture was foreign (allochthonous, as opposed to autochthonous).

Now, in 1905, the German archaeologist Max Uhle had inspected El Valle de Supe, located 200 miles north of Lima. In the 1970s, archaeologists discovered that the hills originally identified as natural formations were actually stepped pyramids. This discovery is another setback for Kauffmann Doig's theory.

Already in the 1990s the full extension of the great city of Caral had emerged. Today, it is known that the Sacred City of Caral was a 5,000-year-old metropolis with complete agricultural practices, rich culture, and monumental architecture.

It should be noted that in the 1980s Kauffmann Doig had already abandoned his theory after recognizing that it had limitations. However, the debate on the autochthonous or alien origin of the Andean civilization continues.

References

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   2. Kauffmann Doig, F. (1976). Archaeological Peru: a brief treatise on pre-Inca Peru. Lima: GS Editions
   3. Tauro del Pino, A. (2001). Illustrated Encyclopedia of Peru. Lima: Editorial Peisa.
   4. Malpass, MA (2016). Ancient People of the Andes. New York: Cornell University Press.
   5. Archeology of Peru. (2015, January 20). Autochthonous Theories: Alloctonist. Retrieved on January 22, 2018, from arqueologiadelperu.com.
   6. Gartelmann, KD (2006). The tracks of the jaguar: ancient cultures in Ecuador. Quito: Plot.
   7. IPSF. (s / f). Valdivia culture. Retrieved on January 22, 2018, from ipfs.io.
   8. Holloway, A. (2014, August 08). The 5,000-year-old Pyramid City of Caral. Retrieved on January 22, 2018, from ancient-origins.net.