The field school is designed to provide students with instruction in archaeological excavation, laboratory methods, database management, research design, and the prehistory of Peru. Students participate in the excavation, surface collection, and mapping of archaeological sites on the north coast of Peru and learn about the analysis of artifactual and organic remains. In addition to hands on training in field and laboratory methods, the field school includes workshops on the analysis of pottery, stone tools, organic remains, and total station transit mapping. Through talks, readings, and site tours, students also gain an understanding of the archaeology of Peru.
The field school is part of the Moche Origins Project directed by Brian Billman, Jesus Briceno, and Jennifer Ringberg. The project goal is to examine how highland-coastal relationships, social stratification, and warfare influenced the development of the Southern Moche state. The project, which began in 1997, involves household and stratigraphic excavation, analysis of existing collections of human remains, ceramic sourcing, and environmental reconstruction. Flourishing during the Early Intermediate period between AD 200-800, the Southern Moche state was a highly centralized, hierarchically organized political system in which leaders exercised considerable economic, military, and ideological power. Leaders of the state directed the construction of some of the largest public monuments in the Americas, led the conquest of neighboring valleys, and organized the production of finely crafted ceramics, textiles, and jewelry. Although clearly one of the largest and most complex prehistoric political systems to have developed in the Americas, the origins and socioeconomic structure of the Southern Moche state are poorly understood.At the completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Excavate and map archaeological features such as rooms, hearths, and trash deposits
- Document archaeological excavations by filling out excavation and feature forms
- Draw and describe profiles of archaeological deposits
- Process artifacts and flotation samples
- Conduct rudimentary analyzes of stone tools and pottery
- Explain the types of information that can be gained from various different types of artifacts and organic remains
- Describe how archaeological databases are structured
- Explain how archaeological research designs are structured
- Describe the goals of the Moche Origins Project and means by which we are attempting to achieve those goals
- Describe some of the ways that ethnicity, class, and economic relationships are manifested in household remains
- Define the main cultural periods in the prehistory of Peru and describe the major sociopolitical and economic developments that occurred in each period
The field school is based in Huanchaco, a pleasant fishing village and beach resort just a few kilometers outside of Trujillo, a large city on the north coast of Peru. Students stay at a hotel in Huanchaco and are provided with group meals six days a week.
The course consists of fieldwork, lab work, workshops, talks, group discussions, and site tours. Fieldwork involves excavation and mapping of elite and commoner dwellings at the sites of Ciudad de Dios or Cerro León in the middle Moche Valley. Both sites date to the Early Intermediate period (400 BC–AD 800). Ciudad de Dios consists of a series of massive elite domestic compounds and small commoner dwellings on four narrow ridgetops above the valley floor. Excavations in the elite compounds in 1997 through 2000 revealed abundant Moche fineware and plainware ceramics, stone tools, metal objects, and organic refuse. Cerro León is located across the valley from Ciudad de Dios on a large hilltop. Numerous domestic dwellings, including many large elite domestic compounds, are clustered on the steep, upper slopes of the hill, and a fortified refuge is located above the domestic area on the top of the hill roughly 200 m above the valley floor. Pottery from the site indicates that highland immigrants may have occupied Cerro León.
Excavation, mapping, and laboratory analysis are conducted five days a week. At the sites, student excavation teams, consisting of four students and a crew chief, are assigned a set of rooms to excavate. The team excavates, maps, and records each room. In the lab, students wash artifacts recovered from their investigations, and assist in the day-to-day management of the computer database for the project. Several workshops are presented on artifact analysis and database design and management.In addition to gaining hands on training in excavation techniques, laboratory analysis, and database management, students are actively engaged in implementing the project research design. Through excavation, analysis, readings, and group discussions, we examine how ethnicity, class, and economic relationships are manifested in household remains.
Students also gain an understanding of the prehistory of Peru through site tours and talks. Every Saturday, Brian Billman conducts tours of local archaeological sites, including Chan Chan, Huaca de la Luna, El Brujo, and Cerro Oreja. Brian Billman and project staff present regular talks on the prehistory of Peru.Sundays are unscheduled free time.
A reader consisting of a collection of articles on the archaeology of the Moche Valley is available in Peru.Optional books:
- The Moche by Garth Bawden. Blackwell Publishers.
- Incas and Their Ancestors by Michael Moseley. Thames and Hudson.