Archaic South American Culture
Archaic South American Culture refers to a significant period characterized by the adaptation of human populations as they transitioned from the Paleo-Indian era, following the end of the last glacial epoch. During this time, which is sometimes called the Lithic or Preceramic period, societies primarily engaged in hunting and gathering, with a broad dietary spectrum that included various animals and plant resources available in their environments. This period saw the dispersal of peoples into diverse ecological settings, including the Andes, the Orinoco, Amazon, and Paraná River regions, as well as the high altiplano.
As populations grew, communities began producing a variety of bifacial stone tools and projectile points, which indicated increasing cultural and ethnic diversity across the continent. Notable traditions emerged, such as the Paijan tradition in northern Peru, which focused on specific local resources, and the Itaparica tradition in central Brazil, characterized by the exploitation of rainforest fauna and flora.
By around 5000 B.C.E., rising population densities fostered the development of more complex societies, including the domestication of crops and animals. For instance, cotton and camelids became significant in the Andean regions, while manioc and palm were cultivated in the Amazon. This shift towards sedentism laid the groundwork for emergent social hierarchies, evident in archaeological sites like El Paraíso and Aspero on the Peruvian coast, marking the beginnings of more intricate societal structures by 2400 B.C.E.
On this Page
Archaic South American Culture
Related civilizations: Paijan tradition, Itaparica tradition, Amazonia.
Date: 7000-2400 b.c.e.
Locale: South American continent
Archaic South American Culture
The Archaic period in South America is characterized by peoples who are largely hunters and gatherers. This period is sometimes referred to as Lithic or Preceramic. The Archaic period follows the Paleo-Indian and can be viewed as a period of adaptive radiation and dispersal following the end of the glacial epoch and the disappearance of large land mammals, such as mastodons and other megafaunal species. Human populations begin to move into new habitats and ecological zones, including the western flanks of the Andes, lands along the Orinoco, Amazon, and Parana Rivers, and the high altiplano that lies between the two cordilleras of the Andes and that runs from northwestern Argentina to southern Colombia. This dispersal reflects population growth as well as an increasingly complex adaptation to local environments.
The diet of these peoples came from broad spectrum hunting and gathering within their environments. The production of lithic (stone) tools was predominantly bifacial, and through time, there was an increasing diversity of projectile point styles throughout the continent, which some have argued represents increasing cultural and ethnic diversification. Examples of these local adaptations include the Paijan tradition of coastal northern Peru, a central and south-central Andean hunting and gathering tradition that focused primarily on wild camelids and deer; the Itaparica tradition of the tropical forests of central Brazil, which focused on deer, tapirs, anteaters, lizards, fish, fruits, and especially palms; and the maritime peoples of southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
After 5000 b.c.e., substantial increases in population density in much of South America led to the development of more complicated cultures and experiments in increasing the abundance of resources. On the central Peruvian coast, cotton was domesticated, and the nets made from it were used to create large surpluses of marine resources. Camelids were domesticated in the Andean highlands of Peru, Chile, and northwestern Argentina after 4000 b.c.e., and in Amazonia, domesticates such as manioc and palm became important. Peoples in these areas became increasingly sedentary as they became more dependent on these domesticated plants.
By 2400 b.c.e., emergent forms of social complexity appeared. On the Peruvian coast, sites such as El Paraíso and Aspero, each with large mound constructions, reflect some form of social hierarchy. Other areas in which complexity appears by this date include the Lake Titicaca basin, Amazonia, and the coastal region of western Ecuador.
Bibliography
Aldenderfer, Mark. Montane Foragers: Asana and the South-Central Andean Archaic. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998.
Moseley, Michael. The Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization. Menlo Park, Calif.: Cummings, 1975.
Rick, John. Prehistoric Hunters of the High Andes. New York: Academic Press, 1980.
Schmitz, Pedro I. “Prehistoric Hunters and Gatherers of Brazil.” Journal of World Prehistory 3 (1989): 117-158.