The Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization: A Reconsideration of the Evidence

Abstract

Moseley's contention that coastal Peruvian civilization was founded on a maritime subsistence economy is challenged, and the evidence that he used to substantiate his claim is re-examined. It is argued that: (1) the number of calories represented by the faunal remains in the late preceramic sites of the central coast is too few to have supported more than a simple hunter-gatherer society; (2) the potential productivity of the agricultural food plants present in the preceramic sites has been grossly underestimated; (3) biases in the preservation of sites and of food remains in the sites have not been considered sufficiently in drawing conclusions from the data; and (4) when considered in relation to the hydrology of the Peruvian coast, the distribution of the late preceramic sites indicates a dependence on flood-plain agriculture.