Naroditsky, Daniel

11.13.18
Archaeology 1
Professor Rick

Assignment 2: Analyzing Domestication Through the Lens of Archaeological

Evidence in the Andes

The emergence of domestication engendered a shift toward agricultural production that

irrevocably altered the lifecycle of hunter-gatherers across the globe. With its manifold

topographies and microclimates, the Padua region of the Andes Mountains furnishes a superb

paradigm through which the advent of domestication — together with the attendant impact on

humans, animals, and the environment — can be fruitfully investigated. In this paper, I argue

that a close analysis of the data supplied by a recent archaeological dig in the Padua region

informs our conception of domestication in two crucial ways. In the first place, I contend that

two distinct groups of hunter-gatherers were responsible for the remains encountered at the sites,

each of whom inhabited a separate micro-region and one of whom resisted a transition to

domestication altogether. In the second place, I advance that the paths that these two groups

followed enable us to closely examine the merits and drawbacks inherent in competing theories

of domestication.

The evidentiary appeal behind the claim that two distinct groups produced the remains

stems from three observations. The most superficial of these observations concerns the visual

distinction between the stone tools recovered from sites 2, 4, 5, and 7 — which were fashioned

by groups living in the Puna region — and corresponding tools from sites 11, 12, 13, and 16,

which were recovered in the low-lying alluvial floodplain. To this end, the center of the

projectile points from the Puna tools reliably features a symmetrical protrusion (most easily

observed in the tools recovered from sites 4 and 5), whereas the corresponding points from the

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alluvial tools lack this feature. Additionally, the elongated scraper from site 4 has a smooth

surface, whereas the scraper recovered from site 13 has a jagged surface. A plethora of

explanations could stand behind these differences, such as the very realistic possibility that a

greater sample of tools would reveal a visual uniformity that renders these differences

coincidental. However, I claim that the following two lines of evidentiary analysis lend far

greater credence and explanatory weight to the two-group hypothesis.

The first line of analysis can be traced to table 2, which reveals a near-total absence of

deer in the remains excavated from sites 2 and 4. On the other hand, deer featured prominently in

the diet of those inhabiting the alluvial floodplain, as evidenced by the comparative abundance of

deer remains across sites 11, 12, and 13. Crucially, it seems illogical to ascribe this difference

squarely to the deer’s propensity for lower altitudes. A numerical difference may have played a

role, but the presence of a single deer in the remains of site 4 indicates that deer were not

completely absent from the Puna. Furthermore, the Puna remains moist year-round, supplying

enough vegetation to tempt a migrant herd of deer who seek sustenance during the dry season.

Hence, I believe that it is reasonable to infer that the massive disparity in deer consumption was

also driven by the differing diets of the two groups inhabiting the respective regions. A single

group moving back and forth would have likely exhibited a far greater uniformity in its diet.

The faunal data furnishes the clearest line of evidence toward the notion that two distinct

groups of people inhabited the Puna and alluvial floodplain. We can delineate this line of

evidence by attempting to glean as much as possible about the emergence of domestication from

the properties of the faunal remains. Let us first consider the remains from the Puna, that is, from

sites 2 and 4. Across both the Macani and Coca phases, there is relative consistency in the age

distribution of camelid remains found at the sites. If we separate the camelids into young (0-18

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months) and mature (adult and age) categories, the following table shows the percentage of total

remains that fall into each category:

Site 2: Site 4:
Macani: 31% young, 69% old Macani: 28% young, 72% old
Coca: 19% young, 81% old Coca: 27% young, 73% old

Hence, we can observe a stable paucity in the remains of young camelids, which is a relatively

strong indication that domestication was not occurring. According to Michael Chazan, a high

proportion of immature animal remains can indicate the emergence of domestication for several

reasons, such as the presence of a disease that affected closely-packed herds of animals (Chazan,

2018). Additionally, Renfrew points out that a drastic change in the slaughter pattern is a reliable

sign of human interference (Renfrew & Bahn, 2016). Since no such change can be observed

here, it seems reasonable to conclude that the individuals who inhabited sites 2 and 4 during both

phases did not consciously mount a domestication campaign.

Before transitioning to the data from the alluvial floodplain, it is worthwhile to ascertain

why domestication did not occur in the Puna. To this end, it is important to consider the stone

tool data from sites 2 and 4. More specifically, the number of recovered scrapers from site 4

more than quintuples that of site 2, whereas the site size is only 2.5 or so times greater. Projectile

points, on the other hand, grew proportionally to the presumed population increase. If we assume

that scrapers were used primarily for the processing of animal skin, then it stands to reason that

site 4 was inhabited in both phases during an especially cold season, which necessitated a far

greater quantity of protective animal skins than usual. In turn, this observation may aid in the

formulation of an explanatory hypothesis for the lack of domestication. If the weather in the

Puna was extremely cold, the inhabitants of site 4 would have prioritized the need for survival

over everything else. Consequently, it is worth considering that a mere difference in climate may

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well have stood as one of the reasons behind two relatively similar groups of individuals

experiencing two utterly divergent relationships with domestication.

Consulting the data for camelid remains from the alluvial sites — 11, 12, and 13 —

yields an altogether different story. In the first place, we can construct a similar table as above,

grouping animal remains into young and old categories and breaking down the relative

percentages of each (C-D is the ratio of camelids to deer, the significance of which will be

broken down below):

Site 11: Site 12: Site 13:

Macani: 32% young, 68% old Macani: 34% y., 66% o. Macani: N/A
C-D: 2.2 C-D: .25 C-D: N/A
Coca: 52% young, 48% old Coca: N/A Coca: 70% y., 30% o.
C-D: 10.5 C-D: N/A C-D: 13.7

This table checks all the aforementioned boxes for ascertaining the emergence of domestication.

In the first place, we see (in site 11) a drastic change in the constitution of remains between the

two phases, with young camelids replacing old camelids as the predominant group during the

Coca phase. Site 13 — a massive site that was likely home to over a thousand people — features

an even more convincing predominance. Another related line of evidence is the fact that the

camelid to deer ratio greatly increased during the periods of supposed domestication. Once

again, it seems unlikely that the number of deer during a particular time period played a

significant role, as the alluvial floodplain constitutes a natural habitat for deer, especially during

the wet season.

Table 3 yields further evidentiary appeal toward the notion that the Alluvial Group

evolved toward domestication and agriculture with the onset of the Coca phase. To this end,

stone tool remains from site 13 show 27 grinding stones, a sharp contrast to their total absence in

all previous sites. Grinding stones were likely used for agricultural purposes, such as milling.
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Combined with the predominance of young camelid remains found on site 13, the abundance of

stones seems to indicate that the site’s inhabitants were firmly in the process of transitioning to

an agricultural way of life. Judging from the site map, it seems reasonable to postulate that the

same group of people migrated from site 11 to site 13, a region whose proximity to the Padua

River would provide fertile soil and plenty of irrigation for agricultural activity. Indeed, the

abundance of young camelids aged 0-6 months and 12-18 months (with a striking paucity of

camelids aged 6-12 months) indicates that site 13 was likely inhabited during a wet season. Site

11, on the other hand, which predominantly features deer in the 6-12 month range, was

correspondingly inhabited during a dry period. After all, camelids give birth during the wet

season, so it stands to reason that the abundance of newborn camelids would indicate a wet

season.

Taken together, these three lines of investigation — the visual differences in stone tools,

the absence of deer in Puna sites, and the divergent paths toward (or away from) domestication

evinced by the data — lend credence to the notion that two groups of people, which we shall call

the Puna Group and the Alluvial Group, were responsible for the remains across both the Macani

and Coca phases. With this demographic firmly established, it becomes possible to make several

further observations and inferences about the lifeways of these two groups. In tracing the

Alluvial Group’s path toward domestication, it is crucial to address the notion of competing

explanatory theories. Taking into account the massive growth of site size in site 13, it may seem

a bygone conclusion that Lewis Binford’s Marginal Zone Theory most closely fits the evidence.

The theory asserts that a drastic increase in population creates undue strain on animals, inducing

a necessity to turn to domestication and agriculture. The flaw in the ointment, however, comes

from site 11. The site size was relatively small, corresponding to approximately 25 people. Yet

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we have already established that several angles of analysis point to the inhabitants having

adopted domesticatory tendencies. Hence, a culture or development-centric theory more

appropriately explains this observation. At any rate, I would argue that the presumed growth in

population that led to site 13’s massive size certainly played a role in bringing forth

domestication and agricultural production. But it may very well have been supplemented by a

concomitant cultural and developmental shift away from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

The final aspect of the groups’ lifeways that I would like to address is the notion of plant

domestication. While there is no specific data about plant remains, it is nonetheless possible to

make certain inferences from the concentration of animal remains of various ages. To this end,

let us return to the data gleaned from site 12. From the concentration of deer in the 0-6 and 12-18

month age ranges, it seems reasonable to postulate that the site was inhabited during a wet

season. As previously mentioned, this is due to the fact that deer (as well as camelids)

necessarily give birth during the wet season. The second important observation is that for a site

of a relatively large size (260), only 45 animal remains were found. In comparison, site 4, which

measured 245 m^2, contained 291 animal remains. What could explain this disparity? Since site

12 was inhabited during the Macani period, and since no grinding stones were found, it seems

unlikely that any sort of agricultural production had begun. Hence, I believe that it is quite

probable that the Alluvial Group supplemented their diet with a healthy dose of plants, which

were easier to grow and domesticate due to the wet season.

Ultimately, it is possible to extend this analysis in countless further ways. However, it is

crucial to realize that its efficacy is circumscribed by the relatively limited sample size, which

may skew the actual proportion of animal and stone tool remains contained at the sites. For

instance, it may very well be that in site 12, a remote location which contained the majority of

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animal remains was left unexcavated. This would mean that any sort of plant domestication was

far less likely. A similar limitation must be extended for the Puna Group: even a relatively small

correction in the number of camelid remains may fundamentally alter the narrative of

domestication that I have constructed in this paper. Yet even if the facts are imprecise, I hope

that my analysis has cast doubt on the notion that domestication proceeded in a homogenous vein

across all groups of people. If that is indeed the case, then regional archaeology may yet evolve

into micro-regional archaeology.

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 Works Cited

Chazan, Michael. World Prehistory and Archaeology: Pathways Through Time. New York:

Routledge, 2018.

Renfrew, Colin, and Bahn, Paul. Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice. London:

Thames and Hudson, 2016.

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