C H A R T 2
Prior to 3000 B.C. the population of the Americas was sparse and probably for the most part the hunters and collectors wandered seasonally over a limited range of territory to take advantage of several natural food sources, as did the recent hunters of Canada and acorn collectors of California. MacNeish (1964) found that even the developing maize agriculturalists of the Mexican highlands occupied cave shelters only sea- sonally in their food quest. It seems safe to picture these people as organized into small kinship bands, many of which probably had a home village with permanent houses, which were not, however, perma- nently occupied.
Exceptions to this pattern occurred where the en- vironment provided stable, readily available sources of food. At many favorable points along the sea coasts of all the Americas, there are large accumulations of seashells mixed with camp refuse that predate the appearance of ceramics. Such shell middens are also found near river shoals, as along the Tennessee River, where mussels formed the staple of diet.
Even where Archaic people concentrated in sub- stantial numbers, there is litde or no evidence of village plan, and there are no monuments that would reflect community organization of political or religious motivation. T h e shell heaps show that dwellings were strung out along water fronts, apparently arranged more for ready access to the food supply than for de- fense. Hostilities must have been fairly frequent during this time, but perhaps social control was so unde- veloped that it could not be used for the effective planning of either offense or defense. T h e volunteer raiding parties of the historic peoples of northern
North America or of eastern and southern South America were probably the pattern of the time.
Islands in rivers and other naturally defensible localities were occupied, but compact deposits of refuse in areas that could have been readily defended by stockades are not a usual pattern.
Compact, almost circular, sea coast villages are a feature of the preceramic occupation of the Peruvian coast. Engel (1958, pp. 19-26) describes a number of localities, often on the shores of old filled-in bays, where compact deposits of refuse cap small rocky natural elevations or sand dunes. Huaca Prieta de Brujo excavated by Bird (1948) had retaining walls made of beach pebbles, and the sides of this 12-meter high refuse pile were so steep that they must have constituted an effective defense feature. Partially washed away by the sea, the remains of this big mid- den measure 125 by 50 meters. The similar but slightly smaller "TeU" of Pulpar is located a few kilometers up the beach, also in Chicama Valley. As is fairly common in preceramic times on the Peruvian coast, the houses were small subterranean structures of stone.
While these compact settlements were occupied before ceramics and maize agriculture appeared about
1200 B.C., they have not been dated before 2500 B.C.
and so are coeval with the Valdivia and Machalilla occupations of the Ecuadorian coast, where a compe- tent ceramic was being manufactured by coastal dwelling fishermen.
Although the Valdivia and Machalilla sites typi- cally have a refuse deposit less than 2 meters deep, they also were usually placed on the crests of low hills along the beach, or the old shores of filled-in
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42 SMITHSONIAN C O N T R I B U T I O N S T O A N T H R O P O L O G Y VOLUME 11
bays. According to Meggers, Evans, and Estrada (1965, p. 15), " T h e deposit typically consisted of powdery soil containing large amounts of shell, sherd and other kinds of natural and cultural refuse. No evidence was found of walls, floors, or other kinds of structures, and no significant natural stratigraphy could be identified at any of the sites." Burials were occasionally found. An impressive feature of these middens is that they are quite compact and are roughly circular in form, a hundred meters or less in diameter.
These villages could have been defended by stockades;
whether they actually were is not known. T h e Punta Arenas site, occupied about 1500 B . C , is located on a small natural 50 by 80 meter rise in salt marsh on the north shore of the Gulf of Guayaquil, and was almost surrounded by the sea when it was occupied (chart 2-19). T h e midden deposit, slightly less than 50 centimeters deep, was around the edge of this low elevation, and the central part of the almost level area was free from refuse. This suggests that the dwellings were arranged around an open court.
T h e Puerto Hormiga site on the north coast of Colombia is located on a slight elevation alongside a marsh, which seems to be a filled-in arm of the Carib- bean. Radiocarbon dates range from 3090 B.C. to 2552 B.C. Reichel-Dolmatoff (1965, pp. 7-8, fig. l a - b ) describes the midden as a ring 77 meters in diameter north to south, 85 meters east to west (chart 2-17).
Shell and soil have been deposited to a depth of about 1.20 meters. Width of the ring varies from 16-25 meters. On the east side, there is a low place in the accumulation suggesting a gap in the circle of dwell- ings. T h e center of the ring was free of refuse.
The Barlovento site located on the coast near Cartagena, Colombia, has yielded radiocarbon dates from 1560-1030 B . C (Reichel-Dolmatoff, 1955, pp.
247-272). It also is located beside a swamp that seems formerly to have been a waterway giving access to the beach a few hundred meters distant. Reichel- Dolmatoff (op. cit., p . 251) describes the site as fol- lows: " T h e circle formed by the accumulations of these shells consists of six elevations, almost sym- metrical, and more or less equidistant, in the forms of mounds connected with one another at their bases [chart 2-16]. T h e average elevation over the level area in the center of this circle is about 3 meters. . . . T h e total area covered by the shell heaps is about 100 X 100 meters; the level central court measures 15 X 20 meters."
T h e Monagrillo site on Parita Peninsula, Pacific coast of Panama, dating about 2000 B . C , has been described by Willey and McGimsey (1954). T h e shell midden occupies a low peninsula about 150 meters long and 80 meters wide, which now projects into tidal flats, formerly Parita Bay. The shell midden
forms two parallel ridges that run lengthwise on the low natural elevation. T h e shallow " t r o u g h " between the ridges proved to be deeper on excavation than it appeared on the surface. This suggestion of houses arranged about a central court is by no means as clear as in the sites described above.
Waring (in Williams, 1968, p p . 253-254) sum- marizes the fiber-tempered sites of coastal Georgia and adjacent South Carolina in the following words:
(a) scattered occupations along marsh edges and bluffs (b) marsh middens
(c) shell rings
T h e scattered occupations are frequently quite extensive and suggest a looser, more open communal plan t h a n do the great shell concentrations of A l a b a m a and Tennessee.
T h e marsh middens are shell deposits, some irregularly circular in shape, situated out in the marsh near the head waters of creek systems . [elsewhere described as 75 to 150 feet in diameter and 4 to 7 feet deep].
Of the shell rings, eight have survived. These are circular enclosures of shell from fifty to three hundred feet in diameter, the walls of the enclosure being from two to nine feet in height [chart 2 - 3 ] . T h e area enclosed was apparently kept scrupulously clean. T h e walls themselves in cross-section show extensive evidence of fires and primary midden deposits. T h e great shell ring on Sapelo [Island] was one of three and was the center of extensive low midden deposits running two to three hundred yards in each direction.
Moore (1897, pp. 71-73) describes the Sapelo shell ring as follows:
. . . a diameter, including the walls, of something over 300 feet. T h e walls have an average height of from 5 to 7 feet, and a thickness of about 50 feet at the base. They are flattened on the top where at present they have an average width of from 10 to 15 feet. They are covered with forest trees and are composed exclusively of shells, mainly those of oyster, with the usual midden refuse intermingled, such as fragments of bone, bits of earthenware, and the like.
Waring and Larson report on their reexcavation of this ring in some detail (in Williams, 1968, pp. 2 6 3 - 278). T h e two shell specimens from this excavation gave an average date of 1750 ± 2 5 0 B . C (op. cit., p. 329).
It is tempting to suggest that the use of camp circles by North American Plains people, and the circular villages of the Amazon Basin may be retentions of an Early Formative or possible Archaic village plan.
Thus far, no hint of the practice of artificial mound construction has come from sites of the Early Forma- tive dating before 1200 B . C T h e circular and ring- shaped villages described above resulted from the care- less, unplanned discarding of shells and other refuse around dwellings.
At various times after 1200 B . C , the Indians in the three Americas began to waste untold millions of man hours in the erection of tremendous monuments of earth, adobe brick, and stone that served no practical purpose. This is not unique, as attested by the pyra-
mids of Egypt or the Medieval cathedrals located in small European towns. T h e spread of efficient maize agriculture, with the resultant population increase and increase of "leisure" time, are the factors that made this possible. It is also obvious that the strict social and political controls necessary to accomplish such great constructions have a religious base, complete with specialist priest-rulers. T h e striking art styles that accompanied early mound building also indicate mark- ed craft specialization, including architects, engineers, sculptors, and artists.
Where cultural elements originated to spark this first burst of monument building is not yet known.
Cultural isolationists may see it as a consequence of the improved food supply. Those inclined to cultural continuity can point to some striking Old World parallels.
There is a clear evolutionary sequence in settlement patterns in relation to the temple mound centers of the eastern United States, Mesoamerica, and the An- dean region. Upon first appearance, the pyramids and their superimposed buildings tend to be used solely as religious centers. The populations they served lived scattered in small villages through the surrounding territory; the inhabitants of the centers were relatively few, probably functionaries and servants of the reli- gious. Various centuries later a trend toward urbani- zation of these centers developed, and they became in some instances large cities. Chan-Chan, Pachaca- mac, and Arpule in Peru, and Teotihuacan, Monte Alban, and Tenochtitlan in Mexico are examples.
According to present information, the earliest large scale ceremonial mound building was in the Olmec region on the Gulf coast of Mexico. At the San Lorenzo site, located on a small isolated plateau above a branch of the Coatzacoalcos River, Coe, Diehl, and Stuiver (1967) have obtained five radiocarbon dates that range between 1200 and 800 B . C Stirhng (1955, p. 9) describes the structures as follows: " T h e principal mound is conical in shape, although it may originally have been a pyramid. It is about 25 feet [7.5 m.] in height and stands at the south end of a rectangular plaza which is enclosed by earthen embankments.
. . . A few other small mounds are erected near this central plaza, but they are without apparent regularity of orientation." In addition, there are nine small reservoirs or borrow pits, hexagonal in shape.
The original set of radiocarbon dates published by Drucker, Heizer, and Squier (1959, pp. 264-267) for La Venta has been supplemented by some reruns and additional dates by Berger, Graham, and Heizer (1967). These suggest that the site was occupied between 1100 and 800 B . C , essentially coeval with the San Lorenzo site.
La Venta, located on an island in a swamp near the coast, was much larger than San Lorenzo, but follows and elaborates its basic plan. The principal feature was first thought to be a flat-top pyramid (Drucker, Heizer, and Squier, 1959, pp. 6-15), but recent re- examination of the cleared structure proves it to be a large earth cone about 32 m. high with a very small flattened summit. Most unusual is the fact that the sides show 10 pronounced lobes or flutes extending from the summit to the base, a sort of "cupcake shape," quite unlike any other known mound struc- ture (Heizer and Drucker, 1968).
The arrangement of structures at La Venta is com- plex and formal (chart 2-8). The excavators observed that the auxiliary features were symmetrically placed on either side of a center line that runs through the middle of this pyramid northward, bearing 8 degrees west of true north. Aligned with the outer edges of the pyramid are two linear mounds that extend parallel for 100 m. to the north. Between them is a low mound;
beyond the linear mounds are two low platform mounds with enclosures formed by rows of columnar basalt.
Outside of these, extending further north, are sym- metrically arranged bracket-shaped ridges, also capped with basalt columns. Beyond, about 164 m. from the toe of the big fluted cone and directly on the center line, is a low mound that contained a basalt tomb provided with rich offerings to accompany the burials.
An elaborate complex of mask-like pavements and offerings was placed on, or symmetrically to, either side of this line at various points. A variety of bril- liantly colored earth was used in construction. Stone paving block and basalt columns were brought in from considerable distance, and unfired adobe bricks were also employed in construction.
Shortly after this time, mound building was widely practiced along the Gulf coast of Mexico. On the coast north of Veracruz, in the Valley of the Actopan River where Garcia Payon (1966) has reported on excava- tions at El Trapiche and Chalahuites, there are dozens of impressive earth structures. Group plans are not discernible, probably due to the 4 to 6 meter sheet of alluvium that has buried their bases. The mounds range up to 15 meters high and are conical, cones resting on platforms, elongated mounds with steep sides and narrow-ridged tops; almost every form ex- cept the flat-top pyramids arranged about rectangular plazas that are usually thought of as the typical Meso- american plan. While some of these coastal mounds could and did serve as platforms for buildings, others are too steep and narrow at the summit. None have been carefully excavated and their use is unknown.
The arrangement of rectangular pyramids about courts seems to begin about A.D. 300-500, when the early phases of such sites as Tajin were built.
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There is no evidence for pyramid building having been associated with the Valley of Mexico Pre-Classic sites of Tlatilco, Ticoman, El Arbolillo, or Zacatenco.
Armillas (1964, pp. 304ff) suggests that the isolated ceremonial center mounds, such as Cuicuilco and Tlapacoya, furnished the model on which true cities with large populations developed. Most notable of the cities in the valley is Teotihuacan. Millon, Drewitt, and Bennyhoff (1965, p. 34) offer evidence that the tremendous Temple of the Sun (chart 2-9) was built between A.D. 100 and 200. Apparently Teotihuacan had assumed its urban character by these dates, and thus may be the oldest true city in the Americas. T h e residence areas are apartment houselike buildings arranged in carefully laid out rectangular blocks, with city streets running at right angles. Streets and courts were paved with stone and cement, and underground drains were provided for water.
The Monte Alban site in Oaxaca is located on a steep hilltop, and apparendy during its early phase (ca. 800-1 B.C.) was primarily a ceremonial center with temple pyramids. During Phase ii (200 B . C - A.D. 100), the process of urbanization began, but the population concentration never equaled that of Teotihuacan. Street arrangement was less precise due to the unevenness of the terrain.
In Tehuacan Valley the use of modest rectangular temple bases in groups of two or three, arranged about courts, began in the Santa Maria Phase (800-200 B . C ) , more than a thousand years after the introduction of ceramics. During the Palo Blanco Phase (200 B . C - A.D. 700), MacNeish (1964, p. 537) says: "They lived in wattle-and-daub villages or hamlets either oriented toward or adjacent to large hilltop ceremonial centers having elaborate stone pyramids, plazas, ball courts, and other structures. Some of these ruins covered whole mountain tops and in terms of population might be considered cities, albeit sacred cities."
In Chiapas, the first low field-stone platforms were constructed as building foundations between 1000 and 500 B.C. (Lowe, 1959b, pp. 11-21). Arrangement is not clear, and it is uncertain whether these were re- ligious structures or not. By 600 B.C., however, the pyramids constructed at the site of Chiapa de Corzo form a well-developed ceremonial nucleus.
By the Horcones Phase (Chiapa vi, ca. A.D. 1) the low pyramids had cut-stone facings, and contained large tombs with adobe brick walls and timbered roofs
(chart 2-12; Lowe, 1959a). The elaborate tombs show that the idea of erecting mounds for temple substruc- tures had been combined with the simple conical earth mound erected over a central vault as at La Venta. Pyramids sometimes continued to have tombs, as at Kaminaljuyu and Palenque. A true urban phase,
with cities comparable to Teotihuacan or Chan-Chan, does not seem to have developed in Chiapas.
There is no evidence of pyramid construction during the Ocos Phase on the Pacific coast of Guate- mala (M. D. Coe, 1961). Low clay platforms for houses began in the Jocotal Phase (850-800 B.C.), and one site had a single rectangular pyramid 4 meters high (chart 2-15). Coe and Flannery (1967, pp. 89-90) state:
By Crucero times a significant population decrease had taken place in the Ocos area and most settlements had moved inland to the piedmont. T h e late Formative in the G u a t e m a l a n high- lands and along the foot hills of the Pacific coast (the so-called 'Boca Coast') of both G u a t e m a l a and Chiapas, was a time of substantial pyramid building and m o n u m e n t a l sculpture.
Kaminaljuyu in the Miraflores Phase, M o n t e Alto, El Baul and Izapa are some of the most impressive ceremonial sites of this period, and made important contributions to the develop- ment of M a y a civilization.
In Lower Middle America, south of the Maya area, mound building never became popular. Baudez (1963, p. 47) says that in Costa Rica large burial mounds dating between 300 B.C. and A.D. 300 have been reported at Puerto Nuevo.
Ceremonial centers with temples built on platform mounds seem never to have developed to any great extent in Colombia. T h e Cupica Mound on the northern Pacific coast, reported by Alicia and Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff (1962), was a low 1.5 meter high domed structure built in four levels. Burials were made in pits cut down from each level, and apparendy the locality was occupied for several centuries. Al- though no evidence of structures was found, the amount of refuse scattered through the soil and the method of building suggest the house mounds of Mesoamerica.
T h e earliest artificial mounds on the Ecuadorian coast appear to be associated with the Bahia Phase of the Regional Developmental Period (500 B . C - A . D .
500). Estrada (1962, p. 72, fig. 116) describes and illus- trates a group of low rectangular or irregularly shaped earth platforms at Esteros, which have since been destroyed. Jijon y Caamano (1951b, figs. 23-24) provides plans for two rectangular platform mounds formerly existing in nearby Manta. Unlike the Esteros group, the latter had a stone facing and a stairway at one end. A clear example of mound arrangement around a plaza is provided by La Tolita, on the ex- treme north coast of Ecuador. Here, some 40 mounds ranging from 1-75 m. high and from 6 to 41 m. in diameter surround a broad plaza. Unfortunately, the dating of these constructions has not been ascertained.
In the late period, mound building became wide- spread on the coast. During the Milagro Phase (A.D.