American scientists have found in Peru traces of a culture that existed 15 thousand years ago. After analyzing the ancient artifacts, experts came to the conclusion that the people who then lived on the west coast were much more advanced than previously thought. The developed social ties developed between them helped to survive. Lenta.ru talks about a new study published in the journal Science Advances.
Archaeologists know that people who lived on the Pacific coast of the American continents 13 thousand years ago hunted, fished, and were also engaged in gathering. According to the findings, their diet consisted of shellfish and fish, but they sometimes ate the meat of land animals and plant foods. It was from the west coast of America that people who came from the east of Eurasia settled across the continent.
Scientists from the Florida Atlantic University examined cultural deposits from the late Pleistocene and early Holocene (about 15,000 years ago) in Huaca Prieta and Paredones. This is the northern coast of Peru, near the mouth of the Chicama River. Archaeologists have found many artifacts that testify to the high culture of that time. The ancient Peruvians were proficient in the technology and strategies of food gathering at the time, including making traps for catching fish and sea lions.
Earlier in this place were found the remains of marine fauna and stone tools dating back to the middle of the 15th millennium BC. During new excavations, traces of plants (avocados, beans, chili peppers, rush), grasses, shrubs, dwarf trees were found, as well as animal bones. Radiocarbon analysis showed that they are slightly older - they are about 17 thousand years old.
15-10 thousand years ago, due to the accelerated melting of ice across the planet, the sea level rose (by 40-100 meters). The last ice age, which began 110 thousand years ago, was ending. Due to geological features, the flooding in this part of South America was not as strong as in other parts of the Earth, so the coastline did not change much. The researchers concluded that the coastal plain was characterized by grassy vegetation and rows of trees along streams and rivers.
Archaeologist James Adovasio, one of the authors of the work. Photo: Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
The good condition of the animal remains found is due to the arid conditions of the desert surrounding Huaca Prietu and Paredones. The researchers were even able to detect signs of fragmentation and heat treatment on the bones. So, the remains of birds, funeral corpses (Dives warszewiczi), were found, which were probably caught by people and eaten. In addition, scientists have found the bones of a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and sea lions. In total, 281 samples of marine fauna and 3 samples of terrestrial fauna were extracted from the ground. The main objects of ancient fishery were sharks (27.55 percent), sea lions (15.85 percent), seabirds (13.96 percent) and bony fish (12.83 percent).
Most of the remains were found in the littoral area, where there were reservoirs with both fresh water and brackish water. Here flowed streams and rivers flowing into the sea, there were estuaries and beaches. There was a striped mullet (Mugil Cephalus), a marine fish that tolerated the less salty water of the lagoons and river estuaries. This made it easy for the ancient Peruvians to catch her with fishing truncheons and traps.
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No ancient fishhooks or harpoons have been found. This means that all these small sharks (soup and gray) eaten, as well as medium-sized fish (chub, crocker, sciena, hake) were thrown onto the beach by storm tides or were trapped in coastal waters. Scientists believe that ancient people used stones to anchor water traps made from plant stems. The ancient Peruvians could catch birds, like modern hunters, with nets from shelters.
Remains of baskets found during archaeological excavations. Image: Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institut
As for stone tools, they were made from cobblestones of rhyolite, basalt, andesite and quartzite, which were very abundant near the burial mounds. They have only one working side, and they strongly resemble ancient tools of about the same age that have come across archaeologists throughout South America. The earliest artifacts date back to the 15th and the middle of the 14th millennium BC. These are large stones with a sharp edge. Later instruments, 12 thousand years old, are smaller. They could, for example, clean fish from scales.
The isolation of cultural layers in the Huaca Prieta and Paredones deposits indicates that ancient people lived here during certain periods of the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. They did not have boats, double-sided stone tools, harpoons and fish hooks, but this did not prevent them from successfully hunting sea and land animals. Also in the northern part of Peru, many species of plants useful to humans could grow.
Scientists believe that different groups of people living in the area exchanged plant products and tools. This symbiotic relationship was beneficial because it reduced the risk of unfortunate consequences from sudden changes in environmental conditions. However, this required a certain knowledge of natural ecosystems and economic relations from a person, which could be obtained through trial and error.
Alexander Enikeev
