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Prehistoric Flood Management on the Peruvian Coast: Reinterpreting the “Sunken Fields” of Chilca

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Gregory Knapp
Gregory Knapp*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison WI 53706
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Abstract

Prehistoric agricultural landforms at Chilca, Peru have been traditionally identified as sunken fields, excavated basins designed to provide planting surfaces close to the natural water table. Analysis of the morphology, physical context, and recent use of the features indicates that this view is incorrect, and that the bulk of the features are flood control embankments. Parallels with similar systems elsewhere in the Americas are described, and the implications for reconstructing prehistoric agricultural processes are explored.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 47 , Issue 1 , January 1982 , pp. 144 - 154
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1982

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References

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