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New Chronometric Dates for the Puquios of Nasca, Peru

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Persis B. Clarkson  and
Ronald I. Dorn
Persis B. Clarkson
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage: Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9, Canada
Ronald I. Dorn
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-0104
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Abstract

Numeric age assessments of organic material encapsulated by rock varnish present on stone lintels of two “puquios” in the Nasca region of the south coast of Peru indicate a Precolumbian age. Accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon analyses at the Isotrace Laboratory revealed ages of cal A. D. 560(620)650 and cal A. D. 600(640)660 (1 sigma). These calibrated measurements are considered to be appropriate in the context of the archaeological settlement pattern data for the region. As well, the written documents of the colonial period neither confirm nor deny the presence of the puquios. Three assumptions are inherent in the acceptance of these dates: (1) AMS 14C dating and its application to rock varnish yield reliable results, (2) sample contamination can be recognized, and (3) determination of the age of the puquios rests upon testable available information; ex silentio arguments about the presence or absence of the puquios in the Nasca region before the Spanish conquest are inadequate for the resolution of the question.

Se ha determinado la edad cronológica en los dinteles de dos puquios de la región de Nasca, costa sur del Perú, en base a material orgánico encapsulado en barniz de roca; los fechados indican que los puquios son prehispanicos. Los estudios radiocarbonicos de espectrometría por aceleración de masa (14C ACM) realizados en los laboratorios Isotrace han proporcionado dos fechas radiocarbonicas calibradas 560(620)650 D. C. y 600(640)660 D. C. (1 sigma) respectivamente. Estas fechas calibradas se consideran apropriadas dentro del contexto de los patrones de asentamiento prehistórico de la región de Nasca, entendiendo además que los documentos coloniales no confirman ni niegan la existencia de puquios en la zona. Tres premisas son inherentes a la aceptación de estos fechados: (1) el fechamiento de 14C mediante ACM proporciona resultados fiables e aceptables para el estudio del barniz de roca, (2) cualquier contaminación de las muestras puede ser detectada, y (3) la determinación de la edad de los puquios se basa en técnicas reproducibles y datos verificables. El uso de argumentos ex silentio no es adecuado para demostrar si los acueductos existieron o no en tiempos prehispanicos.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , March 1995 , pp. 56 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1995

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