2da Temporada Cardal

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The Second Season of Investigations at the Initial Period Center of Cardal, PeruAuthor(s): Richard Burger and Lucy Salazar-BurgerSource: Journal of Field Archaeology, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Autumn, 1991), pp. 275-296Published by: Maney PublishingStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/529934 .

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The Second Seasonof Investigationsat theInitial Period Center of Cardal,PeruRichardBurgerYale UniversityNew Haven, ConnecticutLucy Salazar-BurgerYale Peabody Museum of Natural HistoryNew Haven, ConnecticutThe1987/1988 field seasonat the U-shaped ivicceremonial enterofCardalin theLurinValley,Peru, includedmappingand excavationofpublicand domestic rchitecture.Occu-pied rom 1150 to 800 b.c., Cardalprovides videnceofa moreelaborategroundplan thanwaspreviously ecognized, ncludingdual causewayed lazas,and 10 semisubterraneanir-cular courts.Excavationsofthepublicarchitecture evealed heperiodicburial and con-structionofritual buildings, ncludinga steepcentralstairwayand an atrium whose xte-rior wall was decoratedwithapolychromemuralofagaantic mouthband withmassivefangs and interlockingeeth. The investigations n thepyramid ummit alsoyieldedevi-denceofafree-standing buildingwitha dual altar, and a burialarea.Informationon do-mesticarchitecture nd subsistence ecoveredfrom behind hepubliccomplexs also dis-cussed.Finally,Cardal is comparedo Garagay,a coevalU-shaped enter n theneighboringRimac Valley,and it is arguedthat theevidence vailabledoesnotsupport hehypothesishat thesemonumentalcenterswereconstructedby"complexocieties"n the tra-ditionalsenseofthe term.

IntroductionCardal was one of the four civic-ceremonial centers inthe lower Lurin Valley of Peru during the late InitialPeriod (FIG. i). Its most conspicuous features are themonumental terraced platforms laid out in a U-shapedformat around a large central courtyard. Other features,like the small free-standing buildings of Cardal'sresiden-tial section, are visible only after excavation. The entiresite covers some 20 ha, but the habitation areaappearstohave been confined to a small portion of it, perhaps only2 or 3 ha.First discovered in 1967 by Thomas C. Patterson andstudied the next year by his student HarryScheele (1970),Cardal was the focus of excavation in 1985 and 1987/1988 by the Proyecto Lurin (Burger 1987). With thecompletion of the second field season, our knowledge ofCardalhas been considerablybroadenedand surpasses hatcurrently available for any of the other 30-odd InitialPeriod centers with U-shaped public architecturebetweenthe valleys of Lurin and Pativilca (Ravines and Isbell1976; Williams 1971, 1980).An overall sense of Cardal'schronology and subsistencesystem was achieved by the end of the second field season.

It was established that the site had been founded ca. 1150b.c. (uncalibrated) and was continuously occupied untilca. 800 b.c. At present, 27 radiocarbonmeasurements areavailable (TABLE), ranging from 3120 b.p. to 2690 b.p.This suite of measurements includes samples from someof the oldest as well as most recent deposits at the site.The pottery recovered during the excavationsis consistentwith the late Initial Period age implied by the "C mea-surements.Located less than 1 km from the Lurin River, Cardal'sposition would have offered direct access to the rich al-luvial bottomlands. During the late Initial Period, thefertile banks of the valley adjacent to Cardal must havebeen watered by gravity canals from river intakes furtherupstream and/or springs like the one found today at Pande Azucar, the large rock outcrop facing Cardal. Thisspring at present provides irrigation water for cultivatingthe valley floor, supplementing the canalized river flow(Matos et al. 1964). While Initial Period canals have yetto be located, it would not have been possible to maintaina population large enough to build the Initial Period cen-ters of Cardal, Mina Perdida, Parka, and Manchay Bajobased on floodplain farming alone. The structuresat Car-

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276 Investigationst Cardal,Peru/Burger ndSalazar-Burger

dal alone represent labor in excess of two million person-days.'Cardal occupies a pocket of land surrounded on threesides by the rocky slopes of an Andean spur. Technically,this spot is a pediment, a fan-like geomorphological for-mation. The silt and angulargravel eroded from the slopesabove compose the subsoil underlying all of the culturaldeposits, and also cover the cultural remains in much ofthe site. The resulting soils are of poor quality from anagriculturalperspective (ONERN 1975). Moreover, Car-dal would have been difficult to irrigate during the InitialPeriod, since it is located 20 to 30 m above the floodplain.The canalrunning along the lower side of Cardaldamageda portion of the site's western platform and definitelypostdates the constructions. The maximum elevation canalcurrently used to irrigate the site's plaza must have beenbuilt at an even later date. As noted in an earlier study,there is no evidence for the Initial Period irrigation of theplaza area or any other part of the site (Burger 1987:366-368). It would therefore seem that the lands onwhich Cardal was founded were not used for agricultureduring the Initial Period, and that this may have been afactor in its selection, along with its proximity to the lowerirrigated farmlands and its natural protection against sea-sonal riverine flooding.An additional advantage of Cardal's location wouldhave been its proximity to the area of seasonal fog vege-tation (lomas).At present, highland herders of goats andcattle descend on the slopes overlooking the site in Julyto take advantage of the lomas vegetation, and there areeven richer lomas resources within 45 minutes by foot.The recovery in our excavations of plant remains (Umlauf1988) and large land snails (Scutulus sp.) native to thelomas show that the Initial Period farmers at Cardal ex-ploited this habitat for food, fuel, and perhaps medicinalplants. There is likewise evidence for the gathering ofrushes and the hunting of small game along the river'sedge.Although the shoreline is two hours on foot from Car-dal, it was the ocean that provided most of the animalprotein for Cardal's residents (TABLE2). Otoliths of me-dium-sized fish such as lorna (Sciaenadeliciosa)and corvina(Sciaena gilberti) are particularly conspicuous, but even

* s i s i c a y a

P E R U C h i l l a c oMalpasoAPalm0

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ManchayBajoA INITIAL PERIOD SITEScARDAL A Civic-Religious center

Parka Mina Perdida Small siteM o d e r n t o w n

Pachacamac0

15P. -Lurin KilometersPACIFIC

?.4O~I:.CFAM&K.:

Figure 1. Map of the Lurin Valley showing the location of Cardal andother Initial Period/Early Horizon sites.

more important in the diet were small fish such as an-chovies (Engravulidae). The intensity of anchovy con-sumption only becomes apparentwhen the excavated soilmatrix is submitted to flotation or fine screening (Reitz,personal communication, 1987). Molluscs, particularlymussels and clams, arethe most frequently-recoveredfoodresidues using standard archaeological methods, and theywere clearly of importance for daily subsistence. Othermarine foods like crab and sea urchins were also occasion-ally eaten (Huaypaya, personal communication, 1987).Preliminary analysis of the bird bone by Elizabeth Reitzand Diana Matthiesen likewise indicates a heavy maritimeemphasis. The consumption of sea birds, including booby,cormorant, gull, and pelican was surprisingly common.Although terrestrialgame, especially deer, was sometimesgarnered, it appears to have been relatively unimportantin the daily diet. Camelid bone appearsin small quantitiesfrom the refuse. The species of these animals has yet tobe determined, but they do not appear to represent amajor source of animal protein either (Miller, personalcommunication, 1989).

Along with most other investigators (e.g., Patterson1983) we believe that the late Initial Period economy ofU-shaped centers like Cardal was fundamentally agrarianand that the bulk of the diet, at least from a caloric stand-point, was composed of plant foods. The wide range ofcultigens availablealong the central coast during the InitialPeriod has been well documented at sites like Anc6n,which have close to optimal conditions for preservation.Nevertheless, the staple crops at Cardal have yet to bedetermined, though sweet potato, manioc, and maize areall plausible candidates. At Cardal,where the preservation

1. Thomas Patterson (personal communication 1982) has estimatedthe labor required to build the central and lateral platform mounds tobe 1,614,933 person-days. If the public works involved in constructingthe elevated central plaza and the newly documented, more northerlyplaza features are taken into account, however, this figure has to berevised upward to approximately 2 million person-days (Burger 1987:366). The basis for these calculations is summarized elsewhere (Patterson1983).



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JournalofFieldArchaeology/Vol.8, 1991 277

Table 1. Radiocarbon measurements from Cardal and Mina Perdida, Lurin Valley, Peru.RadiocarbonProvenience Laboratory o. Material years*

CardalSector IIA, floor of wall M-2, Units 1-14,121 charcoal 3030 + 90406/407Sector IIA, upper floor of wall M-32, 1-14,122 charcoal 2880 + 90Units 408/406Sector IIA, Stratum O, Units 39/45 1-14,123 charcoal 2880 ? 90Sector IIA, Stratum T, Unit 47 1-14,130 charcoal 3120 + 90Sector IIA, Floor 2, Unit 445 1-14,770 charcoal 2850 + 90Sector IIA, Floor 3, Unit 445 1-14,772 charcoal 2800 + 90Sector IIA, Stratum C, Unit 443E I-14,771 charcoal 2690 + 90Sector IIA, fill covering mural on the I-15,564t fiber bag 2850 + 80exterior face of the atrium, MiddleTempleSector IIIA, Room B, Unit 271, Floor I-14,247 charcoal 2730 + 9012Sector IIIA, Room B, Units 247/253/ I-14,238 charcoal 2750 + 90254, Stratum i2 on Floor 6BSector IIIA, Room B, Stratum C, GX-1622 charcoal 2850 ?- 105100-110 cm (Scheele 1970)Sector IIIA, same as GX-1622 GX-1623 charcoal 2935 + 110(Scheele 1970)Sector IIIA, fill covering mural on the I-14,249t fiber bag 2800 ?- 90exterior face of the atrium, MiddleTempleSector IIIA, fill covering mural of atrium, I-15,565t fiber bag 2930 + 80Middle TempleSector IIIA, fill covering staircase#4 I-15,566t fiber bag 2920 +- 80Sector IIIA, Exc. 3, Unit 535 1-15,567t charcoal 2900 + 80Sector IIIA, Exc. 3, Units 363/362, 1-15,568t charcoal 2930 + 80Stratume, open fireSector IIIA, Exc. 3, Units 363/362, 1-15,568t charcoal 2930 + 80stratume, open fireSector IIIA, Exc. 3, Units 363/364/370, 1-15,569t charcoal 2950 + 80Stratum i, on top of staircaseSector IIIB, Exc. 2, Units 109/112, I1-14,132 charcoal 3050 + 90Floor 6Sector IIIB, Exc. 2, Units 113/114, I1-14,133 charcoal 3060 + 90Floor 6Sector IIIB, Unit 212, Stratum d6 1-14,124 charcoal 3050 + 90Sector IIIB, Exc. 1, Units 7/10, Floor 2 1-14,131 charcoal 2980 + 90Sector IIIB, Exc. 6, Units 1-6, 1-15,570t charcoal 3060 + 80StratumdSector V, Unit 126, Stratum c 1-14,125 charcoal 2880 + 90Sector V, Unit 259, Stratum d 1-14,125 charcoal 3070 + 90Sector V, Southern extension Units I-14,251 charcoal 2980 ?- 9040/41/43, Floor 1Mina PerdidaEasternwing, fill beneath levelled surface I-14,252 fiber bag 2870 - 90Central platform, fill beneath summit 1-14,253 fiber bag 2900 -t 90Central platform, burned floor in eastern 1-14,254 charcoal 3120 ? 90section, severalmeters beneath summitsurfaceWestern wing, approx. 3 m beneath 1-15,577 fiber bagt 2960 ? 80summit surface*Conventional measurementsutilizing the Libby half-life without calibration.tSamples collected during 1987/1988 field season.tSample has a '3C value of 26.0 relative to the PBD standard. The normalized age using this value becomes2790 + 90 b.p. (T. Buckley, personal communication 1985).

is generally poor due to the proximity of the lomas andrecent irrigation, we have recovered remains of variousdomesticated crops including maize, squash, hot pepper,beans, bottle gourds, and peanuts, as well as fruits likeguava, pacae, and lucuma (Umlauf 1988). Although thepeople responsible for building Cardal are presumed to



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Table 2. Animals identified from Cardal.Scientificame CommonameAnisotremusspp. SargoAnthozoa CoralAnura Frog/toadArdeidae Heron familyAriidae Sea catfish familyCamelid spp. Camelid familyCanidae Dog familyCervid spp. DeerClupeidae Herring familyColumbidae Dove familyCricetidae RodentEchinoderm Sea urchinEngraulidae Anchovy familyFalconiformes Bird of prey orderHaemulidae Grunt familyLagidium peruanum VizcachaLaridae Gull familyLarus spp. GullParalabraxspp. CabrillaParalonchurus eruanus CocoPasseriformes Song bird orderPelecanusspp. PelicanPhalacrocoraxpp. CormorantProcellariiformes Tube-nosed swimmer order

(i.e., shearwaters)Sciaenadeliciosa Drum (lorna)Sciaenagilberti Drum (corvina)Scomberomorusspp. MackerelScombridae Mackerel familySphyrna pp. Hammerhead sharkSula spp. Booby

have been farmers, it is difficult to demonstrate this, otherthan by recourse to circumstantialarguments, such as thesite's location. Among the artifacts recovered from therefuse and burials are cobbles with pecked central holesand considerableedge wear. These areinterpretedby manyinvestigators, including ourselves, as clod breakers and/ordigging stick weights (e.g., Disselhoff 1967: 212; Burger1984: 197). If so, these materials would confirm the factthat the residents of Cardalwere actively involved in cul-tivation. The recovery of cotton seeds and other non-edible cultigen residues in the refuse provide complemen-tary evidence for the processing of cultigens in householdcontexts.Residential Areas

From the outset, the center of Cardalwas dedicated topublic activities within the context of monumental con-structions, while the southern edge (Sector IIIB) was usedfor habitation (Burger 1987: 370-371). The 1987/1988excavationsconfirmed the distribution of house structuresand refuse throughout this southern sector. The buildingsappearto be dispersed, rather than agglomerated; and thehouses are associated with fairly extensive patios, which

probablywere the focus of most domesticactivities. t isunlikely,consideringthis utilization of space, that theresidentialpopulation n this sector of the site couldhaveexceeded300 people.Aswillbe seen,there s alsoevidencefor a limitednumberof habitations n the summitof thepyramid-platformsuringthe centurypriorto the aban-donmentof the site.Oneof theprincipal bjectives f the second ieldseasonwas to locate additional ones of habitation, f such areasexisted.Our efforts ocusedon the largeopen areas o theeast and north of the publicarchitecture.Testpitson theopen plainto the east of the site yieldedno evidenceofstructures.Only sparsecultural emainswererecoverednone cut and the otherpitswereculturallyterile.Similarly,surveyandsystematicestingof the northern one didnotrevealany significant vidence of residentialoccupation.Thus, it appearshat the population ivingat Cardalmayhave been small. It would seem plausible hatthis centerserveda larger,but lessarchaeologicallyisiblepopulationscattered n isolated homesteadsand hamletsalong thevalleyflooror slopes,as suggested by Ravinesand Isbell(1976: 266-267) for Garagay.Remains of such settle-ments were not discovered n earliersurveysby Patterson,Scheele,and others,nor have such remainsbeen docu-mented in the neighboringRimacValley.Nevertheless,the hypothesisof a dispersedruralpopulation inked tothe centerswith monumentalarchitecture annot be con-vincinglyevaluatedwithout a comprehensiveurface ur-vey supplemented y a strategyof subsurfacetesting.Fi-nally, the area to the west of Cardalcurrentlyundercultivationhas yet to be investigatedandmay stillyieldnew evidenceof occupation.At Cardal,as in laterprehistoricAndeancommunities,it is possibleto identifyrepetitivearchitecturalnd arti-factualpatterns hat constitutethe basic modularunitswithin the residential rea seeStanish1989; also Bawden1982 andTellenbach1986). It is generallypresumedhatthese segregatedbuildingsor groups of structuresandtheir associated eatures, eferred o ashouseholdclustersin MesoamericaWinter1976), arethe archaeologicalx-pressionof the minimalunit of those people who livedtogetherand shared n basic domestic activities(Stanish1989: 11). Judgingfrom the size of the housestructuresat Cardal, the households here may have corresponded tonuclear families or modified nuclear families, as was thecase in Inca times and has been documented for 19th and20th century Quechua communities.The basic household cluster in Cardal's Sector IIIB in-cluded a rectangularhouse structure, an outdoor kitchenarea, an open patio, a toss zone for refuse, burials, astorage structure, and, possibly, an outer perimetric wall.



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Figure 2. Photograph of a residential structure excavated in Sector IIIB, from the south.

One example (FIG. 2) was excavated during the secondfield season. The house measured 6 m x 5.46 m and wasdivided into four rooms during its finalperiod of use. Thelower walls of this building were constructed of irregularangular stones laid in mud with the occasional inclusionof small, irregularovoid adobes. The interior and exteriorof the walls were plastered with mud and finished with afine layerof light clay. Since there is little evidence of wallfall, it is likely that the upper portions of the structurewere made of perishablematerial, such as wattle-and-daub(quincha),perhaps supporting a flat, thatched roof. Thereis no indication of hearths or cooking inside the rooms,but the burned corner of the passageway area behind thedwelling suggests that cooking was done in the open,adjacentto the residence.The dead were interred in and around the housesthroughout Sector IIIB, and during the excavation of thecomplete house two separate pit burials were uncovered.An open patio existed in front of the building and a smallstructure with bin-like compartments was located behind

it, probably for household storage of foodstuffs. Similarhouses and free-standing storage features were encoun-tered during the first field season (Burger 1987: fig. 7).High, dry-laid walls were uncovered and may have origi-nally encircled these residential complexes. The five radio-carbon measurements of samples from houses in SectorIIIB have produced dates ranging from 1110 b.c. to 1030b.c.The Cardal household clusters differ significantly fromthe domestic architecture reported from the north coastat the Initial Period site of Montegrande (Tellenbach1986: 215-224). In contrast to Cardal, the houses atMontegrande generally consisted of a single rectangularroom with a stone-lined rectangularor circularhearth nearthe center of the floor. Moreover, the Montegrande houseshave interior areas with modes of only 12.7 sq m and 7.8sq m, less than half the size of the well-documented housesat Cardal. From a technological perspective, the Monte-grande houses feature thin, plastered walls of cane set inclay; they lack the thick stone and clay wall bases seen at



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. .........7A

Figure 3. Photograph of the southern side of the dual altar found on the summit of the central mound(Sector IIIA). The view is to the north and the central plaza and eastern lateralwing of the pyramidcomplex are seen in the background.



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Cardal. Finally, the subsurface pits and formal storagestructures characteristic of Cardal are absent from Mon-tegrande domestic areas. Thus the newly discoveredhouses at Cardal do not resemble Initial Period housesfrom Montegrande in size, construction technique, or lay-out, and this contrast points to the potential of delineatingregional traditions of domestic architecture to comple-ment ongoing investigations of the diverse traditions ofmonumental architecture.

During the first field season, a free-standing, multi-room building (Scheele's Room B) was uncovered on thepyramid summit that resembled the habitations below inits architecture and associated refuse. Its walls were thickerand higher than the buildings in Sector IIIB and verticallog timbers were apparently set into the center of itsexterior wall, presumably to support the roof. The utili-zation of a recessed jamb technique to decorate its door-ways likewise suggests greater elaboration in the architec-ture. This complex, however, is similar to the other housesin the arrangement and size of rooms, the high doorwaythresholds, the building materials and techniques, and theoutside cooking arrangement. It was originally presumedthat this and other summit households belonged to socialunits of higher status than those housed below, but con-temporaneity of the dwellings of the two areas has yet tobe established. An alternative possibility is that the resi-dential area was shifted to the pyramid summit late inCardal'shistory, perhaps reflecting changes in local socialorganization and ideology. The '4C dates from our exca-vation of the summit residence described here were 800b.c. (1-14,238) and 780 b.c. (1-14,247).Another possible residence on the summit was investi-gated during the second field season. This structure like-wise dates to the final period of public architecture. It washeavily damaged by erosion in the nearly three millenniasince Cardal's abandonment, and only the bases of thewalls remained. In one of the rooms the interior walls hadbeen painted black and a pit hearth was located in thecenter of the chamber.This structure had been built abovean earlier building of very different character.

Set on its own low platform on the summit, the olderbuilding consisted of a series of small rooms and narrowpassageways.Access to its interior was by way of a broad,inset staircasewhich narrows abruptlybefore reaching thetop of the platform. The main featuresof this complex aretwo centralrectangularrooms, each with a three-level altarset back-to-back against a common wall (FIG. 3). Theidentical altars were apparently connected by a window.Seen from the side, these altars resemble the "step-block"motif so often depicted on the Initial Period ceramics ofAnc6n and other contemporary sites. The symmetrical

gi01:::

Figure 4. Graffito of a circular face etched on the wall face next to thenorthern stepped altar (Sector IIIA).

arrangement of these altars points strongly to the dualorganization of religious worship in some of the cere-monies at Cardal.Graffitihad been carved on the wall face next to one ofthe altars. The themes appearto be related to the religiousideology, rather than the profane subjects. Among theseimages is a concentric cross, a complex winged figure, around face (FIG. 4), and a profile head with a nasal extru-sion or scroll, reminiscent of the Garagay mural. InitialPeriod graffiti with religious themes also exist in areasofceremonial activity at Garagay and Huaca Lucia, and alater case has been documented for Cahuachi (Shimada1986: 177-179; Silverman 1987: figs. 23-26; WilliamIsbell, personal communication 1984). Judging from14C measurements associated with this altar complex, itsconstruction was completed prior to 2950 + 80 b.p.(1-15,569), and it appears to be roughly contemporarywith the atrium of the Middle Temple.The Atrium Zone of the Central Mound

One of the principal areas of excavation during the1987/1988 field season was the atrium zone of SectorIIIA at the apex of the U-shaped complex. The atrium islocated at the very center of the terraced pyramid. Themain axis of the site, along which paired causewayedplazasand pairedcircularcourts were arranged,bisects this localeof obvious symbolic and ritual significance (FIG. 5). Infact, it would appear that a N-s ceremonial pathway ledfrom steep slopes to the north of the site up to the centralplazabelow the staircase of the atrium.2Before excavation,

2. Other areaswith atria appearto exist at Cardal. Exploratoryworkon the eastern platform has tentatively identified an atrium in the centerof this mound. The mural fragment discovered by Scheele (1970) prob-ably decorated the exterior walls of this atrium.



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0II I

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B DualAltar

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Figure 5. Plan of the public architectureat Cardal.

a depression in the 12-m-high mound suggested that anatrium existed in this spot and exploratory investigationsin 1985 located the walls defining the atriumand the openlanding in front of it. One of the reasons for studying thisarea was to document public architecture directly com-parable in location and function with that studied byRavines and Isbell (1967) on Monticulo B at Garagay,inorder to better evaluate the relationship between the cer-emonial architecture of coeval Initial Period centers inLurin and Rimac. The atrium and landing at Cardal arelocated along the principal axis of the site, which runs 170

east of true north, and in the middle of the centralmound.The central pyramid (Sector IIIA) at Cardal measuresapproximately 130 m x 45 m, and its exterior consistedof stone retaining walls plastered with clay. In the laterbuilding phases, the northern face of the pyramidincludedat least three terrace levels, the first of which measuredapproximately 2 m in height. It was canted back forgreater stability, and painted with dark red pigment. Asin the rest of the public architecture, the pyramid wallswere made of coarse, irregular stone quarried from theadjacentslopes to the east and set in clay mortar brought



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from the banks of the Lurin River to the west. Claydeposits suitable for construction do not exist at the siteitself.Access to the atrium area was by way of a massivecentral staircaseset into the paramentof the pyramid.Thestaircase measured 6.5 m in width and was constructed ofstone rubble and earth encased in a thick layer of clay.Excavationsexposed a sequence of four superimposedcen-tral stairways that display little change over time in loca-tion and orientation (FIGS.6, 7). The final and most heav-ily damaged staircase (Staircase 1) led to the final set ofpublic summit constructions, dubbed the Late Temple.The second and third staircases (Staircase2 and Staircase3) correspond to the Middle Temple's original staircaseand its replacement during a major phase of renovation.It is likely that the most deeply buried of the stairwaysdiscovered is associated with the atrium of a still oldertemple level, most of which was not uncovered. Additionalstaircases and atria probably exist within the core of thecentral mound.The three staircasesof the Middle and Late Temples areconstructed in a similar manner. The general form of thesteps is produced by medium-sized stones encased in athick layer of clay; most of the hearting of the staircasesconsists of earth and gravel. The steps are unusually low(14-16 cm) and narrow (16-18 cm), with a pitch (orgradient angle) greater than 400. The resulting staircase ssteep and difficult to scale. At the same time, it is visuallyvery impressive, and its steepness serves to emphasize thegreat height of the artificialpyramid.The stairs themselvesare inherently fragile and incapable of sustaining heavyuse. There are 34 steps in Staircase2 of the Middle Tem-ple, including several steps that extend beyond the face ofthe stepped pyramid (FIG. 6). In the final staircase(Stair-case 1), and perhaps in the earlier ones as well, the laststep was extended laterallyto form a low, narrow pedestalat the pyramid's base. The builders plastered the surfaceof the steps with light clay and painted the sidewalls ofthe staircasewhite. The steps rose without break directlyfrom ground level at the foot of the pyramidto the atriumlevel-a height of almost 8 m in the case of the LateTemple and 6 m in that of the Middle Temple. The earliestof the four staircasesdiffers from the others. It has broadersteps (19-22 cm) and larger stones were used to give thestairs their form.

At the top of the central staircase of the Middle andLate Temples there was a narrow landing open on thenorth overlooking the plaza and steep steps. The well-preserved Middle Temple provides a clear idea of thearchitecturaldesign (FIG. 8). The landing is defined by theexterior face of the 2-m-thick atrium wall on its south and

by parallel platform walls on the east and west. The re-sulting U-shaped construction overlooked the centralplaza, and activities on the landing could be viewed frombelow. A low-relief clay mural decorates the walls of thelanding, flanking the broad entryway into the atrium(FIGS. 9, 10). This frieze was part of the facadeof theMiddle Temple. It was created at the same time as Stair-case 3, and it continued to be visible while Staircase2 wasin use.An approximatedate for the sculpting of the frieze andthe construction of the Middle Temple in general is of-fered by a radiocarbon measurement of 2920 ? 80 b.p.(1-15,566), derived from a shicrafiber bag in the fill usedto cover Staircase4. The process of building the MiddleTemple began with the laying of this fill. The age of themural can be bracketedby two measurements from shicrabags used to fill in the Middle Temple and cover its dec-oration. The two resulting dates from this material,whichmust immediately postdate the final use of the mural,produced ages of 2800 ? 90 b.p. (1-14,249) and 2850? 80 b.p. (1-15,564). Thus the preliminaryresultssuggestthat the Middle Temple and its frieze were completedaround 970 b.c. and that it may have been utilized forabout a century. Sometime during this period, a majorrenovation of the atrium complex was carried out, inwhich a new staircase was superimposed immediatelyabove the original one, and a new, slightly higher floorwas added to the landing and parts of the atrium.

The combination of the fluctuating humidity and ab-sorption of salts, compounded by the poor wall construc-tion and lackof building foundations, haveproducedprob-lems of conservation. The upper portion of the landingwall and its decoration were destroyed when part of theLate Temple collapsed into the plaza sometime after Car-dal was abandoned. Fortunately for archaeologists, mostof the mural of the Middle Temple was protected andpreserved by the bagged fill that was deposited around itin order to build the Late Temple.The mural (FIG. 10) represents a mouth band of inter-locking triangularteeth and massive upper fangs. A lowerhorizontal band, painted red and probably representingthe lower lip, runs below the teeth, and a parallelupper liponce existed above them, judging from a few poorly-preserved fragments in the western side of the landing.The upper fangs overlap the lower lip and were paintedyellow, thereby contrasting with the lips. The most com-plete of the remaining fangs measures over 1 m in length.The end of the mouthband facing the atrium entryway isleft open with the lower lip turned downward. Evidencefrom the 1985 excavations revealed a symmetrical imageon the landing walls to the west of the entryway. When



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..... ....

1141.iiiiiii~iiiiii4L

o w iOw~l Aw l

Figure 6. Photograph of the lower terrace and superimposed central staircases 1, 2, and 3 of the centralplatform (Sector IIIA). The view is to the SE.



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13.:0Q-ack6 Staircase . , :,,,: ., ,;, . - .... r-;2' -:. 60o.

....

Qtonen0.0e Fl " ,WBack FaFRIEZE

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Staircdsei~"iC~S t n e a d

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Figure7. Sectionprofile howingthe superpositionf constructionsn the atrium n Sector IIA,includingragments f staircasesf theLateTemple 1), MiddleTemple 2 and3), and the precedingbuilding tage(4).seen fromthe plaza,the muralrepresentationould havebeen seenas a singlefrontal angedmouth with an open-inginthemiddle orthe atrium ntryway,r as two profilemouths.The mural s enormousandeasilyseen from the openplazas. t wasintentionallypositionedsome 80 cm abovethe landingfloor so that the terracingof the pyramid-platformwould not obstructthe view from below.Visi-bility s further nhancedby the sculptedreliefemployed.The modelingprojectssome 15 cm from the face of thewall.Judgingfromthe multiple ayersof clayand paint,the muralwasfrequently epaired nd,in somecases,thecolor scheme was reversed.Beforebeing filled n for theconstructionof the Late Temple,the polychromemuralwaswhitewashed.Whilethe frieze shows evidenceof numerousrenova-tions, the landingitself displaystraces of only a singlerefurbishment. new floorwas laid down on top of theoriginalsurfaceand separatedrom it by a thin layerofearthandgravel.Thisupper loor articulates ithStaircase2 (FIG.7).Ourstratigraphicbservations n thestaircase,landing,and atriumwere facilitatedby a largecut madeby vandals n the center of the summit,probablyduringColonialtimes.A similardisturbance ccurredat nearbyMinaPerdida Bonavia1965) andat HuacaLaFloridanthe RimacValley.A smallwall was added o theNwcornerof thelanding.It differs n thicknessandsurfacingrom the otherwalls,and it mayhavebeenconstructedo helpstabilize he fillcovering hefriezeduring hebuildingof theLateTemple.No comparableeatureabuts he NEcornerof thelanding.

The atrium (FIGS. 7, 8) is a large rectangular roommeasuring 13.5 m (E-w) x 9.4 m (N-s). Its massive wallsrise 2.1 m, and their upper section is decorated by a plainclay coping or cornice beginning 1.5 m above the floor(FIG. 11). This slightly-rounded clay band is attached tothe wall in the same manner as the polychrome muraloutside. The walls, like the platform terraces and the sidesof the atrium stairways,are canted so that the tops of thewalls are set back up to 60 cm from the wall base. Theconstruction of the walls is the same asthat of the landing,but the finishing of the wall surfaces was done with fine,unpigmented light-brown clay plaster. The room was re-plastered on more than one occasion without changes incolor or decoration.

A U-shaped portion of the floor along the back andsides of room was differentiated from the chamber'scenterby a small rise, comparable in concept but not in magni-tude to the two- or three-level floors found in the cere-monial chambers in many regions of the Andes. Accessfrom the landing was by way of a broad entryway, ap-proximately 1.5 m in width. The western side of thisentrance was destroyed by the vandalism mentioned ear-lier. There is no evidence of the massive posts that wouldhave been necessary to support a roof over the atrium.There are, however, small postholes indicating the pres-ence of poles, perhaps to support some covering for pro-tection and shade along the sides of the room.A wedge-shaped back staircase 3.5 m in width led outof the inner atrium chamber and onto a higher platformsurface on the flattened summit of this section of thetemple mound. There are additional buildings at this level,



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III

I II II I

I

I II

I

I Io o

A-]- ---- ---- 4 ---------- _-- --- A

' I L__ ______ __ ___ __ __

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0_2m___lychrome FriezeS Later Addition

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Figure 8. Plan of the atrium area of Sector IIIA and central staircase of the Middle Temple.



14/23

JournalofFieldArchaeologylVol.8, 1991 287

FRIEZE RedE YellowFigure 9. Hypothetical reconstruction of the Middle Temple's outerwalls, centralstaircase, and decorated landing (Sector IIIA).

but they have yet to be uncovered. Evidence was alsofound of a smaller lateral staircase set into the middle ofthe western wall of the atrium; a symmetricalcounterpartof it probably exists on the eastern side of the room. Thewestern staircase leads up to the flattened top of the wall,which could have been used as a walkwayand/or a landingproviding access to yet-undocumented lower rooms in thedepression to the west of the atrium area.The floor of the landing and atrium lackedresidues fromthe activities carried out there. Sections of the originalfloor of the atrium and landing were apparently exposedto fire, however, judging from the heat-reddened color ofthe floor in these areas. Portions of the atrium floor wererenovated, but not the entire room.As noted, the construction of the Late Temple beganwith the filling of the atrium and landing of the MiddleTemple with bagged fill. During the initial part of theseactivities, a series of burialswas made in pits dug into theatrium floor or in the initial layer of fill deposited in theroom. The stratigraphy leaves no doubt that these inter-ments postdate the use of the Middle Temple and predatethe completion of the Late Temple.The bodies were interred in flexed positions, usuallyfacing down without a standardized orientation. Malesand females of a broad range of ages are represented.Theburial rite appears to have included the wrapping of thebody in cloth and fiber mats, often after the applicationof red pigment to the region of the head. Burial goodswere rarely recovered and, when encountered, they wereusually confined to simple items of personal adornmentand tools used in daily life, such as spindle whorls, cookingpots, and perforated stones interpreted as agricultural m-plements.There was, however, one distinctive burial (#13) of anadult male of special status. Unlike the others, he wasburied wearing red-painted bone earspools and a necklace

of 13 large canine teeth. The drilled canines have beententatively identified as those of male sea lions, each ofwhich has a pair of such fangs. The earspools are alsomade from sea mammal bone, possibly whale or dolphin.The buried individual held a painted bone tool (punzdn),which may have served as a weaving implement.The variation of age and sex in the burial population,as well as the nature of the grave goods, argues againstthe interpretation of these interments as human offerings.The pit burials and occasional utilitarian grave goods in-stead seem to conform to the pattern of interment docu-mented from the residential area of Sector IIIB.

The atrium burials are not randomly distributedthroughout the chamber. All of them are located justinside the entryway,along the site's centerline. None werefound in the ample space adjacent to the southern oreastern walls, despite the crowded situation in the entry-way. The selection of this spot, like the burial in the atriumarea itself, must be understood in terms of the cosmologyof the builders of Cardal and their beliefs concerning theafterlife.The Atriumof the LateTemple

When the Late Temple was built, the Middle Temple'satrium was buried with care so as not to damage eitherits friezes or the clay surfacing of the second staircase orwalls. The composition of the fill varied. Some portionsof the chamber were filled mainly with bagged stone andrubble, while other portions contained large quantities ofsilt and gravel.These lenses of fill interdigitate, reinforcingthe stability of this unconsolidated material. Ritual en-tombment, like that describedfor the atriumof the MiddleTemple, can be documented for much of Cardal'shistory.It is a feature held in common with other early civic-ceremonial centers in coastal and highland Peru (e.g.,Izumi and Terada 1972: 30; Burger and Salazar-Burger1985: 116; Shimada 1986: 166-172). Nevertheless, thebuildings of the Late Temple were not filled before theirabandonment and, as a consequence, the atrium, landing,and staircase of the Late Temple were exposed to theelements and cultural disturbance for nearly 3000 years.Most of these constructions were destroyed as a result.The landing area and most of the staircasecollapsed intothe plaza, along with much of the fill that served as itsbase, as did the upper retaining walls that terraced thenorth face of the temple. At present, the base of theparament of the Late Temple is buried beneath a deeptalus of eroded materialextending 4 m backfrom the edgeof the mound.

The lower walls of the Late Temple's atrium survivedand revealthat this room was basicallythe same in ground



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- . .7 T -

........

:--: . :- 1 1 4 7i~i' ' : : : IBM:

Figure 10. Photograph of the central staircase and surviving polychrome mural decorating the exteriorof the Middle Temple's atrium, from the NW (Sector IIIA).



16/23


plan and dimensions as that of the Middle Temple (FIG.12). The bottom of its walls is separated from the top ofthe Middle Temple's walls by only a thin layer of gravel.While the rooms are formally similar, the uppermostatrium appears to be more poorly constructed than theone below. Its staircaseshave fewer steps and its walls areless than half the thickness of its immediate predecessor.No evidence of decoration is visible with the exception ofthe red painted walls of the lateral staircase. Rubble fromthe collapsed wall of the Late Temple's atrium does notcontain fragments of clay mural and the room was appar-ently plasteredwith light clay, as was the Middle Temple'satrium. The remnant walls are not high enough to deter-mine whether a coping decorated the upper wall.The floor of the Late Temple's atrium was damaged bya late Prehispanic reoccupation of the summit, but a sem-icircular fragment of a feature was uncovered near theback staircase. It is possible that this is a remnant of a

circularpit analogous to those found in front of the muralsin the atrium at Garagay (Ravines and Isbell 1976: 260-262). Another find on the floor of the Late Temple'satrium was a fragment of a clay mural. It had probablybeen brought there from another summit building shortlyafter the atrium ceased to function. The fragment depictsthe lower portion of a frontal face with flared nostrils, adownturned mouth, and four prominent fangs. This mon-strous visage was painted red with contrasting white ca-nines (FIG. 13). It is reminiscent of the Garagay centralatrium mural in its naturalistic modeling and in its scale.Both clay sculptures were designed to be seen at closequarters.Concluding Remarks

This article offers only a preliminary view of work inprogress, and it would be premature at this point to ad-dress in detail the complex issues of socioeconomic and

Figure 11. Photograph of rearstaircase of the atrium, Middle Temple (Sector IIIA). Note the modeledcoping on the upper atrium walls, and the superimposed walls of the Late Temple's atrium.

77 AL. W-? - N v W

I N K .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .P R O

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290 Investigations at Cardal, Peru/Burger and Salazar-Burger

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18/23


political organization of Initial Period coastalsocieties thatled us to initiate the research. Nevertheless, the findingsof the second field season can be briefly reviewed at thisjuncture to consider how they confirm or modify thecurrent understanding of the organization and history ofInitial Period centers on the Central Coast.For the first time it can be demonstrated that the sum-mits of U-shaped platform-pyramids were utilized forhousing and as a burial ground in addition to their wellknown function as a locus for ceremonial activities. More-over, the work at Cardalhas produced evidence that ritualactivity on the summit was not limited to the open land-ings and large inner sanctuariesor atria, but also includedsmall enclosed chambers with dual altars isolated from theview of the public. These two unprecedented discoveriesheighten our awareness that the tradition of early religiousarchitecture and ritual on the Central Coast remains onlydimly understood at present.Similarly, the partial clearing of Cardal in 1987/1988has revealed a site plan (FIG. 5) more elaborate than anypreviously described for Central Coast centers with U-shaped architecture. These new results complement our1985 discovery of eight sunken circular courts ringing theperimeter of the pyramid-platforms, and the system ofelevated pathways leading into the central courtyardthrough the opening between the central mound and thewestern wing. As noted earlier, the second field seasonadditionally documented the existence of a ceremonialpathway along the centerline of the site and three adjacentplaza sectors, the first of these containing the elevatedcentralplaza, the second containing paired sunken circularcourts, and the third (and northernmost) containing dual-causewayed rectangular plazas. All are united by theircommon conformity to the site's orientation and theirarrangementwith respect to the site's centerline. The threezones are physically linked by the centralceremonial path-way, which leads from one plaza to the next until it ter-minates at the central plaza. At the base of this lineararrangementis the monumental staircase,decorated land-ing, and atrium described in the previous section.Secondary axes running perpendicular to the principalaxis also exist in each of the plaza areas and would havestructured some of the ceremonial activities. There seemsto be an atrium overlooking the central elevated plaza onthe east wing, and another atrium-like environment isfaintly visible directly to the east of the sunken circularcourts. Similarly, the causewayed plazas at the northernextreme of the site appear to be linked to a small, inde-pendent platform mound directly to their east. Thus itwould appear that multiple E-w axes coexisted with thecentral N-S axis.

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Figure 13. Modeled polychrome mural fragment of a lower face withflared nostrils, downturned mouth, and interlocking teeth. Photographtaken at the time of its discovery in the atrium of the Late Temple,Sector IIIA.

The exterior spaces of the ceremonial architecture atCardal were designed to accommodate public gatheringsof different sizes and composition. The central plaza, in-tended to bring together the different social segments ina single space, is the best known of these. Equally strikingis the provision for smallergatherings in dual and perhapsopposing and/or complementary plazas on either side ofthe centerline. It is tempting to see in this design an earlyexpression of the moiety organizational principles char-acteristic of later Andean society. Finally, there are themultiplicity of small, sunken, circular courts ringing thesite, perhapsutilized by the smaller,lower-level social unitsmaking up the dual divisions (i.e., lineages, ayllus,3etc.).

3. The definition of the ayllu has been the focus of anthropologicaldebate for much of this century, probably because it was used in morethan one way and because it has no exact equivalent in anthropologicalterminology. It is occasionally defined as lineage, but this restrictivedefinition fails to suggest the breadth of the concept. The aylluis definedhere as a landholding kin group whose members share responsibilityforcertain specified ritual and agriculturalactivities.



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This arrangementis reminiscent of sites in the sw UnitedStates, where dispersed small kivas for localized sodalitiescomplemented the large central "great kivas" used forcommunity ceremonies.The foregoing description of Cardal'spublic architec-ture does not address the historical dimension of site lay-out. The configuration outlined above only characterizedthe final phase of public activities at Cardal. It expresses,and was the product of, the evolving structure of thecommunity responsible for its construction. Fortunately,the work at Cardal has also begun to give a more accurateidea of its architectural history. The excavations in theatrium area of the central mound offer evidence of theclassic pattern of vertical growth through ceremonial en-tombment and subsequent renovation through construc-tion of almost identical buildings immediately above the

buried structures. Such patterns imply ideological con-tinuity within the cyclical parameters of sacred time(Burger and Salazar-Burger1985). There is equally com-pelling evidence at Cardal of architectural ransformationand change through lateral growth and the introductionof alien elements.Perhapsthe most conspicuous example of the latterwasthe additon of sunken circularcourts to the complex. Onthe outer terrace of the eastern wing, a series of thesecircular courts was built above what appearto have beenwalled rectangular enclosures. In the sw portion of thesite in Sector V, the construction of one of these circular

courts (EC-4) destroyed part of the original system ofraised walkways leading into the plaza (Burger 1987:367).The dual circular courts flanking the central pathwaylikewise appear to have been added to the original archi-tecture, along with an extension of the eastern wing andthe construction of a circular court on its summit. Wehypothesize that these additions constitute the first majorlateral expansion of the complex to the north, extendingthe limits of the original U-shaped complex. A secondstage of lateral expansion is hypothesized to have pro-duced the northernmost sector (Sector I), which includedthe two causewayed plazas, the four low, circularplatformsor column bases, and the low platform to the east. Theconstruction of the causewayed plazas had apparentlynotyet been completed when Cardal was abandoned.When the excavation and mapping results are synthe-sized, the picture is one of a site growing both verticallyand horizontally, with a concomitant increase in architec-tural complexity, as reflected in the range of architecturalelements, the diversity of artificialspaces, the number ofsecondary axes, and the absolute size of the ceremonial

complex. This vision of architectural transformation iscomparable to the hypothetical sequence of architecturalchange proposed for the Cupisnique complex of Huacade los Reyes in the Moche Valley (Conklin 1985).Unlike the situation at Huaca de los Reyes, the phasesof construction at Cardal can be associated with diagnosticpottery assemblages and organic materials suitable for ra-diocarbon dating. The placement of the site's buildingsequence within a chronometric frameworkoffers the pos-sibility of calculatingthe minimal annual labor investmentthat was expended to produce the monumental architec-ture. Such calculations are directly relevant to current de-bates concerning the sociopolitical organization of InitialPeriod societies on the coast. Chronological control, bothrelative and chronometric, is also critical for relating thechanges at Cardal to other sites in Lurin and elsewhere.The '4Cevidence is alreadysufficient to suggest a periodof no more than 400 radiocarbon years for the entireconstruction and occupation of the site.4 The utilizationof the Middle Temple, including the time following itsrenovation, probably spanned less than a century; the useof the Late Temple likewise had a duration of less than acentury. This time frame is short when compared to earlyhighland public centers, like Kotosh or Huaricoto, thatwere occupied for several millennia. Nevertheless, a four-century period would have been long enough for thepyramid complex at Cardal to have been built on an in-crementalbasisby a relativelysmallpopulation. Our work-

ing estimate for labor invested in Cardal's monumentalarchitecture is 2 million person-days. This figure wouldhave been achieved in four centuries by 100 people work-ing 60 days a year during the winter months when agri-cultural activity is minimal due to the lack of water. Intrying to understandthe socioeconomic basis upon whichInitial Period monumental complexes like Cardal wereproduced, it is critical to remember that they were the netresult of myriad small construction episodes throughoutcenturies of occupation. In this respect, they were funda-mentally different from the pyramids of Giza or Teoti-huacan.

While the population necessary for the construction ofCardal was not large, it would appear that the peopleresiding and buried there constituted only a small fractionof total support population. If this were the case, we caninfer that the houses and burials encountered in the ex-cavations at Cardal belonged to people having a special

4. If the occupation of Cardal is estimated using calibratedmeasure-ments, the result (approximately 1465-975 B.c.) is to push both thefounding and abandonment backin time. As a consequence, the durationof the site's use and its construction is increasedto 490 calendaryears.



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JournalofFieldArchaeologylVol.8, 1991 293

relationship to the pyramid complex. Can we thereforepresume that these people constituted some sort of "elite"in the late Initial Period society of Lurin? While it istempting to jump to the latterconclusion, the midden andburial evidence suggests that such a presumption may beunwarranted. Moreover, among many relatively egalitar-ian groups that lack sharp divisions of rank, status, andwealth, there exist significantdifferences between the unitsthat make up the society (i.e., families, lineages, etc.). Insome cases, particular amilies or lineages may be identifiedwith sacred knowledge and community ritual. The result-ing inequality in status, however, does not translate intolong-term differences in power or wealth, or even intoauthority in other aspects of daily life (Paynter 1989;Flannagan 1989). Similarly,individuals in relatively egal-itarian societies generally achieve leadership roles due toa combination of factors including age, sex, and personalability, but such a position is usually short-lived and his-torically contingent. This prestige cannot be used to ap-propriate the labor of others or accumulate personalwealth.These theoretical considerations provide the backdropfor trying to evaluate the characterof the resident com-munity at Cardal visa vis the larger society, and in inter-preting the role of the individual in Burial #13. The factthat differentiation or even some inequality may have ex-isted at Cardal does not in itself imply that we are dealingwith a "complex" society in which social stratificationwaspresent. Before positing the existence of an "elite," it isnecessary to consider its ability to appropriate labor ofothers for personal gain, the ability of this group to amasspersonalwealth, the degree to which this group maintainsdifferent patternsof consumption, and the capacityof thisgroup to protect their hierarchicalstatus through coercion(Clastres 1989).When these types of considerations are taken into ac-count, it becomes difficult to justify interpreting the resi-dent population at Cardal as a true elite. Perhapswhat ismost striking about the refuse associatedwith the residen-tial structures at Cardal, both behind and on top of theflat-topped pyramids, is the evidence it provides that theresidents of these buildings were directly engaged in cot-ton processing and the manufacture of ornaments andtools used locally. The middens associated with thesehouses conspicuously lack the artifactual indicators thatgenerally exist when there are sharp divisions of rank,status, and wealth.The general impression of a rather modest egalitarianlifestyle derived from the midden contents at Cardal isreinforced by the new data from burials. The latter in-

cluded few if any grave goods, and the grave goods thatdo occur consist primarily of the simple tools probablyused by the deceased during their lifetimes. These itemswere included in the graveseven if they had been damagedand repaired. As noted, the unique bone earspools andsea lion tooth necklace of Burial #13 suggest that thisadult male occupied a special position in the society.Nevertheless, the items used to symbolize this status couldhave been obtained off the nearby coast. Rather thanimplying control over the labor of others (as would bethe case for finely-crafted gold jewelry and textiles), thesecanine tooth ornaments point to the individual ability ofthe deceased. The unusual grave goods in Burial #13 mayrepresent his personal prestige and authority, as they didwhile he was alive. Leadershipbased on personal authoritymust have existed in order to coordinate the constructionof complexes such as Cardal,but it could have been basedon charisma and sacred knowledge, lacking the connota-tion of power and coercion associated with later Andeansocieties. Significantly,the adult male in Burial #13 helda bone artifact,probably a weaving instrument, and spin-dle whorls were scattered throughout the grave. Theseassociations suggest that this older individual, whateverhis special status, was involved in the basic productiveactivities of the society and, as with other members of hisculture, it was deemed appropriate to include his toolswith his body in the atrium burial.These preliminary conclusions differ radically fromthose of Shelia and Thomas Pozorski, who have beenworking at analogous Initial Period sites in the CasmaValley on the north central coast of Peru (Pozorski andPozorski 1987). The Pozorskis interpret the early monu-mental architecture in Casma as the product of complexsocieties organized into early states dominated by bureau-cratic elites that controlled the accumulation and distri-bution of centralized surpluses. Clearly, additional re-search is necessary before the difficult question of InitialPeriod sociopolitical organization can be resolved.The current radiocarbon chronology for Cardal allowsus to establish Cardal'srough contemporaneity with MinaPerdida, a center with U-shaped architecture only 5 kmto the west. Radiocarbon samples recovered from MinaPerdida's central pyramid-platform and lateral platformsrange from 1170 to 920 b.c., results surprisingly close tothe 1170 to 740 b.c. range of measurements from Cardal.The tentative temporal correlation between Cardal andMina Perdida rectifies the misconception that Mina Per-dida was abandoned prior to the construction of Cardal(e.g., Patterson 1985: 65; Williams 1985: 230-231).More importantly, their contemporaneity suggests the ex-



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istence of multiple, coeval social groups in the lower valleyof Lurin, each constructing its own public architectureasthe social and ideological focus of the community. Butwhat were the economic and social links between MinaPerdida and Cardal?Consideration of the relationship between Cardal andMina Perdida must await future investigations, but thecontemporaneity of the architecturalsequences of Cardalin the Lurin Valley and Garagay n the neighboring RimacValley allows meaningful comparisons.5How similar werethese two examples of what is generally presumed to be asingle architectural and religious tradition? What signifi-cance do these similarities and contrasts have in terms ofthe ideologies and rituals of the peoples in neighboringvalleys?If only the atria of the central pyramids of thesetwo sites arecompared, the conclusion emerges that theredoes exist a general architecturalstyle to which both con-form, as seen in overall layout, specific architectural ele-ments, and construction techniques (TABLE3).At the sametime, the atria of the two sites differ in numerous ways,most conspicuously in the absence of interior murals, pi-lasters,notched entryways, and trilevel floors in the atriumof Cardal.The coping used to decorate the Cardalatriumdoes not seem to be present at Garagay, although thedamaged state of Monticulo B's atrium prevents a defini-tive judgment.Comparable differences seem to have existed in the rit-ual behavior that took place in the atria.The votive offer-ings at Garagay of figurines and carved semipreciousstones have no analogy at Cardal, while there is a con-spicuous lack of summit burials at Garagay,in contrast to

Cardal. While both sites are oriented to the NE, theirspecific orientations differ by approximately 150. The na-ture of the beliefs held in common by the people of Cardaland Garagay still remains largely unknown, as does thecharacter of the relationship between public centers ofdifferent size, such as Cardal and Garagay.Tentatively, itcan be suggested that each of the U-shaped centers wasdistinctive and perhaps autonomous. While sharing as-pects of its ideology and rituals with other local centersof the region, each public complex expressed the individ-ual characteristicsof its immediate supporting populationand the unique social identity of the community that builtand utilized it.Cardal was abandoned around 800 b.c., confirming apattern found along much of the central and north coast(Burger 1981). The impression that a majordisruption inlocal social organization occurred at the end of the InitialPeriod is reinforced by our discovery that Cardal'sfinalconstructions were not buried by ritual entombment andthat the plazas in the northern sector of the site were notcompleted. Mina Perdida, like Garagay, appears to haveceased to function at roughly the same time, and no cen-ters with U-shaped architecturehave been documented inthe Lurin Valley following Cardal'sdecline. Consideringthat the tradition of U-shaped pyramid complexes on thecentral coast dates to before 1700 b.c. (Patterson 1985),the ratherabrupt demise of the centers with this architec-ture after flourishing for nearly a millennium calls forexplanation, as does the reorganization of the local pop-ulation in the following centuries. Future investigationsat Cardaland other Initial Period and Early Horizon sitesin Lurin will hopefully begin to provide a clearer idea ofthe factors involved in these poorly understood transfor-mations.Acknowledgments

This project was supported by grants from the NationalGeographic Society, the National Science Foundation, theComisi6n Fulbright, the Heinz Foundation, and Yale Uni-versity. During the second field season, Jose Pinilla andAlfredo Carbajal supervised portions of the excavations,and Bernadino Ojeda was responsible for mapping. Thefieldwork included the participation of students from theUniversity of San Marcos and Yale. Permission for theinvestigations was granted by the Instituto Nacional deCultura. We are grateful to all of the above for theircollaboration, without which this project would not havebeen possible.

5. The available evidence strongly supports the view that GaragayandCardalwere coeval centers. In an earlier article (Burger 1981: 599) itwas argued that Garagay was contemporary with the first three phasesof "Chavin" nfluence at Anc6n and that the ceramic iconography pre-viously interpreted as "Chavin"was actually the local religious iconog-raphy of Garagay and similar sites. The first two phases of the Anc6nsequence in question are associated with seven radiocarbon sampleswhose measurements have a mean and standard deviation of 1074 b.c.- 201. The third phase at Anc6n is associated with three radiocarbonsamples averaging 842 b.c. Subsequently, ceramics from Garagaywere

published (Ravines et al. 1984), most of which are contemporarywiththe predicted phases at Anc6n, although some appearto be either earlieror later. The absence of precise proveniences for this pottery makes thesignificance of the earlier and later materials difficult to assess. Thefollowing four "4C amples from Garagay(likewisewithout provenience)are consistent with a late Initial Period dating: 3340 B.P. -- 70 (TK-178), 3170 B.P. +- 80 (CU-49), 3090 B.P. - 70 (TK-177) and 2730B.P. ? 70 (CU-09). Based on an analysis of the artifactsand "4C mea-surements, Ravines estimates that Garagaywas occupied between 1400b.c. and 600 b.c., and that the final construction phase and use of thetemple dates to about 780 b.c. (Ravines et al. 1984: 227). If thisconclusion is accepted, the temple at Garagay would have been estab-lished somewhat earlier than the ones at Cardal, but the Middle andLate Temples of Monticulo B at Garagaywould be almost exactly con-temporary with the two atria documented in Sector IIIA at Cardal.RichardL. Burgerand LucySalazar-Burger, espectivelyro-fessorofAnthropologyt Yale UniversityandResearchAssoci-



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Table 3. Comparison of the atria of the Middle Temples at Cardal and Garagay(entries forGaragaybased on Ravines and Isbell 1976).Atriumfeature Cardal GaragayOrientation on major axis 170 NNE 320 NNE*Area covered by central mound 130 m x 45 m 385 m x 155 mMaximum height of central mound 12 m 23 mStaircase on central axis of site x xWell-preservedsurfaceplastering (enlucido) x xConstruction using irregularstone and clay x xHeight of steps of atrium staircase (average) 15 40Width of steps of atrium staircase (average) 17 30Direct ascent to landing (no midway xlandings)Landing facing plaza x xDecoration with friezes on landing walls xThick two-faced walls with clay and rubble x xcoresMaximum width of atrium walls 2.3 m 6.5 mForm of atrium rectangular squareDimensions of atrium 13.5 x 9.4 m ca. 24 m x 24 mCentral back staircase (inset) xCentral lateralstaircase (inset) x xCanted (or battered) walls x xWedge-shaped stairways x xPilasters o xDecoration of atrium walls unpigmented polychrome clay friezecopingRecessed section of wall framing interior of o xentrywayUse of low relief unbaked clay friezes x xMultiple floor levels in atrium x(2) x(3)Evidence of roofing to protect walls x (small postholes) x (posts in large linedpostholes)Height of complete atrium walls 2.1 ? (but > 1.6 m)Colors in clay friezesRed x xYellow x xWhite x xBlack, gray-blue, rose o xContinuous image on two contiguous walls x xKey: x = present; o = absent; ? = noinformation available.*Not specified whether orientation is in relation to true north or magnetic north.

ate at theYalePeabodyMuseumofNatural History,havebeencollaboratingince1979 onproblems elatingto theori-gins and organizationofearlyPeruviancivilization.Mailingaddress:Box2114 YaleStation,DepartmentofAnthropology,Yale University,New Haven, CT 06520.

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2da Temporada Cardal