Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Peste Loca Venezuelan Encephalitis Venezuelan Equine Fever.
Zucchi - 2011 - Society for American Archaeology Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western...
Transcript of Zucchi - 2011 - Society for American Archaeology Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western...
8/3/2019 Zucchi - 2011 - Society for American Archaeology Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan Llanos
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/zucchi-2011-society-for-american-archaeology-prehistoric-human-occupations 1/10
Society for American Archaeology
Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan LlanosAuthor(s): Alberta ZucchiSource: American Antiquity, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Apr., 1973), pp. 182-190Published by: Society for American ArchaeologyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/279364 .
Accessed: 26/05/2011 14:47
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at .http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=sam. .
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
Society for American Archaeology is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
American Antiquity.
http://www.jstor.org
8/3/2019 Zucchi - 2011 - Society for American Archaeology Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan Llanos
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/zucchi-2011-society-for-american-archaeology-prehistoric-human-occupations 2/10
182 ameRican antiquity [Vol. 38, No. 2, 1973
ological data to test causal hypotheses will
supplementthe limited tests we can now make
using documentarydata, which we presently
have in any completeness for only a small
fractionof the world'sknowncultures.Indeed,the archaeologicalrecord will probably con-
tinue indefinitely to be more useful than the
ethnohistoricalrecordfor the testing of causal
hypotheses, since the former will probably
alwaysbe more extensive than the latter (par-ticularly,of course,with regard o the develop-
ment of preliterate cultures). In any case, I
hope the present study may encourage com-
parativearchaeologistsand ethnologists to un-
dertake complementary researchon problemsof culturalprocessand variation.
Acknowledgments. The study described here was
partially supported by NSF Grant GS-2579. I am
indebted to Martin Boksenbaum for assistance in the
beginning of the project, to Andrea Simon for
collecting the data on the first sample, and to Diane
Rothenberg for collecting the data on the second
sample. A slightly different version of this paper was
presented at the 1971 annual meeting of the American
Anthropological Association in New York City.
Adams, Robert McC.
1968 Archeological research strategies: past and
present. Science 160:1187-1 192.
Binford, Sally R., and Lewis R. Binford, eds.1968 New perspectives in archeology. Aldine,
Chicago.Deetz, James
1965 The dynamics of stylistic change in Arikara
ceramics. University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
Ember, Carol R., and MelvinEmber
1973 The conditions favoring multilocal resi-
dence, xeroxed. Southwestern Journal of An-
thropology (in press).
Ember, Melvin
1967 The emergence of neolocal residence. New
York A cademy of Sciences, Transactions,
30:291-302.
Ember, Melvin, and Carol R. Ember1971 The conditions favoring matrilocal versus
patrilocal residence. American Anthropologist73:571-594.
Flannery, Kent V.
1967 Culture history v. culture process: a debate
in American archaeology. Scientific American
217:2:119-122.Levine, Morton H.
1968 Review of three books on prehistoric art.
Science 161:150-152.Longacre, WilliamA.
1964 Archaeology as anthropology: a case study.
Science 144:1454-1455.Murdock, George P.
1949 Social structure. Macmillan,New York.
1967 Ethnographic atlas: a summary. Ethnology
6:109-236.
Naroll, Raoul1962 Floor area and settlement population.
American Antiquity 27:587-589.
PREHISTORICHUMANOCCUPATIONS
OF THEWESTERNVENEZUELAN LLANOS
ALBERTAZUCCHI
ABSTRACTRecent archaeological research in the western
Venezuelan llanos has provided very old dates relatedto maize cultivation. The evidence obtained at Mound
I, at the site Hato de la Calzada, indicates that these
seasonally flooded savannas were occupied from 920
B.C. to A.D. 500 by the Cafio del Oso people who
practiced hunting, fishing, and maize farming. Around
A.D. 500 manioc cultivation and artificial earthworks
were introduced in this area. Both elements were
probably obtained from the Arauquinoid people who
inhabited the Orinoco riverbanks. The available data
regarding the antiquity of manioc, based on agricul-
tural systems in seasonally flooded savannas of South
America, suggests that such systems developed in the
Amazon Basin.
Department of AnthropologyInstituto Venezolano
de Investigaciones Cientfficas
Apartado 1827Caracas,Venezuela
Seasonally inundatedsavannas,with imper-
vious soils and grassy vegetation, cover large
extensions of the humid tropical lowlands of
South America(Denevan 1966:4). The human
population which inhabitedthese areascoped
with the environmental onditionsby building
their settlementson naturallyhigh groundsor
on stilts. Sometimes they also built a varietyof
artificialearth structures,which representone
of the most elaborate ypes of humanmodifica-
tions of the naturalenvironment.Although some of these ancientearthworks
have been known since the time of the Spanish
conquest, they have received in generallittle
attention from anthropologists, geographers,
and ecologists.In the past few years,however,
and after a detailed geographicalstudy of
diverse artificial features of the Llanos de
Mojos, Bolivia (Denevan 1966), specialists indifferent fields have become more interested.
Large artificialearthworkshave been recently
8/3/2019 Zucchi - 2011 - Society for American Archaeology Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan Llanos
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/zucchi-2011-society-for-american-archaeology-prehistoric-human-occupations 3/10
REPORTS 183
Hao lzado7~
oGarsnK
Fig. 1. Location map.
Fig. 2. View of Mound I and the excavation.
8/3/2019 Zucchi - 2011 - Society for American Archaeology Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan Llanos
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/zucchi-2011-society-for-american-archaeology-prehistoric-human-occupations 4/10
184 ameRicanantilquity [Vol. 38, No. 2, 1973
describedin the San Jorge Riverfloodplain ofColombia (Parson and Bowen 1966), on thecoast of Surinam (Laeyendecker-Roosenburg
1966), in the Sabana de Bogota'(Broadbent1968), at Lake Titicaca (Smith, Denevan,and
.
Hamilton 1968), in the Rio Guayas Valley of* Ecuador (Parsons 1969), and in the westernVenezuelan Ilanos (Denevan 1970). Theserecent finds indicate that the technique ofbuildingartificialearthworkswaswidely knownthroughoutSouth America.
Accordingto their probable use, these arti-ficial structurescan be grouped into 3 majortypes: (1) agricultural,which includesall typesof drainedfields intended for a betterexploita-tion of the agricultural otentialof the tropicallowlands; (2) settlement,which includeshouse,
temple, and burialmounds,artificialislas,andmoats;and (3) communication,which includesthose features intended to facilitatetransporta-tion and internalmovements,such as causewaysandcanals(Denevan 1966:58-90).
Since so little is known regardinghe struc-ture of any of these artificial earthworks, the
human groupdirectlyresponsible or their con-structionand the time when they were built, a
large archaeologicalprogramwas undertakenfor this purpose in the western Venezuelanllanos. This article describes and
analyzesthe
Fig. 3. Aerialview of the excavation. structureand providesradiocarbondates of an
0.5 XLAE9RAYISH ELLOW LAY DRY) Fos25
YELLOWISH GRAY SILT (WET FROM ESTEROS)@0.1
7S XLAE
LG HTELLOWL AYIII (RWET) 1.50(IT Xs7 tV
RAVSH YELLOWtLAY (WET) 1* tx,?i0} _ E
YELLOW CLAY WITh BROWNI LEMS (WET) * ****5 ,mVI
Fig. 4.. Vert.cal c -i tmARK I13111%LAY \W\ET) 4 * *4.* 00
GRAYUNDY LAY4t* *WET)4: '(1.5 -(0 5:95~~~~~~~~~~~~ItE: RA CLAY(DRY 1.50~~~~. / -.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~LOC~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~7
TgLLOWSANDYCLAYRY) 15. I
2 FLOO
NAMARTFH 4 Vricl rsssetonofte oud
8/3/2019 Zucchi - 2011 - Society for American Archaeology Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan Llanos
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/zucchi-2011-society-for-american-archaeology-prehistoric-human-occupations 5/10
REPORTS 185
artificial mound located at the site Hato de laCalzada(804, 2' N. Lat.;70011, 3' W. Long.),state of Barinas(Fig. 1). The resultsobtained
are compared with the available data fromother seasonally flooded savannas in SouthAmerica.
THESITEANDTHEMOUND
The site Hato de la Calzadacoversan areaof
approximately8 km2 and includes a groupofartificialmounds connected to anotherby anelevated causeway locally known as CalzadaPaez (Cruxent1952, 1966). The group, ocated
at the northern end of the causeway,includesMound I and 2 smalleradjacentones. These 3structures ie between the streamCafio del Osoto the northand a largeesteroto the south.
Mound I is conical in shape, 11.8 m high,and from 60.00 m to 80.00 m in diameter. t isformed by layers of earth which differ inthickness,as well as in compositionand mois-ture, and which were probablyextractedfromdifferent places and depths of the surroundingarea. Analysis of the structure of Mound I isbasedon the main featuresof the verticalcross
section of the mound(Fig. 4).As it can be observed,the terrainon which
the mound was builtwasslightly uneven,some-what higher than its surroundings, nd with aconcavityin the middle. Becauseof the slopingbeginningat pit 9, we assumethat the originalfloor was naturallyelevated. Layers IX and Xindicate that this sloping was steeper towardthe peripheryof the mound. It is probable hatthe naturalelevationof the land was a decisivefactor in its selection for the construction ofthe structure.
Layers I and II constitute the base of thestructure. The first of these layers presents alargeaccumulation f potsherdsand whole snailshells which fill the concavity of the originalfloor. LayerII, composed of burntclay, seemsto have been set in order to secure the loosefilling materialwhich hadbeen placed previous-ly. However, t is also possiblethat this layer, aswell as the other thin layers of burntclay whichare found in other partsof the structure,couldhave resulted from ceremonialpracticesor ac-
cidentally.The 3 following layers,which form part ofthe body of the mound,aredifferentfrom eachother but homogeneous in composition. This
suggests that the materialthey consist of wasobtained from different places and depths ofthe neighboring rea.It is alsoprobable hat the
selection of these materials,and their arrange-ment, were made according o well-establishedconstructiontechniques.The 3 layersaretrape-zoidal in shape, with a platform at the top,probablygiving the mound a conical shapeorthat of a truncatedpyramid.Layersfrom theVIth on, showirregularontoursat the top, butit is difficult to establish whethersuch irregu-larities are intentionalor accidental. With theexception of layersI andVII, wherewe foundhearthss, one of the others showed evidenceofoccupation.For this reason,we are inclined tobelieve that the building process was con-tinuous and each layer had only a technicalmeaning.
There is little evidenceregardinghe use ofthese constructions.However, the absence ofskeletalremains n the mound andthe fact thatin this area burialsare usually found amongrefuse in the flatlands,proves that these struc-tures were not intended as burialgrounds. Onthe otherhand, the fact that at the Hato de laCalzadaand LaBetaniasitesthe highestmound
is located north might indicate that largemounds were used for religiousceremoniesorserved as basesfor templesconstructedof moreperishablematerial. Finally, it is also possiblethat because of their height these structuresmight havebeen employed as watch-towers orcommunicationacross the plain or for defensepurposes. (From the top of Mound I a greatportion of the savannasbetween the TicoporoandCanagua iverscan be observed.)
THEMOUNDBUILDERS
The archaeologicalmaterialfoundin MoundI belongs to the Caniodel Oso and La Betaniacomplexeswhich representa recentsubdivision(Zucchi 1967, 1968) of Cruxentand Rouse'sCaniodelOso style (1958:185-187). The first ofthese complexes is characterizedby well-madepottery, with elaboratevessel shapes, in whichthe composite silhouettes and the angular n-flection prevail.The bases are convex or an-nularwith varyingdegreesof elevation, but leg
supportsand ring-legbases are also found. Thedecorationconsists of monochromeand poly-chrome painting. The motives are basicallylinearbut occasionallyare combinedwith such
8/3/2019 Zucchi - 2011 - Society for American Archaeology Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan Llanos
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/zucchi-2011-society-for-american-archaeology-prehistoric-human-occupations 6/10
186 ameRican antiquity [Vol. 38, No. 2, 1973
elements as spirals, circles, solid triangles
pendant from a line, points, dots, drops, and
drips. Other artifacts of this complex are:
beads, needles, manos and metates, pestles,
polishers,pendants,celts, bolas, figurines,discs,andspindlewhorls(Zucchi1968:135).
The La BetaniaandCaniodel Osocomplexes
sharenumeroustraits,but the formerowns, in
addition,a variety of multipodand largeglobu-larvessels.Due to the erosionof the surfaces, t
has not been possible to determinewhether
there was any painteddecoration n the pottery
of La Betaniacomplex, and only the applica-
tion of small lugs, sometimes incised, on the
upper part of the legs or the necks, was ob-
served.The associatedartifactsof this complex
are the same as those describedfor CaniodelOso, with the exception of 2 types of griddles,1 of which has cariap6 temper (Zucchi
1968: 135).The featuresof the ceramicmaterial, ts lack
of direct relationshipwith the pottery of the
other complexes in Venezuela,and the radio-
carbon dates obtainedfrom the site La Betania,
allowedto establisha new Osoidseries(Zucchi
1967:179-180). This series covers Periods II,III, and IV of Cruxent and Rouse's regional
chronology.The pottery which corresponds o the Canlo
del Oso complex is scattered throughout the
whole structureof Mound I, from layers I to
VIII. On the other hand, La Betania material
was found only in layersIX and X. The mate-
rial relatedto the Cafiodel Oso complex canbe
dividedinto 2 groups:(a) the abundantmate-
rial found at the base of the mound (layer I),which consists of large fragments with little
wearing;and (b) the relatively carceandbadly
eroded materialwhich is scatteredfrom layers
II through VIII. Some of these sherds showconcretions which apparently resulted from
long immersion n water.
CHRONOLOGY
Before discussingthe chronology of MoundI, it is necessary to describe the phases of
development into which the Cafnodel Oso andLa Betania complexes were divided, their chro-nological position, and the associated settle-ment pattern.
In an earlier work, we proposed that arti-ficial structureswere related to the La Betaniacomplex and, thus, constructed by its people(Zucchi 1967:193). However,according o thedata obtained from Mound I, we are nowinclined to conclude that earthworkswere alsoconstructedby the people of Phase C of Cafnodel Oso complex. This new position is based on
the presence of La Betania materialonly at the2 upper levels (IX and X) of Mound I; theabsenceof La Betaniamaterialat levels beneaththe structure of the mound and the directassociation between the hearths found at thetop (layer VII) and at the base of the mound(layer I) with Cafio del Oso material. In addi-tion, the 2 dates obtained from these hearths,A.D. 454 (IVIC-540)and A.D. 550 (IVIC-582),fit perfectly well with the chronological imitsestablished for Phase C. Finally, since both of
the datesaresimilar n ageandwereobtained nthe only 2 occupied levels, we are inclined toconsider that they relate to the constructionprocessof the mound.
On the other hand, it can be observedthatthe rest of the datesrelated to the mound arerather irregular Table 1). This irregularitysexplained by the fact that the earth composingthe structure was excavatedfrom the adjacentflatlandswhich the peoples of PhasesA and Bhad nhabited romavery earlytime. The archae-ological materialsand the charcoal eft by the
people of these phases (who built no artificialearthworks)were broughtto the structuredur-
ing the constructionprocess by the people of
Complex-Phase Settlement Pattern Period Absolute Dates
La Betania Artificial Structures III-IV A.D. 650-1200
Canio C Pile dwellings III A.D. 150- 650
del B Pile dwellings II 230 B.C.- A.D. 150
Oso A Pile dwellings II (?) -230 B.C.
8/3/2019 Zucchi - 2011 - Society for American Archaeology Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan Llanos
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/zucchi-2011-society-for-american-archaeology-prehistoric-human-occupations 7/10
REPORTS 187
Table 1. Radiocarbon dates from Mound I.
Sample Material Pit Level (meters) Date B.P. Dates Christian
IVIC-436 Charcoal B-il 11.50-11.75 1760? 80 A.D. 190
IVIC-437 Charcoal B-il 12.00-12.25 1710? 70 A.D. 240
IVIC-452 Charcoal B-1 4.75- 5.00 1670?100 A.D. 280
IVIC-454 Charcoal B-2 3.25- 3.50 1410? 70 A.D. 540
IVIC-457 Charcoal A-1 5.75- 6.00 1640? 90 A.D. 310
IVIC-459 Charcoal B-2 2.25- 2.50 1560? 70 A.D. 390
IVIC-460 Charcoal AB-4 8.00- 8.25 1760? 90 A.D. 190
IVIC-469 Charcoal B-1 2.00- 2.25 340? 60 A.D. 1610
IVIC-470 Wood B-1 1 m modern
IVIC-471 Charcoal B-2 8.50- 8.75 1510? 70 A.D. 440
IVIC-472 Charcoal B-1 7.75- 8.00 1800?100 A.D. 150
IVIC-474 Charcoal B-6 9.50- 9.75 1700?100 A.D. 250IVIC-475 Charcoal A-1 8.75- 9.00 1990? 90 B.C. 40
IVIC-476 Charcoal A-1 7.25- 7.50 1750? 70 A.D. 200
IVIC-549 Charcoal B-2 9.25- 9.50 2870?150 B.C. 920
IVIC-550 Charcoal B-1 9.25- 9.50 1490? 80 A.D. 460
IVIC-551 Charcoal B-1 9.50- 9.75 1530? 80 A.D. 420
IVIC-580 Charcoal B-3 11.75-12.00 1690? 90 A.D. 260
IVIC-581 Charcoal B-3 12.00-12.25 1740? 70 A.D. 210
IVIC-582 Charcoal B-3 12.25-12.50 1400? 60 A.D. 550
IVIC-583 Charcoal B-3 12.50-12.75 1820? 70 A.D. 130
IVIC-584 Charcoal B-3 12.75-13.00 1800? 70 A.D. 150
IVIC-586 Charcoal A-8 10.50-10.75 1510? 80 A.D. 440
IVIC-587 Charcoal A-8 11.50-11.75 1570? 70 A.D. 380
IVIC-588 Charcoal A-8 12.00-12.25 1480? 70 A.D. 470
IVIC-590 Charcoal A-14 12.00-12.25 1730? 80 A.D. 220
IVIC-591 Charcoal A-6 12.50-12.75 1640? 80 A.D. 310
IVIC-592 Charcoal A-6 11.75-12.00 1810? 80 A.D. 140
IVIC-593 Charcoal A-6 9.75-10.00 1350? 70 A.D. 600
Phase C. For this reason,we considerthat thosedates belonging to Periods II and III (920B.C.-A.D. 150) relate to the above-mentionedearly occupations and not to the date of theconstructionof the mound.Finally, the 2 datesobtained from layers I and VII (IVIC-470andIVIC-469) are too recent to belong to the restof the sequence.
CONCLUSIONS
Thereare at present2 diametrically pposedreconstructionsof the prehistory of Tropical
Forest South America. The first was proposedby Steward, who considered the TropicalForestcultureas beingderived romthe Forma-
tive period cultures of the Andes. Evans andMeggershave followed Steward's(1961) modelsince they also consider that much of theAmazonian culture s derivedfrom the Andeanwest. The secondmodelhas been postulatedbyLathrap(1970), who suggeststhat the earliestintensiveand successfulagriculturalystemsinthe tropical lowlands of South America werecentered on the floodplains of the majorriversand lake basins.Such systems maximizedthepotential of the limited, but excellent, recentalluvialsoils typical of the flood plainenviron-ment, and also reliedheavilyon the significantprotein resources of the riversand their as-
sociatedsystems of ox-bow lakes. In Colombia(Reichel-Dolmatoff1965), Venezuela(Cruxentand Rouse 1958), Brazil (Evans and Meggers
8/3/2019 Zucchi - 2011 - Society for American Archaeology Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan Llanos
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/zucchi-2011-society-for-american-archaeology-prehistoric-human-occupations 8/10
188 ameRican antiquity [Vol. 38, No. 2, 1973
1957), and Peru(Lathrap1962), the extent and
depth of middensleft by people implementing
such systems are impressive indicating com-munities of considerablesize and permanence.
The reliability and productivity of theTropicalForestagriculturalystem, when prac-
ticed on the floodplains of the major rivers,
afforded the basis for rapidlyexpandingpopu-
lations. As Sternberg (1964) and Lathrap
(1970) have emphasized, he amount of activefloodplain in the lowlands of tropical SouthAmericais severelylimited, so that population
growth might have lead attempts to adapt theTropical Forest agriculturalsystem to other
more challengingand initially less promising
ecological niches. The annuallyflooded grass-
lands of tropical South America offer suchconditions but they supported relativelypro-ductiveagriculturalystems.
Imposing effective agricultureon annually
flooded grasslandssurely must have involved
the solution of certainspecificproblems. n the
first place, there was the problemof elevating
the dwellingareasabove the water level during
the floods. This could be resolvedeitherby the
use of pile dwellingsor by the constructionof
earth mounds. Evidence from early Tutish-
cainyo, on the upper Amazon (Lathrap1970:88), and from Ananatuba,at the mouth
of the Amazon (MeggersandEvans1957:591),
indicates that pile dwellingswere part of the
riverineadaptation romveryearlytimes.
Second, agriculturalmplementscapable of
breakingthe heavy sods must have been avail-
able. And, finally, the annual fluctuationsbe-
tween inundation and total aridity had to be
controlled.This could be met eitherby the use
of a range of cultivated plants with short
growingseasons-such as maize-which couldbe
sown and harvestedbetween periodsof annualinundation,or by the constructionof a systemof raised ieldscultivatedduring he floods. Theevidence regarding intensive agriculturalex-
ploitation of the seasonally looded savannas f
South America indicates that the aboriginal
populationtook both alternatives.So far, the data obtained at Hato de la
Calzada might indicate the earliest effective
agriculturalexploitation of seasonallyflooded
savannas,which favored the first alternative.
According to archaeologicalevidence,the sub-
sistence of the people fromPhasesA and B ofthe Canlodel Oso complex was basedon hunt-
ing, fishingand maize farming.The practiceofhuntingand fishingwasestablishedon the basis
of the abundantfragmentsof turtle shellsand
fish, bird, and landmammalbones. In addition,
several ceramic bolas were recovered at LaBetania site (Zucchi 1967b). Likewise,maize
farmingwas evidencedby manos,metates, and
charredmaize cobs. One of the cobs obtained
at La Betania was classified as pollo (PaulMangelsdorf,personalcommunication).At thetime, the date directlyassociatedwith this cob
indicatedthe oldest prehispanicmaize agricul-ture for Venezuela(Wagnerand Zucchi 1966).
The only charredcob obtainedat MoundI hasnot been analyzed.TheevidencefromMoundI
indicates that the agriculturalystem based on
maize begun around 920 B.C. (IVIC-549)andcontinueduntil A.D. 500 when it wasmodifiedby the introductionof manioc agricultureand
artificial earthworks. Both techniques were
probably obtained from the Arauquinoid
people who inhabitedthe centralllanosof the
Orinoco, from the second half of Period III to
the first half of Period V. These people prac-
ticed manioc agricultureand also builtartificial
mounds as a means to raise livingareas above
the water level during the floods (Rouse and
Cruxent1963:90-95).The evidence fromthe Barinasarea ndicatesthat the Canlodel Oso people (PhaseC) con-
structedmounds and causeways.However,one
is inclined to believe that they must have also
built agricultural ields, since the introductionof manioc cultivation in the savannasneces-
sarily implied some artificial mechanism de-
veloped to face floods. Recently, Denevanhas
reported ridged fields further south in the
BarinasState (1970:649-650) but, so far, there
is no informationregardinghe groupwho built
them. Thereis also the possibilitythat some ofthe agricultural ields built by Cafio del Oso
people have disappeared rom the surfacedueto their low height and the rapidalluvialbuild-
up.
Recent evidence suggests that the earliest
intensive utilization of annuallyflooded grass-lands involvingmanioc cultivationandartificial
earthworks is found at the Mouth of the
Amazon. So far, the oldest absolute dates
related to this system rangebetween 70 B.C.
(SI-201) and A.D. 690 (SI-199) andbelong to
the Marajoara ulture.Nevertheless,Evans andMeggersconsiderthese dates too earlyfor their
8/3/2019 Zucchi - 2011 - Society for American Archaeology Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan Llanos
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/zucchi-2011-society-for-american-archaeology-prehistoric-human-occupations 9/10
REPORTS 189
Marajoara sequence (Mielke and Long1969:173-174). The artificialearthworks oundin other seasonally flooded areas of SouthAmericaseemto be much later.
The main concentrationof raisedfields onthe coastal savannasof Surinamis associatedwith the Hertenritsmound built aroundA.D.700 (Laeyendecker-Roosenburg 966:35). Inthe Guayas riverfloodplain,agriculturalields,burial, and house mounds are related to theMilagroculture. The Milagropeople occupiedthe areafromA.D. 500 until the Spanisharrival(Meggers 1966:132). In the San Jorge riverfloodplain, the agricultural earthworks arerelated with the Betancf-Viloria complex,which
is quite late, and was still flourishingwhen the Spaniardsentered the area around1530 (Reichel-Dolmatoff 1965:125-128). InLlanosde Mojos, upperVelarde andHernmark,2 of the 3 complexesrelatedto artificialearth-works have a tentative date of A.D. 1000(Willey 1958:371). The third complex,Masicito, is considered as late precontact(Denevan 1966:24). These data indicate thatsavanna ultivation nvolvingmaniocagricultureand artiflcial earthworks seem to havedeveloped n the AmazonBasin.
A cknowledgments. I am most indebted to D.Lathrap and I. Rouse for their criticism, suggestions,and advice. W. Denevan, H. Seijas, E. Wagner,and N.Arvelo provided helpful comments. C. Quintero madethe drawings.
Broadbent, Sylvia M.1968 A prehistoric field system in Chibcha ter-
ritory. Nawpa Pacha 6:135-147.Cruxent, Jose M.
1952 Notes on Venezuelan archaeology, pre-liminary accounts of the causeways in the
stateof Barinas. Introductory notes. XXIX Interna-tional Congress of Americanists, SelectedPapers, pp. 280-294. University of ChicagoPress.
1966 Apuntes sobre las Calzadas de Barinas,Venezuela. Departamento de Antropologia,IVIC, Boletin Informativo 4:10-24.
Cruxent, Jose M., and Irving Rouse1958-59 An archaeological chronology of
Venezuela. Social Science Monographs VI. PanAmerican Union.
Denevan, WilliamM.1966 The aboriginal cultural geography of the
Llanos de Mojos of Bolivia. Ibero-Americana
48. University of California Press.1970 Aboriginal drained-field cultivation in the
Americas. Science 169:647-654.
Laeyendecker-Roosenburg, D. M.1966 A palynological investigation of some ar-
chaeologically interesting sections in north-western Surinam. Leidse Geologische Mede-delingen 38:31-36.
Lathrap, Donald W.1962 Yarinacocha: stratigraphic excavations in
the Peruvian montaha. Unpublished Ph.D. dis-sertation. Department of Anthropology, Har-vard University.
1970 The upperAmazon. Praeger,New York andWashington.
Meggers,Betty J.1966 Ecuador. Thames and Hudson, London.
Meggers, B. J., and Clifford Evans1957 Archaeological investigations at the mouth
of the Amazon. Bureau of A mericanEthnology,Bulletin 167.
1961 An experimental formulation of horizon
styles in the Tropical Forest area of SouthAmerica. In Essays in pre-Columbian art andarchaeology, edited by Samuel K. Lothrop, pp.373-388.
Mielke, J. E., and Austin Long1969 Smithsonian Institution radiocarbon mea-
surements V. Radiocarbon 11:163-182.Parsons, James
1969 Ridged fields in the Rio Guayas Valley,Ecuador. American Antiquity 34:76-80.
Parsons, James, and WilliamA. Bowen1966 Ancient ridged fields of the San Jorge River
floodplain, Colombia. Geographical Review65:317-343.
Parsons, James, and William M. Denevan1967 Pre-Columbian ridged fields. Scientific
American 217:93-100.Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo
1965 Colombia. Praeger,New York.Rouse, Irving, and Jose M. Cruxent
1963 Venezuelan archaeology. Yale UniversityPress, New York and London.
Smith, C. T., W. Denevan, and P. Hamilton1968 Ancient ridged fields in the region of Lake
Titicaca. The Geographical Journal134 :353-367.
Sternberg, HilgardO'Reilly1964 Land and man in the tropics. In Economic
and political trends in Latin America.Academyof Political Science, Proceedings.Tamers, Murry A.
1965 Instituto Venezolano de InvestigacionesCientificas. Natural radiocarbon measurements.I. Radiocarbon 7:59-6 1.
1969 Instituto Venezolano de InvestigacionesCientfficas. Natural radiocarbon measurementsIV. Radiocarbon 11:396-422.
Wagner,Erika, and Alberta Zucchi1966 Mazorcas de maiz prehistorico de Venezuela
occidental. Departamento de Antropolog!'a,IVIC, Boleti'nInformativo 4:36-38.
Willey, Gordon R.1958 Estimated correlations and dating of South
and Central American cultural sequences.American Antiquity 23:353-378.
Zucchi, Alberta
8/3/2019 Zucchi - 2011 - Society for American Archaeology Prehistoric Human Occupations of the Western Venezuelan Llanos
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/zucchi-2011-society-for-american-archaeology-prehistoric-human-occupations 10/10
190 ameRicanantiquity [Vol. 38, No. 2, 1973
1967a La Betania. Un yacimiento arqueologicodel occidente de Venezuela. Unpublished doc-toral dissertation. Universidad Central deVenezuela, Caracas.
1967b Boleadoras de Arcilla en los lianos oc-
cidentales de Venezuela. Departamento deAntropologia, IVIC, Boleti'n Informativo
5:18-22.1 968 Algunas hipotesis sobre la poblacion
aborigen de los llanosoccidentales de Venezuela.
Acta Cientifica Venezolana 19:135-139.
THE LOCALIZATION
OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY MAP
CALLED THE MAGUEY PLAN
EDWARD E. CALNEK
ABSTRACTSanders (1970) has recently attempted to analyze
settlement pattern and demography at the Azteccapital, Tenochtitlan, on the assumption that an
early map called the Maguey plan represents a part
of the city. A careful analysis of the physical
layout of the community shown on the map, and
of several written and pictographic glosses added
sometime after the original map was completed,
supports the view that the Maguey plan actuallyshows an island settlement located in a region
which had been expropriated by Tenochtitlan fol-lowing that city's conquest of Azcapotzalco in the
early fifteenth century.
Department of AnthropologyUniversity of RochesterNovember, 1971
Sanders'recent analysisof sixteenthcenturypopulation data from centralMexico includesa
shortdiscussionof the Aztec capital,Tenochtit-lan, based on the assumption that a sixteenth
century map called the Magueyplan (Plano en
papel de maguey) representsa section of thatcity located directly west of the church ofSanta Maria a Redonda (1970:447449). Thisis in general agreement with a localizationpreviously suggested by Maudslay(1910 III:10-16). This conclusion is employed to supporta new analysisof settlement patternand totalpopulation at the time of the Spanishconquest(1519-21). Since Sanders' interpretationcon-tradicts evidence recently summarizedby thiswriter (Calnek 1972), a few comments bearingon the natureand probable ocationof the areashown on the Magueyplan are appropriateatthis time.
The Magueyplan is a largemapdrawn n the
indigenous style. It represents a community
consisting of more than 400 residentialsites,each with a smallhouse platform,adjoinedby
some 6 or 7 narrow rectangulargarden plots(chinampas) (see Fig. 1). Name glyphs as-
sociatedwith each site suggestthat the mapwas
a property registerof the type kept by com-
munity officials (calpuleque) in prehispanictimes. Robertson 1959:76-82) concludedfrom
the map'sstyle, content, andcomposition,that
it had been paintedby cartographerselonging
to the school of Tenochtitlan-Tlatelolcohortly
after the conquest. A pictographictext in the
upper right hand margin of the map wasprobably added at a later date. A number of
glossesin Europeanscriptestablish he orienta-
tion of the map and purport o identifycertainof its topographicaleatures.
The layout of individualsites as shown bythe map is extremely regular,andhas frequent-ly been describedas a gridironpattern.Carefulexamination of the map demonstrates,how-ever, that it does not have a gridironpattern.The greaterpart of this community is divided
into narrowstrips by streets and canalswhich
alternate at right angles to the east-west axis.
Cross-streetsof the type required to convertthis strip pattern to a grid patternare entirely
lackingin most of this district, althoughthey
do occur in the zone to the northof a diagonal
canal that divides the map into 2 sections.
Otherwise, the most important streets and
canals only partlyconform to the moreregularorganization of the residential sites. Theyfrequently run along diagonal lines, which
transect individual properties, and may even
change direction at a number of points. This
featurehasthe advantagehat it may eventually
be found to match the layout of some arearepresented n colonialperiodor modernmaps,
thereby establishing a particularlocalizationwith much greaterauthoritythan would be thecase if this were nothingbut an entirelyregularstreet pattern.Previousattemptsto localizethemap on this basis have been completely un-successful, however. The maps prepared byMaudslay(1910, III, facing page 16), and byToussaint, Gomez de Orozco, and Fernandez(1938:67) speak for themselves. The streetpatterns may coincide in a few respects,butother primary features, such as the diagonalcanals,are left completelyunexplained.