Primera serie dendroarqueológica en los Andes Centrales: resultados preliminares de Chankillo, Casma

Abstract

Dendrochronology has begun to yield results in Peru. Recent research shows that the growth of rings from the algarrobo (Prosopis sp.) tree meets basic requirements for its use in the discipline. The goal of this research is to create a dendroarchaeological series of the algarrobo lintels from the Chankillo archaeological site in coastal Ancash. A study of modern algarrobos in Casma reported here shows a high correlation between ring-widths and climatic records from the past century. The principle of uniformitarianism dictates the same was true in pre-Hispanic times. At Chankillo, an archaeological site with numerous in situ and well-preserved lintels made from algarrobo wood, our sampling and dendrochronological measurements have yielded the first dendroarchaeological series in the Central Andes. It is only a floating sequence, without the ability to give dates yet, but it allows an approximation of the annual climatic variations of the time, in particular the El Niño phenomenon, and it also illustrates the chronology of construction of the site. The outlook for the future is to elaborate a master dendrochronological sequence for coastal Peru, from the earliest monumental constructions to the present, which would have important applications in archaeology, climatology, and other disciplines.

Keywords

• Dendrochronology
• Dendroarchaeology
• Algarrobo
• Prosopis sp.
• Chankillo
• El Niño