Hearths, Ballcourts and the Evidence for Contact Between the Casma Valley, Peru and the Highlands of Mexico
At the site of Pampa de las Llamas-Moxeke (1800 - 900 B.C.), on the northern coast of Peru, in the Casma Valley, there exists both an I-shaped ballcourt and a ventilated hearth with an earthen floor that appears to have been hardened through the repeated use of steam in religious ceremony. The use of steam for purification rituals in sweathouses and temazcales is known to historically occur in North American native cultures. Since the Mexican Preclassic Period (1800-1200 B.C.), both the ballcourt (ballgame) and temazcales are known to exist simultaneously in Mesoamerica, but not in Peru. The temazcal-like hearth feature and I-shaped ballcourt from Pampa de las Llamas-Moxeke may be the product of contact between the people of northern Peru and contemporary groups in Mesoamerica. Comparisons between hearths located in Pampa de las Llamas-Moxeke, and hearths at premier Olmec and Olmec-related sites in the highlands of Mexico are drawn to determine the most proximal and earliest existence of I-shaped ballcourts and steam related hearths to locate possible geographical points of contact between the two cultures. The research method has utilized a comparative analysis of published and unpublished archaeological examples of hearth features from the two regions. Relevant cases have been compared according to similarities in construction methods, style and contextual information such as associated artifacts and other features. Significant hearth differences between regions demonstrate that these features are not assigned the same or similar meaning by the people who created them. Strong material and contextual similarities between regions support the inferences of cultural contacts between the two regions and similar ritual use of hearth features. Archaeological evidence points strongly to ancient sites in Guerrero and Oaxaca as possible portals of cultural diffusion between the ancient communities of Mexico and Peru.
School:
University of Texas Pan-American
Department:
Anthropology
Research Advisor:
Barry Lewis
Department of Research Advisor:
Anthropology
Year of Publication:
2005