The Lima occupation in the Lurin valley: towards the origins of monumental Pachacamac

Abstract

The recent excavations of two important areas of the Pachacamac Monumental Sector, the foot of the principal facade of the Old Temple and the area beneath the hall of the main entrance at the Temple of the Sun, have allowed the authors to determine the relative chronology of the first construction at this site during the Early Intermediate Period. The ceramic fragments recovered share similar technological, formal and iconographic characteristics with the Lima Medio ceramics (Lima 4-5 in the Patterson sequence) from Chancay, Chillon and Ancon. This paper concurs with the hypothesis that after the conquest of the lower Rimac and Lurin valleys, there was an emerging regional multi-valley political entity which could relate to a complex chiefdom or an “Andean State.” However, during the Lima occupation of the Pachacamac site there is no evidence of an administrative center with urban residential zones. Instead, Pachacamac seems to have been a low-ranked local ceremonial center compared with the sites of Maranga, Pucllana or Cajamarquilla.