Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene Occupations of the North Coast Of Perú

Abstract

On Perú’s North Coast, the earliest documented lithic traditions are collectively known as the El Palto Phase (~14,200-9600cal BP). This phase, which spans the Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene, contains evidence for several contemporary or overlapping traditions, including early unifacial assemblages, and the Fishtail and Paiján complexes. Recent study of El Palto phasesites in the lower Jequetepeque Valley focused on evaluating the relationships between these assemblages and the populations who manufactured them. The results of this study indicate a greater degree of intratype diversity among point types than previously recognized and call into question the descendant relationships between Fishtail and Paiján. The results from several long-term regional studies are combined with these analyses to provide new insight regarding early settlement and technological change in this region of the Central Andes.