Domestic Camelids Dispersal to the Northern Highland of Perú during the Formative Period

Abstract

In this paper, faunal data from two Formative sites, Kuntur Wasi and Pacopampa, are compared. At both sites, the composition ratio of the camelids to deer increased in the late Formative Period. This change of taxonomic composition in the bone sample is interpreted as the subsistence shift from deer hunting to camelid herding. By integrating the faunal data from these sites, it can be suggested that the timing of camelid introduction to the sites corresponds with an overall change of the social framework, which is the shift from a regional society to more widespread network of societies.