the study of collector variability in the transition to sedentary...

Journal of World Prehistoty, VoL 10, No: 1, 1996

The Study of Collector Variability in the Transition to Sedentary Food Producers in Northern Colombia

Augusto Oyuela-Caycedo 1

Human adaptation to the tropics by populations of collectors has been a long-standing issue of debate, especially with regard to the role that collectors may have played in pathways toward sedentism and food production. In this essay, I examine significant differences in strategies developed for estuarine environments versus the inland environments of the transitional savannas of northern Colombia to analyze how these two adaptations articulate with the processes which led toward sedentism and food production in neotropical northern Colombia. Contrary to the received wisdom, I argue that the exploitation of rich estuarine environments is not necessarily a prelude to food production; seed exploitation early in the sixth millennium B.P. in the northern Colombian transitional savanna zone provides a second and arguably more probable model.

KEY WORDS: Colombia; shell middens; early pottery; estuary; savanna.

INTRODUCTION

The study of shell midden collectors in Colombia began with the research of Gerardo Reichel Dolmatoff and Alicia Dussan de Reichel in the 1950s. Since then, the accumulation of archaeological data and environmental studies have made it possible to advance the understanding of collectors' patterns of adaptation in northwestern South America. This essay concentrates on, and compares, the adaptive systems of coastal and inland collectors. Following a description of shell middens produced by collectors

lDepartment of Archaeology, 2500 University Drive NW, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4. e-mail: [email protected].

49

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50 Oyuela-Caycedo

in estuarian environments, their distribution in time and space is reviewed in order to define midden formation processes. I argue that the relationship between shellfish collecting activities in rich environments such as estuaries and their dynamic pulsar behavior undermines the view of the concept that adaptation to shellfish collecting or fishing activities in very rich environments was a necessary stage for the development of food production or even sedentism. The arguments are supported through an analysis of shell midden sites in northern Colombia, which, in my view, indicate that estuary exploitation is an independent adaptive pattern unlikely to have generated food production trajectories.

The second part of this essay presents a summary of the recent inland research conducted at San Jacinto 1, which has produced, for the first time, hard evidence of early collector adaptations to a transitional savanna environment in northern Colombia. This evidence indicates complex strategies of mobility and subsistence which, in turn, it can be argued, serve as a good link to later changes toward food production, sedentism, and territoriality. San Jacinto 1 is best known as a site with one of the earliest fiber- tempered pottery traditions in the Americas (see Oyuela, 1987a, 1993, 1995; Raymond et al., 1994; Hoopes, 1994).

Binford (1978, 1980) differentiates foraging from collecting subsistence strategies; these correlate with the two strategies of residential mobility, as opposed to logistic mobility. Foragers use strategies appropriate to immediate-return systems, while collectors are associated with immediate- and/or delayed-return systems (Testart, 1982). The high mobility of foragers and a more regular daily food procurement are expected to attract low-bulk inputs. Variability between camps is likely to be related with the seasonal scheduling of activities. Collectors' activities should be more visible archae- ologically; also, intrasite variability would be greater than is found in foragers' sites (see ethnographic case study by Meehan, 1982).

In considering why some populations choose residential mobility while others prefer logistic mobility, Binford noted that such variation is related to environmental variables. Mobility strategies (or combination of strategies) exhibited by hunter-gatherers are selected to cope with the structure of food resources in a defined environment (also see Kelly, 1983, pp. 277, 1992). This argument holds that, since humans are energy-capturing systems, the organization of technology is applied to solving problems of coping with the energy-entropy structure. It is in this context that the process of food production and/or the associated technology is placed. Significant differences between different kinds of collectors emerge in a comparison of adaptations to coastal estuarine environments and inland transitional savannas.

Collector Variability in Colombia 51

THE NORTHWEST OF SOUTH AMERICA: LA COSTA COLOMBIANA

The Caribbean region of what is today the Republic of Colombia is characterized by strong variability in amount of precipitation as well as in topographic and physiographic structure. Considered to be the northern lowlands of the Andean foldbelt (Fig. 1), the area has a high degree of environmental diversity that ranges from very dry desert with dunes (Alta Guajira), wetlands (Mompox Depression), and savannas (Bolivar) to cloud forest and permanent glaciers (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta). Previous research on foragers and collectors has been concentrated almost exclu- sively on the Caribbean littoral. The recently completed inland San Jacinto project interjects a new adaptive strategy and a new ecological zone into the debates about paths to food production in this area.

In approaching the delineation of past adaptive strategies, the first question to arise concerns the relationship of the present environment to past conditions and charting the significant changes. It is clear that the lowlands of northern Colombia have in fact been affected by significant environmental changes. It is thought that human activities may have played a role in the transformation of the faunal and floral distributions (see Par- sons and Bowen, 1966; Gordon, 1957; Parsons, 1980; Oyuela, 1987b, Plazas et al., 1993; Bray, 1995). It is generally accepted that past glacial activities had little effect on temperature below an altitude of 2000 m. Past fluctuations in temperature are thought to be only 1 or 2~ above or below the present-day normal (Van der Hammen, 1986, p. 57i). While temperature was not seriously affected by areal or global climatic changes, other important ecological variables responded to upland climatic shifts with changes in precipitation patterns, the volume of rivers, amount of sedimentation, and sea levels (see Thompson et al., 1985; Shimada et al., 1990).

Van der Hammen (1982, p. 62) proposes a close relationship between low sea-level periods and savannas in the Quaternary (see also Wijmstra and Van der Hammen, 1966). Based on research in Guyana and Surinam, he concludes "It seems that low sea level and savannahs always go to- gether" (Van der Hammen, 1983, p. 25). This seems to correlate with pollen diagrams of Lake Valencia (Venezuela) and the Peten (Guatemala) (Mark- graf, 1989, pp. 3-9). Low sea levels affect inland water table levels and the drainage characteristics of soils (Back and Hanshaw, 1987). Evidence of a correlation between drainage gradients of rivers and changes in sea level has been obtained by studying variation in river levels of the Bajo Mag- dalena and Cauca-San J6rge rivers (Van der Hammen, 1983; Plazas et al., 1993; Bray, 1995; cf. Wijmstra, 1967). Correlations between river and sea- level changes have even been made as far inland as the upper drainage

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Collector Variability in Colombia

Table I. Approximate Climatic Dry and Wet Periods Based on Low River Levels in the Magdalena Valley, San J6rge-Cauca, Colombia a

Dry periods Wet periods (a.e.) (B.P.)

6900? 5560 to 5400

5400 to 4800 4800 to 4600

4100 to 4600 4100 to 3850

3850 to 2700 2700 to 2000

2000 to 1500 1500 to 1350

1350 to 750 750 to 650

650 to 450 450

"Data from Van der Hammen (1983, p.25); Van der Hammen and Noldus (1986); Plazas et al. (1993); Wijmstra (1967).

53

system of the Caqueta River, a tributary of the Amazon River (Van der H a m m e n et al . , 1991). In the Magdalena valley and the savanna lowlands of northern Colombia, dry intervals have been identified in which the area apparently assumed a more savanna-like character (Table I). Recently, the validity of most of Van der Hammen ' s climatic sequence for the Holocene has been confirmed by the ice-core records from Huascarfin, in northern Peru. The record, especially from the dust in the ice core, has peaks re- markably similar to those of the dry periods of Van der Hammen ' s sequence (Thompson et al. , 1995).

Collectors of Estuary Environments: Shellfish Gatherers and Fishermen

Changes in drainage systems and sea level affect population distribution and density along the coast as well as along the river and s t ream systems. To evaluate the nature of these changes, it is necessary to review the factors affecting the formation and evolution of estuary environments. The discerned pattern is then interpreted in relation to the temporal and spatial distributions of the excavated shell middens of the Caribbean littoral of northwestern South America.

54 Oyuela-Caycedo

Shell middens are one of the most visible kinds of sites produced by collectors (shell middens produced by natural processes also exist). We need to understand how shell middens formed and the significance of the spatial and temporal discontinuities of shell middens as ecofacts. A significant advancement in addressing such questions was made when Bailey (1983) suggested the possibility that coastal middens should be examined through the study of the spatial discontinuities. He identifies two key factors that have shaped the classical postdepositional explanation of the gen- eration of discontinuities: variation in the local availability and abundance of the marine mollusks and discarding behavior. Other factors related to both midden formation and discontinuities include oscillation of sea level, silting in areas of marine vegetation, formation of bay mouth bars, and tectonic movements, as well as exhaustion of a preferred food supply (Hurt, 1974; MeUars, 1987; Shackleton and Van Andel, 1986; Cooke, 1987; Suguio et al., 1992).

Sea-level transgressions have an enormous impact on the distribution of fauna and flora, especially in river valley drainages, where the gradient and sedimentation processes change (Inman, 1983). Sea-level transgression lowers the gradient and usually results in increased sedimentation and the expansion of floodplains. In turn, this leads to the formation of riverine terraces, which determine the location and potential stratification of archaeological sites (Gardner and Donahue, 1985).

The displacement of the shoreline has an impact on the formation of estuaries since their origins are linked with sea-level transgressions (Meisler et al., 1984; Kraft, 1985; Woodroffe et al., 1988). The northwestern South America shell middens were located in estuarine environments. Under- standing the origin and vulnerability of the estuaries in northwestern South America can lead to a partial understanding of the formation and development of shell middens in these high-biomass ecosystems (Knox, 1986).

All evidence indicates that estuaries form during periods of sea-level transgression (Kennish, 1986, p. 41). It can be argued that the longevity of estuaries is controlled primarily by sea-level changes, tectonic movements, and precipitation rates. Wet climates and high sea levels increase the sediment flux in coastal systems, promoting widespread deposition of marine sediments, formation of sandbars, and other physiographic conditions that are required for the formation of shell beds. Low sea levels result in erosion and nonde- position. Thus, a eustatic rise of sea level tends to prolong the life span of an estuary and a drop tends to shorten it (Kennish, 1986, p. 48).

In light of the relation of sea-level changes to estuarine formation, Oyuela and Rodrlguez (1990) have proposed a model for explaining the spatial and temporal discontinuities of shell middens in northwestern Co- lombia. The model, discussed below', describes the dynamic relationship


Table IL Periods of Shell Midden Formation and Sea-Level Transgressions i

Evidence of

Wet periods (B.P.) Sea-level transgression Shell midden formation

55

5400 to 4800 Marine terrace Puerto Hormiga Puerto Chacho

4100 to 4600 ? Unidentified

3850 to 2700 Marine terraces; coral formation Canapote (Bar6) 1 to 3 m above present Barlovento dated by C-14 to 2800 B.P. ~ 150 years and 2700 B.P. -+ 90 years

Location; shell midden dates 2000 to 1500

1350 to 750 Shell midden dates; palynology

Marta Mina de Oro

Tasajeras Loma de Lopez Ceeilio Cangarti Palmira Estorbo 1

650 to 450 Palynology; marine terrace; shell dates Unidentified

among human collectors, estuarine environments, and the creation of shell middens; it is supported by the spatial and temporal distributions and environmental contexts of shell middens from all of the sites in northwestern South America that have been excavated or where enough data are available for use in this interpretation.

Estuarine environments present a patchy spatial distribution. Further- more, estuarine fauna mainly originate in the sea. Most of the species found on the continental shelf have migratory cycles involving the use of estuaries as nursery grounds before the creatures migrate to the open sea. In general estuarine species diversity is low, but those adapted to this seasonal environment are extremely abundant (Vernberg, 1983, p. 43). The model argues that shell middens form in northern Colombia during sea-level transgressions when environmental changes favor the expansion of estuarine resources, especially shellfish populations (r-selected species). Shellfish can then become an abundant and predictable resource for human population use. Conversely, during sea-level regressions shellfish populations decrease primarily as a consequence of the reduction and disappearance of most estuarine environments. These changes in sea level are closely related to wet and dry periods (see Table I). These factors have a primary effect on the formation and visibility of shell middens on the landscape (Table II). The gradual decline in estuarine resources and their exploitation can push

56 Oyuela-Caycedo

human populations to change their subsistence strategies for alternative food sources such as open sea or river fishing. In this dynamic set of relationships, the discerned pattern is as follows.

1. A high temporal correlation exists among the beginning of shell midden formation, the slow rising of sea level, and wetter climatic periods.

2. Low frequencies of shell midden deposits are found during low sea levels and during dry periods. In the archaeological record, this correlates with temporal gaps or a low frequency of shell middens.

3. The spatial distribution of shell middens is concentrated around active or extinct estuarine environments, resulting in a patchy distribution that may or may not accord with current environmental conditions but reflects conditions in the past.

4. Between estuarine zones, the human population placed an emphasis on other subsistence resources that do not produce shell middens.

The diversity of factors governing shellfish population growth rates (precipitation, temperature, sediment deposition, and spread of currents) complicates the determination of the seasonality of shellfish exploitation. In the case of Colombia, we have very little information about seasonal availability of shellfish for places such as the Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta. However, such data as exist indicate that shellfish are relatively available all year-round. In contrast, fish availability in the estuaries is highly seasonal (Hernandez, 1986; Rivera et aL, 1980).

Direct evidence of seasonality is not presently available in the archaeological reports describing excavated shell middens. Hence, the role of shellfish collection in a seasonal calendar of resource procurement is un- known; this makes it difficult to understand the seasonal variability of coastal collectors for comparison with inland collectors.

Four zones of major shell midden concentration are recognized in northern Colombia (Fig. 1). Each of these zones reflects a particular discrete history of exploitation; that is, the shell midden zones do not have long life spans.

Zone I: Canal del Dique and Cartagena

This zone can be subdivided into lacustrine subzones of the Canal del Dique and the Bay of Cartagena. The best-studied shell middens in the first subzone are Puerto Chacho and Puerto Hormiga. Representative of

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Table IIL C-14 Dates of Northern Colombian Shell Middens Zone I: Cartagena-Canal del Dique (Uncalibrated Dates)"

Sample No. Material Date B.P.

Barlovento

Canapote

Puerto Hormiga

W-741 Shell 2980 __. 120 W-743 Shell 3140 • 120 W-739 Shell 3470 • 120 Y-1318 Charcoal 3510 • 100

Y-1760 Charcoal 3730 - 120 Y-1317 Charcoal 3890 • 100

1-1123 Charcoal 4502 • 250 SI-15t Charcoal 4820 __. 100 1-445 Shell 4875 • 170 SI-152 Shell 4970 • 70 SI-153 Shell 5040 • 70

Puerto Chacho Beta-26200 Charcoal 5220 • 90

~Sources: Rubin and Alexander (1960, p. 180); Reichel (1986, p. 81, 1965a, p. 53, 1985, pp. 175-176); Stuiver (1969, pp. 631-633); Legros (1990).

the second subzone are the shell middens of Canapote and Bariovento (Fig. 2, Table III).

Puerto Chacho. Puerto Chacho is located on the right margin of the Canal del Dique (Department of Bolivar), approximately 2.5 km f rom the shell midden of Puerto Hormiga and 13.5 km from the coastline. The site has the form of a long S with a west-east orientation, a length of 84 m, and a width that fluctuates between 14 and 29 m. The most abundant mollusks are members of the genera Pitar and are found throughout the whole s e q u e n c e . L e s s e r q u a n t i t i e s of Crassostrea rhizophorae, Melongena melongena, and some other small mollusks indicate the closeness of the site to the beach. Only the middle occupation of the site has been dated by C-14; this date is 5220 B.P. + 90 years (Legros, 1990; Rodrfguez, 1995).

Puerto Hormiga and Mons~. Puerto Hormiga and Puerto Chacho are located on the same alluvial terrace, but Puerto Chacho is on its border. Puerto Hormiga is located 300 m from the natural channel of the Canal del Dique in the high part of an alluvial terrace. The shell midden had a ring shape, with a diameter of 77 m from north to south, 85 m from east to west, and a height of 1.2 m. The midden is composed of 75% shells of Pitar sp., which lives in shallow water environments, and 25% shells of Os- trea sp., which require marshy environments (Reichel, 1965a). This shell midden suggests that the channel was directly influenced by the sea and that the site was beside a bay or big lagoon formed after a sea-level transgression. The site was occupied during a wet period (Table I and Fig. 4).


Monsfi, which is close to Puerto Hormiga and to the sea (3 km today), is not a shell midden. Like Puerto Hormiga, Monsfi is a mound with a ring form. The C-14 dates and the diverse cultural material indicate that it is younger than Puerto Hormiga, with occupations between 4270 B.P. +-- 80 years and 3230 B.P. ___ 90 years. In 1976 Reichel placed the age of the site between Canapote and Puerto Hormiga. Later, in 1985, as a result of two dates obtained from shell samples, he proposed an earlier occupation (the Turbana Phase, Monstl) than that of Puerto Hormiga. There are a number of problems with shell dates, as Reichel fully recognized (personal communication, 1992; see also Rodriguez, 1995; Wippern, 1987). Here, we ac- cept his first estimate since it makes more sense in relation to the cultural assemblage recovered.

The question arises as to why this site which is relatively close to the channel and the sea is not a shell midden. One answer is that no estuary or shellfish beds were available for exploitation. Monsfi's formation probably occurred during a period of falling sea level and dry climate, when the estuarine environment was retreating or changing to a more riverine form.

The faunal remains at Monsfi suggest a riverine environment, similar to present lowland and savanna areas, where deer, armadillos, jaguar, and monkeys were hunted during occupations of the site defined by different ceramic phases (Turbana, Monsfi, Pangola, and Barlovento phases). Through time there was an increase in the exploitation of sea and estuarine resources (see Reichel, 1985, Tables XLIII and XLIV), most notably during the cultural period called Barlovento (so called due to the similarity with material from the shell midden of Barlovento located close to Cartagena). This shift is possibly the result of the next sea-level transgression and gradual return to the wetter conditions dated between 3500 and 2700 B.P. (Ta- bles I and II). The species exploited during this phase include turtles and fish of various species, but frequency information is limited. In order of abundance, the mollusks are Strombus gigas, Ampullarius sp., and Melongena melongena. The main purpose for collecting Strombus gigas can be interpreted as acquiring the raw materials for agricultural hoes in the Barlovento Phase (as favored by the excavator) or as axes for canoe manu- facturing (Rodrlguez, personal communication, I990).

To summarize the evidence from these several sites, it is likely that the Puerto Chacho site was occupied during a period that saw the intensification of shellfish exploitation. The Puerto Hormiga midden is a result of intensive exploitation of these resources during a period of transgression and formation of estuarine environments in a wet climate. Later, the drop in sea level limited the resources and moved the coastline farther away. The people remained in the area but with different subsistence strategies emphasizing inland gathering and sea and river fishing. Monsfi shows this

60 Oyuela-Caycedo

kind of adaptation, and as expected, the climate was dry during the site's initial formation. At the end of the period under consideration, the Bar- lovento Phase, there are indications that people again began to exploit an environment more affected by the sea. This suggests another transgression that favored the formation of the shell middens of Cartagena. It should be noted that there were riverine and swamp adaptations during the same period as Puerto Hormiga but these are very poorly understood (see An- gulo, 1981, 1988b).

Canapote. The site lies 300 m from the estuarine lagoon of Tesca and 1600 m from the coast in a marine formation. Bischof (1966) suggests that the area of the site was an island at the time of the early occupation since the mollusk resources of-the shell midden do not indicate dependency on the lagoon. Unfortunately, no mollusk or fish identifications are given and only a description of the ceramics is available (Gebhard et al., 1988).

Barlovento. The site is located on a sandbar that forms the salt marsh lagoon of Tesca and is 300 m from the seashore (Reichel, 1955). The site is 2-3 m above modern sea level. Six shell mounds interconnected at the base define a circle. The mean height of the mounds was 3 m, with some rising to 6 m. The area of the shell middens was close to 10,000 m 2. Two cuts made in separate shell middens indicated differences in their composition. In Cut I there was a high density of Galeodes patula (also identified as Melongena melongena); this snail is typical of shallow waters with mud soils. The second shell identified in quantity was Chione histrionica (also identified as Venus sp.), which is also found in shallow waters. Cut II revealed mollusks similar to those in Cut I but also contained a layer of Cryptolgramma braziliana. Fish, relatively abundant in the oldest layers, have been identified as Chaetodipterus sp. and Cardisoma sp.

Both shell middens are related with a wet climatic period and a gradual rising of sea level from an initial level below that of the present. Ap- parently, a gradual process of sea-level rise was initiated at the beginning of the Canapote phase. Bischof (1966) hypothesized that the lagoon of Tesca was formed after the occupation of Canapote, this fits well with the interpretation of sea-level transgression presented here. Possibly, the estuary reached its maturity during the Baflovento phase when sea level was at its highest, probably close to or slightly above the present level. This correlates well with the marine influences observed at Monsfi during the Barlovento phase.

Another line of evidence favoring this sea-level oscillation between 1 and 3 m above the present for this region of Cartagena was presented by Burel and Vernette (1981). Their study establishes that some coral formations are 3 m above the present-day sea level, as are some shell midden beds. Samples from the shell midden deposits give dates of 2850 B.E ---

Collector Variability in Colombia 6!

150 years, and those for the coral formations of 2700 B.P. ___ 90 years. This information accords with the proposed model of sea-level transgression, which permitted the formation of the Barlovento and Canapote shell middens and is seen in the later levels at Mons~ (Table II).

Zone II: Gulf of Morrosqui i lo

This zone is not well-known. Few excavations have been conducted and the results are still very preliminary (Santos and Ortiz-Troncoso, 1986; Van der Hammen and Ortiz-Troncoso, 1992, pp. 18-19). Today, this zone has developed a line of small lagoons and patches of mangrove, thanks to the formation of a new sandbar in front of an old series of beach ridges that run parallel to the coast. This small system of longitudinal lagoons are indirectly affected by the delta of the Sinfi River (Fig. 1). Several shell middens and a stratified site have been identified in this zone. Available information for three middens indicates two periods of shell midden formation for the area. Furthermore, a stratified site confirms a lower sea level before the formation of the shell middens of the last period.

The first wet period occurs between 3850 and 2700 B.P. It is characterized by the site of Las Caracuchas. This site is a large shell midden of 10,000 m z that in some parts rises as high as 6 m. Interestingly, the shell midden is located 7 km from the present shoreline and 14 km to the west of the Sint~ River. The shells found at this site are from an estuary, where an exchange of sea and river water once occurred, a conclusion supported by recent geomorphological studies in the area (Van der Hammen and Or- tiz-Troncoso, 1992, p. 19).

The second wet period associated with midden formation is between 2000 and 1500 B.P. Only two shell middens are known. The first one is La Aguada. This site is a sparse shell midden located beside the sea. It measures 100 m in length and 20-60 cm in depth. The second site is La Isla, which is defined by two shell middens. One is 15 m in diameter; the other is formed by two mounds of 5000 m z total.

Marta is not a shell midden but appears to be a stratified site of 35,000 m 2 and 1 to 3 m in height; it is close to lagoons, swamps, and the sea. The site also functioned as a burial place. Shell hooks as well as hoes made of shell (Strombus sp.) and lithics have been reported. Its, initial occupation starts at 2130 B.P. _.+ 90 years. The importance of this site is that it was formed in a dry period (Tables I and IV, Fig. 4) and a geomorphological study of the site concluded that the initial occupation occurred when the sea level was 1 m below the present. Lenses of shells were found deposited in the lower strata. This occurrence may reflect the rise in sea level and

62

Table IV.. C-14 Dates of Northern Colombian Zone II: Gulf of Morrosquillo (Uncalibrated Dates) a

Sample No. Material Date B.P. Mar ta GrN-11224 Charcoal 2010 --- 45

GrN-11302 Charcoal 2080 +_- 140 GrN-12345 Charcoal 2130 __- 90 GrN-11303 Shell 1740 • 50

aSource: Van Zweden (1994, p. 37)~

Oyuela-Caycedo

temporary short-lived formations of estuaries. A date from shell found in these lenses falls, as predicted, into a wet period [1740 B.P. _+_ 50 years (GrN-11303)]. Geomorphology studies show that the habitation area o f the site increased in size over time as the sea level rose. The disappearance of shells from the upper strata of the midden has been interpreted as re- flecting a lessening of mollusk importance in the diet (Van Zweden, 1994, p. 37), but I would suggest that the site was mainly a fishing station on an open beach which occasionally had access to estuarine resources when the sea level was rising. The hoes made of shell may be interpreted as having a use in canoe manufacture.

The still incomplete study of this area suggests that shell middens were developed during the wet period of 2000 to 1500 B.P. as the Marta site seems to confirm. The only site that would have been formed before this is Las Caracuchas and it is most probably contemporaneous with Bar- lovento, formed between 3500 and 2700 B.P. Unpublished radiocarbon dates support this chronology (Santos, personal communication, 1992).

Zone III: Cienaga Grande de Santa Malta

This zone can be divided into three subzones. The first, the Isla de Salamanca, is the sandbar that separates the 57,700 ha of saline water of the Cienaga Grande lagoon from the sea; the second is the Cienaga Grande lagoon itself; and the last is the series of small lacustrine lagoons between the great lagoon and the delta of the Magdalena River. In this lat ter subzone, only Cienaga de Pajaral has been studied (Fig. 3).

In the past, the area that became the Cienaga Grande was actually the delta of the Magdalena River, but as a result of the rise of sea level, the sandbar of the Isla de Salamanca converted the former delta into a large saltwater lagoon which became one of the most productive estuaries of Colombia. Its shallow waters support an abundance of Ostrea plumosa,


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Fig. 3. General map of sites located in Zone IIh Isla de Salamanca, Cienaga Grande, and Cienaga de Pajaral.

Protothaca gram, and other mollusk species as well as a high fish population, especially of seasonal migrant species such as Musel sp.

Holocene era paleoecological studies of the Cienaga have been done by Wiedemann (1973), Cohen and Wiedemann (1973), and Van der Ham- men and Noldus (1986). Before 7000 B.P. the Magdalena River passed through this area, and the shoreline was probably at least 10 m below its present level, Between 6600 and 5400 B.P. marine influences are present and areas of mangrove began to develop. A period of stability in the mangrove forest was followed by its gradual destruction between 3400 and 1900 B.P. Van der Hammen and Noldus (1986, p. 587) interpret these changes as resulting from a sea-level transgression of 2 m. ! suspect other forces

64 Oyuela-Caycedo

Table V. C-14 Dates of Northern Colombian Shell Middens Zone III: Isla de Salamanca, Cienaga Grande, and Cienaga de Pajaral

(Uncalibrated Dates) a

Sample No. Material Date B.P.

Isla de Salamanca Tasajeras Palmira Los Jagfieyes Cangaru

Cienaga Grande Loma de Lopez

Mina de Oro

Cienaga de Pajaral Cecitio

M-1308-1 Charcoal 1000 _+ 105 M-1302 Charcoal 1450 _+ 110 IAN-90 Charcoal 1615 ___ 100 UGa-819 Charcoal 985 _+ 120

M-1310 Shell 825 _+ 100 M-1311 Shell 905 _+ 100 M-1312 Shell 945 _+ 100 M-1475 Charcoal 1490 _+ 100

IAN-89 Charcoal 960 _+ 375

"Sources: Crane and Griffin (1965a, b, pp. 16-17, 144-145); Murdy (1986); Bischof (1969).

may have been at work, such as a dry climatic period or, more probably, a tectonic movement of the land mass, since the Cienaga is 7-30 km east of the Santa Marta fault (Wiedemann, 1973, p. 89). After 1900 B.P. a gradual sea-level advance led to the formation of the present lagoon and the sandbar of the Isla de Salamanca (Van der Hammen and Noldus, 1986, p. 587; Cohen and Wiedemann, 1973, p. 140).

It is clear that the modem Cienega Granda or Great Lagoon formed as a result of sea-level rise or transgression (Table II). This process led to the relative stabilization of an estuarine environment after 1900 B.P. The dry per iod that has been proposed in o ther areas of nor thern Colombia , 1500-1350 B.P., may indicate small regressions in the sea level, with marked consequences for the estuarine environments. This would slow the population growth of shellfish to a point where their exploitation by human populations reached a low level of productivity. This or tectonic uplift would explain the existence of natural shell middens and mar ine terraces in the a rea of Rodadero , dated to 1430 B.P. - 40 years, with oyster beds 1.25 m above the present sea level (Van der Hammen and Noldus, 1986, p. 587). As expected, all of the shell middens of this zone were formed during the wet period after the phenomena briefly described above (Fig. 4 and "lhbles I and II).

Subzone Isla de Salamanca

These shell middens were described first by Gerardo Reichel Dolma- toff (1954). He gave them a late date based on ceramics found at the bot-

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66 Oyuela-Caycedo

tom of the shell middens pertaining to the Tairona chiefdoms. He assumed the middens represented temporary camps (Table V). The whole Isla de Salamanca seems to have been covered by a continuous line of shell middens. The chronology of the shell middens supports the hypothesis of shell midden formation occurring during wetter periods: in this case, during the wet period following 1350 B.P.

Los Jagueyes. Los Jagueyes lost its upper layers during the construction of the road that crosses the Salamanca sandbar (Angulo, 1978); 30 m from the midden, a prehistoric cemetery has also been completely looted. The re- maining midden, 50--60 cm thick, was excavated in arbitrary levels of 20 cm. The Tairona ceramics found in all layers indicate a relationship with the neigh- boring complex chiefdoms. The only date for the site [1615 B.E _ 100 years (IAN-90)] is considered a chronological outlier in relation to the type of ceramics found and other C-14 dates for the region. The shell midden is closer to the lagoon than to the sea, and the shells that compose the site are Plotothaca grata and Ostrea plumosa, both from shallow-water environments. Remains of birds and fish were also found, but no species identifications have been given.

Tasajeras. In this area, the sandbar is 200 m wide. This midden has a diameter of close to 80 m and the deposit is 1.8 m thick. The shell composition and the cultural material are similar to those of Los Jagueyes.

Palmira. Close to Tasajeras and to the lagoon, Palmira has an ovoid form 60 m in length by 30 m in width and 0.80 m high. The shell midden composition is similar to that of Tasajeras and Los Jagueyes.

The ceramics found in Los Jagueyes, Tasajera, and Palmira are not very different from the utilitarian ceramics found in the northern lowlands of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. A comparison of the ceramics found in these three sites with those of the Tairona area place them between 1350 and 750 B.P. The sites lack the bichrome ceramics which are very common in the assemblages of the northern and western lowlands of the Sierra Ne- vada de Santa Marta before 1350 B.P., thus supporting this date as the beginning for the wet episode.

Cangaru. Cangaru is close to the sea and, like the other shell middens of the Isla, is part of the discontinuous line of shell middens found in an area approximately 1 km long, most reaching 1.1 m in thickness. Cangaru was used as a burial place as well as an encampment for fishing and shell gathering. The most common shells were Donax striaticus, Donax denticu- latus, and Donax carinatus (94%). These shells produce small quantities of meat, are very common in shallow waters and sand, and are easily seen between tides. The next most common species recovered was Pitar circinata, which is gathered in the same kind of environment, followed by Ostrea plumosa, which is typical of the lagoon. The most common fish were Ar/us


sp. and Centropomus sp., both found in the lagoon. Bones from the seasonal migrant family Mugilidae were recovered. Turtles were also exploited. Cul- tural material included beads, one hook, and ground stone artifacts.

The chronology of Cangaru places it within the period estimated for the other shell middens of this subzone (Table V). The material remains reveal close ties to sites previously described as part of the Tairona culture (1000-450 B.P.). One of the interesting aspects of this site is the presence of ceramics that are more commonly recovered from the east margin of the Cienaga Grande, specifically from the shell middens of Loma de Lopez and Mina de Oro. The presence of ceramics like those from layer C at Mina de Oro, which are very sparse in the western lowlands and parts of the northern Sierra Ne- vada de Santa Marta, also argue for a date after 1350 B.P. (Bischof, 1969).

Subzone Cienaga Grande

In this subzone only two shell middens have been studied. Based on the paleoecological reconstruction of Van der Hammen and NOldus (1986), older shell middens probably occur in the interior of the Cienaga Grande. Shell middens can also be expected to have formed inland to the south of the Cienaga during the transgressional or wet periods (Table V). The sites were most likely contemporaneous with the wet periods when the Puerto Hormiga and Canapote middens were formed. The only two shell middens studied in this area are nearly contemporaneous with those described for the Isla de Salamanca subzone.

Mina de Oro. Excavated by Henning Bischof in 1961 and still unpublished in final form, the site of Mina de Oro is composed of four layers, each separated by culturally sterile layers. The two oldest layers (A and B) were formed before 1490 B.P. _- 100 years according to one C-14 date from the surface of layer B,

Bischof (1969) proposes that the ceramics from layer C at the Mina de Oro site and the early phase of the Tairona ceramics found at Nahuan, are related. He suggests layer C dates between 1450 and 1200 B.E La C ceramics were examined by the author at the Anthropological Muse of Barranquilla; they are similar to one of the ceramic types excavated the site of Mamoron in Gaira, where two charcoal samples gave dates ot 1400 B.E __. 70 years and 1170 B.P. --- 55 years (Oyuela, 1987b). This refines the chronological placement of layer C at Mina de Oro and agrees with the expected formation of shell middens during the wet period as described by Van der Hammen and Noldus (1986). The shell midden was occupied until approximately 1050 B.E (Bischof, 1969).

68 Oyuela-Caycedo

Loma de Lopez. Loma de Lopez is a shell midden with an area of 2 ha and a maximum thickness of 3 m (Angulo, 1978). It is located 3 km from the shoreline of the Cienaga Grande, in a floodplain of high sedimentation. The site is composed mainly of shells of Protothaca grata.

The cultural material of Loma de Lopez is similar to Cangaru (ground stone, spindle whorls). The pottery of this site is similar to that of the Isla de Salamanca and to the Tairona ceramics produced after 1000 B.P. The site was abandoned at approximately 800 B.P. ___ 100 years.

Angulo (1978) proposed that the site was initially occupied by agricultural peoples who later abandoned it, being subsequently reoccupied by fishing and gathering peoples. Presently, no evidence exists to support this hypothesis. Angulo also considers that these fishing peoples migrated to this subzone from elsewhere. If the subsistence change that he postulates is correct, a different interpretation would consider the change from agriculture to fishing as the result of a return to more optimal conditions for shellfish gathering and fishing than for agriculture. These changing conditions would occur as a consequence of increases in estuarine productivity in a wet period.

Subzone of Pajaral Lagoon

This lagoon has shallow waters, like the Cienaga Grande, surrounded by mangrove forest. The only data for this subzone come from two shell middens excavated by Anguto (1978) (Table V). Cecilio: Cecilio has an area of 1 ha and is a relatively shallow midden 60 cm deep. The upper levels of the site are characterized by Protothaca grata shells and the lower levels by the presence of Ostrea plumosa. The material culture consists mainly of ground stone and pottery, showing a relationship to the ceramic complexes of the Magdalena River region (see Reichel and Dussan, 1991). The faunal remains consist of fish, alligator, and turtle of unidentified species. Close to the site is a cemetery in a shell midden 3 m deep called Tia Maria. Burials with offerings of ceramics, fish, shells, and bird bones were uncov- ered. Angulo (1978) assumes that the site was contemporaneous with Cecilio and was used as a burial place by the inhabitants of that site.

Angulo (1978) and Murdy (1986) argue that because of the similarities of the Cecilio pottery to that from the Magdatena River, the shell middens of the Cienaga initially were the result of some kind of migration to this zone from the latter region. Furthermore, they propose that later, around 1000 B.E, evidence of the "influence" of the Tairona culture exists. I dis- agree with this view in light of the results from the regional study of Gaira (Oyuela, 1987b). First, the ceramics of the Magdalena River region have


a broad distribution in all of the western areas of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and can even be found in low percentages in the north. Sec- ond, this broad distribution has not been studied in regard to ceramic exchange networks or even to determine how the ceramics were produced and at what level this occurred (household, town, or specialized production). As a consequence, we are still far from understanding the regional variation that seems to exist between river drainages, and even within val- leys and sea bays (Oyuela, 1985). The traditional perspective on the cultures defined by ceramics (Malambo, Nahuange, Tairona) ignores the regional variation that exists (see Bray, 1995) and does not encourage the study of pottery production as a process or the effects of differential access to pottery production. In any case, it is premature to talk of "influences" or to make generalizations about particular pottery types as originating in particular regions. Third, considering the advances that have been made on the research of the chiefdoms of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Groot, 1985; Herrera, 1985; Oyuela, 1985, 1986a-1987b, 1990), it is more likely that the sites represent politically and ethnically independent groups economically tied to the highlands as suppliers of fish, calcium carbonate from shells (used as a catalyst in the consumption of coca), and salt (Car- denas, 1988).

In summary, the shell middens excavated in the zone of the Isla de Salamanca, Cienaga Grande, and Pajaral chronologically corroborate the indications for shell midden development during the last two wet climatic periods (1350 to 750 B.R and 650 to 450 B.P.). Indications also exist of earlier shell midden developments during other wet periods, but many of these sites may now be underwater or buried by sediments on the southern side of the Great Lagoon. It is important to note that today the inhabitants still exploit shellfish although this activity is now completely secondary to fishing, which yields the staple food in the Isla de Salamanca (Krogzemis, 1968).

Zone IV: Gulf of Uraba

Since 1976, a group of shell middens in an alluvial zone located primarily on the right margin of the Gulf of Uraba has been studied. They are relatively far from the coastline. Different forms have been identified, such as linear ones more than 250 m in length. Other circular mounds are 30 m in diameter and 3 m high. In general, these sites are beside rivers and small streams and probably began to form approximately 1300 years ago. All of the investigated middens share a similar cultural inventory (ceramics, lithics, and remains of exploited resources) and are part of what Santos (1989)

70 Oyuela-Caycedo

Table VI. C-14 Dates of Northern Colombian Shell Middens Zone IV: Gulf of Urab~ (Uncalibrated Dates) a

Sample No. Material Date B.P. Estorbo 1 GrN-11304 Charcoal 1055 _ 40

GrN-12344 Charcoal 925 __+ 45 i

"Source: Santos (1989).

defined as the "complejo Urab~i." The best documented of these sites is El Estorbo (Santos, 1989).

Santos initially published a number of incorrect C-14 dates from the IAN radiocarbon laboratory (see Bray, 1983). Using new dates and the correlation of ceramics with other dated sites, he has corrected the previous temporal placement of El Estorbo in a new synthesis of the site, and it is this revision that is utilized here (Table VI and Fig. 4) (Santos, 1989).

El Estorbo. El Estorbo is divided into four subsites. At Estorbo I the oldest layer is a shell midden capped by an approximately 1-m sterile yellow clay layer, which represents a period of alluvial sedimentation. The shell layer has been dated with two charcoal samples between 925 B.P __. 45 years (GrN-12344) and 1055 B.E _-+ 40 years (GrN-11304), correlating with the wet period defined between 1350 and 750 B.P. The oldest component is therefore contemporaneous with the oldest sites in the Cienaga Grande. The second shell midden is above the sterile clay layer and its accumulation stopped before the Spanish conquest. Evidence suggests the inhabitants of the site were fishermen and hunters with manioc agriculture, and the collecting of shell was possibly a secondary activity. Furthermore, it is very probable that the end of this shell midden occupation is related to the dry period that has been identified around 750 B.P. The last occupation of the site is characterized by a dependency on maize agriculture rather than on shell gathering (Bray, 1984, pp. 328-329; Santos, 1989).

DISCUSSION

The picture that we have today of the human population that created the shell middens in the northwestern part of South America is still very incomplete. This lack of information is especially apparent for the periods of minor sea-level transgressions occurring after the relative stabilization of sea level around 5000 B.P. However, enough information is available to allow us to establish a general outline of events.

Each zone must be evaluated for its own internal chronological placement. These local sequences can then be linked to the origin or formation of estuarine environments. The existing sequences agree with the model


presented here of the genesis and longevity of these environments (Table II and Fig. 4).

The development of estuarine environments is related to the rise in sea level, and their reduction or death is a consequence of lowering sea levels or tectonic uplift. In this way a shell midden's history is seen to be closely related to environmental changes that can be reconstructed (see Kennish, 1986). Finally, distinct temporal clusters of shell middens are formed during periods of relatively slow eustatic sea-level rise, specifically after 6000 B.P., when the sea level experienced minor fluctuations above and below the present level. The ages of the shell midden sites correlate with rise of sea level and with wet periods.

The shell midden "way of life" is a result of optimal environmental possibilities brought about by the beneficial effects of sea-level rise and climate on estuarine environments. While shell middens are logically expected during such times, they are but one of many different maritime adaptations that humans have developed. Alternative forms of adaptation and mobility that are not related to prolific mollusk gathering are expected to be more common during descendent sea-level periods or in spaces between estuaries. An enormous concentration of research on shell midden sites since the end of the last century makes us forget that there are other kinds of coastal environments, where shell deposits are not abundant and where humans have lived successfully. The problem appears tobe that we are looking for only one kind of easily detectable type of site or, in the tropical area, for one kind of adaptation linked with estuarine environments. We tend to ig- nore other forms of maritime adaptations such as coral environments, deep bays without mangrove formations, open-sea coastal areas, and others re- quiring different and less visible strategies of adaptation with more emphasis on fishing, collecting crabs, and bird hunting supplemented with plant gathering, i.e., on resources that do not l~ave "big" accumulations of middens but that could maintain small, mobile populations (see McNiven, 1992).

Another set of arguments holds that there was an "explosion" of maritime adaptations or a "broad-spectrum revolution" that contributed to sedentism in northwestern South America. This type of resource use is sup- posed to be the result of warm temperatures and an abundance of resources which favored coastal subsistence economies identified as the precursors to agriculture and sedentism (Binford, 1972, 1983, pp. 208-213; Yesner, 1980; el. Hayden, 1990; Sanoja, 1989). I would argue, however, that the abundance of archaeological sites related to maritime resources after 5000 B.P. is better interpreted as being related to the ecological evolution of coastal environments and geomorphological processes. The formation of estuarine environments after 6000 B.P. does not indicate conditions favorable to sedentism, due to the fact that such environments were very dy-

72 Oyuela-Caycedo

namic with great potential for change in both short and long terms. These conditions would continue to favor a degree of mobility very much tied to the seasonal fluctuation of resources and the dynamic behavior of the estuary (cf. Meehan, 1982).

The results presented here show that shell midden research is very complex. The conditions that produce the shellfish resources are brought about by large-scale environmental changes; therefore one can say that sometimes the environment plays a deterministic role in human decisions. Over time, the dynamics of the environment demand new adaptive alter- natives or a return to old ones. We see this in the chronology of the shell middens of northern South America.

Inland Collectors' Strategies: From Collectors to Food Producers and Sedentism

One of the research problems most emphasized in shell midden studies has been the cultural history of the changes from collectors to agriculturalists. Most authors have linked the development of food production to the earlier exploitation of estuary resources, In this scheme, the favorable richness of these resources was seen as contributing to sedentism which was the precursor of agriculture. The empirical support for such a view derives mainly from the sites described above (Angulo, 1978, 1981, 1988a, b; Bischof, 1966; Bray, 1984; Legros, 1990; Reichel, 1954, 1961, 1965a, 1982, 1985). The only model proposed that explores such changes in detail for this area was developed by Gerardo Reichel Dolmatoff and Alicia Dussan de Reichel for the changes from hunter-gatherers to agriculturalists in lowland Colombia (Reichel, 1961, 1965b, 1982, 1986; Reichel and Dussan, 1956). The excavation of Puerto Hormiga, plus the publication of research reports on Canapote, Barlovento, Momil, and most recently on Monstl, as well as the evidence from surface collections of preceramic sites on the northern coast led to Reichel's proposal of the following sequence of events.

1. The origin of horticulture was a gradual process that started in the Archaic with populations of seasonal gatherers.

2. The process varied with concentration of resources and adaptive strategies of the populations. The cooccurrence of sedentary villages as well as mobile populations of collectors around 4000 B.P. is likely.

3. The origin of sedentary and horticultural life was the result of the exploitation of abundant resources in rich environments and of

Collector VaMability in Colombia 73

access to diverse microenvironments. This is exemplified by the excavated sites of Puerto Hormiga, Canapote, and Barlovento.

4. The origin of pottery here is independent of its origins elsewhere. Early pottery production indicates increases in sedentism and develops in hunter-gatherer populat ions of shell midden collectors, such as at Puerto Hormiga.

5. Climatic changes (wet toward dry periods) favored the increased exploitation of more diverse environments as well as the need for dependency on domest icated plants. [This is clear in the interpretation that Reichel (1985, p. 45-47) made about a formation of a calcium carbonate layer at the Monsd site.]

6. Horticulture started as a gradual process where the first plants utilized intensively were roots such as manioc (Manihot esculenta) of possible local domestication in the lowlands of Colombia. In the early phases diets based on roots were complemented by the collection of plants from diverse environments exploited by seasonal gatherers (palm seeds for example).

7. Full sedentism and agriculture occurred at the end of the Formative period (3000 B.P.).

8. The introduction of maize from Mesoamerica to the area occurred at the end of the Formative period (3000 B.P.). A shift in the diet from manioc to seed culture as the major staple occurred. The cause of this shift may be related to a climatic change (wet period). The site of Momil (2000-1800 B.P.) shows such a change (Reichel and Dussan, 1956).

9. The advantage of maize for long-term storage favored population growth and social complexity, which in turn led to the formation of chiefdoms in the Andes (Reichel, 1961). The process of social complexity, and agriculture expanded from the lowlands to the highlands:

10. The colonization of new environments favored the process of intensif icat ion of use of new plants, as well as cul tural diversification.

This model indicates a change from gatherers with seasonal fishing stations or campsites to groups with a dependency on root crops such as manioc (Reichel, 1965b). These changes are represented at sites close to the sea such as Monsd; at the shell midden sites of Puerto Hormiga (5000 B.P.), Barlovento and Canapote (2000-1000 B.P.); and at riverine sites such as Malambo (3000 B.R). The populations used a broad spectrum of resources from diverse microenvironments characterized by lagoon-estuary, savanna, and dry forest systems (Reichel, 1985), In all of these adaptations

74 Oyuela-Caycedo

to rich environments, pottery was present in large quantities relative to amount of recovered lithic materials. The latter reflects mainly a plant food processing technology used to supplement a diet based on fishing and sea- food gathering. This plant processing technology is interpreted as pointing to a pattern of food gathering of nuts and grinding or mashing of roots (Reichel, 1965b, pp. 53-59).

The manioc to maize transition has been postulated for the site of Momil around 2150 B.P., as well as at the Malambo site around 3000 B.P., based on artifact function (Angulo, 1981; Reichel, 1986, pp. 75-76). DeBoer (1975) urges caution when assigning artifacts a root grinding function. At Malambo (Angulo 1981) evidence of budares was presented as indications of manioc use; however, when the author examined this material, it was realized that it corresponds to the large rims of typical Tairona vessels with everted lips mistakenly inverted in the process of classification and interpreted as the edges of the budares. In the excavations of the sites of Monsft (Barlovento Phase) and Barlovento, shell hoes were reported and interpreted as an indication of some kind of root horticulture with a mixed strategy of gathering and hunting (Reichel and Dussan, 1956; Reichel, 1985). However, no solid evidence from macro- or microbotanical remains, or the biochemical analyses of human skeletons, has yet been obtained to support this inference.

In summary, as a consequence of the focus on the coastal sites of the Colombian lowlands, the evidence indicates a reduced mobility focused on rich and diverse environments where a gradual process leading to horticulture or root crop utilization took place and where the later introduction of maize had a major impact on population growth and the formation of villages and chiefdoms. This developmental model is very different from the those proposed for Valdivia (Raymond, 1993; Van der Merwe et al., 1993) and Panama (Cooke and Piperno, 1993) where early maize is argued to be present in association with pottery in the early Formative. In the following discussion of the site of San Jacinto 1, I outline evidence for inland lowland adaptations different from those indicated by coastal and riverine archaeological sites; I argue further that this new evidence suggests an alternative path to food production.

San Jacinto 1: A Seasonal Site in a Transitional Savanna Environment

Since most of the research on the topic of collectors and early food producers has concentrated on the shoreline of the Caribbean or the major river systems, it was necessary to broaden the geographical scope of the


tl .la('i~sto 1 f

�9 - " ' " %. J

Fig. 5. Location of San Jacinto 1.

arguments to include an inland area. In 1986, I began a search for inland sites expecting to find a pattern similar to that observed in Mesoamerica at Tehuac~m (MacNeish, 1992) and Oaxaca (Flannery, 1986). The research was designed to elucidate the role of sedentism in the transition from foragers to food producers in the lowland savanna environment of the Serranla de San Jacinto in northern Colombia and to explore other factors involved in this transition within the lowland environment.

The starting point of the project was the excavation of San Jacinto 1, the oldest of the sites with fiber-tempered pottery in the region (Oyuela, 1987c). The decision to start with a site with pottery was made in order to confirm Reichel Dolmatoff's observations that these early pottery sites were occupied by semisedentary populations of gatherers, but where some reliance on a root crop may be present.

76 Oyuela-Caycedo

Fig. 6. Rolling hills of the region of San Jacinto, Colombia.

San Jacinto 1 is located in the serrania of San Jacinto (the northern foothills of the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes), ca. 220 m above sea level, on a small floodplain surrounded by low rolling hills (Figs. 5 and 6). The region is broadly defined as a savanna with grassland vegetation which undergoes strong seasonal climatic variations (Bouli6re and Hadley, 1983; Parsons, 1980). To evaluate models of mobility and subsistence, we needed to measure the degree of sedentism or mobility at the site, to identify the food resources exploited, and to establish the diet. It was felt that a large- scale, intensive excavation was necessary to recover data relevant to the degree of sedentism or mobility, the identification of exploited resources and their contribution to the diet, and the use of space at the site.

A total of 27 layers or strata was defined during the first phase of the research which involved an extensive auguring program; these strata were subsequently recognized in the actual excavation. Of these, evidence of anthropic activity is registered in nine layers (Oyuela, 1993). The most recent corresponds to the present topsoil or humus, called stratum 1. The second period of human activity occurs in stratum 5, which has been dated between 2120 B.P. _ 90 years (Beta 79781) and 1750 B.E +__ 80 years (Beta 78619); evidence of Chenopodium sp. was recovered (Bonzani, 1995), The most ancient period of formation of anthropic soils, and the focus of this research,


Table VII. C-14 Dates of Northern Colombian Site of San Jacinto 1 (Uncalibrated Dates)

Stratum Sample No. Material Date B.P.

10, Feature 31. GX-20353 Charcoal 5300 • 75 10, Feature 15 GX-20352 Charcoal 5315 _+ 80 10, Feature 45 GX-20354 Charcoal 5325 • 80 10, Feature 57 Beta-77407 Charcoal 5330 __. 80 10, Feature 53 Beta-77405 Charcoal 5510 • 70 12, Feature 151 GX-20355 Charcoal 5530 _+ 80 12, profile Pitt-0154 Charcoal 5665 __. 75 12, profile Beta-20352 Charcoal 5700 __. 430 12, Feature 63 Beta-77406 Charcoal 5730 .4- 110 16?, profile Pitt-0155 Charcoal 5940 • 60

77

occurred in strata 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20. According to 10 radiocarbon dates, these soils were formed between 6000 and 5300 B.E (Table VII). The results of the excavation confirmed the following.

1. The people settled in a point bar environment. 2. Seasonal flooding was a variable that affected the site during the

rainy season. 3. The migration of the meandering stream channel was a variable

that affected the development of living floors, very likely producing cross-bedding as well as horizontal stratigraphy. The end of the human occupation of the site was likely the result of a displacement of the stream by a neck cutoff process.

4. We calculate that the largest "living space" occurred in stratum 9 (346 m2). Based on the form of the site, we estimate that the cutoff of the stream destroyed a minimum of 35 m 2 of the original site area. On the basis of the extensive augering results, the flat space of the ancient point bar where the greatest concentration of features was located was chosen for excavation. We know that this flat area is surrounded by a thick U-shaped midden or dumping area. The flat area was chosen over the midden deposits because key research questions were best addressed in the context provided by the activity areas.

During the excavation of the site an intensive program of flotation was implemented that permitted the recovery of kilograms of carbonized material which is in the process of analysis by Ren6e M. Bonzani as part of her Ph.D, dissertation (University of Pittsburgh). It is interesting to note that more carbonized material was recovered than faunal remains.

San Jacinto 1 was formed by long-term human occupation and reoc- cupation over a period spanning possibly 700 years. Site activities produced

78 Oyuela-Caycedo

Fig. 7. General view of the numerous fire-pits revealed at the end of the excavation of San Jacinto 1.


a complex stratigraphy and microstratigraphy representing living floors, each of variable thickness, and an abundance of 112 earth ovens resulting from the seasonal occupation of the site at the end of the rains (Oyuela, 1996) (Fig. 7). The social organization represented by the site seems to be limited to an extended family of 10 to 15 individuals. Evidence of dwellings indicate provisional constructions like windbreaks or temporary shelters. Most of the daily cooking activities used earth ovens or fire pits for roasting. The cooking techniques relied heavily on the use of fire-cracked rocks for the fire pits as well as for indirect cooking as for example boiling. Evidence of direct fire cooking was also found (Fig. 8).

It is clear that pottery was not used primarily for daily cooking (Oyuela, 1995). This conclusion is based on the following evidence. First, there is a lack of spatial association of pottery with the ovens and hearths (Oyuela, 1995), All of the occupations of the site show evidence of a reliance on cooking techniques that do not require pottery but that employed fire-heated rocks in a pattern similar to that observed in Archaic groups from North America to Patagonia. Second, fire-cracked rocks were present at the site in high density and in direct association with the hearths and ovens. Third, the evidence of pottery was "scarce" and the fragments do not indicate direct exposure to fire. Fourth, the vessels are small rather than large containers (Pratt, 1995). Fifth, a large percentage of the pottery fragments was decorated (Fig. 9). The San Jacinto 1 pottery contrasts with that found in the more recent periods, as at Puerto Hormiga, where pottery was abundant and not highly decorated.

The preliminary picture emerging from the excavation of San Jacinto 1 is that it was a special purpose site occupied when a specific plant resource was available for harvesting. These occupations occurred at some point between the end of the rainy season and the middle of the dry season. The site can be understood as one of the variable kinds of sites generated by a logistic mobility strategy. There is clear evidence that the site was reoccupied over numerous years. San Jacinto i was located on a favored point bar beside a permanent stream. The San Jacinto economy appears to have revolved around harvesting and processing seeds of wild grasses by means of an expedient ground stone technology (Fig. 10) (Oyuela, 1993; Castro, 1994; Bon- zani, 1995) and cooking the processed seeds, mainly in roasting or fire pits. The diet may have been supplemented by hunting of deer and tapir and small animals that were procured and processed with a diverse assemblage of unifaciaUy flaked stone tools or expedient technology. All the raw materials employed are found in the region within a radius of 5-10 kin. There is no evidence of exotic materials from more distant sources. Mobility seems to have been restricted to a territory that may have been no larger than 10 km in radius, and in which microenvironments and the patchy distribution of re-

Fig.

8.

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Fig. 9. San Jacinto fiber-tempered pottery sherds, Baroque type.

sources would require constant monitoring and maintenance of territorial control--possibly by social means such as feasting. Indeed, the postulated territory size may have been in part determined by the ability of groups to monitor and control a given area. This may be defined as spatial-temporal

Fig.

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territoriality, where only limited sectors of seasonal and predictably patchy resources are defended or controlled when they are ready.

DISCUSSION

The results from San Jacinto 1 complicate the traditional view that we have for the lowlands of Colombia as well as for other tropical areas of the world. This is primarily a consequence of the fact that, for the first time, we have started to look at adaptations other than those outlined for the familiar riverine or marine model.

From San Jacinto 1 we have good evidence to support the following interpretation.

1. Intensification in food processing techniques such as grinding and pounding indicates a heavy dependency on wild seed gathering or harvesting as a major food staple.

2. Emphasis on harvesting of wild grass seeds for food was under way before horticulture began. No indications of root crops have been found at the site to date.

3. Pottery was a scarce item moved around by the population of hunters and gatherers. Its role was more likely related to social activities such as serving and feasting than to economic activities of cooking.

4. A logistic strategy of mobility was associated with an expedient tool technology.

5. San Jacinto 1 is a special purpose site in a regionally restricted circuit of seasonal mobility. As a consequence, we should expect strong variability in the material assemblages of other sites occupied during the rainy season.

6. The existence of defined territories of resource exploitation controlled by each group seems to be the norm. The practice of a time-space territoriality is indicated.

The study of inland adaptive strategies seems to indicate a more complex development than has been argued previously for the lowlands of the tropics. Inland adaptations in areas such as the Serrania de San Jacinto are regulated by precipitation fluctuations that create variations of resources in time and space. The bimodal seasonality of the Serrania had a strong effect on the strategies of mobility and subsistence and pushed individuals to develop strategies that favored their own reproductive success. These strategies led to an intensification of the use of certain foods which can be seen as antecedent to the development of full-scale food production. Such complex strategies were not necessary for the survival and reproductive fitness of the

84 Oyuela-Caycedo

groups in the rich coastal and riverine environments. It is on this dynamic behavior in areas outside of the rich marine and riverine environments that we should focus for a better understanding of the variation in strategies leading to the processes of food production and sedentism in the tropics.

FINAL COMMENTS

Littoral collectors seem to have maintained similar adaptations from the times of Puerto Chacho and Puerto Hormiga up to the Spanish conquest without significant changes. The littoral lifestyle was adapted to deal with estuary fluctuations and cycles of fish availability. The lithic technology associated with coastal middens is not the one that is later associated with food production. The main technological changes within the littoral sites appear abruptly and can be interpreted as punctuated changes which were not accompanied by the gradual incorporation of the new technologies tied elsewhere to food production. When the technology of food production is present in shell middens, it appears suddenly and indicates an intrusion or link to inland food producers, all of whom were tied at one point or another to an exchange system of food circulation above the level of simple hunter- gatherer societies. Such a link is best seen in the case of the Cienaga Grande collectors and their exchange with the inland Tairona chiefdoms. This association resulted in strong changes in the relations of production but not in the adaptability of the groups to cope with the environment. These conclusions and the dynamic nature of estuaries and shell midden formation seem to be of universal character, having enormous implications for areas with similar environmental conditions as those presented here. On the basis of the arguments offered here, I believe that shell middens are not linked to a trajectory that would lead to food production.

Shell middens are extremely useful in reconstructing the environmental history of an area, and coastal adaptations to environmental changes require further detailed studies. Since mollusks are very sensitive to environmental changes, the spatial and temporal distribution of shell middens can serve to refine environmental reconstructions made by pollen, river channel, or ice cores; such distributional data can also contribute to the understanding of small scale regional environmental changes. Past human adaptations were undoubtedly complex, and we should search for the full adaptive range instead of simply focusing on a very specific site type because of its high visibility. We still do not know what occurs between estuaries or about other kinds of collecting strategies (for example, coral environments, deep sea bay resource exploitation, and open coastal beaches) or how humans manage the risk in such places. These areas are


where the advances in future research in northwestern South America can be expected.

Comparisons to the estuarine and other environments in other parts of South and Central America can be examined for support of the basic hypothesis presented here, or for variations in the path to food production. The information base for making such comparisons is unfortunately very uneven. Coastal Panama and Ecuador, for example, appear to demonstrate similar patterns, but differences in the process. The research in Panama, developed in the context of a regional study of the Santa Maria drainage, does not give information on the pulsar dynamic behavior of the estuaries where the shell middens of Cerro Mangote and Monagrillo are located (Cooke and Piperno, 1993). However, the studies conducted at both sites show that they were economically tied to inland sites. Cerro Mangote presents a picture of its occupants' moving between the inland and the estuary; however, it is not clear how far they were moving or if the movement was seasonal. In contrast, Monagrillo has been interpreted as a stable fishing settlement that probably was tied in an exchange system to inland groups; the evidence of this pattern of fishermen and inland agriculturalists has not been demonstrated. In both cases there is little information about inland sites that confirm Cerro Mangote's mobility or Monagrillo's economic relations toward the inland. The absence of reports on early open sites found inland contemporaneous with Cerro Mangote and Monagrillo ham- per further comparisons on the pattern of mobility in estuarine environments and its relation to the inland. I would expect that shell middens at the Santa Maria estuary are temporally restricted in time and space and that the people living around the estuaries practiced some form of seasonal mobility in relation to the sea resources.

In relation to the process toward food production, the only clear evidence on inland adaptations comes mainly from some rockshelter test pits and microbotanical evidence that suggest that food production was under way at an earlier date inland than at any shell midden excavated (Cooke and Piperno, 1993; Piperno, 1995; Norr, 1995). This seems to be consistent with the interpretation of the northern Colombian evidence as to where the process toward food production took place. The problem with the inland Panamanian information, which is based on pollen, phytoliths and bone isotopic analysis, is that it has been focused on the physical evidence for maize, as well on the early evidence of domestication (see Piperno, 1995), but has not been evaluated as part of the process leading toward

sedentism or incipient food production in relation to seasonality and plant constraints or scheduling (planting, harvesting).

With regard to coastal Ecuador, there is no information on shell middens. However, an inland process toward food production has been clearly

86 Oyuela-Caycedo

established which is earlier than any fishing settlement. This inland area exhibits a pattern of demographic growth that is significantly greater than that found in the rich coastal environment (Raymond, 1993). The scant available evidence of fishing sites indicate that they are tied economically and probably ideologically (as the Valdivia figurines suggest) to inland processes (Raymond, personal communication, 1995). Of course the data are still very incomplete because of the strong emphasis on ceramic problems and on determining when the "golden kernel" was introduced into the area. In Ecuador, sedentism has been assumed but not demonstrated for any of the early sites. Here the pattern of where the events happened seems to be similar to northern Colombia. However, when the process is compared, it seems to be quite different. Food production has been argued to be in place at the beginning of Valdivia (3300 B.C.), based on the microbotanical evidence at Real Alto. However, it is not clear what the process was that led these people to become sedentary or even why they became food producers. Most of the argument seems to be for a kind of "neolithic revolution." This approximation makes it very difficult to outline a model that in a satisfactory way explains why and how these people became food producers in first place. As in Panama, there is no clear understanding of how the events in Ecuador are articulated in the process that led to food production.

As has been argued, shellfish collectors do not have to cope with the same range of factors as those affecting inland collectors. Risk management strategies among inland collectors are more likely to have the potential to lead to intensive food production activities than those involved in the coastal/estuary adaptations. The case of San Jacinto 1 is a silver bullet in the side of proponents for the link between rich environments and intensive food production. It illustrates that intensive food collecting activities involving technologies and food remains not observable in the littoral are associated with more marginal savanna environments. In the case of San Jacinto 1, intensive food processing is clearly represented by a lithic technology for the grinding and pounding of seeds of wild grasses, as well as by extensive evidence of cooking in roasting pits. This development occurred long before food production and sedentism, and very likely even before the domestication of a cultivar (Bonzani, 1995). Furthermore, even if pottery is present, it has no association with cooking activities and does not play a significant role in food processing (Oyuela, 1996). San Jacinto 1 predates by approximately 1000 to 500 years any of the shell middens excavated in northern Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela.

Returning to the implications of the pattern proposed for San Jacinto 1, it does not seem likely that the scenario proposed by Binford (1972) is correct. In this scenario he proposes that increasing population density on the rich coastal or river environments would favor the displacement of


population inland causing a need in the transitional areas to intensify as the initial steps toward food production. The initial population growth from rich areas seems very unlikely from the evidence of northern Colombia, as well as with the reconstructed scenarios of Ecuador and Panama. Evidence of population growth on the coast during the Holocene seems to be a consequence of an archaeological record biased toward high visibility shell middens, which can give the wrong impression when the formation process of shell middens is not considered (see Trigger, 1986). Shell middens are a result of estuarine formation and intensive exploitation by mobile groups that use a resource that is highly reliable in coping with seasonal contraints. In the case of San Jacinto 1 there is no indication of events that suggest that we are dealing with displaced populations.

Other models that consider a rich environment to be a prerequisite to food production (e.g., Hayden, 1990) seem to be very unlikely, as has been discussed before in light of the results from San Jacinto 1 and from what we know for the estuarine environments. The view presented here seems to be more consistent with the interpretation made in Oaxaca (Flannery, 1986), where food production developed in transitional environments with a bimodal seasonality and where reduced mobility in relation to patchy resources is essential, due to the need to manage risk by exploiting an abundant and predictable resource. Furthermore, this event seems to generate a kind of spatial-temporal territoriality that is very important in relation to risk management and eventually food production. This form of territoriality is a consequence of the exploitation of specific types of resources that demand constant monitoring to be collected when they are available for processing. The resources are characterized by being abundant, and available in a relatively predictable and very short time span. In the case of San Jacinto 1, the abundant, predictable, and patchy resources were grass seeds. Exploita- tion of this resource gradually fostered the development of technological intensification (grinding, pounding, cooking, and storage) that very likely is the basis for the rise of agricultural production in this area.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This paper is the result of years of thinking on this issue and discussion with many people to whom I owe a great debt. I think of the late pro- fessor Gerardo Reichel Dolmatoff, Alicia Dussan, and Dick Drennan

a s my intellectual mentors. Thanks are extended to Jaime Castro, Camilo Rodriguez, Carlos Lopez, Jim Richardson Ill , Gustavo San- tos, Jack Wolford, and Jerry Sabloff, all of whom in one way or another influenced the shape of this paper. The research was conducted

88 Oyuela-Caycedo

with funding f rom different institutions to different projects that contr ib- uted to the research o f this article. These institutions are the Fundac i6n de Investigaciones Arqueologicas del Banco de la Republica, The Latin Amer ica Center o f the University of Pittsburgh, the Tinker Founda t ion , the Heinz Foundat ion, and the National Science Foundat ion. A Pos tdoc- toral Fellowship at the University of Calgary provided quality t ime for thinking and writing in a peaceful environment looking at the Rock3," M o u n - tains f rom the Grea t Plains of Canada. Thanks are extended to Dr. R icha rd Cooke for his comments on the model presented by myself and Cami lo Rodr iguez at the Internat ional Congress o f Archaeozoology at the Smi th- sonian Institution (1990). Scott R a y m o n d at the University o f Calgary made extensive notes and comments o f the paper, which were most beneficial as well as for making possible the time to write this paper. Special thanks go to Jane Kelley, Angela Close, and Ren6e Bonzani for editorial assistance.

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the study of collector variability in the transition to sedentary...

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