Rowan Grider, “Ground Stone Analysis Within The Cerro Sechin Complex”
Mentor: David Pacifico, Art History, Letters & Science (College of)
Poster #46
The Cerro Sechin Archaeological Complex is a collection of settlements in the Casma River Valley in Peru. People occupied different sections of the complex at different times within history, sometimes multiple of the settlements were used in tandem, allowing interaction between people within the complex. One way to analyze past occupation is through food processing and distribution. The goal of this research is to code and analyze the distribution and use of ground stones at the Cerro Sechín Archaeological Complex. The purpose of our research is to use ground stones to understand the food processing and distribution within the Cerro Sechín archaeological complex. This will allow us to understand more about the lives of ancient peoples in Casma Peru and their history. Important vocabulary used within this research include but are not limited to: Lithics are manmade stone tools; batanes are larger worked stones in which food is ground on, or for proofing clay; chungos (hand grinders) are handheld stones used for grinding; and GIS stands for Geographic Information System. We will be coding lithics on GIS by following a coding method chosen by Dr Pacifico. Then use the data recorded in GIS to conduct quantitative and qualitative analysis. Hopefully these methodologies will lead us to a general understanding of the food processing and distribution around a few of the settlements within the Cerro Sechin Complex. Additionally, we hope to find patterns and gain understanding of how the people of Cerro Sechin interacted with each other. This will help provide knowledge, context and insight into these past cultures to better understand their societies.