THE PRECERiMIC PERIOD SITE OF PALOMA, PERU: BIOINDICATIONS OF IMPROVING ADAPIATION TO SEDENTISM

Society for American Archaeology
The Preceramic Period Site of Paloma, Peru: Bioindications of Improving Adaptation to

Sedentism
Author(s): Robert A. Benfer, Jr.
Source: Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 1, No. 4 (Dec., 1990), pp. 284-318
Published by: Society for American Archaeology
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THE PRECERiMIC PERIOD SITE OF PALOMA, PERU:
BIOINDICATIONS OF IMPROVING ADAPIATION TO SEDENTISM
RobertA. Benfer,Jr.
The natureof the adjustmentsmade by the steadilyincreasingpopulationof centralcoastalPeru in the Middle

throughLate Preceramictime periodscan be examined by carefulstudy of bioindicators.Nonspecifc indicators
of stress (NSIS) preservedin human remains provide independentevidencefor validatingpaleodemographic
hypotheses.If life expectancyimprovesover a period of time, one expects diminishedindicationof nonspecifc
stress. Decreasingstress over time also may imply increasingfertility in precontraceptive
peoples, which,along
with declining mortality,wouldlead to populationgrowth.However,the conversedoes not follow; populations
may growovertime whetherrespondingto increasing,stable,or decreasingstress.Otherfactors,such as changing
subsistencestrategiesor hybridvigor,also may be usefulin explainingdiminishedindicationsof eithernonspecifc
stress or population increase. The complex relations among (a) population structureand density (PSD), (b)
nonspecifc indicatorsof stress,and (c) diet have not yieldeddeductionsthat couldform a universalset of expec-
tations.However,severalkindsof adaptationthat are distinctwithrespectto populationgrowthand healthstatus
are consideredand illustratedwithanalysesof 201 skeletonsfrom thepreagriculturalvillageof Paloma in central
coastal Peru.
Nuestro comprehensionsobre la naturalezade las adaptacionesrealizadaspor la poblacion que aumenta
constantementeen la costa centraldel Peru durantelas epocas PreceramicasMedia y Tardiase puede mejorar
por el estudiocuidadosode los indicesbiologicos.Los indicesno-especifcos de la presionque son preservadosen
los restosmortalesde los humanosproveenevidenciaindependientepara validarlas hipotesispaleodemografcas.
Si el indicede la longevidadmejoraduranteun perfodode tiempo,se esperaun indicedisminuidode la presion
no-especifea. La presion que disminuye durante un periodo de tiempo con a umento en la fertilidad en una
poblacionpre-anticonceptivosinduciriaun aumento[acrecentamientolen la poblacion.Sin embargo,lo inverso
no se sigue; las poblacionespueden aumentaral paso del tiempopor respondera la presion,sea que aumente,
quedeestableo disminuya.Otroselementos,tal como cambiosen las estrategiasde subsistenciao una robustez
hl'brida,tambienpueden servirpara explicar indices disminuidosde la presion no-especifca o del crecimiento
demografco. Las relacionescomplejasentre (a) la estructurade la poblacion,(b) los indices no-especifcos de la
presion, y (c) la dieta [regimen alimenticiol no han producidolas deduccionesque pudieranformar un juego
universalde expectaciones.Sin embargo,variostiposde adaptacionqueson distintosen cuantoal acrecentamiento
de poblaciony al estadode salud se considerany se ilustrancon analisis de 201 individuosdel pueblopreagricola
de Paloma en la costa centraldel Peru.
Demography,especially population density, has long been invoked as a prime mover for the
development of civilization. In the case of Peru, Cohen (1975) argued that population pressure
drovepeopleto adoptfood production.Moseley(1975) proposedthatdensepopulations,prerequisite
to the development of later complex societies, could have been supportedon a maritimeeconomy.
However, populationnumbersand density alone are insufficientto predicta dynamic, evolving
society. The qualityof life of the populationneeds to be considered.As the experienceof developing
countries shows, rapidly growing, dense populations may be associated with declining life expec-
tancies and increasingmorbidity(for example, see Furbeeet al. [1988] for a study of modern Maya
and Saul [1974] for a prehistoricinstance). Such societies are fundamentallydifferentfrom those
that are improvingtheiradjustmentto an environmentand expandingin numbers.Only the skeletal
recordpreserveslife experiencesof the individuals themselves.
This bioarchaeologicalapproach has proved effective in studying the transition to agriculture
(Cohen and Armelagos 1984). The design of most studies has been to compare one population
before the adoption of agriculturewith another after agriculturewas adopted. The thousands of
RobertA. Benfer,Jr., Departmentof Anthropology,Universityof Missouri Columbia,Columbia,MO 65211
Latin AmericanAntiquity, 1(4), 1990, pp. 284-318.

CopyrightC) 1990 by the Society for AmericanArchaeology
284
[Benfer] BIOINDICATIONS OF SE DENTISM AT PALOMA 285
Do
Figure1. Map of South Americashowinglocationsof Lima and the Paloma site.
years of experiencewith plant and/or animal managementprecedingdependencehas been studied

less frequently.Also, the effects of sedentism often are confoundedwith those of food production.
The present study focuses on a case where the relation of sedentism with health and demography
can be unlocked from the effects of dependence on agriculture.Coastal Peru provides a good
laboratoryfor such a study owing to the excellentpreservationand the appearanceof pristineranked
societies.
Following Bird's (1943; Bird et al. 1985) pioneeringwork in preceramicsites on the west coast
of SouthAmerica,Engel(1966:95)investigatedancientsites in centralcoastalPeru,reportingseveral
radiometricdeterminationsapproaching9,000 radiocarbonyears before the presentfor the site of
Pampade SantoDomingo, on the ParacasPeninsulasouthof Lima.Engelnotedthat largesettlements
followed these early settlements 3,000 years later. Work by Lanning(1963, 1967), Parsons(1970),
Patterson (1971), Moseley (1975, 1986) and Engel (1980, 1987) provided data from these later
coastal sites that documentedthe early development of societies aggregatedinto villages. The main
occupationat the site of Paloma, ChilcaValley, Peru,beganapproximately6,500 radiocarbonyears
ago (Figures 1 and 2). This time correspondsto the final deglaciationof the Laurentideice sheet,
and more importantly,the rising of mean sea levels to their modern state (Ruddimanand Wright
1987).
Many of these early coastal sites were occupied briefly and then abandoned. More successful
settlersleft remains at early sites from the north, in Ecuador(Stothert 1985), to the south, on the
far south coast of Peru (Richardson 1981), and in northernChile (SchiapiacasseF. and Niemeyer
F. 1984), which provide comparablematerials for exploring the range of the coastal adaptation.
286 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 1, No. 4, 1990
12o24t12°24
76° 48' 12b Vll 613

0 1 2 3 km
3 B.O.E..
Fog-Nourished Vegetation
Figure2. Northernhalf of coastal section of Chilca Valley, showinglocationof the Paloma site.
Moseley (1975) arguedthat the origin of coastal civilizations lay with the growthand organization
of the population. Paleodemographicestimates of growth need to be consideredalong with settle-
ment-patternestimates of growth, as each provides an independentcheck on the other.
Goodman et al. (1988) have arguedthat one should test interpretationsof stress from paleode-
mographywith other independentbioindicators.One such basis for validating paleodemographic
hypotheses is the severity of nonspecific indicators of stress. A theoreticaljustification for using
nonspecificindicators of stress has been provided by Goodman et al. (1988). Diet is a celebrated
indicator of changes expected with population stress. Dietary indicators from the very skeletons
from which paleodemographicinferencesare made would seem to be another useful set of cross-
validation indicators.Reviews of skeletalindicatorsof diet such as that by Martinet al. (1985), on
the other hand, have not directly discussed the relation of diet to stress, disease, or population
structure.
Good discussions of the problems inherent in paleodemographicreconstructionsof population
structureare available (Acsadi and Nemescari 1970; Buikstraand Mielke 1985; Weiss 1973). I will
show that, problems notwithstanding,specific hypotheses developed from bioarchaeologicaldata
can be cross-validatedby deducingexpectationsfrom population structureand density (PSD), for
nonspecificindicatorsof stress (NSIS) and for paleonutrition,or for diet.
The abundantshellfishremainsassociatedwith most of these sites and their location close to the
coast naturallycaused much speculation about the maritime component of diet. Lanning (1967)
Benter] AT PALOMA
OF SEDENTISM
BIOINDICATIONS 287
Figure 3. Map of the site of Paloma.
and Moseley (1975) argued that marine resources were sufficientlyabundant to have sustained
complex polities without a substantialagriculturalcomponentof production(also see Parsons 1970).
The criticisms by Osborn (1977), Raymond (1981), and Wilson (1981) helped direct the searchfor
more quantitativeevidence for this view. Glendon Weir and I were able to sustain what has come
to be called the "maritimefoundationof andeancivilization"hypothesis(Moseley 1986) by analysis
of floral, faunal, and skeletal materialsexcavated from a series of coastal sites (Benferet al. 1985;
Weir et al. 1988). Here I presentmaterialsfrom the singlelargestratifiedsite of Paloma, Peru,using
the method of cross-validatedbioindicatorsto examine the nature of the adlaptationto sedentary
life in coastal Peru.
In particular,two related questions are exploredusing the method: (1) What is the natureof the
earlyPeruviancoastaladaptationto sedentarylife?and (2) Whatwas the roleof increasingpopulation
and diminishing terrestrialresourcesin driving the system toward greatersedentism in the preag-
riculturalMiddle Preceramicperiod in centralcoastal Peru?
MATERIALSAND METHODS
Engel(1978, 1980) first directedexcavationsat Paloma, in the Chilca Valley, Peru, in a program
focused on the settlement pattern.In 1975, new excavations were proposed for the site of Paloma
(Figure3) by the University of MissouriXolumbia in collaborationwith the Centerfor the Study
of Arid Zones of the National AgrarianUniversity of Peru (Benferand Engel 1975). These inves-
8000 -
co 7000-
cr
> ' ii
=: o
= 6000- 3+ 30
sZ
._
O 3i 3i NOTE: Level 400? date bad; 6,000
y 5000 _ i + j:j ! 3i ffi date fromsame housegives

jij anticipateddate
4000 , *, *, *, *, *, , , , ., ., | l . | ., , w| w
o o o c- o o o o o c- o o o o o o
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
CM CM CM O CM Ch Ch St St O St St St St U) (D
st CW
Level
Figure4. Radiometricdeterminationsfrom Paloma.
tigations primarilywere directedtoward understandingthe demographyof one of the earliestNew

Worldvillagepopulationsthatcould be excavatedstratigraphically.Stratigraphyhas been impossible
to establish in some village sites (Rivasplata 1978) and coastal middens (Lanning 1963) from the
preceramicperiod. At Paloma, however, several periods of intense precipitationsealed largeareas
of the Palomasite with calichecaps, permittingrelativelygood stratigraphiccontrolfor a preceramic
village site (see Benfer 1982; Engel 1980). These caps can form over a series of wet years. In the
1979 field season we found that wooden survey stakesdriven into the groundin 1976 were encased,
at times completely covered, with caliche. Despite the moisture that creates surfacecaps, the site,
occupiedbetween7,800 and 4,800 radiocarbonyearsago, had excellentpreservationof undisturbed
organicmaterials(pH averages6.0). Thus it provides a good laboratoryfor intensive bioarchaeo-
logical study of the adaptationto sedentism and the demographicchangespredictedto accompany
this shift.
Two extensive five-month field seasons in 1976 and 1979 were followed by more limited exca-
vations and recheckingof stratigraphyin 1982. Two-hundredand one human skeletons were re-
covered and analyzed by a battery of techniques directed toward learning more about paleode-
mography,stress, and diet (Benfer 1982, 1984, 1986). In addition, zooarchaeological(Reitz 1976,
1986, 1988), and ethnobotanicalstudies (Dering and Weir 1982; Weir and Dering 1986; Weir et
al. 1988), and trace-elementanalyses(Edward1987) complementedthe skeletaland dental studies.
A series of 16 radiometricdeterminations(Figure4; see Benfer [1982, 1984, 1986] for details)
identify three major culturalstrataat Paloma presentedby phases defined by Lanning(1967). For
the presentstudy the lower three levels are combined as Luz, and the upper two as Encanto 1 and
EncantoTempranoor Corbina(Table 1).
Ravines (1982) has reviewed radiometricdeterminationsfrom the central coast and presents a
Table 1. Paloma StratigraphicLevels, UncorrectedRadiocarbon

Determinations,and Phases.
Paloma
Levels Uncorrected Dates Phases
200 4700-5100 B.P. Encanto 1
300 5100-5300 B.P. Encanto Temprano (or Corbina)
400 5300-7800 B.P. Luz
Benfer] AT PALOMA
OF SEDENTISM
BIOINDICATIONS 289
recent subdivision of the Encanto phase. He would place Level 200 in Lanning'sCorbina phase
and Level 300 in Canario.Chauchat(1988) arguesthat only the Luz complex of the early periods
Luz, Canario, and Corbina is well established. Until artifact analyses are completed for Paloma,
the resolutionof this issue must wait. Only the uppertwo of the three lower levels containedhuman
remains (levels 400 and 500). These remains date from 5,300 to 6,500 radiocarbonyears ago; the
lower three (400, 500, and 600) have been combined (into 400) as they were not always reliably
distinguishedduringthe 1979 field season. The lower levels, though recognizablein Engel'scontig-
uous excavations(Engel 1980), were difficultto distinguish,especiallyin the 1979 field season. The
upperlevel,200, includesanothervery thin occupation,level 120 (Benfer1982), but this distinction
will not be discussed here. The three majorgroupingsof Paloma levels (200, 300, and 400) closely
correspondto periodsof increasingpopulationidentifiedby Rick (1987) as modes in the distribution
of all radiometricdeterminationsobtained from those periodsin coastal Peru. Rick interpretsthese
clusters of radiometric dates as accurately indicating population expansion. The Paloma levels
supportthis interpretationas the radiometricdeterminationspresentedin Figure4 match the modes
presentedby Rick.
THE RESEARCHDESIGN
The factors to be considered in this paper are presentedin a flow chart in Figure 5. No arrows
are included as the direction of causality may change with circumstances.A series of hypotheses
with respectto mortality,fertility,health, subsistenceactivities, and populationincreaseoriginally
werededucedfrom a carefulsearchof the literature.Specifyingall expectedrelationsis not presently
possible. In previous papers,the following have been established:
1. Population increasedduringthe Middle and Late Preceramicperiods in central coastal Peru
(Rick 1987).
2. Population increased at Paloma during these time periods (Benfer 1982; Engel 1980); this
increaseresultedeither from excess productionof childrenwho survived to adulthood or aggluti-
nation of local populations,or possibly both.
3. The fog oasis graduallywas overexploited (Benfer 1987; Weir and Dering 1986), reducing
vegetableresourcesand water production.
4. Therewas an increasingemphasison maritimeresources,especiallyin the last majoroccupations
(Benfer 1987; Reitz 1988).
5. Life expectancies increased over time; that is, over time, decreasingproportionsof dead in
youngerage groupswere observed (Benfer 1982, 1984, 1986).
6. Health improved over time; that is, skeletal indicatorsof stress declined (Benfer 1982, 1984,
1986).
The strategyused here is to validatethese inferencesby observingpredicteddiffierences in diffierent
skeletal indicators over time periods and between the sexes. While each indicator has a certain
degree of uncertainty,confidence in any particularinferencewill be enhanced when a number of
indicators point in the same direction with respect to stress or demographyor produce results
predictedby one indicatorfrom another.
Demographyis used as the most essential indicatorof success of adaptation,as judged by the age
and sex proportions of the population. However, the quality of the adaptation must be judged
separately,by the indications of stress experiencedby a population. These changescan be studied
at Paloma because at this one habitat, archaeologicallyrecognizedsuccessive populations can be
examined for changes that link the indicators.Paloma is an unusuallywell-stratifiedsite from the
Preceramicperiod.Of course,depositionwas disturbedsomewhatby the activitiesof the inhabitants,
such as excavationsfrom the constructionof houses, storagepits, burialpits, and the accumulation
of refuse,both in abandonedhouse pits as well as in middens (see Benfer 1982; Engel 1980). Three
time periods were recognizedby nearly continuous, almost site-wide caliche caps from periods of
intensive precipitationand by matrix contents. Intensive lateralexcavation to recoverhouses with
their content of burials was the major excavation method, although a small site-wide probability
sample, stratifiedby depth of deposit, was excavated primarilyto test whetherthe distributionof
U E S Genes x Inbreedingdepression
W S | PERTILITY | Infandcide
I U A | CONROL |-Delayed > >
T B C N marriage GROWTH
H S T rDiet S | HEAL1H |_ Forality-
G E T <t Behavior 9 2 menarche
R CN IE Genes /
Envnmen
tExchange Hybridvigor /
A R °fgoods g
M E I Exchangeof mates /
N P S Interpopulaiion | /
D A
G U T
R C I
O T O
U I N
P V
S E
Figure 5. Some expected relations among concepts of paleodemography,nonspecificindicators of stress

(NSIS), and relatedvariables.
excavatedburialsand houses was representativeof the site as a whole. This was the case. A second
purpose was to collect fine-screenedsamples from carefullyexcavated columns for pollen, plant
macrofossil,and zooarchaeologicalstudies. Owing to an errorin catalogingprocedure,largebones
(those that did not fit into 5-liter plastic bags) were not initially included in the zooarchaeological
sample studied, which complicated the interpretationof the macrofaunalremains (Reitz 1976,
1988). This problem will be discussed furtherbelow.
In our first, preliminaryanalyses, after the completion of the 1976 season and before the later
excavations of 1979 and 1982 (Benfer 1982), we found that proportionsof dead significantlyde-
creasedby age categoriesover time periods. The decrease in the numbers dying in early life over
time was interpretedas due to increasedlife expectancy.This findingwas interpretedas a consequence
of increasinghealth of peoples who steadily were improvingtheir adaptationto the habitat (Benfer
1984, 1986). DecreasingNSIS, also observed in our preliminarystudies, suggestedan improving
diet. Such a change might have evolved as e arly coastal settlersgraduallyintensifiedand perfected
marine exploitation. Initial marine exploitation itself may have been in responseto degradationof
terrestrialenvironment, broughton by either climatic deterioration(Lanning 1967; MacNeish et
al. l 975; see Vehik 1976), or human-inducedfuelwooddeforestation(Benfer1986;Weirand Dering
1986; Weir et al. 1988).
Patterson(1971) had predictedthat an earlyincreasein nutritionallevels as a resultof utilization
of fog-oasis plant resources would lead to overexploitation. In such a fragile habitat, a drop in
nutritional levels would occur as population density increased. In an attempt to ameliorate the
resultant stress, inhabitants would have placed more emphasis on marine resources, ultimately
leadingto a degreeof success that would permit sedentism. The adoption of sedentism would lead
to furtherpopulation increase (Lee 1968; Sussman 1972) if not accompaniedby too many of the
ills of living in close proximity (Bender 1978; Polgar 1972).
Even if existing maritime resourceswere intensified,however, it does not necessarilyfollow that
the qualityof the diet changedin any significantmanner.Food takenfrom the sea may have changed
Benfer] BIOINDICATIONS
OF SEDENTISM
AT PALOMA
291
over time in species composition even as the maritime component continued to be of equal im-
portancewith terrestrialcomponents(Edward1987; Reitz 1988). Populationincreaseprobablywas
restrainedby the methodsavailableto all humansocieties(Cowgill1975;Hassan 1981).Nonetheless,
there was an increaseeither from excess productionof childrenat Paloma or from the agglutination
of outlyingsmallersettlements.The productivityof the fog oasisjust below which Palomais situated
did diminish over time. Fuel wood at Paloma decreased significantly(p < .01) in the average
diameterof twigs, in the varianceof the diameters(p < .05), and in species abundanceand quality
(Benfer 1986; Weir and Dering 1986), while the numberof collected ecologicalsamples containing
fuelwood increased(Weiret al. 1988). A decreasein grassseeds and other fog-oasisfood duringthe
last major occupation presumablydirectedmore attention to the sea. This would seem to be clear
evidence of increasingstress on the terrestrialcomponent of the diet, and is explainablein terms
of increasingpopulationdensity, indicatedby increasingnumbersand sizes of the houses in Encanto
1. The human remains have been studied to evaluate these hypotheses.
FINDINGS
Paleodemography
Age primarily was determined from dental-eruptionpatterns (Ubelaker 1978), appearanceof
ossification centers and epiphyseal closure (Bass 1971), observations of the os pubis (Gilbert and
McKern 1973; McKern and Stewart 1957), and pattern of dental attrition. Some of the paleode-
mographicresults have been presented elsewhere (Benfer 1984, 1986). For this analysis, I have
made a change in the classificationof specimens. For some individuals age could not be estimated
as narrowlyas the five-year intervals used in the life table. However, these individuals could be
described as infant, child, or adult. Such individuals, following Ubelaker (1980), were inserted
separately,proportionalto the numbers observed in each age categoryin the life table (see Table
2). The differencesin the life table createdwith the specimens of relativelypreciseage and the one
createdwith the largersample presentedhere is less than one year for most e(X)s.One would only
expect a significantdifferencewhere there was a tendency for individuals of certain age rangesto
be more difficultto age, which is apparentlynot the case here. The Paloma sample includes more
individualsjudged to be fetuses than commonly is reported.
Life Expectancy. Increasedlife expectancyis a criterionof successfuladaptation.If it is assumed
that, over the many generationsof time representedby the remains of the prehistoricinhabitants
of Paloma, the fertilityand mortalityrisk for each age intervaldid not change(the stable-population
assumption), and that overall, the population neither increased nor decreased in numbers (the
stationary-populationassumption),then it is possible to deducethe expectedlife remainingfor each
age categoryby standard-life-tablemethods (Acsadiand Nemescari 1970; Weiss 1973). Settlement-
patternstudies at Paloma (Engel 1980) and frequencyof dated sites (Rick 1987) indicatedgrowing
populations,so the life-table analysis is of comparativeuse only if the rate of growthis equivalent
for units being compared. Two major problems in life-table analysis are the possible underenu-
meration of the very young and underestimatingthe age of older individuals. Possible bias in
inhumationand recoveryof individualsis the one importantproblem.At Paloma, individualswere
buried in and immediately adjacentto houses and there is no cemetery area (Benfer 1982; Engel
1980); a seemingly complete cross section of individuals is present. Recovery of very young indi-
viduals was complete due to the excellent preservation.In fact, the numberis unusuallylarge,but,
as will be arguedbelow, the numbers of infant burials at Paloma is just what is expected where
childrenare recoveredproportionalto their originalnumbers.
Because many of the individuals were close to the neonatal stage of development, as estimated
by limb-bone lengthand dental development,fetusesare includedin the life-tablecategory0-1 year
in Table 2. I will returnto the demographicsignificanceof the largenumberof fetusesand neonates
recoveredbelow.
With the 16 fetal specimens removed from the life table, the life expectancyat 6 months, e(5,
increasesfrom 20 to almost 22 years. If fetuses and neonates (1-2 months at death) are omitted in
292 LATIN AMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 1, No. 4, 1990
Table 2. Abridged Life Table for Paloma, Pooled over

Levels and Sex.
Age
(Mid-
point) dx dX100 lx Lx Tx ex
.5 57.4 28.557 100 85.721 200.498 20.0
2.5 11.6 5.771 71.443 274.229 1,914.776 26.8
7 18.4 9.154 65.672 305.473 1,640.547 25.0
12 6.6 3.284 56.517 274.378 1,335.075 23.6
17 4.7 2.338 53.234 260.323 1,060.697 19.9
22 12.8 6.368 50.896 238.557 800.373 15.7
27 23.3 11.592 44.527 193.657 561.816 12.6
32 20.9 10.398 32.935 138.682 368.159 11.2
37 12.8 6.368 22.537 96.766 229.478 10.2
42 12.8 6.368 16.169 64.925 132.711 8.2
47 8.1 4.030 9.801 38.930 67.786 6.9
52 5.8 2.886 5.771 21.642 28.856 5.0
53+ 5.8 2.886 2.886 7.214 7.214 _
201 .000 .000
order to make the life table comparable with modern anthropological populations where neonatal
deaths are underreported, life expectancy at birth would be increased to 24.3 years. By adding 10
years to the older specimens in order to make up for the possible underaging of the old, the expected
life at birth would be increased slightly more, by less than 2 years, to 26. To the extent that the
population was increasing over the millennia, these life expectancies are underestimates. It is assumed
that the overallgrowth rate for the approximately 2,000 years was low. A low growth rate, even a
fraction of a percent per year, would still double the population in one or at most a few centuries.
This rate of increase probably only could be sustained by fission and emigration away from the
Paloma village. However, there are few other sites of its size during this time period. Of course,
differential preservation could explain the apparent absence of these sites. But with present evidence,
it is assumed that Paloma was the largest village settlement on the central coast.
Large numbers of (dead) children in an archaeological site could result from a high death rate for
the young, a possibly recently increased fertility rate for their mothers, or increased survival of
females. A recent increase in the rate of growth of a population would produce more children, some
of which would die, leading to an unusually high number of fetuses and infants recovered (see
Horowitz et al. 1988). The lower levels of Paloma, covering over 1,000 years of time when human
remains were found, could not have averaged a very high intrinsic rate of increase, though there
could have been short bursts of rapid growth. The upper levels, perhaps representing 10-15 gen-
erations each, could not have maintained a high rate of increase without emigration. Rates of increase
are discussed below, but next I turn to changes in life expectancy over time at Paloma, estimated
by assuming, as a first approximation, that the rate of increase was a constant for the three levels.
Changesin Life Expectancyat Paloma. In general, it appears that life expectancy increased over
time at Paloma. Figure 6 shows the Paloma expected life, assuming overall stable and stationary
populations by levels, pooled over 10-year periods. The sample is too small to permit comparisons
by individual age categories (as illustrated by Moore et al. 1975). The overall pattern is more likely
to show real differences, should they exist, than age-by-age comparisons for small samples. The
differences observed across the levels in the frequencies of the 145 individuals (with good age
estimates and accurate stratigraphic provenience) by age group are greater than would be expected
by chance (x2 = 18.7, df = 11, p < .01). It can be seen from Figure 6 that the life expectancy
improved across all age levels in all but the oldest age categories, which are the smallest and least
reliable. If the archaeological indications are correct in suggesting that growth rate increased more
rapidly in the last two occupations, then the life-table results underestimate the true increase in life
expectancy over time.
$ e(x) 400
Benfer] AT PALOMA
OF SEDENTISM
BIOINDICATIONS 293
30 -
x . // \\ - e(x) t200
O ( V \ e(x) t300
o . . . . . . . . . . . .
O 1o 20 30 40 50 60
t11DPO INT OF AGE INTERVAL

Figure 6. Expected life remaining at Paloma, by levels.
How are we to explain an improvement in life span over these Middle Archaic time periods-
periods that have not previouslybeen identifiedas ones of considerablechange(see Cohen 1977)?
We now know that significantpopulation grourthoccurredin coastal Peru during the same time
periods (Rick 1987). From the viewpoint of adaptation,increasinglife expectanciesand increasing
population size suggestsuccessfuladaptation,both at the individual and populationlevel.
One might wonder whether there could not be other problems associated with possibly biased
samplesfor infantsand childrenthatcould causeexpectedlife remainingto be seriouslymisestimated
for the early age categories.One such source of bias might be a shift in the mortuarytreatmentof
newboms over time, such as not accordingthem formal burial in and around houses but interring
them in middensinstead.The resultingdecreasein recoveryof the very youngwould cause expected
life for that age categoryto be overestimated.However, because the drop in the number of very
young individuals recoveredin the upper levels is matched by a four-fold increase in the number
of people living to be older than 40 years (Benfer 1986), bias in recovery of infants can be ruled
out. Changesin mortuarytreatmentof infants would not affect life expectancyof older adults, so
the decrease in the percentageof infants recovered from the lowest levels to the upper ones is
interpretedas a consequenceof improvinghealth and adequatediet for all ages. If fetal remainsare
excludedfrom consideration, 19 percentof the deaths at Paloma occurredbefore one year. By way
of comparison, Ubelaker (1980) reporteda slightly lower figureof 15 percent for infants at Sta.
Elena.At Paloma, the percentageof infant and fetal deaths decreasedfrom levels 400 (38 percent)
to 300 (26 percent)to 200 (17 percent). This patternalso is observed in the other age categories
throughyoung adulthood (see Figure 7). The decrease in infants has been interpretedin the life
tableanalysisas an indicationof a populationwith improvinghealth,an inferencethat was supported
by decreasesin deaths in all youngerage categories,not just the earliest.Infanticidemay have been
practicedmore commonly among earlierinhabitantsthan among later dwellersat Paloma, though
this would not explain changes in the composition of older age categories.
Female InfanticideIndicatedby Infant Sex Ratio. Assuming that the stresses of weaning in a
preagricultural site would be severe, I had predictedthat we would finda peakof childhoodmortality
in the 3-5-year range, since weaning might have been late due to the absence of agnculturaltran-
sitional foods. Such a peak was not observed at Paloma. Decreasinginfant and fetal deaths might
have been influencedby preferentialtreatmentof boys over girls. Female infanticide,if practiced,
would have permitted more resourcesto be directed to survivors, a topic to which I will return
below. More successfulweaningwould be expected to reduceindicatorsof childhood stress such as
cribraorbitaliaor Harris Lines (see Buikstraet al. 1986).
To investigate female infanticide, one must attempt to sex newborns. Using Weaver's (1980)
xa) . + \ Sta. Paloma Elena e(x) e(x)
30
10- _s
0 . , . , . , . , . , . b ,
0 10 20 30 40 S0 60
MIDPOINT
OF AGEINTERVAL
Figure7. Expectedlife remaining:Paloma and Sta. Elena.
experimentaltechniquefor judging the sex of fetuses and newborns,one finds only seven male but
18 female infants less than one year of age. A differencethis large is not likely to be due to chance
(X2 = 5.8, df = 1, p < .01, one-tailed, since females were predicted to exceed males). But these
resultscould be due to bias in the untried method. Furthermore,an unusual sex ratio at birth also
could be a factor.Chagnonet al. (1979) agreethat preferentialinfanticidemightexplainYanamamo
population skewingby sex, but arguethat other factors should be considered.Even if the sex ratio
is estimated adequatelyat Paloma, other evidence is needed to test the interpretationof female
infanticide.
Female InfanticideIndicatedby AdultSex Ratio. One can test the predictionthat the difference
in the infant sex ratio is the result of preferentialfemale infanticide by looking for a consequent
decreasein adult women comparedto men. Preliminarysexing and aging at the end of the 1979
field season produceda distributionthat suggestedthat there was a greaterthan 2: 1 ratio of adult
males to females in the Encantoperiods (Benfer 1982), with 34 male and 15 female adults for a sex
ratio of 227 for the total sample. Results presentedhere (Table 3) show the frequencydistribution
of the 31 adults from the prime reproductiveperiod (15-29 years of age) that could be assignedto
a specific level. As can be seen, the predictedimbalance occurs with a sex ratio of 183 overall for
young adults. However, when older adults are included, the overall sex ratio is closer to normal.
The latest time period, Encanto 1, shows the most extreme deficit of adult women in the 15-29-
year interval(6 males and 1 female),and this is the period from which the fewest infants have been
recovered.
Anothermechanismto explain the decline in the numberof childrenrecoveredover time periods
at Paloma is changein fertilitypattern.Such a mechanismis not inconsistentwith increasinghealth
and life expectancyand reductionin the practiceof infanticide.
Fertility Change. Recently there has been increasedinterest in paleodemographicstudy in the
consequences of changing fertility (Buikstra et al. 1986; Horowitz et al. 1988; Sattenspiel and
Table 3. Adults of Prime ReproductiveAge (15-29) by

Levels and Sex.
Levels
Sex 200 300 400
Female 1 6 4
Male 6 7 7
Benfer] AT PALOMA
OF SEDENTISM
BIOINDICATIONS 295
Table 4. Birth Rates Estimatedby Ratio of Deaths 30 or Older

to Deaths 5 or Older, Reciprocalof Mean Age at Death, and
RegressionEquationsof Buikstraet al. (1985).
Mean Age Regression:

Paloma Levels d30/ds20 (X) 1/X (West Tables)
200 .63 27.2 .037 .055

300 .52 21.7 .046 .067
400 .50 17.7 .056 .070
Pooled Paloma .55 19.7 .06 .06
Sta. Elena .56 24.8 .04 .06
Harpending 1983). Sattenspiel and Harpending (1983) propose that one can infer birth rate from
mean age at death for populations whose rate of increase does not differ too much from zero.
Horowitz et al. (1988:192) show that for nonstationary populations whose mortality varies across
age categories, mean age at death is more related to average age at death and life expectancy than
to birth rate. However, Horowitz et al. (1988:194) concede that a strong relation exists between
mean age at death and birth rate for most populations that have life-table mean ages at death
between 20 and 30 years, the range typical for most prehistoric peoples. Buikstra et al. (1986) note
that mean age at death will tend to be biased when estimated from skeletal remains, since infants
will, because of preservation bias, be underrepresented, and the method depends on accurate aging
of the individuals recovered. They propose instead ratios of age groups to infer a function of birth
rate. However, they also present the full regression equation derived from the 312 stable-population
models with varying growth rates that were presented by Coale and Demeny (1966) from the Model
West Female life tables.
Decreases in birth rates, even if the population continued to expand, could lead to a finding of
fewer infants in the Encanto periods at Paloma. Table 4 contains the D30+/D5+ ratio developed
by Buikstra et al. (1986), as well as the birth rate estimated from their regression equations, a
technique not recommended by Buikstra et al. Table 4 also presents the birth rate estimated by the
inverse of the mean at death as recommended by Sattenspiel and Harpending (1983). Buikstra et
al. (1986) suggest using the ratio as an indicator of birth rate rather than the regression estimate
itself, but the regressed estimate is obtained by multiplication of the ratio by a constant (b) and
addition of a constant (a), which will not change the relative order of the index, and I prefer to use
the regression estimate here to permit direct comparison with the estimate of birth rate obtained
from the reciprocal of mean age at death. The birth rate estimated by regression for the total Paloma
sample is .06. The same value (.06) is estimated by the reciprocal of the mean age at death (Table
4). This value is somewhat higher than the .05 value from the stationary model table (MT: 22.5-
55.0) presented by Weiss (1973) that closely resembles the Paloma life table (Table 2). The average
age at death at Paloma is 1.5 years younger than that calculated from the model table; this discrepancy
could be due to including fetal remains in the 0-1-year category. Correspondence between the two
indicators with the Vegas Culture Sta. Elena skeletal sample (Ubelaker 1980) is not as good. Using
the regression estimate, r = .06 also is obtained; however using 1 over the mean age at death produces
a lower estimate of.04. It is presumably lower than the regression estimate because it depends on
having the full range of the dead of the population; in the Sta. Elena sample infants may be
underrepresented. If true, this confirms the criticisms made by Buikstra et al. (1986) of the mean-
age-at-death statistic. That statistic will be much affected by underrepresentation of infants. On the
other hand, the model table MT: 25.0-65.0 from Weiss (1973) produces a crude birth rate of.04
for the Vegas culture Sta. Elena sample, which is identical to that obtained from the mean age at
death. At Paloma, because of excellent preservation and mortuary customs of burying all the dead
in and around houses, there was very good recovery of infants. Where there is good recovery of
infants, the method based on mean age at death should give comparable results to the index of
Buikstra et al. (1986).
LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 1, No. 4, 1990
296
Table 4 suggests that birth rates were decreasing at Paloma over time.
There are not enough
degrees of freedom in the demographic data to make inferences about
fertility independent of
assumptions about mortality. Decreasing fertility would produce fewer children,
which would result
in fewer deaths unless child mortality increased. One mechanism that
would reduce fertility is
delayed marriage. Furthermore, any delay in age at which reproduction begins
would diminish the
risk of death to the mother during childbirth as well as reduce the
number of children, some of
whom would have died.
Changes in the Age of Marriage. A peak (see Figure 8) in the deaths of adult females
is found
in the third decade at Paloma (Benfer l 982, l 984,1986) and also at
Chincheros, a northern Chilean
site from a similar time period (Schiapiacasse F. and Niemeyer F. 1984).
If marriage were delayed
into the middle or late twenties, thereby reducing total exposure to the risk of
pregnancy, the chances
of death during childbirth in premodern societies would fall most heavily
on mothers in their third
decade of life, rather than in the second as is the case for women who
married in their late teens.
At the earlier Sta. Elena site in Ecuador, the female peak was in the
twenties. I have interpreted the
third decade peak as due to delayed marriage, pushing the consequent
risks of childbearing to a
later age. However, Buikstra and Mielke (1985) have argued that elevated
female deaths in the third
decade are typical of premodern societies. This is an empirical question. I had
found a female peak
in the twenties in the agricultural Casas Grandes population (Benfer
1968) of Chihuahua, Mexico.
Very slight shifts in the age of childbearing, which is known to vary widely
among human populations
today, could be expected to influence the female mortality risk dramatically.
Earlier marriage would
increase the number of years of risk associated with childbirth as the
reproductive period lengthened
in a noncontraceptive population, unless child spacing was increased. It is
possible that the increasing
population pressure in Encanto 1 led to marriages being most delayed in that
period. If so, this
might explain the paucity of infant deaths as well as the scarcity of females
dying (sometimes in
childbirth) between 15 and 29 years of age. lf marriage were delayed sufficiently
that parents would
not live long enough to raise the child to 8 or 9 years and probable
self-suiciency, then there must
have been social mechanisms to insure survival of the orphans (Vallois 1961),
otherwise there would
have been a higher mortality of children observed.
Age of Menarche. The age of menarche also could influence the length of
exposure to risk of
pregnancy, but at present no indicators are available for this important variable. It
might be possible
to detect a slowing down in metabolic processes that results in the increase
in some trace elements,
such as fluoride. These changes might be especially apparent in the
compacta of the metaphyses at
menarche during the interval from 9 to 18 years, when bone ceases its rapid
modeling period and
enters the period of adolescent decline (Frost 1987). However, this is only a
conjecture. There are
usually too few juvenile deaths to permit skeletal estimation of this important
parameter. Delayed
menarche would be difficult to distinguish from delayed marriage. However, it
will be argued below
thatthe Palomans had a high-protein, adequate diet, which tends to argue
against delayed menarche.
In summary, for the villagers of Paloma, the percentage of dead youths
significantly decreases over
time. Some of these young may have died as the result of population-control
methods. It is possible
that life expectancy was increasing for all ages, as suggested by the
life-table analyses. However,
decreasing birth rates could produce a similar result. Interpreting the birth rate
from the inverse of
the mean age at death or the proportions of dead who were over 30 years
to all dead who lived to
be five years old or older (with a changed sign) (regression based on the
West Tables) could lead
one to the second conclusion (see Table 4). Both mechanisms, increasing
life expectancy and de-
creasingfamily size, plausibly could have operated simultaneously, of course.
It is perhaps easier to visualize gradual improvements in health over
thousands of years than it
isto imagine slight increases in birth rates, but the two are related closely.
Marriage may have been
delayedin the Encanto phase compared to previous time periods, thereby
producing fewer children.
Thelower number of children would in turn result in a smaller absolute
number of deaths in these
agecategories even if the mortality rate was stable. Deaths in younger
adult age categories become
lessfrequent over time; this finding is invisible to Buikstra et al.'s (1986)
index of fertility (but not
tothe reciprocal of mean age at death). Children as well as adults seemed
to have enjoyed improving
vitality,which allowed more of them to survive the rigors of childhood. Perhaps
the most reasonable
* | cs cn t uo
OF SEDENTISM
AT PALOMA 297
30 -
;Y
e)
:: 20-
j j i Ea Female
t am am am am am am
_ uo
_ o o o o o
_ N X t uo
Age
Figure8. Distributionof dead by sex and age intervalsat Paloma by sex for age intervals.
interpretationis that as generalhealth improved and the likelihood of infants survivingto maturity
increased,the Palomans adjustedtheir birth rates downward.
There remains the problem of the unrealisticallyhigh birth rates;Buikstraet al. (1986) created
the regressionequation I have used from model tables that averageda growth rate of .02. Over
several thousandyears, the populationdid increaselocally, but it could not have increasedat a rate
that would have resulted in the population doubling every 35 years; the regressionequations de-
veloped from the model tables are probablytoo high for such a long period of time and may have
led to overestimatingthe birth rate.
NonspecificIndicatorsof Stress
It is difficultto sort out the mortality and fertility component of adaptationto sedentism that
was taking place at Paloma during the several thousand years monitored by the human remains.
Nonspecific indicators of stress can help validate paleodemographicinterpretations.If population
increases and NSIS increase-the currentthird-worldpattern-then adaptation of the population
(as measuredby increasein numbers)is enhancedas the adaptationof the individual(as measured
by morbidity) worsens.On the other hand, if population increases and NSIS decrease,then both
the individualand the populationcan be saidto have improvedtheiradjustment,andthe populations
may have new "vitality and potential"for culturalgrowth(Angel 1971:430). This distinction is an
important one; without it the results of comparing paleodemographyto indicators of stress can
become hopelessly confused. In an excellent discussion of contrasts between the positive conse-
quences of adaptationand the negative ones of stress, Goodman et al. (1988:192, 197) point out
that not all stress initiates adaptive responses and that adaptive biosocial responsesare related to
morbidityand mortality.The PalomaProjecthas emphasizedthatdemographicsuccess-population
growth-is the only unambiguousindicatorof adaptation(Benfer 1984, 1986). However, one must
agreewith Goodman et al. (1988) that population success in adaptationdoes not necessarilymean
individual success in achieving a higher quality of life, nor is the converse true. Nonetheless, at
Paloma, there is a relatively straightforwardrelation between individual response to stress and
population success. I here reportresults of the investigationof the various NSIS.
Stature. A simple and useful indicator of dietary and health status is achieved adult stature
(Nickens 1976). Changes in stature in a population over time also can point to various social
conditions such as marriagepatterns, migrations7and even population replacement.At Paloma,
70-
- u Male
V
._:
=, 16o -
W p<.O5
eQ
b Female
0 * , * | g
200 300 400
Level
Figure 9. Paloma stature estimated from limb-bone length.
staturewas estimatedfrom lower limb bones by formulaepresentedby Genoves (1967), and it was
found to increasesignificantly(see Figure9) over time (F= 3.43, df = 2, p < .05). Ubelaker(1980)
reportedthat staturesstayed essentiallyconstant over a longer time in Ecuador.
Exogamy is one possible explanation for finding increasing stature among previously isolated
groups.Nonetheless, village endogamyratherthan exogamy had been suggestedas characteristicof
coastal Peru during the period when Paloma was occupied (Ericksen 1962). Furthermore,Page
(1974) found some evidence for diminished variability in cranial measurementsin a time period
that includedthe occupationof much of Paloma plus the laterCotton Preceramicperiod(the Pacific
Littoralperiod of Willey [1971]; see Rowe [1962]). Ericksonhad predictedthat endogamy would
break down with the beginnings of agriculture;we now know, however, that agriculturewas de-
veloped over millennia in Peru (see Lynch 1967) and elsewhere.Thus, sedentism is probablythe
more critical factor in the reproductiveisolation of populations.
For whatevercause, inbreedingdepressionshould lead to decreasein both size and variance of
quantitativecharacters(Relethfordand Lees 1982). On the otherhand, if endogamyor immigration
into a successful village was practiced, variation and size would be enhanced within the group
(Falconer 1960), causing hybrid vigor, another plausible explanation for increasing stature. No
change in varianceof statureestimates was observed at Paloma.
If the Paloma villagewas successfulenoughto attractfemalesfrom without,then we would predict
increasedvariancein adultfemalesfor quantitativecharacters.To the contrary,thereis no indication
of changein the sexualdimorphismofthe variancesof stature(Benfer1984). "Foreign"-bornwomen
might differfrom those born at Paloma because they could perhapshave come come from bands
with differentgene frequenciesand differenthabitats where their life experiences,such as diet and
activities, would have been differentfrom those at Paloma. However, environmentalinfluencesin
the backgroundsof wives broughtfromelsewherewouldnot affectchildrenraisedat Paloma.Genetic
differences,which I would think to be slight due to the previous admixture,would of course affect
both male and female children. Habitat differenceswithin 50 miles include the western slopes of
the Andes, river valleys, coastal settings, and hilly fog oases; these differencescould be more
importantthan between-groupgenetic variation. The differencesin the genetic component of the
characterwould be less evident in the skeletal remains of individuals who died at Paloma, since
they would be made up not only of foreign-bornwomen but also their female (and male) progeny.
Staturehas been interpretedas varying over time primarilydue to environmentalinfluences,but
if the inhabitantsof the later periods at Paloma possessed a gene pool richer in genes for tallness,
migrationcould be invoked to explain the increases.
.° 0.1-
299
Benfer] BIOINDICATIONS AT PALOMA
OF SEDENTISM
80- 111
: 60 | | S
5N2i 1:;°5
200-300 400-500
Level
a
0 2-
- p=.007
= '
: 0.0
-O. 1 .
200 300 400 500
Level
b
Figure 10. Mortuarychange at Paloma over time: (a) three mortuaryclusters by level (Quilter 1989); (b)
multidimensionalecalingdimensionIII by level.
Shifts in Paloma mortuary customs suggest the possibility of population replacement in the
Encanto phase (see Figure 10). Figure 1Oashows three groups of burials, obtained by cluster analysis
of mortuary characteristics (Quilter 1980, 1989). These three have a nonrandom distribution with
levels. A multidimensional scaling of these data (Benfer 1987) produced one dimension, which has
been identified as treatment of the dead with respect to age at death. That treatment shows a
dramatic break between the Encanto phases and the earlier inhabitants (Figure lOb), suggesting
possible population replacement. Another line of evidence also points in this direction. Dental
characteristics (Christy Turner III, personal communication 1982) suggest population replacement
in the Encanto Temprano phase, where the differences between the Encanto phase teeth and earlier
teeth was the same order of magnitude as the differences observed between East Coast and California
samples in North America (Christy Turner III, personal communication 1982). Increasing stature
with each successive occupation (see Figure 9) due to gene flow is possible.
40- Z
er /
* - /
_
et 30- ,
/
._ /
O ' /
et /
._
D 20- /
/
V
_ /
/
et /
._ ,
E 10- /
< . /
O / , . , . ,
200 300 400
Level
Figure 11. Anemia (frequency of cribraorbitalia)at Paloma by stratigraphic level.
Comparedwith the populationfrom Sta. Elena,Ecuador,the Palomansaverage5-9 cm tallerfor

males and 2-7 cm taller for females. The increasedsize of Palomans may indicate a better diet, a
better state of health duringchildhood, or both, ratherthan gene flow.
Anemia. Another indicator of childhood resistanceto stress and dietary sufficiencyin iron is
anemia. Childhood anemia is signaled by cribraorbitaliaof the frontal bone or porosity of the
parietalor occipital bones of the skull. Active lesions in childrenwho died are more ominous than
are the healed lesions in adults who survived the anemia of childhood. At Paloma, orbital pitting
was common, but very weakly marked;both the pits and the affectedarea were small. Porosity of
parietalor occipital bones was also very slight, but some cases of expandeddiploe were observed.
The following analysis is restricted to the more clear cut observation of oribital pitting. When
percentageof active and remodeled lesions is plotted against the levels (Figure 11), a very clear
trend toward decreasing anemiais obvious. Furthermore,the anticipateddecreasedironwas ob-
served in the bones of childrenwho diedexhibitingcribraorbitalia(data from Edward[1987]; see
Figure 12). This findingvalidates the use of cribraorbitaliaas an indicatorrepresentinganemia. It
1 oo-
80 - \ p = .01
E * \
= 60- \
C: \
O . \ Cribraorbitalia
_ E
40- \
No Cribraorbitalia
20 ,
Child (<14) Adult (15+)
Age
Figure 12. Anemia vs. iron concentration in bone at Paloma.
Benter] BIOINDICATIONS AT PALOMA
OF SEDENTISM
301
is worth noting that no adults from the last occupation (Encanto 1) of Paloma showed active lesions.
This trend suggeststhat childhood diet was improvingand that parasitismwas not excessive, since
the anemia that results from excessive parasitismin children was not observed. No parasite ova
were found at Paloma, despite the fact that a substantialcollection of dessicated fecal masses and
intestinalcontentswere examinedby a parasitologistexperiencedwith Peruvianmaterials(Michael
Kliks, personal communication 1988). A "latrine area" in one section of the site may have con-
tributedto betterthanexpectedsanitation.Walker(1986) concludedthat theremay be a link between
anemia and a diet heavily dependenton maritimeresources,perhapsbecause of ingestingparasites
from fishand sea mammals.Walker(1986) reported35 percentanemicindividualsfromthe Channel
Islandsof California;it can be see from Figure 12 that the lower levels from Paloma approachthat
percentage,but the upper ones do not. Thus at Paloma, the frequencyof anemia decreasedrather
than increased over time. However, it will be arguedbelow that more sea lions, not fewer, were
taken in the later time periods. Decreasinganemia supportsthe interpretationof increasingstature
being due to decreasingstress.
Infections. Remodeled deposits of periostealbone were present in the relatively sterile coastal
desert environmentat Paloma in moderate frequencies,especially on lower limbs. The frequency
did not changesignificantlyover time, osteitus varyingfrom 10 percentto 16 percentand periostitis
between 22 percentand 25 percent.Since the frequenciesneitherincreasenor decrease,they neither
supportnor rejecta hypothesis of increasinghealth;ratherthey suggeststability.
Carious Lesions. Only three cases of carious lesions were found at Paloma (ChristyTurnerIII,
personalcommunication 1982), and these were in Level 300, the level with the greatestevidence
of grassand carbohydrates.This is the low frequencyexpected with preagriculturaldiets. The high
rate of wear probablyprotectedPalomans from occlusal caries (see Scott and DeWalt 1980).
Enamel Hypoplasia. Hypoplasia has been scored for a substantialpercentageof the Paloma
teeth, but the results have not been analyzed. Nonetheless, it can be said that hypoplasticlesions
are relativelycommon.
Histomorphometrics. Diet, disease,and activity can affectthe rateof bone turnover.Adult bones
preservea record of the sum of mineral activity over life. Jackson (1981) studied a small sample
of 22 rib specimensand found a slightlyhigherrate of bone turnover,especiallyin olderindividuals,
in specimens from the earliestlevels at Paloma than from the Encantoperiods. One explanationis
that the ages determinedby gross osteological methods underestimatedthe true chronologicalage
at death. That osteological aging underestimatedadult chronologicalage at death, by between 10
and 15 years for older individuals, was suggestedfor Paloma individuals from regressedage-at-
death estimates from gross osteological ages with ages estimated by root-transparencymethods
(Maples 1978) as well as osteon density of ribs (Stout 1983). This problemmay be common to most
studies that rely on gross osteological methods of aging, as it is well known that changes become
slower and more erraticin older individuals. Stout (1983) noted that Paloma resemblesmore the
preagriculturalMiddle Woodland populationshe has studied than the Late Woodland samples.
Dental Wear. If the coastal populations were experiencingincreasingstress from the increase
in population, then dental wear might be expected to increase as more coarse, unpalatable,foods
were consumed. Findingswere to the contrary;wear decreasedover time at Paloma (Figure 13).
Wearis indicatedby the interceptand less directlyby the slope obtainedby plottingthe differences
in wearscoresbetweenthe firsttwo molars,and passingthe principalaxis throughthe scatter(Benfer
and Edwards1991, Benferet al. 1989; Scott 1974). The intercept(Figure13a)estimatesthe amount
of childhood wear, while the slope (Figure 13b) indirectly measures the adult wear (Benferet al.
1989). In order to test this interpretation,age was regressedon crown height, and the rate of wear
measuredby the slope for the threetime periodswas foundto correspondto the patternof decreasing
wear over time suggestedby the principal axis procedure(Benferand Edwards 1991). As can be
seen in Figure 13, wear decreases over time. Earlierinterpretationsof these data were incorrect
(Benfer 1984; Edwards1983). The indications are clear that wear was decreasing,not increasingat
Paloma over time. More palatable,less abrasive foods were being preparedand eaten. Tooth size
was decreasingslightly during this same time period (Benferet al. 1989) suggestingthat natural
selection for increasingwear was absent, another indicator of relaxing stress. Smaller teeth were
-
2 -
A
* Max. Sla )pe
||1 Mand. S1<ope
o
- -
x C
o
.R
D
c
U)
I ;
o - I Q
200 400
300
Level
30 -
* Max. Intercept
s
8
20 -
1 Mand. Intercept ._
:
:E
C
o
1 0 -
D
c
o - U)
-10 -
-20 v
200 300 400
Level
b
Figure 13. Molar wear rates at Paloma from Scott wear scores (data from37 completedentitions):(a) slope
of majoraxis of Ml-M2 wear scores;(b) interceptof majoraxis of M1-M2wear scores.
associated with larger,taller individuals in the later time periods. One would imagine that these
tallerindividuals, if largerin body mass, would have had greatercaloricneeds. Musclemass should
be a good indicatorof caloricneed. A measureof bony responseto musculature(Benfer1984, 1986)
did not change over time when the sexes were pooled. However the patternwas one of decreasein
muscle mass in males over time, with increaseobservedin females.Thus, the Scott system of scoring
(Scott 1979), which does not take tooth or body size into account, may underestimatethe rate of
decreaseof wear.
CorticalInvolution. The amount of compact bone also has been used as a measure of dietary
sufficiency(Van Gerven 1969) and activity patterns(Ruffand Hayes 1983). Results from study of
this indicator suggestedactivity changes between the sexes more than dietary changes. Note that
/ Females
AT PALOMA
OF SEDENTISM
BIOINDICATIONS 303
Benfer]
180-
33Yrs. 31 Yrs. Level: p = .24
E 160 - Male Sex: p = .0001

3 Level*Sex p = n.s.
c_
o
: 140-
; 30 Yrs.
_ " 27Yrs.
c)
* 120-
O 36 Yrs.
V . X
Female
100 . , . , . , .
200 300 400
Level
Figure 14. Paloma humeral cortical area by level and sex.
two differentoutcomes can be associated with change in cortical bone mass, and other indicators
are necessaryto help decide whetherone or both outcomes are predictable.Activity changewill be
discussed below.
Direct measurementsof endostealand externalanterior-posteriorand medial-lateraldimensions
wereobtainedfrom midshaftsectionsfor the humerus,femur,and tibia from Palomaadults(McNair
1988). Areas for the humerusand femurwere estimatedby calculatingthe area of an ellipse defined
by the measurements.
The humerus increased slightly in cortical area in Encanto Temprano (Figure 14). The cortical
area of the femur (Figure 15) decreasedslightly across levels (p = .09), and the differencesby sex
were quite pronouncedin all but the Encanto 1 phase. Perhapsthe decreasecould be interpreted
as dietaryinfluenced,but activity changingfrom a more mobile to a more maritime-focusedsub-
sistence will be consideredas a more adequateexplanationbelow. However, humerus and femur
cortical areas seem to show a peak in EncantoTemprano,possibly relatedto the fact that it is the
level in which carbohydrateswere most abundantat Paloma.
500-
33 Yrs.
_ /9 LEVEL: p = .09
; ^ / XYrs- Sex: p= .002

/ Males
:t: / Level*Sex: p= n.s.
gv 400- /
/
: ^ 33 Yrs. / 30Yrs.
X ^ \ 36 YRS.
27 Yrs.
300 * | § * , w
200 300 400
Level
Figure 15. Paloma femoral cortical area by level and sex.
IIarris Lines. Harris lines, or lines of acceleratedgrowth following cessation of growth, have
been evaluatedcritically(Clarke1978; Goodman et al. 1984). However, we have found them to be
useful NSIS when considered as one element in the web of bioindicators.Williams (1983) found
that in a Paloma sample of 78 adult tibiae the numberof lines was similar to that reportedfor other
coastalgroups(Allisonet al. l 974). She also noted that a significantdecreasein Harrislines occurred
in level 300 for males, but that there was no correspondingchange in females. In addition, she
found sexual dimorphismin the relationbetween tibia length (presumablya measureof successful
growth)and numberof Harrislines. For males therewas the anticipatednegativecorrelation,which
one would expect if Harris lines measure stress that would have inhibited growth rate and final
achieved size. For females,the correlationwas positive (see Goodman and Clark[1981] for a similar
positive correlationfor females). Williams reportsa slight increasein numbersof lines in Encanto
1, which she interpretsas a result of the increasingstress brought about by population pressure
reducingavailable resources.This is one of the few indicators that suggestincreasedstress in the
last occupationof Paloma.
In orderto furtherinvestigatechildhoodstressimplied by lines survivinginto adulthood,Ferguson
(1982) included adolescentPaloman tibiae in her study of Harrislines. She acceptedshorterradio-
opaque lines than did Williams, acceptingas lines those which spannedjust one-thirdof the bone.
Thus, she included more lines that had bee-nremoved partlyby remodeling.Her most interesting
findingbearson the hypothesisthat sporadicclimatic disruptionssuch as E1Nino could have caused
severe problems for these maritime peoples. One might expect to find occasional but strong lines
associatedwith faminesfrom these cycles. Instead,amongspecimensthat had Harrislines, Ferguson
found that allfemales had two or more "yearly''lines, but only some males had the pluralyearly
lines. Such multiple Harrislines spaced a year apart signal a seasonal time of stress, ratherthan a
single isolated period of severe stress. Storageof fish and other foods, preservedwith salt available
at the nearby Las Salinas mine (Benfer and Edward 1988), served to ameliorate the occasional
effiectsof an E1Nino, but not the effiectof a recurringannual stressfulseason.
In a smallersample of 17 tibiae and femorafrom the subsequentCotton Preceramicperiod,weak
yearly lines were present in some specimens, whereas others showed more sporadic and stronger
lines (Ferrill 1986). Sporadicstrongerlines are associated with beginninghorticulture(Weir et al.
1988). This later sample is too small to do more than suggestthat storageor some other factor of
life may have changedin the period when monumentalarchitecturefirst was erectedin Peru.
ActivityChange
Therewas a significantdecreasein sexualdimorphismin bony responseto musculatureover time
at Paloma (Benfer 1984, 1986). Figure 16 shows the decrease in bony response to musculature
estimatedby examiningthe whole skeleton. Changein sexual dimorphismin muscle mass was not
associatedwith changein bone mass, as reflectedby the diameterof the head of the femur (Benfer
1984), so the diffierencebetween the sexes more likely reflectsgender-specificactivities then, say,
sexual selection for smaller women. These results could be explained by both men and women
spendingmore time obtainingfish and shellfish,where the use of nets and simply stooping over to
obtain clams would require more upper-bodymusculaturethan requiredfor previous more gen-
eralized,more sex-specificforagingactivities. The sampleis too small to examinethe relationwithin
levels, but given the increasingmuscle mass of increasinglytaller women over time, a change in
somatotypeis suggested.Sexualselectionis possible,as is improvedsurvivaland fertilityof smaller-
boned, strongerfemales. Shifts in activity toward more sedentism and fishingin place of extensive
walkingand carryingof plantsand small animalsalso could accountfor the observedpattern.Dental
wear of pooled males and females decreasedover time, documentinga change in diet toward less
abrasive foods, perhapsincludingfewer tuberousplants. Furtherresearchis necessaryto elucidate
the relationsamong body size, tooth size, tooth wear, and sex of individual.
In order to furtherinvestigate changes in activity, McNair (1988) studied the size and shape of
the principallimb bones (see RuSand Hayes [1983] for another example). She found a very large
change over time in the humeral but not the femoral shape, as measured by the ratio of (M-L
= z- X Female
Benfer] AT PALOMA
OF SEDENTISM
BIOINDICATIONS 305
5 , Male
= , /
er lz
u:
= 4-
o
-
2 * | * , . ,
>00 300 400
Level
Figure 16. Paloma total bony response to musculature by level and sex.
diameter/A-P diameter) x 100. Figure 17 shows that a trend was repeated for both sexes with
humen becoming more flattened over time. This finding possibly is associated with an unusual
double insertion of the deltoid muscle. Presumablythis change in shape is measunng a change in
activity, possibly one associated with more-intensive mantime fishingtasks such as greateruse of
the arms in netting small fish, or with the use of the sling. Figures 14 and 15 show very slight
increasesin cortical area for the humerus and somewhat strongerdecreasesfor the femur. These
cortical-areachangesare compatiblewith a shift to activities that involve the upper body more.
Several other indicators of sexual differencesin activity are preserved in the skeletal remains.
Only males show the bony growths in the ear that indicate significanttime was spent swimming
and diving in the Pacific Ocean (see Kennedy [1986], for a demonstrationof the causative relation
between cold water and auditoryexostoses). Reaction areas on femora, possibly due to swimming,
are more common in males than females (Benfer 1981, 1984). Thus, it is very probablethat the
men did most ofthe diving for the molluscan species that occur in deeper water (see Reitz [1988]
for a discussion of habitats).
20-
ANOCOVAR so Male
o /
° 1r0 Level: p=.02 /
R * / w Female
_ 10O Covariate Age: p = .01 / /
o . (pooled overSEX) // ANOVA
s// Level: p = .01

<= /y
cx 80 - / / Sex: p=n.s.
s: / Level*Sex: p = n.s.
:, 70- /
_ .
60 * § * , . |
200 300 400
Level
Figure 17. Paloma humerus shape (medio-lateral diameter/anterior-posterior diameter x 100) by level and
sex.
Dietary Changes
Archaeobotany. The vegetablecomponent of the Paloma diet has been describedbroadly(Weir
and Dering 1986), but a stratigraphicanalysisis not yet availablefor the extensive samplescollected
duringexcavation.A comparativestudy of plantand animal contentsof a small sampleof coprolites
and ecologicalsamples from Paloma and several Cotton Preceramicperiod sites has been reported
(Jones 1988; Weir et al. 1988). Wild plants from the lomas and nearby Chilca River valley pre-
dominate. Grass seeds (probablya species of Paspalum)and probabletubers,tentativelyidentified
as tuberous begonias, were common in Paloma coprolites, with beans, gourds, and squash occa-
sionally present. Gourds, present in small amounts, might not have been so much a minor staple
as serving the more important functions of floats (Pozorski and Pozorski 1976) and containers.
Grass seeds were importantespeciallyin level 300, EncantoTemprano,a time when plant remains
were most common at Paloma (see also Cohen 1975).
Zooarchaeology. The zooarchaeologicalfindingsof the small probabilitysamples as well as the
much largernumber of specimens collected opportunisticallyduring excavations point to the im-
portanceof marine resources(Reitz 1988). A defect in the method of probability-samplecataloging
permittedlarge bones to be sent to the labs separatedfrom matrix that usually was fine screened
in the field. The specimens studied from the probabilitysample were restrictedto those that could
be placedinto a 5-literplasticbag.Thus only six individualsout of a minimum numberof individuals
(MNI) of 4,575 wereidentifiedas terrestrialmammals(Reitz 1988). Despite the fact that largebones
from the probabilitysamples were not included with these samples, which were being drawn by
investigatorsmore interested in pollen and plant macrofossils,I believe it unlikely that few pro-
veniences for which mammals were present were overlooked in the "grab"field sample. Workers
and archaeologistsmade a specialpoint to include mammalianremainsfor laterstudy that we knew
would be conductedby a zooarchaeologist.
While study of opportunisticallygatheredfaunal material should be viewed with caution, it is
nonethelessuseful to comparethe ratio of land to sea mammals. Assumingthat camelid, deer, and
sea-mammalbone would have been equally likely to have been collected, the increasein the ratio
of land to sea mammals in Encanto 1 can be interpretedas a genuine change(see Figure 18a). An
independentsource of informationis available by which one may cross-validatethe interpretation
of increasingreliance on sea mammals-the ratio of burials with fur to those without fur. Figure
18b shows that fur practicallydisappears in burials from the upper levels, as noted earlier by
McAnulty-Quilter(1976), a trend that continued as indicated by the near absence of wool at the
nearbyChilca I site that overlapsthe upperlevels of Paloma in time (58004500 B.P. [Engel1987];
5070-3320 for a recenttest pit [Weiret al. 1988]).The percentageof probabilitysamplescontaining
anchovybones also increasedin parallelwith the increasein sea mammals(see Figure18c).Anchovy-
sized fish found in the probabilitysample increasedin the uppermostlevels (Reitz 1976, 1988). It
appearsthat marinemammalsbecame more importantas indicatedby theiroccurrencein coprolites
from time periods immediately subsequentto Paloma's occupation (Jones 1988). Marine inverte-
brates increasedin biomass from seven percentin the earliest occupationto 23 percentduringthe
Encanto periods (Reitz 1986). Reitz found that marine vertebratescontributed71 percent of the
biomass, overall, with marine invertebratescontributinga not-insignificant20 percent.
ChemicalAnalysisof Human Bone. Trace-elementanalyses of bone (Benferand Edward 1988;
Edward1987) confirmthe zooarchaeologicalinterpretationsof the importanceof marine resources
at Paloma. Magnesium, which may have been affected slightly by diagenesis (the indicators are
contradictory,see Edward[1987]), decreasedsignificantlyfrom the values observedin Paloma bone
when comparedwith Cotton Preceramicsamples. This resultcould have derived from an increased
plant component in the diet, diminished consumption of seaweed, or both.
Strontium(Benfer 1982; Benferand Edwards1991) also has been studied. While ribs may have
been affectedby the passageof time, the tibiae more likely were not affectedin strontium(Edward
1987). Direct indicators of diagenesis were not present in strontium in the Paloma sample, so
strontiumconcentrationreflectsthe amount of animal protein ingested (see Edward[1987], for a
discussionof the effectsof seafood and seaweed).Figure 19 shows the values of strontium,by levels,
o \
o \
\
X 4 \
xS 3- \ (n- 104)
X * \
; 2- b 3
_S
1 , , . , . .
200 300 400
Level
a
7-
o 6- \
\ p=ns
x \
; \ (n=62)
> 5- \
Z \
v 4- \
3 * , * 1 * *
200 300 400
Level
b
.85 -
4,q .75- t
a . \
;. .65- - \
O . \
< .55- __i n = 5916
.45 -
.35 * ' * ' '

200 300 400
Level
Figure 18. lndicators of increase in emphasis in Paloma marine resources: (a) ratio of land to sea mammals
by level; (b) ratio of fur to no fur in well-preserved burials by level; (c) percentage of anchovy bones by level.
t . /
LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 1, No. 4, 1990

308
6.4-
, Child
6.2- \ /
E 6.0- \/
c;
E 5.8-
w . > AdultFemale
° 5.6 - / AdultMale
5.4- - _/
5.2 | | * |
200 300 400
Level
Figure 19. Strontiumin log parts per million by level, all Paloma bones by age and sex.
for adults. Significantsexual dimorphismin EncantoTemprano(p < .05) shows that females have
highervalues, possibly due to eating more plant foods duringcollecting;plant foods were abundant
in that time period. Childrenshow the anticipatedhigherlevels of strontiumin a patternof change
over time which mirrors that for adult males. The least sexual dimorphism in strontium is in
Encanto Temprano. Zinc values (Figure 20) were unaffiectedby diagenesis (Edward 1987). Some
species of shellfishhave very elevated concentrationsof zinc, and since EncantoTempranoshowed
a shift towardincreasedexploitationof marineinvertebrates,it seems possible that both sexes began
to collect and eat them in that period, reducingthe sexual dimorphismevident in the early period.
To investigatethis changefurther,Edwardexamined fluorides.Fluorineis an element heretofore
unstudied for dietary significance.In studies of maritime peoples, it may prove useful, since it is
known to occur in very high concentrationsin fish. Althoughthe first measurementsof fluoridein
bone were for relativedating,fluorideexhibitedno diageniceffiectsat Paloma (Edward1987). Figure
21a shows the increasein fluoride during life in the cross-sectionalage categoriesat Paloma; the
patternis the same as that exhibitedby modern individualsover their lives. This behavior suggests
that the prehistorictrace-elementactivity is mirroringpast physiological,not diagenicfactors.Figure
21b shows the fluoride values plotted by levels. No statisticallysignificantdiffierencesoccur over
, AdultFemale
- /
/
s-, 120 - --/
1 10 - \
\ Adultblale
100 . , . , . , . I
200 300 400
Level
Figure20. Zinc concentrationsin parts per million by level and sex, all Paloma adult bones.
OF SEDENTISM
AT PALOMA 309
3000 -
41 T 50
2500 - r°
31-40
21-30
2000 -
1500
1 000
500
o
Increasing Age in Years >
a
Jooo )
v AdultFemale
S
AdultMale
E 200C
1 OOC
c e n Child
() w . . . . . -
| * | * |
200 300 400
Level
b
Figure21. Fluorideconcentrationin parts per million:(a) fluorineby age at death at Paloma, pooledsexese
(b) fluorineconcentrationin parts per million by level and sex.
time, though the differencesin sexual dimorphismare apparent.Edward(1987) had anticipatedan

increasein fluorideif therehad been an increasingrelianceon vertebratefish over time. Reitz (1988)
did not find evidence from the zooarchaeologicalanalysis of an increase in the amount of food
suppliedfrom the sea, though she did find increasingexploitationof anchovies in the upperlevels.
Sexual dimorphism in fluoride is quite noticeable in Encanto Temprano. Zinc and fluoride,
unaffectedby diagenesis,suggestthat females had greateraccess to fish and shellfishin the earlier
time periods.Strontium,possiblyvery slightlyaffectedby diagenesis,suggeststhe contrary,especially
in EncantoTemprano.The decreasein sexual dimorphismfor all three elements in Encanto 1 does
accordwell with the hypothesizedconcentrationof both sexes on maritimeresources,in agreement
with observed shiRs in the sexual dimorphism in musculatureand cortical bone mass. Patterson
(1983) has conjecturedthat the social formationduringthe Archaicperiodwas one in which division
of labor by sex was stable; to the contrary,the Paloma materials document dynamic changes in
sexual division of labor associated with increasingmaritime specialization.
Changesin diet at Palomaseem to have not affectedhealthadversely.As time passed,the Palomans

appearto have lived healthierlives. On the basis of zooarchaeologicalfindings,Reitz (1988) suggests
that there was a shift in the inventory of protein sources exploited ratherthan a change in total
proteinconsumption.The trendwas not towarda more protein-richdiet. Trace-elementdatasupport
this interpretation,suggestingrelative consistency in the ingestingof animal protein in the Middle
Preceramicperiods recordedat Paloma. Specifically,increasedrelianceon shellfish,anchovies, and
sea mammals is suggested.Increasingreliance on meat from sea mammals is documented from
coprolitestudiesas increasingin time periodsimmediatelysubsequentto the occupationsat Paloma
(Jones 1988).
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Findings from the major bioindicators at Paloma are summarized as follows: Expected life,
interpretedfrom life-tableanalysis, improves from level 400 to 300 and level 300 to 200. Fertility,
based on the same data, can be interpretedto have decreased.Stress, as measuredby statureand
cribraorbitalia,decreasesover time. Dietary sufficiency,as judged by zinc, strontium,and fluoride,
remains stable with a high animal-proteincontent. The population of Paloma, as elsewhereon the
centralcoast, increasedover time. Sexual division of labor and diet diminished over the centuries.
Thus, the division of labor by sex was not static, as Patterson(1983) had suggested,but adaptedto
changingneeds. The stratificationpredictedfor storage-orientedhunter-gatherers(Testart1982) did
not emerge until later. Expandinginto river valleys, people faced new problems of organizationof
water(see Benferet al. l 987), and their responsemay have been increasedsociopoliticalcomplexity.
By the Encantoperiods,a shift towarda more maritimeorientationis clearfrom Figure 18, which
shows a greaterfocus on the sea-not just in takingof more small fish but also increasedpredation
on sea lions and marine invertebrates.The activities associatedwith this shift are preservedin the
human remains. Total muscle mass showed a convergence of male and female contributions to
work (Figure 16), which was shifting in the direction of greateruse of the upper body (Figure 17),
possibly in haulingin nets. However, the fluorideresults do not show the increaseexpected if fish
consumptiondramaticallyrose, though they do confirma new patternof male-female similarityin
diet in the Encantoperiods.
It is clear from the overuse of fuelwood that successful dwellers at Paloma would have had to
turn, over time, to more intensive exploitationof resourcesother than those producedby a verdant
fog oasis, with the exception of the tuberous begonia (Dering and Weir 1982; Weir and Dering
1986) The ocean resourcesof sea lions, anchovies, and shellfishcould have been harvested more
intensively. By the Cotton Preceramicperiod there is evidence of preparationof fields in fog oasis
and lower river valleys (Benferet al. 1987), followed by relocation of the bulk of the populations
away from flood plains near the coast to river valleys. The processmost commonly used to explain
the shift-increase in population(Cohen 1977)-did not creategreaterstress,at least not at Paloma,
in these early time periods. Even in later times, agriculturewas not a major component of the diet
of these coastal peoples (Weir et al. 1988).
The rate of populationincreasefrom one generationto the next is one measureof its adjustment,
its adaptation to a setting. Human populations can tolerate extremes in life expectancy, fertility,
diet, and stress, and still increasein numbers.That is, individual adaptationcan decline even as a
populationthrives.
Paloma was perhapslike the immediately pre-Hellenisticsite of Lerna(Angel 1971), with all the
ingredientsfor a healthy,adequatelife present.An increasedlabor force would have been available
to preservefood from windfallsagainsta less productiveperiod.For example,when a whale beached
itself, or when anchovies were beached (see Quilter and Stocker 1983), a considerablequantity of
proteincould be collectedand stored.Salt was abundantfor preservation(Benferand Edward1988).
There was no evidence of significantsocial distinctions based on other than sex or age (Quilter
1980); the increased stratificationpredicted by Testart (1982) did not obtain over the several
thousand years in which storagewas importantat Paloma.
Since evidence of warfarewas absent in these time periods, riverine habitats apparentlywere
Benter] BIOINDICATIONS AT PALOMA
OF SEDENTISM 311
available either for direct exploitation or for exchange relations with inhabitants, including the
nearby (7.5 km) Chilca and Mala (20 km) river valleys, one and four hours walking distance,
respectively, and the lower reaches of the western flanks of the Andes (Dering and Weir 1982).
Graduallyincreasedexploitation of the local environment finally may have passed a threshold of
environmentaldegradation,perhaps most especially in reducedwater productionby denuded fog
oases, after which much of the population relocatedto nearbyriver valleys.
The problems of dealing with both predictableannual variation as well as the sporadic, but
dramaticeffectsof the E1Nino perturbation,could only have been solved by flexibleharvestingand
storageof available food. As populationincreased,people intensifiedboth maritimeand terrestrial
resources.When populationincreasetemporarilycaused populationpressure,people expandedinto
nearbyriver valleys where wild plants were more abundantthan in the ultimatelydegradedlomas
setting. It is in this period, the Cotton Preceramic,that I predict NSIS will increase. Engel (1987)
argues that although the nearby Chilca I site, which has both Middle and Late Preceramiccom-
ponents, overlaps Paloma in time of occupation and generalappearance,there remain differences
betweenthem such as the fact that fiberobjects are finerat Chilca I. The cultigensat the multicom-
ponent Chilca I site that are rareor essentiallyabsent at Paloma are presentat Chilca I in numbers
too small to suggestdependence. Engel (1987) has suggested"incipient agriculturists"to describe
this occupation.
Moseley (1986) may have somewhat overstated the importanceof processingof small fish into
meal as an economic foundation of large sedentary populations, though the need for storage of
resourcesagainstE1Nino yearsand at least one difficultseason, is obvious. Redding(1988) suggests
storageas one of the firstresponsesto stress, but as we have seen, stress (NSIS) was decreasing,not
incr¢asingover tirn.eat Paloma. Nonetheless, storagewas very importantat Palomajudgingby the
over 500 pits excavated.
In experiments,we found preparationof,fish meal for storage to be labor intensive with little
reward(Weir et al. 1988). As Marcus(1987)notes, removing the head is about all that is necessary
in orderto preparesmall fish for storage.Beheadedsmall fish were excavatedfrom a storagepit at
Paloma.Anchoviescertainlyweretaken.Butanchoviesareverydeficientin oil and calories.Grinding
would furtherremove calories. Some fish meal was excavated at Paloma (Benfer 1982:46);Engel
had obtained a laboratoryidentificationof fish meal before the University of Missouriexcavations
(Frederic-AndreEngel,personalcommunication1976). However,we did not identifylargequantities
of the fish meal (Quilter 1989). The nearby Las Salinas salt mines between the modern town of
Chilca and the Mala River valley would have supplied all the salt needed for preservationof dried
fish or meat from other animals. We have recently studied the salt content of Paloma sediments
(Benferand Edward 1988). Extremelyhigh concentrationsof salt, up to 50 percent of the matrix,
have been identifiedin some areas of the site. There can be no question that salted fish were being
preservedat Paloma. Most of the fish biomass was preservedwith minimal processing.
Sea mammals, in contrastto small fish, are fatty and contain many calories. At Camarones 14
in northernChile, 92 of the 104 mammal bones recovered were from sea lions (SchiapiacasseF.
and Niemeyer F. 1984). At Paloma, sea lions represented65 percentof the mammal biomass (Reitz
1988), and they increasedin importanceover time (see Figure 18a). At the QuebradaLas Conchas
coastal site, near Antofagasta,Chile, sea lions and camelids were taken by huntersas earlyas 9,500
radiocarbonyears ago (LlagosteraMartinez 1979). Their dietary importance has been underesti-
mated.
The importanceof shellfishto the diet has been a topic of much controversy(see Erlandson1988).
Paloma project investigations have found that meat yield as a fraction of dry shell weight varies
betweenapproximately33 and 50 percent,dependingon species and method of preparation(Capps
1987;Tomka 1980; see also Reitz 1986). Shellfishincreasedin biomass, from 7 percentin the lower
levels at Paloma, to 24 percent in the Encanto periods (Reitz 1986, 1988), and is an indicator of
intensificationof maritimeresources.The diet was rich in protein(see Weir and Dering [1986] and
Weir et al. [1988] for a discussion of the floral component). An exclusively marine meat diet can
be an excellent one so long as it includes seaweedand the fat and organmeat from sea lions. Recall
that anchovies and sea lions increased dramaticallyin level 200, Encanto 1. With the probable
addition of seaweed, the diet at Paloma was a very good one, and the amount produced from
resourcesin the vicinity of Paloma steadily increased,judging by the increase in population size
and improvinghealth as measuredby NSIS. The exploitation of the lomas did not cease duringthe
last occupationsof Paloma.Therewas greateremphasisplacedon marineresourcesas the population
continuedto expand,even as social controlssuch as delayedmarriageand female infanticideslowed
the birth rate.
Populationsthat increasein numberswhile decreasingin skeletalindicatorsof stressmay be more
likely to become sociopoliticallycomplex and successful.The positive relationbetween population
size and social complexityis well documentedfor ethnographicallyknown societies (Carniero1967;
Naroll 1956). The population density necessaryfor the rise of andean civilization (Moseley 1975;
Moseleyand Willey 1973) may have been reachedby the successfulfisher-foragingstrategy,perfected
before overpopulation became a factor. The Cotton Preceramicperiod that followed the main
occupationat Paloma saw the florescence(Engel 1987) of the culturesthat for millenniasuccessfully
had adaptedtheir subsistencemethods to a somewhat unpredictablecoastal habitat. Adjustments
in the precedingMiddle Preceramicperiods left clear indications of improving biological vigor in
the human bones. Settlement-patterndata indicate that the populationwas increasing,at least the
numberswho lived a relativelysedentarylife at Paloma were increasing,and theirswas, in fact, the
largest such settlement from the time period. Increasingpopulation size, coupled with increasing
life expectancy, decreasingbirth rate, and decreasingindications of stress in the human remains
characterizea healthy, vigorous, and flexible population, poised to expand.
In centralcoastalPeru,Binford's(1968) predictionof increasingpopulationamongearlymaritime
peoples is verified. Population stress, if defined as decreasingexploitation of wild terrestrialfood
resources(Harner 1970), may have occurredin the last occupation, Encanto 1, but the results of
the adaptation were more, not less, favorable to health and reproduction.Increasingpopulation
pressure,evident in the destructionof the fuelwood of the fog oases, did not lead to increasedlevels
of stress in humans. Instead it provoked adaptive responsesthat led to successivelybetter adjust-
ments of larger,more densely settled, more sedentarypeoples. Patterson's(1971:201) model de-
scribes the Paloma situation. In that model, nutritional levels rise through a series of steps that
include more efficientuse of plants, accompaniedby overexploitationof the fragilehabitat,leading
to more dependenceupon marine resources,and then to partial sedentism. However, the oppor-
tunities for intensificationin the fog oasis, beach, rivervalley, and lowerwesternflanksof the Andes
were apparentlygreaterthan previously reckoned;agriculturewas not necessary for the growing
populations until well into the Initial period (Weir et al. 1988). The quality of the diet at Paloma
probablydid not much changeover time; to the extent that it changed,it appearsto have improved.
At Paloma, the quantity obviously increased rapidly enough to allow a growing population to
experienceimprovinglevels of health.If the centralcoastalpeoplesof Peruexperiencedthe increasing
demands for a surplus, which are characteristicof an expanding tribal economy (Friedmanand
Rowlands 1977),they wereable to produceit without the necessityof agriculturewell into the Initial
period primarilyby intensifyingcollection of wild plant and marine resources(Weir et al. 1988).
An ideologicalbasis for this adaptationis possible:If a semisedentarypopulationwas able to support
increasingnumbers for several generations,this may have been long enough for the worldview of
the people to change from equilibriumpreservingto expansionist.
These statementsof expected relationsbear on the question, why did people adopt sedentism,at
Paloma or elsewhere?If the fog-oasis habitat was a place for sedentaryforagersto recover from
previous population decreases(see Rowley-Conwy 1983), then each occupation or series of occu-
pations might have been characterizedby rapid increase. It is easy to imagine a small resident
populationin Luz times (level 400) augmentedfrom time to time by otherband membersin periods
of exceptional productivity of the fog oasis, or in dry times when the oasis produced the only
available water.
Of course, it is possible that unique circumstancesand unusual sensitivity to initial conditions
overwhelm knowableprocessesand that an answerto the question of why sedentism must always
be phrased in the metaphor of cultural history. However if a discoverable process that explains
sedentism exists, it might be found through a research design structuredtoward specifying the
Benter] AT PALOMA
OF SEDENTISM
BIOINDICATIONS 313
expected relationsamong the gamut of changes that would have precededand evolved along with
a change in settlement pattern and in human/plant and human/animal relations. As the Paloma
Projectdemonstrates,the human remainsare a rich sourceof informationon populationstressand
structure.These data, interpretedin the context of other archaeologicaldata, permit testing of
formerlyinaccessiblehypotheses.
Acknowledgments. The National ScienceFoundationhas providedfundingfor the PalomaProject(BNS 76-

12316, BNS 78-07727a/b, and BNS 81-053940); the ResearchCouncilof the Universityof Missouri-Columbia
providedfundingforthe originalworkon the coastal-seriesskeletons;the coastal-seriesdentaldataweregathered
by EugenieS. Scott. Frederic-AndreEngel,Directorof the Centrode Investigacionesde ZonasAridas,provided
laboratories,colleagues,and friendship.He excavatedthe originalcoastal-seriesskeletons;much of the archae-
ology of this workis publishedby HumanitiesPressin a seriesof monographsedited by him, PrehistoricAndean
Ecology. JeffreyQuilterand ChristyTurnerIII made valuable data available to me. I wish to speciallythank
Lisa Sattenspielwhose criticisms were especially useful. Louanna Furbee read and made valuable editorial
improvementsto this paperfor which I would like to expressmy appreciation.Anonymousreviewers,Teresita
Majewski,and ChristopherPulliam contributedgreatlyto the clarity of this paper. The many students and
colleagues-both Peruvianand American-who contributedto the Paloma Projectdeserve the most credit.
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NOTES
in that some
from earlier reports (Benfer 1982, 1984), in 1984 and
t Some of the findingsreportedhere diffierslightly changed. The paleodemography reported
have been
stratigraphicdesignationsfor a few burials that additionalspecimensare addedto the life table as described
1986 is the same as that presentedhere, except of stressdiffierslightlyin some cases but in no instancehas the
below. The trendsin the nonspecificindicators
new (1982) stratigraphicdesignationsto require
alteringits interpre-
originalpatterndiffieredenough with theas estimated from the principalaxes of Scott wear scores diffiersfrom
tation. The interpretationof tooth wear to be for variableswith reversedaxes.
Scott (1979), whose presentedvalues appear betweenthe diameterof the head of the femurand age at death
2 There was, however,a
weak inverse relation have been due to
survival for smallerfemales, if present,could
for females (r = -.3, p < .1, n = 33). Enhancedto male investment in smaller females. This topic requiresfurther
their ability to survive on fewer calories or
researchwith a largerset of indicators.
1990
ReceivedJuly 27, 1989; acceptedAugust2O,

THE PRECERiMIC PERIOD SITE OF PALOMA, PERU: BIOINDICATIONS OF IMPROVING ADAPIATION TO SEDENTISM

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The Preceramic Period Site of Paloma, Peru: Bioindications of Improving Adaptation to

The natureof the adjustmentsmade by the steadilyincreasingpopulationof centralcoastalPeru in the Middle

RobertA. Benfer,Jr., Departmentof Anthropology,Universityof Missouri Columbia,Columbia,MO 65211

Latin AmericanAntiquity, 1(4), 1990, pp. 284-318.

Figure1. Map of South Americashowinglocationsof Lima and the Paloma site.

years of experiencewith plant and/or animal managementprecedingdependencehas been studied

76° 48' 12b Vll 613

Figure 3. Map of the site of Paloma.

y 5000 _ i + j:j ! 3i ffi date fromsame housegives

tigations primarilywere directedtoward understandingthe demographyof one of the earliestNew

Table 1. Paloma StratigraphicLevels, UncorrectedRadiocarbon

290 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 1, No. 4, 1990

G E T <t Behavior 9 2 menarche

Figure 5. Some expected relations among concepts of paleodemography,nonspecificindicators of stress

Table 2. Abridged Life Table for Paloma, Pooled over

t11DPO INT OF AGE INTERVAL

294 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 1, No. 4, 1990

Table 3. Adults of Prime ReproductiveAge (15-29) by

Table 4. Birth Rates Estimatedby Ratio of Deaths 30 or Older

Mean Age Regression:

200 .63 27.2 .037 .055

200 300 400 500

Comparedwith the populationfrom Sta. Elena,Ecuador,the Palomansaverage5-9 cm tallerfor

302 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 1, No. 4, 1990

33Yrs. 31 Yrs. Level: p = .24

E 160 - Male Sex: p = .0001

200 300 400

; ^ / XYrs- Sex: p= .002

o . (pooled overSEX) // ANOVA

s// Level: p = .01

< .55- __i n = 5916

.35 * ' * ' '

LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 1, No. 4, 1990

s-, 120 - --/

200 300 400

200 300 400

time, though the differencesin sexual dimorphismare apparent.Edward(1987) had anticipatedan

Changesin diet at Palomaseem to have not affectedhealthadversely.As time passed,the Palomans

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Acknowledgments. The National ScienceFoundationhas providedfundingfor the PalomaProject(BNS 76-

Benfer, R. A., G. H. Weir, and E. J. Reitz

Ph.D. dissertation,Departmentof Anthropology,University of California,Santa Barbara.

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