Guitarrero Cave

A stratified cave site of long occupation in the Callejón de Huaylas in northern Peru. It was occupied in the Preceramic period (c 12,500-6000 years ago) and continued through later ceramic periods, showing domesticated lima and common beans by c 8000 BC. A wide variety of artifacts, lithic and organic, in Guitarrero I (10,610 @ 360 bc) contains flaked tools similar to the Ayacucho complex and Tagua-Tagua. Stemmed points similar to those in Lauricocha II were found in the same level. There is evidence that the site was occupied by hunter-gatherers and that the subsistence was transhumance. The dates of some human bones, if dated correctly, represent the earliest human remains yet found in South America. Guitarrero II has produced a series of radiocarbon dates covering the period c 8500-5700 BC and contains bone and wood artifacts, basketry an loosely woven textiles, and the willow-leaf projectile point.

Pre-ceramic Period site of long occupation, located at the base of the Cordillera Negra in northern Peru. Stratified deposits have yielded a wide variety of artefacts, both lithic and organic, together with a number of reliable radiocarbon dates. Its earliest level (Guitarrero I) has rendered a date of 10,610 ± 360 be and contains flaked tools sharing general characteristics with the Ayacucho complex and with Tagua-Tagua. Stemmed points of a similar type to those in Lauricocha II were found in the same level. Perhaps of more significance is the presence of a human mandible and other bone fragments which, if dated correctly, represent the earliest human remains yet found in South America. Tooth wear suggests a diet of soft food and thus points to an emphasis on meat and hence to a hunting group. Guitarrero II has produced a series of radiocarbon dates covering the period c8500-5700 be and contains bone and wood artefacts, basketry and loosely woven textiles, and the ubiquitous willow-leaf projectile point (see also Ayampitin). The cave is thought to have been seasonally occupied throughout its period of use, but an Archaic life-style is especially evident in Guitarrero II.