Where Do Hunters and Gatherers Live? Evidence from Archaic Period (ca. 10,000-3,000 BP) High-Altitude Settlements in the North-Central Peruvian Andes

Most studies of hunters and gatherers in Peru have overrepresented caves and rock shelters as opposed to open air sites, particularly in the high-altitude mountains. As a result, our understanding in mobility, and use of foraging patches among early populations in this region is still lacking. Taking the north-central highlands of Peru as a case study, my research has identified Archaic settlements of hunters and gatherers across multiple and complementary ecological zones using predictive modelling, regional survey, and sampling of material. The results show an occupation of 7,000 years of high-altitude grasslands through logistic open-air sites with progressive expansion and diversification of settlements into new ecological zones and altitudes, and a possible exchange network between the high mountain and coastal valleys.