A series of well-stratified caves of long occupation located in the highlands of central Peru. They are postulated as summer hunting camps, the associated winter locus being the lowlands (see lomas) and are seen as part of the seasonal round typical of the Archaic. A radiocarbon date of c7500 be places the earliest period of occupation (Lauricocha I) at c8000-6000 be; this level is characterized by stemless triangular points and stemmed diamond-shaped points. A number of burials indicates a dolichocephalic population, in keeping with early-man groups elsewhere in South America. The willow-leaf points of Lauricocha II (6000=-4000 be) show strong similarities to points at Chivaterros, El Jobo, Ayampitin and elsewhere, and are associated with knives, scrapers and other implements appropriate to the preparation of hides. Later levels contain small points and ultimately ceramics, indicating a change in subsistence, sedentism and possibly agriculture.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied