Archaeology, Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 51 (4) 2023   doi:10.17746/1563-0110.2023.51.4.055-064

Annotation:  Early Upper Paleolithic Tubular Beads from the Main Chamber of Denisova Cave Stoilo—A Paleolithic Site in the Southern Angara Region, Siberia Stone Age Ivory Points from the Arctic Zone of Northeast Asia An Early Neolithic Bone and Antler Industry of Rakushechny Yar on the Lower Don: Technological Strat Rock Art of the Ana Zaga Cave Shelter in the Archaeological Landscape of Gobustan, Azerbaijan The Russian Archaeological Project in South America: Principal Findings and Prospects Chronology of Rock Art of the Russian and Mongolian Altai: From the Paleolithic to the Late Middle A Lobed Ware in the Far East from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages Wooden Paddles from the Nizhny Tagil Museum-Reserve of Mining and Metallurgy in the Urals Spatial Distribution of Finds on the Eastern Outskirts of Poltse I, the Amur Region Contents of an Early Byzantine Amphora from Kruglaya Bay, the Black Sea Shift of the Yenisei and Abakan Beds as Reasons for Constructing the Second Abakan Fort in 1707 Corvids in the Buryat Traditional Worldview The Old Believers’ Churchyard: Semiotics of Cultural Space (The Case of the Ust-Tsilma Old Believers A Case of Surgical Treatment of Lower Molars in a Mesolithic Sample from a Cemetery on the Yuzhny Ol Origin of the Andronovans: A Statistical Approach   

The Russian Archaeological Project in South America:
Principal Findings and Prospects

A.N. Popov¹ and A.V. Tabarev²

¹Educational and Scientific Museum, Far Eastern Federal University, Okeansky pr. 37, Vladivostok, 690091, Russia

²Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

This study outlines the findings of field and laboratory studies by the first Russian archaeological expedition to South America in 2014-2015 and 2017-2018 in collaboration with colleagues from Ecuador and Japan. The project focused on sites of the Archaic (10.8-6.6 ka BP) and Early Formative period (5.5-3.5 ka BP) in the coastal zone of Santa Elena Province, Ecuador. Excavations at Real Alto (Valdivia culture) and Loma Alto (Las Vegas culture) yielded representative archaeological, anthropological, and faunal samples and a large series of AMS dates, providing a basis for a number of novel proposals regarding the chronology and periodization of cultures, their origin, and early pottery-production in South America. Specifically, we have demonstrated that at the very beginning of the Formative period, two early ceramic traditions coexisted—Valdivia and “San Pedro”. We have demonstrated the peculiarity of the “Tropical package” in the stone toolkit, and traced the previously unknown features of the funerary rites of the Las Vegas and Valdivia cultures. Radiocarbon analysis helped to correct the chronology of the late stage of the pre-ceramic Las Vegas culture (8.0 - 4.8 ka BP) and to estimate the tentative date of the earliest pottery manufacture at 4.8-4.7 ka BP. In conclusion, we outline the top priorities and prospects of Russian archaeological studies on the Pacific coast of South America, underscoring the importance of international cooperation.

Keywords: South America, Ecuador, Pacific coast, Formative period, chronology, pottery-making