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During the summer of 1998, archaeological fieldwork at El Brujo focused on identifying areas of domestic Moche occupation and sampling Cupisnique and Chimu cultural deposits for botanical and faunal remains. The archaeological team tested various cultural deposits throughout the site in order to recover data that will better define the history of settlement at the site. Careful excavation of cultural refuse and living surfaces form all time periods was necessary to examine the details of subsistence patterns and changes in occupation.
Pits and depressions from
a century of artifact collecting has created a virtual moonscape across
the entire El Brujo uplift. Although these open pits are an ominous
reminder of unscientific artifact collection at the site, they served
to expedite the process of locating and defining cultural occupations.
Artifacts and architectural features exposed in these depressions aided
in the location and layout of test units. Open pits were cleaned,
stratigraphically excavated, and later profiled in detail.
Detailed examination of stratified
Moche and Chimu cultural refuse near
Huaca Corta--note well preserved
cane and maize plant remains in the profile
In 1998, Northern Arizona University and Peruvian archaeologists excavated two units at the northern edge of Monticulo (monument) Cupisnique in a section 100 meters north of Huaca Prieta at the edge of Monticulo (monument) Cupisnique. The two excavation units provided a profile of undisturbed cultural material with excellent preservation from which faunal and botanical samples were obtained. Excavation of one of these units yielded an abundance of faunal and botanical remains obtained from a series of living surfaces and domestic refuse. A circular mortared-stone structure of unknown function was also excavated to a depth of 520 centimeters ground surface. Similar circular stone structures were uncovered by Junius Bird near Huaca Prieta in the 1940s. Excavations in this structure yielded a variety of Cupisnique household remains such as conical adobes, stone tools, stone and wooden fishing equipment, fish and mammal bones, and a variety of seeds and other plant remains.
Careful stratigraphic excavation of a series of floors and refuse near Monticulo Cupisnique
