Moche Foodways Archaeological Project Homepage
Santa Rosa-Quirihuac is an Early Moche farming village that was occupied by commoner farmers in the first few centuries A.D.. The site apparently was inhabited for less than ten years, because remodeling was not evident and no rooms were abandoned and filled with garbage. Botanical remains were dominated by maize, cotton, and beans. Faunal material was scarce; however, there were limited quantities of fish, shellfish, crab, llama, and guinea pig.
Overview of 1997
excavations at Santa Rosa-Quirihuac
Ongoing research at Santa
Rosa-Quirihuac includes three completed Northern Arizona University master's
theses that investigate storage and utilitarian ceramics (Mehaffey
1998), maize morphology (Tate 1998),
and the ideological and economic significance of beans (Ryser
1998). Another thesis examines variation in architecture
through time and across social classes (Campbell
1998). A team of undergraduate students was also awarded
a grant to study the wild plant remains from Santa Rosa-Quirihuac.
The detailed household excavations and analyses from Santa Rosa-Quirihuac
and Ciudad de Dios can now be compared to other sites in the Moche Valley,
and also to archaeological work being done at El Brujo in the Chicama
Valley.
Closeup view of commoner habitation structure and household
features including
bench, fire hearth, and unprepared walls and floor.
