Caral and the rise to civilization in the Norte Chico Peru

Abstract

The site of Caral, Peru has undergone much archaeological excavations under the direction of Dr. Ruth Shady over the course of the years following 1994. Caral has been radiocarbon dated to over five thousand years ago. It has been proposed by some scholars, Dr. Shady included, that the site of Caral and the surrounding sites in the Supe Valley represent a state level society. However, there is a general consensus in the literature holding that Caral does not represent a highly stratified society such as a state. In order to gain a better understanding of what Caral really represents, this thesis compares Caral to two known state level societies, the Moche and Tiwanaku states. The comparison is based on a number of key factors seen in state levels societies namely, site size and distribution, monumental architecture, craft specialization, iconography and burial stratification.