THE FIRST FIELD SEASON OF EXCAVATIONS AT THE ALTO-DEL-MOLINO SITE, PISCO VALLEY, PERU

Little archaeological fieldwork has been conducted in the Pisco Valley on the south coast of Peru and Pisco has long been regarded as in con sequential in the cultural dynamics of the region's prehistory. Yet a critical review of the literature and especially the results of recent excavations at the Alto del Molino site reveal that Pisco played an i mportant role in the development of social complexity on the south coa st at the end of the Early Horizon (ca. 300-1 B.C.) through the early Early Intermediate Period (ca. A.C. 1-300). The Pisco Valley is part o f the larger context of the great cemeteries of the nearby, desolate P aracas Peninsula and the valley contributes to our understanding of th ose elaborate mortuary phenomena. Iz addition, a major regional cultur e called Carmen flourished in Pisco followed the abandonment of the Pa racas cemeteries ies and contemporary Pisco Valley sites. Carmen is co ntemporary, with early Nasca culture of the Ica and Nazca valleys to t he south and is clearly related to that social formation. The major Ca rmen occupation at Alto del Molino provides important data for examini ng the nature of Carmen-Nasca interaction.