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Papers by Brian Billman
Smithsonian Institution Press eBooks, 1999
The 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2018
Cerro Cumbray is a Chimú hilltop settlement located near the modern town of Simbal, Peru. During ... more Cerro Cumbray is a Chimú hilltop settlement located near the modern town of Simbal, Peru. During the 2018 field season, the authors used aerial photography via drone to create a site map and conducted a limited pedestrian survey in order to better understand site chronology and context. While Cerro Cumbray lacks indications of intensive fortification; the viewshed afforded by its location site, its strategic position relative to the confluence of two rivers, and its natural fortifications in the form of cliffs imply a largely defensive motivation to the site's occupation. The mapping and survey data is used to identify habitation zones and activities within the site. At a larger scale, GIS software allows for the analysis of the role of the site within the Chimú defensive network of the Moche Valley.
An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries workin... more An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high-quality books open access for the public good. The open access ISBN for the PDF version of this book is 978-1-64642-245-6; for the ePUB version the open access ISBN is 978-1-64642-244-9. More information about the initiative and links to the open-access version can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org. Cover photograph of Pampa Grande by Ilana Johnson; figurine photographs courtesy of Museo Larco, Lima.
The 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2019
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021
Maritime Communities of the Ancient Andes, 2020
Chapter 10 discusses the Late Intermediate Period (1000–1460 cal AD) and Late Horizon (1470–1532 ... more Chapter 10 discusses the Late Intermediate Period (1000–1460 cal AD) and Late Horizon (1470–1532 cal AD) site of Cerro la Virgen in the Moche valley on the Peruvian north coast. The authors argue that the site was self-sufficient except for water for fields, in contrast to earlier interpretations. However, households engaged in multiple economic activities; the site is not characterized by occupational specialization, and both farmers and fishermen lived at Cerro la Virgen.
Latin American Antiquity
Understanding the complex relationships among social identities, long-distance exchange, and migr... more Understanding the complex relationships among social identities, long-distance exchange, and migration has long been an important issue in archaeology. In the central Andes, archaeologists have grappled with these issues to understand highland–coastal interaction. We present a case study of these relationships in the coca-growing zone of the Moche Valley (chaupiyunga zone, 200–1,200 m asl) during the Early Intermediate period (400 BC–AD 600). We focus on reconstructing the social identities of the people who lived at Cerro León, a large hill town situated astride an important access route into the chaupiyunga from the highlands. Unlike most sites in the chaupiyunga, the site is dominated by highland-style pottery. Petrographic analysis indicates that the sources of the highland-style pottery were in the adjacent highlands. Our analysis of daily domestic activities, vernacular architecture, personal adornment, and ritual practices, including burial practices, indicates that most of t...
Integrating archaeological demography: …, 1997
ABSTRACT Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Barbara, 1996. Bibliography: p. 368-385.
Investigaciones Sociales, 2014
Huaca Menocucho is a prehistoric monumental center located in the middle Moche Valley on the nort... more Huaca Menocucho is a prehistoric monumental center located in the middle Moche Valley on the northern coast of Peru. The site shows evidence of several construction and occupation phases of the Moche Valley cultural sequence (Prieto and Maquera, 2015). Huaca Menocucho and the surrounding area have faced looting and destruction from several sources. In July 2016, MOCHE, Inc. conducted a drone survey combined with a systematic surface artifact survey to record information about activities and taphonomy of the site’s occupation. With the use of photogrammetry software, drone technology, geospatial analysis, and interpolation of surface artifact densities, this study outlines the spatial extents and densities of several of the site’s occupational phases. Additionally, this study explores how an integration of high-resolution site DEMs and systematic surface collections may assist archaeologists in investigating sites that have been heavily looted.
Smithsonian Institution Press eBooks, 1999
The 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2018
Cerro Cumbray is a Chimú hilltop settlement located near the modern town of Simbal, Peru. During ... more Cerro Cumbray is a Chimú hilltop settlement located near the modern town of Simbal, Peru. During the 2018 field season, the authors used aerial photography via drone to create a site map and conducted a limited pedestrian survey in order to better understand site chronology and context. While Cerro Cumbray lacks indications of intensive fortification; the viewshed afforded by its location site, its strategic position relative to the confluence of two rivers, and its natural fortifications in the form of cliffs imply a largely defensive motivation to the site's occupation. The mapping and survey data is used to identify habitation zones and activities within the site. At a larger scale, GIS software allows for the analysis of the role of the site within the Chimú defensive network of the Moche Valley.
An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries workin... more An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high-quality books open access for the public good. The open access ISBN for the PDF version of this book is 978-1-64642-245-6; for the ePUB version the open access ISBN is 978-1-64642-244-9. More information about the initiative and links to the open-access version can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org. Cover photograph of Pampa Grande by Ilana Johnson; figurine photographs courtesy of Museo Larco, Lima.
The 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2019
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021
Maritime Communities of the Ancient Andes, 2020
Chapter 10 discusses the Late Intermediate Period (1000–1460 cal AD) and Late Horizon (1470–1532 ... more Chapter 10 discusses the Late Intermediate Period (1000–1460 cal AD) and Late Horizon (1470–1532 cal AD) site of Cerro la Virgen in the Moche valley on the Peruvian north coast. The authors argue that the site was self-sufficient except for water for fields, in contrast to earlier interpretations. However, households engaged in multiple economic activities; the site is not characterized by occupational specialization, and both farmers and fishermen lived at Cerro la Virgen.
Latin American Antiquity
Understanding the complex relationships among social identities, long-distance exchange, and migr... more Understanding the complex relationships among social identities, long-distance exchange, and migration has long been an important issue in archaeology. In the central Andes, archaeologists have grappled with these issues to understand highland–coastal interaction. We present a case study of these relationships in the coca-growing zone of the Moche Valley (chaupiyunga zone, 200–1,200 m asl) during the Early Intermediate period (400 BC–AD 600). We focus on reconstructing the social identities of the people who lived at Cerro León, a large hill town situated astride an important access route into the chaupiyunga from the highlands. Unlike most sites in the chaupiyunga, the site is dominated by highland-style pottery. Petrographic analysis indicates that the sources of the highland-style pottery were in the adjacent highlands. Our analysis of daily domestic activities, vernacular architecture, personal adornment, and ritual practices, including burial practices, indicates that most of t...
Integrating archaeological demography: …, 1997
ABSTRACT Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Barbara, 1996. Bibliography: p. 368-385.
Investigaciones Sociales, 2014
Huaca Menocucho is a prehistoric monumental center located in the middle Moche Valley on the nort... more Huaca Menocucho is a prehistoric monumental center located in the middle Moche Valley on the northern coast of Peru. The site shows evidence of several construction and occupation phases of the Moche Valley cultural sequence (Prieto and Maquera, 2015). Huaca Menocucho and the surrounding area have faced looting and destruction from several sources. In July 2016, MOCHE, Inc. conducted a drone survey combined with a systematic surface artifact survey to record information about activities and taphonomy of the site’s occupation. With the use of photogrammetry software, drone technology, geospatial analysis, and interpolation of surface artifact densities, this study outlines the spatial extents and densities of several of the site’s occupational phases. Additionally, this study explores how an integration of high-resolution site DEMs and systematic surface collections may assist archaeologists in investigating sites that have been heavily looted.
“Readers will find the case-studies especially useful for their excellent and well-illustrated re... more “Readers will find the case-studies especially useful for their excellent and well-illustrated reviews of previous research, along with the presentation of new data and analyses. Also important are issues cross-cutting the individual case-studies.”
Deborah L. Nichols in Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
“[A]n important and successful book. . . . [I]t provides a fine overview of what settlement pattern archaeology has contributed to anthropology in the Americas.”
Jeffrey R. Parsons in American Antiquity
“The studies in this volume . . . demonstrate the utility of the [settlement pattern] approach and how it has expanded over the last half-century. . . . [I]ncludes state-of-the-art work.”
Robert Santley in Canadian Journal of Anthropological Research
“This set of papers is strong and represents some of the success stories in site-organized settlement pattern work. . . . [A] credit to the grand impact of the family of settlement archaeology approaches in our discipline.”
Barbara L. Stark in American Anthropologist