Coast, what Lanning called Pre-ceramic VI (vide Lanning, 
1967). Unfortunately, we are not in a position to analyze the 
three pottery fragments, a matter of controversy today, be- 
cause they were delivered to Lanning for their study and have 
been lost. Judging, however, on the basis of the recollections of 
Bonavia who found them, because of their paste characteristic, 
they do not correspond to early pottery as known on the 
Peruvian Coast. Bonavia suggests that these fragments could 
well have been brought by fishermen who had a permanent 
transit route over the site or else they could have been depo- 
sited in the pre-hispanic period, long after the site was aban- 
doned by its original dwellers. This statement is based on the 
fact that in the sandy areas surrounding the site, small surface 
sites have been found, which probably correspond to fisher- 
men who came down from the Valley and stayed there for a 
short period of time, and they belong in time from the Middle 
Horizon up to the Late Horizon. The pottery found at Los 
Gavilanes should correspond to these occupations. 
When the site was excavated in the year 1960 carbon samples 
were gathered in order to be utilized for dating through '4C. 
Due, however, to anerror, samples of corn were sent to labora- 
tories for determinations. The results obtained were totally 
inconsistent since the date fluctations were between 200 and 
800 years before the present era, with a margin of error varying 
between 70 and 95 years. 
When this situation was investigated, we were informed that 
‘‘corn cobs were particularly bad for use for '*C dating, be- 
cause growing corn had a most unusual rate of absorption of 
'4C, giving a high content and indicating spuriously late dates”’ 
(Gary Vescelius, personal communication, 1970). Further- 
more, there is a possibility of contamination of these samples, 
either through moisture in the deeper part of the site, in connec- 
tion with the fossil lagoon, which is nearby, and which up to 
now maintains some vegetation through its humidity. Also the 
corn was subjected to multiple manipulations before it went 
through the '*C process of dating. 
Up to a few years ago the existence of pre-ceramic corn in 
Peru was not only doubted, its acceptance was even forth- 
rightly refused by some archaeologists. Today the situation has 
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