﻿68 
  SOUTH 
  AMERICAN 
  INDIANS 
  [B. 
  A. 
  E. 
  Bull. 
  143 
  

  

  little 
  attention 
  archeologically 
  that 
  its 
  ultimate 
  importance 
  can 
  only 
  

   be 
  guessed 
  at. 
  It 
  is 
  generally 
  conceded 
  that 
  the 
  Andean 
  civilizations 
  

   did 
  not 
  penetrate 
  deeply 
  into 
  the 
  true 
  Amazon 
  tropics. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  

   hand, 
  it 
  may 
  ultimately 
  be 
  shown 
  that 
  the 
  Andean 
  cultures 
  drew 
  

   heavily 
  on 
  the 
  varied 
  resources 
  of 
  the 
  Tropical 
  Forests 
  and 
  the 
  Mon- 
  

   tana. 
  A 
  number 
  of 
  archeologists 
  have 
  stressed 
  the 
  probable 
  im- 
  

   portance 
  of 
  the 
  Amazon 
  region, 
  particularly 
  in 
  the 
  initial 
  develop- 
  

   mental 
  stages 
  of 
  the 
  Andean 
  civilizations. 
  The 
  Montana 
  will 
  be 
  

   described 
  in 
  the 
  Handbook, 
  volume 
  3. 
  

  

  The 
  Pacific 
  Coast 
  of 
  Peru 
  and 
  North 
  Chile 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  desert 
  region 
  

   of 
  South 
  America. 
  Topographically, 
  the 
  Coast 
  is 
  composed 
  of 
  pied- 
  

   mont 
  plains; 
  mountain 
  spurs 
  which 
  run 
  transversely 
  to 
  the 
  Andes; 
  

   some 
  traces, 
  particularly 
  in 
  North 
  Chile 
  and 
  southern 
  Peru, 
  of 
  an 
  old 
  

   Coastal 
  mountain 
  range; 
  and 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  rivers 
  which 
  originate 
  in 
  the 
  

   Andes 
  and 
  flow 
  into 
  the 
  Pacific. 
  There 
  are 
  some 
  25 
  principal 
  rivers 
  

   on 
  the 
  Peruvian 
  Coast, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  unimportant 
  ones. 
  Al- 
  

   though 
  the 
  flood 
  plains 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  rivers 
  merge, 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  

   separated 
  by 
  a 
  good 
  stretch 
  of 
  desert 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  by 
  mountain 
  spurs. 
  

   The 
  rivers 
  are 
  classified 
  as 
  permanent, 
  semipermanent, 
  or 
  sporadic, 
  

   depending 
  on 
  whether 
  they 
  head 
  in 
  the 
  continental 
  watershed 
  or 
  not. 
  

   Most 
  habitation 
  on 
  the 
  Coast 
  of 
  Peru 
  depends 
  on 
  the 
  river 
  valleys 
  and 
  

   irrigated 
  agriculture. 
  Farm 
  land 
  is 
  limited 
  but 
  exceptionally 
  fertile. 
  

  

  In 
  preagricultural 
  times, 
  the 
  Coast 
  of 
  Peru 
  must 
  not 
  have 
  been 
  very 
  

   attractive, 
  Fishing 
  and 
  collecting 
  shellfish 
  would 
  have 
  supported 
  a 
  

   certain 
  population, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  that 
  wild-plant 
  collecting 
  and 
  

   hunting 
  were 
  once 
  profitable 
  in 
  the 
  valleys. 
  Evidence 
  for 
  such 
  suppo- 
  

   sitions 
  has 
  been 
  obscured 
  or 
  obliterated 
  by 
  many 
  centuries 
  of 
  intensive 
  

   cultivation 
  with 
  irrigation, 
  so 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  discover 
  what 
  the 
  

   original 
  wild-plant 
  and 
  animal 
  life 
  was 
  like. 
  It 
  would 
  also 
  follow 
  

   that 
  agriculturists 
  could 
  make 
  little 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  Coastal 
  valleys 
  without 
  

   a 
  good 
  knowledge 
  of 
  irrigation 
  since 
  most 
  cultivation 
  would 
  be 
  limited 
  

   to 
  the 
  flood 
  plains 
  of 
  the 
  rivers. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand, 
  once 
  the 
  valleys 
  

   were 
  settled 
  by 
  agriculturalists 
  with 
  a 
  good 
  knowledge 
  of 
  irrigation, 
  

   the 
  development 
  of 
  high 
  civilization 
  would 
  be 
  possible. 
  The 
  climate 
  

   is 
  not 
  severe. 
  The 
  land 
  is 
  fertile. 
  The 
  mountain 
  spurs 
  and 
  desert 
  

   stretches 
  which 
  separate 
  valleys 
  make 
  them 
  relatively 
  easy 
  to 
  defend. 
  

   Materials 
  for 
  building, 
  such 
  as 
  adobe 
  and 
  stone, 
  are 
  plentiful, 
  and 
  

   fishing 
  and 
  some 
  hunting 
  would 
  supplement 
  the 
  agricultural 
  produce. 
  

  

  Each 
  of 
  the 
  major 
  valleys 
  on 
  the 
  Coast 
  of 
  Peru 
  is 
  in 
  itself 
  a 
  unit 
  

   with 
  an 
  independent 
  cultural 
  history. 
  However, 
  during 
  some 
  pe- 
  

   riods 
  adjacent 
  valleys 
  might 
  share 
  the 
  same 
  development 
  or 
  be 
  domi- 
  

   nated 
  by 
  the 
  same 
  culture. 
  Consequently, 
  for 
  descriptive 
  purposes, 
  

   several 
  valleys 
  can 
  be 
  grouped 
  together. 
  The 
  valleys 
  included 
  in 
  

   such 
  a 
  grouping 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  the 
  same 
  in 
  every 
  time 
  period, 
  however, 
  

   and 
  throughout 
  the 
  archeological 
  history 
  of 
  Peru, 
  the 
  cultures 
  always 
  

  

  