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Pre-Hispanic Ridged Fields of the Casma Valley, Peru

1983; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 73; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/214330

1931-0846

Thomas Pozorski, Shelia Pozorski, Carol J. Mackey, Alexandra M. Ulana Klymyshyn,

Archaeological and Geological Studies

ECAUSE of the aridity of the environment, the desert coast of Peru might seem to be an unusual setting for a ridged field system. Ridged fields in lowlands are generally associated with areas of poor drainage or seasonal inundation. Many valleys along the Peruvian coast with irrigation contain agricultural features like canals as well as sunken gardens and flood-control embankments that are associated with a high water table or inundation. 1 In almost every instance, these features are located near the coastline only a few meters above sea level. Serious drainage problems exist at the mouths of many of these valleys, and accumulation of salt from hundreds of years of irrigation has rendered substantial acreage useless for agriculture.2 Poorly drained areas exist at the mouths of other coastal rivers of Peru, but the Casma Valley is unique in having ridged fields rather than sunken gardens, which are the most common feature on the high water-table regions of the coast. The best-preserved remains of ridged fields in the Casma Valley are located approximately 2 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean almost 3 kilometers south of the Casma River (Fig. 1). The area has an east-west dimension of 2.9 kilometers and a north-south one of 0.8 kilometer. There are approximately 200 hectares of well-preserved fields. The fields are situated in a fossil bay that extends almost 4 kilometers inland to Hacienda San Diego. This bay measures 6.7 kilometers along its north-south axis. The fossil bay is bordered on the south by large granitic and basaltic hills that prevent easy access to the ocean. To the north, low granitic hills are interspersed with sandy plains. The field area is bounded on the east by more low granitic hills, sandy plains, the