Caral : Production and Exchange
Very Interesting Places in Peru
- Caral : The Origins of Civilization
- Caral : Civilization State and city
- Caral : Supe and the Area Norcentral
- Caral : Contemporary Settlements
- Caral : Production and Exchange
- Caral : Religion and Goverment
- Caral : Social Classes
- Caral : Conclusions
The inhabitants of Supe used different natural areas of their territory to obtain a wide array of products; they had access to the resources of the valley, the river, springs, wetlands, hills, forests, and riparian woodlands.
The peasant farmers of the valley dug and cleaned irrigation ditches and tended their crops: squash, beans, pumpkins, cotton, sweet potatoes, chili peppers, flat gourds and tutumo(a small tree whose seeds and fruit were used for different medicinal purposes).They also cultivated or gathered pacae (ice-cream beans) and guava. They gave part of their harvests to their authorities and served whenever drafted for collective labor in the lands and buildings of the gods.
They caught fish and crayfish in the river.Cazaban venados y vizcachas o recolectaban frutos, raíces y caracoles en las lomas. In the wetlands they cut reeds and rushes to make shicras (loosely woven bags) and mats.
Traveling by roads interconnecting the coast, mountains and jungle, traders from the valley took agricultural and marine products and exchanged them for lumber, herbs, seeds, pigments, medicinal plants and snails originating in distant settlements, which they then circulated among the coastal populations.
The fishermen of the coast caught anchovy and sardines, as well as clams and mussels. They dried fish and separated the mollusks destined for trade. Like the peasant farmers, they gave part of their catch to their authorities, and were at their service for collective work.
The farmers supplied the fishermen with cotton, indispensable for making their large fishing nets; likewise, the inhabitants of the valley obtained marine products, a necessary complement to their nutrition. Thus was formed the first socio-economic integration between regions, leading to mutual dependence and occupational specialization.
The lords of Caral also had trade relations with inhabitants of other regions, principally those of the coast, who supplied them with fish and mollusks.They also interchanged products with the coastal dwellers of Pativilca and Fortaleza, and even had links with places as distant as Kotosh in the Huallaga valley, La Galgada in Tablachaca, Santa; Piruro in the Marañón, and Huaricoto in the Callejón de Huaylas.
The plentiful trade generated a dynamic economic process between the regions and promoted accumulation. Those conditions allowed the Supe society to strengthen its process of political integration under a state government and favored the formation of social classes. The effectiveness of this form of government can be measured by the boom in the construction of large monumental complexes undertaken by the State.
Information and Photos by www.caralperu.gob.pe
Peru Travel News
Caral : the oldest town in the New World
Caral is the oldest civilization in the Americas, having developed almost simultaneously with the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China. [more...]
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