Dwelling the coast: The La Capilla 1 cave site during the Archaic-Formative transition on the northernmost coast of Chile

Abstract

The Capilla 1 cave is a key context to understanding the social dynamics of the coastal hunter-gatherer-fishers of the Late Archaic Period on the exoreic northernmost coast of Chile, Atacama Desert. We present the analysis of multiple lines of data associated to the so-called “Archaic-Formative transition” recovering from excavations carried out in the early 2010s. La Capilla 1’s material culture - which represents different social dimensions of these coastal communities related to food, technology and mortuary practices, are employed to interrogate the different activities that were carried out in the site. Furthermore, identifying the areas of procurement of diverse ranges of resources enables us to indicate the networks of mobility and social interactions. In summary, by considering a new set of data and chronology, we broaden the set of activities previously identified on the site emphasizing the relevance of coastal and littoral environments had to the local coastal communities during the transition to the Formative Period in terms of their mobility and/or interaction networks with other populations settled in interior environments of the region.