Document Type

Honors Thesis

Major

Earth and Climate Science

Advisor(s)

Daniel Sandweiss

Committee Members

Katherine Allen, Allen Gontz, Alice Kelley, Jiaze Wang

Graduation Year

May 2023

Publication Date

Spring 2023

Abstract

This study is a geoarchaeological analysis using earth resistance tomography (ERT) surveys of two of four mounds at Pozuelo (Formative Period, cal yr 3000 BP) in the Chincha Valley of coastal, southern Peru. Layers identified in the subsurface were to determine the presence or absence of regional continuity between the mounds. This effort is part of a larger investigation examining the paleoenvironmental setting of the site, and its influence on site location and use. Ten earth resistance tomography profiles were collected using an ABEM Terrameter LS2 and 81 pin array. These profiles were then topographically corrected using topographic survey data collected with a Sokkai auto level and a metric Philadelphia rod as part of this study. This thesis looks to relate the ERT subsurface structures between two of the site’s four mounds (B and D) and connect the ERT structures to the stratigraphic layers observed in a 4 meter deep excavation pit in Mound D. Specific layers observed in the Mound D stratigraphy, aeolian sand and blocky clay, were identified on the ERT data, but a consistent correlation between the ERT data and stratigraphy could not be established. An older mound was identified within Mound B, and its boundary was drawn using the collected ERT data. Due to the inability to establish a direct correlation between the Mound D stratigraphic column and the ERT data, subsurface layers between Mounds B and D were not identified.

Rights and Access Note

Copyright 2023 Connolly All Rights Reserved

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