The Archaeology of an Ancient Seaside Town: Performance and Community at Samanco,
Nepeña Valley, Peru (ca. 500-1 BC) … The Archaeology of an Ancient Seaside Town:
Performance and Community at Samanco, Nepeña Valley, Peru (ca. 500-1 BC) … Cover
image for The Archaeology of an Ancient Seaside Town: Performance and Community at
Samanco, Nepeña Valley, Peru (ca. 500-1 BC) …

Studies of social complexity increasingly recognize the role of maritime communities in the
development of large sociopolitical systems. The Central Andes present an ideal region for
understanding maritime aspects of ancient social complexity, due to one of the most
productive sea biomasses in the world. In this study I investigate Samanco, an ancient
seaside town, and its contribution to urban transformations along the North-Central coast of
Peru during the mid-1st millennium BCE. I consult a theoretical framework of performance …