Quilcapampa’s Stone Tools and Placas Pintadas

A description of the lithic assemblage at Quilcapampa that focuses on the stone tools and placas pintadas. Flaked and ground stone tools are found throughout the site. We briefly describe these tools and the raw materials used to make them. We then conduct an array of spatial analyses to determine if certain kinds of tool or stone types are clustered in certain areas. Chemical analysis was also done on obsidian to determine if the source of the obsidian used was different in parts of the site. We do the same kinds of analyses with the placas pintadas (painted stones used in rituals), concentrating as well on the relationship between color, decoration, and orientation in individual deposits. In sum, we noted few differences between locations, suggesting that everyone was doing similar activities across the site. The key differences were found in the obsidian source used, as well as a general trend toward higher mobility in the outlying areas.