Dating the occupation of Cerro Arena: A defensive Salinar-phase settlement in the Moche Valley, Peru

The archaeological site of Cerro Arena has often been described as the earliest urban settlement on the Peruvian north coast, but until recently it was unclear when the site was founded, how long it was occupied, and what role it could have played in the regional political system. This paper presents results of survey work, excavations, and radiocarbon dating work carried out at Cerro Arena in 2017. Fieldwork revealed that the site was occupied for a very short period of time (between similar to 375 and 360 cal BC) and that it likely functioned as a semi-urban defensive settlement. These results raise questions about the urban character of Cerro Arena and the reasons behind its foundation, while also forcing us to problematize anthropological interpretations of urban centers as permanent features and to explore the variable and stochastic nature of early urban settlements in the Andes.