B55
Two temples of the Kotosh Mito phase
the ceremonial centers started the Andean civilization

In the 1960s the Scientific Expedition of the University of Tokyo to the Andes excavated in the archaeological site of Kotosh (Huánuco region, Peru) and discovered ceremonial architecture of “Kotosh Mito phase (ca. 4500–3800 BP)” beneath the remains of the earliest ceramic cultures. The “temple” of the Mito Phase is characterized by square chamber with firepit in its center placed on large platform. Templo de las Manos Cruzadas (the Temple of the Crossed Hands; see G6) was filled with cobbles and another temple named the Templo de los Nichitos (Temple of the Niches) had been constructed on top of it. The significant contribution of this excavation on the study about the origin of the Andean civilization can be summarized in two points. Firstly, it was the first scientific excavation which stratigraphically proved the chronological precedence of monumental ceremonial buildings to the pottery making tradition. Secondly, it pointed out the repetitious pattern of building and reburial of temples and a possibility of a cyclical pattern of ritual renovation and renewal of ceremonial architecture. The renovation of temple needed a population growth, a well-organized society, a stable economy, a technological innovation and a refined religious ideology. At the same time, these developments made it possible to construct even much larger buildings. The ceremonial centers brought about such a positive feedback and led to the emergence of the Andean civilization; an unexpected result. (Eisei Tsurumi)

References

泉 靖一・松沢亜生（1967）「中央アンデスにおける無土器神殿文化－コトシュ・ミト期を中心として」『ラテン・アメリカ研究』8月号: 39-69。

加藤泰建・関 雄二（編）（1998）『文明の創造力：古代アンデスの神殿と社会』角川書店。

大貫良夫・加藤泰建・関 雄二（編）（2010）『古代アンデス　神殿から始まる文明』朝日新聞出版。

Izumi, S. & Sono, T. (eds.) (1963) Excavations at Kotosh, Peru 1960. Tokyo: Kadokawa-shoten.

Izumi, S. & Terada, K. (eds.) (1972) Excavations at Kotosh, Peru, 1963 and 1966. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.