The UMMAA is proud to announce the release of Coastal Ecosystems and Economic Strategies at Cerro Azul, Peru: The Study of a Late Intermediate Kingdom, a richly illustrated volume edited by Dr. Joyce Marcus.

Cerro Azul, a pre-Inca fishing community in the Kingdom of Huarco, Peru, stood at the interface between a rich marine ecosystem and an irrigated coastal plain. Under the direction of its noble families, Cerro Azul dried millions of fish for shipment to inland communities, from which it received agricultural products and dried llama meat. 

A team of paleoethnobotanists and zooarchaeologists analyzed the molluscs, crustaceans, fish, birds, mammals, edible and “industrial” plants, and coprolites from Cerro Azul in order to reconstruct the kingdom’s strategies for linking the marine and inland ecosystems.

Included in the volume are more than 300 photographs and illustrations of animal and plant remains uncovered during the University of Michigan’s excavations. In particular, shellfish, fish, and mammal bones are identified by species, making this a uniquely helpful book for archaeologists working in the region.

For a limited time, Coastal Ecosystems and Economic Strategies at Cerro Azul, Peru: The Study of a Late Intermediate Kingdom is available at a reduced price of $30. (List price is $45.) Order directly from UMMAA or from Amazon.