Paiján culture

[1] Later research, mainly by French archaeologist Claude Chauchat, identified dozens of open air sites, which include camps, workshops and quarries.

[2] Chivateros is a notable prehistoric stone tool quarry in the Ventanilla District of Peru associated with Paijan culture.

[4] To adapt to this environment, the Paiján developed long needle–like projectile points which were mounted on hollow shafts of cane or reed and be used as harpoons to catch fish; they also collected snails, hunted small animals such as vizcachas and used grinding stones to process plants.

Common Paijan tools used included single and double sidescrapers, unifaces – pieces or tabular blocks retouched on one face only all around the edge to give them an ovate shape, borers – rare small jasper blocks that have 3 points, and most abundantly - denticulates which have thick, steep edges.

[8] Early Paiján sites indicate large bands that moved seasonally between the coastal plains and the western slopes of the Andes.