Michele L Koons
Biographic Data
| ID | 202083 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michele L Koons |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michele L |
| FAMILY NAME | Koons |
| SIGNATURE | KOONS M L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Denver Museum of Nature and Science |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8370-4323 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 68 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 9 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Mapping Ancient Structures and Demonstrating Integrated Archaeological Geophysics at Huacas de Moche, Peru
At the Huacas de Moche (HdM), one of the most prominent archaeological sites in Trujillo, Peru, the needs of an expanding modern community are in direct conflict with the desire to preserve the wealth of archaeological information. The undetermined extent of the HdM site introduces disputes in land usage where potential archaeological features are destroyed in pursuit of cultivatable land. This work presents the results of an integrated archaeo‐g…
Moche chronology of ancient Peru
In the last decade Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates has become commonplace for archaeologists grappling with regional chronologies. Here we present Bayesian analysis for radiocarbon dates from Moche cultural contexts from the north coast of Peru with the aim to understand the duration of the phenomenon and to compile all known dates in a single location for future analysis and use. The analysis demonstrates that the long-standing Moche cera…
Ceramic production in the Tiwanaku sphere
To Unite and Divide
Here I evaluate Andean concepts understood from the Quechua and Aymara languages to test their applicability to Moche archaeology—a region where the languages once spoken are now extinct. By focusing on geographical features common to the highlands and the coast (mountains and rivers) and archaeological evidence, I look at broad patterns of Moche material culture and consider how these relate to canal-fed irrigation systems, ceramic spatial patte…
The Magic Mountain community archaeology project
Nestled in the foothills of Golden, Colorado, Magic Mountain is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Front Range of the Southern Rocky Mountains. The earliest contexts date back to 9000 BP, when the site served as camping grounds for groups passing through the region. Later remains, such as ceramics and stone structures, indicate that through time it became a semi-permanent residence that was inhabited until at least 1000 CE. Fro…
New insights into prehispanic urban organization at Tiwanaku (NE Bolivia)
Moche Sociopolitical Dynamics and the Role of Licapa II, Chicama Valley, Peru
Fieldwork at the Moche (A .D. 250-900) site of Licapa II in the Chicama Valley, Peru, has resulted in a more nuanced history of the changing sociopolitical relationships among Moche centers. The distinct archaeological signatures of Moche society, namely ceramics and huacas (monumental structures), have been interpreted as emblematic of an ethnic and political reality and as evidence for a state. Nonetheless, scholars are now disentangling these …
Revised Moche Chronology Based on Bayesian Models of Reliable Radiocarbon Dates
The Moche civilization of the north coast of Peru is thought to be the first state-level society in South America. Understanding of the emergence, spread, and decline of this society, however, has been based almost entirely on relative ceramic phases, rather than absolute dates. This article reevaluates Moche political dynamics and intersite affiliations using radiocarbon dates associated with diagnostic ceramic styles. The phases of ceramic styl…
The Fall of the Moche
The Moche archaeological culture of the North Coast of Peru has been reified into a political system and claimed as the first state in South America. While some recent scholarship has reduced the size of the proposed state, the idea of Moche as a distinct political, social, or ethnic entity remains. In this article we demonstrate that even by the "classic" neoevolutionary theory of the 1960s-1980s the criteria for Moche statehood were not met. We…
The Fall of the Moche
The Moche archaeological culture of the North Coast of Peru has been reified into a political system and claimed as the first state in South America. While some recent scholarship has reduced the size of the proposed state, the idea of Moche as a distinct political, social, or ethnic entity remains. In this article we demonstrate that even by the "classic" neoevolutionary theory of the 1960s-1980s the criteria for Moche statehood were not met. We…
Revised Moche Chronology Based on Bayesian Models of Reliable Radiocarbon Dates
The Moche civilization of the north coast of Peru is thought to be the first state-level society in South America. Understanding of the emergence, spread, and decline of this society, however, has been based almost entirely on relative ceramic phases, rather than absolute dates. This article reevaluates Moche political dynamics and intersite affiliations using radiocarbon dates associated with diagnostic ceramic styles. The phases of ceramic styl…
Moche Sociopolitical Dynamics and the Role of Licapa II, Chicama Valley, Peru
Fieldwork at the Moche (A .D. 250-900) site of Licapa II in the Chicama Valley, Peru, has resulted in a more nuanced history of the changing sociopolitical relationships among Moche centers. The distinct archaeological signatures of Moche society, namely ceramics and huacas (monumental structures), have been interpreted as emblematic of an ethnic and political reality and as evidence for a state. Nonetheless, scholars are now disentangling these …
To Unite and Divide
Here I evaluate Andean concepts understood from the Quechua and Aymara languages to test their applicability to Moche archaeology—a region where the languages once spoken are now extinct. By focusing on geographical features common to the highlands and the coast (mountains and rivers) and archaeological evidence, I look at broad patterns of Moche material culture and consider how these relate to canal-fed irrigation systems, ceramic spatial patte…
The Magic Mountain community archaeology project
Nestled in the foothills of Golden, Colorado, Magic Mountain is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Front Range of the Southern Rocky Mountains. The earliest contexts date back to 9000 BP, when the site served as camping grounds for groups passing through the region. Later remains, such as ceramics and stone structures, indicate that through time it became a semi-permanent residence that was inhabited until at least 1000 CE. Fro…
Ceramic production in the Tiwanaku sphere
New insights into prehispanic urban organization at Tiwanaku (NE Bolivia)
The Fall of the Moche
The Moche archaeological culture of the North Coast of Peru has been reified into a political system and claimed as the first state in South America. While some recent scholarship has reduced the size of the proposed state, the idea of Moche as a distinct political, social, or ethnic entity remains. In this article we demonstrate that even by the "classic" neoevolutionary theory of the 1960s-1980s the criteria for Moche statehood were not met. We…
Revised Moche Chronology Based on Bayesian Models of Reliable Radiocarbon Dates
The Moche civilization of the north coast of Peru is thought to be the first state-level society in South America. Understanding of the emergence, spread, and decline of this society, however, has been based almost entirely on relative ceramic phases, rather than absolute dates. This article reevaluates Moche political dynamics and intersite affiliations using radiocarbon dates associated with diagnostic ceramic styles. The phases of ceramic styl…
Moche Sociopolitical Dynamics and the Role of Licapa II, Chicama Valley, Peru
Fieldwork at the Moche (A .D. 250-900) site of Licapa II in the Chicama Valley, Peru, has resulted in a more nuanced history of the changing sociopolitical relationships among Moche centers. The distinct archaeological signatures of Moche society, namely ceramics and huacas (monumental structures), have been interpreted as emblematic of an ethnic and political reality and as evidence for a state. Nonetheless, scholars are now disentangling these …
New insights into prehispanic urban organization at Tiwanaku (NE Bolivia)
The Magic Mountain community archaeology project
Nestled in the foothills of Golden, Colorado, Magic Mountain is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Front Range of the Southern Rocky Mountains. The earliest contexts date back to 9000 BP, when the site served as camping grounds for groups passing through the region. Later remains, such as ceramics and stone structures, indicate that through time it became a semi-permanent residence that was inhabited until at least 1000 CE. Fro…
To Unite and Divide
Here I evaluate Andean concepts understood from the Quechua and Aymara languages to test their applicability to Moche archaeology—a region where the languages once spoken are now extinct. By focusing on geographical features common to the highlands and the coast (mountains and rivers) and archaeological evidence, I look at broad patterns of Moche material culture and consider how these relate to canal-fed irrigation systems, ceramic spatial patte…
Ceramic production in the Tiwanaku sphere
Moche chronology of ancient Peru
In the last decade Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates has become commonplace for archaeologists grappling with regional chronologies. Here we present Bayesian analysis for radiocarbon dates from Moche cultural contexts from the north coast of Peru with the aim to understand the duration of the phenomenon and to compile all known dates in a single location for future analysis and use. The analysis demonstrates that the long-standing Moche cera…
Mapping Ancient Structures and Demonstrating Integrated Archaeological Geophysics at Huacas de Moche, Peru
At the Huacas de Moche (HdM), one of the most prominent archaeological sites in Trujillo, Peru, the needs of an expanding modern community are in direct conflict with the desire to preserve the wealth of archaeological information. The undetermined extent of the HdM site introduces disputes in land usage where potential archaeological features are destroyed in pursuit of cultivatable land. This work presents the results of an integrated archaeo‐g…
Archaeology (8 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (8 works) · Geography (8 works) · Geology (4 works) · History (3 works) · Latin American history and culture (3 works) · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies (3 works) · Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory (2 works) · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies (2 works) · Chronology (2 works)