Abstract

The study of settlement patterns has great potential to make meaningful contributions to the analysis of variability in nonhierarchical societies, as different levels of social integration are physically expressed in the distance between co-residential units. Using data from an intensive survey in the Angostura micro-region, central Chile, we compare the spatial organization of the domestic settlements of the different ceramic periods, including the size and density of 19 sites detected in the area and their spatial distribution. This is based on their delimitation by test-pits. We spatially modeled the extent and shape of the sites following a spatial interpolation methodology of the density values obtained in each test-pit. The chronology was based on the classification of pottery and further supported by 150 thermoluminescence dates. The comparison reveals similarities and differences in spatial organization during both periods. At both times the settlement pattern is dispersed, with a wide variability in the site sizes. The main difference lies in the internal structure of these sites; the Late Intermediate sites have fewer areas where trash accumulated and a higher site density, which suggests that there was a greater number of people occupying the residential sites during the later period.