Necklace is 'oldest in Americas'

[YankeyMCC]

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A necklace found near Lake Titicaca in southern Peru is the oldest known gold object made in the Americas, archaeologists say.

Radiocarbon dating puts its origin at about 4,000 years ago, when hunter-gatherers occupied the area.
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The discovery suggests that the use of gold jewellery to signify status began before the appearance of more complex societies in the Andes, they report.
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The necklace was found alongside the jawbone of an adult skull in a burial pit next to primitive pithouses at Jiskairumoko, a hamlet that was settled from 3,300 to 1,500 BC.
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The gold would have signalled the prestige of its wearer, "not at all different to today," said Dr Aldenderfer.

"This reflects a lot more than just a lovely object," he added. "This is a major piece of how people lived their lives and how they competed for status in the past."
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7323351.stm


There really isn't much more in the BBC article so maybe there's a lot more basis for all they are saying this find implies, although I see no reason to automatically discount the idea of the importance of status, that does seem consistent with other ideas about ancient human societies, it just seems like they are maybe jumping the gun on the amount and level of detail of their conclusions about what this find means.

Or maybe it's just the way it's being reported that gives that impression.