I'll Be Dammed: Efficiency and Cost-Analysis of a Rehabilitated Prehispanic Dam in the Andes

IF 1.6 3区地球科学 0 ARCHAEOLOGY

Geoarchaeology-An International Journal Pub Date : 2026-07-08 DOI:10.1002/gea.70067

Kevin Lane, Ricardo Flores-Marquez, Rodrigo J. Puga-Calderón, Pedro Gonzalez, Mario Advíncula, Alexander Herrera

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Abstract

Within archaeology there is a growing shift away from the purely aesthetic towards making the past relevant to present and future needs and demands. The Past Water Futures project charts the impact of ancient dam rehabilitation on climate change-induced water scarcity in the North Central Andes. The rehabilitation of late period (AD 750–1532) Prehispanic dams is a novel approach to assuage increasing water shortage among the rural communities of the Andean highlands. Nevertheless, until now, we lacked data on the real-time impact of these modern conservation and rehabilitation projects. Here we present preliminary results, including volume capacity, potential demand, hydrological and hydraulic analysis and a reservoir filling log of the Prehispanic Weetacocha ‘Lake of Flowers’ Dam, which was rehabilitated in late 2024. Weetacocha belongs to the rural community of Racratumanka, District of Pamparomás, Province of Huaylas, Ancash Region, Peru. Importantly, we analyse the cost per m³ unit of water recovered through the rehabilitation of the Weetacocha Dam, proving that the restoration of water dams can provide a viable, cost-effective, community-led, sustainable alternative to modern micro-dam construction in the Central Andes and potentially further afield.

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我将被拦坝：安第斯山脉一座前西班牙时期大坝修复的效率和成本分析

在考古学中，越来越多的人从纯粹的美学转向将过去与现在和未来的需要和要求联系起来。“过去的水期货”项目绘制了古大坝修复对中北部安第斯山脉气候变化引起的水资源短缺的影响。修复晚期（公元750-1532年）前西班牙时期的水坝是缓解安第斯高原农村社区日益严重的水资源短缺的一种新方法。然而，到目前为止，我们缺乏这些现代保护和修复项目的实时影响的数据。在这里，我们介绍了初步结果，包括容积容量、潜在需求、水文和水力分析以及前西班牙维塔科查“花湖”大坝的水库填充日志，该大坝于2024年底恢复。Weetacocha属于秘鲁安卡什地区Huaylas省Pamparomás区Racratumanka农村社区。重要的是，我们分析了通过修复维塔科查大坝回收的每立方米水的成本，证明了修复水坝可以为安第斯山脉中部以及可能更远的地方的现代微型水坝建设提供一个可行的、具有成本效益的、社区主导的、可持续的替代方案。

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来源期刊

Geoarchaeology-An International Journal 地学-地球科学综合

CiteScore

3.60

自引率

5.90%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Geoarchaeology is an interdisciplinary journal published six times per year (in January, March, May, July, September and November). It presents the results of original research at the methodological and theoretical interface between archaeology and the geosciences and includes within its scope: interdisciplinary work focusing on understanding archaeological sites, their environmental context, and particularly site formation processes and how the analysis of sedimentary records can enhance our understanding of human activity in Quaternary environments. Manuscripts should examine the interrelationship between archaeology and the various disciplines within Quaternary science and the Earth Sciences more generally, including, for example: geology, geography, geomorphology, pedology, climatology, oceanography, geochemistry, geochronology, and geophysics. We also welcome papers that deal with the biological record of past human activity through the analysis of faunal and botanical remains and palaeoecological reconstructions that shed light on past human-environment interactions. The journal also welcomes manuscripts concerning the examination and geological context of human fossil remains as well as papers that employ analytical techniques to advance understanding of the composition and origin or material culture such as, for example, ceramics, metals, lithics, building stones, plasters, and cements. Such composition and provenance studies should be strongly grounded in their geological context through, for example, the systematic analysis of potential source materials.