Cuncaicha rock shelter and the Pampa Colorada (PC) coastal archaeological sites demonstrate evidence of an inter-zonal settlement system in southern Peru. Cuncaicha rock shelter (4480 masl), located in the Pucuncho Basin of the Central Andes, contains multiple, well-stratified components and initial occupation sequences dating to the Terminal Pleistocene. Many of the hundreds of projectile points contained within the site are made primarily of local Alca obsidian. On the Pacific Coast, undated Pampa Colorada sites contain lithic evidence of a highland connection, through obsidian sourced to the highland Alca source. The intent of this thesis is to investigate the relatedness of the coastal and highland sites through a constructed projectile point typology, and to propose a relative dating method for coastal sites.The results from this thesis show that these sites are strongly related through a shared projectile point material culture in the Early Holocene and Late Holocene but interrupted during the Middle Holocene. Point types (n=17) that are shared between the sites are morphologically and metrically similar. Additionally, Pampa Colorada projectile points that are typable using the Cuncaicha typology are frequently made from Alca obsidian (n=80, 62.9%). Five types or 32 points from Pampa Colorada have been identified that are not found at Cuncaicha. These types are also primarily made from Alca obsidian (n=20, 62.5%). Overall, this study shows that the inter-zonal connection in southern Peru can be characterized by shared projectile point types and usage of highland Alca obsidian in the highlands and at the Pacific coast.
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