Definition: The Virú Valley is a river valley in Peru, leading out from Andes to the coast; but more than that, it was the location of one of the earliest (if not the earliest) settlement pattern studies, conducted by Gordon R. Willey in the 1940s. Willey was attempting to put to work ideas about identifying not just archaeological sites, but how sites fit into the context of a physical landscape, available resources, and other sites in the region. Settlement pattern studies are still an essential part of archaeological studies.
Sources
Willey, Gordon R. 1953. Prehistoric settlement patterns in the Virù Valley, Peru. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 155. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Sources for the term include the references listed on the front page of the Dictionary, and the websites listed in the sidebar.
