In the Moche Valley there were some major economic and
agricultural shifts, resulting in dramatic changes in the economic organization
and the subsistence base of these communities. The first shift occurred when
the settlements first became permanent. The entire diet of these coastal
communities came primarily from the sea and included such foods as sea lion,
shore birds, mussels, and shallow-water fish. In terms of plant foods cotton,
gourds, and squash were cultivated on this river flood plain and made up a
small portion of the diet. When the first permanent settlements began forming
the
