New Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates from archived samples from the site of Ch’uxuqullu, excavated 30 years ago on the Island of the Sun, Bolivia, provide a more precise and older chronology for human occupation. The first occupation began in the middle of the fourth millennium BC, considerably earlier than previously known. The site area was continually in use from at least 3500 BC up to around 160 BC. This new data, in conjunction with work in the last two decades, provides new insights into the archaeology of the lake region. The first use of pottery on the island is now refined with greater precision than previously proposed. We also know that watercraft technology began a millennium earlier than originally suggested. We report on these new dates and briefly discuss their implications for archaeological models of exchange and sedentism in the circum-Titicaca Basin.
