ED-XRF analysis of obsidian artifacts from Yanawilka, a settlement of transplanted laborers (mitmaqkuna), and implications for Inca imperialism

Abstract

Perhaps the most ambitious social policy carried out by the Incas, the mitmaq program resettled one third to one quarter of subject populations for the purposes of control and producing for the state. Ethnohistoric sources suggest that the relocated people, called mitmaqkuna, were given access to fertile lands and enjoyed elevated social status and freedoms bestowed to them by the Incas. Until now, these claims have not been tested with archaeological evidence. This paper evaluates the ethnohistoric claims through the geochemical analysis of 84 obsidian artifacts from a probable mitmaqkuna agricultural labor colony called Yanawilka, located in Vilcashuamán province, Peru. There is evidence that access to obsidian was restricted for the inhabitants of Yanawilka. The obsidian was mostly from the Quispisissa source, but the relative scarcity, small flake size, and evidence for conservation of raw material suggests that access to this high-quality source was limited and not due to direct procurement.