Kinship and the Inca imperial core: Multiscalar archaeological patterns in the Sacred Valley (Cuzco, Peru)

Abstract

Archaeological interpretations of the capital region of ancient empires often rely on documentary sources and assume the existence of a highly integrated and institutionalized state polity.A multiscalar archaeological study of the imperial heartland of the Inca empire (c. 1400–1530s) reveals variable manifestations in Inca power from the period of local expansion until the European invasions of the 1530s. Large-scale patterning from numerous regional surveys identifies variations in pre-Inca and Inca settlement patterns and the distribution of Inca architecture and pottery. More intensive analyses from the Sacred Valley, a study region lying immediately to the north of the Inca capital, reveal additional patterns of interaction that contrast early Inca expansion practices with later generations of royal estate development. Excavations from domestic and public buildings at the large upland village of Pukara Pantillijlla indicate limited Inca efforts to incorporate local horticulturalists and herders within their existing villages. The variability of Inca power in the Sacred Valley and the kin-based nature of the institutional forces transforming valley-bottom farming areas draw attention to the prevalent role of Inca elite kinship practices for state formation and institutional development.These observations raise important questions about the role of kinship in other non-Western states and empires.