Local Elites and the Reformation of Late Intermediate Period Sociopolitical and Economic Organization in Nasca, Peru

Abstract

AbstractThe Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1000–1476) was a time between empires in the Andes when many regional groups reorganized and gained power. In the Nasca drainage this period has often been misrepresented, in part due to a focus on earlier cultural developments that were considerably different. Recent research attempts to provide a clearer picture of this time period by investigating sociopolitical and economic organization, and in particular the nature of local elites. Regional settlement patterns reveal that during this period population in the drainage was at its height with increased aggregation at town-size settlements. Excavations at the small village site of Pajonal Alto have identified local elites through variations in architecture and material culture. Evidence from Pajonal Alto reveals that there was a reformation of society in the Late Intermediate Period and local elites were no longer primarily associated with ceremonial centers but instead were present at every level of the settlement hierarchy. Elites obtained and maintained power in a variety of ways including participation in the production of utilitarian items, exchange, feasting, and community/exclusive ritual. Instead of integration through communal ritual on a regional level during certain times of the year, integration was based on a large network of local elites who had power that was wielded on a day-to-day basis.