Pottery production, regional exchange, and state collapse during the Middle Horizon (A.D. 500–1000): LA-ICP-MS analyses of Tiwanaku pottery in the Moquegua Valley, Peru

Abstract

During the Middle Horizon (A.D. 500–1000), the Tiwanaku state dominated the south central Andes. The production and circulation of goods were important components of statecraft. To date, studies of the movement of pottery vessels across the Tiwanaku realm have relied on stylistic analyses. This paper presents results of Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analyses of ceramics from the largest Tiwanaku province in the Moquegua Valley, Peru. Comparison of the derived compositional data with an existing chemical database of Moquegua Valley clays demonstrates that in addition to local production, non-local ceramic vessels were being brought into the valley during the height of Tiwanaku authority. A lower percentage of imported ceramics was identified in ceramic assemblages dating to the wake of Tiwanaku state collapse (ca. A.D. 1000). Long-distance exchange endured despite political breakdown but there were alterations in the particular networks in which post-collapse communities participated.