The dead do not unbury themselves: Understanding posthumous engagement and ancestor veneration in coastal Peru (AD1450-1650)

Abstract

• Commingled burial features at Las Huacas include behaviors related both to the mortuary program and ancestor veneration. • Elites at Las Huacas likely used ancestor veneration to develop authority as the region was incorporated into the Inca Empire. • Article introduces the terms communal secondary and selective secondary to differentiate between types of secondary engagements. • At Las Huacas, feet, hands, crania, and vertebrae are linked to secondary practices. • Mandibles in commingled features could be a good indicator for primary burials in a given feature. The study of mortuary practices encompasses a wide variety of different behaviors that are related to cultural and religious customs, sociopolitical strategies, and conceptions about personhood. In this article, we share data from archaeological excavations and osteological analyses of mortuary features from the site of Las Huacas in the Chincha Valley. Many of these features were involved in secondary mortuary rituals, which can be particularly difficult to study due to the commingled nature of the remains. Based on analyses, remains at the site became disarticulated and commingled due to various practices: (1) delayed primary burials, (2) tomb reuse, (3) selective secondary, and (4) communal secondary practices. In selective secondary practices, crania, feet, hands, and vertebrae were removed and reposited in new features. In communal secondary practices, vertebrae were placed on reed posts and pigment was applied to crania, sometimes fully covering the facial bones. These remains were involved in rituals within an elite complex (Complex N1) that had restricted access and the rituals likely created and maintained social and administrative hierarchies. The burials at Las Huacas demonstrate the importance of ancestor veneration in elite claims to authority during the Late Horizon (CE 1400–1532) and Colonial period (CE 1532–1650).