The Role of Ideology in Emerging Hierarchies at Late Archaic and Early Horizon Sites along the Central Coast of Peru

Abstract

This chapter discusses how stone monuments at selected Late Archaic (3000–1800 B.C.) and Early Horizon (1200–200 B.C.) sites on the north central coast of Peru provide insights into social transformation processes across collective and autocratic societies. The monuments under analysis are upright stone slabs (huancas) found at a number of Late Archaic sites in the Norte Chico region, as well as the row of towers at Chankillo dated to the late Early Horizon in the Casma Valley. Christie and Piscitelli argue that these upright stone monuments demarcated places and spaces in which people coordinated collective actions representing varying trajectories of social change. The political and ritual landscapes constructed at the Norte Chico and Chankillo sites were decidedly inward-oriented, concerned with establishing community centers and creating order. The sheer scale of the settings and the related coordination of ritual use there suggest emerging elites and corporate hierarchies. Following the trajectory of an expansionist state on the other hand, the Inca political landscape looks outward from long-existing centers. Comparative study of stone monuments and their associated ideologies, along with the study of place-making, can help illuminate social changes in the Andes over time.