Peruvian South Coast Research Articles

REASSESSING THE CHRONOLOGY OF TOPARÁ EMERGENCE AND PARACAS DECLINE ON THE PERUVIAN SOUTH COAST: A BAYESIAN APPROACH

ABSTRACTThrough Bayesian analysis of new radiocarbon dates, this paper demonstrates that the Topará tradition did not emerge until after Paracas monumental sites were ritually closed in the Chincha Valley of the Peruvian south coast. These findings controvert a long-held hypothesis of Topará as a foreign tradition which intruded into the Paracas heartland and initiated the period of transformation known as the Paracas-Nasca transition. We present the first radiocarbon dates from Jahuay, the earliest accepted Topará site. These dates are compared with new analyses of published radiocarbon dates from three other sites associated with this transitional period: a Late Paracas politico-ceremonial site in the Chincha Valley, a Late Paracas settlement in the Palpa Valley in the Río Grande de Nasca Drainage, and an Initial Nasca site in the same valley. This work shows Paracas site closures began earlier than has previously been appreciated and demonstrates that the first appearance of the Topará ceramic style post-dates the onset of Paracas decline in the region’s northern valleys. This analysis represents a successful attempt to develop a radiocarbon-based chronology across a calibration plateau by incorporating stratigraphic data into a Bayesian model.

The founding of the Inca provincial center of Tambo Viejo, Acarí, Perú

The Peruvian south coast was one of the regions annexed into the Inca state by diplomatic means. Tambo Viejo was the Inca center built in the Acarí Valley, which marks the southern boundary of the region. Building upon some dates found in ethnohistorical documents, the late John H. Rowe asserted that the Inca conquest of the region likely took place about AD 1476. Recent archaeological research at Tambo Viejo enabled us to secure AMS dates. The calibrated dates and Bayesian model suggest that the starting boundary of Inca occupation of Tambo Viejo began as early as ∼AD 1380, while the ending boundary is ∼AD 1510. The dates are earlier that Rowe's expected dates, but in line with other 14C dates from elsewhere the empire. What is clear is that the date is several decades earlier than the traditional chronology and agrees with the document known as Relación de Chincha.

Inka special occasion food

ABSTRACT Human relations are established and maintained through the sharing of food. Indeed, it has been asserted that eating and drinking play a vital role in the creation of lasting bonds. The Inka state, familiar with the benefits brought by sharing food and drinks, purposely staged extravagant banquets that were accompanied by songs and dances. For an expansive state such as the Inka, the annexation of new peoples and their lands often required complex negotiations that as a norm involved sharing food. State sponsored banquets formed part of ritual celebrations and provided the state the best opportunity to showcase not only its generosity, but also its might. While it is known that at such special occasions the Inka state served plenty of the maize beer chicha, the type of food prepared for such gatherings has remained less apparent. Recent research carried out at the provincial Inka centre of Tambo Viejo, in the Acari Valley of the Peruvian south coast, resulted in the unprecedented discovery of earthen ovens that were used to roast special occasion meals. In addition to the recovery of charred unfragmented camelid bones, the arid conditions of the region allowed us to recover partially burnt sweet potatoes in association with the ovens. The new evidence coming from Tambo Viejo enables us for the first time to have some sense of the kind of food served at the state sponsored feasts staged in the provinces.

Inka llama offerings from Tambo Viejo, Acari Valley, Peru

Llamas were the preferred sacrificial animals of the Inka Empire, their ritual value second only to that of human beings. Recent archaeological excavations at the Inka settlement of Tambo Viejo in the Acari Valley on the Peruvian south coast have revealed a number of ritually sacrificed llamas in a unique context. This new evidence demonstrates that the establishment of Tambo Viejo as a provincial Inka centre involved the performance of ritual practices that included the dedicatory sacrifice of domesticated animals. These rituals materialised Inka imperial ideology and ultimately enabled the legitimisation of Inka presence in a conquered location.

Recent Archaeological Research at Tambo Viejo, Acari Valley, Peru

We recently conducted excavations at the Inka administrative center of Tambo Viejo in the Acari Valley of the Peruvian south coast. Our excavation of two centrally located structures demonstrates that, despite the apparent brief occupation of the site, there was substantial rebuilding as older structures were demolished and replaced by new ones. The final layout of Tambo Viejo had been preceded by continuous modifications. Furthermore, the establishment of Tambo Viejo was accompanied by ritual activities comprising the burial of sacrificial offerings such as plants and animals.

Inka sacrificial guinea pigs from Tambo Viejo, Peru

AbstractEarly Spaniards reported that the Inkas periodically slaughtered hundreds of animals, guinea pigs being the most common sacrificial animals. It is stated that in a single ceremony, hundreds of guinea pigs were killed. Although the ethnohistorical accounts provide good information about the Inka motivations for guinea pig sacrifice, archaeologically, the occurrence of large numbers of sacrificed guinea pigs had not been found. Recent research conducted at the Inka site of Tambo Viejo, in the Acari Valley of the Peruvian south coast, encountered several dozens of sacrificed guinea pigs that overall represent the single largest find known for the entire former Inka territory. In preparation for sacrifice, some of guinea pigs had been adorned with colorful strings that were placed as earrings as well with colorful necklaces also made from colorful strings. Some of the guinea pigs were also enveloped in a rug before burial. Similar evidence is unknown from anywhere within the former Inka territory, making the evidence from Tambo Viejo unparalleled.

The Invention of Taxation in the Inka Empire

Several khipus—Inka knotted-string recording devices—were recently excavated at a storage facility at the Peruvian south coast site of Inkawasi, found buried under agricultural produce (i.e., chili peppers, peanuts, and black beans). These khipus contain a formulaic arrangement of numerical values not encountered on khipus from elsewhere in Tawantinsuyu (the Inka Empire). The formula includes first, a large number, hypothesized to record the sum total of produce included in a deposit, followed by a “fixed number,” and then one or more additional numbers. The fixed number plus the additional number(s) sum to the original large number. It is hypothesized that the fixed number represents an amount deducted from the deposit to support storage facility personnel. As such, it represented a tax assessed on deposits, the first evidence we have for a system of taxation on goods in the Inka Empire. It is proposed that the size and complexity of the storage facility at Inkawasi prompted the “invention” of a kind of financing instrument—taxation—not known previously from Inka administration. We also consider, but provisionally set aside, the alternative hypothesis that the fixed values recorded on the Inkawasi khipus could have represented amounts of seeds set aside from deposits for the next year's planting.

The Earliest Fortifications of the Peruvian South Coast

From an archaeological perspective, warfare is a difficult issue to deal with in part due to its variability and in part because its material manifestation is not easily recognizable. However, a growing number of researchers argue that warfare often alters existing settlement patterns and settlements established amidst violence are regularly provided with human-made defensive barriers, named fortifications. Indeed, fortifications have been regarded as one of the most obvious indicators of violent conflict and are archaeologically highly visible. Here I present conclusive evidence to demonstrate that very early during the Early Intermediate Period (ca. 50 B.C.–A.D. 250) the first fortified settlements emerged in the Acari Valley of the Peruvian south-coast region. In addition to the fortifications, the layout of these settlements was carefully designed to obstruct invaders as well as to discourage potential attacks. In contrast to the evidence discussed here, similar evidence has not been reported for the valleys north of Acari, such as the Rio Grande and Ica valleys, in the heartland of the Nasca culture, thus making the Acari Valley the location of the earliest fortified settlements of the entire south-coast region.

Coastal but not littoral: marine resources in Nasca diet

We examine the contribution of marine resources to the Nasca dietary economy (Early Intermediate Period, circa 100 B.C.–A.D. 600, Peruvian south coast) through ceramic iconography, settlement patterns, maritime subsistence technology, fish and shell remains, and stable isotope analysis. Each data set has limitations but, when combined, a consistent pattern emerges. Although the rich marine biomass of the Peru Current offers potential for huge food surpluses, we conclude that the Nasca use of the littoral zone was minor. This result contrasts with earlier and later subsistence patterns in the same area, and with contemporary dietary systems elsewhere along the Andean coast. This challenge to conventional wisdom on coastal economies highlights the need for new research to understand the full range of Andean adaptations, especially those which appear counterintuitive. This study also questions the notion that percentage frequencies of motifs in the iconography reflect daily realities.

Tierras Olvidadas: Chiribaya Landscape Engineering and Marginality in Southern Peru

AbstractThe Peruvian south coast between the Tambo and Ilo rivers is a deserted wasteland. Yet tracts of abandoned farmland and expanses of desiccated lomas vegetation indicate that it was once vibrant and productive. Scattered habitations and cemeteries also indicate a pronounced resident Chiribaya population between A.D. 1200 and 1400. While river drainages of the western Andes and their canalized extensions are often treated as primary analytical units of study, our investigation of so-called peripheral intervalley regions points to a highly engineered and intensively managed landscape. When compared to the Ilo Valley, intervalley Chiribaya were organized into smaller communities and managed smaller spring-fed irrigation systems but were also heavily invested in adjacent maritime and lomas resource bases. Utilizing a mixed economic strategy, we argue, these intervalley populations were anything but marginal to the Chiribaya señorío of the Ilo region; rather, they were fully engaged in the social, political, and economic spheres of the late Intermediate period Peruvian south coast and formed a significant component of the Chiribaya cultural landscape. Our results hold implications for other similarly marginalized areas of the Andean coast, where distinct microenvironmental parameters and human ingenuity intersected to significantly transform the western Andes.

An ecosystem approach to restoration and sustainable management of dry forest in southern Peru

The dry forest of the Peruvian south coast has undergone an almost total process of deforestation. Populations here have increased exponentially through immigration supplying labour to urban coastal development, and demonstrably unsustainable agro-industrial expansion for export markets. Society has become dislocated from local traditions of environmental and resource management whilst still retaining a wealth of Andean agricultural expertise. Indigenous communities still hold on to vestiges of traditional knowledge. Relicts of natural vegetation, traditional agriculture and agrobiodiversity continue to sustain ecosystem services. Moreover, offer livelihood options and resources for restoration. These aspects reflect a long cultural trajectory, including famous extinct cultures such as Nasca, that evolved within an ever-changing riparian and agricultural landscape influenced by external forces and which incorporated important processes of plant domestication and adaptation to climatic oscillation.

Walled Settlements, Buffer Zones, and Human Decapitation in the Acari Valley, Peru

Severed human heads constitute one of the hallmarks of the Early Intermediate period of the Peruvian South Coast region. The ancient art of this region (including pottery and textiles) frequently portrays severed heads that are often associated with mythical beings. Actual heads, identified as trophies, have also been found in all the valleys of the region, suggesting that human decapitation and trophy head taking were important aspects of Early Intermediate period society on the South Coast. Notwithstanding the occurrence of trophies, decapitated human bodies are seldom found in the archaeological record. Recent archaeological excavations carried out at Amato, an Early Intermediate period site in the Acari Valley, resulted in the unprecedented finding of dozens of decapitated bodies buried inside a centrally located structure. In addition to the heads, several cervical bones are also absent, and the uppermost cervical vertebrae that remain often exhibit unmistakable cut marks. Victims of decapitation rep...

A Frontier Perspective on Paracas Society and Nasca Ethnogenesis

It has long been recognized that the Nasca culture (ca. A.D. 1–750) of the Peruvian south coast finds its roots in the Paracas society (ca. 800 B.C.–A.D. 1). Yet the social mechanisms responsible for the innovations that characterize the transition are poorly known. The southern Nasca region, which became the most dynamic region in terms of ceremonial life and intervalley integration, however, was never an important area of Paracas occupation. In this article I use literature on migration and frontier development to explain the genesis of Nasca society. Four phenomena that are common on historical frontiers seem to have been at play in the southern Nasca region: initial simplification of hierarchy, pioneer effect, “wealth-in-people,” and factionalism. Based on data from excavations at La Puntilla, a settlement that spanned the Late Paracas—Initial Nasca transition, I argue that the needs of interregional integration and cooperation following initial settlement of the frontier by Paracas populations and subsequent demographic growth prompted the genesis of Nasca society. The proposed long-term scenario also provides a context for later innovations in water management and agricultural intensification.

Exotic Goods and Everyday Chiefs: Long-Distance Exchange and Indigenous Sociopolitical Development in the South Central Andes

AbstractLong-distance exchange of exotic preciosities, while it can occur in any sociopolitical context, may be associated with both chiefly formation and state hegemony. In the south central Andes, shared stylistic elements in early complex societies of Paracas-Nasca on the Peruvian south coast and Pukara in the altiplano suggest their contact via intermediate areas. Unfortunately, interpretations of the interaction of these great traditions tend to neglect indigenous sociopolitical development in regions between the two culture areas. Recent systematic survey in one such intermediate region, Peru's Moquegua Valley, has shed light on an indigenous pre-Tiwanaku culture with distinctive regional settlement patterns, complex mortuary practices, and a local ceramic tradition known as Huaracane (385 cal B. C-cal A. D. 340). Surface collections and test excavations confirm a minimal presence of exotic Pukara and Paracas-Nasca ceramics and textiles in association with elite local residential contexts and a late Huaracane mortuary tradition known as “boot tombs” that appears after 170 cal B. C. As there is no general emulation of foreign styles, domestic activities, or practices, an agency-oriented local perspective is favored over globalist colonial or clientage models to explain the role of exotica in a climate of competitive sociopolitical development.

Twelve Nasca Panpipes: A Study

aithful production of sound, as originally intended, is achieved with instruments that have not undergone any significant change since their construction. Instruments made of clay or stone meet this requirement of preservation over long periods. The dry climate prevalent on the Peruvian coast has preserved fragile textiles and also musical instruments (found among the contents of graves). Museum and private collections retain such artifacts, and panpipes made by craftsmen of the Nasca culture have been preserved in sufficient numbers for comparative studies. Studies covering Nasca panpipes were reviewed by Stevenson (1968:245-255). The pentatonic scale originally postulated for the Precolumbian period in what today is Peru has recently been questioned. About one-third of the samples covered in two investigations were labeled twins, or pairs, such as those on Moche vase paintings from the North Coast, which frequently show two panpipes linked by a cord. Dawson (1964) demonstrated slip casting to be the technique used by craftsmen of the Paracas and Nasca cultures of the Peruvian South Coast for producing pipes for panpipes. Essentially all the published pitch data pertaining to Nasca panpipes are expressed in Western notation with plus and minus signs to denote deviation from the written pitches. It was intended that the present study would use this information to determine the scale system used for the tuning of these instruments, but this plan was abandoned when results differing from the ones using frequency measurements were arrived at by using Western notation for the instruments to be described below. The purpose of this study is to describe twelve Nasca panpipes, to present tonometric measurements, and to analyze the determined frequency intervals in order to establish the scale system intended for the tuning of these panpipes.

Prehistoric Fortification Systems of Northern Peru

Previous articleNext article No AccessResearch ConclusionsPrehistoric Fortification Systems of Northern PeruJohn R. Topic, and Theresa Lange TopicJohn R. Topic Search for more articles by this author , and Theresa Lange Topic Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Current Anthropology Volume 19, Number 3Sep., 1978 Sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/202154 Views: 4Total views on this site Citations: 16Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1978 The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological ResearchPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Jean-François Millaire Dating the occupation of Cerro Arena: A defensive Salinar-phase settlement in the Moche Valley, Peru, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 57 (Mar 2020): 101142.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2019.101142Melissa A. Vogel New Research on the Late Prehistoric Coastal Polities of Northern Peru, Journal of Archaeological Research 26, no.22 (Aug 2017): 165–195.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10814-017-9108-0Lidio M. Valdez The Earliest Fortifications of the Peruvian South Coast, Ñawpa Pacha 34, no.22 (Nov 2014): 201–222.https://doi.org/10.1179/0077629714Z.00000000021Elizabeth Arkush, Tiffiny A. Tung Patterns of War in the Andes from the Archaic to the Late Horizon: Insights from Settlement Patterns and Cranial Trauma, Journal of Archaeological Research 21, no.44 (Mar 2013): 307–369.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10814-013-9065-1Celeste Marie Gagnon, Brian R. Billman, José Carcelén, Karl J. Reinhard Tracking shifts in coca use in the Moche Valley: analysis of oral health indicators and dental calculus microfossils, Ñawpa Pacha 33, no.22 (Nov 2013): 193–214.https://doi.org/10.1179/0077629713Z.0000000009C. M. Gagnon, C. Wiesen Using General Estimating Equations to Analyze Oral Health in the Moche Valley of Perú, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology (Sep 2011): n/a–n/a.https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.1284Margaret Brown Vega, Nathan Craig, Gerbert Asencios Lindo Ground truthing of remotely identified fortifications on the Central Coast of Perú, Journal of Archaeological Science 38, no.77 (Jul 2011): 1680–1689.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2011.02.035John W. Verano, J. María Toyne Estudio bioantropológico de los restos humanos del Sector II, Punta Lobos, valle de Huarmey, (Jan 2011): 449–474.https://doi.org/10.4000/books.ifea.8022Margaret Brown Vega Prehispanic Warfare during the Early Horizon and Late Intermediate Period in the Huaura Valley, Perú Brown Vega, Current Anthropology 50, no.22 (Jul 2015): 255–266.https://doi.org/10.1086/597084Claudio Cioffi-Revilla Origins and Age of Deterrence: Comparative Research on Old World and New World Systems, Cross-Cultural Research 33, no.33 (Jul 2016): 239–264.https://doi.org/10.1177/106939719903300302William H. Isbell Reconstructing Huari, (Jan 1997): 181–227.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1848-2_8Daniel G. Julien Late Pre-Inkaic Ethnic Groups in Highland Peru: An Archaeological-Ethnohistorical Model of the Political Geography of the Cajamarca Region, Latin American Antiquity 4, no.33 (Jan 2017): 246–273.https://doi.org/10.2307/971791ROBERT M. SCHACHT Circumscription Theory, American Behavioral Scientist 31, no.44 (Mar 1988): 438–448.https://doi.org/10.1177/000276488031004005David J Wilson The origins and development of complex prehispanic society in the Lower Santa Valley, Peru: Implications for theories of state origins, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 2, no.33 (Sep 1983): 209–276.https://doi.org/10.1016/0278-4165(83)90001-6 Curtiss T. Brennan Cerro Arena: Origins of the Urban Tradition on the Peruvian North Coast, Current Anthropology 23, no.33 (Oct 2015): 247–254.https://doi.org/10.1086/202827Ivan Ghezzi Religious Warfare at Chankillo, (): 67–84.https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-28940-2_4

Early Paracas Textile Techniques

AbstractA textile recently found undoubtedly relates to an early phase of the Paracas style of the Peruvian south coast. The decorative techniques consist of slit tapestry, brocade, and warp striping. The tapestry design is a complex feline figure with various traits of the Chavin style. The techniques and design are of considerable interest since no Paracas textile of this or earlier date has been previously published.