ANDEAN PAST

Volume 10
2012

Editors

MONICA BARNES
American Museum of Natural History

and

DANIEL H. SANDWEISS
University of Maine

Associate Editor

RUTH ANNE PHILLIPS

St. Marys College, Maryland

Editorial Advisory Board

RICHARD L. BURGER
Yale University

THOMAS F. LYNCH
Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History

MICHAEL E. MOSELEY
University of Florida

JAMES B. RICHARDSON III

University of Pittsburgh
 Copyright 2012 by the Cornell University Latin American Studies Program

ISSN 1055-08756

ANDEAN PAST is a peer-reviewed, numbered publication series dedicated to research in the

archaeology and ethnohistory of western South America. However, short Research Reports,
obituaries, and autobiographies are subject to editorial review only. Although ANDEAN PAST focuses
on precolumbian times, it includes articles on the colonial period that enhance understanding of
indigenous cultures before 1492. ANDEAN PAST encourages data-based submissions, contributions
to the history of Andean archaeology, papers grounded in environmental archaeology, fresh
interpretations supported by accompanying data, interim and field reports, and the publication of
short documents. We emphasize high quality grayscale photographs and black-and-white line
illustrations.

The Cornell Latin American Studies Program is the publishing institution for ANDEAN PAST.
Copyright for ANDEAN PAST resides with Cornell LASP on behalf of the editors unless a specific
portion, for example, an illustration, is noted as copyrighted by another party. Authors may re-
publish their ANDEAN PAST articles, obituaries, or reports, in English or in translation, in print, or
in electronic format, provided that at least one year has elapsed since the original publication in
ANDEAN PAST, that prior publication in ANDEAN PAST is indicated in the republication, that
Cornell LASPs copyright is acknowledged, and that the editors of ANDEAN PAST are notified of the
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Orders should be addressed to: Latin American Studies Program, 190 Uris Hall, Cornell University,
Ithaca, New York 14853, U.S.A.; telephone (607) 255-3345, fax (607) 255-8989, e-mail:
lasp@Einaudi.Cornell.edu

Printed copies of Andean Past 1-4 and 6-10 are available as of 20 March 2012.
Andean Past 5 is available free on line from:
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Inquiries and manuscripts submitted for future volumes should be sent to:

Monica Barnes
377 Rector Place, Apartment 3C
New York, New York 10280

Telephone (212) 945-0535, cell phone (917) 992-5880, e-mail: monica@andeanpast.org

Cover: Farfan from the top of Cerro Faclo to the west of the site. Compound II is visible. The
photograph was taken by Howard Tsai on June 26, 2004.
ANDEAN PAST
Volume 10
2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editors Preface by Monica Barnes.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

OBITUARIES

Earl Henry Lubensky (March 31, 1921 - May 1, 2009) by Deborah M. Pearsall. . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Juan (Hans) Santiago Ren Schobinger (February 18, 1928 - July 11, 2009)
by Constanza Ceruti .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

ARTICLES

A Changing Society? Craft Specialization and Complementarity Systems during the Formative
Period in the Cochabamba Valley, Bolivia by Olga U. Gabelmann. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Moche Architectural Vessels: Small Structures, Big Implications by Juliet Wiersema. . . . . . 69

The Well and the Huaca: Ceremony, Chronology, and Culture Change at Huaca Cao Viejo,
Chicama Valley, Peru by Jeffrey Quilter, Rgulo Franco J., Csar Glvez M., William Doonan,
Catherine Gaither, Vctor F. Vsquez S., Teresa E. Rosales T., Jaime Jimnez S., Hal Starratt,
and Michele L. Koons.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization on the North Coast of Peru by Howard I. Tsai. . . . 133

A Bioarchaeological Study of Coca Use and Coca Leaf Chewing at Puruchuco-Huaque-

rones, Peru by Melissa S. Murphy and Mara Fernanda Boza. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

The Destruction of the Yurac Rumi Shrine (Vilcabamba, Cusco Department) by Brian S.
Bauer, Miriam Dayde Aroz Silva, and George S. Burr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Inca Storage and Accounting Facilities at Pachacamac by Peter Eeckhout.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Regional Associations and a Ceramic Assemblage from the Fourteenth Century Llanos de
Mojos by John H. Walker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
RESEARCH REPORTS ON ANDEAN ARCHAEOLOGY

Recent Excavations at the Late Intermediate Period Village of Yanaorco in the Cajamarca
Highlands by Jason L. Toohey.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

A Colonial Human Burial Excavated in 1965 between Portals 5 and 6 at Hunuco Pampa by
Monica Barnes, Catherine Gaither, Robert A. Benfer Jr., and Daniel Shea.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Mitomarca: A Possible Fortification in the Upper Huallaga Basin by Yuichi Matsumoto, Jason
S. Nesbitt, and Denesy Palacios J. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

An Initial Period Domestic Occupation at Huaca Cortada, Caballo Muerto Complex by

Jason S. Nesbitt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Marine Exploitation and Paleoenvironment as Viewed through Molluscan Resources at the

Early Horizon Center of Huambacho, Nepea Valley, Coastal Ancash by David Chicoine and
Carol Rojas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

Architecture in the Coastal Desert by Simn Urbina A., Leonor Adn A., and Estefania Vidal
M. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

La Bolsa 1 Site, Taf Valley, Tucumn Province: Household Mortuary Practices in a South
Andean Village (First Millennium A.D.) by Julin Salazar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Addresses of Authors (Articles and Obituaries). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Advice to Contributors to ANDEAN PAST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

 EDITORS PREFACE
The colophon of Andean Past states that we
are a peer-reviewed, numbered publication
series dedicated to research in the archaeology
and ethnohistory of western South America.
Nevertheless, the interface between archaeology
and history is not always smooth. At least since
the mid twentieth century, when John Howland
Rowe published his first articles on the Inca,
when John Victor Murra launched his A Study
of Inca Provincial Life project centered on the
great site of Hunuco Pampa (Barnes, Andean
Past 9, Barnes et al. this volume), and when Juan
Schobinger systematized the study of Inca
sacrificial entombments on high mountain tops,
those who study the Andean past have
understood that neither archaeology, nor
documents alone, can fully reconstruct life in
previous centuries. Both kinds of records have
lacunae, even when combined with the insights
of other relevant sciences such as geography,
geology, biology, ecology, anthropology,
linguistics, mathematics, physics, and chemistry.
In Andean Past 5, the late Catherine J. Julien
pointed out an excellent example. A visita or
official inspection tour to Pocona, in what is
now Bolivia, provides good information on Inca
resettlement of the region, but does not mention
the monumental site of Incallacta described by
Vincent R. Lee in the same volume of Andean
Past. Conversely, the study of the site of Inca-
llacta alone would not tell us all it is possible to
know about Inca control of this region. In
Andean Past we strive to integrate all lines of
evidence.
Using both physical evidence and logical
models, Howard I. Tsai makes progress in
understanding the social means of production in
the Moche and Chim cultures with his
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012): v-x.
contribution, Adobe Bricks and Labor
Organization on the North Coast of Peru. Tsai
examines bricks from the Moche site of Huaca
de la Luna in the Moche Valley and the Chim
site of Farfn in the Jequetepeque Valley. He
builds upon earlier work by Charles Hastings
and Michael Moseley, by Alan Kolata, and by
Raffael Cavallaro and Izumi Shimada in
studying adobe bricks bearing makers marks.
These are diagonal slashes and other simple
signs that permit accounting. Taking into
consideration architectural context, Tsai
postulates changing labor relations as suggested
by the marked bricks. At the Moche
construction of Huaca de la Luna, Tsai
confirmed Hastings and Moseleys observation
that bricks of the same size, shape, and mark
were placed together in the same construction
segments. By contrast, at Chim Farfn, bricks
lacked makers marks and bricks of different
sizes can be found in the same construction
segment. Tsai suggests that Moche patterns of
labor organization differed from those in force
during Chim times. At Moche, each makers
mark seemed to represent a distinct social
group. Tsai believes that his data best fit
Moseleys labor tax model for Huaca de la Luna.
That is, members of a given community were
responsible for all stages of brick-making,
transportation, and construction. However, at
Farfn, it seems that a task differentiation
model, as proposed by Cavallaro and Shimada,
fits the data well. That is, a sponsor had various
groups make bricks, which were then
transported and put in place by other people.
Although the contribution of Jeffrey
Quilter, Rgulo Franco J., Csar Glvez M.,
William Doonan, Catherine Gaither, Jaime
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Jimnez S., Hal Starratt, and Michele L.
Koons, The Well and the Huaca: Ceremony,
Chronology, and Culture Change at Huaca Cao
Viejo, Chicama Valley, Peru focuses on
settlement, social class, water use,
ceremonialism, burials, and what one could
almost call gentrification, it, too, is relevant to
the study of adobe bricks. Tall adobes, which
have also been found in association with later
Moche structures at the Huacas de Moche,
including the Huaca del Sol and Platform 3 of
the New Temple, were found in association with
construction above the sealed well and in
Montculo 2. This now provides evidence for
the context of tall adobes at two different sites.
The authors calibration of the Cao Viejo
dates indicates that Huaca Cao Viejo and
Huaca de la Luna are more contemporaneous
than previously thought. This contemporaneity
suggests that Huaca Cao Viejos decorative
program may have been influenced by that of
Huaca de la Luna (or another site), and not the
other way around.
Quilters excavations also provide insight on
the non-ritual foods that lower status people
consumed in this area during the Early
Intermediate Period, not all of which are easily
produced on the coast. I am grateful to Juliet
Wiersema for the insights on the work of
Quilter and colleagues expressed above
(personal communication 2011).
Juliet Wiersemas own research in this
volume employs an entirely different
methodology for studying architecture. In Mo-
che Architectural Vessels: Small Structures, Big
Implications, an article based upon her
doctoral dissertation, she examines and
interprets Moche ceramics depicting buildings.
Wiersema is able to form an architectural
typology on this basis. This she matches with
actual Moche structures, especially at Huaca
Cao Viejo and Huaca de la Luna, Moche.
- vi
Associating elements of both architectural
vessels and real buildings, she can begin to
reconstruct the ceremonies performed in them.
From the foundation of Andean Past in the
mid-1980s, until his death in 2006, Craig Morris
served as a member of our editorial board
(Lynch and Barnes, Andean Past 8). It is,
therefore, particularly appropriate for us to
honor him with the publication of Inca Storage
and Accounting Facilities at Pachacamac by
Peter Eeckhout, a paper first presented in Lima
in 2010 at a symposium in Craigs memory.
Following on Morriss pioneering studies of Inca
storage, Eeckhout presents new data on Inca
collcas or storehouses. He bases his contribution
on his own excavations at Pachacamac, the
great Peruvian central coast oracle site. He
relates quipus and other accounting and
recording devices found in situ to possible
storage facilities. He also interprets the overall
role of Pachacamac as a pilgrimage center and
shares his ideas on the function of storage there
and elsewhere on the Andean coast, drawing
contrasts with Inca storage as practiced in the
Sierra.
Another study of excavated Inca
architecture, this time in the ceja de selva or
eastern Andean slopes, is The Destruction of
the Yurac Rumi Shrine (Vilcabamba, Cusco
Department) by Brian S. Bauer, Miriam
Dayde Aroz Silva, and George S. Burr. Yurac
Rumi (literally white rock) is an important
Inca shrine in the Vilcabamba region. It served
as a ritual focus in the territory to which part of
the Inca royal court retreated in the decades
after the Spanish conquest. Bauer and his co-
authors are able to describe and date both the
building and the destruction of Yurac Rumi,
taking into account archaeological and ethno-
historical data.
Melissa S. Murphy and Mara Fernanda
Boza provide new information on an issue that
vii -
published Spanish chronicles and local archival
records leave unclear: did the Inca effectively
limit consumption of coca leaves to the elite and
certain restricted occupational and age groups?
Certainly coca use is now widespread in the
Andean countries. It was promoted, although
not without criticism, by Spanish officials and
entrepreneurs, both because it made work in
harsh conditions somewhat more bearable, and
because there was money to be made in its
trade. Is contemporary use of coca by
homemakers, workers, and farmers a lingering
result of colonialism, or did it have deeper roots?
In A Bioarchaeological Study of Coca Use and
Coca Leaf Chewing at Puruchuco-Huaquerones,
Peru, Murphy and Boza analyze dental
evidence for coca chewing at two Late Horizon
cemeteries near Lima. They determine sex and
age for individuals and make rough assessments
of social class on the basis of grave goods and
mortuary treatment. Although their evidence is
not unambiguous, they are able to suggest that
coca consumption was not restricted to the
elite, or to one sex, at least in these places.
Sometimes ethnohistorical evidence seems
almost incredible, but is later supported by
archaeological field-work. When Gaspar de
Carvajal described the numerous and large
Indian villages along the Amazonian rivers that
he claimed to have observed in the 1540s, the
forests of tropical South America appeared to be
rich lands. However, by the mid-twentieth
century, opinion had shifted and was seen to be,
in Betty Meggers words, a counterfeit
paradise, apparently lush, but actually of
limited carrying capacity. There appeared to be
reason to doubt Carvajals veracity. However,
very little archaeology had been accomplished
east of the Andes. As more work has been done
in this vast region, the role of conscious pre-
hispanic human activity in forging the landscape
has become more and more apparent. In this
volume John H. Walker makes a fine
contribution to our growing knowledge with
Barnes: Editors Preface
Regional Associations and a Ceramic
Assemblage from the Fourteenth Century
Llanos de Mojos. The Llanos de Mojos,
centered on Bolivia, also extend into Peru and
Brazil. Within them Walker has made
archaeological transects at El Cerro, a large
island of high ground. From these transects he
has been able to recover stratified artifacts,
especially ceramics, and associate them with
radiocarbon dates. On this basis he posits
numerous and dense connections between the
Llanos de Mojos and other regions, revealing a
large sphere of interaction.
It is becoming clearer that such complex
interactions are of long duration in western
South America. In A Changing Society? Craft
Specialization and Complementarity Systems
During the Formative Period in the
Cochabamba Valley, Bolivia Olga Gabelmann
infers such complexity. Although the early
societies of Cochabamba often have been seen
as homogeneous, non-stratified agricultural
groups because of their use of monochrome
pottery and their lack of monumental
architecture, Gabelmann argues that the site of
Santa Luca yields evidence of craft
specialization and considerable economic
interaction. This involved horizontal as well as
vertical complementarity.
In Andean Past we have already devoted
considerable space to the life and work of John
Victor Murra. Murra (Barnes, Andean Past 9),
and his colleague Craig Morris (Lynch and
Barnes Andean Past 8), along with John How-
land Rowe (Burger, Andean Past 8), are widely
and appropriately credited with launching
historical archaeology in the Andean countries.
Although we lack many sorts of emic records,
we do have the next best things, information set
down by a variety of observers shortly after the
Spanish conquest and the physical remains left
by the Incas. In the middle of the last century
Rowe and Murra began to combine physical and
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
documentary evidence to produce richer
syntheses than had been possible in the past.
Less widely appreciated, at least in the United
States, are the contributions of Juan (Hans)
Santiago Ren Schobinger. These are recorded
in this volume by Constanza Ceruti. Few
archaeologists have achieved the breadth of
Schobingers knowledge. Hans made
contributions to sub-fields as wide ranging as
human evolution, rock art research, shamanism,
and the Late Horizon. He was also a beloved
colleague and educator and is missed by many in
Argentina and beyond.
Perhaps Schobingers most outstanding
achievement was the launching of the sub-field
of high altitude archaeology. In 1964 mountain
climbers encountered the desiccated corpse of a
young man on Argentinas El Toro peak. Scho-
binger organized the recovery, preservation, and
scientific study of this body, which turned out to
be a Late Horizon sacrifice. Schobinger had
always been interested in the spiritual aspects of
world cultures, in contrast to Murras focus on
materialism, economics, and political
organization. Hans intellectual proclivities,
combined with his dedication to the archaeology
of his country and region, led him to seek and
study other high altitude burials, including those
on Mount Aconcagua and on Mount Chuscha,
collaborating with a number of distinguished
colleagues including Constanza Ceruti, John
Hyslop, and Johan Reinhard, among others. In
so doing, Schobinger added greatly to our
understanding of the Capaccocha, the
important and elaborate Inca sacrifice of
children on high mountains, described by
Rodrigo Hernndez Prncipe in 1622.
In this issue we also mark the passing of
Earl H. Lubensky. Lubenksys thesis advisor,
Deborah M. Pearsall shares her perspective on
his life. While pursuing a diplomatic career,
Lubensky also developed an interest in
archaeology, working in Ecuador, El Salvador,
- viii
and Missouri. Earls work appeared twice in
Andean Past. He reported on Hacienda La
Florida, Ayalan Cemetery, Anllula Shell
Mound, and Ferdons Surface Collections in
Andean Past 6. In Andean Past 8 he published a
long obituary of Edwin Nelson Ferdon, Jr.,
whose Ecuadorian ceramic collections were
fundamental to Earls own studies. In working
with Earl on his publications he and I became
personal friends, and at numerous conferences,
as well as visits in New York City and in
Lawrence, Kansas, I got to meet some of his
relatives and to appreciate many of Earls fine
qualities. It should be said that Earl was at least
as dedicated to the welfare of his family
members and to the establishment and
maintenance of world peace, as he was to
archaeology, and thats saying a lot!
Once again we present short, tightly focused
notes in our Research Reports section. These
are subject to editorial review only.
Jason L. Toohey writes about his Recent
Excavations at the Late Intermediate Period
Village of Yanaorco. This Cajamarca site
incorporated substantial fortifications. As has
been observed elsewhere in the Peruvian
highlands, the Late Intermediate Period was a
time when populations shifted from lower
elevations to higher, fortified residential sites.
Toohey describes Yanaorcos defenses and
houses, comments on its artifact assemblages,
and argues that the site was occupied by
members of at least two social strata.
From the Hunuco Region we have two
reports, one focusing on new field-work, the
other on excavation done in 1965. From 1963
until 1966, John Victor Murra directed his A
Study of Inca Provincial Life project centered
around the great Inca site of Hunuco Pampa.
Although Murra oversaw the first archaeological
excavations there, this aspect of his work has
been overshadowed by that of his protg Craig
ix -
Morris, who directed work at Hunuco from
1971 until 1981. Jos Pino Matos continues
study of the site in this century. Because Murra
excavated large portions of the monumental
zone down to pristine Inca floors, it is necessary
to take account of what he did when we
interpret later work at Hunuco Pampa.
Although most of Murras archaeological en-
deavors were never published, or only published
in a series of short and difficult to find articles,
Murras photographs and field-notes, given to
the American Museum of Natural History, are
an invaluable source of information on his field-
work.
With Catherine Gaither, Robert A.
Benfer, Jr. and Daniel Shea, I present some of
the results of my study of the Murra archive as
A Colonial Human Burial Excavated in 1965
between Portals 5 and 6 at Hunuco Pampa.
These portals are two of the famous aligned
monumental gateways marking a passage
westward from the portion of Hunuco Pampa
identified as the Inca palace to the great ushnu
platform. Interrupting the drainage system
within the building that encompasses Portals 5
and 6 is the deliberate burial of a young
indigenous person. Here we report on that
burial and the state of health of the individual
interred. In this we attempt what Tyler OBrien
calls osteobiography, a concept also explored
recently by Bob Benfer and Kate Pechenkina in
a series of conference papers. Rather than
considering the individual as a data set within a
larger population study, which, in our case, is
impossible, we try to reconstruct the individuals
life history, as best we can with the limited data
available. Another example of osteobiography is
the article by Gaither and colleagues in Andean
Past 9. There are also elements of this approach
in the contribution by Quilter et al. in this
volume, in which the authors discuss the burial
of a commoner within the Moche well that is
the main focus of their article.
Barnes: Editors Preface
In Mitomarca: A Possible Fortification in
the Upper Huallaga Basin, Yuichi Matsumoto,
Jason S. Nesbitt, and Denesy Palacios J. write
about an Early Horizon and/or Early
Intermediate Period site and its possible
fortification wall. Their work at Mitomarca is
part of their on-going field-work in its area that
follows up on earlier, classic work by Yoshio
Onuki at the Kotosh site in the 1960s. Before
beginning graduate work at Yale, Matsumoto
was one of Onukis students in Japan.
Jason Nesbitt also shares results on an early
period of Andean prehistory in Initial Period
Domestic Occupation at Huaca Cortada,
Caballo Muerto Complex. Nesbitt recently
conducted test excavations at that lower Moche
Valley multi-mound site. One of these, Unit 2,
yielded household features and artifactual,
zooarchaeological, and archaeobotanical
materials that Nesbitt assigns to his Cortijo
Phase, tentatively dated to the early and middle
parts of the Initial Period. Here he discusses this
excavation, emphasizing its stratigraphy.
David Chicoine and Carol Rojas have been
researching Marine Exploitation and Paleo-
environment as Viewed through Molluscan
Resources at the Early Horizon Center of
Huambacho, Nepea Valley, Coastal Ancash.
Their analyses of architecture, material culture,
and radiometric measurements indicate that
between 600 and 200 cal B.C.E. Huambacho
was a small elite center with strong public
components. The Huambacho community was
related to the larger Nepea complex of Cayln.
The Huambacho molluscan data allow a
preliminary assessment of Early Horizon marine
economies, their associated trade networks, and
local environmental conditions.
Simn Urbina A., Leonor Adn A. and
Estefania Vidal M. have been studying
Architecture in the Coastal Desert of
northern Chile. They propose a typology
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) -x

beginning with lightly built Archaic John Victor Murras first students at Cornell. At
constructions of organic materials dating as the time of her death she was working with
early as 4030 B.C. and continuing a little more Heather to publish Murras Lewis Henry
than a millennium later with more elaborate Morgan lectures delivered at the University of
stone and mortar houses. Towards the end of Rochester in 1969. This task is nearly complete
the Archaic Period, sealed floors separate and will be seen to fruition by Heather.
mortuary remains from the living spaces above
them. By the Formative Period, more formal, ag- As this volume enters the archaeological
glutinative architecture, often with rectilinear record, readers can be assured that the next one
plans, had been developed. During the Late is in progress. We have already accepted papers
Intermediate Period, architecture continued to for it, but because we have no backlog, there is
develop with double-faced stone-and-mortar room for more. As always, we look forward to
structures appearing. hearing from our colleagues who have work to
publish.
In Household Mortuary Practices in a
South Andean Village Julin Salazar focuses Monica Barnes
on funerary customs during the first millennium in the City of New York
A.D. at the La Bolsa 1 site in the Taf Valley, 15 April 2012
Tucumn Province, northwest Argentina.
Salazars report is also based on recent field
research. To quote Salazar, his research aims to
establish relationships between daily practices
and social reproduction strategies and
household strategies, and to analyze the active
role of household material assemblages in the
construction of kinship relations and identity.
He approaches his goal through the analysis of
a household burial context.

All of our external reviewers make great

contributions to the quality of Andean Past.
Most chose to remain unacknowledged by
name. However, I can publicly express thanks in
this context to Robert L. Carneiro, Raffael Ca-
vallaro, Peter Eeckhout, Steve Kosiba, Gregory
D. Lockard, Steven A. Wernke, and Juliet
Wiersema. I also thank David Fleming for his
good advice and careful proofreading.
We demand two hours for lunch and two fifteen minute
coca breaks every day!
Editorial cartoon from El Pasado Absurdo by Grace
Katterman and Alina Aparicio De La Riva (Tutlock,
California and Arequipa, Peru: The California Institute
of Peruvian Studies, 2008).

With sadness I note the passing of Freda

Yancy Wolf de Romero on January 27, 2012.
Along with Heather Lechtman. Freda co-
ordinated the collection of testimonials entitled
John Victor Murra: A Mentor to Women that
appeared in Andean Past 9. Freda was one of
 EARL HENRY LUBENSKY (MARCH 31, 1921 - MAY 1, 2009)

DEBORAH M. PEARSALL
University of Missouri, Columbia

Portrait of Earl Lubensky courtesy of Tom Lubensky.

Earl Lubensky, New World archaeologist,
charter member of the Missouri Archaeological
Society (MAS; 1935-2009), and retired
diplomat, was born in Marshall, Missouri, to
Henry Carl Lubensky and Adele Beisemeier
Lubensky. His father was of German and Polish
heritage and his mother of German descent. Earl
spent his early years in Marshall, graduating
from Marshall High School in 1937 as a member
of the National Honor Society. Henry Lubensky
died in 1938, and Earl supported himself and his
family by taking over his fathers wholesale beer
business. He ran the business until 1942, when
he was drafted into the United States army,
having served in the Reserve and National
Guard since 1937. Earl was on active duty
through 1945, first as an enlisted man in Alaska,
then after officers training school, running a

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012): 1-11.

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
quartermaster battalion, and later serving as a
compound commander at a prisoner of war
camp in Charleston, South Carolina. He
returned to the Army Reserve after the war,
retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1981.
Earl married Anita Ruth Price of Saline
County, Missouri, on June 27, 1942. His
experiences in the army instilled in him a desire
to help prevent future wars and help humanity,
and after the war he decided to become a
diplomat. He and Anita returned to Marshall,
where Earl attended Missouri Valley College,
graduating in 1948 with a B.A. in History and
Economics. He subsequently attended the
School of Foreign Service at Georgetown
University in Washington, D.C., and, in 1949,
earned a B.S. in Foreign Service (International
Commerce). Earl and Anita were in the Foreign
Service from 1949 to 1978. Their first overseas
posting was to Germany (1950-1952), then to
the Philippines (1952-1954), and Spain (1955-
1956). From 1956 until 1961 they were in
Washington D.C. Subsequently, Earl spent most
of the rest of his career in Latin America, posted
twice to Ecuador (1961-1966; 1971-1973), and
to Colombia (1967-1970) and El Salvador
(1976-1978). He specialized in Latin American
political affairs and served as Consul General in
Guayaquil, Ecuador and Charg dAffaires ad
Interim in San Salvador, El Salvador.
During their years of diplomatic service Earl
and Anita raised three sons, Tom (Professor of
Physics, University of Pennsylvania), Gerald
(Professor of Art, University of Kansas), and
John Christopher (computer business, Quito,
Ecuador) and traveled extensively, always with
archaeological sites on their itinerary. Earl also
continued his education, earning a diploma in
cost accounting and systematizing in 1949,
training that served him well as treasurer of the
Missouri Archaeological Society (1981-1991).
In 1967 he earned a diploma from the National
War College and an M.S. in International
-2
Affairs from George Washington University,
writing the thesis Constitutionalism versus
Militarism: Ecuador, A Case Study.
Earl Lubensky began conducting
archaeological research while he was in the
Foreign Service, and was active in archaeology
until his death. He led excavations in Ecuador
at the Ayalan cemetery site (1972-1973), at the
Anllulla shell mound (1973), and at two sites on
the La Florida Hacienda (1979). In El Salvador
he excavated two mounds at Cihuatn (1977-
1978). He also led excavations at the Menden-
hall sites in Missouri. These were the MAS Field
exercises from 1983 until 1986 (Lubensky
publications 1983c, 1983d, 1983e, 1984a,
1984b, 1986). In addition, he participated in
excavations at other sites in Missouri, including
the Utz site, the Historical School site in Arrow
Rock, the Old Monroe project, the Conley
House excavations on the University of Missouri
campus, and several other digs in Boone
County.
After retiring from the Foreign Service, Earl
and Anita moved to Columbia, Missouri, so that
Earl could attend graduate school in
anthropology. In his M.A. application, Earl said
his interest was the archaeology of the Western
Hemisphere, and as his professors got to know
him, it became clear this was not an
understatement. Dr. Richard Diehl directed his
1983 M.A. thesis, An Oneota Pit Complex
(Lubensky 1983a, 1983b), in which Earl
returned to the Utz site, where his interest in
archaeology had begun. The Utz site and his
early experiences interacting with members of
the Missouri Archaeological Society were
important to him. In his M.A. application Earl
spoke of the understanding of archaeology he
gained from his MAS membership.
I was a member of Earls M.A. committee,
and after Richard Diehl left the University of
Missouri, Robert A. Benfer Jr. and I directed
3-
Earls dissertation research. Directing Earl was
a process that involved nudging him in
directions we thought useful, then running to
keep up. It was an adventure, a rewarding and
enjoyable one, which culminated in his 1991
dissertation, The Ferdon Collections of Prehistoric
Ceramic Vessels and Sherds from Esmeraldas
Province, Ecuador. Earl corresponded for nearly
thirty years with Ed Ferdon, who documented
numerous important archaeological sites in
Ecuador through surface collections (see
Ferdons obituary by Earl Lubensky in Andean
Past 8). I know it gave Earl great satisfaction to
bring Ferdons study to fruition.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANDEAN ARCHAEOLOGY
Earl Lubenskys interests in the prehistory of
Ecuador ranged from the Formative to
Integration Period, from the classification of
Valdivia figurines, to sources of obsidian, to
relationships among polities in the Gulf of
Guayaquil and coastal Esmeraldas. His main
contributions were made through excavations at
three sites, the Ayalan cemetery, the Anllulla
shell mound, and Hacienda La Florida, and
notably, through his study of the Ferdon
ceramic collection.
Ayalan Cemetery. The Integration Period
Ayalan Cemetery site (OGES-1) is one of at
least four prehistoric cemeteries located on the
Hacienda Ayalan, on the west side of the
mangrove-fringed Estero Salada, 55 kilometers
southwest of Guayaquil. It was discovered and
test-excavated by Earl Lubensky in 1972.
Douglas Ubelaker of the Smithsonian
Institution joined the project in 1973, and took
over the excavation of urn and primary
extended burials, which are reported in
Ubelaker (1981) and classified as the Milagro
Phase (Integration Period, ca. A.D. 500-1500).
In his 1974 Boletn de la Academia Nacional
de Historia publication, 1982 SAA presentation,
Pearsall: Earl Henry Lubensky
and 2000 Andean Past research report, Earl
discussed his study of Ayalan cemetery artifacts
and site stratigraphy, which revealed that the
Late Integration Period burials were dug into an
earlier, Guangala or Jambel (Regional
Developmental Period, ca. 500 B.C.-A.D. 500)
midden, which was, in turn, underlain by a
possible Chorrera (Late Formative Period, c.
1500-500 B.C.) occupation. Earls study of the
burial urns led him to conclude that while most
urns were of Milagro-Quevedo style and shape,
two other types were present, and that this, with
the shape of compoteras, some decorative motifs,
and the absence of mounds, suggested
affiliations to Manteo-Huancavilca
(Integration Period). Based on stratigraphic
position of the extended burials and earlier C-14
dates (Ubelaker 1981), as well as characteristics
of grave goods, Earl suggested that the extended
burials may have been affiliated with Manteo-
Huancavilca as well. In drawing these
conclusions, Earl supported Estradas (1957)
argument that both Milagro-Quevedo and
Manteo-Huancavilca populations were present
contemporaneously in the Estero Salado region,
and suggested that the Ayalan Cemetery
possibly lay on the border between the polities.
Neutron activation analysis of five obsidian
blades from the cemetery identified Yanaurco-
Quiscatola as the source (Lubensky 1999).
Anllulla Shell Mound. In 1973 Earl undertook
test excavations at a shell mound on the
Hacienda Ayalan, which he designated the
Anllulla site (OGES-2), working to determine if
it was contemporaneous with the cemeteries. A
summary of the ceramics and C-14 dates was
published in his 2000 Andean Past research
report; a more comprehensive discussion and
detailed description and illustration of ceramics
was distributed as a manuscript to colleagues in
1995. The mound, composed mostly of the
oyster Ostrea iridescens, was located on the edge
of a salt flat, some three kilometers from the
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
current Estero Salada shore. It has since been
destroyed by shrimp pond construction.
A four meter deep test excavation
documented a sequence that began in the
Valdivia Period. The earliest decorated sherds,
recovered from 280-140 centimeters below the
surface (dated at 180-170 centimeters below the
surface to 2012-1741 cal BC), fit diagnostically
into Valdivia D/Valdivia VI-VII phase (six
wares, following Meggers et al. 1965 typology),
and were underlain by strata containing non-
diagnostic sherds (370-280 centimeters below
the surface), and aceramic deposits (400-370
centimeters below the surface). Charred maize
kernels were recovered at depths of 210
centimeters and 220 centimeters below the
surface in association with Valdivia ceramics,
and root/tuber material occurred at 220
centimeters and below (Pearsall 2003).
Interestingly, above a significant ash layer,
presumably volcanic, at 140 centimeters below
the surface and continuing until 70 centimeters
below the surface (dated at 110-100 centimeters
belowthe surface to 1514-1410 cal BC), two
styles of diagnostic Machalilla sherds occurred
with four Valdivia D/VI-VII wares. Above 70
centimeters below the surface, and a second ash
fall, deposits date to the Regional
Developmental-Integration Period transition.
The excavations in the main cut in the
center of the mound (Cut A, 2 by 2 meters)
were carried out in ten centimeters arbitrary
levels. However, the natural strata lay
practically horizontally in this cut, on the basis
of which Earl argued that materials in each level
of Cut A were roughly contemporaneous. Thus
while acknowledging the problems of shell
mound stratigraphy and perturbation, he
proposed that the mix of Late Valdivia and
Machalilla sherds from 140-70 centimeters
below surface was a cultural phenomenon that
required explanation. In his 1995 manuscript,
Earl hypothesized that the shell mound was used
-4
on a seasonal or occasional basis by peoples from
different hinterland areas, and that those
populations changed during the period
represented by the overlap, with populations
producing Machalilla ceramics replacing
Valdivia ceramic producers.
Hacienda La Florida. In 1979, Earl Lubensky
and Allison Paulsen test excavated two multiple
mound sites, Estero Cecilia and Santa Marta, on
the Hacienda La Florida, in western Pichincha
Province 16 kilometers outside Santo Domingo
de los Colorados at the confluence of the Ro
Toachi and Ro Blanco. At least ten other sites,
mostly consisting of single mounds, are located
on the hacienda. Excavations and analyses were
reported at the 1980 and 1999 Midwest
Conferences on Andean and Amazonian
Archaeology and Ethnohistory, in the Current
Research section of American Antiquity in 1981
with Paulsen, and in Earls 2000 Andean Past
research report.
A test excavation in the principle mound of
the Santa Marta mound group yielded ceramics
that strongly resemble Chorrera examples. A
single radiocarbon date of 1260-1001 cal BC is
consistent with this affiliation. Test excavations
in three mounds at the Estero Cecilia site yield-
ed pottery generally characteristic of Jama-
Coaque I and II. Three radiocarbon dates from
the excavations yielded calibrated dates of A.D.
1023-1207, A.D. 1216-1377, and A.D. 1301-
1408, corresponding to Integration Period Jama-
Coaque II.
Obsidian artifacts and debitage were
common at both sites. At the 1999 Midwest
Conference on Andean and Amazonian
Archaeology and Ethnohistory, Earl reported
that obsidian blades from Santa Marta were pro-
venienced to the Mullumica and Yanaurco-
Quiscatola obsidian sources (as reported in
Villalba 1988), but affiliated to Chorrera (not,
as previously reported, to the Regional
5-
Developmental Period). Earl studied the
cutting edge/mass ratio of 29 blades from Estero
Cecilia, affiliated to Integration Period Jama-
Coaque II, not sourced, but presumed to come
also from Mullumica and/or Yanaurco-
Quiscatola. With a CE/M ratio of 3.42
(standard deviation 1.74), values for Estero
Cecilia fell between those for the El Inga (CE/M
1.75, standard deviation 1.00) and Ayalan
cemetery (CE/M 10.54, standard deviation 6.71)
sites, also studied, showing a clear relationship
between distance from source (Eastern
Cordillera, c. 30-40 kilometers east of Quito)
and cutting edge/mass ratio. A provenance
study of clay from Estero Cecilia pottery,
conducted at the University of Missouri
Research Reactor, indicated that some ceramics
were non-local in origin.
The abundance of obsidian, presence of
non-local pottery, and construction of mound
complexes during both the Late Formative and
Integration Periods (and perhaps the Regional
Development Period), led Earl Lubensky and
Alison Paulsen to speculate that Hacienda La
Florida was a major exchange center, possibly
with ceremonial functions. Earl further
suggested a relationship between the
introduction of ceramics in the sierra and the
beginning of obsidian use during the coastal
Chorrera Period. He hoped to map the La
Florida mound complexes and conduct a
detailed study of 1979 excavated materials, to
facilitate comparisons between La Florida and
other mound complexes on the northern
Ecuadorian coastal plains and western Andes,
but that project was unfortunately not funded.
His 1993 research proposal (on file, University
of Missouri Department of Anthropology) notes
the presence of tephra deposits at the tested
sites, which were earlier misinterpreted as living
floors.
Ferdon Collection. Edward Ferdon conducted
an extensive surface collection of 118 sites in
Pearsall: Earl Henry Lubensky
nine provinces during the 1940s (see Obituary
by Earl Lubensky, Andean Past 8). Earl decided
to study this collection for his dissertation, and
obtained the loan of the materials from the
Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe (the
collection is now curated at the University of
New Mexico in Albuquerque). The dissertation,
completed in 1991, focused on collections from
coastal Esmeraldas Province. Working from
Ferdons unpublished site forms and maps, Earl
located and described thirty-five sites in six
geographic clusters, and studied the ceramic
collections from sixteen sites. Ferdon collected
representative ceramics from site surfaces and
natural or man-made cuts, including the
extensive gold-mining operations at La Tolita.
The dissertation includes topographic maps
showing site locations, reproduces Ferdons
excellent site maps, and illustrates most of the
sherds studied.
Earls thesis was that one can understand
the relationship among sites by analysis of
ceramic attributes. Earl developed a ceramic
seriation and estimated the chronology of the
sites. In the study he took an attribute ap-
proach, rather than the more common
typological approach, in order to expand the
possible features available for ceramic
classification. He did not attempt to fit the
Esmeraldas ceramic collection into existing
typologies, in part for the practical reason that
the collection contained wares that were not yet
typed, and in part to explore the power of an
attribute approach.
The dissertation explains fully the process of
attribute analysis of ceramics, which I will not
discuss in detail here. Four major groups of
attribute dimensions were developed (shape,
size, manufacture, decoration), and 144
attribute dimensions used. Earl developed a
nested matrix for data entry using the computer
program PARADOX. He focused on decorative
technique and vessel shape for the quantitative
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
and qualitative analyses of sixteen site
collections presented in the dissertation.
In terms of chronology, Earl concluded that
two sites were probably Late Formative. One
site cluster was likely transitional from Late
Formative to Early Regional Developmental,
one cluster was Regional Developmental and
strongly related to La Tolita, one cluster was
Integration Period, and many sites were multi-
component. The study documented that coastal
Esmeraldas was occupied at least since the Late
Formative, and that many sites were occupied
for extended periods. The predominant site or
central place shifted over time, for example,
from the Esmeraldas River delta in the Late
Formative, to La Tolita in the Regional
Developmental Period, to Atacames in the
Integration Period. Based on ceramic
similarities, Earl concluded that contact was
intense among sites clustered together
geographically, but close interactions
characterized the entire Esmeraldas coast.
Methodologically, attribute analysis proved to
be a highly flexible and orderly way to classify
ceramics, but the system was complex to set up
and required many subjective judgments in the
description and delineation of attributes. The
study also demonstrates the value of museum
collections.
After his dissertation was finished, Earl
completed the study of the entire Ferdon surface
collection, presenting his findings in a series of
conference papers (1992 Midwest Conference
on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and
Ethnohistory, 1992 Northeast Conference on
Andean Archaeology and Ethnohistory, 1993
Annual Meeting of the Institute of Andean
Studies, 1994 Midwest Conference on Andean
and Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory).
-6
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DISCIPLINE
OF ARCHAEOLOGY
Earl Lubenskys diverse legacy of scholarship
and service is significant for our discipline as a
whole, as well as for Andean archaeology in
particular. He was an active member of both the
Missouri Archaeological Society and the Society
for American Archaeology and in 1989 was
asked by the SAA to chair a task force on
establishing an association of archaeological
societies. The Council of Affiliated Societies was
activated at the 1990 meeting in Las Vegas,
with the goals of serving as a bond among
individuals interested in American archaeology,
whether professional or nonprofessional, and to
foster the formation and welfare of regional and
local societies. At the 1991 annual meeting in
New Orleans, Earl was given the SAA
Presidential Recognition Award by Jeremy
Sabloff for his service to the SAA and the
discipline. Earl was a vocal advocate for the role
of amateurs and avocationals in archaeology,
saying . . . we cannot leave archaeology alone
to paid professionals, but our amateurs and
avocationals, especially the younger generation,
must be better prepared through education and
experience to work at the highest level of
professionalism among all involved (MAS
Quarterly, Oct.-Dec., 1993:6). He exhorted
collectors to plan for the donation of their
collections to museums.
After completing his doctoral degree at the
University of Missouri, Earl was granted adjunct
research associate status in the Department of
Anthropology. The department has a course
called Research Skills in which undergraduate
students work individually with a mentor to
learn what research is all about. For many years
Earl volunteered his time for this class, and
mentored several students interested in
archaeology. He taught them how to study
artifacts and write up results. More than that, he
gave generously of his time and life experiences
7-
and enriched the student experiences at the
University of Missouri.
In recent years my intractions with Earl
included gardening, as well as discussions about
the archaeological projects he wanted to finish.
Earl loved his gardens, and kept meticulous
records about seeds he collected, sprouted, and
planted. I volunteered to help him with the
basement (his study and research files), but
somehow we always ended up working in the
garden. Im glad thats how we spent our time.
Earl left detailed, well-organized records of his
research, now transferred to the State Historical
Society of Missouri. Among his other passions
were genealogy, ham radio, and collecting
stamps and coins. Earl also had a deep desire to
understand the universe. Among the last books
he read were ones on string theory and cosmol-
ogy.
Anita, Earls wife of over 50 years, died in
1993. In 1994 he married Margot Patterson who
preceded him in death in 2008. Later that year
he married Marion Reed. In addition to his wife
Marion and his three sons, Earl is survived by
six grandchildren.
REFERENCES CITED
Estrada, Emilio
1957 Los Huancavilcas: ltimas civilizaciones pre-
histricas de la costa del Guayas. Publicacin del
Museo Vctor Emilio Estrada 3.
Meggers, Betty Jean, Clifford Evans, and Emilio Estrada
1965 Early Formative Period of Coastal Ecuador: The
Valdivia and Machalilla Phases. Smithsonian
Contributions to Knowledge 1. Washington, D.C.:
Smithsonian Institution.
Pearsall, Deborah M.
2003 Plant Food Resources of the Ecuadorian Forma-
tive. In Archaeology of Formative Ecuador: A
Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 7 and 8 October
1995, edited by J. Scott Raymond and Richard L.
Burger, pp. 213-257. Washington, D.C.: Dum-
barton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
Ubelaker, Douglas
1981 The Ayalan Cemetery: A Late Integration Period
Burial Site on the South Coast of Ecuador.
Pearsall: Earl Henry Lubensky
Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology 29.
Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution
Press.
Villalba, Marcelo
1988 Cotocollao: Una aldea formativa del valle de
Quito. Miscelanea Antropolgica Ecuatoriana,
Serie Monogrfia 2. Quito: Museo del Banco
Central del Ecuador.
WORKS OF EARL H. LUBENSKY1
Papers
Earl H. Lubenskys papers are at The State Historical
Society of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri in the Western
Historical Manuscript Collection.
Articles, thesis, dissertation
1972 Two Polish Boys from Texas. Stirpes: Texas State
Genealogical Society Quarterly, June, pp. 62-64.
1974 Los Cementerios de Anllulla: Informe preliminar
sobre una excavacin arqueolgica. Boletn de la
Academia Nacional de Historia. 57(123):16-23,
plus 18 figures.
1979 Off the Job: You, too, Can e an Archaeologist,
the Man Says; Posting Abroad Puts You in a
Uniquely Advantageous Position. Department of
State Newsletter 208:7-10.
1980 Prehistoric Ceramics of Coastal Ecuador, 3 pp.
Exhibit brochure, Museum of Anthropology,
University of Missouri, Columbia.
1981a Flotation Device. Missouri Archaeological Society
Newsletter 352:3.
1981b Letter. 11 April 1980 to Clement W. Meighan.
In Obsidian Dates III: A Compendium of the
Obsidian Hydration Determinations Made at the
UCLA Obsidian Hydration Laboratory, edited by
Clement W. Meighan and Glenn S. Russell, pp.
149-150. Monograph 16, Institute of
Archaeology, University of California at Los
Angeles.
1982a Evolution of a Collector. Central States
Archaeological Journal 29:149-153.
1982b The Fox Head Button. Missouri Archaeological
Society Newsletter 361-362:2.
1
Non-research chapter and membership notes published
in the Missouri Archaeological Society Newsletter/Quarterly
are omitted.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
1983a An Oneota Pit Complex. M.A. Thesis,
Department of Anthropology, University of
Missouri, Columbia.
1983b An Oneota Pit Complex. The Missouri
Archaeologist 44:75-108.
1983c 1983 MAS Field Exercise: Part I, Introduction.
Missouri Archaeological Society Newsletter 371-
372:7-13 (Mendenhall site, Late Woodland,
23BO86).
1983d MAS Field Exercise: Part II. Missouri
Archaeological Society Newsletter 373-374:6-9.
1983e MAS Field Exercise: Part III. Missouri
Archaeological Society Newsletter 375-376:3-5.
1984a 1983 MAS field exercise: Part IV. Missouri
Archaeological Society Quarterly 1(1):6-7.
1984b 1984 MAS Field Exercise. Missouri Archaeological
Society Quarterly 1(3):6, 22 (Mendenhall site,
Late Woodland 23BO86).
1984c Archaeology in Missouris Public Schools.
Missouri Archaeological Society Quarterly 1(3):15.
1985a Osage Petroglyphs from Vernon County.
Missouri Archaeological Society Quarterly 2(3):12-
13.
1985b Society Field Exercises. Missouri Archaeological
Society Quarterly 3(1):1, 4 (Mendenhall site, Late
Woodland 23BO86).
1986 Missouri Archaeological Society Field Exercise
1986. Missouri Archaeological Society Quarterly
3(4):4-5, 15-16 (Mendenhall site mound,
23BO87).
1989 The Westermans of Westphalia, Missouri: Their
Ancestors and Descendants. Columbia, Missouri:
Published by the author, 319 pp.
1990a Avocational Archaeology. Society for American
Archaeology Bulletin 8(2):17.
1990b Plants in Archaeology Workshop [1989].
Missouri Archaeological Society Quarterly 7(2):22.
1991a The Ferdon Collections of Prehistoric Ceramic
Vessels and Sherds from Esmeraldas Province,
Ecuador. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of
Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia.
1991b Valdivia Figurines. In The New World Figurine
Project, Volume 1, edited by Terry Stocker, pp.
21-25. Provo, Utah: Research Press at Brigham
Young University.
1991c Organization of the Council of Affiliated
Societies. Society for American Archaeology
Bulletin 9(1):13-14.
1993 Update on the Council of Affiliated Societies of
the Society for American Archaeology. Missouri
Archaeological Society Quarterly 10(4):5-7.
1999 Petroglyphs at the La Cueva del Espiritu Santo,
El Salvador. News & Notes. Mexicon 21:71-72.
2000a Hacienda La Florida, Ayalan Cemetery, Anllulla
Shell Mound, and Ferdons Surface Collections.
-8
Current Research Report. Andean Past 6:372-
378.
2000b Internal Security and Human RightsMilitarism
and Diplomacy. Peace Talk 7(1):41-48
(Published by Friends of Peace Studies,
University of Missouri, Columbia).
2001 The Gordon Tract Archaeological Site. Country
Lives, November/December (published by the
Boone County Historical Society/Walters Boone
County Historical Museum, Columbia,
Missouri), 2 pages.
2005 The Excavation of Structures P-12 and P-20 at
Cihuatn, El Salvador/Excavacin de las Estruc-
turas P-12 y P-20 de Cihuatn, El Salvador,
edited and with an introduction by Karen Olsen
Bruhns. Treganza Anthropology Museum Papers
22 (San Francisco State University).
2007 Edwin Nelson Ferdon, Jr. (1913-2002). Andean
Past 8:9-32.
Paulsen, Alison C. and Earl H. Lubensky
1981 Current Research: Andean South America,
Ecuador. American Antiquity 46(1):201.
Presentations
1980a Archaeology in Ecuador. Paper presented to the
Mound City Archaeological Society, Clayton,
Missouri, June 3.
1980b Exploratory Excavation at La Florida, Ecuador.
Paper presented at the 8th Midwest Conference
on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and
Ethnohistory, Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois
(abstract and photocopies of slides in Pearsalls
possession).
1980c Shell Mound Excavation at Hacienda Ayalan,
Ecuador. Abstract of paper proposed for
presentation at the 8th Midwest Conference on
Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and
Ethnohistory, Field Museum, Chicago (in Pear-
salls possession).
1981a The Ayalan cemetery: An Integration Period
Site in the Guayas Basin Area of Ecuador. Paper
presented at the 9th Midwest Conference on
Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and
Ethnohistory, Columbia, Missouri, February 28.
1981b Historical School House Site in Arrow Rock,
Missouri. Paper presented at the 46th Annual
Meeting of the Society for American
Archaeology, San Diego, California, May 1. Also
presented at the Annual Spring Meeting of the
Missouri Archaeological Society, Springfield,
Missouri, May 23, 1981.
1982a Excavation of Three Prehistoric Ceramic Period
Sites in Coastal Ecuador. Paper presented at the
Annual Fall Symposium of the Missouri
9-
Archaeological Society, Columbia, Missouri,
October 17.
1982b The Huancavilcas in the Guayas Basin: Their
Relationships and Antecedents in the Estero
Salado Area of Ecuador. Paper presented at the
47th Annual Meeting of the Society for American
Archaeology, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 16
(on file in the archives of Andean Past).
1983 A Pit Complex at the Utz site. Paper presented
at the Annual Meeting of the Missouri
Archaeological Society, Columbia, Missouri,
April 9.
1984a The 1983 MAS Field Exercise. Paper presented
at the Annual Meeting of the Missouri
Archaeological Society, Columbia, Missouri,
April 7.
1984b Archaeology in Ecuador. Paper presented to the
Ozarks Chapter of the Missouri Archaeological
Society, Springfield, Missouri, February 1.
1985a The 1983 MAS Field Exercise. Paper presented
to the Boonslick Archaeological Society,
Columbia, Missouri, February 27.
1985b Analysis of the Ferdon Collection from Ecuador.
Paper presented at the 13th Midwest Conference
on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and
Ethnohistory, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
1986 Current Developments in Archaeology in
Ecuador. Paper presented at the 14th Midwest
Conference on Andean and Amazonian
Archaeology and Ethnohistory, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor.
1987 1986 MAS Field Exercise. Paper presented at the
Annual Meeting of the Missouri Archaeological
Society, Columbia, Missouri.
1988a Objectives and Programs of Archaeological
Societies. Paper presented at the Annual
Meeting of the Missouri Archaeological Society,
Overland Park, Missouri. Also presented at the
53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American
Archaeology, Phoenix, Arizona, April 28.
1988b Prospeccin Arqueolgica Hacienda La Florida,
Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Enero 1979.
Presented at the conference 1977-1987 Diez
Aos de Arqueologa Ecuatoriana, Cuenca,
Ecuador, 15-19 August (in Pearsalls possession).
1989 The Society for American Archaeology and its
Council of Affiliated Societies. Paper presented
at the Annual Meeting of the Missouri
Archaeological Society, April 30.
1990a The Council of Affiliated Societies of the Society
for American Archaeology. Paper presented at
the Annual Meeting of the Missouri
Archaeological Society, May 6.
1990b The Mendenhall Site Excavations, Boone
County, Missouri: 1983 and 1986. Paper
Pearsall: Earl Henry Lubensky
presented to the Kansas City Archaeological
Society, Kansas City, Missouri, March 6.
1991 Historical Development of Professional/Avoca-
tional Interaction as a Concern of the Society for
American Archaeology. Paper presented at the
56th Annual Meeting of the Society for
American Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana,
April 27.
1992a Update on Analysis of the Ferdon Ceramic
Collections from Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador.
Paper presented at the 20th Midwest Conference
on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and
Ethnohistory, University of Illinois, Urbana,
March 1.
1992b The Ferdon Prehistoric Ceramic Collection from
Ecuador: An Exercise in Ceramic Classification
and Analysis. Paper Presented at the11th North-
east Conference on Andean Archaeology and
Ethnohistory, Colgate University, Hamilton,
New York, November 11.
1993 The Ferdon Archaeological Site Survey in
Ecuador: An Exercise in Ceramic Classification
and Analysis. Paper Presented at the 33rd
Annual Meeting of the Institute of Andean
Studies, Berkeley, California, January 8.
1994 Color Classification System for Use with
PARADOX and Designed for Ecuadorian
Ceramics. Paper presented at the 22nd Midwest
Conference on Andean and Amazonian
Archaeology and Ethnohistory, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, February 26.
1999a Artifacts from Sea to Selva in Northern Ecuador:
Similarities and Relationships. Paper presented
at the 64th Annual Meeting of the Society for
American Archaeology, Chicago, Illinois, March
24-28.
1999b Obsidian Exchange in Ecuador. Paper presented
at the 27th Midwest Conference on Andean and
Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory,
Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant,
Michigan, February 27-28 (in Pearsalls
possession).
2000 A Ceramic Typology for the Ayalan Cemetery
and Some Associations with Other Sites and
Areas in Southwest Ecuador. Paper presented at
the 28th Midwest Conference on Andean and
Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory, Fort
Wayne, Indiana, February 26-27.
2001 Punta Carnera and Related Sites in Guayas
Province, Ecuador. Paper presented at the 29th
Midwest Conference on Andean and Amazonian
Archaeology and Ethnohistory, Ann Arbor,
Michigan, February 22-23.
2005 Update on the Ferdon Collections from Ecuador.
Paper presented at the 33rd Midwest Conference
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and
Ethnohistory, University of Missouri, Columbia,
February 26-27.
Lubensky, Earl H. and William R. Fowler, Jr.
1979 Postclassic Ceremonial Structures of Central El
Salvador. Paper presented at the 44th Annual
Meeting of the Society for American
Archaeology, Vancouver, Canada.
Lubensky, Earl H., Hector Neff, and Michael Glascock
1995 Neutron activation analysis of clay and ceramic
artifacts from Hacienda La Florida. Paper
presented at the 23rd Midwest Conference on
Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and
Ethnohistory, Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois,
February 25-26.
Other unpublished works
1973 Informe de las excavaciones arqueolgicas de
Ayalan. Presented to the Universidad Catlica
de Guayaquil, Ecuador.
1977 A Shell Mound in Anllulla: Draft Preliminary
Rreport. Presented to the Museo del Banco
Central de Ecuador, 15 pp.
1978 Mound P-12 at Cihuatn. Report to the Patri-
monio Cultural, Ministerio de Educacin, San
Salvador, El Salvaor, 16 pp.
1979a Excavacin arqueolgica en la Hacienda La
Florida, enero 1979: Informe preliminar.
Presented to the Instituto Nacional de Patri-
monio Cultural, Quito, Ecuador (on file in the
archives of Andean Past).
1979b International Participation in the Society for
American Archaeology. Paper submitted to Dr.
Alfred E. Johnson, Secretary of the SAA, 11
May 1979, 4 pp.
1980a The Impact of Late Pleistocene and Holocene
Environmental Change on Human Settlements
in Southwest Ecuador. Ms., 35 pp.
1980b Jicarilla-Apache Social Structure in Transition.
Ms., 2 pp.
1980c The Valdivia-Machalilla Transition. Paper
written for Anthropology 341, University of
Missouri, Columbia, December.
1981a Aesthetics and Evolution, Ms., 53 pp.
1981b The Language of Ceramics: A Study of Vessel
Shape Nomenclature. Ms., 38 pp.
1983 1983 Field Exercise: Research Design and
Excavation Plan. Missouri Archaeological
Society, Columbia.
1984a Anllulla shell mound. Ms., 75 pp.
1984b Archaeology of Boone County, Missouri. Ms., 29
pp.
1984c Emil Orcitirix Forrer: 1894- Biography. Paper
written for Art History and Archaeology 402,
- 10
University of Missouri-Columbia, May. Ms., 34
pp. (on file in the archives of Andean Past).
1984d Metaphysics of Archaeology. Ms., 59 pp.
1985a American Anthropology: A Four-field discipline.
Ms., 15 pp.
1985b Analysis of Nails: Conley House Site,
23BO1065. Ms., 15 pp.
1985c Decorated Ceramics from Anllulla Shell Mound
in Coastal Ecuador. Ms., 82 pp.
1985d Excavation of Two Structures at Cihuatan, El
Salvador. Ms., 120 pp.
1985e Raymond Firth: A Short Biography. Paper
written for Anthropology 345, University of
Missouri-Columbia, taught by Dr. H. Clyde
Wilson, December. Ms., 9 pp. (on file in the
archives of Andean Past).
1986a Archaeology of Siberia in its Soviet Framework.
Ms., 31 pp.
1986b Friedrich Max Uhle: A Short Biography. Paper
written for Anthropology 352, University of
Missouri-Columbia, taught by Dr. Richard A.
Diehl, February. Ms., 19 pp. (on file in the
archives of Andean Past).
1993 La Florida Hacienda Project. Research Proposal
submitted to the University of Missouri,
November 10 (on file, Department of
Anthropology).
1995 Decorated ceramics from the Anllulla Shell
Mound in Coastal Ecuador. Paper prepared for
distribution at the Pre-Columbian symposium on
the Archaeology of Formative Ecuador, Dum-
barton Oaks, Washington, D.C., October 7-8, 49
pp., plus 27 figures (on file in the archives of
Andean Past).
2005 Comments by Earl Lubensky about his
Friendship with Betty Meggers. Email to Juan
Gero and Anita Cook, subject line: NE
Conference on Andean Archaeology and Ethno-
history. With additional written notes. October
19.
Lubensky, Earl H., Linda Sage, Barbara Borg, and Robert
T. Bray
1980 Archaeological Investigations of First Public
School at Arrow Rock, Missouri. A project
Authorized by Missouri Department of Natural
Resources, Division of Parks and Historic
Preservation, Jefferson City, Missouri. University
of Missouri, Department of Anthropology,
Division of American Archaeology Hamilton
Field School, December 1980. Unpublished
report, pp. 41-124.
Lubensky, Earl H. and Jeff Yelton
1986 Field Exercise: Research Design and Excavation
plan. Missouri Archaeological Society,
Columbia, 14 pp.
11 - Pearsall: Earl Henry Lubensky

Works about Earl H. Lubensky Hueting, Jenn

2007 Digging History. Archaeology Buffs Explore
Agnew, Sara Boone Countys Past. Photos by Alycia Lewis.
2007 Forgotten Trail: History Buffs Digging up 1800 Inside Columbia Magazine.
Settlement. Columbia [Missouri] Daily Tribune, Luci, Besa
June 25. 2006 Former Ambassador Offers Views on Creating
Anderson, Jena Peace. Columbia Missourian, September 14.
2007 Historical and Archaeological Societies Team up McGuire, Heather
in a Search for Remnants from the Lost Town of 2006a New Dig Set for Lexington Ghost Town.
Lexington, an Early 19th Century Route to the Columbia Missourian, June 2.
West. Columbia Missourian, June 15. McGuire, Heather
Anonymous 2006b What Lies Beneath: Bringing Back a Little
2006 Former Ambassador to Speak about Peace, War. History. Columbia Missourian, June 16, 1a, 4a.
Columbia [Missouri] Daily Tribune, September 8. Morrow, Sara
Banks, Alan 2005 Rocheport Dig Hopes Columbia Missourian, May
2003 Tribute to Earl Lubensky. Missouri Archeological 16, 1a, 8a.
Society Quarterly, July-September. Rosenbaum, Jason
Braden, Jonathan 2005 Digging up County History. Columbia Daily
2008 Boonslick Archaeological Society Set to Revive Tribune.
Tonight. Columbia Missourian, January 24, 2008. Smith, Laura C.
Clark, Bill 1992 A Matter of Artifacts. Columbia Missourian,
2005 Octogenarian Couple Somehow Seems to Pop up February 17, 5a.
All over Town. Columbia Daily Tribune, August Ulloa Vernimen, Jos
22, 2a. c.1978 Abriendo las entraas de la historia. Vistazo, pp.
Davis, Hester A. and Marcel Kornfeld 92-98.
2007 The Council of Affiliated Societies: Past,
Present, and Future. The Archaeological Record,
May, pp. 35-36.
 JUAN (HANS) SANTIAGO REN SCHOBINGER (FEBRUARY 18, 1928 - JULY 11, 2009)

CONSTANZA CERUTI
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientficas
and Universidad Catlica de Salta (Argentina)

Hans Schobinger at the III Simposio de Arte Rupestre Peruano, Huaraz, Peru in 2008.
Photograph courtesy of Susana Barrau

It is very difficult to find the words to call to
mind the importance of the legacy Juan Scho-
binger left archaeology, with the gratitude and
affection he merited. It is even more difficult to
try to summarize in a few pages the infinite
contributions he made to the development of
this discipline in Argentina. He was a re-
searcher, writer, professor, holder of a doctorate,
archaeologist, student of religions, but, above
all, a respectful colleague and a generous
teacher. He entered fields as varied as rock art
studies and high altitude archaeology, and was
a genuine pioneer in them. Those of us who
follow in his footsteps today owe him much
more than bibliographic citations and formal
tributes can indicate.
Juan Santiago Ren Schobinger was born in
Lucerne, Switzerland and died in Mendoza,
Argentina, a city in which he resided for most of
his life. He became a naturalized Argentinian
citizen in 1954 and was proud of his adoptive
nationality, stressing that he had arrived in
Argentina while still a baby.

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012): 13-26.

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
He studied in the Colegio Nacional
Manuel Belgrano, in Buenos Aires and
graduated in 1951 with a degree in history
from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of
the University of Buenos Aires (Facultad de
Filosofa y Lettras, Universidad de Buenos
Aires). In 1954 he obtained his doctorate in
the same field with a dissertation on the
archaeology of Neuqun Province. He
completed his education in foreign
universities, participating in an international
archaeology course in Ampurias (Empries),
Catalonia, Spain as well as in two courses in
prehistoric archaeology at the University of
Basel, Switzerland.
He settled in Mendoza and was a tenured
professor in the Faculty of Philosophy and
Letters in that citys National University of
Cuyo (Universidad Nacional de Cuyo) from
1956, holding the chair of prehistoric arch-
aeology from 1957 to 1993 and a temporary
post as professor of anthropology from 1956
until 1974. He was also in charge of the course
in the history of the ancient East from 1974
until 1993. At his retirement in 1995 he was
named Professor Emeritus of the National
University of Cuyo.
Teaching was one of his many strong
vocations. He was one of the principal driving
forces in the education of professional
archaeologists in the Cuyo region. I cant help
but feel a healthy envy for colleagues from
Mendoza who had Juan Schobinger as a
professor during their university studies. His
teaching highlighted his erudition, equal to his
humility and his genuine interest and
profound respect for both the objects of his
studies and for researchers. These qualities
transcended theoretical and conceptual
differences. Nevertheless, when he referred to
his classes at the Universidad de Cuyo, Scho-
binger himself emphasized that his only merit,
as he saw it, was that he prepared them with
- 14
great enthusiasm. Personally, I am infinitely
grateful to him for so many years of dedication
as the director, not only of my doctoral thesis,
but of my Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones
Cientficas (CONICET) grants. I dare say that
instruction and tutoring were activities he found
very gratifying, because, like all true teachers, he
was made sincerely happy by the progress of his
students whom he encouraged and counseled
with enormous generosity.
Schobingers academic schedule was marked
by repeated invitations from foreign universities
and institutions, as well as by his usual presence
at national and international conferences
dedicated to his specialities. He taught courses
on the prehistory of South America in
Barcelona and in Mexico and was invited to
Bonn, Germany in 1996 and to Montevideo,
Uruguay in 1999. He participated in congresses
and seminars in Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,
Croatia, France, Germany, Mexico, Peru,
Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United
States. He invested in travel during his
sabbatical years to familiarize himself with the
archaeological patrimony of Egypt, France,
Israel, Italy, Jordan, Spain, and Syria.
He was the author of at least one hundred
and forty scientific works including books,
articles, and notes on various aspects of
prehistoric archaeology. Many became reference
works in numerous centers for the study of
American prehistory in Argentina and in the
rest of the world. An avid reader, and not only
in his specialities, he wrote eighty book reviews
and forty research articles, while working as
editor, coordinator, and reviewer for a variety of
publications. Among his most important books
are Prehistoria de Sudamrica (Prehistory of South
America), first published in Barcelona in 1969
and re-published as an enlarged edition in
Madrid in 1988. Cazadores de la Patagonia y
agricultores andinos: Arte rupestre de la Argentina
(Hunters of Patagonia and Andean Farmers: Rock
15 -
art of Argentina), written with Carlos Gradin,
and published in Madrid and Milan in 1985, is
another. A third is Arte prehistrico de Amrica
(Prehistoric Art of America), published in 1997
in both Spanish and Italian language editions.
In the area of mountain archaeology, his
edited volume, La momia del cerro El Toro
(The Mummy of El Toro Mountain) is
outstanding. This was first published in 1966
by the National University of Cuyo. Scho-
binger was also, with Clara Abal de Russo,
Mnica Ampuero, and Graciela N. Arenas, an
author-editor of El santuario incaico del cerro
Aconcagua (The Inca Sanctuary of Mt. Acon-
cagua, 2001) and the motivating force behind
El santuario incaico del nevado de Chuscha (The
Inca Sanctuary of the Snow-capped Chuscha
Mountain, 2001-2003 [2004]), both published
by the National University of Cuyos press,
EDIUNC. These disseminate the results of the
interdisciplinary studies on mummified bodies
from high altitude sanctuaries that Schobinger
coordinated.
Schobinger belonged to many scientific
associations. From 1969 to 1978 he was on the
Advisory Commission of CONICET, the
Argentine governments scientific grant-giving
body. He was a member of the International
Union of Pre- and Protohistorical Sciences,
and of the Rock Art Committee of ICOMOS,
the International Council of Monuments and
Sites, from its foundation in 1982. He was a
member of its board of directors from 1984
until 1994. In recent years he frequently
served as a judge in archaeology teaching
competitions held by the University of Buenos
Aires and by the National University of Tucu-
mn. He was also a member of doctoral thesis
committees at the University of Buenos Aires
and at the National University of Cuyo.
Juan Schobinger was Director of the
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology
(Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa) of the
Ceruti: Juan Schobinger
National University of Cuyo until 1993. He was
the founder and director of the universitys
archaeology museum. Among its collections are
the materials Schobinger recovered high on the
slopes of Mt. Aconcagua. He was also editor of
the professional journal of the Institute, the
Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa from 1956 to
1993, a venue which helped to make known,
with admirable continuity, advances in the
archaeology of western Argentina as well as
those in high altitude archaeology.
Schobingers archaeological surveys centered
on western and northwestern Argentina, on the
high Andean cordillera, and on northwestern
Patagonia. He made substantial contributions to
various aspects of research, mainly in relation to
the preceramic period, to rock art, and to high
altitude Inca shrines, although he also
maintained a particular interest in shamanism
and in biblical archaeology. The wide spectrum
of his contributions and the transcendent nature
of many of them never cease to amaze in an era
of growing specialization in the social sciences.
For a long time Schobingers work ran counter
to major currents, being a humanistic view of
mankind and prehistory, but recent trends in
archaeological and anthropological thought are
beginning to return us to his point of view.
It is well known that the Cerro El Toro
mummy and the Aconcagua child were
recovered thanks to Schobingers pioneering
activities in rescue archaeology during mountain
expeditions made in 1964 and 1985 respectively.
The work of this researcher involved ascent to
heights above 5000 and 6000 meters to recover
and bring to safety the mummies and grave
goods that were accidentally discovered by
mountain climbers. For decades he sustained a
commitment to coordinate interdisciplinary
studies of these frozen bodies and their offerings,
the publication of the scientific results, and
eventual diffusion of information to the
community via museum exhibitions of some of
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
the finds. These efforts are outstanding not
only because of their pioneering nature in
Argentina, but also for having been
accomplished with very sparse resources, yet
with the considerable personal efforts of the
participating researchers. In addition, in 1995,
Schobinger devoted a publication specifically
to the history of the mummy of a little girl
found on Chuscha (Schobinger 1993-94), a
snow-capped mountain in northeastern
Argentina, that was removed from the
mountain by treasure hunters in the early
twentieth century. Likewise, in 2004 he edited
the interdisciplinary studies that had been
centered on this mummy, cooperating with
the return of the queen of the mountain to
Salta province.
Beginning in 2000 Schobinger was an
honorary advisor to the Institute of High
Altitude Studies (Instituto de Investigaciones
de Alta Montaa) of the Catholic University
of Salta (UCASAL). He was also an honorary
member of the scientific committee for the
preservation of the frozen mummies that
Johan Reinhard and I discovered and
recovered at the top of the Llullaillaco
volcano. In September 2006, I had the
privilege of teaching a course on mummy
studies with Juan Schobinger under the
auspices of UCASAL. This center of
advanced studies recognized his academic and
teaching careers in designating him a Special
Visiting Professor (Profesor Extraordinario
Visitante) by decree of its rector (resolucin
rectoral 912/06).
Those of us who follow Schobinger in high
mountain archaeology know how to value and
admire the pioneering character of his work.
Among the small family of high altitude
archaeologists Hans had followers and friends,
but no detractors. His contributions also were
appreciated by those who became interested
in the sacred peaks through the sport of
- 16
mountain climbing, as in the cases of Antonio
Beorchia Nigris and Evelio Echeverria, or
through comparative studies of religions, as with
Juan Adolfo Vzquez.2 Among the outstanding
aspects of Schobingers legacy was his
equanimity and and his appreciation of the
problems and difficulties that so frequently color
interactions among archaeologists, as well as his
unshakable predisposition to defend the
profession against attacks suffered out of
ignorance or motivated by special interests.
We who had the welcome privilege of
sharing a field or research trip with Schobinger
know his great love of the land and his romantic
vision of nature and the archaeological record.
He was capable of passing long minutes
contemplating a potsherd. He would celebrate
with a youthful enthusiasm (in spite of his
seventy-odd years) his arrival at some remote
Inca tambo as if it was the first in his life, even
though he had discovered and spent time at
dozens throughout his career. He was enchanted
by rock art, being the eternal lover of symbolism
as manifested by material evidence. Those of us
who accompanied him on mountain expeditions
2
Juan Adolfo Vzquez (b. 1917 in La Plata, Argentina)
is a Professor Emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh who
specializes in the anthropologically and philosophically
informed study of the thought and literature of Amer-
indians and the nature of the sacred. He edited the
journals Notas y Estudios de Filosofa (Tucumn, Argentina
(1949-1954); Revista del Instituto de Filosofa (Crdoba,
Argentina 1958); Boletn de Historia de las Religiones
(Mendoza, Argentina 1960-1966; Latin American Indian
Literatures (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1977-1984); NAOS
(Pittsburgh and Bahia Blanca, Argentina 1984-1996); and
Textos y Contextos. An Interview of Vzquez by Mary H.
Preuss was published in Revista Iberoamericana (number
127, 1984, pp. 571-583) and one by Graciela N.V. Cor-
valn is in Humanismo Siglo XX (edited by Schobinger,
1995, pp. 17-28). An essay by Norma Rusconi, Hu-
manismo y educacin; Labor universitaria de Juan Adolfo
Vzquez en San Juan (1964-1966) in Humanismo Siglo XX
(pp. 31-39) elucidates a brief, but important period of his
life. See also Schobinger (2004-2005) for a brief biography
of Juan Adolfo Vsquez.
17 -
cannot forget the almost ecstatic experience,
worthy of a consummate shaman, which
converted him into a perfect incarnation of an
absent-minded professor. To the despair and
anxiety of fellow expedition members, this
contemplative inclination led him more than
once to lose himself, literally, not just
metaphorically, in the immensity of the
cordillera.
Schobinger was a person who honored his
elders. I remember that on one of my first
visits to Mendoza, while I was preparing my
masters thesis, he insisted, with the
characteristic courtesy with which he normally
hosted his colleagues, in driving me in his car
to the city of San Juan, so that I could get to
know the mummy of the El Toro mountain
and the archaeological museum that housed
it. We were accompanied by Erico Groch, the
mountain climber who, along with Antonio
Beorchia Nigris, discovered the famous
mummy of San Juan. Schobinger managed,
whenever the opportunity permitted, to
overcome the limitations of mobility which
age and fragile health imposed on Don Erico,
so that the old man could visit the lad, as
well as be the guest of honor at an opulent
luncheon after leaving the museum. I believe
that being more than ninety years of age, this
was one of the last opportunities that Don
Erico had to see the mummy, with all that it
signified for him.
In the Andean world, when the elders
depart forever, in reality they become a part of
the highest mountain peaks that are the
protectors of the communities at their feet.
The next time I raise my eyes to Aconcagua,
to el Mercedario, to Negro Overo, to
Aconquija, I wont doubt that these
mountains, who knew how to accept the
footsteps of a dedicated archaeologist in life,
will also accept the immortal spirit of this
great teacher and expert.
Ceruti: Juan Schobinger
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank Clara Abal de Russo, Annette Aguerre, Robert
Brcena, Horacio Chiavazza, Vctor Duran, Jorge Garca
Carbajo, Debora Kligmann, Mercedes Podesta, and the
members of Juan Schobingers family.
Translated from the Spanish by Monica Barnes
WORKS BY AND ABOUT JUAN SANTIAGO REN SCHO-
BINGER3
Grabert, Hellmut and Juan [Santiago Ren] Schobinger
1971 Petroglifos a orillas del ro Madeira (N.O. Brasil).
Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa 24-25:93-112
(Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa, Facultad
de Filosofa y Letras de la Universidad Nacional
de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina).
Hyslop, John and Juan [Santiago Ren] Schobinger
1990 Establecimiento incaico en los nevados de
Aconquija, prov. de Tucumn, Argentina.
Gaceta Arqueolgica Andina 17:67-75.
Schobinger, Juan [Santiago Ren]
1951 La Universidad en su historia. 45 pages. Buenos
Aires: No publisher given.
1952 El sentido geogrfico en las civilizaciones proto-
histricas. Centro (Revista del Centro de Estu-
dios de Filosofa y Letras, Buenos Aires) 3:15-19.
1953 Altamerikanische Steinkunst in Neuquen.
Sudamerika 4(1):49-51.
1954a Arqueologa del territorio del Neuqun. Doctoral
dissertation, Universidad de Buenos Aires.
1954b Arqueologa del territorio del Neuqun.
Neuquenia 5(24):7-8.
1954-55 Ergebnisse der argentinischen urgeschichts-
forschung in den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten.
3
This bibliography is based on one published by the late
Humberto Lagiglia (2005). It has been augmented by
Constanza Ceruti and Monica Barnes with the assistance
of Horacio Chiavazza, Victor Durn, David Fleming, and
Matthias Strecker. Juan Schobingers memory will be
honored at the international congress Archaeology and
Rock Art: 25 Years SIARB to be held June 25-29, 2012
and hosted by the Sociedad de Investigacin del Arte
Rupestre de Bolivia (SIARB), the Programa de
Investigacin Estratgica en Bolivia (PIAB), the Museo
Nacional de Etnografa y Folklore (MUSEF), the Instituto
Francs de Investigacin para el Desarrollo (IRD-Bolivia),
and the International Federation of Rock Art
Organizations (IFRAO), the Espacio Simn I. Patio, the
Brazilian Embassy to Bolivia, and the United States
Embassy to Bolivia.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Jahrbuch der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft fr
Urgeschichte 44:209-220.
1956a La universidad: Ensayo sobre su esencia y
organizacin. 19 pages. Buenos Aires:
Universidad de Buenos Aires.
1956b El arte rupestre del territorio del Neuqun.
Boletin 8:23-25 (Publicaciones del Museo y de
la Sociedad Arqueolgica de La Serena, La
Serena, Chile).
1956c El Arte rupestre de la provincia del Neuqun.
Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa 12:115-227
(Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa,
Facultad de Filosofa y Letras de la
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza,
Argentina).
1956d Una notable miniatura ltica del sur de Men-
doza: Estudios de los hallazgos mobiliares.
Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa 12:302-303
(Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa,
Facultad de Filosofa y Letras de la
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza,
Argentina).
1956e Descubrimientos importantes en prehistoria en
1956: Importante centenario antropolgico
(notes signed J.S.) Anales de Arqueologa y
Etnologa 12:305-312 (Instituto de
Arqueologa y Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa
y Letras de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo,
Mendoza, Argentina).
1956f Las clavas insignias de Argentina y Chile:
Descripcin de nuevos ejemplares de las
provincias del Neuqun y Mendoza; Anlisis
de conjunto Runa 7(2):252-280.
1956-57 Die Bedeutung Oswald Menghins fr die
Erforschung der Steinzeit Sdamerikas.
Quartr: Jahrbuch fr Erforschung des
Eiszeitalters und der Steinzeit 10-11:7-13. Also
published as: Significacin del profesor Dr.
Osvaldo F.A. Menhn para el conocimiento de
la prehistoria sudamericana. Anales de
Arqueologa y Etnologa 14-15:11-18 (1956-57;
Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa, Facultad
de Filosofa y Letras de la Universidad
Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina).
1957a Arqueologa de la provincia del Neuqun:
Estudio de 1os hallazgos mobiliares. Anales de
Arqueologa y Etnologa. 13:5-233 (Instituto de
Arqueologa y Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa
y Letras de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo,
Mendoza, Argentina). Includes mimeographed
supplement.
1957b Sobre antecedentes morfolgicos de las clavas
semilunares ocenico-americanas. Runa 8:270-
276.
- 18
1957c Inmigracin y colonizacin suizas en la Repblica
Argentina en el siglo XIX. Publicacin 1, Instituto
de Cultura Suizo-Argentino, Buenos Aires.
1957d La ms antiguas huellas de pies humanos. Acta
Praehistrica 1:112-117 (Buenos Aires: Centro
Argentino de Estudios Prehistricos).
1957e Una nueva prehistoria de Amrica: Nota
bibliogrfica. Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa
13:241-246 (Instituto de Arqueologa y
Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa y Letras de la
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza,
Argentina).
1958a Fundamentos prehistricos de las civilizaciones
del antiguo oriente. Revista de la Universidad de
Buenos Aires (Quinta poca) 3(1):35-54.
1958b Hallazgos arqueolgicos de la provincia del
Neuqun: Lista descriptiva del material mobiliar.
Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa 13, supplement
(Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Facultad de
Filosofa y Letras, Mendoza, Argentina) 118
pages.
1958c Nociones de arqueologa prehistrica: Con referencia
especial a los yacimientos de la provincia de
Mendoza y zonas vecinas. Mendoza, Argentina:
Sociedad Amigos de la Arqueologa, Publicacin
1 (35 pages).
1958d Prcticas funerarias prehistricas: La llamada
posicin ritual. Mendoza, Argentina: Sociedad
Amigos de la Arqueologa, Publicacin 2 (23
pages).
1958e Introduccin a la antropologa. Mendoza, Argen-
tina: Sociedad Amigos de la Arqueologa, Pub-
licacin 4 (11 pages). An updated version ap-
pears in Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa 27-
28:5-17 (Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa,
Facultad de Filosofa y Letras de la Universidad
Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina; 1972-
73).
1958f Los sistemas funerarios prehistricos y su
elocuente lenguaje. Fronteras Argentinas 6:3-4.
1958-9 Conquistadores, misioneros y exploradores en el
Neuqun: Antecedentes para el conocimiento
etnogrfico del Noroeste patagnico Runa 9(1-
2):107-123.
1959a Esquema de la prehistoria argentina. Ampurias
21:29-67).
1959b Viaje arqueolgico a la provincia del Neuqun.
Anales de Parques Nacionales 8:145-164 (Buenos
Aires).
1959c La araucanizacin y sus problemas. Revista de
Educacin, n.s. 4(3):484-491 (La Plata,
Argentina).
1959-60 Sobre la cronologa prehistrica Argentina
(resea). Acta Praehistrica 3:153-157 (Buenos
Aires).
19 -
1960a Un siglo del nacimiento de la antropologa
prehistrica. Ciencia e Investigacin: Revista
patrocinada por la Asociacin Argentina para el
progreso de las ciencias 16(12):447-456.
1960b El Oreopithecus y el problema del origen del
hombre. Sociedad Amigos de la arqueologa,
publicacin 5 (37 pages; Mendoza, Argentina).
Reprinted as Chapter II in Schobinger 1982b.
1961a Otra vez el hombre fsil de la Argentina:
Reflexiones sobre viejos problemas de la pre-
historia pampeana. Anales de Arqueologa y
Etnologa 16:61-102 (Instituto de Arqueologa
y Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa y Letras de la
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Mendoza,
Argentina).
1961b La arqueologa y el libro Mormn. Anales de
Arqueologa y Etnologa 16:259-265 (Instituto
de Arqueologa y Etnologa, Facultad de
Filosofa y Letras de la Universidad Nacional
de Cuyo. Mendoza, Argentina).
1961c Ameghino como impulsor de la ciencia pre-
histrica. Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa
16:267-272 (Instituto de Arqueologa y
Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa y Letras de la
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza,
Argentina).
1961d Estudios sobre el presapiens. Revista del
Instituto de Antropologa 1(1-2):237-247
(Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Rosario,
Argentina).
1961e A cien aos del nacimiento de la antropologa
prehistrica. Revista de la Universidad de Buenos
Aires (5 epoca) 5(1):82-113.
1961-3a Eine Pfahlbausammlung von Neuenburger See
in der Universitt Erlangen. Acta Praehistrica
5-7:148-161 (Buenos Aires: Centro Argentino
de Estudios Prehistricos).
1961-3b La poca de los palfitos en Europa Central
segn investigaciones recientes. Acta Prae-
histrica 5-7:162-175 (Buenos Aires).
1961-3c El anlisis de sedimentos: Una tcnica
moderna al servicio de la datacin del
Paleoltico Alpino. Acta Praehistrica 5-
7:223-239 (Buenos Aires).
1962a Investigaciones arqueolgicas en las tierras de
San Juan. Los Andes 9(7) (Mendoza,
Argentina).
1962b Representaciones de mscaras en los
petroglifos del occidente argentino. Anthropos
57: 683-699. Reprinted as Chapter III in
Schobinger 1982b.
1962c Consideraciones terminolgicas acerca del
precermico en Sudamerica y sus formas cul-
turales. Ampurias 24:165-168.
Ceruti: Juan Schobinger
1962-3a Nuevos petroglifos de la provincia de Neuqun
Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa, 27-28:151-171
(Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa, Facultad
de Filosofa y Letras de la Universidad Nacional
de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina).
1962-3b Un notable cntaro de la zona cordillerana del
Neuqun. Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa 17-
18:173-178 (Instituto de Arqueologa y
Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa y Letras de la
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza,
Argentina).
1962-3c El 35 Congreso Internacional de Americanistas
(Informe): 19 al 25 de agosto de 1962. Anales de
Arqueologa y Etnologa 17-18:203-207 (Instituto
de Arqueologa y Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa
y Letras de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo
Mendoza, Argentina).
1963 Movimientos tnicos y culturales de Chile;
Mendoza y Neuqun: Sus reflejos arqueolgicos.
Primer Congreso del rea Araucana Argentina
2:225-232 (Neuqun, Argentina).
1964a Investigaciones arqueolgicas en la provincia de
San Juan Repblica Argentina (Informe
preliminar). Actas del XXXV Congreso
Internacional de Americanistas (1962), Volume 1,
pp. 615-619, plus 4 plates (Mxico).
1964b Descubrimiento de una momia del perodo
incaico en la cumbre del cerro El Toro (6300
m.), provincia de San Juan: Informe preliminar.
Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa and
Sociedad Amigos de la Arqueologa, Publicacin
7, Mendoza, Argentina (14 pages plus 12 plates).
Also published as Informe preliminar sobre el
descubrimiento de una momia incaica en el cerro
del Toro (6.300 m., provincia de San Juan, Rep.
(Argentina). In Homenaje a Fernando Mrquez-
Miranda: Arquelogo e historiador de Amrica;
ofrenda de sus amigos y admiradores, pp. 360-369.
Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid,
Seminario de Estudios Americanistas (1964).
1964c Discovery of an Indian Body on Cerro El Toro,
Southern Andes (Argentine Republic). Current
Anthropology 5(5):419.
1966a Nota sobre los petroglifos de Talampaya
(Provincia de La Rioja). Antiquitas 2:1-4 (Buenos
Aires). Reprinted as Chapter IV in Schobinger
1982b.
1966b Aportacin de las ciencias antropolgicas para
un nuevo humanismo. Actas de las Segundas
Jornadas Universitarias de Humanidades, pp. 361-
366 (Facultad de Filosofa y Letras, Universidad
Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina).
1966c Investigaciones arqueolgicas en la Sierra de
Famatina (Prov. de La Rioja). Anales de
Arqueologa y Etnologa 21:139-196 (Instituto de
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Arqueologa y Etnologa. Facultad de Filosofa
y Letras de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo,
Mendoza, Argentina).
1967a El arte rupestre de San Juan y norte de
Mendoza. Etna,1(1):5. (Museo Etnogrfico
Municipal Dmaso Arce, Olavarra,
Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina).
1967b Breve historia de la arqueologa de alta
montaa en los Andes meridionales. Boletn
4:23-35 (Sociedad Arqueolgica de Santiago,
Chile).
1967c Comment: Some Problems in the Physical
Anthropological Study of the Peopling of
America, Comments, and Reply. Current
Anthropology 8(4)307-308.
1968a Arte rupestre del occidente argentino
(suroeste de La Rioja, San Juan y Mendoza).
Actas y Trabajos Cientficos del XXXVII
Congreso Internacional de Americanistas.
Simposio Internacional de Arte Rupestre,
Volume 2, pp. 477-485 (Buenos Aires,
Argentina).
1968b Sudamrica durante el Pleistoceno tardo y el
Holoceno, en relacin con el hombre:
Bosquejo paleogrfico, paleoclimtico y
paleontolgico. Ciencia e Investigacin
24(12):530-546 (Buenos Aires).
1968c Ruinas incaicas en el Cerro Mercedario, 6770
m: Informe sobre la expedicin de Alta
Montaa, 1968. International Congress of
Americanists, XXXVIII, Stuttgart-Mnchen,
Germany, Verhandlungen, Volume 1:429-434.
1969a Prehistoria de Sudamrica: Culturas
precermicas. Barcelona: Nueva Coleccin
Labor 95. Second edition published in Madrid
by Alianza (1988).
1969b La momia del cerro El Toro, y sus relaciones
con otros sitios arqueolgicos de la Cordillera
de Los Andes. (40 pages, 22 figures).
Mendoza, Argentina: Privately Published.
1969c Nociones de arqueologa prehistrica: Gua del
Museo Arqueolgico de la Universidad Nacional
de Cuyo. Mendoza, Argentina: Universidad
Nacional de Cuyo, Departamento de
Extensin Universitaria (59 pages).
1969d Un notable cntaro ceremonial antropomorfo
de la zona cordillerana del Neuqun
(Argentina). Actas del V Congreso de
Arqueologa Chilena, pp. 377-387 (La Serena,
Chile).
1969e Zona Cuyana (Mendoza y San Juan): Sntesis
arqueolgica. Actas del V Congreso de
Arqueologa Chilena, pp. 425-429 (La Serena,
Chile).
- 20
1969-70aUn osario prehistrico en Chacras de Coria
(Mendoza): Informe preliminar. Anales de
Arqueologa y Etnologa 24-25:229-237 (Instituto
de Arqueologa y Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa
y Letras de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo,
Mendoza, Argentina).
1969-70b El Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa: XXX
aniversario, 1940-1970. Anales de Arqueologa y
Etnologa 24-25:255-271 (Instituto de Arque-
ologa y Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa y Letras
de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza,
Argentina).
1969-70cReview of El arte rupestre del Noroeste argentino
by Ana Mara Lorandi. Anales de Arqueologa y
Etnologa 24-25:298-303. (Instituto de Arque-
ologa y Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa y Letras
de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza,
Argentina).
1970 Principales trabajos arqueolgicos de campo
realizados en el N.O., Oeste y S. O. de la
Argentina, entre principios de 1968 y mediados
de 1970: Informe sinttico. Actualidad
Antropolgica. Supplement to Etna 7:8-15
(Museo Etnogrfico Municipal Dmaso Arce,
Olavarra, Provincia de Buenos Aires,
Argentina).
1971a Una punta tipo cola de pescado de la Crucesita
(Mendoza). Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa
26:89-97 (Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa.
Facultad de Filosofa y Letras de la Universidad
Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina).
1971b Arqueologa del valle de Uspallata, provincia de
Mendoza: Sntesis preliminar. Relaciones de la
Sociedad Argentina de Antropologa, n.s. 5(2):71-
84.
1971c Trabajos arqueolgicos de campo en el rea
montaosa occidental de la Argentina. Ciencia e
Investigacin 27(10):413-422 (Buenos Aires).
1971-72 Principales trabajos arqueolgicos de campo
realizados en el rea montaosa occidental de la
Argentina, entre principios de 1968 y mediados
de 1970: Informe sinttico. Ampurias 33-34:347-
356.
1972 El mito platnico de la Atlntida, frente a la
teora de las vinculaciones trasatlnticas
prehistricas entre el Viejo Mundo y Amrica.
Anuario de Estudios Atlnticos 17:347-362
(Primer Simposio Internacional sobre Posibles
Relaciones Trasatlnticas Precolombinas, Islas
Canarias, 1970).
1972-73 Necrologa: Osvaldo F. A. Menghin (1888-
1973); P. Leon Strube Erdmann, S.V.D (1884-
1972); Omar Augusto Barrionuevo (1934-1973);
Ricardo Horacio Castaeda (1919-1974); and
Fritz Krger (1889-1974). Anales de Arqueologa
21 -
y Etnologa 27-28:229-237 (Instituto de
Arqueologa y Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa
y Letras de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo,
Mendoza, Argentina).
1973a Nuevos hallazgos de puntas colas de
pescado, y consideraciones en torno al origen
y dispersin de la cultura de cazadores
superiores toldense (Fell I) en Sudamrica.
Atti del XL Congresso Internazionale degli
Americanisti, Roma-Genova, 1972, Volume 1,
pp. 33-50. Genoa: Tilgher.
1973b Algunos datos e interpretaciones sobre el arte
rupestre del oeste de la Argentina. Estudios
dedicados al Profesor Dr. Luis Pericot, pp. 351-
362. Publicaciones eventuales 23 (Universidad
de Barcelona, Instituto de Arqueologa y
Prehistoria). Reprinted as Chapter VI in
Schobinger 1982b.
1973c Panorama esquemtico de la prehistoria
sudamericana. Informacin Arqueolgica
11:111-116 (Publicacin del Museo
Arqueolgico de Barcelona).
1973d El Orign del Hombre. El Correo de UNESCO,
Libros de Bosillo series 1. Barcelona:
Promocin Cultural. Also published in
Portuguese as Os origens do homen. Rio de
Janiero, R.J.: F.G.V. Editora da Fundao
G e tu l i o Vargas for Inst i t u t o d e
Documentao.
1973e Un dolo menhir del noroestre argentino en
Barcelona. Ampurias 35:249-254.
1973f Principales trabajos arqueolgicos realizados
en la Argentina y el Uruguay en 1971 y 1972.
Ampurias 35:265-278. Also published in
Actualidad Antropolgica 17:1-14 (1975).
1974-75 Prof. Don Osvaldo F.A. Menghin (1888-
1973). Ampurias 36-37:321-326.
1974-6a El enterratorio de Uspallata-Usina-sur (prov.
Mendoza): Estudio de su ajuar funerario.
Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa 29-31:67-89
(Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa Facultad
de Filosofa y Letras de la Universidad
Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina).
1974-6b Vicente Orlando Agero Blanch (1918-1975)
(Necrologa y seleccin bibliografica). Anales
de Arqueologa y Etnologa 29-31:273-275
(Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa Facultad
de Filosofa y Letras de la Universidad
Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina).
1975a Experiencias psquicas y cultos esotricos
reflejados en el arte rupestre sudamericano.
Actes du Symposium International sur les
Religions de la Prhistoire, pp. 491-498
(Valcamnica Symposum, 1972). Capo di
Ponte, Italy.
Ceruti: Juan Schobinger
1975b Prehistoria y protohistoria de la regin cuyana.
Publicacin del Museo de Ciencias Naturales y
Antropolgicas Juan Cornelio Moyano,
Mendoza, Argentina (44 pages).
1975c Arqueologa del Lbano. Ciclo de Conferencias,
1974, pp. 29-44. Unin Libanesa Cultural
Mundial, Filial Mendoza, Argentina.
1976a Pedro Bosch-Gimpera y Osvaldo Menghn, o la
bsqueda de un humanismo antropolgico: In
memoriam Pedro Bosch-Gimpera, 1891-1974, pp.
95-98. Mxico: Universidad Nacional Autnoma
de Mxico.
1976b La mummia del Cerro El Toro: Culti e riti
sacrificali incaici sulle alte cme. Terra Ameriga
37-40:73-88 (Genoa).
1976c Donnes rcentes sur le Palolithique en
Amrique su Sud. IX Congrs de lUnion
Internacionales des Sciences Prhistoriques et
Protohistoriques. Rsums des Communications, p.
252. (Nice, 1976).
1977 Panorama esquemtico de la prehistoria
sudamericana. Revista do CEPA 5:39-49 (Santa
Cruz do Sul, Brazil).
1977-78 Mediterrneos, semitas, celtas y vikingos en
Amrica. Ojeada sobre algunas modernas
expresiones de hiperdifusionismo transatlntico.
Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa 32-33:25-73
(Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa, Facultad
de Filosofa y Letras de la Universidad Nacional
de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina).
1978a Prehistoria Americana. Historia 16, Extra 5
(dedicated to precolumbian cultures), pp. 21-30.
1978b Nuevos lugares con arte rupestre en el extremo
sur de la provincia de Mendoza. Relaciones de la
Sociedad Argentina de Antropologa 12:175-182
(Buenos Aires).
1979a El problema del origen de los ms antiguos cazadores
superiores sudamericanos. III Congreso Nacional
de Arqueologa del Uruguay, Montevideo (1974;
14 pages). Centro de Estudios Arqueolgicos,
Montevideo.
1979b Principales trabajos arqueolgicos realizados en
la Argentina en los aos 1973 y 1974).
Actualidad Antropolgica 19.
1979c Marcelo Brmida, 1925-1978. Boletn 6:17-19.
(Colegio de Graduados de Antropologa, Buenos
Aires).
1980a El enterratorio de Uspallata-Usina-Sur
(Provincia de Mendoza): Estudio de su ajuar
funerario. Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa 29-
31:67-90. (Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa,
Facultad de Filosofa y Letras de la Universidad
Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
1980b Arte Rupestre de la regin cuyana occidental.
Actas de las Primeras Jornadas de Arte Rupestre
de San Luis (1978), pp. 33-41.
1980c Rock Art in Western Argentina: The Andean
Region of Cuyo. Latin American Indian
Literatures 4(1):64-69.
1980d Lart rupestre de la rgion centre-occidentale
de lArgentine. Centenaire de lEnseignement de
la Prhistore a Toulouse: Hommange au
Professeur L. R. Nougier. Travaux de lnstitut
dArt Prehistorique 23:441-450. Toulouse,
France.
1980e Los aportes del Dr. Osvaldo Menghn a la
prehistoria del Viejo Mundo y a la teora
prehistrica general. Sapiens 4:13-18
(Chivilcoy, Provincia de Buenos Aires).
1980f Vikingos en Sudamerica? Ojeada sobre una
reciente teora hiperdifusionista por va
transatlntica. In La Antropologa Americanista
en la Actualidad: Homenaje a Raphael Girard,
Volume 2, pp.357-397. Mxico: Editores
Mexicanos Unidos.
1981-2a Sobre las creaciones plsticas de un area
marginal de la prehistoria: El arte
precolombino de la Argentina. Anales de
Arqueologa y Etnologa 36-37:155-160
(Instituto de Arqueologa y Etnologa,
Facultad de Filosofa y Letras de la
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza,
Argentina).
1981-2b Vikingos en Sudamrica? Una enojosa
polmi- ca. Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa
36-37:177-181 (Instituto de Arqueologa y
Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa y Letras de la
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza,
Argentina.
1982a Estudios de arqueologa sudamericana: Arte
rupestre y santuarios incaicos en el oeste de la
Argentina. San Antonio de Padua, Provincia
de Buenos Aires: Editorial Castaeda.
1982b Vikingos o extraterrestres? Estudio crtico de
algunas teoras recientes sobre el origen y
desarrollo de las culturas precolombinas.
Coleccin Temas Bsicos. Buenos Aires: Ed.
Crea-Huemul.
1982c Los petroglifos del Cerro Tunduqueral,
Uspallata, provincia de Mendoza, Repblica
Argentina. Ars Praehistorica: Anuario
Internacional de Arte Prehistorica. Edited by
Eduardo Ripoll-Perell. Volume 1, pp. 123-
139. Sabadell (Barcelona): Editorial Ausa.
1982d Paleogeografa sudamericana del pleistoceno
tardo y holoceno: Ensayo de sntesis
actualizada. Actas y Memorias del IV Congreso
Nacional de Arqueologa Argentina (Segundo
- 22
parte, 1977). Revista del Museo de Historia Natural
de San Rafael 4:129-154 (San Rafael, Argentina).
1983 Los comienzos del arte rupestre en el norte y
oeste de la Argentina. Homenaje a Martn
Almagro Basch, Volume 4, pp. 297-308. Madrid:
Ed. Ministerio de Cultura.
1983-5 Algunas observaciones terminolgicas sobre la
prehistoria americana. Anales de Arqueologa y
Etnologa 38-40:7-28 (Instituto de Arqueologa y
Etnologa Facultad de Filosofa y Letras de la
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza,
Argentina).
1984a La Patagonia en el marco de la ms antigua
prehistria Americana. In Culturas indgenas de la
Patagnia, edited by J. Roberto Brcenas, pp 145-
160. Biblioteca del Quinto Centenario. Madrid:
Ediciones Cultura Hispnica.
1984b Pre-Columbian Art of Argentina (Review of Arte
Precolombino de la Argetina: Introduccin a su
estudio cultural by Alberto Rex Gonzlez). Latin
American Indian Literatures 8(2):99-103.
1985a Relacin entre los petroglifos del oeste de la
Argentina y los de Chile. Estudios de Arte
Rupestre: Primeras jornadas de arte y arqueologa;
El arte repestre en Chile, Santiago 16 al 19 de
agosto de 1983, edited by Carlos Aldunte del
Solar, Jos Berenguer R. and Victoria Castro R.,
pp. 195-203. Santiago: Museo Chileno de Arte
Precolombino.
1985b Importante hallazgo arqueolgico en el Cerro
Aconcagua. Revista de Arqueologa 52:52-53
(Madrid).
1986 La red de santuarios de alta montaa en el
Contisuyo y el Collasuyo: Evaluacin general,
problemas interpretativos. In El imperio inka:
Actualizacin y perspectiva por registros
arqueolgicos y etnohistricos, pp. 297-317. Special
volume, 45th International Congress of
Americanists. Crdoba, Argentina, 1985.
Bogot.
1988a Prehistoria de Sudamrica: Culturas precermicas.
Amrica series 15. Madrid: Editorial Alianza.
1988b Panorama esquemtico de la prehistoria
sudamericana. Comechingonia 6:7-18.
1988c Una nuova mummia di alta montagna.
Lumana avventura, autumn issue pp. 70-83.
1988d EL arte rupestre del rea subandina: Casos
nterpretables como expresin de vivencias
shamnicas. Contribuciones al estudio del arte
rupestre sudamericano 2:36-53. La Paz: SIARB.
Also published in LAnthropologie 92(1):361-370
(Pars, 1990).
1988-89 Actividades arqueolgicas en el extremo sur
americano (1988-1989): Informe (Report sent to
several foreign publications).
23 -
1989 200.000 aos del hombre en Amrica: que
pensar? In Espacio, Tiempo y Forma,
Prehistrica Series 1, pp. 375-395 (Madrid:
Universidad Nacional a Distancia).
1990a Algunas observaciones terminolgicas sobre la
prehistoria americana. Clio, Serie Arqueolgica
1(6):7-29.
1990b La Patagonia en el marco de la ms antigua
prehistoria americana. In Culturas indgenas de
la Patagonia, edited by J. Roberto Brcenes, pp.
151-168. Madrid: Sociedad Estatal Quinto
Centenario and Turner Libros S.A.
1991a Las ruinas incaicas de los Nevados de
Aconquija (Provincia de Tucumn): Informe
preliminar. Imperio Inka 2:15-30 (special issue
of Comechingonia).
1991b Sacrifices of the High Andes. Natural History,
91/4:-68.
1992a Las religiones precolombnas (76 pages). Buenos
Aires: Editorial Almagesto.
1992b The American Religions. Chapter 1 of The
Church in Latin-America, by Enrique D.
Dussel, pp. 23-42. A History of the Church in
the Third World series, Volume 1. Tunbridge
Wells, United Kingdom: Burns & Oates and
Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books. Also
published in Italian as Le religioni amerindie
in La Chiesa in America Latina: 1492-1992; il
rovescio della storia, pp. 51-83. Asisi, Italy:
Citadella Editrice (1992) and in Portuguese as
Os religioes amerindias in Historia liberationis:
500 anos de histria da igreja na Amica Latina,
pp. 35-68. So Paulo: Edies Paulinas (1992).
1993a La Amrica Precolombina. In Historia
Universal, Volume 1, Prehistoria, pp. 342-379.
Barcelona: Editorial Thema.
1993b Arqueologa de alta montaa: Santuarios
incaicos en los Andes centro-meridionales.
Beitrage zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichende
Archologie 18:363-399 (Bonn, Germany).
1993-94 Informe sobre la relocalizacin de un hallazgo
de alta montaa del Noroeste Argentino: La
llamada momia de los Quilmes. Acta
Archaeologica Carpathica 32: 113-124 (Cracow,
Poland). Also published in Comechingonia
8:47-67 (1995).
1994a The First Americans. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Eerdmans Publishing Company. Italian
language version published as I primi americani.
Origni series. Milan: Editoriale Jaca Book
(1994).
1994b La reunin internacional sobre el poblamiento
americano (Sao Raimundo Nonato, Brasil,
1993), Boletn 8:32-36 (SIARB, La Paz,
Bolivia).
Ceruti: Juan Schobinger
1994c Participacin en el Panel II (La Legislacin y su
relacin con el patrimonio cultural y natural). II
Jornadas La Cultura, fundamento de la
Democracia, pp. 89-93. Buenos Aires: H.
Senado de la Nacin, Comisin de Cultura.
1995a Aconcagua: Un enterratorio incaico a 5300 metros
de altura (48 pages). Mendoza: Privately
published.
1995b Valcamnica Symposium 1994. Boletn 9:27-28
(SIARB, La Paz, Bolivia).
1995c El arte rupestre ms antiguo de Amrica: Una
ojeada sinttica. Boletn 9:36-40 (SIARB. La Paz,
Bolivia). English-language version published as
The Earliest Rock Art in the Americas: South
America. Rock Art Research 221(2):134-135.
1996a The Earliest Rock Art in the Americas: South
America. XIII UISPP Congress (Forli, Italy,
1996), Colloqia 8: Art in the Paleolithic and
Mesolithic. Coloquium 16:127-132.
1996b Le peuplement de lAmrique du Sud: Nouvelles
donns. XIII UISPP Congress (Forli, Italy, 1996).
Abstracts:506-508.
1997 Arte prehistrico de Amrica. Mxico: Consejo
Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes. An Italian
language version was published as Larte dei primi
americani. Corpus Precolombiano series. Milan:
Editorial Jaca Books (1997). An English
language version was published as The Ancient
Americans: A Reference Guide to the Art, Culture,
and History of Pre-Columbian North and South
America. Translated by Carys Evans-Corrales.
Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe (2001).
1998a La momia del Cerro Aconcagua (Mendoza). In
Arqueologa de Mendoza, by J. Roberto Brcena,
pp. 1-18 (Primer Congreso Nacional de
Estudiantes de Arqueologa, Agosto, Mendoza,
Argentina). Mendoza, Argentina: EDIUNC.
1998b La prehistoria como primer captulo de la Histor-
ia Universal. Investigaciones y Ensayos 47:557-
574. Buenos Aires: Academia Nacional de la
Historia.
1999a Los santuarios de altura incaicos y el Aconcagua:
Aspectos generales e interpretativos. Relaciones
de la Sociedad Argentina de Antropologa 24:7-27.
1999b Las tierras cuyanas. In Nueva Historia de la
Nacin Argentina, Volume 1, pp. 159-180.
Buenos Aires: Planeta for the Academia
Nacional de Historia.
1999c El territorio y la poblacin aborgen. Buenos Aires:
Academia Nacional de la Historia and Editorial
Planeta.
1999d Los poblaciones indgenas de Mendoza a travs
del tiempo. In Guanache: Fidel Roig Matns,
pintor del desierto by Fidel Antonio Roig, Arturo
Andrs Roig, Mario Roig, Virgilio Germn Roig,
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
and Enrique Franck Roig with M. Gmez de
Rodrguez Brito, E. M. Abraham de Vzquez,
M. R. Del Prieto, and Juan Schobinger, pp.
127-129. Mendoza, Argentina: Arte Series,
EDIUNC for the Universidad Nacional de
Cuyo.
2002 Arte rupestre del Departamento de Malarge.
In Entre montaas y desiertos: arqueologa del sur
de Mendoza, edited by Adolfo F. Gil and
Gustavo A. Neme, pp. 181-194. Buenos Aires:
Sociedad Argentina de Antropologa, Buenos
Aires.
2004-5a Breve curriculum vitae de Juan Adolfo
Vzquez. Cuyo. Annuario de Filosofa Argentina
y Americana 21-22:93-95.
2004-5b Las ltimas publicaciones de Juan Adolfo
Vzquez: Breve comentario. Cuyo. Annuario de
Filosofa Argentina y Americana 21-22:127-132.
2008 Antropologa y Etnologa, Prehistoria y
Arqueologa. Tres Textos sobre Aspectos
Conceptuales y Terminolgicos. Mendoza,
Argentina: Editorial de la Facultad de Filosofa
y Letras. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo.
In press Arqueologa y arte rupestre de la regin cuyana.
Mendoza, Argentina: Editorial de la Facultad
de Filosofa y Letras. Universidad Nacional de
Cuyo.
Schobinger, Juan [Santiago Ren], Editor
1966 La momia del cerro El Toro: Investigaciones
arqueolgicas en la cordillera de la Provincia de
San Juan. Supplement to Volume 21 of the
Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa (Facultad de
Filosofa y Letras, Universidad Nacional de
Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina). Second revised,
corrected, and expanded edition published
(2009) in Coleccin Cumbre Andina.
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza,
Argentina: Editorial de la Facultad de Filosofa
y Letras.
1995 Humanismo Siglo XX: Estudios dedicados a Dr.
Juan Adolfo Vzquez. San Juan, Argentina:
Editorial Fundacin Universidad de San Juan.
1997 Shamanismo Sudamericano. Buenos Aires:
Editorial Almagesto-Continente.
2001-3 El santuario incaico del Nevado de Chuscha
(zona limtrofe Salta-Catamarca). In Anales de
Arqueologa y Etnologa 56-58 (Instituto de
Arqueologa y Etnologa, Facultad de Filosofa
y Letras de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo,
Mendoza, Argentina). Buenos Aires and Men-
doza: Ed. Fundacin CEPPA (Centro de Estu-
dios para Polticas Pblicas Aplicadas).
- 24
Juan [Santiago Ren] Schobinger and Clara Abal de
Russo
2009 Las Religiones Precolombinas y la Cultura de
Chavn. Mendoza, Argentina: Ediciones La
Aldaba and Editorial de la Facultad de Filosofa
y Letras. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo.
Juan [Santiago Ren] Schobinger, Clara Abal de Russo,
Mnica Ampuero, and Graciela N. Arenas
2001 El santuario incaico del cerro Aconcagua. Men-
doza, Argentina: EDIUNC (Ed. de la Universi-
dad Nacional de Cuyo).
Schobinger, Juan [Santiago Ren] and Clara Abal de
Russo
2009 Las religiones precolombinas y la cultura de Chavn.
Coleccin Jarilla. Mendoza, Argentina: Edi-
ciones La Aldaba and Editorial de la Facultad de
Filosofa y Letras, Universidad Nacional de
Cuyo. Mendoza, Argentina.
Schobinger, Juan [Santiago Ren], Mnica Ampuero, and
Eduardo Guercio
1985 Descripcin de las estatuillas que conforman el
ajuar acompaante del fardo funerario hallado
en el Cerro Aconcagua (Prov. de Mendoza).
Relaciones de la Sociedad Argentina de Antropologa
16:175-190 (Buenos Aires).
Schobinger, Juan [Santiago Ren] and J. Roberto Brcena
1972-73 El tambo incaico de Tambillitos (Provinica de
Mendoza, Argentina). Actas del VI Congreso de
Arqueologa de Chile, pp. 397-404. Santiago de
Chile.
Schobinger, Juan [Santiago Ren], J. Roberto Brcena,
and Jorge Fernndez
1974 Excavacin arqueolgica del sitio precermico
Espinazo del Diablo, Mina Aguilar, Provincia
de Jujuy. Relaciones de la Sociedad Argentina de
Antropologa, n.s. 8:89-99.
Schobinger, Juan [Santiago Ren] and M. Costanza Ceruti
2001 Arqueologa de alta montaa en los Andes
argentinos. In Historia Argentina Prehispnica,
edited by Eduardo E. Berberin, Axel E. Nielsen,
and Mara Ester Albeck, et al. Volume 1:523-
559. Crdoba, Argentina: Editorial Brujas.
Schobinger, Juan [Santiago Ren] and S. Gopinathan
1977 The Emergence of Man. Tangents Series 12.
Singapore: Federal Publications. Also published
in Indonesian as Muculnya manusia (with H.P.
Idris M.T.). Jakarta: Balai Pustaka (1987).
Schobinger, Juan [Santiago Ren] and Carlos J. Gradin
1985 Cazadores de la Patagonia y agricultores andinos:
Arte rupestre de la Argentina. Las Huellas del
Hombre Series. Madrid: Ediciones Encuentro.
Also published in French and in Italian by
Editoriale Jaca Book, Miln.
25 - Ceruti: Juan Schobinger

Schobinger, Juan [Santiago Ren] and Amalia Menecier

de Barionuevo
1992 Observaciones sobre algunos lugares arqueo-
lgicos del valle de Catamarca y alrededores.
Shincal 2:54-60 (Catamarca, Argentina).
Schobinger, Juan [Santiago Ren] and Matthias
Strecker
2001 Andean South America. In Handbook of Rock
Art Research, edited by David S. Whitley, pp.
707-759. Walnut Creek, California: Altamira
Press.
Vzquez, Juan Adolfo
2004-05 Anexo Documental: Aspectos de mi ideario
personal: Una conversacin filosfica con Juan
Schobinger. Cuyo: Anuario de Filosofa
Argentina y Americana 21/22:133-142.

WORKS ABOUT JUAN SANTIAGO REN SCHOBINGER

Abal, Clara M.
2009a Juan Schobinger (1928-2009): Nuestro adis
a un caballero de la ciencia. Revista Chungar
41(2):179-182.
2009b Adis a Juan Schobinger. Diario Los Andes,
Seccin Cultura, 25 July.
Barberena, Ramiro
2008 Vida de un arquelogo, petroglifos y santuarios
de alta montaa: Entrevista con el Dr. Juan S.
Schobinger. Relaciones de la sociedad argentina
de antropologa 23:1-15.
Brcena, Roberto
2009 Permanence en nosotros. Diario Los Andes,
Seccin Culturas, 25 July.
Lagiglia, Humberto
2005 Juan Santiago Ren Schobinger, arquelogo.
In Anales de Arqueologa y Etnologa 59-60:7-
27 (Facultad de Filosofa y Letras, Universidad
Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina).
Podesta, Mercedes
2009 Obituario de Juan Schobinger. Revista de
Arqueologa 15 (Buenos Aires).
Rivera, Mario A., with Roberto Brcena and Mara
Rosario Prieto
2009 Juan Santiago Ren Schobinger: 1928-2009.
The Archaeological Record 9(5):7, 44 (Society
for American Archaeology, Washington,
D.C.).
Strecker, Matthias
2009a Hans (Juan) Schobinger, 1928-2009. Rock Art
Research 26(2):243.
2009b En memoriam: Hans (Juan) Schobinger (1928-
2009). Boletn 23:12-14 (SIARB, La Paz,
Bolivia).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 26

Juan Schobinger, Keynote Speaker at a Latin American Indian Literatures Association meeting
during a reception in his honor, International Headquarters
of the Society of Woman Geographers, Washington, D.C. (2000).
From viewers left to right: Monica Barnes, Luis Arrata, Mary Preuss, and Juan Schobinger.
 A CHANGING SOCIETY?
CRAFT SPECIALIZATION AND COMPLEMENTARITY SYSTEMS DURING THE FORMATIVE PERIOD
IN THE COCHABAMBA VALLEY, BOLIVIA
INTRODUCTION
The Cochabamba Valley system consists of
five separate valleys (the Valle Central or Cen-
tral Valley, the Valle Alto or High Valley, and
the Sacaba, Santivaez, and Capinota Valleys),
all located at altitudes between 2400 and 2700
meters above mean sea level (m.a.s.l.) in the
eastern slopes of the Bolivian Andes (Figure 1).
The valleys have mild temperatures and fertile
soils, and were densely populated throughout
ancient times. Nevertheless, apart from the sites
of Incarracay (Inkaraqay) and Incallajta (Inka-
llacta)1 with their Inca architecture, no large
monumental sites exist in the greater area, and,
thus, many of the scholars and explorers of the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
neglected them.
The regional Formative Period dates roughly
from 1500 B.C. to A.D. 200, and is subdivided
into Early, Middle, and Late phases (Brocking-
ton et al. 1985, 1987, 1995). Until the end of
the twentieth century, the Cochabamba societ-
ies of the first two millennia B.C. were often
depicted as homogeneous, non-stratified agricul-
turalist groups, as deduced by their use of mono-
chrome pottery and their lack of monumental
1
Incarracay is in the western hills of the Central Valley 30
kilometers from Cochabamba. Incallajta is approximately
120 kilometers to the east of the Central Valley. For a
discussion of the site of Incallajta and a reconstruction on
paper of its kallanka or great hall, see Lee (1998).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012): 27-67.
OLGA U. GABELMANN
Freie Universitt Berlin
architecture. This vision is largely influenced by
cultural evolutionists theories from the last half
of the nineteenth century and the first half of
the twentieth, and was maintained for decades
by many scholars in Bolivia. However, detecting
social complexity may be ultimately a matter of
selecting the appropriate parameters, as current
investigations show. This paper explicitly
investigates socio-economic processes through
the evidence for early craft specialization and
specific systems of social and economic interac-
tion discovered at the archaeological site of
Santa Luca in the High Valley of Cochabamba.
Eventually, studies of socio-economic organiza-
tion during the Formative Period will be key to
understanding socio-political and economic
mechanisms in subsequent times, such as the
Early Intermediate Period and the Middle
Horizon.
HISTORY OF FORMATIVE PERIOD RESEARCH
IN COCHABAMBA
In the 1930s, Wendell C. Bennett, during
excavation at the Colcapirhua mound in the
Central Valley (Figure 1), accidentally detected
the earliest Formative Period evidence as mani-
fested in monochrome pottery and stone tools
(Bennett 1936:381-386). Lacking the existence
of a local sequence at that time, he regarded the
Formative finds as belonging to a post-Tiwanaku
or Guarani Phase. Subsequent research in the
early 1950s by Stig Rydn revealed a similar
monochrome ceramic style (Rydn 1952, 1961)
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 28

at Chullpapampa. This site is a few kilometers
up the valley from Colcapirhua, at the foot of
the Cerro Tunari (Figure 1). Contrary to
Bennett, Rydn was convinced that the mono-
chrome ceramic style must be older than
Tiwanaku, and may have influenced the later
period (as in the case of the Grey Ware pottery
in Mizque, see Rydn 1961:50).
In the 1950s and 1960s, Dick Edgar Ibarra
Grasso, founder and first director of the
archaeological museum in Cochabamba (now
the Instituto de Investigaciones Anthropolgias
y Museo Arqueolgico Geraldine Byrne de
Caballero or INIAM), conducted investigations
at numerous sites in the Cliza area, among them
Santa Luca and Chullpa Pata in the High
Valley (Figure 1) where he found pottery similar
to the Chullpapampa style (e.g. Ibarra 1955,
1956, 1964, 1965:82; Ibarra and Querejazu
1986:150). Even though his publications lack a
description of his methodical approach, maps,
and other detailed site information, Ibarra
Grasso was the first to present an overview of
the period of an emerging sedentary society
using monochrome pottery. He was also the first
to provide absolute radiocarbon dates from
Cliza, establishing the end of this early period at
around A.D. 280 (Ibarra 1962: Table 1:1).
In view of the stone tools found, he ascribed
the economic basis to agriculture. Because these
people inhabited mound-like settlements, he
named them the Cultura de los tmulos (Mound
Culture). In agreement with scholars including
Carlos Ponce Sangins and Max Portugal Ortiz,
he deduced a common tradition among the
contemporary groups of the southern altiplano,
subsumed under the name Wankarani, whose
settlements also consisted of stratified mounds
and whose pottery was likewise monochrome
(Ponce 1970; Portugal 1998:9-20; cf. Walter
1966). The find of a single large stone stela in
Sierra Mokho in the Central Valley (Ibarra
1964) slightly resembling the Wankarani llama
effigy heads (cf. Guerra 1994: figure 3-16; Portu-
gal 1998:11-20) supported his hypothesis. It
even tempted Ibarra Grasso also to use the term
Cultura megaltica. Nevertheless, Heinz Walter
(1966:118) opposed the idea of a common
culture shared by Cochabamba and Wankarani,
based solely on the use of monochrome ceram-
ics. In fact, the pottery and artifacts of both
groups seemed quite different to him.

Location Sample Lab No. Radiocarbon Calibrated Calibrated Published Publication

Age (1 F)* (2 F)* date
1 Chullpa Pata Wood charcoal M-510 1680300 B.P. 1-700 A.D. 400 B.C.-1000 280 A.D. Ibarra Grasso 1962
A.D.
2 Chullpa Pata Mound II Charred Schinus molle Hv-116 185090 B.P. 60-260 A.D. 50-330 A.D. 11090 A.D. Walter 1966
seeds
3 Sierra Mokho Level 32 Wood charcoal GX-12134 2850245 B.P. 1400-800 B.C. 1700-400 B.C. 1125 B.C. Brockington et al.
1985, 1987
4 Conchupata Burial 5 ? GX-13883 262585 B.P. 820-540 B.C. 850-410 B.C. 802 B.C. Pereira et al. 1992
5 Conchupata Burial 15 ? GX-13885 289085 B.P. 1130-890 B.C. 1260-810 B.C. 1187-1080 Pereira et al. 1992
B.C.
6 Choroqollo Wood charcoal KN-5374 310855 B.P. 1400-1300 B.C. 1420-1250 B.C. 132756 B.C. Gabelmann 2001
7 Santa Lucia SL-C24 Wood charcoal Gd-15964 267085 B.P. 930-770 B.C. 1050-500 B.C. Gabelmann 2008a
Gabelmann et al.
2009
8 Santa Lucia SL-C41 Wood charcoal Gds-378 250050 B.P. 770-540 B.C. 790-480 B.C. Gabelmann 2008a
Gabelmann et al.
2009
9 Santa Lucia SL-C20 Wood charcoal Gds-370 246540 B.P. 760-510 B.C. 770-410 B.C. Gabelmann 2008a
Gabelmann et al.
2009
10 Santa Lucia SL-C2 Wood charcoal Gd-15881 2060100 B.P. 200 B.C.-60 370 B.C.-130 Gabelmann 2008a
A.D. A.D. Gabelmann et al.
2009
Table 1: Radiocarbon dates mentioned in the text (* calibrated with OxCal 3.10).
29 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba
Heinz Walter formed part of the German
Mission, led by Hans Dietrich Disselhoff in
1958, who investigated four sites in Bolivia
(Wankarani, Chullpa Pata, Mizque, and Icla)
(Walter 1966). With the participation of Ibarra
Grasso the team investigated the site of Chullpa
Pata near Cliza in the High Valley (Figure 1).
On an alluvial terrace to the east of the village
they noticed eight mounds. They chose the
smallest two for their excavations (ibid:122).
These produced the first evidence of domestic
architecture (house floors) in an early settle-
ment. Walter noted a resemblance between the
pottery from the Central Valley and the High
Valley and named this style Chullpapampa
Monochrome (ibid:164). The upper layers of the
mounds contained sherds of the polychrome
Tupuraya style (cf. Rydn 1959) and were dated
to the beginning of the second century A.D.
(Table 1). Combining the stratigraphic informa-
tion from Chullpa Pata with the excavations of
Bennett and Rydn in Chullpapampa and
Colcapirhua enabled Walter to establish a local
sequence that placed the Chullpapampa Mono-
chrome Style earlier than the polychrome Tupu-
raya style (Walter 1966:180). This chronology
is still valid. It was only refined in absolute-
chronological terms during later investigations.
In the 1980s, Donald Brockington, David
Pereira, and other staff members of the Cocha-
bamba archaeological museum launched the
Proyecto Formativo, dedicated to a more sys-
tematic investigation of previously known sites
in the Central and High Valleys. The team
changed Ibarra Grassos terms Megalithic or
Tumulus Culture, as well as Walters
Chullpapampa Monochrome Style, to the
more common designation, Formative Period.
Their first excavation took place in the multi-
component mound of Sierra Mokho in the
Central Valley (Figure 1), which yielded the
complete prehistoric occupation sequence.
Based on their ceramic analysis and radiocarbon
dates, they established an absolute chronology
for the valleys (Brockington et al. 1985, 1987,
1995). Their Formative Period was somewhat
arbitrarily divided into Early, Middle, and Late
Phases; their ceramic types showed hardly any
changes throughout the period. Nevertheless,
the beginning of their Middle Phase around 500
B.C. (Brockington et al.: 1995) was based on the
appearance of a new ceramic type in Sierra
Mokho (tipo 7; Brockington et al. 1987:33). In
the lower levels, which were dated to approxi-
mately 1125 B.C. (Table 1) they found altiplano
type pottery, probably of Wankarani origin,
indicating long-distance trade between the
valleys and the highlands.
Furthermore, the same team found a hint of
the existence of public or ceremonial architec-
ture in Chullpa Pata, where they investigated a
third mound that had not been excavated by
the German Mission. According to Brocking-
tons team, a small trench revealed part of a
four-step terraced construction consisting of
stones and clay with a sherd paving (pozo 1;
Brockington et al. 1985:4, 1995:11). Unfortu-
nately, this construction was never the subject
of further investigation, and, therefore, its size
and function remain unknown.
An outstanding initiative of the Proyecto
Formativo is the excavation of the Conchupata
burial site in the Mizque Valley with its abun-
dant grave goods made from sodalite and Pacific
shells, and dating to between 1180 and 800 B.C.
(Table 1). Fieldwork in the burial mound took
place in 1986 under the leadership of the Pro-
yecto Formativo. It is the first and the only
comprehensive study to date of the Formative
Period burial pattern in the greater Cochabamba
area. Mizque is 140 kilometers to the southeast
of Cochabamba, but in terms of access to pres-
tige goods like marine shell, the Cochabamba
Valleys may well have played an important role
as a corridor for long-distance exchange.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
In the late 1990s, excavations conducted by
the present author in Choroqollo in the
Santivaez Valley (Figure 1) provided the first
evidence of pottery production in the Formative
Period of Cochabamba (Gabelmann 2001).
Tools, over-fired sherds, and clay slag attested
to the activity of potters. Even though it was not
possible to determine its mode of production
and range of distribution, it seems that the
pottery was spread over the whole valley, and
even into the Capinota Valley as can be de-
duced by rim forms (cf. Higueras 1996;
McAndrews and Rivera 2007). Choroqollo was
dated to an Early Formative phase (Table 1) and,
therefore, is contemporaneous with the lower
levels of Sierra Mokho (Levels 29-33; Brocking-
ton et al. 1985, 1987). In Choroqollo, a small
percentage of pottery also appeared that could be
assigned to the Wankarani Type, indicating
exchange with altiplano groups during an Early
Formative phase between 1300 and 1000 B.C.
Also during the 1990s, extensive surveys were
conducted in the valleys of Santivaez (Vetters
and Sanzetenea 1996), Capinota and Mizque
(Higueras 1996, 2001) as well as in the western-
most part of the Central Valley (Gyarmati et al.
1999). These investigations contributed to the
picture of a rather common land use strategy, as
Higueras (1996) suggests, with a settlement
preference for poorer soils in the piedmont area
in all the valleys. At first sight, this may point to
a population engaged primarily in agriculture,
which erected their settlements on poorer soils,
thus sparing the fertile soils for plant cultivation.
However, a closer look at the nature of Forma-
tive Period settlements reveals different types that
may vary from valley to valley.
The elevated mound sites, depicted by Ibarra
Grasso as the main components of his early
Tumulus Culture, seem to characterize a
certain landscape management strategy during
the Formative Period. They are not in the pied-
mont area, but rather appear in valley bottoms
- 30
close to rivers or areas with a high ground water
table prone to periodic flooding. This includes
the zone between Sipe Sipe, Quillacollo, and
Colcapirhua in the Central Valley, where various
mountain streams cross the bottom of the valley
in a north-south direction (Figure 1). Interest-
ingly, these mound settlements always show
occupation in later periods. About 48 of such
multi-component mound sites have been re-
ported in this area (Cspedes et al. 1994:3, map
3). In contrast, the piedmont settlements tend to
be occupied only in the Formative Period.
Multi-component mound sites are less fre-
quent in the High Valley. Eight examples have
been registered to date, and all are located on the
now densely populated alluvial terrace cut by the
Cliza River between Chullpa Pata (Figure 2:
VA_144) and Cruz Pata. The locations of these
mounds share the same geographic characteris-
tics. As in the Central Valley they are close to a
river flood plain. In the Cliza area also, these
mounds were occupied beyond the Formative
Period, maybe even until the Middle Horizon. In
contrast, the neighboring site of Santa Luca
shows a different settlement type, because it is
not a mound site, and it is not in the foothills
(Figures 1, 3). Its location on the slightly elevated
edge of a large alluvial fan only three kilometers
to the west of the Cliza River may have prevented
flooding, and thus made mound construction
unnecessary. Also, Santa Luca is not a multi-
component site, and so there may have been
insufficient time for mound formation from
occupation debris. It was never re-occupied after
the Formative Period.
It seems that the settlement types differ from
valley to valley according to specific geographic
conditions. The amount of flowing water and the
water table are (and always were) higher in the
Central Valley, necessitating greater mound
constructions in prehistory. The High Valley
seems to have been drier, because mound con-
structions appear only in the river area south of
31 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba
Cliza. However, the Central Valley did not yield
multi-component mound sites exclusively. Here
single-component, flat Formative Period sites
also exist on alluvial cones in the foothill areas
(e.g. Chullpapampa; for others see Gyarmati et al.
1999:27). Ibarra Grasso did not differentiate
between site types, because his focus was on the
characteristic mound structures. Meanwhile,
even Formative Period hilltop sites have been
reported (Higueras 1996). However, the question
of whether the different site types represent
different functions or ranks in terms of social
complexity has not yet been sufficiently investi-
gated, but the construction of mounds represents
not only an adaptation to flooding, but also a
sign of collective labor.
Thus, the picture of the Formative Period in
Cochabamba was far from clear at the end of the
1990s. Because the valleys lacked impressive
characteristics like the monumental architecture
of Chiripa, or the lithic camelid effigy heads of
the Wankarani groups, the image of these early
groups as local phenomena of emerging seden-
tary and self-sufficient agriculturalists persisted.
Their use and production of monochrome
pottery, which differed so much from the subse-
quent polychrome styles of the Early Intermedi-
ate Period like Tupuraya, Sauces, and Mojocoya,
did not tempt many scholars to revise the com-
paratively low socio-economic status associated
with the societies in the eastern slopes of the
south-central Andes compared to contemporary
societies on the Peruvian coast, for example. This
vision was deeply rooted in strong concepts of
peripheral locations as opposed to core established across the surface, and all architec-
regions. However, as shown above, the available
data do not necessarily support such a negative
image.
There is clear evidence indicating continuous
exchange and communication between different
societies in the south-central Andes. Moreover,
there was organized access to prestige goods from
as far as the altiplano, the lowlands, and even the
Pacific coast; hence, Cochabamba was incorpo-
rated in supra-regional trade systems. Unfortu-
nately, the social organization of the valleys
inhabitants themselves has never received any
systematic assessment. Was agriculture their only
economic subsistence? Did they produce pottery
only for their own use? Were they really self-
sufficient, non-stratified, agrarian societies that
persisted in this state until the Early Intermedi-
ate Period? The Santa Luca Project sought to
focus this blurred picture, and to conduct
research at a pottery production site, to shed
light on the socio-economic structures of the
Formative Period, such as its specialized manu-
facturing and organization, and their social and
economic interaction spheres.
SANTA LUCA
The Valle Alto or High Valley is the largest
of the five Cochabamba valleys. It is approxi-
mately 40 kilometers long and 15 kilometers
wide, at an average altitude of 2700 m.a.s.l.
(Figures 1, 3). Santa Luca is located in the valley
bottom. It is an extraordinarily large settlement,
not only compared to other Formative Period
sites, but also to sites of later periods. It covers
16 hectares, of which only 10.8 hectares were
undisturbed and could be investigated (Figure 4).
The surface is covered with a dense scatter of
ceramics and other artifacts, as well as the rem-
nants of structures (Figures 3, 4, 5). The Santa
Luca Project thus focused on the first systematic
intra-site analysis of a Formative Period settle-
ment in the region. A twenty-meter grid was
ture was mapped to analyze spatial and func-
tional divisions. Systematic and diagnostic collec-
tions were made in 10 by 10 meter units.
Evidence of pottery production was visible in
the remnants of more than two hundred heavily
eroded firing facilities or kilns, which mainly
consisted of a clay platforms (Figures 4, 6). The
facilities present circular or oval forms with
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
diameters between 0.80 to 3.80 meters. Because
these features have been eroded, their original
forms remains unclear. Fired daub fragments
with imprints of cane found in the upper debris
layer point to rather sophisticated kiln structures
above the platforms. The existence of a closed
kiln structure can be ruled out, however, because
there was no antechamber for fuel. In addition,
the pottery shows quite striking fire-clouds and
cracks due to lack of control over the firing
temperature and atmosphere, suggesting that the
kilns were open (Rice 1987:155). It seems that
the firing facilities consisted of a platform with
low walls, or a kind of modeled basin. Some
facilities presented multiple platforms indicating
that they were remodeled after a certain time.
One platform even showed depressions, possibly
for the firing of large storage vessels with round
bases (Figure 6, right). This demonstrates that
the potters used quite a sophisticated technology
for the open fire or bonfire method, which safe approach to the fire, they may be ceramic
was suitable for repetitive application (Gabel-
mann 2008b).
Additionally, circular stone foundations with
diameters of 2 to 6 meters appear on the surface
of the site. They consist of either ring-shaped wall
foundations or circular pebble layers. The latter
may have formed the foundations of now-eroded
clay floors. The larger structures may have served
as domestic buildings, as is the case with struc-
ture C5 that has a clay floor and a central post
hole (Figure 5). Smaller ones could be inter-
preted as huts, sheds, or animal pens.
The mapping of all the structures revealed a
surprising picture, with three different functional
sectors (Figure 4). The concentration of large and
small circular stone structures visible in the
center can be interpreted as the domestic sector.
This area is surrounded by the production sector,
which mainly consists of firing facilities and
smaller structures. The periphery shows ash
mounds in a semi-circle, which served as a dump
site and burial ground.
- 32
The artifacts found on the surface were made
from stone, semi-precious stone, shell, bone, and
ceramics. More evidence of pottery production
was present in the form of tools and over-fired
sherds. Shaping tools of modified sherds have
been used to finish the surface of the raw vessels
before applying the slip (Figure 7). Small stone
scrapers may have served for cutting the coils and
taking off excess clay when shaping the pots.
Other important finds that could be linked to
pottery production are incised, slightly conical
ceramic tubes that may have been used for
igniting the combustible materials when firing
the vessels (Figure 8). The diameters of the tubes
range from 2.8 to 6 centimeters. Unfortunately,
only fragments were found in Santa Luca, hence
their original lengths are unknown. However,
examples in the INIAM museum show total
lengths of between18 to 38 centimeters. While
these lengths may not have been sufficient for a
tips or tuyeres, which were elongated with reed
or totora for this purpose.
The mapping of superficial artifacts was seen
as problematic because of erosion, mainly due to
heavy precipitation during rainy seasons, and the
subsequent possibility of water transport. Parts of
the site are, indeed, heavily eroded, and with the
drain direction towards the northeast one would
expect a greater density of artifacts in the north-
eastern sector of the site. The density of material
in that sector was high, but other sectors less
affected by possible water transport, such as the
southwestern sector, showed high densities, too
(Table 2). Though we cannot discard the possibil-
ity of a surface pattern formed by erosion, the
fact that with every heavy rainfall new artifacts
appeared on the surface implies that the pattern
may not have drastically changed. Additionally,
the inclination of the site is not steep, and in
some areas grass may have prevented water
transport. Artifacts most prone to water trans-
port are the lightweight beads, shells, and small
sherds, rather than stone artifacts and the larger
33 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba

sherds of storage vessels. Finally, the site was
occupied only during the Formative Period, and
shows no interference from later periods.
The surface material belongs to a Late Forma-
tive phase dating between 500 B.C. and A.D. 60
(Santa Luca III; Gabelmann 2008a:124-25).
Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that material
of an earlier phase appeared, especially in the
lower elevations towards the north and the
northeast of the site.

Southwestern Sector North-Central Sector Central Sector

percentages counts percentages counts percentages counts

Type 10 59.1% 120 Type 10 80.5% 172 Type 10 33.3% 16

Type 20 39.9% 81 Type 20 17.8% 38 Type 20 62.5% 30

Others 1.0% 2 Others 1.7% 4 Others 4.2% 2

Total 100.0% 203 Total 100.0% 214 Total 100.0% 48

Northeastern Sector Western Sector Total surface sherd count

percentages counts percentages counts percentages counts

Type 10 54.8% 153 Type 10 96.8% 90 Type 10 52.87% 5194

Type 20 40.9% 114 Type 20 3.2% 3 Type 20 46.12% 4531

Others 4.3% 12 Others 0.0% 0 Others 1.01% 87

Total 100.0% 279 Total 100.0% 93 Total sherd 100.00% 9824

count

Table 2: Ceramic type distribution of five systematic collections (see Figure 15) and from total sherd count on surface.

Despite these problems, the mapped tools
and artifacts on the surface do perfectly under-
line the functional spatial division between the
working and living areas (Figure 9). Tools used
for pottery production, like stone scrapers and
shaping tools, amount to a higher percentage in
the production area, or even to a total absence in
the domestic area. The same is true for the
decorated ceramic tubes or tuyeres, which most
probably served for igniting fires. On the other
hand, grinding and hammer stones appeared in
both sectors, because they could be used for
either grinding food or temper (Sillar 2000:56).
It should be mentioned that many tools could
have had multiple functions and may have served
household, agricultural, and production pur-
poses equally. Therefore, it may be misleading to
define a functional sector only on the basis of the
presence of tools.
Furthermore, the surface showed concentra-
tions of raw materials and objects made of miner-
als and semi-precious stones like malachite and
sodalite, as well as shell from land snails and
marine mollusks, which provides evidence of the
settlers activity in making beads and other
adornments, in addition to pottery production.
According to the distribution of the artifacts, this
activity seems to have taken place in both the
production and the domestic sectors (Figure 9).
However, because lightweight artifacts are most
prone to water transport during heavy rains, this
evidence should be interpreted with caution.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Judging from the degree of erosion on the
surface, the site was not expected to have any
deeper levels of occupation. Nevertheless, excava-
tion proved otherwise. A small trench excavated
in the production sector showed occupation
levels to a depth of 3.65 meters without reaching
sterile soil (Figure 10). It yielded floor and fill
layers of the Middle Formative (Santa Luca II,
950-500 B.C.), and the Early Formative phase
(Santa Luca I, before 950 B.C.; Gabelmann et al.
2009). Shaping tools for pottery production were
present until Layer 19, suggesting that pottery
manufacture was always the principal task in the
settlement. In contrast with the surface distribu-
tion, here many shaping tools were found on
house floors, associated with cooking pots,
weaving tools, ceramic spoons, and lithic debris,
supporting the assumption that pottery produc-
tion was performed as a household activity
during the Early and Middle Formative phases.
Another trench was excavated in the western
periphery in one of the ash mounds (Figure 4,
coordinates North 480/East 340), where ten
burials dating to the Late Formative or Santa
Luca III phase (500 B.C.-A.D. 60) were exca-
vated. The individuals range from about six to
about fifty years of age and were deposited in the
ash layers as primary or secondary burials. All
skulls are modified, and at least two different
deformation types are present. Evidence of
arthritis is present and there are pronounced
muscle attachments in the chest and neck areas,
which point to carrying heavy burdens, possibly
associated with pottery production (Gabelmann
2008a: 303).
The excavation of a waste pit in the domestic
sector close to the circular structure C5 revealed
fragments of polychrome painted wall plaster
(Figure 11). These fragments seem to come from
the interior of a circular house as deduced from
a slightly concave curvature. Structure C5, with
a diameter of 6.10 meters, and a hole for the
central post, is the largest circular stone structure
- 34
on the site. The proximity of the finds lets us
assume that the plaster once had been part of
this structure. Painted wall plaster is otherwise
unknown in the Cochabamba Formative Period
to date. Thus, we can infer a special function for
Structure C5.
POTTERY PRODUCTION AND ORGANIZATION
On the basis of the spatial division between
the production and the domestic sectors, as well
as of the technological investments, it is apparent
that pottery production exceeded the needs of
the village population. Indeed, the pottery
showed a rather wide distribution sphere; It was
found throughout the High Valley, and appeared
as a small percentage of total ceramics, even in
the Central Valley (Sierra Mokho).
Hence, the existence of specialists may be
assumed, although considerable confusion exists
about what specialization is (Rice 1987:189).
The term may refer to potters, who dedicate
most of their time to production, and whose
income is mainly generated by production (pro-
ducer specialization sensu Longacre 1999:44).
Alternately, it may apply to pottery production
that developed due to favorable ecological condi-
tions (e.g. presence of clay mines), which may be
related, at the same time, to poor agricultural
potential (site specialization sensu Rice 1987:189;
cf. Costin 1991:3). In Santa Luca, a site special-
ization is probable on the grounds of the poor
and salty soils at the edge of the alluvial fan (soil
class V-VI; Gabelmann 2008a) and because of its
proximity to clay mines only five kilometers
distant in the piedmont zone to the south. Here
a number of modern pottery producing villages
(e.g. Huayculi and Vilaque; Figure 4) possibly
exploit the same clay resources (Gabelmann
2008a:191; Goins 1967:126-127, 153; Sillar
2000:25). The fact that these villages show signs
of prehistoric production (see below) underlines
site specialization throughout various periods
until the present.
35 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba
The degree or intensity of a producer special-
ization is far more difficult to estimate for prehis-
toric contexts. According to Dean Arnold (1985:
18) a full-time specialization occurs, if potters
work year round. This is only possible in favor-
able arid and dry climate zones like the Peruvian
coast, or the lower montane thorn steppes, where
precipitation is less than 500 millimeters per year
(Arnold 1993:224-231). Although precipitation
in the High Valley amounts to 420 millimeters in
the valley bottom, due to pronounced seasonal
changes between rainy and dry periods, such a
full-time specialization is not practiced today,
even with the existence of canopied kilns (e.g. at
Huayculi; Gabelmann 1999: figure 5). Humid
conditions and rain complicate production
because they cause difficulties in drying and
2
firing the pots. Not only in Cochabamba, but
throughout the Andes, potters have adapted to
part-time activity during the months between
April/May and October (Arnold 1993:54; Ch-
vez 1992:68; Litto 1976:13; Sillar 2000:73, table
4.6) and may compensate for their shortfall with
agricultural activities used as a risk minimization
measure (Hagstrum 1989:103).
Certainly, the climate in Cochabamba during
the Formative Period may have been different
from that of today, even though explicit paleo-
climate studies for the valleys are lacking to date.
Studies of highland lake levels and Bolivian ice
cores suggest a warm and humid climatic opti-
mum between 4500 and 3200 B.P., followed by
an arid phase (Argollo 1991; Argollo and
Mourguiart 1995, 2000; Seltzer and Wright
1991; Thompson et al. 1998). Thus, we may
assume a more humid climate until the Early
Formative Period. However, weather conditions
in the altiplano may not necessarily coincide with
those of the valleys because the dominant mois-
ture source there comes from the eastern low-
2
Pronounced seasons are the case in most areas of the
world. This is why a possible full time specialization of
prehistoric potters is questionable.
lands. Thus, a more humid climate in the high-
lands may even have led to a displacement of the
sub-tropical humid montane forest belt towards
the west into the eastern Cochabamba valleys
(Ricardo Cspedes, personal communication).
For all the missing details on the paleoclimatic
conditions in the valley region that need to be
determined in the future, we may cautiously
deduce a more humid climate for the Late For-
mative Period based on the fact that eight of
thirty-nine archaeo-botanical samples contained
Cyperaceae (reeds or totora) from the swampy
valley bottom close to Santa Luca (Gabelmann
2008a:176, table 3.4).
Even in the case of less humid climatic
conditions, we should not assume the existence
of full time specialists in the Formative Period,
but rather potters who produced only during the
3
dry periods. Nevertheless, a complementary (or
risk-minimizing) activity of the potters in agricul-
ture during rainy periods is difficult to detect.
Tools generally associated with agriculture like
stone axes and clod breakers may have had
multiple functions, and perhaps were also used
for crushing temper, or beating clay lumps in
pottery production. Neither can agricultural
activities be excluded. Until now, there are no
explicit data as to whether the potters were also
landholders and cultivated crops, or whether
they exchanged food products for pottery (and
possibly dedicated their time during the rainy
season to the fabrication of beads). Still, a pro-
ducer specialization, or better, a seasonal pro-
ducer specialization, in the sense of pottery
production representing the primary activity, can
be deduced from the investment made in tech-
3
In the end, full time specialists can only be expected in
centrally organized production centers with a high degree
of elite sponsorship, which covers provisioning and
possible risks for the potters (cf. Brumfiel and Earle 1978).
This situation may have occurred during the Inca Empire,
but cannot, as yet, be assumed for any other prehistoric
period in the South Central Andes (Gabelmann
2008a:260).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
nology (e.g. the construction of firing facilities)
and the spatial division between working and
living areas in Santa Luca.
In any case, the production sector in Santa
Luca was not organized as a factory, where
potters fulfilled specific steps in a segmented
production process. At least, no areas for seg-
mented or sequential activities were observed (cf.
Anders et al. 1994; Pool and Santley 1992). The
distribution of both the firing facilities (Figure 4)
and the tools (Figure 9) implies, on the contrary,
that all tasks were carried out in all parts of the
production sector, without any spatial prefer-
ence. This suggests individual workshops that
were located outside the living area, but still
organized at a household level. The involvement
of family members in the production process is
to be assumed. Several unfired clay objects like
crude miniature vessels, or toy-like anthropomor-
phic figurines (Gabelmann 2008a: plate 25) may
indicate the participation and practice of chil-
dren and denote that pottery making was learned
during the parents activities.
Thus, the individual workshops of Santa
Luca represent a community specialization,
which is characterized by autonomous individu-
als or household-based production units, aggre-
gated within a single community, producing for
unrestricted regional consumption according to
Cathy Costins typology of specialized produc-
tion (1991:8). Community specialization may
refer to a village or a kin-based ayllu that works as
part-time or full-time specialists independently
for a market of potential customers. In Santa
Luca, all households, or a majority of them,
were engaged in manufacturing pottery for a
broader consumer population, thus requiring an
internal organizational or hierarchic structure for
the regulation of production and distribution. At
least, there are no hints of centralized, or elite-
controlled, production.
- 36
Community specialization is a phenomenon
that still occurs in the Andes today and it is
described in the ethnographic literature. The
pottery-producing village of Huayculi in the High
Valley (Figure 2; VA_11) provides an example of
a present-day production of tableware (Gabel-
mann 1999; Goins 1967; Sillar 2000). Almost
every household is involved and presents devices
(e.g. kilns, clay basins) for production during the
dry season. Other examples of pottery producing
villages in the High Valley today are Vilaque and
Paracaya, the first producing cooking pots, and
and the latter wirqis for chicha production.
Similar examples of modern village pottery
production exist in the Ayacucho Basin (Arnold
1993), while manufacturing specialization of
other products is known from the Lake Titicaca
4
area (Tschopik 1950). Costins community
specialization type is probably the most appropri-
ate model for interpreting prehistoric manufac-
ture organization in the south-central Andes.
CERAMIC TYPES
The archaeological picture in Santa Luca,
however, is more complex. Two ceramic types
appear on the surface. These differ remarkably
from each other in vessel form, temper, wall
construction technique, and surface treatment.
This points to the existence of at least two differ-
ent manufacturing centers.
Type 20 comprises a variety of vessel forms
such as hemispherical bowls, small globular jars
with short necks, and medium-to-large cooking
vessels with rounded bottoms (Figures 12, 13).
Most characteristic are the highly pronounced
lips in multitudinous variations, either everted or
4
The town of Ichu on the Peruvian side of the lake
specializes in the production of sandals made from tires;
Chucuito produces felt hats, Ilave wool and yarns, and Juli
textiles (Tschopik 1950:215). Prehistoric community
specialization may thus be conceivable in other
production areas, too.
37 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba
bulging. These may have served as a substitute
for handles. The surfaces of the vessels are coated
with a thin bright-to-dark red slip after the pro-
duction of striation marks with a hard-edged
tool. The striation marks sometimes form simple
patterns. The temper consists of fine, rounded
river gravel with the addition of grog.
Type 10, by contrast, is composed of a more
limited variety of vessel forms, mostly large oval
storage or fermentation vessels and straight-sided
bowls, but also small oval jars (Figures 13, 14).
The rim forms are very simple, angular or oval,
but mostly rounded down and slightly thickened.
The vessels are always coated with a thick red-
brown self-slip, and then burnished with pebbles
to a silky luster, obtaining a compact, less perme-
able, and abrasion-resistant surface at the same
time. Crushed river gravel and quartz were added
as temper; grog is less common than in Type 20.
Although forms and treatment of the two
types clearly point to a functional difference, a
distinction between serving and utility pottery for
either one cannot be observed, because both
types show vessel forms for pure household
activities (e.g. cooking, storage) as well as for
serving (Figure 13). The producers of Type 10
were primarily specialized in large storage vessels
that can hold liquids, while Type 20 mainly
presents cooking pots with rounded bases. Both
ceramic types present tableware like flat or deep
bowls and jars. Also, a small percentage of vessels
with incised decoration or applications appear in
both ceramic types (see below). Here, the exis-
tence of highly decorated ceramic tubes needs to
be mentioned. These were made exclusively from
a variety of ceramic Type 10 (Figure 8).
The differences between the two types are
considerable and raise the question of their
production location. Over-fired sherds, as well as
vessels left on the firing platforms verify the
production of Type 10 pottery on the spot.
Because of this, and for other reasons explained
below, it seems appropriate to assume that only
one type was produced in Santa Luca. However,
interestingly, only 53 percent of the total sherds
on the surface consist of Type 10 (Table 2). This
is a rather low figure for a production site. One
would expect the rate of the produced ware to be
higher.
Nonetheless, the distribution ratio differs
according to sectors. There is a rather high
concentration (80 to 97 percent) of Type 10
sherds visible in the North-Central and Western
production sectors as compared to a rate of 63
percent of Type 20 sherds in the center, the
residential area (Figure 15; Table 2). This corrob-
orates the identification of the production sector,
and identifies the products as belonging to Type
10. Second, it seems that Type 20 vessels are
more common in pure household activities than
Type 10 vessels, with the ratio being almost 2:1
with Type 20 predominant. Type 10 vessels
represent only about one-third of pottery in
households. An explanation for the relatively low
percentage of Type 10 in the residential area is
that large storage jars with thick walls have a
longer life span and break less often than the
thinner serving or cooking vessels of Type 20.
Additionally, if thick vessels break, they may
produce a lower number of fragments than a
thin vessel, even though they may be larger.
The exclusive production of Type 10 in Santa
Luca represents a specialization in storage ves-
sels, which were objects of commerce. The
explanation that presents itself is that Type 10
vessels were exchanged for those of Type 20. But
where did Type 20 come from? The high percent-
age of Type 20 vessels in Santa Luca suggests a
valley-specific production in close proximity. This
assumption is supported by the crystallographic
structure (XRD) and the elemental analysis
(XRF) of the pottery types (Table 3 and Figure
16). Both ceramic types exhibit similar mineral
and chemical components, indicating the exploi-
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 38

tation of vicinal clay resources (Gabelmann SETTLEMENT PATTERN IN THE HIGH VALLEY
2008a).
As part of the Santa Luca Project, a survey
Sherd No. Laboratory No. Ceramic type was conducted in the southwestern area of the
SL-01 SL-01 20
High Valley. The survey area ranged over 150
SL-208/054 SL-208-054 10
o square kilometers, and included all ecological
SL-N Bolsa 224 SL (Bolsa 224) clay slag
o
SL-N Bolsa 161 SL (Bolsa 161) clay slag
levels, such as the valley bottom, foothills, slopes,
and mountaintops within 500 vertical meters
Element Samples (Figure 2). The results basically confirm the
SL-01 SL-208-054 SL Bol 224 SL Bol 161 Formative Period settlement patterns already
Majority presence observed in the neighboring Capinota Valley
Silicon xx xx xx xxx (Higueras 1996), coinciding with a general
Potassium xx xx xx xxx preference for locations in the upper valley, pied-
Aluminium xxx xxx xx - mont levels, or alluvial fans, and mostly along-
5
Iron xxx xxx xx x side the major rivers. Among the 48 Formative
Calcium - x xxx xx Period sites we registered, some are outside the
Titanium xx xxx x - survey area like the previously known site of
Minority presence Chullpa Pata near Cliza (Figure 2: VA_144). No
Calcium xxx - - - new mound-like settlements were encountered.
Phosphorus - - - xxx Nevertheless, three multi-component sites were
Titanium - - - xxx noted on natural hills or slopes (Figure 2:
6
Aluminium - - - xxx VA_49, 64, 127), which exhibit the whole
Zirconium - xxx xx x occupation sequence from the Formative to the
Strontium - xxx - xxx Late Intermediate Period, while the Formative
Trace presence Period usually occupies slopes and bottoms.
Zirconium xxx - - - Most of the other 44 sites were reoccupied at
Rubidium xxx xx xx x least once (mostly during the Late Intermediate
Strontium xx - xxx - Period), and only a few sites are small single-
Phosphorus x x xxx - component sites. The latter may be interpreted
Magnesium xx xx x xxx
as sites dedicated to agrarian activities, because
Barium xxx xxx xx x

Zinc xxx xx xx x

Copper x x x x 5
The absence of sites in the valley bottom may be due to
Niobium x xx x xxx
the existence of an extensive marsh district until the first
Lead x x x - Spanish settlers drained it in the sixteenth century. On
Sodium x xx x xx the other hand, if there were any prehistoric sites in the
Nickel x x x - valley bottom, they probably have been destroyed by the
Gallium x x x -
extensive agrarian activities that have taken place since
colonial times. This may be the reason why sites close to
the artificial modern lake are very small (see Figure 2;
Table 3: XRF results of four samples (ceramic and clay slag) from VA_3, 68, 72).
Santa Luca (Instituto de Investigaciones Geolgicas y del Medio
Ambiente, Universidad Mayor de San Andres, La Paz). The 6
At Convento Tarata (Figure 2; VA_127) we did not see
number of xs indicates the relative abundance of the element in any Formative Period pottery, but the collection of Padre
relation to other elements in the sample with x representing a low Mauricio Valcanover includes Formative type pottery said
percentage and xxx representing a high percentage of the element. to come from the site. It is very likely that the site had a
Formative Period occupation, as this is the case with
VA_122 and 123 (see Figure 2).
39 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba
they occupied the fertile soils of class I-III close
to the valley bottom (Gabelmann 2008a: map
A.4).
Interestingly, we encountered three addi-
tional pottery production sites within the survey
area and one lying only slightly outside it (Figure
2: VA_11, 64, 107, and 139). These sites are
aligned in regular distances from each other in
the southern piedmont area, within a distance of
5.8 to 12 kilometers from Santa Luca (Figure 2:
VA_10). All four sites show the same homoge-
nous distribution of Type 10 and Type 20 ceram-
ics on the surface. Because Type 10 was pro-
duced in Santa Luca, it is likely that one, or
even all four, of these sites produced Type 20
vessels. The existence of four production sites of
Type 20 is feasible, because it would explain the
presence of the broad variety of vessel and rim
forms (Figure 13). Hypothetically, we may inter-
pret specific rim form groups as characteristic of
a certain production site. However, this assump-
tion will require further comparisons with the
pottery from each of the four sites.
Not only the production sites, but also
almost all Formative Period sites, revealed sherds
of Types 10 and 20 on the surface, a fact that is
even valid for sites outside the survey zone
(Gabelmann 2008a). Both types seem to be more
or less evenly spread throughout the valley. Such
a diffusion points to a certain distributive system,
where all settlements had unlimited access to the
products from either manufacturing center to
complete their ceramic inventory. The investiga-
tion of the nature of and the motivation for such
a system is indeed challenging.
COMPLEMENTARITY ON THE MICRO-SCALE
LEVEL OR INTRA-VALLEY INTERACTION
First, the question arises as to why the vessel
forms of Type 20 were not produced locally in
Santa Luca. No doubt, the potters had the skills
to produce additional forms in order to cover the
functional needs of activities like cooking. In-
stead, they preferred to trade in pots from other
production sites in the valley that specialized in
heat-resistant forms, tempering, and surface
treatment. Thus, they created a kind of volitional
interdependency, because it does not result from
the lack of appropriate raw materials, or from the
lack of technological skills. The thought behind
this principle is not competition but comple-
mentarity. But what were the reasons for an
artificially created complementarity operating on
a horizontal level?
The following conclusion is based on analogy
with ethnographic data from the High Valley,
which shows that a similar specialization system
still existed in the twentieth century, and in some
villages persists up to the present. The principal
production area extends over nine neighboring
villages on the southwestern edge of the valley.
These villages specialize in certain forms, like
small cooking pots in Vilaque and serving dishes
7
and toys in Huayculi. Another modern produc-
tion site lies outside of this area. Paracaya in the
northeastern slopes of the valley (Figure 1)
specializes in giant open vessels used for chicha
production (Litto 1976:61-63; Sillar 2000:27,
160-161). Here we observe a complementarity
system with a restriction on certain forms for the
different villages. In Huayculi, the number of
vessel forms produced is even divided into the
number of producing households in the village.
Each household manufactures only two or three
objects of the whole spectrum (flower pots,
plates, soup dishes, cups, piggy banks, etc.),
which add up to the complete set that is then ex-
changed at local markets (Gabelmann 1999).
Thus, each household has a fair chance to partic-
7
The location of these villages coincides with the
prehistoric production sites (Figure 2). Modern Vilaque is
close to VA_139, the prehistoric site of Huayculi is
VA_11). This continuity in production is due to the
presence of the best clay resources in the valley (see
discussion about site specialization above; see also Arnold
1993).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
ipate in the production as a whole. Here, the
complementarity system is even more complex
because it operates down to the household level.
The similarities to the prehistoric production
model are quite apparent, even though we
should be cautious with analogies over such a
large time span. However, I have detected conti-
nuity between prehistoric and modern vessel
forms (Gabelmann 2008a), so why should es-
tablished economical principles not have sur-
8
vived changes during different societal orders? It
is feasible to think of the organization of todays
pottery production in the High Valley as a tradi-
tion that has been passed down from prehistoric
times. The concept of keeping the product range
down to only one, or a few, categories leaves
space for other local production sites, and creates
demand on a local level. Additionally, a special-
ization (or rather a restriction) on particular
products of the whole range (e.g. vessel forms) for
each household would prevent competition
between the potters of one production site.
However, in Santa Luca there is no evidence to
date for complementarity of forms on a house-
hold level. Nonetheless, the complementarity
system on a community level in the prehistoric
High Valley seems a feasible explanation for the
existence of the two ceramic types.
For a better understanding of this principle,
it is useful to examine the spatial arrangement of
the Formative Period production sites. The four
sites assumed to produce Type 20 are all at the
southwestern edge of the valley in the foothills of
the mountain ridge, with altitudes of up to 3500
m.a.s.l. (Figure 2). There people had easier access
to resource goods from puna or pre-puna regions
(e.g. camelid products like wool and meat). Santa
Luca, by contrast, is close to the swampy soils in
the center of the valley. The exchange of pottery
8
The principle itself may not have changed during the
prehistoric and colonial periods, but the degree of
organization and control of production may have shifted.
- 40
may, therefore, not have been the only interest of
the valley population. Rather, pottery exchange
points to a complementary system on a micro-
scale, or valley level, which also covered the
exchange of food products, raw materials, and
other goods from different (micro) ecozones and,
therefore, worked horizontally as well as verti-
cally.
An example of such a vertical complementary
model is reported from the Vilcanota Valley in
southern Peru in the twentieth century. Karen
Mohr Chvez (1984-85:183; 1992:79-83) de-
scribed a complementarity of functional pottery
forms that corresponds to two eco-zones within
the region. The inhabitants of the puna villages
specialize in the production of cooking and
roasting vessels, braziers, and incense burners,
while the potters in Raqchi, in the valley, pro-
duce storage and fermentation vessels, as well as
serving and carrying containers. In order to
complete the functional vessel inventory, ex-
change between the two eco-zones is necessary.
Storage vessels (urpus) from the valleys are ex-
changed in the highlands for quinoa. Therefore,
the interdependency of this exchange system also
provides a balanced circulation of agrarian (and
other?) goods between the valley bottom and the
puna region.
For the prehistoric High Valley, we may
formulate a similar artificial interdependency,
where a limitation of forms in pottery produc-
tion triggers exchange of other goods. Archaeo-
botanical analyses in Santa Luca revealed mainly
quinoa as a staple crop, which may have been
cultivated in the foothill areas. At least, the
swampy valley bottom to the north of Santa
Luca was probably not suitable for agriculture in
prehistoric times, but instead for the exploitation
of reed or totora. Reed was used for the roofing
of houses, as forage for animals, and probably as
combustible material for firing facilities. It may
well have represented a resource for an intra-
valley exchange system, along with the Type 10
41 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba
vessels. Thus, an artificial interdependency shows
certain advantages. An eco-zonal comple-
mentarity with specialized production provides
equitable participation of all valley inhabitants at
an intra-valley level, and guaranteed access to
resource goods from different ecological levels.
Thus, the principle of product or community
specialization triggered exchange, contact, and
communication. Not only was this principle
relevant for access to and distribution of specific
goods, but also in terms of reproduction
(Hagstrum 1989:2-3; Sillar 2000:46). Contact
between different groups and settlements was
necessary and it was kept up through artificial
production limitations and the subsequent
9
necessity of exchange. Hence, households
and/or settlements were neither self-sufficient,
nor did they aim for complete self-sufficiency.
This is one key mechanism for understanding
the social and economic behavior not only of the
Formative Period, but also of later societies.
What is still unclear is the nature of the
distributive system that was responsible for an
even diffusion of the products. What would be
an appropriate distributive system if every settle-
ment acts as an independent productive agent? A
redistributive system can be ruled out due to the
lack of a centralized power represented by an
elite class living in a regional center from where
the goods were allocated. Reciprocity, in compar-
ison, is usually a bilateral exchange between two
agents, and cannot be responsible for an even
distribution of goods in a whole valley. Rather,
exchange must have taken place in various
locations with a broad coverage for production
centers and the population. We can only specu-
late about prehistoric market and distributive
systems but it would not be implausible to think
of periodical, inter-communal gatherings com-
9
The question arises whether we can conceive of different
ethnic groups or ayllus behind the producers of the two
different ceramic types.
bined with product exchange, possibly related to
an ideological or ritual agrarian cycle (Hagstrum
1989; cf. Vranich 2006).
Exchange at an intra-valley or a micro-scale
level is also observable in the neighboring valleys
of Cochabamba. Choroqollo in the Santivaez
Valley likewise displays pottery production of
large vessel types that were distributed through-
out the valley (Gabelmann 2001) and even seem
to have reached the neighboring Capinota Valley
(Higueras 1996:209; McAndrews and Rivera
2007). Here at least two other ceramic types
existed that were possibly produced in the valley.
Unfortunately, there is insufficient data for
locating the other production sites, but it is very
likely that the principle of complementarity and,
hence, specialized communities, is also applicable
here.
The principle seems to be valid first and
foremost for the Central Valley, based upon the
ceramic variety in Sierra Mokho. Sierra Mokho
presents two ceramic types (Type 2, Type 6;
Brockington et al. 1985, 1987) that closely resem-
ble the two types in Santa Luca, or the High
Valley, respectively, but are clearly of local pro-
duction. The production sites in the Central
Valley have not been located either, but in view
of the situation in the High Valley, they may
coincide with todays production areas. There-
fore, Colcapirhua may have been an important
prehistoric pottery production site for one of the
types (Figure 1). The strikingly dense distribution
of mounds in the fertile area north of Colca-
pirhua (Cspedes et al. 1994: map 3) also points
to settlements specialized in agriculture. Despite
the as yet incomplete settlement pattern in the
Central Valley, sites existed in the northern
(Chullpapampa) and in the western foothills
(Gyarmati et al. 1999), which may have fulfilled
special roles and responsibilities in intra-valley
interaction because of their easy access to puna
resources. As a matter of course, the nature of
the described intra-valley complementarity system
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
in this paper should be examined in more detail
10
(and in more valleys). There may be community
specialized activities other than pottery produc-
tion subsumable in this model.
It is, therefore, likely that each valley main-
tained a similar complementarity system, and
that the valleys acted as autonomous entities
concerning the procurement of resources for
daily life. Despite a difference in altitude of 300
meters, the valleys basically provide the same
agricultural resources. Hence, exchange between
the valleys is expected to be more frequent in the
case of ritual or exotic goods like sodalite, mala-
chite, and marine shell, which came from out-
side. Such goods passed the corridor through the
valleys as in the example of Conchupata, Mizque
(see below) and may surely be found in several
important sites throughout the valleys.
MACRO-SCALE LEVEL OR SUPRA-REGIONAL
INTERACTION
For all the autonomy given with the procure-
ment of basic local resources, the valleys main-
tained ties to other regions for access to prestige
or exotic goods from other ecological niches.
Wankarani pottery was found in the layers of the
Early Formative phase in Sierra Mokho as well as
in Choroqollo, and points to a certain interac-
tion of the Central and the Santivaez Valley
with the southern altiplano. It seems that one of
the three Formative Period sites discovered by
Gyarmati et al. (1999:27) in the western Central
Valley also exhibits Wankarani pottery, because
the authors note mica temper in the sherds,
which is generally an indicator of ceramics from
the southern highlands.
10
A recent survey directed in 2011 by the author in the
Sacaba Valley corroborates the hypothesis of the intra-
valley complementary systems. Here, two ceramic types
were observed that closely resemble the two types of Santa
Luca, as well as those of Sierra Mokho, but seem to be
local.
- 42
Santa Luca has not revealed any highland
pottery to date. Conversely, a ceramic type with
a distinct style of incised decoration appears
here, which is characteristic of the southeastern
valleys of Aiquile, Mizque, and Khopi (Brocking-
ton et al. 1995). The decoration often shows fine-
line incisions of long narrow triangles, ribbons,
or other geometric designs filled with hatching or
grids. These motifs are found above all on ce-
ramic tubes and a few sherds (Figures 8 and 17),
which are of local production in Santa Luca and
belong to a variety of Type 10 ceramics. Incision
was always accomplished either on the com-
pletely dry surface after slipping and burnishing,
or after firing with a hard-edged tool.
In contrast, incised pottery is rather scarce in
the Central Valley (Brockington et al. 1985,
1995), or even absent at some sites (Cspedes et
al. 1994:13). If incision appears, the motifs are
rather simple lines, dots or dashes, which also
appear in a small percentage of Wankarani
pottery (Ayala and Uribe 2003; Walter 1966:109,
114). Interestingly, Type 20 pottery in Santa
Luca is sometimes decorated with sloppy trian-
gles filled with dots or dashes (Figure 17), indi-
cating a relationship with the decorative style of
the Central Valley. These incisions are always
carried out on the wet or leather-hard surface
before slipping and firing and, therefore, contrast
also in technology with the more complex style
of the southeastern valleys. Furthermore, they
underline the distinctions between the two
ceramic types in Santa Luca.
On this basis, we can delineate two spheres
of long-distance interaction that divide the
Cochabamba valleys. While the westernmost
valleys preferred to interact with the southern
highlands or the Wankarani region, the High
Valley exhibits closer contact with the lower
southeastern valleys. On the one hand, this may
be a result of the geographical location of the
respective valleys and the shorter distance to the
next eco-zone. On the other hand, there is the
43 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba
pending question of an affiliation of the two
ceramic types with different ethnic groups that
may have inhabited the valleys. The pottery of
Santa Luca shows a strong influence from the
Mizque-Aiquile region, based on the particular
incised motifs, and the vessel forms of Type 10.
Can we thus conceive of a population from the
lower valleys in Santa Luca? This hypothesis may
be too audacious for the Formative Period, but
there is a strong relationship for whatever rea-
sons. Certainly, this issue will require detailed
analysis in the future.
Nevertheless, because of their strategic loca-
tion in the corridor between the highlands and
the lowlands, the Cochabamba valleys played an
important role as a port of trade for the long-
distance distribution of goods. Prestige goods
like malachite, sodalite, and Pacific shell entered
the valleys via the highlands to the west, or the
cordillera to the north. Thus, the marine shells
found as offerings in the Conchupata burial site
dating between 1180 and 800 B.C. (Pereira et al.
1992, Table 1) must have passed through the
Cochabamba valleys on their way to Mizque. The
shell specimens were assigned to the family of
Pectenidae coming from the cold Pacific waters
(Brockington et al. 1986:38). Shells of this family
(Argopecten purpuratus) and others (Trachycardium
procerum) have been found in Santa Luca, origi-
nating from the southern Peruvian or Chilean
coast. However, Santa Luca even yielded shell
fragments of Pteriidae, which come from as far as
11
the Peruvian north coast, indicating a consider-
able operating distance of Formative Period trade
systems.
Naturally, there were also goods from the
lowlands, mostly of an organic kind like wood,
fruits, herbs, and feathers, which were most
interesting to people in the highlands and on the
11
The analysis of mollusks from Santa Luca was done by
Victor F. Vsquez Snchez, Director of ARQUEOBIOS,
Trujillo, Per (www.arqueobios.org).
Pacific coast and triggered interaction in both
directions. Cochabamba was not only a major
passageway to the lowlands, but possibly also the
junction for pre-hispanic routes along the Cordil-
lera. Artifacts made of gold, sodalite, and basalt
indicate exchange between Santa Luca and
Ayopaya or Independencia to the north, while
fossils from Apillabamba across the Caine River
point to a route to Chuquisaca and the northern
part of Potos department (Norte Potos) further
south. Sodalite from Independencia, and mala-
chite, were also found in Conchupata, indicating
a trade route intersection in the valleys, thus
Sierra Mokho or Santa Luca may have acted as
a port of trade.
Certainly, more investigation concerning
long distance interaction and the nature of the
economic participation of the Cochabamba
valleys is necessary. We do not have a clear
picture of prehistoric trade routes in the region,
but there are several Inca road sections known to
date. A direct route from highlands to the low-
lands leads from Paria to Tapacar and possibly
to Incarracay (Hyslop 1984:142 ) and from Vacas
to the east of the High Valley to Pocona, Khopi
and Chimboata (Pereira 1982). The Paria-Tapa-
car road probably dates back to the Middle
Horizon (Gutirrez 2005) and the question arises
whether it may have already been in use during
the Formative Period, because it would have
been the most direct route between the Wan-
karani region and Cochabamba (cf. Condarco
2002). Nevertheless, in view of archaeological
evidence and the extent of interactions, there
may have been several routes to the highlands
(see Hyslop 1984:139,149). Fragments of Inca
roads have been found in Ayopaya (e.g. Cocapata
to Cotacajes and Independencia), which may
have led directly to Tapacar and Quillacollo in
the Central Valley (Pereira 1982), indicating the
possibility of an older route for gold and sodalite
exchange in the Formative Period.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
INTER-VALLEY CONSOLIDATION AND
INCREASE OF LONG-DISTANCE TRADE
The above-described situation on the surface
of Santa Luca features a clear division between
the production and domestic sectors, although
this may not have been the case in earlier occupa-
tion levels. In the layers of the Middle Formative
phase dating between 930 and 770 B.C. (Table
1:7; see Figure 10) there was evidence of an
activity area for cooking, weaving, and pottery
production, indicating that pottery production
took place in the household realm. Towards the
end of the Middle Formative the site was at least
partly intentionally restructured, and these layers
were covered and leveled with a thick stratum of
rubbish for the new architectural layout (Figure
10, layer 4). The end of this event dates to the
beginning of the Late Formative I phase around
540/500 B.C. (Table 1:8, 9; Gabelmann et al.
2009). The spatial division and the displacement
of pottery production outside the household area
is not only evidence of collective labor, but also
presents a clear shift in the socio-economic
pattern with a different organizational level.
Around 500 B.C. pottery of Type 10 from
Santa Luca also appears in Sierra Mokho in the
Central Valley. The appearance of their Tipo 7,
which coincides with ceramic Type 10, prompted
the excavators to determine the beginning of
their Middle Formative phase (Brockington et al.
1987:33). As a result of the shift in the organiza-
tion of production, the distribution radius of
Santa Luca increased to more than fifty kilo-
meters, and thus to an exchange of pottery
between the valleys. More precisely, there were
closer interactions and relational bonds among
the five valleys along with a dissolution of their
earlier autonomies.
This indicates a concentration of political
and economic power in the valleys around 500
B.C., which may be seen as an answer to dynam-
ics created from outside. An increasing demand
- 44
may have developed in the highlands for goods
from the lowlands (or vice versa?), which finally
triggered an inter-valley consolidation and a
stronger economic position of the Cochabamba
Valleys as an entity. At least Santa Luca seems to
have benefited from this new situation. Prestige
goods are far more numerous than before. Ob-
jects of Pacific shell (Pteriidae) from as far as the
Peruvian north coast and gold from Ayopaya
indicate the coverage of long distance trade. Raw
material and artifacts made of malachite and
sodalite point to a new or increasing activity of
the settlers in the fabrication of beads made of
non-local resources. It still remains unclear
whether the activity in bead fabrication in Santa
Luca can be traced back to the fact of a labor
division between potters and non-potters or
whether we can conceive of a compensating rainy
period activity of the potters themselves. How-
ever, it illustrates an active participation of the
population in Santa Luca in long-distance trade.
The eco-zonal complementarity of each valley
was not affected by this consolidation. Quite the
opposite, it increased with an extension of the
distributive system. Products like local pottery
could, therefore, cross the valleys as a side effect
(e.g. packaging of goods) to the progressive partic-
ipation in long-distance trade with prestige
goods.
The question arises as to whether this new
situation arose due to a shift in the highland
interaction from the southern altiplano (Wan-
karani) towards the Titicaca area, which may
have triggered this development in the valleys.
Chiripa at the southern tip of Lake Titicaca
gained power around 500 B.C. and extended its
economic ties towards the eastern valleys (Lare-
caja, Muecas). The corridor via the Cocha-
bamba valleys may have been interesting to
Chiripa, as were the valleys themselves with their
attractive climate and fertile arable soils. It would
not be illogical to suppose that an increased
supra-regional trade system enhanced the socio-
45 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba
economic environment in the valleys and, conse-
quently, the development of more dominant
settlements like Santa Luca in the High Valley
and Sierra Mokho in the Central Valley.
Contrary to the evidence of Wankarani
interactions, no Chiripa sherds have been discov-
ered to date in the Cochabamba area, which
would confirm such a relationship. However,
there exists a collection of small portable stone
stelae in the INIAM museum, some of which
closely resemble the Yayamama iconography (cf.
Chvez and Chvez 1975) characteristic of the
Late Formative phase in the circum-Titicaca area
(Figure 18). Unfortunately, neither the sites nor
the original contexts of these objects is known,
although Ibarra Grasso points out that most of
12
them came from the area of Cliza (Ibarra 1955,
1958). If this is true and the stone artifacts can
be assigned to the Late Formative Period, it
would emphasize the inter-valley consolidation
and the powerful position of Santa Luca and
Chullpa Pata after 500 B.C.
TRANSITION TO THE EARLY INTERMEDIATE
PERIOD
The end of occupation at Santa Luca is not
clear, because the surface is completely eroded.
The youngest radiocarbon sample dates to an
interval between 200 B.C. and 60 A.D. (Table
1:10). Tupuraya pottery was not found. There-
fore, occupation must have ended, for unknown
reasons, during the Late Formative phase. It may
be assumed that a dislocation of the settlers of
Santa Luca took place, possibly to the neighbor-
12
Ibarra Grasso almost never specified finds and sites;
therefore when he mentions Cliza, he may refer to
Chullpa Pata, Cruz Pata, or even Santa Luca, all sites
lying within a distance of 1 to 3 kilometers from Cliza (see
Figure 2).
13
ing site of Chullpa Pata. Chullpa Pata indicates
a longer occupation, because some of the
mounds yielded Tupuraya sherds (Walter 1966,
Brockington et al. 1985), and thus were still
occupied during the Early Intermediate Period.
However, we still lack information about the
transition from the Late Formative phase to the
subsequent Early Intermediate Period.
During the survey we found the site of Waka-
puuni that is outstanding due to its settlement
type. It is situated upon a terraced mountain
spur on the southern limits of the survey zone
(Figure 2: VA_59). The pottery is monochrome,
but lacks both the red slip and the burnished
luster of the two ceramic types from Santa Luca
described in this paper. Instead, it exhibits a
rough sandy surface and a higher percentage of
zoomorphic applications. Interestingly, this
ceramic type was not found in any of the other
Formative Period sites, making cross-dating
difficult. Hilltop sites are reported from the
14
Capinota Valley (Higueras 1996) and seem to
exist in the Santivaez Valley (Vetters and Sanze-
tenea 1996), but the topic has not been fully
investigated. The question arises as to whether
we can conceive of a Late Formative II phase
combined with a dislocation of settlements from
the valley to hilltops for whatever reasons. On
the one hand, the location of Wakapuuni
marks the entrance to a corridor to the Caine
River and a possible trade route to Norte Potos
and the Chuquisaca area and may have served
13
The ceramic material of the upper layers of the 1984
Chullpa Pata excavation (Brockington et al. 1985, 1987)
does display a ceramic type that is very close to Santa Luca
pottery and perhaps represents a posterior occupation.
14
The site of Pirque Alto (CP 11), on a prominent bluff,
may now appear as a strategic hilltop site, but this may not
have been the case in prehistoric times. Its geographical
situation today is due to post-occupational erosion by the
Tapacar River (McAndrews and Rivera 2007). Other
Formative Period hilltop sites mentioned are CP 15, 43,
and 45 (Higueras 1996:58).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
economic purposes. On the other hand, we may
assume climate changes forced people to leave
the fertile valley bottoms. As a third reason, the
occupation of strategic hilltop settlements may
point to increased territorial concerns and times
of crisis during this phase. For a better under-
standing of this phenomenon, we need more
investigation of monochrome ceramic styles as
well as radiocarbon dating of hilltop sites in the
future.
The appearance of the polychrome Tupuraya
pottery, which characterizes the Early Intermedi-
ate Period, was hypothetically connected with the
invasion of ethnic groups from the southeastern
valleys of Mizque and Aiquile where the style
seems to have originated (Rydn 1959:117;
Walter 1966:269). The polychrome style enters
the Cochabamba Valleys with no antecedents,
and appears to replace the monochrome pottery.
However, the question of whether the mono-
chrome pottery of the Formative Period still
existed contemporaneously or disappeared
completely with the presence of the Tupuraya
style has never really been investigated. This also
holds true with regard to social development,
that is, the question as to whether the bearers of
the Tupuraya style pottery replaced the Forma-
tive Period society, or whether the Formative
Period people simply adopted the new fashion.
A clue to this phenomenon was found in
Santa Luca in the form of fragments of
polychrome-painted wall plaster (Figure 11).
Besides the typical red-brown color of the Santa
Luca pottery in the background, it displays
designs of the Tupuraya color range with dark
red, off-white, and dark brown. The fragments
date to the latest occupation of the Santa Luca
III phase between 200 B.C. and A.D. 60, that is
about 200 to 150 years before the appearance of
the polychrome Tupuraya style. It is, of course,
puzzling to note the existence of painted wall
plaster, when the pottery is still clearly mono-
chrome. On the one hand, it shows that the use
- 46
of monochrome pottery is not necessarily a
consequence of the lack of ability. On the other
hand, we see that the painted Early Intermediate
Period style may not have appeared so suddenly.
It was well known and employed, but on a
medium about which we have no knowledge as
yet. Again, this gives room for interpretation
about the existence of an affiliation with a differ-
ent ethnic group, who may have slowly provided
access to the fashion of the new polychrome
Tupuraya style in Cochabamba. The new style
was then adopted and ultimately dissolved the
traits of Formative Period style. Naturally, this
hypothesis needs more investigation in the
future.
Another topic should be mentioned concern-
ing the polychrome wall plaster. We can assume
that painted decoration, scarce as it is, had a
certain importance and meaning to the inhabit-
ants of Santa Luca. Painted interior rooms may
point to either a ceremonial structure, or the
residence of a local chief. The latter may be
deduced as a consequent development from the
new organization of the pottery production and
the increased participation in long-distance trade.
Though we can discard the idea of a strong
hierarchy in Santa Luca, it is possible to think of
a supra-household organization, with the potters
themselves acting as rotating chiefs.
CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES
The example of the pottery-producing settle-
ment of Santa Luca presents an independent
production center organized at a community
level, with separate individual workshops, and
intricately elaborated firing facilities. Further-
more, we are able to recognize that systems like
eco-zonal complementarity created an artificial
interdependency between horizontal and vertical
zones in the valley. This indicates that a static
auto-sufficiency was not the goal of this society.
Instead, the population preferred to limit them-
selves in the production of crafts and agrarian
47 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba
goods to create demand and to be compelled to
enter dynamic interactions with other groups,
not only to gain access to specific products, but
also for reasons of reproduction. We may even
detect hints of the existence of a tiered society for
the organization of pottery production through
the evidence of painted wall plaster of a chiefly
building, or ceremonial structure. Actually, the
investigations revealed a rather complex socio-
economic system representing an innovation for
the Formative Period of the Cochabamba region.
Coming back to the title of this paper, it is
not my concern to refer to changes during the
Formative Period, if social change is seen within
a framework of unilinear development from
emerging sedentary to complex stratified societies
(cf. Snchez 2003). The creation of a framework
for the classification of historical or prehistorical
events may be necessary for a better overview, but
at the same time, it is responsible for a simplifica-
tion of social processes. This led to a picture of
the societies in the Cochabamba region as play-
ing only a marginal role in the Formative Period
in the Andes. Nevertheless, socio-economic or
socio-political development is not unilinear but
multifaceted. The dynamics of such processes
can have diverse expressions, and require a
detailed investigation and careful interpretation
of the archaeological material because changes
may or may not be visible depending on the
parameters one applies.
The question does not concern the detection
of the chronology of complex societal, economic,
and political development, but an appreciation
of their different facets. Their expression in the
archaeological material may change according to
shifts of the socio-economic organization. A
centralized production is easier to detect than an
independent household production with a lower
output. Thus, wealth accumulations are not as
clearly expressed in the Formative Period as they
are in more centralized societies with elite struc-
tures. This does not mean that an organized
economic structure is absent (just as it does not
necessarily imply the existence of a state-like
society when there is evidence of a centralized
power). Centralized power may develop if more
efficiency or security in production, or control
over the production of specific items is needed
(Brumfiel and Earle 1987). Pottery, if it is not
highly symbolic or politically charged, does not
require production controlled by an elite. Eco-
nomic principles are not dependent on central-
ized power, because a shift in politica organiza-
tion would not change the economic structure.
Thus, it seems possible to deduce a certain
traditionalism that conserved such principles
over a long time span.
However, the Formative Period develop-
ments described in this article can only be pre-
liminary, because many aspects still are not well
investigated in the Cochabamba region, as has
been stated. There are several open questions,
which should be given closer consideration in
the future, but the idea of this paper is to pres-
ent a different view of so-called peripheral
regions.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Santa Luca Project was possible due to grants
awarded by the NaFG-Commission of the Free University
of Berlin and the DAAD (German Academic Exchange
Service). I am very grateful to the staff at the INIAM
museum in Cochababamba, especially David Pereira H.
and Ramn Sanzetenea R. for their great help and support
during the research. Thanks also go to the project staff in
the field and the lab, but first and foremost, to the late
Marcos Veizaga Arevalo from Huasa Rancho to whom I
dedicate this paper. A preliminary version was presented in
2010 at the seventy-fifth annual meeting of the Society for
American Archaeology in St. Louis, Missouri, at the
sponsored symposium, Archaeology in the Valleys of
Cochabamba: A Session in Memory of Craig Morris. For
help with the text I thank Emily Schalk.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
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51 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba

Figure 1: The Cochabamba Valley system indicating the Formative Period sites studied
(after Montaos map in Snchez 2008: figure 3.1 and an unpublished map by Jnos Gyarmati).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 52

Figure 2: Formative Period settlement pattern in the south-western part of the High Valley
(after a map prepared by the Instituto Geogrfico Militar [IGM], Bolivia).
53 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba

Figure 3: The Santa Luca site looking northeast over sherd clusters and eroded firing facilities.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 54

Figure 4: The Santa Luca site: topographic map with domestic structures, household rubbish, firing facilities,
and agricultural fields indicated. The left coordinates represent north and the top coordinates represent east.
55 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba

Figure 5: The Santa Luca site: circular structure C5 with entrance, clay floor, and central post.

Figure 6: The Santa Luca site. Firing facility H20 at different stages of excavation.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 56

Figure 7: Shaping tools from the surface of the Santa Luca site.
57 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba

Figure 8:. Five fragments of ceramic tubes or tuyeres from the Santa Luca site (above)
and two specimens from the INIAM museum, Cochabamba, Bolivia (below)
542-4308 from the Colleccin Guilln- Mercado and 03080101 from Cliza.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 58

Figure 9: The Santa Luca site: plan of tools and artifacts found on the surface.
59 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba

Figure 10: Santa Luca. Trench 5, East Profile. Layers 7 and 11 are Middle Formative phase floor levels;
20 and 22 are Early Formative phase floor levels. Key: (1) gray-brown compact clay; (2) yellowish-gray
compact clay; (3) sherd paving; (4) loose sand with raw and burnt clay; (5) dark brown, soft, ashy sand;
(6) brown brittle clay; (7, 7A) grayish-green clay floor; (8) yellowish-gray argil; (9, 10) brittle clay and sand
with burnt clay and carbon; (11) layered grayish-green clay floor; (12) burnt clay platform; (13, 15) reddish-
gray burnt clay = firing facility 99; (14) not visible on this profile; (16) brown sandy clay; (17) light gray-
brown brittle clay with animal bones; (18) alternating clay and sand layers; (19) compact-to-brittle clay with
carbon; (20) grayish-green clay floor with carbon; (21) grayish-green brittle clay; (22) layered grayish-green clay
floor; (23) compact-to-brittle clay; (24) brown clay with carbon; (25) reddish compact clay, black sherds.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 60

Figure 11: Painted wall plaster from Santa Luca.

61 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba

Figure 12: Ceramic Type 20 vessels (not to scale).

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 62

Figure 13: Open and closed vessel and rim forms of the ceramic Types 10 and 20
from Santa Luca (not to scale).
63 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba

Figure 14: Ceramic Type 10 vessels (not to scale). Note cracks from over-firing on upper left vessel.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 64

Figure 15: Santa Luca, distribution of sherds found on the surface expressed in percentages
(for sample sizes, see Table 2).
65 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba

SL-01

SL-208-054

Figure 16: XRD results of two ceramic types from Santa Luca (Instituto de Investigaciones Geolgicas y
del Medio Ambiente,Universidad Mayor de San Andres, La Paz)
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 66

Figure 17: Incised pottery from Santa Luca

(above: four sherds and four tube fragments of ceramic Type 10; below: sherds of ceramic Type 20).
67 - Gabelmann: Craft Specialization in Formative Cochabamba

Figure 18: Lithic sculptures in Cochabamba (after Ibarra Grasso 1955).

 MOCHE ARCHITECTURAL VESSELS:
SMALL STRUCTURES, BIG IMPLICATIONS
INTRODUCTION
On the north coast of Peru, artisans from
the Moche culture (A.D. 200-850) produced
ceramic vessels with modeled architectonic
superstructures. These objects are present in
every Moche phase and range in their pictorial
complexity from single-room constructions
(Figures 1, 2) to tiered multi-room architectural
complexes (Figures 3, 4, 5). While single-room
vessels have long been overlooked, considered
little more than generic representations of
temple architecture, my recent study comparing
single-room vessels with excavated full scale
Moche architectural remains indicates these
portable ceramic artifacts may, in fact, reference
specific and identifiable structures within the
Moche ceremonial precinct, or huaca. This
article examines one single-room vessel type in
particular, discussed here as the Enclosed
Gabled Type, or EGT (Figures 1, 2). I will
suggest that the two-dimensional imagery on the
vessel chamber, once deciphered, offers
additional context for the sculpted architectural
structure above it. This article proposes that
Moche architectural vessels provide us with
stylized diagrams of sacred space and
communicate information about the form and
function of a distinctive architectural structure
identified in Moche ceremonial architecture.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012): 69-100.
JULIET WIERSEMA
University of Maryland, College Park
and The Metropolitan Museum of Art
PAST INTERPRETATIONS AND PRESENT
UNDERSTANDINGS OF MOCHE
ARCHITECTURAL VESSELS
Architectural vessels made by the Moche
have intrigued archaeologists, architects, and art
historians for nearly a century.1 Since their
earliest discussion in the scholarly literature,
these artifacts have been interpreted as religious
sanctuaries (Pardo 1936:14-15), representations
of ceremonial structures (Donnan 1978:82),
elite houses and temples, and symbolic houses of
the hereafter (Wurster 1982:254, 259). For
years, efforts to substantiate these hypotheses
were hampered by a dearth of excavated Moche
architecture. However, in the past two decades,
large scale and long term archaeological projects
in the Moche, Chicama, Lambayeque, and
Jequetepeque Valleys have greatly augmented
our knowledge about the form and function of
Moche ceremonial architecture (Figure 6).2
These excavations, focused on monumental
mud brick constructions, have brought to light
elaborate architectural complexes replete with
1
For early discussions of Moche architectural vessels, see
Benson (1972:98-102), Campana (1983), Donnan
(1978:79-83), Miro-Quesada (1976), Pardo (1936), and
Wurster (1982).
2
For excavations at Huaca El Brujo, see Mujica et al.
(2007); for Huacas de Moche, see Uceda (1997, 2001a,
2001b) and Uceda and Mujica, editors (1994, 2003); for
Sipn, see Alva (2001) and Alva and Donnan (1993); and
for Dos Cabezas, see Donnan (2007).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
colorful murals, expansive plazas, and decorated
patios connected by corridors and ramps (Muji-
ca et al. 2007; Uceda 1997, 2001b; Uceda and
Mujica, editors 1994, 2003). Many of these
same architectonic features can be identified on
Moche architectural vessels, signaling an
important correlation between small scale and
full scale architecture.
Moche architectural vessels communicate
information both two- and three-dimensionally
as well as through an array of different
architectonic forms. Some vessels employ pars
pro toto where a single architectonic aspect or
feature stands in or references the larger whole.
For example, a sculpted ceramic double step
motif (Figure 7) appears at first enigmatic until
its full scale counterpart is identified in the
archaeo-logical record (Figure 8). At Huaca Cao
Viejo, this motif marks the northern perimeter
wall of a painted patio which housed the
elaborate Moche burial of the Seora de Cao.
In other instances, Moche architectural
vessels convey one-room constructions (Figures
1, 2). Despite their seemingly simple form, these
miniature structures appear to have concrete
analogs in the archaeological record. A full scale
counterpart for the vessel in Figure 2 has been
uncovered in an important Moche precinct, in
a restricted plaza associated with deposits of
sacrificed individuals, signaling that the
constructions represented on Moche
architectural vessels were modeled with specific
full scale structures in mind and mimic
architectonic forms with ritual significance. At
present, all correspondence between Moche
architectural vessels and full scale architectural
remains has been identified within Moche
ceremonial (as opposed to domestic)
architecture. This relationship between
architectural vessels and excavated elite
architecture was first illuminated by Gordon
Willey in 1953 (Willey 1953:215-218, plates 29,
60) and has since been corroborated through
- 70
ongoing excavation projects on Perus north
coast (Donnan 1978:82-83; Donnan and Cock
2002:31-35). These discoveries underscore the
value that architectural vessels hold for
archaeologists, as they preserve the complete
form of significant structures and point us to
areas of key importance in Moche ceremonial
precincts.
THE RECENTLY ASSEMBLED MOCHE
ARCHITECTURAL VESSEL CORPUS AND THE
MOCHE ARCHITECTURAL TYPOLOGY
With the aim of determining what types of
structures (ritual or domestic) were communi-
cated through Moche architectural vessels, I as-
sembled and systematically analyzed a large
sample of these objects (Wiersema 2010).
Before my investigation, an estimated 50
architectural vessels had been published (See for
example, Aimi 2003; Benson 1972; Campana
1983; Donnan 1978; de Lavalle 1995; Tello
1938:73, 74, 77, 78-80; and Wurster 1982). My
work uncovered an additional 119, bringing the
present total to 169 vessels.3 Ceramic vessels
with architectural superstructures are known
from all Moche phases, including I-II, III, IV,
and V, as well as Late (northern) Moche.4
However, centuries of treasure hunting on the
north coast has resulted in a loss of provenience
for the majority of these objects.5 Nevertheless,
3
Hugely important to this project was access to the
Moche Archive, formerly at UCLA and now at Dumbar-
ton Oaks, which brought to light approximately forty
vessels. Research in museums and private collections in
South America, Europe, and the United States uncovered
another 80 Moche architectural vessels.
4
Architectural vessels also occur in an incipient Moche
phase, or style, which I have referred to elsewhere as
Proto-Moche. For example, see Figure 5. For a breakdown
according to phase, see Table 1.
5
This project identified five architectural vessels and two
fragments recently uncovered through scientific excava-
tion. These were found in burial contexts accompanying
71 -
most of the vessels in the corpus exhibit stylistic
traits attributable to the southern Moche sphere
(south of the Pampa de Paijn).6 The fact that
architectural vessels are relatively rare in the
greater Moche fine ware vessel assemblage
(approximately 1 in 500) suggests these objects
had been the prerogative of elite or high status
individuals.7 Corroborating this hypothesis is the
fact that, when discovered archaeologically,
Moche architectural vessels occur as mortuary
offerings accompanying important Moche
deceased who are buried within ceremonial
architecture.
Type No. in Corpus % in Corpus
Proto-Moche (PM) 26 15%
Moche I-II (M I-II) 13 8%
Moche III (M III) 22 13%
Moche IV (M IV) 76 45%
Moche V (M V) 28 17%
Late Moche (LM) 4 2%
Total 169 100%
Table 1. Distribution of vessels in the Moche
architectural corpus by phase.
As part of this study, I devised a detailed
architectural typology, building upon Chris-
topher Donnans earlier work (1978:79-81).
This new architectural typology revealed some
intriguing patterns (see Table 2). For example,
despite the significant quantity of architectural
vessels in the corpus, only ten distinct archi-
high status individuals at El Castillo de Santa (Chap-
delaine et al. 2005:25-28, 32, figure 10); Huaca de la Luna
(Chauchat and Gutirrez 2005:120); Huaca Cao Viejo
(Mujica et al. 2007:212, 215); and San Jos de Moro
(Mauricio and Castro 2008: figures 33 and 34; Rengifo et
al. 2008:129-131, figure 38).
6 8
Examples from the northern Moche sphere have been
excavated at the site of San Jos de Moro in the Jequete-
peque Valley (Mauricio and Castro 2008: figures 33, 34;
Rengifo et al. 2008:129-131, figure 38).
7
This estimate is based on vessels held in the Museo
Larco, where, of an approximate 15,000 Moche vessels,
only 30 are architectonic.
Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels
tectural styles or types could be discerned.
Within these ten styles, the three most often
discussed in Moche literature, the Architectural
Complex (Type 1, Figures 3-5), the Open
Gabled Type (Type 2, Figure 9), and the Open
Shed Roof Type (Type 3, Figure 10), had
minimal representation in the architectural
vessel corpus.8 Instead, the architectonic style
with the greatest representation was a simple
single-room structure (Figures 1, 2), a form
which, until now, has been largely overlooked in
Moche studies. This single-room type, the
Enclosed Gabled Type (EGT) occupies over one
third (34 percent) of the total Moche
architectural vessel corpus (Table 3). This
percentage is especially significant, given that
EGTs are largely limited to Moche phases IV
and V, where they comprise more than half of
both samples (Table 2). EGTs notably
overshadow all other architectural types in the
Moche architectural vessel corpus, suggesting
that this particular architectural style (and its
full scale counterpart) held symbolic importance
for Moche ideology, or at least the Moche
ideology reflected in Moche IV and V pottery.
DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES OF THE ENCLOSED
GABLED TYPE AND THE CHALLENGES
PRESENTED BY ANCIENT MOCHE
ARCHITECTURE
The Enclosed Gabled Type is easily identified by
its consistent suite of diagnostic traits. It is
enclosed and square in plan with a central
entrance and a gabled roof (Figures 1, 2). Its
roof is supported by one or two beams, indicated
by a raised circle or circles on the exterior sides
While rare in the corpus (six percent), Architectural
Complex vessels offer a type of architectural key that not
only corroborates the existence of different structural
forms and features, but also pinpoints their approximate
location within Moche monumental architecture. More
frequently discussed in Moche literature is the Open
Gabled Type, which appears often in Moche fineline, but
comprises a small percentage of the sculpted corpus.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 72

Architectural Types Moche Phase # in % in viewer by the potter. In Figure 2, we see a series
(no. vessels) Corpus Corpus
of painted step motifs on the chamber which
Architectural Complex PM (3), I-II (6),
III (1) 10 6%
separate the three-dimensional building above
Open Gable Type IV (5), LM (3) 8 5% from the platform levels below, conveyed
Open Shed Roof Type I-II (1), IV (3),
V (4), LM (1) 9 5%
through horizontal bands of alternating red and
Open Three Wall, Shed Roof PM (1), I-II (1) white. How might these two-dimensional details
III (1) 3 2%
Open Three Wall, Gabled Roof PM (1), III (4) 5 3% help us to identify this particular architectural
Open Front Gable, Back Shed
Roof III (2), IV (3) 5 3%
type in Moche full scale architecture?
Enclosed Front Gable or
Gable, Back Shed Roof PM (12), III (3) 15 9%
Enclosed Front Flat, Back Shed Moche IV (76 vessels total) No. %
Roof PM (4), I-II (2) 6 3%
Enclosed Gabled Type III (3), IV (39), 57 34% With step-shaped roof comb 28 37%
V (15) With step and tumi roof comb 4 5%
Miscellaneous PM (2), I-II (1), Without roof embellishments 7 9%
III (3) 6 3%
Motif Vessels (step motif, step I-II (2), III (5), Total Moche IV 39 51%
and wave spiral throne, etc.) IV (26), V (9) 42 25%
Moche V (28 vessels total) No. %
Unclassifiable PM (3) 3 2%
With step-shaped roof comb 7 25%
Total 169 100%
With step and tumi roof comb 2 7%
Without roof embellishments 6 21%
Table 2. Distribution of types in the Moche
Total Moche V 15 53%
architectural vessel corpus.
Table 4. Breakdown of EGT variants in Moche
Architectural Moche Phase No. in % in % in % in phases IV and V.
Type (No./phase) Corpus Corpus M IV MV

Architectural PM (3), I-II (6),

complex III (1) 10 6% 0% 0%
Our ability to read these somewhat
Open Gabled IV (5), V (0),
abstracted architectural representations and find
Type LM (3) 8 4% 6% 0% correlates for them in Moche archaeology is
Enclosed Gable III (3), IV (39), complicated by the fragmentary nature of
Type V (15) 57 34% 51% 53%
Moche architectural remains. While the vessels
Table 3. Distribution of the Architectural Complex, preserve complete structures, actual Moche
Open Gable Type (OGT), and Enclosed Gable Type architecture (made of mud brick roughly a
(EGT) in the Moche architectural vessel corpus, thousand years ago) preserves just fragments,
especially Moche phases IV and V. and, therefore, presents us with an incomplete
record of the architectural past. Excavated
of the sculpted structure just below the roof. Moche structures, under the best circumstances,
Roofs on this architectural type are frequently have been compromised by centuries of erosion,
embellished with step-shaped roof combs.9 If we cataclysmic disasters, and looting. As a result,
look beyond the sculpted architectural key elements are missing, including the upper
representation itself, taking into account details portions of walls, and the roofs themselves.
conveyed in fineline on the vessel chamber Without these important features, it is difficult
(Figure 2), we get a better sense of the greater to make a positive match between Moche
architectural context communicated to the architectural vessels and actual structures.
Because we are forced to compare two disparate
kinds of data, complete ceramic architectonic
9
A few examples in the corpus are decorated with step- representations, and eroded architectural
shaped roof combs and a crescent-shaped tumi. See Table remains, any positive identification will have to
4.
73 -
be based on the traits that are preserved in the
architecture, that is, those of a structure that is
enclosed, and square in plan, with a central
entrance. Such structures are, to my knowledge,
unknown in Moche excavated architecture
except in the upper areas of Huaca de la Luna
where a small structure fitting this description is
found in Plaza 3c. We will return to this
structure later in this article.
Further complicating our ability to compare
Moche architectural vessels with Moche
ceremonial architecture is that, while the vessel
reflects a single construction episode, excavated
Moche monumental remains present a palimpsest
of architectural episodes. Today, at sites such as
Huaca de la Luna and Huaca Cao Viejo,
structures and features corresponding to
different chronological phases appear side by
side, skewing our understanding of architectural
space as the Moche knew it. On the other hand,
the destructive nature of archaeology can deny
us architectonic details critical to our
understanding of the space. For example, the
outer U-shaped wall surrounding Recinto I,
Plaza 3c at Huaca de la Luna is not visible in
Figure 11 because it was dismantled as part of
the archaeological process. The excavation
plans of this plaza, however, relay that these two
features, a U-shaped wall and an enclosed
architectural structure, were contemporary
(Figure 12). Because of the complexity
presented by construction episodes, an
excavation plan becomes much more useful in
drawing comparisons than the site itself, because
excavation plans provide us with a view of the
structures and features that pertained to the
same construction moment.
CONVERTING TWO- AND THREE-
DIMENSIONAL IMAGERY INTO A SINGLE
ARCHITECTURAL SPACE
Remaining to be explored is how two- and
three-dimensional imagery on Moche
Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels
architectural vessels was manipulated by Moche
potters to provide a detailed picture of
represented architectural space. Moche potters
worked creatively within the restrictions of their
chosen medium, the ceramic vessel, using both
painted imagery and sculpted forms together to
communicate identifiable aspects of specific
structures found in the Moche ceremonial
precinct, or huaca.
In order to see architectural vessels as the
Moche likely saw them, it is necessary to devise
a two-dimensional floor plan from the vessel
itself, incorporating both two- and three-
dimensional elements. To illustrate this, let us
work from the vessel depicted in Figure 2. If we
translate the sculpted and painted details from
Figure 2 into a map or plan, we end up with
something comparable to the drawing in Figure
13. This plan reveals a series of walls
surrounding the three-dimensional or modeled
architectural structure at center. Just outside
the innermost wall, in direct alignment with the
structures entrance, is a small projection,
possibly an altar or a ramp. The outermost wall
is adorned with a series of step motifs. Through
the inclusion of these walls, the potter suggests
that the EGT is set apart from the rest of the
complex. Horizontal bands on the chamber
suggest platform levels, indicating that this
structure is additionally situated in an elevated
area of the complex or precinct. One final
consideration is the spherical shape of the
chamber which results in circular walls
surrounding a square structure. Making allow-
ances for the fact that Moche artists were
working on globular vessels and taking into
account that the Moche did not appear to build
circular structures, we must translate these
circular forms to rectilinear ones (Figure 14).
With this newly created floor plan and a more
nuanced understanding of the Enclosed Gabled
Types location in the complex, we can more
easily seek a full scale correlate for this
architectural type in the Moche archaeological
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
record. Before we do, however, let us first
examine another type of architectural vessel
that aids us in our visual interpretation of the
Enclosed Gabled Type.
CONTEXTUAL DETAILS PROVIDED BY
MOCHE ARCHITECTURAL VESSELS
Within the Moche architectural vessel
corpus is another vessel type, referred to as the
Architectural Complex (Figures 3, 4, 5). While
rare in the corpus, Architectural Complex
vessels are critical to our understanding of
single-room structures, including the EGT.
Architectural Complex vessels unite, in a single
object, distinct architectural types and
architectonic features which are conveyed
individually, or in isolation, on other vessels. As
such, Architectural Complex vessels provide us
with information about the ways distinct
structures and features likely interacted within
a greater, often multi-tiered space. In addition
to corroborating the existence of different
structural forms and features, Architectural
Complex vessels also indicate the approximate
locations of rooms, corridors, and architectonic
features within Moche monumental
architecture.
A handful of Architectural Complex vessels
incorporate representations of the Enclosed
Gabled Type, easily identified by its enclosed
square form, central entrance, and gabled roof
adorned with step shaped roof combs (Figures 4,
5). In Figure 4, the EGT is taller than the
structures surrounding it and is differentiated by
its red roof combs. Its location, at back left,
makes it the least accessible structure in the
miniature complex. In another Architectural
Complex vessel, the EGTs importance is
suggested by its exaggerated size (Figure 5).
Here again, the EGT is also at the back left of
- 74
the complex.10 This information suggests that
the EGT was a privileged, and somewhat
restricted structure within a certain type of
Moche ceremonial precinct. Its singular status is
corroborated by the plethora of EGT examples
in the Moche architectural vessel corpus, as we
will see.
Of the 76 vessels in the Moche IV sample,
39 of them are Enclosed Gabled Types (EGTs).
Despite this large number, no two EGT vessels
are identical.11 Each is differentiated by its
chamber shape (spherical, cylindrical, etc.), the
fineline imagery decorating the chamber, and
the pictorial details flanking the structures
entrance (Figures 13, 16, 17). While these
elements make each vessel visually distinct, all
iterations reinforce the same message: the EGT,
while depicted in isolation, is conceived as a
free-standing structure occupying an important
place within the Moche ceremonial complex.
To illustrate this point, let us look at the
vessels in Figures 13, 16, 17, where three
different Moche IV Enclosed Gabled Type
vessels are presented. Each vessel exhibits the
diagnostic traits of the EGTs: an enclosed
structure, square in plan, with a central
entrance and a gabled roof decorated with step-
shaped roof combs. While the chamber shapes
are distinct for each vessel, all display a series of
painted step motifs just below the sculpted
structure. These demarcate the EGT from the
rest of the schematically-rendered precinct.
10
While not visible in the photograph, the EGT in Figure
4 has a central entrance which serves as the opening for the
whistling mechanism housed inside it.
11
An interesting exception is a vessel housed in the Staat-
liche Museen in Berlin (Figure 15), which exhibits
identical architectonic features to the vessel in the
American Museum of Natural History. The Berlin vessel
(V A 18281) measures 13.7 by 14.2 by 20.5 centimeters.
The roof has been erroneously reconstructed (a roof comb
has been replaced by what appears to be a sculpted frog).
75 -
Below these step motifs are horizontal bands
indicative of platform levels, which place the
EGT in an upper area of a tiered complex.
Through these vessels (that eliminate all
subsidiary structures and give primacy of place
to the EGT), potters were able to convey in a
greatly simplified form the same message found
on Architectural Complex vessels.
The appearance of a series of step motifs on
these vessels is significant (Figure 13, 16, 17).
Step motifs in series appear prominently in other
Moche architectural vessels. For example, the
Architectural Complex vessel in Figure 3
exhibits a series of painted step motifs which
line the ramp or parapet leading from the main
plaza (at bottom) to the upper, more restricted
areas of the complex. This same information is
conveyed in another Architectural Complex
vessel published by Elas Mujica (Mujica et al.
2007:93). Architectural Complex vessels make
explicit what is merely implied by EGT vessels,
namely that step motifs in series, when depicted
in an architectonic setting, delineate sacred or
ceremonial space.
This same idea is also expressed in the
Moche fineline scene of the Sacrifice Ceremony,
where a series of step motifs delineate and
separate two distinct but related ritual activities:
the ritual bleeding of bound captives on the
bottom register, and the presentation of the
goblet to the Warrior Priest on the upper
register (Figure 18). Three of these figures,
identified as Figure B, Figure C, and Figure D
(Donnan 2010), process along a route marked
by step motifs in series. This illustration,
together with the examples from the Moche
architectural vessel corpus, suggests that step
motifs in series (when associated with
architectonic settings) served to cordon off
sacred space associated with propitiatory
activities. This idea is also communicated by
another vessel, housed in the Museo Larco in
Lima. In this image (Figure 19), two sculpted
Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels
step motifs flank a nude figure bound to a rack,
placing him within sacred architectural space.
Our understanding of the sculpted figure above
is aided by the fineline illustration on the vessel
chamber, which depicts four females with short
hair and long tunics who gaze upwards toward
the sculpted figure. Their open palms receive
the drops of blood (a metaphor for rain?) which
fall from the bound figures severed neck. These
examples from the Moche artistic record make
intriguing and undeniable, connections between
step motifs, sacred space, and ritual activity.
Interestingly enough, a connection between
step motifs and sacred space is also supported by
the archaeological record. At Huaca de la Luna,
a series of sculpted step motifs (made of slipped
adobe) have been excavated within the
ceremonial precinct where they line the ramp or
parapet leading from the main plaza below
(Plaza 1) to the precincts upper reaches (Plaza
3).12 It appears, therefore, that in both small
scale and full scale architecture, step motifs in
series demarcate and offset important ritual
space.
PAINTED IMAGERY: A CLUE TO FUNCTION?
Continuing our visual analysis of the
Enclosed Gabled Type (EGT), the final compo-
nent to be considered is the imagery on the
miniature architectonic structure itself. As we
have seen, EGT vessels communicate
information through imagery and motifs on both
the chamber and the roof. There is additional
information conveyed on the structures faade,
as well (Figures 1, 2, 13, 16). The painted motifs
on either side of the structures entrance
provide us with clues about the likely function
of this miniature structures full scale
counterpart.
12
These motifs are associated with Building C, or the
middle construction phase (Uceda and Tufinio 2003:
figure 20.15).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
A quick inventory of the pictorial forms
associated with the entrance of Enclosed Gabled
Type vessels reveals a concrete set of traits
which include war clubs (porras), short vertical
lines, chisels or scalpels, ritual jars with ties, and
eared serpents (Figure 20). These same motifs
appear in Moche fineline scenes illustrating the
taking of captives, ritual bloodletting, human
sacrifice and dismemberment. For example, war
clubs (Figure 20a) are often associated with
ceremonial combat (Donnan 2010; Donnan and
McClelland 1999:130-136). Short vertical lines
(Figure 20b) appear in scenes of bloodletting
where they reference drops (or streams) of blood
(ibid.: 62; see also Figure 19). Ritual chisels or
scalpels (Figure 20c), which often appear on
EGTs together with short vertical lines (Figure
21), suggest ritual violence. In Moche fineline,
jars with ties (Figure 20d) are found in scenes of
human sacrifice or the afterlife (Benson
1975:106-108). The eared serpent (Figure 20e)
in Moche fineline is found in scenes of combat,
capture, bloodletting, and sacrifice (Donnan
1978; Donnan and McClelland 1999). The
frequent appearance of eared serpents in
important ritual scenes has led Donnan to
suggest they represent one of the primary
symbols of Moche religion (Donnan 2010). The
eared serpent is also conveyed on architectural
vessels of the EGT, often on roofs and vessel
chambers (Figure 22).
Further linking the motifs found on the
faade of the Enclosed Gabled Type to Moche
ritual activity is the fact that many of these sym-
bols (war clubs, streams of blood, chisels or
scalpels, and eared serpents) are key pictorial
elements in the Moche Sacrifice Ceremony
(Figure 18). In this scene, these motifs appear
on the bottom register, where the predominant
activity is the bloodletting of bound captives.
The fact that these same motifs are commonly
depicted on EGT vessels intimates a connection
between this architectonic type and ritual
- 76
activity central to Moche IV ideology.13
Working with information offered by the art
historical record, it seems plausible that the
EGTs full scale counterpart would have
functioned as a venue for ritualized acts of
human bloodshed.
THE ENCLOSED GABLED TYPE IN THE
MOCHE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD
Now that we have analyzed the art historical
data available for the Enclosed Gabled Type, let
us turn to the archaeological record with the
aim of seeking a full scale counterpart for this
architectonic type. If we have correctly
interpreted the visual information provided by
architectural vessels, we should expect to find
an enclosed square structure with a central
entrance in an upper, restricted area of the
Moche precinct, possibly in an area demarcated
by a series of step motifs. It would not be
surprising if this structure is located within a
sector of the complex dedicated to ritual
activity.
Evidence of a full scale, free standing
structure exhibiting diagnostic traits shared by
the Enclosed Gabled Type has been
documented at Huaca de la Luna, in an upper
restricted area known as Plaza 3c. This
structure, known as Recinto 1, Plaza 3c, has a
central entrance and is perfectly square in plan,
measuring 5.8 by 5.8 meters (Figure 11).14
Excavators believe its roof, which is no longer
extant, had been gabled in antiquity (Tufinio
2004:103). The plan view of Recinto 1, Plaza 3c
(Figure 12) reveals it was housed within a U-
shaped wall and had a small ramp or altar just
outside its entrance. While only a few segments
The Sacrifice Ceremony appears for the first time in
13
Moche IV ceramics, as discussed by Donnan and
McClelland (1999:130-131).
14
Recinto I, Plaza 3c is discussed by Tufinio (2001, 2002,
2004, 2006).
77 -
remain today due to heavy erosion in this area,
the northern and western perimeter walls
maintain evidence of sculpted adobe step motifs
(Montoya 1997:64; Tufinio 2004:102, 105,
116).
Of additional interest is Recinto Is elaborate
decorative program, underscoring its
importance. Adorning the buildings faade is
relief imagery depicting feline-human pairs,
where a feline attacks a human figure wearing
the short hairstyle associated with captives.15
The sides and back of Recinto I were painted in
three separate episodes or renovation cycles.
Imagery associated with the earliest decorative
phase depicted stylized catfish (pez life) (Tufinio
2004:113, figures 110 and 111; Uceda and
Tufinio 2003:192-195; lmina 20.2a and 20.2b),
a motif associated with the onset of the rainy
season.16
Archaeologists have noted the presence of
two additional enclosed free-standing structures
(Recinto I; Recinto II, Plaza 3b) located in an
area adjacent to Plaza 3c. Both of these were
built after Recinto I, Plaza 3c fell into disuse and
was interred. While the similarity of these
structures to Recinto I, Plaza 3c might suggest
that they, too, were full scale counterparts for
the Enclosed Gabled Type, I argue that, because
Recinto I and Recinto II, Plaza 3b are more
rectangular in plan, and have off-center entry
ways, they are not the structures referenced by
EGTs in the Moche architectural vessel corpus.
Furthermore, neither of these chronologically
later structures from Plaza 3b bears the
elaborate decoration of Recinto I, Plaza 3c.
15
This structure is discussed in Tufinio (2004:113, figures
110, 111) and Uceda and Tufinio (2003:192-195; lminas
20.2a, 20.2b).
16
If the buildings function remained the same over time,
it may indicate that these different images, stylized catfish
and felines attacking human figures, are linked, or perhaps
equivalent in meaning.
Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels
At this point, Recinto I, Plaza 3c seems to be
the most likely match for the Enclosed Gabled
Type. If we compare the plan view of Recinto I,
Plaza 3c (Figure 12) with the floor plan adapted
from the EGT (Figure 23, see also Figure 13),
striking similarities emerge. Both plans reveal
enclosed square structures with central
entrances surrounded by U-shaped walls.
Directly in front of both entrances is a small
ramp or altar. Given these shared traits, it
appears Recinto I, Plaza 3c presents us with a
full scale counterpart for the Enclosed Gabled
Type.
The ubiquity of EGT structures in the
Moche architectural vessel corpus would lead us
to believe that enclosed square structures with
central entrances were common forms in Moche
ritual architecture. This, however, is not the
case. At Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley, and
at Guadalupito, Santa Valley, archaeologists
have confirmed that, as yet, no square structures
with central entrances have been found
(Antonio Murga, personal communication 2008
and Victor Pimentel, personal communication
2009). Much more frequent in Moche ritual
architecture are rectangular structures with
lateral or off-center entrances, excavated at
both Huaca de la Luna and Huaca Cao Viejo
(see for example Mujica et al. 2007:116-119,
122-129, and 162-169 and Uceda 2001b).
THE GREATER ARCHAEOLOGICAL
CONTEXTS OF EGTS IN MOCHE FULL SCALE
ARCHITECTURE
Now that we have established Recinto I,
Plaza 3c, as a likely analog for the Enclosed
Gabled Type, let us briefly consider the greater
archaeological contexts for this full scale
structure. Recinto I, located in an upper,
restricted area of Huaca de la Luna, is situated
along a circumscribed route (Figure 24) which
begins in the main plaza below (Plaza 1) and
ascends toward Plaza 3 via a zig-zag corridor.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
This corridor is adorned with a series of sculpted
step motifs (Figure 25), similar to those we have
identified in the Moche architectural vessel
corpus (Figure 3; see also Mujica et al. 2007:93).
This trajectory is interrupted at specific points
by small, elaborately decorated architectural
structures which may have anchored ritual
activity, while also shifting the direction of the
procession. As I have argued elsewhere, these
three-dimensional structures (and certainly the
one located in the southeast corner of the main
plaza) appear to interrupt and subsequently alter
the direction of the two-dimensional poly-
chrome procession depicted on the plaza walls,
suggesting that these structures acted as stops
along a directed route, similar to the stations of
the cross in Christian religion (Wiersema 2010:
29, 166).
Plaza 3c, housing Recinto I, formed part of
Plaza 3, the sector of Huaca de la Luna found in
closest proximity to the imposing one-peaked
mountain, Cerro Blanco.17 Plaza 3 has been
subdivided by archaeologists into three units,
Plaza 3a, 3b, 3c. These areas were operational at
different moments in time, with Plaza 3c in use
first (Uceda and Tufinio 2003:192-195). Plaza
3c, associated with the middle construction
phase, or building C, was later interred to
facilitate the construction of Plaza 3a (Tufinio
2002:57, 2004:117), one of the last construction
phases at the site (Bourget 2001: 96). Therefore,
Plaza 3c and Plaza 3a represent distinct
structures from chronologically separate periods.
Plaza 3c is associated with Moche III ceramic
artifacts and Plaza 3a is associated with Moche
IV artifacts.
Plaza 3a features a natural rock outcrop
which was intentionally incorporated into the
17
Many Moche huacas were intentionally constructed at
the foot of these cerros, visually and symbolically connecting
the huaca to this natural feature associated with supernatu-
ral potency.
- 78
complexs adobe walls (Figure 24). It was in
Plaza 3a, in the context of this rock outcrop,
that Steve Bourget unearthed human remains of
more than 70 individuals who had been
sacrificed in five distinct rituals (Bourget
2001:96; see also Verano 1998). The
spectacular nature of this sacrifice has
overshadowed other finds of this type, including
the sacrificial human remains unearthed in Plaza
3c.
In Plaza 3c, just to the east of Recinto I,
archaeologists also discovered evidence for
human sacrificial activity. They interpreted this
activity as distinct from that found in Plaza 3a,
however (Tufinio 2006:63; Uceda 2000:93-95;
Uceda and Tufinio 2003:192-195; Verano et al.
2007). While skeletons in Plaza 3a bore
evidence of torture and dismemberment,
skeletons in Plaza 3c were decapitated,
dismembered, and had had their flesh
intentionally removed (Tufinio 2004:111;
Uceda and Tufinio 2003:195, 222; see also
Verano et al. 2007).18 This distinction suggests
that Recinto I, Plaza 3c, was devoted to
sacrificial activity of a different nature (Tufinio
2006:59). Additionally, these sacrificial deposits
spoke of not one, but several episodes which
occurred over a long period of time (Tufinio
2004:112). According to the excavator, Recinto
I, Plaza 3c was directly related to these sacrificial
deposits and also experienced a prolonged
period of use (ibid.). While it is not clear that all
individuals found in the context of Recinto I,
Plaza 3c were sacrificed in front of this structure,
we can ascertain that the characteristics of this
particular ritual included decapitation and the
removal of flesh. Human remains were, at some
point, deposited near this small enclosed free-
18
I am grateful to an anonymous reviewer for pointing out
that the skeletons in Plaza 3c formed a deposit of human
remains, i.e. individuals who had been sacrificed or
processed elsewhere and were later deposited in Plaza 3c.
79 -
standing structure which sat in the shadow of a
one-peaked mountain.
This suite of traits which have been
discovered archaeologically, decapitation in the
context of an enclosed gabled structure in the
shadow of a one-peaked mountain, are also
found as an iconographic set in Moche ceramic
art. This thematic group is known as the
Mountain Scene of Human Sacrifice. In the
next section, we will focus specifically on a
subset of this theme which depicts sacrifice
(specifically decapitation) in the context of an
enclosed gabled structure. Information proffered
by this subset of vessels lends further support to
a connection between architectural structures of
the Enclosed Gabled Type and human sacrificial
activity.
THE ENCLOSED GABLED TYPE IN THE
CONTEXT OF A ONE-PEAKED MOUNTAIN
Within the greater Moche ceramic vessel
corpus is a thematic group discussed as the
Mountain Scene of Human Sacrifice (Zighel-
boim 1995).19 Vessels in this thematic category
share two key elements: a sculpted
representation of a mountain, and a modeled
figure draped face-down over the central peak,
referred to as Bent Person. Also appearing in
these scenes is a figure lying akimbo at the base
of the mountain, referred to as Dead Person
(Zighelboim 1995:153-154).20 While mountain
sacrifice scenes are most often multi-peaked, an
19
Bourget has also discussed these vessels in connection
with Cerro Blanco, Huaca de la Luna, and human sacrifice
(1994). The link between mountains and Moche sacrifice
is also noted by Donnan (1978:144-148). Zighelboim
proposes that the one-peaked depictions reference Cerro
Blanco (1995:157).
20
One of the most frequently published examples of the
Mountain Scene of Human Sacrifice depicts a five-peaked
vessel where Bent Person is connected to Dead Person by
a river or a stream of blood (Donnan 1978: figure 2.25).
Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels
important subset of this group depicts a one-
peaked mountain.21 The one-peaked vessels, in
particular, contain information relevant to our
discussion.
One-peaked mountain sacrifice scenes differ
from multi-peaked scenes in a few important
ways. First, the center of the mountain houses a
form resembling the faade of the Enclosed
Gabled Type (Figures 26, 27).22
Second, Dead Person appears directly
beneath this structure, his head separated from
his body. In other words, Dead Person in one-
peaked mountain sacrifice scenes lies
decapitated in the context of an EGT structure.
Also particular to one-peaked depictions are jars
(rendered in low relief) which flank the
entrance of the enclosed gabled edifice, though
the way they are rendered suggests they sit just
below the structure (Figures 26, 27). Jars are
another motif associated with the Enclosed
Gabled Type, as we see from an EGT vessel in
the Museo Larco, where ritual jars appear on
either side of the structures central entrance
(Figure 22).
The one-peaked mountain scene provides
valuable information as it unites, on a single
vessel, the Enclosed Gabled Type, human
sacrifice via decapitation, and a towering one-
peaked mountain. These same elements occur
together in the archaeological record at Huaca
21
Two one-peaked mountain scene vessels are housed in
the Museo Larco (Figures 26, 27), two are published in
Zighelboim (1995: figures 2b, 2c), and one is housed in a
private collection. Both one-peaked mountain sacrifice
scenes from the Museo Larco are Moche IV, as is evident
by both their long, straight spouts and their exaggerated
stirrup-shaped handles.
22
Zighelboim acknowledges the form, describing it as
terraces flanked on the top, with two half-pyramids
facing each other . . . (1995:64, 81, figure 2.b), a reason-
able description given the scarce attention given to EGTs
in the past.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
de la Luna in Plaza 3c, where an EGT (found in
association with human sacrificial activity) was
constructed in the shadow of a one-peaked
mountain (Cerro Blanco).23 Imagery found on
one-peaked mountain vessels, then, provides us
with visual evidence supporting the hypothesis
that the EGT represented a specific structure,
most likely Recinto I, Plaza 3c. That a ceramic
architectural vessel mimicked the form of a full
scale structure supports Donnans early proposal
that everything depicted in Moche art is
eventually corroborated in the archaeological
record (1978:82). This correspondence
underscores the importance of architectural
vessels to our continued understanding of
Moche ritual architecture. Through a
methodical visual deconstruction of Moche
sculpted vessels, used together with
archaeological data, scholars can arrive at
su r p r i si ng l y deta i l ed a nd nu a nced
interpretations for Moche art and archaeology.
IDEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
ENCLOSED GABLED TYPE
We are left to question why the Enclosed
Gabled Type, one of ten architectural types in
the vessel corpus, and an architectonic form
uncommon in the Moche archaeological record,
came to dominate the Moche IV architectural
vessel sample. What might this architectonic
type have symbolized for Moche ideology and
ritual during this chronologically late Moche
phase?
At present, our understanding of spout type
and its relationship to Moche chronology is
being revised. As a result, Moche phases I-II, III,
IV, and V are no longer seen as reflecting a
23
Acts of human sacrifice in the context of a sacred
mountain were likely undertaken in an effort to venerate
and appease mountain deities, forces which the Moche
depended upon for water and agricultural sustenance. For
more on this, see Donnan (1978:148), Hocquenghem
(1987:80), and Zighelboim (1995:171-173).
- 80
chronological development from early to late
(Castillo and Donnan 1994:143-144; Castillo
and Uceda 2008:710-714). Nonetheless, Moche
IV and V spouts are still viewed as reflecting the
later phases of Moche occupation in the
southern Moche sphere, from the Chicama
Valley southwards. Decades of excavation at
Huaca de la Luna have turned up substantial
amounts of Moche IV ceramic ware, indicating
that Moche IV was an important ceramic style
for this site in its later phases of occupation. As
such, it makes sense that fine ware ceramic
vessels mimicking the form of a symbolically
important structure at Huaca de la Luna would
be fashioned with Moche IV spout types. What
remains perplexing, however, is that Recinto I,
Plaza 3c and its related contexts were associated
with Moche III rather than Moche IV ceramics.
Might this suggest that the EGT reflected the
memory of an earlier ritual structure which had
been interred by the time Moche IV ceramics
began to appear? Because none of the seventy-
six EGT vessels in the corpus was excavated
scientifically, we are left to speculate.
I have suggested here and elsewhere that
architectural vessels represent in miniature full
scale structures of sacred significance to the
Moche (Wiersema 2010). If true, all of the
architectural types documented through cera-
mic vessels would have been ideologically
important. However, the EGT as a likely analog
for a structure like Recinto I, Plaza 3c, located
in a restricted area, decorated with elaborate
and explicit imagery, and associated with human
sacrificial activity, would have taken on special
status or symbolism.
Scholars believe that the Moche undertook
human sacrifice for political, social, and
ideological reasons (Uceda 2000:92, 99). In
addition, such activity strengthened the sacred
bond between powerful individuals and deities
(Tufinio 2008:461). Sacrifice appears to have
taken on particular importance in Moche IV, a
81 -
phase associated with the height of Moche
power and influence in the southern Moche
valleys.24 This fact is corroborated by Moche art,
as well as by the archaeological record.25 For
example, in Moche IV fineline painting, certain
themes proliferate and become codified, most
notably images of warfare, capture, arraignment,
bloodshed, captive sacrifice, and the
presentation of a goblet to an elaborately
dressed Moche priest or lord (Donnan and
McClelland 1999:136).26 Evidence of ritualized
human sacrifice on a significant scale at Huaca
de la Luna is apparent in the archaeological
record at this time, culminating in Moche IV
with activity in Plaza 3a. It is in this same phase
that the EGT (and its associated imagery
referencing human blood-shed) first emerges in
force in the architectural vessel corpus,
overshadowing all other architectural types.
The predominance of the Enclosed Gabled
Type in the Moche IV sample suggests it
emblematized a structure of key political and
ideological significance. As we have seen, the
archaeological record confirms the EGT was a
24
While Moche chronology is presently being reconsid-
ered, it is largely agreed that Moche IV reflects the height
of Moche power and influence in the southern valleys,
especially evident at Huaca de la Luna. This power was
likely demonstrated through large spectacles of ritual
violence. See for example Swensons discussion of this for
the Jequetepeque Valley (2003, 2008, in press).
25
While the construction and ritual use of Huaca de la
Luna spanned more than a century (450-650 A.D.; Uceda
2000:92), evidence for human sacrifice at this site is
especially strong in the later phases of occupation, corre-
sponding to Moche IV ceramics.
26
This interrelated and sequential complex of images,
referred to as the Warrior Narrative, is believed to have
occurred within circumscribed architectural space, most
likely the Moche ceremonial precinct (Donnan and
McClelland 1999:130-136). Of the many events comprising
Moche religious ritual as it is depicted in the Warrior
Narrative, human sacrifice is viewed as the most crucial
(Donnan 2010).
Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels
structure of some consequence. It is, however,
the overwhelming presence of this architectonic
type in the artistic record that signals its
important ideological role during Moche IV.27
CONCLUSIONS
This study, focused on a single architectural
type in the Moche vessel corpus, aims to shift
our perception of ancient Andean ceramic
vessels from decorative objects to decoding
objects. Here I have proposed that Moche
architectural vessels, once deciphered, aid us in
our understanding of excavated structures and
direct us to full scale structures of great ritual
significance. Our ability to identify
correspondence between architectural vessels
and Moche architectural remains suggests that
these often abstracted vessels present us with
specific and explicit depictions of full scale
Moche architectonic structures and features.
Contexts provided by Moche art and
corroborated in the Moche archaeological
record suggests that architectural vessels mimic
key aspects of full scale structures which were
intimately tied to ideology, power, and religious
ritual. As such, these objects act as key tools in
our quest to interpret and identify ceremonial
architecture built by this fascinating, but often
enigmatic, pre-Hispanic Andean society.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to Christopher Donnan for carefully and
critically reading this article in manuscript form and for
his feedback on an earlier version of this work. I thank
Santiago Uceda, Moises Tufinio, and Jorge Gamboa for
familiarizing me with the architecture of Huaca de la
Luna, especially Plaza 3, as well as for their generous
assistance and input. I am also indebted to the museums
and collections whose directors and expert staff facilitated
27
In Moche V, the EGT continues to have a significant
presence, but becomes more stylized in its representation,
decorated with geometric motifs rather than pictorial ones.
As of yet, there is no evidence of mass ritualized human
sacrifice found in Moche V contexts.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
this investigation: the Museo Nacional de Antropologa,
Arqueologa, e Historia del Per (Carmen Arellano,
Dante Cassaretto, Maritza Perez, Ana Flores, ngel
Ludena, Csar Crdoba, Paco Merino, Rosa Martnez,
Wilfredo Cordero, Milano Trejo, Carlos Mansilla, and
Dimitri Manga), the Museo Arqueolgico Rafael Larco
Herrera in Lima (Andrs lvarez Caldern, Carlos Vels-
quez, Sr. Huarache, Ulla Holmquist, Rocio Aguilar, and
Paloma Manrique), the American Museum of Natural
History (Sumru Aricanli, Paul Beelitz, and John Hansen),
Manuela Fischer at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin-
Preuischer Kulturbesitz, Ethnologisches Museum, and
Ramiro Matos and Emily Kaplan at the Smithsonians
National Museum of the American Indian. Generous
financial support came from the Smithsonian Institution,
Fulbright IIE, the University of Maryland, and the Cosmos
Club Foundation. The Pre-Columbian Society,
Washington D.C., provided an opportunity to develop
these ideas for a society lecture. I thank the society for
their enthusiasm and interest and in particular Rosemary
Lyon and Lucy Wilson. Later versions of this work were
presented to the Department of Anthropology, Harvard
University, thanks to an invitation by Gary Urton and
Adam Stack, and at the 28th Northeast Conference on
Andean Archaeology and Ethnohistory, SUNY New Paltz,
organized by Ken Nystrom. I extend special thanks to
Andean Pasts anonymous reviewers who took the time to
read this manuscript and provide their insightful and
valuable comments. Any mistakes are, of course, my own.
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85 - Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels

Figure 1: Moche architectural vessel of the Enclosed Gabled Type (EGT), Moche IV,
Museo Nacional de Antropologa, Arqueologa, e Historia del Per (C-54620), Lima,
24.4 centimeters high.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 86

Figure 2: Moche architectural vessel of the Enclosed Gabled Type (EGT), Moche IV,
Courtesy of the Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York City
(AMNH B4857), 20.3 centimeters high. Vessel from the Adolph Bandelier collection,
acquired by the AMNH in 1894.
87 - Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels

Figure 3: Moche architectural vessel of the Architectural Complex Type, Moche I-II,
Eugenio Nicolini Collection (12836), Lima, 14 centimeters high.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 88

Figure 4: Front (left) and top (right) views of Architectural Complex Vessel, Moche III,
Museo Nacional de Antropologa, Arqueologa, e Historia del Per (C-61802), Lima,16.7 centimeters
high. A vessel sharing similar morphology (Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, 4-3262)
was excavated by Max Uhle from grave 26, Site F, Huacas de Moche in 1899, height unknown
(Donnan 1965: plate 1, number 10; see also Kroeber 1925: plate 561).

Figure 5: Moche Architectural

Complex Vessel, Proto Moche,
location unknown, height unknown.
Photograph courtesy of Christopher
B. Donnan.
89 - Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels

Figure 6: Map of archaeological sites on Perus north coast (from Mujica et al. 2007).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 90

Figure 7: Double step motif vessel, Moche

IV, Museo Larco, Lima, Peru
ML012936, 21.3 centimeters high.

Figure 8: Double step motif along northern perimeter wall of the Decorated Patio, Huaca Cao Viejo
91 - Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels

Figure 9: Open Gabled Type, Moche IV,

Eugenio Nicolini Collection (12808),
Lima, 22.5 centimeters high.

Figure 10: Open Shed Roof Type, Moche IV,

Museo Nacional de Antropologa,
Arqueologa, e Historia del Per (C-03340),
Lima, 22.7 centimeters high.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 92

Figure 11: Recinto I,

Plaza 3c, Huaca de la
Luna. On either side of
the entrance is relief
imagery of felines
attacking human figures.

Figure 12: Plan view of

Recinto I, Plaza 3c,
Huaca de la Luna. An
enclosed square structure
(Recinto I) sits within a
U-shaped perimeter wall.
Just in front of the en-
trance is a small ramp or
altar (from Tufinio 2004:
figure 109).
93 - Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels

Figure 13: Floor plan created from fineline on Enclosed Gabled Type,
Photograph courtesy of the Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History,
New York City (AMNH B4857).

Figure 14: Circular structures from Figure 13 translated into rectilinear ones which better reflect forms
found in excavated Moche architecture (both plans are based on AMNH B4857, Figure 13 above).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 94

Figure 15: Enclosed Gabled Type, Moche IV,

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin-Preuischer
Kulturbesitz, Ethnologisches Museum
(VA-18281), formerly Arthur Baessler
collection, 20.5 centimeters high.

Figure 16: Enclosed Gabled Type, private col-

lection, height unknown Photograph courtesy of
Christopher B. Donnan.
95 - Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels

Figure 17: Enclosed Gabled Type, Museo

Nacional de Antropologa, Arqueologa, e
Historia del Per (C-54615), Lima, 22
centimeters high.

Figure 18: Fineline illustration by Donna McClelland of the Moche Sacrifice Ceremony (from Donnan
1978: figure 239b and Donnan and McClelland 1999: figure 4.102). The bottom register maintains
pictorial elements (chisel, streams of blood, war clubs, and eared serpents) also found on
Enclosed Gabled Type vessels.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 96

Figure 19: Front and back of Moche IV vessel depicting a sculpted figure bound to a rack and set
between two step motifs. Blood from the figures neck falls to the women painted in fineline below,
Museo Larco, Lima, Peru (ML001474), 19 centimeters high.

Figure 20: Pictorial imagery found on vessels (often flanking the entrance)
of the Enclosed Gabled Type (EGT).
97 - Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels

Figure 21: Enclosed Gabled Type, Moche IV,

depicting two chisels or scalpels with drops of blood, at
either side of the structures entrance, Museo Amano,
Lima (469), 21 centimeters high.

Figure 22: Enclosed Gabled Type, Moche IV,

Museo Larco, Lima (ML002903). Note painted
vessels on either side of entrance,
20 centimeters high.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 98

Figure 23: Schematic plan of the Enclosed

Gabled Type, adapted from AMNH B4857,
(Figure 2).

Figure 24: Artists reconstruction of Huaca de la Luna showing direction of proposed processional route,
beginning in Plaza 1 and leading up to Plaza 3c (from image courtesy of Santiago Uceda).
Circles indicate structures which likely anchored ceremonial activity at the site.
99 - Wiersema: Moche Architectural Vessels

Figure 25: Isometric image of south western section of Huaca de la Luna showing the direction of
processing captives on the south and east walls. The series of step motifs that marks the route from
Plaza 1, below, to Plaza 3c, above, can be seen at top left (after Tufinio 2004: figure 12).

Figure 26: Mountain Scene of Human Sacrifice, Moche IV

Museo Larco, Lima (ML003104), 15 centimeters high.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 100

Figure 27: Mountain Scene of Human Sacrifice, Moche IV

Museo Larco, Lima (ML012998) 18 centimeters high.
 THE WELL AND THE HUACA: CEREMONY, CHRONOLOGY, AND CULTURE CHANGE
AT HUACA CAO VIEJO, CHICAMA VALLEY, PERU
Jeffrey Quilter
Harvard University
Rgulo Franco J.
Proyecto Arqueolgico El Brujo
Csar Galvez M.
Proyecto Arqueolgico El Brujo
William Doonan
Sacramento City College
Catherine Gaither
Metropolitan State College of Denver
Victor F. Vsquez S.
ARQUEOBIOS, Lima, Peru
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF THE
WELL AT EL BRUJO
This article presents information on the
excavation and analysis of materials from the
Ceremonial Well (Pozo Ceremonial) and its
surrounding area at the El Brujo Archaeologi-
cal Complex in the Chicama Valley, Peru, and
the relationship of events there to activities
elsewhere at the site and in the region (Figure
1). The well was discovered in 1993 and exca-
vated by a team of Peruvian archaeologists in
the following year. In field seasons in 2002 and
2004, a combined United States and Peruvian
team carried out research in the area surround-
ing the well. Here, we present a summary of the
various field investigations, reviews of analyses
of material remains, and interpretations of the
significance of these studies. By determining
the history of the use of the well and correlat-
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012): 101-131.
Teresa E. Rosales T.
Laboratorio de Arqueobiologa de
la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales de
la Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Per
Jaime Jimnez S.
Proyecto Arqueolgico El Brujo
Hal Starratt
Western Nevada College
Michele L. Koons
Harvard University
ing it with events at the nearby Huaca Cao
Viejo we infer that there was a significant reno-
vation of spaces in the entire architectural
complex and changes in its use. Extending the
analysis to compare changes at Huaca Cao Viejo
complex with those at the Huacas de Moche
also offers insights into other cultural changes
on Perus north coast.
The El Brujo Archaeological Complex
occupies a raised terrace at the northern edge of
the lower Chicama Valley. This tableland,
averaging eighteen meters above mean sea level,
is likely a remnant of a Pleistocene ground
surface that was preserved when the rest of the
land mass was washed away late in the era, or in
the early Holocene. For the most part, the
material comprising the terrace consists of an
alluvium of gravel of rounded cobbles ranging in
size from small pebbles to oval or round stones
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
20 to 40 centimeters in diameter, mixed with
finer soil.
The Brujo terrace is a one square kilometer
triangle with its base on its northern end and
with the long sides meeting at its southern tip
where Huaca Prieta, famed for its role in defin-
ing the Preceramic Period (Bird et al. 1985), is
located. Several large archaeological complexes
are on the rest of the terrace and have been
identified as associated with Cupisnique,
Moche, Lambayeque, Chimu, Inca, and Span-
ish Colonial occupations (Franco et al. 2005a;
Mujica Barreda 2007; Tate 2006). The most
intensive and extensive occupation is associ-
ated with the Moche archaeological culture,
consisting of a large, relatively low complex on
the southwest, known as Paredones, Huaca El
Brujo (also known as Huaca Cortada) near the
northwestern corner of the complex, and
Huaca Cao Viejo, in the northeastern sector of
the terrace.
Some research has been carried out at
almost all of the archaeological sites of the El
Brujo complex, but since 1990, work has con-
centrated at Huaca Cao Viejo and its sur-
rounding area. The huaca is a large, terraced
adobe structure with an extensive walled plaza
at its front, facing north. Initially, based on
work mostly on the northern front of Huaca
Cao Viejo, Peruvian archaeologists (Franco et
al. 2003a) determined that the huaca is the
sum of seven construction phases, designated
Phase A (the latest) to Phase G (the earliest).
In Phases D through G the front terraces of the
huaca were decorated with murals, Phase B was
not completed, while Phases A and C were
decorated with polychrome bas-reliefs. Each
one of these construction phases likely repre-
sented a significant event in the history of the
huaca although some phases appear to have
involved only the remodeling of the front
section of the structure (Phases D and E) while
others completely encased an older structure
- 102
(Phases A, C, F, and G; Figure 2). If only the
phases of total remodeling are considered, there
were four major building stages (Mujica Barreda
2007:102) which we will refer to here as Huaca
1 (Construction Phase G), Huaca 2 (Construc-
tion Phase F), Huaca 3 (Construction Phase C)
and Huaca 4 (Construction Phase A). The
remodeling events of the front of the huaca
were considerable but fundamentally were
continuations of the previous full-scale renova-
tion. Thus, building phases E and D were elabo-
rations of Huaca 2 and building phase B was an
elaboration of Huaca 3.
The front terraces of the huaca were brightly
painted, as were patios on its summit. Rituals
took place in both large, apparently public, and
smaller, possibly private, spaces. The huaca
remodelings were mostly on the front terraces
and the front of the huaca summits. These areas
were seen from the plaza and thus received the
most attention from viewers and ritual partici-
pants.
A high-ranking woman, now referred to as
the Seora de Cao (Burial 3), was buried in a
patio on the northwest upper corner of the
huaca. Her remains were found in a deep shaft
in the adobes of the huaca while three other
burials, all of males, were in shallower tombs
nearby (Franco et al. 2005a; Williams 2006).
During the time of Huaca 2, rituals took place
in the patio above her tomb. The high status of
the Seora de Cao is demonstrated not only by
the quantity and quality of grave goods, but also
by the presence of a sacrificed young woman
next to her burial bundle in the tomb. One of
the other burials (Burial 1) also had a sacrificed
victim in his grave, suggesting that he, too, was
of high status.
The term montculos is used at the El Brujo
complex to refer to structures with no other
name. Montculos means mounds in Spanish,
but excavations in them prior to our work at the
103 -
well revealed that they are purpose-built,
substantial structures made of adobe bricks.
After abandonment, either deliberate entomb-
ment of the structures or deterioration,
through time, caused them to assume the shape
of small hills. Six montculos are at El Brujo,
three of which are in the northeastern sector of
the complex (Figure 1). Montculo 1 is relatively
small and has two building phases. Excavations
revealed rooms painted white, a corridor, and
a patio. Domestic refuse with camelid remains
and maize cobs suggest a domestic function.
Remains of the second occupation included
throne or altar-like features and fragments of
ceramic war clubs known to have served as
roof-top decorations on important buildings.
Although the original dimensions of the struc-
ture are uncertain, by its second building stage
it was 400 square meters in area, and ceremo-
nial activities appear to have increased from
earlier times, based on changes in architectural
detail.
Montculo 2 is approximately seven thou-
sand square meters in area and also was found
to have two construction phases. The earlier
structure was a small, stepped pyramid. The
structure grew with the addition of platforms
and a large surrounding wall. Again, all rooms
were painted white, and decorative ceramic
club fragments were found during excavations.
Montculo 3 is roughly one thousand square
meters in area and underwent four construc-
tion phases. Staircases, platforms, floors, and
ramps all were painted white, although red and
yellow paint was found on fragments of plaster
with cane impressions on the back, indicating
that they are from either a suspended ceiling or
a column made of bunches of reeds as its struc-
tural core.
The Ceremonial Well is 470 meters north-
west of the front terraces of Huaca Cao Viejo,
about 100 meters to the west of Montculo 2,
Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley
and approximately 170 meters north of Mont-
culo 3. A primary goal of our research was to
determine the associations of the well with these
various structures and the activities that took
place at and in them.
DISCOVERY OF THE WELL AND FIRST STAGE
RESEARCH
The well was discovered accidentally in
1993 when an El Brujo archaeologist fell into it
while walking across the site. Dense vegetal
material in the well mouth supported the ar-
chaeologist by his armpits, preventing him from
falling into the void. Subsequently, the Peruvian
site archaeologists decided to conduct an exca-
vation of the well.
From its lip to the current water level, the
well is 12.47 meters deep with the water 2.36
meters in depth (Franco et al.1995, 2003b). At
its mouth, the well is 3.40 meters in diameter
and the width of the shaft at the water level is
1.33 meters in diameter (Figures 3, 4). Descent
from the ground surface to the water was ac-
complished via a spiral path that combined
features of both ramp and stairway. Cobbles
from the surrounding gravel were compacted
into a series of 40 steps. The treads of some of
these are wider than others so that two or more
footsteps likely would have been necessary
before reaching the next tread. Persons de-
scending would have entered the cavity from
the west, moved counter-clockwise, and reached
the pool at its northern edge. The descending
spiral takes two-and-a-half turns from top to
bottom.
Water enters the well through three sepa-
rate channels in the subsoil. The source of the
water is the relatively high water table on the
Peruvian coast, a phenomenon exploited by
many people, ancient and modern, who exca-
vate to just above the water table to create
sunken gardens, known as huachaques. In
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
addition, there are large wells at the Chimu site
of Chan Chan entered by ramps, although they
are much larger than the Brujo well and are
rectangular in shape (Campana Delgado
2006:132-135; Moseley 1975).
The well was excavated in arbitrary levels
based on the turns of the spiral. Five levels
were defined, including the water level. The
first level was the mouth of the well, levels 2-4
each accounted for a turn in the spiral while
level 5 was the muddy deposit below the water
surface.
The excavated deposits consisted of great
amounts, and a diverse array, of materials.
These included loose soil, cobbles and angular
stones, various plant remains, mollusc shells,
camelid bones, utilitarian and diagnostic ce-
ramic fragments, and human skeletal remains.
None of the latter was a complete skeleton but
the collection included a minimum of ten
individuals of different ages, mostly infants and
adolescents, as well as the remains of men and
women. According to John Verano (1995:168)
who conducted the analyses, these bones likely
were deposited in the well after having been
removed from other contexts. They may repre-
sent a random assortment, as there is no indi-
cation that they were selected with any prefer-
ence to the age or sex of the individuals.
The last tread before the water was wider
than those above it, creating a small recessed
area where the skeletal remains of an adult
male, between 30 and 40 years of age at time of
death, was encountered (Verano 1995:166).
The skeleton was on its back with the head
oriented to the east. Conservation of skeletal
remains was poor due to high humidity and the
skeleton was incomplete. Bone porosity and
loss on vertebrae indicate a trauma in life with
subsequent bone regrowth, and various teeth
had caries. There was no clear sign of a cause
of death (ibid.: 167). Near the remains were
- 104
fragments of copper sheets, mollusc shells, and
non-diagnostic sherds, also in poor states of
preservation.
The water in the well was thick with soil and
materials which included a whale vertebra
worked to serve as a receptacle, two wooden
paddle-like tools, decorated gourd fragments,
mollusc shells, and charcoal. The recovered
diagnostic ceramics include types commonly
termed Gallinazo and Salinar as well as
Moche vessels. The latter exhibited design
elements that placed most of them in the middle
of the five-phase sequence developed by Rafael
Larco Hoyle (1939; Figures 5, 6).
There was no clear patterning of these
remains to suggest that the well was filled in
stages. The mix of more than a ton of materials
and their general consistency suggests a single
and likely rapid filling of the space by people
dumping trash in the well. Once the well was
excavated by the archaeologists, the stair-ramp
was stabilized and gravel was placed in the space
around the entry. A roofless, four-walled room
of adobes was built around the well in order to
prevent stray animals and tourists from falling in
it.
SECOND STAGE RESEARCH
A combined U.S.-Peruvian team returned to
the well for further studies in 2002 and 2004.
During this work, research was concentrated in
the area around the well to better understand its
context within the El Brujo site complex (Figure
7).
One to two meter wide trenches were placed
running perpendicular to each of the four walls
of the room surrounding the well and then
expanded outwards as work revealed features of
interest. In 2002, various features were found on
the east and west sides of the well. These mostly
consisted of fragments of walls that had been
105 -
robbed of adobes, and small sections of rooms
that had been badly damaged due to looting,
making it difficult to interpret past activities in
the area. In one of the rooms, a poorly pre-
served adult burial was found laid on a mat. On
the north and south sides, however, few traces
of human occupation were clearly in evidence,
other than areas of melted adobe.
In 2004 work continued in the same man-
ner as previously. There was a relatively large,
flat area running along the northwest to the
northeast side of the well with relatively little
looting in evidence. Work was focused in this
sector and uncovered features amenable to
interpretation. Excavations determined that
there are two major natural stratigraphic
levels in the area around the well, Capas A and
B (Figure 8). Capa A is a single deposit, where-
as Capa B is subdivided into three levels. Capa
A includes the contemporary ground surface,
and is between 10 and 20 centimeters in thick-
ness. In addition to light amounts of modern
trash, this layer contains angular stones, cob-
bles, shells, ceramic sherds, a few bone frag-
ments, and fragmented adobes. The adobes are
of a tall form associated with late building
phases at Huaca Cao Viejo (Glvez Mora et al.
2003).
Capa B, Level 1, is between 30 and 60
centimeters in thickness and generally contains
the same kinds of materials as Capa A. The soil
color is lighter than the upper level and more
compact and homogenous. The primary differ-
ence between this level and Capa A is that the
adobes found in the lower level are of the
short variety, associated with earlier building
phases at Huaca Cao Viejo.
Capa B, Level 2, is gray in color due to
abundant ashes and decomposed organic
materials. The latter include chili pepper seeds,
cotton, fish and camelid bones, crab parts, and
bivalves, as well as other materials. Sherd
Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley
densities are higher than in the upper levels.
This layer is also between 30 and 60 centimeters
thick and is associated with structures made of
adobes and small cobbles.
Capa B, Level 3, is a smooth textured,
brown soil. It ranges in thickness from 2 to 10
centimeters. This layer rests on sterile soil
deposits and is associated with circular hearths
and non-diagnostic sherds of bowls and plates.
The stratigraphic levels discussed above
correlate with major occupations near the well.
The Phase 1 occupation is associated with Capa
B, Level 3 and is the first evidence of human
occupation in the area. The occupation was
light, and activities included making small fires.
The nature and quantities of remains are such
that we cannot assign a firm relative or chrono-
metric date to this occupation. Based on fea-
tures of the utilitarian wares, this occupation is
likely to have occurred in the Early Intermediate
Period. We do not know, however, if the well
was dug or in use at this time.
The Phase 2 occupation of the area around
the well is associated with Capa B, Level 2.
During this phase, a number of small structures
made of rectangular adobes and cobbles were
built surrounding the well. Although the recent
construction of the roofless structure around the
well prohibited investigation, it appears that a
space of two or more meters around the circum-
ference of the well was kept clear of structures.
The utilitarian ceramics associated with
these structures include many examples of neck-
ed jars and bowls, suggesting that they con-
tained liquids. The diagnostic sherds are of the
same kinds as found in the well, Moche style
ceramics and examples of Gallinazo and Salinar-
like wares. It is worth noting that of the eight
stirrup spout fragments found in the second
stage work that were large enough to identify,
four resembled the Moche Phase III style in the
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 106

relatively squat shape of the stirrups, and four gastropods, mussels, sardines, anchovies, drum-
had tall stirrups or had narrow spouts in the fish, Peruvian weakfish, and guinea pig. Plant
manner of the Moche Phase IV style. remains included willow, goosefoot, lima bean,
common bean, maize, manioc, and potato. The
We took two samples of materials from latter two plants were detected by starch grain
different areas of a large hearth in one of the analysis because no macro remains were present.
structures in Capa B. Combined, the two
unscreened samples weighed 1.63 kilograms The animal and plant materials found in the
and consisted of soil, ashes, cinders, and plant hearth are probably the remnants of meals eaten
and animal remains. Subsequently, these re- by the people who lived in the vicinity of the
mains were analyzed by Victor F. Vsquez S. well, as also indicated by partial burning of some
and Teresa E. Rosales T. (2009) of the of the large fish bones. Such meals likely were
ARQUEOBIOS center at the National Univer- common, everyday ones. No traces of festival
sity of Trujillo (Table 1). foods, such as llama bones, were encountered,
but our sample was relatively small. The overall
Common Spanish Common English impression offered by the analyzed sample,
Animals however, is that the people who ate the food
Molluscs and lived in the vicinity of the well were rela-
Tetula atra caracol negro snail
Prisogaster niger caracolito negro snail tively low status residents of the El Brujo com-
Polinices uber caracol luna snail plex.
Xanthochorus buxea snail
Thais haemastoma caracol snail
Bostryx sp. snail The Phase 3 occupation is associated with
Helisoma sp. ramshorn snail
Physa sp. tadpole snail Capa B, Level 1. This phase witnessed a sub-
Pisidium sp. pill clam, pea clam stantial renovation of the area. The Phase 2
Semimytilus algosus chorito playero mussel
structures were filled in and covered over with
Fish
Sardinops sagax sagax sardina sardine rubble, and the well was filled with trash, in-
Engraulis ringens anchoveta anchovy cluding human remains from the previous
Sciaena deliciosa lorna drum, croaker
Cynoscion analis cachema Peruvian weakfish occupation, as described above. The area was
Mammals smoothed over with puddled adobe, and a series
Cavia porcellus cuy guinea pig of small adobe platforms and a low cobble-faced
Plants wall were constructed (Figure 9). The adobes
Dicots
Salix sp. sauce willow used in these features consisted of old, short-
Chenopodium sp. white goosefoot, pigweed style adobes robbed from the earlier construc-
Prosopis sp. algarrobo carob
Crotalaria sp. rattle pod tions and new style, tall adobes. This wall ran
Phaseolus lunatus pallar lima bean over or very close to the lip of the now filled-in
Phaseolus vulgaris frijol common bean
Manihot esculenta yuca manioc well. The filling in and end of the use of the well
Solanum tuberosum papa potato were associated with a substantial reorientation
Monocots of the overall use of the site area.
Zea mays maz maize, corn
Cyperus sp. junco sedge
Twenty-five meters east of the well, the
Table 1. Animal and plant remains from a hearth near remains of an adobe wall are in evidence by a
the Ceremonial Well. rise in the ground surface formed by the melting
of the adobes from the upper levels of the wall
The contents of the hearth included (Figures 1, 10). The mound of the wall runs 18
macrofossil remains of small mollucs, especially degrees west of north. The rise in the ground
107 -
above the wall can be seen directly east of the
well. It runs northward for 45 meters, then
makes a right angle, running another 38 meters
before disappearing from the ground surface.
Given that the wall is relatively close to the
well, and that it separates the well area from
Montculo 2, we decided to investigate it. We
excavated a total of four units on the wall. Our
largest excavation, Unit 1, revealed two paral-
lel single-file adobe walls running with the
same orientation, and a large double-file wall
over them, at a different orientation (Figure
11). Due to the severe looting of the entire site
area, we could not determine if the bases of
walls were associated with any of the phases in
the well area, although some reasonable infer-
ences are possible as will be discussed below.
EVALUATING THE CEREMONIAL NATURE
OF THE WELL
The feature under discussion has been
called the Ceremonial Well because it has been
assumed, given its location near Huaca Cao
Viejo and the ceremonial activities that are
known to have occurred there, that the well
also was a place of ritual activity. A review of
the issues involved in evaluating ritual at the
well seems appropriate here, and several factors
may be taken into account in such an assess-
ment.
There are many examples, past and pres-
ent, of Andean people conducting ceremonies
and holding beliefs that celebrate and revere
water, as well as fluids in general (Carrin Ca-
chot 1955). Among the many examples are the
role of blood in Moche sacrifices (Quilter
2001) and the great Inca ceremonies of state
involving irrigation canals and their waters,
such as the sacrifice of a young woman, Tanta
Carhua, and her entombment at an important
section of an irrigation canal, as described by
Hernndez Principe (1923 [1621]:62-63; see
Silverblatt 1987:90-101). So, too, many of the
Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley
shrines on the ceque system of Inca Cusco were
fountains or other water sources (Bauer
1998:62-134, 2004; Rowe 1979).
It is a common practice, worldwide, to carry
out rituals for or about water and its importance
and power. These involve, among other things,
the first rains of the agricultural cycle, great
rivers as sources of fecundity, and springs as sites
of miracles. All peoples, especially those in
environments where the quantity, quality, and
dependability of water is uncertain, tend to
focus ceremonial and religious activities to try to
guarantee that water is available when needed,
and is controlled.
Given that water in agricultural societies
may be enmeshed in religious concepts and
activities, the extent to which we can interpret
the well as ceremonial versus utilitarian is
not clear. Reserving water for only ceremonial
use and making it off limits for consumption is a
course of action that is maladaptive in environ-
ments where water is scarce. Small amounts of
water may be off-limits for consumption, such as
holy water used for non-immersion baptisms or
for sprinkling on the faithful in some Christian
(Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican) rituals.
However, the sacrality of water often is attrib-
uted to its life-giving properties in rather funda-
mental, biological ways, whether it be the Nile
or the Ganges. Washing or bathing in sacred
grottoes and similar features, however, allows it
to be both holy and still of use.
In the Stage I research, the well water was
tested, compared with water from a contempo-
rary well nearby, and found to be highly saline
(Franco Jordn et al. 2003b). No clear conclu-
sions can be drawn about the potability of the
water in ancient times from this study, however.
Many factors, such as surface conditions, precip-
itation rates, intensity of land and water use,
and others, including the use of motorized water
pumps, could have affected the quality of the
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
water in the well at El Brujo between antiquity
and the present day. In short, we cannot say
whether the water in the well was potable or
not in the past.
It may very well be that the waters of the
Ceremonial Well at El Brujo were sacred. The
chief problem in attempting to evaluate this
issue is that the behavior associated with sa-
credness is not clearly in evidence in the ar-
chaeological record here, and it is difficult to
develop testing procedures that might elucidate
the matter. Numerous fragments of utilitarian
jars associated with the structures of the Phase
2 occupation indicate that liquids were con-
sumed, but we cannot infer that the liquid in
question was water from the well.
A conclusive determination of the role of
the well at El Brujo cannot be made with
certainty, at present. Its waters likely were used
and perhaps they were considered to have had
special qualities. The only way to further evalu-
ate the status of the well as ceremonial, or not,
would be to gain a better appreciation of how
it relates to other architectural features nearby.
There were signs of domestic debris to the
north and south of the well, but the great
amount of looting in the area challenges such
research.
The relatively low status of the local resi-
dents is in evidence through our analysis of
human remains (Gaither 2002). Few burials
were found with relatively complete skeletons,
and most could not be identified with a partic-
ular stratum, because they were almost all from
highly disturbed contexts. Of those with com-
plete enough remains to determine sex or age,
there were four adult males, three adult females
(including one whose sex is not completely
certain due to ambiguous skeletal characteris-
tics), six adults whose remains did not include
the skeletal elements necessary for the determi-
nation of sex, and five unsexed sub-adults. It is
- 108
not possible to determine sex morphologically in
sub-adult remains.
Many of the adults showed evidence of hard
lives including periodontal disease and extensive
tooth wear. Periostitis, a non-specific indicator
of stress that manifests itself as new bone depo-
sition on pre-existing boney surfaces faces, was
common. Interestingly, all three relatively
complete crania showed evidence of cranial
modification, symmetrical occipital flattening,
for both men and women.
Hard lives also are indicated by the evidence
of trauma on the bones. This includes cases of
parry fractures and defensive wounds indicative
of interpersonal violence in two males. A
woman (QM02-02), associated with the B1
occupation, had a particularly hard life. Al-
though she lived to the relatively advanced age
of forty to forty-five, she had a healed depres-
sion fracture on her right frontal bone and a
wide, perimortem cut mark on her left parietal
bone (Figure 12). In other words, she had sur-
vived a blow to the head on at least one occa-
sion, and had received a cut on the back of her
head shortly before, or just after, her death. It
seems reasonable to infer that her death was
violent and at the hands of another human
being.
In sum, the evidence suggests that the
people who were buried and, inferentially, had
lived around and near the well, were non-elites
and lived relatively hard lives. This suggests that
if these people had any special association with
the well it did not accord them high rank in
Moche society. Indeed, the signs point to the
interpretation that these people were poor
townspeople.
Ceremonial activities are in evidence in the
Phase 3 occupation with its small platforms and
clean, leveled area. These features and any
ritual activities that were associated with them,
109 - Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley

which left no observable traces, occurred after
the well was sealed and no longer in use. It is
possible that the platforms above and around
the well area evoked memories of the well
below them. This seems unlikely, however.
Rather, there is a sense of erasure of past prac-
tice in the way in which the features above the
sealed well seem to obliterate its presence.
tion of forms suggests that relatively similar
activities took place during both the B1 and B2
occupations. Occupation B1 appears to have
been somewhat more intense, based solely on
the fact that there are more artifacts in its
strata.
2004 Ceramic vessel forms by levels

Forms Rims Capa - Nivel

Another way to approach understanding
A1 B1 B2 B3 Totals
the role of the Ceremonial Well is to consider
an analysis of vessel forms found in our 2004 Cntaros C. Gollete 2 13 1 16
Convexo 2 2
excavations in the area surrounding it. As Recto 2 40 12 54
noted above, vessels reasonably interpreted to Expandido 2 66 13 81
have held liquids are the most common utilitar- Ollas Sin Cuello 8 2 10
ian ceramics found in our excavations (Figures Convexo 3 1 4
Expandido 1 30 8 39
13, 14). These consist of variations of necked Evertido 1 6 3 10
jars (cntaros), restricted mouth jars (ollas Recto 4 4
Insipiente 6 42 20 1 69
cuello convexo and others), and large jars (tina-
jas), as well as various bowl forms that could Tinajas Expandido 2 2
Ref. en borde 7 4 11
have held either liquids or solids (ollas and Sin Cuello 2 46 17 3 68
cancheros). Other vessel forms include bowls,
Other Jarra 5 1 6
plates, and other forms, some of which include Forms Cuenco 1 13 5 19
finewares and items usually associated with Plato 2 2
Florero 1 1
ritual or burial, such as floreros and stirrup Canchero 1 1 2
spout bottles, but in very low numbers. Cuchara 1 1

Totals 17 292 88 4 401

Of the four major capas excavated, very
few utilitarian sherds with diagnostic traits Table 2. 2004 ceramic vessel forms by levels.
were recovered for the uppermost (A1) and
lowest (B3) strata, but sufficient numbers for Capas Cntaros Ollas Tinajas Others Totals

quantitative analysis were found for Capas B1 B1 (113) 121 (97.6) 93 (58.4) 55 (23.1) 23 292
and B2 (Table 2). A simple chi-square analysis B2 (34.0) 26 (29.4) 34 (17.6) 21 (6.95) 7 88
(Table 3) of the distribution of forms suggests,
Totals 147 127 76 30 380
however, that there is no strong patterning in
the data that might be interpreted as due to
Expected values in parentheses, observed values without.
human activities. With a probability of 0.235, Chi-square = 4.26, Degrees of freedom = 3, Probability = 0.235
the observed distribution of vessel forms is not
that different from what would be expected in Table 3. Chi-square analysis of ceramic vessel forms
a random distribution and the variations from found in area surrounding the Ceremonial Well.
that expectation, slightly more cntaros in B1
and slightly fewer in B2, slightly fewer ollas in A SECOND WELL
B1, and more in B2, do not readily yield to
interpretation that might be significant in A second well has been found recently at El
terms of human behavior. Indeed, the distribu- Brujo. It is 270 meters to the northeast of the
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Ceremonial Well and 575 meters almost di-
rectly north of the front terraces of Huaca Cao
Viejo. Well 2 is 8.6 meters deep from the
ground surface to the top of the current water
level, which 60 centimeters deep. The maxi-
mum diameter of the orifice is seven meters,
with a minimum diameter of four meters. Like
the Ceremonial Well, Well 2 was entered by a
counter-clockwise ramp, although it lacks the
step-like treads of the previously discovered
feature (Figure 15).
Details of the features of the upper sections
of Well 2 were destroyed in antiquity when it
was filled with soil containing relatively small
amounts of cultural debris compared to the
Ceremonial Well. Another activity that de-
stroyed the construction details of the upper
part of Well 2 was the building of an adobe
chamber tomb on top of, or beside, the access
ramp, now 2.5 meters below the modern
ground surface. Burials in the chamber con-
sisted of a male between 20-35 years at time of
death, and two females, aged 20-34 and 35-45
years (Gaither 2008). No sign of severe trauma
was evident in these remains, and a few small
bones, such as from the hands and feet, were
missing from all three burials, and a clavicle,
molar, and a few other small bones from a
fourth individual were found. These data
suggest that the human remains were not
sacrifices, but were burials removed from an-
other location and reburied when the well was
closed. Among the diagnostic artifacts in the
tomb were two fineware ceramics in the Larco
Phase V style (Figure 16).
We cannot be sure, at present, if both
known wells were in operation simultaneously.
We only know that the Ceremonial Well was
filled with trash that appears to be relatively
early, and Well 2 had burials with Moche V
ceramics. The wells may have overlapped in
dates of use with Well 2 being later than the
Ceremonial Well or, alternatively, both wells
- 110
were closed at about the same time. The latter
is a possibility partly because the assumption
that the Larco phases follow in strict chronolog-
ical order is being increasingly challenged by a
number of scholars (see Quilter and Castillo
2010). Overlapping or even contemporaneous
existence of styles seems quite likely. As in the
case of studies of the Northern Moche (Castillo
and Donnan 1994), a chronology of Early
Moche (Larco Phases I and II), Middle Moche
(Larco Phase III and early Phase IV), and Late
Moche (late Larco Phase IV and Phase V;
Castillo 2001:308, 2003:67) seems to best
address current understandings and has been
used in this article.
Also as previously discussed, there is a large
wall running between the Ceremonial Well and
Montculo 2. The wall may have enclosed the
montculo or it may have turned to form a large
compound next to it, with domestic occupations
located outside of the wall. There were at least
two major wall construction phases. The earliest
wall is made of single-file adobes, and our exca-
vations revealed a parallel wall next to it, sug-
gesting that the two walls formed a street in the
town. On top of that wall, however, is a larger
two-file adobe wall running at a slightly differ-
ent, more northwesterly, direction. This wall
seems more a perimeter wall than a house
compound wall, and appears to be the same wall
that is observable as a low mound that makes a
turn to the east north of the Ceremonial Well.
Although more excavation would be neces-
sary to confirm it, there is a strong suggestion
from our research that the walls just mentioned
demarcated different spaces at the El Brujo site.
The area east of them contains the large Mont-
culo 2 and the area to the west consists of resi-
dences. The walls may have been a division
between sacred and profane spaces at the site.
In addition, the closing of both wells, after
or in late Middle Moche times, strongly implies
111 -
that whatever their ceremonial roles, their use-
life was deliberately ended. These changes
conform to larger reorientations of the site,
including the remodeling of Huaca Cao Viejo
itself, and to dramatic changes among the
Moche in general.
CULTURAL CONTEXT AND SOCIAL CHANGE
To summarize the results of field-work,
after a light occupation in the area, the Cere-
monial Well at El Brujo was excavated and put
into use. While the date of this event is uncer-
tain, the well appears to have been used during
the Middle Moche period. The use of the well
occurred at the same time as the use of small
structures nearby which may have been resi-
dences of relatively low status people. Eventu-
ally, the well was filled in and the structures
were abandoned. This part of the site was then
remodeled and reoriented for a use or uses that
included small adobe platforms, perhaps for
ceremonial activities. How much time elapsed
between the closing of the well and its associ-
ated buildings and the remodeling is uncertain,
but the people who changed the spaces appar-
ently did not identify themselves with the
human remains that they threw into the well
with other refuse even if a perfunctory human
offering was placed in the recessed area near
the water.
Well 2 may have been used concurrently
or, as seems more likely, somewhat later than
the Ceremonial Well. Both wells were located
outside of Montculo 2 and far from Montculo 3
and the plaza and temple of Huaca Cao Viejo.
Although we cannot correlate the various re-
modelings and construction phases of all of
these features in detail, we can note that the
closing of the wells occurred in the same phase
and, likely, at about the same time, as a sub-
stantial and, apparently, dramatic reorientation
of the structures at the site and the activities
that occurred in them.
Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley
Huaca 3 shares the same ceramic styles and
adobe forms as Phase 2 of the well. At the end
of the use-life of Huaca 3, the temple underwent
a period of decline and perhaps even temporary
abandonment or, at least, disuse. Walls were
torn down on the huaca terraces and wind-
blown soils accumulated in the main plaza.
Eventually, however, Huaca 4 was built over the
ruins of earlier construction. Work carried out
in this phase reutilized some old adobes, but the
new, tall form was used extensively, as in the
construction of the cobble wall and platforms of
occupation Phase 3 over and around the well.
In addition to the correlations between the
Ceremonial Well and Huaca Cao Viejo, the same
general pattern of a substantial remodeling that
included the use of the new tall adobe style oc-
curred in Montculo 2. In short, there was a major
break in the occupation and use of Huaca Cao
Viejo, followed by a period of disuse and then, by
a time of revitalization in which the huaca and
many other constructions were reconfigured. This
included the end of the use of the Ceremonial
Well and possibly also of Well 2. This suggests
that the entire architectural program and, inferen-
tially, the religious and political systems associated
with it, were dramatically altered at the site at the
end of the use of Huaca 3 and that Huaca 4
represents a major change in the nature of the
occupation at the site.
It has been known for some time there were
substantial changes in Moche culture towards
the end of its history, marked by sharp changes
in fineware ceramic styles and their symbolic
contents, changes in construction activities at
ceremonial centers, and shifts in settlement
patterns (see Bawden 1982, 1996; Lockard
2009). The combination of data and informa-
tion for the various areas of the El Brujo com-
plex may now contribute to an interpretation of
how these events transpired there, and an
evaluation of their importance for understand-
ing Moche culture change in the greater region.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 112
Sample # Sample Type SampleContext RC Age Uncali- 1 * Cal 2 * Cal SH 1 * SH 2 *
(BP) brated date Cal Cal
(BP)
OxA-6896 caa brava Phase A (Huaca 1480 40 550-621 441-652 599-655 556-667
4)
OxA-7005 caa brava Phase D (Huaca 1675 70 255-432 179-548 354-540 256-591
2+)
OxA-7006 caa guayaquil Phase F (Huaca 2) 1670 65 257-502 232-542 385-540 258-590
OxA-7007 caa guayaquil Phase D (Huaca 1865 80 61-241 41 BC- 90-329 29-408
2+) 343
OxA-7008 paint (vegetal Phase F (Huaca 2) 1650 65 263-532 244-546 402-546 261-606
carbon)
Beta-109132 wood wooden idol Phase 1490 80 153060 436-596 416-641 542-646 433-659
C (Huaca 3)
Beta-208269 collagen sacrifice, Huaca E 1210 40 1370 40 650-680 620-700 659-767 644-805
base
Beta-208630 collagen sacrifice, Patio C, 1340 50 1540 50 440-580 410-630 542-638 433-654
Offering 1
Beta-208631 plant sacrificial rope, 1740 40 1750 40 240-350 220-400 261-408 239-440
hild, T. 1, Sra.
group.
Beta-208632 plant sacrificial rope, girl 1619 40 1580 40 420-540 400-570 440-598 427-620
next to Sra.
Beta-212819 cotton unprocessed from 1530 40 1550 40 440-560 420-610 538-622 435-647
Sra. wrapping
Beta-212820 textile threads from 1740 40 1760 40 230-340 150-390 260-396 238-425
(cotton) Sra. wrapping
Beta-230123 charred mate- ritual fire above 1450 50 1420 50 593-659 542-680 613-761 585-773
rial Sra. Cao Tomb
Beta-230124 plant material from Sra. 1580 50 1580 40 430-536 385-597 438-600 425-636
Cao
Beta-230125 plant upper section of 1610 50 1590 50 424-535 349-583 435-584 418-631
huaca front
Beta-230126 wood upper terrace 1730 50 1730 50 249-381 140-420 260-427 243-533

All calibrations performed on the OxCal/ORAU database. The first (left-hand) two columns of calibrated dates are based on the Northern
Hemisphere correction while the two (right-hand: SH) columns are adjusted for the Southern Hemisphere correction. All dates, unless
otherwise indicated, are A.D. and are published here for the first time.

Table 4. Radiocarbon dates for major building phases at Huaca Cao Viejo.

In reviewing previously published radiocarbon
dates for Huaca Cao Viejo, we discovered that
the conversions to calendar dates had been made
using the Northern Hemisphere calibration.
Adjusting to the Southern Hemisphere calibra-
tion brings the Cao Viejo dates more in line with
known chronologies elsewhere, such as Huaca de
la Luna. As adjusted (Tables 4 and 5), the two
dates for Construction Phase F are close: A.D.
258-590 (OxA-7006) and 261-606 (Ox-7008) for
the 95% confidence interval. The dates for Con-
struction Phase D are of interest: OxA-7007
(A.D. 29-408) is earlier than the dates for Huaca
F while OxA-7005 (A.D. 256-591) is contempo-
rary with them.
Given the overall patterning of the dates,
however, the general indication is that construc-
tion phases F-D occurred within the fourth to
sixth centuries A.D., most likely in the period
between the 400s and early 500s A.D. The OxA-
7007 date is anomalous because Phase F occurred
stratigraphically before Phase D, and there are
two consistent dates for Phase F that are later
than the out-of-sequence Phase D date. Phases F
and D cannot be temporally separated with these
radiocarbon dates, but the law of superposition
can establish that the Phases D and E remodeling
occurred after the Phase F construction phase
(Huaca 2). The Seora de Cao burial dates, and
other dates associated with it, are generally coeval
with the D-F dates; her burial has been associated
with Phase F, stratigraphically.
113 -
Table 5: Bar chart of radiocarbon dates for the Moche occupation at Huaca Cao Viejo at the El Brujo
archaeological complex.
The date for Construction Phase A is satis-
factory in being later than any of the previously
mentioned, at A.D. 556-667 (OxA-6896). The
only radiocarbon date that may be associated
with Constuction Phase C is from a wooden
idol found buried in a room dating to that era.
The two-sigma date range for the idol is 433-
659 A.D. (Beta-109132). As the Phase C
construction is stratigraphically between Phase
D and Phase A, a cautious placement of the
time of the Phase C (Huaca 3) construction
would be in the first half of the seventh century.
If there were environmental disruptions on
the north coast of Peru due to severe El Nio
events in the sixth century (Moseley et al. 1981;
Moseley et al. 2008; see also Sandweiss and
Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley
Quilter 2008), it is interesting to consider that
the greatest activity, or at least the greatest
number of radiocarbon dates indicating activi-
ties at Huaca Cao Viejo, are in the late fifth
through the sixth centuries. We suggest, how-
ever, that these occurred before the Phase
C/Huaca 3 construction that dramatically
reworked the Ceremonial Well area and Huaca
Cao Viejo. The establishment of the bas-relief
friezes similar to those at Huaca de la Luna
occurred after the inferred El Nio events and
shortly before the huaca was abandoned alto-
gether.
To the south, in the Moche Valley, Santi-
ago Uceda Castillo (2010) suggests that at some
time circa A.D. 600 construction at Huaca de
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
la Luna halted, with the temple no longer
actively in use. Huaca del Sol was then greatly
expanded relatively quickly, and a new struc-
ture, Platform 3, was constructed on the side of
Cerro Blanco, above the plaza of the old Huaca
de la Luna. Now known as the New Temple
and famed for the Revolt of the Objects mural,
this platform (Quilter 1990) became the main
religious structure of the site complex. Both it
and Huaca del Sol were built with tall adobes.
It has long been recognized that the times
associated with the transition between Phases
IV and V of the Larco sequence marked major
changes in Moche culture (e.g. Bawden 1982,
1996; Lockard 2009) and significant changes in
cultural patterns, including ceramic styles, are
now well in evidence at many other sites, such
as San Jos de Moro in the northern Moche
region (Castillo 2010). Even though there is an
ongoing reevaluation of Moche sub-styles that
are now identified as likely reflecting geograph-
ical and even site-specific styles instead of
relatively uniform chronological changes, there
still appears to have been dramatic changes in
ceramics and in socio-political relations late in
the Moche era.
The evidence gathered from excavation of
the wells at the El Brujo Archaeological Com-
plex and the correlation of events in these
locales with changing construction phases in
the montculos and at Huaca Cao Viejo demon-
strate that great and important changes oc-
curred at both places. After centuries of huaca
buildingHuacas 1 and 2, Construction Phases
E and D, and Huaca 3construction stopped
and Huaca Cao Viejo was little used. Then,
some more work was carried out, followed by
the last major construction, Huaca 4.
It is important to note that the use of bas-
relief friezes begins at Huaca Cao Viejo on the
front of Huaca 3 (Construction Phase C). Little
remains of this decorative program, but one
- 114
terrace wall has designs of stylized catfish,
imagery that was used over many years at the
site and may have been emblematic of it. An-
other terrace, below the catfish frieze, has small
panels depicting a deity, hero, or similar
anthropomorph sacrificing another (Franco et
al. 1994; Mujica Barreda 2007:138-139). This
technique of representation, while appearing
relatively late at the site may have developed
independently of specific imagery.
In the last major phase of the Huaca Cao
Viejo, Huaca 4, the artistic program on the
front of the huaca, as well as the designs in
rooms on its summit, followed the same decora-
tive program as at Huaca de la Luna, where at
least three major building phases previously had
been made in a distinctive style. That style
utilized bas-relief to represent life-sized prison-
ers paraded by victorious warriors on the face of
the lowest terrace of the huacas, and a series of
mythological beings on the walls of the terraces
above them. It thus appears that this decorative
program, its symbolism, and, inferentially, a
suite of religious practices, were imported from
Huaca de la Luna to Huaca Cao Viejo, or that
there was a third, as yet undiscovered, source
for the art program of both Huacas de la Luna
and Cao Viejo. Unless another source is identi-
fied, however, Huaca de la Luna should be
considered the origin point for this design
program and its associated social and political
phenomena.
The evidence from the excavation of the
wells, and our consideration of changes that
occurred in every structure at the site that has
been investigated, indicate that the adoption of
new ideas and practices at the El Brujo complex
was a radical departure from older ways. The
adoption of an artistic program similar to that of
the Huaca de la Luna program at Huaca Cao
Viejo thus appears to represent not just a close
political and social relationship between the
two sites, but a reconfiguration of ritual practice
115 -
and political alliances as well. This change
occurred while many other shifts in behaviors
and relations were occurring elsewhere in the
Moche region and was likely part of dramatic
and significant events throughout the Andes.
In conclusion, our research at the Ceremo-
nial Well, in combination with a review of
architectural phases in other structures at El
Brujo, has identified a dramatic and profound
halt in activities in the Moche occupation
associated with Huaca Cao Viejo. After a
period of time, a new artistic and, very likely,
religious and political system, apparently very
similar to that of Huaca de la Luna, revitalized
Huaca Cao Viejo. These events confirm that
there was likely a widespread reorientation of
cultures on the north coast of Peru that oc-
curred in the seventh century, resulting in what
is seen in art and iconography as a new Moche
style, commonly seen in Larco Phase V. Further
studies of the specific events that occurred at
sites such as Huaca de la Luna and the El Brujo
complex will surely help clarify the causes and
consequences of such changes.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The excavations at the Ceremonial Well were
supported by Fundacin Wiese of Lima in Stage I, and
subsequently by a grant from the National Geographic
Society and research leave from Dumbarton Oaks. The
research also would have been impossible to carry out
without the kind offices of the National Institute of
Culture of Peru (now the Ministerio de Cultura) in Lima
and Trujillo. Analysis of the remains from the hearth
were carried out thanks to research funds from the
Peabody Museum, Harvard University. We thank these
institutions. Special thanks are offered to Marco Aveggio
of the Fundacin Wiese for his enthusiastic and generous
support of the U.S. scholars through his provision of the
use of a vehicle, house, and support staff.
Thanks go to all of the project members who helped
make this research possible. We all thank Michael L.
Strobel, Director of the National Water and Climate
Center, United States Department of Agriculture, for his
commentary on issues of water potability in the El Brujo
well. Thanks are also due to Richard L. Burger for reading
Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley
a draft of this article and offering constructive comments,
and to Denis Vargas of the El Brujo archaeological team
for help with some last minute illustration needs. We
offer special thanks to Gregory Lockard and Juliet
Wiersema, Andean Past reviewers, who gave up their
anonymity, and whose highly useful comments on the
draft of this paper greatly improved it.
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El Brujo, valle de Chicama. In Moche: Hacia el
final del Milnio, Actas del Segundo Coloquio sobre
la Cultura Moche (Trujillo , 1 al 7 de agosto de
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2009 The Occupational History of Galindo, Moche
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Moseley, Michael E.
Chan Chan: Andean Alternative of the Pre-
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1981 Living with Crises: Human Perception of Pro-
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2008 Convergent Catastrophe and the Demise of Dos
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chaeology of the Moche: An Ancient Andean
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Steve Bourget and Kimberly L. Jones, pp. 81-92.
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Quilter, Jeffrey and Luis Jaime Castillo B.
2010 New Perspectives on Moche Political Organization.
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1987 Moon, Sun, and Witches: Gender Ideology and
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Tate, James P.
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2010 Theocracy and Secularism: Relationships Be-
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2009 Anlisis de restos de fauna, vegetales y granos de
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procedentes de un fogn en El Pozo
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ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 118

Figure 1: Map showing the northeastern sector of the El Brujo Archaeological Complex
with features discussed in the text. M designates a montculo.
Huaca El Brujo lies to the west of the complex and is not shown in this figure.
119 - Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley

Figure 2: North-South profile of building stages of the Huaca Cao Viejo (not to scale).
The northern, front side of the huaca is to the left.

Figure 3: North-South profile of the Ceremonial Well. North is to the left.

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 120

Figure 4: The Ceremonial Well at Huaca Cao Viejo.

121 - Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley

Figure 5: Body sherds found in excavations. All are red on cream except for upper right
(black and brown on white) and lower left (black on red).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 122

Figure 6: Two sherds found in excavations around the well. Both are red on cream.
123 - Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley

Figure 7: Plan of excavations around the well.

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 124

Figure 8: North wall profile of excavations around the well (see Figure 6). 1. Capa A, salitre;
2. Surface in use during late occupation; 3. Capa B, Level 1; 4. Capa B, Level 2; 5.Capa B,
Level 3 showing two floors (P1 and P2); Declivity to the viewers left (west) is a looters hole.

Figure 9: Aerial photograph of the well area show-

ing a Phase 3 adobe platform. The cobble-faced
wall and its line of continuation across contempo-
rary features are indicated. Top of the photograph
is West.
125 - Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley

Figure 10: Aerial photograph of the well and its surrounding area.
Note the large wall at right. North is at the top of photograph.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 126

Figure 11: Unit 1. Possible room or compound walls with large wall superimposed. View to the North.
127 - Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley

Figure 12: Skull of a badly treated woman.

Top: Arrow indicates compression wound on right side of cranium.
Bottom: Arrow indicates unhealed cut mark on left side. Insert: Detail of cut mark.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 128

Figure 13: Rim profiles of vessel types found in excavations around the Ceremonial Well.
Row 1: Cntaros Cuellos Rectos; Row 2: Cntaros Cara Gollete; Row 3 Cntaro Cuello Convexo;
Rows 4 and 5: Cntaros Cuellos Expandidos; Row 6: Cuencos; Row 7: Bases.
129 - Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley

Figure 14: More rim profiles of vessel types found in excavations around the Ceremonial Well.
1. (Top 3 Rows): Left Column: Ollas Sin Cuello; Middle Column: Cancheros;
Right Column: Top: Olla Cuello Expandido; Bottom (2): Ollas Cuellos Truncados.
2. (Middle 2 Rows): Left Column: Ollas Cuellos Convexos;
Middle Column: Ollas Cuellos Expandidos; Right Column: Ollas Cuellos Evertidos.
3. (Bottom 2 Rows): Left Column: Tinajas Cuellos Expandidos;
Right Column: Tinajas Bordes Reforzados.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 130

Figure 15: Well 2 with burials.

131 - Quilter et al.: Huaca Cao Viejo, Chicama Valley

Figure 16: Two stirrup spout vessels found with the Well 2 burials. The dimensions of the restored
vessels are: Left: Height: 21.7 centimeters; Maximum Width.: 14.6 centimeters;
Right: Height 22.3 centimeters; Maximum Width: 14.5 centimeters.
 ADOBE BRICKS AND LABOR ORGANIZATION ON THE NORTH COAST OF PERU
INTRODUCTION
Archaeologists studying monuments often
estimate the number of people and time needed
for a particular project. Less often, however, do
they investigate the organization of this labor,
that is, how a group of workers was divided and
subdivided, assigned the same or different tasks,
and how their work was credited and recorded.
Such studies are crucial for understanding
ancient states because they reveal the relation-
ship between laborers, administrators, and the
elite. By tracking the change in labor organiza-
tion through time, we can model the evolution
of labor administration as early states develop
into empires.
In this article I investigate labor on the north
coast of Peru by presenting data on adobe bricks
from two archaeological sites: the Huaca de la
Luna and Farfn (Figures 1 and 2). At the
Huaca de la Luna (Unit 16, Moche IV, A.D.
400-700), I confirmed observations made earlier
by Hastings and Moseley (1975) that bricks of
the same size, and with the same makers mark,
were placed together in the same construction
segment. By contrast, bricks from Farfn (Chim
occupation, A.D. 1310-1460) lacked makers
marks and bricks of different sizes can be found
in the same section of a wall. If adobe manufac-
ture and construction can be used to infer labor
organization (Cavallaro and Shimada 1988;
Hastings and Moseley 1975; Kolata 1978:164;
Moseley 1975; Shimada 1997), then these
patterns suggest that the Moche system of
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012): 133-169.
Howard I. Tsai
University of Michigan
organizing and recording the work of brick
laborers had disappeared by Chim times.
CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE NORTH COAST
OF PERU: A.D. 100-1470
One of the earliest states of the Andes, the
Moche, emerged on the north coast of Peru
(Stanish 2001:55). Some scholars hypothesize
that at least two Moche states were present
between the second and eighth centuries A.D.,
the southern Mochica centered in the Moche
Valley and the northern Mochica in the
Lambayeque region (Billman 2002:372-373;
Castillo and Donnan 1994; Shimada 1994:78-
87). At the capital of the southern Mochica
state stood two large adobe pyramids, the Huaca
del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna, the former
measuring approximately 342 by 159 meters,
reaching forty meters in height, and containing
more than 143 million bricks (Hastings and
Moseley 1975:196-197). The area between
these two pyramids was an urban zone packed
with residences, streets, and plazas. During the
height of the southern Mochica state, between
A.D. 300-700 (ceramic phases Moche III and
IV), its capital achieved maximum size with at
least 10,000 people living within a five kilometer
radius (Chapdelaine 2003:276).
During the Middle Horizon (A.D. 600-
1000) new centers emerged, including Galindo,
located just eleven kilometers northeast of the
Huacas of Moche, and Pampa Grande in the
Lambayeque Valley, some 160 kilometers to the
north. Radiocarbon dates show that the Huacas
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
of Moche (Chapdelaine 2000:137), Galindo
(Lockhard 2008:279), and Pampa Grande
(Shimada 1994:4) co-existed during the seventh
century A.D. They were all abandoned, or no
longer served as major population centers, by
A.D. 800. The reasons for these transformations
are still unclear. Some suggested causes include
flood and drought (Moseley 2001:223-225),
internal social unrest (Bawden 1996:271-275),
and external conquest by the Wari, a highland
state whose capital was some seven hundred
kilometers away (Collier 1955:136-137; Willey
1953:398). The last scenario, that highlanders
from Wari conquered the Moche states, is not
supported by the archaeological evidence (Don-
nan and Mackey 1978:213; Wilson 1988:334-
335).
New states and, eventually, an empire,
emerged on the north coast of Peru during the
Late Intermediate Period. In the La Leche
Valley, the Sicn state, with its capital at Batn
Grande or Sicn, thrived between A.D. 900 and
1100, a period called Middle Sicn (Shimada
2000:51-61). The site of Sicn was the para-
mount center of a four-tier settlement hierarchy
(ibid.: 61), and its core area, the Sicn Precinct,
boasted more than a dozen adobe huacas or
pyramids. Later the temples atop the pyramids of
Sicn were burned and the site was abandoned.
A new center, Tcume or El Purgatorio (Sand-
weiss 1995), emerged during the subsequent
period (Late Sicn, A.D. 1100-1360).
While Sicn flourished in the north, the
Chim or Kingdom of Chimor (A.D. 900-1470)
started building a city of palaces, residences, and
workshops in the Moche Valley (Topic and
Moseley 1983). This city, now the archaeologi-
cal site of Chan Chan, was home to 30,000-
40,000 people and covered some twenty square
kilometers with an urban core of six square
kilometers (Moore and Mackey 2008:784). Chi-
mor started its military campaign around A.D.
1310, conquering other coastal polities in the
- 134
valleys of Jequetepeque, Casma, and Lamba-
yeque. Tcume fell to Chim conquerors be-
tween A.D. 1360 and 1400.
The military nature of Chimors expansion
was remembered through oral accounts and
recorded by Spanish chroniclers some two
centuries later (Cabello Valboa 1951 [1586]:
329; Calancha 1977 [1638]:1227). The archae-
ological evidence for Chim conquest consists
of rectangular compounds that resemble the
palaces or ciudadelas of Chan Chan, but are very
different from local, non-Chim sites. By A.D.
1460, the Chim empire controlled an area
more than six hundred kilometers from north to
south along the coast of Peru. The fall of Chi-
mor was also recorded by Spanish chroniclers,
who provided histories (and conflicting ac-
counts) of the Inca conquest, the relocation of
the Chim king to Cusco, and the break-up of
the Chim empire into smaller provinces (Hart
1983:106-116; Rowe 1948:42-46).
ADOBE BRICKS AND THE INVESTIGATION OF
LABOR ORGANIZATION
Sixteenth-century Spanish accounts de-
scribe the rights of native Andean curacas, or
lords, to demand labor and service from their
subjects (Hart 1983:175-176; Rowe 1946:261).
The recruitment and administration of laborers
on the northern Peruvian coast, according to
Moseley (1975), can be traced back to Moche
times. At the Moche capital, the massive pyra-
mids of the Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol
were constructed in segments, that is, in
separate columns of adobes not bound by mortar
(Kroeber 1930:61). Some bricks had a makers
mark or symbol, a circle, line, dot, etc., incised
into the surface of the brick when wet. More
than 100 different marks have been recorded.
Within each segment, the majority (eighty-five
to ninety-five percent) of the bricks had only
one type of makers mark. Bricks from the same
segment also tended to have the same dimen-
135 -
sions and be made from the same soil type
(Hastings and Moseley 1975:197-198). Other
Moche period sites with marked adobes include
Pampa Grande (Shimada 1994:162-166), El
Brujo (Franco et al.1994:160-161), Galindo
(Lockard 2008:287-289), Huaca Vichanzao
(Prez 1994:241-246), and Dos Cabezas (Don-
nan 2007: figures 2.3 and 2.11). Some marks
were common and are found at various sites,
whereas other marks are unique and observed at
only one site (Lockard 2008:288; Prez 1994:
244).
Moseley (1975:192) proposed that each
makers mark represented a distinct social group,
possibly a work party or a community (Figure 3).
A makers mark could not have represented a
single individual because (1) some marks per-
sisted for more than a century and (2) one
hundred individuals could not have produced
the 143 million bricks that made up the Huaca
del Sol (Hastings and Moseley 1975:197;
Moseley 1975:192). The Moche state, therefore,
must have enlisted work parties as represented
by the different makers marks to construct the
two pyramids.
Some two centuries later, a different pattern
of brick production characterized Chan Chan,
the capital of the Chim empire. Bricks from
Chan Chan did not have makers marks and,
within any given structure, the adobes were
made from the same soil and look as if they
came from the same mold(s) (Kolata 1978:
163). Because of this contrast between Chan
Chan and the two Huacas of Moche, Kolata
(ibid.:164) suggested that the principle of
organizing the labor for construction [at Chan
Chan] was different from that used at the
Moche pyramids.
Shimadas (1997) study of adobe structures
from the Lambayeque region also led him to
suggest that labor organization had changed
over time. At Sipn a Moche III (c. A.D. 300)
Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization
site in the Lambayeque Valley, the adobe
mounds were built in segments similar to those
at the Huacas of Moche (Meneses and Chero
1994:182-183). Adobe structures from the
Moche V (A.D. 550-750) site of Pampa Grande,
however, differed from earlier patterns of con-
struction. Some construction segments at
Pampa Grande included bricks with different
makers marks. Furthermore, some segments
had only one makers mark but the bricks were
of different sizes (Shimada 1994:162-165).
During the Middle Horizon (A.D. 750-
1000), construction principles no longer fol-
lowed the earlier Moche scheme of one seg-
ment=one mark=one brick size. At the site of
Sicn, one segment often contained adobes of
different sizes and makers marks (Shimada
1997:79). This pattern of brick mixing also
occurred at the site of Tcume, where adobes
within a given wall segment vary in size, propor-
tions, soil, and mark, and well over half of the
adobes are marked (Sandweiss 1995:166).
Thus, unlike the Huacas of Moche, the post-
Moche sites had segments built with bricks of
diverse sizes, soil types, and makers marks.
Kolata (1978) and Shimada (1997) recog-
nized the importance of studying bricks from a
diachronic perspective. If brick size and con-
struction method reflect how states organized
labor, then any change in these variables could
indicate a corresponding change in labor organi-
zation. Variations in brick sizes and makers
marks are the result of certain decisions made
during adobe production. To understand such
variations, we need to divide the production of
adobes into multiple stages, and then infer how
patterns in the archaeological record reflect
actions taken at each stage of production.
STAGES OF ADOBE PRODUCTION
In this section I provide a brief outline of
how adobes are made. The purpose of this
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
discussion is to show how various stages of brick
production affect the variability (size, shape,
color, etc.) of adobes. The production of adobes
consists of four stages: (1) procuring the soil; (2)
mixing the soil with water and temper; (3)
placing that mixture in brick molds; and (4)
drying the bricks. In the following discussion of
adobe production, I present my observations of
modern-day adobe production from the town of
Moche (May-June 2004) and archaeological
evidence regarding prehispanic adobe produc-
tion.
Modern-day adoberas are large rectangular
depressions in the ground where the soil is
excavated, mixed, and made into bricks. The
soil used to make adobes is a mixture of sand,
silt, and clay (Brown and Clifton 1978:139).
Before the introduction of trucks or donkeys,
adobe makers would obtain the soil close to the
structure about to be built, generally within a
kilometer. At Farfn, the type and color (brown
10YR 5/3 to red 7.5YR 5/4; Munsell Color 2000)
of the soil used in the bricks most resembled the
type and color of the natural soil near those
bricks. Bricks from Compound I of Farfn, for
example, contain many rock inclusions, and the
natural soil surrounding Compound I also has
many rock inclusions compared to other areas.
During soil mixing, water is added to moist-
en the soil. It is likely that adobe manufacture
occurred between the months of November and
April, when there is more water from the river.
Today adobe makers follow a recipe that
dictates the ingredients of the adobe soil. I
recorded four such recipes at the town of
Moche. Each recipe gives a different proportion
of fine sand, coarse sand, earth, and lime. The
mason then mixes the soil either by foot or by
shovel. Adobe makers often use straw as a
temper.
Wooden molds are used to manufacture
rectangular bricks. The adobe maker pours the
- 136
mixed soil into the mold, flips the mold over,
removes the mold, and leaves behind a damp
adobe. Modern bricks made from a single mold
are very uniform. The standard deviation is less
than 0.4 centimeters (n=61). Therefore if one
brick is larger than another by several centime-
ters, it is likely that it was made from a different
mold.
During the Gallinazo period (200 B.C.-A.D.
200, Early Intermediate Period), rectangular
bricks were made from cane molds, as indicated
by cane imprints on the sides of the bricks
(Hastings and Moseley 1975:198). In the follow-
ing Moche period, most bricks had smooth
sides, although a few bricks still retained cane
imprints (Hastings and Moseley 1975:198;
Moubarac 2002:59, 69). Chim bricks from
Farfn have smooth sides without any cane
impressions. Instead of being flat, the top sur-
faces of Chim bricks are often slightly concave,
sometimes displaying finger grooves. These
grooves suggest that brickmakers at Farfn used
their hands to smooth the upper surfaces of
their bricks.
After removing the molds, the brickmaker
might incise a makers mark on the damp adobe
(Hastings and Moseley 1975:198). The bricks
are then placed on their sides, and after about a
week, they will be dry and ready for use in
constructions (Gillin 1947:37). Workers carry
them to the construction site and the masons
lay the bricks, using mud mortar to bind them.
The final touch to the construction is a layer of
plaster that covers the wall and obscures the
brickwork.
MODELS OF ADOBE PRODUCTION AND
LABOR ORGANIZATION
The production, transportation, and laying
of adobe bricks could have been done by one
group or different teams accomplishing separate
tasks. For example, a community could have
137 -
made and transported a few hundred bricks to
the construction site. Then a separate group of
masons, summoned from another community,
would use those adobes to build a wall. Alterna-
tively, people from the same community could
be responsible for every task, including the
manufacture, transportation, and laying of the
adobes. Each stage of adobe production and
construction can be accomplished in different
ways, and by evaluating all the possibilities, we
have several permutations of the production
sequence to consider.
Different models of adobe production and
construction were outlined by Cavallaro and
Shimada (1988), who then tested these models
using brick data from the sites of Sicn and
Batn Grande (Figure 3). At Sicn, they discov-
ered that bricks of the same size often had
different makers marks, leading them to believe
that the discontinuous territoriality or spon-
sor model best explains their data (Model C or
D in Figure 3). In these models, the sponsor
(individual or community who donated bricks to
a temple) or the curaca commissioned the pro-
duction of adobe bricks. The sponsor or curaca
first received bricks from different workshops,
marked the bricks with the lords or sponsors
insignia, and finally donated the adobes for the
construction of a temple (Figure 3, Model C or
D). Cavallaro and Shimada (ibid.: 98) assumed
that different adobe workshops produced bricks
of different sizes: The task differentiation-labor
tax model would have to stipulate the use of
molds of identical shape and size at numerous
adoberas, a situation we regard as unlikely. I
will later examine this assumption using data
from Huaca de la Luna. Following Cavallaro and
Shimada (ibid.), I test which model best de-
scribes brick production in the states of Moche
and Chim. If the two states can be character-
ized by two different models, it would indicate
that adobe production and labor organization
had changed through time. Using adobe brick
data I collected from Huaca de la Luna and
Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization
Farfn, I argue that Moseleys labor tax model
still holds for the pattern observed at Huaca de
la Luna, and the task-differentiation model, as
outlined by Cavallaro and Shimada (ibid.: 90-
92), best explains the pattern of brick variability
at Farfn.
BRICKS FROM THE HUACA DE LA LUNA
The Huaca de la Luna is the smaller of the
two pyramids at Moche, reaching at least twenty
meters high and consisting of more than fifty
million adobes (Hastings and Moseley 1975:
197). Ongoing excavations at the Huaca de la
Luna, directed since 1991 by Santiago Uceda
and Ricardo Morales, have uncovered evidence
of ritual offerings and human sacrifices, as well
as friezes depicting dancers, warriors, and vari-
ous supernatural figures (Morales 2003; Uceda
1997, 2001; Uceda and Tufinio 2003; Uceda et
al. 1994). Excavation of the area between the
two huacas uncovered a densely occupied urban
zone filled with numerous workshops and resi-
dences (Chapdelaine 2001; Uceda and Armas
1997; Uceda and Chapdelaine 1998).
During the summer of 2004, I participated in
the excavation of Unit 16 on top of the Huaca
de la Luna (Figure 4). Unit 16 contained nu-
merous burials. The ceramics associated with
these burials date to Moche IV, ca. A.D. 400-
700 (Zavaleta 2007:13). Bricks from Unit 16 are
rectangular and sometimes incised with a mak-
ers mark. Most of the adobes were made from
wooden molds with smooth sides. A few bricks
were made from cane molds, as indicated by
rows of parallel grooves on their sides.
I measured the length, width, and height of
95 bricks from Unit 16. I also recorded the
general location (north, northwest, and south)
of the bricks within the unit (Figure 5). One
makers mark was observed (diagonal line) on
14 bricks from the north corner (Figure 6).
Although the sample is very limited, especially
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 138

in contrast to the number of adobes measured at of bricks characterized different sections of the
Farfn. I have decided to present these data Moche pyramids.
because the pattern I found contrasts sharply
with any sample from Farfn. In other words, no Cluster n Length (cm) Width (cm) Height (cm)
sample of bricks at Farfn, out of the 4,826 Mean s Mean s Mean s

measured, had produced the results obtained 1 12 34.67 1.23 25.67 1.5 14.00 1.48

from Huaca de la Luna. I believe this result is 2 24 28.04 .91 19.75 .68 9.67 1.46
significant and indicates a contrast in the types
3 59 31.61 1.19 21.83 .81 11.83 1.04
of adobe production at the two sites.
Table 1. Bricks from Unit 16, Huaca de la Luna.
In addition, an examination of Moubaracs
(2002) data, collected from the Huacas of
Location Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Total
Moche, led me to revise some of the assump-
tions made by Cavallaro and Shimada (1988). North 0 0 47 47

Though widely cited in the archaeological North- 11 1 4 16

west
literature, Hastings and Moseleys (1975) study
was not reexamined statistically until years later South 1 23 8 32

by Moubarac (2002). Moubaracs thesis is excep-

tional in presenting the much-needed data on
individual bricks, including mark, dimensions,
and soil type. This is the sort of information one
needs to evaluate Moseleys brick labor model.
Moubaracs brick sample comes from the Huaca
de la Luna, Huaca del Sol, and the urban zone
between the two pyramids. His sample consists
of 6,893 bricks, though he gives numerical data
for only 293 bricks with makers marks (ibid.:
116-122). Out of these 293 marked bricks, I
have selected only the ones with an adequate
number (more than 5 bricks) for each makers
mark for re-analysis (n=168).
Table 2. Bricks from Unit 16, Huaca de la Luna.
Chi-square is significant (p<.0001).
According to Moubarac (ibid.: 116-122),
bricks of the same size often had different mak-
ers marks. This indicates that different work-
shops often produced bricks of the same size.
This is expected. If size difference alone distin-
guished different work groups, then there would
be no need to incise makers marks. Makers
marks were utilized because workshops often
produced similar-sized bricks, and hence the
marks were needed to avoid confusion.

During field-work, I noticed that bricks from
different locations within Unit 16 differed in
size. For example, bricks from the south side of
Unit 16 tended to be smaller than bricks from
the northwest corner (Figure 5). A scatterplot of
the lengths and widths corroborates my observa-
tion (Figure 7). Cluster analysis of the bricks,
with length and width as the variables (three
cluster solution, Wards method), and chi-
square analysis of the clusters show that the size
difference between bricks from different loca-
tions is statistically significant (Tables 1 and 2).
This result shows that sometimes different sizes
Moubarac (ibid.: 86-88) notes that there are
two sizes of bricksstandard and large. A histo-
gram of the lengths of the bricks shows two
peaks, with the cut-off at around 33-34 centime-
ters (Figure 8). The standard-sized bricks are
shorter than 33 centimeters and on average
measure 30 by 19 by 13 centimeters (length,
width, and height). The large bricks are longer
than 33 centimeters and on average measure 37
by 23 by 15 centimeters (Table 3). It is possible
that the larger bricks were used for the base of a
wall or building, a phenomenon observed at
Chan Chan (Kolata 1982:68). Indeed, a layer of
139 - Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization

giant adobes, each measuring 96 by 60 by 21 bricks, there are smaller size classes or sub-types.
centimeters and weighing some two hundred Bricks from the north and south sides of Unit
kilograms, had been found eight meters below 16, as represented by Clusters 2 and 3, respec-
Floor 1 (Piso 1) of Plaza 2B at Huaca de la Luna tively, show a difference of a few centimeters
(Tufinio 2003:29). that was observed in the field and confirmed
through statistical analysis. Had I clumped all
Brick size n Length (cm) Width (cm) Height (cm) the bricks from Unit 16 as a single data set, this
Mean s Mean s Mean s
small difference would have gone undetected
Standard 134 30.22 1.18 19.00 1.04 13.38 1.16 and all these bricks would have been classified
Large 34 37.17 1.40 23.44 1.05 15.41 1.28 as standard. It is therefore necessary to control
for location and separate the bricks from differ-
Table 3. Comparison of standard and large bricks from ent corners of the excavation unit.
the Huacas of Moche (data from Moubarac 2002:16-
122). It has been argued that the construction of
separate segments is due to purely technical (as
In some cases both the standard and large opposed to social or administrative) reasons. For
bricks bear the same makers mark. For example, instance, Meneses and Chero (1994:183) sug-
diagonal marks occur on both standard and large gested that segmented construction made the
bricks, though certain marks, such as double structures more resistant to earthquakes (contra
vertical bars, appear only on standard bricks Moseley 1975:193). While the separation of
(Table 4). Adobes of different sizes that had the building segments might be attributed to con-
same makers mark were also present at El Brujo struction technology, there is no apparent
(Franco et al. 1994:161). This means that some technical reason for the use of different brick
communities or workshops produced both large marks in different sections, and therefore the
and standard bricks. The fact that a community use of makers marks is better explained as
made bricks of different sizes is not surprising, identifying social groups. The division of con-
because, as Moseley (1975:192) pointed out, struction projects based on social groups (ayllus
these brick marks spanned many generations, or lineages) is a common Andean practice,
and it is also possible that, within a workshop, documented ethnohistorically (Thompson and
brickmakers with different molds were working Murra 1966:636) and observed ethnographically
at the same time. as recently as the 1980s by Urton (1988) in the
highland town of Pacariqtambo, where the
Diago- Double Double Point Semi- Vertical Finger churchs perimeter wall was maintained by
nal vertical vertical circle lines on different ayllus, with each ayllu responsible for a
bars lines the side
(center) (off- certain section of the wall.
center)

Standard 56 45 17 8 2 0 6 This is not to say that every section of the

Large 13 0 0 5 8 8 0 Moche pyramids contains bricks of the same
size; there is always some mixing, probably due
Total 69 45 17 13 10 8 6
to sharing or borrowing among labor groups.
Moreover, Andean societies did not have a
Table 4. Bricks from the Huacas of Moche (data from
Moubarac 2002:116-122).
single, uniform system of labor organization. In
fact, I will argue the opposite. The Moche
There are more than just two size classes of pattern of brick marking and construction
bricks. Even within the category of standard contrasts sharply with that of the Chim, and in
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
the following section I present data from Farfn
to demonstrate this difference. Because my
sample of bricks from Unit 16 of Huaca de la
Luna is extremely limited, future investigators
should measure more bricks from Huaca de la
Luna, and record their exact provenience in
order to confirm or reject my observations.
FARFN AND THE CHIM CONQUEST OF THE
JEQUETEPEQUE VALLEY
Farfn, located in the Jequetepeque Valley,
was first excavated by Richard Keatinge and
Geoffrey Conrad (1983) in 1978 and then by
Carol Mackey (2004, 2006, 2009) from 1999 to
2004. The site was occupied by three successive
polities: Lambayeque, Chimor or Chim, and
Inca or Late Horizon (Table 5). Because of its
strategic location at the crossroad of two major
routes (Figure 9), Farfn became the administra-
tive center for the Jequetepeque Valley under
Chim and Inca rule (Mackey 2006:328). Dur-
ing each occupation new structures were built,
eventually creating the six compounds of Farfn
that can be seen today along the Pan-American
Highway (Figures 10 and 11, Table 5). The
investigation of Farfn, therefore, represents an
important case study on how imperial conquest
can be documented using ethnohistory (Conrad
1990) and archaeology (Mackey 2006, 2009).
Occupation Date Compounds built Brick forms
Lambayeque 1100-1310 III Flat rectangular
Chim 1310-1460 II, IV and VI Flat rectangular, some
with slightly bulging top
Inca 1460-1532 I and V Flat rectangular, plano-
convex, and oval
Table 5. Dates, compounds, and brick forms of the
three occupations of Farfn (Moore and Mackey
2008: figure 39.3).
Farfns northernmost compound (Com-
pound VI) is more than 3 kilometers from its
southernmost compound (Compound I), even
- 140
though the east-west extent of the site is no
more than 0.25 kilometer. Compound II was the
first compound built by the Chim at Farfn. It
is identified as Chim because it contains archi-
tectural elements similar to those at Chan
Chan, the Chim capital (Keatinge and Conrad
1983:271). For example, like the Ciudadela
Rivero of Chan Chan, the only entrance to
Compound II is from the north. Visitors first
encounter a plaza, followed by a series of store-
rooms and audiencias, or U-shaped niched
rooms. The storerooms or bins may have con-
tained valuables, and someone sitting in the
audiencia would be able to control access to the
bins (Andrews 1974:256), or, according to John
Topic (2003:251-252), keep track of the num-
ber of goods in the storerooms. At the southern
end of the compound lies the burial platform
(Figure 10), which overlooks another set of
plazas and storage bins. This arrangement of
plazas, storerooms, audiencias, and burial plat-
forms at Compound II is analogous to the archi-
tectural layout of the late-period ciudadelas of
Chan Chan (Mackey 2009).
Keatinge and Conrad (1983) excavated
Compound II of Farfn to investigate Chim
expansion into the Jequetepeque Valley. Based
on an ethnohistorical account by Calancha
(1977 [1638]), Keatinge (1982:206-209) pro-
posed that Compound II was the palace of
Pacatnam, a Chim general who conquered
the Jequetepeque Valley during the first wave of
Chim expansion (Mackey 2009). Calancha
(1977 [1638]:1228-1229) mentioned a chain of
mountains 3 leguas (fifteen kilometers) long
next to the palace of Pacatnam, and the moun-
tain range next to Farfn, Cerro Faclo, is indeed
about fifteen kilometers long.
The geographic and economic importance of
the Jequetepeque Valley may have been the
initial motivation for conquering that region
(Conlee et al. 2004:216); the valley was situated
between Chan Chan and the metal ores of
141 -
Cajamarca (Lechtman 1976:14), the Sicn
polity in the Lambayeque Valley (Heyerdahl et
al. 1995; Tschauner 2001), and the prized
Spondylus shell in Ecuador (Cordy-Collins 1990;
Pillsbury 1996). Keatinge and Conrad (1983:
282) postulated that, after the conquest of the
Jequetepeque Valley, Chim administrators at
Farfn managed the flow of information and
goods from lower level sites in the valley
(Talambo, for example) to Chan Chan.
From 1999 to 2004, Mackey excavated all
the compounds of Farfn (Mackey and Juregui
2004). Mackeys work showed that Compound
III was built by a local polity prior to the Chim
invasion, and the Inca empire continued to use
the site after conquering the north coast around
A.D. 1460 (Mackey 2003). Located at the
crossroads of empires (Kosok 1965:118),
Farfn hosted a heterogeneous mix of local,
Chim, and Inca personnel, demonstrating its
importance as an administrative center in the
lower Jequetepeque Valley.
ADOBE STRUCTURES AT FARFN
Almost all the structures at Farfn consist of
adobes. Walls made from tapia are present, but
rare. The compounds were made from adobes,
and some perimeter walls, like those of Com-
pound IV, still reach 4.5 meters in height (Fig-
ure 12). At its base, the width of the perimeter
wall ranges from 1.7 to 3 meters, with large
rocks serving as the foundation. Some perimeter
walls taper as they ascend, perhaps to ensure
stability. Walls within the compounds are not as
high as the perimeter walls. They do not taper as
they ascend, nor do they have large rocks as
their foundation. Instead, a layer of gravel serves
as the foundation for these internal walls.
The compound walls were made from ado-
bes. In building the walls, Chim masons set
down layers of bricks bound by mortar. Some-
times broken bits of mortar or adobes were used
Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization
as fill, a practice observed at Chan Chan (Day
1982a: 340). After all the bricks were laid down
and mortared, masons applied a layer of mud
plaster (about three centimeters thick) to both
sides of the wall. The bricks were arranged in
the header-stretcher or header-runner configu-
ration; i.e., the adobes in each layer were placed
perpendicular to the layer above and below.
One layer would have bricks parallel (length-
wise) to the wall, and the layer above would
have bricks perpendicular to the wall, and so on.
All the walls and structures at Farfn were built
in the header-stretcher configuration.
Construction at Farfn reflects both local
(Jequetepeque Valley) and Chim (Moche
Valley) traditions (Table 6). Like the structures
at Chan Chan, the perimeter walls of Farfn
compounds were made almost entirely of flat
rectangular bricks. Structures from Pacatnam,
a Late Intermediate Period site in the
Jequetepeque Valley, have both rectangular and
plano-convex bricks. Plano-convex bricks,
which have a bulging top surface, are common
in Late Intermediate Period structures from the
Lambayeque and La Leche Valleys. Some struc-
tures at Farfn, especially Inca period annexes
and modifications, have a mixture of rectangular
and plano-convex bricks.
All adobe walls and structures (e.g. burial
platforms) at Farfn were made from solid
adobes. In contrast, certain walls from Chan
Chan exemplify the chamber-and-fill method
(Day 1982b: 55-57). At Chan Chan, bricks at
the base of the walls are larger than bricks on
top (Kolata 1982:68), a phenomenon not ob-
served at Pacatnam (McClelland 1986:41) or
Farfn. Bricks from Farfn, Chan Chan (Kolata
1978:163), and Pacatnam (the only exception
being some marked bricks from a ramp; see
McClelland 1986:39) do not have makers
marks. In contrast, makers marks are present on
bricks from the Late Intermediate Period site of
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 142

Tcume in the La Leche Valley (Sandweiss similar to how native Andeans built churches in
1995:164-166). the Spanish canon during the colonial period
(Fraser 1990).
Chan Chan Pacatnam Farfn

Brick type Mostly rectan- Mixture of Chim period

ANALYSIS OF BRICK VARIABILITY AT FARFN
gular, few plano- rectangular and construction
convex bricks plano-convex made with rect-
angular bricks; Over the course of six field seasons (1999-
add-ons and 2004), 4,826 bricks from Farfn were measured
later structures
show mixture of (Table 7). Members of the Farfn Archaeologi-
rectangular and
plano-convex
cal Project recorded the length, width, height,
bricks shape, and location of the bricks. Farfns bricks
Wall Solid bricks and Solid bricks, Solid bricks had three shapes: rectangular, plano-convex
construction chamber-and-fill some chamber- rectangular (rectangular bricks with rounded
and-fill
tops [Kroeber 1930:58]), and plano-convex
Presence of Yes Yes Not observed
segmentation
oval (Figure 13). The rectangular bricks were
made from molds, whereas the plano-convex
Larger bricks Yes No No
found near the oval bricks were hand-made (Shimada 1990:
bottom of the 352). Chim period constructions consisted
wall
almost exclusively of rectangular bricks, whereas
Makers mark No No (present only No
in one ramp)
subsequent Late Horizon structures included all
three brick shapes. My analysis will concern only
Table 6. Comparison of construction techniques at
rectangular bricks from Chim contexts.
Chan Chan, Pacatnam and Farfn.
Compound n Length Width Height L/W H/W
ratio ratio
The walls at Farfn do not exhibit segmental
I 152 29.8 16.7 11.8 1.80 0.71
construction, a practice noted at Chan Chan
(Day 1982b: 57) and Pacatnam (McClelland II 775 30.7 17.2 10.9 1.82 0.64

1986:41). Exposed wall surfaces at Compounds III 1695 30.2 17.4 11.4 1.75 0.67
II and IV of Farfn, where wall plaster had been
IV 583 29.3 17.3 10.9 1.72 0.64
removed by rain or wind, revealed no sign of
V 116 28.5 19.1 13.2 1.53 0.70
segmentation.
VI 1505 28.7 18.1 12.4 1.61 0.70

Bricks from Farfn are more similar to those

from Pacatnam (ibid.: figure 4), a local Jequete-
peque Valley site, than those from Chan Chan.
The later ciudadelas of Chan Chan were built
using tall rectangular adobes, a type entirely
absent at Farfn. Compound II of Farfn, there-
fore, imitated the layout of these later Chan
Chan ciudadelas from the Moche Valley, even
though its adobes were manufactured by local
brickmakers, rather than by brickmakers (using
their own their molds) from the imperial capital.
This is a case, then, of local masons building
structures after the style of their conquerors,
Table 7. Average length, width, height, length-to-width
ratio, and height-to-width ratio of bricks from the six
compounds at Farfn.
Prior to 2003, all sampled bricks came from
excavation units that exposed architectural
features such as walls, floors, benches, doorways,
and so on. In 2003 and 2004, I made four cuts
in the perimeter walls of Compound II (Figure
10), and one in Compound I. In each cut, the
exact position of the bricks was recorded by
143 - Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization

noting the layer, row, and orientation (header terize the variability of bricks within a com-
vs. stretcher). pound or site.

Brick Change through Time Location n Length (cm) Width (cm) Height (cm)
Mean s Mean s Mean s

According to Kolata (1978, 1982), flat Storeroom 48 29.79 2.72 16.98 2.02 11.42 1.46
2
rectangular bricks are associated with the earlier
ciudadelas of Chan Chan, whereas tall rectangu- Storeroom 52 30.06 1.78 17.81 1.66 10.79 1.45
3
lar bricks are associated with later ones (see also
Storeroom 83 31.28 2.39 17.52 1.91 12.16 1.26
Cavallaro 1991:15-18). In other words, earlier 4
ciudadelas, such as Ciudadela Tello and Ciuda-
Cut 1 110 31.73 3.25 16.63 2.40 11.15 1.45
dela Uhle, have bricks with lower height-to-
width ratio than bricks from later ciudadelas, Cut 2 108 30.06 1.81 14.14 1.99 9.57 1.06

such as Ciudadela Gran Chim and Ciudadela
Laberinto. No rectangular brick from Farfn,
even those from late contexts (Inca period),
approach the height-to-width ratio of the tall
bricks at Chan Chan.
Three different projects sampled the bricks
from Compound II at Farfn: Kolata (1978:
190), Keatinge and Conrad (1983:274), and the
present study. The bricks I sampled in Com-
pound II (n=775) have an average height-to-
width ratio of 0.64; Keatinge and Conrads
(1983:274) height-to-width ratio for Compound
II is 0.56 for the audiencia/storeroom complex
(n=13) and 0.57 for the burial platform (n=
140); Kolatas (1978:190) brick samples from
Farfn yielded an average height-to-width ratio
of 0.732 (sample size unknown). Tello (2004:
33) also mentioned a general dimension of
bricks from Farfn (29 by 18 by 10 centimeters,
or 0.55 height-to-width ratio), though he did
not specify the sample size or where the bricks
were measured.
These differences in the measurements of
Farfn bricks show that different parts of Com-
pound II have bricks with different dimensions
(Table 8). For instance, bricks from Cut 2
(n=108) have a height-to-width ratio of 0.78,
whereas bricks from Cut 4 (n=101) have a
height-to-width ratio of 0.61. Hence a limited
sampling of bricks would not accurately charac-
Cur 3 131 29.47 1.57 17.70 1.22 10.31 1.01
Cut 4 101 32.51 2.47 18.15 1.79 10.95 1.49
Table 8. Bricks from Compound II, Farfn.
At Farfn, a diagnostic feature of later
buildings is the plano-convex brick. Except for
some slightly plano-convex bricks (n=3) found
in Cut 1, all Chim bricks at Farfn were rect-
angular. Plano-convex bricks appear in annexes
and renovations that date to the Late Horizon
or Chim-Inca horizon. For example, one struc-
ture north of Compound II, Elite Residence C
(not shown in Figure 10), was built entirely of
oval plano-convex bricks.
Synchronic Differences in Brick Dimension
To test for synchronic differences in brick
size, one must isolate an area in which the
structures were built within the same period.
Once chronological contemporaneity is estab-
lished, the analysis of brick variation can be
conducted at various levelscomparing different
layers of adobes within a sampling cut, compar-
ing different sampling cuts within a wall, com-
paring different sampling cuts within a com-
pound, comparing different compounds within
the site, and so forth.
To investigate synchronic differences in
brick dimension, I placed four adobe sampling
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
cuts on the perimeter walls of Compound II
(Figure 10, Table 8). The perimeter walls of
Chan Chan prevented outsiders from looking
inside the rectangular compounds (Moore
1996:117-118); thus the perimeter walls of
Farfn presumably had to have been built before
the compound could function properly. The
perimeter walls were likely built in a relatively
short time, in months or years, but not decades
or centuries. It is unlikely that any administrator
(perhaps General Pacatnam) had to wait many
years before a compound came into use. In
addition, because no separate wall segments
were found at Farfn, I sampled adobes from
different storerooms to test whether each store-
room was built by a separate group of workers.
While measuring the bricks from Farfn, my
first impression was that one area of the site did
not have bigger or smaller bricks than any other
area. A scatterplot of bricks sampled from three
different storerooms seemed to confirm my
observation (Figure 14). Yet the cluster analysis
of these bricks (with length and width as the
variables, three cluster solution, Wards method)
shows that the differences between the store-
rooms are statistically significant (Table 9). In
other words, the difference is very subtle and not
visually obvious. Such minor differences also
exist between parts of the perimeter wall. Bricks
from Cut 2, for example, are generally narrower
than other bricks in Compound II (Table 8),
whereas bricks from Cut 4 tend to be longer.
Storeroom Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Total
2 12 23 13 48
3 7 39 6 52
4 41 33 9 83
Table 9. Bricks from the storerooms of Compound II,
Farfn. Cluster analysis of the bricks, with length and
width of the variables (three cluster solution, Wards
method) and chi-square analysis of the clusters show
that the size difference between bricks from different
locations is statistically significant (p<.0001).
- 144
The difference in brick sizes between the
cuts, even though small, is statistically signifi-
cant. Median test (Siegel 1956:111-116) com-
paring the length, width, and height of bricks
from different sampling cuts shows that there is
less than 0.1 percent chance that the bricks
came from the same population (1-way test,
ChiSquare= 45.6776; df=2; p<.0001). In other
words, it is unlikely that all the bricks from
Compound II came from a single maker. This
suggests that multiple brickmakers were in-
volved in the construction of Compound II, and
that one area of construction (a storeroom or a
section of a wall) might contain more bricks
made by, say, Brickmaker A than by Brickmaker
B. The difference between bricks of different
sampling cuts is not visually obvious. There is
too much overlap in brick dimensions to distin-
guish bricks from different sampling cuts (Fig-
ures 14, 15). One cannot say with confidence,
from size alone, where a brick was used. Rectan-
gular bricks sampled from Compound IV, which
dates to the Chim occupation (Mackey 2009:
330), all tend to measure (give or take a few
centimeters) 30 by 17 by 11 centimeters (Figure
16). Therefore size or dimensions cannot be
used to determine where a brick should be
placed in the compound. Both Brickmaker A
and Brickmaker B contributed bricks to the
construction of Storeroom 2, though we cannot
separate the two kinds of bricks after they are
pooled and mixed.
One section of the north wall of Compound
IV had alternating layers of bricks made from
different kinds of soil (Figure 17). Some layers
had greater amounts of rock inclusions than the
layers above and below. Alternating layers of
adobes with different makers marks were found
at Galindo, a Moche site (Lockard 2008:287-
289); these patterns suggest that certain sec-
tions of a wall or building were built in horizon-
tal stretches with adobes from different sources
or workshops. At Farfn, bricks found within
the same cut sometimes have different dimen-
145 - Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization

sions (Figures 18-21, Table 10). This shows that Number Layer Length Width Height Orienta-
bricks made from different molds (and by infer- (cm) (cm) (cm) tion
58 8 27 18 9 Header
ence, different brickmakers) were placed in the 59 8 28 19 10 Header
same area within the wall. 60 8 27 19 9 Header
61 8 26 18 9 Header
62 8 33 16 11 Header
63 8 33 15 9 Header
Number Layer Length Width Height Orienta- 64 8 33 15 9 Header
(cm) (cm) (cm) tion 65 8 29 15 11 Stretcher
1 5 29 18 13 Stretcher 66 8 26 17 8 Header
2 5 29 16 13 Stretcher 67 8 29 18 10 Header
3 5 29 16 11 Stretcher
4 5 27 18 10 Stretcher Table 10. Measurements of adobes from Layers 5 to 8
5 5 29 16 12 Stretcher
6 5 28 18 9 Stretcher of Cut 3, Compound II, Farfn.
7 5 31 19 10 Stretcher
8
9
5
5
28
29
18
16
11
12
Stretcher
Stretcher
DISCUSSION
10 5 28 18 9 Stretcher
11 5 28 19 10 Stretcher
12 5 27 18 9 Stretcher
My data show many important differences in
13 5 29 18 9 Stretcher brick production and construction between
14 5 29 17 10 Stretcher
15 5 30 16 10 Header Huaca de la Luna and Farfn. To account for
16
17
5
5
27
28
18
18
9
10
Stretcher
Stretcher
these differences, I suggest that at Huaca de la
18 6 27 18 10 Header Luna, Moche brickmakers dried their adobes in
19 6 29 18 10 Header
20 6 27 17 9 Header
separate areas (Figure 22 or Model A in Figure
21 6 28 15 12 Header 3). Each group of Moche workers then built the
22 6 30 18 11 Header
23 6 27 17 10 Header pyramids from their respective pool of bricks.
24
25
6
6
32
28
15
17
10
10
Header
Header
There was some exchange of bricks between
26 6 28 18 10 Header work parties, but this exchange was minimal. As
27 6 33 20 11 Header
28 6 31 17 10 Header
a result, archaeologists can still identify different
29 6 30 17 10 Header groups of bricks with unique makers marks or
30 6 28 17 9 Header
31 6 30 19 10 Header sizes at Huaca de la Luna. My data corroborate
32
33
6
6
32
29
17
19
9
10
Header
Header
earlier observations made by Hastings and
34 6 29 18 11 Header Moseley (1975:202-203).
35 6 33 20 12 Header
36 7 30 20 10 Stretcher
37 7 30 19 9 Stretcher By contrast, brickmakers at Farfn placed
38 7 29 18 11 Stretcher
39 7 27 19 10 Stretcher their bricks together to dry, and a group of
40
41
7
7
30
29
16
17
10
8
Stretcher
Stretcher
workers, separate from the brickmakers, went to
42 7 30 18 10 Stretcher this pool of bricks to construct walls for the
43 7 29 18 10 Stretcher
44 7 29 17 11 Stretcher
compounds. As a result, archaeologists find a
45 7 29 18 10 Stretcher mix of different brick sizes within a construction
46 7 29 17 10 Stretcher
47 7 30 18 10 Stretcher segment (Figure 22 or Model B in Figure 3).
48
49
7
7
30
29
18
17
10
10
Stretcher
Stretcher
Because the bricks were pooled and mixed, the
50 7 30 18 9 Stretcher difference in brick size between the walls or
51 7 29 20 10 Stretcher
52 7 29 17 11 Stretcher
storerooms at Farfn is not as strong as the
53 7 35 17 12 Stretcher difference in brick size at Huaca de la Luna
54 7 29 16 11 Stretcher
55 8 30 18 10 Header (compare Figure 7 with Figure 14).
56 8 32 18 10 Header
57 8 28 18 10 Header
Why did Moche bricklayers use separate
/Continued columns of adobes to distinguish one part of the
monument from another, while Chim bricklay-
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
ers did not? One explanation is that Chim
rectangular compounds at Farfn, unlike con-
structions at Huaca de la Luna or Huaca del Sol,
could be divided into clear subunits. For exam-
ple, one work group could be assigned to finish
all the storerooms, whereas another work group
could be responsible for building the perimeter
wall. Indeed, Day (1982a: 340) suggested that at
Chan Chan smaller walls of structures within
ciudadelas usually do not have joints or sections,
but the volume of these walls is a great deal less
than the volume of the large surrounding walls
[which were segmented]. Perhaps entire small
walls represent task units, equivalent to a sec-
tion or sections of the larger wall.
Monuments such as the Huaca del Sol and
Huaca de la Luna, in contrast, required divid-
ers to differentiate one segment from another.
Because the Moche pyramids are mostly solid
adobe blocks, it would be very difficult for super-
visors to know where one group of workers had
started building and where another group had
stopped without some kind of segmentation.
Separate segments, therefore, could help distin-
guish one task from another.
To explain why makers marks were used by
Moche but not by Chim brickmakers, I suggest
that Moche brickmakers were not as closely
monitored as Chim brickmakers. With makers
marks, a Moche state official, instead of having
to visit the adobe workshops and supervise brick
production, was able to (1) receive the bricks at
the site of construction, (2) identify the maker
and transporter of the bricks, and, (3) ensure
that each group of laborers completed their unit
of construction using bricks from their own
community (and not accidentally borrow the
bricks of others). If state officials personally
supervised every stage of the production and
construction, then makers marks would not
have been needed to account for labor effort.
And this is what I believe the Chim officials
did: they replaced makers marks as a form of
- 146
labor receipt or punch card with direct
supervision and monitoring.
This difference between Moche and Chim
methods of supervision could be due to (1) the
distance between the area of adobe production
and the construction site or (2) the degree of
state centralization. First, if Chim brick manu-
facture occurred near the site of construction,
then Chim officials could directly observe
which communities were making the bricks and
supervise construction at the same time. In
contrast, if Moche brick manufacture occurred
away from the pyramids, then Moche officials
could not witness the production of adobes.
Instead, they waited at the construction site,
received the adobes, and credited the work of
each community by examining the makers
marks.
It is also possible that under the Chim,
specialized groups of brickmakers and bricklay-
ers were directly under the command of local
lords, who were themselves subordinates of the
overarching Chim state. In this specialized
system, each group of brickmakers or bricklayers
became the unit of labor tribute, and because
the state was no longer keeping track of differ-
ent communities, the laborers work resulted in
a diversity of adobe shapes and sizes within a
section of a wall or building. This contrasts with
the Moche system, in which the unit of tribute
was a community or ayllu. Each ayllu had its
own brickmakers and bricklayers, and Moche
state officials had to separate the efforts of
different ayllus. Specialists in construction, the
albailes, were recorded in sixteenth-century
Spanish documents from the north coast of Peru
(Ramrez 1986: table 11.1). Although it is
unclear whether the term albailes referred to
brickmakers, bricklayers, or both, such special-
ists may have originated during the Late Inter-
mediate Period. They may have worked on state
projects for a few months, paying a time-based
147 - Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization

labor tax similar to that imposed by the Inca guish the construction of one segment from
(LeVine 1987:24). another. In this case, we need more data on
bricks from sites dating to the time between
The Sicn pattern of adobe construction, as Huaca de la Luna and Farfn to detail the
documented by Cavallaro and Shimada (1988), relationship between monuments, construction
may represent an intermediate stage between techniques, and segmentation. I would expect
the Moche and Chim states: like the Moche, that as structures become more internally heter-
Sicn adobe production occurred away from the ogeneous, that is, having more and different
construction site, thereby requiring makers architectural featuresstorerooms, platforms,
marks. The Sicn system of construction, how- benches, ramps, corridorsthere would be less
ever, was specialized (like the Chim system) need to have unbounded segments, because
and entailed separate groups of brickmakers and each internal feature would serve as a unit of
bricklayers, and, therefore, resulted in the mix- labor taxation.
ture of bricks observed at Farfn (Table 11).
Thus I would argue that Shimadas task Second, as the site of brick production
differentiation-labor tax model (Model B in moves farther from the site of construction,
Figure 3) best describes Sicn and Chim forms state officials can either visit every adobe work-
of labor organization, whereas the Moche form shop (which is time consuming) or stay on-site
of labor organization is best described by to make sure that enough bricks had been
Moseleys labor-task model (Model A in Figure brought to the building area. In the case of the
3). Moche, makers marks were used to help offi-
cials keep track of brick production. Future
Brick Drying Construction investigations should test my interpretation by
production bricks
Moche Makers marks Separate Same brick
sourcing the soil used to make the bricks at
(A.D. 100-800) 6 production areas mark for a seg- Moche and Chim sites. I would expect Moche
not monitored. ment. Hence
brickmakers bricks to have been made from soil to be found
came from the at some distance from the monument, and
same commu-
nity as the Chim bricks to have been made from soil
bricklayers of a
single segment.
found close to the rectangular compounds.
Sicn Makers marks Pooled Mixed brick
(Middle and 6 production sizes and Finally, I expect more centralized states to
Late, A.D. 900- not monitored. makers marks.
1375) Bricklayers dif- have a different type of labor organization than
ferent from the
brickmakers.
less centralized states. To test this hypothesis,
Chim No makers Pooled Mixed brick we would need other lines of evidence to deter-
marks 6
(A.D. 900-
1470) production
sizes.
Bricklayers dif-
mine how much control the state had over its
monitored. ferent from the production. The archaeological evidence for
brickmakers.
centralized control of production and distribu-
tion would include pottery or metal workshops
Table 11. Comparison of hypothetical Moche, Sicn
and administrative features such as audiencias
and Chim processes of brick production and construc-
and storerooms. Indeed, researchers working on
tion.
the north coast of Peru have already proposed
that the Chim state was more centralized with
The scenario I have proposed can be tested
more bureaucratic control over its labor and
in various ways. First, when different communi-
resources than the preceding Moche states
ties come together to build one large monument,
(Topic 2003; Topic 1982:282-283). We could
I would expect some kind of division to distin-
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
extend this line of inquiry into coastal valleys
beyond the Moche heartland, such as Nepea,
Casma, or Huarmey.
CONCLUSION
Kroeber (1930:61) suggested that, during the
construction of Chimu edifices, each contin- assume that construction methods at the two
gent of a community had built its own wall or
column. He also noted the difference between
northern and southern Peru: most Chimu
edifices appear to have been largely reared as
units rather than by the gradual accretion which
is so often indicated in central and southern
Peru (ibid.). The study of adobe construction
and its relation to labor organization on the
north coast of Peru was continued by Hastings
and Moseley (1975), Kolata (1978), Cavallaro
and Shimada (1988), and Moubarac (2002).
Moseleys (1975) model is often cited in
overviews of Moche society (Bawden 1996:104-
105; Stone-Miller 1995:90-91; Wilson 1999:
387), but many scholars who work in the Andes
do not know that makers marks were not used
at later sites like Chan Chan, or that there is a
diversity of makers marks and brick sizes within
one segment of a Sicn pyramid. Subsequent
changes in adobe production and construction
among polities such as the Sicn and Chim
indicate a restructuring of labor organization by
second- or third-generation states on the north
coast of Peru.
I suggest that, at Farfn, Chim officials
supervised the entire process of brick production
and construction. Because Chim officials could
witness and count the number of bricks made by
each community, makers marks or other types
of labor record were not needed. By contrast,
Moche state officials did not supervise the
production of bricks. Local communities made
bricks away from the site of construction and
away from the supervision of officials. Moche
adobe workshops therefore marked their bricks
- 148
to make sure that they would receive credit for
their labor. Moche state officials then received
the bricks at the site of construction and over-
saw the completion of a building.
Despite the one hundred kilometer and
seven hundred year gap between Huaca de la
Luna and Farfn, there is no a priori reason to
sites were different or the same. It is not ade-
quate (nor accurate; see Topic 1982:280-282)
to refer to the Chim as another ethnic group
to explain its differences with the Moche, since
we still need to account for the origin of Chim
principles of adobe production and construc-
tion, or any other Chim practices, which, like
all cultural traits, did not emerge out of no-
where. To address this lacuna in our data, I
recommend a continuation of the present study
by investigating labor organization in the valleys
from Jequetepeque to Moche, spanning the
Early Intermediate Period to the Late Horizon.
Such long-term investigation of adobe construc-
tion and labor organization has already been
initiated in the Lambayeque region (Shimada
1997).
Future studies of adobe variability should
measure an adequate sample of bricks from
different parts of each site and document the
exact locale of the bricks. Many more bricks
need to be measured in situ, especially from
Huaca de la Luna. Then we should collect
similar data from other sites from different
valleys and periods. Tschauner (2001:787-809)
has measured adobes at several sites in the
Lambayeque region and Reindel (1993) has
surveyed the architecture of numerous sites on
the north coast of Peru, though both studies
lack detailed intra-site brick data. Because
various adobe forms coexist in time and space
(Shimada 1990:355), it is important to measure
an adequate sample of bricks. Unless the bricks
are perfectly standardized, brick dimension will
vary across the site. My recommendation is to
sample bricks from different parts of the site,
149 -
with at least 100 bricks from each part to assess
adobe variability across space. I would also
suggest investigating adobe variability through
time (in other words, between different cultural
periods), which would require the investigator to
know when parts of a site were constructed. It
would be interesting, for example, to study
adobes at sites dating to the Late Horizon to see
whether labor organization had changed under
Inca administration.
To understand adobe variability within the
site, adobe sampling cuts, like the ones made in
this study, should be implemented. The investi-
gator should open sections of architecture,
observe the construction method, and record
the adobe dimensions in situ. Documenting
adobes in situ will allow an investigator to detect
the presence (or absence) of vertical or horizon-
tal segments of construction. Furthermore, one
should try to look for differences between bricks
in horizontal and vertical segments, what the
nature of that difference is, and what that might
tell us about labor organization.
Smith (2004:92) noted the difficulty archae-
ologists face when attempting to study labor
organization. I suggest that the analysis of con-
struction units, such as stone blocks and bricks,
can help us understand how communities or
state officials organized labor. On the north
coast of Peru, the disappearance of makers
marks means that, at the most basic level of
interpretation, the Chim state recorded labor
differently from the Moche. Thus Andean labor
organization was not a static, monolithic entity,
but was instead a dynamic phenomenon that
varied across space and time.
It is possible that the Chim or Moche state
organized labor differently for different tasks like
the construction of monuments, cleaning of
canals, production of pottery, etc. In order to
comprehend this diversity of labor organization,
we must document the mobilization of labor
Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization
from different sites, in different contexts (monu-
ment construction, ceramic production, etc.),
and from different regions and periods. Only
then can we begin to understand the relation-
ship between the type of labor organization and
the nature of the sociopolitical system.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by a National Science
Foundation Graduate Fellowship with additional funding
provided by the International Institute and the Depart-
ment of Anthropology of the University of Michigan. I
thank Carol Mackey and Santiago Uceda for generously
allowing me to collect adobe data from Farfn and Huaca
de la Luna. I am grateful to Raffael Cavallaro, Claude
Chapdelaine, Robyn Cutright, Tom Dillehay, Cameron
Gokee, Carol Mackey, Michael Moseley, John OShea, Jeff
Parsons, Kenny Sims, Charles Stanish, Henry Wright, and
anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions
on earlier drafts of this paper. I thank Carol Mackey,
Csar Jaregui, and Enrique Zavaleta for their guidance
and support during my field-work at Huaca de la Luna and
Farfn. My deepest thanks go to Joyce Marcus for her
encouragement and assistance, without which the publi-
cation of this paper would not have been possible.
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Ricardo Morales, pp. 93-104. Trujillo, Per: Per. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 155.
Facultad de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
Nacional de La Libertad. Wilson, David J.
2001 Investigations at Huaca de la Luna, Moche 1988 Prehispanic Settlement Patterns in the Lower Santa
Valley: An Example of Moche Religious Valley, Peru: A Regional Perspective on the Origins
Architecture. In Moche Art and Archaeology in and Development of Complex North Coast Society.
Ancient Peru, edited by Joanne Pillsbury, pp. 46- Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution
67. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.
Press. 1999 Indigenous South Americans of the Past and
Uceda, Santiago and Jos Armas Present: An Ecological Perspective. Boulder,
1997 Los talleres alfareros en el centro urbano moche. Colorado: Westview Press.
In Investigaciones en la Huaca de la Luna 1995, Zavaleta, Luis Enrique
edited by Santiago Uceda, Elas Mujica, and 2007 Investigaciones en la Unidad 16 de Huaca de la
Ricardo Morales, pp. 93-104. Trujillo, Per: Luna. In Informe tcnico 2006, Proyecto Arqueol-
Facultad de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad gico Huaca de la Luna, edited by Santiago Uceda
Nacional de La Libertad. and Ricardo Morales, pp. 13-34. Trujillo, Per:
Uceda, Santiago and Claude Chapdelaine Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad
1998 El centro urbano de las Huacas del Sol y la Luna. Nacional de Trujillo.
Arkinka 33:94-103.
Uceda, Santiago and Moiss Tufinio
2003 El complejo arquitectnico religioso moche de
Huaca de la Luna: Una aproximacin a su
dinmica ocupacional. In Moche: Hacia el final del
milenio. Tomo II, edited by Santiago Uceda and
Elas Mujica, pp. 179-228. Lima: Pontificia
Universidad Catlica del Per.
Uceda, Santiago, Ricardo Morales, Jos Canziani, and
Mara Montoya
1994 Investigaciones sobre la arquitectura y relieves
polcromos en la Huaca de la Luna, valle de
Moche. In Moche: Propuestas y perspectivas ; actas
del Primer Coloquio Sobre la Cultura Moche,
Trujillo 12 a 16 de abril de 1993, edited by
Santiago Uceda and Elas Mujica, pp. 251-303.
Trujillo, Per: Universidad Nacional de la
Libertad y Lima, Per: Instituto Francs de
Estudios Andinos and Asociacin Peruana para
el Fomento de Ciencias Sociales. Travaux de
lInstitut Franais dtudes Andines 79.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 154

Figure 1: Map of the north coast of Peru. Archaeological sites are indicated by triangles.
Solid triangles indicate the sites where bricks discussed in this study were sampled.
155 - Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization

Figure 2: Chronology of some sites mentioned in the text.

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 156

Figure 3: Models of adobe construction and labor organization after Cavallaro and Shimada
(1988: figures 11-14): (A) Moseleys labor tax model, (B) task differentiation-labor tax model,
(C) discontinuous territoriality model, and (D) sponsor model (Models C and D produce similar
results). In Model A, the brick-makers and brick-layers come from the same community, whereas in
Model B, the brick-makers and brick-layers are two separate groups of laborers. In Models C and D,
(1) each workshop produces bricks of a unique size; (2) the patrons or sponsors then receive bricks from
various workshops and incise the bricks with their own marks or insignia;
(3) The bricks are then donated for the construction of a temple.
157 - Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization

Figure 4: Map showing the location of Unit 16 at Huaca de la Luna. Small boxes with dashed borders
indicate areas where adobes were measured (redrawn from Zavaleta 2007: figure 2).

Figure 5: Bricks from three different locations, Northwest, South, and North,
within Unit 16 of Huaca de la Luna.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 158

Figure 6: Group of bricks of the same size (31 by 22 by 13 cm) and makers mark from Unit 16,
Huaca de la Luna. The scale measures 20 centimeters.

Figure 7: Scatterplot of the lengths and widths of bricks sampled from Unit 16, Huaca de la Luna.
S represents bricks from the south side of Unit 16; N denotes bricks from the north;
and NW represents bricks from the northwest corner. The three ellipses with dashed borders represent
density ellipses (p=.95) drawn around the clusters as indicated by cluster analysis.
159 - Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization

Figure 8: Histogram of lengths of bricks from the Huacas of Moche

(data from Moubarac 2002:116-122).

Figure 9: Map of the Jequetepeque Valley.

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 160

Figure 10: Compound II, Farfn.

161 - Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization

Figure 11: Compound II, Farfn, viewed from Cerro Faclo.

A bus on the Pan-American Highway serves as scale.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 162

Figure 12: Cross-section of north perimeter wall, Compound IV, Farfn. Note header-stretcher
configuration of construction, stone boulder foundation, and wall tapering toward the top
(after Mackey and Jauregui 2001:Figure 8).
163 - Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization

Figure 13: Three different brick types found at Farfn.

From left to right: plano-convex oval, plano-convex, and rectangular.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 164

Figure 14: Scatterplot of the lengths and widths of adobes sampled from the storerooms of Compound II,
Farfn. The number 2 represents bricks from Storeroom 2; 3 represents bricks from Storeroom 3;
and 4 represents bricks from Storeroom 4. Ellipses with dashed borders represent density ellipses
(p=.95) drawn around the clusters as indicated by cluster analysis. Compare with Figure 7.
165 - Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization

Figure 15: Histograms comparing length, width, and height (in centimeters)
of bricks sampled in Compound II, Farfn.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 166

Figure 16: Northwest corner of Compound IV at Farfn, showing locations of excavation units
and the average length, width, and height of bricks recovered in the excavation units.

Figure 17: A section of the north wall of Compound IV, Farfn. Note layers of bricks
(indicated by arrows) with greater amounts of rock inclusions than adjacent layers.
167 - Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization

Figure 18: Adobes from Layer 5 of Cut 3, Compound II, Farfn.

Numbers on adobes correspond to Table 10. The trowel (above Brick 10) points north.

Figure 19: Adobes from Layer 6 of Cut 3, Compound II, Farfn. The trowel points north.
Numbers on adobes correspond to Table 10. Note broken adobes used as fill.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 168

Figure 20: Adobes from Layer 7 of Cut 3, Compound II, Farfn. The trowel points north.
Numbers on adobes correspond to Table 10. Note that Adobe 51 is slightly wider than adjacent bricks.

Figure 21: Adobes from Layer 8 of Cut 3, Compound II, Farfn. The trowel points north.
Numbers on adobes correspond to Table 10.
Note that Adobes 62-64 are slightly longer and narrower than other bricks.
169 - Tsai: Adobe Bricks and Labor Organization

Figure 22: Hypothetical diagram comparing the three stages of making, drying, and laying adobes by
Moche and Chim masons.
 A BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDY OF COCA USE AND COCA LEAF CHEWING
AT PURUCHUCO-HUAQUERONES, PERU
INTRODUCTION
During the Inca imperial expansion and
conquest, coca production was reorganized and
the ownership of coca plantations was redistrib-
uted in some regions (Espinoza Soriano
1963:18-20; Julien 1998; Murra 1980:32, 90-91,
156, 177; Rostworowski 1972:261, 1973). On
the central coast, members of the Ychma macro-
ethnic community living in the middle and
lower Rmac and Lurn Valleys lost control of
their coca plantations to the Yauyos of Huaro-
chiri (Rostworowski 2002:90, 174). Ethno-
historians and scholars have explored and
debated access to coca during the Inca empire.
Some have argued that the Incas restricted coca
use and prohibited its consumption by common-
ers. Other scholars counter that everyone had
access to coca and that Inca control over coca
chewing would have been difficult to accomplish
(Murra 1986, 1991:575; Parkerson 1983). Few
archaeological studies have investigated the
practice of coca chewing during the Late Hori-
zon and explored the consequences of Inca
re-organization and re-distribution of coca
plantations.
The present study explores coca access and
use in the Late Horizon community at
Puruchuco-Huaquerones. We examine the
dental evidence of coca leaf chewing and the
mortuary offerings of coca and coca parapherna-
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012): 171-193.
MELISSA S. MURPHY
(University of Wyoming)
and
MARA FERNANDA BOZA
(University of Wyoming)
lia from burials recovered from two spatially
distinct cemeteries (Huaquerones and 57AS03)
within the archaeological zone of Puruchuco-
Huaquerones. Using these bio-archaeological
data, we examine who had access to coca,
which members of this community chewed coca,
and whether or not commoners had access to
the plant. The bioarchaeological results are
tempered with insights from archaeology, ethno-
history, and ethnography to understand more
fully the prehistoric practice of coca leaf chew-
ing, and its biological consequences, among Late
Horizon residents of the central coast of Peru.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ETHNOHISTORICAL
EVIDENCE OF COCA AND COCA LEAF CHEW-
ING
Archaeological evidence demonstrating the
presence and importance of coca and coca leaf
chewing in the Andean region is extensive, and
some of the earliest evidence has been recovered
from the western slopes of the Andes (Dillehay
et al. 1989:744-746). Depictions of individuals
chewing coca and preparing a coca quid are
known from ceramics, including those from the
Nasca, Moche (Donnan 1978:118, figure 183;
Donnan and Benn 1990:23; Menzel 1977: figure
146; Moseley 1992: figure 13), and ancient
Ecuadorian cultures (Lathrap et al. 1975: figure
66). Some scholars have argued that coqueros,
the ceramic figurines or vessels that depict ritual
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
specialists or shamans chewing coca, evince the
restricted access of commoners to coca and coca
consumption (Calatayud and Gonzalez 2003:
1504; Martin 1970:424-426; Naranjo 1981:163-
166). Coca bags, stone sculptures, lime, lime
gourd containers, and coca itself have been
recovered from coastal and highland sites from
Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile.1 Several
mummies from coastal sites have been recovered
with coca quids in their cheeks (Arriaza et al.
1995:39; Aufderheide 2003:157; Cartmell et
al.1991:161, figure 1). While the archaeological
evidence associated with prehistoric coca leaf
chewing is diverse and the practice appears
ubiquitous before the Late Horizon, few studies
have specifically addressed the access to coca
and the frequency of coca chewing in different
regions during the Inca empire and the
bioarchaeological evidence for coca chewing
remains largely unexplored.
Much of what we know about coca chewing
during the Inca empire comes from ethno-
historical sources, written from both Spanish
and indigenous perspectives. However, each
written source offers accounts of different expe-
riences, with different agendas, and with differ-
ent, but pervasive, prejudices about indigenous
peoples (Silverblatt 1987:xxii-xxv). Further-
more, many of these accounts of Andean culture
were written several decades after the Spanish
conquest, and after the devastating effects of
depopulation, Christian conversion, and colo-
nial resettlement programs, all of which had
severely altered the lives of Andean people.
Therefore, scholars caution against the literal
reading of these ethnohistorical sources because
they are likely to be distorted by the experience
of conquest and invasion, as well as the biases of
their authors (Julien 1993:187; Urton 1990).
1 2
Cassman et al. 2003:151; Engel 1963:77; Hastorf 1987;
Indriati 1998:17-19; Kolata 1993:146; Lathrap 1973:180-
181; Lathrap et al.1975: figures 61, 62, items 434-466;
Menzel 1977: figure 128; Murphy 2004:119.
- 172
Administrative and court documents also con-
tain references to coca consumption and pro-
duction, but they, too, should be critically ques-
tioned because they present static perspectives
of what were arguably dynamic and dramatic
processes of cultural change and these docu-
ments may just as easily strive to conceal as to
reveal (Julien 1993:178-179).
Several mid- to late sixteenth century ac-
counts describe the high value of coca, its re-
stricted access, and the role it played in religious
rites.2 In his historical examination of coca
prohibition, Gagliano reveals that the Inca
nobility were not the only people who consumed
coca, because the military, chasqui (couriers),
the elderly, and anyone who received imperial
sanction were reportedly permitted to chew it
(Gagliano 1994:16). Together, these ethno-
historic sources present a picture of coca chew-
ing as a revered practice that was restricted to
the Inca elite or those with their permission, and
suggest that coca may have been prohibited for
the bulk of the Andean population.
Information contained in regional adminis-
trative documents typically describes the ubiq-
uity of coca plants and coca fields (Murra 1986).
As a result, coca is interpreted as having been a
staple in many highland communities and,
therefore, accessible to all (ibid.). Citing survey
data collected in 1539 from the Pillkumayu
Valley in what is now the Hunuco Region of
Peru, Murra asserts that every highland village
possessed individuals responsible for managing
and cultivating tropical products, including
coca, and that these goods were part of the
normal peasant repertoire in the Andes (ibid.:
51). Furthermore, in 1572, for Sonqo, north of
modern La Paz, Bolivia, ethnohistorical docu-
Acosta 2002 [1590]:210-211; Betanzos 1996 [1557]:42-
53, 56; Cobo 1964 [1653]: 473-474, 1990 [1653]:64,
65-66, 94, 119, 128, 137; Matienzo 1967 [1567], chapter
44, p. 163; Pizarro 1969 [1571]:262, 265.
173 - Murphy & Boza: Coca Chewing at Puruchuco-Huaquerones
ments report that everyone had access to food
and to coca fields (ibid.; Murra 1991:572).
However, Juan de Matienzo, a Spanish adminis-
trator familiar with coca production around
Cusco and nearby regions, asserts that the Incas
permitted only the nobility and members of the
military access to coca and commoners were
proscribed from using it (Julien 1998:129;
Matienzo 1967 [1567]:163).
With variable strategies, the Inca assumed
control of, and regulated, the numerous coca
plantations that were widely distributed along
some of the middle and upper reaches of the
Peruvian coastal valleys (e.g. Chilln, Chancay,
and Ica) and in the highlands (e.g. Chuquioma,
a lowland valley on the eastern slopes of the
Andes northeast of Pocona, Bolivia, and south-
east of modern Cochabamba (Julien 1998;
Murra 1980:32, 90-91, 144, 156, 177; Netherly
1988:263-265; Rostworowski 1973:203-204).
While Inca imperial control of coca production
and cultivation was well organized and main-
tained in some regions (Cieza de Len 1984,
Seorio de los Incas [1553]: Chapter 18, pp. 166-
168), restrictive access and coca use prohibition
were more difficult to enforce in the northern
coca fields and in the yungas, the warm, low-
lying valleys on the eastern slopes of the Andes
(Gagliano 1994:17; Murra 1975:61- 65; Parker-
son 1983:120; Rostworowski 1999:63-67). In a
regional administrative survey (visita) document
from 1558-1570 (Archivo General de Indias
Justicia 413), the ownership of the Quivi coca
fields in the Chilln Valley on the central coast
of Peru was the subject of a dispute among
several different ethnic communities after the
Spanish conquest (Marcus and Silva 1988;
Rostworowski 2004:131, 286-300, 308-310).
Shortly after Inca expansion onto the central
coast, the coca plantations in the middle region
(chaupiyunga) of the Lurn Valley were annexed
by Tupac Yupanqui and presented to the Yauyos
of Huarochiri (Rostworowski 2002:174).
This brief review of the ethnohistorical
literature reveals different perspectives on the
consumption of, and access to, coca during and
after the Inca empire, with variability by region
in the type and exertion of Inca control of coca
cultivation, distribution, and access possible.
After the Spanish conquest, some accounts of
Inca coca use were colored by the controversial
colonial dialogues over whether or not the
stimulant should be eradicated because of its
association with indigenous religious practices,
or promoted because of the economic opportu-
nities it provided in trade, and in its role in the
exploitation of Andean farmers and the miners
at Potos (Cieza de Len 1984, La crnica del
Per [1553]: Chapter 96, p. 121; Gagliano 1994;
Murra 1991:566; Parkerson 1983). Coca pro-
duction and consumption grew dramatically in
conjunction with the Spanish intensification of
agriculture and silver mining (Stern 1982:37).
BACKGROUND ON COCA CHEWING
Before presenting the data and analyses from
Puruchuco-Huaquerones, a brief review of coca
chewing and oral health is in order. According
to modern accounts, coca is usually chewed
three to five times per day for approximately
15-45 minutes (Allen 2002:105; Fuchs 1978:
281; Indriati 1998:12; Plowman 1984:129).
Although the frequency and distribution of coca
chewing vary by age, sex, and geographic region,
both men and women have been observed
chewing coca, and children are first exposed to
coca during family rituals (Allen 2002:112;
Carter and Mamani 1986:141, 143, 156-57,
257; Fuchs 1978:279; Hamner and Villegas
1969: 289). Adolescent silver miners in Potos
have been observed chewing coca and preparing
ritual offerings of coca for the devil that
resides in the mine (Davidson and Ladkani
2005).
Research in human biology has focused on
the physiological effects of coca, but little has
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
been reported about the effects of coca chewing
on the oral health of regular chewers. Through
the examination of human dental remains,
several possible characteristics were believed to
be associated with the practice of coca leaf
chewing including unusual types of carious
lesions, brown staining on teeth, heavy calculus
formation, and alveolar recession/periodontal
disease (Klepinger et al. 1977; Langsjoen 1996;
Leigh 1937; Turner 1993). It was recently
concluded that calculus deposition is more likely
the result of overall poor dental health, rather
than coca leaf chewing (Ubelaker and Stothert
2006). Most of these dental consequences can
occur in the absence of coca leaf chewing, and
none of these studies examined the effects of the
practice on living chewers. Cartmell et al. (1991)
pioneered an alternative technique to the exam-
ination of dental remains by using a radio-
immunoassay of hair samples from a sample of
mummified human remains to detect cocaine
and/or its metabolic product benzoylecgonine
(BZE). Unfortunately, the radioimmunoassay
test requires the preservation of hair, a situation
that is not always encountered in many geo-
graphic areas and across all time periods in the
Central Andes.
Currently, the dental technique is the only
other method to detect coca use in human
remains (Indriati 1998; Indriati and Buikstra
2001). Indriati conducted the first large scale
investigation of dental health of chewers by
examining the teeth of modern peoples from the
highlands of Peru, Bolivia, and Chile and inter-
viewing them about their coca leaf chewing
practices (Indriati 1998). Based on her dental
exams and interviews, she concluded that the
strongest indicator of coca leaf chewing among
the modern day samples was the presence of
large and wide cervical-root caries on the buccal
surface of mandibular molar teeth accompanied
by root exposure (ibid.; Indriati and Buikstra
2001:245). Mild and weak indicators included
cervical-root caries on maxillary molars, ante-
- 174
mortem loss of molars, cervical-root caries on
the buccal surface of premolars accompanying
the antemortem loss of adjacent molars, the
presence of molar roots only, and interproximal
caries (Indriati 1998:117; Indriati and Buikstra
2001:245). Testing these dental characteristics
on archaeological samples of human remains,
Indriati identified individuals based upon the
degree of likelihood that they were coca leaf
chewers (definite, probable, possible, or non-
chewer; Indriati 1998). The dental method for
the identification of coca leaf chewing is partic-
ularly valuable because teeth are often preserved
in archaeological samples of human remains.
There are slight methodological differences
between Indriati (1998) and Indriati and Buik-
stra (2001). We choose to follow the latter be-
cause it is published in a peer-reviewed journal
and is a more recent statement. However, when
applying the Indriati and Buikstra method, we
found that individuals who possessed 1-2 strong
indicators, lacked mild indicators, and possessed
weak indicators (or just 2 strong indicators and
no other indicators, as was the case with HP01-
116) were not classified and they fell between
categories. In the absence of the strongest indi-
cators, we agree with Indriati and Buikstra that
these individuals should be classified as either
nonchewers, or depending on the number of
mild indicators and the number of molars, as
possible chewers. We have confidence in In-
driatis assessment of modern coca chewers and
the correlation of the strongest indicators with
these individuals (as a consequence of coca leaf
chewing). For consistency, we were comfortable
classifying individuals with 1-2 of these strong
indicators in the most conservative category,
possible chewer. Because there are several
individuals who possessed strong indicators, but
lacked the requisite number of mild or weak
indicators, we think that the presence of 1-2
cervical-root carious lesions on the buccal
surface of the mandibular molars (alone or with
175 - Murphy & Boza: Coca Chewing at Puruchuco-Huaquerones
several weak indicators) is sufficient to classify
them as possible chewers.
The etiology of cervical-root caries is not
entirely understood. However, Indriati and
Buikstra hypothesize that the anesthetic quali-
ties of the cocaine metabolites released during
coca leaf chewing act to suppress the activity of
the salivary glands around the location of the
coca quid (Indriati and Buikstra 2001:243). The
reduction of the salivary flow results in dry
mouth, or xerostomia, which is correlated with
a higher frequency of carious lesions in modern
clinical contexts, particularly on the cervical
and root surfaces (Epstein and Scully 1992;
Guggenheimer and Moore 2003; Indriati and
Buikstra 2001; Nrhi et al. 1999; Neville et al.
2002:346-346).
To evaluate the different perspectives on
coca access and consumption during the Inca
empire, we can turn to the evidence for coca
chewing and use from Puruchuco-Huaquerones.
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF
PURUCHUCO-HUAQUERONES
Tupac Yupanqui and his troops arrived on
the central coast circa A.D.1470, when they
assumed control of Pachacamac and the Rmac
and Lurn Valleys, part of the Ychma macro-
ethnic community (Cobo 1964[1653]: Book
2:299-302; Rostworowski 2002:174). Recent
work in nearby sites in the Rmac and neighbor-
ing valleys has begun to identify the archaeologi-
cal correlates of the Inca presence on the central
coast of Peru and the sociopolitical organization
of this region during the Late Intermediate
Period.3 Preliminary findings suggest a pattern of
Inca sociopolitical control in which pre-existing
3
Cornejo Guerrero 1999; Eeckhout 2004; Farfan Lobatn
2004; Feltham and Eeckhout 2004; Makowski and Vega
Centeno 2004; Marcone Flores 2004; Shimada et al.
2004; Vallejo Berrios 2004; Villacorta 2004.
administrative centers were modified and uti-
lized by the Inca state (Eeckhout 2004; Wallace
1998). It is likely that future work will contrib-
ute to the emerging picture of the altered social
and political landscapes after Inca colonization,
and of the variable strategies that were applied
in different regions (Covey 2000; DAltroy
2002:248-262, 2005; Dillehay 1977, 1979; Mal-
pass 1993; Menzel 1959; Morris 1998; Sand-
weiss 1992).
The archaeological zone of Puruchuco-
Huaquerones is 11.5 kilometers east of the
modern city of Lima as measured from the city
center, on the southern side of the lower middle
Rmac Valley. It contains architecture and
several cemeteries (Figures 1, 2; Cock Carrasco
1999, 2001, 2006; Cock Carrasco and Goy-
cochea Daz 2004). One of the structures, the
palace at Puruchuco, may have been involved in
Inca administration of the region, based on the
presence of imperial Inca architectural influ-
ences (Tabo 1965; Villacorta 2004:553). How-
ever, others have suggested that it was an elite
residence or that it may have served as the
center for the local polity (Lati), which was part
of the Ychma macroethnic group (Rostworowski
2002:220-221). Recent mathematical decoding
of 21 khipus from Puruchuco revealed hierarchi-
cal accounting information passing between the
local elites and the provincial Inca lord, which
bolsters the assertion that the site may have
played a role in Inca administration of the
region (Urton and Brezine 2005:1067).
Burials from two of the cemeteries at Puru-
chuco-Huaquerones, Huaquerones and
57AS03, are the subject of this study (Figure 2).
Previous work uncovered an area where addi-
tional burials may be located, but this area has
not been systematically studied or scientifically
excavated (Tabo 1965). It is believed that the
majority of burials in both cemeteries are Late
Horizon and date from the early presence of the
Inca in the Rimac Valley until shortly after the
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
arrival of the Europeans, or from approximately
A.D. 1475 to 1540, based on the ceramic chro-
nology, the presence of Inca aryballos, and
stylistic patterns and details on textile bags
(Cock Carrasco 2006; Cock Carrasco and
Goycochea Daz 2004:185).
The burials range in their preservation from
large textile bundles containing mummified
individuals with soft tissue preservation to
completely skeletonized individuals. Several
factors affected the degree of preservation of the
burial bundles, including type of bundle fill,
presence or absence of textiles, and location
within the cemeteries. Individuals who possessed
considerable textiles in their bundles were more
likely to be mummified because the textiles drew
and absorbed the decomposition fluids, as well
as some of the moisture that may have seeped
into the burial pit. Several types of burial fill
were observed, including cotton, cotton with
cottonseeds, and cotton with other organic
materials (ibid.). Those bundles that were filled
with a large amount of cotton were usually
better preserved because the raw cotton also
absorbed any moisture in the bundle. Bundles
that contained bundle fill of cotton and cotton-
seeds were often the most deteriorated and
individuals in these bundles were more likely to
be skeletonized.
In the Huaquerones cemetery, some areas
were more affected by recent human activities
than others, which contributed to differential
preservation of the bundles. For example, some
areas were used for gray water disposal. Other
areas were more protected because human
occupation had not occurred in these areas.
Several areas were leveled for construction,
which caused the underlying burials to be closer
to the modern surface. Those burials from
greatly modified areas were more likely to con-
tain skeletonized individuals (versus mummified
or partially mummified individuals) and fewer
organic offering (e.g. gourds, textiles, food offer-
- 176
ings) in a pristine state of preservation. The
burials from 57AS03 were affected by different
activities, specifically the use of the area for
animal grazing (sheep), the construction of
Avenida Javier Prado, the use of a drainage
channel next to the cemetery, and the increas-
ing encroachment of the neighborhoods and
buildings in the area.
Despite the potential for postdepositional
modification, the majority of the mortuary
contexts are extraordinarily well preserved.
Cock and Goycochea (2004:187-193) classified
the burials by their fill type, whether or not they
possessed a false head, and their size, but they
caution that there is considerable variability in
the burial preparation, elaboration, and quantity
and quality of the funerary offerings. For sum-
mary purposes here, we will describe some of the
common characteristics of a typical burial. The
principal individual was usually arranged in a
seated or flexed position within the bundle and
was accompanied by internal offerings, such as
weaving implements, beans, corn, gourds, Spon-
dylus or scallop shells, textile bags, and metal
tweezers. A textile layer typically surrounded the
individual and these internal offerings and,
depending on how elaborate the burial was,
additional offerings were sometimes placed
within the bundle, but outside of this layer . The
next layers in the bundle were the bundle fill
and any additional textiles. An outer textile
layer surrounded the bundle fill and maintained
the integrity of the bundle. Additional offerings,
such as ceramic vessels, weaving baskets,
wooden heddles, and other weaving implements,
were placed outside of the bundle, but within
the burial pit (Cock 2002; Cock and Goycochea
2004). Some of the burials f r o m
Puruchuco-Huaquerones contain internal
offerings of coca leaves, gourds containing lime,
and coca bags, suggesting these individuals may
have been coca chewers during their lifetimes.
177 -
SAMPLE AND METHODS
This study analyzes dental evidence of coca
leaf chewing, the mortuary treatment of these
individuals, and the mortuary offerings of coca
and/or coca paraphernalia in order to under-
stand who had access to, and chewed, coca in
this community. To explore the dental evidence
of coca leaf chewing, we conducted a dental
survey of the maxillary and mandibular denti-
tion of 209 individuals from the Huaquerones
and 57AS03 cemeteries. The sample included
both males and females from different age cate-
gories and a small sample of late adolescents
(Table 1).
57AS03 Huaquerones
Total adults 87 122
Males 50 67
Females 37 50
Indeterminate 0 5
Young adults (YA) 33 57
Middle adults (MA) 43 58
Older adults (OA) 8 7
Adults* 3 0
Table 1. Sample composition by age and sex.
*Individuals who could not be categorized into the young, middle, or
older adult category were classified simply as adults.
Individuals were excluded if they did not
possess crania or they were still mummified and
possessed textile headdresses, because a dental
examination was impossible. Because teeth must
be present to document the frequency of carious
lesions and dental indicators of coca leaf chew-
ing, individuals with fewer than six teeth were
excluded from the analysis of these dental
stigmata. Individuals younger than eighteen
years of age were excluded due to the age pro-
gressive nature of the development of carious
lesions and antemortem tooth loss. Epidemiolog-
ical studies of living human populations and
bioarchaeological investigations have demon-
strated that the severity and frequency of carious
lesions is strongly correlated with age and that
Murphy & Boza: Coca Chewing at Puruchuco-Huaquerones
the lesions progress over a period of years.4
Although it would be interesting to examine the
presence and frequency of coca leaf chewing
among subadults from Puruchuco-Huaquerones,
we cannot reliably document these phenomena
by using dental data.
Adult age estimation was based upon age-
related changes to the pubic symphysis morphol-
ogy, auricular surface morphology, and sternal
rib endmorphology.5 Sex determination was
based upon characteristics of the pelvis and the
cranium (Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994:16-21;
Meindl et al. 1985; Murail et al. 1999; Phenice
1969).
Total In this investigation, we scored the following
209 variables using established standards of data
117
87
collection in dental anthropology and following
5 Indriati and Buikstras method (Indriati and
90 Buikstra 2001; Hillson 2000, 2002; Kelley and
101
Larsen 1991; Larsen et al. 1991; Turner 1979):
15
3 antemortem tooth loss, postmortem tooth loss,
location of carious lesions by tooth surface, root
exposure, and degree of calculus formation.
Carious lesions were recorded by tooth and
surface location, by severity, and when possible,
by site of initiation. Antemortem tooth loss was
recorded in the absence of the tooth with the
presence of healed or partially remodeled osse-
ous activity on the mandibular or maxillary
alveolus. Postmortem tooth loss was based upon
the absence of the tooth and no apparent osse-
ous response on the alveolus. Root exposure was
measured to the nearest tenth of a millimeter
using dental calipers. The presence of calculus
was scored by tooth location and the amount
4
Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994:55; Hillson 2002:280-283;
Langsjoen 1996:476-478, 484; Larsen 1997:65-75; Reich
et al. 1999; Sapp et al. 1997:61-74.
5
Bass 2005:134-142; Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994:21-32;
Iscan et al. 1984, 1985; Lovejoy et al. 1985; McKern and
Stewart 1957; Suchey and Katz 1998.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 178

and severity of the calculus (Dobney and Broth- burials as elite, intermediate, commoner, or
well 1987). indeterminate based on their mortuary treat-
ment to explore whether or not coca was re-
Following the methodology of Indriati and stricted to those individuals with elaborate
Buikstra (2001:246), we identified the presence, mortuary treatment. This burial typology did not
absence, and frequency of the strong, mild, and specifically identify Inca royalty, provincial lords
weak indicators of coca chewing. Accordingly, or chiefs, but the mortuary variability present
the strongest indicator of coca leaf chewing is suggests that a degree of social differentiation
the presence of cervical-root caries on the existed in the cemetery. While it is unlikely that
buccal surface of the mandibular molars with these social strata were the same as those identi-
severe root exposure equal to or more than three fied and recognized by members of the commu-
mm. from cemento-enamel junction. Mild nity interred at Puruchuco-Huaquerones or
indicators include cervical-root caries on the even those recognized by Inca nobility, the
buccal surface of the maxillary molars, differentiation between the elites and the non-
cevical-root caries on the mesial, distal, and elites (intermediate and commoner) is the best
lingual surfaces of the maxillary and mandibular attempt we can make to capture differences
molars, cervical-root caries on the premolars among high and low status individuals, if they
when adjacent molars are lost, and buccal-pit existed.
caries. Weak indicators were the presence of
interproximal caries, the presence of molar roots For the present study, these burials were
only, and antemortem tooth loss. Individuals categorized into different social status groups
were then classified as definite, probable, and (elite, intermediate, and commoner) by inspec-
possible chewer or nonchewer according to the tion of their mortuary treatment and on the
presence and frequency of the strong, mild, and basis of the presence of metal, ceramics, Spon-
weak indicators (after Indriati and Buikstra dylus, and scallop shells (Table 2). Artifacts
2001). Definite chewers possessed at least two made of perishable or organic materials, such as
strong indicators and two other mild or weak weaving baskets, textiles, and food, were ex-
indicators. Probable chewers possessed one cluded from the burial typology due to their
strong indicator and one mild indicator. Possible differential preservation.
chewers possessed one strong indicator, or at
least one mild indicator, or several weak 57AS03 Huaquerones Total % total (N=
209)
indicators. Elite 0 22 22 9.5
Intermediate 14 23 37 17.7
Dental data were compared by age, sex, and Commoner 15 60 75 35.8
Atypical 50 0 50 23.9
mortuary treatment. Because a description of all Indetermi- 8 17 25 12.0
of the variables scored and analyzed is beyond nate

the scope of this study, we will only summarize

Table 2. Sample composition by burial classification.
the results of the variables relevant to the prac-
tice of coca leaf chewing.
Following Cock Carrasco and Goycochea Daz
(2004:190-193), the largest of the adult burials
The objectives of the mortuary analysis were
with false heads and the highest quality and
twofold: 1) to investigate the presence or ab-
quantity of mortuary offerings were classified as
sence of coca and or coca paraphernalia in the
elite individuals because they possessed the most
funerary contexts of the individuals in the
elaborate mortuary treatment. The false heads
dental survey and 2) to classify the different
are not naturalized or anatomical representa-
179 - Murphy & Boza: Coca Chewing at Puruchuco-Huaquerones

tions of faces, such as those from other Andean 57AS03 Huaquerones Total

sites on the central coast (Fleming et al. Number of teeth

observed 2080 2625 4705
1983:149-150, see Uhle 1903 for context; Kau- Number of sockets
licke 1997), but the presence of a false head may observed 2677 3721 6398
Antermortem tooth loss
indicate a different social identity and perhaps a (AML), by teeth 314 568 882
more elaborate means of memorializing the Number of sockets/
AML (%) 8.5% 6.6% 7.3%
deceased. Intermediate burials possess Spondylus AML by individual
shell and usually both ceramic and worked (at least one tooth) 50 87 137
AML by individual (%) 57.5% 71.3% 65.6%
metal offerings, but they lack a false head and Average AML
they are smaller in size than the false head per individual 3.6 4.7 4.2
Males with AML (%) 26 44 70
burials (<1 meter in height approximately). (52.0%) (50.6%) (52.2%)
Commoner burials possess few, if any, burial Females with AML 24 40 64
(%) (48.0%) (46.0%) (46.7%)
offerings, and typically the offerings are only Indeterminate
small pieces of unworked metal and/or ceramic with AML (%) 0% 3% 3%

vessels. A subsample of burials from 57AS03 Table 3: Comparison of dental health indicators between
resembled the commoner burials in their mortu- 57AS03 and Huaquerones.*
*Note: this comparison includes the full adult sample listed in Table 1.
ary treatment; however, the orientation of the
burials and the position of the bodies departed 57AS03 Huaquerones Total
from the Late Horizon pattern observed, so Total adults 85 116 201
these burials were classified as atypical burials. Males 49 65 114
Females 36 47 83
Some burials could not be classified because Indeterminate 0 4 4
they were in a poor state of preservation or Number of caries 276 416 692
Teeth with caries (%) 13.2% 15.8% 14.7%
because they were fully or partially disturbed, so Total individuals
they were categorized as indeterminate. The with caries 68/85 101/116 169/201
presence of coca, gourd lime containers (cale- Individuals with
caries (%) 80% 87.1% 84.1%
ros), and specific textile bags (chuspas) accompa- Average caries per 4.0 4.2 4.1
nied by either coca or lime gourds were consid- individual
Males with caries (%) 38 55 93
ered as mortuary offerings of coca or coca para- (55.9%) (54.5%) (55.0%)
phernalia. Females with caries 30
(44.1%)
42
(41.6%)
72
(42.6%)
Indeterminate with
RESULTS caries 0 4 4
Anterior caries 48 97 145
(% total caries) (17.4%) (23.3%) (21.0%)
In the total sample, 4,705 teeth and 6,398 Posterior caries 228 320 548
(% total caries) (82.6%) (76.9%) (79.2%)
sockets were examined. Approximately 882
Table 4. Comparison of carious lesions between 57AS03
teeth were lost antemortem. Of the total teeth and Huaquerones.
examined from the two cemeteries, 14.7%
possessed carious lesions, and 84.1% of the In the total adult sample, more males than
individuals examined possessed carious lesions. females possessed antemortem tooth loss (52.2%
Individuals averaged 4.1 carious lesions each versus 46.7%) and the number of males with
(Tables 3, 4). carious lesions was higher than the number of
females with carious lesions (55% versus 42.6%;
Table 4). Approximately 87.1% individuals from
the Huaquerones cemetery exhibited at least
one carious lesion and individuals averaged 4.1
lesions each. The frequency of carious lesions
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 180

between Huaquerones males and females was
very similar (54.5% and 41.6% respectively) and
chi-square tests reveal that there are no statisti-
cally significant differences between males and
females (p>.05). In the adults from 57AS03,
approximately 80% possessed carious lesions and
individuals averaged 4.1 carious lesions (55.9%
of the males and 44.1% of the females), but
these differences are not statistically significant
(p>.05). The frequency of posterior caries is
much greater than the frequency of anterior
caries, which is not unexpected given the greater
number of posterior teeth (molars and premol-
ars) and the greater likelihood that the fissures
and cusp morphology on the occlusal surfaces of
the posterior teeth will contribute to the growth
of cariogenic bacteria and carious lesions.
Approximately 57.5% of the individuals
from 57AS03 experienced antemortem tooth
Several individuals exhibited distinctive
carious lesions on the buccal aspect of the
cervical root region of the mandibular molars,
considered the strongest indicator of coca leaf
chewing. The buccal cervical root carious le-
sions ranged in severity from incipient lesions to
large, wide lesions extending down the root of
the molars (Figures 3, 4). Typically, the cervical
root carious lesions were accompanied by several
of the mild and weak indicators of coca chewing
(Indriati and Buikstra 2001). Following Indriati
and Buikstras framework for identifying coca
chewing in skeletal samples, 32 individuals
(32/201; 15.9%) were identified as definite
chewers, probable chewers, and possible chewers
of coca on the basis of presence and frequency of
the strong, mild, and weak indicators of coca
leaf chewing (Tables 6, 7).
57AS03 Huaquerones Total

loss and 71.3% of the individuals from Huaque- Total chewers (%) 11/85 21/116 32/201
(12.9%) (18.1%) (15.9%)
rones experienced antemortem tooth loss. In Male chewers 3 8 11
both cemeteries, males and females experienced Female chewers 8 12 20
antemortem tooth loss in nearly equal numbers Indeterminate chewers 0 1 1
Definite 5 4 9
(Table 3) and these differences are not statisti- Probable 3 4 7
cally significant (57AS03 p>.05, Huaquerones Possible 3 13 16
Individuals with offerings 1 8 9
p>.05). Individuals buried in 57AS03 averaged Chewers with offerings 0 2 2
3.6 teeth lost antemortem and those buried in Chewers - Elite 0 4 4
Huaquerones lost an average of 4.7 teeth ante- Chewers - Intermediate 2 1 3
Chewers - Commoner 5 13 18
mortem. As expected, due to the age-progressive Chewers - Atypical 1 0 1
nature of tooth decay, the middle adult and Chewers - Indeterminate 3 3 6

older adult categories from both cemeteries

Table 6. Comparative summary of coca leaf chewers by
show higher frequencies of carious lesions and
cemetery.
antemortem tooth loss (Table 5).

57AS03 Huaquerones Total

YA with caries 26 40 66
MA with caries 31 54 85
OA with caries 8 7 15
Adults with caries 3 0 3
YA with AML 12 29 41
MA with AML 30 51 81
OA with AML 7 7 14
Adults with AML 1 0 1

Table 5. Dental health by age category.

181 - Murphy & Boza: Coca Chewing at Puruchuco-Huaquerones

Individual Assessment # Strong # Mild # Weak Age Sex Burial type

indicators indicators indicators (years)
HP01-122 Definite 2 2 2 35-49 M Elite
HP01-89 Definite 4 1 1 20-34 F Commoner
HP02-184 Definite 4 1 1 35-49 M Elite
HP01-64 Probable 1 2 2 35-49 F Elite
HP02-156 Probable 1 6 2 35-49 F Elite
HP02-190 Probable 1 2 1 35-49 F Commoner
HP01-100 Probable 1 2 3 35-49 F Commoner
HP01-116 Possible 2 0 0 20-34 F Commoner
HP02-173 Possible 0 2 3 20-34 M Commoner
HP01-17 Possible 0 1 2 35-49 F Commoner
HP01-24 Possible 1 0 9 35-49 M Commoner
HP01-44 Possible 1 0 2 35-49 M Commoner
HP02-186 Possible 1 0 1 35-49 M Commoner
HP02-166 Possible 1 0 2 35-49 F Intermediate
HP02-172 Possible 1 0 3 35-49 M Intermediate
HP01-120 Possible 0 1 2 35-49 F Commoner
HP01-71 Possible 0 1 2 35-49 M Commoner
HP02-145 Possible 0 3 2 50+ I Indeterminate
HP02-157 Possible 0 1 2 35-49 F Commoner
HP02-192 Possible 0 0 7 35-49 F Indeterminate
HP02-194 Possible 0 1 6 35-49 F Commoner
57AS03E 125 Definite 3 1 7 35-49 F Commoner
57AS03E 307 Definite 3 2 5 20-34 F Commoner
57AS03E 392 Definite 2 0 2 35-49 F Commoner
57AS03E 442 Definite 2 0 9 35-49 F Indeterminate
57AS03E 471 Definite 2 2 2 35-49 M Indeterminate
57AS03E 149 Probable 1 2 6 50+ F Commoner
57AS03E 190 Probable 1 1 7 20-34 M Intermediate
57AS03E 298 Probable 1 27 19 50+ F Commoner
57AS03E 018 Possible 1 0 5 50+ F Intermediate
57AS03E 477 Possible 1 0 3 20-34 F Indeterminate
57AS03E 073 Possible 0 1 3 20-34 M Atypical

Table 7. Coca leaf chewers from Puruchuco-Huaquerones.

Of these 32 individuals, eight were identified majority of individuals with offerings of coca or
as definite coca leaf chewers, seven were identi- coca paraphernalia were male (six males, three
fied as probable coca leaf chewers, and 17 were females) and eight of them were interred in the
identified as possible coca chewers. Eleven of the Huaquerones cemetery and one was interred in
total coca chewers were males, 20 were females 57AS03.
and one was of indeterminate sex. These differ-
ences are not statistically significant (p>.05).
More individuals were identified as coca chew-
ers from the Huaquerones cemetery than from
57AS03 (21 versus 11; 18.1% and 12.9%, re-
spectively). Nine individuals were interred with
mortuary offerings of coca and/or coca para-
phernalia (Figure 5, Table 8). Most of these
individuals were classified as nonchewers and
only two chewers possessed coca or coca para-
phernalia among their mortuary offerings. The
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 182
Individual Age, yrs Sex Coca leaf chewer? Type of offering
HP01-122 35-49 M Definite Textile bag, lime gourd container Elite
HP02-157 35-49 F Possible Textile bag, lime gourd container Intermediate
HP01-40 35-49 F Non-chewer Textile bag, four lime gourd containers Intermediate
HP01-70 20-34 M Non-chewer Textile bag, lime gourd container, coca Elite
HP01-88 35-49 M Non-chewer Textile bag with lime Intermediate
HP01-125 35-49 M Non-chewer Lime gourd with container Intermediate
HP02-206 50+ M Non-chewer Textile bag with lime gourd container inside Elite
HP01-14 35-49 F Non-chewer Coca leaves Commoner
57AS03E 081 25-49 M Non-chewer Coca leaves Atypical
Table 8. Individuals with mortuary offerings of coca and/or coca paraphernalia

When we examine the mortuary treatment
of the chewers, most of the individuals with
dental evidence of coca leaf chewing were
classified as commoner burials (18 individuals;
Table 7). Three intermediate burials and four
elite burials possessed dental evidence of coca
leaf chewing. One chewer was classified as an
atypical burial and the poor preservation of the
funerary contexts of six chewers did not allow
for classification (indeterminate). Only two of
the coca chewers possessed mortuary offerings of
coca or coca paraphernalia and they were both
from the Huaquerones cemetery. Indriatis
(1998) study found evidence of coca chewing in
40-80% of her sample, which is significantly
higher than was found in this study (15.9%,
Table 9).
However, the majority of the samples were
from the southern coastal and southern high-
land regions (Indriati 1998). Using the radio-
immunoassay technique, the individuals who
tested positive for coca use in the samples ana-
lyzed by Cartmell and colleagues (1991) ranged
from zero percent to close to 69%, with the
highest frequency of coca use detected in their
provincial Inca sample (69.2%; Table 9). A
similar low prevalence was reported from hair
samples of non-elite Lambayeque burials from
the coastal site of El Brujo that were analyzed by
radioimmunoassay and only tested positive for
coca use in 17% (4/23) of the cases sampled
(Verano 2000).

Site/Cultural phase Approximate date N Coca use % Author(s)1

Puruchuco-Huaquerones AD 1475-1535 201 15.9 Present study
Huaquerones AD 1475-1535 116 18.1 Present study
57AS03 AD 1475-1535 85 12.9 Present study
Chinchorro 3000-2000 BC 23 0.0 Cartmell et al. 1991
Quiani 3000-1250 BC 3 0.0 Cartmell et al. 1991
El Laucho 560 BC 49 44.9 Indriati 1998
Alto Ramirez 350-250 BC 3 33.3 Cartmell et al. 1991
Tiwanaku AD 300-1000 51 49.0 Indriati 1998
Maytas AD 750-950 69 71.0 Indriati 1998
Cabuza AD 400-1000 16 62.5 Cartmell et al. 1991
Gentilar AD 650-950 23 52.2 Indriati 1998
Chiribaya Alta AD 650-1100 26 69.2 Indriati 1998
Yaral AD 650-1100 9 55.5 Indriati 1998
El Brujo AD 900-1100 23 17.0 Verano 2000
Maytas Chiribaya AD 1100-1250 97 55.7 Cartmell et al. 1991
San Miguel AD 1200-1350 8 25.0 Cartmell et al. 1991
Inca2 AD 1400-1500 13 69.2 Cartmell et al. 1991

Table 9. Comparison of the prevalence of coca use.

Note: All of the samples and their approximate dates, except for the sample from Puruchuco-Huaquerones, were the dates provided by the authors in
the original citations.
1. The studies reported by Verano 2000 and Cartmell et al. 1991 used the radioimmunoassay test to detect coca use.
2. The Inca sample analyzed by Cartmell and colleagues is from the Camarones Valley, south of Arica, Chile and the authors believe that it is a local
group with an administrative relationship to the Imperial Inca (Cartmell et al. 1991:264).
183 - Murphy & Boza: Coca Chewing at Puruchuco-Huaquerones
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The overall prevalence of coca leaf chewing
found at Puruchuco-Huaquerones is low in
comparison with that of other studies of the
practice. This evidence suggests limited access to
coca, but we believe access was unrelated to
social status and not restricted to the elite
members of the community. The coca planta-
tions in the upper Lurn Valley were annexed by
Tupac Yupanqui and given to the Yauyos of
Huarochiri during the Inca expansion onto the
central coast (Rostworowski 2002:90, 174).
Therefore, members of the Ychma macroethnic
group living in the middle and lower Rimac and
Lurn Valleys and, specifically, people from
Puruchuco-Huaquerones, lost control of their
coca plantations and may have experienced a
reduction in access to the plant. It is unclear
how local elites or Inca administrators in the
region distributed the available coca, but it may
have been distributed as part of mita labor
obligation (Hastorf 1991:151-152; Murra 1982).
A high number of the identified coca chewers
were female (20/32, 62.5%) and it is conceivable
that coca may have been distributed to these
women during mita labor, such as weaving or
chicha production. This pattern is particularly
interesting because the frequency of carious
lesions is higher in males than in females in the
entire sample (93 males versus 72 females), but
more females than males were identified as coca
chewers (20 females, 11 males, one indetermi-
nate). There is a significant difference in carbon
isotope composition of dietary protein between
males and females at Puruchuco-Huaquerones,
indicating that males had differential access to
animal protein fed C4 fodder, or that males may
have consumed higher quantities of chicha
(Williams 2004: 157, 160). Differential con-
sumption of food and coca could have occurred
for male and female participants as a result of a
gendered division of labor (Hastorf 1991:149-
151; Murra 1982:256), where males may have
received meat and chicha, and females received
coca, which may explain the higher number of
female coca chewers. Other studies have re-
ported higher numbers of coca chewing among
females than males, but the results were not
statistically significant (Cartmell et al. 1991:
265; Indriati and Buikstra 2001:255).
The patterning of offerings of coca and coca
paraphernalia contrasts with the dental evi-
dence of coca chewing. Mortuary offerings of
coca, lime gourds, and textile bags, although
present, were uncommon (nine individuals) and
were recovered more among the burials of adult
males than females (six males, three females).
Most of these individuals were also classified as
elite or intermediate burials, so they also re-
ceived a more elaborate mortuary treatment that
included a higher quantity and quality of offer-
ings (Table 8). Only two individuals with coca
or coca paraphernalia were identified as coca
chewers. In the absence of dental evidence of
the practice, these offerings likely highlight the
symbolic importance of coca and paraphernalia,
particularly for men in this community. Dental
evidence of the practice of coca leaf chewing at
Puruchuco-Huaquerones indicates that males
and females chewed coca, but that mortuary
offerings were usually reserved for males. Al-
though the sample size of individuals with
offerings of coca or coca paraphernalia is small
in the present study, it is known that during
seventeenth and eighteenth century Andean
funerary rites, mourners and family members of
the deceased reportedly offered coca and coca
paraphernalia (Doyle 1988), so the objects could
simply reflect ceremonial offerings that say little
about the practice of coca chewing by the de-
ceased. Contrary to what we would expect based
on some ethnohistorical sources (Acosta 2002
[1590]; Cobo 1964 [1653]; Matienzo 1967
[1567]; Pizarro 1969 [1571]), this study of coca
leaf chewing demonstrates that access to coca
was not restricted to the elite individuals from
Puruchuco-Huaquerones. Only four chewers
were classified as elite individuals (4/32, 12.5%).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Individuals identified as possible, probable, or
definite coca chewers were not correlated with
one particular burial type, nor were these indi-
viduals found only among the more complex
mortuary contexts and treatments. Rather,
individuals identified as coca chewers were
interred in all of the different burial contexts
and most of the identified coca leaf chewers
were from commoner burials in the typology
used in this study (18/32, 56.3%).
A higher frequency of coca leaf chewing has
been observed in archaeological samples from
highland regions and south coastal regions
(Table 9; Cartmell et al. 1991; Indriati 1998;
Indriati and Buikstra 2001). Some of the coca
leaf chewers from Puruchuco-Huaquerones may
have possessed some highland affinities, either
through intermarriage, trade, or ethnicity. It is
possible that the chewers were members of
communities or an ethnic group or groups
relocated to this area of the central coast, possi-
bly from the highlands, who continued to chew
coca in this coastal region. Dental metric data
indicate that the community from Puruchuco-
Huaquerones is characterized by considerable
phenotypic variability and the samples from
Huaquerones and 57AS03 show similar levels of
phenotypic similarity (Murphy et al. 2008). In
the future, we will investigate residence and
migration patterns through the analysis of
oxygen and strontium isotope ratios, which may
help reveal if these chewers have highland
affinities.
Unfortunately, the results of this study
cannot address the ceremonial use of coca, its
infrequent use, or differential susceptibility to
the dental consequences. Individuals who sel-
dom or rarely chewed coca, only participating in
occasional sacred rituals, may not evince the
dental consequences of the practice. For exam-
ple, individuals who were interred with coca and
coca paraphernalia, but who lack dental evi-
dence of coca leaf chewing, may have been
- 184
infrequent chewers, may have died too young to
develop the pathological conditions, and/or may
have possessed a higher resistance to the distinc-
tive dental pathologies. These issues will be
explored through the analysis of hair of individ-
uals from Puruchuco-Huaquerones through
radioimmunoassay tests. These findings will
further clarify the frequency of the practice of
coca leaf chewing for members of this coastal
community during the Late Horizon.
The bioarchaeological data from Puru-
chuco-Huaquerones do not indicate that coca
use was widespread in this region during the
Late Horizon or that the practice of coca chew-
ing was restricted only to elites. Despite the low
prevalence, its association with individuals from
elite, intermediate, and commoner burials
supports the view that everyone had access to
the leaf (Murra 1986, 1991). In comparison to
other Andean archaeological populations, the
population at Puruchuco- Huaquerones exhib-
ited a relatively low incidence of the practice,
and few individuals were interred with offerings
of coca or coca paraphernalia. These results may
reflect a change in access to coca resulting from
the loss of coca plantations to the Yauyos when
the Incas arrived on the central coast. However,
access to the leaf was sufficient for a sample of
individuals to chew it frequently and for coca
and coca paraphernalia to be included as offer-
ings during the funerary rites of some individu-
als. If Inca imperial control was exercised
through diplomacy and alliance building with
local elites and/or indirect measures in the lower
middle Rimac Valley, as suggested by Villacorta
(2004) and others, then coca use at Puru-
chuco-Huaquerones may reflect less restrictive
strategies of control and access to coca by the
local elites in this region than what was experi-
enced by other regions. Another possible expla-
nation is that the low frequency of coca chewers
and coca use may reflect a coastal pattern that
was less frequent among people living at sea
level and some of these identified chewers may
185 - Murphy & Boza: Coca Chewing at Puruchuco-Huaquerones
actually represent highlanders living in the
heterogeneous community of Puruchuco-Hua-
querones. Finally, the debate over access to coca
may have been slightly overstated due to the
overemphasis on those ethnohistorical sources
that are removed from the daily realities of
provincial life. Additional data from Late Inter-
mediate and Late Horizon coastal sites and
bioarchaeological samples would greatly illumi-
nate whether or not coca availability shifted
after the Inca established a presence on the
central coast, as well as the prevalence of coca
leaf chewing and coca access from different
regions of the north and central coasts.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported in part by grants from
Wenner Gren Foundation (Grant number 6791) and the
National Science Foundation (number 0618192). This
research would not have been possible without the
tireless efforts of the Puruchuco-Huaquerones Project
members (present and former), especially the Peruvian
researchers and scholars responsible for the long-term
excavations and laboratory work: Guillermo Cock, Elena
Goycochea, Violeta Chamorra, Bertha Herrera, and
Antonio Gamonal. Jeffrey Quilter, Kate Moore, and
Andrew Scherer read and commented on earlier versions
of this manuscript, and despite their painstaking editorial
labors and astute advice, all of the mistakes are our own.
Catherine Riihimaki and Natalia Ventocilla deserve
acknowledgment for their assistance with Figure 1. We
would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers
who provided us with constructive and helpful feedback
and suggestions.
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Figure 1: Location of the cemeteries of Huaquerones and 57AS03 relative to the Puruchuco Museum,
the Pyramids, and the Palace within the archaeological zone of Puruchuco-Huaquerones.
Inset: location of Puruchuco-Huaquerones in the Rmac Valley.
191 - Murphy & Boza: Coca Chewing at Puruchuco-Huaquerones

Figure 2: Location of 57AS03 and the Huaquerones cemetery within the archaeological zone of
Puruchuco-Huaquerones and relative to the Puruchuco Site Museum, the Pyramids with Ramps,
and the Puruchuco Palace
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 192

Figure 3: An adult individual (HP01-17) exhibits a deep and wide cervical root carious lesion on the
buccal aspect (A) with root exposure of the left mandibular first molar (B). These dental characteristics
are considered the strongest indicators of coca leaf chewing.

Figure 4: Example of an adult male individual (HP01-184) with two cervical root carious lesions
affecting the buccal aspect of his right first and second mandibular molars (arrows labeled A).
Root exposure (B) due to alveolar recession is also apparent.
The crown of the adjacent premolar has been lost to caries.
193 - Murphy & Boza: Coca Chewing at Puruchuco-Huaquerones

Figure 5: Ten individuals in the present study did not possess dental evidence of coca leaf chewing,
but they were interred with coca and coca paraphernalia. This lime gourd container was one of the
mortuary offerings accompanying an adult male individual from an elaborate false head mummy bundle.
The lime gourd was recovered from inside a coca bag (chuspa) that also contained a Spondylus shell
and coca leaves. Some of the coca leaves are still adhering to the exterior of the gourd.
The coca bag and its contents were placed underneath the principal individuals left arm.
 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE YURAC RUMI SHRINE (VILCABAMBA, CUSCO DEPARTMENT)
INTRODUCTION
The site of Yurac Rumi1 (also widely known
as usta Ispanan) is one of the most impressive
carved rock shrines of the Inca empire. It is
approximately one hundred aerial kilometers
northwest of Cusco, within the vast subtropical
region that the Inca called Antisuyu. More
precisely, the shrine complex is within the Inca
province of Vilcabamba, near the abandoned
town of Vitcos. The province has gained fame
among historians, archaeologists, and other
students of the Inca, because it was from Vilca-
bamba that the last independent Incas waged a
nearly forty year long war (A.D. 1536-1572)
against Spanish control of the Andes. The
shrine of Yurac Rumi holds special importance
because it was the last regional shrine to be
worshiped by the Inca elite. In this article we
discuss the results of our recent excavations at
this shrine complex in conjunction with a suite
of eleven radiocarbon dates, many of which
were taken from well preserved roofing materi-
als. Our research provides insight into when the
Vilcabamba region was first conquered by the
Inca, and how the shrine was destroyed by the
Spaniards. Our archaeological investigation
1
Also spelled Yurak Rumi.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012): 195-211.
Brian S. Bauer
University of Illinois at Chicago
Miriam Dayde Aroz Silva
Aroz Delgado Consultores Supervisores
Arquelogos Asociados S.C.R.L., Cusco
George S. Burr
University of Arizona
augments our understanding of the Vilcabamba
region, which, until now, has been largely based
on historical accounts.
The Vilcabamba region, to the northwest of
Cusco, is a mountainous area of coca, yuca,
fruits, dense forests, and an abundance of ani-
mals not found in the highlands (Figure 1).
Bernab Cobo suggests that it was incorporated
relatively early into the growing Inca empire. He
wrote, [Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui] began his
conquests with the provinces of Vitcos and
Vilcabamba, a very difficult land to subjugate
because it is so rough and covered with dense
jungle and many arcabucos [dense forests]
(Cobo 1979:136 [1653]: Book 12, Chapter
12]).2 Because Machu Picchu is thought to have
also been established by Pachacuti Inca Yupan-
qui (Rowe 1990), it has been suggested that the
Vilcabamba region was incorporated into the
Inca empire during the same military campaign,
perhaps during the early 1400s (Hemming 1970;
Lee 2000).
2
Cobo (1979: 135-137 [1653]: Book 12, Chapter 12)
suggests that Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui passed through the
Vitcos region and arrived at the plain of Pampaconas. It
was in Pampaconas that the Inca negotiated with the local
lords, and they agreed to submit to the empire.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
The Vilcabamba region, however, gains its
unique importance from the role that it held in
the final days of the Incas. In 1537, after the
Incas failed to regain control of Cusco, their
capital city, from the Spaniards, many native
loyalists withdrew into this mountainous region.
The leader of the resistance, Manco Inca,
established himself at the town of Vitcos,3 as he
attempted to restore control over what had been
the largest indigenous state to develop in the
Americas.4 For nearly eight years Manco Inca
both negotiated with the Spaniards and orga-
nized raids against them. After his death, strong
indigenous resistance continued under the
successive leadership of three of Manco Incas
sons: Sayri Tupac, Titu Cusi, and Tupac Amaru.
During this same period, the Spanish leaders of
Cusco sent diplomats, priests, miners, and, at
times, military expeditions into the Vilcabamba
region, attempting to bring an end to the con-
flict (Gose 2008; Hemming 1970).
During the long period of organized indige-
nous resistance to Spanish rule, much of the
Inca royal court was centered in the town of
Vitcos, and many of the major rituals were held
at the nearby shrine of Yurac Rumi. The shrine
is described as a large white rock with an adja-
cent spring (Mura 1987[1611-1616]:270, Book
1, Chapter 75; Calancha 1981[1638]: 1800-
1801, Book 4, Chapter 2). The shrine also
contained a complex of buildings (called a
3
The ruins of Vitcos are now called Rosaspata.
4 7
A Spanish raid into the region forced Manco Inca to pull
back even further into the mountains, and to establish his
new capital at the settlement of Vilcabamba, now called
Espiritu Pampa.
- 196
House of the Sun),5 various attendants, and a
head priest (Figure 2).
In 1568, while the Inca were still in control
of the Vilcabamba region, the ruling Inca (Titu
Cusi Yupanqui) invited the Augustinian priest,
Marcos Garcia, to enter the area and establish a
mission. About a year later a second Augustin-
ian, Diego Ortiz, was also given permission to
live in the area.6 As Titu Cusi contemplated a
full conversion to Christianity7 the relationship
between the Incas and the Christians were
stable, and the missions run by Ortiz and Garcia
lived in an uneasy state of truce with the Yurac
Rumi shrine and its attendants. However, in
1570, angered by their recent poor treatment by
the Inca and emboldened by a growing number
of converts to Christianity, the two priests and
a small group of local people burned the Yurac
Rumi shrine complex (Calancha 1981[1638]:
1826, Book 4, Chapter 4]; Mura 1987[1611-
5
Casa dedicada al Sol (Mura 1987[1611-1616]:270,
Book 1, Chapter 75); Casa del Sol (Calancha 1981:
1825 [1638]: Book 4, Chapter 4).
6
Diego Ortiz was killed by Inca loyalists in 1571 after
being mistakenly linked to the death of Titu Cusi
Yupanqui. His activities in Vilcabamba are especially well
documented because the Augustinians, starting as early as
1582, collected information on his death to support his
canonization as a saint (Hemming 1970:476; Levillier
1935, Volume 1:344). At least two other inquiries into
Ortizs death occurred in 1595 and 1599 (Aparicio 1989).
There is overlap in the information presented by Mura
(1987 [1611-1616]) and Calancha (1981 [1638]) because
both of these authors had access to these earlier
investigations while writing their own accounts (Hemming
1970: 476, 629; MacCormack 1985: 441, 2008). Both
Murua and Calancha relied on the 11 March 1595
testimony of Juana Guerrero, the wife of Titu Cusi
Yupanquis scribe, Martn de Pando, for their descriptions
of Yurac Rumi (see Aparicio 1989:163-169).
Titu Cusi Yupanqui was baptized in Cusco as a youth,
and again in 1568 in the Vilcabamba region as an adult,
but his relationship with Christianity remained
ambiguous.
197 -
1616]: 270, Book 1, Chapter 75). In the wake of
this provocative move, the Inca himself had to
race to the shrine to restore order and to save
the priests from being killed by a large and angry
mob. The next year, however, Titu Cusi sud-
denly died while visiting Vitcos,8 and soon
afterwards, in April 1572, Viceroy Toledo
ordered a massive raid on the Vilcabamba
region which resulted in the capture of the new
Inca (Tupac Amaru), and a general depopula-
tion of the area soon followed. The city of
Vitcos was abandoned, and the important
rituals that had been performed at the shrine of
Yurac Rumi slowly faded from local memory.
BINGHAM AT YURAC RUMI
Over the centuries, the forests of Vilca-
bamba reclaimed the city of Vitcos as well as its
nearby shrine. On August 9, 1911, less than a
month after he discovered Machu Picchu,
Hiram Bingham entered the Vilcabamba region
looking for the final capital of the Incas. After
visiting the ruins of Vitcos he was told of, and
subsequently found, a large, nearby, carved rock
which stood above a spring. Bingham cleared
the forest around the rock the following day and
found various Inca buildings grouped in patio-
units beside it. He also found a host of smaller
carved rocks and an impressive terrace and
canal system beside the rock. Bingham (1912a,
1912 b, 1912c, 1913, 1922) immediately recog-
nized that this was the shrine complex of Yurac
Rumi. He returned to the shrine site the next
year (1912), drained the swamp at its base, and
conducted limited excavations. Finding little,
and being drawn to working at the larger site of
Machu Picchu, Bingham left the rest of the site
untouched. Remarkably, no other archaeologi-
cal projects have been conducted at Yurac
Rumi, and only limited looting has taken place
8
The exact date of Titu Cusi Yupanquis death is not
known. However it most likely occurred in 1571, or early
in 1572.
Bauer et al.: Destruction of the Yurac Rumi Shrine
there. Unlike most other known shrine centers
in the Andes, the Yurac Rumi site remains
relatively well preserved (Lee 2000; Samanez
and Zapata 1996).
OVERVIEW OF THE 2008 EXCAVATIONS
The Yurac Rumi shrine is in a small, but
steep-sided, river valley at an altitude of approx-
imately 3,080 m.a.s.l. Now, as in Inca times, the
valley slopes are covered with dense vegetation,
while the valley floor has been cleared and
terraced. The complex is relatively small, less
than 80 meters square, and is some twenty
minutes by foot from the royal palace structures
of Vitcos. The sculpted rock of Yurac Rumi is in
the center of the shrine complex, and the spring
mentioned by the chroniclers still emerges from
beneath it, and flows north into a small court-
yard framed by a suite of buildings (Figure 3).
The area immediately to the south of the sacred
rock contains a large open plaza (approximately
25 by 20 meters), and a series of small carved
rocks. The area to the southwest of the Yurac
Rumi contains a second set of buildings with an
interior courtyard and a large looters pit.
During June and July of 2008, Bauer and
Aroz Silva conducted field-work at Yurac
Rumi. The project included fourteen (one meter
by one meter) test units, as well as six larger
excavations.9 The goal of the smaller units was
to gain information on the stratigraphy of the
site, while the larger units were dug to more
fully investigate specific areas and buildings. At
9
Major funding for this project was provided by the
National Geographic Society, the University of Illinois at
Chicago, the Curtiss T. Brennan and Mary G. Brennan
Foundation, the Institute for New World Archaeology,
and the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory at the
University of Arizona. We thank Vincent Lee for
providing the building drawing used in this work, as well
as Andean Past reviewers Steven A. Wernke and Steven
Kosiba for their comments on improving the manuscript.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
the conclusion of the field-work, a series of
carbon samples were submitted for dating under
the direction of Burr at the Accelerator Mass
Spectrometry Laboratory at the University of
Arizona. While a report on the full excavation
is currently in preparation, here we discuss the
contributions of the radiocarbon dates to our
understanding of the shrine complex. Our
research suggests that the shrine was established
during the early expansion of the Inca empire.
Furthermore, we find overwhelming evidence
that the shrine was destroyed by fire, and that
the ritual complex was then briefly reoccupied,
before being completely abandoned. These
archaeological data strongly support the narra-
tive accounts given by Mura (1987 [1611-
1616], Calancha (1981 [1638]), and Cobo
(1979 [1653]).
DATING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SHRINE
Excavations in the plaza and courtyards of
the shrine documented that the open areas of
the complex were covered with hard-packed
gravel floors during its final years of use. Fur-
thermore, excavations in the buildings revealed
that most of the structures contained well-
prepared, green clay floors. Importantly, in two
different units we also found evidence of earlier
floors, made with crushed white granite.
The crushed white granite floors were first
identified in Unit P9; a one by one meter exca-
vation in the Southwest Courtyard. The excava-
tion revealed a humus level followed by a thick
stratum of disturbed soil, representing the back-
dirt of a nearby looters pit. The third stratum
was composed of colluvially redeposited materi-
als (i.e. slope wash) laid down after the site was
abandoned. Next came a series of closely
spaced, relatively thin levels, each two to three
centimeters thick. The first was the pebble floor
which extends across much of the courtyard
area. This was followed by a floor of finely
crushed, white granite. Next came a lens of
- 198
dark earth, followed by another floor of crushed
white granite. Under the second granite floor
was a thin layer of earthen fill used to level this
area of the site, and a then thick stratum, more
than thirty centimeters deep, of very dark
brown, clayish loam which is thought to be the
natural sediment of the valley before the Inca
occupation (Figure 4).
Evidence of a similar level of crushed white
granite was found in P11. This unit, measuring
1.0 by 1.2 meters was placed in the northeast
sector of the site, against the back wall of the
building facing the sacred rock. The excavations
soon revealed an irregular, hard-packed earthen
floor with large fragments of classic Inca pottery,
carbon, and some minute burnt bone fragments.
Beneath the earthen floor was a level fill, ap-
proximately twenty centimeters thick, which
rested above a two centimeter thick floor of
crushed white granite. This floor had been well
prepared and rested directly above a thin,
greater than one centimeter, level of red clay,
which may have been used as a sealant to pro-
tect the granite floor in this waterlogged area of
the site.10 Beneath the red clay, was a thick
stratum, fifty to sixty centimeters, of multiple fill
levels which was used to raise the interior area
of the structure (Figure 5).
There is little doubt that the crushed white
granite in the floors identified in units P9 and
P11 was the direct by-product of the Incas
carving the many granite boulders that lie
within the shrine complex. A carbon sample,
(AA83415) collected from within the upper
floor of crushed granite in P9, yielded an AMS
radiocarbon date of 60134 BP. A carbon
sample, (AA83416) collected from the crushed
granite floor in Unit P11, provided an AMS
date radiocarbon age 49651 BP. The cali-
10
Similar thin levels of red clay were also noted within the
profiles of two excavation units (P7, P8) on the terrace
above the shrine complex.
199 -
brated dates from these samples suggest that the
shrine was established in the late 1300s to mid-
1400s (Table 1).
DATING THE DESTRUCTION OF THE SHRINE
The destruction of Yurac Rumi can be
narrowed down to a relatively short time period.
The two priests, Ortiz and Garcia, witnessed
and signed a document dictated by Titu Cusi
Yupanqui (2005[1570]:139) in the Inca town of
Vilcabamba on February 6, 1570, after which
they returned to the town of Puquiura near
Vitcos.11 According to Calancha (1981[1638]:
1825-1827, Book 4, Chapter 4),12 when Ortiz
and Garcia arrived in Puquiura there were many
people from different towns waiting for them.
Some were bemoaning deaths which had been
caused by the demon of Yurac Rumi, while
others were trembling in fear from the havoc
and destruction that the demon was causing to
their families, herds, and fields because they had
been baptized. Angry, and perhaps humiliated
by the events that had taken place in the city of
Vilcabamba, Ortiz and Garcia announced
through the town crier that all the converts
should gather the next day at the church on the
plaza, and that each person was to bring fire-
wood, because they were going to burn the
shrine. The following day the priests and their
followers marched to Yurac Rumi, encircled it
with firewood, and, after conducting an exor-
cism, they burned the temple and the rock.
Mura (1987[1611-1616]:270), provides many
of the same details. However, Mura suggests
that Yurac Rumi was burned about a month
11
17 February 1570 in the Gregorian calendar.
12
Antonio de la Calancha wrote a history of the
Augustinian order in Peru which was published in 1638.
There is no evidence that he lived in the Cusco region.
However, as an Augustinian himself, Calancha had access
to the records of the order, including the inquiries which
were conducted on the death of Ortiz (Hemming 1970;
MacCormack 2008).
Bauer et al.: Destruction of the Yurac Rumi Shrine
after the two priests returned from seeing the
Inca in Vilcabamba.13 No matter which chroni-
cler is more accurate, the burning of the shrine
appears to have taken place sometime between
mid-February and mid-March 1570.14
Our 2008 excavations at Yurac Rumi con-
firm that the shrine was destroyed in a massive
fire. Each of the buildings that we sampled
contained thick levels of burnt building materi-
als, including large amounts of burnt plaster, as
well as carbonized roof remains. These excava-
tions also revealed that each of the buildings
had well maintained floors at the time of the
destruction. A few complete ceramic vessels
(both for storage and cooking) were found on
the floors, and one structure yielded a bronze
halberd (yauri) head which appears to have
been left in the rafters of one of the buildings
when it burned (Figure 6). Furthermore, some
organic artifacts in use at the time of the burn-
ing were preserved in carbonized form. For
example, we recovered a carved wood staff that
had been resting on one of the floors. It should
be noted, however, that overall our excavations
found very few artifacts within the structures,
suggesting that the priests and attendants had
had time to remove the most valued items
before the complex was burned.
13
The Mercedarian friar Martn de Mura lived in Cusco
at least from 1585 to 1588, more likely even longer, and
he was stationed as the parish priest of Curahuasi on the
southern edge of the Vilcabamba region in 1595 (Ossio
2008a). It was during these decades that he collected
information on the history of the Incas and the early
conquest of the Andes by the Spaniards. He personally
interviewed many of the Spaniards who had lead raids into
the Vilcabamba region, as well as some of the natives who
had lived there (Adorno and Boserup 2008; Ossio 2008b).
Like Calancha, he had access to the Augustinian records
concerning the death of Ortiz (Aparicio 1989).
14
The testimony of Juana Guerra states that the burning
took place a cabo de un mes, poco ms o menos [At the
end of a month, more or less] (Aparicio 1989:164).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
The most intriguing information on the
massive burning of the shrine comes from
Excavation Unit U6, where the ceiling and roof
of the structure appear to have fallen relatively
quickly (Figures 7, 8). During the course of
excavation we exposed samples of burned and
unburned mountain grass (Stipa ichu) used as
thatch, carbonized mountain bamboo (Chusqu-
quea scandens) used as battens, carbonized
rafters made from alder (Alnus acuminata), and
carbonized rope made from local grass (Calama-
grostis heterophylla) used in lashing the battens
and rafters. These charred ceiling and roofing
materials rested directly on the green clay floor
of the building, and were covered with a 30
centimeter thick stratum of burnt plaster and
other materials (Figure 9).
A hard-packed earthen floor, enhanced by
a few slate paving stones, above the burnt wall
plaster stratum, but below a large scale collapse
of the structure walls, provided evidence of a
brief reoccupation of the shrine after it had been
burnt by the Augustinians.15 It appears that this
reoccupation also ended in fire, because the
hard-packed earth floor was also covered with a
lens of ash and burnt wood (Figure 10).
The recovery of various identifiable organic
ceiling and roofing materials within a building
with a known destruction date provided a
unique investigative opportunity. We wanted to
examine how the dates of various plant species
incorporated into the different parts of the roof
correlated with each other, as well as with the
known destruction date of the shrine. As a
result, AMS measurements were run on a rope
(AA83417 [1], AA83417 [2]), a batten (AA
83418 [1], AA83418 [2]), the outer layers of a
15
The reoccupation of Yurac Rumi may have been limited
to only certain areas of the shrine complex. Sometime
after this brief reoccupation, many of the buildings of the
shrine complex appear to have been systematically
destroyed, with major architectural features, such as the
stone roof pegs, pulled from the walls.
- 200
roof support (AA83419 [1], AA83419 [2]), the
grass thatch (AA83422), and carbon associated
with the reoccupation of the structure (AA
83420, AA83421).16 The results of the radiocar-
bon assays are presented in Table 1 and Figure
11.
SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
The Inca empire is well known for its elabo-
rately carved rocks, many of which were wor-
shiped as shrines. One of the most celebrated
examples of such a rock shrine is Yurac Rumi in
the Vilcabamba region. A series of radiocarbon
tests were run on carbon collected at the shrine
during excavations in 2008 to help determine:
1) when the shrine was first established, 2)
when it was destroyed, and 3) when it was
reoccupied. Not surprisingly, the two carbon
samples from the reoccupation level provided
the latest dates. However they were only slightly
later than the majority of the ceiling and roofing
materials which burned when the shrine was
initially destroyed. Although we may never
know with certainty, it is possible that parts of
the shrine were immediately re-consecrated by
local inhabitants following the actions of Ortiz
and Garcia, and that those more limited struc-
tures were burnt again approximately two years
later in 1572 as Spanish forces swept through
the region in their successful campaign to cap-
ture Tupac Amaru and to end the independent
Inca state established in the Vilcabamba region.
The burnt ceiling and roofing materials of
the shrine also provided intriguing results. The
sampled batten, roof support, and thatch all
16
All samples were processed in The National Science
Foundation-University of Arizona Accelerator Mass
Spectrometry facility. Calibrated dates were generated by
Calib 5.1 beta, courtesy of the University of Washington
(Stuiver and Reimer 1993). Dates were calibrated using
software employing southern hemisphere data (SHCal04
calibration curve) (McCormac et al. 2004).
201 -
yielded very similar calibrated dates which
clustered in the late-1400s to the mid-1500s.
These age estimations make sense if the shrine
was established, as suggested by the dates from
the granite floors, during the late 1300s to mid-
1400s. However, the rope which was used to tie
the thatch together provided surprisingly early
dates. Our sample yielded calibrated probability
dates in the late-1200s, suggesting that the rope;
was more than 200 years older than the rest of
the roof. Indeed, the results suggest that the
rope may have even predated the Inca occupa-
tion of the Vilcabamba region. Contamination
agents could have been introduced as a result of
fiber preparation before the weaving of the rope,
however, the Inca are not known to have used
such agents.17 While it is possible that the Incas
used older materials in the construction of the
shrine, the dates of the rope seem excessively
early, and we currently cannot fully explain the
results.
The precision of radiocarbon assays can be
increased by using pooled means of different but
related samples. In this study, the two samples
from the reoccupation18 can be pooled together,
as can the samples from the batten,19 the roof
support,20 and the rope.21 The results of the
pooling, presented in Figure 12, helps to illus-
trate how close the reoccupation dates are to
the roof dates, and how much earlier the rope
dates are.
17
In other cases, conservation agents might also make a
rope test older than it really is, but in this case the sample
was taken in the field and sent directly to the laboratory
for analysis.
18
Samples AA83420, AA83421.
19
Samples AA83418 (1), AA83418 (2).
20
Samples AA83419 (2), AA83419 (1).
21
Samples AA83417 (1), AA83417 (2).
Bauer et al.: Destruction of the Yurac Rumi Shrine
Two separate test excavations found evi-
dence of crushed granite floors in the Yurac
Rumi shrine. The incorporation of the crushed
granite into the floors of the complex must have
made them architecturally stunning, and rein-
forced the ritual nature of the area surrounding
the sacred central stone. Use of the wastage
from the carving of the Yurac Rumi stone as a
paving material for the plaza space is consistent
with Inca aesthetics. The pulverized debitage
from a huaca like this would not have been
categorized as mere spoilage, but something
more akin to a religious relic. Its use as a floor-
ing material would have bound the site together
as a single, sacred complex.
Carbon samples were collected from two of
the granite floors.22 Although the radiocarbon
ages of these two samples are separated by some
one hundred years (60134 BP, 49651 BP),
their calibrated 1-sigmas do have considerable
overlap in the earliest decades of the cal AD
1400s. We currently believe that these samples
date the establishment of Yurac Rumi as a
shrine, and document when the Inca first ex-
panded into the Vilcabamba region. The fact
that these levels were later buried, and that
additional floors were established above them,
indicates that a series of modifications occurred
at the shrine after its initial dedication. The
dates are consistent with suggestions that the
region was incorporated relatively early into the
Inca empire, during its initial expansion period,
most likely during the reign of Pachacuti Inca
Yupanqui.
22
Samples AA83415, AA83416.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
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203 - Bauer et al.: Destruction of the Yurac Rumi Shrine

Lab No Site context Material *13 C F 14

C age BP Calibrated dates
[start: end] relative area

AA83415 Granite floor Unidentified carbon -25.1 0.9280 0.0039 601 34 One-sigma ranges:
[cal AD 1326: cal AD 1341] 0.250409
[cal AD 1390: cal AD 1419] 0.749591
Two-sigma ranges:
[cal AD 1316: cal AD 1355] 0.326466
[cal AD 1382: cal AD 1435] 0.673534
Median probability: cal AD 1397

AA83416 Granite floor Unidentified carbon -27.5 0.9401 0.0060 496 51 One-sigma ranges:
[cal AD 1411: cal AD 1464] 0.955148
[cal AD 1470: cal AD 1476] 0.044852
Two-sigma ranges:
[cal AD 1394: cal AD 1509] 0.922702
[cal AD 1579: cal AD 1620] 0.077298
Median probability: cal AD 1446

AA83417 (1) Rope Calamagrostis -23.7 0.9075 0.0059 780 52 One-sigma range:
heterophylla [cal AD 1225: cal AD 1298] 1.0
Quechua: Hiro ichu Two-sigma ranges:
Reed grass [cal AD 1190: cal AD 1191] 0.001013
[cal AD 1202: cal AD 1322] 0.859046
[cal AD 1347: cal AD 1387] 0.139941
Median probability: cal AD 1271

AA83417 (2) Rope Calamagrostis -24.2 0.9089 0.0056 767 49 One-sigma ranges:
heterophylla [cal AD 1230: cal AD 1250] 0.205490
Quechua: Hiro ichu [cal AD 1261: cal AD 1304] 0.662807
Reed grass [cal AD 1363: cal AD 1377] 0.131703
Two-sigma ranges:
[cal AD 1215: cal AD 1323] 0.803562
[cal AD 1346: cal AD 1388] 0.196438
Median probability: cal AD 1283

AA83418 (1) Batten Chusququea scanden -25.9 09481 0.0061 428 52 One-sigma ranges:
Quechua: Kurkur [cal AD 1446: cal AD 1509] 0.666726
Mountain bamboo [cal AD 1580: cal AD 1620] 0.333274
Two-sigma range:
[cal AD 1438: cal AD 1628] 1.0
Median probability: cal AD 1508

AA83418 (2) Batten Chusququea scanden -23.7 0.9466 0.0058 441 49 One-sigma range:
Quechua: Kurkur [cal AD 1442: cal AD 1504] 0.763347
Mountain bamboo Two-sigma ranges:
[cal AD 1428: cal AD 1524] 0.636179
[cal AD 1529: cal AD 1531] 0.005259
[cal AD 1535: cal AD 1626] 0.358562
Median probability: cal AD 1493

AA83419 (1) Roof support Alnus acuminata -22.8 0.9484 0.0058 426 49 One-sigma ranges:
Spanish: Aliso [cal AD 1447: cal AD 1508] 0.670719
Alder [cal AD 1583: cal AD 1619] 0.329281
Two-sigma range:
[cal AD 1441: cal AD 1626] 1.0
Median probability: cal AD 1508

Continued:

Table 1: Carbon samples from Yurac Rumi

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 204

Lab No Site context Material *13 C F 14

C age BP Calibrated dates
[start: end] relative area

AA83419 (2) Roof support Alnus acuminata -27.3 0.9524 0.0061 392 51 One-sigma ranges:
Spanish: Aliso [cal AD 1461: cal AD 1512] 0.428560
Alder [cal AD 1548: cal AD 1563] 0.113319
[cal AD 1569: cal AD 1622] 0.458120
Two-sigma range:
[cal AD 1453: cal AD 1635] 1.0
Median probability: cal AD 1547

AA83420 Reoccupation Unidentified carbon -25.6 0.9575 0.0062 349 52 One-sigma ranges:
[cal AD 1502: cal AD 1594] 0.792765
[cal AD 1613: cal AD 1638] 0.207235
Two-sigma range:
[cal AD 1457: cal AD 1658] 1.0
Median probability: cal AD 1562

AA83421 Reoccupation Unidentified carbon -25.6 0.9557 0.0062 364 52 One-sigma ranges:
[cal AD 1499: cal AD 1598] 0.835896
[cal AD 1610: cal AD 1630] 0.164104
Two-sigma range:
[cal AD 1458: cal AD 1646] 1.0
Median probability: cal AD 1557

AA83422 Grass thatch Stipa ichu -23.6 0.9470 0.0061 437 52 One-sigma ranges:
Quechua: Ichu [cal AD 1442: cal AD 1507] 0.716657
Mountain grass [cal AD 1586: cal AD 1618] 0.283343
Two-sigma range:
[cal AD 1432: cal AD 1626] 1.0
Median probability: cal AD 1498

Table 1 (continued): Carbon samples from Yurac Rumi

205 - Bauer et al.: Destruction of the Yurac Rumi Shrine

Figure 1: The Vilcabamba region northwest of Cusco.

Figure 2: Panorama of Yurac Rumi (2008).

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 206

Figure 3: Plan of Yurac Rumi

based on Bingham 1912a, Lee 2000:472, and 2008 and 2009 site measurements by Bauer.
P=pozo, a one meter by one meter excavation.
U=unidad, an excavation unit greater than one meter by one meter.
207 - Bauer et al.: Destruction of the Yurac Rumi Shrine

Figure 4: Unit P9, northwest profile showing a

series of floors. Carbon was recovered from the
upper granite floor level.

Figure 5: Unit P11, northeast profile. Note the

crushed granite floor.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 208

Figure 6: A bronze halberd recovered within the burned debris in Unit 1.

Figure 7: Excavation U6 revealed the interior of

one of the buildings along the plaza at Yurac
Rumi. Two large roof supports can be seen in this
photograph, as well as the remains of battens with
grass rope (lower left) and a crushed storage jar
(center right). Each of these items rests directly
above a carefully made green clay floor, and was
covered with a thick level of burned plaster and
other building materials.
209 - Bauer et al.: Destruction of the Yurac Rumi Shrine

Figure 8: Battens on Inca floor in Unit U6.

Figure 9: Reconstruction of a building at Yurac Rumi,

showing parts of the roof identified during our 2008 excavations.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 210

Figure 10: Profile of U7.

Figure 11: Radiocarbon dates from Yurac Rumi.

211 - Bauer et al.: Destruction of the Yurac Rumi Shrine

Figure 12: Radiocarbon dates from Yurac Rumi using pooled means.
 INCA STORAGE AND ACCOUNTING FACILITIES AT PACHACAMAC
. . . Our best data on Inca storage come from the
Peruvian Central Highlands where, as it seems
clear, storage was unusually important. However,
we need more intensive work in other areas in
order for a more complete and comparative
perspective to emerge (Morris 1992a: xiii).
INTRODUCTION
The work of Craig Morris on the Incas
economy and storage system represents an
important stage in our understanding of their
great Andean empire (Morris 1967, 1986,
1992b; Morris and Santillana 1978; Morris and
Thompson 1985; among others). Morriss
thought and approaches do not apply only to the
sites and regions where he, himself, worked, but
also to other sites, as he stressed. Specifically, his
insights are relevant to the Andean coast where
the evidence for storage is very different from
that found in the highlands. There are a few
published studies of Inca storage at sites on the
Pacific coast, including Farfn in the Jequete-
peque Valley (Mackey 2006), Chiquitoy Viejo
in the Chicama Valley (Conrad 1977), Incawasi
in the Caete Valley (Hyslop 1985), La Cen-
tinela in the Chincha Valley (Morris and San-
tillana 2007), and Tambo Colorado in the Pisco
Valley (Hyslop 1984:108-11), but there is
nothing comparable to the work on the subject
accomplished at highland sites like Hunuco
Pampa (Morris and Thompson 1985), Hatun
Xauxa (DAltroy 1992; DAltroy and Hastorf
1984), and Pumpu (Matos 1994), among others
(LeVine, editor 1992).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012): 213-239.
Peter Eeckhout
Universit Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
In this article I present information on the
finds and contexts of quipus and collcas (Quech-
ua for storehouses, also spelled qollqas) at the
site of Pachacamac, on Perus central coast. First
I describe a series of collcas, focusing on the
differences between the coast and the highlands
in the design of storehouses, their number, and
capacity. Work in the northern portion of the
site has led to the discovery of a probable Inca
storage system, a building designated Structure
E8, described in this article. Several quipus have
been found in this building, as they have been in
other contexts at the site. My interpretation of
these finds in light of the general framework of
Inca imperial political and economic organiza-
tion suggests that Pachacamac was controlled
indirectly by the Incas, who used the site not as
a state administrative center, but as a local one.
They concentrated their efforts on developing
facilities related to the god for whom the site is
named, and for large scale pilgrimage.
Pachacamac, at the mouth of the Lurn
River, was one of the most important sites of the
Inca empire (DAltroy 2002; Eeckhout 1998,
1999:410-417, 469-474, 2004a; Hyslop
1990:255-61; Moseley 1992:185; Rowe 1946:
191, 1963; Uhle 1903). It is, thus, interesting to
see how storage was managed there, but, some-
what surprisingly, up to now there has been no
work focused specifically on that subject. Never-
theless, one can see Inca traces in, among other
things, the presence of storehouse complexes, as
well as of artifacts related to accounting and
recording (quipus or khipus and yupanas). In this
article I put down on paper data and thoughts
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
relevant to the role of storage and accounting
facilities in the Inca imperial economic organiza-
tion as seen in the light of the general achieve-
ments and specific finds made by the Ychsma
Project.1
Evidence of quipus has been found during
several field seasons at Pachacamac, and we can
now identify a series of collcas whose number,
design, and location allow us to understand the
ways the Incas controlled the site. The data,
although preliminary, suggest that in the eyes of
the Inca, Pachacamac was a major site both
symbolically and in strategic terms, but one that
was not as important, perhaps, in economic
terms.
STORAGE IN THE INCA IMPERIAL ECONOMIC
ORGANIZATION
The collcas served to warehouse various
kinds of goods (c.f. DAltroy 2002:284; Huay-
cochea 1994; LeVine, editor 1992). These goods
supported various goals, including maintenance
of imperial armies on the march, maintenance of
workers serving in the mita, redistribution to
local residents during banquets and fiestas, and
provision for difficult times such as after bad
harvests. According to Timothy Earle (1992:
333), the possible, mutually non-exclusive,
functions of Inca storage were to support subsis-
tence maintenance, to serve as distribution
facilities, and to be instruments of institutional
finance. DAltroy and Earle (1985) argue that
this latter aspect is the most important one for
understanding imperial organization, which
needed resources to maintain itself and develop,
but which did not have an advanced market
system. The mobilization by the state of a por-
1
El Proyecto Ychsma (Universit Libre de Bruxelles,
Belgium and Instituto Nacional de Cultura del Per, now
the Ministerio de Cultura) began in 1999 in order to
clarify the function, development, and influence of the
site of Pachacamac during the Late Intermediate Period
and the Late Horizon.
- 214
tion of basic products extracted from the local
economy allowed it to sustain those who worked
for the state (Earle 1992:334). Naturally, this
system required adequate logistics, including
storage facilities on a large scale, as well as
widespread economic control (ibid.).
Craig Morris, after studying the collcas of
Hunuco Pampa, concluded that their form
(circular or rectilinear in plan) may have had a
relationship to their contents.2 Above all, he
demonstrated the high degree of elaboration of
these storehouses, which were equipped with
ventilation systems and other features to ensure
the best possible preservation of the perishable
products they contained (Morris and Thompson
1985:97-107). He also emphasized that a crucial
factor for effective storage was the location of
collcas in high places with relatively low temper-
atures and constant winds (Morris 1992b: 254-
256). This later consideration explains why the
sites with the largest number of collcas are found
above 3300 m.a.s.l.
The Inca state incentivized the movement of
products to concentrate them at specific sites.
For example, at the site of Cotapachi, in the
Cochabamba Valleys of Bolivia, collcas occupied
approximately 140 hectares. They stood in rows
and added up to about three thousand units for
the stockpiling of maize produced in the area
(Pereira 2011). Nevertheless, this site is not
associated with other facilities except for domes-
tic ones, and is integrated into the Qapaq an,
the Inca highway system, via a secondary road
(Snead 1992:92). Sometimes collca complexes
are dozens of kilometers away from the most
productive agricultural zones, as is the case with
Hunuco Pampa (Earle 1992:332).
These aspects of the Inca economy have
been understood since the beginning of the
2
This suggestion has not been confirmed at Hatun Jauja
by DAltroy (2002:284).
215 - Eeckhout: Inca Storage at Pachacamac

Spanish conquest. In the case of Pachacamac,
the earliest accounts mention its economic and
political arrangements. In January 1533, Her-
nando Pizarro arrived in the area and revealed
that In all the plains and beyond, tribute is not
paid to Cusco, but to the mosque3 (Pizarro
1872 [1533]:123). This quotation reflects the
decentralized organization of the Inca empire as
described above. As various authors have em-
phasized, Cusco, in contrast to other ancient
imperial capitals such as Rome, did not have a
large population (Prssinen 2003:131-139).
Therefore, it was not necessary to bring vast
quantities of goods from the various parts of the
empire, but only that which was sufficient for a
few thousand Cusqueos, who also obtained
found within its Chimu ciudadelas (large royal
palaces) and upper elite compounds (Kolata
1990), and not outside the city, as with numer-
ous highland examples. The coastal storehouses
differ in their access system, which is not via low
doors, as in the mountains, but via their roofs,
using stairs or ladders.4 Coastal storehouse
dimensions vary greatly, and, in general, the
individual coastal storage systems are larger than
examples from the sierra. This is true of Pacha-
camac, where we have several examples of
storehouses pertaining to the Late Intermediate
Period and the Late Horizon (Table 1).
Building Period N o of Estimated Estimated storage
m2 capacity m 3*
collcas

many of their resources in the nuclear area P1 LIP 26 650 1300

P2 LIP 21 725 1450
(Bauer 2004). In summary, the Incas developed P3A LIP 4 120 240
an economic policy based on the control of a P3B LIP 4 90 180
P4 LIP 12 300 600
portion of the resources and labor of the diverse P5 LIP 10 115 230
P6 LIP 17 1225 2450
parts of their territory (DAltroy 2002:268-286). P7 LIP 5 500 1000
This is evident from the presence of the famous P8 LIP /
P9 LIP 4 200 400
tambos and administrative centers, as well as P10-TC LH 12 600 1200
from transformations imposed on pre-existing P11
P12A
LIP
LIP
3
16
20
625
40
1250
sites. These latter settlements reveal three traits P12B LIP 6 455 910
P13 LH 4 200 400
directly related to the imperial economy and P14 LIP 4 180 360
logistics: storehouses, the presence of official P15 LIP 6 80 160
P16 / 5 100 200
functionaries, and access to the Qapaq an. As ToS LH 15 765 1530
Acllawasi LH 12 225 450
we will see, all three traits are found at Pacha- A1-A2 LH 35 2100 4200
camac. E8 LH 20 625 1250

FIELD DATA ON STORAGE FACILITIES AT
PACHACAMAC
The studies on storage by Morris, and others,
focus mostly on the highland collcas which are
formally different from the storehouses found at
sites on the coast, and in the lower portions of
the coastal valleys. It is sufficient to mention the
example of Chan Chan, whose storehouses are
3
In the early sixteenth century many Spanish writers
referred to important Amerindian religious structures as
mosques (mezquitas), conflating Islam with other non-
Christian religions.
Totals
*Volumes are structure volumes to roofline, based on an estimated
average height of two meters as determined by excavation. Structure
volumes do not take into account accommodations for packaging.
Table 1. Storage facilities at Pachacamac
Storehouses dating from the Late Intermedi-
ate Period are systematically associated with
larger buildings, such as the pyramids with ramp
(Figures 1, 2). In formal terms, all are orthogo-
nal, generally square in plan, sunken, and closely
4
At Chan Chan access to storehouses is through a
central door at floor level (c.f. Moseley and Mackey
1974).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
associated with private sections of their sites.
That is, access was controlled by the chief
inhabitants of the pyramids, as is demonstrated
by the buildings internal systems of movement
(Eeckhout 2003). This differs a great deal from
the Inca pattern, in which the storehouses stood
beyond their sites centers, usually on a height
with fresh air. Highland collcas do not exhibit
evidence of access as restricted as that of coastal
ones. The capacity of the Pachacamac storage
system is relatively restricted. At any rate, it does
not compare with the hundreds of collcas at
Hunuco Pampa, for example, even though both
sites are comparable in size and importance
(compare Snead 1992:68, table 3-2).5
These two specific characteristics, the lower
number of storehouses, and the restricted access,
suggest that storage at Pachacamac represented
a select portion of goods intended for consump-
tion, possibly reserved for a specific segment of
the population, who took precautions in looking
after it. This model fits a general pre-Inca pat-
tern, marked by a concentration of staple prod-
ucts in the domestic unit, while storehouses
proper were reserved for luxury objects, associ-
ated with elite structures (Earle 1992:340). This
pattern at Pachacamac also shows that the
management of storehouses was not in the
hands of a force extending over the entire site,
but, instead, was divided among different groups,
each based at one of the several pyramids with
ramp (Eeckhout 2004b). The data presented in
5
In the highlands, many fields produce only one crop a
year (c.f. Mitchell 1991:71-73) and many must be left
fallow for long periods. This makes storage a greater
necessity in the highlands than it is on the coast. On the
coast, in Inca and early colonial times, most fields could
be planted twice a year with maize and other
cultivars(Cieza 1962 [1553]: Chapter 66, p. 193), as they
are at present. On the coast it is easier than in the
highlands to fertilize using fish and/or guano, and fish and
shellfish are generally available all year for human
consumption. Another crop and another supply of
protein are always available soon (Monica Barnes,
personal communication, August 2011).
- 216
Table 1 reveals that, during the Late Intermedi-
ate Period, each pyramid had its own stores,
which varied a great deal in terms of number
and capacity. These depended on the form of
political and economic control exerted by the
Ychsma chiefdom. According to the model I
propose on the basis of field-work data, the
pyramids are the palaces of curacas, the local
leaders, who divided surplus production and
took part of it for their own benefit, storing it in
their pyramids. Not all the pyramids functioned
at the same time. Instead, each one was occu-
pied for one or two generations between the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries C.E. by an
elite hierarchy reflected in the sizes of the build-
ings, and defined through excavation and radio-
carbon dates as ongoing research from the
Ychsma Project suggests.
What did the storehouses contain? It must
be emphasized that for Pachacamac Pyramid 3,
the most complete example studied by the Ychs-
ma Project, excavations confirmed that the
premises had been completely emptied (Eeck-
hout 1999:128-192, 2004b). Nevertheless, in
one of the buried areas in Plaza 2 we found
corn-cobs offered as conopas,6 which may suggest
the way the area was used (Eeckhout and Farfn
2001). Rgulo Franco Jordn has had more
success, encountering corn-cobs, gourds, and
chilli peppers in the main storerooms of Pyramid
2. It appears that these were roofed to protect
them from wind and insects (Franco 1993:17-
18). The stratigraphy of the contents shows that
the storehouses were not always used to keep the
same type of product, and it is probable that they
served totally different ends. For example, there
was a layer of camelid excrement in a buried
peripheral area (ibid: 72) and there were scratch
marks made by dog claws on the walls of one of
the structures near the platform (Paredes
6
These are special natural items chosen for their unusual
size or form. They were considered to be sacred and used
as propitiatory offerings.
217 -
1988:50), allowing us to think that these struc-
tures served to confine animals. Paredes (ibid.:
54) concludes, nevertheless, that Pyramid 2
appears to have been dedicated mainly to the
storing of chilli, present in several deposits
associated with the building.
It is certain that Pachacamac has been
intensively robbed since the beginning of the
Spanish conquest and it is most probable that
only minimal traces remain of the produce its
storehouses may once have contained. This is
without considering the valuable goods (textiles,
various artifacts, etc.) that were probably also
kept in them. Furthermore, given that almost all
the pyramids were abandoned over the course of
the Late Intermediate Period, it is logical that
one no longer encounters anything in the store-
houses. In reality we are confronting a situation
like that of the palaces of Chan Chan, whose
storehouses were also all found to be empty (Day
1982:60). The Lurn Valley has also suffered
from plundering, but on a smaller scale.
Certain local palaces functioned under Inca
authority, therefore forming the second hierar-
chical level in the chiefdom, and, thus, probably
retained a good part of their privileges (Eeck-
hout 2008a). Likewise, excavation of a pyramid
with ramp at the site of Pampa de las Flores in
the lower Lurn Valley confirms indisputably the
role of storage attributed to buried structures,
because maize was encountered in situ (Eeck-
hout 1999:289-90). At the nearby site of Tijer-
ales B, Bonavia (1965:91-92) found raw cotton
in a roofed storehouse of the South Pyramid.
This evidence suggests that perishable goods
(such as food products) were stored, but, per-
haps, so were other consumable goods (such as
wool, cotton, and ordinary ceramics), prestige
goods (fine clothing, imported products, deco-
rated ceramics, etc.) and/or products of ritual
value (coca, chicha, etc.). In summary, every-
thing was stored that was necessary for the daily
life of curacas, for their office, for the exercise of
Eeckhout: Inca Storage at Pachacamac
their authority, and for the maintenance of their
personnel.
For the Late Horizon one clearly observes
that there was a drastic change in the distribu-
tion of storehouses at Pachacamac. During this
time none of the pyramids with ramp was being
used as the residences of the local elite, with two
exceptions, P10 (Tauri Chumpi) and P13. I will
return to those below. The other pyramids
served as campsites for pilgrims, and they were
quickly reused as burial chambers (Eeckhout
2010a). When the site was conquered by the
Incas, Topa Inka Yupanqui undertook many
transformations there (Patterson 1983). These
changes were motivated, among other reasons,
by the desire to make the site a pilgrimage center
at the imperial level (Eeckhout 2008b). The
Plaza of the Pilgrims (Plaza de los Peregrinos),
the Temple of the Sun (Templo del Sol), and
the House of the Chosen Women (Casa de las
Mamaconas or Acllawasi) were built in areas
previously occupied by local constructions. As
for storehouses, a series of structures exists on
the platforms of the Temple of the Sun that,
from their design, could have served as collcas,
but their present state of conservation does not
permit much to be said about this (Franco
1996). There are, as well, some probable store-
houses associated with the Acllawasi (Tello
2009), but, according to our observations, the
Inca storage systems observable today are con-
centrated in two places: the vicinity of the Plaza
of the Pilgrims, especially at structures A1-A2,
and in the northern sector of the site, where we
identified a very unusual structure, designated
E8.
The A1 compound is north of the Plaza of
the Pilgrims, and consists of a series of plazas,
patios, rooms, and sunken structures standing
on several levels (Figure 3). It is an important
building complex probably related to the con-
duct of ceremonial activities and to offerings
brought by pilgrims. This part of Pachacamac
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
has not been excavated, but surface clearance
revealed architectural evidence suggesting
storage functions, such as rows of sunken rooms
with means of access control. The absence of
excavation data from this compound makes it
difficult to assign it a chronological position.
Nevertheless, there is evidence relating it to the
Late Horizon, for example, an aryballos found in
the corner of one of the compounds rooms
(Figure 4). In addition, both the A1 compound
and its neighbor A2 are clearly associated with
the Plaza of the Pilgrims, which excavation has
demonstrated to have been constructed in Inca
times (Eeckhout and Farfn 2003; Shimada et al.
2004; Uhle 1903).
Structure E8 is in the E section (barrio) of
Pachacamac, that is, at the extreme north of the
site (Figure 5). It is an isolated structure, but one
that is associated with circulation routes of
which only traces remain, including a wall to the
east topped with a path, and a trace of a street
or passage to the west. Although partially de-
stroyed by the old Panamerican Highway and
the present concrete wall that delimits the
monumental portion of the site, the principal
components of E8 are preserved, and its general
form can be reconstructed, as is illustrated by
the isometric plan we made on the basis of field
data. It has a generally rectilinear form and
appears to have been completely surrounded by
a two meter wide wall, with access in the south-
west. It consists basically of two parts: a large
patio, eighty by sixty meters, associated with a
series of buried chambers with square plans, laid
out in two parallel rows of ten units each along
the south wall of the patio. A room to the front
and center of the units can also be observed. We
will return to this later. The two rows of buried
structures are arranged in steps. That is, the row
nearer the patio is lower than the other. Accord-
ing to the observable evidence, access to these
rooms was achieved via paths atop walls. The
form and design of the rooms is very similar to
coastal type storehouses. We have not yet had
- 218
an opportunity to excavate the rows of rooms to
check our hypothesis, but we have been able to
excavate the front room at the edge of the patio,
although not as carefully as we would have
liked. However, during the course of cleaning
the room in front of the rows of chambers, we
encountered a series of finds that I will describe
below.
The front room is small and rectangular with
a single entrance opening upon the patio (Figure
6). One notices upon entering a division of the
internal space into two parts, perhaps a vestibule
with a small adjacent portion fitted with a
lateral platform or bench. Although it was
already plundered, cleaning the room to Floor 1
revealed some very instructive finds. The first is
a small wooden cup finely decorated with an
incised maize plant motif, a very frequent design
in Inca iconography (Figure 7). This design
suggests that the object probably served for
drinking chicha, a practice related to fiestas and
ceremonies for the majority of people, and to
daily consumption for certain privileged classes
such as curacas and high state functionaries
(Bray 2003).
Second, we encountered lying on the floor
and broken into several dozen pieces, a ceramic
object that we reconstructed. The process of
restoration was somewhat difficult because the
object weighs about ten kilograms and has a
most unusual form. It is basically a cube with
several appendages and a round central hole
(Figure 8). Two of the appendages show four
small holes, perhaps designed to suspend or
attach thin cords while quipu knots were being
tied (see below). Its dark orange paste is very
homogeneous. The piece is painted white and
does not show marks of burning, nor traces of
any contents. We do not know its purpose.
Perhaps it served as some sort of model. Another
possibility is that it was used to keep quipus
(compare Flores et al. 2007:243, figure 34),
something suggested by the find I describe next.
219 -
FIELD DATA ON ACCOUNTING FACILITIES
AT PACHACAMAC
The third remarkable find from the prelimi-
nary excavations of the front room of Structure
E8 is a collection of quipus found lying on the
floor, spread over the platform, and on the
broken floor between the room and the en-
trance. Unfortunately, the several masses of
quipu have decomposed, possibly because of rain
or because of some other liquid thrown over
them (Figure 9). Together with Kusi Colonna-
Preti, the conservator of the Ychsma Project, I
am studying the possibility of restoring them, or,
at least, separating them, but this would be a
very delicate operation. Nevertheless, we hope
to recover significant objective data (number,
position, and type of knots) so that these quipus
can be used for scientific purposes. On the basis
of field observations, we can already say that we
found at least nine quipus, apparently all of fine
cotton cords, the majority a natural white color.
We cannot discount the possibility that there
are more quipus, because some bundles of cords
might incorporate more examples. Some of the
quipus, at least, have colored knots.
Quipu H24A, found on the surface of the
platform, is one of the most deteriorated. Never-
theless it has headers and cords of different
colors, beige, violet, and possibly brown (the
latter perhaps due to the liquid that caused its
decomposition). Quipu H24I was found rolled
up like a hank of yarn, has white cords, and is
associated with a cane and remains of a plain-
weave textile with some selvage visible. Quipu
H24J is another quipu in bad condition, also
rolled like a hank of yarn. It is brown, blue, and
violet. Quipu H24K is another packet of de-
composing, dark brown quipus with knots. This
was found in the central part of the structure
between the west wall and the bench. These
artifacts are, themselves, associated with the
bench and Floor 1.
Eeckhout: Inca Storage at Pachacamac
The doubled and wrapped quipus resemble
the manner in which quipucamayoqkuna (keep-
ers of quipu records) retained their quipus
(Ascher and Ascher 1981:33). The quipus
previously found at Pachacamac by Alberto
Bueno in Structure B7 are famous, and he gave
the building the name House of the Quipus
(Casa de los Quipus; Bueno 1990). Neverthe-
less, the context seems different from that which
I have just described, because the quipus discov-
ered by Bueno were hidden in a pit lined by
adobes and covered with layers of earth, sand,
and late archaeological debris. Bueno (ibid.:
100) explains that the 34 quipus, enclosed in a
packet formed by the hide of a young deer were
completely mixed up, tangled, and without
order. It would appear that everything was very
rapid, the placement within the hide, securing
the packet, depositing it to hide it, and so on.7
We can assume that the owners of the quipus in
Structure B7 did not want their precious objects
to suffer the same fate as those of E8.
Another quipu find was made in an intrusive
collective tomb from the Late Horizon/Transi-
tion Period at Pachacamac Pyramid 3 (Eeckhout
and Farfn 2001:40). This artifact was found in
fragments, all made of white cotton (Figure 10).
Unfortunately, the repeated plundering of its
context does not allow the suggestion of more
than what is immediately obvious; that is, that
the quipu was part of a set of funerary objects.
Finally, there is a very well preserved quipu
from Pachacamac that is now in the collections
of the Vatican Museum in Rome (vidi 2002).
Franco (1993:82; 1998) also reported the find of
a quipu in Sector 4 of Pyramid 2, but it is not
described or illustrated.
7
The original quotation reads: [Los quipus] estaban
completamente revueltos, enredados y sin ordn.
Pareceria que todo fue muy rapido: la colocacin dentro
del pellejo, su asegurado, la deposicin para ocultarlos,
etc.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
The association of collcas and quipus appears
to be generally quite coherent, because the
reports of quipus being used as accounting
registers are numerous, with that of Guaman
Poma being the most widely distributed (Gua-
man Poma 1989 [c. 1615]:309, 336, 338). All
specialists agree that the Inca registry system was
decimal (Urton 1997, 2003). This can be seen in
quipu structure, but can also be noted in other
media. It is worth emphasizing that quipus
served to register, while other implements, called
yupanas, aided simple calculations (addition,
subtraction, and multiplication). These instru-
ments are based on a principle similar to that of
the abacus, which consists of a certain number
of beads set on rods, each one of which indicates
a number. In the case of the ancient Peruvian
abacus, small stones or seeds were used instead
of beads, and they were not placed on rods, but
were put into compartments carved into tablets
of wood or stone, with each compartment hav-
ing a particular assigned value. Some yupanas
were very elaborate and sometimes have been
compared or confused with architectural mod-
els. Others are very simple (Radicati 1990). As
Henry Wassn emphasized (1990:218), We do
not need to think that a Peruvian abacus had
inevitably to be made of a more or less solid
material like stone, wood, etc. It is quite proba-
ble that sometimes they consisted of nothing
more than the form of an abacus drawn rapidly
in the sand, or on a piece of cloth, etc., and the
final result was knotted into a quipu.8
This perhaps explains why, in spite of their
frequent use, yupanas are relatively rare in the
archaeological record. Because of this, it is
worth emphasizing a find made outside Pacha-
8
The original quotation reads: No hay que imaginar que
un baco peruano tuviese que ser invariablement de un
material mas o menos slido como piedra, madera, etc. Es
muy probable que a veces consistiese nada mas que de la
figura de un baco delineada rapidamente sobre la arena,
o sobre un pedazo de tela, etc., y el resultado final
anudado en el khipu.
- 220
camacs Pyramid 11 in 2008 (Figure 11). This
stone artifact is a parallelepiped, 37.5 centime-
ters long. It was found in a layer of fill with late
rubbish. Five faces have been made in a crude
manner, while the last has a series of twenty
round depressions carved in two parallel lines of
ten units each. Although out of context, the
objects design makes one think of a yupana,
with its depressions forming the compartments.
Also, the fact that the depression number
twenty attracts attention because, for one thing,
that is the average number in old yupanas, and,
for another, twenty corresponds to the design of
Structure E8 described above. I do not mean to
make a direct connection between this artifact
and Structure E8, but, rather, to underline the
fact that they are both based on a similar struc-
tural logic associated with the decimal system
and with duality or bipartition. In this sense, I
share the thoughts of Gary Urton when he says
that Dual organization and the decimal system
of numeration, which . . . were central principles
in Inkaic (Quechua) administrative organiza-
tion, are seen to have been not only compatible
but complementary principles of organization
(Urton 1997:216).
INTERPRETATION OF FIELD DATA FROM
PACHACAMAC
So far as Structure E8 is concerned, the
presence of a group of quipus, of an artifact
possibly used to keep them, of a decorated
wooden kero, and the general context, lead to
the conclusion that this room was occupied by a
functionary who dedicated himself to the admin-
istration of the goods that arrived in the build-
ing, strategically located at the edge of the
monumental zone. The goods left in the patio,
perhaps by llama caravans (which would explain
the width of the access point), were recorded,
and later kept in the nearby storage chambers. It
would be very interesting to check this hypothe-
ses with systematic excavations in the various
parts of the structure. To make a comparison I
221 - Eeckhout: Inca Storage at Pachacamac

should state that Valdez (1996:42) has formu- Site Compound Number of Reference
lated the same hypothesis on the basis of a quipu size collcas

find near the storehouses at Tambo Viejo in the Pachacamac-E8 80 x 60 m 20 See this paper,
passim
Acar Valley. The architectural layout of Struc-
ture E8 has many similarities with the Inca Tambo Viejo 60 x 40 m 7 Valdez 1996:40

storehouses of Tambo Viejo, or with the great Quebrada de 45 x 30 m 16 Trimborn 1998:

la Vaca 129
storehouse of Quebrada de la Vaca, in the
vicinity of Chala, on the south coast of Peru, La Caleta 30 x 30 m Undetermined Riddell 2007:183

studied by Francis A. Riddell and Dorothy Parara Depsito 40 x 20 m Undetermined Riddell 2007:184
Menzel in 1954 (Riddel 2007) and, later, by Chala Viejo Not Undetermined Riddell 2007:184
Hermann Trimborn (1988:129). Valdez (1996: Antiguo mentioned

41) emphasizes that the storehouses at Tambo

Viejo are a mixture of Inca and local forms, and Table 2. Comparisons of some coastal storage
compounds
that their homogeneous sizes facilitate the
administration of accounts of the products they
Perhaps this is a coastal collca model, related
contained. The storehouses of Tambo Viejo
to the particular Inca form of management in
were found to be completely empty (ibid.), but
these regions, inspired by local models. For
not far from this site, at the complex called
example, ones attention is drawn to the config-
Rodadero, Riddell and Menzel recovered quanti-
uration of the storehouse complex associated
ties of textiles probably from collcas in use during
with Pyramid 6 at Pachacamac, dating to the
Inca times to store the goods produced by local
Late Intermediate Period, in which two rows of
mitas (Katterman and Riddell 1994). Excava-
five sunken, quadrilateral chambers are associ-
tions at Quebrada de la Vaca revealed only
ated with a fore-chamber and a rectangular
plant remains such as algarrobo seeds, chilli,
patio (Figure 12).
corn-cobs, and quinoa seeds (Trimborn 1988:
41). According to Riddell, The Rectangular
We have seen that during the Late Interme-
Storage Area [at Quebrada de la Vaca] certainly
diate Period storehouses at Pachacamac were
served as a storage facility, but it also may have
associated with the pyramids with ramp, not all
been used for ritual activities . . . (Riddell 2007:
of which had been in use simultaneously. By
183). Riddell mentions three other sites with
contrast, in the Late Horizon, all storage facili-
similar configurations in the Chala area: La
ties functioned at the same time. For this reason,
Caleta, Parara Depsito, and Chala Viejo Anti-
it appears somewhat artificial to compare the
guo (ibid.: 183-184). Unfortunately, Riddell did
global storage capacity of the site before and
not publish plans, but only a photo and brief
during the Inca occupation. Nevertheless, this
descriptions. Nevertheless, it is interesting that
comparison is instructive and we make it here
the same pattern reoccurs, a quadrilateral enclo-
for heuristic purposes. If we add together the
sure with a single entrance and rows of store-
capacity of all the collcas used during the Late
houses on one side. The overall dimensions are
Intermediate Period, we arrive at a total of 9,270
also similar (Table 2).
cubic meters, while the total for the Late Hori-
zon is 7,830 cubic meters. Remembering previ-
ously expressed caveats, we can make various
deductions. First, the total global storage capac-
ity of the two periods is almost equal, which
suggests that in reality capacity was augmented
in the Late Horizon relative to the Late Interme-
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
diate Period, because it was concentrated during
a shorter time. Secondly, the distribution of the
collcas changed completely and it is very reveal-
ing in terms of the Incas management of the site
and its region. The complexes and sectors in
which one finds storehouses are, on one hand,
closely related to ceremonial and religious
aspects of the site (Temple of the Sun, House of
the Chosen Women, Structure A1-A2, and
Pyramid 13), and with state management on the
other hand (Structure E8 and Pyramid 10/Tauri
Chumpi).
It is logical to suppose that the storehouses
associated with the Temple of the Sun are
dedicated to the solar cult, and that the Aclla-
wasi, as is well known, had its own resources for
the acllas and the lunar cult (Tello 2009). Struc-
tures A1-A2 and P13 stand on the sides of the
Plaza of the Pilgrims constructed by the Incas to
receive the large processions organized through-
out the empire to celebrate the Pachacamac
oracle (Eeckhout 2008b) and heal the sick
(Eeckhout 2010b). It is known that the pilgrims
brought many offerings, and also that a substan-
tial infrastructure was necessary to house them.
The number of collcas in A1-A2 corresponds
perfectly to these necessities. Pyramid 13, strate-
gically located near the entrance of the Plaza,
and with various access points to it, perhaps
housed an important priest. Relevant to this
hypothesis, early Spanish accounts mention two
supreme officials at Pachacamac during the Inca
regime: the high priest of the temple and the
governor or tucrikuk (Xerez 1965 [1534]:87).
The latter has been identified as an individual
named Tauri Chumpi, and for that reason the
structure excavated by Alberto Bueno in the
northern portion of Pachacamac has been
named The Palace of Tauri Chumpi (Palacio
de Tauri Chumpi; Bueno 1974/75). All authors
agree that this building can be assigned to the
Late Horizon, being, in fact, the probable resi-
dence of the secular head of the site.
- 222
This brings me naturally to the portion of
the collcas dedicated to state administration,
those that are located, with good reason, in the
same palace of the tucrikuk (for his personal use,
for the use of his personal, for the needs of his
office, etc.), and in Structure E8, in the same
neighborhood, probably near an entrance that
no longer exists. There, that portion of the
products of the fields and other local resources
requisitioned by Incas were received. It is inter-
esting to note that the storehouses of Structure
E8 were associated with a large patio, which,
perhaps, served to receive people during the
banquets and redistribution ceremonies that
were part of the exercise of Inca power (Pease
1992:15-24, 1999). Perhaps this large patio also
served to house the camelid caravans that
brought goods to the site. No doubt these hy-
potheses can be tested with excavation.
Apart from storehouses and the presence of
official functionaries, access to the Qapaq an
is another recurrent characteristic of the logis-
tics of Inca state installations. We have an eye-
witness account from the earliest days of the
Spanish conquest concerning Pachacamac.
Hernando Pizarro left Cajamarca towards the
end of 1532, arriving at the site at the end of
January 1533. He remained for a month, and
from there he proceeded to Jauja and Cusco
(Pizarro 1872 [1533]). He was accompanied by
important Inca imperial officials, who took him
along the roads and to the tambos that were
found all along the highway (Guilln 1974:157-
160). This has been amply documented by
archaeology, and almost the entire length of the
Qapaq an from Pachacamac to Jauja has been
identified. It is interesting to emphasize in this
respect that parts of the Inca road, or at least its
route, have been reused up to the present day
(Hyslop 1984, 1990; La Torre and Caja 2005).
223 -
THE ROLE OF COASTAL STORAGE FACILITIES
IN THE INCA POLITICAL ECONOMY
The new finds presented in this article help
us to understand the specifics of Inca strategy
and logistics in the coastal area. Above all one
must emphasize the relative increase of storage
capacity at Pachacamac under Inca rule. This
can only be explained by three possible factors.
The first is that the Incas may have concen-
trated at Pachacamac tribute coming from a
larger area and more distant territory than that
controlled by the Ychsma curacas in the Late
Intermediate Period. However, I do not believe
that this was the case, as I explain below.
The second factor would be demographic
growth of the area, for example because of mit-
maq (conscripted workers) coming from other
parts of the empire and paying tribute at Pacha-
camac. It is certain that there was a colony
called Quilcay established next to the site during
the Late Horizon, and its members were dedi-
cated to fishing (Eeckhout 1999:403). Perhaps
they contributed to the increase of products that
arrived at Pachacamac. The third factor, which
one can add to that just mentioned, would be
that the Inca tribute requirements were greater
than previously and probably added to the
traditional obligations of the population. In this
context it is interesting to mention the work of
Jane Feltham (2006) on the tribute of clothing
during the Late Horizon. On the basis of her
study of the textiles found in excavations at
Pachacamac, she suggests that this tribute was
onerous to the people, who found themselves
obligated to save time when making their own
clothing, forcing them to look for production
methods that were faster than those employed
previously. By contrast, clothing made for trib-
ute followed standards established by the Incas
and required more time.
A characteristic of Inca logistics was that
they built their own administration facilities, but
Eeckhout: Inca Storage at Pachacamac
adapted them to the local context. On one hand
they adopted local construction techniques and
traditional architectural design at Pachacamac9
but, on the other hand, built structures specifi-
cally for administration, that is, ones that were
isolated and mostly separate from the elite
residences. In this sense the Incas were very
different from the Ychsmas. The Inca arrange-
ments also demonstrate a global control over the
site, and over regional resources, probably with
a focus on its ceremonial aspects, as the quota-
tion from Pizarro cited above (tribute is not
paid to Cusco, but to the mosque) suggests.
This situation is not unique. Other authors have
commented, on the basis of ethnohistorical
sources, that storage to support the state cult
can be considered to be separate from storage
supporting other state functions (Snead 1992:
72).
This peculiarity perhaps explains why, in
spite of its expansion, Inca storage capacity at
Pachacamac remained modest (Table 1). Cer-
tainly the greater part of Pachacamac, outside
the Second Wall but within the Third Wall, has
not been excavated.10 Nevertheless, the little
work that has been accomplished and published
does not suggest collcas in this place, but, rather,
activity centers, modest residences (Malaga
9
Pyramid 13 was built and occupied during the Late
Horizon. Its design conforms to local tradition, but its
location and specific characteristics suggest that it
functioned both as an elite residence and as an ushnu
(ritual platform) associated with the Plaza of the Pilgrims
(Eeckhout and Farfn 2008). The palace of Tauri
Chumpi resulted from the adaptation and transformation
of a Pyramid with ramp into an Inca palace, the reason it
is also designated as Pyramid 10 (Eeckhout 2010a: 429).
10
Pacahacamac is divided into three major sectors or
precincts. From south to north, the Sacred Precinct
includes the major temples and is enclosed by the First
Wall. The Second Precinct encompasses the pyramids
with ramps and other buildings and is enclosed by the
Second Wall. The Third Precinct is a desertic pampa
with no monumental structures and is within the Third
Wall.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
2008), and Late Horizon and early colonial
burials (Uhle 1903:62-70). Until we have more
information, we must consider the Inca store-
houses to be concentrated within the First and
Second Walls, that is, within the monumental
part of the site, and, more specifically, in the
sectors related to ceremonial activities.
In this sense, one cannot consider Pacha-
camac to be a state installation of the major
tambo type, used to house the imperial armies
on the march, and, therefore, designed to store
large quantities of goods. This was probably the
case with Hunuco Pampa, Hatun Xauxa, or
Pumpu, each of whose storage capacity is five or
ten times larger than that of Pachacamac. The
storage at this latter site appears to be directed
principally towards religious functions, especially
those relating to pilgrimage and administration
(the palace of Tauri Chumpi). Structure E8
could have played a hybrid role, that is, be at the
same time an instrument of local administration,
as I have described above, but also include, in its
placement and design, the functions of a tambo
for traveling Inca officials and chaskis (messen-
gers), but certainly not for an army on the move.
In other words, Structure E8 was involved in
imperial administration at a local level, corre-
sponding to what Snead (1992:69, table 3-4)
classifies as storage at secondary state facili-
ties. If we follow this classification, Structure
E8 embodies the characteristics of a large tambo,
but not a major one, that is, one containing a
limited number of storehouses associated with a
large number of facilities, as, for example, at
Tambo Colorado or Quebrada de la Vaca
(ibid.:79-82).
In my opinion, the Incas invested more in
cult facilities than in the construction of collcas
on a grand scale for two reasons. First, the
Ychsma region already had a very well devel-
oped and hierarchical network of sites equipped
with storehouses for the control of the resources
- 224
of the chiefdom (Eeckhout [editor] 2004; Eeck-
hout 2008a). There was no necessity for the
Incas to build more, so they simply took advan-
tage of what already existed. The context was
not the same in those parts of the highlands
where they established large sites like Pumpu,
Hatun Xauxa, and Hunuco Pampa (LeVine
1992), or those in the Cochabamba Valleys
(Pereira 2011), which concentrated the harvests
and resources of immense regions. Second, the
population of the chiefdom of Ychsma was not
so numerous, nor its productivity so large, as to
justify the expenditure of enormous energy in
the construction of hundreds of storehouses or
structures for their development (see Eeckhout
2001; Feltham 1983:354-360).
With respect to this, I can summarize
Sneads general observations (1992:82-86) on
the highland-coastal dichotomy in state storage.
The total number of Inca collcas on the coast
represents no more than three percent of the
total number of imperial storehouses in the
sample of 71 sites that he studied. Following
Snead, I think that this reflects the indirect
control of the state in regions where the degree
of social integration was already very high, and
where the type of social management of labor
was different from the sierra, explaining the
relatively low number of pre-Inca coastal store-
houses (ibid.: 85). Finally, it is my opinion that
the form of Inca storehouses on the coast, such
as I have described in this article, proceeded
from a local tradition, because there is great
consistency, both in design and in size, in the
Late Horizon. In the future this pattern may be
considered to be an indication of indirect con-
trol by the Inca over coastal provinces.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (now the
Ministerio de Cultura) for expediting permissions to
conduct research at Pachacamac. The Ychsma Project
received financial support from the Universit Libre de
Bruselas (Free University of Brussels), from the Fonds
National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Scien-
225 -
tific Research Fund) and the Fonds de la Recherche
Fondamentale Collective (Belgian Fund for Basic Collab-
orative Research), and from the Curtiss T. and Mary G.
Brennan Foundation, Santa Fe, New Mexico. We also
received logistical support from the Museo de Sitio de
Pachacamac (Site Museum of Pachacamac), and from
the Belgian Embassy to Peru. I thank the entire excava-
tion team, especially Carlos Farfn, Peruvian national co-
director of the Ychsma Project; Milton Lujn and Fran-
cisco Vallejo, field assistants in charge of the sites Zone
E; and Kusi Colonna-Preti who is responsible for conser-
vation and restoration; surveyor Valrie Decart; and Axel
Beff, who created the three-dimensional reconstructions
of buildings at the site. The figures that illustrate this
article were prepared by Nathalie Bloch (Centre de Re-
cherches Archologie and Patrimoine de la ULB [Center
of Archaeological Research and Patrimony of the Free
University of Brussels]). An earlier version of this paper
was presented at the colloquium Los Inkas y la Inter-
accin de Sociedades, Paisajes, y Territorios en los Andes:
Homenaje a Craig Morris, held at the Universidad
Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Per, June 14-18,
2010. I thank the three anonymous Andean Past review-
ers who helped me improve this version and David
Pereira who kindly provided me with information on the
site of Cotapachi, Bolivia. I assume full responsibility for
the content of the present article, including any errors
that might exist.
Translated from the Spanish by Monica Barnes
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229 - Eeckhout: Inca Storage at Pachacamac

Figure 1: Plan of the site of Pachacamac (after Eeckhout and Owens 2008: figure 2).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 230

Figure 2: Storehouses associated with the Pyramid with Ramp 1, Pachacamac.

The white arrow indicates the position from which the photo was taken.

Figure 3: Panorama and plan of Structure A1-A2, Pachacamac, along the Plaza of the Pilgrims.
231 - Eeckhout: Inca Storage at Pachacamac

Figure 4: Aryballos found in Structure A1, Pachacamac.

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 232

Figure 5: View and three-dimensional reconstruction of Building E8, Pachacamac.

233 - Eeckhout: Inca Storage at Pachacamac

Figure 6: Plan of the excavations in the fore-chamber in Structure E8, Pachacamac.

A, B, C, D, E, F, I, J, K: quipus; G: ceramic fragments; H: wooden kero.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 234

Figure 7: Engraved wooden drinking vessel (kero) from Structure E8, Pachacamac.
235 - Eeckhout: Inca Storage at Pachacamac

Figure 8: Ceramic artifact from Structure E8, Pachacamac.

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 236

Figure 9: Bundle of knotted quipus from Structure E8, Pachacamac.

237 - Eeckhout: Inca Storage at Pachacamac

Figure 10: Cotton quipu from an intrusive tomb in Pyramid with Ramp 3, Pachacamac.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 238

Figure 11: Stone artifact from the outskirts of Pyramid with Ramp 11, Pachacamac.
239 - Eeckhout: Inca Storage at Pachacamac

Figure 12: Three-dimensional reconstruction of Pyramid with Ramp 6, Pachacamac,

with its rows of storehouses.
 REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND A CERAMIC ASSEMBLAGE
FROM THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY LLANOS DE MOJOS
INTRODUCTION
As archaeologists turn more attention and
resources to the Amazon Basin, the breadth and
depth of indigenous cultural achievement are
becoming clearer. Recent interpretations of the
precolumbian Amazon include systems of long
distance trade, diasporas of linguistically and
culturally related populations, and early
urbanism. Many of these interpretations are
linked to the archaeological and anthropological
study of landscape. Precolumbian Amazonian
communities used a huge range of domesticated
plants and a large number of animal products
(Denevan 2001). In some cases, these organisms
bear the marks of domestication in their
genome. Other examples are better seen as
domestication of the landscape, making patterns
of plant and animal life predictable and useful.
Amazonian peoples have demonstrated the
ability to modify the environment (Clement
1999:190), changing the vegetation cover and
the animal populations in the places where they
live (Bale and Erickson 2006; Stahl 2010).
Amazonian peoples created and used terra preta,
literally black earth (Glaser and Woods 2004;
Lehmann et al. 2003; Woods et al 2009),
domesticated fruits and nuts (Clement 1999),
and constructed earthworks in western and
southern Amazonia (Denevan 1966, 2001;
Erickson 2006; Erickson and Walker 2009;
Prssinen et al 2009; Snead et al. 2009; Walker
2004). Histories of these landscapes are
connected to the demands placed on them by
the exchanges, syntheses, trade, invention and
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012): 241-261.
John H. Walker
University of Central Florida
recombination expected in multicultural,
multilingual settings.
In the neighboring Andes, environmental
diversity is packed into small areas arranged
along steep gradients (Murra 1972; Troll 1966).
By traversing the mountains and interacting
with other communities at different elevations,
Andean peoples exchanged a wide variety of
raw materials, artifacts, and ideas. In the
Amazon, environmental diversity is affected by
elevation in a different way. Connections
between distinct ways of life and economies
necessarily cover longer horizontal and shorter
vertical distances. For an Amazonian
community to maintain contact with a wide
variety of different ethnicities, language groups,
and settlements, exposing itself to a variety of
ideas and artifact styles, its connections must
cover long distances. If landscape archaeology
opens new ground by documenting the scale and
distribution of these landscapes, the next step is
to fit them into local, regional, and continental
frameworks of time and space. Radiocarbon
dating, ceramic chronology, and stylistic
comparison have important roles to play,
integrating landscapes to build inter-regional
histories.
Areas of raised fields, clusters of ringed
villages, geometric earthworks (called geoglyphs
in this context), causeways, and canals have
been found across more than 1500 kilometers of
southern and southwestern Amazonia (Mann
2008). This conclusion builds on decades of
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
research on well-known archaeological
landscapes in the Guayas Basin, the Llanos de
Mojos, the Lake Titicaca Basin, and other
regions. This article examines a ceramic
assemblage from the Iruyaez River in the
Llanos de Mojos (Figure 1), well dated to the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries A.D., and
relates that assemblage to five other
archaeological regions, from 200 to 1400
kilometers distant.
AMAZONIAN CERAMICS STUDIES
Debates that began in the 1960s still
influence the outlines of ceramic analysis in
Amazonian archaeology. Placing the Amazon in
a larger context of debates on linguistic and
agricultural dispersals around the world, Neves
calls for investigating combinations of ceramic
assemblages and hypothetical language groups,
but also agricultural economies (Bellwood 2001;
Neves 2008). In a review of the connection
between ceramics and populations, Neves
argues that although the interpretation of the
ceramic record is an unresolved question, Meg-
gers and Evans four Amazonian horizons
remain a useful heuristic (ibid.). Neves affirms
the four-horizon sequence (Zoned Hatchure,
Incised-Rim, Polychrome, and Incised-
Punctate), although without the historical
explanation of the succession of those horizons.
He suggests that this broad outline be used
while the details of Amazonian sequences are
worked out.
Originally, Meggers explained Amazonian
culture history as an extension of Andean
culture history, because in her understanding,
complex ceramic styles at the mouth of the
Amazon were the result of a long-distance
migration of people down the river valley (Meg-
gers 1971). Large population movement over
long distances, identifiable through ceramic
styles, constitutes her explanation. In Lathraps
view, on the other hand, Amazonian peoples
- 242
played a significant role in Andean culture
history. He argued that the complex ceramic
styles at the boundaries of the Upper Amazon
came about as the result of a series of long-
distance up-river migrations. His model relies on
the movements of large numbers of people,
identifiable through ceramic styles (Brochado
and Lathrap 1982; Lathrap 1970a, 1970b).
Lathraps model drew explicit parallels between
language groups and archaeological ceramics.
One point of agreement is the role of
population pressure. For both Meggers and
Lathrap population pressure drives the
development of agriculture, the movement of
people throughout the Amazon, thereby
determining local sequences. For Lathrap, the
Central Amazon supported a growing
population and generated a series of outward
migrations, like pulses of a beating heart. For
Meggers, the Central Amazon limited
population growth, which doomed complex
societies to decline and populations to decrease.
However, for both, population played a leading
role in understanding cultural change, whether
dynamism or decline.
Many factors complicate associations
between population, language, and material
culture in the Amazon, making large-scale
archaeological interpretation more difficult.
Much of the Amazon Basin can be characterized
by strong linguistic diversity at the regional
level, but also within individual communities or
even families. In the southwestern Amazon, the
Guapor-Mamor region in general, and Mojos
in particular, constitute a particularly diverse
linguistic region (Crevels and van der Voort
2008). The upper Guapor-Mamor region has
fifty languages of eight different stocks and
eleven isolates, likely to be of long standing.
Mojos, the southern half of this region, also
displays linguistic diversity, with four language
isolates (Canichana, Cayubaba, Itonama, and
243 -
Movima) that predate the entry of Arawak
languages.
Neves (2008:369) identifies the Guapor-
Mamor region as a possible center of cultural
innovation, if not a heartland from which a
language group spread across the Amazon Basin.
Evidence suggests that the Guapor-Mamor
was a center for the development of several key
Amazonian crops, including manioc, peanuts,
and chili peppers (Piperno 2006). If the upper
Madeira-Guapor region was a locus of
agricultural innovation, we might expect to find
ceramic assemblages there that are associated
with agricultural economies and share stylistic
traits with other regions. Neves argues that
recent data do not support a Central Amazon
heartland from which language-related
migrations originated. Instead, conjunctions
between language, ceramics, and agricultural
landscapes are the most reliable basis on which
to reconstruct culture history.
As records of landscape management, raised
fields (and other earthworks) are likely to be
associated with settlements that differ
significantly from settlements unassociated with
earthworks. Raised fields can be thought of as
industrial infrastructure, in the sense that they
were used to produce a range of different crops,
substances, and valued objects, rather than an
exclusively agricultural infrastructure, producing
only food crops. Research from across Mojos
suggests that links between settlement and
landscape are distinct in three recently
presented examples (Erickson 2010; Lombardo
and Prmers 2010; Lombardo et al. 2011).
Excavations conducted early in the
twentieth century in southeastern Mojos have
been used to characterize Mojos ceramics, and
investigations have continued there in the past
decade (Nordenskild 1913, 1924a, 1924b;
Prmers 2000, 2001, 2002). During early
syntheses of Amazonian (and South American)
Walker: Fourteenth Century Llanos de Mojos
archaeology, similarities were noted between the
ceramics recovered in these excavations and
contemporaneous ceramics from the adjacent
Andean highlands. In 1936 Wendell Bennett
made this connection explicit, and associated it
with sociopolitical complexity, classifying Lower
and Upper Velarde, Maisicito, and Hernmarck
as Sub-Andean (Bennett 1936). More recent
analyses suggest the importance of other
geographic connections. Features such as large
urns and polychrome wares suggest closer
associations with Amazonian ceramic traditions,
rather than Andean ones. Lathrap distinguished
between two phases in Mojos with Lower Velar-
de and Chimay as the earlier, and Upper Velar-
de and Hernmarck as the later. The earlier
phase he associated ultimately with both the
Barrancoid tradition of the Central Amazon,
and also with bichrome painting associated with
the Andes (although earlier than, and not
necessarily associated with, Tiwanaku). The
description of more ceramic assemblages from
Mojeo contexts will help resolve these
sequences and connections (Jaimes Betancourt
2010; Walker 2011b).
THE IRUYAEZ RIVER IN THE LLANOS DE
MOJOS
The Llanos de Mojos (or Mojos) is a
seasonally flooded tropical savanna (Figure 1),
created in part by a tangle of hydrologic features
including major rivers and tributaries, seasonal
creeks, ancient riverbeds, oxbow lakes,
oriented lakes, and both permanent and
seasonal wetlands (Hanagarth 1993). The
Iruyaez River is one of the main tributaries of
the Mamor, and rides in a channel originally
formed by the Beni River, which today forms
Mojos western boundary. The annual cycle
between wet and dry seasons determines much
of Mojos land use. As much as half of the
landscape can be underwater in February, while
August can pass without any rainfall. The
movements of water across slight differences in
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
elevation determine soil conditions and land
use. This landscape is a record of the long and
complex history of rivers moving across the
savanna, cutting channels, building levees, and
erasing them. It also records more than 2,500
years of human habitation and landscape
management (Denevan 1966, 2001; Erickson
2000, 2006; Erickson and Bale 2006; Erickson
and Walker 2009; Walker 2004, 2008a, 2008b).
Precolumbian farmers used earthworks to
extend planting seasons and improve soil
conditions for cultivation, and perhaps for a
variety of other purposes, including
transportation, controlling water and fire, or
ritual processions (Walker 2011c).
The community at the Cerro Site1 used
raised fields, probably both producing food and
raw materials for a wide range of industrial
products. Lowland societies create rich and
varied material cultures from animal and
botanical raw materials (Roth 1916). The
occupied area within the forest at Cerro was
more than eight hectares and could easily have
been as large as thirty hectares. This settlement
size suggests a population greater than five
hundred, and is consistent with later ethno-
historic descriptions of 1,800-2,000 person
towns (Zapata 1906 [1693]:25-26). Political
leaders from this area are in one case said to
have held influence over several settlements.
The ethnohistoric descriptions cited above,
which loom large in later classifications of
Mojeo societies (Steward and Faron
1959:350), are based on descriptions of the
Cayubaba, identified with north-central Mojos,
near the Iruyaez River (Block 1994; Zapata
1906 [1693]). The Mojo and Baure, both
Arawak groups located further south and east,
are associated with smaller settlements and
1
To avoid confusion, in this paper I refer to the rock
formation as El Cerro and call a modern ranch and the
area in general Cerro, and the archaeological site the
Cerro Site.
- 244
chiefs who have authority within a single
settlement (Eder 1985 [1791]).
El Cerro
El Cerro is a large island of forested high
ground named for a rock formation
approximately forty meters high and ten
hectares in extent, surrounded by about 110.8
hectares of forest (Figure 2). The rock formation
is the highest point for several hundred
kilometers, a landmark for both horsemen and
airplane pilots. The surrounding high ground
has been occupied continuously throughout
local memory. A permanent stream (Cerro
Creek) lies along the southwest side, and the
Iruyaez River lies three kilometers to the
south. The entire dry forest at Cerro contains
evidence of modern occupation, in the form of
slash-and-burn fields, both abandoned and in
use, trails, abandoned houses, and mango
groves.
Transects
Two transects of shovel test excavations,
each approximately fifty centimeters in diameter
were excavated at right angles to each other in
order to sample a large area of the forest.
Transect 1 extended due east of a brick-lined
well at the modern Cerro ranch (ca. 1997), and
extended through the levee into the savanna.
Its total length was 615 meters (41 individual
shovel tests). Beginning from where Transect 1
exited the forest, Transect 2 extended due south
through the levee and out into the savanna
(Figure 3). Its total length was 1140 meters (76
shovel tests).
The high ground is covered with mixed palm
forest, punctuated by a few modern swidden
fields. The soils of the northern and western
part of the levee (sampled in Transect 1)
contrasted strongly with the soils of the central
and southern parts of the levee (sampled in
245 -
Transect 2). Reddish sandy soils with few sherds
were found in the shovel tests of Transect 1.
Dark soils, burned clay, and dense deposits of
sherds were found in most Transect 2 shovel
tests, and sherds were recovered on the surface
in some locations. Transect 2 intersected a
deposit of anthrosol that was approximately 500
meters across (Figure 3). The definition of
anthrosol is based on three criteria: dark soil,
ceramics, and burned clay soil, and is further
examined elsewhere (Walker 2004:63-110,
2011a).
The total area of occupation at the Cerro
Site is difficult to determine. One method used
is to map a circle around the shovel tests that
contained sherds. These circles provide an
estimate for the area of occupation intersected
by Transect 2. The smaller of the two circles in
Figure 2 encloses twenty-two shovel tests,
covering 330 meters, all of which contained
sherds (translating to an area of 8.5 hectares).
The larger circle encloses a total of thirty-four
shovel tests, covering 510 meters, all but two of
which contained sherds (an area of twenty
hectares). A third estimate takes the total
number of shovel tests (117), divides by the
number of shovel tests yielding ceramics (41),
and multiplies by the total area of the forest
(110.77 hectares) to generate an estimate of
38.8 hectares of settlement. Based on this range
of estimates, Transect 2 at the Cerro Site crosses
a site with an area between 8.5 hectares and
38.8 hectares, and most likely more than twenty
hectares. The transects document a
precolumbian settlement that covered a
significant fraction of the levee surrounding the
Cerro rock formation.
Trench 3
This trench was located adjacent to
Transect 2, near shovel tests in which sherds
and charcoal were recovered to a depth of 120
centimeters below the surface (Figure 4). The
Walker: Fourteenth Century Llanos de Mojos
trench was two meters by two meters square,
oriented to magnetic north. The trench was
excavated according to natural stratigraphy, and
excavation was controlled with a transit. The
trench was excavated to at least five centimeters
into the subsoil throughout, about 120 centi-
meters below the surface. All excavated soil was
screened using a one centimeter screen.
Stratum 1, beginning from the ground
surface, extended across the trench and was
between ten and twenty centimeters thick. It
was a black (10YR2/1 in the Munsell color
system), very friable, sandy loam, and passed
easily through the screen. The interface with
Stratum 2 below was very gradual and smooth.
The difference between Strata 1 and 2 was
probably no more than a slight difference in the
amount of organic material present. Stratum 1
had a weak and very fine-grained structure.
Wood charcoal was present, and two sherds
were recovered in excavation.
Stratum 2 was immediately below Stratum 1,
and also extended throughout the trench.
Stratum 2 was a very dark brown (10YR2/2)
sandy loam. The texture of the soil was very
loose and friable. The interface with Stratum 1
above was very gradual and smooth. The
interface with Stratum 3 below was gradual and
uneven. Wood charcoal was present, and
seventy-five sherds, weighing 1.50 kilograms
were recovered.
Stratum 3 was immediately below Stratum 2,
and also extended throughout the trench. The
soil was a very dark grayish brown (10YR3/2)
sandy loam. The soil texture was somewhat
friable, but compact. The interface with Stratum
2 above was gradual and uneven, and the
interfaces with the three strata below, Strata 4,
5, and 6, were uneven and abrupt. No soil
structure was present. Carbon was recovered
from this stratum as well as burned clay. A total
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
of 311 sherds, weighing 6.550 kilograms were
recovered.
Stratum 4 was below Stratum 3 and above
Stratum 5, in the southwest quadrant of Trench
3. It was a dark gray (10YR3/1) to black
(10YR2/1) silt loam. The interface with Stratum
3 above was abrupt and almost level. The
interface with Stratum 5 below was abrupt and
uneven. No soil structure was present. Wood
charcoal was present, as well as burned clay, and
large numbers of sherds. In some places, large
sherds defined the lower interface of Stratum 4.
The large sherds of the feature totaled 323,
weighing 16.425 kilograms, while sherds taken
from the soil within the feature totaled 45 and
weighed 1.800 kilograms.
Stratum 5 extended throughout the trench,
beneath Strata 3, 4, and 6. It was a red
(2.5YR3/6) clay loam. The soil was compact and
hard. Some sherds were recovered near the
interfaces with the strata above, but no sherds
were recovered deeper than 2 or 3 centimeters
into the stratum. The interfaces with all of the
strata above (Strata 3, 4, 6) were both uneven
and abrupt. There was some wood charcoal in
Stratum 5. The soil had a blocky structure, with
blocks of less than 5 centimeters in diameter.
The soil structure was very weak. Near the
upper interfaces with Strata 3, 4, and 6 a total of
10 sherds were recovered, weighing 0.350
kilograms.
Stratum 6 (not represented in the Figure 4
profile) was between Stratum 3 above and
Stratum 5 below, in the northeastern quadrant
of the trench. It extended from a maximum
elevation of 99.04 meters to a minimum
elevation of 98.64 meters. It was a dark gray to
very dark grayish brown (10YR3/1) sandy loam.
Its interface with Stratum 3 above was almost
level, and abrupt. The interface with Stratum 5
below was uneven and abrupt. No soil structure
is present. Some wood charcoal was present. A
- 246
total of 52 sherds were recovered, weighing
4.750 kilograms. In some locations, large sherds
defined the lower interface of this stratum.
Trench 3 Interpretation
The color of Strata 1 and 2 was darker and
grayer than the soils sampled in the shovel tests
from Transect 1. Strata 1 and 2 had high
concentrations of sherds. In combination with
Strata 3, 4, and 6, they are interpreted as
anthrosols, representing prehispanic occupation.
Stratum 3 is the thickest of the five soil
strata interpreted as anthrosols. Dense
concentrations of sherds were found in
association with small pieces of wood charcoal
in this stratum. In parts of the trench, Stratum
3 has an uneven lower limit. The lower
elevations in Stratum 3 correspond to Strata 4
and 6. Strata 4 and 6 are associated with
Stratum 3. The presence of anthrosols is
demonstrated by soil color, high concentrations
of wood charcoal and sherds, and the presence
of burned clay.
Strata 4 and 6 are interpreted as parts of
trash pits, used for the disposal of broken
pottery, ashes, and other household debris. The
recovered sherds had no discernible spatial
pattern. Some sherds were oriented vertically
and others horizontally. In addition, the lower
boundaries of the stratum were not even,
suggesting a secondary deposit, such as a
garbage pit, rather than a primary deposit such
as a house floor, or an activity area. In Stratum
6, in addition to the sherds, many pieces of
burned clay and of wood charcoal were also
recovered, but they had no clear spatial pattern.
Stratum 5 is interpreted as culturally sterile
subsoil. It was very hard and compact, and with
the exception of the interfaces with the strata
above, no sherds were recovered from Stratum
5. The color and texture of this soil were
247 - Walker: Fourteenth Century Llanos de Mojos

consistent with the subsoil found in other shovel Radiometric dating

tests from Transects 1 and 2, and throughout
the study area.
Trench 3 confirmed the results from
Transects 1 and 2, that a large deposit of
anthrosols with dense concentrations of sherds
is present. In some places in Trench 3, the
anthrosol deposit is up to 120 centimeters deep,
but in other areas, the deposit is only 40
centimeters deep.
A total of 8 radiocarbon dates were obtained
using samples from Trench 3 (Table 1). Beta
Analytic, Inc. processed three of these samples,
and the University of Arizona AMS Laboratory
processed five. Of the eight samples, one was
processed using conventional radiometric
methods, one was processed using extended
count methods, and the other six were
processed using the AMS technique.

Sample Type Lab No. Stratum 14C Age BP Calibrated age 68% range Calendric Age cal AD range
BP AD

ECC-4 Charcoal 117218 2 48050 52324 498-547 142724 1403-1451

ECC-3 Charcoal AA30388 2 53545 57746 530-623 137346 1327-1419

ECC-15 Charcoal AA30389 3 57045 59043 547-633 136043 1317-1403

ECC-14 Charcoal 117220 3 61070 60446 557-650 134646 1300-1392

ECC-17 Charcoal 117221 4 47090 485105 379-590 1465105 1360-1570

ECC-18 Charcoal AA30390 4 62040 60839 568-647 134239 1303-1381

ECC-22 Charcoal AA30392 6 60045 60240 561-642 134840 1308-1388

ECC-21 Charcoal AA30391 6 62040 60839 568-647 134239 1303-1381

CalPal-2007online (online version)

Danzeglocke, U., Jris, O., Weninger, B., CalPal-2007online; http://www.calpal-online.de/, accessed 2010-04-01.

Table 1. Calibrated radiocarbon dates from the Iruyaez River, Beni, Bolivia

When calibrated, all of the dates fall into a
single group, with center points ranging from
A.D. 1342 to A.D. 1465, and 68 percent
confidence intervals ranging from A.D. 1303 to
A.D. 1570. The dates cluster in the mid-
fourteenth century A.D. (Table 1). The dates
suggest that Stratum 4 may represent a longer
history of activity than the surrounding strata 2,
3 and 6.
These samples establish the date of the
occupation at the Cerro Site to the fourteenth
century A.D. In combination with the evidence
from Transects 1 and 2, the dates suggest that
the forest at Cerro was occupied by a large
settlement during the two centuries before the
Spanish arrived in the New World.
Trench 4
This trench was located in a raised field
platform to the north of the modern Cerro
Ranch, just outside the fenced pasture in the
open savanna. The trench was six meters long
and fifty centimeters wide. No artifacts were
recovered from Trench 4, nor was any charcoal
obtained for radiocarbon analysis. The raised
field platform and canal bisected by Trench 4
are associated with the Cerro Site by their
proximity.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Interpretation
In summary, the Cerro Site is a large, deep
deposit of anthrosol, covering between 8.5
hectares and 30 hectares to a depth ranging
from 30 to 110 centimeters. An estimate of
population based only on site area is difficult to
make. A village of 1,000 or 2,000 people could
fit easily within the lower area estimate of 8.5
hectares. The Cerro Site is evidence of the
concentration of population along the Iruyaez
into settlements of thousands of people.
A village of about 1,800 or 2,000 people
could have produced the deposit of anthrosol.
This is the size of the towns described by Zapata
in his account of contact with the Cayuvava. It
is not argued here that this location represents
one of the towns that were visited by Zapata.
Nor is it argued that Cayuvava speakers must
have occupied the Cerro Site. However, the size
of the site, combined with its chronological
context, suggest that villages of the size
described by Zapata for the 17th century A.D.
could have existed in the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries A.D. The raised field
evidence suggests a total population along this
part of the Iruyaez between 1,000 and 10,000
people, and the evidence of levee settlement is
consistent with this range of estimates (Walker
2004).
Settlement evidence indicates that the
Iruyaez was settled at two points in time, each
of which are associated with raised fields. The
settlements are well dated, with one in the sixth
century A.D. (Walker 2011b), and the second
in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries A.D.
The association of both occupations with raised
fields suggests that raised field farming was
practiced at two points in time separated by
about nine hundred years, and most likely
during the intervening centuries as well. The
dating of two sites to points separated by a
millennium suggests that the inhabitants were
- 248
persistent in their use of raised fields. The
chronology indicates that raised fields were in
use at least one hundred years before the arrival
of the Spanish into the New World, and at least
three hundred years before the arrival of Zapata
among the Cayubaba in 1695.
Ceramic description
The ceramics from the Cerro Site were
described according to a modal analysis
developed using assemblages from throughout
central Mojos, from excavations, surface
collections, and museum collections. The modes
are organized into vessel form, surface
treatment, and temper/paste.
Forms. Twenty-five vessel forms were
reconstructed from ceramics at the Cerro Site,
two from surface collections and twenty-three
from strata 3, 4 and 6 at Trench 3. From
twenty-six reconstructed vessel forms, nine
distinct modes can be categorized, in addition to
one transitional mode.
Carinated, lipped dishes have high, straight
sides that slope outwards slightly (Figure 5).
Two vessels are reconstructed in their entirety,
one with a rim diameter of 28 centimeters, and
one of 44 centimeters. The rim flares outward to
form a distinct lip, which in one case is flattened
on the top and on the outer edge. The base is
slightly curved, and is thinner than the walls of
the vessel. The overall form (although much
smaller) is somewhat reminiscent of a buckpot
or ahukugu, a large cooking pot as described
from the Xingu (Heckenberger 2005). Another
reconstructed vessel resembles this form, with a
smaller rim diameter (14 centimeters), a flat
base, and a less pronounced lip. This vessel also
has a raised point along the rim with an
indentation, almost in mimicry of an attachment
for a handle.
249 -
Large cooking pots are represented by two
examples (Figure 5). The openings of the vessels
are large (100 centimeters and 104 centimeters
or larger) and the lips of the vessels are thick
(greater than two centimeters) and broad (about
five centimeters). The rim profiles suggest
outward sloping vessel walls, perhaps with a
carination, and a shallow, curved base or a flat
base. These are close analogues to the ahukugu
described from both the modern and the
precolumbian Xingu.
Flat-bottomed dishes are represented by two
examples, with outsloping sidewalls and less
than ten centimeters tall. The bottoms of the
plates are about as thick as the walls of the
dishes, and in one case the inside of the walls is
decorated with rough incision, and the interior
bottom of the dish has shallow grooves. Groov-
ed platters are a common vessel form further
south in Mojos (Jaimes Bentancourt 2010),
although this example is distinctive in that the
bottom is flat and not gently curved, and the
grooves are more deep incisions than channels
with rectangular profiles, as in other examples.
These dishes are fairly large, about sixty and
fifty-four centimeters in diameter.
Two vessels represent carinated, lipless
dishes. They have straight, slightly outsloping
sides, are less than ten centimeters tall, and
have curving bases that are thinner than the
walls. The rim is curved rather than flattened,
and has no lip. Rim diameters are forty-two and
forty-eight centimeters.
A single vessel, with a rim diameter of
eighteen centimeters, represents shallow open
bowls. The bowl has a rounded base and a
rounded rim, with thick walls. The fabric of this
vessel has a pinkish cast, perhaps from high iron
content.
One straight-sided, slightly inward sloping
neck is probably associated with a jar, although
Walker: Fourteenth Century Llanos de Mojos
the body and base cannot be reconstructed. The
opening is twelve centimeters in diameter, and
the neck is at least eight centimeters tall. This
vessel form could be associated with brewing or
storage.
One straight sided, slightly outward sloping,
flattened rim could represent a small carinated
dish with high sides (opening is twenty-eight
centimeters in diameter) or possibly the neck of
a jar.
Two examples of thin, outward flaring rims
(both openings are eighteen centimeters in
diameter) curve down and could represent
necked jars, or less probably carinated dishes.
One has an adorno2 handle, less than one
centimeter thick, and both are thin-walled
(about five millimeters).
The remainder of the reconstructed rims
represents a range of forms between the carina-
ted, lipped dishes and the large buckpots
(Figure 5). All have pronounced lips, eight
flattened and three rounded. All slope outward;
some are more straight sided and some more
steeply sloping. As a group, they resemble the
lipped, carinated dishes, but vessel
reconstruction does not extend to the
carination and the base. They may represent a
large, necked vessel form, but a shallow dish
seems more likely on the basis of other vessel
forms present at the Cerro Site.
One ceramic grinder was recovered in
excavation (and another from surface
collection). This fired clay object has a
rectangular cross section, the result of wear on
the two opposite sides which changed a circular
cross-section into a rectangular cross section
(Figure 6). Ceramic grinders (moleadores, manos
de moler) are common to the south, along the
2
Adorno is defined by Raymond et al. (1957:6) as
modeling appended to the surface of a vessel.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Apere River and in Southern Mojos (e.g. Jaimes
Betancourt 2010:207, 226, 272, 314, 333). They
were likely used for grinding and processing
food, as seen in the wear pattern. Their use as
bark beaters seems unlikely, because many
examples are worn, and few are broken (which
would presumably occur through percussive
use). Their use as fire-dogs or vessel supports
seems less likely because none of them show
carbon deposits associated with long term
exposure to fire. However, in the stone-free
environment of Mojos, ceramic artifacts would
presumably have multiple functions during their
use-lives.
Several sherds have deep intersecting
grooves that can be identified as shaft
straighteners, and probably represent a reuse of
broken pottery.
The final artifact type from the Cerro Site is
a stone axe. Two T-shaped stone axes were
recovered, one from the surface, and one from
excavation. The excavated example had an
uneven edge (Figure 7) suggesting that the axe
was broken and resharpened. Stone of any type
is not native to Mojos, and these artifacts must
have either come from the Brazilian shield to
the north (across the Guapor or Itnez River)
or from the Andes to the south.
Surface decoration
Ceramics from the Cerro Site are not usually
decorated, but do present a range of surface
decoration. By count (as opposed to weight),
14.29 percent of the sherd lots have surface
decoration.
Fine-line painting, usually on sponge-
tempered sherds, is known both from surface
collections and excavation at the Cerro Site. No
vessel forms with this form of surface decoration
can be reconstructed. The appearance of these
sherds is very similar to the fine-line painting on
- 250
sherds from San Juan, about twelve kilometers
to the southwest. Fine-line painted, sponge
tempered sherds are found in strata 3, 4, 5 and
6, which are all contemporaneous, according to
the radiocarbon dates.
A few sherds from the Cerro Site have rough
incision, present on the inside of grooved
platters, for instance. This incision does not
resemble the fine-lined incision present on
ceramics in southern Mojos, or that combined
with painting in other Amazonian contexts.
One sherd from Stratum 5 was corrugated,
a distinctive surface treatment not otherwise
present on the Iruyaez.
Fabric and temper
Three distinct pastes are represented at the
Cerro Site: one dominant mode, and two
subordinate modes. The most common is a grog-
tempered paste, in some cases including some
sponge temper. The surface of this fabric is
smooth and abrades easily, having almost a
powdery or soapy feel. The color of this fabric
ranges widely, including buff, pink, pale tan,
light gray, and light brown. All reconstructed
vessels were made from this fabric.
The second paste is a sponge tempered
fabric, usually better fired, lighter, and making a
clear sound when struck. Painted sherds are all
of this fabric (although not all sponge tempered
sherds are painted). Colors are darker, with
more grays and browns, and no buff or pink
examples. No vessel forms can be associated
with this fabric. Sponge tempered fabric is
associated with fine-line painting in San Juan
ceramics (Walker 2011b).
The third paste is a distinctive reddish color,
with grit, sand, or rock temper. The appearance
of this fabric is very rough, and it looks much
like the cascajo or eroded lateritic rock of El
251 -
Cerro. The temper of this fabric is likely taken
directly from the nearby El Cerro, and the red
color of the fabric indicates large amounts of
iron in the clay. No vessel forms or surface
treatments can be associated with this fabric.
DISCUSSION
Radiocarbon dates place this assemblage in
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries A.D.
Calibration indicates that these dates predate
A.D. 1492, and direct contact with Europeans,
who arrived in Mojos to stay in the mid-
seventeeth century.
Analysis of the excavated ceramic
assemblage suggests that the community was
part of a regional system or ecumene that
spanned at least several hundred kilometers.
Both vessel forms and surface treatments, as
well as one example of raw material (ground
stone) illustrate four clear connections and one
potential connection with other areas.
The two stone axes necessarily indicate a
link with either the highlands of the Guapor
basin, or with the Andes to the south. No lithic
raw material is available in Mojos, and so the
presence of ground stone artifacts establishes
such a link. T-shaped stone axes have long been
associated with the Andes, rather than the
Amazon (e.g. Lathrap and Roys 1963). Sourcing
this raw material will establish the direction of
this link, but both potential sources of stone
should be considered.
Painted ceramics at the Cerro Site cannot be
conclusively identified with the previous San
Juan assemblage (Walker 2011b) but the surface
decoration, fabric, and temper are very similar.
No painted vessel forms are available from the
Cerro Site, such as the distinctive flaring
decorated rims from San Juan. The similarities
in painting nevertheless argue for a degree of
cultural continuity between the fifth and
Walker: Fourteenth Century Llanos de Mojos
fourteenth centuries A.D. along the Iruyaez
River.
The ratio of painted to unpainted sherds
between the two sites differs significantly. The
San Juan Site has a higher proportion of painted
sherds than the Cerro Site. At San Juan 65.22
percent of the lots contain painted sherds, while
only 14.29 percent of the lots at the Cerro Site
contain painted sherds. Additionally, sherds
painted on both sides were found at San Juan,
but not at the Cerro Site. It is possible that the
Cerro Site represents a more generalized
domestic context, with a cross-section of
ceramic refuse including more utilitarian vessel
forms. Without pushing the analysis too far,
Cerro ceramics represent a more complete set of
ceramic forms. The relationship between the
Cerro Site and San Juan is one of some
continuity within a larger sequence.
Vessel forms suggest a link between the
Iruyaez and the Xingu Basin. The most
common vessel form at the Cerro Site is a
lipped, carinated dish with a flat or slightly
curved bottom. The range of the mouth
diameters of these vessels includes examples
larger than one meter. In the largest examples,
this vessel form is analogous to the ahukugu or
buckpot described from the Xingu, both in
modern and precolumbian contexts (Hecken-
berger 2005). Probably used for the preparation
of foods in large quantities, this vessel form
suggests a similarity in economy and cuisine
across the Southern Amazon. For example, Dole
(1964) suggested that flat bottomed and conical
vessels are associated with cooking on raised
platforms and dirt floors, respectively.
Two vessel forms: ceramic cylinders
(interpreted as grinders) and grater plates
(although with shallower grooves) demonstrate
a link to Southern Mojos. Both vessel forms are
well-known from the Apere River and also the
mounds near Trinidad to the south (Jaimes
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Betancourt 2010; Prmers 2000, 2001, 2002).
Both forms are used for the preparation of food
and drink. This argues for continuities in food
preparation and cuisine across precolumbian
Mojos. In the future, trace analysis of ceramic
contents will address this question.
Jaimes Betancourts superb study of
ceramics from Loma Salvatierra (2010) was not
extensively analyzed for this article, but a
preliminary examination of the assemblage does
not suggest a particularly strong relationship
between the two locations. Loma Salvatierra
ceramics include a wide range of forms, many of
which are also common along the Ro Apere.
For example, grater plates and moleadores are
two forms that are common at Loma Salvatierra
and along the Ro Apere, but are rare at the
Cerro Site. Future studies will help illuminate
the relationship between these assemblages.
A final point of comparison is tentative
because it is based on a single corrugated sherd
from Stratum 5. Nevertheless, because this form
of surface decoration is strongly associated with
Guaran speakers in the ethnohistoric and
archaeological literature, from southeastern
Bolivia and Argentina (Alconini 2004:412-413),
and corrugation is distinct from other surface
treatments at the Cerro Site, this difference
merits consideration.
CONCLUSIONS
The artifact assemblage at the Cerro Site
suggests connections with four or five distinct
regions, both within and outside Mojos.
Previously, connections have been drawn
between Mojos and the Andes, Southeastern
Bolivia, Northwestern Argentina, and the
Central Amazon (Lathrap 1970b). The
assemblage at the Cerro Site fits into this picture
of an interconnected Amazonian system, or
perhaps even an integrated South American
system that included the Andes (Lathrap 1971).
- 252
Similarities in material culture across the
Amazon are also part of interpretations of the
combination of archaeological data and
linguistic data that support an expanded role for
Arawak speaking societies in Amazonian culture
history (Heckenberger 2005; Hornborg 2005).
The firm dating of the Cerro Sites artifact
assemblage to the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries places it at the same period as a
variety of complex societies throughout South
America, from Marajoara, to the Xingu, to the
Inca empire.
The evidence from test excavations suggests
that a large community of people, probably
numbering in the low thousands, used these
artifacts. The Cerro Site is not an isolated
settlement, but a part of a landscape of raised
fields that stretches for at least 50 kilometers
from north to south, and 50 kilometers along
the Iruyaez and Omi Rivers. In considering the
deep history of this landscape, both settlement
and landscape may be considered together,
rather than as independent lines of evidence.
Explanations of why Mojos was the setting for
not one, but at least five distinct landscapes,
each representing a distinctive investment of
labor into infrastructure, is linked to settlement.
These five lines of evidence from the artifact
assemblage at the Cerro Site suggest that links
from the Xingu to the northeast, the Guapor to
the north, southeastern Bolivia and Argentina
to the southeast, and Southern Mojos and the
Andes to the south, were all part of the
economic, political, and social universe that the
Cerro community inhabited. The Cerro Site is
within six kilometers of the confluence of the
Iruyaez and Omi Rivers, and 25 kilometers of
the confluence of the Iruyaez and Mamor
Rivers. It therefore occupies a central location
within the continental network of South
American rivers described in the Handbook of
South American Indians (Lowie 1948). The
lowlands of South America are connected across
253 -
thousands of kilometers by three river systems:
the Orinoco in the north, the Amazon in the
center, and the Parana to the south. From about
A.D. 1330 to 1450, the Cerro Site was part of
this larger world, interacting and exchanging
material culture and ideas with a wide range of
other societies and traditions.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research would not have been possible without
the assistance of many people and institutions in Bolivia
and in the United States. In La Paz, the Instituto Nacional
de Arqueologa de Bolivia, and Arq. Javier Escalante, its
director, were particularly gracious and helpful. Ing.
Freddy Arce assisted with administrative matters. In
Trinidad, thanks go to Oscar Saavedra, Arnaldo Lijern,
Rodolfo Pinto Parada, Ricardo Bottega, Celia and Teresa
Prez Chvez, the Universidad Autnoma del Beni, the
Prefecture of the Beni, the Museo Etnoarqueolgico
Kenneth Lee, and the Fundacin Kenneth Lee. In Santa
Ana, heartfelt thanks to Jaime and Georgina Bocchietti,
the Museo Regional de Arqueologa Yacuma, the Alcalde
and the Sub-Prefecto, and the Sub-Central de Pueblos
Indgenas Movima.
Funding for ceramic analysis in 2003 and 2004 was
provided by a grant from the Brennan Foundation.
Original fieldwork was carried out through the Agro-
Archaeological Project of the Beni, directed by Clark
Erickson. Greg Borgstede, Judy Voelker and Susan Frith
each read drafts of the manuscript and offered many useful
comments, which have improved it substantially. The
manuscript benefitted greatly from reviews by Robert
Carneiro, and two anonymous reviewers. All of the
remaining flaws result from ignoring some of their sound
advice.
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ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 256

Figure 1: Cerro, located along the Iruyaez River, a tributary of the Mamor,
on the upper Madeira, within the Llanos de Mojos, Beni, Bolivia.
257 - Walker: Fourteenth Century Llanos de Mojos

Figure 2: Map showing the locations of test excavations at the Cerro Site,
including two transects of shovel test excavations totaling 1755 meters,
trench 3 in the forest, and trench 4 bisecting a raised fields.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 258

Figure 3: Schematic profile of Transect 2 at the Cerro Site, juxtaposing surface vegetation and land use,
and subsurface ceramics, dark soil, and burned clay soil.
The location of trench 2 is shown. Surface features are not to scale.
259 - Walker: Fourteenth Century Llanos de Mojos

Figure 4: Profile from Trench 3 at the Cerro Site.

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 260

Figure 5: Reconstructed vessel forms from the Cerro Site.

261 - Walker: Fourteenth Century Llanos de Mojos

Figure 6: Ceramic cylinders recovered from excavation (top) and from surface collection (bottom).

Figure 7: Stone axe recovered from shovel test excavation.

 RESEARCH REPORTS ON ANDEAN ARCHAEOLOGY

PERU Yanaorco

Recent Excavations at the Late Intermediate
Period Village of Yanaorco in the Cajamarca
Highlands
Jason L. Toohey (University of Wyoming,
e-mail: jtoohey2@uwyo.edu) excavated at the
site of Yanaorco in the Cajamarca region of
northern Peru in 2003 and 2004 (Instituto
Nacional de Cultura permit number C/138-
2003/DREPH) with the support of a Fulbright
Hays Dissertation Research Abroad Grant.
Radiocarbon dates and ceramic chronology
place the occupation of Yanaorco within the
Late Intermediate Period (LIP; A.D. 1000-A.D.
1465; Toohey 2009) when it was a major popu-
lation center (Sachun 1986). It stands at ap-
proximately 3550 m.a.s.l. and its occupants
practiced agro-pastoralism, taking advantage of
both the upper Quechua ecological zone below
3500 meters and the Suni zone herding re-
sources to its southeast (above approximately
3500 m.a.s.l.; Pulgar Vidal 1981).
Yanaorco is on the continental divide near
the headwaters of the Jequetepeque River. Its
inhabitants were part of the Cajamarca culture.
The town is on a defensible ridge, with natural
drops of approximately 500 meters on its north,
west, and south sides. To further improve the
natural defenses of the site, its inhabitants
constructed two sets of fortifications on its
gently sloping eastern edge. Each set includes
three large walls. The largest retaining walls
stand up to three or four meters high and are
two meters thick (Figure 1). Each wall has a dry
ditch on its exterior side. Many of these walls
also have abutting parapets along their interior
faces. These works indicate that the location
occupied by Yanaorco was important and con-
tested.

Architectural and excavation data indicate

that Yanaorco was substantially fortified and
architecturally complex. Its population was
socially and politically stratified. My results
support a view of the Cajamarca LIP as a dy-
namic time when populations shifted residence
from lower elevations to high elevation commu-
nities that were often fortified. Several archaeol-
ogists have characterized Yanaorco as an impor-
tant Cajamarca population center during the
LIP (Julien 1988, 1993; Ravines 1968, n.d.;
Sachun 1986; Urteaga 1960). Surface survey of
the site had also placed the occupation in the
LIP (Martell 2002). Research at Yanaorco is the Figure 1: Fortification walls preserved to a height of 3 to
first community and household level investiga- 4 meters. People are, from viewers left to right, Jimmy
tion of an LIP fortified village in the Cajamarca Bouroncle, Wilder Len Ascurre, and Mariano Esquivel.
region.

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012): 263-302.

ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 264

In addition to occupying a defensive loca-
tion, Yanaorco is situated strategically to over-
see traffic along the primary route in both
prehistoric and modern times between the coast
and the highland Cajamarca Basin. Yanaorco
overlooks the Gaviln Pass into the basin by 500
meters. Survey uncovered the remains of a
prehispanic trail connecting the pass to one of
the villages two entrances, physically tying the
community to the pass. Leadership within the
community would thus have been in a position
to closely monitor, and possibly control, traffic
through the pass.
The architectural organization of Yanaorco
is complex and indicates that the original com-
munity was rapidly augmented at some point
during its occupation. The site contains two
principal architectural zones. The older sector is
on the western end of the ridge upon which the
site sits. This sector was ringed with three large
fortification walls. At a later date, the commu-
nity grew with the construction of a newer
sector of adjoined rectangular rooms to the
southeast, outside the original fortifications.
Ultimately this new set of rooms was fortified
with three additional walls and ditches, the
longest wall connecting to one of the original
walls and effectively completing the fortification
of the entire community.
nity identity for residents of Yanaorco. Non-
domestic, public areas of architecture are also
present, including a sector of possibly ceremo-
nial spatial features. These include a large, U-
shaped plaza (Architectural Unit 18A) closely
associated with a set of two small rooms charac-
terized by extremely limited and controlled
access (Figure 2). Excavation in one of these
rooms indicated the presence of a low bench
along one wall and multiple niches recessed into
the walls. Excavation in the open plaza revealed
a level activity surface and several small serving
vessels. In the future, excavation will include an
area of four possible storage rooms, spatially
associated with a zone of elite architectural
spaces. All of these integrated architectural
spaces indicate that the community may have
been partially planned when first constructed
and that it did not grow haphazardly over time.

Within these fortifications are a series of

distinct architectural zones integrated and
connected by ramps and staircases. At least two
areas of domestic terraces exist, broken gener- Figure 2: Plan of Architectural Unit 18.
ally into well-constructed elite terraces along
the south slope of the village, and less well
defined non-elite terraces on the northern slope.
Three low platforms stand along the ridge line,
dividing these domestic spaces. Although there
are rooms on the summit of the largest of these
platforms, the presence of multiple looted
masonry tombs on all of the platforms implies
both mortuary and domestic functions, possibly
creating a visible symbol of collective commu-
265 -
Figure 3: LIP Cajamarca Semicursive and Cajamarca
Black and Orange sherds.
Figure 4: Late Horizon Amoshulca Black Geometric
sherds.
Ceramic Assemblages at Yanaorco
I analyzed approximately 34,300 ceramic
sherds from both surface and excavated con-
texts. These include a wide range of vessel forms
and 18 distinct stylistic types, both decorated
fine wares and domestic, utilitarian wares
(Toohey in press). Types diagnostic of the LIP
include Cajamarca Semicursive (CSC) and
Cajamarca Black and Orange (CB&O; Figure
3). The Late Horizon, Amoshulca Black Geo-
metric (ABG) style is also present in high fre-
quencies (Figure 4).
Research Reports
Although the entire surface of the commu-
nity was surveyed and all diagnostic ceramics
analyzed, no direct evidence for ceramic produc-
tion was uncovered. Indirect evidence included
several small smoothing stones. It is likely that
many of the vessels utilized in the community
were made there, and future investigations will
continue to seek direct evidence of production.
There is little evidence for exotic, fine ware
ceramics being imported into the community
from other regions. However, a single exotic
black ware rim sherd (Figure 5) was recovered
from an excavated context, suggesting some
level of coastal-highland interaction (Donnan
1990; Sandweiss 1995:161). This sherd was
decorated with a press-molded design, a method
that was not used in local Cajamarca ceramic
production.
Figure 5: Exotic blackware ceramic sherd with press-
molded design.
Unusual Artifacts at Yanaorco
Excavation and surface collection at Yana-
orco also revealed a number of less common
artifact types. Excavation within elite domestic
room 22A (not shown in Figure 2, see Toohey
2009:276) uncovered four copper artifacts
including copper tweezers and a tupu (stick-pin)
that had been rolled or folded in on itself before
entering the archaeological record. Inspection
revealed that it was still in working condition
when it was bent, indicating that it was purpose-
fully rendered unusable before being deposited
(Figure 6). This pin was originally 4.1 centime-
ters long. Finally, several small quartz crystals
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
were recovered from the same room. Interviews
with local landowners revealed the presence of
two ceramic whistles that had been collected
from an area of the site now under cultivation.
These whistles contained modeled human faces.
Figure 6: Folded tupu.
Social and Economic Stratification at Yanaorco
Architectural survey and variability in
excavated materials indicate the presence of at
least two social strata living at Yanaorco during
the LIP. There is clear evidence for two distinct
domestic zones at the site, marked by differences
in room size, organizational complexity, and wall
construction quality. Elite domestic spaces
include both interior, roofed rooms and un-
roofed patios. Terraces are connected by well-
defined staircases, and walls are made of faced
and cut stone. Non-elite domestic spaces are
less well preserved due to the lower quality of
their walls and consequent poorer structural
preservation.
While all households at Yanaorco probably
engaged in agro-pastoral subsistence activities,
including camelid herding, guinea pig raising,
and corn and potato production, spatial analysis
indicates variation in foodways and deposition
patterns between elite and non-elite contexts
(Toohey 2009). Elite households like those
represented at room 22A seem to have had
- 266
access to camelid resources more frequently, and
in larger amounts. Excavated faunal remains
from this room include large limb bones with cut
marks. Many fragments also exhibit evidence of
burning or roasting. On the other hand, very
small, friable bone fragments dominate the
faunal evidence from non-elite spaces. These
remains may indicate the practice of bone
boiling in order to extract the maximum amount
of nutrition from each available bone, implying
a very conservative cuisine practiced by non-
elite households. This pattern of conservative
foodways in non-elite spaces versus the capacity
in elite spaces to discard large, partially roasted
bones is evidence for patterned variation in
faunal use within the community.
Conclusions
The general settlement shift in LIP Caja-
marca from lower elevations into often fortified
and defensible higher elevation villages is impor-
tant. This movement in population has two
primary implications for life in the Cajamarca
region during the centuries after the collapse of
Wari influence. The shift to higher elevations,
in the case of Yanaorco to an elevation of 3550
m.a.s.l., placed many communities at the bound-
ary between the Quechua and Suni ecozones.
This shift may indicate an increased focus on
pastoralism during the LIP. At the same time,
the settlement shift to more defensible loca-
tions, in many cases into substantially fortified
communities, suggests the threat of armed
conflict between communities during the LIP.
Excavation at Yanaorco indicates a dynamic
community characterized by social and eco-
nomic differentiation. Interaction between
Cajamarca villages may have involved both
exchange of fine ceramics and other resources,
and armed conflict during the LIP. This investi-
gation seems to show that interaction was
primarily local and that little material exchange
267 -
occurred between highland communities like
Yanaorco and coastal polities.
There are plans for future research at the
site. These will include excavation of possible
storage rooms associated with elite spaces.
Because very little is known about mortuary
activity, treatment, and practice in the Caja-
marca region during the LIP, future research will
also focus on unlooted tombs and will continue
to investigate the nature of community organi-
zation, foodways, and militarism in fortified
Cajamarca communities.
REFERENCES CITED
Donnan, Christopher B.
1990 An Assessment of the Validity of the Naymlap
Dynasty. In The Northern Dynasties: Kingship and
Statecraft in Chimor, edited by Michael E.
Moseley and Alana Cordy-Collins, pp. 243-274.
Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research
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Julien, Daniel G.
1988 Ancient Cuismancu: Settlement and Cultural
Dynamics in the Cajamarca Region of the North
Highlands of Peru, 200 B.C.-A.D. 1532. Ph.D.
Dissertation, University of Texas.
1993 Late Pre-Inkaic Ethnic Groups in Highland Peru:
An Archaeological-Ethnohistorical Model of the
Political Geography of the Cajamarca Region.
Latin American Antiquity 4(3):246-273.
Martell Castillo, Nelly E.
2002 Yanaorco: Un asentamiento Cajamarca; un caso de
control administrativo en el Valle de Cajamarca.
Masters thesis (licenciatura) Universidad Na-
cional de Trujillo, Per.
Pulgar Vidal, Javier
1981 Geografa del Per: Las ocho regiones naturales del
Per. Eighth edition. Lima: Editorial Universo
S.A.
Ravines, Rogger H.
n.d. Cajamarca hacia 1532. One-page manuscript in
the library of the Instituto Nacional de Cultura
(now the Ministerio de Cultura), Cajamarca,
Per.
1968 Arqueologa del Valle de Cajamarca. Cajamarca,
Per: Universidad Nacional Tcnica de Caja-
marca.
Sachun, Jorge
1986 Patrones de asentamiento en el proceso cultural
prehispnico del valle de Cajamarca (primera
Research Reports
aproximacin). Materiales para la Arqueologa de
Cajamarca 3. Trujillo, Per: Editorial Sud-
amrica.
Sandweiss, Daniel H.
1995 Life in Ancient Tcume. In Pyramids of Tucume:
The Quest for Perus Forgotten City, edited by
Thor Heyerdahl, Daniel H. Sandweiss, and
Alfredo Narvaez, pp. 142-168. New York:
Thames and Hudson.
Toohey, Jason L.
2009 Community Organization, Militarism, and Ethno-
genesis in the Late Prehistoric Northern Highlands
of Peru. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Califor-
nia Santa Barbara.
in press Ceramic Assemblages and Spatial Patterning at
Yanaorco: A Late Intermediate Period Village in
the Cajamarca Highlands of Northern Peru.
awpa Pacha 32:1.
Urteaga Portocarrero, N. P. S.
1960 Bosquejo parcial sucinto sobre la cultura
caxamarca-maran. In Actas y trabajos del II
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A Colonial Human Burial Excavated in 1965
between Portals 5 and 6 at Hunuco Pampa
Monica Barnes (Andean Past and American
Museum of Natural History, e-mail: monica
@andeanpast.org), Catherine Gaither (Metro-
politan College of Denver, e-mail: gaither
@mscd.edu), Robert A. Benfer, Jr. (University
of Missouri, e-mail: benferr@missouri.edu), and
Daniel Shea (sheade@beloit.edu) report on a
human skeleton excavated under the overall
direction of John V. Murra at the Inca site of
Hunuco Pampa in Hunuco Region.
From 20 July until 23 November 1965,
funded by Perus Paternato Nacional de
Arqueologa, the government entity then re-
sponsible for overseeing archaeological work,
Murra undertook the cleaning (limpieza) and
wall consolidation of the monumental portion of
Hunuco Pampa (Morris et al. 2011:9-10; Murra
and Hadden 1966). This was, in effect, a sub-
project of Murras larger, National Science
Foundation funded research, A Study of Pro-
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
vincal Inca Life (1963-1966). Under Murras
supervision was a small team of graduate stu-
dents, young professional archaeologists, and
Peace Corps volunteers including Mahlon [Lon]
Barash, the late Luis Barreda Murillo, the late
Gordon Hadden, the late Peter S. Jenson, the
late E. Craig Morris, Daniel Shea, and James
Stanton, the latter a civil engineer. Manual
labor was performed by a team of approximately
thirty local farmers. During the course of this
work a human skeleton was uncovered. This is
one of the few human remains ever found at
Hunuco Pampa (c.f. Morris et al. 2011:31).1 It
was excavated on 4-5 September, 1965 by Shea
and Barreda assisted by Barash2 and witnessed
by Morris and Hadden.
The information available on this burial
consists of a series of eight black and white
medium format photographs by Barash, fifteen
black and white 35 millimeter photographs by
Barreda, and one medium format black and
white photo by Hadden taken during the exca-
vation of the human remains, and seven photo-
graphs of the skull by Barreda, in addition to
Sheas field notes. These are on file as part of
the John Victor Murra Archive in the Junius
Bird Laboratory of South American Archaeol-
ogy, Division of Anthropology, American Mu-
seum of Natural History in the City of New
York. The photos are reproduced courtesy of the
AMNH. The roll and photo numbers in the
captions of this report refer to Murras original
photo inventory. In addition, color photographs
1 the location of this building). The individual
In May, 1964 John Murra and Peace Corps volunteer
Peter S. Jenson encountered a looted stone burial
chamber with a circular plan still containing human long
bones in the Quellaycancha portion of Hunuco Pampa
(Murra Archive, AMNH, Roll 15, photos 7, 8), another
tomb (Roll 15, photo 9) and an apparently unlooted cairn
tomb nearby (Roll 15, photo 10).
2
Field notes by Daniel Shea, John V. Murra Archive,
Junius Bird Laboratory of South American Archaeology,
Anthropology Division, American Museum of Natural
History, p. 7.
- 268
of the excavation remain in the possession of
Shea. The bones and associated artifacts have
been destroyed.3
Context
To make the site of Hunuco Pampa more
comprehensible, in his view, to visitors, John
Murra removed large amounts of what he con-
sidered to be overburden from the monumental
or central portions of Hunuco Pampa, includ-
ing the ushnu, the buildings incorporating the
series of aligned portals in the eastern portion of
the site (the palace), the North and South ka-
llankas bordering the eastern edge of the site,
the bath, and the unfinished temple (templete).
Although this was, in effect, an excavation,
there is no indication found so far that the soils
removed were screened for artifacts, that sec-
tions were created or drawn, or that environ-
mental samples were taken. In addition, John
Murras team cleared vegetation from much of
the fine masonry at Hunuco Pampa, reset
stones that had fallen from walls, and removed
boulders thought to interfere with foot traffic
(Barnes 2010).
In the course of such work, Murras team
encountered the grave of a young person. The
skeleton lay within the building of fine Cusco-
Inca style ashlar masonry that encompasses the
gateways known as Portals 5 and 6, the eastern-
most of the sets of aligned doorways leading to
the Hunuco Pampa ushnu plaza (Figure 1; see
Morris and Thompson 1985: figures 11, 13 for
was in a simple grave cutting a canal or drain
that ran at or below the floor level of the build-
ing. The channel was lined with flat stones
running along its floor and sides, and capping its
top. The channel parallels the interior of the
3
Letter from Craig Morris to Terence N. DAltroy,
November 17, 1976, Terence N. DAltroy file, Junius Bird
Laboratory, American Museum of Natural History.
269 -
south wall of the building, then makes a right-
angle corner near Portal 5. From the informa-
tion preserved and discovered so far, it is not
possible to follow the entire course of this fea-
ture.
However, given its position at Hunuco
Pampa, where it intersects a probable proces-
sional line from the eastern quadrant of the site
to the ushnu, Hunuco Pampas sacred center,
as well as the importance of liquid offerings to
ushnus (Meddens et al. 2010:186), it is tempting
to suppose that this canal has some connection
to the sites ushnu. A similar arrangement can be
observed at Inca Pachacamac on the central
Peruvian coast (Barnes, vidi, September 2011).
Because the creation of the grave would
have interfered with the functioning of the
canal, the grave must postdate the canals use.
An iron pin was found near the skeletons neck
(Shea, field notes, p. 8). This was not illustrated
by Shea and does not appear in the photo-
graphs. Whether the pin was a shroud pin, or a
tupu, an indigenous womans shawl fastener, its
material is a certain indicator that places the
burial in colonial times, probably between 15
August 1539 when the Spanish settlement at
Hunuco Pampa was officially founded and 2
February 1541 when it was abandoned. Shea
also noted a few animal bones and Inca sherds
associated with the burial but pointed out that
these could have been elements of the graves
fill and not contemporaneous with the burial
itself (Shea, field notes, p. 7). Some of the
photographs show three or four small, light-
colored conical objects and one small, light-
colored round object in the center of the chest.
These are not mentioned by Shea in his field
notes. It is tempting to think of these objects as
three bone arrow heads and one oxidized lead
ball, and the proximate cause of death. If that is
so, they represent exceptionally precise shoot-
ing by two assailants, one using a bow and the
Research Reports
other a long gun or pistol.4 Because the possible
arrowheads do not resemble those used by
Spanish bowmen, at least one of the shooters
would have been an Indian. However, the
photographs are an insufficient basis for the
identification of these artifacts. Nevertheless,
the stratigraphy and the position of the body,
coupled with the iron pin, indicate that the
burial is post-Inca.
No statistical treatment can be given to a
single skeleton found in isolation. However, the
burial context is important, although it cannot
be fully interpreted. Publication of individual
burials may, gradually and collectively, lead to
insights that cannot be anticipated at present.
Without publication, the information inherent
in these burials remains unavailable to scholars
for analysis and synthesis. For other examples of
published single burials see Gaither et al. 2009;
and Quilter et al., this volume, p. 106, figure 12.
An important caveat must, however, be stated.
The authors had no access to the bones them-
selves, and worked only with photographs of the
skeleton in situ and with views of each of the
aspects of the skull. Furthermore, distortions
may have been introduced by camera angle and
lens. We do not know what photographic equip-
ment was employed, except that it included a 35
millimeter camera, probably a rangefinder, and
a medium format camera, probably a twin lens
reflex. This situation poses obvious limits to
analysis.
Description and analysis of the osteological and
dental remains
The skeleton is extended, lying on its back,
facing east, with the left forearm crossing the
third lumbar vertebra and then crossing the
right arm with the left hand resting on the right
4
For an unambiguous example of an Andean Indian killed
by a firearm in the immediate post-conquest period see
Murphy et al. 2010:641-642, figure 4.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Figure 1: Skeleton discovered in building encompassing
Portals 5 and 6, Hunuco Pampa, viewed from the feet.
Portal 5 is behind the skeleton and other portals leading
to the ushnu can be discerned in the distance. Roll 26,
photo 5.
Figure 2: Skeleton discovered in building encompassing
Portals 5 and 6, Hunuco Pampa, viewed from the true
left side. Roll 26, photo 4.
- 270
elbow. The right arm is extended with the elbow
describing a 90 degree angle. The left humerus
lies parallel to the vertebral column. The right
leg is slightly flexed laterally at the knee (Figures
1, 2).
The deceased was possibly placed in the
grave in a state of rigor mortis, which would put
death anytime between three hours and three
days prior to burial.
Sex. This cannot be established for a certainty
from the pelvis. The subpubic angle of the os
coxae appears to be narrow, indicating a male,
with the caveat that views of the pelvis are not
good, and there are some feminine indications.
However, there is no ventral arc, further sug-
gesting that the individual is male. The greater
sciatic notch is indeterminate to probably male.
The ischiopubic ramus is wide, and possibly
blunt, also suggesting a male. However, a sub-
pubic concavity, a female trait, is possibly pres-
ent. The pubic symphysis appears to be beveled
mesially, but this is uncertain from the photo-
graph (Figure 2).
Cranial features including the mastoid
process, glabella, nuchal crest, and the temporal
line are indeterminate. There are large supra-
orbital arches concentrated near the mid-line.
Age. All limb bone epiphyses visible appear to be
fused. There are no visible osteophytes or
enthesiophytes, suggesting an age at death of
less than 40 years. Cranial sutures are all open,
although the metopic, basilar, and incisive
sutures are fused (Figure 3), suggesting an
individual older than 20. The anterior median
palatine suture is open, indicating a young adult.
There is incomplete fusion of the zygomatic
bone with the maxillary bone, also suggesting a
young adult, someone who died between the age
of 20-35. The pubic tubercle is clearly visible in
the right pubic symphysis. Because this feature
271 - Research Reports

disappears by about 25 this could be taken as an

upper boundary of age.

Post-cranial pathology. Little can be said about

the post-cranial bones on the basis of the photo-
graphs alone. However, Figure 2 shows a possi-
bly arthritic surface for the proximal left radius.
Alternatively, the photograph may be showing
porosity common in the young. The pitting in
the lateral superior right clavicle may be due to
the stronger muscle attachment of a right-hand-
ed person, or it may represent the result of
healing after torn ligaments. There is no obvious
evidence of the right arm having been made
unusable. This probably fits with the obvious
lateral deviation to the left of the nuchal mus-
cles (see cranium, below), but there is no evi- Figure 3: Posterior view of cranium of individual de
dence of tumpline use. There are no obvious picted in Figures 1 and 2. Roll 26, photo 15.
parry fractures on the left forearm, but these
would probably not be visible in these photo-
graphs. The right humerus appears to be quite
straight, typical of agriculturalists. There is
possible osteoarthritis on the right distal hu-
merus on the lateral margin of the capitulum.

Cranium

Posterior. The posterior view of the cranium

(Figure 3) shows pronounced asymmetry. The
neurocranium is slightly flattened at lambda,
with greater deflection to the right. There is a
greater expression on the attachment of nuchal
muscles to the left; the sagittal suture deviates
towards the right parietal bone. The parietal
foramina are moderate to large in size; it is
unusual that the right is not closer to lambda.
There is occipital parietal flattening, possibly
indicating deliberate cranial modification. There
is slight, healed porotic hyperostosis in the
squamous portion of the occipital bone. This
suggests the individual may have suffered from
anemia at some point in life.
Figure 4: Right lateral view of cranium of individual
depicted in Figures 1 and 2. Roll 26, photo 14.
Right lateral cranium. (Figure 4) The canal is
nearly circular. There is a possible puncture
wound at the superior articular border of the
temporal bone. There is an accessory bone at
pterion. The right temporal line is heavy for the
individuals age. Alveolar prognathism is not
pronounced. The ratio of the right mastoid
length to the height of the skull at mastoid, as
measured in the photographs, is 0.23; the ratio
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
of the left is 0.20. The right zygomatic arch also
appears more developed than the left, indicating
a larger masseter muscle for chewing. These
observations are confirmed by the lack of molars
on the left side.
Figure 5: Left lateral view of cranium of individual
depicted in Figures 1 and 2. Roll 26, photo 17.
Left lateral cranium. There are no auditory osteo-
mas on either side (Figure 5). The left auditory
meatus is more flattened than the right, which
suggests the loss of molars may have been during
the early teen years (see dental pathology be-
low) to have affected the development of the
meatus. The left mastoid muscle attachment
may differ from the right, with possibly more
surface area for the sterno-cleido-mastoid mus-
cle to attach. This may explain a greater expres-
sion at its insertion in the right clavice. How-
ever, the left mastoid appearance may be due to
the angle of the photograph. Damage to the
superior temporal bone appears postmortem.
Canals on the greater wing of the sphenoid are
within normal range. The specimen exhibits an
accessory bone at the asterion and in the occipi-
tal suture, reflecting sutural complexity. A
depression on the left posterior parietal could be
a healed wound, but it would require inspection
of the inner table to confirm.
- 272
Figure 6: Frontal view of cranium of individual depicted
in Figures 1 and 2. Roll 26, photo 14.
Frontal view. The frontal view of the skull
(Figure 6) shows expansion of the supraorbital
ridges medially. The nose is broad and the lower
margin is guttered. The orbits are rectangular;
the zygomatic arches are broad. There is sub-
stantial resorption in the sub-orbital regions.
The temporalis muscle has marked the right
frontal bone more than the left, indicating more
chewing on that side, the one that retained
molars. There is a possible cut superior to the
right orbit. The supraorbital canal on the right
is enclosed, the left not. Remnants of the meto-
pic suture are visible above the nasion.
Inferior view. The right occipital condyle is
divided and with a much smaller articulatory
area than the left (Figure 7). The left occipital
condyle shows temporal mandibular joint dis-
ease with the mandibular condyle moving
forward to articulate with the sphenoid. The
TMJ differences may represent the bad bite that
developed from the loss of the upper left molars
273 -
and the need to exert more force upward and
laterally from the mandibular right molars.
Figure 7: Inferior view of cranium of individual depicted
in Figures 1 and 2. Roll 26, photo 16.
Dental pathology. The maxillary first and second
left molars and first, second, and third right
molars are missing antemortem. Tooth wear is
evident, most notably on the anterior dentition.
There is evidence of reactive bone, indicating
active infection at the time of death. There is a
carious lesion on the distal interproximal
cementoenamel juncture (CEJ) of the right
maxillary first premolar. The left maxillary first
premolar demonstrates a distal interproximal
carious lesion on CEJ that could indicate para-
masticatory behavior, although it could be
coincidental. There is tartar accumulation on
the right maxillary first and second molars. The
second premolar is not in occlusion. A possibly
granulating crypt for the right third molar is
observed (Figure 4). This trait establishes a
lower age boundary in the late teens. All three
molars had been present and erupted indicating
a minimum age of approximately 15 to 18 years.
Teeth show significant resorption of the
alveoli, with pronounced porosity, which proba-
bly indicates chronic infection of the tissue. The
central incisors are winged, deviating mesially
and posteriorly. Enamel hypoplasia is not evi-
dent on the crowns (only extreme lines would
be visible in the photograph), but there is some
Research Reports
effect on the roots at the coronas of the incisors.
The suborbital (infraorbital) canal (artery) on
the right side shows signs of osteitis. The pala-
tine suture is irregular as expressed in the frontal
view and also visible in Figure 7, an inferior
view.
Figure 7 shows the lack of molars on the left
maxilla, the alveoli filled or filling. The level of
granulation in the upper jaw suggests that the
left molars were lost in the last year or two of
life. The right side shows what appears to be two
molars above the occlusal plane but in fact is a
second molar behind it, as can be seen in Figure
6. Its crypt was being granulated, but without
seeing the floor, one cannot be sure whether it
was present in life. There does not appear to be
interstitial wear on the distal surface of M2,
which argues against its having been present
and in occlusion for any length of time. There
may be a carious lesion on the occlusal surface
of M2 and possibly M1. Two of the lower left
molars were lost in life and resorbed, but the
extreme recession of the alveolus in one so
young suggests that infection could have played
a role.
Conclusions
The last days of Hunuco Pampa were
violent ones. By the late 1530s the site had been
largely abandoned by its indigenous inhabitants.
As Craig Morris, director of excavations at
Hunuco Pampa after John Murra, pointed out:
The seven years immediately following the
conquest are of special archaeological impor-
tance because it was during that time that
most of the artifact associations in the Incaic
sectors of the site were formed as native use
patterns were discontinued under varying de-
grees of disruptions from both the conquering
Europeans and the indigenous rebellions
against new rule (Morris 1979:210).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
The person discussed in this report is most
likely part of the associations formed during
Hunuco Pampas final occupation. The grave
seems to have blocked the free flow of water or
other liquids in an important part of the site,
suggesting that maintaining this flow was no
longer of importance. The prone position facing
east, crossed arms, and iron pin all indicate a
post-Inca burial. However, the cadaver was not
placed in a Christian cemetery. It is not clear
when such a cemetery was established at
Hunuco Pampa. Documentary evidence only
suggests that a hacienda chapel already existed
in 1786 when it appears on a map of Hunuco
Pampa (Sobreviela and Sierra 1786). In any case,
the presence of a single human burial in this
part of the site is intriguing.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Jack H. Prost and Ellen FitzSimmons Steinberg
for suggestions incorporated into this paper. Lon Barash
shared his recollections of excavating the skeleton dis-
cussed in this report. Sumru Aricanli facilitated access to
the photographs and field notes.
REFERENCES CITED:
Barnes, Monica
2010 John Victor Murras Provincial Inca Life Project
and American Anthropology. Antiquity Volume
084, issue 326, on-line only, Project Gallery.
http://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/barnes326/
(consulted6 February 2012).
Gaither, Catherine, Jonathan Bethard, Jonathan Kent,
Vctor Vsquez Snchez, Teresa Rosales Tham, and
Richard Busch
2009 Strange Harvest: A Discussion of Sacrifice and
Missing Body Parts on the North Coast of Peru.
Andean Past 9:177-194.
Meddens, Frank M., Colin McEwan, and Cirilo Vivanco
Pomacochan
2010 Inca Stone Ancestors in Context at a High-
Altitude Usnu Platform. Latin American Antiquity
21(2):173-194.
Morris, Craig
1979 The Spanish Occupation of an Inca Administra-
tive City. Actes du XLIIe Congrs International des
Amricanistes: Congrs du Centenaire, Paris, 2-9
Septembre 1976. IX-B:209-219, Paris.
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Morris, Craig, R. Alan Covey, and Pat Stein
2011 The Hunuco Pampa Archaeological Project:
Volume 1: The Plaza and Palace Complex. Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History Anthropological
Papers 96.
Morris, Craig and Donald Thompson
1985 Hunuco Pampa: An Inca City and its Hinterland.
London: Thames and Hudson.
Murphy, Melissa S., Catherine Gaither, Elena Goycochea,
John W. Verano, and Guillermo Cock
2010 Violence and Weapon-related Trauma at Puru-
chuco-Huaquerones, Peru. American Journal of
Physical Anthropology142:646-649.
Murra, John V. and G[ordon] J. Hadden
1966 Apndice: Informe presentado al Patronato
Nacional de Arqueologa sobre la labor de lim-
pieza y consolidacin de Hunuco Viejo (20 de
julio a 23 de noviembre 1965). Cuadernos de
Investigacion, Antropologa 1:129-144 plus 12
unnumbered plates.
Quilter, Jeffrey, Rgulo Franco J., Csar Glvez M.,
William Doonan, Catherine Gaither, Jaime Jimnez S.,
Hal Starratt, and Michele L. Koons
2011 The Well and the Huaca: Ceremony, Chro-
nology, and Culture Change at Huaca Cao
Viejo, Chicama Valley, Peru. Andean Past 10:
99-129.
Sobreviela, Padre Manuel and Lorenzo de la Sierra
1786 Plan del palacio destinado para bao de los yncas en
el partido de Huamalies con el nombre de Huanuco
el viexo. British Library, Add. MS. 17671.
Mitomarca: A Possible Fortification in the
Upper Huallaga Basin
Yuichi Matsumoto (Dumbarton Oaks, e-mail:
ymatsumoto1976@gmail.com), Jason S. Nes-
bitt (Yale University, e-mail: jason.s.nesbitt@
gmail.com), and Denesy Palacios J. (Universi-
dad Nacional Hermilio Valdizn, Hunuco,
Per, e-mail: denesy@terra.com).
The Upper Huallaga Basin is on the eastern
slopes of the Andes and is a mountainous region
cut by the Huallaga River (Figure 1). It is an
important ecological interface and a corridor
between the central highlands and Amazonia.
During the 1960s, the University of Tokyo
carried out intensive excavations at the sites of
Kotosh and Shillacoto. Although this pioneer-
275 - Research Reports

ing research established a fine-grained relative
chronology of the regions Initial Period and
Early Horizon, little archaeological research has
occurred since then because of widespread
violence during the 1970s and 1980s. As a
result, there are considerable gaps in our under-
standing of the culture history of the region,
especially for the long span of time between the
first century A.D. and the years immediately
prior to the incorporation of the region into the
Inca empire in the late fifteenth century A.D.
Therefore, for the purpose of amplifying archae-
ological understanding of the prehistory of the
Upper Huallaga Basin, a settlement pattern
study was conducted in 2001 by Kinya Inokuchi
(University of Saitama, Japan), Yoshio Onuki
(University of Tokyo), Eisei Tsurumi (Univer-
sity of Tokyo), Yuichi Matsumoto, and Alvaro
Ruiz.
fortification dating primarily to the Late Inter-
mediate Period.
Site Description
Mitomarca is in the district of Churubamba,
close to the eastern end of the Upper Huallaga
Basin. The site stands on a natural hill along the
northern bank of the Huallaga River at an
elevation of 2300 m.a.s.l. The Early Horizon
ceremonial center of Sajara-patac (Inokuchi et
al. 2003; Matsumoto and Tsurumi in press) is
approximately 600 meters to the southeast, on
the lower part of the same hill (Figure 1).

In 2005 and 2006, Yuichi Matsumoto and

Jason Nesbitt conducted a follow-up study to
the 2001 survey to understand the regions
prehispanic water management. In 2005, it was
observed that at least some of the Initial Period
and Early Horizon sites in the upper Huallaga
Basin were near possibly ancient canals. In
2006, we examined this possibility through
survey of canal systems around the Early Hori-
Figure 1: Location of Mitomarca and distribution of
zon site of Sajara-patac. While elements of the
archaeological sites in the upper Huallaga Basin.
canal near Sajara-patac are clearly modern (e.g.
the use of concrete), other parts suggest greater
antiquity. For instance, sections of the canal,
especially on nearby slopes, are shallow gravity-
fed channels cut into bedrock. Based on its
proximity to Sajara-patac, we hypothesize that
the canal may have been associated with the
Early Horizon occupation. Therefore, in 2006,
we followed this canal with the intent of deter-
mining if it was associated with other archaeo-
logical sites. We found that the canal passed by
another, larger site enclosed by a massive perim-
eter wall. This site is locally called Mitomarca.
We hypothesize that Mitomarca may be a
Figure 2: Southern perimeter wall of Mitomarca.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Figure 3: Mitomarca from the north, showing perimeter
wall. The arrow indicates the location of the plaza while
the dotted line shows the perimeter wall.
Figure 4: A platform construction in the northern area of
Mitomarca.
Mitomarca extends over an area of at least
0.8 hectares, and many stone constructions are
visible on the surface. A massive perimeter wall
more than 1 meter wide and 1.5 meters high
surrounds the hilltop (Figures 2, 3). Because the
base of the wall is not exposed, the wall is prob-
ably much taller. In some sections the wall is
double-faced and could be part of long narrow
room, or hallway-like buildings. This massive
wall curves in accordance with the natural
landscape and forms a large ovoid enclosure. Its
stone masonry consists of stacked, quarried, flat
stones set with mud mortar. These materials
- 276
were locally available and the stones were
probably quarried from the natural outcrops
around the site. The flat sides of the stones were
used for the wall faces. As noted above, a canal
that may have been used from the prehispanic
period runs from north to south along the
exterior of the perimeter wall.
The area inside the perimeter wall contains
several rooms and possible platform construc-
tions (Figure 4). Although the central part of
the area is one to two meters higher than other
areas, it was difficult to determine whether a
platform-like construction is buried below, or
the rise is simply part of the natural landscape.
Many lines of stone walls can be recognized in
this area and most seem to be double-faced.
Room constructions can be seen in the northern
part of the enclosure. Although most of them
are square, the size of the rooms varies, and the
largest one measures approximately three by
four meters in plan. To the north of the cluster
of square rooms, three rectangular platforms
protrude from the slope to the exterior.
In the southwestern area of the site, near its
edge, there is a square plaza measuring twenty-
three meters by twenty-three meters (Figures 3,
5). While the northern and eastern plaza walls
are unifacial and the area behind them back-
filled, the south and west ones are double-faced.
Figure 5: Plaza from the north.
277 -
Chronological Position of Mitomarca
The relative chronology of the Initial Period
to the Early Intermediate Period is well estab-
lished in this region (e.g. Onuki 1972). Ceramic
style is the fundamental tool for establishing the
chronological position of the Mitomarca site.
Although potsherds were scarce on the surface,
we recognize late Early Horizon (Kotosh Sajara-
patac Period) and Early Intermediate Period
(Kotosh Higueras Period) sherds. However,
most of the potsherds do not fit within the
typology established at Kotosh, and therefore
probably postdate the Kotosh Higueras Period.
Nevertheless, stylistic similarities with pottery
from Kotosh and Sajara-patac suggest that the
latter site was first occupied in the late Early
Horizon or early part of the Early Intermediate
Period. A radiocarbon date from Sajara-patac
(Pta-9659) yields an uncalibrated date of
214070 B.P. for this period (Matsumoto and
Tsurumi in press).
However, the architecture exposed on the
surface at Mitomarca seems to contradict the
ceramic data somewhat. The architectural style
is clearly distinct from that of the late Early
Horizon and Early Intermediate Period of the
region which share similarities. For example,
while the Sajara-patac site is in close proximity
to Mitomarca, the late Early Horizon architec-
ture of Sajara-patac is much smaller in scale and
the masonry is not as well constructed as that of
Mitomarca (ibid.). For instance, the masonry of
Sajara-patac is much coarser in style than Mito-
marca and does not use quarried stone (ibid.).
Moreover, sites dating to the Early Horizon or
the Early Intermediate Period (Kotosh Higueras
Period) did not use massive perimeter walls.
These data accord with other lines of archaeo-
logical evidence, which suggest that warfare was
not common in this part of the Huallaga Basin
during the Early Horizon.
Research Reports
Instead, high walls made of stacked flat
stones and massive defensive walls enclosing a
hilltop show a great deal of similarity with the
Late Intermediate Period and Late Horizon
architectural styles of the central highlands (e.g.
Bonnier 1997; Grosboll 1988; Mantha 2009;
Morales 1984; Salcedo et al. 2000; Thompson
1967). Although the available data are scarce,
the architectural style of Mitomarca seems to
show affiliation to architectural styles distrib-
uted from the quechua to puna along the Mara-
n and Huallaga drainages and documented at
sites such as Piruru (Girault 1981), Garu (Sn-
chez Murrugarra and Palacios 1988; Salcedo et
al. 2000), and sites in the Rapayn Valley (Man-
tha 2009) and the Province of Dos de Mayo in
Hunuco (Morales 1984). The existence of
Kotosh Higueras Period Pottery at Mitomarca
may suggest, as Grosboll indicated (1988:354-
358), the considerable continuity in the pottery
style from the beginning of the Early Intermedi-
ate Period until late prehistoric times. Isbell
(1974) refers to a pottery style similar to Kotosh
Higueras as the CB series shared in the central
and south-central highlands. According to
Onuki, this style existed until the Late Interme-
diate Period in the Upper Huallaga Region
(Onuki 1982:219-220).
Mitomarca as a Fortification
Based on the hilltop location and presence
of a massive perimeter wall, we hypothesize that
Mitomarca probably functioned as a fortifica-
tion. The data from the north coast and high-
lands indicate that the late Early Horizon was a
time of political instability and social tension
among different groups following the collapse of
the Chavn sphere of interaction (Burger 1992).
In these regions, radical changes in settlement
patterns are recognized. Many fortified sites
appeared and the population was clustered
around them. Mitomarca contains a late Early
Horizon component, and, therefore, it may seem
appropriate to consider it as a fortified site that
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
appeared as a response to the political instabili-
ties of this period. However, the general settle-
ment pattern data clearly contradict this view.
During the Kotosh Sajara-patac Period, the
number of sites radically increased and new sites
were distributed throughout the yunga ecozone
in the Upper Huallaga Basin. Although new
sites were constructed at higher elevations near
the border of the yunga and quechua ecozones,
bottomland sites also increased in frequency, but
some of them were first occupied in the middle-
Early Horizon and continued to be occupied
during the Kotosh Sajara-patac Period. Further-
more, most sites dating to this time did not
utilize defensive architectural features. There-
fore, in the Upper Huallaga Basin, it may be
dangerous to assume the existence of increased
conflict with neighboring regions during the late
Early Horizon, and, thus, it is difficult to inter-
pret Mitomarca as a fortified site of the late
Early Horizon or beginning of the Early Interme-
diate Period.
If we accept that the surface architecture of
Mitomarca was constructed some time after the
Early Intermediate Period, probably during the
Late Intermediate Period, it seems more proba-
ble that Mitomarca was a fort, because of the
known tensions among different ethnic groups
of the Huallaga region at that time. Although
the cultural developments after the Kotosh Hi-
gueras Period, that is, from the Middle Horizon
to the Late Horizon, are not well known in the
Upper Huallaga Basin, the survey data of Sue
Grosboll (1988) provide useful insights perti-
nent to this issue.
Grosboll surveyed the area where the
Chupachu and Quero people lived, and she
located many of the Late Horizon sites described
in the visita document of 1549 and 1562 written
by Iigo Ortiz de Zuiga (Ortiz de Zuiga (1967,
1972 [1562]). According to Grosboll, the sites
that belong to the Middle Period (500-1300
A.D.) in her terminology, tend to be found in
- 278
between 2400 and 2900 m.a.s.l., while the Late
Horizon sites were frequently in the elevations
between 3000-4000 m.a.s.l. (Grosboll 1988:75).
As Daniel Morales (1984) points out regarding
the Late Intermediate Period and Late Horizon
sites in the Upper Huallaga Basin, it is very
probable that the sites that Grosboll registered
as Late Horizon have a Late Intermediate Period
component as well. Therefore, the shift of
settlements to higher elevations may have
occurred during the Late Intermediate Period,
rather than during the Late Horizon. If this
change in settlement pattern reflected the
political disintegration of ethnic groups, it might
be possible to interpret Mitomarca as a fort.
Alexis Mantha (2009) identified multiple site
categories based on survey of the Rapayn
Valley approximately 80 kilometers to the north
of Mitomarca. He found that some of the high
elevation sites of the Late Intermediate Period
display both defensive and ceremonial charac-
teristics, and named sites of this type as Defen-
sive, Ceremonial, and Communication settle-
ment (DCC) (ibid.:168-169). If, in Mitomarca,
the square plaza had a ceremonial function, and
the perimeter wall functioned as a defensive
wall, this might be an appropriate term to repre-
sent Mitomarca.
Conclusion
Our preliminary observation of Mitomarca
generated more questions than we had at the
beginning of our field-work, rather than solving
issues of the later prehistory of the Upper
Huallaga Basin. Only further study of the site
will make it possible to evaluate the hypotheses
presented in this report. While the regional
cultural context from the Preceramic Period to
the Early Horizon is well studied, the period
after the Early Intermediate Period is only
poorly known. In particular, the Middle Horizon
and the Late Intermediate Period of the Upper
Huallaga lack basic archaeological data. Mito-
marca is a multi-component site that probably
279 -
contains occupation during these periods. Thus,
the site will be an appropriate research site to fill
the gap in archaeological data and extend the
regional chronology to the Late Horizon.
REFERENCES CITED
Bonnier, Elizabeth
1997 Morfologa del espacio aldeano y su expresin
cultural en los Andes centrales. In Archaeolgica
peruana 2: Arquitectura y civilizacin en los Andes
prehispnicos, edited by Elizabeth Bonnier and
Henning Bischof. Reiss-Museum, Mannheim,
Germany: Sociedad Arqueolgica Peruano-
Alemana.
Burger, Richard L.
1992 Chavin and the Origins of Andean Civilization.
New York:Thames and Hudson.
Girault, Louis
1981 Fouilles sur le site de Piruru en 1968 et 1970.
Bulletn de lInstitut Franais dtudes Andines
10(1-2):101-112.
Grosboll, Sue
1988 An Archaeological Approach to Demography of
Prehispanic Andean Communities. Ph.D. disserta-
tion, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Inokuchi, Kinya, Yosio Ounki, Eisei Turumi, Yuichi Mat-
sumoto, and Nelly Martell Castillo.
2003 Excavations at the Site of Sajara-patac in Peru.
Amrica Antigua 6:3552 (written in Japanese
and published by the Sociedad Japonesa de Estu-
dios sobre la Amrica Antigua).
Isbell, William H.
1974 Ecologa de la expansin de los quechua-hablan-
tes. Revista del Museo Nacional 40:139-155.
Mantha, Alexis
2009 Territoriality, Social Boundaries and Ancestor
Veneration in the Central Andes of Peru. Journal
of Anthropological Archaeology 28(2):158-176.
Matsumoto, Yuichi and Eisei Tsurumi
in press Archaeological Investigations at Sajara-patac in
the Upper Huallaga Basin. awpa Pacha.
Morales, Daniel
1984 Algunos sitios arqueolgicos del Reino de Gua-
nco. Boletn de Lima 6(33):83-95.
Onuki, Yoshio
1972 Pottery and Clay Artifacts. In Andes 4: Excava-
tions at Kotosh, Peru, 1963 and 1966, edited by
Seiichi Izumi and Kazuo Terada, pp. 177248.
Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.
1982 Una perspectiva prehistrica de la utilizacin
ambiental en la sierra nor-central de los Andes
centrales. In El hombre y su ambiente en los Andes
centrales. Senri Ethnological Studies 10, edited by
Research Reports
Luis Millones and Hiroyasu Tomoeda, pp. 211-
228. Osaka, Japan: National Museum of Ethnol-
ogy.
Ortiz de Ziga, Iigo
1967 Visita de la provincia de Len de Hunuco en 1562,
volume 1, Documentos para la Historia y Etno-
loga de Hunuco y la Selva Central, Universi-
dad Nacional Hermilio Valdizn, Hunuco,
Per.
1972 Visita de la Provincia de Leon de Hunuco en 1562,
Tomo 2, Documentos para la Historia y Etnolo-
ga de Hunuco y la Selva Central, Universidad
Nacional Hermilio Valdizn.
Salcedo Camacho, Luis E., Enrique Molina, Luis E.
Cceres, Patricia Habeteler, Vctor Curay, and Juan Rofes
2000 Trabajos de puesta en valor en el complejo
arqueolgico Garu. Revista Desafos 1:60-74.
Snchez Murrugarra, Ricardo and Denesy Palacios J.
1988 Garu: Un complejo urbano preincaico. In
Arquitectura e arqueologa: Pasado y futuro de la
construccin en el Per, edited by Vctor Rangel
Flores, pp.153-162. Chiclayo, Per: Universidad
de Chiclayo, Museo Brning, and CONCYTEC.
Thompson, Donald E.
1967 Investigaciones arqueolgicas en las aldeas chu-
pachu de Ichu y Auquimarca. In Visita de la
provincia de Len de Hunuco en 1562. Tomo I:
visita de las cuatro waranqa de los chupachu, edited
by John Victor Murra; Ortiz de Ziga, Volume
I., pp. 357-367. Universidad Nacional Hermilio
Valdizn, Facultad de Letras y Educacin,
Hunuco.
An Initial Period Domestic Occupation at
Huaca Cortada, Caballo Muerto Complex
Jason S. Nesbitt (Yale University, e-mail: jason.
s.nesbitt@gmail.com) reports on his recent
excavations at the Caballo Muerto site in the
lower Moche Valley.
Caballo Muerto is well known in the archae-
ological literature as a large multi-mound Cupis-
nique center in the lower Moche Valley. Pio-
neering research at Caballo Muerto in the late
1960s and 1970s established that each of the
mounds dated to the Initial Period or Early
Horizon (Chauchat et al. 2006; Pozorski 1983;
Watanabe 1976). Between 2007 and 2008, I
initiated new excavations at Caballo Muerto
(Nesbitt et al. 2010). The goal of the excava-
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 280

tions was to examine Cupisnique social, reli- Excavation of Unit 2

gious, and economic organization from a dia-
chronic perspective. To that end, my research
consisted of excavations within the monumental
buildings of Huaca de la Cruz, Huaca Cortada,
and Huaca Curaca. (For a map of Caballo
Muerto and the relative position of its various
mounds see Nesbitt et al. 2010: figure 2; Po-
zorski 1976: 295, figure 2). This research estab-
lished a long sequence beginning in the early
Initial Period and continuing into the middle
Early Horizon.
Unit 2 was a two by four meter excavation,
in the agricultural fields just to the south of
Huaca Cortada (Figure 1), a large terraced
platform mound that measures one hundred by
ninety meters at its base and twenty-one meters
in height. Radiocarbon dating places the earliest
occupation of this mound at approximately 1500
cal BC (Nesbitt et al. 2010). As is discussed
below, the Unit 2 domestic occupation is con-
temporary with Huaca Cortada.

Another aspect of my excavations at

Caballo Muerto was the location and excavation
of domestic occupations. Caballo Muerto pres-
ents a number of logistical and methodological
challenges to the location of small scale, non-
monumental architecture. Earlier excavations
around Huaca Herederos Chica and Huaca
Herederos Grande, located 250 meters to the
south of Huaca Cortada, determined that the
Initial Period ground surface was buried by
approximately four meters of alluvium
(Chauchat et al. 2006). Therefore, if residences
are outside the areas of public architecture, the Figure 1: Plan of Huaca Cortada and Huaca Curaca
with the location of test units (shaded areas).
substantial depths at which these occupations
are likely to be found make it difficult to un-
cover them. During my research at Caballo
Muerto, I conducted four test excavations in the
agricultural fields between Huaca Cortada and
Huaca Herederos Grande (Figure 1). Each of
the four units was positive and showed evidence
for deeply buried domestic occupations and
small scale ceremonial architecture. Here I
report on one of these excavations: Unit 2,
which yielded household features, as well as
artifactual, zooarchaeological, and archaeo-
botanical materials that date to what I term the
Cortijo Phase, tentatively dated to the early and
middle parts of the Initial Period.
Figure 2: The southern profile of Unit 2.

I identified twelve layers during the excava-

tions of Unit 2 (Figure 2). The first (uppermost)
layer was a mixed surface deposit of cobble-sized
281 -
rocks and a small quantity of Chim style pot-
tery. Chim ceramics and stone wall founda-
tions were common in other test units around
Huaca Cortada, indicating the presence of a
Chim occupation postdating the use of the
monuments at Caballo Muerto.
Directly underlying this first layer were light
brown (7.5YR6/3) clayey soils with large cobbles
and small boulders that contained Initial Period
pottery fragments (Layer 2). Associated with
these materials were small pieces of charcoal,
eroded conical adobe fragments, and numerous
burned, orange clay fragments with cane and
cordage impressions. In some cases these clay
pieces had traces of white paint on their exteri-
ors. However, no occupation surface was associ-
ated with these materials.
Beginning at a depth of 1.46 meters below
the surface was a brown (7.5YR4/4) silty soil
(Layer 3) that had fewer rocks, but an increas-
ing abundance of broken conical adobe frag-
ments, some of which can be seen in the
southern profile. Within this layer were also thin
lenses of light-colored sand and a small circular
carbon concentration. There were no diagnostic
pottery rims, but the pastes of the body sherds
were consistent with Cortijo Phase ceramics.
Interestingly, this layer was not continuous, but
instead represents a cultural layer that post-
dated a probable flood of the Ro Seco, now a
dry quebrada that runs just to the west of Huaca
Cortada.
This flood deposit was a thick series of layers
that sloped to the west (Layers 4-6). These
layers together range from fifty-six to ninety
centimeters in thickness and were composed of
a brownish yellow (10YR6/6) coarse sand con-
taining small pebbles and rounded cobbles.
There were no artifactual materials recovered
from these layers. In terms of color, composi-
tion, and thickness, these layers were quite
distinct from the overlying and underlying
Research Reports
layers. I hypothesize that these layers originated
from the flooding of a branch of the Ro Seco
during an El Nio event that covered the un-
derlying Initial Period domestic occupation
described below.
Layer 7 consisted of a brown (7.5YR4/4)
silty soil with several broken conical adobe
fragments, some of which also can be seen in the
southern profile. Mixed within this layer were
deposits of light-colored sand. Just to the east of
the adobe fragments was a small, circular carbon
concentration. The artifact assemblage con-
sisted of a small number of non-diagnostic body
sherds with Initial Period pastes. As will be
discussed below, this layer was not continuous,
but instead seemed to be a layer that pre-dated
a flood of a branch of the Ro Seco.
Intact Initial Period occupation surfaces
(Layers 8-11) were uncovered beginning at a
depth of approximately 2.20 meters below the
ground surface. These layers consisted of a series
of superimposed domestic occupation layers
(discussed below). Each layer is described sepa-
rately below.
Layer 8 was a surface or floor made up of a
brown (7.5YR4/3) compacted earth mixed in
places with fine-grained yellow (10YR7/6) sand.
The floor also had concentrations and flecks of
charcoal and ash that began in the western
profile of Unit 2 and continued to the east. The
profile exhibited a discrete lens of charcoal and
red (2.5YR5/6) earth that formed a probable
hearth measuring approximately eighty centime-
ters in length. The presence of a hearth in the
southern profile indicates that the occupational
surface continues to the south.
The Layer 8 floor yielded some refuse,
including mammal, fish, and charred shellfish
remains. Burned, orange clay fragments contin-
ued to be abundant and a single adobe fragment
was found resting on the surface. Pottery was
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
relatively abundant in this layer and I found
numerous blackened, neckless olla rim frag-
ments resting horizontally on the surface. In
addition, I found a small, flat, stone circular
ornament with two holes in the center of the
artifact (Figure 3l).
Layer 9, a second occupation surface, was
found at a depth of 2.35 meters. It is a com-
pacted brown (7.5YR4/3) deposit with few rocks
in the matrix. Throughout the surface, there
was red (2.5YR5/6) burned earth, as well as
carbon concentrations. Near the center of the
unit I found a long-neck bottle rim that corre-
sponds to the Cortijo Phase (Figure 3b), and an
associated rough spherical stone (Figure 3m).
Other fragments of pottery were found resting
horizontally on the surface of this layer.
Figure 3: A sample of artifacts from Unit 2; a-k show
Cortijo Phase pottery; a) short-necked jar, b) bottle, c)
bowl, d-h) neckless ollas, i-k) decorated sherds; l and m
show the lithic materials described in the text.
- 282
As with other layers, there were abundant
burned clay quincha (wattle-and-daub) frag-
ments, with cane impressions. Shellfish remains
were also present in this layer.
Figure 4: Photograph of the Layer 10 floor with arrow
indicating the location of the hearth. The apparent
difference in dimensions between Figures 2 and 4 is due
to parallax error of the lens employed in taking the
photograph.
Layer 10 represented a third occupation
surface found at an average depth of 2.6 meters
below the present ground surface. The main
feature from this layer was a circular hearth in
the eastern part of the unit. The hearth mea-
sured approximately fifty centimeters in diame-
ter. The outermost part of the hearth was lined
by fire-reddened clay. Within the central part of
the hearth were a series of fire-cracked rocks, as
well as abundant charcoal and ash (Figure 4). I
took a sample of the hearth for radiocarbon
dating and flotation.
Layer 11 was a thin layer of coarse yellow
(10YR7/6) sand underlying the floor. In this
deposit I found sixteen non-diagnostic sherds
with hearth-blackened exteriors and Initial
Period pastes. In addition, two small fragments
of human bone were recovered. Unfortunately,
the part or parts of the skeleton they represent
could not be identified.
283 -
Layer 12 was a sterile deposit consisting of
loosely consolidated cobbles within a coarse
sand matrix. No artifacts were recovered from
this layer. Layer 12 was first found at a depth of
2.7 meters below the present ground surface and
the excavations were terminated at just over
three meters below the surface.
I interpret Layers 8 through 11 as represent-
ing a probable domestic occupation associated
with Huaca Cortada. The evidence that sup-
ports this conclusion includes the presence of
superimposed hearths, cooking vessels, and
refuse such as animal remains. The abundance
of adobe fragments and burned clay fragments
with cane impressions and, more rarely, pieces
of mud plaster, throughout most of the layers in
Unit 2 suggest that the domestic unit was a
wattle-and-daub building.
The superposition of hearths and occupation
surfaces characterizing the domestic occupations
in Unit 2 appears to represent the accumulation
of households, perhaps over several generations.
As Hirth (1993:24) observed, these types of
accumulated deposits create problems for inves-
tigating household composition synchronically.
To get around these problems, Hirth uses the
term household series to define the remains
that amass from a succession of households
occupying the same physical space (or home-
stead in Hirths [ibid.: 24] terminology). Layers
8 to 11 of Unit 2 can best be interpreted as a
household series accumulated during domestic
occupations, probably over a relatively short
period of time during the Cortijo Phase.
Chronology
No absolute dates currently exist for the
occupation of Unit 2. However, a pilot radiocar-
bon dating project focusing on the earliest
phases of monumental architecture at Huaca
Cortada indicates that its first architectural
phase dates to around 1500 cal BC (Nesbitt et
Research Reports
al. 2010). The small assemblage of pottery
associated with this phase demonstrates close
parallels with Cortijo Phase ceramics recovered
from Layers 8-11 in Unit 2. Cortijo Phase pot-
tery in Unit 2 consists of unslipped wares with
oxidized pastes and coarse inclusions. The most
common form from the Cortijo Phase is a neck-
less olla. Some examples have simple incised or
punctate decorations (Figure 3 j-k). The most
diagnostic vessel form from this time, however,
is a type of long-necked bottle, with small punc-
tations ringing the area where the base of the
neck meets the bottle chamber. Analysis of
Cortijo Phase pottery at Caballo Muerto shows
broad similarities to a variety of early and middle
Initial Period ceramic traditions including the
Montegrande (Ulbert 1994) and early and
middle Guaape (Strong and Evans 1952) styles
from the nearby Jequetepeque and Vir Valleys.
At present, based on cross dating with Huaca
Cortada, I tentatively date the Cortijo Phase to
approximately 1500-1200 cal BC. A radiocarbon
dating project is underway to create a more
detailed absolute chronology, which will be
available in the near future. More relevant to
this report, the ceramic data clearly show that
the occupation described for Unit 2 is coeval
with the earliest known phases of use of Huaca
Cortada.
Subsistence economy
Careful recovery techniques, including fine-
grained screening and flotation of Layers 8
through 11, allowed the collection of floral and
faunal materials that shed some light on the
subsistence economy of the Cortijo Phase occu-
pation of Caballo Muerto. Faunal materials from
Layers 8 and 9 include the remains of shellfish,
including clams (Donax sp.) and mussels (Choro-
mytilus chorus). In addition, the zooarchaeo-
logical analysis found one bone from a gull
(Larus sp.) as well one drum otolith. A single
thoracic vertebra from a deer (Odocoileus virgini-
anus) was found in Layer 9. Flotation of the
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
hearth from Layer 10 yielded abundant fish
remains including fifty-one anchovy (Engraulis
ringens) vertebrae and four drum (Sciaena delici-
osa) vertebrae.
Starch grain residue analysis was conducted
by Vctor Vsquez (Universidad Nacional de
Trujillo) on a small sample (n=4) of cooking
vessel sherds. The results of this study revealed
starch grains from manioc, potato, and maize.
In summary, the faunal, botanical, and
residue data point to a mixed economy during
the Initial Period. This economy was based on
agricultural products as well as on significant
protein resources from the Pacific coast, approx-
imately sixteen kilometers to the west. These
data accord well with research done on subsis-
tence in the Moche Valley by Shelia and
Thomas Pozorski. They hypothesized that
during the early Initial Period there was a well
developed relationship between the coastal
fishing community Gramalote and the inland
Initial Period monumental center of Caballo
Muerto (Pozorski and Pozorski 1979). This may
have been typical of coast-inland relations in
the region.
Conclusions
Unit 2 represents one of the first known
domestic occupations at Caballo Muerto and
has given new insights into its economy and the
nature of its Initial Period occupation. Never-
theless, many questions remain, which I am
attempting to answer in my dissertation-in-
progress. In particular, I hope to determine in
greater detail whether occupations like that
described for Unit 2 represent permanent occu-
pations around large mounds like Huaca Cor-
tada, or if they represent temporary structures
used seasonally by peoples living in other parts
of the Moche Valley who came to Caballo
Muerto periodically for rituals.
- 284
REFERENCES CITED
Chauchat, Claude, Jean Guffroy, and Thomas Pozorski
2006 Excavations at Huaca Herederos Chica, Moche
Valley, Peru. Journal of Field Archaeology 31:233-
250.
Hirth, Kenneth G.
1993 The Household as an Analytical Unit: Problems
in Method and Theory. In Prehispanic Domestic
Units in Western Mesoamerica: Studies of the
Household, Compound, and Residence, edited by
Robert S. Santley and Kenneth G. Hirth, pp. 21-
36. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Nesbitt, Jason, Belkys Gutirrez, and Segundo Vsquez
2010 Excavaciones en Huaca Cortada, complejo
Caballo Muerto: Un informe preliminar. Boletn
de Arqueologa PUCP 12 (2008):261-286.
Pozorski, Shelia and Thomas Pozorski
1979 An Early Subsistence Exchange System in the
Moche Valley, Peru. Journal of Field Archaeology
6:413-432.
Pozorski, Thomas
1976 Caballo Muerto: A Complex of Early Ceramic Sites
in the Moche Valley, Peru. Ph.D. dissertation,
University of Texas, Austin.
1983 The Caballo Muerto Complex and its Place in
the Andean Chronological Sequence. Annals of
the Carnegie Museum 52:1-40.
Strong, William D. and Clifford Evans
1952 Cultural Stratigraphy in the Vir Valley, Northern
Peru. New York: Columbia University Press.
Ulbert, Cornelius
1994 Die Keramik der formativzeitlichen Siedlung Monte-
grande, Jequetepequetal, nord-Peru. Materialien zur
Allegemeinen und Vergleichenden Archologie 39.
Mainz, Germany: Verlag Philipp Von Zabern.
Watanabe, Luis
1976 Sitios tempranos en el valle de Moche (costa norte
del Peru). Ph.D. dissertation, Universidad
Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima.
Marine Exploitation and Paleoenvironment as
Viewed through Molluscan Resources at the
Early Horizon Center of Huambacho, Nepea
Valley, Coastal Ancash
David Chicoine (Louisiana State University, e-
mail: dchico@lsu.edu) and Carol Rojas
(Proyecto Arqueolgico Huaca del Sol y la
Luna, e-mail: carolrojas.vega@gmail.com).
285 -
In 2003-2004, twenty-three weeks of field-
work at Huambacho yielded important data on
Early Horizon societies in the lower Nepea
Valley, Coastal Ancash, Peru. Chicoine directed
the field-work as part of the Proyecto Arqueol-
gico Huambacho. Rojas carried out the first-
hand identification and classification of the
molluscan remains. Analyses of architecture,
material culture, and radiometric measurements
indicate that between 800 and 200 cal B.C.E.
(2F) Huambacho represented a small elite
center with strong public components (Chicoine
2006). Settlement patterns and more recent
field-work elsewhere in Nepea suggest that the
Huambacho community was related to the
larger complex of Cayln located further inland,
on the north bank of the river, some fifteen
kilometers from the littoral (Chicoine and
Ikehara 2010).
Significant numbers of artifacts and ecofacts
were recovered during field-work, including
mollusk remains and fish bones. This report
focuses on the place of the molluscan assem-
blage within the faunal remains and implications
for understanding past diets, economies, social
organizations, and aquatic ecologies. In particu-
lar, taxonomic analyses reveal patterns of ma-
rine exploitation and bioindicators.
Paleoenvironmental reconstructions are, in
general, consistent with the cold waters typical
of the Humboldt Current and little evidence
supports the occurrence of major climatic dis-
turbances, including those related to the El
Nio-Southern Oscillation phenomenon or
ENSO.
Background and research at Huambacho
The Early Horizon (900-200 B.C.E.) is
usually seen as a time of increased interregional
interactions tied to the Chavn phenomenon in
some regions of what is now Peru. In coastal
Ancash, economies were mainly based on irriga-
tion agriculture, animal husbandry, the exploita-
Research Reports
tion of marine resources, and trade. Popular
plant domesticates included varieties of tubers,
fruits, cucurbits, and legumes, as well as maize,
introduced in the region at the beginning of the
Early Horizon. In a continuation of Initial
Period (1800-900 B.C.E.) socioeconomic pro-
cesses, irrigation farming and inland settlements
gradually gained more importance than settle-
ments dependent upon coastal adaptations.
Nevertheless, studies of marine resources are
scarce, and our knowledge of coastal economies
in Ancash is still preliminary (Pozorski and
Pozorski 2003). The Huambacho molluscan
data allow a preliminary assessment of Early
Horizon marine economies and their associated
trade networks, as well as local environmental
conditions.
Huambacho is on the south bank of the
lower Nepea Valley, some eight kilometers
from the littoral. It consists of two distinct
complexes of stone-walled enclosures, patios,
and monumental plazas originally covering an
area of more than twelve hectares. Our excava-
tions have yielded a variety of cultural remains,
including more than 4,000 diagnostic pottery
sherds, and faunal and botanical remains, mostly
from secondary refuse deposits. Field-work
results suggest that an elite group permanently
resided onsite, while most community members
likely lived in peripheral areas.
The analysis of vertebrates allowed the
identification of a minimum number of 1,300
bones (NISP), including both wild and domesti-
cated animals (Table 1). Fish and birds include
many species of marine and riverine animals.
Rodents include guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus)
and also rats and mice. Bone fragments of dogs
(Canis familiaris) and sea lions (Otaria flavescens)
were also identified.
Animal bones are dominated by camelids (c.
40 percent). Further analyses will be needed to
assert the relative importance of each category
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 286

of the vertebrates (e.g. meat weight, quantity of came from secondary trash deposits, mainly
animal protein, identity of camelids). The high construction fill.
frequency of camelids contrasts with Initial
Period sites in coastal Ancash where these The analysis of mollusk remains was facili-
animals are usually rare or absent. As pack tated by their good preservation. Rojas was able
animals, camelids would have been useful in the to identify genus and species in more than
Early Horizon context of intensified interre- ninety-nine percent of the cases. She used
gional interactions. reference collections and the published litera-
ture (lamo and Valdivieso 1987; Ramrez et al.
At Huambacho, the virtual absence of meat 2003). The quantification procedures favored
cutting tools, such as obsidian blades, and the Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) over
lack of intensive fracturing or burning of camelid the Number of Individual Specimens (NISP)
bones contrasts with typical patterns of meat and weight. For bivalves, MNI were evaluated
consumption. At the same time, members of the by separating and counting left and right hinges,
project collected large amounts of shell remains, and using the higher of the two counts for each
highlighting the importance of seafood. The taxon. For gastropods, MNI were defined by the
evidence from Huambacho is consistent with number of univalve apices.
comparative data from Casma, the neighboring
valley to the south, where the local subsistence The analysis identified 11,274 MNI and a
economy was mainly based on maize agriculture, total of 53 molluscan taxa pertaining to the
as well as the exploitation of marine resources classes Monoplacophora (MNI=1, 0.01 percent),
and, with less intensity, animal husbandry. Polyplacophora (MNI=528, 4.7 percent) Gastro-
poda (MNI=1,138, 10.1 percent), and Pele-
Total cypoda (bivalves); (MNI=9,551, 84.7 percent).
Category NISP percent
Camelid 517 39.77 Rojas was unable to identify 55 fragments (0.49
Rodent 464 35.69
Fish 144 11.08
percent). The high number of MNI allows for a
Bird 55 4.23 confident assessment of the taxonomic composi-
Other/Unknown 120 9.23
TOTAL 1,300 100.00
tion of the assemblage (see Evans 1972:12). The
assemblage is taxonomically rich, but not very
Table 1: Number of individual specimens (NISP) of diverse, with three species, Perumytilus purpura-
animal bones, counts, and percentages. tus, Semimytilus algosus, and Donax obesulus
accounting for eighty percent of the corpus,
Shell remains which hints at a narrow exploitation spectrum.

Apart from fish remains, members of the

project also recovered large numbers of sea
animals, including crustaceans (i.e. arthropods),
echinoderms, and mollusks. Crustaceans are
represented by crabs (Platyxanthus orbignii;
n=26) and echinoderms are represented by
seasonally comestible black sea urchins (Tetra-
pygus niger; n=4). Most of the corpus consists of
mollusks; almost 20,000 shell fragments were
recovered. More than 75 percent of the sample
287 - Research Reports
Temp Taxon MNI % Sub- Supra- Meso- Infra-
.* strate littoral littoral littoral
Mollusks have different tolerance ranges to
Monoplacophora a number of variables and species dwell in
Chiton Sp. 528 468 R
C Polyplachophora
different environments. Basic distinctions can
C Neopilina ewingi 1 0.01 R be made between (1) soft (e.g. sandy, muddy)
Gastropoda
I Fissurella crassa 145 1.29 R
and (2) hard (e.g. rocky) substrates, as well as
I Fissurella limbata 182 1.61 R between (1) cold and (2) warm water. As seen
I Fissurella maxima 16 0.14 R
I Fissurella peruviana 11 0.10 R in Table 2, the Huambacho data indicate the
I
I
Fissurella sp.
Scurria viridula
38
10
0.34
0.09
R
R


exploitation of various biotopes. Analyses reveal
I Prisogaster niger 329 2.92 R the exploitation of land snails (Sculatus sp.;
W Hipponix panamensis 1 0.01 S
W Hipponix pilosus 1 0.01 S
MNI=134, 1.2 percent), but the bulk of the
I Calyptraea trochiformis 1 0.01 R assemblage is composed of marine taxa. Most
I Polinices uber 2 0.02 S
Concholepas concho- are typical of the cold Humboldt Current and
C 7 0.06 R
C
lepas
Thais chocolata 125 1.11 S
the Peruvian Province of the Pacific (0oN-40oS).
I Thais delessertiana 2 0.02 S The sample is dominated by two species of small
I Thais haemastoma 49 0.43 S
I Thais sp. 1 0.01 S
rock-dwelling mussels: Semimytilus algosus
W
Ancistromesus mexi-
44 0.39 (MNI= 4,000, 35.5 percent) and Perumytilus
canus
I Tegula atra 1 0.01 S purpuratus (MNI=3,404, 30.2 percent). Other
I Tegula sp. 1 0.01 S rock-perching species include limpets (Fissurella
W Crepidula lessonii 4 0.04 R
I Crepipatella dilatata 11 0.10 R sp.; MNI= 392, 3.5 percent), Chiton sp. (MNI=
I Crucibulum lignarium 2 0.02 R
I Crucibulum monticulus 4 0.04 R
528, 4.7 percent), the mussel Choromytilus
W Olivella columellaris 1 0.01 S chorus (MNI= 23, 0.2 percent), as well the
W Prunum curtum 15 0.13 S
W Umbraculum ovale 1 0.01 gastropod Prisogaster niger (MNI=329, 2.9
Scutalus proteus 128 1.14 L percent).
Scutalus sp. 6 0.05 L
C Siphonaria lessoni 1 0.01 R
Pelecypoda In contrast, sand-dwelling species are less
C Choromytilus chorus 23 0.20 R
Perumytilus purpura- common. The most popular is the small tide-
C 3404 30.19 R
tus zone clam Donax sp. (MNI=1,632, 14.5 per-
C Semimytilus algosus 4000 35.48 R
I Atrina maura 1 0.01 S cent), while the medium-sized sand-dwelling
I Ostrea megodon 1 0.01 S
W Pecten sericeus 1 0.01 S
clam Mesodesma sp. (MNI=387, 3.4 percent),
W Argopecten circularis 19 0.17 S the scallop shell Argopecten sp. (MNI=43, 0.4
C Argopecten purpuratus 5 0.04 S
I Argopecten sp. 19 0.17 S percent) and the gastropod Thais sp.
I Leptopecten sp. 3 0.03 S (MNI=177, 1.6 percent) are found in lesser
I Lyropecten subnodosus 2 0.02 S
Trachycardium pro- proportions. The collectors that supplied the
I 7 0.06 M
cerum
C Mesodesma donacium 386 3.42 S
Huambacho community also exploited, with less
C Mesodesma sp. 1 0.01 S intensity, muddy biotopes as exemplified by the
I Donax obesulus 1617 14.34 S
I Donax sp. 15 0.13 S presence of the mud-flat clam Chione sp.
W Tagelus peruvianus 6 0.05 M (MNI=23, 0.2 percent), the razor clam Tagelus
I Semele corrugata 1 0.01 S
I Semele sp. 17 0.15 S peruvianus (MNI=6, 0.1 percent), and Trachy-
W Chione subrugosa 21 0.19 M
W Chione peruviana 2 0.02 M
cardium procerum (MNI=7, 0.4 percent). Al-
Unknown 55 0.49 though the Huambacho assemblage is domi-
TOTAL 11274 100.00
*Water temperature: C, cold water; W, warm water; I, indifferent /un- nated by food refuse, data also point toward
known (i.e., qualifies poorly as a temperature indicator; based on lamo
and Valdivieso 1987; Pea 1970, 1971; Rosell et al. 2001); Substrate: R,
shells that were worked and transformed into
rock; S, sand/silt; M, mangrove/muddy; L, land. artifacts, as well as carcasses too small to be
edible that were brought to the site as by-prod-
Table 2: Molluscan data from the Early Horizon site ucts (e.g. the small gastropod Olivella collu-
of Huambacho. Spondylus sp. not included.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
mellaris, MNI=1, 0.01 percent). Several exam-
ples of perforated Prunum curtum (MNI=15, 0.1
percent) have been noted. Also, a total of 115
specimens of the thorny oyster Spondylus sp.
were collected. Most specimens came from
surficial and/or disturbed contexts, often in
proximity to looted burials associated with post-
Early Horizon occupations. Hence, the Spon-
dylus data are difficult to interpret and have not
been included in the taxonomic quantification
provided in Table 2.
Shellfish exploitation in coastal Nepea
Taking into account the position of the site
eight kilometers inland and the virtual absence
of fishing implements at the site, it is likely that
the Huambacho mollusks were acquired
through interactions with groups that inhabited
the littoral. In the Moche Valley, coastal La
Libertad, research suggests that during the
Initial Period, the coastal, marine-oriented
community of Gramalote was tied to the inland
complex of Caballo Muerto (Pozorski 1979:
173). Caballo Muerto animal protein was sup-
plied by marine and inland resources while
increasing importance was given to agriculture,
including maize cultivation. Gramalotes subsis-
tence economy was also primarily marine-ori-
ented and supplemented by inland animal
protein, in particular deer and llama. Further
south, Haas and Creamer (2006) have recently
suggested the existence of similar coast-inland
exchange networks during the Preceramic
Period in the Norte Chico region.
Based on geographical proximity, the Huam-
bacho mollusks were probably collected from
the southern portion of the Nepea coastline
and/or the northern portion of the Baha de
Tortugas. Exploitation mainly focused on rocky
cliffs where species of mussels and, to a lesser
extent, limpets and gastropods were available.
These species are still abundant, especially in
the coastal area near the modern settlement of
- 288
Los Chims, where prehistoric shell middens
have been reported (Thompson 1962:206).
Huambacho is only a two hours walk from Los
Chims. In contrast, the northern portion of the
Nepea coastline, as well as the southern por-
tion of the Baha de Samanco, is dominated by
sandy beaches of the Nepea Delta.
From a comparative perspective, the recent
recovery of more than 20,000 MNI of shell
remains during the 2009 excavations at the
Early Horizon site of Cayln brings insights into
patterns of marine exploitation in the lower
Nepea Valley (see Chicoine and Ikehara
2010). At Cayln, preliminary analyses indicate
the predominance of the sand-dwelling Donax
sp. (c. seventy percent), while rock-dwelling
mussels are represented in lesser proportions (c.
twenty-five percent). Both the Huambacho and
Cayln assemblages are dominated by the same
three species, but the diametrically inversed
emphasis of sandy vs. rocky substrates is striking.
This observation is consistent with the location
of Cayln, three-and-a-half hours walk from the
Nepea delta and the Baha de Samanco, where
sandy environments are ample today.
Available data from Early Horizon sites
suggest that marine resources in Nepea trav-
elled through multiple networks. Indeed, prelim-
inary comparisons argue against a single, cen-
tralized redistributive or exchange system.
Rather, several different, probably independent,
coastal providers and satellites have to be hy-
pothesized from the Baha de Tortugas to the
Baha de Samanco. Archaeological surveys will
be necessary to find and document these com-
munities.
Finally, preliminary comparisons point
towards multiple exploitation strategies, perhaps
both specialized and unspecialized. As noted by
Rosell et al. (2001:77), the sand-dwelling clam
Donax sp. is easily collectible by hand in large
numbers. On the basis of their observations of
289 -
modern collectors in Huanchaco, Rosell et al.
(ibid.) suggest that individual fisherfolks can
collect up to thirty kilograms of clams in three
hours of work using rudimentary rakes. Con-
versely, the authors suggest that collecting rock-
dwelling species is a more perilous enterprise
requiring more specialized practices. From that
standpoint, Rosell et al. (ibid.) interpret the
predominance of Donax sp. at the Early Interme-
diate Period site of Huacas de Moche (c. 80
percent of the faunal assemblage) as an indica-
tor of the unspecialized exploitation of beach
environments. In Nepea, more research will be
needed, but the available data suggest diverse
strategies to exploit molluscan resources.
Molluscan bioindicators and paleoenvironment
Marine mollusks are adapted to specific
ecological parameters (e.g. water temperatures,
salinity, oxygen, pH level, availability of ade-
quate substrate). As such, they represent poten-
tial bioindicators useful for the reconstruction of
local environmental conditions. In coastal Peru,
molluscan data are particularly helpful in dis-
cerning climate fluctuations related to the
occurrence of major ENSO events (Daz and
Ortlieb 1993; Rollins et al. 1990; Sandweiss
1996). The most salient marine manifestations
of ENSO are related to an increase in water
temperature and changes in salinity, proportions
of dissolved oxygen, and tidal patterns (Daz
and Ortlieb 1993:161,164). These changes
typically cause indigenous mollusk species to
migrate or disappear. Only a few taxa are found
in greater abundance during ENSO events
including Argopecten purpuratus, and Thais
chocolata (ibid.: 165, Table 1).
In addition to the well-known tropicalization
of the normally cold Humboldt environments,
ENSO events impact the long-term regenera-
tion of certain species. Researchers have sug-
gested that Mesodesma donacium, a sand-dwell-
ing species of clam, may take up to a decade or
Research Reports
longer to recolonize its habitat after a major
ENSO event. In contrast, rock-perching mussels
like Perumytilus purpuratus and Semimytilus
algosus are found six months or less following an
ENSO event (Rollins et al. 1990:471; Sandweiss
et al. 2001:604).
In order to reconstruct environmental
conditions, archaeomalacologists need to con-
sider the impact of cultural preferences, pre-
scriptions, and proscriptions on the exploitation
of marine taxa. In other words, the archaeologi-
cal absence of a species cannot be straightfor-
wardly equated with its unavailability. Con-
versely, mollusks can be transported great
distances and their presence at a site does not
automatically represent local conditions (Rollins
et al. 1990:470-471). Finally, some species
preserve better and have a higher probability for
archaeological recovery.
Keeping these considerations in mind, the
Huambacho sample is dominated by cold water
taxa typical of the Humboldt Current. With the
exception of two species (Ancistromesus mexica-
nus, Argopecten circularis), the presence of
tropical species is sparse. Indeed, less than one
percent of the total MNI is represented by
species better adapted to tropical water. Also,
some species were clearly imported for their
value as adornments and perhaps currencies.
Spondylus is a good example. With the excep-
tion of a complete shell, Spondylus specimens at
Huambacho are all worked into beads and
blanks. The same rationale applies to Prunum
curtum specimens found with drilled holes to
hang them. Overall, as viewed through the
mollusk evidence, the Huambacho data does
not lend weight to the occurrence of a major
tropicalization of local oceanic conditions typi-
cal of ENSO.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Conclusions
Results of the malacological analyses con-
firm the importance of marine resources in local
Early Horizon economies and indicate the
exploitation of various biotopes. Rocky cliffs and
intertidal sandy substrates were particularly
favored by the Nepea collectors. Preliminary
comparative data hint at the existence of di-
verse strategies of marine exploitation poten-
tially tied to independent economic networks.
Meanwhile, the predominance of typical Hum-
boldt Current taxa lends little weight to the
occurrence of major climatic disruptions during
the Huambacho occupation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Our gratitude goes to the Lima and Chimbote offices of
the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (now the Ministerio de
Cultura) for excavation permission and supervision, as
well as to Vctor Pimentel and Jeisen Navarro who co-
directed the 2003 and 2004 field seasons, respectively.
REFERENCES CITED
lamo, Vctor, and Violeta Valdivieso
1987 Lista sistemtica de moluscos marinos del Per.
Lima: Instituto del Mar del Per.
Chicoine, David
2006 Early Horizon Architecture at Huambacho,
Nepea Valley, Peru. Journal of Field Archaeology
31(2):1-22.
Chicoine, David and Hugo Ikehara
2010 Nuevas evidencias sobre el Formativo del valle
de Nepea: Resultados preliminares de la prime-
ra temporada de investigaciones en Cayln.
Boletn de Arqueologa PUCP 12 (2008):349-370.
Daz, Amanda and Luc Ortlieb
1993 El fenmeno El Nio y los moluscos de la costa
peruana. Bulletin de l'Institut Franais d'tudes
Andines 22(1):159-77.
Evans, John G.
1972 Land Snails in Archaeology with Special Reference
to the British Isles. London: Seminar Press.
Haas, Jonathan and Winifred Creamer
2006 Crucible of Andean Civilization: The Peruvian
Coast from 3000 to 1800 B.C. Current Anthropol-
ogy 47(5):745-775.
- 290
Pozorski, Shelia
1979 Prehistoric Diet and Subsistence of the Moche
Valley, Peru. World Archaeology 2(2):163-184.
Pozorski, Shelia and Thomas Pozorski
2003 Paleoenvironment at Almejas: Early Exploitation
of Estuarine Fauna on the North Coast of Peru.
In El Nio in Peru: Biology and Culture over
10,000 Years, edited by Jonathan Haas and
Michael O. Dillon, pp. 52-70. Chicago: Field
Museum of Natural History.
Ramrez, Rina, Carlos Paredes, and Jos Arenas
2003 Moluscos del Per. Revista de Biologa Tropical
(Suppl. 3):225-284.
Rollins, H. B., Daniel H. Sandweiss, and Judith C. Rollins
1990 Mollusks and Coastal Archaeology: A Review. In
Archaeological Geology of North America, edited
by Norman P. Lasca and Jack Donahue, pp. 467-
478. Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of
America.
Rosell, Eufrasia, Vctor Vsquez, Arturo Morales, and
Teresa Rosales
2001 Marine Resources from an Urban Moche (470-
600 AD) Area in the Huacas del Sol y de la
Luna Archaeological Complex (Trujillo, Per).
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 11(1-
2):72-87.
Sandweiss, Daniel H., Kirk A. Maasch, Richard L. Burger,
James B. Richardson III, Harold B. Rollins, and Amy
Clement
2001 Variation in Holocene el Nio Frequencies:
Climate Records and Cultural Consequences in
Ancient Peru. Geology 29(7):603-606.
Thompson, Donald E.
1962 Formative Period Architecture in the Casma
Valley, Peru. Proceedings of the 35th International
Congress of Americanists 2:205-11.
291 - Research Reports

CHILE

Tarapac, Norte Grande

Architecture in the Coastal Desert

The Chilean National Fund to Support

Science and Technology (Fondo Nacional de
Apoyo a la Ciencia y Tecnologa [FON-
DECYT]) financed projects 1030923 and
1080458, directed by Mauricio Uribe (Univer-
sidad de Chile, e-mail mur@uchile.cl). Co-
investigators Simn Urbina A. (Universidad
Austral de Chile, e-mail: simon.urbina@do-
centes.uach.cl), Leonor Adn A. (Universidad
Austral de Chile, e-mail: ladan@uach.cl), and
Estefania Vidal M. (Universidad de Chile, e-
mail: estefania.vidal.monetro@gmail.com)
report on the prehispanic architecture of Tara-
pac.

According to sixteenth and seventeenth

century chroniclers, the indigenous societies of
Tarapac were equipped with light architecture,
or with structures exhibiting the civilizing influ-
ence of settlers arriving from the Altiplano
during the Early Formative Period (900 B.C.-
A.D. 200; Nez 1971; Nez and Moragas
1977). This viewpoint promotes the interpre-
tation that the coastal groups were conservative
and materially precarious, and had been pas-
sively integrated into the economic and cultural
changes promulgated from interior farming and
herding zones (Sanhueza 1985).
In contrast, the study summarized here
emphasizes the social complexity of Tarapacs
coastal desert (running from approximately
19E55' to 21E43' south) by analyzing the archi-
tecture of sites located between the mouths of
the Camia and Loa Rivers, a north-south
stretch of about 208 kilometers. In FONDECYT
Project 1030923, The Pica-Tarapac Complex:
Proposals for an Archaeology of the Societies of
the South-Central Andes, and in FONDECYT
Figure 1. Map of northern Chile showing archaeological
sites mentioned in the text and other Formative Period
settlements in the Tarapac region (900 B.C. to A.D.
900).
Project 1080458 The Formative Period in
Tarapac: Progress and Social Tragedy in the
Evolution and the Early Cultural Complexity of
Chiles Norte Grande, South-Central Andes,
we systematize the variability and change within
a coastal architectural tradition, beginning in
the Late Archaic Period (1500-900 B.C.) and
moving forward through time. Finally, we offer
a current and diachronic appreciation of the
southern stretch of the western valleys of the
south-central Andes.
The initiation of the coastal architectural tradition
In the north of Chile, Archaic coastal archi-
tecture (9000-900 B.C.) has been defined as
. . . dwellings of light material . . . in which
perishable substances such as vegetable fiber,
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 292

bones, and marine mammal leather are used Clusters of structures were organized around
(Muoz 2002:489). central patios (Figure 2).

The earliest known occupations with archi- Site No. Built-up Settled Density - % ground
Enclo- area (m2) area, residences/ occupied
tecture on the coast of Tarapac are docu- sures hectares hectare
mented at the Caramucho-3 site, where an Pisagua N 25 432.21 0.090 277.78 48.02
extensive shell midden, dating to 4030 B.C. Los Verdes 1 12.25 N/R N/R N/R
(Morgas 1995) and incorporating fish hooks, Sarmenia 8 66.68 0.294 27.21 2.26

cactus remains, and shells, and with collapsed Pabelln de Pica 1 87.55 N/R N/R N/R
Chomache 5 63.07 0.021 238.10 30.03
stone structures, has been recorded (Olmos and
Punta Blanca 8 78.04 0.125 64.00 6.21
Sanhueza 1984:146). According to Moragas
Caleta Hueln Alto 159 1299.82 1.354 117.43 0.95
(1995:77), settlements on the interfluvial desert Caleta Hueln 42 30 70.79 0.328 91.46 4.29
coast between Iquique and the Loa Valley occur N/R - Not Recorded
preferentially in certain sectors near water holes
or where the concentration of mists permits Table 1: Main architectural traits of coastal settlements.
human life. The time of occupation has been
determined by radiocarbon and thermo-
luminescence dating (Urbina et al. 2011).

Nez (1965:24) describes an extensive

shell midden at Bajo Molle 1, graves prepared
in sand, and a few potsherds, next to dwellings
built of stone (B-1A sector), that could date
from the final phase of Chinchorro (Momias
Rojas, 2850-1850 B.C.; Olmos and Sanhueza
1984:144). Probably these stones supported
props and flexible covers that were easy to
transport during annual migrations between
water holes and coves.
The Caleta Huelen 42 site, at the mouth of
the Loa River (Figure 1), constitutes the earliest
evidence of more elaborate and stable structures
within the area of study, with stone houses with
mortar incorporating ash and organic remains.
The beginning of occupation is dated at 2830
B.C. (Zlatar 1983). There are stratified mound
deposits over the houses, similar to those de-
scribed south of the Loa River (Schaedel 1957),
particularly at the site of Los Bronces 1, south of
Taltal. None of the thirty structures beneath the
mound exceeds ten square meters of internal
space (Table 1). Stone pillars were used to
organize the interiors and the floors were sealed.
Figure 2: Plan of the Caleta Hueln 42 site (after Zlatar
1983: Figure 1).
A notable trait of the coastal desert archi-
tecture at the end of the Archaic (2010-870
B.C.) is the presence of sealed mortar floors on
a base of seaweed ash, within which the dead,
wearing mud masks, were buried, making these
habitations as well as funeral structures (Llago-
stera 1989:70).
The settlements studied at Punta Patache
and Camo show the Archaic-Formative
transition (2010 B.C. to A.D. 325) of these
construction elements. At Patache a habitation
pattern is defined by shell middens adjacent to
rock outcrops (for example, at the Patache A,
M, N, and P sites). Sometimes there are small,
free-standing, circular structures (for example,
293 -
at Patache G) with low walls and interior spaces
of less than five square meters. At Patache G
the body of a young adult, covered with a tex-
tile, was buried in an extended position, directly
below the living surface, without a sealed floor.
The textile yielded a radiocarbon date of cal.
195 B.C. (Urbina et al 2011). The pattern of
circular structures beneath shell middens, and
near rock outcrops, is represented farther to the
north, in the southern part of the Sarmenia site.
There, two contiguous structures with interior
spaces of 4.2 cubic meters and 4.6 cubic meters,
respectively, were recorded.
Consequently, it is established that the
coastal populations of Tarapac, from the end of
the Archaic and the beginning of the Formative
Period, were related to the Chinchorro tradition
found farther north (Arriaza and Standen 2002)
as well as to other, more southern, architectural
manifestations (Schaedel 1957).
Figure 3. Plan of the Punta Blanca site.
Formative Period architecture
Archaeological survey along the Iquique-Loa
River coastal transect identified a significant
complex of Formative Period occupations that
presented elements of both architectural conti-
nuity and innovation. Ninety-one Formative
Research Reports
Period settlements were recorded out of a total
number of 1,307 sites.
The first architectural form is an expedient
architecture recorded at the Punta Blanca
site(390-620 cal A.D.). There, sub-rectangular
structures of restricted dimensions and simple,
adjacent stone walls are irregularly dispersed at
rock outcrops or beneath small rock shelters
(Figure 3). They lack prepared mortar and
pillars with buried foundations and can be
defined as a type of light architecture.
The second architectural form was recorded
at the mouth of the Loa River at the boundary
of the second marine terrace and the coastal
mountain range. The Caleta Hueln Alto site,
characterized by ceramic types dating between
A.D. 200 and 900 (Uribe 2009), presents dis-
persed stone structures of expedient construc-
tion on a terraced hillside extending more than
a kilometer. There, small parapets built with low
stone walls were associated with the sites nu-
merous footpaths. Notable is the absence of
food remains and the abundance of lithic debris,
copper minerals, and granite hammer stones,
occurring in walled work areas, or in open
spaces with otherwise clear floors. Included
among the habitation units are ovoid structures
with interior spaces of less than five square
meters, and others with sub-rectangular plans
up to fifteen square meters. Caleta Hueln Alto
combines construction elements that resemble
those at the southern sector of Sarmenia, and at
Punta Blanca and the Chomache 1 sites which
exhibit widely-dispersed occupations.
The Chomache 1 site represents a more
agglutinated form of architecture in a later
chronological context (cal. A.D. 650-1290). A
new pattern can be observed. There are five
structures with rectangular plans, and with
architectural elements absent in the Archaic
Period, such as terracing of the site, and internal
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
division of spaces by means of partitions or
substructures (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Plan of the Chomache 1 site. Substructure 5A
does not appear in this plan.
Located next to a large rock outcrop, is a
structure (Edificio 5) with slightly curved cor-
ners and pillars with stone foundations, all traits
present in earlier buildings. A more compact
residential unit with a greater investment of
labor is evident.
The architecture of Chomache 1 represents
a transformation in the way the coastal area of
Tarapac was occupied at this time. Similar sites
are Caleta Hueln Alto and Punta Blanca, as
well as a more northern site, Pisagua N. This
latter site was occupied from the Late Formative
Period until the Late Intermediate Period or
from A.D. 290 to 1470 (Urbina et al. 2011). The
latest ground plan consisted of 25 agglutinated
stone structures with square, rectangular, and
trapezoidal plans. These structures were con-
structed over time on terraced surfaces (Figure
5). Excavations revealed rows of reeds that were
incorporated into the stone walls, to construct
faades of organic material (quincha).
At Pisagua N, as at Chomache 1, domestic
spaces were made sacred by means of foundation
offerings such as the burial of a dogs head next
- 294
to a wall in Pisagua Ns Edificio 19, and that of
a marine mammal cranium in the northeastern
corner of Structure 1 at Chomache 1. Both sites
achieve similar levels of agglutination (Table 1),
and both are adjacent to a rocky shore lacking
nearby fresh water. Because of this it was neces-
sary to develop techniques for condensing the
coastal fog (camanchaca).
Figure 5. Plan of the Pisagua N site.
The architecture of Punta Blanca, Cho-
mache 1 and Caleta Hueln Alto reveals a form
characteristic of the desert coast south of Iqui-
que and Tarapac, where domestic environ-
ments are now separate from funerary spaces
(Llagostera 1989). On the other hand, the re-
occupation of Chomache 1 and Pisagua N
indicate that a pattern with an agglutinative
tendency was current until the Late Intermedi-
ate Period (A.D. 900-1450). This architecture
had greater functional variability than that of
earlier sites, to judge from the sizes and forms of
its structures.
Late coastal dwellings
Among the Late Intermediate Period sites
including Chomache 1 and Pisagua N are other
forms of residences. One is represented by
Structure 1 at the Pabelln de Pica-1 site (Fig-
ure 6), dated between cal A.D.1280 and 1430.
This is a large sub-circular area (85 square
meters) made of curved, double-faced stone and
mud walls more than 50 centimeters thick and
295 - Research Reports

laid in courses, features that resemble those of of Pisagua B (Figure 8) with dates ranging from
the Caserones-1 site. The unusual height of A.D. 1496 to 1556 (Urbina et al, 2011).
Structure 1s walls, greater than 1.5 meters, is
remarkable, as is the high proportion of mortar
in its facing. In accordance with its formal
characteristics, position, and visibility, it may
have been a communal and public space near
residential spaces.

In addition, three settlements built on shell

middens in an otherwise flat area, with Archaic
and Formative Period evidence on their periph-
eries, or directly on top of them, were recorded.
At Los Verdes-1 (cal A.D. 1160-1280), Struc-
ture 1 is a free-standing building with a rectan-
gular plan and double stone walls laid in courses Figure 7. Sarmenia site, Structure 5 in the northern
and joined with ashy clay mortar. We recorded sector.
the same sort of building in the Northern Sector
of Sarmenia at Structures 6 and 7 (Figure 7).
This differed from the earlier Southern Sector
where we recorded two structures separated by
twenty-nine meters, one of which had been en-
larged to form a conglomeration with exterior
structures (Structures 6, 6A, and 6B).

Figure 8. Plan of the Pisagua B and Pisagua Viejo sites

(after Nez 1970: figure 1).

At present we can state that during the

Figure 6. Pabelln de Pica site, Structure 1.
The placement of these disperse structures
with rectangular and quadrangular plans on flat
ground with shell deposits also occurred at the
mouth of the Tana/Camia Quebrada at the site
Late Periods there were settlements with dis-
persed structures built according to a rectangu-
lar plan, with stone foundations and wattle-and-
daub (quincha) walls, as well as others with
higher stone walls. These latter buildings give an
idea of individual houses that were absent in the
Formative Period. This format had a correlate at
the Spanish Colonial Period indigenous site of
Pisagua Viejo (Nnez 1970:53).
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Conclusions
The sites analyzed in this report indicate
social transformations made manifest as a
greater diversity and complexity in architectural
expression. These show a change in the occupa-
tion of space from the end of the Archaic Period
until the Formative Period, in which an increase
in size took place, as well as a change to more
permanent houses, while structures with sealed
floors were abandoned. During the Formative
Period architecture permitted the development
of productive activities including the obtention
of marine resources, the collection of fertilizers
for agriculture, and the processing of minerals.
It facilitated movement along the coast, for
example, to places with more stable water
resources. Some sites began to become more
compact and internally subdivided, while other
indigenous camps continued to function as
temporary accommodation with more disperse
and expedient constructions. Until the Late
Horizon and Colonial Period, sites dating from
the Formative Period continued to be reoccu-
pied, while new ones were founded with struc-
tures that incorporated quincha, and individual
modular stone houses of great solidity.
This report reinforces the idea that . . .
architecture, as a technological innovation,
appears to be promoted in social contexts rele-
vant to the communities (Adn and Urbina
2007:26). Equally, the data contradict the idea
generally accepted in Northern Chilean archae-
ology that . . . societies with a long tradition of
maritime adaptation persisted without large
variations from stages earlier than Chinchorro
(Sanhueza 1985:57). Based on the evidence of
the distinct types of architecture found on the
Tarapac coast, at least, the strictly conservative
behavior of the coastal populations, described in
an essentialist manner by most Chilean archae-
ologists, dissolves. Instead there seems to have
been processes of transformation and social and
- 296
cultural innovation that were the products of
their own dynamic histories.
Translation from the Spanish
by Monica Barnes
with the assistance of Simn Urbina
REFERENCES CITED
Adn, Leonor and Simn Urbina
2007 Arquitectura formativa de San Pedro de Ata-
cama. Estudios Atacameos 34:7-30.
Arriaza T., Bernardo and Vivian Standen G.
2002 Momias, muerte y ritos ancestrales. Arica, Chile:
Ediciones Universidad de Tarapac.
Llagostera M., Agustn
1989 Caza y pesca martima (9000 a 1000 AC). In
Culturas de Chile: Prehistoria; desde sus orgenes
hasta los albores de la conquista. Edited by Jorge
Hidalgo, Vergilio Schiappacasse, Hans Nie-
meyer, Carlos Aldunate, and Ivn Solimano, pp.
57-80. Santiago de Chile: Editorial Andrs Bello.
Moragas W., Cora
1995 Desarrollo de las comunidades prehispnicas del
litoral Iquique-desembocadura ro Loa. Actas del
XII Congreso de Arqueologa Chilena. Hombre y
Desierto 9, Volume 1:65-80. Antofagasta, Chile
Muoz O., Ivn
2002 En torno a la formacin del proceso aldeano en
los valles desrticos del norte de Chile: El caso
del valle de Azapa. Doctoral dissertation,
Universidad Nacional Autnoma de Mxico,
Mxico, Distrito Federal, Mxico.
Nez A., Lautaro
1965 Prospeccin arqueolgica al Norte de Chile.
Estudios Arqueolgicos 1:9-36.
1970 Descubrimiento de la aldea espaola: Pisagua
Viejo (Provincia de Tarapac. Ancora 52-58.
1971 Secuencia y cambio en los asentamientos hu-
manos de la desembocadura del ro Loa en el
Norte de Chile. Boletn de la Universidad de Chile
112:3-25.
Nez A., Lautaro and Cora Moragas
1977 Una ocupacin con cermica temprana en la
secuencia del distrito de Camo (costa desr-
tica del norte de Chile). Estudios Atacameos
5:21-49.
Olmos F., Olaff and Julio Sanhueza T.
1984 El precermico en la Costa-Sur de Iquique.
Chungara 13:143-154.
297 - Research Reports

Sanhueza T., Julio ARGENTINA

1985 Poblaciones tardas en playa Los Verdes, costa
sur de Iquique, I Regin, Chile. Chungara 14:45-
60.
La Bolsa 1 Site, Taf Valley, Tucumn Prov-
Schaedel, Richard P. ince: Household Mortuary Practices in a
1957 Arqueologa Chilena: Contribuciones al estudio South Andean Village (First Millennium
de la regin comprendida entre Arica y La A.D.)
Serena. Centros de Estudios Arqueolgicos,
Universidad de Chile 2. Santiago de Chile.
Urbina A., Simn, Leonor Adn A., Cora Moragas W., Julin Salazar (Centro de Estudios Histricos
Sebastin Olmos T., and Rolando Ajata L. Segreti, Concejo Nacional de Investigaciones
2011 Arquitectura y asentamientos formativos en la Cientficas y Tcnicas (CONICET), Uni-
costa desrtica de Tarapac, Norte de Chile. versidad Nacional de Crdoba, e-mail: jjsalba@
Estudios Atacameos 41:21-34.
hotmail.com) presents new data about South
Uribe R., Mauricio
2009 El perodo Formativo de Tarapac y su cermica: Andean mortuary practices and the construc-
Avances sobre complejidad social en la Costa del tion of kin-based relationships. The data have
Norte Grande de Chile (900 AC-800 DC). emerged from recent field research on Early
Estudios Atacameos 37: 5-27. Ceramic Period (c. 500 B.C. to A.D. 850)
Zlatar, Vjerar M.
contexts from the Taf Valley.
1983 Replanteamiento sobre el problema Caleta
Huelen 42. Chungara 10:21-28.

Figure 1: Map of Tucumn Province, showing the

location of the Tafi Valley.

This small valley lies between the orographic

systems of the Sierras de Aconquija and the
Cumbres Calchaques, and is east of the Yoca-
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
huil Valley, at an average attitude of 2500
m.a.s.l. (Figure 1). Throughout the first millen-
nium A.D., its inhabitants were sedentary
villagers who practiced agriculture based on
maize, potatoes, and beans and who herded
llamas. Intensive food production permitted
demographic growth, seen in the proliferation of
village settlements, and an increase in social
complexity, the latter evident in ceremonial
mounds and monolithic carved sculpture (Ber-
berin and Nielsen 1988; Gonzlez and Nez
1962). Nevertheless, this population growth and
increase in complexity appear to have been
based on autonomous households rather than
on political centralization.
My research aims to establish relationships
between daily practices and social reproduction
strategies and household strategies, and to
analyze the active role of household material
assemblages in the construction of kinship
relations and identity. Consequently, I carried
out field-work in residential compounds at the
La Bolsa 1 site.
Ancestor Worship in Household Compound LB1-
U14, La Bolsa 1 site
La Bolsa 1 is a concentrated village site in
the north of the Taf Valley. La Bolsa 1 was
inhabited between 2100 B.C. and 850 A.D. This
settlement includes twenty-one household
compounds and a twenty-five hectare complex
system of agricultural structures. The site layout
shows spontaneous expansion rather than
formal community planning. Household com-
pounds are spatially segregated architectural
units of about 200 square meters that incorpo-
rate both food storage facilities and craft pro-
duction workshops and show strong traces of kin
identity. The dwellings include circular struc-
tures around open patios, with walls built of
large fieldstones (Figure 2).
- 298
Figure 2: Plan of the central area of the La Bolsa 1 site,
showing some of the architectural compounds.
I excavated two household compounds,
LB1-U10 and LB1-U14, and diverse outdoor
contexts in the central area of La Bolsa 1. Here
I analyze the burial context recovered in the
LB1-U14 residential unit.
LB1-U14 is a 200 square meter residential
unit. It includes a circular patio, R1, four smaller
enclosures, R2, R3, R4, and R6 linked to it
through formal doors, and two peripheral struc-
tures entered through R4 and R6 (Figure 3).
The compounds plan is that of a recurrent
pattern, seen contemporaneously in other
geographical settings near Taf, such as the
Yocavil Valley and the Cajn Valley (Aschero
and Ribotta 2007; Berberin and Nielsen 1988;
Scattolin 2007). Centripetal domestic spaces are
arranged around a central patio, the only struc-
ture with direct access to the exterior. This
central place is a circular unroofed enclosure of
eighty square meters which controls movement
within the unit and mediates access to the
roofed structures of the house. I excavated the
residential compound completely and recorded
evidence of all the construction, depositional,
and post-depositional events that left material
traces.
299 - Research Reports

typical tomb type in Taf Valley Early Ceramic

Period sites.

At first glance, the cist could be seen as a

single feature interpretable as simply evidence
of a single households veneration of an ancestor
because of the power, wealth, or kinship rela-
tions he or she accumulated during life.

Indeed, this is the regular interpretation

made of other, similar contexts. Nevertheless,
the excavation of this burial showed that it was
the result of complex depositional processes
Figure 3. Plan of the LB1-U14 residential compound. (Figure 4).

Analysis of architectural features and arti-

factual assemblages, soil chemistry studies, and
phytolith identification allowed the recognition
of activity areas in various parts of the residen-
tial compound. The occupation floors of five of
the seven structures were dated from cal AD
650 to cal AD 850, corresponding to the last
occupation of the compound before its aban-
donment.

The small peripheral enclosures show evi-

dence of specific activities, especially food
processing and cooking. In Structure R6 a few
cooking vessels were broken around a central
stone hearth. Maize (Zea mays) phytoliths were
identified from within the soil samples taken
from this area. Other activities detected are tool
storage and sleeping and resting.

Diverse activities were detected in the

central and biggest structure, R1. These include
maize grinding, food storage within a special
room, and ritual deposition of ceramic animal
representations. Non-locally manufactured
pottery fragments were present. In the central Figure 4: Cista 1 section.
portion of this open patio, an oval feature was
found. It was an underground, bell-shaped, Just after the cist closure was removed,
stone-walled chamber, with a false dome closure about thirty centimeters below the patio occu-
protruding thirty centimeters above the occupa- pational floor, a small figurine was found. It is an
tional floor. This structure,Cista 1, is a cist, a anthropomorphic stone statuette of a woman.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Her face has carved lines descending from her
eyes which could represent tears, face paint,
tattoos, or scarification (Figure 4, top). The
lower portion of this artifact has a flake scar,
suggesting that it was intentionally broken or
killed before deposition.
Figure 5: Schematic plan of Level II burial.
Next to the Level II base (80 centimeters
below the occupation floor) I found human
bones, in a very bad state of preservation, associ-
ated with a gray pottery bowl (Figure 5). Identi-
fiable bone fragments were two skull pieces and
twelve teeth. Studies of tooth wear traces and
roots allowed us to establish that this person was
an adult. Hundreds of unidentified bone frag-
ments were recovered from the central area of
the burial. Within these maize (Zea mays) and
cucurbit (Cucurbita sp.) phytoliths were identi-
fied. These could be interpreted as the remains
of the deceaseds final meal, or as part of the
grave goods accompanying the dead. The ce-
ramic bowl, buried horizontally, is a fine, un-
decorated pottery vessel which could be
typologically dated to ca. A.D. 500 to A.D. 900.
- 300
Below this level, a thin layer of burnt clay
covered the entire structure. After its removal I
detected a more compact stratum, Level III,
where traces of another burial were present
(Figure 6). It was composed of an adults
osteological remains, in a very bad state of
preservation, associated with three coarse fabric
vessels. The human remains were fragments of
a skull and a jawbone in the western margin of
the base of the cist, and hundreds of unidenti-
fied little pieces of bone. The skeletal remains
were accompanied by a cup (made of ordinary
red clay, with a rough surface finish, a lip handle
vertically attached, and a modeled anthropo-
morphic face decoration applied on the side
opposite the handle; Figure 6 top), a jar (tech-
nologically similar, with a uniform surface finish,
no decoration, and a thick soot layer on the
outer surface), and numerous fragments of
vessels with similar characteristics. None of the
pottery presents complex decoration, nor corre-
sponds to what is known as fine craftsmanship
for this period. Charred wood was recovered
from this level and dated to 179937 BP, cal.
AD 130-260, the earliest date for LB1-U14.
The disposition of material indicated an
intentional disturbance of the earliest burial,
before depositing the final one. Bone remains
were disposed next to the structures wall and
the ceramic jar was between the jaw and the
skull.
Archaeological evidence recovered from the
burial structure of household compound LB1-
U14 allows me to propose that this context was
created by many events of digging, opening,
depositing, firing, closing, and burying, forming
a material palimpsest. Although palimpsests are
common archaeological contexts, they are
typically viewed as a handicap.
301 -
Figure 6: Level III burial.
On the contrary, I emphasize the informa-
tion provided by this particular mixture (Bailey
2007; Lucas 2005; Olivier 1999). It demon-
strates that ancestral corpses were not socially
dead: they were continuously taken from their
tombs, exhibited, worshiped, fed, and reburied.
In addition, this mixture indicates that they
were part of daily activities. The material config-
uration of the burial feature generated a perma-
nent interaction with the living. It was located
in the center of the house, in a place of neces-
sary passage, the locus where vital practices such
as maize grinding and food storage were carried
Research Reports
out. A major part of quotidian life took place
there.
Gillespie (2001) states that the construction
of social persons derives from acting within a
context, as part of experience and daily prac-
tices. This includes relations between people,
dead and alive, groups, and material objects
(Brown and Walker 2008). The mortuary pa-
limpsest analyzed in LB1-U14 is precisely the
materialization of practices that create and
strengthen kinship relations as living people
interact with their ancestors physical remains.
These practices regarding death have a long
duration, from the first centuries A.D. to ca.
A.D. 850. They formed the relationships be-
tween house dwellers and ancestor, which built
the foundations of the household competitive
group identity (Dillehay 1995).
The construction of various kin groups with
strong internal identity is a possible explanation
for the formation of a complex society with a
lack of political centralization, a process that
was characteristic of the first millennium in the
study area.
REFERENCES CITED
Aschero, Carlos and Eduardo Ribotta
2007 Usos del espacio, tiempo y funebria en El Remate
(Los Zazos, Amaicha del Valle, Tucumn). In
Paisajes y procesos sociales en Taf: Una mirada
interdisciplinaria desde el Valle (Tucumn, Argen-
tina), edited by Patricia Arenas, Brbara
Manasse, and Estela Noli, pp. 79-94. Tucumn,
Argentina: Universidad Nacional de Catamarca.
Bailey, Geoff
2007 Time Perspectives, Palimpsests and the Archae-
ology of Time. Journal of Anthropological Archae-
ology 26(2):198-223.
Berberin, Eduardo E. and Axel Nielsen
1988 Sistemas de asentamiento prehispnicos en el
Valle de Taf. In Sistemas de asentamientos prehis-
pnicos en el valle de Taf, edited by Eduardo E.
Berberin, pp. 20-52. Crdoba, Argentina:
Editorial Comechingonia.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012)
Brown, Linda A. and William H. Walker
2008 Prologue: Archaeology, Animism and Non-
Human Agents. Journal of Archaeological Method
and Theory 15:297-299.
Dillehay, Tom D.
1995 Introduction. In Tombs for The Living: Andean
Mortuary Practices, edited by Tom D. Dillehay,
pp. 1-27. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks.
Gillespie, Susan D.
2001 Personhood, Agency and Mortuary Ritual: A
Case Study from the Ancient Maya. Journal of
Anthropological Archaeology 20:73-112.
Gonzlez, Alberto Rex and Vctor Nez Regueiro
1962 Preliminary Report on Archaeological Research
in Taf del Valle, N.W. Argentina. Akten des 34
Internationalen Amerikanisten Kongresses: Wien,
18-25. Juli 1960, pp. 485-496. Horn, Austria:
F.Berger.
Lucas, Gavin
2005 The Archaeology of Time. London and New York:
Routledge.
- 302
Olivier, Laurent
1999 The Hochdorf Princely Grave and the Question
of the Nature of Archaeological Funerary As-
semblages. In Time and Archaeology, edited by
Tim Murray, pp. 109-138. London and New
York: Routledge.
Scattolin, C.
2007 Santa Mara antes del ao mil: Fechas y ma-
teriales para una historia cultural. In Sociedades
precolombinas surandinas: Temporalidad, inter-
accin y dinmica cultural del NOA en el mbito de
los Andes centro-sur; Taller Internacional de
Arqueologa del NOA y Andes Centro Sur, edited
by Veronica Williams, Beatriz Ventura, Adriana
Callegari, and Hugo Yacobaccio, pp. 203-220.
Buenos Aires: Artes Grficos Buschi.
303 - Research Reports

ADDRESSES OF AUTHORS (ARTICLES AND OBITUARIES)

Miriam Dayde Aroz Silva: Aroz Delgado Consultores Supervisores Arquelogos Asociados
S.C.R.L, Urb. Larapa Grande, Manzana B-2, L4-2, San Jernimo, Cusco, Per
miriday@yahoo.com

Brian S. Bauer: Department of Anthropology (MC 027), Room 2102, 1007 West Harrison Street,
University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607-7139
bsb@uic.edu

Mara Fernanda Boza: Department of Anthropology, 209 Maxwell Hall, Syracuse University,
Syracuse, NY 13244-1090
mbozacua@syr.edu

George S. Burr: National Science Foundation Accelerator Mass Spectrometer Laboratory, PAS
Building 81, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721
burr@email.arizona.edu

Constanza Ceruti: Instituto de Investigaciones de Alta Montaa, Universidad Catolica de Salta,

Campus Castanares, (4400) Salta, Argentina
constanza_ceruti@yahoo.com

William Doonan: Department of Anthropology, Sacramento City College, 3835 Freeport

Boulevard, Sacramento, California 95822
doonan1@aol.com

Peter Eeckhout: Universit Libre de Bruxelles (CP175), 50 Av. F. Roosevelt, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
peeckhou@ulb.ac.be

Rgulo Franco J.: Proyecto Arqueolgico El Brujo, Magdalena de Cao, Fundacin Wiese,
Av. E. Canaval y Moreyra, Piso 16, Lima 27, Per
franco_brujero@yahoo.es

Olga U. Gabelmann: Schlesische St. 30, 10997 Berlin, Germany

o.gabman@gmx.de

Csar Glvez M.: Proyecto Arqueolgico El Brujo, Magdalena de Cao, Direccin Regional de
Cultura, La Libertad-Ministerio de Cultura, Independencia 572, Trujillo, Per
cgmsepam@yahoo.es

Catherine Gaither: Metropolitan State College of Denver, Department of Sociology/ Anthropol-

ogy/Behavior Science,1201 5th Street, Campus Box 28, Denver, Colorado 80204
gaither@mscd.edu
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 304

Jaime Jimnez S.: c/o Proyecto Arqueolgico El Brujo, Magdalena de Cao, Fundacin Wiese, Av.
E. Canaval y Moreyra, Piso 16, Lima 27, Per
jaime_jimenez565@hotmail.com

Michele L. Koons: Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave. Cambridge,

Massachusetts 02138
mkoons@fas.harvard.edu

Melissa S. Murphy: Department of Anthropology, Building 3431, University of Wyoming, 1000 East
University Avenue, Laramie, Wyoming 82070
mmurph20@uwyo.edu

Deborah M. Pearsall: Department of Anthropology, 107 Swallow Hall, University of Missouri,

Columbia, Missouri 65211
PearsallD@missouri.edu

Jeffrey Quilter: Peabody Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity
Ave. Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
quilter@fas.harvard.edu

Teresa E. Rosales T.: Laboratorio de Arqueobiologia de la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales de la

Ciudad Universitaria, Avenida Juan Pablo s/n, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo, Per
teresa1905@hotmail.com

Hal Starratt: Anthropology, Western Nevada College, Carson City Campus, 2201 West College
Parkway, Carson City, Nevada 89703
starratt@wnc.edu

Howard I. Tsai: Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-
1079
hitsai@umich.edu

Vctor F. Vsquez S.: Centro de Investigaciones Arqueobiolgicos y Paleoecolgicas Andinas

(ARQUEOBIOS), Aparatado Postal 595, Trujillo, Peru
vivasa2401@yahoo.com

John Walker: Department of Anthropology, 4000 Central Florida Boulevard, Howard Phillips Hall
309, Orlando, Florida 32816-1361
john.walker@ucf.edu

Juliet Wiersema: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10028
juleswiersema@yahoo.com
305 - Research Reports

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15. If illustrations have been previously published elsewhere, this should be indicated in the captions.
If the illustration is reproduced exactly as it first appeared the caption should read . . . from .
. . with a Harvard-style reference to the publication or publications. If it is modified the caption
should read . . . after . . If Authors do not hold the copyright to these illustrations they are
responsible for providing Andean Past with written permission(s) to reproduce them.

16. Best quality printed photographs usually originate as good-quality glossy chemical (silver) prints
made from black and white film negatives shot using a tripod or other camera support. Medium
307 - Research Reports

format is encouraged. Alternately, uncompressed electronic files, such as tif files, or good quality
digital prints, preferably C-prints, may be submitted. Authors should prepare electronic
illustration files with printing, not PowerPoint or web posting, in mind. Files should be sent at
the highest resolution possible with the camera or scanning equipment available. Do not try to
anticipate how we may downsize the files unless you have specific instructions from the Editors.
If Authors must use electronic formats other than tif files, including jpegs, they should discuss
this with the Editors before submission. Photographs taken with hand-held digital point-and-
shoot cameras on automatic settings rarely produce good prints.

17. Because layout is the prerogative of the Editors, not of the Authors, do not embed illustrations
in Word or other programs. Do not embed captions within the illustration files. Name files so
that they can be easily recognized, for example Barnes.Figure1.Profile.tif.

18. In Andean Past articles photographs come after the text and are not embedded within it.
Therefore, if Andean Past articles are scanned, the text and line can be scanned at a black and
white setting and the photographic illustrations scanned at a grayscale setting, then combined
in a single pdf to produce an optimal pdf for scholarly uses. Please note, though, that illustrations
are embedded in the Research Reports section.

19. Submissions should be sent as a hard (printed out) copy, preferably accompanied by electronic
copy on a CD or DVD, or on a USB 2 flash drive. Copies and CDs/DVDs will not be returned.
Flash drives will be returned upon request. We can accept a variety of word processing, graphic,
and spreadsheet programs. To avoid corruption and difficulties in transmitting long files, do not
send submissions as e-mail attachments or via large file sending services such as USendIt without
prior consultation with the Editors.

20. Authors who cite unpublished papers (except masters theses or doctoral dissertations, and
manuscripts in public archives such as the Archivo General de Indias, Seville) should provide
the Editors with copies of those papers, as well as written permission for citation from the
Authors of the unpublished papers.

21. Reports for the Current Research section of the journal are subject to editorial review only.
Reports should focus on unpublished results and should be brief, normally not more than 2,000
words. Reports may be accompanied by a limited number of line drawings and/or grayscale
photographs, normally no more than eight. These will be reproduced in a small format.
Individual researchers or teams may submit more than one report. Reports will be considered for
publication as they are submitted and, if accepted by the Editors, will appear in the next volume
of Andean Past. Authors will have the opportunity to read proof and make last-minute updates.

22. Obituaries are written at the invitation of the Editors, although people wishing to write an
obituary of a particular individual are welcome to consult with the Editors. Andean Past
obituaries normally carry a complete bibliography of works by and about the deceased unless such
a list has already been published elsewhere. It is the normally the responsibility of Obituary
Authors to construct such a bibliography. Obituaries are not peer-reviewed, although the Editors
may seek the advice of selected colleagues prior to publication.
ANDEAN PAST 10 (2012) - 308

23. We do not publish reviews.

24. All article and obituary Authors, including co-Authors, whose work is published in Andean Past
will receive, without charge, a copy of the volume in which their work appears. Current Research
authors will receive a pdf of the Current Research section containing their reports.

25. Andean Past has no provision for offprints. However, Authors may photocopy or scan their own
work for distribution to colleagues. They may also request PDF files of their articles for this
purpose.

26. Copyright for Andean Past is held by the Cornell University Latin American Studies Program on
behalf of the Editors unless a specific portion, for example, an illustration, is noted as copyrighted
by another party. Authors may re-publish their Andean Past articles, obituaries, or reports, in
English or in translation, in print, or in electronic format, provided that at least one year has
elapsed since the original publication in Andean Past as defined by the date of the Editors
Preface, that prior publication in Andean Past is indicated in the re-publication, that Cornell
LASPs copyright is acknowledged, and that the Editors of Andean Past are notified of the re-
publication. If a portion of an article is copyrighted by a third party Authors must request specific
written permission from that party to republish. This includes on-line postings in electronic
format.

18 March 2012