Julia E Earle | Central Michigan University (original) (raw)
Videos by Julia E Earle
Presentación para el VII Congreso Nacional de Arqueología, 2020.
14 views
Presentation for the 86th Annual Society for American Archaeology Meeting, 2021.
15 views
Presentation for the 61st Annual Institute of Andean Studies Meeting, 2021.
8 views
Papers by Julia E Earle
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2023
Studies of Inka quarry operations have focused on large-scale quarries in the Inka imperial heart... more Studies of Inka quarry operations have focused on large-scale quarries in the Inka imperial heartland, with emphasis on finishing techniques and geochemical sourcing. To assess diachronic variation in the technological organization of late pre-Hispanic building stone extraction, we compare survey data from the Chuquibamba District (Arequipa Region)-an Inka provincial contextand the Sacred Valley, a vital part of the Inka imperial heartland. Our sample (n = 41) includes small-and large-scale quarries that supplied material for Inka state and elite projects as well as local vernacular construction during the Late Intermediate Period and Late Horizon (ca. 1000-1532 CE). To chronologically contextualize quarry sites, we assess use periods based on scale, diagnostic technology, and building stone provenance. We deploy a multilinear approach using archaeological data, colonial chronicles and dictionaries, and analogies to ethnographic and modern cases to analyze the knowledge, decision-making process, and mechanics that facilitated material extraction. The results demonstrate that Inka building stone quarrying techniques developed out of widely shared vernacular knowledge and practice. This study articulates a new approach to late pre-Hispanic Andean architecture while providing a case study to evaluate the relationship between political organization and technological systems.
VII Actas del Congreso Nacional de la Arqueología, 2020
El presente proyecto registró a escala regional técnicas de construcción, estilos arquitectónicos... more El presente proyecto registró a escala regional técnicas de construcción, estilos arquitectónicos y materias primas de construcción en el valle Vilcanota, Cusco. Para ello se seleccionó ocho sitios arqueológicos con evidencia de la influencia y expansión Inka; asimismo se efectuó una prospección geológica en búsqueda de fuentes de materia prima y canteras prehispánicas. Los resultados se discuten dentro del contexto de los orígenes y expansión Inka teniendo como evidencia a la tecnología de construcción como medio de expansión y desarrollo del poder en la economía política emergente de los incas y su relación con los grupos locales.
Dissertation by Julia E Earle
PhD Dissertation, 2024
This dissertation tracks diachronic, multiscalar evidence for social change and geopolitics in ru... more This dissertation tracks diachronic, multiscalar evidence for social change and geopolitics in rural and state-occupied landscapes of the Sacred Valley, Peru, which is located some 20 kilometers north of the Inka imperial capital in Cusco. My chronological focus is the late pre-contact period (ca. 1000–1532 CE). Approaching the onset of this period, culturally diverse populations began to establish villages on hilltops along the valley rim and in tributary valleys, forging novel identities related to the places they inhabited. Around 1400, the Inkas of the Cusco Basin had intensified political ties with neighboring groups, eventually making the Sacred Valley one of the first regions to experience Inka occupation. By the Spanish invasion of 1532, the Sacred Valley had become foundational in supporting the Inkas’ sovereign ideology and political economy through their establishment of numerous royal estates. Reflecting this importance, the Inkas invested more in the physical transformation of the Sacred Valley than any other region in their empire.
Herein, I report the results of the Sacred Valley Research Project (SVRP), carried out between 2019 and 2023. Building on regional survey data, the project team gathered quantitative, qualitative, spatial, and chronological data from 51 archaeological sites, within a 375-km2 section of the Sacred Valley, including the main river valley and its tributaries. This sample comprises 9.1% of the total number of sites registered for the late pre-contact period. Alongside archaeological fieldwork, I carried out collaborative research with the local descendant community of Huama, which involved the documentation of oral traditions and house construction techniques.
Overall, this dissertation highlights multivocality and pushes back against top- down models of Inka state formation. It evaluates how processes of political centralization implicate a wide array of agents motivated by diverse interests. Contrary to the Inkas’ propaganda, autochthonous groups in rural territories were not marginal but rather intrinsic to the late pre-contact sociopolitical arena, as they variably facilitated, restricted, and resisted Inka aggrandizement. By decentering the Inkas and recognizing the spatial discontinuity of state power, my research contributes to understanding the dynamic, non-linear trajectory of political change and recognizing the enduring legacies of rural landscape histories.
Technical Reports by Julia E Earle
El presente reporte muestra los resultados de prospección llevados a cabo en la cuenca del Río Vi... more El presente reporte muestra los resultados de prospección llevados a cabo en la cuenca del Río Vilcanota, Cusco que tuvo como fin ampliar el registro arqueológico de materiales, técnicas y distribución de estilos arquitectónicos usados en la mampostería de sitios del Periodo Intermedio Tardío e Inka; además de localizar potenciales fuentes geológicas de materia prima y canteras.
Presentado al DDC Cusco Ministerio de Cultura, 2024
En este informe se presentan los resultados de los trabajos de gabinete de la custodia temporal d... more En este informe se presentan los resultados de los trabajos de gabinete de la custodia temporal de materiales arqueológicos provenientes del Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica con Prospección y Recolección de Materiales “Cronología y Tipología de las Tradiciones Arquitectónicas del Periodo Intermedio Tardío y Horizonte Tardío en el Valle Sagrado” (PIA Valle Sagrado). Estos materiales fueron recuperados de 26 sitios arqueológicos durante la prospección de la temporada 2022, autorizada mediante Resolución Directoral No. 000183-2022-DDC-CUS/MC. La custodia temporal del material se llevó a cabo por un periodo de 12 meses. Ya se reportaron los resultados del trabajo de campo en el informe final del proyecto.
Estos trabajos se enfocaron en el análisis y caracterización de muestras de cerámica. En particular, se registró y analizó los aspectos morfológicos, tecnológicos y decorativos. El objetivo de este trabajo es caracterizar estilísticamente el material recuperado en la superficie, considerando las siguientes variables: pasta, acabados de superficie, formas y decoración, con el fin de lograr un mejor entendimiento de las actividades económicas, sociales y políticas de las sociedades prehispánicas en el Valle Sagrado.
En base al análisis de 649 fragmentos de cerámica tipo local (no Inka) pertenecientes al Período Intermedio Tardío y al Horizonte Tardío, se ha logrado clasificar cualitativamente 7 tipos de pasta, agrupadas en base a las características de las inclusiones (tipo, granulometría, angulosidad, distribución y proporción) y la matriz (color, textura y cantidad de sus poros).
En base a este análisis se puede plantear de forma tentativa una distribución geográfica de las pastas: la pasta 1, 2, 3 y 4, tiene mayor presencia en la zona de Urubamba y Huayllabamba (Isqomoqo, Taytacapilla, Pusaqraqayniyoq y Umaspata) desapareciendo gradualmente hace el lado este del valle. Al mismo tiempo la pasta 5, cobra mayor presencia en los sitios del distrito de Calca (Ankasmarka, Kaytumarka, Markapunku, K’allaray y Qhapaqkancha). Mientras que al norte del distrito de Pisac (Pukara Pantilliklla y Markasunay), aparecen con mayor frecuencia las pastas 6 y 7.
Por otra parte, el análisis morfológico de los fragmentos de cerámica, dio como resultado la identificación de 14 grupos morfológicos. De los cuales, los cuencos representan las formas más abundantes, seguido de los cántaros, jarras y ollas. El análisis de acabado de superficie en los fragmentos de cerámica, permitió identificar 5 tipos de acabado de superficie: Alisado, bruñido, engobe, pulido y barbotina, pero también la identificación de colores relacionados a engobe. Y con respecto al análisis de diseños decorativos, se determinó un total de 24 diseños decorativos que fueron determinados en base a reglas de configuración. Además, se identificó como parte de la decoración pintada el uso de los siguientes colores Munsell: Negro (5YR, 7.5YR y 2.5YR), rojo (10R, 7.5R y 5R) y blanco (10YR). En fin, los resultados demuestran que existe una gran variabilidad en la tecnología, morfología y decoración de la cerámica producida e intercambiada por las aldeas locales dentro del Valle Sagrado.
Posters by Julia E Earle
Institute of Andean Studies, 2025
In the uplands of the Sacred Valley (Cusco), autochthonous groups constructed hilltop villages an... more In the uplands of the Sacred Valley (Cusco), autochthonous groups constructed hilltop villages and thrived before and during consecutive Inka and Spanish colonial regimes. Studying rural built environments and construction techniques helps reconstruct non-state social organization, as well as resilience under state occupation. In Huama (Lamay District), community members have cultivated evolving architectural traditions since the pre-contact period. This poster presents the results of a collaborative, community-serving project that documented the construction of a wankar wasi (drum-shaped house). This work celebrates Huama’s history and traditional knowledge while illuminating the technological choices and relationships engaged in production practices, past and present.
Conference Presentations by Julia E Earle
University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology Brown Bag Lecture Series, 2021
Over the course of Inka state expansion, consecutive Inka regimes carried out a series of constru... more Over the course of Inka state expansion, consecutive Inka regimes carried out a series of construction and engineering projects in the Sacred Valley. By transforming the landscape, these projects aimed to materialize sovereign claims while ostensibly delegitimizing the legacies of the local non-Inka peoples that occupied this region. Contrary to ethnohistoric narratives that portray the Sacred Valley as wild and uncivilized prior to Inka intervention, regional archaeological research has begun to reveal how local groups actively adapted the environment to support their diverse lifeways, both before and during Inka occupation. In this paper, I will present the results of site survey and reconnaissance in the Sacred Valley, drawing on architecture, terrace systems, and tombs as evidence to reconstruct the shifting political landscape during the Killke Period, and evaluate the development of early Inka strategies of statecraft and territorial expansion.
Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, 2019
Studies of Inka quarries have been largely restricted to the Cusco heartland, such that only a ha... more Studies of Inka quarries have been largely restricted to the Cusco heartland, such that only a handful of quarries have generally served to describe Inka stoneworking technology, labor organization, and material selection as a whole. This bias has resulted in a dearth of understanding as to how Inka stoneworking varied over time and between geographical contexts. The study of quarrying in Inka provincial contexts stands to add nuance to our understanding of how Inka stoneworking technology developed in the heartland and the extent to which local knowledge might have influenced the construction process elsewhere. In 2017 we conducted an oriented survey within a 30-kilometer radius of Maucallacta, an Inka administrative center of the southern Cuntisuyo province, registering a total of 10 pre-Hispanic quarries. The technological repertoires present at these quarries overlap but do not completely match, with those that have been described in the Inka heartland. These quarries do attest to a preference for dark-colored andesite that has likewise been noted in the heartland; in some cases, this stone was transported over several kilometers to construction sites. In addition, we present our methodological approach to studying building stone quarries in the Andes.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2023
Studies of Inka quarry operations have focused on large-scale quarries in the Inka imperial heart... more Studies of Inka quarry operations have focused on large-scale quarries in the Inka imperial heartland, with emphasis on finishing techniques and geochemical sourcing. To assess diachronic variation in the technological organization of late pre-Hispanic building stone extraction, we compare survey data from the Chuquibamba District (Arequipa Region)-an Inka provincial contextand the Sacred Valley, a vital part of the Inka imperial heartland. Our sample (n = 41) includes small-and large-scale quarries that supplied material for Inka state and elite projects as well as local vernacular construction during the Late Intermediate Period and Late Horizon (ca. 1000-1532 CE). To chronologically contextualize quarry sites, we assess use periods based on scale, diagnostic technology, and building stone provenance. We deploy a multilinear approach using archaeological data, colonial chronicles and dictionaries, and analogies to ethnographic and modern cases to analyze the knowledge, decision-making process, and mechanics that facilitated material extraction. The results demonstrate that Inka building stone quarrying techniques developed out of widely shared vernacular knowledge and practice. This study articulates a new approach to late pre-Hispanic Andean architecture while providing a case study to evaluate the relationship between political organization and technological systems.
VII Actas del Congreso Nacional de la Arqueología, 2020
El presente proyecto registró a escala regional técnicas de construcción, estilos arquitectónicos... more El presente proyecto registró a escala regional técnicas de construcción, estilos arquitectónicos y materias primas de construcción en el valle Vilcanota, Cusco. Para ello se seleccionó ocho sitios arqueológicos con evidencia de la influencia y expansión Inka; asimismo se efectuó una prospección geológica en búsqueda de fuentes de materia prima y canteras prehispánicas. Los resultados se discuten dentro del contexto de los orígenes y expansión Inka teniendo como evidencia a la tecnología de construcción como medio de expansión y desarrollo del poder en la economía política emergente de los incas y su relación con los grupos locales.
PhD Dissertation, 2024
This dissertation tracks diachronic, multiscalar evidence for social change and geopolitics in ru... more This dissertation tracks diachronic, multiscalar evidence for social change and geopolitics in rural and state-occupied landscapes of the Sacred Valley, Peru, which is located some 20 kilometers north of the Inka imperial capital in Cusco. My chronological focus is the late pre-contact period (ca. 1000–1532 CE). Approaching the onset of this period, culturally diverse populations began to establish villages on hilltops along the valley rim and in tributary valleys, forging novel identities related to the places they inhabited. Around 1400, the Inkas of the Cusco Basin had intensified political ties with neighboring groups, eventually making the Sacred Valley one of the first regions to experience Inka occupation. By the Spanish invasion of 1532, the Sacred Valley had become foundational in supporting the Inkas’ sovereign ideology and political economy through their establishment of numerous royal estates. Reflecting this importance, the Inkas invested more in the physical transformation of the Sacred Valley than any other region in their empire.
Herein, I report the results of the Sacred Valley Research Project (SVRP), carried out between 2019 and 2023. Building on regional survey data, the project team gathered quantitative, qualitative, spatial, and chronological data from 51 archaeological sites, within a 375-km2 section of the Sacred Valley, including the main river valley and its tributaries. This sample comprises 9.1% of the total number of sites registered for the late pre-contact period. Alongside archaeological fieldwork, I carried out collaborative research with the local descendant community of Huama, which involved the documentation of oral traditions and house construction techniques.
Overall, this dissertation highlights multivocality and pushes back against top- down models of Inka state formation. It evaluates how processes of political centralization implicate a wide array of agents motivated by diverse interests. Contrary to the Inkas’ propaganda, autochthonous groups in rural territories were not marginal but rather intrinsic to the late pre-contact sociopolitical arena, as they variably facilitated, restricted, and resisted Inka aggrandizement. By decentering the Inkas and recognizing the spatial discontinuity of state power, my research contributes to understanding the dynamic, non-linear trajectory of political change and recognizing the enduring legacies of rural landscape histories.
El presente reporte muestra los resultados de prospección llevados a cabo en la cuenca del Río Vi... more El presente reporte muestra los resultados de prospección llevados a cabo en la cuenca del Río Vilcanota, Cusco que tuvo como fin ampliar el registro arqueológico de materiales, técnicas y distribución de estilos arquitectónicos usados en la mampostería de sitios del Periodo Intermedio Tardío e Inka; además de localizar potenciales fuentes geológicas de materia prima y canteras.
Presentado al DDC Cusco Ministerio de Cultura, 2024
En este informe se presentan los resultados de los trabajos de gabinete de la custodia temporal d... more En este informe se presentan los resultados de los trabajos de gabinete de la custodia temporal de materiales arqueológicos provenientes del Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica con Prospección y Recolección de Materiales “Cronología y Tipología de las Tradiciones Arquitectónicas del Periodo Intermedio Tardío y Horizonte Tardío en el Valle Sagrado” (PIA Valle Sagrado). Estos materiales fueron recuperados de 26 sitios arqueológicos durante la prospección de la temporada 2022, autorizada mediante Resolución Directoral No. 000183-2022-DDC-CUS/MC. La custodia temporal del material se llevó a cabo por un periodo de 12 meses. Ya se reportaron los resultados del trabajo de campo en el informe final del proyecto.
Estos trabajos se enfocaron en el análisis y caracterización de muestras de cerámica. En particular, se registró y analizó los aspectos morfológicos, tecnológicos y decorativos. El objetivo de este trabajo es caracterizar estilísticamente el material recuperado en la superficie, considerando las siguientes variables: pasta, acabados de superficie, formas y decoración, con el fin de lograr un mejor entendimiento de las actividades económicas, sociales y políticas de las sociedades prehispánicas en el Valle Sagrado.
En base al análisis de 649 fragmentos de cerámica tipo local (no Inka) pertenecientes al Período Intermedio Tardío y al Horizonte Tardío, se ha logrado clasificar cualitativamente 7 tipos de pasta, agrupadas en base a las características de las inclusiones (tipo, granulometría, angulosidad, distribución y proporción) y la matriz (color, textura y cantidad de sus poros).
En base a este análisis se puede plantear de forma tentativa una distribución geográfica de las pastas: la pasta 1, 2, 3 y 4, tiene mayor presencia en la zona de Urubamba y Huayllabamba (Isqomoqo, Taytacapilla, Pusaqraqayniyoq y Umaspata) desapareciendo gradualmente hace el lado este del valle. Al mismo tiempo la pasta 5, cobra mayor presencia en los sitios del distrito de Calca (Ankasmarka, Kaytumarka, Markapunku, K’allaray y Qhapaqkancha). Mientras que al norte del distrito de Pisac (Pukara Pantilliklla y Markasunay), aparecen con mayor frecuencia las pastas 6 y 7.
Por otra parte, el análisis morfológico de los fragmentos de cerámica, dio como resultado la identificación de 14 grupos morfológicos. De los cuales, los cuencos representan las formas más abundantes, seguido de los cántaros, jarras y ollas. El análisis de acabado de superficie en los fragmentos de cerámica, permitió identificar 5 tipos de acabado de superficie: Alisado, bruñido, engobe, pulido y barbotina, pero también la identificación de colores relacionados a engobe. Y con respecto al análisis de diseños decorativos, se determinó un total de 24 diseños decorativos que fueron determinados en base a reglas de configuración. Además, se identificó como parte de la decoración pintada el uso de los siguientes colores Munsell: Negro (5YR, 7.5YR y 2.5YR), rojo (10R, 7.5R y 5R) y blanco (10YR). En fin, los resultados demuestran que existe una gran variabilidad en la tecnología, morfología y decoración de la cerámica producida e intercambiada por las aldeas locales dentro del Valle Sagrado.
Institute of Andean Studies, 2025
In the uplands of the Sacred Valley (Cusco), autochthonous groups constructed hilltop villages an... more In the uplands of the Sacred Valley (Cusco), autochthonous groups constructed hilltop villages and thrived before and during consecutive Inka and Spanish colonial regimes. Studying rural built environments and construction techniques helps reconstruct non-state social organization, as well as resilience under state occupation. In Huama (Lamay District), community members have cultivated evolving architectural traditions since the pre-contact period. This poster presents the results of a collaborative, community-serving project that documented the construction of a wankar wasi (drum-shaped house). This work celebrates Huama’s history and traditional knowledge while illuminating the technological choices and relationships engaged in production practices, past and present.
University of Michigan Museum of Anthropological Archaeology Brown Bag Lecture Series, 2021
Over the course of Inka state expansion, consecutive Inka regimes carried out a series of constru... more Over the course of Inka state expansion, consecutive Inka regimes carried out a series of construction and engineering projects in the Sacred Valley. By transforming the landscape, these projects aimed to materialize sovereign claims while ostensibly delegitimizing the legacies of the local non-Inka peoples that occupied this region. Contrary to ethnohistoric narratives that portray the Sacred Valley as wild and uncivilized prior to Inka intervention, regional archaeological research has begun to reveal how local groups actively adapted the environment to support their diverse lifeways, both before and during Inka occupation. In this paper, I will present the results of site survey and reconnaissance in the Sacred Valley, drawing on architecture, terrace systems, and tombs as evidence to reconstruct the shifting political landscape during the Killke Period, and evaluate the development of early Inka strategies of statecraft and territorial expansion.
Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, 2019
Studies of Inka quarries have been largely restricted to the Cusco heartland, such that only a ha... more Studies of Inka quarries have been largely restricted to the Cusco heartland, such that only a handful of quarries have generally served to describe Inka stoneworking technology, labor organization, and material selection as a whole. This bias has resulted in a dearth of understanding as to how Inka stoneworking varied over time and between geographical contexts. The study of quarrying in Inka provincial contexts stands to add nuance to our understanding of how Inka stoneworking technology developed in the heartland and the extent to which local knowledge might have influenced the construction process elsewhere. In 2017 we conducted an oriented survey within a 30-kilometer radius of Maucallacta, an Inka administrative center of the southern Cuntisuyo province, registering a total of 10 pre-Hispanic quarries. The technological repertoires present at these quarries overlap but do not completely match, with those that have been described in the Inka heartland. These quarries do attest to a preference for dark-colored andesite that has likewise been noted in the heartland; in some cases, this stone was transported over several kilometers to construction sites. In addition, we present our methodological approach to studying building stone quarries in the Andes.