Nicola Sharratt | Georgia State University (original) (raw)

Books by Nicola Sharratt

Este libro recopila 12 textos elaborados en base a ponencias presentadas en el XIX Congreso Nacio... more Este libro recopila 12 textos elaborados en base a ponencias presentadas en el XIX Congreso Nacional de Arqueología Chilena, desarrollado en Arica en octubre de 2012. Los autores son investigadores reconocidos de América del Sur, Estados Unidos y Europa. El tema más central del libro es Tiwanaku, y, sobre todo, la influencia cultural y/o política que el estado centrado en esta urbe altiplánica ejercía en las regiones vecinas de Bolivia, Chile y Perú en la segunda mitad del primer milenio de nuestra era. El estado Wari también figura de manera central en un par de capítulos, y, así, el libro ofrece un panorama amplio y actualizado de las complejas interacciones culturales que caracterizaban el Horizonte Medio (aprox. 550-1000 d. C.) de los Andes centro sur. Esperamos que este libro sea útil para cualquiera persona interesada en la prehistoria centro andina.

by J. Heath Anderson, Ronald "Sonny" Faulseit, Gary Feinman, Tristram Kidder, Nicola Sharratt, Julie A Hoggarth, Christina Conlee, Jakob Sedig, Andrea Torvinen, Scott Hutson, Kari A. Zobler, Thomas E Emerson, Kristin Hedman, Maureen E Meyers, Chris Rodning, Jayur Mehta, Rebecca Storey, Matthew Peeples, Christopher Pool, Victor Thompson, and Richard Sutter

The last several decades have seen the publication of a considerable amount of scholarly and popu... more The last several decades have seen the publication of a considerable amount of scholarly and popular literature concerning the collapse of complex societies, yielding a fair amount of comparative data and hypotheses regarding this phenomenon. More recently, scholars have begun to challenge these works, rejecting the notion of collapse altogether in favor of focusing on concepts such as resilience and transformation. Driven by these developments, archaeologists have turned their attention to what occurs in the aftermath of sociopolitical decline, attempting to identify factors that contribute to the regeneration, transformation, or reorganization of complex sociopolitical institutions. Subsequent research has provided important data shedding light on political environments that were once characterized as “dark ages.” In that time, general theoretical approaches have transformed as well, and recent frameworks reconsider collapse and reorganization not as unrelated or sequential phenomena but as integral components in a cyclical understanding of the evolution of complex societies. The most recent of these approaches incorporates the tenets of Resilience Theory, as developed by environmental scientists.
In March 2013, an international conference held at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale brought together scholars with diverse theoretical perspectives to present and synthesize new data and approaches to understanding the collapse and reorganization of complex societies. No restrictions were imposed regarding chronological periods, geographical regions or material specialties, resulting in a wide-ranging potential for comparative analysis. This publication is the outcome of that meeting. It is not organized merely as a collection of diverse case studies, but rather a collaborative effort incorporating various data sets to evaluate and expand on theoretical approaches to this important subject. The works contained within this volume are organized into five sections: the first sets the stage with introductory papers by the editor and distinguished contributor, Joseph Tainter; the second contains works by distinguished scholars approaching collapse and reorganization from new theoretical perspectives; the third presents critical archaeological analyses of the effectiveness of Resilience Theory as a heuristic tool for modeling these phenomena; the fourth section presents long-term adaptive strategies employed by prehistoric societies to cope with stresses and avoid collapse; the final section highlights new research on post-decline contexts in a variety of temporal and geographic ranges and relates these data to the more comprehensive works on the subject.

Articles/Book Chapters by Nicola Sharratt

Latin American Antiquity, 2019

International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2019

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2019

During the Middle Horizon (A.D. 500–1000), the Tiwanaku state dominated the south central Andes. ... more During the Middle Horizon (A.D. 500–1000), the Tiwanaku state dominated the south central Andes. The
production and circulation of goods were important components of statecraft. To date, studies of the
movement of pottery vessels across the Tiwanaku realm have relied on stylistic analyses. This paper
presents results of Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analyses
of ceramics from the largest Tiwanaku province in the Moquegua Valley, Peru. Comparison of the derived
compositional data with an existing chemical database of Moquegua Valley clays demonstrates that in
addition to local production, non-local ceramic vessels were being brought into the valley during the
height of Tiwanaku authority. A lower percentage of imported ceramics was identified in ceramic
assemblages dating to the wake of Tiwanaku state collapse (ca. A.D. 1000). Long-distance exchange
endured despite political breakdown but there were alterations in the particular networks in which
post-collapse communities participated.

Latin American Antiquity, Jan 1, 2010

Tokens and Talismans in digital spaces: meaning in the absence of materiality

Advances in Titicaca Basin Archaeology III, 2012

Identity Crisis: Archaeological Perspectives on Social Identity. Proceedings of the 42nd (2010) Annual Chacmool Conference:, 2011

Geoarchaeology, Jan 1, 2009

Thesis by Nicola Sharratt

Talks by Nicola Sharratt

Latin American Antiquity, 2019

International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2019

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2019

Latin American Antiquity, Jan 1, 2010

Tokens and Talismans in digital spaces: meaning in the absence of materiality

Advances in Titicaca Basin Archaeology III, 2012

Identity Crisis: Archaeological Perspectives on Social Identity. Proceedings of the 42nd (2010) Annual Chacmool Conference:, 2011

Geoarchaeology, Jan 1, 2009

Existing scholarship on the technical sophistry, decorative repertoire and social significance of... more Existing scholarship on the technical sophistry, decorative repertoire and social significance of Tiwanaku textiles largely concentrates on the height of Tiwanaku state authority across the Southern Andes (AD 500-1000). That authority came to a violent end circa AD 1000, when the Tiwanaku state underwent a prolonged and disruptive breakdown. Although archaeologists are increasingly interested in the centuries following Tiwanaku state collapse, and although there is a growing body of research on craft production and state collapse, textiles from this period in the Andes have been comparatively neglected.

In this paper, I discuss textiles from Tumilaca la Chimba in the Moquegua Valley, Peru, a small village established by refugees fleeing Tiwanaku towns around AD 1000. Textiles excavated from burials at the site in 2006 and 2007 offer an unprecedented opportunity to examine the extent to which Tiwanaku weaving traditions were maintained through this period of social upheaval.

Comparing the Tumilaca la Chimba textile assemblage with a collection of funerary textiles from Chen Chen, a Tiwanaku state period site in Moquegua, I focus on textile form, fiber and technique, and investment in textile production. Utilizing the excellent provenience data that exists for both assemblages I also explore the kinds of textiles interred with individuals differentiated by sex, age, and status.

I suggest that regional political turmoil resulted in an increasingly challenging environment for weavers, and as such the community had to adapt long-standing cultural norms about the role of woven cloth in burials. Understanding textiles as both reflective of and responsive to particular social conditions, I argue that although Tiwanaku textile traditions were by some measures negatively impacted by the wider unrest, weavers at Tumilaca la Chimba responded to the changing social context in inventive ways and ensured that the pre-collapse cultural importance of woven art was maintained.

Large scale excavation and analysis of Tiwanaku burials at Moquegua Valley sites including Chen C... more Large scale excavation and analysis of Tiwanaku burials at Moquegua Valley sites including Chen Chen, Omo M10, Rio Muerto and Tumilaca la Chimba have been instrumental in illuminating provincial Tiwanaku burial practices through time. Allowing for subtle and limited variations, a standard set of funerary treatments that spans differences in cemetery, intra-community group, sex and age, is recognizable in Moquegua. Notably, cultural norms about how to treat the dead extended to the very youngest members of Tiwanaku towns in the valley. In Moquegua, Tiwanaku infants, neonates and miscarried fetuses were buried in community cemeteries and afforded the same mortuary treatments as their elders. This apparent inclusivity contrasts starkly with numerous cross-cultural archaeological, ethnographic and historical contexts, in which the relative absence of neonates and infants from cemeteries and their non-normative disposal is seen as evidence that the categories of person and human were distinct, with personhood ascribed not at birth but during later rites of passage. Focusing on the funerary rites surrounding fetuses and babies in Moquegua and comparing them with other regions during the Middle Horizon, I consider the implications for our understandings of personhood in and beyond this Tiwanaku enclave.

Production and circulation of goods were important to Tiwanaku state craft. However, studies of t... more Production and circulation of goods were important to Tiwanaku state craft. However, studies of the movement of Tiwanaku vessels across the South Central Andes have largely relied on regional stylistic differences. In this paper, we compare compositional data derived from recent LA-ICP-MS analyses of Tiwanaku pottery from the Moquegua Valley with chemical data on locally available clays. Incorporating ceramics dating to the height of Tiwanaku authority and to the aftermath of state collapse (c.a. AD 1000), we examine the nature and extent of non-local pottery in the Moquegua province and the impact of collapse on long-distance exchange networks during the Middle Horizon.

The collapse of the Tiwanaku state (circa AD 1000) precipitated fundamental changes in regional s... more The collapse of the Tiwanaku state (circa AD 1000) precipitated fundamental changes in regional social organization in the South Central Andes. Elites at the capital city and in the state’s provinces were overthrown in a period of violent turmoil, and long-distance trade networks were impacted as the pan-regional political entity that had drawn together disparate colonies disintegrated. This paper considers the impact of state collapse on social organization at the community level. During the height of the state, stark inequalities existed between residential neighborhoods and between individual households. These inequalities were expressed in preferential location, architectural splendor, domestic amenities, and access to exotic and prized material goods. Drawing on household data from the site of Tumilaca la Chimba, in the Moquegua Valley, Peru, this paper addresses the degree to which pre-existing community hierarchical orders and leadership roles remained in place after the regional authority of the state collapsed. The site represents a village established by refugees fleeing Tiwanaku state administrative centers in the wake of political breakdown. Focusing on five residential units excavated in recent seasons at the site (2010-2012), this paper examines residence location, household architecture, and domestic assemblages to explore the extent to which state period concepts of community structure, hierarchical orders and social differentiation were maintained. Arguing that inequality did indeed persist in materially evident ways in the aftermath of state collapse, this paper considers the basis for such social difference at Tumilaca la Chimba.

During the Middle Horizon (AD 500-1000), the Tiwanaku state held political, economic and religiou... more During the Middle Horizon (AD 500-1000), the Tiwanaku state held political, economic and religious sway over the south central Andes. The collapse of the state, circa AD 1000 was accompanied by the abandonment of cities, rejection of state affiliated iconography and the violent destruction of buildings. In both the state heartland and in the distant colonies, temples and other built ritual spaces were targeted for particularly vehement assault. In this paper we examine the role that religious structures and activities may have played in the construction, expression and legitimization of inequality during the height of state authority. Discussing archaeological data from the site of Tumilaca la Chimba, a village established in the wake of state breakdown in the Moquegua Valley, Peru we then examine how ritual practice was re-situated and utilized in the negotiation and representation of post-collapse social organization and hierarchies. Focusing on recent excavations in a collective ritual area at the site, as well as cemetery and household data, we suggest that the apparent equality and accessibility evident in ‘ritual’ spaces belied the inequality apparent in domestic contexts.

The breakdown of regional economic networks and the cessation of craft specialization are both fr... more The breakdown of regional economic networks and the cessation of craft specialization are both frequently cited as indicators or consequences of collapse, yet the impacts of this breakdown on local communities has received less attention. Trade and production were particularly significant for the diaspora communities of the Tiwanaku state in the South Central Andes. The establishment of distant Tiwanaku enclaves was motivated in part by economic demands, and these communities, located far from the Tiwanaku capital in the altiplano, mediated and reaffirmed their ties to the state center through the movement and production of goods. This paper examines evidence that the violent and drawn out collapse of the state, beginning circa AD 1000, was accompanied by the disintegration of the trade ties that had linked colonial populations with their ancestral heartland. Focusing on recent excavations (2006-2012) at Tumilaca la Chimba, a village established by refugees fleeing the destruction of Tiwanaku state sponsored towns in the Moquegua Valley, I explore how changes in the political superstructure and resource procurement impacted craft production in post-collapse communities. Drawing on both stylistic and chemical analyses, as well as data on the organization of production, this paper suggests that despite radical shifts in the wider political and economic environment, ceramicists and weavers at Tumilaca la Chimba found dynamic ways to reproduce earlier material forms, and that craft goods were simultaneously a medium through which to reassert the rejection of elite authority and distance from the waning state, and a powerful means of reaffirming cultural identity.

In many respects, the Moquegua Valley fits well with long referenced chronological models for the... more In many respects, the Moquegua Valley fits well with long referenced chronological models for the Andes. During the Middle Horizon (AD 600-1150), the domination of the valley by the Wari and Tiwanaku states is manifest in the presence of Wari and Tiwanaku architectural canons and ceramic styles. The Late Intermediate Period (AD 1200-1475) is characterized by defensive sites, regional politics and a localized economy. Yet, although these two temporal phases are recognized as materially discrete and understood as socially and politically distinct from one another, the mechanisms of transition from the Middle Horizon to the LIP in Moquegua remain little understood. Central to investigating this transition are Moquegua Valley sites with both terminal Middle Horizon (Tumilaca) and LIP (Estuquiña) occupations. In this paper we discuss data from one of these sites, Tumilaca la Chimba. Focusing on a domestic unit excavated in 2012, we examine preliminary evidence for re-use and modification of a terminal Middle Horizon structure by Late Intermediate Period occupants and consider how this initial data affects our understandings of the relationship between Tumilaca and Estuquiña populations.

La aparición, difusión y declive del estado Tiwanaku ha sido el tema de investigación y discusión... more La aparición, difusión y declive del estado Tiwanaku ha sido el tema de investigación y discusión hace más que un siglo. Cada vez más, investigadores han aducido que tenemos que formar un concepto del estado Tiwanaku como algo muy distinto de los modelos clásicos de estados dominante, centralizados económicamente y políticamente. En lugar de eso, el enfocó de
literatura reciente ha sido en el pluralismo, la diversidad y heterarchia.

Aunque, investigadores sugieren que el estado Tiwanaku en su conjunto tiene que ser entendido en sus propios términos, hasta el momento la discusión del genero en comunidades Tiwanaku han sacado de ideas sobre la posición, status y poder de hombres y mujeres desarrollados afuera del los Andes. Mientras que estudios comparativos pueden ser productivos, propongo que la aplicación poco crítica a los Andes central sur durante el Horizonte Medio de modelos basados en estados capitalistas modernos occidental es problemático.

Utilizando datos funerarios del Valle de Moquegua, examino el tratamiento funerario de hombres y mujeres en la colonia Tiwanaku en Moquegua para evaluar la idea que el status y poder de mujeres ha sido reducido debajo el estado. Usando una perspectiva diacrónica y multi-sitio, examino si las maneras en eran tratados en el muerte mujeres y varones cambiaron con la transformación socio-político dramático representado por el colapso del estado circa AD 1000. Contra las suposiciones cruz-culturales sobre la posición de mujeres en estados, encuentro que enterramientos no han sido locales para expresar status y poder entres los sexos, antes o después el colapso del estado. Seguro que tenemos que pensar también en las maneras en que poder ha sido representado en comunidades Tiwanaku y como interpretaciones cambiantes de estados temporales Andinos repercuten en nuestros entendimientos de género en estos estados mismos.

"Durante 500 años el estado Tiwanaku ejerció influencia ideológica, económica y política sobre va... more "Durante 500 años el estado Tiwanaku ejerció influencia ideológica, económica y política sobre vasta áreas de lo que actualmente es Perú y Bolivia. Sin embargo, hacia el 1000 d.C. el estado comenzó un proceso de violenta agitación y colapso político durante el cual las ciudades fueron abandonas, la autoridad política de las elites rechazada y lo símbolos del estado destruidos. Tal como es común en los estudios arqueológicos sobre crisis políticas, la investigación en torno al colapso de Tiwanaku se ha concentrado en explicar por qué el estado cayó y las repercusiones a gran escala que esto tuvo sobre estructuras sociales y sistemas económicos. No obstante, los estados también incluyen comunidades y grupos de gente que son afectados y que al mismo tiempo responden a las transformaciones políticas. En este trabajo se discuten excavaciones realizadas entre 2006, 2010 y 2012 en el sitio Tumilaca La Chimba, en el valle de Moquegua (Perú), una aldea establecida en momentos del colapso político Tiwanaku. Examinando datos de cementerios y contextos habitacionales, se evalúa cómo miembros de esta comunidad del período post-colapso Tiwanaku anclaron sus prácticas cotidianas y rituales en tradiciones del período estatal, pero modificando a la vez costumbres previas, en la medida que respondían a la turbulencia del colapso estatal.
"

The collapse of the Tiwanaku state at the end of the Middle Horizon resulted in major changes in ... more The collapse of the Tiwanaku state at the end of the Middle Horizon resulted in major changes in politics, economics and ideology in the south central Andes. In the Moquegua Valley, populations fled Tiwanaku state towns and established new, smaller villages upriver from traditional Tiwanaku territory. In this paper, I discuss excavations (2006-2010) at one of those villages, Tumilaca la Chimba. Examining data from mortuary and residential contexts, I consider how members of this post-collapse community rooted daily and ritual practice in state period traditions but also modified earlier customs as they responded to the turmoil of state breakdown.

During the collapse of the Tiwanaku state ca. AD 1000, populations in the Moquegua Valley abandon... more During the collapse of the Tiwanaku state ca. AD 1000, populations in the Moquegua Valley abandoned colonial enclaves in the middle valley and established small, nucleated villages on the coast and in the upper valley. Existing funerary evidence indicates that post-collapse communities adhered to ancestral Tiwanaku rituals. This paper examines the impact of political fragmentation on daily life. Comparison of recently excavated household data from the upper valley with other collapse phase villages, as well as state period sites, suggest that although domestic practices were rooted in earlier customs, different diaspora populations responded to collapse in particular ways.

Beginning about AD 600, the Tiwanaku state was politically and culturally dominant in the south-c... more Beginning about AD 600, the Tiwanaku state was politically and culturally dominant in the south-central Andes. Following the collapse of the state’s political influence around AD 1000, symbols of state power were rejected and destroyed, state centers abandoned, and smaller, defensive settlements established. Yet, many Tiwanaku cultural practices were maintained by members of post-collapse communities. In this paper, I explore identity reconstruction within one of these communities. Comparing mortuary data from a Tiwanaku state center with evidence from a recently excavated post-collapse cemetery, I consider the ways in which mourners referenced their Tiwanaku ancestry as they renegotiated different facets of identity in the context of state collapse. I suggest that although post-collapse funerary ritual was rooted in earlier practices, subtle differences in the specifics of mortuary treatment indicate that burials were loci for asserting and reaffirming shifting notions of salient identity that were linked to recent political fragmentation.

The Tiwanaku occupation of the Moquegua Valley has received considerable archaeological attention... more The Tiwanaku occupation of the Moquegua Valley has received considerable archaeological attention since the inception of the Programa Contisuyo in 1983. Excavated domestic, ceremonial, mortuary and agricultural contexts have all informed developing interpretations of the nature of the occupation. This paper presents a brief overview of changing conceptions of Tiwanaku, exploring the ways that these conceptions inform and have been informed by broader anthropological notions of statehood. Finally, it presents recently excavated data from a late Tiwanaku site in the Moquegua valley that will contribute to a particular aspect of statehood – the decline of states.

Weaving in the Andes has a lengthy history, appearing in the archaeological record as early as 25... more Weaving in the Andes has a lengthy history, appearing in the archaeological record as early as 2500 BC. Scholars have argued that during the Inca Empire (1400 – 1532), weaving was a quintessentially female activity. Now, Andean textiles are in high demand on the tourist market, and in one region of Peru this has contributed to a resurgence of traditional techniques and designs. Drawing on recent interviews with weavers involved in this revitalization, this paper explores gender and weaving, asking whether the association between women and weaving remains appropriate today, and examining changing gender dynamics in textile production.

Recent Advances in Laser Ablation ICP-MS in Archaeology, 2016

Museum collections are often invaluable repositories of information for archaeologists, as they c... more Museum collections are often invaluable repositories of information for archaeologists, as they contain large numbers of intact, well provenanced objects. However, the utility of such collections for chemical analysis is often limited by the inability to perform destructive analysis on them. We report here on the analysis of Killke (A.D. 1000 – 1400) and Inka (A.D. 1400 – 1532) ceramics from the Cuzco area of Peru housed in the Field Museum of Natural History South American collections using a specially modified open-cell laser to generate compositional data from complete intact vessels in a minimally destructive manner. These data are compared to measurements performed using a conventional laser cell on Killke and Inka sherds from the same collections and regional raw material samples. We discuss both the utility and shortcomings of the open-cell system as a means of ceramic analysis, as well as implications for archaeological understanding of prehistoric ceramic production and economy in the Cuzco area.

Latin American Antiquity, Jan 1, 2010

Geoarchaeology-an International Journal, 2009

As the only place simultaneously occupied by the Middle Horizon (A.D. 600–1000) Andean states, th... more As the only place simultaneously occupied by the Middle Horizon (A.D. 600–1000) Andean states, the Tiwanaku and the Wari, the Moquegua Valley in southern Peru is of critical importance to understanding relations between the two states. Visual studies of Tiwanaku and Wari ceramics in the valley have elucidated differences in form and decoration. The procurement of raw clays was central to the production of these ceramics, and understanding where people procured their clay may provide insight into the social and economic interactions between these two states. Survey of the Moquegua Valley indicates the extensive availability of raw clays. Results of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analyses of clays indicate that there is heterogeneity in the chemical signature of the valley's clays and that at least five different clay groups can be distinguished. Comparison of these clays with LA-ICP-MS analysis of ceramics from a Tiwanaku site and a Wari site demonstrates that although Tiwanaku and Wari colonists in Moquegua used locally available clays during the Middle Horizon, the clay sources exploited by potters from each state were different and derived from areas located within their respective middle and upper valley territories. This information provides a basis for future chemical analysis of ceramics from the Moquegua Valley and improved understanding of past social and economic interactions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Constructing a Mitmaqkuna , 2018

Located in the Moquegua Valley in southern Peru, Tumilaca la Chimba is characterized by a Tumilac... more Located in the Moquegua Valley in southern Peru, Tumilaca la Chimba is characterized by a Tumilaca (AD 950-1250) and an Estuquiña (AD 1250-1476) occupation. This poster focuses on one unique double Estuquiña interment, located within the boundaries of a Tumilaca house. Both individuals buried in the tomb show similar distinct pathological lesions. Analyses of those lesions offer insight into health and systemic stress while consideration of the burial’s intrusive placement contributes to developing understandings of processes of ethnogenesis and population replacement during the political turmoil associated with the transition from the end of the Middle Horizon to the LIP.