Aleksa Alaica | University of British Columbia (original) (raw)

Peer-Reviewed Papers by Aleksa Alaica

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2023

Relatively little attention has been paid to the importance of birds as alternative food sources ... more Relatively little attention has been paid to the importance of birds as alternative food sources and as ceremonial offerings in Moche practices. I examine bird remains from the Late Moche (600–900 CE) site of Huaca Colorada of the Jequetepeque Valley, Peru, to investigate the role of birds in daily activities and their use in ritual events.The Moche used birds in diverse ways in both domestic and ceremonial activities. Beginning with their use as food source, this analysis addresses the active hunting and opportunistic collection of various avian taxa to establish some of the ways that these animals formed part of subsistence practices. I further consider the way birds can serve as environmental proxies. I examine the presence of marine birds and possible nonlocal species at Huaca Colorada for their use in ceremonial practice. Zooarchaeological and iconographic evidence attests to various predatory bird taxa as important liminal beings for bridging different ecological zones and as vehicles for the travel of spirits and other supernatural forces between spheres of the living and the dead. By investigating birds in Moche practices, this article contributes new insights on the way avian species formed part of feasting events and mortuary offerings and more fully connects iconographic and zooarchaeological records.

Quaternary International, 2023

There is a long history in the use of osseous materials from some of the earliest contexts of the... more There is a long history in the use of osseous materials from some of the earliest contexts of the Andes, yet most technology studies have focused on durable materials of ceramic, metal, and stone. In this paper, we present evidence for the continual use of osseous raw materials before and during Wari state expansion in the 1st millennium CE in the Cusco region of Peru. Results indicate that, at the site of Ak'awillay, communities were exploiting osseous raw material to produce artifacts used in textile manufacture, food processing, and ceremonial activities. We argue that wide-scale access to bone and antler raw material fostered social interactions that mediated emergent power dynamics in private and public spaces. This key line of evidence reveals that communal practices in public spaces at Ak'awillay involved food processing activities, while private settings were reserved for sharing of familial knowledge around textile production. We emphasize the greater need in the Andes for a close look at osseous technology to detect these subtle, yet integral patterns to understand social and power relations in the past.

Latin American Antiquity, 2023

This study uses isotope and microbotanical data from the analysis of teeth and dental calculus to... more This study uses isotope and microbotanical data from the analysis of teeth and dental calculus to investigate camelid diet and foddering practices at Quilcapampa (AD 835-900). By providing taxonomically specific evidence of foods consumed, botanical data from dental calculus complement the more general impressions of photosynthetic pathways obtained through isotopic analysis. Results suggest that the camelid diet incorporated maize (Zea mays), algarrobo (Prosopis sp.), potato chuño (Solanum sp.), and other resources. The life-history profile of one camelid (Individual 3) reveals dietary change from mainly C 3 plants to more C 4 plant contributions as the animal aged. This pattern is supported by carbonate isotope results indicating that this individual spent its youth in the mid-valley ecozone before becoming more mobile later in life. As this life-history example shows, isotopic and microbotanical analyses are complementary approaches, clarifying a pattern of seasonal transhumance that linked the lives of humans and animals along the Middle Horizon (AD 600-1000) caravan networks that crisscrossed the central Andes.

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2022

Musical performance and audience participation are important activities in both group celebration... more Musical performance and audience participation are important activities in both group celebrations and funerary practices. This paper considers the intersection of music and ritual in shifting local mortuary traditions during state expansion in the southern Peruvian Andes. It addresses musical activities and burial rites during the Middle Horizon (MH) (600-1000 CE), a period defined by social change, population expansion and greater influence of the Wari state. We present new evidence for shifting sound-making practices from the site of La Real in the Majes Valley of Arequipa. We mobilize morphological and acoustic analyses to determine the variation in instrument production and the likely idiosyncratic ways that participants played these objects. There is a musical tradition of manufacturing wind instruments from animal bone in the early MH (600-850 CE) followed by abandonment of these practices in the late MH (850-1000 CE). We suggest this shift correlates to a higher valuation of formalized acoustic aesthetics over collective instrument production and group musical performance. Instead of playing their own instruments at mortuary events, communities listened to music as spectators.

Quaternary International, 2022

Imperial expansion can have substantial impacts on the daily and long-term activities of colonize... more Imperial expansion can have substantial impacts on the daily and long-term activities of colonized regions. However, statecraft can vary depending on local resilience and the decisions made by agropastoralists and other economic collectives. We explore how Wari expansion affected, and was affected by, pastoralists' activities by examining the isotopic variation of camelid bone, teeth, and hair (or fibres) at three mid-valley (yunga) (500-2300 masl) sites in the Majes and Sihuas valleys of southern Peru. We report stable δ 13 C and δ 15 N isotopic compositions (n = 34) of keratin from previously published serial samples of camelid (Lama sp./Vicugna sp.) fibre from the site of Beringa in the Majes Valley, δ 13 C and δ 15 N values of bone collagen (n = 6) and δ 13 C values from tooth enamel bioapatite (n = 65) from Uraca in the Majes Valley, and δ 13 C and δ 15 N values of bone collagen (n = 30) from Quilcapampa in the Sihuas Valley. We compare diets between sites and between development phases of individual animals. Extensive networks of inter-valley trails connected neighboring yunga communities and camelid caravans enabled the exchange of goods and ideas. Stable isotope analysis of camelids from these three sites suggests that yunga communities in the Majes and Sihuas valleys were engaged in both highland and coastal camelid-caravan networks prior to Wari expansion that permitted local communities to maintain foddering flexibility. Herders maintained these networks into the Wari era, while also taking advantage of new trading opportunities as they became available.

Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2022

Climate (in)stability can manifest in the size of mollusks attesting to variable impacts on growt... more Climate (in)stability can manifest in the size of mollusks attesting to variable impacts on growth, seasonal exploitation, and cultural persistence. We present population statistics of the height of a bivalve species (Donax obesulus) collected from sites dating to the Early Horizon (EH, 900-200 BCE) in the Nepeña Valley and the Middle Horizon (MH, 600-1000 CE) in the Jequetepeque Valley of northern coastal Peru and compare them with a paleoclimate record and a sample of modern shells (collected in 2012, 2014, and 2016) from the Nepeña Valley. We observe diachronic variation in the size of D. obesulus with larger bivalves during the EH and smaller shells during the MH and in the modern sample. D. obesulus size remains relatively static during the MH at one site through two sub-phases. These bivalve populations were likely impacted by both climate and cultural circumstances. A proxy for runoff from El Niño related rainfall (%lithic flux) from a previously published nearby marine sediment core is elevated during the EH and Late Moche phase of the MH and correlates with shell height. During the Transitional phase of the MH and the modern interval, however, there are periods of comparatively reduced El Niño activity and shell height compared to the EH.

Latin American Antiquity, 2021

The Late Intermediate period in the south-central Andes is known for the widespread use of open s... more The Late Intermediate period in the south-central Andes is known for the widespread use of open sepulchres called chullpas by descent-based ayllus to claim rights to resources and express idealized notions of how society should be organized. Chullpas, however, were rarer on the coast, with the dead often buried individually in closed tombs. This article documents conditions under which these closed tombs were used at the site of Quilcapampa on the coastal plain of southern Peru, allowing an exploration into the ways that funerary traditions were employed to both reflect and generate community affiliation, ideals about sociopolitical organization, and land rights. After a long hiatus, the site was reoccupied and quickly expanded through local population aggregation and highland migrations. An ayllu organization that made ancestral claims to specific resources was poorly suited to these conditions, and the site's inhabitants instead seem to have organized themselves around the ruins of Quilcapampa's earlier occupation. In describing what happened in Quilcapampa, we highlight the need for a better understanding of the myriad ways that Andean peoples used mortuary customs to structure the lives of the living during a period of population movements and climate change.

Arts, 2020

Bats are depicted in various types of media in Central and South America. The Moche of northern P... more Bats are depicted in various types of media in Central and South America. The Moche of northern Peru portrayed bats in many figurative ceramic vessels in association with themes of sacrifice, elite status and agricultural fertility. Osseous remains of bats in Moche ceremonial and domestic contexts are rare yet their various representations in visual media highlight Moche fascination with their corporeal form, behaviour and symbolic meaning. By exploring bat imagery in Moche iconography, I argue that the bat formed an important part of Moche categorical schemes of the non-human world. The bat symbolized death and renewal not only for the human body but also for agriculture, society and the cosmos. I contrast folk taxonomies and symbolic classification to interpret the relational role of various species of chiropterans to argue that the nocturnal behaviour of the bat and its symbolic association with the moon and the darkness of the underworld was not a negative sphere to be feared or rejected. Instead, like the representative priestesses of the Late Moche period, bats formed part of a visual repertoire to depict the cycles of destruction and renewal that permitted the cosmological continuation of life within North Coast Moche society.

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2020

The analysis of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr has become a robust tool for identifying non-local individuals at ar... more The analysis of 87 Sr/ 86 Sr has become a robust tool for identifying non-local individuals at archeological sites. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr in human bioapatite reflects the geological signature of food and water consumed during tissue development. Modeling relationships between 87 Sr/ 86 Sr in human environments, food webs, and archeological human tissues is critical for moving from identifying non-locals to determining their likely provenience. In the Andes, obstacles to sample geolocation include overlapping 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of distant geographies and a poor understanding of mixed strontium sources in food and drink. Here, water is investigated as a proxy for bioavailable strontium in archeological human skeletal and dental tissues. This study develops a water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isoscape from 262 samples (220 new and 42 published samples), testing the model with published archeological human skeletal 87 Sr/ 86 Sr trimmed of probable non-locals. Water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and prediction error between the predicted and measured 87 Sr/ 86 Sr for the archeological test set are compared by elevation, underlying geology, and watershed size. Across the Peruvian Andes, water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ranges from 0.7049 to 0.7227 (M = 0.7081, SD = 0.0027). Water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr is higher in the highlands, in areas overlying older bedrock, and in larger watersheds, characteristics which are geographically correlated. Spatial outliers identified are from canals, wells, and one stream, suggesting those sources could show non-representative 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. The best-fit water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isoscape achieves prediction errors for archeological samples ranging from 0.0017-0.0031 (M = 0.0012, n = 493). The water isoscape explains only 7.0% of the variation in archeological skeletal 87 Sr/ 86 Sr (R 2 = 0.07), but 90.0% of archeological skeleton 87 Sr/ 86 Sr fall within the site isoscape prediction ± site prediction standard error. Due to lower sampling density and higher geological variability in the highlands, the water 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isoscape is more useful for ruling out geographic origins for lowland Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution | www.frontiersin.org 1 September 2020 | Volume 8 | Article 281

World Archaeology, 2020

Human offerings in the archaeological record are commonly defined by their community affiliation,... more Human offerings in the archaeological record are commonly defined by their community affiliation, the ceremonial events following their death and the places where they are interred. The deposition of an individual links kin members to the landscape but also seems to mark time and memory. Here we argue that inter-generational memory, created through cyclical depositions of local, coastal community members at Huaca Colorada, reflects political alliances during the Late Moche Period of northern Peru. Using multiple lines of evidence, which include osteological, isotopic and burial context data, this article interprets the human offerings among the Moche of the Andes and argues that the significance of foundation offerings lies not exclusively in the spectacle of sacrifice, but in creating memory that maintains or transforms sacred landscapes.

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2020

This study evaluated chronological changes in physiological stress and levels of habitual loading... more This study evaluated chronological changes in physiological stress and levels of habitual loading of Ibizan populations from the Late Roman–Early Byzantine (LREB) to the Islamic period (300–1,235 AD) using measures of body size and bone cross‐sectional properties to compare Urban LREB, Urban Medieval Islamic, and Rural Medieval Islamic groups. It also explored the effect of diet, modeled using stable isotopes, on physiological stress levels and behavior. The sample comprised individuals from three archeological populations: Urban Late Roman‐ Early Byzantine (LREB) (300–700 AD), Medieval Urban Islamic (902–1,235 AD), and Medieval Rural Islamic. Bone lengths, femoral head dimensions, and cross‐sectional properties, diaphyseal products and circumferences, were compared to assess differences in body size and habitual loading in 222 adult individuals. Ordinary least squares regression evaluated the correlations between these measures and carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope ratios in 115 individuals for whom both isotope values and osteological measures are available. The Medieval Rural Islamic group had shorter stature and reduced lower limb cross‐sectional properties compared to the two urban groups. Limb shape differs between Urban LREB and Urban Medieval Islamic groups. Measures of body size length were positively correlated with δ13C values in all individuals and separately in the Urban LREB and Rural Medieval Islamic groups. δ15N showed a positive correlation with left humerus shape in the Urban LREB sample. The low stature and cross‐sectional properties of the Medieval Rural Islamic group may be an indicator of greater physiological stress, potentially due to poorer diet. Positive correlations between measures of body size and δ13C values further suggest that greater access to C4 resources improved diet quality. Alternatively, this relationship could indicate greater body size among migrants from areas where individuals consumed more C4 resources.

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2020

On March 18, 2017, the Faunal Interest Group of The Archaeology Centre at the University of Toron... more On March 18, 2017, the Faunal Interest Group of The Archaeology Centre at the University of Toronto held its first symposium, entitled Zooarchaeology and Landscape Interaction. This volume is the result of that symposium. The Faunal Interest Group is an informal discussion group of anthropologists interested in zooarchaeology and in human animal relationships, both ancient and modern. The group was created in 2007 to provide a space where graduate students and professionals could discuss current zooarchaeological research. Members can also present their own research and receive supportive feedback, and the group hosts talks and workshops by visiting researchers. For the ten-year anniversary of the group, we decided to broaden our community by holding an open symposium. As with the Faunal Interest Group biweekly meetings, the goal of this event was to provide an opportunity to share current zooarchaeological research among colleagues. A total of eight papers were presented. Three of the contributions are published here, together with five additional papers stemming from an open call for contributions to this volume.

Archaeological Review from Cambridge, 2019

This contribution to the Desert Archaeology issue provides a coastal perspective from the Peruvia... more This contribution to the Desert Archaeology issue provides a coastal perspective from the Peruvian Andes region. The use of pack animals, the domesticated New World llama (Lama glama) and alpaca (Vicugna pacos), were important participants in economic systems connected to wool production, textile trade, large-scale feasting events and political ecology of arid environments. Much more work still needs to be conducted on coastal camelid herding, as there is little known concerning when camelids were introduced to the coast as well as how they were used in later prehistory (Mengoni and Yacobaccio 2006). Nevertheless, we do have evidence—and emerging ideas—regarding coastal interaction. This paper aims to demonstrate that human-animal relationships became established among coastal groups and their camelid herds. These relationships were essential to the success and expansion of distinct cultural practices and socio-political ideologies. In the case of this paper, the Moche and Nasca societies serve as case-studies to analyse coastal camelid practices.

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2019

Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope analysis of human bone collagen from 38 individu... more Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope analysis of human bone collagen from 38 individuals was undertaken to assess diet at the Late Roman-Early Byzantine (AD 300-700) cemetery site, Joan Planells, in Ibiza, Spain. The results (δ13C=-18.7±0.5‰ and δ15N=10.1±1.3‰) that the diet of this population was derived predominantly from C3 terrestrial resources; plant foods were likely dietary staples along with meat and/or dairy produce comprising an important component of diet. Variation in stable isotope ratio values suggest individual differences in diet. Two individuals, both males, are statistical outliers with distinctive δ15N values (14.4‰ and 14.8‰) that point to significant consumption of marine resources. Females, on average, have higher δ13C values than males. The parsimonious explanation for this observation is the greater inclusion of C4 resources such as millet in the diets of females. Comparison of the diet of the Joan Planells population with other Late Roman period sites on the Hispanic mainland and other parts of the Mediterranean region suggests that populations may have been responding to a combination of socio-political and environmental factors that could have included Roman influence of food consumptive practices in some of these distant locales.

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Mar 9, 2018

A B S T R A C T The advent of social zooarchaeology has stimulated a more in-depth conversation o... more A B S T R A C T The advent of social zooarchaeology has stimulated a more in-depth conversation on the role of animals in society. Zooarchaeological methods provide the means to assess not just the subsistence strategies of past communities but the larger social, economic and political systems within which animals are situated. By addressing faunal assemblages within different contexts and in terms of the values and practices that may have structured these human-animal interactions, archaeologists can better interpret the representation of animals in different material media and by extension the social and ideological role certain species played in past cultures. This paper mobilizes faunal evidence from the Late Moche site of Huaca Colorada (AD650–850) in the Jequetepeque Valley of Peru and contextualizes these patterns in the Moche iconographic corpus. The iconographic record indicates that the Moche made a distinction between wild and domestic animals; wild species appear to have been understood as partible beings associated with supernaturals, while domesticated animals were socialized and viewed as integral to human affairs. The taxonomic differentiation of wild and domestic species is apparent in both animal use and representation and in different contexts of ceremonial practice. Moreover, domestic animals were interred as special offerings, comparable to human sacrifices, while wild species were deposited only as partial and distributed offerings.

Levant, 2014

Two Early Epipalaeolithic sites in Wadi Taiyiba, northwestern Jordan, occur in quite different ge... more Two Early Epipalaeolithic sites in Wadi Taiyiba, northwestern Jordan, occur in quite different geological circumstances than similar sites in neighbouring Wadi Ziqlab. Both would have been close to ancient Lake Lisan but one is a shallow site on a slope near the edge of the Lisan shoreline while the other has deeper, stratified deposits in front of a collapsed rockshelter a short distance upstream, overlooking a hot spring. Small excavations at both sites have shown that faunal remains were scarce at the former but fairly common at the latter, where mountain gazelle is the most abundant taxon, followed by boar, hare, wolf, fox, red deer, aurochs, and wild sheep and goat, and there were also some human remains from at least two individuals. Both sites have some ground stones. Overall, the shallow site appears to have been a short-term camp focused on tool manufacture and gearing-up for hunting, while the deeper site has a denser and much more diverse assemblage, human remains, and evidence for many different activities, suggesting that it was a longer-term residential site that was re-used over many seasons. The sites contribute to our understanding of site diversity and settlement pattern in the relatively poorly known Early Epipalaeolithic.

Book Chapters by Aleksa Alaica

World Archaeoprimatology Interconnections of Humans and Nonhuman Primates in the Past, 2022

Nonhuman primates in the Andes region of South America have been excavated in burial contexts and... more Nonhuman primates in the Andes region of South America have been excavated in burial contexts and are commonly depicted in ceramic art. Monkey images in Moche iconography are well-known but few systematic analyses have been conducted to approximate their role and meaning in sociopolitical and ritual activities. This chapter investigates variation in nonhuman primate depictions from the Moche culture to determine the elite use of monkey images for their symbolic value and ritual significance in the arid desert north coast region of present-day Peru. By examining their shared features, their association with key Amazonian plant species and their use in legitimizing authority, I contextualize Moche monkey depictions as key agents of alterity because of their nonlocal origin. I argue that the association of nonhuman primates with headdresses, serving vessels, and funerary rituals indicate that monkeys were perceived as nonlocal affines in Moche society that wielded considerable power in political and ceremonial practices. In Moche iconography, monkeys were not simply aesthetic additives but formed part of a selected group of nonhuman beings with social agency that derived from their nonlocal, Amazonian origin and their relationship to potent ritual substances. Monkeys, resembling their human relatives, were recognized to have ancestral roles that legitimized authority for elites involved in ceremonial activities related to sacrifice, fertility, and renewal.

QUILCAPAMPA: A WARI ENCLAVE IN SOUTHERN PERU, 2021

https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813066783

Thesis by Aleksa Alaica

PhD Dissertation, 2021

Abstract: This dissertation examines how animals formed part of daily, economic, sociopolitical, ... more Abstract: This dissertation examines how animals formed part of daily, economic, sociopolitical, and ceremonial practices among Middle Horizon period (CE 600-1000) communities of the North Coast of Peru. I focus on the Late Moche period (CE 600-850) to examine how animal depiction, co-habitation and value were variably manifested in daily and ritual practices at the site of Huaca Colorada in the Jequetepeque Valley. This project is guided by posthumanism and indigenous scholarship to interpret the role of animals in quotidian activities, sociopolitical structures, and identity formation.

I examine the role of animals across a large Late Moche center to investigate the spatial distribution of animal taxa, the sharing of their meat and the symbolic significance of different species in interment events. My analysis also considers the briefer Transitional period (CE 850-1000) occupation of Huaca Colorada and the adjacent Transition site of Tecapa to realize the continuity of traditional ecological knowledge, lifeways, and religious aesthetics. The persistent consumption of camelids and coastal taxa throughout the Middle Horizon reveals that southern Jequetepeque Valley communities employed commensal strategies to advance their own interests and legitimize their political standing in ritual practices. Feasting also provided a medium for non-local, possibly highland communities to be involved in large-scale, seasonal events.

I reconstruct the life histories of animals and humans from Huaca Colorada through three interrelated approaches: (1) the iconographic or idealized depictions of animals; (2) the osseous patterns of life and death among animals and humans, and (3) the biographies of nonhuman and human animals as reflected in their diets and mobility. The objective of this dissertation is to interpret the roles of different animals as social actors in the mediation of the changing sacred and political landscapes of the southern Jequetepeque Valley. This dissertation demonstrates the essential involvement of animals in daily and ceremonial activities both as animate living beings and as butchered and consumed resources. The results of this investigation emphasize that Moche period ecological knowledge and deeply embedded ideologies about the cosmological cycles of the world were believed to depend on nonhuman beings and ensured the survival and prosperity of human societies.

Resumen: Esta tesis doctoral examina cómo los animales no humanos formaron parte de las prácticas cotidianas, económicas, sociopolíticas y ceremoniales entre las comunidades del período Horizonte Medio (CE 600-1000) de la Costa Norte del Perú. Me concentro en el período Moche Tardío (600-850 d.C.) para examinar cómo la representación animal, la convivencia y el valor se manifestaron de manera variable en las prácticas diarias y ceremoniales en el sitio de Huaca Colorada en el Valle de Jequetepeque. Este proyecto está guiado por el posthumanismo y la literatura indígena para interpretar el papel de los animales no humanos en las actividades cotidianas, las estructuras sociopolíticas y la formación de la identidad.

Examino el rol de los animales a lo largo del gran centro Moche tardío para investigar la distribución espacial de los taxones de animales, el intercambio de su carne y el significado simbólico de las diferentes especies en los eventos de enterramiento. Mi análisis también considera la ocupación más breve del período Transicional (850-1000 d.C.) en Huaca Colorada y el sitio Transicional adjunto de Tecapa para darse cuenta de la continuación del conocimiento ecológico tradicional, las formas de vida y la estética religiosa. El consumo constante de camélidos y taxones costeros en todo el Horizonte Medio revela que las comunidades del sur del Valle de Jequetepeque emplearon estrategias de banquetes y festines para promover sus propios intereses y legitimar su posición política en las prácticas rituales. El festín también proporcionó un medio para que las comunidades no locales, posiblemente de la sierra, participaran en eventos estacionales a gran escala.

Reconstruyo las historias de vida de animales y humanos de Huaca Colorada a través de tres enfoques interrelacionados: (1) las representaciones iconográficas o idealizadas de animales; (2) los patrones óseos de vida y muerte entre animales y humanos, y (3) las biografías de animales humanos y no humanos tal como se reflejan en sus dietas y movilidad. El objetivo de esta tesis doctoral es interpretar los roles de diferentes animales como actores sociales en la mediación en los cambiantes paisajes sagrados y políticos del sur del Valle de Jequetepeque. Esta tesis demuestra la participación esencial de los animales en las actividades diarias y ceremoniales, tanto como seres vivos animados como recursos sacrificados y consumidos. Los resultados de esta investigación enfatizan que se creía que el conocimiento ecológico del período Moche y las ideologías profundamente arraigadas sobre los ciclos cosmológicos del mundo dependían de seres no humanos y aseguraban tanto la supervivencia como la prosperidad de las sociedades humanas.

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2023

Quaternary International, 2023

Latin American Antiquity, 2023

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2022

Quaternary International, 2022

Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 2022

Latin American Antiquity, 2021

Arts, 2020

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2020

World Archaeology, 2020

American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2020

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2020

Archaeological Review from Cambridge, 2019

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2019

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Mar 9, 2018

Levant, 2014

World Archaeoprimatology Interconnections of Humans and Nonhuman Primates in the Past, 2022

QUILCAPAMPA: A WARI ENCLAVE IN SOUTHERN PERU, 2021

https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813066783

PhD Dissertation, 2021

MSc Thesis, 2013

Stable isotope signatures are obtained for a sample from the Joan Planells collection originating... more Stable isotope signatures are obtained for a sample from the Joan Planells collection originating from the island of Ibiza in the western Mediterranean, dating to the Late Roman-Early Byzantine transition. These values are assessed and statistically compared to the contemporaneous sites of Via Punica and S’Hort des Llimoners. The results for male and female populations are compared within and between sites. Carbon, nitrogen and sulphur stable isotopes vary based on the types and amounts of proteins consumed and the geological location of sites. Distinct dietary patterns can be indicated by stable isotope analysis among those of differing sex and status. The aim of this research is to determine whether there is a relationship between distinct dietary practices, sex and status differences. Twenty adult human bone samples were utilized for collagen extraction, with 16 providing usable results. Intra-site male and female differences are not statistically significant for any of the sites discussed. Statistically significant differences are found between the site of Joan Planells and the contemporaneous sites of Via Punica and S’Hort des Llimoners. The female sample from Joan Planells reveals statistical difference from other female samples from these two other sites. Previous research has argued for a diet dominated by terrestrial resources during this period. The results from Joan Planells indicate a mixed diet dominated by terrestrial resources, however a more substantial amount of marine/aquatic resources were being exploited a this site. The use of δ13C, δ15N and δ34S analyses has proven to be beneficial for teasing out the particularities of past dietary practice on the island of Ibiza. Further analyses need to be carried out on the collection from Joan Planells and other contemporaneous sites in order to enable a better understanding of these dietary patterns.

Quilcapampa was an important point of convergence for communities from around the southern Andea... more Quilcapampa was an important point of convergence for communities from around the southern Andean region with these people and/or their material culture suggesting extensive interregional interaction. The zooarchaeological work conducted on the vertebrate remains from Quilcapampa will be presented in this paper. The presence of camelids (llamas and alpacas) dominate the proportion of species identified. The skeletal elements used in the various parts of the site along with the age of camelid remains will be discussed in detail. There are multiple examples of pathologies along the toes of these animals that indicate habitual, long-distance movement was part of the life histories of these animal groups. The few bird remains that were identified suggest both coastal and local opportunistic hunting, which supports additional evidence from mollusk analysis demonstrating coastal materials were extracted and were brought to Quilcapampa. The zooarchaeological work conducted on this project is another important line of evidence to clarify the role and occupational history of Quilcapampa at the time of growing Wari influence in the region.

The Moche Period (AD1-850) is well known of its iconography with naturalistic depictions of a var... more The Moche Period (AD1-850) is well known of its iconography with naturalistic depictions of a variety of different figures and themes. One aspect of this corpus that has been under-analyzed is the common representation of plant and animal life. The ceramic assemblages of the Moche depict numerous animal species from coastal, highland and Amazonian locations. Recent work conducted at the Larco Herrera Museum reveals that various animal species may have been considered important symbols of group association and community identity. The patterns that can be ascertained from the vessels that have been analyzed reveal that dog and sea lions may have been key species used to aid in ritual and ceremonial practices. Furthermore, the representation of anthropomorphic figures with animal features suggests that Moche elites personified specific species as a means to heighten the effect and meaning of established ritual performances. This paper will also explore how animal imagery in Moche ceramics may have been expressive of totemistic and animistic ontologies. It will be argued that human and animal were not absolute categories in Moche worldviews and that the boundary separating humans from non-human entities often appears to have been blurred.

At the site of Huaca Colorada, recent research indicates a strong association between ritually ch... more At the site of Huaca Colorada, recent research indicates a strong association between ritually charged spaces and animal internments. On the north coast of Peru, the Late Moche Period (AD650-850) is characterized by multiple urban areas concentrated in the valleys of the north coast of Peru. The evidence for political fragmentation during this time period has been attributed to environmental catastrophes linked to El Niño events, internal social conflict as well as external pressures from sierra invaders. A comparison of the faunal assemblage from Huaca Colorada with earlier Middle Horizon settlements will permit a diachronic analysis of how the socio-political upheavals inaugurating the Late Moche Period possibly shaped transformations in human-animal relations and identities likely associated with totemic symbols. Within the mortuary contexts at Huaca Colorada the importance of camelids, dogs and guinea pigs are attested by carefully curated and arranged skeletal remains that have been uncovered in association with human burials. It has been proposed that these strong connections support that human-animal interaction was situated within a relational ontology that was specific to the communities of the Jequetepeque Valley. The contexts within which both human and animal beings were found may indicate that they were perceived as socially and spiritually co-dependent. Animals were not objectified offerings or simple economic resources but dynamic and ideological imbued with profound meaning. This paper will argue that social, political and cultural identities in the pre-Columbian Jequetepeque Valley as well as the large Moche world developed through close, often intimate relationships with places, animals and things.

Arequipa during the Middle Horizon period (AD600-1100) experienced great change. La Real, a funer... more Arequipa during the Middle Horizon period (AD600-1100) experienced great change. La Real, a funerary site in the Majes Valley, contains 42 worked bone artifacts of flutes and antecessor whistles dating to the 9th century AD. Through metric and microscopic analysis, it is apparent that standardized practices were used to manufacture these instruments. Music is an important aspect of ritual events at La Real, where extensive resources were dedicated to producing instruments used in funeral rites. This poster will argue that music may have been a mediating aspect to the final burial of 145 people at a time when social inequality, surging population growth and escalating violence was becoming more common.

During the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period fish and fish products were documented as an importa... more During the Late Roman-Early Byzantine period fish and fish products were documented as an important portion of production and trade. In order to investigate the reliance on marine sourced foods for Roman colonies, the use of δ13C (n=38), δ15N (n=38), and δ34S (n=30) stable isotope ratios were used for the investigation of diet and mobility of the population found at the site Joan Planells, a Late Roman – Early Byzantine necropolis in use between AD 300-700. Results suggest the dependence on a primarily C3 terrestrial sourced diet, with a smaller contribution of marine sourced foods. While δ15N and δ34S values showed no statistically significant difference between sexes, δ13C values did, possibly detecting a daily dietary variance or divided access to foods. Out of the 30 individuals sampled from Joan Planells, 9 fell outside of the δ34S range typical for Ibiza, identifying the individuals as non-local and suggesting significant mobility of the population.

Recent excavations at the Late Moche Period site of Huaca Colorada (AD 650-850) have uncovered mu... more Recent excavations at the Late Moche Period site of Huaca Colorada (AD 650-850) have uncovered multiple human offerings in conjunction with substantial architectural remodeling. Huaca Colorada is located on the southern bank of the Jequetepeque River at the edge of the arid Paijan Desert, where religious gatherings and long-distance trade prompted the movement of people and goods through this river valley. Architectural analysis within the monumental precinct of this site has revealed multiple intensive phases of renovations with the inclusion of human interments. The offerings are found in contexts where large spaces of the ceremonial area have undergone substantial change. This investigation will explore the kinds of human offerings that have been deposited within these contexts by considering the age, sex and life histories of these individuals. This poster argues that the act of killing, by its nature physical, may have been ascribed value and rationalized through a worldview in which place and person are tethered together, not easily distinguished. Through the analysis of the individuals interred at this site, it is hoped that a more in-depth understanding of the value of sacrifice can be reached.

Informe de PAN 2018, 2019

El análisis de fauna registró 1588 fragmentos de hueso pesando en total 9261.9 gramos. En la col... more El análisis de fauna registró 1588 fragmentos de hueso pesando en total 9261.9 gramos. En la colección se identificó camélido, perro, venado y pescado en su mayoria. Las otras especies identificadas soportan la evidencia que en el sitio Pan de Azúcar tenian estrategias mezcladas para recolectar comida y el intercambio. Con el material de hueso tallado se puede indicar que la comunidad tenía la necesidad de utilizar hueso para elaborar sus herramientas y artefactos, la evidencia de varios fragmentos de descarte de tecnología ósea, nos indica que se están obteniendo soporte como materia prima.

El presente informe comprende la compilación del análisis osteológico realizado al contexto funer... more El presente informe comprende la compilación del análisis osteológico realizado al contexto funerario no1 recuperado en el PEA con fines de potencialidad en el sitio Mina Raúl, ejecutado en el mes mayo del 2017.
Mina Raúl se encuentra cerca al litoral limeño en el distrito de Mala provincia de Cañete, departamento de Lima, esta área se caracteriza por presentar el clima de loma una parte del año y ser desértico el resto del año.
El contexto funerario no1 se ubica al interior de la estructura 6 esta se encuentra en la cima de una estribación andina, pertenece a la Unidad 14. Estratigráficamente el contexto funerario 1 se encontró dentro de la capa 2.
Por medio del análisis osteológico se llegó a determinar el sexo, edad, patologías del contexto funerario 1.

El presente informe comprende la compilación del análisis osteológico animal realizado al materia... more El presente informe comprende la compilación del análisis osteológico animal realizado al material recuperado en el PEA con fines de potencialidad en el sitio Mina Raúl, ejecutado en el mes mayo del 2017.
Mina Raúl se encuentra cerca al litoral limeño en el distrito de Mala provincia de Cañete, departamento de Lima, esta área se caracteriza por presentar el clima de loma una parte del año y ser desértico el resto del año.
El total del material consta de veintitrés contextos que fueron inventariados y analizados.
El material de la unidad 14, capa 2, rasgo 7 consta de dos individuos asociados al contexto funerario No1 dentro de la estructura 6.
Por medio del análisis osteológico se llegó a determinar las especies, edad y patologías en la muestra.

Technical report submitted to the Ministry of Culture

What is an animal? How are animals used beyond sources of food? What makes animals so integral to... more What is an animal? How are animals used beyond sources of food? What makes animals so integral to our understanding of the world and of ourselves, and what research is being done to address issues that impact animals? This talk explores the social, political and ideological significance of animals and how we are coming to terms with their presence as beings that are more than just exploitable.

This is a proposed session for the European Association of Archaeologists to be held in Kiel, Ger... more This is a proposed session for the European Association of Archaeologists to be held in Kiel, Germany 2021

Pastoralism and livestock management has been the basis for the economies, social capital and ideologies of societies throughout the past. Our contemporary world faces the reality of environmental transformations associated with large-scale agricultural practices and anthropogenically influenced ecological degradation. This session challenges participants to consider how pastoral practices have afforded and constrained past communities. How did the daily and annual rhythms of domestic species influence the short and long-term strategies of people? In what way did the activities associated with animal management change in the midst of environmental fluctuation? How did sociopolitical and palaeoecological change impact consumption and ritual use of herded animals? These questions may guide participants in widening their research horizons, and how they consider the ways pastoral strategies have adapted to change or resisted against it. We invite contributions focusing on pastoralism through the archaeological lens to illustrate the ways that mobile animal management mitigated, exacerbated or sustained various lifeways. We hope to expand the discussion on how mobile animal management can serve in mitigating the economic, environmental and social complexities of the contemporary world. Perspectives from Asia, the Americas, Africa and as well as Europe are encouraged so as to reflect the diversity in pastoral patterns around the world and the varied insights those contributions represent.

This organized session will take place in Ankara, Turkey during the ICAZ 2018 meetings from Septe... more This organized session will take place in Ankara, Turkey during the ICAZ 2018 meetings from September 2nd to 7th, 2018.

Please consider contributing a paper. If you have any questions, contact Aleksa Alaica (aleksa.k.alaica@gmail.com) or Deborah Ruscillo (druscill@wustl.edu).

Zooarchaeological research has been an integral tool in exploring past human interaction with the... more Zooarchaeological research has been an integral tool in exploring past human interaction with the natural environment. It forms an important part of archaeology as a discipline that provides greater insights into how populations of the past lived and interacted with their landscapes. The integration of theory and method in zooarchaeology is an important endeavour, which can be facilitated by the kinds of questions that are the focus of research projects. This symposium seeks to address the ways that scholars are currently working on human-environment interactions from the zooarchaeological perspective, including spatial analyses, ecological considerations and political dynamics of interregional interactions. We hope that participants will consider the balance of theory and method within their papers to consider the advancements that this intersection can provide to our understanding of the past.

by Dimitrije Markovic, Teodora Mladenović, Mladen Mladenović, Chiara Messana, Elena Vasileva, Vito Giuseppe Prillo, Milan Savić, Aleksa Alaica, Ana Beatriz Santos, Jessica Peto, ROCÍO PAZOS GARCÍA, Rosana Cerezo-Fernández, Jacob I Griffith, and Benjamin Wimmer

The book of abstracts from the 9th PZAF (Postgraduate Zooarchaeology Forum)

Arts, 2020

Ever since the Neolithic domestication, animals have been part of everyday human life, imaginatio... more Ever since the Neolithic domestication, animals have been part of everyday human life, imagination, and religion. In antiquity, many human pursuits, from plowing the field to fighting on the battlefield, from consumption of food to sacrificing to the gods, were shaped by, and relied upon, a symbiotic or interdependent relationship with animals. Animals were hunted or tamed, kept for entertainment or even worshipped. Material culture provides important evidence as representations and illustrations, expressions and mediations of ancient ideas and attitudes about, as well as experiences and interactions with the animal world which surrounded them. Iconographic representations may, for instance, reflect social status as much as religious practices. Such imagery can offer visual clues for the dissemination of animal husbandry as well as for beliefs in mythic creatures.

The theme of this Special Issue, "Animals in Ancient Material Cultures", broadly includes the Mediterranean world and the Near East, from ca. 10,000 ʙᴄᴇ to 500 ᴄᴇ (although exceptions in period or region may be considered). Approaching this subject from a broad chronological and geographical perspective allows the contributors to focus on a specific region, period, animal, and/or creature. Papers may draw on (zoo-)archaeological, physical, visual, and/or cultural material to examine the dispersal and exchange, appropriation, and acculturation of practices and beliefs. This Special Issue aims to bring together specialists from different fields of expertise, including but not limited to art history, ancient history, classics, classical archaeology, and zooarchaeology. Proposed subjects comprise topics such as pastoralism, human–animal relations, iconography, and cultic practices.

Canadian Journal of Archaeology, 2022

Weismantel's Playing with Things: Engaging with Moche Sex Pots undertakes a sweeping analysis of ... more Weismantel's Playing with Things: Engaging with Moche Sex Pots undertakes a sweeping analysis of the famed Moche Sex pots, reorienting them from a tabooed subject to vivid expressions of renewal and the potential of life. While she positions herself as an outsider to archaeology, it is clear early in this book that Weismantel's ethnographic training leads to rich interpretations about these vessels but also about ourselves. These sex pots are archaeological artifacts, but Weismantel approaches them from a place where they were and continue to be vibrant, once part of ancient social lives and still evoking strong reactions from museum visitors.

Latin American Antiquity, 2022

Paléorient, 2014

ABSTRACT Two Early Epipalaeolithic sites in Wadi Taiyiba, Northwestern Jordan, occur in quite dif... more ABSTRACT Two Early Epipalaeolithic sites in Wadi Taiyiba, Northwestern Jordan, occur in quite different geological circumstances than similar sites in neighbouring Wadi Ziqlab. Both would have been close to ancient Lake Lisan but one is a shallow site on a slope near the edge of the Lisan shoreline while the other has deeper, stratifi ed deposits in front of a collapsed rockshelter a short distance upstream, overlooking a hot spring. Small excavations at both sites have shown that faunal remains were scarce at the former but fairly common at the latter, where mountain gazelle is the most abundant taxon, followed by boar, hare, wolf, fox, red deer, aurochs, and wild sheep and goat, and there were also some human remains from at least two individuals. Both sites have some ground-stones. Overall, the shallow site appears to have been a short-term camp focused on tool manufacture and gearing-up for hunting, while the deeper site has a denser and much more diverse assemblage, human remains, and evidence for many different activities, suggesting that it was a longer-term residential site that was re-used over many seasons. The sites contribute to our understanding of site diversity and settlement pattern in the relatively poorly known Early Epipalaeolithic.

Résumé : Deux sites de l'Épipaléolithique ancien, localisés dans le Wadi Taiyiba en Jordanie, se trouvent dans une situation géologique tout à fait différente de celle des sites comparables dans la vallée voisine, le Wadi Ziqlab. En effet, ces deux sites étaient probablement à proximité de l&#39;ancien Lac Lisan : le premier est un site peu profond, sur une pente près de la rive du Lisan, tandis que le second comporte des dépôts stratifi és plus épais à l&#39;avant d&#39;un abri effondré, situé à courte distance en amont, dominant une source d'eau chaude. De courtes campagnes de fouilles dans ces deux sites ont montré que les restes fauniques étaient rares dans le premier, mais assez communs dans le second, où la gazelle de montagne est le taxon le plus abondant, suivi par le sanglier, le lièvre, le loup, le renard, le cerf, l&#39;aurochs, le mouton et la chèvre sauvages. Des ossements humains provenant d&#39;au moins deux individus ont également été découverts. Du matériel de mouture a été recueilli dans les deux sites. Le premier site semble correspondre globalement à une occupation de courte durée orientée vers la fabrication d'outils et les préparatifs pour la chasse, tandis que le second, qui présente un assemblage plus dense et beaucoup plus diversifi é, des restes humains et les traces de nombreuses activités, serait un site d'habitat de plus longue durée, réoccupé pendant plusieurs saisons. Ils contribuent à une meilleure connaissance de la diversité fonctionnelle des sites et des modèles d'occupation des territoires, qui sont assez mal connus pour le début de l'Eipaléolithique.

Quaternary International, 2022