Kevin J Vaughn | University of California, Riverside (original) (raw)

Books by Kevin J Vaughn

Research paper thumbnail of Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes: Sociopolitical, Economic, and Symbolic Dimensions

"From stone for building to metal ores for ceremonial display, extracting mineral resources from ... more "From stone for building to metal ores for ceremonial display, extracting mineral resources from the earth played a central role in ancient Andean civilizations. Despite this, the sites that supported these activities have rarely been a source of interest to archaeologists, and comparative analysis between mines and quarries and their features has been exceedingly rare.

Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes focuses on the primary extraction of a variety of materials that, in many cases, were used by cultures like the Inca, Wari and Tiwanaku in well-studied sites. The book delves into the broader mining practices that link diverse materials for a fascinating tour of the social and economic life of the prehispanic period, and of ancient technologies, some of which are still in use. Through the politics of the societies, the practical engineering issues of mineral extraction, and the symbolic nature of the locations, readers are given a broader context of mining and quarrying than is usually seen in the literature. Here, too, is a wide variety of sites, materials, and time periods, including:

- Technological and social aspects of obsidian procurement focusing on the Quispisisa source.
- Variation in Inca building stone quarry operations in Ecuador and Peru.
- Clay and temper mining practices in the Lake Titicaca Basin.
- Pigment extraction from Chile to southern Peru from the early Holocene through the Early Intermediate Period.
- The Huarhua rock salt mine: possible archaeological implications of modern salt extraction practices.
- Later pre-Hispanic (including Inca) mining with consideration of technical, ceremonial and political context.
- Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes will find an interested audience among archaeologists, geologists, anthropologists, historians, researchers studying Latin America, and scholars in the physical sciences with an interest in the history of mining and how mining is embedded in the wider social realm."

Research paper thumbnail of The Evolution of Leadership

Research paper thumbnail of The Ancient Andean Village: Marcaya in Prehispanic Nasca

Research paper thumbnail of The Foundations of Power in the Prehispanic Andes

(If the link doesn't work, the volume should be available through AAA web site <aaanet.org> or An... more (If the link doesn't work, the volume should be available through AAA web site <aaanet.org> or Anthrosource <http://www.anthrosource.net/Journals.aspx>, but I haven't figured out how to purchase it from Anthro Source!).

Papers by Kevin J Vaughn

Research paper thumbnail of Plazas and communal space in Nasca: changing patterns of public ritual through the Formative and Early Intermediate periods (800 B.C.– A.D. 650) on the south coast of Peru

Documented plaza use in the southern Nasca region (SNR) has demonstrated that communal spaces wer... more Documented plaza use in the southern Nasca region (SNR) has demonstrated that communal spaces were absent at residential sites during the Early Nasca epoch. Indeed, communal rituals and performance were apparently limited to the pilgrimage center of Cahuachi and associated features of the built environment such as the Nasca geoglyphs. This pattern differs significantly from the pre and post-Cahuachi eras, when plazas, and the communal activities that took place in them, were central to many settlements. In this article, we build on previous work to evaluate the use of communal ritual space in the form of plazas and other aspects of the "built exterior" through time in the Nasca region. We employ data collected from multiple sites, from the SNR to the northern Nasca region (NNR) in Ica. We conclude that cycles of sociopolitical complexity, integration, and patterns of pilgrimage were factors in determining the amount, kind, and arrangement of public ritual space in the Nasca region during the Formative and Early Intermediate periods.

Research paper thumbnail of Plazas and communal space in Nasca: changing patterns of public ritual through the Formative and Early Intermediate periods (800 B.C.– A.D. 650) on the south coast of Peru

Documented plaza use in the southern Nasca region (SNR) has demonstrated that communal spaces wer... more Documented plaza use in the southern Nasca region (SNR) has demonstrated that communal spaces were absent at residential sites during the Early Nasca epoch. Indeed, communal rituals and performance were apparently limited to the pilgrimage center of Cahuachi and associated features of the built environment such as the Nasca geoglyphs. This pattern differs significantly from the pre and post-Cahuachi eras, when plazas, and the communal activities that took place in them, were central to many settlements. In this article, we build on previous work to evaluate the use of communal ritual space in the form of plazas and other aspects of the “built exterior” through time in the Nasca region. We employ data collected from multiple sites, from the SNR to the northern Nasca region (NNR) in Ica. We conclude that cycles of sociopolitical complexity, integration, and patterns of pilgrimage were factors in determining the amount, kind, and arrangement of public ritual space in the Nasca region during the Formative and Early Intermediate periods.

El uso documentado de las plazas en la Región Nazca Sur (SNR) ha demostrado que los espacios comunales están ausentes en los sitios residenciales durante la época Nasca Temprana. Efectivamente, los rituales y performances comunales estuvieron aparentemente limitados al centro de peregrinaje de Cahuachi y a los rasgos asociados del paisaje construido tales como los geoglifos de Nasca. Este patrón difiere significativamente de las épocas pre y post-Cahuachi, cuando las plazas, y las actividades comunales que se llevaron a cabo en ellas, fueron centrales en muchos asentamientos.En este artículo, nos basamos en trabajos previos para evaluar el uso del espacio ritual comunal en la forma de plazas y otros aspectos del “exterior construido” a lo largo del tiempo en la región Nasca. Utilizamos datos recolectados de diferentes sitios, desde la SNR hasta la región Nasca Norte (NNR) en Ica. Concluimos que los ciclos de complejidad sociopolítica, integración y patrones de peregrinaje eran los factores que determinaban la cantidad, tipo y organización del espacio ritual público en la región Nasca durante los periodos Formativo e Intermedio Temprano.

Research paper thumbnail of The Evolution of Leadership: Transitions in Decision Making from Small-Scale to Middle-Range Societies

Research paper thumbnail of Pilgrimage as costly signal: Religiously motivated cooperation in Chaco and Nasca

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2012

Religiously motivated cooperation in the form of pilgrimage is a neglected element in discussions... more Religiously motivated cooperation in the form of pilgrimage is a neglected element in discussions of the dynamics of cooperative behavior among humans. In this paper, we invoke costly signaling theory to propose how pilgrimage centers emerge in some contexts. On one hand, as has been suggested by other scholars, monumental centers are costly signals of the authority and influence of competing centers' leadership, which can include the leaders' influence over supernatural forces. We argue that equally important is the pilgrimage itself, which serves as a costly signal of the pilgrims' commitment to the religious system and the beliefs and values associated with it; this in turn facilitates cooperation and other prosocial behaviors among pilgrims who otherwise might be strangers. To explore the utility of this approach to pilgrimage, we compare Chaco Canyon in the US Southwest and Cahuachi in the Nasca region of Peru, two prestate sociocultural settings in which pilgrimage was an important component in maintaining cooperation, group cohesion, and identity. While specific patterns are distinct in each society, we argue that pilgrimage had a significant impact in the development of both prosocial behavior and religious leadership in Chaco and Nasca.

Research paper thumbnail of Ceramic production in ancient Nasca: provenance analysis of pottery from the Early Nasca and Tiza cultures through INAA

Journal of Archaeological …, Jan 1, 2006

We report the results of an instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) undertaken on a regio... more We report the results of an instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) undertaken on a regional sample of pottery from the Southern Nasca Region. The samples included specimens primarily from the Early Nasca (ca. A.D. 1e450) and Tiza (ca. A.D. 1000e1476) cultures from a total of 16 different prehispanic sites. The results of the analysis demonstrate centralized production of Early Nasca polychromes and decentralized production of pottery from the Tiza culture. The results of this analysis confirm previous conclusions about the organization of these two indigenous cultures of the south coast of Peru and support the hypothesis of an excess production of polychromes at the ceremonial center Cahuachi for Early Nasca, and multiple centers of production for the Tiza culture.

Research paper thumbnail of It’s About Time? Testing the Dawson Ceramic Seriation Using Luminescence Dating, Southern Nasca Region, Peru

Latin American Antiquity, 2014

The Dawson seriation of Nasca ceramics has long been assumed to be an accurate marker of temporal... more The Dawson seriation of Nasca ceramics has long been assumed to be an accurate marker of temporal changes in the prehispanic south coast of Peru. We test this assumption by directly dating a sample of sherds using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL). Our results suggest that while some phases of the seriation are valid chronological markers, others appear to be the result of other factors aside from time. We discuss the implications of these results and call for additional studies of ceramics using luminescence dating.

Los arqueólogos han asumido que la seriación de Dawson sobre la cerámica Nasca es un marcador preciso que registra cambios temporales en la costa sur del Perú prehispánico. Comprobamos esta asunción usando Luminiscencia Ópticamente Estimulada que fechó una muestra de 50 tiestos de cerámica provenientes de sitios ubicados en la región sur de Nasca. Nuestros resultados indican que algunas fases de la seriación Dawson son marcadores válidos de cronología, pero otros parecen ser el resultado de otros factores además del tiempo. En este trabajo discutimos las implicancias de estos resultados y sugerimos que son necesarios más estudios de cerámica usando fechados de luminiscencia.

Research paper thumbnail of Iron Isotope Analysis of Red and Black Pigments on Pottery in Nasca, Peru. Anthropological and Archaeological Sciences 6(3):241-254.

The Nasca culture of the south coast of Peru developed during the first millennium AD and is know... more The Nasca culture of the south coast of Peru developed during the first millennium AD and is known internationally for its elaborately decorated polychrome pots. Despite decades of iconographic analysis, little is known about the more technological aspects of Nasca pigment production and application.We present results from a pilot study on iron isotopes as a potential line of inquiry into the differences
between red and black pigments in Nasca pigments. As well, we conduct a small firing experiment to examine potential changes in isotope composition. Our analyses show three significant results. First, firing does not change the isotopic ratios of Fe in pigments. Second, red and black pigments show differences in their iron isotope composition, which relate to differences in the minerals used to make the different colors. Third, naturally available hematite samples show greater isotopic variation than pigment samples, suggesting that people selected a limited range of iron oxides to produce pigments.

Research paper thumbnail of The Economic, Political and Symbolic Dimensions of Mining in the Andes: an Introduction

Research paper thumbnail of The Organization of Mining in Nasca during the Early Intermediate Period: Recent Evidence from Mina Primavera

Research paper thumbnail of Economic, social, and ritual aspects of copper mining in ancient Peru: An Upper Ica Valley case study

Research paper thumbnail of Building Taypikala: Telluric Transformations in the Lithic Production of Tiwanaku

Research paper thumbnail of Minería de Hematita en la Costa Sur del Perú: Investigaciones Arqueológicas en la Mina Primavera

A pesar que la minería es una actividad crítica para obtener materiales primas, se reconoce poco ... more A pesar que la minería es una actividad crítica para obtener materiales primas, se reconoce poco sobre la minería en los Andes prehispánicos. En este artículo presentamos evidencia de actividad minera antigua desde Mina Primavera, una mina antigua bien preservada de Nasca, costa sur de Perú, con fechas de explotación principalmente entre el periodo Intermedio Temprano (1-750 d.C.) y el Horizonte Medio (750-1.000 d.C.). Nuestras excavaciones proveen evidencia de extracción y proceso de hematita –usada en ofrendas y como pigmentos–, pero también evidencia de rituales que occurieron en la mina. Discutimos las excavaciones y nuestras interpretaciones de los artefactos y hallazgos que se han encontrado.

Despite the fact that mining is a critical activity to obtain raw materials, very little is known about mining in the prehispanic Andes. In this paper we present evidence of ancient mining activities from Mina Primavera, a well-preserved hematite mine from Nasca, south coast of Peru dating primarily to the Early Intermediate Period (ca. A.D. 1-750) and to the Middle Horizon (ca. A.D. 750-1,000). Our excavations provide evidence not only for the extraction and processing of hematite –used in offerings and as pigments– but also provide evidence for rituals that took place in the mine. We discuss excavations conducted within the mine over several seasons, as well as our interpretations of artifacts and features found.

Research paper thumbnail of Pilgrimage as Costly Signal: Religiously Motivated Cooperation in Chaco and Nasca. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012):66-82. By John Kantner and Kevin J. Vaughn

Religiously motivated cooperation in the form of pilgrimage is a neglected element in discussions... more Religiously motivated cooperation in the form of pilgrimage is a neglected element in discussions of the dynamics of cooperative behavior among humans. In this paper, we invoke costly signaling theory to propose how pilgrimage centers emerge in some contexts. On one hand, as has been suggested by other scholars, monumental centers are costly signals of the authority and influence of competing centers’ leadership, which can include the leaders’ influence over supernatural forces. We argue that equally important is the pilgrimage itself, which serves as a costly signal of the pilgrims’ commitment to the religious system and the beliefs and values associated with it; this in turn facilitates cooperation and other prosocial behaviors among pilgrims who otherwise might be strangers. To explore the utility of this approach to pilgrimage, we compare Chaco Canyon in the US Southwest and Cahuachi in the Nasca region of Peru, two prestate sociocultural settings in which pilgrimage was an important component in maintaining cooperation, group cohesion, and identity. While specific patterns are distinct in each society, we argue that pilgrimage had a significant impact in the development of both prosocial behavior and religious leadership in Chaco and Nasca.

Research paper thumbnail of A Pilot Compositional Analysis of Nasca Ceramics from the Kroeber Collection. Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011): 3560-3567

In this paper we report on Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS... more In this paper we report on Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) of a sample of ceramics from Nasca, Peru collected by Alfred Kroeber in the 1920's and curated at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The analysis was conducted for two principal reasons: (1) to test the efficacy of LA-ICP-MS when compared to INAA; and (2) to evaluate samples that post date Early Nasca (where focus has primarily been placed). We show here that LA-ICP-MS is a viable alternative to INAA, present some of the compositional variability in the Kroeber samples, and propose some explanations for this variability.

Research paper thumbnail of Prehispanic mining in South America: New data from the upper Ica Valley, Peru

Research paper thumbnail of  Emergent Leadership in Middle-Range Societies: An Example from Nasca, Peru

Research paper thumbnail of Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes: Sociopolitical, Economic, and Symbolic Dimensions

"From stone for building to metal ores for ceremonial display, extracting mineral resources from ... more "From stone for building to metal ores for ceremonial display, extracting mineral resources from the earth played a central role in ancient Andean civilizations. Despite this, the sites that supported these activities have rarely been a source of interest to archaeologists, and comparative analysis between mines and quarries and their features has been exceedingly rare.

Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes focuses on the primary extraction of a variety of materials that, in many cases, were used by cultures like the Inca, Wari and Tiwanaku in well-studied sites. The book delves into the broader mining practices that link diverse materials for a fascinating tour of the social and economic life of the prehispanic period, and of ancient technologies, some of which are still in use. Through the politics of the societies, the practical engineering issues of mineral extraction, and the symbolic nature of the locations, readers are given a broader context of mining and quarrying than is usually seen in the literature. Here, too, is a wide variety of sites, materials, and time periods, including:

- Technological and social aspects of obsidian procurement focusing on the Quispisisa source.
- Variation in Inca building stone quarry operations in Ecuador and Peru.
- Clay and temper mining practices in the Lake Titicaca Basin.
- Pigment extraction from Chile to southern Peru from the early Holocene through the Early Intermediate Period.
- The Huarhua rock salt mine: possible archaeological implications of modern salt extraction practices.
- Later pre-Hispanic (including Inca) mining with consideration of technical, ceremonial and political context.
- Mining and Quarrying in the Ancient Andes will find an interested audience among archaeologists, geologists, anthropologists, historians, researchers studying Latin America, and scholars in the physical sciences with an interest in the history of mining and how mining is embedded in the wider social realm."

Research paper thumbnail of The Evolution of Leadership

Research paper thumbnail of The Ancient Andean Village: Marcaya in Prehispanic Nasca

Research paper thumbnail of The Foundations of Power in the Prehispanic Andes

(If the link doesn't work, the volume should be available through AAA web site <aaanet.org> or An... more (If the link doesn't work, the volume should be available through AAA web site <aaanet.org> or Anthrosource <http://www.anthrosource.net/Journals.aspx>, but I haven't figured out how to purchase it from Anthro Source!).

Research paper thumbnail of Plazas and communal space in Nasca: changing patterns of public ritual through the Formative and Early Intermediate periods (800 B.C.– A.D. 650) on the south coast of Peru

Documented plaza use in the southern Nasca region (SNR) has demonstrated that communal spaces wer... more Documented plaza use in the southern Nasca region (SNR) has demonstrated that communal spaces were absent at residential sites during the Early Nasca epoch. Indeed, communal rituals and performance were apparently limited to the pilgrimage center of Cahuachi and associated features of the built environment such as the Nasca geoglyphs. This pattern differs significantly from the pre and post-Cahuachi eras, when plazas, and the communal activities that took place in them, were central to many settlements. In this article, we build on previous work to evaluate the use of communal ritual space in the form of plazas and other aspects of the "built exterior" through time in the Nasca region. We employ data collected from multiple sites, from the SNR to the northern Nasca region (NNR) in Ica. We conclude that cycles of sociopolitical complexity, integration, and patterns of pilgrimage were factors in determining the amount, kind, and arrangement of public ritual space in the Nasca region during the Formative and Early Intermediate periods.

Research paper thumbnail of Plazas and communal space in Nasca: changing patterns of public ritual through the Formative and Early Intermediate periods (800 B.C.– A.D. 650) on the south coast of Peru

Documented plaza use in the southern Nasca region (SNR) has demonstrated that communal spaces wer... more Documented plaza use in the southern Nasca region (SNR) has demonstrated that communal spaces were absent at residential sites during the Early Nasca epoch. Indeed, communal rituals and performance were apparently limited to the pilgrimage center of Cahuachi and associated features of the built environment such as the Nasca geoglyphs. This pattern differs significantly from the pre and post-Cahuachi eras, when plazas, and the communal activities that took place in them, were central to many settlements. In this article, we build on previous work to evaluate the use of communal ritual space in the form of plazas and other aspects of the “built exterior” through time in the Nasca region. We employ data collected from multiple sites, from the SNR to the northern Nasca region (NNR) in Ica. We conclude that cycles of sociopolitical complexity, integration, and patterns of pilgrimage were factors in determining the amount, kind, and arrangement of public ritual space in the Nasca region during the Formative and Early Intermediate periods.

El uso documentado de las plazas en la Región Nazca Sur (SNR) ha demostrado que los espacios comunales están ausentes en los sitios residenciales durante la época Nasca Temprana. Efectivamente, los rituales y performances comunales estuvieron aparentemente limitados al centro de peregrinaje de Cahuachi y a los rasgos asociados del paisaje construido tales como los geoglifos de Nasca. Este patrón difiere significativamente de las épocas pre y post-Cahuachi, cuando las plazas, y las actividades comunales que se llevaron a cabo en ellas, fueron centrales en muchos asentamientos.En este artículo, nos basamos en trabajos previos para evaluar el uso del espacio ritual comunal en la forma de plazas y otros aspectos del “exterior construido” a lo largo del tiempo en la región Nasca. Utilizamos datos recolectados de diferentes sitios, desde la SNR hasta la región Nasca Norte (NNR) en Ica. Concluimos que los ciclos de complejidad sociopolítica, integración y patrones de peregrinaje eran los factores que determinaban la cantidad, tipo y organización del espacio ritual público en la región Nasca durante los periodos Formativo e Intermedio Temprano.

Research paper thumbnail of The Evolution of Leadership: Transitions in Decision Making from Small-Scale to Middle-Range Societies

Research paper thumbnail of Pilgrimage as costly signal: Religiously motivated cooperation in Chaco and Nasca

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2012

Religiously motivated cooperation in the form of pilgrimage is a neglected element in discussions... more Religiously motivated cooperation in the form of pilgrimage is a neglected element in discussions of the dynamics of cooperative behavior among humans. In this paper, we invoke costly signaling theory to propose how pilgrimage centers emerge in some contexts. On one hand, as has been suggested by other scholars, monumental centers are costly signals of the authority and influence of competing centers' leadership, which can include the leaders' influence over supernatural forces. We argue that equally important is the pilgrimage itself, which serves as a costly signal of the pilgrims' commitment to the religious system and the beliefs and values associated with it; this in turn facilitates cooperation and other prosocial behaviors among pilgrims who otherwise might be strangers. To explore the utility of this approach to pilgrimage, we compare Chaco Canyon in the US Southwest and Cahuachi in the Nasca region of Peru, two prestate sociocultural settings in which pilgrimage was an important component in maintaining cooperation, group cohesion, and identity. While specific patterns are distinct in each society, we argue that pilgrimage had a significant impact in the development of both prosocial behavior and religious leadership in Chaco and Nasca.

Research paper thumbnail of Ceramic production in ancient Nasca: provenance analysis of pottery from the Early Nasca and Tiza cultures through INAA

Journal of Archaeological …, Jan 1, 2006

We report the results of an instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) undertaken on a regio... more We report the results of an instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) undertaken on a regional sample of pottery from the Southern Nasca Region. The samples included specimens primarily from the Early Nasca (ca. A.D. 1e450) and Tiza (ca. A.D. 1000e1476) cultures from a total of 16 different prehispanic sites. The results of the analysis demonstrate centralized production of Early Nasca polychromes and decentralized production of pottery from the Tiza culture. The results of this analysis confirm previous conclusions about the organization of these two indigenous cultures of the south coast of Peru and support the hypothesis of an excess production of polychromes at the ceremonial center Cahuachi for Early Nasca, and multiple centers of production for the Tiza culture.

Research paper thumbnail of It’s About Time? Testing the Dawson Ceramic Seriation Using Luminescence Dating, Southern Nasca Region, Peru

Latin American Antiquity, 2014

The Dawson seriation of Nasca ceramics has long been assumed to be an accurate marker of temporal... more The Dawson seriation of Nasca ceramics has long been assumed to be an accurate marker of temporal changes in the prehispanic south coast of Peru. We test this assumption by directly dating a sample of sherds using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL). Our results suggest that while some phases of the seriation are valid chronological markers, others appear to be the result of other factors aside from time. We discuss the implications of these results and call for additional studies of ceramics using luminescence dating.

Los arqueólogos han asumido que la seriación de Dawson sobre la cerámica Nasca es un marcador preciso que registra cambios temporales en la costa sur del Perú prehispánico. Comprobamos esta asunción usando Luminiscencia Ópticamente Estimulada que fechó una muestra de 50 tiestos de cerámica provenientes de sitios ubicados en la región sur de Nasca. Nuestros resultados indican que algunas fases de la seriación Dawson son marcadores válidos de cronología, pero otros parecen ser el resultado de otros factores además del tiempo. En este trabajo discutimos las implicancias de estos resultados y sugerimos que son necesarios más estudios de cerámica usando fechados de luminiscencia.

Research paper thumbnail of Iron Isotope Analysis of Red and Black Pigments on Pottery in Nasca, Peru. Anthropological and Archaeological Sciences 6(3):241-254.

The Nasca culture of the south coast of Peru developed during the first millennium AD and is know... more The Nasca culture of the south coast of Peru developed during the first millennium AD and is known internationally for its elaborately decorated polychrome pots. Despite decades of iconographic analysis, little is known about the more technological aspects of Nasca pigment production and application.We present results from a pilot study on iron isotopes as a potential line of inquiry into the differences
between red and black pigments in Nasca pigments. As well, we conduct a small firing experiment to examine potential changes in isotope composition. Our analyses show three significant results. First, firing does not change the isotopic ratios of Fe in pigments. Second, red and black pigments show differences in their iron isotope composition, which relate to differences in the minerals used to make the different colors. Third, naturally available hematite samples show greater isotopic variation than pigment samples, suggesting that people selected a limited range of iron oxides to produce pigments.

Research paper thumbnail of The Economic, Political and Symbolic Dimensions of Mining in the Andes: an Introduction

Research paper thumbnail of The Organization of Mining in Nasca during the Early Intermediate Period: Recent Evidence from Mina Primavera

Research paper thumbnail of Economic, social, and ritual aspects of copper mining in ancient Peru: An Upper Ica Valley case study

Research paper thumbnail of Building Taypikala: Telluric Transformations in the Lithic Production of Tiwanaku

Research paper thumbnail of Minería de Hematita en la Costa Sur del Perú: Investigaciones Arqueológicas en la Mina Primavera

A pesar que la minería es una actividad crítica para obtener materiales primas, se reconoce poco ... more A pesar que la minería es una actividad crítica para obtener materiales primas, se reconoce poco sobre la minería en los Andes prehispánicos. En este artículo presentamos evidencia de actividad minera antigua desde Mina Primavera, una mina antigua bien preservada de Nasca, costa sur de Perú, con fechas de explotación principalmente entre el periodo Intermedio Temprano (1-750 d.C.) y el Horizonte Medio (750-1.000 d.C.). Nuestras excavaciones proveen evidencia de extracción y proceso de hematita –usada en ofrendas y como pigmentos–, pero también evidencia de rituales que occurieron en la mina. Discutimos las excavaciones y nuestras interpretaciones de los artefactos y hallazgos que se han encontrado.

Despite the fact that mining is a critical activity to obtain raw materials, very little is known about mining in the prehispanic Andes. In this paper we present evidence of ancient mining activities from Mina Primavera, a well-preserved hematite mine from Nasca, south coast of Peru dating primarily to the Early Intermediate Period (ca. A.D. 1-750) and to the Middle Horizon (ca. A.D. 750-1,000). Our excavations provide evidence not only for the extraction and processing of hematite –used in offerings and as pigments– but also provide evidence for rituals that took place in the mine. We discuss excavations conducted within the mine over several seasons, as well as our interpretations of artifacts and features found.

Research paper thumbnail of Pilgrimage as Costly Signal: Religiously Motivated Cooperation in Chaco and Nasca. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31 (2012):66-82. By John Kantner and Kevin J. Vaughn

Religiously motivated cooperation in the form of pilgrimage is a neglected element in discussions... more Religiously motivated cooperation in the form of pilgrimage is a neglected element in discussions of the dynamics of cooperative behavior among humans. In this paper, we invoke costly signaling theory to propose how pilgrimage centers emerge in some contexts. On one hand, as has been suggested by other scholars, monumental centers are costly signals of the authority and influence of competing centers’ leadership, which can include the leaders’ influence over supernatural forces. We argue that equally important is the pilgrimage itself, which serves as a costly signal of the pilgrims’ commitment to the religious system and the beliefs and values associated with it; this in turn facilitates cooperation and other prosocial behaviors among pilgrims who otherwise might be strangers. To explore the utility of this approach to pilgrimage, we compare Chaco Canyon in the US Southwest and Cahuachi in the Nasca region of Peru, two prestate sociocultural settings in which pilgrimage was an important component in maintaining cooperation, group cohesion, and identity. While specific patterns are distinct in each society, we argue that pilgrimage had a significant impact in the development of both prosocial behavior and religious leadership in Chaco and Nasca.

Research paper thumbnail of A Pilot Compositional Analysis of Nasca Ceramics from the Kroeber Collection. Journal of Archaeological Science 38 (2011): 3560-3567

In this paper we report on Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS... more In this paper we report on Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) of a sample of ceramics from Nasca, Peru collected by Alfred Kroeber in the 1920's and curated at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The analysis was conducted for two principal reasons: (1) to test the efficacy of LA-ICP-MS when compared to INAA; and (2) to evaluate samples that post date Early Nasca (where focus has primarily been placed). We show here that LA-ICP-MS is a viable alternative to INAA, present some of the compositional variability in the Kroeber samples, and propose some explanations for this variability.

Research paper thumbnail of Prehispanic mining in South America: New data from the upper Ica Valley, Peru

Research paper thumbnail of  Emergent Leadership in Middle-Range Societies: An Example from Nasca, Peru

Research paper thumbnail of Spatio-temporal patterns in obsidian consumption in the Southern Nasca Region, Peru

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2010

Geochemical data from 426 obsidian artifacts collected from a range of sites in the Southern Nasc... more Geochemical data from 426 obsidian artifacts collected from a range of sites in the Southern Nasca Region (SNR), Peru highlight spatial and diachronic patterns in obsidian consumption. We compare source ascription data against different models of obsidian acquisition, and find that, for the most part, people adhered to a simple economic model where the most proximate source was exclusively used. Slight departures from this model during the Archaic, Early Nasca, and Tiza periods suggest obsidian was in some cases acquired through alternative means. For the Archaic period we attribute this to higher degrees of mobility where obsidian acquisitionwas embedded within other activities. For the Early Nasca and Tiza periods we attribute this to the development of alternative exchange relations within the southcentral Peruvian region.We also examine differences in obsidian acquisition across SNR river valleys and by elevation, with greater source diversity occurring in the central valleys and at lower elevations.

Research paper thumbnail of Spatio-temporal patterns in obsidian consumption in the Southern Nasca Region, Peru

Geochemical data from 426 obsidian artifacts collected from a range of sites in the Southern Nasc... more Geochemical data from 426 obsidian artifacts collected from a range of sites in the Southern Nasca Region (SNR), Peru highlight spatial and diachronic patterns in obsidian consumption. We compare source ascription data against different models of obsidian acquisition, and find that, for the most part, people adhered to a simple economic model where the most proximate source was exclusively used. Slight departures from this model during the Archaic, Early Nasca, and Tiza periods suggest obsidian was in some cases acquired through alternative means. For the Archaic period we attribute this to higher degrees of mobility where obsidian acquisition was embedded within other activities. For the Early Nasca and Tiza periods we attribute this to the development of alternative exchange relations within the south central Peruvian region.We also examine differences in obsidian acquisition across SNR river valleys and by elevation, with greater source diversity occurring in the central valleys and at lower elevations.

Research paper thumbnail of Regional Integration and the Built Environment in Middle-Range Societies: Paracas and Early Nasca Houses and Communities

We use the built environment of residential sites (house form and community layout) to investigat... more We use the built environment of residential sites (house form and community layout) to investigate the effects of increasing regional integration at the level of the community in middle-range societies. We consider spatial data on house form, arrangement of residences within settlements, site location, and organization of non-residential spaces to reveal specific social phenomena linked with pan-regional political organization and ethnic identity formation, and evaluate how macro-scale processes affect micro-scale phenomena. Specifically, we argue that architecture reflects different community patterns of ritual, integration, and inequality. As a case study, we employ a diachronic perspective for two periods in Peruvian south coastal prehistory to assess the magnitude of changes implied by the genesis of Nasca society out of the preceding Paracas. Survey and excavation data from residential sites in the southern Nasca region indicate that important modifications in local community organization accompanied the regional, wide-ranging effects of Nasca society and its innovative form of regional integration. Comparison of the residential built environment from both periods suggests important changes in ritual and patterns of status acquisition and maintenance. In addition, house form indicates that a greater level of household autonomy accompanied increasing regional integration and a decrease in conflict.

Research paper thumbnail of Obsidian hydration dating on the South Coast of Peru

We compare over 230 obsidian hydration readings from 30 individual site components from the South... more We compare over 230 obsidian hydration readings from 30 individual site components from the Southern Nasca Region (SNR) with independent age estimates based on radiocarbon dates and temporally diagnostic artifacts. Although there are problems with small sample sizes, and readings must be adjusted for elevation, a very strong relationship accounting for nearly 90% of the total variation in the data set is found. This suggests that obsidian hydration dating (OHD) works in the SNR and is a viable means of independently estimating age. Residual values from our regression suggest that hydration age estimates are usually within 15% of the radiocarbon estimates. Finally, we present an equation other scholars can use to estimate age for Quispisisa obsidian in the SNR.

Research paper thumbnail of Muro et al. 2023_The colors of the empire: Assessing techno-decorative innovations in local, hybrid and intrusive ceramic pigments within the Wari interaction spheres, Peru (Journal of Archaeological Science:Reports)

Ancient empires developed diverse strategies of political and cultural domination in their conque... more Ancient empires developed diverse strategies of political and cultural domination in their conquered territories. One such strategy involved introducing imperially branded goods that reinforced a legitimizing ideology. The appearance of intrusive styles may be an indicator of political dominance; however, the introduction of new technologies is a stronger indicator of interpersonal engagement between people in the empire's core and dominated regions. In this paper, we specifically focus on innovations in colors, pigments, and decoration of intrusive, local, and hybrid ceramic styles resulting from the interaction between the Wari Empire (600-1050 CE) of the Central Andes and local societies from the north and south coast of Peru. These innovations can be documented long after the Wari influence faded in each region. By integrating archaeological and archaeometric perspectives, we examine techno-decorative innovations among locally produced pottery within the imperial interaction spheres. This paper presents and compares the results of chemical and mineral analyses conducted on samples of pigments on decorated ceramics from the Valleys of Jequetepeque, Nasca, and Moquegua. Results indicate that Wari could have directly promoted the circulation of specific ceramic pigments that guaranteed a particular "Wari experience of color." We argue that an inter-site approach to the study of colors, pigments, and decoration can better contribute to the understanding of politics and ceramic production relationships, religious syncretism, and cultural change in the Andean past.