Edward Swenson | University of Toronto (original) (raw)

Papers by Edward Swenson

Ñawpa Pacha, 2021

Recent research in the southern Jequetepeque Valley provides evidence that gender ideologies, dua... more Recent research in the southern Jequetepeque Valley provides evidence that gender ideologies, dualistic spatial orders, and geopolitical relations underwent major transformations between the late 7th and 9th centuries C.E. Data from the Late Moche site of Huaca Colorada demonstrate that a dualistic cosmological schema informed the layout of the main monument earlier in the Moche era. However, the foundation of the neighboring ceremonial center of Tecapa during the second half of the Middle Horizon intensified this dyadic layout, pointing to the significant influence of highland cultures in the reformulation of gender ideologies and political relations on the coast. Las recientes investigaciones llevadas a cabo en Cañoncillo, en el sur del Valle de Jequetepeque aportan evidencias de como las ideologías de género, los órdenes espaciales duales y las relaciones geopolíticas sufrieron grandes transformaciones entre finales del siglo VII y IX d. C. Los datos provenientes del sitio Moche Tardío de Huaca Colorada demuestran que el esquema cosmológico diádico/dual influenció el diseño del monumento principal en la era Moche. Sin embargo, en la fundación del centro ceremonial vecino de Tecapa en la segunda mitad del Horizonte Medio se intensifica de este diseño dual, señalando la significativa influencia de las culturas serranas en la reformulación de las ideologías de género y las relaciones políticas en la costa.

Swenson Edward R. and Jorge Chiguala. 2019 Relaciones entre espacio ritual y doméstico en sitios Moche del valle Jequetepeque, Perú. Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Études Andines 47(2): 195-216., 2019

Bulletin de l'Institut français d'études andines 47 (2) | 2018 Varia Relaciones entre espacio rit... more Bulletin de l'Institut français d'études andines 47 (2) | 2018 Varia Relaciones entre espacio ritual y doméstico en sitios Moche del valle Jequetepeque, Perú Relations entre les espaces rituel et domestique dans les sites Moche de la vall é e de Jequetepeque, Pérou The relationship of ritual and domestic space in the Moche settlements of Jequetepeque valley, Peru

Swenson Edward 2020 “The Meaning within the Moche Mask.” In The Meaning Within: Case Studies in the Interpretation of Symbolic Activities, Artifacts, and Images, edited by Peter Eeckhout. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 2020

Swenson Edward 2019 The Partible Neighborhoods of the Late Moche Period in the Jequetepeque Valley, Peru. In Neighborhoods in the Perspective of Anthropological Archaeology, edited by David Pacifico and Lise Truex. Papers of the American Anthropological Association (A3PA) Vol. 30, pp. 100-113., 2019

An investigation of Late Moche hamlets, hillside ceremonial sites, and large monumental centers i... more An investigation of Late Moche hamlets, hillside ceremonial sites, and large monumental centers in the Jequete-peque Valley (650-850 CE) reveals that neighborhood-like groupings were tied to rural and kin-based communities. However, the diversity of settlement types and the non-fixed nature of Jequetepeque "neighborhoods" reveal that North Coast political landscapes defy reduction to an Asiatic mode of urbanism or related village-state models. Instead, the distinctive neighborhood configurations are best explained in terms of historically specific religious and political ideologies. In contrast to the permanently occupied cities of Huacas de Moche and Pampa Grande, traditional neighborhoods, understood as spatially bounded social units, poorly describe the densely populated but pulsating political landscape of the Jequetepeque region. Nevertheless, the archaeological evidence indicates that intra-settlement sociopolitical associations, transcending familial or household allegiances, were consciously maintained and materialized in specific settlements, even when occupation was ephemeral and seasonal. The construction of such (imagined) communities, both within and between different settlements of the Jequetepeque Valley, was determined in large part by rituals of commensality and the sharing of food with tutelary huacas. [Moche, Jequetepeque, Intermediate-scale social group, Seasonal habitation, Commensality]

Temporary, ritualized and infrequent gatherings are commonly defined by an altered material frame... more Temporary, ritualized and infrequent gatherings are commonly defined by an altered material frame, whether intensified, simplified or reconstituted. The establishment of this frame often requires considerable resources and time and can significantly redirect quotidian routines and temporalities in anticipation of the event in question. The author argues that temporary festivals provided one of the principal means to 'assemble' larger political alliances among the ancient Moche of northern Peru. DeLanda's variables of coding and territorialization are employed to interpret how charged, public ceremonies disseminated Moche ideology and profoundly shaped power relations in a region characterized by political decentralization. Therefore, archaeologists investigating temporary gatherings should not restrict analysis to their theatrical dimensions. The deep-reaching power of public spectacles lies not so much in reifying or mystifying social relations but in directly regulating domestic economies and life rhythms beyond the confines of temporary gatherings.

A B S T R A C T Romantic notions that the advancement of archaeological knowledge depends on the ... more A B S T R A C T Romantic notions that the advancement of archaeological knowledge depends on the thrill of unanticipated discoveries departs from the standard practice of interpreting data according to impartial research designs. However, the unexpected find commonly stymies the deductive testing of hypothesis, and the material traces (signs) upon which research relies often disrupt the course of archaeological investigations. The main objective of this article is to demonstrate that the distinct semiotic affordances of material remains can significantly affect archaeological interpretations. The undertheorized epistemological problems of revelation in archaeology are brought to bear through an examination of the spectral quality of graffiti etched onto the walls of the Moche ceremonial site of Huaca Colorada in northern Peru (CE 650–850). An interpretation of the graffiti in relationship to rituals of human sacrifice and architectural renovation demonstrates that the power of the monument was founded on its semiotic density; the complex layering of signs—that continually spawned new signs—created a place of limitless discovery and affect that profoundly shaped perceptions of the huaca for both Moche visitors and later archaeologists alike. Ultimately, the graffiti provide a rare data set that permits a consideration of the effects of signs as " intepretants " in the tradition of Peirce.

Over the course of the last three decades, archaeological research has demonstrated the fundament... more Over the course of the last three decades, archaeological research has demonstrated the fundamental importance of ritual violence in the religious and political institutions of the ancient north coast of Peru. The discovery of sacrificed remains in a diverse array of contexts proves that iconographic depictions of violence represented more than mythic accounts, but alluded to lived social realities. The 15 chapters of this edited volume provide a comprehensive synthesis of archaeologically documented traditions of ritual killing on the North Coast, and the authors mobilize innovative methods and original conceptual frameworks to interpret the meaning, social context and political ramifications of religiously sanctioned destruction. I first assess some of the principal revelations of the volume and briefly discuss a few of the methods applied by the authors to reconstruct the identity of sacrificed people and the sociopolitical context of their life, death and occasional re-subjectification following sacrifice. I will then evaluate the different interpretations formulated by the authors to explain the rationale and underlying value systems of sacrificial killing. Finally, I will conclude with some of the emerging patterns and outstanding questions raised in the chapters. The authors adopt a contextual bioarchaeological approach that makes use of a number of methods, includ

Ñawpa Pacha, 2021