Post-Tiwanaku Ethnogenesis in the Coastal Moquuegua Valley, Peru (original) (raw)
Related papers
2016
Many models of colonial interaction are build from cases of European colonialism among Native American and African peoples, and, as a result, they are often ill-suited to account for state expansion and decline in non-Western contexts. This dissertation investigates social organization and intraregional interaction in a non-western colonial context to broaden understanding of colonial interaction in diverse sociocultural settings. Drawing on social identity theory, population genetics, and social network analysis, patterns of social organization at the margins of the expansive pre-Hispanic Tiwanaku state (ca. AD 500-1100) are examined. According to the dual diaspora model of Tiwanaku colonial organization in the Moquegua Valley of southern Peru, Chen Chen-style and Omo-style ethnic communities who colonized the valley maintained distinct ethnic identities in part through endogamous marriage practices. Biodistance analysis of cranial shape data is used to evaluate regional gene flow among Tiwanaku-affiliated communities in Moquegua. Overall, results of biodistance analysis are consistent with the dual diaspora model. Omoand Chen Chen-style communities are distinct in mean cranial shape, and it appears that ethnic identity structured gene flow between ethnic groups. However, there are notable exceptions to the overall pattern, and it appears that marriage practices were structured by multiple factors, including ethnic affiliation, geographic proximity, and smaller scales of social organization, such as corporate kin groups. Social network analysis of cranial shape data is used to implement a multi-and mesoscalar approach to social organization to assess family-based organization at a regional level. Results indicate the study sample constituted a social network comprised This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Kent and Judy Johnson, and my wife, Theresa Johnson. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A number of individuals and institutions helped bring this dissertation to completion. First and foremost are my committee members. I would especially like to thank my co-chairs, Jane Buikstra and Chris Stojanowski, who helped me navigate many obstacles and provided crucial advice and support along the way. Their professional accomplishments and the high quality of their scholarship will serve as motivation for years to come. Jane's continued emphasis on the need to critically engage social theory, methodology, and contextual data helped me become a more holistic bioarchaeologist, and I hope that is reflected in the dissertation. Chris' willingness to collaborate, advise, and mentor are unparalleled, and I don't know that I can ever really thank him for what he has helped me achieve. Kelly Knudson offered thoughtful, informed feedback and valuable advice throughout the development and execution of this project, and it would not have come together without her aid. The wealth of knowledge Paul Goldstein possesses about Tiwanaku society, Moquegua Valley archaeology, and (dated) pop culture references made him an invaluable member of my committee. Beyond my committee a number of people helped me complete this project. Financial support for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant No. 1441894. At Museo Contisuyo, Directora Lic. Patricia Palacios Filinich offered key advice and ensured I had workspace during the busy field season in Moquegua. At Museo Contisuyo I would also like to acknowledge Antonio Oquiche, former Director, Yamilex Tejada Alvarez, Administradora de Colecciones, and all the staff who create such a welcoming environment. Luis (Lucho)
An Archaeological Investigation of Ethnicity at Las Varas, Peru
How can archaeologists identity different ethnic groups using only their material remains? To investigate interaction and exchange between ethnic groups in the Andes, I excavated Las Varas, an 11th-century village in the Jequetepeque Valley, northern Peru. This dissertation presents the results of my excavation (which uncovered houses, plazas, burials, and a ritual platform) and provides information on the daily life, ceremony, and burial traditions of the inhabitants of Las Varas. The presence of cist tombs, stone jambs next to entrances, and large quantities of painted bowls at Las Varas indicates influence from the highland culture of Cajamarca. Coastal-style pottery was found concentrated in the western entrance of Las Varas in a ritual platform. Plazas and cist tombs were found at the southern edge of the site, next to a trail that led to the highlands. A cemetery in the northeastern corner of Las Varas yielded three graves with seated individuals accompanied by coastal or Lambayeque-style pottery. From these results I argue that we can detect differences between ethnic groups by using evidence from different contexts such as residences, cemeteries, and ceremonial plazas. The synthesis of such disparate kinds of data provides us with an integrated picture of the process by which ethnic identity was constructed and maintained in the community.
2012
Theory in archaeology often concentrates on the “rise” or “collapse” of civilizations, while periods of instability following collapse have been underresearched. This is especially true in Bolivia’s southern Titicaca basin, where previous investigations have focused on the growth, expansion, and collapse of Tiwanaku. The goal of this dissertation was to use the large settlement of Pukara de Khonkho (located just 25 km south of Tiwanaku) as a test case to examine post-collapse community development and to clarify the local chronology, specifically considering the roles of population movement and intercommunity interaction. The research expands a body of literature on the archaeology of communities, a frame which is especially useful given the local nature of post-collapse developments. Pukara de Khonkho was examined through a multifaceted program of archaeological excavation, mapping, and artifact analysis. In order to put the site in regional and temporal context, additional research was conducted into Late Intermediate Period components at the nearby site of Khonkho Wankane and the Inca-Colonial site of Ch’aucha de Khula Marka. The major analytic focus was on a study of ceramics, including the creation of a new local typology. This new data provides a more nuanced understanding than was previously possible of Late Intermediate Period occupation in the southern Titicaca Basin and illustrates the broader value of post-collapse studies. Following Tiwanaku collapse (ca. 1150 AD), the ceremonial centers of the altiplano were virtually abandoned, giving way to smaller, ephemeral settlements, including ritual and quotidian use of pre-Tiwanaku sites like Khonkho Wankane. Research conducted for this dissertation has demonstrated that around 1300 AD some of these scattered populations began to come together at Pukara de Khonkho. Investigations illustrated that the site was well-integrated into the local landscape, with clearly defined areas for ritual, mortuary, domestic, and agricultural purposes as well as a shared pattern of material culture. The site was abruptly abandoned around the time of Inca conquest.
World …, 1998
Nothing is more central to theories of prehispanic Andean state formation than the relationship between highland core areas and ecologically-distinct peripheral regions. Various models, ranging from direct colonization to trade relations have been proposed and are usually grounded in architectural and material cultural patterning. We examine the human biological implications of colonization from the perspective of Tiwanaku, primarily during the expansive Tiwanaku IV and V periods (ca. AD 500-1000). Using inherited skeletal features and artificial cranial deformation, we explore community patterning within the Titicaca Basin in comparison to that for the Moquegua (Middle Osmore) Valley, a region known to have strong cultural ties with the highland altiplano. Based in a sample of over 500 individuals, we test archaeologicallyderived models that posit mass migration into the Moquegua region. Our results are not inconsistent with a migration model.
Cross-valley communities: Identity and interaction in Early Postclassic period highland Chiapas
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2014
Over the last half-century, anthropologists have employed the concept of ''communities'' as an interpretive framework. While many scholars have conceptualized the community as a territorial unit, it may be more usefully viewed as a type of social network. As social networks, communities create patterned relationships and interactions between their members, which can be reflected in various aspects of material culture from landscape markers to similarities in the stylistic attributes of domestic artifact assemblages. This article examines the nature and degree of interaction between the Early Postclassic period archaeological sites of Moxviquil, Huitepec, and Yerba Buena in highland Chiapas, and the degree to which the relationships between them constitute communities as social networks. Statistical measures of homogeneity and boundedness are used to compare ceramic vessel attributes at these three sites, and to identify patterns of exchange, emulation and distinction in ceramic assemblages. The results of the analysis suggest high degrees of homogeneity in ceramic attributes between Jovel Valley sites, in contrast with low degrees of homogeneity between the Jovel Valley sites and Yerba Buena. However, the results also indicate a low degree of boundedness between these three sites, suggest low-intensity inter-valley interaction between separate communities.