Ritual practices and wrapped objects: Unpacking prehispanic Andean sacred bundles (2016) (original) (raw)
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The moving and mixing of objects and materials from different sources has played a central role in a range of Andean ritual practices, both in the past and the present. In this chapter, I address the potential conceptual links between some of these ritual practices, and the use of fill materials from mountaintop sites deployed in certain ushnu platforms built by – or under – the Incas. My objective is to explore an ethnographic approach to, and interpretation of, this particular aspect of these platforms.
Craft consumption in Early Nasca (ca. A.D. 1-450) society is explored by evaluating the use of polychrome pottery within the context of a residential village. Data are presented from the Early Nasca village, Marcaya, where excavations utilizing a household archaeology approach revealed that most polychromes were consumed by households with high and low sta- tus alike, while certain vessel shapes were reservedfor high-status households. These findings challenge the common assump- tion that highly valued crafts were monopolized by elites in middle-range societies, and show instead that there is a potential demand for crafts by both elites and commoners. It is argued that polychrome pottery was broadly used in Nasca because it was integral to ritual consumption that first took place in feasting ceremonies at the regional center Cahuachi, while cer- tain vessel types were restricted to high-status households that acted as intermediaries between Cahuachi and the village. Spanish abstract: Recientemente, los arque6logos han dirigido su atencidn mds al uso de los productos artesanales en las sociedades de caci- cazgos. Los estudios han demostrado que el uso de estos productos en las culturas prehispdnicasfue mucho mds complicado de lo que se habia previamente sugerido. No obstante, los andlisis han tendido a favorecer estudios con un enfoque al con- sumo de las dlites. Este articulo explora cdmo los productos artesenales fueron utilizados por las dlites y los plebeyos. El enfoque es la sociedad Nasca Temprano (1-450 d. C.) donde se evallia el consumo de la cerdmica policroma dentro del con- texto de Marcaya, una aldea residencial. Las investigaciones que utilizan la perspectiva de la arqueologia domdstica reve- laron que una cerdmica policroma fue utilizada por individuos de estatus alto y bajo. Por otro lado, ciertos tipos de vasijas fueron reservados para las dlites. Se sugiere que debido a su uso ritual, la cerdmica policroma disfrutd de una distribucio'n extensa en la sociedad Nasca Temprana, tanto en las aldeas como en los centros ceremoniales como Cahuachi, donde fue usada en las ceremonias. Los resultados del estudio tienen implicaciones para nuestra comprensidn del modo de incorpo- racidn de los productos artesanales en las economias de las sociedades de cacicazgos.