This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Cerro Baúl, a site perched on a mountain in the Moquegua Valley (Peru), was once the southernmost... more Cerro Baúl, a site perched on a mountain in the Moquegua Valley (Peru), was once the southernmost outpost of the Wari Empire (600-1000 C.E.). Over the last three decades, the Proyecto Arqueológico Cerro Baúl (PACB) has excavated 62 nearly complete decorated ceramics in the central sectors of the site, ranging from tumblers to figurines. This limited but diverse assemblage demonstrates the forms and motifs employed by elite agents during ritual practices and occasions of socio-political engagement at Cerro Baúl. Through a detailed analysis of this corpus, we gain insights into the Wari provincial ceramic tradition, and we highlight the motifs, forms, and styles prioritized by the empire at a site in direct interaction with Tiwanaku.
Rituals, Collapse, and Radical Transformation in Archaic States, 2020
Empires are expansive states that incorporate other groups. Their extension may result from conqu... more Empires are expansive states that incorporate other groups. Their extension may result from conquest, colonization, marriage alliance, or in modern times, purchase. These processes can be disruptive to subordinate groups but may also open up new trade routes and offer opportunities to cooperative individuals. Successful, long-lived empires find ways to integrate subordinate polities and typically devise a range of strategies to do so. In other words, imperial polities that fall apart after a hundred years or so are more common than those that manage to maintain cooperation among elite ranks and stay together over the course of several centuries. The formation of strong relationships that maintain such polities are often constituted as state institutions, which involve a relatively standard set of activities, some of which were rituals. These rituals do not have to pertain to religion, but may have promoted adherence to ideals, legitimized the power of state officials, and reified the existence of the state within the natural order of things.
Williams, P. Ryan, Ana Cristina Londoño, Megan Hart, Donna Nash, Sofia Chacaltana C., & Megan Hen... more Williams, P. Ryan, Ana Cristina Londoño, Megan Hart, Donna Nash, Sofia Chacaltana C., & Megan Hente. 2013. Surface Architecture Scanning of Archaeological Sites with Ground Based Lidar in Southern Peru. In Proceedings of the 2013 Digital Heritage International Congress, Volume 2 edited by Alonzo Addison, Livio De Luca, Gabriele Guidi, & Sofia Pescarin, pp.605608. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
The role of ritual and religion in the expansion of archaic states is often overlooked in favor o... more The role of ritual and religion in the expansion of archaic states is often overlooked in favor of militaristic or economic explanations. In chapter 6, Williams and Nash explore religious ritual practice in the reproduction of social order at the Wari (600–1000 CE) colony in Moquegua, Peru, focusing on ritually important activities in three architecturally distinctive ceremonial structures around Cerro Baúl: Wari D-shaped temples; huaca shrines; and Titicaca Basin–inspired platform-sunken court complexes. Activities in all these structures take place contemporaneously on and around the Wari citadel situated on the 600-meter-tall mesa on the southern Wari frontier. According to the authors, the diverse rites in these complexes promoted the promulgation of distinct elite identities within the cosmopolitan sphere of what constituted Wari provincialism. However, it is the inclusiveness of ritual practice in the Wari centers that is most distinctive of Wari doctrine. It is through this i...
Utilizing archaeometric methods, we evaluate the nature of production of feasting events in the a... more Utilizing archaeometric methods, we evaluate the nature of production of feasting events in the ancient Wari state (600–1000 CE). Specifically, we focus on the fabrication of ceramic serving and brewing wares for the alcoholic beverage chicha de molle. We examine the source materials used in the creation of these vessels with elemental analysis techniques (INAA and LA-ICP-MS). We then assess the chemical traces of the residues present in the ceramic pores of the vessels to detect compounds indicative of the plants used in chicha production (DART-MS).While previous research has identified circumstantial evidence for the use of Schinus molle in the production process, this research presents direct evidence of its existence in the pores of the ceramic vessels. We also assess what this material evidence suggests about the sustainability of the feasting events as a mode of political interaction in the Wari sphere. Our evaluation indicates that regional resource use in the production of t...
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2021
The Andean Wari state expanded in the early 7th century CE. Wari built imperial style complexes i... more The Andean Wari state expanded in the early 7th century CE. Wari built imperial style complexes in several provincial areas to house state representatives, but many members of subject groups also would have experienced these buildings as occupants or visitors. This type of experience may have been a powerful catalyst for change in some regions. In the Wari province of Moquegua local leaders appear to have adopted features of Wari style houses; however, most houses were vernacular structures. Differences in the design of Wari and vernacular housing suggest that some features of Wari residential design and use may have clashed with cosmological principles evinced by the dwellings of subject groups. In this chapter I emphasize the importance of residential architecture as a 'structuring structure,' describe the significant differences between Wari and vernacular styles, and consider cosmological clashes and compromises as a common attribute of imperial society.
The remains of monumental mounds and the skeletons of large-scale irrigation systems, which trans... more The remains of monumental mounds and the skeletons of large-scale irrigation systems, which transformed vast swaths of coastal and highland terrain, have captured the interests of Andean archaeologists asking an array of questions for more than 50 years. Justin Jennings and Edward S. Swenson's edited volume Powerful Places in the Ancient Andes critiques these earlier efforts and asserts an ontological vocabulary on studies of the built environment and the animated Andean topography. Many contributors adopt ideas and nomenclature from Lefebvre's The Production of Space, and several emphasize the importance of circulations between human and nonhuman as essential acts that vitalize both parties. The introductory chapter is a lengthy critique of previous interpretations of space and place and outlines concepts that contribute to an ontological engagement with Andean architectural artifacts. Authors of other chapters offer a wide array of approaches and consider the animacy of built and telluric entities.
The activities associated with palaces provide clues to understanding the strategies leaders in p... more The activities associated with palaces provide clues to understanding the strategies leaders in prehistoric polities used to accrue power. Controlling craft specialists who make prestige goods is one such tactic. Many models presume preciosities were distributed to build alliances or for exchange; however, some objects may be imbued with sacred power. These singular goods would have a different distribution than prestige goods. The relations of production may also differ; elites, rather than attached specialists, may have produced singular objects as an empowering strategy. I propose that some elites in the Wari Empire (600-1000 ce) made elaborate pottery, some of which were sacred goods essential for the performance of rituals, in order to exclude others from this important source of power. To support this hypothesis, I describe the regional distribution of decorated pottery, the manner of its deposition, and evidence that elites created ceramic vessels in a Wari provincial palace at Cerro Baúl, Peru.
Ritual was an effective power building strategy in many archaic states and early empires. In this... more Ritual was an effective power building strategy in many archaic states and early empires. In this paper we describe the ritual abandonment of a palace residence at the Wari site of Cerro Baúl in southern Peru. This exclusive ritual event brought provincial and local elites together and included a funerary internment, feasting, and the intentional creation of numerous and varied offerings throughout the structure. We document the patterning and contents of these deposits including food animals, non-consumable and exotic animals, lithics, and broken ceramic vessels. We posit that lavish offerings such as the one we document here were sponsored by the state and communicated institutional facts to participants. Elements of these rituals may have been repeated across the Wari Empire and been integral to Wari institutions. As such, the study of ritual depositions and other patterned practices may be one means by which the presence of Wari elites or control by the Wari polity may be assessed through material remains. The features of ritual deposits may shed light on the strategies elites used to exert power over their subjects. This methodology may have broad application in the study of expansive polities in the Andes and elsewhere.
Data from domestic contexts can be used to address significant anthropological research questions... more Data from domestic contexts can be used to address significant anthropological research questions. Archaeological investigations in the Andes (areas once incorporated into the Inka empire, including northwestern Argentina, highland Bolivia, northern Chile, Ecuador, and Peru), like many parts of the world, rely on ethnohistory and ethnography to interpret the archaeological remains of domestic areas and make inferences about households. In this review I describe the ideas about Andean households that archaeologists are using and how domestic remains are being examined to infer social, economic, and political processes. Household archaeology in the Andes requires ethnoarchaeology and theory-building in order to understand the complex social dynamics at the foundation of ancient Andean societies.
The geomorphology of arid southern Peru has been sculpted by an impressive anthropogenic landscap... more The geomorphology of arid southern Peru has been sculpted by an impressive anthropogenic landscape: kilometers of desert transformed into agricultural terraces abandoned for the past 500 and 1000 years; these include the Inka (1450-1532 CE) agricultural systems at Camata and the Wari (600-1000 CE) agricultural systems at cerros Mejia and Baúl. Initial survey of these Andean agricultural landscapes indicates that processes of water erosion and degradation of constructed features have started, compromising the preservation of this important archaeological legacy. In this paper, we evaluate the use of ground based lidar for subcentimeter resolution surface mapping of terraced Andean agricultural systems, as well as its suitability for fine-scale surface mapping for reconstruction of micro-elevation models of past anthropogenic landscapes and for the understanding of erosion processes in arid lands. A major source of soil loss in dryland areas is the abandonment of agricultural fields. The lack of maintenance of the infrastructure of these once productive agricultural systems accelerates the loss of productive soil, and causes land desertification. Erosion patterns can be used for estimation of erosion rates on disturbed areas under development or intense agricultural use in dryland environments. These rates give a sense of the magnitude of degradation of poorly maintained earthworks in dryland regions. The documentation and quantification of the pattern and rate at which these constructed landforms degrade is of paramount importance for finding a balance between preservation of the delicate arid landscapes and the sustainable development of these impoverished regions.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Cerro Baúl, a site perched on a mountain in the Moquegua Valley (Peru), was once the southernmost... more Cerro Baúl, a site perched on a mountain in the Moquegua Valley (Peru), was once the southernmost outpost of the Wari Empire (600-1000 C.E.). Over the last three decades, the Proyecto Arqueológico Cerro Baúl (PACB) has excavated 62 nearly complete decorated ceramics in the central sectors of the site, ranging from tumblers to figurines. This limited but diverse assemblage demonstrates the forms and motifs employed by elite agents during ritual practices and occasions of socio-political engagement at Cerro Baúl. Through a detailed analysis of this corpus, we gain insights into the Wari provincial ceramic tradition, and we highlight the motifs, forms, and styles prioritized by the empire at a site in direct interaction with Tiwanaku.
Rituals, Collapse, and Radical Transformation in Archaic States, 2020
Empires are expansive states that incorporate other groups. Their extension may result from conqu... more Empires are expansive states that incorporate other groups. Their extension may result from conquest, colonization, marriage alliance, or in modern times, purchase. These processes can be disruptive to subordinate groups but may also open up new trade routes and offer opportunities to cooperative individuals. Successful, long-lived empires find ways to integrate subordinate polities and typically devise a range of strategies to do so. In other words, imperial polities that fall apart after a hundred years or so are more common than those that manage to maintain cooperation among elite ranks and stay together over the course of several centuries. The formation of strong relationships that maintain such polities are often constituted as state institutions, which involve a relatively standard set of activities, some of which were rituals. These rituals do not have to pertain to religion, but may have promoted adherence to ideals, legitimized the power of state officials, and reified the existence of the state within the natural order of things.
Williams, P. Ryan, Ana Cristina Londoño, Megan Hart, Donna Nash, Sofia Chacaltana C., & Megan Hen... more Williams, P. Ryan, Ana Cristina Londoño, Megan Hart, Donna Nash, Sofia Chacaltana C., & Megan Hente. 2013. Surface Architecture Scanning of Archaeological Sites with Ground Based Lidar in Southern Peru. In Proceedings of the 2013 Digital Heritage International Congress, Volume 2 edited by Alonzo Addison, Livio De Luca, Gabriele Guidi, & Sofia Pescarin, pp.605608. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York.
The role of ritual and religion in the expansion of archaic states is often overlooked in favor o... more The role of ritual and religion in the expansion of archaic states is often overlooked in favor of militaristic or economic explanations. In chapter 6, Williams and Nash explore religious ritual practice in the reproduction of social order at the Wari (600–1000 CE) colony in Moquegua, Peru, focusing on ritually important activities in three architecturally distinctive ceremonial structures around Cerro Baúl: Wari D-shaped temples; huaca shrines; and Titicaca Basin–inspired platform-sunken court complexes. Activities in all these structures take place contemporaneously on and around the Wari citadel situated on the 600-meter-tall mesa on the southern Wari frontier. According to the authors, the diverse rites in these complexes promoted the promulgation of distinct elite identities within the cosmopolitan sphere of what constituted Wari provincialism. However, it is the inclusiveness of ritual practice in the Wari centers that is most distinctive of Wari doctrine. It is through this i...
Utilizing archaeometric methods, we evaluate the nature of production of feasting events in the a... more Utilizing archaeometric methods, we evaluate the nature of production of feasting events in the ancient Wari state (600–1000 CE). Specifically, we focus on the fabrication of ceramic serving and brewing wares for the alcoholic beverage chicha de molle. We examine the source materials used in the creation of these vessels with elemental analysis techniques (INAA and LA-ICP-MS). We then assess the chemical traces of the residues present in the ceramic pores of the vessels to detect compounds indicative of the plants used in chicha production (DART-MS).While previous research has identified circumstantial evidence for the use of Schinus molle in the production process, this research presents direct evidence of its existence in the pores of the ceramic vessels. We also assess what this material evidence suggests about the sustainability of the feasting events as a mode of political interaction in the Wari sphere. Our evaluation indicates that regional resource use in the production of t...
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2021
The Andean Wari state expanded in the early 7th century CE. Wari built imperial style complexes i... more The Andean Wari state expanded in the early 7th century CE. Wari built imperial style complexes in several provincial areas to house state representatives, but many members of subject groups also would have experienced these buildings as occupants or visitors. This type of experience may have been a powerful catalyst for change in some regions. In the Wari province of Moquegua local leaders appear to have adopted features of Wari style houses; however, most houses were vernacular structures. Differences in the design of Wari and vernacular housing suggest that some features of Wari residential design and use may have clashed with cosmological principles evinced by the dwellings of subject groups. In this chapter I emphasize the importance of residential architecture as a 'structuring structure,' describe the significant differences between Wari and vernacular styles, and consider cosmological clashes and compromises as a common attribute of imperial society.
The remains of monumental mounds and the skeletons of large-scale irrigation systems, which trans... more The remains of monumental mounds and the skeletons of large-scale irrigation systems, which transformed vast swaths of coastal and highland terrain, have captured the interests of Andean archaeologists asking an array of questions for more than 50 years. Justin Jennings and Edward S. Swenson's edited volume Powerful Places in the Ancient Andes critiques these earlier efforts and asserts an ontological vocabulary on studies of the built environment and the animated Andean topography. Many contributors adopt ideas and nomenclature from Lefebvre's The Production of Space, and several emphasize the importance of circulations between human and nonhuman as essential acts that vitalize both parties. The introductory chapter is a lengthy critique of previous interpretations of space and place and outlines concepts that contribute to an ontological engagement with Andean architectural artifacts. Authors of other chapters offer a wide array of approaches and consider the animacy of built and telluric entities.
The activities associated with palaces provide clues to understanding the strategies leaders in p... more The activities associated with palaces provide clues to understanding the strategies leaders in prehistoric polities used to accrue power. Controlling craft specialists who make prestige goods is one such tactic. Many models presume preciosities were distributed to build alliances or for exchange; however, some objects may be imbued with sacred power. These singular goods would have a different distribution than prestige goods. The relations of production may also differ; elites, rather than attached specialists, may have produced singular objects as an empowering strategy. I propose that some elites in the Wari Empire (600-1000 ce) made elaborate pottery, some of which were sacred goods essential for the performance of rituals, in order to exclude others from this important source of power. To support this hypothesis, I describe the regional distribution of decorated pottery, the manner of its deposition, and evidence that elites created ceramic vessels in a Wari provincial palace at Cerro Baúl, Peru.
Ritual was an effective power building strategy in many archaic states and early empires. In this... more Ritual was an effective power building strategy in many archaic states and early empires. In this paper we describe the ritual abandonment of a palace residence at the Wari site of Cerro Baúl in southern Peru. This exclusive ritual event brought provincial and local elites together and included a funerary internment, feasting, and the intentional creation of numerous and varied offerings throughout the structure. We document the patterning and contents of these deposits including food animals, non-consumable and exotic animals, lithics, and broken ceramic vessels. We posit that lavish offerings such as the one we document here were sponsored by the state and communicated institutional facts to participants. Elements of these rituals may have been repeated across the Wari Empire and been integral to Wari institutions. As such, the study of ritual depositions and other patterned practices may be one means by which the presence of Wari elites or control by the Wari polity may be assessed through material remains. The features of ritual deposits may shed light on the strategies elites used to exert power over their subjects. This methodology may have broad application in the study of expansive polities in the Andes and elsewhere.
Data from domestic contexts can be used to address significant anthropological research questions... more Data from domestic contexts can be used to address significant anthropological research questions. Archaeological investigations in the Andes (areas once incorporated into the Inka empire, including northwestern Argentina, highland Bolivia, northern Chile, Ecuador, and Peru), like many parts of the world, rely on ethnohistory and ethnography to interpret the archaeological remains of domestic areas and make inferences about households. In this review I describe the ideas about Andean households that archaeologists are using and how domestic remains are being examined to infer social, economic, and political processes. Household archaeology in the Andes requires ethnoarchaeology and theory-building in order to understand the complex social dynamics at the foundation of ancient Andean societies.
The geomorphology of arid southern Peru has been sculpted by an impressive anthropogenic landscap... more The geomorphology of arid southern Peru has been sculpted by an impressive anthropogenic landscape: kilometers of desert transformed into agricultural terraces abandoned for the past 500 and 1000 years; these include the Inka (1450-1532 CE) agricultural systems at Camata and the Wari (600-1000 CE) agricultural systems at cerros Mejia and Baúl. Initial survey of these Andean agricultural landscapes indicates that processes of water erosion and degradation of constructed features have started, compromising the preservation of this important archaeological legacy. In this paper, we evaluate the use of ground based lidar for subcentimeter resolution surface mapping of terraced Andean agricultural systems, as well as its suitability for fine-scale surface mapping for reconstruction of micro-elevation models of past anthropogenic landscapes and for the understanding of erosion processes in arid lands. A major source of soil loss in dryland areas is the abandonment of agricultural fields. The lack of maintenance of the infrastructure of these once productive agricultural systems accelerates the loss of productive soil, and causes land desertification. Erosion patterns can be used for estimation of erosion rates on disturbed areas under development or intense agricultural use in dryland environments. These rates give a sense of the magnitude of degradation of poorly maintained earthworks in dryland regions. The documentation and quantification of the pattern and rate at which these constructed landforms degrade is of paramount importance for finding a balance between preservation of the delicate arid landscapes and the sustainable development of these impoverished regions.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
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