Journal Articles by Sarah A Kennedy
Ñawpa Pacha Journal of the Institute of Andean Studies, 2023
This paper examines the spatial layout of three Spanish colonial silver refineries from the weste... more This paper examines the spatial layout of three Spanish colonial silver refineries from the western Lake Titicaca Basin of southern Peru. These sites, located approximately 15 km from the city of Puno, Peru, were operated by Indigenous laborers throughout the Middle Colonial period (AD 1600-1800). Space syntax analysis is employed to evaluate the degree of control and access across these sites, examining the location of dormitories, storage buildings, administrative patios, work areas, entrances, and exits. Using both intra-and inter-site comparisons, results indicate the presence of restricted and segregated areas at all three refineries. However, inter-site comparisons highlight the integrated nature of the smaller, more rural refineries, revealing how control of labor manifested in diverse ways at the local scale. Este artículo examina las disposiciones espaciales de tres refinerías de plata coloniales españolas de la cuenca occidental del Lago Titicaca en el sur del Perú. Estos sitios, ubicados aproximadamente a 15 km de la ciudad de Puno, Perú, fueron operados por trabajadores Indígenas durante el período colonial medio (1600-1800 dC). Se emplea el análisis de sintaxis espacial para evaluar el grado de control y acceso a través de estos sitios, examinando la ubicación de dormitorios, edificios de almacenamiento, patios administrativos, áreas de trabajo, entradas y salidas. Basado en comparaciones tanto dentro como entre sitios, los resultados indican la presencia de áreas restringidas y segregadas en las tres refinerías. Sin embargo, la comparación entre sitios destaca la forma integrada de las refinerías más pequeñas y rurales, revelando cómo el control de trabajo se manifestó de diversas maneras a escala local.
Advances in Archaeological Practice, 2021
Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectroscopy is commonly used for testing toxic levels of heav... more Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectroscopy is commonly used for testing toxic levels of heavy metals in modern industrial waste sites, and it has seen growing applicability in the context of archaeological survey and soils. In this study, we present the results of our pXRF analysis of surface soils at a historic silver refinery located near Puno, Peru, in the western Lake Titicaca Basin. The results of our analysis identified hazardous levels of antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) in excavation soils, necessitating the relocation of planned excavation units and the use of personal protective equipment. This study highlights the advantages of rapid, in situ pXRF analysis of surface soils in contaminated industrial archaeology sites to assess potential harm to human health.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2020
This study presents the results of in situ portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analyses of surface... more This study presents the results of in situ portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analyses of surface soils at the site of Trapiche Itapalluni, a Spanish colonial silver refinery located 15 km southwest of Puno, Peru in the western Lake Titicaca Basin (4000 masl). Although the benefits of pXRF analysis are well known, such as its wide availability and rapid, non-destructive nature, there has been little applicability of this technique at colonial metallurgical sites in the high-altitude Andes. The results of our analysis confirmed the introduction of the patio process
technique of silver refining from Mexico to the Puno Bay, and further clarified areas of intense metallurgical production, including local Andean adaptations. This study highlights the advantages of in situ pXRF analysis of surface soils at industrial archaeology sites, especially in marginal and high-altitude environments such as the southern Andes.
Qillqana, 2019
Es frecuente, en los estudios sobre arqueología de unidades domésticas, identificar viviendas a t... more Es frecuente, en los estudios sobre arqueología de unidades domésticas, identificar viviendas a través de la contextualización de arquitectura superficial. Sin embargo, ¿cuáles son las herramientas disponibles ante la ausencia o pobre preservación de contextos arquitectónicos con valor arqueológico? Este artículo aborda tal interrogante a raíz de nuestras investigaciones conducidas en Cheqoq, sitio arqueológico de filiación inka ubicado al noroeste del Cuzco, en el distrito de Maras. Mediante el análisis paleobotánico, arqueozoológico y de microlascas líticas recuperadas, por flotación y zarandeo, en muestras de suelo, se pretende identificar y definir contextos domésticos ante la ausencia de arquitectura. Se presentan cálculos de frecuencia, porcentajes y ubicuidad con el propósito de exponer los beneficios y limitaciones para este tipo de análisis y sus resultados. Por consiguiente, este estudio proporciona un modelo que permite identificar contextos domésticos en otros sitios de la región donde exista ausencia de evidencia arquitectónica. Palabras clave: Cuzco, Horizonte Tardío, período inka, arqueología doméstica, flotación y muestreo de suelo, microarqueología.
Frequently, archaeological studies of domestic units include the identification of dwellings through the contextualization of surface architecture. However, what are the tools available in the absence and/or poor preservation of architectural contexts with archaeological value? The present article covers this question as a result of our investigations conducted within the Inka archaeological site of Cheqoq, located northwest of Cuzco, in the district of Maras. With recovery through flotation and dry screening, we analyze paleobotanical, archaeozoological and lithic micro-artifacts to identify and define domestic contexts in the absence of architecture. Frequency, percentages and ubiquity calculations are presented in order to explain the benefits and limitations of this type of analysis and its results. Consequently, the present study provides a model that allows us to identify domestic contexts in other places in the region where there is an absence of architectural evidence.
International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2019
The papers in this special issue arise from the Status and Identity in the Imperial Andes session... more The papers in this special issue arise from the Status and Identity in the Imperial Andes session held at the 2017 meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Vancouver, Canada. That session focused on the role of status and power in shaping colonial interactions and identities throughout the Andes during the fifteenth to seventeenth century CE. The papers in this issue examine how Inka and colonial period individuals (indigenous, African, mestizo, etc.) selectively incorporated or rejected Imperial goods, and how differing levels of access to these goods may have influenced social status, health, and relationships with imperial actors.
International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2019
This study explores the politics of indigenous foodways in early colonial Peru, examining the pro... more This study explores the politics of indigenous foodways in early colonial Peru, examining the processes by which indigenous households adapted to demographic stress, resettlement, and evangelization in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries CE.We examine faunal and botanical data from two planned towns (reducciones) located in Peru’s Zaña Valley—Carrizales and Mocupe Viejo. Inter- and intra-site comparison of food procurement and diet reveal different strategies and timing in the ways that Eurasian products were incorporated into native foodways, suggesting that while Old World animal domesticates were rapidly integrated into the indigenous diet, plant domesticates tied to the Iberian palate were not as readily adopted.
International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2019
State expansion brings cultural change or persistence, and foodways reveal how status and identit... more State expansion brings cultural change or persistence, and foodways reveal how status and identity result from these events. We examine diet choices and food service at two large villages in the Inka imperial heartland (Cuzco, Peru). Yunkaray was occupied during the time of early Inka expansion (eleventh to fifteenth centuries), whereas Cheqoq housed a late imperial (fifteenth to sixteenth centuries) multiethnic retainer population serving the Inka nobility. We use faunal remains and ceramic assemblages to reveal the uneven process of “Inkanization” and find that migrated retainer laborers had greater affinities with Inka practices than early Inka marriage partners.
Through analysis of zooarchaeological remains from two occupations at the site of Carrizales, we ... more Through analysis of zooarchaeological remains from two occupations at the site of Carrizales, we examine how an indigenous Peruvian maritime community responded to imperial interventions in their daily lives in the late sixteenth century. Following their forced resettlement into a planned reducción village, and amidst demographic decline and tribute extraction, Carrizales’s residents significantly changed how they put food on the table, pursuing less time-intensive strategies of food collec-tion and incorporating Eurasian animals into their diets. These results illustrate the dynamism of relations between imperial political economies and domestic life and the efficacy of indigenous survival strategies.
Through analysis of zooarchaeological remains from two occupations at the site of Carrizales, we ... more Through analysis of zooarchaeological remains from two occupations at the site of Carrizales, we examine how an indigenous Peruvian maritime community responded to imperial interventions in their daily lives in the late sixteenth century. Following their forced resettlement into a planned reducción village, and amidst demographic decline and tribute extraction, Carrizales's residents significantly changed how they put food on the table, pursuing less time-intensive strategies of food collection and incorporating Eurasian animals into their diets. These results illustrate the dynamism of relations between imperial political economies and domestic life and the efficacy of indigenous survival strategies.
Articles and Chapters by Sarah A Kennedy
Maritime Communities of the Ancient Andes, 2020
Papers by Sarah A Kennedy
International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2019
State expansion brings cultural change or persistence, and foodways reveal how status and identit... more State expansion brings cultural change or persistence, and foodways reveal how status and identity result from these events. We examine diet choices and food service at two large villages in the Inka imperial heartland (Cuzco, Peru). Yunkaray was occupied during the time of early Inka expansion (eleventh to fifteenth centuries), whereas Cheqoq housed a late imperial (fifteenth to sixteenth centuries) multiethnic retainer population serving the Inka nobility. We use faunal remains and ceramic assemblages to reveal the uneven process of BInkanization^and find that migrated retainer laborers had greater affinities with Inka practices than early Inka marriage partners.
This dissertation investigates the daily life of indigenous laborers at unregulated, colonial per... more This dissertation investigates the daily life of indigenous laborers at unregulated, colonial period silver refineries in the Puno Bay of Peru during the 17th and 18th centuries. I directed the Trapiche Archaeology Project to study one of these refineries, Trapiche Itapalluni, at the household level. Using both archaeological and historical data, I argue that rural silver refineries in the Puno Bay functioned as locations of economic opportunity for marginalized populations. Through an analysis of local, unregulated economic activities of the 17th and 18th centuries, I demonstrate how Puno Bay laborers were able to alter their living conditions and take a more active role in the colonial economy. Importantly, these activities occurred over a century before the development of organized trade and labor unions. My dissertation results indicate that even though architecture and space at Trapiche Itapalluni was restrictive, access to diverse economic resources, local and imported, was ac...
Advances in Archaeological Practice
Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectroscopy is commonly used for testing toxic levels of heav... more Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectroscopy is commonly used for testing toxic levels of heavy metals in modern industrial waste sites, and it has seen growing applicability in the context of archaeological survey and soils. In this study, we present the results of our pXRF analysis of surface soils at a historic silver refinery located near Puno, Peru, in the western Lake Titicaca Basin. The results of our analysis identified hazardous levels of antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) in excavation soils, necessitating the relocation of planned excavation units and the use of personal protective equipment. This study highlights the advantages of rapid, in situ pXRF analysis of surface soils in contaminated industrial archaeology sites to assess potential harm to human health.
International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 2019
The papers in this special issue arise from the Status and Identity in the Imperial Andes session... more The papers in this special issue arise from the Status and Identity in the Imperial Andes session held at the 2017 meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in Vancouver, Canada. That session focused on the role of status and power in shaping colonial interactions and identities throughout the Andes during the fifteenth to seventeenth century CE. The papers in this issue examine how Inka and colonial period individuals (indigenous, African, mestizo, etc.) selectively incorporated or rejected Imperial goods, and how differing levels of access to these goods may have influenced social status, health, and relationships with imperial actors.
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Journal Articles by Sarah A Kennedy
technique of silver refining from Mexico to the Puno Bay, and further clarified areas of intense metallurgical production, including local Andean adaptations. This study highlights the advantages of in situ pXRF analysis of surface soils at industrial archaeology sites, especially in marginal and high-altitude environments such as the southern Andes.
Frequently, archaeological studies of domestic units include the identification of dwellings through the contextualization of surface architecture. However, what are the tools available in the absence and/or poor preservation of architectural contexts with archaeological value? The present article covers this question as a result of our investigations conducted within the Inka archaeological site of Cheqoq, located northwest of Cuzco, in the district of Maras. With recovery through flotation and dry screening, we analyze paleobotanical, archaeozoological and lithic micro-artifacts to identify and define domestic contexts in the absence of architecture. Frequency, percentages and ubiquity calculations are presented in order to explain the benefits and limitations of this type of analysis and its results. Consequently, the present study provides a model that allows us to identify domestic contexts in other places in the region where there is an absence of architectural evidence.
Articles and Chapters by Sarah A Kennedy
Papers by Sarah A Kennedy
technique of silver refining from Mexico to the Puno Bay, and further clarified areas of intense metallurgical production, including local Andean adaptations. This study highlights the advantages of in situ pXRF analysis of surface soils at industrial archaeology sites, especially in marginal and high-altitude environments such as the southern Andes.
Frequently, archaeological studies of domestic units include the identification of dwellings through the contextualization of surface architecture. However, what are the tools available in the absence and/or poor preservation of architectural contexts with archaeological value? The present article covers this question as a result of our investigations conducted within the Inka archaeological site of Cheqoq, located northwest of Cuzco, in the district of Maras. With recovery through flotation and dry screening, we analyze paleobotanical, archaeozoological and lithic micro-artifacts to identify and define domestic contexts in the absence of architecture. Frequency, percentages and ubiquity calculations are presented in order to explain the benefits and limitations of this type of analysis and its results. Consequently, the present study provides a model that allows us to identify domestic contexts in other places in the region where there is an absence of architectural evidence.