South America: Andes (Geographic Keyword)
251-275 (1,096 Records)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. What do the multiplicity and coexistence of monumental mounds commonly called huacas at a single site represent about group(s) that built them? Do these huacas symbolize distinct, unrelated (in terms of kinship), competing sociopolitical groups or, conversely, related, multiple lineages, or something else? These questions guide our ongoing research at the...
Descifrando las transformaciones y significados en Chavín de Huántar: Un análisis de los marcadores materiales en la Plaza Circular y el atrio (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Chavín de Huántar’s Contribution to Understanding the Central Andean Formative: Results and Perspectives" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. A través del tiempo, la Plaza Circular y su atrio en el monumento Chavín de Huántar han tenido mucha importancia. Durante la fase Blanco - Negro, estas áreas, tuvieron pleno funcionamiento y albergaron una diversidad de contextos, donde destaca el descubrimiento de las galerías de la...
Design, Construction, and Evaluation of a Solar-Powered Mechanized Flotation System (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Flotation remains one of the most important methods by which paleoethnobotanists recover botanical remains from archaeological contexts. However, logistics in the field can make supplying mechanized flotation machines with water (and subsequently powering motorized pumps) a challenge. This poster details the process by which we utilized bilge pumps,...
Detecting el Niño’s Disasters: Remote Sensing of Recent ENSO Events in Northern Peru and Implications for Prehispanic Societies (2018)
Several models have discussed links between warm (el Niño) phases of the el Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and cultural developments on Peru’s north coast. In particular, the abandonment of Moche settlements and agricultural systems and periods of social stress in both Moche and Chimu societies have been interpreted through the lens of ENSO disasters. ENSOs during the years 1982-83, 1997-98, and most recently 2016-17 offer the opportunity to better understand the spatial development of el...
The Development of Economic Specialization among Prehispanic Fishermen: The case of Jahuay, Quebrada de Topará, Chincha (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Developments through Time on the South Coast of Peru: In Memory of Patrick Carmichael" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. According to colonial documents, Peruvian coastal societies were divided into economically specialized communities, some dedicated to agriculture and others to fishing. Archaeological studies have demonstrated that this economic organization predated the Inca Empire, but the origins of this system are...
Diachronic and Spatial Perspectives for Exploring the Ethnogenesis of Afro-Andean Populations in Southern Coastal Peru (2018)
Ecclesiastical records suggest that the Ingenio Valley in Nasca’s northern Rio Grande Drainage has been defined by a predominantly black population since the early 17th century, most of whom worked as enslaved laborers on the two large Jesuit wine haciendas and a number of smaller secular estates in the valley. In this paper I approximate Afro-Andean ethnogenesis in the coastal valleys of Nasca from multiple temporal and spatial scales, considering both historical documentation and...
Diaguita Pottery, Technological Traditions and Changes during the Late Intermediate and Late Periods: A Petrographical and Chemical Approach (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Studies of Diaguita pottery have advanced towards the definition of decorative styles. In this regard, new studies and radiocarbon dating from the El Olivar archaeological site have significantly contributed to a new understanding of pottery traditions and chronological assignments of ceramic styles. The purpose of this work is to explore pottery...
Did Archery Technology Precipitate Complexity in the Titicaca Basin? A Metric Analysis of Projectile Points, 11–1 ka (2024)
This is an abstract from the "The Global “Impact” of Projectile Technologies: Updating Methods and Regional Overviews of the Invention and Transmission of the Spear-Thrower and the Bow and Arrow" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The origins of Andean archery technology and its impact on social organization remain unclear. This analysis uses metric data from 1,179 projectile points from the Lake Titicaca Basin, 11–1 ka, to identify the timing of...
Did Skilled Local Potters Emulate Inka Polychrome Ceramic Style and Pottery Paste? Code Declassification Through Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Alfareros deste Inga: Pottery Production, Distribution and Exchange in the Tawantinsuyu" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Based on Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), we tried to decode Inka polychrome ceramics from northern Chile valleys, traditionally assumed of having been introduced by the Inka State from the Lake Titicaca region (more than 500 km away). The results show that these conspicuous Inka...
Diet and Foodways in the Wari Imperial Hinterlands: Stable Isotope Analysis of the La Real Burial Population (600–1000 CE), Arequipa, Peru (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis is employed to assess diet in times of Wari influence in the southern hinterlands between the early (600–800 CE) and late (800–1000 CE) Middle Horizon (MH). We analyze bone collagen from 57 individuals interred at La Real, corresponding to two chronologically distinct mortuary contexts at this Majes Valley site...
Diet, Identity and Status in Colonial Huamanga (Ayacucho), Peru (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper explores ideas of identity and status at the earliest Jesuit church in Ayacucho, Peru (ca. 1605-1767 CE), La Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús de Huamanga (ICJH). Starting with an exploration of indigenous resistance to Spanish colonialism, this case study uses stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen as proxies for diet and burial location as a proxy...
The Dietary Importance of Maize and Aquatic Resources during the Regional Development Period at El Dornajo, Southwest Ecuador (2018)
Earlier studies of subsistence at the site of El Dornajo in southwestern Ecuador examined faunal, macro- and macro-botanical remains. These studies indicated that residents consumed large quantities of shellfish and marine fish during both the Formative and Regional Development periods (2800 BC – 700 AD), with a marked decrease and differential access based on socioeconomic status in the later period. It has been hypothesized that site residents increased their reliance on domesticated plant...
Dietary Practices of the Muisca at Nueva Esperanza Archaeological Site during the Late Muisca Period (1000 AD - 1600 AD) (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This study analyzes the impact of environmental stressors on dietary practices within the Muisca society at the Nueva Esperanza archaeological site in the Cundiboyacense highlands during the Late Muisca Period (1000 AD - 1600 AD). This coincides with climatic changes associated with the beginning of the period known as the "Little Ice Age,” which was a...
Different Dead for Different Purposes: The Ancestors and Ancestral Spirits of Rapayán in the Peruvian Central Andes. (2018)
During the Late Intermediate Period (1000-1450 C.E.), the inhabitants of the Rapayán region in the Peruvian central Andes created a complex landscape for the dead. These were disposed of in natural caves along cliffsides surrounding residential sites as well as in a variety of above-ground mausoleums constructed at highly visible locations. In this paper, I develop a typology of sepulchres and analyze their spatial patterning. Building on ethnographic and ethnohistorical material, I argue that...
Differential Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in a LIP and Late Horizon Skeletal Sample of Southern Peru (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Exploring Culture Contact and Diversity in Southern Peru" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Moquegua Valley of southern Peru is known for multiple studies regarding the presence, origin, and evolution of tuberculosis in the pre-contact Americas. These studies have primarily focused on tuberculosis in Middle Horizon and Late Intermediate Period contexts and the continued presence and evolution of the disease during...
Digital and Computational Methodologies for Masonry Typologies: A Quantitative Approach to Structure Classification in the Colca Valley, Peru (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Archaeologists have long used architectural energetics to better understand the relationships between labor organization, political power, and materiality in pre-modern societies. The 16th century Spanish invasion of the Andes caused unprecedented societal upheaval and, in the 1580s, the physical upheaval of people as the Toledan reducción system resettled...
Digital Connoisseurship: Applications of Machine Learning to Moche Iconography (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In the absence of a written language, the study of the complex narrative iconography of the Moche or Mochica culture of the North Coast of Perú (250-900CE) forms an important foundation of our understanding of the cultural dynamics and ritual traditions of this Pre-Columbian society. Fineline iconography on Moche ceramic vessels in museum and private...
Digital Palimpsest of Cultural Heritage: A Virtual Experience of the San Ignacio Church in Bogotá, Colombia (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Archaeological Futures through a Virtual Past" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This interdisciplinary project uses photogrammetry and video game development software to capture and digitally recreate the interior of the San Ignacio church in Bogotá, Colombia. Established in 1610, this church served as the mother church for the Society of Jesus in Nueva Granada and continues to be one of the most spectacular examples of...
Digital Standardization of Ceramic Nomenclature: A Case for Central Coast Peruvian Pottery Forms during the Late Intermediate Period (2018)
In this paper, I present a generalized morphological typology for all Central Coast Peruvian ceramic vessels. Today, as in the past, similarly shaped (or in some cases identically shaped) vessel forms have been given different names by different authors, obfuscating another’s researcher’s ability to cross reference ceramic forms rapidly. As publishable material becomes increasingly digitalized and online accessible, it is not hard to imagine a "patch" program that identifies differently named...
Dimensions of Health in the Andes: A Bioarchaeological Investigation of Morbidity Patterns in Mountain Landscapes (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Living and Dying in Mountain and Highland Landscapes" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper uses a bioarchaeological approach to examine the morbidity profiles of highland communities in the Cusco region of Peru during the centuries that witnessed the rise, fluorescence, and demise of the Inka Empire (ca. 1300-1550 CE). Through original analysis of human skeletons from the sites of Huanacauri and Matagua and a...
The Dirt on Cultural Diversity: Examining Occupation Floor Surfaces in the Moquegua Valley (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Exploring Culture Contact and Diversity in Southern Peru" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The recent rise in the availability of literature on the topic soil chemical analysis has inspired growing interest in evaluating soils at archaeological sites to gain a more detailed picture of the lives and culture of the people that once lived there. Through soil analysis, we can better define areas once used for residential...
Discovery at Cardal, Peru of an Initial Period Polychrome Frieze of the Manchay Culture (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. During the 2018 field season, the authors unearthed a portion of a large polychrome frieze at the U-shaped civic-ceremonial center of Cardal in the Lurin Valley of Peru. This talk provides a brief description of the excavations and its discovery. The frieze was located on the lower terrace of the right arm of the platform complex and was buried by the...
Disputes over Ancestors: Between Atacameño Discourse and Authorized Heritage (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Politics of Heritage Values: How Archaeologists Deal with Place, Social Memories, Identities, and Socioeconomics" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Since the nineteenth century, the inhabitants of the Atacama Desert have coexisted with collecting, heritage, and museum practices. Since the late twentieth century, Atacama communities have confronted archaeology and museums over the significance, ownership, and rights over...
Disturbing the Ancestors: Interpreting Early Intermediate Period Commingled Remains at La Iglesia, Huanchaco Perú (2018)
While the Inca, Moche, and Chimu cultures boast grand sites along the north coast of Perú, much is to be learned about the earlier Gallinazo (50 BC/100 AD–500 AD) Salinar (200 BC–200 AD), and Cupisnique (ca. 1500–300 BC) cultures from small, coastal settlements. The 2017 field season of the Programa Arqueologico Huanchaco investigated these earlier Peruvian cultures during a five week excavation near the Iglesia de Huanchaco, approximately 15 km northeast of the Huacas de Moche. Initial ceramic...
Diverging Patterns of Community Organization in the Late Intermediate Period Cajamarca Region of Northern Peru (2018)
The organizational concept of ayllu has been central to many discussions of community generation and organization in the Andes, but the blanket application of ayllu is also problematic. In the Cajamarca region of northern Peru, the beginning of the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1000 – A.D. 1450) saw a demographic shift, with many settlements forming or relocating to higher elevation defensible and occasionally fortified positions indicating possible increases in competition and conflict...