The Treatment of the Dead in the Mid-Chincha Valley, Peru

Summary

This paper investigates post-mortem human body manipulation associated with above-ground and semi-subterranean tombs known as chullpas, which date from the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1000-1476) to the Late Horizon (A.D. 1400-1532) in the mid-Chincha Valley, Peru. Mortuary rituals are cross-cultural social processes that comprise a range of practices. One such practice is the treatment of deceased bodies which varies across time, space, and social organization. A 2013 survey of the mid-Chincha Valley discovered a large number of chullpas that exhibit evidence of post-mortem human body manipulation including bones with red pigment, reed posts put through vertebrae, and worked bones. The intensive analysis of human remains and grave goods recovered from a single chullpa in 2014 found the above evidence in addition to cut marks on different human bones and numerous textile bundles containing human remains. Associated ceramic and textile data suggest members of the Chincha Kingdom (ca. A.D. 1100-1450) engaged in these practices. Here, we present these data and characterize the post-mortem human body manipulation performed in the mid-Chincha Valley. We argue that this funerary practice played a significant role in group identity building and the construction of space and place in this coastal valley.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Archaeological Research in the Chincha Valley, Southern Peru

Keywords

Spatial Coverage