Investigations of Nasca-Wari Interaction and Imperial Expansion during the Middle Horizon: A View from the Las Trancas Valley, Nasca, Peru.

Summary

During the Middle Horizon (AD 750-1000) the Wari Empire established at least three colonies (Pacheco, Pataraya, and Inkawasi) in the Nasca Valley and its tributaries. Archaeological survey of the Southern Nasca Region conducted by Katharina Schreiber and students in previous decades observed dramatic changes to the local settlement patterns during this period (Edwards 2010, Schreiber 1999). The number and size of habitation sites in the Nasca and Taruga Valleys decreased but increased in the Las Trancas Valley, away from and perhaps in contention with the Wari. Sites in these valleys were established in more defensible locations. In addition, sites in Las Trancas formed a four-tiered site hierarchy in Las Trancas with Huaca del Loro as an administrative and ceremonial hub, a second-tier center (Zorropata), and smaller villages and hamlets (Schreiber 2005). The present research investigates the potential impact of Wari encroachment on the various economic, social, political, and quotidian practices of Nasca peoples living at the site of Zorropata in the Las Trancas Valley. This paper presents some of the preliminary findings of recently completed archaeological fieldwork and laboratory analysis at this site.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• From Foragers to Empires: Recent Research on the South Coast of Peru

Keywords

Spatial Coverage