Second-Hand Spaces: abandonment and reoccupation during the final stages of a Tiwanaku provincial temple (Omo M10A)

Summary

The Tiwanaku colonies in Moquegua, Peru represent some of the best preserved archaeological remains left by this south central Andean polity. This has led to a detailed understanding of daily life and ceremonial practices of these Tiwanaku colonists. However, our understanding of how these lifestyles and practices were transformed during and after the disintegration the highland core is still relatively limited. This paper will take a site-specific approach to explore this enigmatic period of Tiwanaku history. Omo M10 boasts the only Tiwanaku monumental structure built outside the highland homeland, several cemeteries, and a domestic sector. This site shows clear signs of socio-political collapse - the domestic sector was razed, walls in the temple structure were toppled, and cemeteries appear to have been looted. M10 also shows signs of continuity in the form of well-established, but limited reoccupation - not just in the domestic sector but in the temple as well. This reoccupation of the temple will be our primary focus. The changes in practice and use of space in the monumental complex also correspond with stylistic shifts in ceramic iconography that point to the emergence of a locally-based identity, in which memory and tradition continued to play a pivotal role.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Regional Perspectives on the Tiwanaku Collapse: "Post-expansive" chronology, cultural transformation and ethnogenesis in the south central Andes

Keywords

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