A Spatial Analysis of Surface Artifact Distributions at the Inka Administrative Site of Turi, Northern Chile

Summary

While it is well established that mineral acquisition motivated Inka imperial expansion into the high-altitude Atacama Desert of northern Chile, finer points of the area’s political economy during the Late Horizon are the subject of ongoing research. The site of Turi in the Antofogasta region offers a unique opportunity to investigate this topic, as the site represents a preexisting local settlement coopted for use as a regional administrative center by imperial authorities. This study contributes to our understanding of this complex political and economic situation with a spatial analysis of production loci within the site. A pilot study centered on the surface distribution of the remains of different production activities was conducted. Results suggest that production loci of several kinds are distinguishable, though complications of artifact displacement and a lack of temporal resolution necessitate interpretive caution. The location and contextual characteristics of suggested loci serve as the basis for a preliminary discussion of the organization of small-scale production activities at Turi, with particular attention paid to considering this organization in the context of a mixed Inka-local settlement.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage