An Early Horizon temple in the Tierra del Mercurio: Preliminary results from Atalla, Huancavelica, Peru

Summary

This presentation will put forward the preliminary results of the first season of the Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica Atalla. The project represents a first step in clarifying the role of the Early Horizon period site of Atalla, located in the district of Yauli, region of Huancavelica, in the south-central highlands of Peru. Atalla is of particular archaeological interest as the earliest recorded monumental ceremonial site in the region of Huancavelica. The site is also distinguished by its unprecedented size and the unusually high density of the archaeological materials visible on the surface, including ceramic styles that suggest connections to the south and central coasts as well as to Chavin. These factors, and its location 15km from the rich source of cinnabar known today as the Santa Barbara mine, suggest that the site played a prominent role and may have exerted far-reaching influence during the Early Horizon period. Recent findings from the 2014 season support the hypotheses of previous investigators who have proposed connections between Atalla and distant regions of the Central Andes. This research contributes to filling in gaps in our understanding of interregional interaction during the Early Horizon period in the virtually unknown region of Huancavelica.

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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