From Trash Pile to Temple Wall: The distribution of Formative Period sherds in adobes at the Omo M10A Tiwanaku temple

Summary

This project addresses site formation and construction processes in the Omo M10A provincial Tiwanaku temple in the Osmore drainage of southern Peru (ca. AD 500-1100). We will test the hypothesis that this structure was constructed using adobes made from soil deposits containing cultural materials from local, Formative Period Huaracane occupations (ca. 1750 BC–AD 600). This will be done by detailing the manufacture of Tiwanaku adobe bricks and charting the association of Huaracane style ceramic sherds with adobe materials in the temple’s architectural collapse levels. Despite the extensive occupation of the Huaracane culture in the Osmore drainage, previous research suggests that the interaction between the indigenous Huaracane and the Tiwanaku colonists was minimal. However, abandoned Huaracane village middens would have been readily available sources for organic clays used as the principal material of adobe. In the Omo temple, Huaracane cultural materials are found embedded in mudbricks, and statistical analysis of ceramic collections indicates that these sherds are rare on temple floors and in activity deposits. Detailing the distribution of Huaracane ceramics at Omo M10A, and relating clusters to floor-levels and architectural features, will contribute to a more complete understanding of construction techniques and site formation processes at this important Tiwanaku center.

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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