Recruited or Annexed Lineages: A Chemical Analysis of Purén and Lumaco Pottery and Clays

Summary

The Purén-Lumaco Project conducted an archaeological survey of the Purén and Lumaco Valley in Chile (approximately 30 km) from 1994-2004. During the survey, Dillehay and colleagues noted 300+ prehistoric and historic localities that ranged from agricultural features to multifunctional mounds. Those archaeological features represent an Araucanian polity dating to the Early Prehistoric (AD 500-1550) and early Hispanic (AD 1550-1700) periods. The chiefdom-level polity was strong politically and economically, while experiencing demographic changes that ultimately resulted in a central force of resistance against the Spanish. One goal of the Purén-Lumaco Project was to use ceramic analysis to better grasp the strategies used to establish and maintain Araucanian dominance in the area as well as the presence of recruited or annexed lineages. If these Araucanians were recruiting distant groups into their lineage, non-local ceramics and a greater variability in the ceramic assemblage should occur. On the other hand, if neighboring lineages were annexed, one would expect Purén-Lumaco wares to be present at archaeological sites in the annexed areas, less local ceramic variability, and the introduction of a few Purén-Lumaco wares. A chemical analysis of pottery (n=259) and clay samples (n=78) addressed the degree of variability present in the ceramic assemblage.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Ceramics of the Indigenous Peoples of South America: Studies of Production and Exchange using INAA

Keywords

Spatial Coverage