Variations in Initial Period Ceremonial Architecture at the Caballo Muerto Complex

Summary

The Caballo Muerto Complex is well known for the presence of numerous Initial Period platform mounds thought to have functioned as temples. What is less known, is that some of the mounds, including Huaca Herederos Grande and Huaca Cortada were associated with smaller-scale buildings that also seem to have functioned as religious structures. In this paper, I discuss investigations of a square abode building found at the base of Huaca Cortada. Excavation of the structure demonstrated that the floor of the building was completely clean, with no evidence for associated artifacts or internal features. Furthermore, examination of the stratigraphy showed that prior to abandonment the building was intentionally buried, probably as a form of “temple entombment”. I argue that this building and others like it at Caballo Muerto functioned for specific types of rituals restricted to certain segments of society. To demonstrate this point I compare the Huaca Cortada building with similar structures present at Initial Period centers in the Lurín and Casma Valleys.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Social Complexity in the Central Andean Region: Current Research on the Initial Period and Early Horizon - Part 1

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