Lamb of God: Caprine use in a Jesuit Church in Early Colonial Ayacucho, Peru

Summary

Known as La Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesus de Huamanga, the earliest Jesuit church in Ayacucho, Peru was built in 1605 directly off the main plaza. While famous for its baroque art, this standing church with a practicing congregation is in need of extensive renovations. As one of the first steps in a planned future restoration project, archaeological salvage was conducted in 2008, and uncovered human and faunal remains underneath the church floor, which were associated with various ceramic, glass, metal and leather artifacts. This presentation explores the significance of the faunal assemblage recovered from the church and church grounds, including the animal remains associated with human burials, as well as the faunal remains from the church storage areas. Faunal distribution and context is reviewed and isotopic data presented for the assemblage and is placed in context. For example, carbon and nitrogen isotope values will inform aspects of diet and provisioning, while strontium and lead isotope ratios will inform faunal mobility. Findings will be comparatively evaluated with corresponding faunal data from early historic Peru.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Applications of Isotope Research in Zooarchaeology

Keywords

Spatial Coverage