Inca Landscapes in Midwest Catamarca (Argentina)

Summary

This paper will introduce the problem of Inca settlements and their relation with local populations in the midwestern sector of Catamarca, specifically in the Hualfín and Quimivil valleys. This area has an early agricultural-ceramics occupation as seen in several archaeological sites with local patterns. When the Inca arrived during the first half of the 15th century several previous elements of landscape were transformed and others were incorporated. However, the local population, with an apparent absence of military conflict, seemed to maintain some elements of their identity without major transformations. We explore the different strategies implemented by the Inca to articulate the realities of local populations and landscapes as they incorporated new territories. This reveals some differences with what happened in other regions, as the particularities of identity of different groups were taken into consideration as part of imperial strategies. These issues are explored based on evidence from the archaeological sites of El Shincal, Hualfín Inka, Villavil, Villavil 2 y Quillay.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Rethinking the Inka: the View from the South

Keywords

Spatial Coverage