Coastal politics in Cajamarca: recent research in the middle Jequetepeque Valley

Summary

Based on research at Ventanillas, a Late Intermediate Period community in the middle Jequetepeque Valley, Peru, this paper discusses the role of coastal polities and highland influence in a multiethnic middle valley context. Mapping, surface collection, and excavations in 2011 and 2013 focused on investigating the cultural and political affiliation of Ventanillas residents. Ventanillas’ imposing adobe platform mounds link the site visibly to coastal traditions; however, households used a mix of coastal and middle-valley utilitarian ceramics, spindle whorls, and food. We propose that Ventanillas residents incorporated highland and coastal traditions into a distinct chaupiyunga identity, while negotiating their political affiliation with expanding coastal Lambayeque and Chimú polities centered in the lower valley.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Continuity and Change in the Peruvian North Highlands: Current Research in the Cajamarca Region

Keywords

Spatial Coverage