Colonial Practices in the Imperial Heartland: The Inca Conquest and Transformation of the Lucre Basin, Cuzco, Peru

Summary

This paper will present data from the author’s dissertation research at the site of Minaspata, located in the Lucre Basin at the eastern end of the Cuzco Valley, Peru. Minaspata has a long history of occupation, dating to the Early Horizon to the end of the Late Horizon, but was conquered as the final component of the Inca heartland immediately prior to the early imperial excursions by the Inca.

The results of recent excavations at Minaspata and the different phases of occupation and material culture will be discussed, as well as the implications for the cultural history of the Cuzco area and the Andean area more generally. I will focus primarily on various aspects of the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1400) and Late Horizon (AD 1400-1532) occupations, particularly the transformation of Minaspata and the Lucre Basin as well as changes in local material culture, and the appearance of Inca state-controlled material culture under Inca rule. I will close by exploring the implications of these changes for social and cultural transformations in the local populations through the lens of colonialism, and for Inca imperial practices more broadly – especially close to the heartland, which is rarely interpreted in this manner.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage