Camelid Designs and Community Dynamics in the Late Intermediate Period Andes (ca. AD 1000-1400)

Summary

Although domesticated camelids seem to be an important element of the prehispanic Andean economy and social structures, they appear inconsistently in the iconography of ceramics, textiles, lithics, and other media. Recent archaeological excavations at the site of Yunkaray, Maras, Peru revealed a high frequency of local style ceramics with camelid iconography. Found in domestic areas associated with high status individuals, these ceramics were possibly used for feasting and as an avenue of demonstrating personal wealth during the Late Intermediate Period (LIP, ca A.D. 1000-1400). While the presence of camelid iconography on Yunkaray pottery is unsurprising based on evidence for the importance of agropastoral activity within the Maras region, the question remains as to why only certain areas incorporated camelid imagery and why it occurred during the LIP and not prior. Through this poster presentation, we explore the distribution of camelid iconography in the Cuzco region and in the broader Andean region, both temporally and geographically, in relation to the types of vessels on which this iconography appears. We argue that in Cuzco, this iconography functioned to define identities that differentiated regional communities from the emerging Inka Empire.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Spatial Coverage