Food Consumption and Animal Exploitation at Minaspata, Cuzco, Peru

Summary

Minaspata, a site located in the Cuzco Valley of the south-central Peruvian Andes, contains evidence of occupation spanning continuously from the Early Horizon through the end of the Inca Empire. In 2013, several units were excavated in order to better understand the social transformations which occurred in local populations due to colonial practices, focusing primarily on the early consolidation of the Inca heartland during the early Late Horizon (AD 1400-1532). Analysis of the faunal remains can shed light on the shifting patterns of food consumption, butchery, and bone tool manufacture which occurred during the various phases of occupation. The results of the securely dated faunal remains from the 2013 excavations will be presented, focusing on the changing patterns of food exploitation and increasing concentration of certain animals over time, and will be placed within a larger cultural and regional context related to the cultural trajectory of the Cuzco region from the late Early Horizon to the Late Horizon.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Spatial Coverage