Multiethnic Colonial Communities and Endogamy: Evaluating the Dual Diaspora Model of Moquegua Tiwanaku Social Organization

Summary

The Moquegua Valley Tiwanaku colonial enclave was comprised of two Tiwanaku-affiliated populations: camelid agropastoralists who used Omo-style ceramics and maize agricultural specialists associated with Chen Chen-style ceramics. Despite living in close proximity, Chen Chen- and Omo-style communities maintained distinct social and cultural boundaries for several centuries. Goldstein’s dual diaspora model suggests that Omo- and Chen Chen-style Tiwanaku colonists represent two separate but interconnected ethnic diasporas, comparable to maximal ayllus, whose members maintained affiliations with their ancestral homelands. Goldstein suggests that members of Chen Chen- and Omo-style maximal ayllu communities also maintained separate ethnic identities in part through endogamous marriage practices. This study evaluates the biological implications of the dual diaspora model. Biodistance and exploratory data analyses of basicranial and temporal bone landmarks are used to evaluate patterns of gene flow among samples of human skeletal remains from five archaeological sites in the middle Moquegua Valley, Peru. Overall, results suggest that maximal ayllu affiliation influenced gene flow within the Moquegua Tiwanaku colonies, but Omo- and Chen Chen-style communities were not strictly endogamous. While normative marriage practices favored maximal ayllu endogamy, there were exceptions to this general pattern. These exceptions were likely structured by myriad factors, including family-based social organization.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15444