Not Quite One and the Same: Repetition and Rule in the Inka Provinces

Summary

The use of molds for pottery manufacture is an integral part of the ceramic tradition of the North Coast of Peru, dating to at least as early as AD 100. Analysis of mold-made Chimu-Inka monkey effigy vessels excavated from mortuary contexts at the sites of Farfan and Tucume suggest that Late Horizon fineware production occurred in local workshops rather than in a centralized facility—a pattern consistent with other studies of Inka pottery production from around the Central Andes. The use and repetition of the monkey icon in these contexts—facilitated through the use of molds—is especially significant. The use of monkey icons has a long history in the region, dating to the Formative Period, and is common in the Late Intermediate Period mortuary assemblages. Although Inka presence on the coast resulted in the abandonment of certain motifs, the monkey effigy vessel persists throughout the Late Horizon. Importantly, while the use of distinct sets of monkey molds indicates production in disparate facilities, general similarities in form and style nonetheless speak to larger scale artistic canons and principles. Adherence to these selected local traditions was likely a critical facet of state-sanctioned or ritually significant contexts in areas colonized by the Inka.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Molding Matter: Technologies of Reproduction in the Precolumbian Americas   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16263