Imperial authority and local agency: Investigating the interplay of disruptive technology, indirect authority, and changing ritual practice at Dos Cruces.

Summary

The Chimu smelting site of Dos Cruces is located along the Zaña River in the middle valley of the greater Lambayeque area. Dos Cruces is located at the intersection of two major trade routes and nearby several rich sources of copper ore. The smelting of ore at Dos Cruces utilized wind powered smelting technology, a new innovation for this region. Despite its obvious Chimu affiliations, Dos Cruces lacks an audiencia, or indeed any indication of Chimu administrative oversight. The denizens of Dos Cruces appear to have engaged in a campaign of site fortification unique among known Chimu crafting centers, restricting access even among the residents themselves. The ritual behavior at Dos Cruces is also distinct both from other Chimu crafting sites and other Andean smelting sites, featuring the ritual killing and burial of furnaces and the rebuilding of the entire smelting terrace at least 3 times over the life of the site. This paper investigates the nebulous relationship between Imperial power and local agency at Dos Cruces in the context of indirect imperial authority as well as the role of wind powered smelting in the formation of new economic and ritual understandings of copper smelting.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Archaeometallurgy of the New World: Current Research, Approaches, and Methods

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 13184