Identity and Offerings in the Southern Peruvian Andes: A comparative study of the painted tablets and discs tradition of the Arequipa region, Southern Peru

Summary

Inka and Spanish imperial projects in the Andes frequently targeted local beliefs and ritual practices, albeit in dissimilar ways. Understanding the effects of imperial projects is not possible without a clear sense of the local ritual landscape and its (in)compatibility with state religions and other practices spread across state networks. The painted tablet and disc tradition of the Arequipa region in the Southern Peruvian Andes offers a particular case for studying local and regional rituals and identity. Although it has been primarily treated as pre-Inka in previous scholarship, recent evidence from Andagua complicates this picture, raising questions not only about Inka religious expansion in the region, but also potential obstacles for Spanish evangelization practices. Drawing from archaeological and historical research, the painted tablet and disc tradition presents an important prism to examine how rituals inform identity and are manifest in humans’ relationships with the landscape amidst non-state and colonial contexts.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Status and Identity in the Imperial Andes   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16986