A Sense of Place: A GIS Study of Late Intermediate Period and Inca Settlement Patterns in Moquegua Peru

Summary

This study investigates geospatial relationships among Late Intermediate Period (1000-1400 CE) and Inca settlement patterns within the Moquegua River drainage of southern Peru which were first identified in the 1990s by the Moquegua Archaeological Survey (MAS). A prevalence of walls and defensive locations and a largely vacant no-mans-land between downvalley Chiribaya and Chiribaya-San Miguel and upvalley Estuquiña settlements likely evidences an increased level of inter-cultural conflict in the region during the LIP that may have continued in the Late Horizon. Inca influence locally appears to be indirect, and primarily through interaction with some Estuquina sites, suggesting connections with highland partners. Using viewshed and comparative least-cost analyses in ARC-GIS, this study explores how Chiribaya, Estuquiña and Estuquiña -Inca settlements interacted or competed for the surrounding river valley through their direct or indirect control of resources, and their ability to defend against each other. Through the identification of these prime factors, this study aims to understand how the placement of settlements corresponds to the larger web of social interactions.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21603