The Formation of Agro-pastoral Communities in the Chanka Heartland (Andahuaylas, Peru)

Summary

This paper examines how Late Intermediate Period or Chanka phase (~AD 1000-1400) communities were formed during a period of overlapping social and environmental risks in the Chanka heartland of Andahuaylas. In particular, the paper considers how aggregated hilltop communities formed and functioned under new social and economic conditions. Recent archaeological research from Andahuaylas suggests that the majority of aggregated Chanka phase ridgetop sites were likely inhabited by neither specialized agriculturalists nor camelid pastoralists, but rather populations which identified as agro-pastoralists. The paper suggests that threats of attacks by neighboring populations and climate induced economic risk, may have tethered populations to smaller localized territories which encouraged more fluid socio-politico-cultural identities. The author argues that hilltop communities in Andahuaylas may have witnessed a shift to a more integrated and inclusive socio-ethnic identity rooted in an agro-pastoral subsistence economy. Finally, this paper challenges an oversimplified dichotomy and social division among traditional Andean agriculturalists and pastoralists, and argues that conceptions of community and ayllu require a more nuanced and flexible understanding, especially during times of heightened risk.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 19941