The Ramada Mortuary Tradition: At the Crossroads of Nasca and Wari in the Vitor Valley, Southern Peru

Summary

In this paper, we discuss the mortuary tradition affiliated with the Ramada communities that inhabited the Vitor Valley of Southern Peru around 550 CE. Our field excavations in 2012 and 2015 revealed a long-standing tradition of mortuary treatment that persisted even after the arrival of the Wari in the area.  While many components of this tradition appear to have originated locally, other components closely parallel Nazca populations, including patterns of trauma, funerary ritual and the presence of "trophy heads".   The collective nature of the burials suggests the inclusion of both sexes, and all age groups.  Interestingly, we have detected a form of secondary burial for neonates and infants.  Our data suggest that many of them were not buried at the time of death, but rather at a later time, positioned next to adult women.  In this context, we argue that the Ramada mortuary tradition in the Vitor Valley was part of a long-standing practice that remained remarkably unchanged despite co-habitation of the Valley with altiplano populations, and that promoted ongoing communication between the living and the dead. These collective burials may point to social and/or biological units that were perpetuated even after dead.

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): 22510