Constructed Landscapes: Late Intermediate Period Architecture and Spatial Organization in the Huamanga Province of Peru

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

According to landscape archaeologists, structures are not passive forms of material culture or passive backdrops of culture. They are cultural modifications that not only reflect, communicate, or symbolically express past ideas and cultures but also actively mold or influence future human actions. Architectural form depends on functional and social demands—a wide range of cultural decisions. Drawing on five months of archaeological survey work in the Huamanga Province of Peru, this paper considers the architectural designs and layouts of 17 Late Intermediate Period (ca. AD 1000-1450) sites. In an effort to understand the socio-cultural logic behind architectural construction during this time period, I combine four forms of analysis—stratigraphic analysis (analyzing the architecture vertically like a site by looking at the design and construction processes), spatial analysis (breaking down social space to identify site layout, different structure types, and architectural features), movement analysis (evaluating accessibility), and visual analysis (noting perception from and perception of various structures). This is a first step in understanding the everyday lives of these prehistoric people.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25271