How Much Can I Get for These Choros? New Evidence for Andean Markets from the Chancay Site of Cerro Blanco, Huanangue Valley, Peru

Summary

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

The rich diversity of Andean ethnic and ecologic landscapes meant that exchange was essential to the economy of many prehispanic Andean societies. While exchange can and did take many forms (trade, vertical archipelago, reciprocity, centralized redistribution, etc.) one mechanism that has received relatively little attention is that of the feria or informal market. Using the Chancay as a case study, this paper draws from a growing body of literature (see Dillehay 2013; Mayer 2013, among others) to argue that ferias were a key part of the Andean political economy, particularly during the Late Intermediate Period when political fragmentation in the Andes would have led to inter-ethnic exchange becoming a key factor in facilitating the movements of goods (agricultural, mineral, etc.) between different ecological zones. Using information from colonial period documents together with data from recent excavations at the Chancay administrative center of Cerro Blanco, I argue that ferias connected to camelid caravans were likely a key part of the Chancay political economy, allowing both the circulation of goods between ecological zones and playing a key role in integrating far-flung Chancay settlements.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24796