Ancestor Veneration or Funeral Practices? An Examination of Recuay Mortuary Variability in the Basin of Puccha (Ancash) between AD 200-900

Summary

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

Mortuary studies have followed different perspectives, such as ancestor veneration mostly based on intrasite analysis. This paper examines the regional distribution of Recuay's funeral practices and its implications for ancestor worship studies. Radiocarbon dates available for the valley show an occupation between AD 200-900, and it correlates with the presence of kaolin ceramics, associated with Recuay style. Excavations in funeral and ceremonial contexts from three sites reveal the existence of different types of tombs, such us subterranean chambers, chullpas or above ground tombs, and cists. The variation of tomb architecture is very substantial but changes in civil/public architecture and ceramics are minimal. Particularly, I will present the results of excavations in Huamparán a patio group complex that had important modifications to its architecture, such as incorporation of cist tombs ca AD 500, that can be understood as the inclusion of ancestors in political life. The building and use of several types of tombs suggest the existence of diverse funerary practices, not all of which relate to ancestor veneration.

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): 24316