Quispi Rumi: Geochemically Sourcing Obsidian from the Patipampa Sector of Huari

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Seeing Wari through the Lens of the Everyday: Results from the Patipampa Sector of Huari" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

From 2017-2018, over 1,000 obsidian artifacts were excavated from the Patipampa sector of Huari, once the administrative capital of the Wari state. During the 2018 season, over 350 artifacts were analyzed via portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) and then fingerprinted to Andean obsidian sources when possible. Artifacts found within architectural spaces were prioritized, aiding the understanding of non-elite spaces in the capital city. This paper focuses on obsidian’s role in state power, the economy, and cosmopolitanism as lived by the people of Huari. The presence or absence of local and exotic obsidians draws attention to how the Wari chose to exploit or not exploit the Ayacucho Region’s resources. While this assemblage is from a single, small sector of the city, it is the most extensive geochemical investigation of obsidian excavated from Huari to date.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Seeing Wari through the Lens of the Everyday: Results from the Patipampa Sector of Huari   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25714