Symbolic Behavior in Household Archaeology: A Study of Late Nasca Period and Loro Period Figurines from Zorropata, Nasca, Peru

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Developments through Time on the South Coast of Peru: In Memory of Patrick Carmichael" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Fifty-four fragmentary figurines, including 53 human and one animal, were recovered from archaeological domestic contexts at the site of Zorropata, located in the Las Trancas Valley, Nasca, Peru. Zorropata was a large domestic site with likely ceremonial function occupied from the Late Nasca period (ca. AD 450–600) until the early Middle Horizon/Loro period (ca. AD 600–1000). During the Middle Horizon (AD 750–1000) period, the highland-centered Wari Empire established at least three colonies (Pacheco, Pataraya, and Inkawasi) in the Nasca Valley and its tributaries (Edwards 2010). Current research directed by Christina Conlee and Corina Kellner suggests a probable forth Wari colony and imperial administrative center at Huaca del Loro ca. 5 km down valley from Zorropata. The overarching aim of research at Zorropata has sought to elucidate the potential impact of Wari encroachment on Nasca society. This paper focuses on a facet of that relationship and investigates the use of figurines found in household contexts. While many questions remain regarding ritual and symbolic behavior in ancient Nasca, research supports that figurines probably had a ritual function, that they changed stylistically between the Late Nasca and the Loro periods, and that they may portray at least female and male gender identities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Developments through Time on the South Coast of Peru: In Memory of Patrick Carmichael   •
• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33140