Local People and the Circulation of Nonlocal Animals and Objects: Rethinking Interregional Mobility in the Arequipa Yunga during the Circum-Wari Era

Summary

This is an abstract from the "A New Horizon: Reassessing the Andean Middle Horizon (AD 600–1000) and Rethinking the Andean State" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Wari imperial era (ca. AD 600–1000) is known for heightened interregional interaction, evinced by the relative abundance of nonlocal artistic styles throughout the Andes. Wari-era sites generally show greater variability in human 87Sr/86Sr (a marker for nonlocal origins) than other eras (Scaffidi and Knudson 2020), but it remains unclear whether this was uniformly the pattern throughout the Andes. At many Middle Horizon sites, it remains unclear whether artifacts and animals were actually moved between communities and regions, or whether imperial styles were rendered on locally made objects. To address these questions, we compare 87Sr/86Sr variability at Wari hinterland sites in the Arequipa yunga between camelids and artifacts (trophy heads, weaving implements, and textile components). We also use archaeological and water 87Sr/86Sr isoscape models to identify probable nonlocal animals and objects and their likely provenience zones. Significantly more artifacts (67%, n = 46) are nonlocal than camelids (18%, n = 71) (Chi-square = 28.659, p < 0.001). This, combined with the near-coastal and near-highland 87Sr/86Sr signatures of these objects and animals suggests that down-the-line exchange of artifacts was more common than camelid caravans into near-neighboring zones, calling into question the assumption of heightened Wari-era interregional interaction in this region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• A New Horizon: Reassessing the Andean Middle Horizon (AD 600–1000) and Rethinking the Andean State

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32483