Vassals or Friendly Confederates: Disjuncture and Identity Imposition in the Late Horizon Northeastern Andean Montaña

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Indigenous Stories of the Inka Empire: Local Experiences of Ancient Imperialism" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Borderlands, like the eastern Andean slopes between highland states and lowland complex chiefdoms, are frequently a destination for peoples fleeing from state control and characterized by complex multiethnic landscapes. Archaeological studies in northeastern Peru, however, often assume a mega-ethnic group, the Chachapoya, held sway over the area during the Late Intermediate period (LIP; AD 1000–1450). This characterization led to a straightforward model for Late Horizon (LH; AD 1450–1532) Inka administration of the region: local people accepted Inka rule in place of Chachapoya hegemony. This paper addresses the experience of Inka presence at a small village at 1,500 masl in the lower montaña. Through analysis of ceramics and feasting remains, I demonstrate that the lower montaña did not have strong ties to a Chachapoya identity in the LIP, and only began to use some classic Chachapoya ceramics in the LH, in conjunction with provincial Inka wares. This suggests that the Inka attempted to extend Chachapoya identity downslope, where they had few means to prevent local people moving outside their control. In the face of this Inka imposition, the lower montaña residents maintained multiple network disjunctures—alternative sets of symbolic, political, and religious practices expressed in communal gatherings.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Indigenous Stories of the Inka Empire: Local Experiences of Ancient Imperialism

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33485