Walls and Pathways: GIS Analyses of Defensibility and Spatial Organization, Huamanga Province, Peru

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This project uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyze Late Intermediate Period (LIP) spatial organization and defensibility practices in the Huamanga Province, Peru. The Peruvian LIP (AD 1000-1450) is the period between the collapse of the Tiwanaku and Wari States and the rise of the Inca Empire. This is an ideal time period to study the inter-relationship between warfare and sociopolitical organization, as it has often been characterized as a time of violent conflict and social strife. We explore archaeological survey data from the 2018-2019 PIA-PAPITA field seasons to assess defensibility traits including site elevation, slope, viewsheds, and restriction of access. In addition, spatial organization of structural elements, in particular walls, are evaluated for least cost pathways and physical limitations of movement within the site, while artifacts are looked at to determine density clustering and potential intra-site relationships.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 31998