Traditions of Tomb Construction during the Late Intermediate and Inka Periods (ca. 900–1532 CE) in the Vilcanota Valley, Peru

Summary

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

During the Late Intermediate period (900–1400 CE), many communities throughout the Andean highlands built funerary towers (*chullpas) to inter the dead. The distribution of *chullpas has often been understood to materialize ethnic identity, territorial boundaries, and claims to natural resources. However, results of fieldwork carried out in the Vilcanota Valley, Peru, in 2019 reveal an overlapping distribution of funerary structure types—including *chullpas, and open and closed cliff tombs—built during the Late Intermediate Period and Inka Period (1400–1532 CE). This distribution pattern and the diversity of tomb types across the study region suggest that tombs did not always mark rigid territorial boundaries; instead, the presence of more variable mortuary traditions in some areas may indicate the cohabitation of different ethnic groups. Moreover, the form and accessibility of tomb types appear to correspond to at least two distinct religious traditions. This paper will discuss the social organization of tomb construction, and how the materiality of different tomb types facilitated distinct ritual practices in a shifting political landscape. In addition, Inka tombs will be evaluated as part of a broader program of elite construction projects, and contextualized among local traditions of tomb construction in the Vilcanota Valley.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33080