Entangled Human and Nonhuman Life Histories: A Glance into the Perceived Value of Camelid Identity from the Central Andes

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Multispecies Frameworks in Archaeological Interpretation: Human-Nonhuman Interactions in the Past, Part I" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

A multispecies approach to archaeology creates the potential for inclusive debate on the value of identity among both human and nonhuman beings. This paper explores the way that camelid life histories where shaped by and influenced sociopolitical relationships among the Late Moche communities (600–900 CE) on the north coast of Peru. In a multispecies framework, I examine the role of camelids as nonhuman agents that afforded some interactions between human groups yet constrained others. My intention in foregrounding camelid life histories in this discussion is to posit that years of care and co-habitation between humans and camelids fostered kinship that expanded beyond human groups and could have incorporated nonhuman beings. This perspective is inspired by Salmón’s concept of kincentric ecology in which he focused on the Rarámuri concept of iwígara where kin (or relatives) can be recognized in natural elements of the environment and permits sustainable lifeways. I will argue that camelid life histories were fully known and valued among Late Moche communities at the site of Huaca Colorada. Local and nonlocal herds were entangled in distinct deposition events linked to elite and non-elite practice that attest to the value of nonhuman kinship to transforming sociopolitical relationships among the Moche.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Multispecies Frameworks in Archaeological Interpretation: Human-Nonhuman Interactions in the Past, Part I   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36130.0