Interactions, Geopolitical Mastery, and Empire: What Local-Level Political Machinations Tell Us about Imperial Strategy during the Late Prehispanic Period

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Dedication, Collaboration, and Vision, Part I: Papers in Honor of Tom D. Dillehay" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Tom Dillehay’s early research in the Peruvian Chillon valley integrated archaeological and historical methods to demonstrate that Inka imperialism was not monolithic. Critically engaging with traditional models of verticality among Andean communities, his data-rich research demonstrated that the previous interactions of local communities, particularly patterns of resource-sharing, were key to Inka imperial geopolitical projects. In this presentation, we build on this approach and discuss the lasting influence of Tom Dillehay’s research in Chillon through two different archaeological case studies: Huarochiri and the Chancay. In Huarochiri, historical sources help identify different communities’ mobility, hierarchies, and specialization. With the Inka conquest, these communities gained access to new territories and a new standing among the regional polities. Archaeological excavation and material analysis show that Inka control relied heavily on existing regional dynamics and Huarochiri’s position as a gateway between the central coast and the highland region. Likewise, archival data paired with new data from excavations in the Huanangue valley show how the Chancay leveraged their position as merchants and farmers to form strategic alliances with both the Chimú and the Inka, perhaps as part of a ploy to gain material advantages by playing both sides of the Chimú-Inka conflict.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)   •
• Dedication, Collaboration, and Vision, Part I: Papers in Honor of Tom D. Dillehay

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36251.0