Bag-Loading Tradition for Building Precincts in Los Batanes, Sama, Peru

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The use of shicras – Quechua for plant fiber net-bags made to contain and carry building materials/construction fill – has being traced to the Archaic Period on the Central and North Coast of Peru. These bags contained rocks and other materials to prevent the collapse of wall foundations and to prevent collapse during earthquakes. However, there are no studies on the southern Andean coast (Tacna) about the use of bags for construction after the Archaic period. During the Middle Horizon the most commonly known building materials identified on the coast are adobe, quincha, and stones (cobble stones) and stones and mortar in the highlands. Recent excavations of architectural complexes at the site of Los Batanes (11th century CE) (Sama Valley, Tacna, Peru) identified double-faced cobble-stone wall features in advanced stages of collapse. We recovered textile fragments made of animal fiber and reeds mixed up with animal bones, shells, plants (chili peppers and others), wood. The relationship between textiles, fill and stones suggests that textiles were used to hold fill and stones in place. We therefore propose that “bag-loading” used in houses presents a previously unidentified construction technique that echoes the antiseismic qualities of shicras.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36964.0