Inka Unku: Imperial or Provincial? State-Local Relations

Summary

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

Standardized Inka tunics or unku were created under the Inka State auspices as symbolic expressions of their expansionist power. To ensure these textiles acquired the status of effective insignias of territorial control, the Inka imposed technical and aesthetic canons on highly skilled weavers. These conventions were adapted relative to the traditions and experiential knowledge of provincial social groups that came under imperial rule. We therefore, propose that this was not a one-way process in the provinces. By contrast, the unku were created by expert local weaving agents, who incorporated their own meaningful symbolic elements. We developed a theoretical-methodological tool to analyze the unku, by defining a series of standard analytical patterns and attributes based on technological, structural, and aesthetic aspects. In this paper, we present the analysis of one systematically excavated unku from Caleta Vitor, northern Chile. The methodological tool enabled us to determine the step in the operational chain at which local technical and aesthetic elements were incorporated, thus affecting the emblematic imperial imagery associated with these tunics. The results contribute to the understanding of a syncretic landscape that combines the State worldview with craft-production practices that were rooted in local communities

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): 37559.0