Current Research on Early Social Change in the Utcubamba Basin

Summary

This is an abstract from the "After the Feline Cult: Social Dynamics and Cultural Reinvention after Chavín" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In contrast to a long history of study of the Late Intermediate period societies of the Utcubamba Basin, research focusing on pre-Middle Horizon social change has only begun within the last 10 years. In this paper we examine existing literature from early archaeological contexts and introduce findings from our own recent research that hints at broad social changes that occurred throughout the Utcubamba Basin. We review recent literature that indicates maize was introduced as early as 1340 BCE, but intensive agriculture and land clearing practices may have been regionally variable; we briefly address the presence of petroglyphs and other forms of representation present in the area similar to those found throughout the northern central highlands; we present our evidence for intraregional variation in ceramic styles; and finally present our evidence that mountaintop centers were important spaces for incipient communities and places of social interaction before the development of indigenous Chachapoya communities with stone architectural traditions after 950 CE.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• After the Feline Cult: Social Dynamics and Cultural Reinvention after Chavín   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37859.0