Reciprocal Feasting and Access to Foodstuffs at Huaca Colorada

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Bridging Time, Space, and Species: Over 20 Years of Archaeological Insights from the Cañoncillo Complex, Jequetepeque Valley, Peru, Part 1" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Feasting has long been acknowledged as a central element in Andean social and economic life. Crucial to this emphasis on feasting during the Late Moche period (AD 600–850) is the need for tribute and the redistribution of the goods brought in by tribute through conspicuous consumption. This is not an instantaneous process, but one that requires planning, organization, and time for it to come to fruition in the great feasts for which the Moche were known. These social processes did not simply happen but were the product of the organized accumulation of food, drink, and various implements with which to serve and consume them. These goods were both local and foreign in origin and were accumulated as part of the reciprocal tribute system postulated for this region at this point in time. This system required administrators, dedicated space for collection and redistribution, and both the time and labor to convert these goods into consumable materials. Utilizing architectural, ceramic, paleobotanical, and zooarchaeological evidence, we identify the functional spaces at Huaca Colorada where the activities of collection, redistribution, food production, and consumption took place and discuss the social processes entailed in maintaining this system.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Bridging Time, Space, and Species: Over 20 Years of Archaeological Insights from the Cañoncillo Complex, Jequetepeque Valley, Peru, Part 1   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38617.0