Terrace Construction and Use across Five Centuries at Ollantaytambo, Peru

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Advances in Geoarchaeology and Environmental Archaeology Perspectives on Earthen-Built Constructions" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeologists are increasingly examining remains from the past, including durable landscape features such as terraces, earthen mounds, and seemingly “abandoned” sites, in terms that query not just their initial construction, but also ongoing use and reoccupation. In this paper, I present new research into the origins of dramatic terrace complexes built around the town of Ollantaytambo in Peru’s Cusco region. Excavation data clarify the history of the construction of those fields: unlike similar terrace complexes in Peru and beyond, Ollantaytambo’s fields were not built over an extended period. Rather, Ollantaytambo’s fields were constructed during a relatively brief flurry of activity sponsored by the Inka state and functioned as a physical manifestation of Inka power. I conclude the paper by considering how the original values ascribed to those terraces by the Inka changed through use across subsequent centuries, including under Spanish colonial rule. While Ollantaytambo’s fields were built by an imperial power, local farmers have subsequently used those fields to resist and subvert attempts at top-down control. I draw on this case study to suggest that Ollantaytambo’s fields, and other similar earthen constructions, can be put to new purposes and ascribed new values depending on social context.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Advances in Geoarchaeology and Environmental Archaeology Perspectives on Earthen-Built Constructions   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39803.0