Before the Dig: The "Archaeologizing" of Peruvian Heritage Sites Prior to Formal Research

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The contemporary southeastern Peruvian towns of Chinchero and Urquillos sit atop Inka population centers and are connected by the Urquillos Valley. Now occupied by family farms and walking routes, this steep valley also hosts former Inka roads and several understudied archaeological sites that survive in various stages of integration with small agricultural plots, protection by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture, and overgrowth by local ecosystems. Three of the many small sites within the valley—known as Inkaq Mallquin, Apiypanki, and Choquekasantuy/Trapichi—present a set of case studies for the processes by which Inka archaeological sites in the Cusco area are transformed before intensive governmental action but after their recognition as potential tourist sites. In this poster presentation, I demonstrate how the potentials of the archaeology-tourism nexus in the Urquillos Valley reconstitute these sites in materially lasting ways prior to formal governmental intervention, archaeological excavation, and reconstruction. I develop this analysis from ethnographic, ecological, and architectural studies carried out during two months of residence with local Indigenous families in Chinchero. Findings from this study have actionable implications for understanding how contemporary pressures are transforming the analyzable records of archaeological sites throughout Peru.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40164.0