Conceptualizing the Cloth of the Consecrated Child. Textiles Associated with Chimú Mass Sacrifice in Huanchaco, North Coast of Peru

Summary

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

This study discusses broader questions surrounding the textile remains uncovered with the victims of the largest series of mass child sacrificial events on the North Coast of ancient Peru. Recent investigations are helping to understand Chimú (approx A.D. 1000 - 1450/1470) sacrificial practices and the ideologies fueling their performance. In contrast, little has been done to contextualize sacrificial garments within the overarching pantheon of Chimú weaving. To correct these breaks in scholarly thought, I have conducted in-depth visual analyses of twelve textiles uncovered with the child sacrificial victims buried at Pampa la Cruz, Huanchaco in July of 2022. The findings of these analyses allow me to extrapolate information revolving around the weavers who created these textiles and their conceptualization of the sacrificial child within Chimú society. Including the recent observations of more Pampa la Cruz textiles curated by the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo which sheds light on the burial program employed in these contexts, and points towards various new avenues of study. As a result, I propose three scenarios which could explain the role played by these textiles and how they could help to investigate the identity (as a sacrificial being) of the children buried atop Pampa la Cruz.

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): 41574.0