Chronologies of Interaction: Bayesian Modeling of the Chavín Phenomenon

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Social Dynamics in the North Highlands of Peru during the Formative Period: Pacopampa project’s Contribution for Understanding the Early Complex Societies in the Andes" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Even after nearly a century of research into the relationships between the monumental centers of the Middle Formative Period in the Central Andes, chronological precision remains as elusive as it is fundamental to understanding the dynamics of interaction. Radiocarbon data, which are becoming available in quantity and quality and the subject of new analytical techniques, provide a line of evidence that is independent of models of the Chavín Phenomenon, and so provide a means of testing conceptual models (e.g., directional spread vs. interactive genesis). The ideal use of radiocarbon data is to move beyond compilation of dates to site-based Bayesian models that incorporate both dates themselves and prior information based on stratigraphic excavation. Here I explore the relationships between three prominent and well-dated centers of the Middle Formative Period – Chavín de Huántar, Pacopampa, and Kuntur Wasi – through Bayesian modeling of radiocarbon dates associated with the phases in which those sites shared material culture and iconography. Juxtaposing the resulting chronologies makes it possible to move beyond positing interaction between these sites towards exploring the character of that interaction.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Social Dynamics in the North Highlands of Peru during the Formative Period: Pacopampa project’s Contribution for Understanding the Early Complex Societies in the Andes   •
• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 50212