Making communities static through human remains networks: an initial approach to Burial Site Selection in Mariash-Recuay times at Chavín de Huántar

Summary

This is an abstract from the "A Movable Feast: Mobility and Commensalism in the Andes" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The deceased have the capacity to engage with the living, impacting social roles, meanings, and the perception of places. At Chavín de Huántar, a prominent ceremonial center during the Formative period, the spatial reoccupation by Mariash-Recuay exemplifies this interaction. This study investigates whether placing funerary contexts near the corridor between buildings C and D created a tangible and symbolic link between the formative material culture and the posterior communities. Through the intentional actions of these communities, the dead may be viewed as active agents in the evolution and transformation of that place and its identity. This research aims to contribute to the broader dialogue on the agency of the dead in placemaking and political landscapes, proposing that funerary practices were a precursor to the Recuay architectural occupation and served as a means of physical and social reclamation, embodying landscape connectivity with the former temple. The execution of those funerary events not only demanded collaborative work but also intra-community activities such as rituals and feastings held in surrounding areas. To face this, we combine archaeological records with spatial data and bioarcheological analysis to provide a more detailed examination of the significance of the location studied.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• A Movable Feast: Mobility and Commensalism in the Andes

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 53663