Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-7lfxl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-04-18T13:14:39.019Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An Inka Unku from Caleta Vitor Bay, Northern Chile

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2021

Tracy Martens ,
Jacqueline Correa-Lau ,
Calogero M. Santoro ,
Christopher Carter  and
Judith Cameron
Tracy Martens*
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2000, Australia
Jacqueline Correa-Lau
Affiliation:
Universidad de Tarapacá, Instituto de Alta Investigación, Antofagasta 1520, Arica, Chile
Calogero M. Santoro
Affiliation:
Universidad de Tarapacá, Instituto de Alta Investigación, Antofagasta 1520, Arica, Chile
Christopher Carter
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2000, Australia
Judith Cameron
Affiliation:
Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2000, Australia
*
(martens.tracy@gmail.com, corresponding author)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

As insignia of power and prestige, Inka unku (tapestry tunics) communicated the strength and extent of Inka sociopolitical hegemony in the Andes. Of the 36 known full-size examples in museum collections, only one, found in Argentina, comes from outside Peru. This article investigates another recently excavated unku found out of context on Chile's northernmost coast. To confirm its authenticity, we compiled a database showing the technical and stylistic attributes of previous finds for comparison. We conclude that this artifact is indeed a new type of unku and that the discovery affects our understanding of the complex relationship between the people of this province and the Inka state.

Como insignia de poder y prestigio, los unku (túnicas de tapiz) Inka comunicaban la extensión del poder y la hegemonía socio-política del Estado Inka a lo largo de los Andes. De los 36 ejemplos conocidos de unku que hemos estudiado de diferentes colecciones alrededor del mundo, con la excepción de uno del noroeste de Argentina, el resto son de regiones conocidas o no especificadas de Perú. La importancia sociopolítica de estas prendas en la historia andina nos motivó a hacer análisis técnicos y estilísticos al unku de Caleta Vitor, un descubrimiento sin precedentes, en esta bahía de la costa del extremo norte de Chile. Concluimos que se trata de un nuevo tipo de unku Inka, que proporciona una mayor comprensión sobre la compleja relación entre la gente de esta provincia y el Estado Inka.

Keywords

textilesInkaunkutapestryweavingAtacamatextilesInkaunkutapiztejidoAtacama

Information

Type
Report
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. 201 - 208
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for American Archaeology

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

References Cited

Agüero, Carolina 2000 Las tradiciones de tierras altas y de Valles Occidentales en la textilería arqueológica del Valle de Azapa. Chungara 32:217–225.Google Scholar
Berenguer, José R. 2013 Unkus ajedrezados en el arte rupestre del sur del Tawantinsuyu: ¿La estrecha camiseta de la nueva servidumbre? In Las tierras altas del Área Centro Sur Andina entre el 1000 y el 1600 d.C., edited by Albeck, María E., Ruiz, Marta, and Cremonte, María B., pp. 311–352. Editorial de la Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Jujuy, Argentina.Google Scholar
Bray, Tamara L. 2000 Inka Iconography: The Art of Empire in the Andes. RES 38:168–178.Google Scholar
Carter, Christopher 2016 The Economy of Prehistoric Coastal Northern Chile: Case Study: Caleta Vitor. PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra.Google Scholar
Cassman, Vicki 1997 A Reconsideration of Prehistoric Ethnicity and Status in Northern Chile: The Textile Evidence. PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University, Tempe.Google Scholar
Cassman, Vicki, Odegaard, Nancy, and Arriaza, Bernardo T. 2008 Chinchorro Twined Shrouds. In Textiles as Cultural Expressions: Proceedings of the 11th Biennial Symposium of the Textile Society of America, September 24–27, 2008, Honolulu, Hawaii, 9 pp.Google Scholar
Cummins, Tom 2007 Queros, Aquillas, Uncus, and Chulpas: The Composition of Inka Artistic Expression and Power. In Variations in the Expression of Inka Power, edited by Burger, Richard L., Morris, Craig, and Mendieta, Ramiro Matos, pp. 267–311. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Emery, Irene 1980 The Primary Structures of Fabrics. Thames and Hudson, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Guaman Poma de Ayala, Felipe, Murra, John, Adorno, Rolena, and Urioste, Jorge 1980 [1615] El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno. Siglo Veintiuno, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Horta, Helena 2004 Iconografía del Formativo tardío del Norte de Chile: Propuesta de definición e interpretación basada en imágenes textiles y otros medios. Estudios Atacameños 27:45–76Google Scholar
Hughes, Lauren F. 2010 Weaving Imperial Ideas: Iconography and Ideology of the Inka Coca Bag. Textile 8:148–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martens, Tracy, and Cameron, Judith 2019 Early Coastal Fiber Technology from Caleta Vitor Archaeological Complex in Northern Chile. Latin American Antiquity 30:287–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murra, John 1975 Formaciones económicas y políticas del mundo andino. Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, Lima.Google Scholar
Niemeyer, Hermann, and Agüero, Carolina 2015 Dyes Used in Pre-Hispanic Textiles from the Middle and Late Intermediate Periods of San Pedro de Atacama (Northern Chile): New Insights into Patterns of Exchange and Mobility. Journal of Archaeological Science 57:14–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pillsbury, Joanne 2002 Inka Unku: Strategy and Design in Colonial Peru. Cleveland Studies in the History of Art 7:68–103.Google Scholar
Pogo, Alexander 1936 Early Editions and Translations of Xerez: Verdadera Relación de la Conquista del Perú. Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 30:57–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowe, Anne P. 1978 Technical Features of Inka Tapestry Tunics. Textile Museum Journal 17:5–28.Google Scholar
Rowe, John H. 1979 Standardization in Inka Tapestry Tunics. In The Junius B. Bird Pre-Columbian Textile Conference, May 19–20, 1973, edited by Rowe, Ann P., Benson, Elizabeth P., and Schaffer, Ann-Louise, pp. 239–264. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Rowe, Anne P. 1992 Provincial Tunics of the South Coast of Peru. Textile Museum Journal 31:5–52.Google Scholar
Rowe, Anne P. 1997 Inka Weaving and Costume. Textile Museum Journal 34/35:5–53.Google Scholar
Santoro, Calogero M., and Uribe, M. Mauricio 2018 Inka Imperial Colonization in Northern Chile. In The Oxford Handbook of the Inca, edited by Alconini, Sonia and Covey, Alan, pp. 355–374. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Santoro, Calogero M., Williams, Verónica, Valenzuela, Daniela, Romero, Álvaro, and Standen, Vivien G. 2010 An Archaeological Perspective on the Inka Provincial Administration from the South Central Andes. In Distant Provinces in the Inka Empire: Toward a Deeper Understanding of Inka Imperialism, edited by Malpass, Michael A. and Alconini, Sonia, pp. 44–74. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ulloa, Lilliana 2008 Tunics from the Azapa Valley, Late Formative Period: A New Weaving Tradition in the Lower Valleys. In Textiles as Cultural Expressions: Proceedings of the 11th Biennial Symposium of the Textile Society of America, September 24–27, 2008, Honolulu, Hawaii, 7 pp.Google Scholar
Zori, Colleen, and Urbina, Simón A. 2014 Architecture and Empire at Late Prehispanic Tarapacá Viejo, Northern Chile. Chungara 46:211–232.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Martens et al. supplementary material

Martens et al. supplementary material

Download Martens et al. supplementary material(File)
File 62.6 KB