Recent fieldwork concerning the late Preceramic/late Archaic period on the PeruvianNorth-Central Ccoast has revealed the existence of large architectural complexes, which scholars interpret as indicative of social complexity. This article is especially concerned with architectural design as an effective means to define social and political organization at Cerro Lampay. It concludes that there was not a highly formalized hierarchy but that power positions within the community could have been negotiated through ritual practices that included the dual organization of participants. It is highly probable that the residents of the North Central Coast were in constant and intense interaction during the late Archaic, which may have resulted in displays of competitive emulationin ritual settings.

The Peruvian south coast between the Tambo and Ilo rivers is a deserted wasteland. Yet tracts of abandoned farmland and expanses of desiccated lomas vegetation indicate that it was once vibrant and productive. Scattered habitations and cemeteries also indicate a pronounced resident Chiribaya population between A.D. 1200 and 1400. While river drainages of the western Andes and their canalized extensions are often treated as primary analytical units of study, our investigation of so-called peripheral intervalley regions points to a highly engineered and intensively managed landscape. When compared to the Ilo Valley, intervalley Chiribaya were organized into smaller communities and managed smaller spring-fed irrigation systems but were also heavily invested in adjacent maritime and lomas resource bases. Utilizing a mixed economic strategy, we argue, these intervalley populations were anything but marginal to the Chiribaya señorío of the Ilo region; rather, they were fully engaged in the social, political, and economic spheres of the late Intermediate period Peruvian south coast and formed a significant component of the Chiribaya cultural landscape. Our results hold implications for other similarly marginalized areas of the Andean coast, where distinct microenvironmental parameters and human ingenuity intersected to significantly transform the western Andes.

During the central Mexican late Postclassic period, the Aztec Triple Alliance became the largest and most powerful empire in Mesoamerica. Yet ancient Tlaxcallan (now Tlaxcala, Mexico) resisted incorporation into the empire despite being entirely surrounded by it and despite numerous Aztec military campaigns aimed at the defeat of the Tlaxcaltecas. How did it happen that a relatively small (1,400 km²) polity was able to resist a more powerful foe while its neighbors succumbed? We propose a resolution to this historical enigma that, we suggest, has implications for the broader study of social and cultural change, particularly in relation to theories of state formation and collective action. We find it particularly interesting that the Tlaxcaltecas abandoned a key tenet of traditional Nahua political structure in which kingship was vested in members of the nobility, substituting for it government by a council whose members could be recruited from the ranks of commoners. To achieve such a significant deviation from typical Nahua authority structure, the Tlaxcaltecas drew selectively from those aspects of Nahua mythic history and religion that were consistent with a comparatively egalitarian and collective political regime.

Excavations west of the monumental core at Chavín de Huántar, Peru in 2005 revealed a well-preserved plastered structure with a central circular hearth, in the style of the Mito Architectural Tradition. This find challenges standard definitions of both the Mito Tradition and Chavín itself. I discuss the material remains and associated radiocarbon dates from this feature, and use these new data to re-assess Chavín’s involvement in interregional networks and its relationship to earlier ceremonial centers in the Central Andean highlands.

Analyses of skeletal phenotypic traits have the potential to yield information pertaining to social organization, such as kinship and residence patterns. In this research, we examine sex-specific phenotypic variability of craniofacial and mandibular metric traits in eight skeletal samples from four sites (San Gerónimo, Chiribaya Alta, Chiribaya Baja, and El Yaral) attributed to the Chiribaya polity (A.D. 772–1350) and a contemporary Ilo-Tumilaca/Cabuza group (El Algodonal) from southern Peru. Through this data set we investigate various aspects of social organization (e.g., postmarital residence patterns) within the Chiribaya polity. We also examine Chiribaya interactions with the contemporaneous, yet culturally distinct, Tumilaca cultural group. The pattern of between-group bias-corrected estimates of biological distances points toward a more distant biological relationship between the two cultures than has previously been reported. Among the Chiribaya groups considered, determinant ratio analyses indicate that males from two cemeteries (Chiribaya Alta Cemetery 4 and Chiribaya Alta Cemetery 7) were significantly more variable than females, suggesting that males were the more mobile sex. Several explanatory models are considered, including a matrilocal residence pattern and the in-migration of males. We also examine the unique nature of results from within Chiribaya Alta, which support the argument made by previous researchers that this site represents a regional political center.

This article examines the organization of specialized craft production at the urban site of Moche, known as the capital of the Southern Moche state. Recent excavations in workshop contexts revealed that the urban population of Moche was in part composed of ceramists, metallurgists, and lapidaries. These craft specialists played a significant role in the economic, political, and religious spheres of the Moche polity. Data obtained during excavations of workshops and domestic compounds are used to analyze the context, scale, and intensity of craft production, taking into account the nature of the goods produced and the identity of consumers. The discussion also considers the integration of craft specialists into the daily life and social structure at the site of Moche. Excavations showed that while urban craft specialists were not independent, they were not tightly controlled by a centralized ruling elite. They produced symbolic goods in various small to middle-scale workshops integrated into residential units, under the direct authority of urban leaders taking advantage of this particular organization of semi-attached craft production in various status-building strategies.

An excellent illustration of the strong intertwinement of the art, image, text, and ritual characteristics of the ancient Americas is the codex-style pottery of the Mixteca-Puebla style. These ceramics, together with painted books and murals, were manifestations of an artistic style and iconography known as the Mixteca-Puebla style, which developed in central and south Mexico during the late Postclassic period (A.D. 1250–1521). Scholars have long recognized the motifs depicted on these vessels as part of the iconographic corpus of the Borgia group and Mixtec codices, and they have proposed that these vessels had ceremonial uses. A recent study of a large sample of these artifacts from the Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley, central Veracruz, the Mixtec region, the Valley of Oaxaca, and the Basin of Mexico confirms both suggestions, showing that the vessels' painted images were more than mere decoration; they conformed to a pictography that referred to essential notions of Mesoamerican rituality. It is proposed that the meaning of this pictography was related to the context in which the vessels were used. Most likely the painted signs conveyed meanings by using stylistic devices of Mesoamerican ceremonial language. Addressed here are the mechanisms of this pictography, the progress made in reading it, and insights into the vessels' use context.

The cultural transformations associated with the Formative period are pivotal for understanding the prehistory of the Americas. Over the last five decades, investigations in southwestern Ecuador have provided an early and robust set of archaeological data relating to Archaic-to-Formative transformations as exemplified by the Las Vegas, Valdivia, Machalilla, and Chorrera archaeological traditions. However, recent archaeological research in adjacent zones of the equatorial Andes indicates that the transformations in southwestern Ecuador were paralleled by coeval but distinct developments. Recent (2006–2007) excavations in the Department of Tumbes, Peru, have documented previously unknown Formative transformations, including the development of substantial domestic architecture during the Archaic (ca. 4700–4330 B.C.E.) and early Formative (ca. 3500–3100 B.C.E.), the shift from elliptical pole-and-thatch dwellings to rectangular wattle-and-daub structures at ca. 900–500 B.C.E., and the construction of public architecture and the establishment of a two-tiered settlement system by ca. 1000–800 B.C.E. These recently discovered archaeological patterns from Tumbes and additional data from southern Ecuador provide the basis for revised comparative perspectives in which southwestern Ecuador is a significant—but no longer the only—vantage point for understanding the evolution of Formative societies in the equatorial Andes.

Recent investigations at the site of Xuenkal on the plains north of Chichén Itzá provide evidence of the changing regional political environment during the Terminal Classic Period (A.D. 900–1000). This paper examines a collection of spindle whorls recovered during the 2005, 2006, and 2007 field seasons of the Proyecto Arqueológico Xuenkal (PAX) as evidence for intensification of craft production. Through this analysis and comparison with spindle whorl collections from other Lowland Maya sites, we suggest the inhabitants of Xuenkal rapidly adapted to changing economic demands by increasing the amount of cloth produced in their residential settings, perhaps in response to increased tribute demands that emanated from the dominant political power of the region. Spinning and weaving is associated with the female gender during the Classic Period in Mesoamerica. Thus, intensification of this gendered activity not only produced excess materials for the state, but also reinforced its gender ideology. Analysis of these artifacts adds to the knowledge of Maya cloth production and addresses the nature of Chichén Itzá's influence on regional sites during the height of its influence in the Terminal Classic period.

In the last 25 years, materials from some human sacrifices that the Inkas carried out on high mountains (e.g., Aconcagua and Llullaillaco) have been thoroughly analyzed and adequately interpreted. Remains from immolations that took place in other contexts, however, which tend to be poorly preserved and incompletely studied, are not as well understood. In this article, I begin to remedy this imbalance in our knowledge by discussing the sacrifice from Salinas Grandes, which is a salt flat situated in northwestern Argentina. I describe the body of the victim—who was very likely a qhapaq hucha, a specially chosen child—and his clothing, accouterments, and hairstyle. I offer hypotheses on where he came from and on the reasons behind his ritual dispatch. I demonstrate how the different items that were buried with him all contributed to the meaning of his immolation. I also show how the lords of Cuzco may have employed the sacrifice to tie the region where the salt flat is located to the empire.

This study examines isolated child skeletal remains from ritual structures at the Wari site of Conchopata (A.D. 600–1000) to evaluate how they were modified into trophy heads and whether the children were sacrificed. The skeletal remains represent at least seven children. Strontium isotope ratios are examined to determine whether children were taken from foreign locales. Results show that the children’s skulls exhibit a hole on the apex of the cranium and on the ascending ramus of the mandible, identical to the adult Wari trophy heads. At least one child may have been sacrificed. 87Sr/86Sr demonstrate that two of the four sampled child trophy heads were nonlocal, suggesting that children were occasionally abducted from distant communities, perhaps for sacrifice and certainly to transform some into trophy heads. The similar child and adult trophy heads suggest that the ritual treatment of children was not uniquely designed, at least as it related to their processing, display, and destruction. Furthermore, it is suggested that the child trophy heads were not simply passive symbols of pre-existing authority by the head-takers and trophy head-makers. The trophy heads simultaneously imbued those agents with authority—they did not merely reflect it—demonstrating the “effective agency” of the trophy head objects themselves. Finally, we suggest that prisoner-taking and trophy head-making by military and ritual elites served to legitimate the authority of those individuals while simultaneously serving larger state goals that enhanced Wari state authority and legitimated its policies and practices.

Recent investigations at mountaintop sites around the Ayacucho Basin in the central Andes have identified a distinctive category of isolated Inca stone-faced platforms. Test excavations of the three-tiered platform at one site, Incapirqa/Waminan, revealed a narrow vertical shaft penetrating from the original surface through the fills to a small basin cut into the underlying andesite bedrock. A carefully arranged deposit of three unusual stones was found in this basin. Early Spanish chroniclers give firsthand accounts of a variety of Inca solar rituals observed in Cuzco in which revered objects were deployed, including some sculpted in stone. The detailed descriptions of these stone objects are corroborated by the excavated finds at Incapirqa/Waminan and offer suggestive analogies for interpreting their context and significance.

Previous archaeological studies suggest that terminal Middle Horizon Tumilaca populations (cal A.D. 950–1150) of the middle Moquegua Valley represent direct descendants of earlier Chen Chen-style Tiwankau colonists of the region. This study tests this idea by comparing dentally derived biodistance analyses of Tumilaca, Chen Chen-style, Tiwanaku, and other regional samples. The results indicate that the Tumilaca and Chen Chen-style mortuary samples are similar to one another suggesting that these populations might share an ancestral-descendant relationship. The phenetic relations of the Tumilaca and Chen Chen to other regional samples are also discussed.

This paper analyzes the biographical and related archaeological information of 10 artificially shaped skulls from the broader Maya area, which bear resemblance to the high and narrow head morphology depicted in Olmec art. The skeletal evidence of this head form, which was accomplished by combining compression cradleboards with constricting horizontal wraps (tabular erect type in its pseudo-circular variety), is rare and predates A.D. 250 in all cases. Here I compare the cranial vaults shaped in this fashion with that of 49 other Preclassic period Maya indivisuals from different parts of the Maya world. The discussion explores the possible evolving social and religious roles of this emblematic body modification. I argue that Olmecoid head modification was a syncretic cultural adoption, since it was just one of many expressions of a deeply embedded Preclassic tradition, still practiced centuries after the demise of Olman’s societies themselves. The visible effect of the artificial pear-shaped heads most likely reflected gradual shifting ideological schemes, probably emulating early versions of the Maya Maize God, given the resemblance to Preclassic period renderings of this supernatural force.

Sambaquís (concheros o shell mounds) son construcciones antrópicas que aperecen en la costa brasileña hace aproximada mente 8000 años erguidas a partir de la acumulación formal de valvas de moluscos. En el Estado de Santa Catarina, algunos sitios tienen la particularidad de presentar un depósito ictiológico superior con características estratigráficas y composicionales semejantes al depósito malacológico (conchero) subyacente. La aparición del depósito superior fue tradicionalmente asociada a cambios en la subsistencia de estos grupos, con el reemplazo del consumo de moluscos por peces. Sin embargo, análisis faunísticos indicaron que la pesca siempre fue una actividad de subsistencia predominante. Nuevas interpretaciones del fenómeno sugirieron que la substitución de valvas de molusco por huesos de pescado responde a alteraciones tardías en la funcionalidad de los sitios. En este trabajo, la micromorfología de depósitos arqueológicos fue aplicada como herramienta principal de análisis para descifrar la formación del sitio Jabuticabeira II. A partir de la combinación de estudios geoarqueológicos, microestratigráficos y arqueofaunísticos realizados en ambos depósitos, proponemos un modelo para la formación de este sambaquí como resultado de sucesivos procesos de depositación antrópicos asociados a actividades rituales. Estos procesos envolvieron la quema de materiales, acumulación y re-depositación como diferentes etapas en el ritual funerario del grupo constructor. El origen de los materiales constructivos es discutido desde un abordaje contextual a través de la valorización del papel simbólico que la depositación de residuos tuvo entre estas poblaciones.

Indicators of oral health were recorded in a sample of 200 Formative period (1500 B.C.–A.D. 500) skeletons from archaeological sites located in the Lower Azapa Valley of northwest Chile. This period represents a major shift in subsistence strategies in the Atacama Desert, as coastal groups adopted agriculture and moved deeper into the valley. Frequencies of caries and antemortem tooth loss were compared between site locations (coast vs. valley) and by archaeological phase (early vs. late) to interpret the degree to which these incipient agriculturalists were reliant on domesticated resources. Overall, frequencies of caries (11.9 percent) and tooth loss (11.6 percent) are somewhat higher than for other prehistoric groups practicing a mixed subsistence strategy. However, residents of the interior valley exhibited significantly more dental decay and tooth loss than those along the coast. Our results identify that although the Formative period residents of the Lower Azapa Valley practiced a mixed subsistence strategy, the degree of reliance on agricultural production differed between the coast and the valley. We propose that these differential patterns in oral health are tied to local investment, adaptive cycles, and niche construction.

Este trabajo discute el uso de plantas psicoactivas en el Valle de Azapa del norte de Chile. Al respecto, en el norte de Chile existen evidencias arqueológicas materiales tempranas e ininterrumpidas relacionadas con prácticas psicoactivas en torno a la Anadenanthera, acompañadas de evidencia química que consigna el consumo de Erythroxylum. En este contexto, se evalúa el consumo de Anadenanthera y Banisteriopsis en el cabello de treinta y dos momias del período Medio (ca. 500–1000 d.C.) del Valle de Azapa, mediante cromatografía gaseosa y espectrometría de masa. De los casos analizados ninguno resultó positivo para el consumo de Anadenanthera, pero dos resultaron positivos para la ingesta de Banisteriopsis, planta psicoactiva preparada como infusión denominada generalmente Ayahuasca. Se postula que el consumo de Banisteriopsis en el Valle de Azapa estaría relacionado con prácticas curativas y medicinales como por ejemplo en el parto y/o puerperio, más que una práctica alucinógena.

One of the largest demographic shifts to occur in Andean prehistory took place during the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1000–1400). Across a large expanse of the central Andes a vast number of lower elevation settlements were abandoned and local populations were concentrated in newly constructed, defensibly positioned sites, located along high ridges. In this article we examine this dramatic settlement shift in relation to the Chanka ethnic group that occupied the Andahuaylas region (Department of Apurimac, Peru). The results indicate that the shift from valley to hilltop settlements in the Andahuaylas region occurred around A.D. 1000. We propose that the shift reflects an increased dependency on agro-pastoralism that resulted from a period of climate change. We also suggest that in this region of the Andes the shift was augmented by growing levels of political competition after the dissolution of the Wari Empire and that current models, which situate the Chanka as a uniquely powerful ethnic group at the time of the Inca expansion, need to be reexamined.

The earliest Lowland Maya are commonly recognized by permanent architecture and the appearance of pottery. However, when other lines of evidence are considered, strong continuities with late Archaic populations can be seen. Reconciling these views relies on more than simply gathering more data. It is also necessary to consider the effect of decades of scholarship that defines the precolumbian Maya as “civilization” rather than considering the historical contexts of important transitions, such as the one that culminated with sedentism, the adoption of new technologies, and participation in long-distance exchange. The Archaic-to-Preclassic transition was relatively brief and largely obscured by the practices of establishing permanent dwellings. Nevertheless, this period must have been extremely dynamic and marked by significant cultural change, making it important to researchers interested in early Mesoamerica. Using three lines of evidence—subsistence, economy and technology, and stratigraphically controlled radiocarbon data—this article argues that the Lowland Maya had their cultural origins at least in the late Archaic and that the case for pottery before ca. 1000 B.C. remains uncertain. Future research is needed to determine precisely how far back in time certain cultural practices that characterize Preclassic and Classic Maya society can be documented.