The Dawson seriation of Nasca ceramics has long been assumed to be an accurate marker of temporal changes in the prehispanic south coast of Peru. We test this assumption by directly dating a sample of sherds using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL). Our results suggest that while some phases of the seriation are valid chronological markers, others appear to be the result of factors other than time. We discuss the implications of these results and call for additional studies of ceramics using luminescence dating

The research reported in this article explores Wari imperial strategies in the upper Nasca Valley of south-central Peru and, building on previous research, documents the flexibility and diversity of those strategies. The focus of these investigations is the site of Pataraya, a small Wari provincial outpost, and its environs. Despite its size, the rectangular enclosure at Pataraya is well planned and conforms to the canons of Wari state architecture documented at other Wari provincial sites. The site was founded early in the Middle Horizon (A.D. 650-1000) and then abandoned during the collapse of the Wari system. Extensive excavation at this condensed version of the Wari building tradition—over 60 percent—uncovered a pattern of spatially segregated use and access within the enclosure. Activities were relegated to specific patio groups with little replication of function, and the sectors themselves were connected by an astonishingly complex system of narrow corridors. The site appears to have been involved in the transfer of coastal products, especially cotton, to the sierra along an ancient road that is also associated with another much larger Wari compound and with the reorganization of an older local site near modern-day Uchuymarca, both of which were also documented during the project.

Archaeologists, especially those doing regional surveys, generally assume that there is a correlation between the areal extent of a habitation site and the number of people living at that site. This paper uses a combination of archaeological and historical data from the Peruvian Andes to examine this assumption. We find that, in this case, only a weak correlation holds between these two factors. However, a consideration of site function and topography may render the apparent ambiguities understandable.

The puquios of Nasca are a system of subterranean filtration galleries that provide water for irrigation and domestic uses in the middle portions of the Nasca, Taruga, and Las Trancas valleys of the Río Grande de Nasca drainage of the south coast of Peru. At present 36 puquios function in these three valleys; in the past their number may have exceeded 50. We discuss the formal characteristics and the construction of the puquios, and describe each of the extant puquios. The results of archaeological settlement surveys conducted in the three valleys indicate that the puquios did not yet exist in Early Nasca (Early Intermediate Period 2-4) times, but were almost certainly in use by the time of the Inka conquest of the region in the late fifteenth century. We suggest that the initial construction and use of the puquios may have occurred as early as Nasca 5 times, and probably not later than Late Nasca (Early Intermediate Period 6-7) times.

A key to the understanding of ancient iconography is knowing just what the pictures are pictures of. That is not always an easy question: in this case, a classic collection of Peruvian depictions, it is at least clear the pictures are of birds. But what kind of bird, and why?

We show that a structure built by the Inkas at the entrance to a cave at Machu Picchu was designed to admit the light of the rising sun only for a brief period before and after the December solstice. This structure is precisely constructed, unique at Machu Picchu, and may have played a part in the annual Inka ritual, Capac Raymi.

A recent archaeological survey was conducted of a highland Peruvian valley in order to evaluate the effect on a local culture of the expansion of empires. The strategy employed in the consolidation of a region under an imperial administrative structure is the result of two general factors: the needs of the empire, and the level of extant local political organization. Evidence of Wari and Inka imperial facilities in the Carahuarazo Valley is interpreted in light of changes in the local culture during each occupation to provide a more complete picture of this process. A relatively greater Wari presence and lesser Inka presence are interpreted as the result of differing administrative needs on the part of the respective empires, as well as differing local systems at the time of each conquest. Similarities in goods and services extracted by each empire serve to indicate that although imperial strategies differed, the end result of consolidation of the area into each empire was roughly similar.

Pristine state government evolved among the indigenous cultures of the central Andes, but archaeologists have not demonstrated when and where. Conceptualization of the state as an integrative mechanism for gathering and processing information and for deliberating decisions provides explicit archaeological criteria for statehood. Examination of the archaeological record reveals that Middle Horizon Huari fulfills almost all of these criteria for statehood, although many data remain to be collected before the processes of prehistoric Andean state formation will be fully understood.