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Possibilities and limitations of new radiocarbon dating for the Maucallacta site, dep. Arequipa, Peru

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2025

Maciej Sobczyk ,
Andrzej Z Rakowski Open the ORCID record for Andrzej Z Rakowski [Opens in a new window] ,
Sylwia Siemianowska ,
Jan Kłaput ,
Jacek Pawlyta Open the ORCID record for Jacek Pawlyta [Opens in a new window] ,
Dominika Sieczkowska-Jacyna Open the ORCID record for Dominika Sieczkowska-Jacyna [Opens in a new window] ,
Claudio Olaya Cotera  and
Santiago Ancapichun
Maciej Sobczyk
Affiliation:
University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Andrzej Z Rakowski*
Affiliation:
Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
Sylwia Siemianowska
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, PAS, Poland
Jan Kłaput
Affiliation:
University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Jacek Pawlyta
Affiliation:
AGH University of Kraków, Poland
Dominika Sieczkowska-Jacyna
Affiliation:
Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
Claudio Olaya Cotera
Affiliation:
Independent researcher, Lima, Peru
Santiago Ancapichun
Affiliation:
Universidad Austral, Chile
*
Corresponding author: Andrzej Rakowski; Email: arakowski@polsl.pl
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Abstract

With the development of radiocarbon dating methods in the last decade, the Andean archaeological community has successfully leaned into the problem of the chronology of the expansion of the Inca State. While this chronology was based on ethnohistorical accounts (Rowe 1945), it has been possible to verify its foundations precisely in the last decade. The results from the Maucallacta region are part of these discussions and are intended to add new data from the Inca province of Kuntisuyu, which was neglected in this debate until now. The project encompasses archaeological investigations near the snow-covered volcano Coropuna, frequently mentioned by chroniclers of the 16th and 17th centuries as an oracle worshiped since pre-Inca times. This includes a large complex known as Maucallacta-Pampacolca, located approximately 170 km northwest of Arequipa in the southern highlands of Peru, within the District of Pampacolca, Province of Castilla, Department of Arequipa (LS; 3750 m asl). Due to its location, it holds a unique relationship with the Coropuna landscape. The site is a vast administrative center featuring over three hundred stone buildings, tombs, and ceremonial structures. Among them, the most important is the large ceremonial platform with ushnu and the dumps deposited beneath it. The analysis of ceramics and animal bones, combined with stratigraphic analysis and the results of new calibrations and interpretations of radiocarbon dates, provides a comprehensive picture of the formation and use of ceremonial dumps at the site, making them one of the most thoroughly examined collections in this regard.

Keywords

Bayesian chronologybonesInca cultureMaucallactaradiocarbon dating

Information

Type
Conference Paper
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 68 , Issue 1: CLARa2 Proceedings of the 2nd Latin American Radiocarbon Conference , February 2026 , pp. 167 - 179
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of University of Arizona

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 2nd Latin American Radiocarbon Conference, Mexico City, 4–8 Sept. 2023

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