Dissertation Research: Early State Expansion in the Osmore Valley

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Mr. Bruce Owen, a graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles, will conduct excavations at two archaeological sites located in the lower Osmore valley in southern Peru. The sites, El Algodonal and Loreto Viejo, were, on the basis of preliminary work, occupied between 300 and 1200 A.D. and relate to the expansion of the Tiwanaku empire. The massive site of Tiwanaku is located in the Bolivian highlands, and its influence extended far to the North into Peru. Archaeologists wish to understand how expansion occurred and how outlying colonies, such as those in the lower Osmore valley, wereintegrated with the core area. Such an examination will shed light on how the empire functioned. Mr. Owen will conduct surface surveys at both sites. With the information thus obtained, areas will be selected for careful excavation. Data collected will allow reconstruction of the social organization of both groups. The extent of status differential, for example, will be determined. The economic basis of the communities will also be reconstructed and trade relations with the parent colony of Tiwanaku examined. Analysis of skeletal material will permit insight into the relationship between colonists and the local population. Because the Andes Mountains come close to the sea, this area of South America consists of narrow ecological zones which differ greatly in resources available. Because foodstuffs are really limited, early empires were forced to devise complex strategies to both produce and redistribute goods and these can be discerned in the archaeological record. Thus, they can provide insight into how these empires functioned. Mr. Owen's research will contribute to this goal. The research is important because it will increase understanding of the emergence of complex societies such as our own. It will also facilitate the training of a highly competent, young scientist.