Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Inca Administration of the Peruvian North Coast. A View from Cerro Colorado.

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In this dissertation project, Ms. Zannie Sandoval will examine the nature and intensity of Inca control of the Peruvian north coast following the conquest of the native Chimu state (Chimor) ca. A.D. 1462 - 1470. Chimor was the largest and most powerful polity to contest Inca domination in the Andes. During the Late Intermediate Period (A.D. 1000 - 1476), it controlled all of the north coast and portions of the central coast. Its successor, the Inca empire, spanned over 4000 km of western South America at its height, encompassing territories from Ecuador in the north to Chile in the south. The Incas adopted flexible strategies to rule over the wide range of societies they conquered. These strategies ranged from strong to loose forms of control, depending on local social and political conditions and the goals of the empire. At one end of the continuum, direct rule was highly intrusive, and demanded heavy investment in administration, security, and physical infrastructure. At the other end indirect rule favored loose forms of control, a less costly alternative. Ms. Sandoval's research will address two questions: To what extent did the Incas disrupt the local Chimu administrative infrastructure? And, is the Inca domination of Chimor an example of direct or indirect rule within the Empire? Archaeologists have traditionally regarded the Inca domination of Chimor as a prime example of weak state control, based on written accounts - namely, sixteenth-century Spanish Colonial chronicles and legal and administrative records - and on surface-level examination of the north coast landscape, which has yielded few traditional markers of Inca imperialism. Under the supervision of Dr. Charles Stanish, Ms. Sandoval will directly test competing models of direct vs. indirect control by assessing potential changes in the local feasting assemblage and in public architecture - traditional symbols of political authority in the Andes - in the aftermath of the Inca conquest. She will collect these data through archaeological excavations at the site of Cerro Colorado in the lower Jequetepeque Valley. The site is strategically located relative to the major prehistoric field and canal systems of the Jequetepeque Valley, and connected to known centers with Inca components via the coastal Inca road. This research will provide insights into a poorly understood period in north coast Peruvian prehistory. The Inca empire ranks as one of the largest and most complex pre-industrial polities in world history. The data from this work will enhance current knowledge on Inca imperial strategies on the Pacific coast and serve as a case study for comparative anthropological analysis. Research findings will be accessible through publication in Peruvian and American academic journals, presentations in professional meetings, and lectures in Spanish for local residents. This research will also provide training to Peruvian and American archaeology students.