The Wari Occupation of Pataraya: The Interface of Coast and Sierra

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With the support of the National Science Foundation, Professor Katharina Schreiber and an international team of archaeologists will conduct two field seasons of archaeological research in southern Peru. The project will investigate an installation of a pre-Inca Andean empire and study the economic strategies used by that empire. The Wari Empire (ca. AD 750-1000) conquered and controlled most of the high Peruvian Andes and much of the coast of Peru. When the Wari extended their control from the high Andes down to the coast, they built a small installation in an area midway between those extremes, at about 1200 meters (4000 feet) above sea level, in the upper Nasca valley. The site lies near a broad tract of abandoned agricultural terraces, so the site may have been placed in order to control production in this sector of the valley. A cluster of house remains near the site suggests that the empire imported workers from another region to work the fields, and to serve the imperial bureaucrats stationed at the site.The project will follow several lines of investigation to understand the purpose and function of this site, and how it was a part of a larger empire-wide economic strategy. During the first season the imperial site will be excavated in order to clarify its function, and who occupied it. Archaeological reconnaissance will be conducted farther up the valley to see if any other imperial sites were located higher up. The second season will be devoted to mapping and testing the soils of the abandoned agricultural terrace to determine their ages and what had been grown on them. An imperial cemetery is also located near the site, and this will be excavated as well. Finally, additional archaeological reconnaissance will be undertaken in an adjacent valley to see if the Wari occupation was repeated in other valleys.In a broader sense, empires are large, complex states that hold sway over many peoples and territories. Empires must be flexible in their ability to adapt their strategies of control to such varying situations, and also be able to change those strategies when necessary. The study of the Wari Empire in the upper Nasca valley not only provides new information on how Wari developed and implemented different strategies of control, it also contributes to our understanding of ancient empires, in general. The problems faced by ancient empires are directly analogous to problems faced by modern states, especially those with large ethnically diverse populations.This project will have broader impacts in that it will provide educational opportunities for both American and Peruvian students. One American graduate student will use some of the data recovered from the project as the basis of his doctoral thesis. Peruvian students will gain archaeological training and experience, and collaboration with Peruvian archaeologists will provide ample opportunities for intellectual exchange. Professor Schreiber will also give public addresses and school lectures in local communities, both to share her knowledge of their past and to engender a respect for the preservation of archaeological resources.