Economy and Identity at Tiwanaku Settlements in the Osmore Valley, Southern Peru: Zooarchaeology and Bone Chemistry

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With support from the National Science Foundation Dr. Susan deFrance and colleagues will conduct laboratory zooarchaeological and bone chemistry analyses of animal remains from several Tiwanaku sites located in southern Peru. The Tiwanaku, one of the early imperial states of the Central Andean region, flourished from roughly A. D. 600-1100. The homeland of Tiwanaku culture is the highlands of Bolivia, southeast of Lake Titicaca. In these high plains the Tiwanaku built a massive capital characterized by sunken temples, monumental stone architecture, and elaborately engineered raised agricultural fields. The Tiwanaku also reared domesticated llamas and alpacas, the only large mammals domesticated in the New World. Sometime early in their history, Tiwanaku colonists immigrated to other regions. A large contingent of Tiwanaku colonists settled along the Osmore River in southern Peru near the modern city of Moquegua. Previous excavations have revealed that Tiwanaku settlers commandeered the best agricultural land and that they established corrals for their domesticated animals. A working hypothesis is that settlement occurred in two waves by two distinct extended lineages, each with their own economic specialization: agriculture versus pastoralism. Important questions remain about the degree to which Tiwanaku inhabitants in this periphery were under direct political control by their highland capital or as autonomous colonies. Animal rearing and the production of animal products (e.g., fiber for textiles, meat, bone for tools) are hypothesized to have been locally autonomous and not used to support the highland capital. The analysis of animal remains from sites affiliated with each lineage will be used to help support or refute the model of lineage autonomous colonization and economic specialization (pastoralists versus agriculturalists). The analysis will consist of the creation of two types of data sets. One will be the zooarchaeological identification of the animals present at the various sites. DeFrance will work with graduate students and undergraduate students using facilities of the Contisuyo Museum in Moquegua to identify the animal remains. Differences in the animals present, the parts of the carcass, how they were butchered, and how and where they were discarded will be used to determine if the colonies were locally autonomous as is hypothesized, or if parts of animals were shipped to other areas to support the state. The other data set will be an analysis of bone chemistry isotopic signatures from a sample of the camelid (llama and alpaca) remains to determine at what elevation these animals were reared and if ritually-sacrificed camelids were fed special foods that differed from non-ritual animals. A specialist in bone chemistry, Erin Thornton, will conduct the bone chemistry analysis. The information that will be generated from this project is important because it will help archaeologists and anthropologists understand how ancient imperial states, such as the Tiwanaku, functioned, colonized distant regions, and the economic and ritual activities that they undertook to maintain their identity. The research team will work with the Contisuyo Museum to include long-term and temporary exhibits on animal use thus providing a public dimension to zooarchaeology.