Here we report the results of excavation and interdisciplinary study of the largest child and camelid sacrifice known from the New World. Stratigraphy, associated artifacts, and radiocarbon dating indicate that it was a single mass killing of more than 140 children and over 200 camelids directed by the Chimú state, c. AD 1450. Preliminary DNA analysis indicates that both boys and girls were chosen for sacrifice. Variability in forms of cranial modification (head shaping) and stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen suggest that the children were a heterogeneous sample drawn from multiple regions and ethnic groups throughout the Chimú state. The Huanchaquito-Las Llamas mass sacrifice opens a new window on a previously unknown sacrificial ritual from fifteenth century northern coastal Peru. While the motivation for such a massive sacrifice is a subject for further research, there is archaeological evidence that it was associated with a climatic event (heavy rainfall and flooding) that could have impacted the economic, political and ideological stability of one of the most powerful states in the New World during the fifteenth century A.D.
The evidence presented in this paper is a first effort to contextualize aspects related to the sourcing, production and uses of red paint during the second millennium BC in Northern Peru. The site tested was Gramalote, a fishing settlement of the Peruvian North Coast. The results show that the inhabitants of this settlement had access to a local source of hematite but they also used cinnabar that came from a distant region located in the southern highlands. Based on the abundance of lithic and bone tools, shell containers and ceramic seal stamps, the authors of this article study the process behind the production of this painting. Using physicochemical techniques such as Portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology complemented with structural analysis through X-ray diffraction, applying conventional and synchrotron radiation on selected samples, the authors look at issues related to sourcing, production and uses of the red pigment. In addition, isotopic analysis helped to determine the provenience of cinnabar which is also the earliest evidence of human use of this mineral in the Andean region. Temporal and contextual distribution of these artifacts is analyzed to understand the manipulation and uses of the red paint. Finally, this study also gives a glimpse of the symbolic meaning red pigment could have played in the daily life of a second millennium BC maritime community on the Pacific coast of Peru.
The site of Huanchaquito-Las Llamas, situated in the Moche Valley, Peru, dated to the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1100-1470), represents a single event mass killing of children and domestic camelids of the Chimu society. Reconstruction of the life histories of 82 camelid individuals based on stable isotope analysis of bone collagen indicates that they originated from the lowlands. Isotopic inter-individual variability indicates diversity in dietary sources, consisting of wild plants and cultigens, grown in water-limited and non-water-limited conditions, as well as a large proportion of C 4 plants, suggesting that the animals originated from various herds that were differently managed. In contrast, uniformity in terms of restricted coat colour and young age could suggest that the animals derived from specialised herds. It is possible that the requirement in a short period of time for a massive number of animals meeting certain criteria exceeded the capacity of these herds. This study presents the largest isotopic dataset measured at a single pre-Hispanic site so far and the first to record herding practices for the Chimú society. Comparison with previous isotopic datasets shows differences between ritual and non-ritual groups, as well as diversity in pastoralism practises through time in the Central Andes.
Palaeoparasitological investigation was conducted on a first set of samples from 13 sacrificed domestic camelids recovered from the pre-Hispanic Chimú culture site of Huanchaquito-Las Llamas, Peru. The aim was to establish the animals' gastrointestinal parasite diversity and enlighten on their health status at the time of their death. To this end, 20 samples of coprolites and intestinal contents were analysed to check for the presence of parasite markers, i.e. preserved eggs and oocysts. Microscopic examinations revealed the presence of five taxa of helminths and protozoans in a majority of the tested animals (61%). Our analysis revealed the presence in some animals of protozoan oocysts belonging to the species Eimeria macusaniensis (phylum Apicomplexa). Our study is the first report of the possible presence of a parasite egg attributed to the order Plagiorchiida (family Fasciolidae) in ancient camelids. This preliminary study shows that there is interesting potential for conducting palaeoparasitological analysis at the site and that such analysis is promising for answering questions about the health status of the Huanchaquito-Las Llamas camelids.
Interpolity interaction and regional control were central features of all early state societies, taking the form of trade-embedded in political processes to varying degrees-or interregional conquest strategies meant to expand the polity's control or influence over neighboring territories. Cross-cultural analyses of early statecraft suggest that territorial expansion was an integral part of the process of primary state formation, closely associated with the delegation of authority to subordinate administrators and the construction of core outposts of the state in foreign territories. We report here on a potential case of a core outpost, associated with the early Virú state, at the site of Huaca Prieta in the Chicama Valley, located 75 km north of the Virú state heartland on the north coast of Peru. This site is discussed in the context of other possible Virú outposts in the Moche Valley, Pampa La Cruz, and Huaca Las Estrellas, and as part of a broader reflection on expansionary dynamics and statecraft.archaic states | territorial expansion | core outposts R esearch carried out over the past decades suggests that territorial expansion and consolidation often played a key role in the crystallization of early states (1-18). Drawing from historical case studies from Madagascar, Wright noted that statecraft generally takes place in contexts of conflict and expansionary dynamics in landscapes that often featured closely spaced and competing centers and that this process is usually marked by many successes and failures before enduring states emerge (18). Viewed as a process rather than as an evolutionary breakthrough, research into statecraft has contributed to the anthropological study of early civilization by documenting the varied historically contingent trajectories ancient polities followed as they developed more complex systems of political organization.In his work on the expansionary dynamics of primary state formations, Algaze (1) stressed the important role played by core outposts in early statecraft. Such outposts were founded at crucial nodes along trade routes, near resources concentrations, or amid strategically located native polities in control of existing corridors of communication and trade and functioned as centers attracting information, services, population, and resources from the surrounding regions. Reviewing archaeological evidence from different regions around the world, Algaze found that outposts often represented the culmination of earlier patterns of interregional exchange that had by then intensified and become formalized, that, for their own political ends, local elites were often initially amenable to granting such access to foreign powers, and that transportational constraints "meant that the most efficient way to channel regular exchanges between such contrastive polities was precisely by means of isolated core outposts embedded within distant peripheries" (ref. 1, pp. 319-320).To Algaze, core outposts were therefore important "instruments of expansion" founded on the asymmetrical relatio...
Se presentan datos preliminares del contexto sacrificial masivo del periodo Intermedio Tardío hallado en el sitio de Huanchaquito-Las Llamas, zona norte del valle de Moche. Estos datos se refieren a estudios preliminares de antropología física así como estudios preliminares en los restos de camélidos hallados en las excavaciones. En el texto se reflexiona acerca de la naturaleza del sacrificio humano en la sociedad Chimu, los posibles patrones existentes en base a un análisis de los datos disponibles de otros sitios excavados en el valle y se plantea una hipótesis de trabajo para la interpretación de este contexto. Del mismo modo se reflexiona acerca de las implicancias sociales, políticas e ideológicas que significó realizar un evento de esta naturaleza durante el desarrollo de Chan Chan, el centro urbano más complejo de la costa norte del Perú previo a la conquista Inca.
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