RESUMENEsquina de Huajra es un asentamiento arqueológico ubicado en el sector centro-sur de la Quebrada de Humahuaca (extremo septentrional del noroeste de Argentina) cuya cultura material permite caracterizarlo como Humahuaca-Inca. En este trabajo analizamos los materiales, la espacialidad y características de los entierros hallados, mayoritariamente secundarios, que conforman verdaderos osarios en recintos cuadrangulares, dentro de estructuras circulares o bien como entierros directos en vasijas ordinarias. Los ajuares son también variados, llamando especialmente la atención la presencia de cráneos de aves y de polvos de colores (rojo, amarillo, verde, naranja y azul). La perduración de materiales incaicos para la época en la que la presencia española debería ser efectiva en la zona indicaría la continuación de un modo de vida establecido bajo la administración incaica, sin alteraciones notorias, así como la vigencia de las redes de interacción preexistentes.Palabras clave: Quebrada de Humahuaca, enterramientos, culto a los antepasados. Ritual Space and Material Culture in a Humahuaca-Inca Archaeological Site (Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, Argentina)ABSTRACT Esquina de Huajra is an archaeological site from the South-Central sector of Quebrada de Humahuaca (northern area of Northwest Argentina) which can be characterized from its material culture as a Humahuaca-Inca settlement. In this work we analyze materials, spatiality and characteristics of burials. Most interments are secondary, some of them composing ossuaries in rectangular shaped units, in circular structures or as primary interments in ordinary vessels. Mortuary offerings are also varied, calling special attention the presence of bird crania and pigments (red, yellow, green, orange and blue). The permanence of Inca material culture in moments when Spanish presence should be effective in the area would indicate the continuation of a lifestyle established under Inca administration that was not notably altered, as well as the efficacy of preexisting interaction networks.

The time span ranging from ca. 900 to 1450 A.D. in the South‐Central Andes has been traditionally posited as a period of social unrest, political disintegration and large‐scale conflict due to, primarily, environmental causes. However, the osteological record of traumatic injuries in a sample of 223 adult and subadult crania from different areas of Northwest Argentina does not clearly correspond to the expected scenario of pervasive and formalized armed attacks. Cranial trauma prevalence in the sample is low (17.48%), and no statistically significant differences were met between the sexes. No differences were found when comparing trauma prevalence between settlements or regions, suggesting that location or function of the sites may not have influenced in trauma frequencies. This information more comfortably agrees with a scenario of conflict where several sources of violence may have caused the record of traumatic injuries (i.e. raids, ambushes, etc). These results serve to problematize how conflict is expected to be expressed in the archaeological record, especially in osseous human remains, what sources of violence may have generated the traumatic patterns observed and the intensity of conflict in this region in particular and in the pre‐Hispanic Andes in general. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

En los Andes surandinos, las prácticas funerarias incluyeron una diversidad de actos rituales en torno a los restos de los difuntos que iban más allá de la preparación del cuerpo y el lugar de depósito. El desarrollo y las características de estos actos dependían principalmente de la condición social que tenían los muertos en vida. En el Pucará de Tilcara, definido como capital de la provincia incaica de Omaguaca, se detectan una amplia variedad de formas de inhumación, pero en este trabajo abordamos el caso de un contexto mortuorio de una mujer, cuya muerte se estima ocurrió hacia el final del período Incaico o inicios de la época Hispano-Indígena. Análisis interdisciplinarios del contexto arqueológico y, particularmente, los estudios entomológicos de la fauna cadavérica y bioantropológicos permitieron determinar que esta mujer estuvo expuesta antes de quedar sepultada por procesos naturales. Proponemos que esta exposición ocurrió en el marco del culto a los ancestros difundido por todo el imperio, y sirvió para remarcar su estatus social. El acompañamiento mortuorio y los análisis de estroncio sugieren que la mujer formó parte de un grupo de elite oriundo de otra región del Tawantinsuyu, que pudo trasladarse y asentarse en la Quebrada durante la caída del Imperio inca, buscando refugio ante la inminente envestida española.

The Inca Empire annexed the modern territory of Northwest Argentina ca. 1450 AD. Inca presence manifested regionally with different intensity, highlighting that the Empire carried out different strategies when interacting with conquered populations even within the same region. Regional fluctuations in power centralization may affect the quality of life of local groups, regarding access to food, labour, conflict, or inequality. In this paper, we analyse stable isotopes, dental, and osteological information to evaluate if the individuals that inhabited the archaeological site Esquina de Huajra (Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy) experienced a deprived life quality under Inca administration. Isotopic results signal a balanced diet composed of both vegetal and animal resources, and skeletal indicators of health do not suggest a population undergoing stress.

ResumenEn este trabajo se analiza el hallazgo de un entierro primario de adulto en una urna realizado en el Pucara de Perchel. El Pucara de Perchel tiene 2.921 m 2 de superficie y está ubicado en el Angosto de Perchel (dpto. Tilcara). El sitio habría sido ocupado con mayor intensidad durante los períodos de Desarrollos Regionales e Inca. El análisis de este contexto funerario consistió en el estudio de los restos óseos humanos, del ajuar funerario y de la urna en la que se efectuó el entierro. El hallazgo permitió avanzar en la comprensión de este tipo de prácticas mortuorias, inusuales en el área andina, asimismo fue posible plantear nuevas propuestas e interrogantes acerca de la ocupación tardía del Pucara de Perchel. Palabras claves: AbstractIn this paper the finding of a primary adult urn burial in Pucara de Perchel is analyzed. Pucara de Perchel site has a surface of 2.921 m 2 and it is located in Angosto del Perchel (Tilcara-Quebrada de Humahuaca) and its occupation was most important during the Regional Developments and Inca periods. The analysis of this funerary context consisted in the study of the human remains as well as grave goods and the burial urn. This finding allowed advancing in the understanding of this type of mortuary practice since the burial of adults in urns is unusual in the Andean area; also it was possible to state new hypothesis and questions about Pucara de Perchel late occupation. IntroducciónEl ritual mortuorio, en tanto rito de pasaje, marca una transición en la que interactúan el cuerpo y alma del difunto y también la sociedad a la que este pertenece. Desde esta perspectiva 10 10 10 10

We present data on carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of human bones from Tolombón (Calchaqui Valley, Salta) and Esquina de Huajra (Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy) sites located in Northwest Argentina (NWA). Both are complex archaeological residential settlements ascribed to the Regional Development Period (ca. 900-1430 A.D.), the Inca Period (ca. 1430-1536 A.D.), and the Early Colonial Period (ca. 1536-1600 A.D.). Twelve samples of human bones were collected and analyzed, including remains from individuals of both sexes and different ages at death. We also present the carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of modern plants from nearby areas in order to start building an isotopic ecology of the area and compile available information on food consumption from different lines of evidence. The isotopic results obtained reveal the consumption of C 4 plants, which for the area are maize and amaranth, combined with animal proteins. The integration of these results with the broader database was useful to discuss the political and economical implications of the findings, especially in the context of this area under the Inca domination.

The effects of social, political and economic changes on the health and lifestyle of past populations from Quebrada de Humahuaca (Jujuy, Argentina) ca. 500-1550 AD are approached through the study of bioarchaeological indicators of nutritional and functional stress, trauma, infections and dental pathologies in a sample of human bone remains (N=134). Although crude frequencies of pathologies varied, only changes in functional stress markers proved to be statistically significant, indicating that populations engaged in heavier labor force over time. This result can be related to the trend toward labor intensification seen in the archaeological record. Metabolic stress indicators increased between the Early Regional Development Period (ca. 900-1250 AD) and Late Regional Development Period (ca. 1250-1430 AD), possibly related to the concentration of population in dense nucleated settlements. No change in oral pathologies related to diet were seen, suggesting that diet change little over time. Variations in trauma frequencies were not significant either, contrary to the idea of an escalation of conflict during the Late Regional Development Period as indicated from other archaeological indicators. Our results serve both to confront models developed from the archaeological record and to complement them with biological data indicating that further analysis is required, especially in finer temporal units.

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