From Rural to Urban: Archaeological Research in the Periphery of Huari, Ayacucho Valley, Peru

Abstract

For hundreds upon hundreds of years, humans lived in small settlements where most individuals, if not all, were linked by kinship ties. Many of these villages were occupied for generations and thus their occupants had a strong connection to the place. The villages were politically and economically autonomous, yet they were connected with adjacent villages by means of barter and intermarriage. Within a relatively short period of time, centuries-long occupied small villages were left vacant and replaced by fewer but much larger settlements identified as cities. In contrast to the rural based villages, cities began to house much larger numbers of residents, who not only were unfamiliar with each other but also were mainly concerned with their own well-being. Recent archaeological research carried out in the immediate periphery of Huari provides crucial information that indicates that the growth of Huari paralleled the abandonment of rural villages apparently in the midst of increasing conflict. The rural settlement of Huaqanmarka was occupied for several centuries, yet it was abandoned within a short period of time simultaneously with the desertion of other adjacent settlements.

Ayllus, Ancestors and the (Un)Making of the Wari State

“…The site sprawled across 10 square kilometres and housed as many as 40,000 residents (Isbell 2009, 215). Huari had grown rapidly near the end of the Early Intermediate Period (200 bce–ce 600) by attracting migrants from the surrounding region (Schreiber 1992, 87–91; Valdez & Valdez 2017, 10). Economic specialization surged and status differences widened (González Carré & Gálvez Pérez 1981; Isbell & Vranich 2004; Spickard 1983; von Hagen & Morris 1998).…”

Investigación arqueológica en un asentamiento rural del Valle de Ayacucho, Perú

“…Por lo tanto, existe la posibilidad que el lugar tal vez fue elegido por sus particularidades defensivas, especialmente su difícil acceso. Con el principal objetivo de obtener información que permita conocer la antigua historia de ocupación humana de la meseta, una excavación arqueológica se llevó adelante en el sitio (Valdez & Valdez, 2016, 2017. Dicha información indica que una considerable población ocupó el lugar antes del Horizonte Medio.…”

Interaction and Cultural Change in the Peruvian Central Highland Valley of Ayacucho

“…In addition, the Ayacucho Valley ceramics had incorporated several Nasca ceramic traits that included the use various colors that until then were known only to the Nasca, as well as surface polishing of the vessels. The new vessel shapes began to resemble late Nasca vessel forms [21,22,35,36]. As the Early Intermediate Period came to an end, the Nasca influence in the Ayacucho Valley rather intensified as manifested in the emergence of a new ceramic style -the Cruz Pata style -that exhibits more technological sophistication and depicts Nasca phase 7 designs [21,22,37,38].…”

“…Following the above possible scenario, it is tempting to suggest that the apparent rapid technological sophistication of the Ayacucho Valley ceramics has something to do with the actual presence of south coast inhabitants in the highland region [36]. As already mentioned, contact, including immigration, facilitates the spread of knowledge and technologies [7,42].…”