How far to Conchucos? A GIS approach to assessing the implications of exotic materials at Chavín de Huántar

Abstract

Chavı´n de Hua´ntar has long been recognized as a site of pan-regional importance in the first millennium BCE Central Andes. Multiple lines of evidence link the site to costa, sierra and selva. Using exotic goods for which provenance is known -for example, obsidian, cinnabar, selected ceramics and marine shell -specific areas with which Chavı´n interacted can be identified. These interactions are considered in the context of distinct ways of thinking about Central Andean spacea least-cost transportation surface, the Inca road network and ethno-historically reconstructed territories. I argue that explicitly modeling the implications of connecting such nodes and considering distance in multiple ways facilitates a better characterization of interregional interaction.

Isotopic evidence for the trade and production of exotic marine mammal bone artifacts at Chavín de Huántar, Peru

“…Traveling from the Pacific Ocean to Chavín de Huántar would take about 6 days and would entail crossing the high mountain chains of the Cordilleras Blanca and Negra (Burger 1995;Contreras 2011). Therefore, the identification of Chavín worked bone artifacts as originating from the distant ocean or the local highlands provides an important layer of understanding about the ancient Chavinos and their material connections to distant places.…”

“…While tropical goods such as furs and feathers are unlikely to preserve in highland sites, the remains of coastal bone artifacts document the varied economic ties that reached across the ancient Andean world. Much research has been conducted on the implications of Chavín's interaction with long-distance regions (Contreras 2011;Lumbreras 1989;Rick et al 2011). These studies are based on the known provenience of non-local material found at the site, such as cinnabar (Burger and Mendieta 2002), marine shells (Rick 2008;Sayre and Aldave Lopez 2010), and obsidian (Burger 1995).…”

“…Lathrap (1971Lathrap ( , 1973 posited that the origins of the civilization itself might lie in the Eastern Jungles, but there was little architectural evidence to support this claim (Burger 1995). Recent research on interaction and exchange has extensively documented ties north and south of the site as well as providing evidence of trade with the coast that has existed for a great time (Burger 2008;Contreras 2011;Rademaker et al 2014). It now appears that Chavín was engaged in an extensive trade network across distinct environmental regions; however, the site iconography contains greater numbers of depictions of lowland animals (jaguars, caimans) than of marine mammals.…”

“…The La Banda occupations revealed a diverse array of artifacts, including Janabarriu style ceramics, elaborate lithic technology, and artifacts constructed of animal bone. The finds in La Banda also revealed many types of materials of local and non-local origin, including marine shells and coral from the Pacific Ocean (Sayre and Aldave Lopez 2010) and obsidian predominantly from the Quispisisa source (Burger, Chávez, and Chávez 2000;Contreras 2011). It does not appear that other excavated sectors besides La Banda contained areas devoted to the production of elaborate goods at Chavín.…”

Architecture and Ritual Practices at Huaca A of Pampa de las Llamas–Moxeke

“…Certainly, nothing like enclaves of non-local residents have been found, but neither has anything other than a tiny fraction of the residential architecture at Chavín been explored. It may be that the diversity of ritual architecture-and, similarly, the diverse origins of materials and offerings at the site (Contreras 2011;Druc 2004;Lumbreras et al 2003;Sayre, Miller, and Rosenfeld 2016)-is representative not just of pilgrimage but of a diversity of ceremonial practice. Heterarchy 2 may be reflected not just in the number of dispersed areas of ceremonial significance but also in the variety of practices apparently associated with those areas.…”