Settlement Organization and Architecture in Late Intermediate Period Chachapoyas, Northeastern Peru

Abstract

Chachapoya societies that lived on the forested eastern slopes of the Andes in northern Peru between A.D. 1000 and 1450 remain largely absent from broader narratives of the Andean Late Intermediate period (LIP). This paper argues that environmentally deterministic frameworks and lingering Inka biases have led scholars to problematically isolate Chachapoyans from their highland contemporaries. This work reviews three aspects of Chachapoya built environments—settlement patterning, internal organization, and architectural style—in order to provide a baseline for comparison with other regions. Chachapoyas shared a pattern of hilltop settlement locations with nearly all of the highlands, which suggests that its inhabitants faced the same shared factors that prompted changes in settlement organization on a massive scale in this region during the LIP. At the same time, comparison of Chachapoya built environments with others of the northern, central, and southern highlands highlights the considerable diversity within and between regions. This demonstrates that Chachapoyas is best interpreted as simply one of many regions that were characterized by distinctive spatlalltles and architectural forms. These reflected locally specific cultural practices and social institutions. Including Chachapoyas and other regions of the Eastern Andes in accounts of the LIP underscores the diversity and dynamism that characterized this period of significant change in Andean history.

MtDNA and Y‐chromosomal diversity in the Chachapoya, a population from the northeast Peruvian Andes‐Amazon divide

“…In fact, the cultural evidence points to the vital role of the societies in this area, as mediators of various cultural interaction spheres since very ancient times, and also to their importance in the formation and transformation of complex societies (Church and von Hagen, 2008;Guengerich, 2015). We are aware of the difficulties in assessing whether this distinct pattern reflects very early genetic signatures or the action of different evolutionary forces through time.…”

“…The genetic profile of the Chachapoya indicates that populations that developed in "intermediate ecological regions" have a complex genetic composition which has been influenced by their position with regard to other civilizations in the northeast Andes. In fact, the cultural evidence points to the vital role of the societies in this area, as mediators of various cultural interaction spheres since very ancient times, and also to their importance in the formation and transformation of complex societies (Church and von Hagen, 2008;Guengerich, 2015). Studies of extinct and extant populations in similar transitional zones have also found complex genetic configurations with high levels of genetic diversity (Casas-Vargas et al, 2011;Corella et al, 2007).…”

Grupos Domésticos De Élite en Viejo Sangayaico: Un Asentamiento Del Horizonte Tardío Y La Colonia Temprana en Huancavelica (Perú)

“…Las residencias al interior poseen planta subcircular de entre 4 m y 5 m de diámetro y la cerámica observada en superficie recuerda a los estilos locales del IT. Tanto el material superficial como la distribución y disposición de este sector, una colina defendida por muros perimétricos conteniendo viviendas circulares, nos hace pensar en una clásica ocupación del IT (Arkush 2011;Guengerich 2015;Parsons et al 1997). Si bien no se ha realizado un análisis intrasitio detallado de la arquitectura en este sector, es aparente el uso del mismo tipo de técnica constructiva que en el sector B (pircado) pero con una menor calidad en la mampostería, lo que podría explicar la mala conservación de las estructuras en el sector D en comparación con el sector B.…”

Lasers Without Lost Cities: Using Drone Lidar to Capture Architectural Complexity at Kuelap, Amazonas, Peru

“…The eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes (also known as the montaña or ceja de selva-the "eyebrow of the jungle") are a region in which airborne lidar holds a great deal of promise for mapping previously un-surveyed archaeological landscapes and capturing new dimensions of variability within them. Decades of excavations and pedestrian reconnaissance have demonstrated that the montaña has a deep history of human occupation and that late Prehispanic population sizes were, in many areas, substantially larger than those found in the region today (Bonavia 1981;Church 1996;Church and Von Hagen 2008;Clasby 2014;Guengerich 2015;Le Moine and Raymond 1987;Raymond 1992;Schjellerup 2003). As population declined after the Spanish invasion due to colonial violence, disease, and migration, many settlements, terracing systems, and grazing lands were abandoned, and tropical forest vegetation recolonized landscapes that had formerly been the sites of intensive economic exploitation and habitation.…”