Several khipus—Inka knotted-string recording devices—were recently excavated at a storage facilit... more Several khipus—Inka knotted-string recording devices—were recently excavated at a storage facility at the Peruvian south coast site of Inkawasi, found buried under agricultural produce (i.e., chili peppers, peanuts, and black beans). These khipus contain a formulaic arrangement of numerical values not encountered on khipus from elsewhere in Tawantinsuyu (the Inka Empire). The formula includes first, a large number, hypothesized to record the sum total of produce included in a deposit, followed by a “fixed number,” and then one or more additional numbers. The fixed number plus the additional number(s) sum to the original large number. It is hypothesized that the fixed number represents an amount deducted from the deposit to support storage facility personnel. As such, it represented a tax assessed on deposits, the first evidence we have for a system of taxation on goods in the Inka Empire. It is proposed that the size and complexity of the storage facility at Inkawasi prompted the “i...
The site of Inkawasi (or Incahuasi) is located in the Cahete Valley, on the south coast of Peru. ... more The site of Inkawasi (or Incahuasi) is located in the Cahete Valley, on the south coast of Peru. It was a major garrison and storage facility for the Inka expansion onto the south coast, built for housing and provisioning troops in the Inka assault on the Huarco peoples. Archaeological excavations of the storage facility have exposed what is to date a collection of 34 khipus (or quipus), the Inka knotted-string recording devices. We first explain why we consider the collection to constitute an “archive” and what the implications of that classification are for considering the significance of such a large collection of accounting devices associated with state storage. Several of the khipus were found associated with, or covered by, aji (Capsicum sp.), peanuts (Arachis hypogaea), and black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). We suggest that these may be the products that the khipus recorded. Several khipus were tied together, and two sets of tied, paired samples are shown to contain very simil...
Capítulo del libro "Perú Prehispánico: un estado de la cuestión" editado por la Dirección Desconc... more Capítulo del libro "Perú Prehispánico: un estado de la cuestión" editado por la Dirección Desconcentrada de Cultural del Cusco.
Several khipus-Inka knotted-string recording devices-were recently excavated at a storage facilit... more Several khipus-Inka knotted-string recording devices-were recently excavated at a storage facility at the Peruvian south coast site of Inkawasi, found buried under agricultural produce (i.e., chili peppers, peanuts, and black beans). These khipus contain a formulaic arrangement of numerical values not encountered on khipus from elsewhere in Tawantinsuyu (the Inka Empire). The formula includes first, a large number, hypothesized to record the sum total of produce included in a deposit, followed by a "fixed number," and then one or more additional numbers. The fixed number plus the additional number(s) sum to the original large number. It is hypothesized that the fixed number represents an amount deducted from the deposit to support storage facility personnel. As such, it represented a tax assessed on deposits, the first evidence we have for a system of taxation on goods in the Inka Empire. It is proposed that the size and complexity of the storage facility at Inkawasi prompted the "invention" of a kind of financing instrument-taxation-not known previously from Inka administration. We also consider , but provisionally set aside, the alternative hypothesis that the fixed values recorded on the Inkawasi khipus could have represented amounts of seeds set aside from deposits for the next year's planting. Durante las excavaciones de un complejo de almacenamiento (Qolqawasi) del sitio de Inkawasi, en la costa sur del Perú, se hallaron varios khipus-instrumentos de registro Inkas empleando cordeles anudados-asociados a diferentes cultivos agrí-colas (e.g., ají, maní y frijoles negros). Estos khipus presentan una disposición de valores numéricos que no se ha encontrado en otras partes del Tawantinsuyo (el Imperio Inka). Esta secuencia incluye un valor alto, el cual correspondería a la cantidad total de un determinado producto depositado en un almacén (qolqa), seguido de un "valor fijo" y uno o más números adicio-nales. Si se suman el valor fijo y los números adicionales, se obtiene al valor alto. Proponemos que el valor fijo representa un monto que era deducido de los productos almacenados en las qolqas para el mantenimiento del personal encargado y el fun-cionamiento de los almacenes. Ante esta evidencia de un posible impuesto a los productos almacenados, estaríamos ante las primeras manifestaciones de un sistema tributario sobre bienes en el Imperio Inka. Proponemos que, ante el tamaño y com-plejidad de las instalaciones de almacenamiento, en Inkawasi existió la necesidad de "inventar" un tipo de instrumento finan-ciero-el impuesto-desconocido previamente en estudios de la administración Inka. También podemos considerar como hipótesis alternativa que los valores fijos de los khipus de Inkawasi representen una cierta cantidad de semillas no depositadas en los almacenes que habrían sido empleadas para la siembra de la siguiente cosecha.
In this article I report the excavation of the trapezoidal plaza of Incahuasi's sector C, and the... more In this article I report the excavation of the trapezoidal plaza of Incahuasi's sector C, and the discovery of a disassemble small ushnu.
Several khipus—Inka knotted-string recording devices—were recently excavated at a storage facilit... more Several khipus—Inka knotted-string recording devices—were recently excavated at a storage facility at the Peruvian south coast site of Inkawasi, found buried under agricultural produce (i.e., chili peppers, peanuts, and black beans). These khipus contain a formulaic arrangement of numerical values not encountered on khipus from elsewhere in Tawantinsuyu (the Inka Empire). The formula includes first, a large number, hypothesized to record the sum total of produce included in a deposit, followed by a “fixed number,” and then one or more additional numbers. The fixed number plus the additional number(s) sum to the original large number. It is hypothesized that the fixed number represents an amount deducted from the deposit to support storage facility personnel. As such, it represented a tax assessed on deposits, the first evidence we have for a system of taxation on goods in the Inka Empire. It is proposed that the size and complexity of the storage facility at Inkawasi prompted the “i...
The site of Inkawasi (or Incahuasi) is located in the Cahete Valley, on the south coast of Peru. ... more The site of Inkawasi (or Incahuasi) is located in the Cahete Valley, on the south coast of Peru. It was a major garrison and storage facility for the Inka expansion onto the south coast, built for housing and provisioning troops in the Inka assault on the Huarco peoples. Archaeological excavations of the storage facility have exposed what is to date a collection of 34 khipus (or quipus), the Inka knotted-string recording devices. We first explain why we consider the collection to constitute an “archive” and what the implications of that classification are for considering the significance of such a large collection of accounting devices associated with state storage. Several of the khipus were found associated with, or covered by, aji (Capsicum sp.), peanuts (Arachis hypogaea), and black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). We suggest that these may be the products that the khipus recorded. Several khipus were tied together, and two sets of tied, paired samples are shown to contain very simil...
Capítulo del libro "Perú Prehispánico: un estado de la cuestión" editado por la Dirección Desconc... more Capítulo del libro "Perú Prehispánico: un estado de la cuestión" editado por la Dirección Desconcentrada de Cultural del Cusco.
Several khipus-Inka knotted-string recording devices-were recently excavated at a storage facilit... more Several khipus-Inka knotted-string recording devices-were recently excavated at a storage facility at the Peruvian south coast site of Inkawasi, found buried under agricultural produce (i.e., chili peppers, peanuts, and black beans). These khipus contain a formulaic arrangement of numerical values not encountered on khipus from elsewhere in Tawantinsuyu (the Inka Empire). The formula includes first, a large number, hypothesized to record the sum total of produce included in a deposit, followed by a "fixed number," and then one or more additional numbers. The fixed number plus the additional number(s) sum to the original large number. It is hypothesized that the fixed number represents an amount deducted from the deposit to support storage facility personnel. As such, it represented a tax assessed on deposits, the first evidence we have for a system of taxation on goods in the Inka Empire. It is proposed that the size and complexity of the storage facility at Inkawasi prompted the "invention" of a kind of financing instrument-taxation-not known previously from Inka administration. We also consider , but provisionally set aside, the alternative hypothesis that the fixed values recorded on the Inkawasi khipus could have represented amounts of seeds set aside from deposits for the next year's planting. Durante las excavaciones de un complejo de almacenamiento (Qolqawasi) del sitio de Inkawasi, en la costa sur del Perú, se hallaron varios khipus-instrumentos de registro Inkas empleando cordeles anudados-asociados a diferentes cultivos agrí-colas (e.g., ají, maní y frijoles negros). Estos khipus presentan una disposición de valores numéricos que no se ha encontrado en otras partes del Tawantinsuyo (el Imperio Inka). Esta secuencia incluye un valor alto, el cual correspondería a la cantidad total de un determinado producto depositado en un almacén (qolqa), seguido de un "valor fijo" y uno o más números adicio-nales. Si se suman el valor fijo y los números adicionales, se obtiene al valor alto. Proponemos que el valor fijo representa un monto que era deducido de los productos almacenados en las qolqas para el mantenimiento del personal encargado y el fun-cionamiento de los almacenes. Ante esta evidencia de un posible impuesto a los productos almacenados, estaríamos ante las primeras manifestaciones de un sistema tributario sobre bienes en el Imperio Inka. Proponemos que, ante el tamaño y com-plejidad de las instalaciones de almacenamiento, en Inkawasi existió la necesidad de "inventar" un tipo de instrumento finan-ciero-el impuesto-desconocido previamente en estudios de la administración Inka. También podemos considerar como hipótesis alternativa que los valores fijos de los khipus de Inkawasi representen una cierta cantidad de semillas no depositadas en los almacenes que habrían sido empleadas para la siembra de la siguiente cosecha.
In this article I report the excavation of the trapezoidal plaza of Incahuasi's sector C, and the... more In this article I report the excavation of the trapezoidal plaza of Incahuasi's sector C, and the discovery of a disassemble small ushnu.
This volume of Andean Past contains the following articles, research reports, and obituaries: "Ed... more This volume of Andean Past contains the following articles, research reports, and obituaries: "Editor's Preface" by Monica Barnes; "Donald Frederick Sola" by Monica Barnes; Paulina Mercedes Ledergerber-Crespo" by A. Jorge Arellano-Lopez; "Death Notices (Robert Ascher, Bernd Lambert, Daniel W. Gade, and George Bankes) by Monica Barnes and Bill Sillar; "Obsidian Procurement and Cosmopolitanism at the Middle Horizon Settlement of Conchopata, Peru" by Richard L. Burger, Catherine M. Bencic, and Michael D. Glascock; "Characteristics and Significance of Tapia Walls and the Mochica Presence at Santa Rosa de Pucala in the Mid-Lambayeque Valley" by Edgar Bracamonte; "Health at the Edge of the Wari Empire: An Analysis of Skeletal Remains from Hatun Cotuyoc, Huaro, Peru" by Sara L. Juengst and Maeve Skidmore; "Demographic Analysis of a Looted Late Intermediate Period Tomb, Chincha Valley, Peru" by Camille Weinberg, Benjamin T. Nigra, Maria Cecilia Lozada, Charles Stanish, Henry Tantalean, Jacob Bongers, and Terrah Jones; "Macrobotanical Remains from the 2009 Season at Caylan: Preliminary Insights into Early Horizon Plant Use in the Nepena Valley, North-Central Coast of Peru" by David Chicoine, Beverly Clement, and Kyle Stich; "Obsidian Technology at the Wari Site of Conchopata in Ayacucho, Peru" by Catherine M. Bencic; "Incahuasi, Canete" by Alejandro Chu; "Luis Barreda Murillo's Excavations at Huanuco Pampa, 1965" Monica Barnes; "Early Village Formation in Desert Areas of Tarapaca, Northern Chile (Eleventh Century B.C.--Thirteenth Century A.D.)" by Simon Urbina, Leonor Adan, Constanza Pellegrino, and Estefania Vidal; and "Don Mateo-El Cerro, a Newly Rediscovered Late Period Settlement in Yocavil (Catamarca, Argentina) by Alina Alvarez Larrain.
Settlement pattern studies at 2 dry Quebradas in the Huarmey region, allowed us to track human oc... more Settlement pattern studies at 2 dry Quebradas in the Huarmey region, allowed us to track human occupation of the Quebradas related with adecuate climatic condition that allowed human subsistence. After a description of the sites found, its cultural characteristics and chronology a discussion follows relating optimun climate with human occupation, since the Preceramic to Late Intermediate periods.
The Late Preceramic period (3500 – 1800 BC) of coastal Peru witnessed the earliest examples of mo... more The Late Preceramic period (3500 – 1800 BC) of coastal Peru witnessed the earliest examples of monumental architecture for the Americas. The presence of monumental architecture has been interpreted as the product of complex societies at the chiefdom or state level. But prior research has focused in this ceremonial monumental architecture. In contrast, research at the site of Bandurria proposed a bottom-up approach focusing on the people who built and used this architecture, with the household as the basic social unit. Excavations at Bandurria explored the residential occupation of the site, and revealed a sector of monumental architecture unreported by previous researchers. In the domestic sector, evidence of two types of domestic structures: a quadrangular stone structure associated with a small ceremonial platform and smaller oval hut made of perishable materials. Oval houses were occupied by 2 or so people; the proximity of some oval structures suggests that a household unit consisted of at least two of such structures. The quadrangular structure held a larger floor, and was related to ritual activities such as unbaked clay figurines. Estimates of household size indicate 5 inhabitants for the quadrangular structure. From the analysis of the two types of domestic structures the households at Bandurria were composed of the nuclear families. Chronologically, both structures were occupied at the same time. The artifact assemblages from the domestic sector exhibit little variety and low density. All the excavation units share similar artifact types in low proportions. One significant difference is the presence of figurines depicting human figures found in the quadrangular stone structure, another difference is a different access to marine resources. In the monumental sector, excavations were centered in one of the mounds (mound 1) uncovering evidence of architecture made entirely of round cobble stones and mud mortar. Chronologically the construction of mound 1 is later than the domestic occupation was in use when the site was abandon circa 3400 BP. The results from Bandurria challenge the models that characterize the Late Preceramic society as a complex chiefdom or state. Alternative models have are proposed to fit the domestic data within a larger explanatory framework.
Publicación cuatrimestral del Grupo de Investigación Sociedades Prehispánicas del Litoral (YUNGAS... more Publicación cuatrimestral del Grupo de Investigación Sociedades Prehispánicas del Litoral (YUNGAS). Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. Pagina oficial: https://sites.google.com/unmsm.edu.pe/boletin-yungas/inicio
Publicación bimensual del Grupo de Investigación Sociedades Prehispánicas del Litoral (YUNGAS). U... more Publicación bimensual del Grupo de Investigación Sociedades Prehispánicas del Litoral (YUNGAS). Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.
Publicación bimensual del Grupo de Investigación Sociedades Prehispánicas del Litoral (YUNGAS). U... more Publicación bimensual del Grupo de Investigación Sociedades Prehispánicas del Litoral (YUNGAS). Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.
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Excavations at Bandurria explored the residential occupation of the site, and revealed a sector of monumental architecture unreported by previous researchers.
In the domestic sector, evidence of two types of domestic structures: a quadrangular stone structure associated with a small ceremonial platform and smaller oval hut made of perishable materials. Oval houses were occupied by 2 or so people; the proximity of some oval structures suggests that a household unit consisted of at least two of such structures. The quadrangular structure held a larger floor, and was related to ritual activities such as unbaked clay figurines. Estimates of household size indicate 5 inhabitants for the quadrangular structure. From the analysis of the two types of domestic structures the households at Bandurria were composed of the nuclear families.
Chronologically, both structures were occupied at the same time. The artifact assemblages from the domestic sector exhibit little variety and low density. All the excavation units share similar artifact types in low proportions. One significant difference is the presence of figurines depicting human figures found in the quadrangular stone structure, another difference is a different access to marine resources.
In the monumental sector, excavations were centered in one of the mounds (mound 1) uncovering evidence of architecture made entirely of round cobble stones and mud mortar. Chronologically the construction of mound 1 is later than the domestic occupation was in use when the site was abandon circa 3400 BP.
The results from Bandurria challenge the models that characterize the Late Preceramic society as a complex chiefdom or state. Alternative models have are proposed to fit the domestic data within a larger explanatory framework.