Wieslaw Wieckowski
Wiesław Więckowski. Graduate of the Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Poland. Studied also at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Specializes in bioarchaeology and funeral archaeology. Worked on many sites, among them Ashkelon, Gesher, Tel Zahara in Israel, Achaia Klaus in Greece, Churajon, Maucallacta in Peru, both as archaeologist and bioarchaeologist. Since 2010 is a member of Polish-Peruvian research team, led by Miłosz Giersz, that in 2012/13 discovered the first completely preserved burial of the highest elites of the Wari culture at the site Castillo de Huarmey. Currently professor at the Department of Bioarchaeology of the University of Warsaw.
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Violence as a bio-cultural phenomenon is closely linked to the history of humanity. This phenomenon in the past is reconstructed by archaeologists as well as bioarchaeologists, who study the material remnants of old cultures and their creators. These remnants include burials, characteristic archaeological sites of defensive nature or works of art. An analysis of archaeological finds from the Peruvian Andes — especially the finds associated with the rituals of human sacrifice or warfare — leads to the conclusion that an important characteristic element of many pre-Columbian cultures was a specific kind of violence: ritualised violence. A cross-analysis of bioarchaeological, archaeological and iconographic data makes it possible to provide a more complete interpretation of violent behaviours of societies in the past, societies for which there are no extant historical sources.
University of Florida Press, Gainesville
Abstract:
During the 2010 and 2012 excavation seasons, a Polish-Peruvian team excavated a small elevated mound – the remains of a platform – located in the northern sector of Castillo de Huarmey archaeological site, unearthing relics of stone architecture and a number of burials dated to the latter part of the Early Horizon (ca. 800-100 BC). Although the entire cemetery has not been excavated, the burial pattern that emerges from burials known to date is fairly clear and seems to be consistent with that of other Early Horizon sites from the north coast of Peru. Within the group of burials from Huarmey, four are rather atypical, they differ from the overall burial pattern in terms of body arrangement, as well as the presence of possible pre- and post-depositional alterations to the remains. Two skeletons of adult individuals were deposited in a completely different manner from the others, and two children were also buried in a rather unusual way. This chapter presents these four deviant burials, describes their context, and offers possible interpretations regarding the reasons for these atypical depositions using iconographic and archaeological analogies.
Keywords: Andean Archaeology, Castillo de Huarmey, Early Horizon, Burials, Iconography
Violence as a bio-cultural phenomenon is closely linked to the history of humanity. This phenomenon in the past is reconstructed by archaeologists as well as bioarchaeologists, who study the material remnants of old cultures and their creators. These remnants include burials, characteristic archaeological sites of defensive nature or works of art. An analysis of archaeological finds from the Peruvian Andes — especially the finds associated with the rituals of human sacrifice or warfare — leads to the conclusion that an important characteristic element of many pre-Columbian cultures was a specific kind of violence: ritualised violence. A cross-analysis of bioarchaeological, archaeological and iconographic data makes it possible to provide a more complete interpretation of violent behaviours of societies in the past, societies for which there are no extant historical sources.
University of Florida Press, Gainesville
Abstract:
During the 2010 and 2012 excavation seasons, a Polish-Peruvian team excavated a small elevated mound – the remains of a platform – located in the northern sector of Castillo de Huarmey archaeological site, unearthing relics of stone architecture and a number of burials dated to the latter part of the Early Horizon (ca. 800-100 BC). Although the entire cemetery has not been excavated, the burial pattern that emerges from burials known to date is fairly clear and seems to be consistent with that of other Early Horizon sites from the north coast of Peru. Within the group of burials from Huarmey, four are rather atypical, they differ from the overall burial pattern in terms of body arrangement, as well as the presence of possible pre- and post-depositional alterations to the remains. Two skeletons of adult individuals were deposited in a completely different manner from the others, and two children were also buried in a rather unusual way. This chapter presents these four deviant burials, describes their context, and offers possible interpretations regarding the reasons for these atypical depositions using iconographic and archaeological analogies.
Keywords: Andean Archaeology, Castillo de Huarmey, Early Horizon, Burials, Iconography