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THE LIBRARY

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American Museum Science Books are published for
The American Museum of Natural History by The
Natural History Press. Directed by a joint editorial
board made up of members of the staff of the Museum
and Doubleday, this series is an extension of the
Museum’s scientific and educational activities, making
available to the student and general reader inexpen-
sive, up-to-date, and reliable books in the life and earth
sciences, including anthropology and astronomy. The
Natural History Press is a division of Doubleday and
Company, Inc., and has its editorial offices at The
American Museum of Natural History, Central Park
West at 7oth Street, New York 24, New York, and
its business offices at 501 Franklin Avenue, Garden
City, New York.

WENDELL CLARK BENNETT was born in Marion, Indi-
ana, on August 17, 1905. He graduated from the Uni-
versity of Chicago in 1927, receiving his M.A. and Ph.D.
from this same institution. While still at the University
of Chicago, Dr. Bennett went to Hawaii and did the
first field work on the archaeology of Kauai. In 1930
and 1931 he worked in northern Mexico and spent
much of the next fifteen years in the field in South
America.

He taught at the University of Wisconsin and at Yale
University where he was chairman of the Department
of Anthropology until the time of his death in 1953.

Dr. Bennett was the author of many books and arti-
cles including Ancient Art of the Andes; he contrib-
uted several chapters to the Handbook of South Amer-
ican Indians published by the Bureau of American
Ethnology. He was a Research Associate of the Pea-
body Museum, a Fellow of Pierson College, and during
World War II was the secretary of the Jot Commit-
tee on Latin American Anthropology. Dr. Bennett was
of constant service to the American Anthropological
Association and was its chairman in 1952.

Juntus Bouton Brirp, Curator of Archaeology at The
American Museum of Natural History, was born in
Rye, New York, on September 21, 1907. He entered
Columbia University in 1926, but soon after he left
college in favor of an opportunity to join an archaeo-
logical expedition.

A member of the staff of The American Museum of
Natural History since 1933, he began serving in 1928
on American Museum expeditions. In 1939 he was ap-
pointed Assistant Curator of Anthropology; in 1946,

iv

Associate Curator of Archaeology; in 1957, Curator of
Archaeology. He has done field-work in various places
in the Arctic, Canada, the United States, Middle Amer-
ica, and South America, specializing in the early phases
of human occupation in Chile and Peru.

Among Dr. Bird’s published works are Archaeology
of the Hopedale Area, Labrador; Excavations in North-
ern Chile; and Paracas Fabrics and Nazca Needlework,
Third Century B.C. to Third Century A.D.

He is Consultant for the Museum of Primitive Art,
and Trustee of the Textile Museum, Washington,
D.C. In 1958, he was given the honorary degree of
D.Sc. by Wesleyan University.

ANDEAN CULTURE
HISTORY -

Wendell C., Bennett
and
Junius B. Bird

SECOND AND REvISsED EDITION

Onginally published as an
Anthropological Handbook for
The American Museum of Natural History

AMERICAN MUSEUM SCIENCE BOOKS
Published for
The American Museum of Natural History

The Natural History Press
GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK

1964

The line illustrations for this book were prepared by the
Graphic Arts Division of The American Museum of Natu-
tal History. The photographs were supplied by The Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History unless otherwise acknowl-
edged.

Andean Culture History was originally published by The
American Museum of Natural History in 1949. The Amer-
ican Museum Science Books edition is published by
arrangement with The American Museum of Natural
History.

The 1960 hardcover edition of Andean Culture History
published by The American Museum of Natural History
is available through The Natural History Press.

American Museum Science Books edition: 1964

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 64—13816

Copyright 1949, 1960 by
The American Museum of Natural History

All Rights Reserved

Printed in the United States of America

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

Any brief summation of an involved and imperfectly
known subject has inevitable weaknesses. Yet, despite
its shortcomings, this small volume has found some
favor and a continued demand makes reprinting neces-
sary. Unfortunately, the death of the senior author, a
deep sadness to all who knew him, deprives us of his
guidance and good judgment in this task.

In the few years since the first printing various
archaeological projects have been reported on and
others undertaken, all bringing new data, clarifying old
problems, or posing new ones. Bennett, himself, visited
the great site of Wari and secured a record of ceramic
changes there. John H. Rowe, Chavez Ballon, and
others did the same for sites in the Cuzco Basin. Fur-
ther south, Alfred Kidder, I], William Coe, and Alan
Sawyer excavated at Chiripa, Pucara, and other sites.
W. Duncan Strong and his associates worked in the
Nazca-Ica Area in an effort to re-define Nazca culture.
In connection with Victor von Hagen’s survey of the
Inca road system, Dorothy Menzel and Francis A. Rid-
dell together studied Inca and post-conquest commu-
nities on the Southern Coast. In the Cajamarca Area,
Henri Reichlen and H. D. Disselhoff have been con-
cerned with cultural sequence and Coastal-Highland
relationship; in the Jequetepeque-Chicama region, H.
U. Doering returned for further work. Under the
auspices of the University of Trujillo, Richard Schae-
del uncovered the remarkable adobe relief of the
Huaca del Dragén, a structure desecrated by the
Spaniards at the time of the Conquest. At the site of

Vill Andean Culture History

Chavin de Huantar, Jorge Muelle’s program to free the
ruins of debris carried in by disastrous flooding brought
to light remarkable and important new finds. Near the
mouth of the Casma valley, Donald Collier has checked
the cultural record and, in the northern valleys, a sur-
vey has been undertaken by James A. Ford.

On the Central Coast, at Ancén, Peruvian archae-
ologists working for Rebecca Carrién and the Museo
de Antropologia y Arqueologia de Magdalena Vieja,
in advance of building and real estate development,
have recovered a vast amount of material. Nearby at
Playa Grande, Louis Stumer, has recovered impot-
tant material; to the south of Lima, Fredéric Engel
and Edward Lanning tested a Chavin horizon deposit
near San Bartolo and have found similar and pre-
ceramic sites at many of the suitable locations along
the coast. More recently the University of San Marcos,
with the support of the Fulbright Commission insti-
tuted a three-year program with various North Ameni-
can archaeologists working with Peruvians in different
parts of the coast. The personnel included: David
Kelly, Dorothy Menzel, Louis Stumer, Paul Tolstoy,
Dwight Wallace, Gary Vescelius. Far to the north sites
with early ceramics have been found and studied; in
Colombia by Reichel-Dolmatoff, in Lowland Ecuador
by Emilio Estrada, Clifford Evans and Betty Meggers.
Earlier the Evans-Meggers team did intensive work at
the mouth of the Amazon and in British Guiana. Other
Amazonian sites near Pucallpa were studied by Donald
Lathrap. |

This brief and incomplete listing of archaeological
investigations undertaken since the first edition indi-
cates how much has been done. Some reports have
been published but as others have not we have men-
tioned the individuals involved in each case.

Among publications on field-work completed prior
to the appearance of the first edition one should note:

Preface to Second Edition ix

Jijon y Caamafio’s “Maranga”, A. L. Kroeber’s “Proto-
Lima, a Middle Period Culture of Peru”, R. Larco’s
“Cronologia Arqueologica del Norte del Peru”, and
various reports on the Viru Valley survey by Bennett,
Collier, Ford, Strong, Evans, and Willey; also the
Ancon report of Willey and Corbett with its most im-
portant section on textiles by the late Lila O’Neale.

Last, but not least, is the development of a method
for measuring age by counting the radioactivity of
the Carbon 14 isotope present in organic materials.
Nothing seemed to promise more valuable aid in clear-
ing the fog from Peruvian chronology than this method
developed by W. F. Libby, J. R. Amold, and associates.
However, the number of age measurements of Peruvian
material is still inadequate and the dates derived are
‘puzzling in certain details. A brief comment on the re-
sults will be found on pages 223-228.

The incorporation of new data and the elimination
of some errors is here attempted within the format
of the original edition. Errors and omissions in the
section on ceramics have been corrected by Robert
Sonin and a needed revision of the section on metal-
work has been done by Dudley Easby. Both John H.
Rowe and Clifford Evans suggested changes or addi-
tions which have been incorporated. Such help, freely
and generously given, cannot be adequately acknowl-
edged.

When the first edition appeared, Rowe published the
most detailed and conscientious review.1 One of his
major criticisms, and a valid one, concerns the simpli-
fied chronological framework here applied to the whole
Central Andean Area. Such broadly descriptive period
designations as “Formative” and “Expansionist” and
others were first proposed by Rafael Larco Hoyle as a
substitute for and an improvement on the use of an

1 American Antiquity (Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 170-172, October,
1950).

x Andean Culture History

ever-increasing and overlapping list of pottery type and
cultural horizon designations. It had become fashion-
able, not only to propose names for newly recognized
pottery types or ceramic complexes and use them as
culture period designations, but to rename well-
known material. Thus, in publications of the past ten
years we can find “Early Chimu”, “Mochica”, and
“Huancaco” used synonymously. Early Chimu is a sur-
vival of earlier terminology, Mochica is generally ac-
cepted and well understood, while Huancaco was
proposed for Mochica material from the Viru Valley,
most of which cannot be distinguished from contem-
porary products used fifteen miles away in the Moche
Valley. Similarly we have the “Gallinazo”, “Negative”,
and “Viru” cultures, as well as various others. ‘The
meanings are not always clear even to those actively
engaged in ceramic classification, for there is some disa-
greement among the specialists.

Larco contended that a broader frame of reference
was needed. The speedy adoption of his proposal
which was even extended to the Middle American field,
testifies to the need for some such system. Its weakness
is that only the very broadest terms apply to any ex-
tensive geographical area, and when so extended they
lose some of their value.

Objections can be raised to virtually all such period
designations as used in this volume. It may help the
reader if they are mentioned briefly here and kept in
mind when using the text and the chart in Fig. 19.

To begin with the oldest division, the “Hunters”,
the finds from the San Pedro-Chicama Area may be
associated with the mastodon and possibly other ex-
tinct animals, but the sites are all open and eroded. The
material might conceivably date back nine or ten
thousand years, but until intact deposits are discovered
and carefully excavated, we do not know. It is inevi-
table that the period designation “Hunters” will ulti-

Preface to Second Edition xl

mately be subdivided into three units; first, those early
migrants who dealt with big game; second, their fol-
lowers who presumably depended on the wild ances-
tors of the llama and alpaca and smaller game; and,
third, those who lived mainly on birds, marine mam-
mals, and fish. However, this will not preclude the use
of the broad period designation.

The second major division, “Early Farmers”, seem-
ingly a safe designation, applies to the pre-ceramic, pre-
maize farmers of the Chicama and Viru valleys on the
North Coast, but includes the pre-ceramic maize grow-
ers of Aspero, on the Central Coast, and Arica, in
northern Chile. The questions raised are: one, should
such culturally unrelated groups be bracketed together,
and, second, where should the “Early Farmers” division
be terminated—with the introduction of ceramics or
with the introduction of maize? The two are not coeval
throughout the Andean Area.

The term “Cultists” is also relatively broad. Its use
was prompted by such obvious evidence of religious
organization as the Chavin de Huantar ruins. Possibly
the term “Early Cultists” is preferable, for religious
activities continued throughout all subsequent peri-
ods. -

Similarly there are objections to the concept of the
two subsequent divisions, the “Experimenter”’ and
“Mastercraftsman”. What we may now interpret as
diversity resulting from local experimentation can prove
to be intrusive influences displacing, disrupting, or fus-
ing with local development. So, too, features on which
a Master Craftsmen period is based may prove so varied
in age and distribution as to make it impossible to fix a
dividing line between it and the Experimenters.

Far less criticism can be focussed on the Expan-
sionist concept. We may and do lack agreement on
its dates, source, motivation, and course. We can agree
that it marks the second time in the Andean Area when

Xi Andean Culture History

a single culture influence spread over regions which at
other times maintained more marked local distinctions.
It may have been just as Imperialistic in nature as the
Inca expansion, but the answers did not survive in
legend and they remain a challenge to archaeology.

Over and above the problems mentioned, we have
a more serious criticism, that not all of these desig-
nations apply to exactly the same area. Beyond certain
limits we can only suggest what we believe to be con-
temporaneous. In doing this, and even in indicating
the sequence of the cultural phases, there will always
be errors of interpretation as long as we lack exact
dates.

Junius B. Bird
June, 1959

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION

Collections from the indigenous Indian cultures,
both past and present, from the whole continent of
South America are exhibited in the South American
hall in the American Museum of Natural History. In
other words, this exhibition unit includes both ethnog-
raphy, materials from contemporary Indian cultures,
and archaeology, materials from past cultures and civ-
ilizations. By far the largest and most varied collections
are from the pre-Spanish civilizations of Peru and Bo-
livia. This reflects the fact that the Central Andes was
the most outstanding center of high civilization in
South America for many centuries.

The present volume, although issued in the Hand-
book series of the Museum, is not intended to be a
guide to the exhibits in the South American hall. In-
stead, it is a reconstructed history of pre-Spanish Peru,
a summary of Indian cultures elsewhere in South
America, and a general treatment of some outstanding
techniques. Nonetheless in preparing this book the col-
lections in the Museum have been kept in mind, so
that the exhibits might serve as illustrations, and the
Handbook might be used in a broad way for general
information about them. Illustrations, unless otherwise
noted, are of specimens in the Museum’s collection or
from Museum field-work.

As mentioned, the emphasis in this volume is on
Peruvian prehistory. Consequently all other regions
and materials are treated in less detail and their rela-
tionship to Peru is stressed. The first part, ‘The Setting,
presents a brief review of the geography, the area cul-

XIV Andean Culture History

tural patterns, and the archaeology of South America
outside of Peru, but simultaneously stresses the cul-
tural and environmental distinctness of the Peruvian
unit. In other words, this part summarizes the physical
and cultural setting of Peru in the total South Ameri-
can picture.

The second part is een principally to the history
of Peruvian cultural development in pre-Spanish times,
to which is appended a brief statement on Indian cul-
ture in the Spanish Colonial era and at present. The
archaeological materials are arranged in an over-all
historical sequence, from their earliest known begin-
nings to the Spanish conquest. This approach is valid
because the cultural past of Peru forms a unit, even
though there are many regional differences. In spite of
the range and quantity of excavation carried out in
Peru, there are still many gaps in our knowledge and
many unrelated time sequences. Consequently certain
liberties of interpretation have been taken, although
every attempt has been made to keep speculation
within reasonable bounds. Most archaeologists agree
on the major trends, although each one varies some-
what in his interpretation of the precise time and space
divisions.

The third part deals with ceramics, metallurgy, and
textiles, from a technical rather than an historical view.
These techniques were well advanced in ancient Peru
and are of interest in themselves.

This Handbook was originally projected as a joint
account by the senior author, once Assistant Curator
of South American Archaeology, and Mr. Junius Bird,
now Associate Curator of Archaeology in the Ameri-
can Museum of Natural History. However, Mr. Bird
became so engaged in enlarging the archaeological
history of Peru through extended field excavation, that
the plan for joint authorship was abandoned. Conse-
quently, Dr. Bennett prepared the first two parts, Mr.

Preface to First Edition XV

Bird the third. Both authors have reviewed the total
text and selected the illustrations. Mr. Fred Scherer has
prepared all maps, charts, and figures. Dr. Harry L.
Shapiro, Chairman of the Department of Anthropol-
ogy, likewise encouraged and directed this report.
Sefior Rafael Larco Hoyle, Director of the Museo
. Larco Herrera at Chiclin, Peru, not only furnished many
excellent illustrations from his superb collections, but
also provided many stimulating ideas for the interpre-
tation of Peruvian prehistory. Many other archaeolo-
gists, both in this country and in South America,
should also receive credit for ideas and materials. Their
principal publications are listed in the bibliography,
but this expresses only a fraction of the debt due them.
Finally, Miss Bella Weitzner, Associate Curator of
Ethnology, has once again provided her skillful editing
and stimulating ideas of the production of this volume.

Wendell C. Bennett
YALE UNIVERSITY

Junius B. Bird
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF
NATURAL HISTORY

July, 1947

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CONTENTS

‘PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

PREFACE TO First EDITION

PART 1: THE SETTING
(by Wendell C. Bennett)

The South American Environment
Early Migrants
Plant Domestication
Domesticated Animals
Southern Hunters
Tropical Agriculturists
Lowland Archaeology
Andean Farmers
North Andean Archaeology
Colombia
Ecuador
Southern Andean Archaeology
Northwest Argentina
Chile

PART 2: THE CENTRAL ANDES
(by Wendell C. Bennett)
Divisions
Chronology
Early Farmers
Cultist Period
Experimenter Period
Mastercraftsman Period
Expansionist Period
City Builder Period
Imperialist Period
Aftermath

XVill Contents

PART 3: TECHNIQUES
| (by Junius B. Bird)

Ceramics
Metalwork
Textiles

Fibers

Dyes

Spinning

Looms and Weaving

Weaving Techniques and Chronology

RADIOCARBON DATING
SELECTED SOURCES

INDEX

183
188
192
193
196
198
200
203

223
229

247

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figures

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. Map of environmental regions of South America.
. Map of South American cultural divisions.

. Santarem vessels and figure urn.

. Types of Ecuadorean pottery.

. Stone seat from Ecuador.

. Tablets and tube for mixing and inhaling snuff.

Map of principal valleys and major cultural divisions
of the Central Andes.

. Chronological chart for the Central Andes.

. Map of preceramic sites.

. Map of principal Cultist Period sites.

. Map of principal sites of the Experimenter Period.
. Map of principal cultural divisions in the Master-

craftsman Period.

. Recuay-style stone statues.

. Principal centers of the FE dpi Period.

. Miscellaneous prehistoric Peruvian artifacts.

. Map of principal centers of the City Builder Period.
. Map of maximum expansion in the Imperialist Period.
. Musical instruments.

. Diagram of a backstrap loom.

Photographs

1. Stemmed points.

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. Artifacts of oldest known coastal culture from north-

ern Chile.

. Marajé pottery.

. Prehistoric ceramics from Colombia.
. Goldwork from Colombia.

. San Agustin stone carving.

XX List of Illustrations

7. American Museum excavation.
§. Cultist Period ceramic types.
9. Cultist Period ceramic types.
10. Cultist Period goldwork.
11. Building and carving of the Cultist Period.
12. Chiripa ceramics and house site.
13. Salinar ceramics of the Experimenter Period.
14. Ica-Paracas pottery.
15. Stone carving of the Mastercraftsman Period.
16. Gold objects from a Paracas mummy bundle.
17. Varieties of Mochica pottery.
18. Nazca-style ceramics.
19. Tiahuanaco ruins and decorated gateway.
20. Wall construction at Tiahuanaco.
21. Monolithic statue from Tiahuanaco.
22. Coast and Highland Tiahuanaco vessels.
23. A fortress at Paramonga.
24. Molds for ceramic manufacture.
25. Wall decorations at the ruins of Chanchan.
26. Rio Napo um and platter.
27. Chimu blackware water jars.
28. City Builder ceramic styles.
29. Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.
30. Types of Inca masonry.
31. Inca artifacts.
32. Prehistoric Peruvian copper, bronze, and silver objects.
33. Paracas Necropolis embroidery.
34. Examples of Andean weaving and baskettry.
35. Peruvian fabrics.

PART 1: THE SETTING

THE SOUTH AMERICAN ENVIRONMENT

The region designated as the Central Andes includes
the Peruvian coast and highlands and most of the
Bolivian highlands, particularly the high plateau around
Lake Titicaca. The abundant archaeological remains
in the Central Andes have long been intensively stud-
ied because this area, in spite of its striking environmen-
tal contrasts and its remarkable diversity of materials,
presents a unit of cultural development unmatched in
intensity in South American prehistory. Here centered
the Inca culture which, at its peak, maintained an em-
pire that extended from Colombia in the north to
Argentina and Chile in the south. The Spaniards de-
scribed the Inca Empire as they found it flourishing in
the early sixteenth century. The archaeologist projects
the story backward from that date and can demonstrate
that the basic components of the Inca culture were
developed in the Central Andes many centuries before
the Spanish conquest.

The major purpose of this account is to reconstruct
the story of cultural development in the Central Andes
from its earliest known manifestations to historic times.
However, it seems profitable to begin with the South
American scene as a whole and to describe the total
physical and cultural environment within which the
Central Andean cultures played so distinctive a role,
It has long been recognized that topography and other
features of the geographic environment may affect mi-
gration, trade, transportation, and expansion; that the

2 Andean Culture History

natural resources present or absent in an area may in-
fluence cultural growth; and that culture and geo-
graphic environment are linked in many ways. The
cultural environment is equally important. This in-
volves knowledge of the size of a population, its tech-
nology, specialization, divisions of authority and
over-all pattern. Likewise, it is hard to understand one
group without a knowledge of its neighbors.

Topographically, the South American continent is
divisible into three major zones: the Andes along the
Pacific Coast, the tropical and temperate plains, and
the highlands of east Brazil and the Guianas (Fig. 1).
These major zones extend from north to south, a topo-
graphical factor that has long influenced migrations
and cultural diffusions. Even the briefest examination
reveals that there are many contrasting environments
in South America. The rugged Andes rise in marked
contrast to the flat plains of the Argentine Pampas.
Northern Chile is an extreme desert; the Amazon and
its tributaries flow through one of the greatest known
stretches of tropical rain forest. However, in spite of
size and environmental variety, in terms of pre-Span-
ish subsistence patterns large sections of South America
could not be effectively utilized: Some of the richest
agricultural areas, like the Argentine Pampas, were of
little use to Indians who had no knowledge of the plow
or other means of eradicating the deep-rooted grasses.
The extensive grazing lands now in use had an insig-
nificant value before the introduction of European
domesticated animals.

The rugged Andes dominate western South Asnsii
ica, extending from the Caribbean coast of Venezuela
and Colombia, along the entire Pacific Coast to Cape
Horn. Only in Bolivia do the Andes expand to much
over one hundred miles in width. They vary from sec-
tion to section. Three parallel ranges in Colombia re-
duce to two in Ecuador, break up into short diagonal

The Setting 3

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Fic. 1. Environmental regions of South America.

chains in Peru, expand again to a pair in Bolivia, and
narrow to a single range in Chile. Temperatures in the
Andes are more or less consistent, reflecting altitude
rather than latitude, so that most sections are cool to
cold during the whole year, although freezing tempera-
tures are rare in the habitable areas. Although trees
grow in some sections, much of the region is unfor-

4 Andean Culture History

ested and may be classed either as grassland, bushland,
or desert. :

The geographers recognize a northern, central, and
southern division of the Andes and these are important
in cultural considerations. The Northern Andes, which
include Colombia, Ecuador, and a small part of Peru,
are characterized by a double rainy season which sup-
ports wet rain forest in areas of high altitude between
10,000 feet and the snow line. Such highland areas are
unfavorable for grazing llamas and alpacas, so that the
two most important domesticated animals of pre-
Spanish America were not permanently acquired by
the people who occupied this northern region. The
Central Andes have a contrasting rainy and dry season,
resulting in a highland covered by a bunch grass, ideal
for grazing, which makes the region environmentally
distinct from the Northern Andes. From Bolivia south-
ward, the Southern Andes are separated from the
Central Andes by a desert strip which extends from
north Chile to the Patagonian plateau. The limited
habitable areas are not unlike those of the Central
Andes.

The Andes everywhere present formidable moun-
tain barriers with numerous peaks over twenty thou-
sand feet in altitude and few passes under twelve
thousand feet. The habitable sections are the inter-
mont basins, high plateaus, and valley flats of the
rivers that drain into the Amazon. These basins and
flats, however, have well watered, fertile soil, and many
resources contributing to cultural development, such
as stone and clay usable for building materials, and
easily mined copper, silver, gold, and tin. Many regions
are extensive enough to support a reasonably large
population, and distant enough from each other to
permit easy defense without excessive isolation. In to-
day’s terms the Andes present difficult transportation
problems, but in pre-Spanish times when travel was

The Setting 5

essentially on foot, the mountains did not constitute
a great obstacle. Today wild food plant and animal
life are limited in the Andes, due in part to the fact
that intensive agriculturists have occupied the region
for over two thousand years. However, since many
domesticated plants and at least two domesticated
animals appear to be indigenous to this region, it seems
reasonable to assume that wild forms were abundant at
one time.

Although not very extensive, the plains along the
Pacific Coast present a considerable contrast in en-
vironment. In Ecuador and Colombia, where they are
widest, they lie within the tropics, with characteristic
high temperatures, excessive rainfall, and jungle forest
coverage. In Colombia, therefore, the environmental
contrast between the plains and the highlands pre-
vented much cultural interchange. The narrow coastal
plains of southern Ecuador, Peru, and northern Chile
form the west coast desert. This climatic change is
attributed to the effect of the cold Humboldt current
which cools the air of the on-shore winds sufficiently
so that there is no precipitation over the hot coastal
land and desert conditions result. The aridity increases
in intensity from north to south, reaching its maximum
in the Atacama desert of north Chile. The habitable
portions of the west coast, except for small fishing sites,
are limited to the valleys of the rivers that have their
source in the mountains and flow rapidly to the Pa-
cific.

In terms of gross environment, the contrast between
the desert coast and the high Andes seems enormous;
but in terms of Indian subsistence patterns it is not
very significant. In fact, the coastal valleys and high-
land basins share such favorable features as rich, easily
cultivated soils, an absence of deep-rooted grasses or
forest coverage, a relatively genial climate, and sufh-
cient water supply to permit controlled irrigation. ‘The

6 Andean Culture History

Central Valley of Chile is an alluvium-filled trough
lying between the main Andes and a low coastal range.
Here the climate is classed as Mediterranean; the soils
are rich and the rains abundant. Following the intro-
duction of European plants and animals, the Central
Valley became the garden spot of Chile. The long
southern archipelago of Chile is a continuation of the
coastal mountain range. The climate is cold and wet;
the coverage, wet rain forest. This region was inhabited
by small groups of fishermen who spent most of their
lives in canoes.

Fast of the Southern Andes are the high semi-desert
table-lands of Patagonia where the winds blow con-
stantly. The soil is shallow and not very fertile, trees
are rare, and most of the area is classed as grassland.
North of Patagonia are the Argentine Pampas with
their rich soil, low elevation, and temperate climate.
The Pampas are the finest grasslands in South Amer-
ica, famed today for their cereals and beef. In the past,
however, grasslands were not favorable to native dig-
ging-stick cultivation, so that the distinction between
the Pampas and Patagonia was not of special signif-
cance. Instead, this region was occupied by hunters
who pursued such wild fauna as the guanaco and the
thea, or ostrich, and gatherers who collected seeds and
roots.

The transition from the temperate to the tropical
lowlands is illustrated by that great area known as the
Gran Chaco which includes parts of Argentina, Para-
guay, and Bolivia. This uninterrupted flat plain is
characterized by a concentrated rainy season and an
exceedingly contrasting dry season which results in a
greatly varied vegetal coverage. It includes sections of
grassland, parkland, bushland, and, along the rivers,
tropical forest. The rivers are full of fish and some
game hunting is possible, but, on the whole, this area

The Setting 7

was never very attractive either to hunters or agricul-
turists.

The Amazon lowlands lie in the true tropics. The
region is mostly below a thousand feet elevation. The
rainfall is excessive, temperatures are consistently high,
and tropical forest is characteristic. The Amazon River
with its numerous tributaries forms a network over
the whole area so that with any form of watercraft,
transportation is no problem. There is a reasonable
amount of wild animal life, abundant fish in the rivers,
and some wild edible roots and fruits. However, these
tropical forests were probably never very enticing to
simple hunters and certainly they were not extensively
occupied until suitable plants had been domesticated.
Even for agriculturists the region offers no great attrac-
tion since the soils are thin and poor, clearing a field
is an arduous task, and the protection of a village is
difficult.

The llanos or flats of the Orinoco River in Vene-
zuela are in some ways similar to the Amazonian low-
lands, but irregularities in the distribution of rainfall
produce a coverage of grass and scattered trees, rather
than dense tropical forest. In cultural terms, however,
the two regions do not contrast markedly. This is also
true of the highlands which cover most of the Guianas
and parts of Brazil and Venezuela. These are old, badly
eroded mountains, completely surrounded by tropical
forest. The higher sections, however, are not very
favorable for agriculture, so that the contrast between
highlands and tropical lowlands never became cultur-
ally important.

The east Brazil highlands cover an enormous area
and present a number of internal divisions. Grasslands
and scattered trees are typical and the variety of plant
life is great. The climate is subtropical with ample rain-
fall and little variation in temperature throughout the
year. In the past, game and wild life were apparently

8 Andean Culture History

sufficiently abundant to attract land hunters and gath-
erers.

South America can, then, be divided into a dozen
major environmental zones, which can be further sub-
divided with ease. However, from the point of view of
this historical summary, such detailed subdivision is
unnecessary because, by the time of the European
conquest, the whole continent was dominated by
three basic cultural patterns: the Southem Hunters,
the Tropical Agriculturists, and the Andean Farmers.
Furthermore, this broad review demonstrates that de-
spite some of its intemal contrasts, the Central Andes
forms a distinctive environmental zone, a uniqueness
even more marked when the contrasting cultural factors
are considered.

FARLY MIGRANTS

South America was first populated by nomadic hunt-
ers, fishermen, and gatherers with no knowledge of
agriculture, metals, or pottery. All the known evidence
indicates that the Isthmus of Panama was the migra-
tion route of these land nomads to the South American
continent. The only alternative possibility is by way of
the chain of Caribbean islands, a route which presup-
poses a knowledge of watercraft. In spite of the im-
portant development of water travel in the Amazon
area and the Chilean archipelago, we still lack proof
that these early nomadic people had such knowledge.

Land hunters and gatherers who migrated to South
America via Panama could easily enter the Andean
highlands by way of the Cauca and Magdalena rivers,
both of which flow from south to north. Some groups
may have migrated eastward into Venezuela, but fur-
ther expansion in that direction was probably blocked
by the Amazon jungle where there is, as yet, no evi-

The Setting 9

dence for the antiquity of a hunting-gathering culture
pattern. The same line of reasoning applies to the
Pacific Coast of Colombia and Ecuador which is also
a tropical jungle. ‘The highlands would, however, offer
a reasonable quantity of game and wild food sufficient
to support a hunting and gathering people. Further-
more, once adjustment had been made to the Andean
environment, there would be no major barriers to a
continued southward migration. Small groups may
have moved to favorable fishing sites on the arid
Pacific Coast, but these minor movements would not
affect the main direction of migration. Once Argentina
had been reached, a rapid spread throughout the Pam-
pas and Patagonia, even to distant Tierra del Fuego,
probably occurred since this great expanse of grassland
presented many favorable possibilities for hunters and
gatherers. From northern Argentina it would be easy
to enter the open park country of the east Brazil high-
lands. The fishing potentials of the Chilean archipel-
ago were probably exploited as soon as water travel
was perfected.

This reconstruction of the probable migration routes
of the early hunting people is based partially on geo-
graphic logic, but it is confirmed by the meager archae-
ological and historical evidence. The earliest remains
of man yet found are in the Andean highlands, the
east Brazil highlands, and in southern Patagonia. Fur-
thermore, at the time of the European conquest hunt-
ing and gathering peoples still occupied the east Brazil
highlands, the Pampas, Patagonia, and the Chilean
archipelago.

The archaeological evidence for these early m1-
grations consists of human skeletal remains found in
association with extinct fauna and cultural remains
excavated in the camping and fishing sites. In 1835
the Danish naturalist, T. W. Lund, explored some eight
hundred caves in the Lagoa Santa region of Minas

10 Andean Culture History

Geraes in the east Brazil highlands. ‘These caves con-
tained not only the bones of extinct Pleistocene fauna,
but assorted human remains some of which represented
physical types distinct from those of the modem In-
dians. A recent excavation of the Confins Cave in the
same region has confirmed the results of the earlier
work. The mouth of this cave was completely sealed by
fallen debris. Excavations in the alluvial deposits on
the cave floor encountered at about two meters depth
the skull of a fossil horse, the molars and bones of a
young mastodon, and a human skeleton which, al-
though in extended position, was not an intrusive
burial. The skull is long-headed, similar to the Lagoa
Santa type. At Punin, Ecuador, another skull of this
type, again without artifacts, was found in volcanic ash.
Association with extinct horse, mastodon, sloth, deer,
and camel was implied by geology. Probably contem-
porary with this fauna are projectile points, identical
with the oldest from South Chile (Fig. 2), found in
1959 on a hilltop near Quito, Ecuador.

At about 10 degrees south latitude, near Lake
Lauricocha in the center of the Peruvian Highlands,
cave deposits, at an elevation of 13,000 feet, show early
and continued occupation. This discovery, by Augusto
Cardich, is remarkable both for the antiquity of the
first occupation, 7566 B.C. +250 from radiocarbon,
and the altitude, which is near the upper limits for
habitable sites. A comparable date, 6013 B.C. +100,
was obtained for similar remains found by A. R.
Gonzalez in the lower strata of Intihuasi Cave, 70 kilo-
meters north of San Luis, Cordoba, Argentina, again
with modern fauna. The oldest artifacts at both sites
are stone projectile points of related forms; later levels
yield some pottery.

Many finds of fossil man and early campsites have
been reported for Patagonia, but few of these are based
on scientific excavations. The best evidence comes

The Setting 11

from the extreme southern part of Patagonia near the
Straits of Magellan. Here two caves, Palli Aike and
Fell’s, excavated by Junius Bird, contained stratified
remains of five distinct periods of habitation. Both
caves were below lava outcrops on. the semi-desert
plains. The two caves furnish evidence for an historical

~ reconstruction.

Their first occupants used stemmed projectile points,
many rough scrapers, lava cylinders, and a variety of
bone flaking tools (Plate 1). Bones of guanaco and of
the extinct ground sloth and native American horse
in the same level show that these animals were eaten
in abundance. In several contemporary human burials
the bodies had all been cremated. One skull, patiently
reconstructed, is long headed and somewhat resembles
the Lagoa Santa type. A sterile level formed of slabs
which had fallen from the roof of the cave isolated the
remains of this first period of occupation. In the second
period of occupation the fossil animals were not pres-
ent, but fox and bird bones were common. ‘The arti-
facts were limited to a few chipped flakes and scrapers,
crude bone points, and polished bone awls. The third
period of occupation marked the appearance of stem-
less stone points and the first use of bolas, mostly small
ones for hunting birds. The graves contained several
skeletons covered with red paint. In the fourth occu-
pational period, small arrowheads were present, thus
demonstrating that the bow and arrow was later here
than the bolas. Shell and bone beads, some incised,
were used for ornaments. The final occupants made
small stemmed arrowpoints, bone beads, combs, spat-
ulas, pressure flaking tooks and other artifacts, - all
similar to those of the Ona Indians of Tierra del Fuego.
Thus these caves present a sequence of occupation
from the early hunters up to the historic Ona.

Bird’s excavations of shell middens on the shores of
Beagle Channel also proved a relative antiquity for

12 Andean Culture History

some of the fishing groups in southern Tierra del Fuego
and the archipelago. The earliest occupants used mus-
sel shell knives, single barbed harpoon points, bird
bone beads, whetstones, notched pebble fishline sink-
ers, and rough stone choppers or hand axes. The
technique of pressure flaking stone artifacts was com-
pletely lacking. This is surprising for apparently bolas
and the idea of using the small hafted endscrapers or
flensing tools were obtained from contacts with the
inland peoples at a time which would correspond
roughly to the fourth period of occupation of Fell’s
Cave.

On the extreme north coast of Chile, Bird found
additional evidence of early fishing cultures in strati-
fied shell middens near Arica, Pisagua, and ‘Taltal.
This showed that long prior to the introduction of
agriculture people had been able to survive on this
desert coast by depending on the sea for food. Two
distinct periods of occupation were determined. The
first, designated as the Shell Fishhook culture after the
most distinctive artifact, contained composite fishhooks
with stone weights and bone barbs, harpoons with de-
tachable forepieces, bone barbs, stone points, small
lava bowls, and a variety of scrapers (Plate 2). ‘The
occupants of the second period used bone fish har-
poons, thorn fishhooks instead of the earlier shell hooks,
sinkers, bolas, chipped stone points, and spear-throw-
ers. In spite of the suggestion of some writers these
north Chilean coastal cultures are unrelated to those of
Patagonia. |

The association of extinct fauna with the oldest
artifacts in the region of Magellan Straits implies con-
siderable antiquity for the human record there. Carbon,
derived from charred horse and sloth bones found in
Palli Aike Cave, has given a C14 date of 6689 B.C.
+450 years. A similar measurement, using plant ma-
terial from dried sloth manure secured without cultural

The Setting 13

association in another cave 125 miles away, indicated
8882 B.C. +400 as the most probable date for that
sample. A test of Fell’s Cave charcoal, (USGS labora-
tory sample W-915,) yielded the date 8760 B.C. +300
for the artifacts shown on Plate 1. This suggests that
the figure obtained from Palli Aike bones is conserva-
tive. As yet no tests have been made of North Chilean
material.

There is little direct information about succeeding
migrations, although small groups presumably con-
tinued to enter South America over a long period of
time. The earliest fossil finds correspond to the long-
headed physical type. However, the higher civilizations
in both Middle and South America are represented by
a short, round-headed physical type, implying mote re-
cent migrations. Likewise the wide spread of food
plants and other elements common to the higher civili-
zation throughout large parts of the Americas, as well
as the known penetration of Arawaks and Caribs into
the West Indies from South America, all indicate that
migrations in one direction or another were a continu-
ing pattern.

PLANT DOMESTICATION

The hunting-gathering culture pattern persisted in
southern South America up to historic times, but the
other two major South American patterns were de-
pendent upon the domestication of plants and the
development of agriculture. The plants domesticated
in the New World, except for the gourd, and perhaps
cotton, are for the most part seemingly indigenous
species not related to those utilized in Asia or other
parts of the Old World. This then poses the problem
of determining the New World center or centers in
which various plants were domesticated, a problem

14 Andean Culture History

which involves the technical knowledge of the botanists
and the archaeologists. Formerly, it was believed that
three of the more important New World plants, maize,
beans, and squash, were first domesticated in Mexico
and spread as a unit from that center. Present evidence
fails to confirm this theory for squashes and beans were
cultivated in Peru centuries before maize. Obviously,
as knowledge of plant cultivation spread, new plants
were exploited when and where available. Plants like
beans and squash, represented by several distinct
species, may have been independently developed in
several localities.

This is far less likely for food plants classed as single
species, like maize or sweet potatoes, unless the an-
cestral forms were widely distributed. A South Amer-
ican origin for maize was proposed and favored for
some years, but new evidence now points to Central
America or Mexico.

Cotton, like maize, has been intensively studied.
Unlike maize, two linted species are present and a cen-
ter of variability is known for each. These are inter-
preted as foci of diffusion, but their relation to the
cultural record is not clear. The first is located in
northern Peru, the second in southern Mexico and
Guatemala. As a fiber-producing plant the motive for
domestication was a need for yarn, not food. Geneti-
cists agree that these linted American cottons are re-
lated to an Old World species, but differ on whether
this relationship was established before or after culti-
vation. If the latter is true, it would mean that contrary
to current belief some knowledge of agriculture and at
least one plant, a species now extinct in America, was
introduced from Asia. This implication should not yet
be accepted as fact nor dismissed summarily.

This pattern of shifting controversial opinions will
probably be repeated as other comparable studies are

The Setting 15

made. Fortunately Peruvian coastal middens will yield
a complete record of the plants utilized there. In ad-
dition to the botanical data, the sequence, relative
distribution, and instances where two or more genera
first appear simultaneously will go far to indicate areas
of origins and dispersal routes.

_ Estimated dates for the first domestication of plants
are very vague. Botanists point out that the process of
domestication could have been accomplished in a few
thousand years. Carbon 14 measurements seem to bear
this out with third millennium B.C. figures for maize in
New Mexico and various plants in Peru.

Table 1 lists the principal pre-Colombian domesti-
cated plants in Andean South America. Some are
particularly suited to the warmer lowlands, others grow
best in the highlands or in the sandy desert regions.
Most of these plants were cultivated in the Central
Andes wherever the local environment was favorable.
The range of local environments, plus a systematic ex-
change of food products, provided the ancient inhabit-
ants of the Central Andes with a wider variety of
domesticated food plants than were available to any
other peoples of South America.

TABLE I
PRINCIPAL PRE-COLOMBIAN DOMESTICATED PLANTS
IN THE ANDEAN AREA!

Seed Crops
Common Name Botanical Name Occurrence
Maize Zea mays All areas
Lupine Lupinus tauris Highlands
Quinoa Chenopodium quinoa Highlands
Cafiahua Chenopodium pallidicaule Highlands
Amaranth Amaranthus sp. Highlands

1 Based on Table 1, Handbook of South American Indians,
Volume 2, The Andean Civilization. Bureau of American Ethnol-
ogy, Bulletin 143, Washington, 1946.

16

Common Name
Kidney
Scarlet runner

or ayecote
Lima
Jack

Avocado
Lucumo
Pacai, guaba
Pineapple
Soursop
Pepino

Potato
Potato
Oca
Ulluco
Mashua
Achira

Arracacha

Yacon

Sweet manioc
Peanut

Sweet potato

Gourd
Squash
Peppers, aji
Cacao, choco-
late bean
Cotton

Cotton

Andean Culture History

TABLE I—Continued

Beans
Botanical Name

Phaseolus yulgaris
Phaseolus multiflorus
(or coccineus )

Phaseolus lunatus
Canavalia ensiformis

Fruits

Persea Americana
Lucuma obovata
Inga edulis

Ananas sativus
Annona muricata
Solanum mauricatum

Roots

Solanum tuberosum
Solanum andigenum
Oxalis tuberosa
Ullucus tuberosus
Tropaeolum tuberosum
Canna edulis

Arracacia xanthorrhiza
(or esculenta)
Polymnia edulis
Manthot utilissima
Arachis hypogaea
Ipomoea batatas

Miscellaneous
Lagenaria
Cucurbita maxima
Capsicum annum
Theobroma cacao

Gossypium hirsutum
(var. marie-galante )
Gossypium barbadense

Occurrence

General
Cauca River

Coast
Coast

Tropical
Temperate valleys
Tropical

Tropical
Lowlands
‘Temperate

Chile Coast
Highlands
Highlands
Highlands
Highlands

Coast; temperate

valleys

Temperate valleys

Temperate valleys
Tropical lowlands
Lowlands

Tropical lowlands

General

General

Medium climates
Low valleys

Tropical Coast

General

The Setting 17

Narcotics
Tobacco _ Nicotiana tabacum General
Tobacco Nicotiana rustica Highlands
Coca Erythroxylon coca Warm valleys

DOMESTICATED ANIMALS

Domesticated animals, with the exception of the
dog, were unknown in most parts of South America.
The guinea pig had a wide Andean distribution, but
was not of major importance. In the Central Andes,
however, two animals, the llama and the alpaca, were
domesticated at an early date, presumably from wild
forms related to the guanaco and the vicufia. The
Ilama and the alpaca contributed greatly to the Cen-
tral Andean economy since they grazed on the high
grasslands which could not be used for agriculture.
Both animals were not only useful for transportation
but also furnished wool, meat, hides, fertilizer, fuel,
sinews, and even bones for making tools. Unlike many
domesticated plants that are adaptable to different
environments, the llama and the alpaca were largely re-
stricted to the terrain of the high dry grasslands which
include the Central Andes and parts of Northwest
Argentina.

SOUTHERN HUNTERS

Roughly in the year 1500 all of southern South
America and most of the east Brazil highlands were
occupied by Indians who were basically dependent on
hunting, fishing, or gathering for their subsistence.
Among the better known tribes are the Alacaluf and
Yahgan of the Chilean archipelago, the Ona of Tierra
del Fuego, the Tehuelche of Patagonia, the Puelche

18 Andean Culture History

and Querandi of the Pampas, the Charrua of Uruguay,

and the numerous Gé-speaking peoples of east Brazil
(Fig. 2). As the archaeological records demonstrate, the

Aee.
Ie

VALENCIA
CABRERA } parent,

=
“wana
Fa

LCHAQUI
Sum ry Candolarig

DIAGUIT;
CA A» ATACAMENO

"Sean ge

aa
Ne
J
oO
o
%
®

QUERANDI

NIA N

ARAUC,

PUELCHE 9°

Fic. 2. South American cultural divisions

culture pattern of all of these groups reflects, in part, a
survival from the first nomadic hunters in the region.
However, in spite of a common history and a similar

The Setting 19

subsistence pattern, the component tribes present con-
siderable cultural variation. An immediate contrast is
apparent between the “Canoe” Indians who lived in
the archipelago region and depended largely upon
marine products and the “Foot” Indians of Tierra del
Fuego and the mainland who hunted the land animals.
The isolated Ona and the Yahgan are among the most
primitive people of the New World, while the Geé-
speaking tribes of east Brazil, in contrast to their simple
economy and technology, have an elaborate ceremonial
and social organization.

The emphasis on hunting, fishing, or gathering varied
not only seasonally but in terms of the specific environ-
ment. The Canoe Indians fished, hunted seals, sea-
otters, and other sea mammals, and gathered shellfish
and certain wild plants. The hunters of the open plains
pursued guanaco and ostrich and collected starchy roots
and wild grass seed. Deer, tapirs, and monkeys were
hunted in the forests of east Brazil, and a variety of
roots and edible vines were gathered. Hunting was in-
variably a male occupation, while the women were tre-
sponsible for the collecting activities. The east Brazil
tribes made underground ovens, but elsewhere meat
was cooked on a wooden spit or directly in the ashes.

The weapons reflect the nature of the hunting. ‘The
marine hunters used spears, harpoons, slings, snares,
clubs, and nets. The land hunters preferred bows and
arrows, Clubs, and bolas. This last weapon consists of
two or more stone balls attached to the ends of thongs.
It was thrown so as to entangle the legs of an ostrich
or guanaco. Some of these weapons also served in the
occasional disputes between groups, although, by and
large, conflicts of a magnitude which can be termed
warfare were decidedly uncommon. However, in east
Brazil closer contact with Amazonian neighbors some-
times led to more extensive combat in which sharp-
bladed wooden clubs were the weapons.

20 _ Andean Culture History

Since these hunters were constantly traveling, their
shelters were necessarily temporary or easily transport-
able. The Ona used a simple skin windbreak consist-
ing of several guanaco hides sewn together and sup-
ported by upright sticks set to form an open semicircle.
When they moved, the skin covers of the shelter were
rolled up and carried by the women. The Alacaluf, who
were able to transport larger skin coverings for their
dwellings in their canoes, made an elliptical, dome-
shaped house frame of arched saplings which was
abandoned when shifting camp. The Patagonians are
reported to have built a large rectangular skin shelter
partitioned into rooms, but it is doubtful that these
were transportable before the introduction of the Span-
ish horse. ‘Today the east Brazil natives erect a gabled
frame house, but their earlier shelters were of the simple
domed type consisting of a frame of arched saplings
covered with bark or grass. All the groups erected
larger and somewhat more durable shelters for their
rare ceremonial gatherings. Difficulty of transportation
accounts for the simplicity of the dwellings. All land
travel and transportation was by foot and their scant
household equipment and house covering had to be
carried on their backs. With the introduction of the
horse, houses became more elaborate. Canoes, used only
in the archipelago, were constructed of three cigar-
shaped pieces of beech bark sewn together and held
taut by split saplings which served as thwarts and gun-
wales. Sod and earth fireplaces were built in the bot-
tom of the canoe. The women propelled the canoes
with wooden paddles.

Despite the rigors of the climate, the Southem
Hunters wore very simple clothing. The Ona male cos-
tume consisted of a cape, moccasins, and rarely, leg-
gings; all of which were made from guanaco skins. A
headband was worn for decoration rather than warmth.
The Canoe Indians made similar clothing of sealskin,

The Setting 21

but their capes were much shorter than those of the
Ona, so that they could be wom in the canoes. Both
groups greased their bodies for protection against the
cold and sometimes added simple painted designs for
ornamentation. In east Brazil, where the climate was
more genial, no clothing was worn, but considerable
attention was paid to body painting, to lip- and ear-
plugs, and innumerable varieties of feather ornaments.

The material equipment of all of these nomads was
limited to utensils and implements easily transportable
or easily manufactured; their handicrafts can in no sense
be called elaborate. Fire was made with a hand drill,
except by the Ona and the Yahgan, who were unique
in South America in using flint and pyrites. They also
used simple stick fire tongs for moving hot stones,
hammerstones, and a stone on which animal bones
were broken so that the grease would coagulate. The
Canoe Indians made bark bailing buckets, dip nets for
fishing, and five types of baskets. Their principal tools
were bone bark removers, bone awls, stone knives and
scrapers, and weighted shell hand adzes. The Ona
seldom made baskets, but used skin bags to carry water,
for storage, and to transport necessary equipment.
They also used hafted stone knives, fleshers, wood
scrapers, awls, pressure flakers, and polishers. Virtually
all of these tools were needed to make their bows and
arrows. The latter were beautifully finished, tapering
at each end, and were perhaps the finest arrows made
by any group in America. The equipment of the Pata-
gonians was equally simple, although they had, in ad-
dition, stone mortars for grinding seeds, and may have
made wooden bowls, cups, and spoons. Even in east
Brazil, where the life was less nomadic, material equip-
ment was meager. The neighboring Amazonian tribes
made hammocks, mats, wooden stools, cloth, and
pottery, but none of these penetrated into east Brazil.
Instead, the people of this area made simple mortars

22 Andean Culture History

and vessels of wood and bamboo, bark bags and nets,
and one type of waterproof basket.

In Patagonia and extreme southern South America,
social organization was based on family units that were
loosely organized into territorial bands. The Yahgan
recognized five districts, not politically organized but
differing slightly in dialect. Large assemblages of people
for any purpose were rare because of the limited food
supplies, and territorial chiefs, if recognized at all, were
of secondary importance. The life crises of birth, mar-
triage, and death were family affairs surrounded by ex-
tremely simple ritual. Only the puberty initiation in-
volved a number of families. ‘The Ona restricted this
ceremony to boys, combining it with initiation into
the men’s secret society. The most elaborate Yahgan
ceremonies were puberty rites for both boys and girls
and those connected with the men’s secret society
which they borrowed from the Ona. A distinctive lodge
was constructed for these occasions. ‘The novices were
isolated, given special instruction, and subjected to
specific ordeals to test their fitness for the transition
from childhood to adulthood. The older men dressed
in skin and bark costumes decorated to represent chosen
spirits that were supposed to terrify the women.

Recent studies in east Brazil report a more elaborate
type of social organization today, although its antiq-
uity is still unknown. Modern villages, of circular or
U-shaped plan, have as many as three hundred inhabit-
ants, but inter-village organization is weak or non-ex-
istent. Within the village the members are assigned to
different halves, or moieties, for the purposes of regu-
lating marriage, performing ceremonies, and compet-
ing in games. The divisions differ for each purpose.
For example, the Canella Indians have one division for
regulating marriage. A child belongs to his mother’s
group and must marry someone from the opposite
moiety. Another dual division for ceremonies functions

ee ON SS a a > a

The Setting 23

during the rainy season. All boys go through a prolonged
initiation ceremony which takes about ten years for
completion. Each group of initiates belongs throughout
life to his age class and the various classes are assigned
to one of two groups for competition in games. ‘There
are also six men’s societies, semi-secret in nature, again
arranged in two sets of three each. All of these divisions
and societies perform seasonal ceremonies, own prop-
erty, and compete in various ways. The village rec-
ognizes one or more chiefs, but the chieftaincy is a
position of prestige rather than real power.

The ceremonies of east Brazil are intimately as-
sociated with religious rituals and concepts. Elsewhere
the religious beliefs and practices of the Souther
Hunters were simpler. Most tribes recognized a su-
preme god and numerous lesser deities such as the spirits
of the forest and ancestral ghosts. Medicinemen and
sorcerers, men who had received special inspiration as
well as formal training, were important. They cured the
sick, cast evil spells, and predicted weather changes,
employing special paraphernalia and such devices as go-
ing into a trance, singing, fasting, and posturing to
achieve their goals.

Contact with European civilization caused profound
changes in these hunting groups, eliminating some,
strengthening others. The horse was introduced to the
Indians of Patagonia sometime before 1700, increas-
ing their mobility and effectiveness in hunting and per-
mitting larger numbers to assemble. Warlike tendencies
emerged and leadership became important. Foreign
equipment, including such trappings as saddles, bits,
spurs, and stirrups, was also introduced; new techniques
of working metal were learned; and many other new
items hitherto unknown. After the introduction of
horse transportation, the simple skin houses were en-
larged so that as many as forty or fifty guanaco hides
formed the cover. The size of camps increased to include

24 Andean Culture History

two or three thousand inhabitants. Ceremonies, par-
ticularly those surrounding birth, puberty, marriage,
and death, became far more elaborate. The tribes now
engaged in stealing cattle and raiding border settle-
ments. The history of Indian wars in Argentina is
similar to the history of warfare on the plains of the
United States, and the Indian threat was not elimi-
nated finally until 1880.

TROPICAL AGRICULTURISTS

The culture pattern of the Tropical Agriculturists is
characterized by semi-nomadism, the slash and bum
method of clearing fields, the psychological importance
of hunting, fishing, and warfare, a weak political struc-
ture based on band organization, and a number of dis-
tinctive crafts. By 1500 this basic pattern was widely
distributed over most of the tropical forest, which in-
cludes the tropics of Brazil, eastern Bolivia, Peru,
Ecuador, and Colombia; the Ilanos of Venezuela; most
of the Guiana Highlands; part of the east Brazil high-
lands; the West Indies; and the Caribbean and Pacific
coasts of Colombia. A few tribes in the tropics do not
conform to this pattern which suggests, although by
no means proves, that it may not have been the ear-
liest in the area. Some of these simple “underlying”
tribes are the Maku on the Japura River, the Warrau
on the delta of the Orinoco, the Sirionéd of eastern
Bolivia, and the Shiriana on the Venezuelan-Brazilian
border.

The complex network of tropical rivers permitted a
great mobility for canoe travelers and consequently a
wide cultural diffusion, but, in spite of this, too much
cultural uniformity would not be expected in so vast
an area. Some of the differences are due to diversity
of cultural origins; others are based on_ linguistic,

—— st

The Setting 25

geographic, and cultural factors. For example, there are
three widespread linguistic stocks—Carib, north of the
Amazon; Tupi-Guarani, south of the Amazon; and
Arawak, peripheral; but along the eastern margin of the
Andes are a large number of small linguistic stocks
which suggest that before the spread of the major ones
the linguistic picture was complicated indeed.

_ The basic culture pattern of the Tropical Agricul-
turists, irrespective of subdivisions, contrasts with that
of the Southern Hunters and the Andean Farmers.
Consequently, a generalized picture is presented here,
allowing for regional variation where necessary. Because
of their great number, the selection of specific tribes
for illustration is difficult. However, the following have
been chosen for special emphasis: the Wapisiana,
Macusi, and the Barama River Caribs of the Guianas;
the Goajiro of Venezuela; the Tupinamba, Tapirapé,
and other Guarani groups of Brazil; and the Bora,
Witoto, Campa, Yagua, Jivaro, and Chama of the up-
per Amazon.

From an objective point of view, agriculture was the
principal economic basis for life in the tropical forest,
but the Indians themselves placed greater emphasis on
hunting. Except for the heavy labor of clearing the
fields, agricultural work was left to the women. Re-
ligious and magical practices surrounded hunting rather
than planting. As a consequence, agricultural techniques
were not too advanced and because of the wasteful
methods, fields were utilized for a few seasons only.
The villages were moved at regular intervals, although
this practice was motivated by the diminishing of the
game supply rather than by the exhaustion of the
fields. The fields were cleared by the slash and bum
technique. The larger trees were cut down and the
underbrush burned. Then the seeds were planted, us-
ing a simple digging-stick which also served as hoe,
shovel, and rake. Manioc was the principal crop, but

26 Andean Culture History

corm, sweet potatoes, yams, peppers, peanuts, beans,
and cotton were also important. Little effort was ex-
pended on cultivation, so that harvesting was the next
major activity.

The bitter or poison manioc, or cassava, common
throughout Brazil, contains hydrocyanic acid which has
the advantage of supplying the plant with its own in-
secticide, but this must be removed before eating. The
process and equipment for preparing bitter manioc are
similar wherever it is grown. The tubers are soaked in
water, peeled with shell scrapers, and grated on a
special curved board with projecting points of wood
or stone. ‘The grated pulp is then placed in a long nar-
row cylindrical basket with a loop handle at each end.
One loop is hooked over a branch of a tree, the pulp
squeezed by means of a log lever in the lower loop,
and the poisonous juice drained into a jar. Later, it
is boiled until the poison has evaporated and the res-
idue, now in the form of tapioca, is served as a sauce.
The dried pulp is taken from the squeezer, mixed with
water to form a batter, and cooked on a large cylindrical
clay platter into cassava pancakes. Corn and some other
foods are placed in large log mortars and ground with
extremely long wooden pestles. In eastern Bolivia, food
was ground with a wooden rocker in a hollowed-out
trough mortar of wood.

Hunting, as previously stated, was perhaps of greater
psychological than economic importance, but it con-
sumed a major part of the men’s time and attention
and brought considerable prestige. ‘The principal ani-
mals, none too abundant, were deer, tapirs, peccaries,
monkeys, birds, and several local rodents. ‘The hunting
weapons were a long bow, arrows with specialized points
for different game, wooden paddle clubs with sharp-
ened edges, spears, and blowguns. The Guiana blowgun
was made of a section of bamboo tubing covered with
pitch and bound tightly. The upper Amazon blowgun

a

The Setting 27

consisted of two pieces of chonta palm, grooved on the
inside for the bore, and bound together with bast. The
mouthpiece was of carved bone. The blowguns were
about eight feet long. The standard equipment for the
blowgun included a bamboo quiver for the supply of
split palm darts; a gourd full of tree cotton to be used
as a wadding on one end of the dart; the jaw of a
piranha fish, the teeth of which are sharp enough to
cut a groove near the point of the dart; and a clay jar
of curare poison. Only specialists trained in the proper
magical ritual were permitted to prepare the curare
poison which was an important article of trade. The
strychnine element in curare produces a paralyzing
effect on the game but does not permanently poison
the meat. Traps were also used in hunting and included
spring bows, spring nooses, deadfalls, pitfalls, and nets.
Dogs, the only domesticated animals, were specially
trained for hunting.

The rivers of the tropics abound in fish; these were
shot with bow and arrows, harpooned, or speared.
Weits were constructed and many kinds of basketry
traps were known and some groups used dip nets. ‘The
most widely used technique was to dam a stream and
poison the fish. Many varieties of effective poisonous
plants were known. Wild plants supplemented the food
supply: over twenty-two plants and edible fruits, of
which palm cabbages and nuts were most important,
were collected by the women who also gathered honey,
birds’ eggs, and shellfish where available.

Fish and meat were grilled over the fire, but the
basic dish was the pepper pot, a stew of the available
meat and vegetables. Some foods were dried or smoked,
but in general little attention was paid to preserving
for storage, due in part to the scarcity of salt, itself an
important article of trade. The firedrill and basketry
fire fan were part of the standard equipment. Most
forest tribes prepared mildly intoxicating drinks from

28 Andean Culture History

fermented cassava bread or from the local fruits and
also used several narcotics. Tobacco, the most impor-
tant of these, was rolled into cigars, chewed with lime,
taken as snuff, or, in liquid form, snuffed up the nose
through tubes. Most of the tobacco was used in con-
nection with ceremonies, particularly those of initia-
tion.

Although the tribes changed locale from time to
time, a village might be occupied for two or three years
and the houses were correspondingly durable. All
houses were constructed of log frames covered with
thatch, and, in spite of considerable variation in detail,
conformed generally to two types. One, the round
house, had an outer circle of upright wall posts con-
nected to a tall center pole by crossbeams. The conical
roof thus formed was thatched with grass or palm
leaves. ‘This type of house was common south of the
Amazon and in the Guianas. The second type, the
maloca, had a rectangular groundplan outlined with
short wall posts, a central ridgepole, and a gabled roof.
The ends might be bowed outward to form an oval
groundplan. The roof extended almost to the ground
and was closely thatched as a protection against rain
and wind. House walls might be left open or filled in
with bamboo splints, bark, or poles covered with wattle.
In some regions the houses were sealed tight to guard
against mosquitoes. The floor was of packed clay. Each
house had an entrance at either end, one for the
women, one for the men and their guests. Some houses
were large, others small, the size depending in part on
the type of village. Three main village plans were fol-
lowed: the barnyard type, consisting of a number of
small houses without special alignment; the Guarani
type, with regular streets flanked by large houses; and
the upper Amazon type in which the village consisted of
one large house. Some of the last-mentioned houses had

The Setting 29

a groundplan one hundred fifteen by seventy-five feet
and a height of thirty feet.

The hammock, a common article of household equip-
ment, was made of palm fiber or cotton, either woven
on a true loom, or netted. Some tribes of the upper
Amazon built platform beds of split palm poles set on a
frame raised from the floor. Wooden stools, with either
two or four legs, which might be carved in animal form
were used everywhere. Other household equipment
was part of the craft tradition. Many types of palm
leaf baskets were woven, including openwork carrying
baskets, telescope storage baskets, work baskets of vari-
ous shapes, and square baskets with fitted covers. Palm
leaves and reeds were also used in plaiting manioc
squeezers and sieves, fire fans, fish traps, and crowns
for feather headdresses. Fish nets, net bags, and hair
nets were made of bast fibers, twisted on the thigh.
Pottery, used everywhere, was either painted in geo-
metric designs or decorated with modeled lugs. ‘The
main forms were plates, bowls, cooking pots, big
platters, storage jars, and large burial urns. Weaving
had a wide distribution although it was not always of
major importance. Both cotton and palm fibers were
spun on a supported spindle or rolled on the thigh.
A frame loom was used to weave hammocks, bolts of
cloth for clothing, headbands, bags, and similar articles.
The techniques were competent, but not unusually com-
plex. In eastern Bolivia and elsewhere, bark cloth was
made from the inner bark of certain trees, soaked and
pounded with wooden clubs or flat stones. The bark
cloth was painted and used for dance masks and cere-
monial costumes. Many artifacts, mortars, pestles, stools,
drums, clubs, bows, platters, and bowls were made from
wood; bark vessels were common; and bones and teeth
were used to make a number of implements. Stone
tools were rare, metals infrequent, and dressed skin
work unusual.

30 Andean Culture History

The manufacture of many of these articles was usually
a village specialty. In a limited area the people in one
village made pottery, in another they prepared cala-
bashes, another basketry, another blowguns, another
poisons, etc. The finished products were then traded
by private informal barter or gift exchange, but this
practice did not result in regular markets, middlemen,
mediums of exchange, or formal trade. Still, this ex-
change system provided each village with a reasonably
wide selection of craft products. The quality and ver-
satility of craftsmanship was relatively high, but it led
neither to the formation of craft guilds nor to any par-
ticular emphasis on the individual artist. Likewise,
wealth and property concepts remained undeveloped.

Boat building was also a village or tribal specialty.
Of course, all groups made simple rafts by lashing logs
together, and some authorities consider these the oldest
form of water transportation in the area. The log dug-
outs, the most widespread type of watercraft, required
exceptional skill in manufacture, especially those used
for ocean travel which were up to sixty feet long and
capable of carrying from thirty to sixty men. Large trees
were felled by fire and ax, chopped and trimmed to the
desired size, and the interior burned out with controlled
fire. Both the outer and inner sides were then scraped
to the proper thickness and thwarts inserted. ‘The pad-
dles were of wood with a crutch handle and a long
thin blade. Bark canoes were also widely used. A large
piece of bark was cut from a tree in the shape required.
The ends were turned up and the ribs and thwarts in-
serted. Some bark canoes were forty feet long and
could hold thirty persons. In contrast, land transporta-
tion was of minor importance. Paths were cut through
the forest and log or twisted cable bridges were built
for crossing small streams.

In most parts of the tropics, clothing was restricted
to the simplest genital covering. An exception to this

The Setting 31

tule was found in the upper Amazon where, due to
Andean influence, loin cloths, belts, and slit neck shirts
were worn. Everywhere, however, ceremonial costumes
were more elaborate than the ordinary dress. The use
of ornaments and body decoration compensated in
part for the paucity of clothing. Ligatures were bound
tightly around the upper arms and the ankles, giving
a distorted appearance to the limbs. This practice was
followed for magical increase of strength rather than
for beauty. Heads were deformed by means of tightly
wrapped boards in the upper Amazon area. Most groups
tattooed their faces and arms, and some filed or black-
ened their teeth. Lip plugs, earplugs, and noseplugs
were made from stone, shell, and wood. Grease paint
was used on the body, not only for decoration on cere-
monial occasions but also for protection from insects.
Fach tribe had a distinctive style of hairdress; all used
combs made of palm splints bound between two
wooden bars. There were many types of feather orna-
ments. Feathers were attached to basketry hats and
sewn on woven bands for back hangings, arm pendants,
and aprons. Capes had a net base to which feathers
were attached. The Tupi glued feathers on their bodies
with honey. Beadwork aprons were common, and neck-
laces were made of jaguar teeth and claws, stones,
shells, seeds, beetle wings, human teeth, and bird bones.
Quite apart from their aesthetic value, these ornaments
indicated distinctions of sex, age, and position, des-
ignated tribal affiliations, and furnished magical pro-
tection for the wearers.

Subsistence activities and material culture were more
or less uniform throughout. There were, to be sure,
some differences in details and emphases, but no star-
tling contrasts. The social, religious, and political organ-
ization, on the other hand, was far more variable. ‘The
village was the basic social unit, and its members were
usually loosely united by kinship ties. The villages

32 Andean Culture History

varied greatly in population, but the maximum figure
was probably around the six hundred reported for the
Tupi. It is difficult to establish the minimum because
of the common practice of a larger village absorbing
one that became too small to function. Most villages
were composed of several enlarged families, with te-
lationship traced through either the mother or the
father. ‘These enlarged families occupied a single house
within which each of the component families had its
own fireplace and sleeping quarters. However, many
activities, such as house building and group hunting,
required the cooperation of all the village members.

Fach village had a chief who sometimes acquired con-
siderable power through his ability as a war leader.
However, permanent political organization rarely ex-
tended beyond the village itself. Even though many
members of two villages might be related, kinship did
not outlaw internecine fighting. Common language
helped to unite a number of villages, but the unity was
informal. Several Jivaro villages might unite for a time
under a single chief, but they had no name for this
larger political group. Everywhere a powerful village
might dominate a weaker one, but such fitful unity
lasted only until strength was regained by the subject
people.

Perhaps as a reflection of the intimacy of the vil-
lage life and the numerous social and kinship relation-
ships, events in the individual life cycle were treated
as public affairs. Birth was an occasion for public cele-
bration. The whole village saw to it that the parents
observed the proper taboos, particularly the widespread
custom of the couvade, in which the father, not the
mother, goes into confinement and receives the visits
of his neighbors. Soon after birth the child was named,
an important event supervised by the magician or medi-
cineman. At puberty, girls were isolated for several days,
forced to observe special food taboos, and instructed

The Setting 33

by the older women. A change in style of hairdress or
facial tattooing signified that they had completed the
ceremony. Boys were subjected to certain tests before
being admitted to full adult tribal status. In one of the
more drastic of these ordeals reported for the Guianas,
a wickerwork frame which contained many wasps was
placed on a boy’s bare back. When simultaneously
stung by these insects, he was expected to show no
sign of pain. Marriage was not celebrated with great
ceremony since it was usually prearranged by the par-
ents, according to standard rules of the village. Death,
on the other hand, was an occasion of grave concern
for all the community since the ghosts might retum,
a circumstance avoided by abandoning the house, per-
forming wild dances, mutilating the corpse, building
fires on the grave, and participating in complex puti-
fication rites.

Warfare, one of the curses of Amazonia, played an
important role in the activities of many groups. Mo-
tives for aggression were numerous, including plunder,
revenge, and individual prestige for the warrior. Some
groups sought trophy heads, others wanted prisoners
for their cannibalistic practices. Even the non-aggressive
tribes were forced to take measures in their own de-
fense. The weapons for warfare and hunting were in-
terchangeable, except for the blowgun, which apparently
was ineffective in fighting. Protection was a major con-
sideration. Consequently, many villages were situated
well back from the rivers, were approached by hidden
paths, and might be further protected with palisades,
reinforced outer walls, sentry boxes, and watch towers.
Pitfalls with poisoned stakes and spring traps were
placed along the open approaches. In northern Ama-
zonia, log signal drums were used to summon aid and
warn friendly neighbors. The war spirit was drilled into
the boys from early childhood, not only through
specific instruction in fighting, but also through tales

34 Andean Culture History

of the honor and prestige to be gained by becoming
a full-fledged warrior.

As mentioned before, some warfare was inspired by
the desire for trophy heads which not only brought
great prestige to the taker, but also transferred the
ghost power of the victim. Carefully preserved and
decorated trophy skulls were commonly collected, but
the Jivaro Indian tsantsas, the shrunken heads, are
probably the best known trophies. The Jivaro warrior
tried to obtain his enemy’s head so that it could later be
skinned and shrunk for a trophy. Only heads taken in
formal warfare with established enemies were recog-
nized. The residents of neighboring villages who fre-
quently were actually relatives were often the
traditional enemies. It was a violation of custom to
allow the head of a blood relative to be shrunk, but the
killer was permitted to substitute a sloth or monkey
head. The heads were prepared before the war party
returned to its home village. The process took about
twenty hours. A slit from the top of the head to the base
of the neck facilitated the removal of the skin from the
skull. The slit, the eyes, and the mouth were sewn so
that the skin formed a bag which was then simmered
but not boiled in a vine juice solution that contained
some tannin. Next, round stones were heated and rolled
inside the skin bag, and hot sand was poured in at in-
tervals. The outside was ironed with hot stones. This
repeated scorching process reduced the skin to about
the size of a doubled fist. A ring was then sewn around
the neck and a suspension cord inserted through the
top. Finally the trophy was smoked over a smudge for
final curing. When the warriors returned to their vil-
lage, they were received in a triumphal entry which was
succeeded by elaborate ceremonies, intended to purify
the killer and to transfer the power of his trophy head to
him. Later, the slayer himself gave a victory feast at

The Setting 35

which the purification rites were repeated and the trans-
fer of enemy power completed.

Not all tropical forest tribes were cannibals. However,
some, like the Witoto and Bora of the upper Amazon
and the Tupinamba of the Brazilian coast, were ardent
practitioners. Tupinamba cannibalism has been te-
corded in some detail. In every battle the warriors at-
tempted to take prisoners alive in order to bring them
back as slaves until the time arrived for their sacrifice.
The prisoners were forced to do menial tasks and were
frequently insulted verbally, but otherwise they were
well treated and even permitted to intermarry with
their captors. Dressed like other Tupinamba, they were
distinguished only by a cotton rope around the neck or
by a string of beads representing the number of months
preceding the day of sacrifice. Prisoners never attempted
to escape, even though they were not closely guarded,
since it would be a great disgrace for them to return
to their own villages. A ceremony of several days’ dura-
tion preceded the execution. The prisoner was painted
black, decorated with feathers, and was even forced to
escape and be recaptured, thus giving prestige to still
another warrior. Finally, the victim was led around the
village, secured by a rope around his waist, but other-
wise free to repel attacks, until, still fighting, he was
killed by a selected executioner. The orgy of eating his
barbequed flesh was enjoyed by men, women, and chil-
dren alike. The skull was cleaned and placed on a pike
set on the village stockade. The executioner went
through a long period of purification.

The Tropical Agriculturists had numerous ceremo-
nies, but these were not calendrical, reflecting their lack
of interest in the agricultural seasons. Instead, cere-
monies were coincidental with such irregular occasions
as baptism, house-warming, death, or the return of a
war party. All such celebrations presented a mixture of
social and religious elements, but in general they were

36 - Andean Culture History

gay affairs, involving beer drinking, singing, animated
dancing, and distinctive costumes and ornaments. The
music was furnished by split log or skin-headed drums,
flutes, panpipes, trumpets, and rattles.

As suggested by the social nature of the ceremonies,
the religious practices were not very formalized. The
Indians were strongly animistic, with a belief in many
nature demons, ghosts, and good and evil spirits, but
none of these was arranged into a complex hierarchy.
Cults were rare although some groups had secret re-
ligious societies, but none of these was led by formal
priests. ‘The medicineman, however, was prominent
both as a curer of sickness and a sorcerer. He was care-
fully schooled by older members of the profession and
taught a knowledge of herbs, ventriloquism, and the
methods of attaining a state of trance. This last ability
involved taking strong narcotics, such as tobacco juice,
which induced visions and, according to belief, allowed
the spirits to speak through the medium.

Centuries of European contact have changed these
tropical forest Indians. Some have been eliminated,
others have been driven from their original territory,
none has escaped modification of culture principally
through the acquisition of European trade goods. A
few have maintained their independent culture pat-
terns by the simple device of retiring still deeper into
the vast Amazonian jungle.

LOWLAND ARCHAEOLOGY

It is dificult to do more than speculate on the an-
tiquity of tropical agriculture. The region involved is
so vast, the number of tested sites and areas so small,
that we do not have adequate data. Nor do we know,
as is assumed, that pottery marks the initial spread of
the Tropical Agriculturists. In this region, as in the

The Setting 37

Andean, agriculture may have had an early stage among
people not yet familiar with pottery. The most petti-
nent data on age comes from a study of Venezuelan
chronology and radiocarbon dates. This implies that
agriculture, as marked by the presence of pottery, was
established on the lower Orinoco at the beginning of
the first millennium B.C.

Prior to this there were two unrelated preceramic
phases, the oldest, an Early Hunter stage known
from chipped stone artifacts, is designated El Jobo
complex. No extinct faunal remains have been found
in association. Other sites without pottery, shell de-
posits presumably left by canoe-using fishermen, occur
on the coast and islands. These are under three meters
in thickness, on what may be a subsiding shoreline.
Carbon from the bottom of one site indicates an age
of over 4000 years. Culturally there are similarities with
comparable Caribbean deposits but none with the
sometimes huge preceramic middens of the Atlantic
coast of Brazil.

The subsequent record in Venezuela has been di-
vided by Cruxent and Rouse into four periods within
which three basic ceramic traditions form or give rise
to six classes or series of ceramics. These are not all
sequential as they overlap to some extent in time and
distribution. The oldest, the Saladoid, from the lower
Orinoco, has flat-based, flaring bowls with vertical strap
handles and white on red painting, a ware which ulti-
mately spread via Lake Valencia to the north coast,
Trinidad, the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico. Later,
starting in the same area, the Barancoid wares have an-
nular bases, incised flange rims, and modeled and in-
cised lug ornaments. These spread, via Lake Valencia,
to the north coast, Trinidad, perhaps the Guianas, and
influenced Antillean potters. The third ware, ‘Tocuya-
noid, which may have spread eastward from Colombia,
brought three and four-legged bowls, broad line inci-

38 Andean Culture History

sion, and red and black curved designs on white
ground. :

Existing archaeological collections from the Amazon
come mainly from three widely separated localities. The

ceramics forming the bulk of the material are distinc-.

tive, yet the three complexes share the trait of anthro-
pomorphic burial urns decorated with relief, modeling,
polychrome painting, and broad line incision. We may
assume that a broadly similar cultural pattern prevailed
but the relationships are still undefined. Systematic
field-work on the island of Marajé, at the mouth of the
Amazon, shows that the Marajoara culture is intrusive
in this area. More than one hundred cemetery and hab-
itation mounds have been reported, the former con-
taining abundant, elaborately decorated pottery. The
basic decorative techniques are incision, excision of
background adjacent to the design, painting, and mod-
eling. These were used with red and white slips cover-
ing the vessel surface or applied to incised or excised
areas, producing a complex, varied, and impressive ce-
tamic art (Plate 3). These elaborate styles disappeared
before the beginning of the historic period and only
the more simple forms survived.

The second site area, Mirakanguéra, is on the mid-
dle Amazon at the mouth of the Madeira River. Here
bowls and effigy urns have been found. The head of
the efigy figure is on the cover of the urn; the limbs
are represented in low relief; and the urns are further
decorated by incised and painted rectilinear designs.
The final site, on the Rio Napo in eastern Ecuador,
again has bowls and anthropomorphic urns. The urns
have relief features, but the limbs are modeled as sepa-
rate appendages and are banded in a fashion suggesting
ligatures (Plate 26). The decoration combines broad
incisions with black, red, and white polychrome paint-
ing to form patterns of alternating broad and narrow
lines. In brief, these three Amazonian sites all have ef-

The Setting 39

figy urns with covers decorated in somewhat similar
patterns in relief, modeling, polychrome painting, and
broad line incision.

At Santarem, at the junction of the Tapajoz and the
Amazon, the style of ceramics is quite different. ‘There
are many variations on the basic shapes of open bowls,
open mouth jars, and constricted neck vessels. Many
ceramics are painted; another type is so elaborated with
modeled lugs and other appended elements that it can
be called the most bizarre pottery of South America
(Fig. 3). A few, possibly older pieces, more simply mod-
eled are geometrically painted, either black on red, red
on buff or black and red on white. Most of the material
seems to be more recent than the efhgy urn group de-
scribed above. Anthropomorphic urns continued to be
made well into the historic period, as illustrated by
those found with glass bead bracelets at the site of
Maraca in the Brazilian Guianas. At Mojos, in the east-
ern Bolivian tropics, stratified habitation mounds have
been excavated. The earlier levels contain polychrome
painted ceramics, but no urns; tripod urns painted in a
manner suggestive of the Amazon efiigy urn group are
found in the later levels.

These ceramic features suggest that the older cul-
tures were more highly developed in that regard than
are the Modem Agriculturists. At the mouth of the
Amazon the elaborately decorated Marajoara material
(Plate 3) is intrusive. It appears suddenly, fully devel-
oped and ends abruptly. Beneath it are types of simple
ceramics and traits which imply that the culture of the
Modern Agriculturists derives from this older stock and
not from the Marajoara or the Tapajo. ‘The latter has
not been fully investigated.

This raises the questions of the origin and fate of the
intrusive elements. The area is so vast, the problems of
recovery so difficult that the answers may not all be
found for some time. The marked stylistic connection

ee ere ea epte ie

= Te
— ae

Sag aft
ee fy al fi i<ao ot,
= Seg
54 pte Kt.
pe

Fic. 3. Santarem vessels and figure urn from Maraca.
Courtesy of Belem Museum (Santarem) and Museo
Nacional, Rio de Janeiro.

The Setting 41

between the Marajoara and Rio Napo material led to
field-work in the latter region. ‘This showed a strong,
direct connection even though the areas are eighteen
hundred miles apart. Certain Marajoara elements are
lacking and are assumed to have developed at some
intermediate point within the Amazon basin.

Sites near Pucallpa on the Ucayali yield evidence of
occupation of some depth. In a succession of changes
in the ceramic sequence the strongest connections are
with early material found at Valdivia in the Province
of Guayas, Ecuador, and to a much lesser degree with
Marajoara. ‘These similarities occur in the second
Ucayali horizon.

ANDEAN FARMERS

The third major South American culture pattern was
based on intensive sedentary agriculture. The pattern
was distributed throughout most parts of the Andes, or,
in terms of modern political divisions, the highlands of
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia; the coast of Ec-
uador and Peru; northwest Argentina; and north and
central Chile. All of this area, except Colombia, formed
part of the Inca Empire when it was conquered by the
Spaniards in 1532, which accounts for some of the cul-
tural uniformity. However, the Inca held this region
only a short time and there is considerable evidence
that the basic Andean pattern had prevailed long be-
fore.

In many countries, the names of outstanding pre-
Inca tribes were recorded. The Chibcha, the most ad-
vanced tribe in Colombia, were limited in distribution
to the Departments of Cundinamarca and Boyaca,
roughly around modern Bogota. Elsewhere the Colom-
bian highlands were occupied by many small tribes, of
which the best known were the Tairona of the Santa

42 Andean Culture History

Marta Mountains and the Ouimbaya, Lile, and Coco-
nuco of the Cauca Valley. Each major basin of the Ec-
uadorian highlands was dominated by a single tribe,
named, from north to south, Pasto, Cara, Panzaleo,
Puruha, Cafiari, and Palta. The Esmeralda, Manta, and
Puna occupied the coastal plains. The pre-Inca cultures
in Peru and Bolivia will be discussed in detail, in terms
of their archaeological remains, in the second section
of this volume. North Chile was held by the Ataca-
meio, while Northwest Argentina was divided between
the Humahuaca and the Diaguita. The Araucanians
once occupied the whole Central Valley of Chile, but
were forced southward by the Inca invaders. The Arau-
canians deviated considerably from the Andean Farm-
ers pattern and were in many ways equally close to the
Southern Hunters.

The Andean Farmers based their subsistence on in-
tensive agriculture; hunting, fishing, and gathering
were definitely secondary activities. Agriculture was
both a male and female occupation. The major teli-
gious ceremonies and rituals concerned the agricultural
cycle. The principal domesticated plants were distrib-
uted to their full climatic limits within the area wher-
ever they could possibly be grown. Most important
were maize, beans, squash, potatoes, quinoa, sweet po-
tatoes, manioc, peanuts, cotton, peppers, tobacco, and
coca. The agricultural implements were simple: a dig-
ging-stick, with or without a metal point, a hoe, and a
club with a stone head for breaking up clods. In spite
of these simple tools, technical knowledge of planting
and cultivating was well advanced. Fields were system-
atically irrigated; most groups not only used fertilizers,
but understood the virtues of crop rotation and allow-
ing land to lie fallow. Terraces were built to utilize
hillsides and to prevent erosion. This agricultural
knowledge was shared by the total population and was
not the property of a few specialists.

The Setting 43

Everywhere food preservation and storage were im-
portant. Drying and freezing were the principal meth-
ods of preservation, and special granaries were built for
storage. Foods were prepared by boiling, toasting, roast-
ing, and baking in underground ovens. Corn was fer-
mented for a mild beer called chicha. In areas where
_the narcotic coca was chewed with lime, tobacco was
of secondary importance and was used more like a
medicine. Elsewhere it was smoked in pipes or taken
through nose tubes as snuff. In the Central Andes,
Northwest Argentina, and northern Chile, herding was
second only to agriculture in importance. ‘The domesti-
cated llama and alpaca added greatly to the total econ-
omy of these people.

The crafts were advanced. The potters made utili-
tarian cooking jars, bowls, plates, and water jars for
daily use, as well as elaborately decorated vessels for
ceremonials and burial. Both men and women shared
the work of weaving their garments on simple looms.
Both cotton and wool were employed. A distinction
was maintained between clothing for common wear and
the superlative cloth woven for ceremonial and mor-
tuary purposes. Utilitarian tools and fine ornaments
were made of gold, silver, copper, and tin as well as
combinations of these metals in a variety of techniques,
such as hollow casting, soldering, filigree, and gilding.
Other craft skills were devoted to basketry, woodwork,
the decoration of calabashes, and the manufacture of
numerous artifacts of stone, shell, and bone. In gen-
eral, each family produced its own utilitarian articles,
but more skilled craft work was in the hands of spe-
cialists. Villages as well as individuals might specialize
and exchange the products of their skills. In some
places, fixed markets were established.

All clothing was loom woven. The standard male cos-
tume consisted of a breechclout, belt, slit neck shirt,
shawl, and headband. The women wore a wrap-around

44 Andean Culture History

garment secured at the waist by a belt, a headband,
and a shoulder shawl. Woven bags with carrying straps
were a constant part of the costume. More elaborate
costumes were made for religious and ceremonial oc-
casions and for interment. Body painting, tattooing,
skull deformation, earplugs, noseplugs, necklaces, and
many other types of ornaments were elaborated and
often distinguished people of different rank, profession,
or tribe.

On the whole, water transportation was only slightly
developed. Simple rafts and reed balsas were used on
Lake Titicaca and on the coast of Peru; more elaborate
rafts were built on the north coast of Ecuador. The
Araucanians were exceptions, and made large dugouts
and plank canoes. Elsewhere, more attention was paid
to land travel, on foot, and with llamas and alpacas as
transport animals. The widespread Inca Empire was
united by a network of roads, bridges, and wayside
inns for the traveler.

Intensive agriculture resulted in a relatively stabilized
food economy and the consequent support of large
permanent populations. Houses were built accordingly.
In the Central Andes the commonest building mate-
tials were sunbaked adobe and stone. The tribes of Ec-
uador and Colombia constructed round frame houses
with conical thatched roofs. The side walls were either
of stone or lined with clay. Plank houses were built by
the Araucanians in Chile. The village which consisted
of a number of houses formed an important social and
cooperative labor unit and often held title to the real
property. Each village had a chief or headman, and
usually its own religious cult. The households repre-
sented several closely related families who were united
as a village by affiliations of residence alone. ‘The An-
dean Farmers pattern was characterized by political
organization of the village units. The complexity of this
political superstructure varied: in many places it as-

The Setting 45

sumed the form of a confederacy and among the Inca
it became a true state or empire. Both within the village
and in the political superstructure class distinctions
were marked, were based on wealth and leadership, and
tended to crystallize into true caste systems.

Warfare was well organized. ‘The military leaders were

-also political figures, and the warriors constituted a

specialized class. ‘The spear-thrower, spear, club, sling,
and shield were basic weapons; the bow and arrows
and the bolas were of secondary importance. The war
tactics involved the use of spies, blockades, storming,
and formation fighting. Many villages were fortified
and special forts and places of refuge were built.
Events in the life crises of the individual, birth, pu-
berty, and marriage, were usually family affairs with lit-
tle public ceremony. Death, however, involved consid-
erable public ritual in the preparation of the corpse,
the tomb, and the grave equipment. In part this was
associated with the widespread practice of ancestor
worship. Other public ceremonials were correlated with
the calendrical agricultural cycle and were conducted by
specialized priests. Medicinemen, as distinguished from
priests, confined their practices to individuals and did
not participate in the great public ceremonials. The
priests were the interpreters of the formalized religion
and the leaders of specialized cults. Religious centers
and temples were constructed. The gods were arranged
in a hierarchy and surrounded with specific ceremonies.
The Araucanians were the exception to this formalized
religious pattern; among them animistic beliefs, sorcer-
ers, and medicinemen were of paramount importance.
This basic pattern existed throughout the Andean
area, although in varying degrees of elaboration, since
its intensity depended in large part on the availability
of large areas suitable for wide scale agriculture. ‘The
European conquest initiated profound changes, elimi-
nating, displacing, or absorbing some groups, radically

46 Andean Culture History

modifying the cultures of all others. The modern In-
dian population, judged culturally as well as physically,
is concentrated in certain areas. The Quechua-speak-
ing Indians, descendants of the Inca, live in the high-
lands of Ecuador, Peru, and eastern Bolivia. Around
Lake ‘Titicaca are the Aymara, who successfully resisted
both Inca and Spanish absorption. ‘The Araucanians
survive in the extreme southern part of the Central
Chile Valley. Elsewhere the Indian cultures have been
largely eliminated, although a few small groups of minor
significance are still extant. The Indian of the past is
rapidly becoming the Mestizo of today, mixed both in
blood and in culture.

The Andean Farmers pattern is demonstrably old in
the Central Andes, where sufficient archaeological work
has been done to furnish the data for an historical re-
construction of development from its earliest begin-
nings to its culmination in the Inca Empire. Outside
of the Central Andes the evidence for antiquity is less
satisfactory, due in part to the limited amount of tre-
corded excavation. ‘The Central Andean cultures seem
to have been united for many centuries. Elsewhere,
there was apparently greater cultural diversity. ‘This may
be clarified in a brief review of the outstanding archae-
ological finds beyond the boundaries of the Central An-
dean region. These archaeological finds are presented
in terms of the major geographical divisions: the North-
ern Andes, which covers Colombia and Ecuador; and
the Southern Andes, which includes Northwest Ar-
gentina and Chile.

The Setting 47

NORTHERN ANDEAN ARCHAEOLOGY

COLOMBIA

Although the western mountainous section of Co-
lombia is extensive, it contains only a few regions suit-
able for the intensive development of the Andean
Farmers pattern. The best terrain with cultivable soil
and adequate rainfall is the high plateau of the De-
partments of Cundinamarca and Boyaca where the
Chibcha achieved their significant cultural develop-
ment. Elsewhere appropriate flat lands and intermont
basins are relatively small, with the exception of the
Cauca Valley flats which in early times were too
swampy or too grass-covered to be utilized by Indian
farmers. The archaeological records demonstrate that
the full Andean pattern crystallized late and principally
in the Chibcha region. The small mountain areas de-
veloped local cultures which were comparatively iso-
lated and had little influence on each other. At least
we have no evidence for widespread organization or for
any great cultural overlap from one region to another.

The Colombian cultures are in some ways similar to
those of the Tropical Agriculturists. Slash and burn
clearing was practiced; the circular houses were of frame
construction; secondary burial in effigy urns was wide-
spread; leg ligatures were worn; and four-legged wooden
stools were used. However, the Colombian cultures are
distinguishable from those of the Amazon in their great
emphasis on agriculture and in their craft skills in met-
allurgy, ceramics, and weaving (Plate 4). Moreover, in
view of the extremely limited amount of scientific ar-
chaeological work, it is premature to draw conclusions.
Many areas have never been investigated and others are
known only through undocumented collections. Conse-

48 Andean Culture History

quently, the archaeology must still be described in
terms of the major geographic zones which present dis-
tinctive local styles. ‘The evidence for arranging these
zones and styles in any chronological order is largely
conjectural. |

The Chibcha civilization, in its advanced develop-
ment, is frequently classified with the Inca and Aztec.
Its builders occupied the most favorable plateau in Co-
lombia. It is in this area, then, that one would antici-
pate discovering the most elaborate archaeological re-
mains and the best evidence for the antiquity of the
pattern. As yet, however, the archaeology is disappoint-
ing. Large village sites have not been discovered, al-
though there are some circles of upright stones outlin-
ing the foundations of conical houses. Chibcha burials
are in simple pits, either with or without stone slab
covers, or in dry caves. ‘The ceramics are not very well
made. The principal shapes are ollas, pedestal bowls,
and jars with either short or tall collars decorated with
painted or relief faces and figures. However, most of the
vessels are decorated with simple geometric designs ex-
ecuted by painting, incision, punch, appliqué, and,
more rarely, relief. There are also elaborately decorated
clay figurines, incised whorls, efhgy ocarinas, clay pipes,
and carved stamps. A few pieces of cotton shawls with
painted and some warp pattern designs have been
found in dry caves. These have loom widths in excess
of fifty inches and show a curious multiple bobbin
handling of the weft. The goldwork, to which the style
term “Muisca” is now applied, has a rough surface un-
like most other Colombian gold. Seemingly made of
sheet metal, with soldered wire details, it is actually all
cast reproduction of wax originals. Two examples of
such work are shown (Plate 5, top row, right). The col-
lections also contain many utilitarian artifacts, such as
stone axes, celts, and grindstones as well as wooden
stools, lances, and spear-throwers. Although all of this

The Setting 49

material is pre-Spanish, it does not imply any great an-
tiquity for the Chibcha culture.

The isolated mountain range of Santa Marta in
northeastern Colombia was the center of the ‘Tairona
culture. This region is the best known scientifically,
but the large collections have not been temporally sub-
divided although they are all believed to be pre-Span-
ish. Some of the Tairona sites are large villages with a
great deal of above-ground stone construction. ‘The
stone masonry includes both rough stone and carefully
dressed and fitted blocks. Ring house platforms lined
with single or double rows of stone are typical. The
houses have two entrances approached by stone slab
steps. Other stone building features are faced terraces,
long stairways, paved roads, slab bridges, and lined res-
ervoir pits. A village consists of a number of ring houses
surrounded by paths, terraces, stairs, and reservoirs.
Most burials were in simple pits or in large urns, but a
few were in stone-lined boxes or in dressed stone burial
vaults. There are two major types of ceramics; thick
redware plates, bowls, and jars with appliquéd design;
thin incised blackware annular base open bowls, cups,
double spout vessels, tetrapod jars, stirrup spouts, and
modeled effigy vessels. Tall cylindrical “treasure” jars
with fitted clay covers are also characteristic. Rarely do
these have polychrome painted designs. Tairona col-
lections abound in small] artifacts. These include clay
toys, rattles, cylindrical stamps, ocarinas, whistles, and
small modeled figures, but, interestingly, no spindle
whorls. Among the numerous stone artifacts are utili-
tarian metates, manos, mortars, and pestles, as well as
better finished polished axes, incised batons, winged
pendants, and many types of beads. Jade was used to
some extent. Incised and carved objects of bone and
shell are also characteristic. Beads, rings, and pendants
were also made of gold, copper, and tumbaga. The
Tairona culture had certainly achieved a reasonable

50 Andean Culture History

complexity, but again evidence for antiquity is lacking.

The hills on both sides of the Upper Cauca Valley,
roughly between Cali and Popayan, are dotted with
small scattered house sites, again dated as pre-Spanish.
The house platforms are simple cut-out earth terraces
with a thin refuse deposit, indicating only a brief oc
cupation. Graves are found in or near the houses. A
typical grave has a square or round shaft about one
meter in diameter and some two meters deep, and a
hollow side chamber entered through a slab-covered
window door. Several extended burials and as many as
two hundred pots may be found in a single grave. The
pots, mainly open bowls, pedestal jars, ollas, and con-
stricted mouth vessels with conical bases, seem to have
been made especially for burial. They have a red slip,
but no painted designs. Decoration is by incision,
punch, crude scoring, and simple appliqué. Other as-
sociated artifacts are clay spindle whorls and gold nose-
plugs.

The Chibcha and Tairona cultures present some evi-
dence of complexity. Other Late period sites are similar
to those of the Upper Cauca, without evidence of con-
centrated population, large settlements, or great com-
plexity. Because of certain stylistic analogies with Ec-
uador and Peru, the Narifio and Quimbaya cultures
seem to be slightly earlier in time than the Late period
cultures described above. In gross comparative terms
these cultures may be classed as Middle period in Co-
lombia.

The Narifio sites are in the Narifio Department
along the Ecuadorian border at the headwaters of the
Cauca River. No surface ruins are known, but there are
both short and deep shaft graves that contain both di
rect and crude um burials. The main ceramic shapes
are variants of ollas, plates, and annular base bowls, all
decorated in two-color positive, or, commonly, in resist
negative decoration. Positive designs were applied di-

EE

The Setting 51

rectly before firing. Negative ones were formed after
firing by using a resistant coat of liquid clay to protect
certain areas from a subsequent over-all deposit of car-
bon. Most designs are carelessly applied broad line geo-
metric figures, but there are some animal motifs. Among
the typical associated artifacts are clay ocarinas, spindle
‘whorls, and whistles; stone chisels, celts, T-shaped
axes, pounders, and grindstones; and some simple gold
discs and plaques.

‘The Quimbaya sites are located in the Departments
of Antioquia and Caldas in the Central Cauca Valley.
The large Quimbaya ceramic collections include a great
variety of materials which may eventually be tempo-
tally subdivided. The most typical pottery shapes are
double jars, modeled containers, double spout vessels,
whistling jars, tripod and tetrapod vessels, annular base
bowls, tall shoulder jars, and many open bowls and
ollas. ‘hese vessels are decorated in fired red and white
positive painting, resist negative decoration, and may
also have modeling, incision, and excision in which the
background is cut away to produce a relief design. ‘The
designs are generally simple geometric patterns. Seated
and standing clay figurines, incised whorls, and a vari-
ety of decorated clay stamps are also common. Stone-
work is abundantly represented by celts, ‘T-shaped axes,
beads, and grindstones. The Quimbaya culture is best
known for its metal work in gold and tumbaga, a com-
bination of gold and copper. The objects demonstrate
great technical skill in solid and hollow casting, cast
filigree, cutouts, and repoussé. Most of the gold was
worked into ormaments, such as nose rings, breast
plates, bells, and bracelets, but this metal was also fash-
ioned into hollow jars, bottles, and figurines (Plate 5).
There are gold masks for burials, and solid scepters,
decorated by bands of metal of different composition.
Although distinctive in many details, both the Ouim-
baya and Narifio cultures share such features as deep

52 Andean Culture History

shaft and chamber graves, annular base vessels, and par-
ticularly two and three-color resist negative painting.
These features also serve to link them with the middle
periods of Ecuador.

Between the Upper Cauca and Magdalena rivers lie
sites of the Tierradentro culture which is also classed
with the Middle periods, although it may be slightly
earlier than the Ouimbaya and Narifio. Tierradentro
culture is distinguished by elaborate painted subterra-
nean tombs excavated directly into the soft rock of the
area. A spiral stairway enters the main arched chamber
which may have one or more central columns and a
series of cut-out side niches. ‘The walls and ceiling are
decorated with high relief figures and with an over-all
black, white, red painted geometric design. Broken pot-
tery covers the floors but, nevertheless, the chambers
seem to have been intended for burial rather than habi-
tation. ‘The ceramic fragments represent several styles:
blackware, black-on-red painted, and incised red. Most
distinctive, however, are fragments of large vessels with
telief serpentine bands decorated with deep incised
lines and punctations filled with a white paste. Some of
these serpent-like bands end in high relief snake heads.
Two crude statues were found in one of these tombs;
otherwise the stone artifacts are limited to polished
axes, chisels, grindstones, and beads. Gold is the only
metal yet found.

The rolling forest-covered hills at the headwaters of
the Magdalena River do not appear to be a favorable
region either for the support of a large population or
for the development of an advanced culture. Yet here
are found the San Agustin stone carvings and temples
that represent the earliest known remains in Colombia.
San Agustin is a general designation for a series of sites
in this rather extensive area. Some of the sites consist
of large artificial mounds containing stone-lined and
covered temples and carved idols. The slabs are not well

The Setting 53

dressed; some are painted in geometric design. Other
sites have isolated, slab-lined tombs, some of which
contain monolithic coffins. All structures seem to have
been of a religious nature. San Agustin is famed for its
stone carvings of which over three hundred have been
found. These include bas reliefs on large boulders, cy-
lindrical stones with sculptured heads, carved animal
figures, elaborately carved base rock in stream beds, and
many statues, some human and some anthropomorphic
(Plate 6). The carved figures are depicted as wearing
headbands, omaments, simple clothing, and holding
some object in the hands. The sculpture is well exe-
cuted and highly varied, especially in details. Some carv-
ings are found in the temples; others in isolated spots
were possibly intended as grave markers. Grave accom-
paniment is limited. The ceramics are simple clay
bowls, plates, pedestal jars, and tripod vessels, charac-
terized by body angularity and great rim variation. Most
vessels are monochrome, but on a few, geometric de-
signs are executed in positive and resist painting, in-
cision, and punch. Other artifacts include plain spindle
whorls, simple gold ornaments, stone axes, mortars,
pestles, and stone cutting tools.

In spite of the carvings, there is scant evidence in
Colombia for any great elaboration of the Andean
Farmers pattern until relatively late times. The local
cultures of each region show little relationship to those
of neighboring regions.

ECUADOR

Ecuador has been investigated more thoroughly than
Colombia, although there are still many untouched
areas. The evidence thus far assembled indicates that
the Andean Farmers pattern was well established in
both the highlands and the coast and also that it has a
respectable antiquity in some sections. The highlands

54 Andean Culture History

are dominated by two parallel mountain ranges, be-
tween which lie ten large intermont basins with suf-
ficiently rich soils and adequate rainfall for the support
of intensive agriculture. The coastal plains vary from

=
=
=

7

abreel}
ihmntea

YAU

Ly
POM TE
ivan

int 5

Fic. 4. Types of Ecuadorean pottery.

————aEE———————E——oorrreerereaaeeeesS Sl —

The Setting 55

tropics in the north to desert in the south, but all sec-
tions present remains of higher civilization, at least
from the immediate pre-Spanish periods. However, sig-
nificant period names have not been established, except
in a few places, and it is still impossible to set up com-
parable sequences for the whole country. Consequently,
a review must follow the major geographic divisions.

A Far North Highlands unit is represented in the
basin of Tulcan in Carchi Province, actually the south-
erm extension of Narifio, Colombia. Most of the archae-
ological finds are virtually identical with those previ-
ously described for the Narifio culture, although some
Inca materials are known in this basin. The similarities
occur in ceramic shapes and design, in gold work, and
even in the deep shaft type of tomb. In Ecuador, as
in Colombia, there is no evidence of any great antiquity
for these finds. Apart from the graves and their con-
tents, there are also circular house foundations with
thick earth walls, arranged in village clusters. The roofs
were probably of the conical frame and thatch type.

The basins of Ibarra and Quito in the provinces of
Imbabura and Pichincha are closely united physically
and culturally as a North Highlands unit distinguished
by large earthen mounds. Some of these were for
burials, others were foundations for houses or temples.
The three commonest shapes are circular, elliptical, and
squared pyramidal. The mounds contain pottery and
fragments in considerable quantity, but none is par-
ticularly distinctive. Local archaeologists recognize
three major culture periods: the first with burial
mounds; the second lacking mounds, but with burial in
direct pits; and the third with habitation and temple
mounds.

The Central Highlands unit includes the basins of
Riobamba and Alausi in the provinces of Chimborazo,
Tungurahua, and Alausi. Here seven periods have been
established, the longest known sequence for Ecuador.

56 Andean Culture History

The Early period, which includes Proto-Panzaleo I and
II, has house foundations built of rough stones set in
mud, circular pit graves, and simple bowls, jars, pedestal
base and tripod vessels. Ceramic designs are geometric
and executed by incision, red and black positive, and
two-color negative painting. A knowledge of agriculture
is demonstrated by finds of maize, stone metates and
manos. Llama bones are also associated. The Middle
period, called Tuncahuan, is characterized by pedestal
bowls and other shapes decorated in three-color nega-
tive painting similar to the Far North Highlands and
Narifio in Colombia. The Late periods, called collec-
tively, Puruha, have three subdivisions, namely Guano,
Elen Pata, and Huavalac, and are again associated with
stone house foundations. The ceramics continue the
traditions of the Early period, particularly the empha-
sis On incision and two-color negative painting. Ap-
pliqué design, however, is far more common in this
period. Large face collar jars with textile-like patterns
in two-color negative are characteristic. Metal work in
gold and copper is found. Finally, the Inca Period ter-
minates the sequence. This Central Highland chron-
ology is a key series for Ecuador. With the exception
of the Tuncahuan interruption, it seems to represent
a continuous development, although possibly not of too
extensive a time duration.

The large Cuenca basin covers the provinces of
Cafiar and Azuay and forms the South Highland unit.
All the important surface ruins have been assigned to
the Inca Period. An earlier occupation is, however, rep-
resented by many small habitation sites, and some re-
markable grave finds with hammered gold plaques and
ceremonial weapons, not clearly assignable to any
period. The pre-Inca habitation refuse represents two
major periods, Early and Late Cerro Narrio, and it
seems likely that both of these will be subdivided when
additional data are available. The Early Cerro Nartrio

:

The Setting 57

is characterized by red-on-buff painted wares and by
polished redwares with engraving and low relief. ‘The
late period is, in part, a continuation of the early pe-
riod, but is associated with various intrusive styles, in-
cluding painted clay drums. Again, great antiquity has
not been established for this sequence.

Although Esmeraldas Province on the tropical north
coast of Ecuador does not seem environmentally favor-
able to higher cultures, numerous earth mounds con-
taining ceremonial artifacts have been reported. No
time sequence has been established, nor can the ma-
terials be accurately placed in any comparative chronol-
ogy. Treasure hunters have systematically looted the
mounds, searching for the amazingly fine and techni-
cally varied miniature gold objects. Copper discs or
gongs with high relief, socketed axes, and hollow bells
have also been found. Esmeraldas is noted for its small
beautifully modeled figurines with detailed appliqué
and incised designs and elaborate headdresses. Also
common are clay roller stamps with carved curvilinear
designs. No stone statues were made, but many axes,
ring stones, polishers, and grinders have been found.
The ceramic shapes include many types of ollas, wide-
mouthed open bowls, and a variety of miniature
vessels. Some are plain; others are covered with red
slips or decorated by incision, modeling, and appliqué.
One modeled vessel represents a frame house with a
sway-backed thatched roof.

Manabi Province marks the coastal transition zone
between tropics and desert. Surface ruins of stone-
faced platform mounds and clusters of house walls are
numerous. However, Manabi is most famed for its
stonework, including unique U-shaped stone seats
(Fig. 5) which rest on crouching human or animal
figures, flat slabs with low relief, stone columns, and
crude stone statues. Urn burial is also a feature. The
ceramic forms comprise ollas, open bowls with annular

58 Andean Culture History

bases, tripod vessels, double-spout jars, and many
others. ‘The designs are varied, ranging from rough and
fine line geometric incision, negative decoration on
plain and two-color ware, red-on-buff and three-color
polychrome, appliqué, to modeled lugs. Clay figurines
are numerous and beautifully modeled. Flat carved
stamps and incised whorls are also common. The varied

Fic. 5. Stone seat from Manabi, Ecuador.

ceramic collection suggests more than one time period,
but, as yet, significant subdivisions have not been
established.

Archaeological work elsewhere in Ecuador is in its
infancy. The total picture is one of local complexities
and certain antiquity, but still quite distinct from the
Central Andes. Some pre-Inca influences from Peru
can be traced, but these are generalized rather than
specific; there are an equal number of parallels with
Colombia. Considered in its entirety the archaeology
of Ecuador appears diversified rather than unified; on

OO EEO Oe

The Setting 59

the basis of present evidence an over-all developmental
sequence cannot be established.

SOUTHERN ANDEAN ARCHAEOLOGY

The Southern Andes include Northwest Argentina
on the east and Chile on the west. ‘That this area,
like Ecuador in the north, was ultimately incorporated
in the expanding Inca Empire is readily confirmed by
numerous archaeological remains. Two main branches
of the Inca road system are known, one through North-
west Argentina, the other along the Pacific coast. In
Argentina the roads are outlined by rows of stones, and,
at regular intervals, clusters of small stone rooms and
corrals represent the old rest houses which served the
traveler. Large forts are identified as Inca through the
associated ceramics. The fortified sites have rough stone
room divisions with such typical Inca features as cor-
beled arches and wall niches. More frequent are mixed
sites, such as La Paya in Salta Province, in which local
styles are combined with Inca derived designs. Other
common Inca artifacts are lacquered wooden keros,
bronze knives, stellate stone maces, and slit bells.
Many finds of the pre-Inca periods parallel, in a sense,
the developments in the Central Andes, but with a
distinctive orientation. Again, in spite of the extensive
archaeological investigation, a great antiquity has not
been established.

NORTHWEST ARGENTINA

Many sites in the Argentine Department of Jujuy
reveal Inca influence; as many again are slightly pre-
Inca. Among the former, particularly in the high puna
which marks the Chilean border, the Inca, and even
Colonial materials, are associated with a complex of

60 Andean Culture History

wooden artifacts identified as the residue of the
Atacamefio ‘culture. Characteristic types are wooden
bells, toggles, knives, whorls, bows, arrows, tubes, and
carved snuff tablets. However, the remains of an ex-
tensive pre-Inca culture, the Humahuaca, are found in
the larger basins and valleys. Stone-faced agricultural
terraces are numerous; villages are large and often
dominated by fortresses on the higher peaks. The
houses are rectangular, with stone walls but without
niches. The roofs were made of perishable materials.
There are also carefully built subterranean granaries.
The burials in unlined pits or in stone-lined tombs
contain prepared trophy skulls as well as many artifacts.
Ceramics are represented by open bowls, goblets, cups,
and ollas painted in black-on-red geometric designs.
A few vessels have slight modeling or appliqué features.
Gold, copper, and wooden artifacts are also common.
The remains of the Humahuaca culture are widespread
in this area, but do not extend farther south, nor, for
that matter, are there any remains of the southern
Calchaqui culture in Jujuy. A few finds seem to ante-
date Humahuaca somewhat, but none of these is
sufficiently well identified to be designated as a separate
period.

The other inhabitable basins of Northwest Argen-
tina are found in the Departments of Salta, Tucuman,
Catamarca, La Rioja, and San Juan. Here the first
major pre-Inca period, called Calchaqui (or Diaguita),
presents remains of large populations, extensive irriga-
tion systems, stone-lined agricultural terraces, and
sizable villages. The buildings have rough stone walls,
rectangular or circular groundplans, and roofs of perish-
able materials. Clusters of such rooms are arranged
irregularly along narrow streets. Some rooms contain
geometrically carved stone columns, which, although
not statues, seem to mark religious centers. A fort 1s
generally found on some high point near the village.

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[2] Artifacts of oldest known coastal culture from northern Chile.
A, harpoon forepiece, points, and barbs; B, stone scraping tools;
C, stone knife; D, choppers (?); E, stone, bone, and shell composite
fishhooks and barbs; F, thorn and shell hooks; G, stages in making
shell hooks and the tools used; H, stone bowl.

a

10n.

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ted, excised, and incise

ing pain

o,f

_ [3] Marajé pottery show

[4] Prehistoric ceramics from Colombia. A, B, D, G, Quimbaya;
FE, Santa Marta; F, Sinu; C, mosquito efhgy urn.

[6] San Agustin stone carving.

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SEM PUR JIT} 199j Sb st uapprur ayy, “AdT[BA, PUILOITYS)
Se orumera901d e ut UOTFBAROXS wasn UROHOUTY [L]

[8] Cultist Period ceramic types. Courtesy of Rafael Larco Hoyle,
except upper right.

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[10] Cultist Period goldwork from Chongoyape and bone artifacts
from Chicama. Courtesy of Museum of the American Indian, Heye
Foundation; bone, Courtesy of Rafael Larco Hoyle.

[11] Building and carving of the Cultist Period. Upper left, mod-
eled clay, Moxeke, Courtesy of Donald Collier; lower left, Cerro
Sechin; others, Chavin de Huantar.

,
YY ae

[12] Chiripa ceramics and house site, Experimenter Period.

[13] Salinar ceramics of the Experimenter Period. Courtesy of
Rafael Larco Hoyle, except upper left.

a

ee a ee ee ee

oo

[14] Resin painted and incised ceramics, Ica-Paracas wares. B, F, I
show strong Chavin influence; A, C, D show less pronounced
Chavin influence; E, G, H, Paracas Cavernas types.

[15] Pucara style stone carving of the Mastercraftsman Period.
Courtesy of Museo Nacional, Lima.

[16] Gold objects from a Paracas mummy bundle of the Master-
craftsman Period.

[17] Varieties of Mochica pottery of the Mastercraftsman Period.

[18] Nazca style ceramics of the Mastercraftsman Period.

The Setting 61

The Calchaqui adult burials are in oval or round
stone-lined and covered graves, but infants and chil-
dren are more generally buried in urns. In fact, child
urn cemeteries are a characteristic feature of this cul-
ture. Large painted urns are the most typical ceramic
form. The commonest is in the Santa Maria style, so
named after the type site. It has a short body with
two horizontal handles, a wide neck, and a flaring rim.
The exterior is painted in black and red on a white or
yellowish slip base. The collar is decorated with a face,
arms are painted on the body, and the rest of the vessel
is covered with geometric steps, scrolls, or serrated lines,
or with designs of ostriches, toads, jaguars, birds, and
snakes. Several variants of this Santa Maria urn type,
such as the Belém and San José types, have a different
geographical distribution suggesting local cultures.
Additional Calchaqui ceramic shapes are shoe-shaped
vessels, ollas, and open bowls, called pucos. ‘These
vessels may be plain or painted in the animal or geo-
metric designs found on the urns. Copper, bronze, and
gold are represented by decorated breast plates, relief
plaques, curved knives, daggers, and knuckle dusters.
The stone artifacts are not very numerous; the few
preserved wooden pieces resemble the Atacamefio
examples.

The Calchaqui culture seems to correspond roughly
to the Tiahuanaco time horizon in the Central Andes.
Several earlier cultures have been found in Northwest
Argentina; of these, Barreales is outstanding. In this
culture, houses are built of adobe or of rough stone and
the burials are in unlined pit graves. The associated
ceramics present two contrasting styles: a black or
brown monochrome incised series of one-handled cups,
pitchers, and vases, decorated with geometric, human,
and animal figures; and a polychrome group in black,
maroon, and violet, in which semi-globular vessels,
goblets, and cups are decorated with a stylized curvi-

62 Andean Culture History

linear jaguar. The name “Draconian” given this style
refers to the jaguar or dragon. Other distinctive artifacts
of the Barreales culture are stone arrowpoints, mortars,
pestles, and particularly carved stone bowls; clay pipes
with relief modeled faces and hollow clay figurines;
gold and copper objects; and bone flutes, spatulas, and
whorls. The Barreales culture is found largely in the
Departments of Catamarca, La Rioja, and San Juan.
North of this area it is replaced by La Candelaria cul-
ture, which is thus far represented by large, conical
plain urns, a few polychrome pots, and some black
incised vessels not very different from the Barreales
style. Although the Northwest Argentine cultures have
often been compared with those of Peru, the parallels
are general, not specific. At present it is advisable to
consider Northwest Argentina as a distinct culture
area which reflects the Central Andean development,
but is not a part of it.

CHILE

On the western slopes of the Andes, Chile can also
be culturally separated into a northern and central re-
gion. The northern region, the Atacama desert, one
of the driest in the world, has always had a limited
occupation. Small fishing groups existed on the coast,
but in the interior the only sizable habitable oasis is
Calama on the Rio Loa. This oasis was the center of
the Atacamefio culture which is characterized by sim-
plicity and by an emphasis on llama herding as a
supplement to agriculture. The villages consisted of
clusters of rough stone rectangular houses arranged
along irregular streets. Mummies are well preserved in
this dry climate and are found in cylindrical crypts.
The ceramics are characterized by open bowls, shoe-
shaped vessels, ollas, one-handled pitchers, and con-
tainers with truncated conical bases, constricted necks,

ee ee ———

The Setting 63

and two side handles. Most of the vessels are plain,
but some are painted in black-on-red, or black, red-on-
white simple geometric designs. Wooden artifacts are
abundant. The inventory includes carved tubes and
tablets for snuff (Fig. 6), crude wooden knives, shov-

Fic. 6. Tablets and tube for mixing and inhaling snuff,
Atacamefio, North Chile.

els, bells, whorls, boxes, toggles, spoons, and goblets.
Leather was used for making bags and armor. There
are also coiled baskets, decorated calabashes, rather
good weaving, and copper and gold objects. The
Atacamefio culture compares favorably with the Cen-
tral Andean development, but its extreme simplicity,
as well as the absence of scientific reports, makes it
dificult to identify precise parallels. Furthermore, not
only its subdivisions but the time range of Atacamefio
culture is yet to be established. For example, ‘Tiahuan-
aco type burials have been found in Calama, but
whether these represent a distinct cultural occupation
or whether they are contemporary with or earlier than
Atacamefio has not yet been determined.

64 Andean Culture History

At Pichalo on the North Coast, a pre-Atacamejio
culture has been isolated. It is characterized by simple,
thick rimmed open bowls in monochrome black, brown,
or red. Coiled baskets, rush mats, feather fans, and a
variety of textiles are also associated. Many of the arti-
facts, such as stone scrapers, drills, sinkers, bone har-
poons, and spear-throwers, are survivals of the earlier
fishing pattern, but domesticated plants are also pres-
ent. The burials are flexed, wrapped in mats, and placed
in direct graves. The similarity of Pichalo to the Early
Farmer cultures in the Central Andes is noticeable,
but it lacks the definitive Chavin style and a truly com-
parable chronological position. The two preceramic
fishing cultures of the north Chilean coast have already
been mentioned in the discussion of Early Migrants.
Certainly this area has a considerable cultural antiquity
as well as a long range of cultural development, the
importance of which still needs amplification by ad-
ditional archaeological work.

Farther south, around Coquimbo, are the remnants
of the Chilean-Diaguita culture, a local parallel to the
Calchaqui of Argentina. The ceramics are superior to
those of Argentina and the vessels are generally smaller.
This culture is too little known to permit a lengthy
discussion. Still farther south, in the Central Chile Val-
ley, the Inca expansion encountered the Araucan-
ians, but it seems likely that these peoples had adopted
many of the basic features of the Andean cultural pat-
tern long before this time. The archaeological work
which would confirm or deny this is yet to be done.

The Central Andean pattern seems, in many ways,
more closely allied to that of the Southern than to that
of the Northern Andes. This in part reflects the closer
affinity of northern patterns to the Amazonian cultures,
an alternative source of influence not available in the
south.

This general picture of the South American setting

The Setting 65

shows that the Central Andean area forms a distinct
unit, distinguishable geographically and culturally from
the rest of the continent. This seems more than a mere
reflection of differential quantity of archaeological
work. The Central Andean pattern is old and its gross
history of development is well outlined. A detailed ex-
amination of this history is to be found in the following
section.

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Central Andes.

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PART 2: THE CENTRAL ANDES

DIVISIONS

The term Central Andes is here used to include the
mountains and desert coast of Peru and the mountains
of Bolivia. In the first part of this account it was
demonstrated that this area can be isolated as a cul-
tural and geographical unit. The Central Andean cul-
ture pattern contrasts markedly with that of the
Southern Hunters and the Tropical Agriculturists.
While it is not so sharply distinguishable from the
Northern and Southern Andes, the differences are sufh-
ciently marked to justify separate treatment. ‘The Cen-
tral Andes also presents an environmental unity when
compared with other areas of South America. At first
glance, the contrast between the desert Pacific Coast
and the formidable highlands seems marked, but when
considered in cultural terms the differences diminish
in significance. For maximum development, a subsist-
ence economy based on intensive agriculture with
simple digging-stick cultivation requires rich soils, a
genial climate, an adequate water supply, and an ab-
sence of vegetal coverage such as forest or deep-rooted
grass which are difficult to eradicate. In this sense the
Peruvian coastal valleys and mountain basins have
much in common. Except for certain altitude limita-
tions, there were no major physical barriers to the
spread of the basic cultural pattern throughout all the
large basins and valleys of the Central Andes. Its ex-
tension was sharply curtailed, however, by the eastern
tropics where the dense forest coverage presented a

68 Andean Culture History

serious obstacle to highland agricultural techniques.
Cultural expansion into the Northern Andes was
blocked by a shift in the rainfall patter which made
it difficult to graze the llamas and alpacas, the basic
animals in the Central Andean economy. The Southern
Andes are separated from the Central by a desert strip;
but the principal barrier to great cultural interchange
seems to have been gross distance rather than environ-
ment.

The Central Andes, despite certain over-all cultural
unity, includes numerous regional subdivisions that are
not only isolated geographically, but also have local
cultural traditions. Considering the size of the area,
its inhabited parts are decidedly limited. An examina-
tion of these requires more geographical detail. An
airplane view of the Peruvian coast reveals a long strip
of desert cut across at irregular intervals by mountain
streams which drain into the Pacific. Some twenty-five
principal rivers are separated not only by barren areas
but by sharp mountain spurs. In the past communica-
tion between these valleys was always difficult and
major intervals between them usually marked signif-
cant cultural divisions. The close relation between cul-
tural development and river valleys, while obvious,
cannot be overstressed. Although small fishing groups
can have existed along the coast, no major advance-
ment of culture was possible until the valley flats were
utilized. With the domestication of plants and con-
trolled irrigation, the fertile flats became important
agricultural centers capable of supporting large popu-
lations. Their size depended, in large part, on the
size of the valley itself. It is interesting to observe that
the most extensive valleys and those with the most
permanent streams are on the North Coast. More in-
tensive desert conditions prevail in the South Coast
valleys, and the flats are restricted in area by a low
mountain range that skirts the Pacific shore line. It is

The Central Andes 69

not surprising, then, that as technology advanced, the
northern valleys became the more important centers
of cultural development.

In the mountains, surrounded by high snow-covered
peaks, are puna grasslands, some plateaus and inter-
mountain basins, and numerous rivers, most of which
cut their way into the Amazon. Although many small
pockets along the rivers can support some population,
only six areas are of sufficient size for any elaboration
of pre-Colombian development. From north to south
these are: the large basins around Cajamarca, the
Callejon de Huaylas along the upper Santa River, the
basins along the Rio Mantaro, the various valleys and
flats around Cuzco, the basin of Puno in southern
Peru, and the Bolivian plateau south cf Lake Titicaca.
All these areas have extensive regions of well-watered
fertile soils and are surrounded by high punas ideal for
grazing. Each of these six areas was a major cultural
center in the past, isolated from its neighbors both by
distance and by mountains, but not to the extent of
blocking some intercommunication.

Each major highland basin and each coastal valley
might be treated as a distinct cultural unit, but there
is insufficient archaeological evidence to support such
consideration even if it were practical. It spite of the
numerous archaeological investigations in the Central
Andes, perhaps more than in any other part of South
America, much still remains to be accomplished and
many sections are still unknown. Only a few of the
many investigators have been trained archaeologists
and only a small percentage of the numerous publica-
tions are scientific reports on excavations. Other ac-
counts, some of great merit, have been written by
travelers, by artists, or by folklorists interested in inter-
preting symbolism in design. Even the professional
excavators have rarely done more than sample the
numerous sites. For practical purposes of presentation,

70 Andean Culture History

then, the valleys and basins are arranged in six groups,
three on the coast and three in the highlands. Each
of these groups corresponds to a major geographical
division, each has been subjected to a reasonable
amount of scientific investigation, and each, as will be
explained below, seems to have some historical validity.
The groups, with simple geographic designations, are:

1. North Coast. Geographically, the North Coast
includes all the valleys from Piura to Casma. Four sub-
divisions are suggested by the archaeological finds,
namely, Piura in the north; Lambayeque; Chicama,
Moche, and Viru; and Santa, Chimbote, Nepefia, and
Casma. Adequate archaeological data, however, are
available only for the third subdivision, Chicama,
Moche, and Viru; consequently all references to the
North Coast will be so limited unless otherwise stated.

2. Central Coast. The Central Coast extends from
Huarmey to Lurin. All of these valleys seem to present
a fairly compact unit with the exception of Huarmey
which is well isolated geographically and probably
forms a subdivision in itself. Since the best information
is limited to the valleys of Chancay, Supe, Ancon,
Rimac, and Lurin, these are here considered typical of
the group.

3. South Coast. In total, the South Coast extends
from the Rio Mala to the Rio Lomas, but it has some
major subdivisions, such as Cafiete and Chincha in
contrast to Ica and Nazca. On the basis of our present
knowledge only Pisco, Ica, and Rio Grande (Nazca)
can be considered here. A series of small valleys in
extreme southern Peru are as yet not well enough
known to be included in this over-all account.

4. North Highlands. This division extends from
Huanuco to the Ecuadorian border, but archaeological
records are available only for the Callején de Huaylas,
Chavin de Hudntar, and Huamachuco.

5. Central Highlands. The central zone is the exten-

The Central Andes 71

sive stretch from Huanuco to Cuzco. The Inca remains
of Cuzco are well known. Elsewhere there are only
scattered accounts for important sites in the Rio Man-
taro basin, east of Lima.

6. South Highlands. Souther Peru and Bolivia are
grouped together because of an extensive plateau, the
altiplano, which includes Lake Titicaca. Archaeological
exploration has largely been limited to sites around
the lake. The eastern cordillera of Bolivia is excluded
not only because of lack of information but because
it is effectively beyond the limits of the Central An-
dean culture area.

These regional subdivisions are not mere conven-
iences for describing a region as extensive as the Cen-
tral Andes, but actually represent significant segments
of cultural development. The valleys that are grouped
together present similar archaeological materials and
sequences. Furthermore, each major division is char-
acterized by certain cultural traditions which persist
throughout many of the cultural time periods and
stylistic changes. For example, the North Coast ceramics
over a long and varied span of cultural history are still
united by an emphasis on incised decoration, modeling,
pictorial style, mold-made vessels, and the stirrup-spout.
The design styles change, but these features persist.
The South Coast is distinguished by polychrome ce-
ramic painting and elaboration of weaving. Excep-
tional climatic conditions have favored the preservation
of textiles on the South Coast, but other evidence in-
dicates that so much emphasis was placed on weaving
that other aspects of culture were not equally elabo-
rated. In the North Highlands there is a traditional
emphasis on stone carving. Likewise the buildings are
constructed of rough or dressed stones and commonly
utilize such features as galleries, multi-storied floors,
and subterranean chambers. Quite apart from these
long persisting traditions, the cultural development in

72 Andean Culture History

each major area was sufhciently distinct to differentiate
it from the others at any particular point in the chrono-
logical history. In one area that has been intensively
studied there is every indication of a basic population
continuum through many cultural and _ political
changes. This would account for the regional traditions.

Although the regional subdivisions are important,
the Central Andes as a whole was closely united
throughout most of its cultural history. Certainly at
the time of the Spanish conquest, the Central Andes
was a cultural area, that is, a region in which the com-
ponent tribes shared a significant percentage of their
cultural traits. There is also considerable evidence for
the antiquity of this common cultural pattern. Some
of its distinguishing features are intensive agriculture,
based on such plants as maize, beans, squash, potatoes,
manioc, oca, and others; digging-stick cultivation; tech-
niques of irrigation, fertilizers, and terracing; the use
of narcotic coca instead of tobacco; domesticated cot-
ton; and domesticated llamas and alpacas. Buildings
were constructed with adobe, stone and other durable
materials. Weaving, metallurgy, basketry, ceramics, and
other crafts were highly developed; furthermore, many
specific techniques and designs in these crafts were
widely employed. A social and political superstructure
controlled the village units, and there were distinctions
of rank, class, specialized priests, and craftsmen long
before the Inca formulated their political empire. In
brief, the archaeological record demonstrates that the
cultural pattern established at an early date in the Cen-
tral Andes persisted with more or less uniform modi-
fications to the time of the Spanish conquest.

The concept of a Central Andean cultural block with
considerable time depth has been recognized by most
archaeologists. This concept not only permits the con-
sideration of the Central Andes as a unit, but also a
comparison of its cultural developments and achieve-

The Central Andes 73

ments with those of other parts of the world. Moreover,
it makes feasible a generalized descriptive account of
the cultural development in a chronological sequence.
One of the basic assumptions in such an approach is
that a major invention or advancement in one part of
the Central Andes would soon spread to all the area.
In so large a territory with so many well-isolated sub-
divisions, there is always the possibility that the cul-
tural development in one region might lag seriously
behind the others, but it is significant that thus far
archaeological investigation has failed to reveal such a
lag. This does not signify that the Central Andean
culture was everywhere uniform. By definition, a cul-
ture area does not imply such uniformity. In fact, it is
possible to demonstrate for any specific time horizon
that the cultural pattern of each subdivision differed
in many respects.

The Central Andes presents, then, a basic cultural
pattern established at an early date, and one which
advanced everywhere at a more or less uniform rate.
This makes feasible a history of the Central Andes
which starts at the earliest known beginnings and
traces the development through major periods to a
culmination in- the Inca Empire. This procedure is fol-
lowed in the succeeding chapter. For each major time
period, the general characteristics of the total Central
Andes will first be considered, followed by a discussion
of local variants, specialized developments, and signif-
icant regional differences.

This approach, although valid historically, has certain
limitations. For example, the same conditions of pres-
ervation do not prevail in all sections. On the coast
preservation is generally excellent, even for the most
delicate textiles, but the South Coast is more favorable
than the North. In the highlands the heavy rains pre-
vent the preservation of all but the most durable
materials. Another limitation has its source in the

74 Andean Culture History

nature of most of the archaeological work. The ex-
cavators, primarily interested in establishing time se-
quence, have directed their techniques towards this
end. Thus the greatest emphasis is placed on ceramics,
not only because pots and sherds are valuable cultural
diagnostics, but also because they are preserved every-
where in house sites, refuse heaps, and other positions
favorable for sequence interpretations. Consequently,
many field reports include excellent interpretations of
the time relations of ceramic styles, but add little or
no information on the total cultural content of a
period. Finally, an historical approach of this kind de-
mands more than an inventory of the materials pre-
served for each period. Social implications based on
archaeological material are somewhat hazardous even
under the best of conditions. Many suggestions are to
be found in the realistically painted ceramic designs,
the house types, the size and construction patterns of
buildings, the extent of territory occupied, and the like,
but their interpretation is always in the nature of in-
ferences without final factual proof. All of these limita-
tions are recognized in this history and every attempt
has been made to keep the inferences as sound as
possible.

In this introductory section the major regional and
cultural subdivisions of the Central Andes have been
sketched. Before initiating the descriptive historical
account, the time divisions must be considered. It
seems pertinent to mention briefly the dating tech-
niques employed, the resulting relative chronology, and
the major time periods here selected to present the
history of cultural development of the Central Andes.

The Central Andes 75

CHRONOLOGY

The Central Andes was occupied by sedentary
agriculturists for many generations, so that the ar-
chaeologist has an enormous quantity of materials to
consider. For example, during recent work in Viru, one
of the smaller valleys on the North Coast, the Institute
of Andean Research mapped the location of over three
hundred sites which were estimated to be about a
one-quarter sample. Furthermore, the units designated
as sites varied from simple house refuse accumulations
to mammoth ceremonial village constructions. Few
valleys have been as thoroughly explored, but there is
every indication that an enormous number of sites will
be found in each valley investigated in the same detail.
Several major categories of materials are available for
classification and study. The first may be termed “sur-
face ruins.” These include habitation refuse, houses,
villages, cities, temples, forts, irrigation systems, agri-
cultural terraces, and other constructions. The second,
“cemeteries,” includes graves of many types, varying
from simple pits to stone-lined burial vaults. ‘The graves
may include only a skeleton or two, but more fre-
quently they contain cloth-wrapped mummy bundles
and a reasonable quantity of grave furniture. The
“stone carvings,” such as decorated lintels, sculptured
heads, and statues, are here treated as a third category
although they are technically a subdivision of the first.
The utilitarian and ceremonial artifacts found in the
habitation sites and in the graves are classified, on the
basis of the material employed, as ceramics, cloth,
metalwork, basketry, gourd, wood, stone, and shell-
work.

The first problem for the Andean archaeologist is to
arrange this great variety of materials into periods and

76 Andean Culture History

their chronological sequence. Which features identify
a single culture? Is that culture earlier, contempora-
neous with, or later than others in the same area? To
accomplish both of these tasks the archaeologist is
dependent almost exclusively on his special techniques.
The Spanish conquerors described the Inca culture and
recorded certain oral accounts of the traditional history.
These furnish a few, though not very reliable, dates for
the relatively recent times. Neither a form of phonetic
writing nor a recorded calendar was known in the Cen-
tral Andes in pre-European times, in spite of the fact
that the early agriculturists must have had some
calendrical knowledge. The dating technique based on
the annual ring growth of trees, so successfully used
in the United States Southwest, has so far not been
applicable to the Central Andean woods. Conse-
quently, except for the application of radiocarbon
measurements, all dating is based on excavations and
their interpretation and has been relative, not absolute.
The archaeologist endeavors first to establish relative
sequences at the specific sites excavated and then ex-
tends these to the valley or basin in which the sites are
located, then to adjacent valleys or basins, and finally,
on broader comparative grounds, to the entire area.

The dating techniques employed are relatively simple
and standardized. Stratigraphy, the superimposition
of one type of material over another, is the most reliable
and has been the most extensively used. Stratigraphy
may refer to various periods of building in a single
structure; to one type of building which overlies an-
other; to a building over a grave; or, in reverse, to a
grave intrusive in a building. It may also refer to the
superimposition of one habitation room over another
or to the relative position of graves. ‘The determination
of the latter is particularly difficult, since it is the mouth
of the grave which is important and not its absolute
depth. By far the best stratigraphic records are found

The Central Andes 77

at sites where successive inhabitants have built up ref-
use accumulations. Such sites are common on the
coast of Peru; some are nearly fourteen meters deep.
The archaeologist cuts through these, level by level,
in order to obtain a cross-sectional picture of the history
of occupation. In all cases superposition is most
meaningful when occupational remains change from
one level to the next. The important sites are those
with materials from several periods since their strati-
graphic positions furnish the basis for relative dating.

Surface sampling is another common technique.
Unselected sample collections, usually potsherds, are
made from the surfaces of many sites, classified, and
arranged in a hypothetical sequence which may ulti-
mately be verified by stratigraphic excavation. Sampling
pits, instead of surface collections, may be excavated
in a number of sites and the excavated materials classi-
fied and compared. Unit sites, that is, those occupied
during a single period only, are important for isolating
the styles and content of that period, but their relative
dating depends on other types of evidence. Grave col-
lections can be analyzed if a record is kept of every
piece found in each grave. On the assumption that all
materials found in a grave are contemporaneous and
that graves of transitional time periods will contain
mixed materials, a sequence can be built up by isolation
and association of styles. The direction of such a se-
quence can be fixed only when one end is identified,
as for example, by the presence of known Inca material.
Seriation might be mentioned as still another tech-
nique in which art sequences, technological develop-
ments, and similar trends serve as a basis for relative
chronological dating.

The valley and inter-valley chronologies depend on
the interrelationships of the site sequences. The ma-
terials from two adjacent valleys are occasionally so
closely identical that there is no question of their com-

78 Andean Culture History

mon period classification. For example, it is almost im-
possible to distinguish the Nazca materials in Ica from
those in Nazca itself, or the Mochica materials from
Chicama, Moche, and Viru valleys. Trade pieces are
also important in linking areas. When a typical North
Highland negative-painted vessel is found in the top
levels of a Gallinazo site in Viru Valley, the sequences
in these two regions can be adjusted to each other.

The establishment of a relative chronology for the
total Central Andes is a further extension of this
matching process. The procedure is aided by the pres-
ence of a number of so-called “horizon” styles, each
widely distributed. Features which establish or mark an
horizon may consist of a single distinctive element such
as negative decoration on pottery, while others may
consist of combinations of several traits and might bet-
ter be designated as horizon complexes. ‘To be most
usable, the diagnostic elements of the horizon style
should be clearly definable and readily identified. Its
relative position in the local series must be known. In
other words, the horizons are established by relative
dating techniques, but once confirmed they are useful
for dating new finds and interrelating regions. The par-
ticular cultures linked in time by the horizon style may
be quite diverse, that is, the horizon style itself may be
the result of simple diffusion, a dominating religion, or
political conquest. However, the presence of a number
of horizon styles in the Central Andes furnishes ad-
ditional evidence of its cultural unity over a long time
period.

At present six important horizon styles are recog-
nized in the Central Andes, although most of them do
not extend over the entire area. These are briefly de-
fined below and may be found on the chronological
charts in their relative time positions. The order is ar-
ranged from the earliest to the latest.

1. Chavin Horizon. The Chavin horizon is charac-

The Central Andes 79

terized by a highly stylized feline design. The full figure
feline is represented in profile, or the head alone is
presented in front view, top view, or profile, the latter
position having the widest distribution. The profile
head has a wide U-shaped mouth band that curves
outward at the corners, two crossed fangs, and squared
teeth. The nose is a circle surmounted by a scroll; the
banded eye is oval with a cut-out circle at the top.
Other appendages and details are equally distinctive so
that the Chavin feline is recognizable by its claws,
tail, and other details. The design is executed in a
carved technique in curvilinear style. The feline motif
is most highly elaborated in the flat stone carving at the
highland site of Chavin de Huantar. Elsewhere it ap-
pears as a dominant design element in stonework,
bonework, ceramics, textiles, and metalwork. The
Chavin horizon, the earliest known horizon in the Cen-
tral Andes, is found in the North Highlands and on
the South, Central, and North Coasts.

2. White-on-Red Horizon. ‘The White-on-Red hori-
zon is basically a technique of positive brush painting
of ceramics in white on a red clay base. The clumsily
executed white designs are composed of simple ele-
ments such as bands, plain lines, wavy lines, and tri-
angles filled with dots. This horizon style is difficult to
identify because of its simplicity. Some ceramic shapes
may be associated, but these associations are not suf-
ficiently varied to constitute a complex. It is distributed
on the Central and North Coasts, and in the North
Highlands. In time position the White-on-Red always
succeeds Chavin and precedes Tiahuanaco.

3. Negative Horizon. This horizon is most clearly
marked, as the name implies, by a technique of nega-
tive decoration of ceramics. This is, however, such a
simple procedure that it requires no special training,
equipment, or materials and could have been diffused
among potters by word of mouth. One can argue that

80 Andean Culture History

it might have been independently developed at differ-
ent times and places, but no supporting evidence is at
hand. To create negative decoration one forms a posi-
tive design or figure on-a red or light-colored, unglazed
ceramic surface using an inert substance which protects
the covered areas from subsequent application of car-
bon (see page 187). This technique is found on the
South, Central, and North Coasts, and in the North
Highlands where it survives as a tradition into later
periods.

4. Tiahuanaco Horizon. The previous horizons are
characterized by single styles or techniques, but the
Tiahuanaco horizon is composed of a number of ele-
ments which form a complex. The dominant style is
best represented by the relief carved “Gateway of the
Sun” at Tiahuanaco in Bolivia. One design is the pro-
file running figure. Another is a front view figure with
stiffly outlined body, rectilinear head, squared eyes with
tear bands, and a mouth with squared teeth, but no
crossed fangs. Other typical designs are stylized puma,
condor, and snake heads. These designs occur in stone
carving, tapestry, weaving, wood carving, ceramic paint-
ing, and other media. In addition to the characteristic
style, the horizon complex is distinguished by poly-
chrome ceramic painting in black, white, yellow, and
gray, on a red base; by well executed textiles, particu-
larly tapestries; and by two common vessel shapes,
namely, a tall goblet and a flaring-sided squat cup. The
Tiahuanaco horizon is truly pan-Central Andean.

5. Black-White-Red Horizon. On the Coast of Peru
the Tiahuanaco horizon is followed by a breakdown
into a black-white-red geometric style of ceramic paint-
ing with design units consisting of small steps,
squares, checkerwork, and dots. A flask shape as well as
other forms and ceramic details are usually associated.
The horizon is present on all the coast and in the
North Highlands.

The Central Andes 81

6. Inca Horizon. Like the Tiahuanaco, the Inca hori-
zon is a complex, not a single style. The ceramic design
style is call the Cuzco Polychrome after the type
site. It is characterized by well applied polychrome de-
signs composed of small geometric elements. ‘The typi-
cal and distinctive vessel shapes are a conical base
aryballoid, a shallow plate with a bird handle, a pedes-
. tal beaker, and a pitcher with a wide ribbon loop han-
dle. Many other features are associated in this horizon
complex, but these can best be described in a later
chapter. The Inca horizon has a pan-Central Andean
distribution corresponding to the total extent of the
Inca Empire at the time of the Conquest.

The accompanying chart presents a graphic picture
of the distribution and relative time position of the
three horizons which appear to have the strongest in-
ternal unity and broadest application, the Chavin, Tia-
huanaco, and Inca. Only the latter can be assigned
dates based on historic data. These have been taken
from Dr. John H. Rowe’s outstanding study and ap-
praisal of Colonial Spanish documents relative to Inca
chronology.

This chart (Fig. 8), like all such attempts to present
the chronology of the Andean Area in diagram form
is an exercise in compromise and interpretation. It is
admittedly inadequate in terms of recent work and like
others will be quickly outdated by new discoveries, bet-
ter understanding of old data, and by additional Car-
bon 14 dates. The 2000 A.D. point on the time scale
does not imply optimism that it will be useful that
long. Northern Chile is included as we have data on
the chronology there which is pertinent to the rest of
the Andean Area. In north Chile there is little evidence
of the forces at work during the three major horizons.
Physical remains of the presence of Inca culture are ex-
tremely scanty. Tiahuanaco material is proportionately
more abundant, yet its influence on the local record is

82

Andean Culture History

not strong. Perhaps more significant is the evidence of
a rather direct connection with Tiahuanaco styles of
Bolivia rather than the ‘Tiahuanaco-Wari, Wari-to-the-
coast relationship which seems to have been the case
in Peru. As yet no Chavin material nor clear signs of its
influence have been found, so what we have is a mar-

ginal
ring

situation affected only by certain events occur-
elsewhere in the Andean region, an area where

some traits persisted long after they had disappeared

HIGHLANDS

Y

Ws CENTRAL

os INCA syst

¥ =

ICA UAY EARLY LIMA
ARTO hes per Mee

CRAFTSMEN MOCHICA I a = RECUAY A

we eneeeses-— INTERLOCKING

a a
— = === cee === oo ap ae @= om oc»

HUACA PRIETA

The Central Andes 83

nearer the great cultural centers. One should note that
contrary to the situation in northern Peru we find that
in north Chile there was only a slight time difference
between the appearance of textiles and the first use of
maize. Also, that both were present before ceramics,
Obviously there was a difference in the rate of disper-
sal for the three features. Maize, a new food plant,
_ spread more rapidly than the use of ceramics, as indi-
cated on the chart. This suggests that some phase of

CHULLPA
VTTUTM TN
We CADENT yy
TIAHUANACO
WLLL 2 P
Y 7). ssasse OT CER
|

EARL ARICA I
TIAHUANACO

—-—?—-?--—

awl eae
PUCARA CHIRIPA

FISHING CULTURE

FISHING CULTURE
ss

(Shell hooks) —
SNA NANA NAS?

Oe
ese etsere eo @

Fic. 8. Chronological chart for the Central Andes with
diffusion pattern of textiles, pottery, and maize indicated.

84 Andean Culture History

the Early Farmer agriculture was already established
this far south.

We do not yet have any Carbon 14 dates for north
Chile so, except for the Inca material, we are dealing
with guess-dates controlled only slightly by broad cor-
relations. The time allotted the subdivisions is based
in each case on the proportional amounts of occupa-
tion refuse. This can be extremely misleading except
where the record can be tied in with some natural phe-
nomenon such as uniformly aggrading valley fill, or if
we are dealing with sites where limited food and fuel
resources held the population within certain limits.

The Highland sequences shown on the chart are,
like the north Chile record, largely dated by guess. A
large series of carbon samples from Chiripa and Tia-
huanaco have been processed but the results have not
yet been fully interpreted. Elsewhere we must rely on
the horizon styles and traits and the relationship of
these to local cultural development in order to indicate
general connections and implied time levels.

The coastal record has been worked out in more de-
tail than shown. Again horizon complexes provide a
unifying framework against which Carbon 14 dates can
be applied. The dates by themselves are still an insuf-
ficient basis for constructing a chart of this type, but
most have been accepted and used. Even when large
series of such figures are available there will still be
need for personal interpretation of the data. As this
will provide grounds for debate all other pertinent data
should be sought for and considered. For example, a
study of deep, twenty-one feet, soil profiles in the Viru
Valley matched against refuse deposits led to the con-
clusion that the Early Farmer incipient agriculture
might well have been introduced there by 3000 B.C.
and that ceramics were in use by 1000 B.C. In con-
trast, Carbon 14 measurements indicate that ceramics
appeared around i200 B.C. and that the preceramic

_—_— ™

:
|

The Central Andes 85

pattern of agriculture was established before 2000 B.C.
and perhaps as early as 2500 B.C.

The terminology used on the chart for the various
periods and sub-periods may seem somewhat complex.
It is a common practice among archaeologists to name

. Pe hs
PUEMAPE _ AMPA PAIJAN

NORTH COAST

fi e@ LAURICOCHA
7

CENTRAL

a a HIGHLANDS
PUNTA GRANDE ¥ LIMA

CHIRA VILLAN PERU

ASIA
© CUZCO

CENTRAL COAST

PARACAS
OTUMA

—
n”
<
°
Oo
==
e
>
o
”

SAN NICOLAS

PICHALO

ANTOFAGASTA /®

~
74 TALTAL | 70-— £

Fic. 9. Preceramic sites: On the coast north of Paracas
mostly early farmer. South of Paracas principally fishing
cultures. Interior sites, including Pampa de Paijan and
sites near Ancon nomadic hunters.

86 Andean Culture History

new pottery styles after local sites and to use the names
to designate cultural periods. This has the advantage of
being specific but presents difficulties for those who
would prepare a small-sized chart for so large and di-
verse an area. Some simplification is attained by using
the cultural horizons as period markers yet any detailed
discussion involves the local terminology.

In the following account the known chronology is
divided into seven major periods, somewhat arbitrar-
ily chosen. The descriptive names indicate some trend
or characteristic applicable at least in part to each
period, and suggest significant steps in the course of
Andean Culture. They will be discussed starting with
the oldest.

EARLY FARMERS

(Cd. 2500-1200 B.C.)

The ultimate origins and even the earliest manifesta-
tions of culture in the Central Andes are still shrouded
in mystery. Some sites represent a simple cultural level
with no ceramics, but these are located on the Pacific
Coast and were quite possibly marginal to the true
centers of development. The early and widespread
Cultist Period sites present evidence of a sophisticated
and complex culture but the simple coastal cultures,
although known to be older, do not seem sufficient in
themselves to account for such a development. Future
work in the highlands may uncover important centers
of early development, but it is equally possible, and in
some ways probable, that the initial centers lie outside

of the Central Andes, perhaps in the tropics, perhaps

in other parts of the Andes.
The evidence for early migrations into South Amer-
ica has previously been presented. On the basis of this

Same chs Cae ot i ee rt, oe Gi ee ee 2 en ES

The Central Andes 87

evidence it seems logical that man first entered South
America via the Isthmus of Panama and moved south-
ward through the Andes. ‘These earliest migrants were
hunters and gatherers with relatively simple cultural
equipment. In the Central Andes they probably found
the highland basins more attractive than the coastal
valleys. Presumably snow line was then at a lower eleva-

_tion resulting in a larger precipitation zone, more

vegetation and more game. The known sites occupied
by hunters are few in number: two caves or rock-shel-
ters near Lake Lauricocha and possibly several others
near Huancayo in the Central Highlands and some iso-
lated workshops between Chicama and Pacasmayo. It
is not yet known whether these early hunting peoples
remained in the Central Andes or moved on to the
south, but in any case, it seems unlikely that they were
directly responsible for the higher civilizations which
developed later. This is strongly supported by the fact
that the technique of pressure flaking stone artifacts
was commonly used by the hunters but was not used
at all by the preceramic farmers.

The coast, in spite of its limitations for hunters,
might well have been attractive to early fishermen.
Campsites of ancient fishing groups have been found in
Chile as described in Part One. Similar sites should be
located at suitable situations in Peru. Burials, with
radiocarbon date of 3060 B.C., found at Paracas by
Fredéric Engel, appear to be of this phase. ‘They re-
semble Chilean fishermen burials in that the bodies,
extended in the sand, are wrapped in fur robes. With
them are chipped stone points, bone needles, a shell
bead necklace, gourds, twined “bast” fabrics and other
goods. A more meaningful comparison must await de-
tailed information, but the presence of the gourds
could indicate contact and cultural overlap with the
Early Farmers.

The gourd, considered an Old World plant, has not

88 Andean Culture History

been studied sufficiently to establish its record in
America. George Carter reported tests showing that
seeds of gourds floating in sea water remain vital long
enough for intercontinental dispersal by ocean currents
and that man need not be involved in such movement.
However, in Peru and Chile present data point to hu-
man dispersal and a north to south movement. If so,
did gourds first appear in company with several other
possibly cultivated plants as an initial stage of agri-
culture?

One plant which might have been part of such a
complex is cotton. Genetic studies show that Old and
New World cultivated cottons are related and that the
oldest diffusion center in America was North Peru.
While human intervention was suggested as the most
logical explanation the evidence is as yet inconclusive.
A study of the oldest available Early Farmer cotton led
to the conclusion that it was an early form of the
American species, barbadense. If an Old World species
was brought by man it certainly was at some stage of
the agricultural record earlier than what has already
been found in Peru. For such reasons data on the Early
Farmers are of more than local interest and must be
worked out accurately and in detail.

Large sections of Early Farmer middens have been
destroyed by sea erosion during a period of relatively
static land-sea levels and were saved by a subsequent
shift or uplift. Other deposits have been destroyed by
valley erosion and hidden by later occupation. In spite
of this, more than thirty deposits have been listed as
preceramic and others will be found. Some may be
strictly fishing sites but, on present data, all are classed
as Early Farmer sites. The map (Fig. 9) indicates the
more important or better-known ones.

Huaca Prieta, a village midden forty-five feet thick,
at the mouth of the Chicama Valley (Plate 7), presents
a good picture of life in these early times. The valley

The Central Andes 89

must have been quite different before settlement by
intensive agriculturalists, with much more swampland,
lagoons, wooded thickets and wider areas devoted to
marginal desert vegetation than at present. Wild fruits
and food plants, animals, and land birds must have
been more abundant. Subsistence depended heavily on
seafood but this is considered to have been insufficient
_to support the estimated population. However, there is
surprisingly little evidence for the practice of hunting.
Bones of land animals are not present in the midden
and, though there are a few of sea lion and porpoise,
hunting weapons are lacking. Evidence for weapons of
any sort is limited to toy slings. A large part of the
cooking was done with hot stones by roasting. Gourd
vessels were common. Ceramics were completely un-
known. The diet combined seafood, wild plants such as
tubers of the junco sedge, cattail roots, various fruits,
including the licuma, and several plants, achira,
squash, gourds, lima and canavalia beans and chile pep-
pers, most of which are believed to have been culti-
vated. Cotton, presumably domesticated, was common
and was twisted into yarn with crude, whorlless spin-
dles. Woven fabrics, present throughout the occupa-
tion, are rare, twined ones common. Other fabrics,
made by looping and knotting, include fishnets and
pouches. Structural designs occur in all techniques,
some quite complex and sophisticated. Other products
and implements include: twined reed baskets and mats,
pounded barkcloth, bone bodkins, thorn needles and,
made of stone, flake knives, perforated net weights,
roughly shaped choppers, and, rarely, bowls and per-
cussion flaked scrapers. The lack of hand-line fishing
gear suggests lack of watercraft needed for its use at
this site. The oldest burials were in shallow pits in the
refuse, the bodies flexed. Later abandoned subterranean
houses and storage pits were used for successive burials.
Such structures were lined with cobbles or, at sites

go Andean Culture History

where stone was scarce, with rectangular adobes set on
edge. Some evidence suggests that earlier houses were
built above ground of cane and mud.

This simple culture pattern, with some local develop-
ments, overlaps the earliest coastal ceramic period. For
example, at Huaca Prieta the use of hot stones in cook-
ing continues into the ceramic period, twined fabrics
compete with the new weaving techniques, and semi-
subterranean constructions continue to be used along
with constructions of cylindrical and conical adobes.
The use of cylindrical and small biscuit-like adobes oc-
curs with the first ceramic containers. ‘These are simple
olla cooking pots, irregularly colored from dull red to
dark brown and black, showing lack of oxygen control
in firing. The only decorative elements are appliqué
ridges or ribs made irregular by pinching or notching.
Pottery roller and plain stamps and figurines were also
made. Jet mirrors, shell and bone beads, bone weaving
tools and ornaments give further reason for believing
that a population movement rather than a spread of
ideas was responsible for the items new to the region.
The only burials identified with this time contain a
few simple artifacts as grave offerings. Bodies were
either seated with legs extended in front or fully ex-
tended with arms at sides. At Aspero in Supe there is a
structure which may represent an altar or religious site
of this period. A large room, about four meters square,
is connected by doors to two adjacent small rooms. ‘The
floor is of packed clay. The walls of uncut stone,
crudely coursed and held together with mud plaster, are
less than a meter high and about forty centimeters
wide. A platform, 1.50 meters square and 50 centime-
ters high, in the center of the main room is built with
uncut boulders set on end, with small stones filling the
interstices. This base is covered with a clay plaster. Ac-
tually, pottery was not found with this structure, but
discoveries of a lance point of chipped stone, llama

The Central Andes 91

bones, and maize serve to place it in the early ceramic
period.

In many ways these coast sites apparently present a
developmental sequence from the preceramic into the
ceramic, but it is doubtful that this is a true picture of
the origin of higher civilization in the Central Andes.
It is more likely that these coastal sites merely reflect
the important cultural developments that had occurred

‘in the highlands. This becomes more apparent in the

following discussion of the Cultist Period in which the
Chavin style first appears. In art, architecture, and other
aspects of culture, the contrast is great. It seems un-
likely that so marked a change should suddenly emerge
from such humble beginnings as presented by the
Early Farmer sites. Nonetheless, all evidence points to
a long period in time for these preceramic cultures.

CULTIST PERIOD

(Cd. 1200 B.C.—400 B.C.)

Following the humble and modest beginnings rep-
resented by the coastal preceramic sites, the flowering
of culture in the Cultist Period seems sudden and
abrupt. Despite certain technological limitations, the
ceramics are varied and well made. Judging by the few
known samples, weaving is advanced. There is evidence
of versatile craftsmanship and considerable sophistica-
tion in art and architecture. Subsistence is no longer
dependent on fishing, gathering, hunting, and limited
agriculture, but rather on agriculture with a wider range
of plants. A marked increase in population occurred in
some if not all regions, and from the eventual diffusion
of a stylized feline motif and feline symbolism cultural
unity is indicated. Part of this unity seems to have been

92

Andean Culture History

of a religious nature hence the name “Cultist” for the

period.

The Cultist Period includes many local cultures and
sites which, in spite of their wide distribution, are
linked by the Chavin style horizon. Some of the out-
standing sites are: Chavin de Huantar in the North
Highlands; great middens at Ancén, Supe, and San

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The Central Andes 93

Bartolo; various building units, such as Moxeke, Pallka,
Sechin Alto, and perhaps Cerro Sechin itself, in Casma
Valley; Punguri and Cerro Blanco temples in Nepeifia
Valley; Guafiape and related sites in Viru Valley; all
of the Cupisnique culture sites in Chicama Valley;
Chongoyape in Lambayeque Valley; and miscellaneous
isolated finds in Piura, Cajamarca, and the Lima region.
More extensive exploration will undoubtedly reveal a
much wider distribution of the Chavin horizon and per-
haps permit the inclusion of additional sites that are
apparently ancient but lack the Chavin design, such as
Pichalo on the North Coast of Chile.

There is abundant evidence for the relative antiq-
uity of the Cultist Period. In Viru and Chicama valleys,
the cultural remains follow immediately after the Early
Farmer period and precede the Salinar and Mochica
cultures. Likewise, the sites are stratigraphically older
than the White-on-Red culture in the North Highlands
and the Interlocking culture at Ancén. In general, Cult-
ist materials are not mixed with other known styles,
and have technological limitations which are not found
later. The total period was one of long duration, per-
haps eight hundred years. Of this range, the character-
istic Chavin horizon cultures are estimated as between
four and five hundred years by the guess-dates used here.
These estimates are based on the exceptionally thick
refuse deposits which range from 4.5 to 8.5 meters in
Viru and Ancoén. Within this long time range, many
cultural advancements were achieved and with more
study and material it is becoming evident that there
are clearcut grounds for broad and regional subdivi-
sions.

In this type of historical approach all cultures and
sites that fall into the same relative time bracket, on
the basis of stratigraphic evidence, are included in the
period under consideration. In the Cultist Period the
component cultures are somewhat uniform. All share

94 Andean Culture History

the feline design of the Chavin horizon. Other similari-
ties are due to technological limitations, to trade and
diffusion, and perhaps to a common background and
tradition. In spite of all this, each region presents local
independence and variations which cannot be dis-
missed even when the period is considered as a unit.
The significant regional differences will be emphasized
in the subsequent cultural description of the period.

Cultist sites on the coast are generally located close
to the shore or along the margins of the valleys, even
in quebradas (ravines) which are now dry and stone
covered. The highland sites likewise are in the small
valleys rather than in the large basins. These marginal
locations imply that the complete control of irrigation
and agriculture had not yet been achieved. The flats
of the coastal valleys were probably still brush-covered
and swampy so that unskilled farmers could utilize only
their boundaries. Furthermore, some of the regions
which are now so arid were probably less so before the
total flow of the rivers was channeled into irrigation
systems. The sites are refuse deposits, cemeteries, and
temples or other religious structures. Some of the latter
are of considerable size, but there is still no convincing
evidence for huge concentrations of people.

The large middens near the ocean shore prove that
seafoods were still important in this period. They also
provide us with the best data on the perishable items
of this epoch which show a major development in agri-
culture. From middens near the Huaca Prieta comes
evidence which indicates that maize was introduced
into this part of Peru at the same time as the Cupis-
nique ceramics. With maize came several other new
plants: peanuts, warty squash, pacai, and avocados.
Other evidence suggests that manioc was also known.
With these additions to the plants previously cultivated
we have an impressive list.

Data on domesticated animals are less conclusive.

The Central Andes 95

They may have had the dog though the evidence is not
too positive. Certainly there is no trace of it earlier.
The llama also may have been domesticated at this
time, but, if so, its wool had not yet become important
in textiles.

The Cultist used bone and stone extensively for
tools. However, only stone mortars and pestles, plain
and decorated stone bowls, and bone spatulas are found
throughout the whole area. Adding the bone and stone
implements from local sites, gives an inventory of
grooved stones, hammerstones, long lance heads, both
four-pointed and four-flanged club heads, stone boxes,
and bone awls, needles, daggers, speat-throwers, and
spoons. A long chonta palm bow was found at Ancéon,
but the spear-thrower was probably the more character-
istic weapon.

Ceramics are now a constant association and these
present certain similarities due largely to technological
limitations. Vessels are basically monochrome, black,
gray, brown, or red, often with thick walls and some-
times coarse tempering. The dark colors show that firing
was in a reducing atmosphere in contrast to the gen-
eral oxidized firing of subsequent ceramics. The com-
monest form, with greatest distribution, is a roughly
egg-shaped cooking jar with inclined rims, thickened
at the lip. More variation is evident in the other forms,
open bowls, bottles, collar jars and stirrup-spout con-
tainers (Plates 8 and 9). Frequently, there is excellent,
sometimes superb, symmetry. A fine appreciation of
surface texture contrasts is shown by skillful use of
roughened, scratched, punctate, and polished areas. Slip
painted decoration is lacking except near the close of
the period and then is combined with the older tech-
niques. Designs consist of geometrical elements, circles,
dots and features of the Chavin feline. Regional dif-
ferences exist: emphasis on modeling and stirrup spouts
occur on the North Coast, heavier wares and more

96 Andean Culture History

rocker stamp-incised decoration are found on the Cen-
tral Coast. |

The few textiles collected show finer yarns. Spindle
whorls were used and heddle controlled looms were
probably employed for the first time. The fragments
are vittually all made of cotton and demonstrate that
the weaving techniques were competent although not
as varied as in later times. Plain weaves, some with
creped threads, are the most frequent and there are
also monochrome tapestries, weft stripes, fringes, tas-
sels, and embroideries. A more elaborate piece, found
in a shell-heap at Supe, has a woven design depicting
the Chavin feline.

From the textiles, the ceramic modeling, and the
stone carving, it is clear that the typical Central An-
dean costume was not used. The figures are depicted
without skirts, shirts, or footgear, and as wearing only
belts, breechcloths, and some form of head covering,
plus snoods. Feather headdresses have been found at
Supe and some of the stone carving designs represent
feather capes. On the North Coast the meagerness of
clothing at Cupisnique was compensated for by an
elaboration of body ornament. The graves contain
stamps for body painting; cylindrical and pendent ear-
plugs; bracelets; rings; many types of necklaces; wrist-
lets; crowns; etc. The ornaments are made of many ma-
terials such as bird bone, turquoise, quartz, lapis lazuli,
shell, bone, stone, and gold. All of these are well con-
structed and illustrate the artistic expression of the
period. Pyrites or jet mirrors are found in all sites. Ar-
tificial skull deformation is also typical.

Metalwork is limited in materials and techniques.
Gold was the only metal used and even this is not
found everywhere. Thin hammered sheet gold occurs at
Supe and pressed relief objects have been found in Viru
and at Chongoyape (Plate 10) in Lambayeque Valley
where the goldwork is more elaborate than at other

The Central Andes 97

sites and may be somewhat more recent. Gold cuffs,
ear discs, and other objects are made by welding and
soldering and. decorated in relief with the Chavin fe-
line motifs.

More perishable artifacts have been found in the
middens and graves at Supe and Ancon. These include
carrying nets, fish nets, netted bags, twined baskets,
and totora mats, carved gourd containers, wooden
boxes, and knobby sticks.

Most graves are simple pits containing flexed or ex-
tended burials. Variants, namely a simple stone lined
and a shaft and chamber grave, are known only from
Cupisnique where the skeletons are covered with red
paint. Grave offerings are usually limited. Food is
rarely included. Ceramics are either absent or limited
to a few vessels. Other grave accompaniments are
equally simple except at Cupisnique where personal
ornaments are found in considerable quantity.

The domestic architecture is generally extremely sim-
ple, with circular or rectangular stone house founda-
tions and stone-faced terraces for house platforms. One
modeled Cupisnique vessel depicts a house with a ga-
bled roof, straw thatch, and a thickened foundation
wall. A structure near Huaca Prieta indicates that the
walls were of adobe. Perhaps, when excavated, the site
of Pallka in Casma, with its aggregate of many rough
stone rooms, may prove to be an exception to this sim-
ple domestic architecture. The religious architecture is
on the other hand quite elaborate. The buildings iden-
tified as temples are quite large, well planned, and ex-
tensively decorated. The coast temples are constructed
of rough stones set in mortar, or of conical adobes,
which vary greatly in size, but are always laid so that
the flat bases form the surface of the wall. Several build-.
ings in Viru and Chicama on the North Coast are
constructed of conical adobes. These probably belong
to this period, but so far they have not been excavated.

|

98 Andean Culture History

On the Central Coast no buildings of any magnitude
can be assigned to this period. The best examples are
found in Casma and Nepeiia valleys where the sites of
Cerro Blanco, Punguri, and Moxeke are outstanding.
All these buildings are constructed of rough stones and
conical adobes. Each has such features as platforms,
steps, rooms, clay columns, and decorated walls. The
decorations are in polychrome fresco, in incised clay,
and in high relief clay carving. The predominant de-
sign element is the ubiquitous Chavin feline.

The site of Chavin de Huantar, located in the North
Highlands on a small tributary of the Marafidén River,
is the most elaborate construction of this period. The
narrow valley in which Chavin is located certainly could
not have supported a very large population, but the
massive construction which covers a large area must
have required many laborers. The several building units
have a roughly symmetrical arrangement around a large
sunken court, about forty-eight meters square, flanked
on the north and south by raised platforms. ‘The river
has cut away the end of one of these platforms reveal-
ing a rubble construction with a few poorly constructed
interior galleries. The exterior is faced with rough
stones. Behind a raised terrace to the west of the court-
yard is the “Castillo,” the principal building, roughly
seventy-five meters square and over thirteen meters high
at the southeast corner. In order to maintain this
height, the walls are inclined inward and are also set
back in narrow terraces near the top. The exterior walls
are finished with carefully dressed stones. The building
was once encircled by a decorated cornice beneath
which was a row of carved heads, each with its tenon
for insertion in the wall. The interior of the Castillo has
three floors, each with an elaborate series of stone-
lined and covered galleries and rooms, as well as a spe-
cial system of ventilating shafts which are found
throughout the construction. The galleries are about

The Central Andes 99

one meter wide and 1.8 meters high. The rooms vary
from two to four meters on a side. Ramps and stair-
ways lead from one floor to another. One gallery still
contains a carved prismatic stone known as the “Lan-
zon.”

Many smaller buildings form part of this group, yet
the site does not have the appearance of a village. Some
habitation refuse is found near the structures, but ac-
tual house sites are few. Several house foundation
walls on top of the Castillo are made of carefully
dressed stone. The interior galleries and rooms contain
no refuse nor other evidence that they functioned as
dwellings. The symmetrical layout, the careful con-
struction, and the carved wall decorations suggest a re-
ligious structure. Certainly, a unit like the Castillo
must have been built according to plan. The first floor
vents, galleries, and rooms were first constructed of
stone, the spaces between the walls filled in with rub-
ble, and the outside walls finished with dressed stones
laid in horizontal rows of alternating thick and thin
slabs. The second floor was added, following a similar
pattern of galleries, rooms, and vents. Actually, massed
man power would have been essential only to assemble
the materials. The construction could have been com-
pleted over a period of time by a small group of skilled
masons.

Although carving is reasonably abundant at Chavin
de Huantar and at some other highland sites, it is not
characteristic of the entire period (Plate 11). The
carvings include human and feline heads in the round,
with tenons for wall insertion, flat slabs for cornices
and lintels, cylindrical columns, but no true statues.
The carving, except for the heads, is in low, flat relief.
The style is dominated by the feline motif represented —
in profile or in front view. The basic feline figure may
be anthropomorphized or appendages may be added
to identify it as a condor or a fish. Almost every detail

100 Andean Culture History

of the design portrays another stylized representation
of the feline head. Technically, this style is not very
consistent for stonework, but suggests a repoussé metal
technique applied to stone. In fact some authors see
a stylistic technological sequence within the Cultist
Period from the metal relief work of Chongoyape,
through the clay relief of Nepefia and Casma, to the
stone carving of highland Chavin.

Stone carving of any kind is rarely found on the
coast of Peru; the outstanding exception is at Cerro
Sechin in Casma Valley. This is a large construction
composed of two principal terraces. The lower terrace
has a central stairway flanked on either side by a series
of carved monoliths between which are smaller stones,
each with a face carved on one side. This carving style
is unique in Peru. The designs are based on the human
figure, and there is no suggestion of the Chavin feline.
If, as present evidence suggests, this construction be-
longs in the Cultist Period, it must antedate the spread
of the Chavin horizon.

In spite of certain features and similarities which
characterize the Cultist Period as a whole, there is no
evidence of over-all political unity. Instead, the social
organization appears to have been based on family
units grouped into small villages. It is not even de-
monstrable that the villages in a single valley were
united politically. The general impression is that of
a society which still devoted considerable effort to sub-
sistence activities and directed its excess energy and
limited leisure time towards art expression and reli-
gious practices. The art work, particularly the orna-
ments, seems individualistic in spite of the restrictions
of techniques and the conventions of the Chavin
horizon style. The religious practices find their major
expression in the construction of temples, both local
and regional. The religious importance of the feline
concept is obvious. However, if the quantity of grave

The Central Andes 101

goods is significant, ancestor worship had not yet
reached the prominence which it gained in later
periods.

Large constructions like those at Chavin de Hudn-
tar do not in themselves imply enormous concentra-
tions of population. As has been suggested, such build-
ings could have been erected by a small number of
skilled masons and workers, once the necessary ma-
terials had been assembled. A religious pilgrimage
pattern is implied, in which large numbers congregate
during certain ceremonial periods in the year, contrib-
ute their labor service, and return to their respective
settlements. The pilgrimage pattern still exists. For
example, at Copacabana in Bolivia thousands assemble
every August for religious celebration. At the time of
the Conquest, Pachacamac, near Lima, was renowned
as a pilgrimage center, and much of the archaeological
evidence suggests the antiquity of this pattern.

A reconstructed picture follows. During one or more
weeks in the year many people made the pilgrimage
to a center like Chavin de Huantar for religious cele-
bration. While great numbers were assembled, the
building materials would be brought in, stones dressed,
and some of the larger slabs put in place. When the
ceremony ended and the pilgrims returned to their dis-
tant homes, specialized architects carried on the con-
struction with a few local laborers. During the time of
assembly, ideas and perhaps goods would be exchanged.
At a minimum, the feline design, the primary symbol
of the religion, would be widely distributed, without
the implication of political unity.

As technology improved and as irrigation and agri-
culture became more firmly established, more attention
was devoted to the local region. Populations increased
and political organization advanced. Regionalism be-
came marked and the pilgrimage pattern was aban-
doned. In each local area experiments in many types

102 Andean Culture History

of controls were undertaken. The Experimenter Period
lacked over-all unity. This tendency towards local
development continued for a long time; in fact, until
the Tiahuanaco horizon complex again represents, in
appearance at least, a pan-Central Andean unity.

EXPERIMENTER PERIOD

(Cd. 400 B.C.-0.)

The Chavin horizon, characterized by the stylized
feline design, gives a definite unity to the Cultist
Period. The exact origin of this style is unknown; in
most regions it disappears as rapidly and mysteriously
as it appeared. However, the Chavin feline reappears as
a design element in the much later Mochica culture,
so that presumably it continued to dominate the ar-
tistic expression in some marginal area of the Central
Andes. The most likely section for such a survival is
the Far North Coast, namely, in Lambayeque and Piura
valleys where, unfortunately, full archaeological se-
quences have not been established. Elsewhere, the gap
between the Cultist and Experimenter Periods is a
sharp one, in spite of the fact that the undecorated
utilitarian ceramics demonstrate a population con-
tinuum.

The Experimenter Period includes many local cul-
tures, grouped together basically because they can be
assigned to the same relative chronological position.
However, they are also linked by some general char-
acteristics as well as two horizon styles, namely, the
White-on-Red and the Negative. The principal cul-
tures and sites of this period are the following: the
Salinar culture sites in Chicama Valley and the closely
related Puerto Moorin culture sites in Viru Valley;
Cerro de Trinidad and Bafios de Boza, type sites of the

The Central Andes 103

Chancay White-on-Red style; the North Highland
White-on-Red style sites near Huaraz and at Chavin
de Huantar; the Cavernas culture, represented at Par-
acas near Pisco Valley and at Ocucaje in Ica Valley;
sites of the Chanapata culture near Cuzco; and the
Chiripa culture site on the Bolivian side of Lake ‘Titi-
caca. There is good evidence for placing these local

5
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Fic. 11. Principal sites of the Experimenter Period.

104 Andean Culture History

cultures and styles in a time position between the Cullt-
ist and the Mastercraftsman Periods. A cultural se-
quence of Cupisnique, Salinar, Mochica has been es-
tablished in Chicama Valley by grave stratigraphy. In
Viru this is confirmed by refuse stratigraphy which
places Puerto Moorin as post-Cupisnique and _ pre-
Gallinazo. In the Chancay sites, the White-on-Red style
gradually fades into the later Interlocking style—a se-
quence duplicated at Pachacamac. White-on-Red style
graves are intrusive at the Chavin de Huantar ruins.
At Paracas on the South Coast, the refuse of the Ca-
vernas culture is older than the Necropolis culture
graves. he Chanapata sites are known only to be
stratigraphically pre-Inca, but the Chiripa culture can
be shown to antedate both Early and Decadent Tia-
huanaco.

Deep refuse deposits in Viru, Chancay, Paracas, and
Chiripa point to a relatively long duration for the Ex-
perimenter Period, some four hundred years in the
chronological plan employed here. This estimate is
complicated by the uncertainty of the beginning and
the termination of the period. The lower limit is un-
satisfactory because of the apparent abruptness of the
break with the Cultist Period. Only a few Salinar bone
spatulas and some rare incised Cavernas ceramics indi-
cate any carry-over of the Chavin feline design, and
even in these it is an atypical variant. It is even more
difficult to fix the upper limit because of the gradual
transition into the technological controls and mastery
of crafts that mark the next period. The specific changes
differ in each region and undoubtedly occurred at
different times. On the North Coast the Salinar cul-
ture soon divides into the Gallinazo and the Early
Mochica. On the Central Coast a gradual transition
is traceable from the Chancay White-on-Red to the
Interlocking. The South Coast situation is not very
clear, although the Cavernas culture contains the basic

The Central Andes 105

elements of both Necropolis and Nazca. The Chiripa
culture in the South Highlands apparently develops
into Pucara and Early Tiahuanaco. There is, then, no
sharp cleavage between the Experimenter and the
Mastercraftsman Periods. Rather, the first represents
the beginning and the second the culmination of the
same sequence.

The Experimenter Period sites are found in every ma-
jor region of the Central Andes, which was not true
of the Cultist Period. In all probability this may be
due to differences in archaeological information and
does not imply any sudden expansion of occupation.
The sites include cemeteries, villages, habitation refuse
deposits, and, more dubiously, hilltop fortresses and
shrines.

On the whole, this period is characterized by experi-
mentation in new techniques and new controls. This
can be best observed in the technological achievements,
in the crafts, in building, and in the agricultural
methods. Similar experiments on the socio-political
level are not so clear and probably were not of major
importance until the technological controls were well
crystallized. Superficially, some of the materials seem
inferior to those of the Cultist Period, but a detailed
examination proves these to be superior in technique,
even though less artistic. Some artifacts have a reason-
ably wide distribution, but in general the period is
marked by local developments, so that description of
the period as a whole is difficult. The Cultist Period
achieved unity through a religious pilgrimage pattern,
but even this seems now to have disappeared. ‘The two
horizon styles that transcend the regional boundaries
are both based solely on techniques. The White-on-Red
horizon is little more than a technique of positive
brush painting on ceramics that spread throughout the
North and Central Coasts and the North Highlands.
The slightly later Negative horizon is likewise a ceramic

106 Andean Culture History

technique of resist painting that spread all along the
Coast and into the North Highlands. In some areas
these techniques were further improved and retained
for a considerable length of time. Elsewhere they were
tried and abandoned.

On the coast, the sites of this period are located on
the valley margins and along the shore. The latter
show a marked dependence on seafood, but there is
now no doubt that irrigation was practiced, particularly
in the upper narrows of the river valleys. The highland
sites, like Chanapata and Chiripa, are associated with
stone-faced terraces which are probably part of the cul-
tivation system. Stone hoes are common. Several new
plants and fruits can be added to those known pre-
viously: the frijol bean, quinoa, cafiahua, and pepino,
a sterile hybrid which can be propagated only by cut-
tings. Llamas are now common and one modeled clay
animal at Chancay resembles a guinea pig. Coca, the
important narcotic, has been found in a Cavernas tomb,
as well as pots containing the dregs of some liquid like
the com beer, chicha. Dried meat found in coastal
graves and a bin which contained quinoa at Chiripa
suggest that methods of food preservation and storage
were now known. In brief, the Experimenter Period is
marked by greater dependence on agricultural sub-
sistence, new techniques of cultivation employing ter-
races and irrigation, experiments with new plants, and
the preservation of food.

Rough stone continues as a common building ma-
terial, but, in addition, various types of hand-made
adobes were used on the coast. These are conical or
odontiform on the North Coast, dome-shaped on the
Central Coast and blunt-conical on the South Coast.
Modeled Salinar ceramics represent two house types;
one, circular, with a flat roof supported by step-shaped
side pillars; the other, rectangular, with an open front
and a pent roof supported by cross beams and a central

The Central Andes 107

pillar. In Viru Valley there are small villages composed
of clusters of three to five stone house foundations.
It is also possible that honeycomb clusters of subter-
ranean or semi-subterranean rooms were built of tapia
and ball-like adobes. At least, these are the earliest
types found in the succeeding Gallinazo culture. Under-
ground dwellings are also found at Cavernas, Huaraz,
and perhaps Chanapata. A unique type of village is
found at Chiripa on the Bolivian shore of Lake Titicaca.
It consists of fourteen rectangular houses arranged in
a circle around a central court. The foundation walls,
which are intact, are about one meter high and are
built of small stones packed in clay. The upper walls
were constructed of rectangular adobes and the roof
of sticks and grass thatch. The side walls are double;
their hollow interiors were used as storage bins, access
to which was by means of inside rectangular windows.
Deep vertical slots in the door jambs were for sliding
wooden door panels (Plate 12).

Technological advancement in ceramic manufacture
and decoration is evident. This by no means implies
that the artistic accomplishment was any better, it
simply means that a wider range of technical differences
can be noted. There is a shift to open, oxidized firing
and the decorative procedures which are possible with
the resultant light-colored wares. Fired pigments come
into use, at first in conjunction with the earlier incised
decoration or as white or creamy painting on reddish
slip or paste. Negative decoration, impractical on dark
wares became popular. Because of its simplicity, knowl-
edge of this process could spread without transmission
of motifs or patterns—so it is not surprising that there
are marked regional differences in its use.

Salinar presents a great range of vessel shapes, of
which the most typical are stirrup-spout containers, jars
with a spout and a bridge to a modeled figure, bottles
with cylindrical necks and flat handles, and ollas (Plate

108 _ Andean Culture History

13). Modeling is an outstanding characteristic. The
small figures which are almost caricatures are noted for
their detail of facial expression. The modeled vessels
portray birds, animals, and human figures in peculiar
positions. All are disproportionate in detail, particularly
in the treatment of the eyes. Incision, appliqué, punch,
and white-on-red brush painting are also employed. The
white paint is applied directly to the base clay. The de-
signs are simple lines or triangles. Paint is also used to
augment the modeled features of the vessels.

The Central Coast ceramics, best known from the
Chancay sites, consist mainly of bowls with flaring lips,
mammiform jars, flaring-sided cups, and plain jars. In-
cision is rare and modeling is limited to simple lugs.
Some negative painting is found, but positive painting,
either white zoned, or white-on-red, simple geometric
designs, is the more characteristic decoration.

A long developmental sequence of Cavernas ceramics
starts with Chavin designs and feline elements. Vessel
forms include a drinking jar with a spout joined by a
bridge handle to vented heads and figures, one and
two-spouted bottles, with and without handles, varied
bowl shapes and graters, egg-shaped storage and cook-
ing jars, the last with thickened rims like those of the
Cultist Period. Other items are figurines, drums, trum-
pets, panpipes and whistles. Modeling is sometimes
suggestive of Salinar. Decoration emphasizes incision
with lacquer-like, resin-based pigment colors added
after firing (Plate 14). Negative decoration is common
and use of white slip paint develops late.

The Chanapata ceramics are predominantly mono-
chrome blackware: ollas with strap handles, open bowls
with flaring sides, bottles, and plates. The major dec-
orative techniques are incision, punctation, and appli-
qué. A simple cat, unlike the Chavin motif, is the
characteristic design. Some positive painting presents

The Central Andes 109

both a red-on-white and a white-on-red combination,
although it is not related to the Chancay style.

The typical Chiripa vessel is a flat-bottom open bowl,
with perpendicular sides, and a thickened rim edge.
Simple geometric designs are executed in a thick yellow
paint on a red slip base (Plate 12). The color areas
may be outlined by incision. A cat figure in appliqué
relief, like Chanapata, is also common. This style, plus
black paint and more emphasis on the modeled relief,
forms the basis for the Pucara style.

Certain cultural traditions are either continued or
established during this period. On the North Coast,
the ceramic traditions of modeling, stirrup-spout, and
hand manufacture continued and bichrome painting
became established. Molds for increased production
were developed later by Mochica potters while poly-
chrome fired pigments start at the end of Paracas with
the first Nazca wares.

Where textiles have survived and have been collected
one finds them abundantly associated with all cultures
of this period. The greatest quantity comes from Par-
acas Cavernas graves both at Paracas and in the Ica
Valley. These reveal several well-developed techniques;
double cloth, sometimes with supplementary yarns used
to create the effect of triple cloth, patterned sprang or
loom plaiting, gauze and abundant embroidery. Some
are painted, others covered with tropical forest bird
feathers imported from east of the Andes. ‘The principal
fibers are cotton and wool. Dyes on wool are often
bright and varied. Designs are largely influenced by
techniques and even on painted pieces are geometti-
cally angular.

Among the various textile articles we find the basic .
Central Andean clothing pattern, turbans, headbands,
hoods or snoods, shawls, sleeveless shirts, loincloths,
and carrying bags. It is reasonable to assume that at
this time the Highland inhabitants possessed adequate

110 Andean Culture History

clothing although no actual specimens survive. As in
later times, the principal fiber must have been wool.
In the north, modeled ceramics show turbans and
other headgear, and knee-length skirts. Gallinazo fabrics
from the Chicama Valley, made mainly of cotton, have
fewer dyes and reveal less technical and design develop-
ment than in the south. From all this it seems that
‘Paracas culture placed great emphasis on the craft. The
greater variety of fibers, techniques, and woven gar-
ments all bear this out. ‘The South Coast also con-
tinues to be a versatile weaving center in later
periods. |
With greater attention given to clothing, there is less
emphasis on personal ornaments than in the preceding
period. Skull deformation is practiced in both Cavernas
and Salinar. Some of the modeled clay figures depict
tattooing, but face painting is not very common. Shell,
bone, and stone beads are found everywhere. At Salinar
circular and tubular earplugs, finger rings, and nose
rings are added to the range of ornaments.
Metalwork, although still not very advanced, dem-
onstrates some experimentation with new techniques
and alloys. Simple hammered and cut-out gold objects
are found in practically all of the sites. At both Chancay
and Salinar a gold-copper alloy is used and pure copper
makes its first appearance at Cavernas and Chiripa.
The sling and the spear-thrower are the most com-
mon weapons. Bone daggers are found in several sites,
a wooden spear in one, and, at Chiripa, the bolas is
still in use. The Experimenters made a great variety
of bone and stone tools. The greatest range is to be
found at Chiripa, but all sites have many of the stand-
ard implements. The bone inventory includes spatulas,
needles, awls, daggers, spear-throwers, hooks, chisels,
polishers, knives, and scrapers, some with serrated
edges. Only Salinar has decorated spatulas. The stone
artifacts consist of such utilitarian types as mortars,

The Central Andes 111

hammers, polishers, grinders, and scrapers. Shell seems
to have been used only for beads. The Cavernas sites
preserve certain of the more perishable artifacts: nets,
calabashes decorated by pyrogravure, totora baskets and
mats, painted leather containers, a circular strainer at-
tached to a handle, and a five-stop flute. Clay panpipes
are found both at Chancay and Cavernas.

There is still no evidence for stone carving in this
period, although presumably the art carried over from
the Cultist Period since it reappears in the Pucara and
Tiahuanaco cultures in the South Highlands and in the
Recuay culture in the North Highlands. Actually many
carved stones in the highlands cannot yet be assigned
to any specific period. Some of these may some day be
identified as belonging to the Experimenter Period.

Direct pit burial was characteristic of the preceding
period and is still a common type. However, there is
now evidence of greater attention to the preparation of
tombs. Some type of covering is usual. In Salinar, the
elliptical graves are covered with inclined slabs. At
Chancay the graves are covered with poles or rough
stone vaults. Stone-lined box graves are commonly
found underneath the house floor at Chiripa. Cavernas
has more elaborate tombs cut into the soft rock. A typi-
cal tomb has a stone-walled upper chamber, 1.5 meters
in diameter and about two meters deep. A passage cut
through the soft rock extends some three meters below
this before it broadens out into a lower chamber which
serves as the burial vault. Some Cavernas tombs con-
tain many bundle burials and artifacts. Elsewhere the
grave accompaniments are relatively poor: one to three
vessels and perhaps a few other artifacts.

It is extremely difficult to reconstruct the type of
social organization in this period. Some of the Cavernas
tombs appear to have been family vaults; these contain
burials of both the rich and the poor, judging by the
quantity and quality of the cloth wrappings. However,

112 Andean Culture History

in general, there is little archaeological evidence of any
sharp class distinctions. The arrangement of the house
clusters, however, suggests an extended family pattern
in which each unit was more or less equivalent.

Religion, too, seems to have been of no great im-
portance. ‘The feline cult of the Cultist Period disap-
peared and no new religious cult replaced it. The
paucity of ruins which can be identified as temples or
shrines, the relatively meager attention paid to grave
construction and accompaniment, and the absence of
symbolic design in the ceramics and other arts all con-
firm the impression of a poorly organized religion.
Graves at Ocucaje in Ica Valley contain skulls cut in
two halves, a practice which may imply either a religious
custom or the preservation of war trophies. A medicine-
man kneeling beside his patient is represented on one
Salinar vessel.

Fach local region can be distinguished on the basis
of its ceramic styles, but there are no marked contrasts
in development except at Cavernas which is perhaps
more advanced in weaving techniques. Even with this
exception, the regional culture patterns are not markedly
different. Instead, the picture everywhere is one of
relatively small populations, divided into family or ex-
tended family groups, which directed their major en-
ergies towards the development of agricultural methods,
and towards the control of a variety of new techniques.
The concentration of attention was therefore on the
local region. Techniques developed outside its limits
were rapidly accepted and applied locally, but there
seems to have been no great pressure for widespread
political or religious unity.

As experiments proved successful, the technological
controls improved, and the populaticn increased. When
this happened, the geographical differences in size and
fertility of regions became an important factor. In-
creased populations also created new problems in social

The Central Andes 113

and political controls. These new problems were solved
in different ways in each local region, so that by the
succeeding period, which marks the acme of technology
and craftsmanship, each region has a distinctive pattern
of orientation. As previously mentioned, it is not pos-
sible to determine precisely when this transition from
experiment to mastery occurred. Doubtless it varied
from region to region. However, there comes a point
when it is clear that techniques have been mastered
in all parts of the Central Andes and a new period has
begun.

MASTERCRAFTSMAN PERIOD

(Ca. O-900 A.D.)

The long period of experimentation eventually cul-
minated in the complete mastery of many techniques,
particularly those relating to agricultural subsistence and
the crafts. Since, as pointed out in the preceding chap-
ter, similar experimentation was carried out in all parts
of the Central Andes, it is impossible to determine
exactly when the controls were finally achieved, but the
quantity of artifacts of good quality suggest a substan-
tial time duration for the Mastercraftsman Period. In
the guess-dates used in this volume nine hundred years
are allowed for this period, but the time span might
easily be larger or smaller. The upper time limit is
reasonably well established by the widely distributed
Tiahuanaco horizon which is so uniform that it serves
as a convenient time marker. Everywhere Tiahuanaco
is either intermingled with or replaces the local culture
of the Mastercraftsman Period, as has been demon-
strated many times by stratigraphic excavation and by
the analyses of the resultant collections.

In both the highlands and the coast the Master-

114 Andean Culture History

craftsman Period is characterized by the mastery of
agricultural techniques, by ambitious monumental ar-
chitecture, by skilled craftsmanship in ceramics, weav-
ing, and metallurgy, and by a florescence of art styles.
Despite this apparent unity on the technological level,
regional differences are marked. Each sub-area may be

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The Central Andes 115

distinguished by its distinctive local patterns which
were apparently strong enough to absorb alien influ-
ences and mold them into the dominant styles without
interrupting the basic trends. Some design motifs, such
as the feline, snake, sea-otter, and ray fish, are widely
distributed, but their specific portrayal is in terms of
the local style. In fact, regionalism is so strong that
there are no horizon styles in this period. The diffusion,
which certainly resulted from the ever-increasing con-
tacts between peoples of the different regions, must
have taken the form of a direct exchange of ideas rather
than wholesale borrowing. In brief, the differentiation
between regions is now of such magnitude that it is
no longer merely marked by a contrast of local styles
of manufacture and design, but, rather, by distinct pat-
terns of orientation based on the same technological
elements. Each local culture had a large inventory of
techniques and controls at its command and these
were selected and developed in terms of the particular
regional pattern. For example, the absence of massive
temple construction in the Nazca culture cannot be
attributed to a lack of knowledge of building methods,
but rather to a pattern which directed mass energy into
other channels. At the close of this chapter two of the
most distinctive patterns are described in some detail
because they are important in the later history of the
Central Andes.

The Mastercraftsman Period is represented by hun-
dreds of sites and by extensive collections of artifacts.
Since this period attained the peak of perfection in
craftsmanship, the ceramics, textiles, and other art
objects have been avidly collected by both amateurs
and professionals, and are abundantly represented in
museums throughout the world. It is not practical to
list specific sites for this period since each major culture
covers a rather extensive area. The Mochica culture
is found in the North Coast valleys of Pacasmayo,

116 Andean Culture History

Chicama, Moche, Viru, Santa, Nepefia, and Casma
where it is evident that strong political as well as cul-
tural unity existed. ‘The Interlocking and Early Lima
cultures dominate the Central Coast, particularly in the
Chancay, Rimac, and Lurin valleys. On the South
Coast, the Necropolis culture at Paracas, near Pisco Val-
ley, is closely related to the Nazca culture of the Ica
and Nazca valleys. The Recuay culture is found through-
out the Callej6n de Huaylas and in other parts of the
North Highlands. The South Highlands are the center
of the Pucara and Early Tiahuanaco cultures. The dis-
tinctive Tiahuanaco culture undoubtedly had its
origins in the period, but it will be described with the
next period which it so clearly dominates. Only the
Central Highlands, later so prominent as the center
of the Inca Empire, have no known cultural remains of
this period.

So vast is the quantity and variety of cultural ma-
terial that detailed treatment of each culture is im-
practical. By and large the Nazca and Mochica cultures
are the best known; consequently, these are treated in
greater detail, particularly in respect to their contrast-
ing cultural patterns. The other cultures are included
wherever possible. The technological achievements are
presented first as the basis for subsequent analysis of
the regional patterns of orientation.

In the Mastercraftsman Period subsistence is based
almost entirely on agriculture and there is every indi-
cation that the coastal valleys were completely con-
quered with respect to cultivation. In Viru, for example,
hundreds of sites of this period are found in all parts
of the valley, with the principal sites concentrated on
the valley flats. Some of these are small habitation
mounds; others are reasonably large villages. Irrigation
systems are intricate and suggest over-all planning. In
Chicama Valley one irrigation canal is over seventy-
five miles long; another, at Ascope, is conducted across

The Central Andes 117

the wide mouth of a quebrada by means of an artifi-
cially constructed aqueduct, fourteen hundred meters
long, fifteen meters high, and estimated to contain over
785,000 cubic meters of earth. Likewise many of the
complicated arrangements of agricultural terraces in the
South Highlands are assigned to this period.

In preceding periods the range of domesticated
plants included maize, squash, beans, cotton, peppers,
peanuts, manioc, coca, quinoa, cafiahua, achira; and
various fruits: pepino, pacai, licuma, and avocado. Ad-
ditional plants and fruits were grown by the Master-
craftsmen: sweet potato, potato, oca, mashua, ulluco,
jiquima, yacodn, and lupines; tuna, granadilla,
chirimoya, guanabana, tumbo, papaya, and pineapple.
To be sure, some of these plants and fruits were un-
doubtedly known previously, but the evidence is now
definite. In other words, the total range of Central
Andean domesticated plants is now established, and
no new plants are added until the Spaniards arrived.
Likewise, the standard agricultural techniques include
the digging-stick, the hoe, guano fertilizer, and prob-
ably every other method known in the Central Andes
at any time. The psychological importance of agricul-
tural subsistence is indicated by the common repre-
sentations of domesticated plants in the art work, the
frequent association of plants and religious symbols,
and the pictures of ceremonies related to agricultural
activities. Domesticated llamas, alpacas, and guinea
pigs are numerous, and herding plays an important
role in the subsistence. The gathering of wild foods
no longer seems important, but fishing, with hooks,
nets, and harpoons, is still a standard supplement to
the food supply. Hunting, judging by the scenes on
Mochica pottery, has now become a sport for the
privileged upper class. The hunting scenes depict the
use of deer nets and traps, spear-throwers and darts,
clubs for sea lions, and blowguns for birds.

118 Andean Culture History

The advanced agricultural techniques and the size
and number of habitation sites all suggest a large
population. However, population pressure cannot have
been very severe since many regions and valleys of con-
siderable fertility were apparently only slightly utilized.
It is of course possible that future archaeological work
will prove that these were equally well populated by
peoples with different cultures.

Permanent materials, such as stone or adobe, are
used everywhere in house building. In the latter half
of the Early Farmer Period underground structures
were popular. Like those found in association with the
Necropolis culture at Paracas, they had one and two
rooms lined with stone and sun-baked adobes. In the
earlier examples, entrance was through a short tunnel.
Later, a stairway led to the rooms. Subterranean dwell-
ings are also associated with the Recuay culture in the
North Highlands. Some are long narrow galleries,
lined and covered with stone slabs, and entered by a
shaft at one end. Others have a central chamber sur-
rounded by a number of small niche-like rooms. ‘These
are constructed of large and small stones, carefully
chinked, plastered, and often painted. Still others have
two floors underground, or a combination of a surface
room and a basement-like chamber. Subterranean
houses are also found in the South Highlands, but
most villages consist of a number of rough stone sur-
face dwellings. The North Coast Mochica ceramics
portray houses built on terraces around open patios
and with small rectangular rooms. The roofs are gabled
and apparently thatched with straw or mats. The ex-
cavated ruins reveal clusters of rectangular rooms
around some of the large temples. The walls are usu-
ally composed of mold-made rectangular adobes.

Villages of this period are not laid out according to
a specific plan. An open scatter pattern is the most
typical arrangement of house units. An exception is

The Central Andes 119

found in the North Coast honeycomb pattern of which
the Gallinazo group in Viru Valley is a good illustra-
tion. This group consists of six artificial platform
mounds, the largest of which is roughly two hundred
by four hundred meters, and over five meters high. Its
surface is covered with small rectangular rooms con-
structed of plain or cane-marked adobes. ‘The rooms
average about ten meters square, so that they number
several thousand on this one platform. The layout is
haphazard; new units were added in amorphous fash-
ion from time to time. It does not follow that all the
rooms were occupied simultaneously nor that each
room represents the home of a single family unit. How-
ever, the group as a whole must have housed a sizable
population.

The Mastercraftsman Period is generally charac-
terized by the construction of large public works, usu-
ally identified as temples and forts. An exception is in
the south where large fortified towns start in Paracas
times but seldom have structures of large size. On the
Central Coast, although time association for the many
large pyramids and building units is not very satis-
factory, some of the large pyramids and building units,
like Pachacamac and Cajamarquilla, were certainly
initiated during this period. For example, some thick
walls built of hand-molded adobe and stone are dec-
orated with frescoes with typical Interlocking designs
of fish painted in white, yellow, red, and black. In the
North Highlands some of the two and three-story
temples with interior rooms, stone walls, and slab
roofs, undoubtedly are assignable to the Recuay cul-
ture, although final confirmation of this identification
is lacking. Consequently, our best knowledge of large
scale public building is from the North Coast and the
South Highlands.

The most outstanding Mochica constructions on the
North Coast are found at Moche, not far from Trujillo.

120 Andean Culture History

At the base of a rocky hill, called Cerro Blanco, are two
large buildings separated by a flat plain, once the site
of a village. The first building, the “Huaca de la Luna,”
is a step-sided platform, eighty by sixty meters, ter-
raced against the side of the hill. Graves with Mochica
style pottery were uncovered at the base of this plat-
form and some of the room walls on top are decorated
with a fresco in black, white, red, yellow, light blue,
pink, and brown. The design, in Mochica style, por-
trays shields, maces, darts, and the like, represented as
if in revolt against human control. The second build-
ing, the “Huaca del Sol,” is one of the largest single
structures on the Coast of Peru. The base is a step-
sided platform, two hundred twenty-eight by one
hundred thirty-six meters and eighteen meters high; it
is approached by a causeway six meters wide and ninety
meters long. A step-sided pyramid, one hundred three
meters square and twenty-three meters high, caps the
south end of the platform. The Moche River has cut
into this building, revealing a solid mass of rectangular
mold-made adobes. In fact, the whole unit is com-
posed of columns of adobes, piled up with little atten-
tion to binding, implying that it was constructed by
organized groups of unskilled workers.

The Moche ruins are the most impressive, but there
are many other examples of large isolated architectural
units on the North Coast. Some are step-sided pyramids
built on the village flats, others are platforms ap-
proached by a ramp; still others cap natural rocky out-
crops and thus augment the impression of massiveness.
Rough stones are used in the foundations and algar-
robo logs may be inserted as binders, but the greater
part of the construction is always of mold-made
rectangular adobes. The outer walls are plastered and
some are painted or decorated with cut-out arabesques.
The decorated walls and the constant association of
cemeteries imply that these structures were temples.

The Central Andes 121

However, some of the constructions surmounting the
high peaks may have served as forts.

In the South Highlands the architecture is more
skilled and complex than the simple massive North
Coast constructions. ‘The temple at Pucara in southern
Peru serves as an illustration. The basic materials are
dressed sandstone and basalt blocks, although some
adobe is also used. The over-all plan is somewhat com-
plex. An inner court, about fifteen meters square,
contains two subterranean burial vaults built of care-
fully dressed blocks and slabs. The vaults are entered
through a doorway and a series of steps. This central

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court is at a lower level than the surrounding con-
structions which consist of a series of walls forming a
horseshoe-shaped enclosure and contain small compart-
ments with the doors facing the inner court. Each
compartment contains one or two slab altars. The
stone masonry is consistently of good quality, although

122 Andean Culture History

the joining techniques so characteristic of the some-
what later Tiahuanaco are not employed. The identi-
fication of this Pucara building as a temple seems
obvious. ‘The North Coast building seems to represent
mass labor, but Pucara gives the impression of being
the work of skilled professional masons.

Stone carving is associated with all highland cultures
of this period. In the North Highlands, carved statues
and lintels are characteristic of the Recuay culture. The
statues (Fig. 13) represent seated females and stylized
warriors who carry clubs and shields. The figures are
further decorated with finely incised designs in Recuay
motifs. The Pucara sculptors carved human figures,
animals, stelae, and slabs (Plate 15). The carving is
competent and displays some attempts at realism, al-
though it is not remarkable as sculpture. The stelae
and slabs are usually decorated with frankly geometric
designs. The few statues in Bolivia which are assigned
to the Early Tiahuanaco culture have certain stylistic
resemblances to those of Pucara. Again the statues are
somewhat realistic and represented in kneeling or
seated positions.

Throughout the Central Andes, the graves of this
period, although differing in detail, are always care-
fully constructed and usually contain a large number
of offerings. To be sure, all burials are not equally
elaborate even in the same culture, since by this time
there are marked distinctions in the importance of in-
dividuals. ‘The materials placed in the graves are
definitely ceremonial. For example, in both ceramics
and weaving there is a sharp contrast between the utili-
tarian pieces and the ceremonial objects intended for
interment. The deceased everywhere are buried in
definite cemeteries; some are located in isolated fata
others in close proximity to the temples.

The typical Mochica grave is a rectangular box made
of adobes. Niches may be built in its walls to hold

The Central Andes 123

grave offerings. The roofs are constructed of poles, a
combination of poles and adobes, or rarely, of adobes
arranged in the form of a true arch. The single or
multiple burials are in an extended position and the
grave accompaniments are usually numerous. ‘The
South Coast Nazca graves are pot-shaped, with a square
or round shaft, which may be lined with poles or rough
stones, leading to an enlarged chamber below. The
burials are flexed and cloth wrapped. Burials of the
Necropolis culture at Paracas were in stone-lined sub-
terranean vaults similar to their houses. Some of these
vaults contain forty or more elaborately wrapped
mummy bundles. The Recuay graves in the North
Highlands are either subterranean stone-lined boxes or
underground galleries. The dressed stone burial vaults
of Pucara in the South Highlands have already been
mentioned.

Most museum collections of this period are from
graves that have been systematically looted for years,
and consequently, contain largely ceremonial objects.
In general, knowledge of the utilitarian manufactures
is decidedly limited. However, the Mastercraftsman
Period is particularly noted for its skilled craftsman-
ship in ceramics, weaving, and metallurgy. There is no
outstanding regional difference in technical abilities,
so that the distinctions found represent local styles
and preference. Each of the major crafts is described,
then, in terms of its generalized technical achievement
and its specific regional styles.

The ceramics are the best made and most com-
petently decorated of those found at any time in the
Central Andes. The pastes are fine and made from
selected clays; the firing is done in open ovens with
complete control of oxidation; and the thickness or
thinness of the ware is entirely under the regulation of
the manufacturer. Most vessels are covered with an
over-all slip before the design is applied. Modeling,

124 Andean Culture History

incision, appliqué, and pressed relief are universally
known decorative techniques, but the principal dis-
tinguishing trait is brush work painted design. Poly-
chrome painting is equally characteristic, although the
number of colors varies regionally. In general, the
ceramic design is depictive in that the modeling and
painting is intended to portray actual objects, animals,
birds, and figures. Occasionally the design approaches
true realism; sometimes, the basic naturalistic figure
is modified or stylized. Each major area has its dis-
tinctive series of shapes and designs which are readily
distinguishable.

The major diagnostics of the Mochica ceramics are
the stirrup-spout, the depictive linear brush design,
bichrome painting in white and red, and skillful natu-
ralistic modeling (Plate 17). While the number of ves-
sel shape categories is limited, the variations within
each are enormous. Roughly, sixty per cent of the
vessels in museum collections have stirrup-spouts, that
is, two arched tubes which meet in a single cylindrical
spout. The stirrup-spout is one of the North Coast
ceramic traditions, but it is distinguishable in Mochica
because of its consistent thinness and regularity of
dimension. It is found on globular containers, or, less
frequently, on angular-bodied, squat, cylindrical and
square vessels. It is also commonly found on modeled
containers which portray human heads, human figures,
animals, birds, houses, fruits, plants, etc. Other promi-
nent ceramic shapes are head bowls without stirrup-
spouts, containers with a spout and an arched handle,
double bowls, dippers with conical handles, flaring-
sided (flower) vases, collar jars, and bowls. Although
virtually all vessels are made in molds, true duplication
is unusual. Painting, modeling, and relief are used sin-
gly or in any combination of the three techniques. The
bichrome painting is depictive, some designs showing
single figures; others, scenes. Three dimensional effects

The Central Andes 125

are achieved in the modeling. Mochica design is basi-
cally realistic, portraying many details of the life of the
times: fishing and hunting scenes, ceremonies, pun-
ishments, battles, modeled portraits of distinguished
individuals, house types, animals, birds so carefully
modeled that the species can often be identified, and
representations of the gods and religious concepts. All
these realistic representations permit considerable tre-
construction of the Mochica culture. Further references
to these designs will be made in discussing other as-
pects of culture.

On the Central Coast the ceramics have little variety.
The predominant shape of the Interlocking culture is
a beaker with out-flaring or out-slanting sides, painted
in black, white and bright red on a reddish base slip.
The characteristic design, after which the culture is
named, is an interlocking fish, undoubtedly derived
from a textile pattern. Other associated shapes are
mammiform jars, double-spout vessels, constricted col-
lar jars, and spout and handle jars. The Early Lima
culture has few distinctive ceramic elements, but has,
tather, a combination of features from both the North
and South Coasts.

The Nazca ceramics (Plate 18) are characterized by
globular containers with two short spouts and a flat
connecting bridge, variants on tall, graceful goblets,
complex stylized design, and polychrome painting in
from one to eight colors on a background slip. There
are twenty-five basic shapes; most of them are variants
on shallow open bowls, tall goblets, double-spout jars,
and a spout and bridge to modeled figure jars. Poly-
chrome painting is outstanding, while modeling is de-
cidedly secondary and not particularly distinctive. The
commonest colors are various shades of red, yellow,
gray, brown, violet, black, and white. The designs may
be termed naturalistic in that they represent fish, fruit,
birds, and other identifiable figures. Each design unit

126 Andean Culture History

is usually outlined in black and filled in with other
colors. ‘The more elaborate designs include trophy
heads, centipede-like figures, a human figure with a
jagged staff and, most distinctive of all, an anthropo-
morphized feline with a mask. Nazca ceramics are ex-
cellently made, highly polished, and brilliant in color.

In the North Highlands, Recuay ceramics are char-
acterized by post-fired, carbon-black, resist decoration
applied to a red and white surface, and a stylized
jaguar design with outlined angular body and a large
head comb. The variety of shapes is so great that it is
dificult to isolate the most typical ones. There are
open bowls, conical-handled dippers, goblets, tripod
bowls, jars with high flaring collars, jars with disc-like
rims, containers with short collars and abbreviated
bridges to modeled heads, double jars, and flat-topped
jars with small modeled figures on them. Though in-
ferior in quality to that of Mochica, the modeling is
competent and has a wide range of subject matter.
Besides the characteristic jaguar design and three-color
negative painting, there are geometric, condor, and
serpent designs painted in positive red, white, and
black.

The Pucara ceramics in the South Highlands are
distinguished by flat-bottom open bowls with diverg-
ing sides, a full cat figure design with profile body and
front view face, and painting in thick black and yellow
on a red slip wih the color areas outlined by incisions.
Large goblets and jars and some smaller vessels are also
associated; additional designs are composed of rows
of profile human heads, running human figures with
elaborate headdresses, men leading llamas, and anthro-
pomorphized figures. The Pucara pottery is afhliated
with the earlier Chiripa and the somewhat later
Tiahuanaco cultures. Its relationship to the Early
Tiahuanaco is not very close, although these two seem
to be contemporaneous. Instead, the Early Tiahuanaco

Po a Bs ————

av » Sete deat LOU Sf fh

The Central Andes 127

is characterized by long-necked decanters, flat-bottom
spittoon-shaped bowls, and a fretted rim incense bowl
with modeled puma heads. The designs, peculiar ani-
mals, birds and geometric patterns, are painted in a
_ polychrome on buff, employing glossy, burnished white,
black, red, brown, orange, and yellow.

Although cloth is preserved only in certain favorable
sections, there is considerable indirect evidence of com-
petent weaving everywhere in the Mastercraftsman
Period. For example, though no fabrics are preserved in
the highlands, weave daggers and spindle whorls are
numerous, and the incised designs on many stone
statues represent complex textile patterns. Cloth is best
preserved on the South Coast which, consequently,
furnishes the fullest evidence for the textile arts. Fine
weaving seems to have been a widespread tradition.
Regional emphasis on techniques made twill more
popular on the North Coast in Mochica times than
elsewhere. Most Mochica cloth is of single-ply cotton,
commonly paired, a feature used in various construc-
tions. These include, in addition to twill, double cloth,
tapestry, brocade, gauze, plaid, and embroidery. Cloth-
ing depicted on pottery shows large, bold designs so the
elaboration of detail seen on some of their tapestries
may be a late feature.

The textile art reaches its highest development on
the South Coast. Both cotton and wool fibers are ex-
tensively employed. Since the Central and South High-
lands are more favorable environments for the breeding
and herding of llamas and alpacas than the North High-
lands, the South Coast peoples always had an abun-
dant source of wool for weaving, a circumstance which
may account for some of the emphasis on this craft.
In their totality, the textiles of Nazca and the Necrop-
olis cultures present almost every weaving technique
known in the Central Andes at any time. Over-all
embroidery is the most characteristic decorative tech-

128 Andean Culture History

nique, but brocade, warp and weft stripe, gauze, lace,
double cloth, and tapestry are all common. There are
also many types of braiding and three dimensional nee-
dle knitting. Polychrome design is the rule and as
many as one hundred ninety hues in seven color ranges
have been identified. Most designs are complex, but
the embroidered figures are particularly elaborate, re-
sembling the polychrome painted designs on Nazca
pottery in many details. In fact, the textiles of the
South Coast represent one of the greatest artistic
achievements of the Central Andes. The demonstrated
skills in spinning, dyeing, and weaving techniques rank
these textiles among the great arts of the world. The
known quantity of woven fabrics is almost unbeliev-
able. Furthermore, many of the garments were woven
exclusively for the mummy bundles, rather than for the
use of the living.

The woven parts of clothing include breechclouts,
belts, slit neck shirts, wrap-around skirts, large shawls,
rectangular pieces folded and wrapped as turbans,
woven headbands, and other forms of headdress. The
Mochica ceramic designs depict a similar clothing pat-
tern for the North Coast, with, if possible, even greater
emphasis on the elaboration of headdress. Indirect
evidence from other areas confirms the conclusion that
by the Mastercraftsman Period, the basic Andean pat-
tern of male and female costume was established
throughout the Central Andes. Closely related to cos-
tume are personal ornaments which show elaboration
and variety. Ornaments and details of dress seem to
mark individuals of different rank and importance and
also to identify local groups and specialists. The variety
of headdresses has already been mentioned as charac-
teristic. These include plain bands, turbans, skull caps,
animal and bird skin caps, and some attachments like
feather fans and metal crests. The Mochica ceramics
suggest that the headdress symbolized messengers,

The Central Andes 129

wise men, fishermen, agriculturists, priests, warriors,
and rulers. Face and body painting is a common prac-
tice; again it seems that the design detail served to
distinguish rank and association. Some of the South
Coast mummies are tattooed. Elsewhere the ceramic
designs represent facial incisions and _ punctations
which probably signify tattooing. Artificial skull defor-
mation is a widespread custom. It has been suggested
that this was a mark of rank, but actually, undeformed
skulls are so rare that the practice seems to have been
fairly universal. Earplugs, noseplugs, and lip plugs are
found in every region. Other types of ornaments such
as beads, necklaces, anklets, rings, feather plumes, col-
lars, and tweezers for depilation are also widely distrib-
uted. Ceremonial or burial masks of clay, cloth, or
metal are also associated with every culture of this
period.

The metallurgists worked with silver, copper, and
gold, and made alloys of copper and gold, copper and
silver, and silver and gold (Plate 16). It is noteworthy
that bronze, the alloy of copper and tin, is still un-
known. The range of techniques includes soldering,
hammering, embossing, casting, gilding, and annealing.
Some regions, particularly the South Coast, were not
as advanced as others in metalwork. In general, metal
objects were used only for ornaments. The Mochica
are exceptions, since they used copper for spear points,
_digging-stick points, battle axes, and some other tools.
Many minor crafts were undoubtedly advanced, al-
though archaeologists have not devoted much atten-
tion to them so that our knowledge is somewhat te-
stricted. The Mochica tombs contain incised clay
whorls, figurines, whistles, trumpets, and pampipes;
ceremonial stone axes and club heads; intricate exam-
ples of inlaid shell mosaic; incised and carved bone
tubes; and some carved wooden staff heads and other
objects. Other sites preserve decorated calabashes and

130 Andean Culture History

a variety of baskets which, although competently made,
are not very elaborate in technique.

There is also evidence of advancement of knowledge
in other fields. An ideographic means of communica-
tion has been suggested for the Mochica. This is based
on the frequent depiction on ceramics of variously
marked beans and activities in which beans obviously
play an important role. An alternative suggestion is
that variations in the markings of beans were used in
divination. Whatever the reason similar beans appear
as design elements in the Necropolis culture of the
South Coast and in the Tiahuanaco culture of the
South Highlands. Many skulls from the South Coast
and the North Highlands have pieces of bone cut out,
and since the edges of the cuts show subsequent
growth of the bone, this trephining operation was ob-
viously successfully controlled. The Mochica ceramics
record other surgical practices, namely, bone setting,
limb amputation, and circumcision. The artists also
depicted many types of diseases and their cures, some,
apparently, with medicinal plants. The ceramics also
display medicinemen curing patients by means of mas-
sage and by sucking out disease objects.

The designs on stone carving and ceramics and, in —

some places, the actual specimens, show that feather
capes, masks, and other special costumes were worn
in ceremonial dances. Many of the ceremonies are di-
rected by priest-like figures and are accompanied by
musicians. These designs and the preserved artifacts
present a fair inventory of musical instruments, includ-
ing drums of various types, tambourines, and flutes,
panpipes of both clay and reeds, gongs, clappers, rat-

tles, shell trumpets, and both straight and coiled clay |

trumpets (Fig. 18).
Religion is highly developed and organized in the
Mastercraftsman Period, as witnessed by the ceremo-

nial paraphernalia, the elaborate grave equipment, the —

The Central Andes 131

temple constructions, and the depiction of priests and
anthropomorphic divinities. ‘The feline is the most uni-
versal religious figure represented, but many others
depicted in the modeling, painting, and carving seem
to suggest a hierarchy of gods. Nature worship is cer-
tainly prominent in the religion and the elaborateness
of burial indicates an equal importance for ancestor
worship. The Mochica ceramics represent many sacri-
fices of prisoners and the widespread distribution of the
trophy head design suggests that the taking of trophy
heads was part of the religious practice.

A marked increase in population occurred in the
Mastercraftsman Period, but the organization and con-
trol of agricultural subsistence was adequate to produce
an excess supply which permitted leisure-time activities.
In other words, when technology had advanced to a
satisfactory level in terms of the local economy, atten-
tion was shifted to socio-political organization and the
utilization of leisure time. Many different patterns for
such organization are theoretically possible and each
major area may well have had its own distinctive type.
On the basis of existing evidence three emerge clearly,
namely, the Mochica pattern on the North Coast, the
Nazca-Necropolis pattern on the South Coast, and the
Tiahuanaco pattern in the South Highlands. The
characteristics of the first two patterns are presented
here; the third, the Tiahuanaco, is reserved for the
next section, since it forms the basis for the subsequent
pan-Central Andean horizon.

The Mochica socio-political organization and leisure-
time superstructure emerged as a sharply divided class
system in which a small upper group directed the labor
of the masses. The ceramic designs suggest many
specialized groups, such as rulers, wise men, messen-
gers, watrlors, priests, weavers, potters, fishermen,
musicians, doctors, and prisoners or slaves. Certain
symbols are regularly associated with some of these

132 Andean Culture History

groups. A combination symbol composed of shield,
mace, and darts identifies the warriors. The messen-
gers are represented by centipedes, birds, and dragon-
flies. A fox or a cat-like mask usually distinguishes the
learned men, and a jaguar is commonly the symbol of
authority. Specialized groups in themselves do not
necessarily imply a strong class system, but in this case
there is additional evidence for rather marked differ-
ences in the ranking of the groups. The costumes of
important individuals are definitely more elaborate
than those of the commoners. Furthermore, the “rulers”
often combine the attributes of political, religious, and
military authority. The leaders are pictured as seated
on raised daises under special sun shelters, as carried
in litters, or as seated on rafts which are towed through
the water by menial swimmers. Guests of inferior rank
dine at a lower level than the important chiefs. Serv-
ants are often depicted as lizards. Both the rulers and
the gods are approached with an attitude of reverence
—the hands clasped as if in prayer, the head inclined
towards the ground. The chiefs occupy prominent po-
sitions as leaders of ceremonies and as supervisors of
hunting and fishing parties. The graves of such im-
portant individuals are markedly richer and more
elaborate than others in the same cemetery.

The Mochica erected immense public buildings and
temples which display only limited architectural skill,
but certainly suggest well organized mass labor. ‘The
adobes were made in molds and piled up in columns.
One vessel shows a group of weavers working under
the direction of a supervisor, so simple mass production
methods were applied to the textile craft. Ceramic pro-
duction is not so well documented and we can only
deduce that potters were similarly organized. ‘The ce-
ramic painting and modeling reflect a great interest in
mundane affairs. Even the anthropomorphized deity
engages in agriculture, fishing, and hunting, and fights

The Central Andes 133

with demons as a symbol of the “good.” Since the
chief is portrayed as both a political and religious
leader, many of the ceremonies and religious beliefs
served to bolster the upper class authority. Many scenes
represent systematic and severe punishments, including
mutilation, stoning, exposure, and execution or sacri-
fice. Nude prisoners are pictured with ropes around
their necks, but even here the more important individ-
uals are carried in litters. The Mochica women occupy
a definitely subordinate position. They are never rep-
resented in social or ceremonial scenes, but are
portrayed as engaged in the menial tasks of weaving,
domestic work, and burden bearing. The warrior group,
on the other hand, is particularly prominent. The war-
riors have distinctive headdress and garments and
carry copper battle axes, maces, darts, shields, and
spear-throwers. Battle scenes are common and illus-
trate the Mochica aggressive tendencies.

The Nazca-Necropolis pattern on the South Coast
presents a sharp contrast to the Mochica. The social
organization and the leisure-time activities appear to
have been directed essentially towards the preparation
of special grave materials in an elaboration of ancestor
worship. There are no large scale buildings and the
simple structures use hand-made rather than mold-made
adobes. ‘The greatest emphasis is placed on textile
weaving, a craft which requires an enormous expendi-
ture of time, particularly for the more elaborate pieces.
Increased production in hand weaving can be achieved
only by increasing the number of weavers, so that the
vast quantity of Nazca-Necropolis fabrics suggests that
a large part of the population was involved. Although
artistic and technical standards of weaving are excep-
tionally high, almost every fabric achieves them, which
again implies numerous highly skilled weavers. Various
fabrics must have been woven especially for interment,
tather than for other purposes. Some garments show

134 Andean Culture History

no signs of wear, others do. Some are unfinished and
certain turbans are so large that they appear to have
been made to fit the mummy bundle rather than the
living.

Many motifs in both textile and ceramic design are
essentially mythological in nature and often have long
records of use and modification. None was used in a
way implying rigid class distinctions. Some individuals
were honored more than others and were buried with
a greater number of costumes and ornaments. Such
persons were not set apart and are found among groups
of people of lesser rank, men and women together. The
grouping seems to have been by families perhaps over
a number of generations. In preparation for burial suc-
cessive wrappings were used which prompted an er-
roneous suggestion that this was done at different
times.

The reality of these two regional culture patterns is
confirmed by their later history. ‘The Nazca-Necropolis
pattern did not expand, but rather was confined to the
three South Coast valleys of Pisco, Ica, and Nazca. The
expanding Tiahuanaco horizon complex, whatever its
nature, mingled readily with the Nazca style to pro-
duce new types of textiles and new combinations of
ceramic shapes and designs. In fact, Tiahuanaco com-
pletely absorbed the Nazca-Necropolis culture so that
it never re-emerged. The Mochica, on the other hand,
became aggressive at the end. They spread their cul-
ture by military conquest from the original center of
the Chicama and Moche valleys until they controlled
the North Coast from Pacasmayo to Casma. The
Mochica culture mixed very little with the Tiahuanaco.
In fact, the meeting of the two cultures appears to
have resulted in a struggle for survival in which the
Mochica were temporarily eclipsed or, more likely,
withdrew to such northern valleys as Lambayeque and
Piura. At least the Mochica style and the Mochica

The Central Andes 135

pattern soon re-emerged in the modified form of the
Chimu culture which persisted up to the time of the
Inca conquest. |

The Mastercraftsman Period in general marks the
culmination of technological advancement. A success-
ful formula for subsistence and crafts had been
achieved, and attention was shifted to the control of
man units rather than development of additional
techniques. The remaining cultural history of the Cen-
tral Andes is, then, that of different types of political
and social organizations. The next period is marked by
confusion and political expansion out of which the
Tiahuanaco formula becomes pan-Central Andean in
scope. This is not based on any radical change in tech-
nology, but is rather a new form of social, political, or
religious organization.

EXPANSIONIST PERIOD

(Cd. 900-1200 A.D.)

The shift from technological advancement to ma-
nipulation of man-hour units and political organiza-
tion had begun even before the close of the Master-
craftsman Period. With this change in emphasis,
expansion in the form of conquests of new regions
became profitable. This general tendency for expan-
sion and aggression is not limited to one region, but,
except for the Nazca culture, seems to be general
throughout the Central Andes. As previously men-
tioned, the Mochica had occupied five of the major
North Coast valleys. Still farther north, the local cul-
tures of Lambayeque were spreading their influence
to neighboring regions. In the North Highlands, both
the Recuay and Cajamarca cultures were increasing
their territory to the extent of strong influence and, in

136 Andean Culture History

some cases, actual penetration on the coast of Peru.
The several Central Coast valleys were united stylisti-
cally, if not politically, by the Interlocking culture. This
widespread expansion resulted in considerable conflict
and confusion. In some regions the irrigation systems
seem to have broken down and the populations di-
minished and scattered. In fact, the peoples of the
Central Andes apparently became engaged in serious
internecine warfare.

The Tiahuanaco culture, presumably developed in
the Central and Southern Andes, starts the spread of
its influence which characterizes the whole Expansion-
ist Period. The exact nature of this expansion cannot
be finally determined, but the archaeological materials
include the diagnostics of the Tiahuanaco horizon com-
plex in all six of the major areas of the Central Andes.
The problem of interpreting the nature of this ex-
pansion is complicated by the fact that by the close of
the Mastercraftsman Period, each region had a well-
established local culture represented by a sizable popu-
lation. Irrespective then of the type of Tiahuanaco
expansion, a merger with each of the local cultures
would be anticipated and this is precisely what oc-
curred. However, the Tiahuanaco horizon presents a
complex, not merely a single style, and the fact that —
the various components are so readily recognized in
such widely separated areas certainly suggests some
form of political expansion, even though the integra-
tion was religious and priest controlled. Considering
the type of cultural development everywhere in the
Central Andes, this wide distribution in all probability
was effected over a relatively short span of time, nor
is there any indication that the unity, political or other-
wise, endured for any great length of time. Instead,
the local cultures were so strong that they soon re-
emerged as independent organizations. ‘The assignment
here of three hundred years for the duration of the

The Central Andes 137

“xpansionist Period is largely guesswork; it might have
lourished for a longer or even shorter time.

In order to present an adequate picture of the long
ecognized pan-Central Andean Tiahuanaco horizon,
he highland Bolivian site of the same name must first
ye described. The ruins of Tiahuanaco have long been
considered as the type site for the culture, partly be-

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138 Andean Culture History

cause they have been extensively covered in the litera-
ture, partly because the culture here is well isolated. It
seems highly improbable now that Bolivia was the cen-
ter of distribution for this horizon. The bleak altiplano
near Lake Titicaca has an altitude of almost fourteen
thousand feet, which is too high for the cultivation of
many plants, although quinoa, potatoes, and oca can be
grown, and there is pasturage for llamas and alpacas.
Today, the region supports a scattered, although rea-
sonably large Indian population; presumably the situa-
tion was not very different in the past. However, the
Tiahuanaco site appears to have been a major ceremo-
nial center, rather than a city or large village. This
would enhance its importance even though it was not
the political or distributional center. In most regions,
the Tiahuanaco elements are intermingled with local
styles, but the Bolivian site is an exception, and thus
offers the best illustrations of the basic culture. Chiripa,
Early ‘Tiahuanaco, and Pucara cultures all antedate
Tiahuanaco in the South Highlands and contribute, in
part, to its final formulation. This must have been
initiated at least in the Mastercraftsman Period since
some designs are shared in common with the Mochica
and Nazca cultures. However, Tiahuanaco as a whole
belongs in the Expansionist Period which it so thor- |
oughly dominates.

The ruins of Tiahuanaco, located about twelve miles
south of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, are composed of four
major structural units and numerous minor ones scat-
tered over a large area. The largest unit, called Acapana,
is a natural mound, about fifteen meters high, which
was re-shaped into a step-sided pyramid and faced with
stone. The over-all groundplan measures two hundred
ten by two hunded ten meters and has the appearance
of a step-sided triangle. House foundations rest on top
of the mound and there is also a large artificial reser-
voir, with an overflow canal built of dressed and fitted

The Central Andes 139

blocks. The unit appears to have been a fortress which

served as a place of refuge in time of siege.
Immediately to the north of the fortress is a large

rectangular unit, one hundred thirty-five by one hun-

dred thirty meters, called Calasasaya (Plate 19). This

was at one time a raised earth platform or terreplein
faced with a dressed stone wall of slab uprights and
smaller filling blocks. ‘Today most of the smaller stones
have been removed and the earth fill has eroded so that
the ruin has the appearance of an inclosure of upright
pillars. An inner court, sixty by forty meters, is still
discernible and is approached from the east by a
megalithic stairway consisting of six slabs. The best
preserved wall on the west side of the unit may possibly
have been added at a slightly later time. Several stone
statues and a decorated monolithic gateway, the “Gate-

way of the Sun,” are associated with this unit.

’

'

i

A smaller inclosure, sixty by fifty-five meters, west
of Calasasaya, is called the Palacio. It contains many
dressed and fitted stone blocks, as well as a painted
stairway. The fourth major unit, Puma Puncu, another
platform structure, lies some distance southwest of the
others. It is built of great slabs and stone blocks, some
weighing over one hundred tons. Although badly de-
stroyed, remains of cut-out seats, decorated blocks, and
broken monolithic gateways are still identifiable. The
nearest source of the sandstone used in this construc-
tion is over five kilometers distant. Organization and
skill were needed to transport and place these immense
stones in precise positions.

The major construction units are in themselves
symmetrical, but their relationship to each other is not.
The units appear planned, the over-all arrangement

haphazard. The architecture is massive as illustrated
_by the solid raised platforms and the stone-faced pyra-
mids. Both basalt and sandstone slabs and blocks are
ground down to a smooth dressed finish. Stones are

a

140 Andean Culture History

fitted by means of notches, joints, and copper cramps
placed in cut-out T and I-shaped grooves (Plate 20).
Not only is stone sculpture associated, but it is also one
of the architectural features. Other Tiahuanaco spe-
cialties are decorated monolithic gateways, megalithic
steps, cut-out step-sided wall niches, and decorative
blocks arranged in mosaic patterns. Both surface con-
duits and underground drainage canals are found in
the vicinity of the buildings, and some subterranean
rooms are lined with dressed stone and entered by
stairways. On the whole, this Tiahuanaco masonry is
the most skilled and complex found in the Central
Andes.

The stone carving at Tiahuanaco includes pillarlike
statues, relief slabs and blocks, decorative friezes on
gateways, and both animal and human heads with ten-
ons or blocks for wall insertion. The statues are stiff
and conventionalized and little attention has been
given to sculpture in the round (Plate 21). The figure
is usually in a standing position with the hands placed
on the chest. The squared head has a raised headband,
T-shaped eyebrows and nose, and eyes with wings or
tear bands. Fine incised designs on the body and waist
bands represent woven garments. These incised de- —
signs and the low relief friezes on the gateways il-
lustrate the style which is commonly considered as
typical of Tiahuanaco because of its wide spread. ‘The
designs include front view human figures with a staff —
in each hand, profile running figures with masks and
flowing capes, profile puma and condor figures, and
a series of characteristic appendages composed of
puma, condor, or fish heads. That these designs are
basically derived from textile patterns is confirmed by
the tapestries of this period. It is of interest that at
the Tiahuanaco site, the ceramic designs are usually
distinguishable from the stone series incised with tex-
tile patterns, and more local in distribution. Other

The Central Andes 141

styles of stone carving, such as realistic human figures
and geometric relief slabs, are also found at Tiahuan-
aco, but are not definitely associated with this time
period.

There have been only a few systematic excavations
at ‘Tiahuanaco. The graves described are simple pits
containing a few pieces of pottery, but more elaborate
graves undoubtedly existed and perhaps some of the
subterranean rooms served as burial vaults. However,
fairly large private collections of grave pottery have
been assembled. ‘The ceramics are characterized by
flaring-sided goblets, squat, open bowls, annular base
libation bowls, modeled puma and llama vessels, tall
vases, and open bowls with wide flaring rims (Plate
22). The ceramics are well fired and highly polished.
All vessels are covered with a red slip and painted in
polychrome designs of two to eight colors, although
black, white-on-red are the basic combinations. The
designs are usually outlined in black, or black and
white, and other colors are added to fill in the figure.
In contrast to the stone incised patterns, the ceramic
designs are simple: profile pumas, human heads, and
condors, or combinations of these elements.

Textiles are not preserved in the rainy altiplano, but,
as mentioned, the stone carving designs are evidence
that this craft was advanced. The metallurgists em-
ployed gold, silver, and copper with competence and
skill. It is possible that bronze first appeared at
Tiahuanaco, since Bolivia is about the only source of
tin in South America, but thus far the analyses show
only pure copper artifacts, even for the cramps used in
fitting the stone. Decorated stone bowls, incised snuff
tablets, clubs, pounders, polishers, and axes are all com-
mon. Bone and shell objects are numerous, but all the
more perishable types of artifacts are not preserved.

The cultural pattern implied by the archaeological
remains at Bolivian Tiahuanaco is that of a well inte-

142 Andean Culture History

grated and powerfully controlled religious organization.
The large construction units required organized mass
labor, careful advanced planning, and skilled masons.
The site has every appearance of a ceremonial center,
so that it is logical to assume a religious direction. There
are many indications that ‘Tiahuanaco was built at in-
tervals and that much of it was never completed. This
‘suggests once more the religious pilgrimage pattern,
in which great masses of people assembled at certain
times of the year and contributed the labor of hauling,
dressing, and placing the large stones. In the interim
periods, skilled masons worked on the fitting, joining,
and carving. The Tiahuanaco art style, represented by
stone carving and ceramic painting, is highly conven-
tionalized, little varied, and rigidly limited. Chavin
style was limited in motifs, Tiahuanaco is limited by
conventions. ‘The designs are doubtless symbolic but
they are also impersonal. They confirm the impression
of a formalized and well organized religious control.
The type site of Tiahuanaco presents a unique com-
bination of masonry, stone carving, and ceramics, but
there is good evidence for the spread of some Tia-
huanaco diagnostics, both in the highlands and on the
coast. Other sites have been found on the islands and
shores of Lake Titicaca. Lucurmata, on the Bolivian
shore, presents a terraced platform and a small temple
built of dressed and fitted blocks. Cemeteries near
Cochabamba prove that Tiahuanaco expanded into the
eastern cordillera of Bolivia. In the Calama oasis of
North Chile, Tiahuanaco is represented by textiles,
polychrome ceramics, and incised wooden snuff tablets.
Likewise, Tiahuanaco style ceramics have been found
near Arequipa and Chuquibamba in southern Peru.
The recently discovered site of Wari, near Ayacucho
in the Central Highlands, may well prove to be one
of the most important Tiahuanaco centers. Prelimi-
nary reports describe Wari as an enormous area covered

The Central Andes 143

with rough stone walls, some of which are still twenty
feet high. Dressed stone tombs, simple upright statues,
and thick polychrome pottery with elaborate Tia-
huanaco designs are also associated. ‘The central loca-
tion of Wari, plus its apparent size and complexity,
makes it a favored candidate for the true center of ex-
pansion, particularly for the coast region. Materials per-
taining to the Tiahuanaco horizon complex are found
in quantity in all the coastal valleys from southern
Nazca to northern Chicama. Pacheco in Nazca and
Pachacamac and Ancén on the Central Coast are out-
standing sites, but it is impractical to list all the others.
In the North Highlands, many sites, like Wilkawain,
near Huaraz, contain Tiahuanaco horizon materials. It
is interesting that their stylistic afhliations are with
the coast rather than with other parts of the highlands,

The highland sites of this period are represented by
building units, stone sculptures, and cemeteries, but the
coast sites thus far known are largely limited to cemeter-
ies. This situation is due in part to the lack of adequate
archaeological work, but it may also reflect the nature
of the Tiahuanaco expansion. This whole period seems
to have been one of great confusion, and it is unlikely
that the unification represented by the Tiahuanaco
horizon was a well organized political one. Somewhat
later, the Inca perfected the techniques of conquest
and incorporation, but at this point political organiza-
tion was still experimental. Consequently, ambitious
building projects would not be expected, but instead,
the existing constructions would be re-utilized. If the
expansion were truly religious, the priest leaders would
probably try to maintain the authority of the recognized
highland ceremonial centers rather than establish new
ones. This is, of course, speculation; but, as yet, major
buildings on the coast have not been assigned to this
period and there is ample evidence that earlier construc-
tions were re-used. The recent work in Viru Valley adds

144 Andean Culture History

to the general picture of conditions at this time. Though
sites are numerous, they are located on the margins of
the valley. This may indicate that the valley flats were
under total cultivation, but it is more likely the result
of a temporary breakdown in the main irrigation system.
Other evidence suggests a marked decline in population.
Reorganization at the end of the period is demonstrated
by finds of some villages composed of clusters of forty
by sixty meter rectangular enclosures which contain in-
terior subdivisions.

Numerous coast and highland sites of the Expan-
sionist Period are united by the Tiahuanaco horizon
complex, as well as by stratigraphic evidence which
places them in the same relative time span. For example,
at Moche on the North Coast an Expansionist Period
cemetery is found on a platform of the Huaca del Sol
constructed by the earlier Mochica. A Wilkawain-
Tiahuanaco building in the North Highlands is super-
imposed on a Recuay culture subterranean gallery. On
the South Coast, Tiahuanaco mixes with the Nazca-B
style which marks the end of the Nazca sequence. Much
more data on the chronological placement of the vari-
ous sites are also available.

The diagnostics of the Tiahuanaco horizon complex
have previously been briefly mentioned, but deserve
more detailed treatment. Ceramic traits are obviously
the best criteria since pottery looms large in the col-
lections and is universally preserved. All sites of the
Tiahuanaco horizon have some ceramics with the char-
acteristic shapes of the flaring-sided goblet and the
squat flaring-sided cup; a red slip over-all base, common
black and white painted design, and some use of four
or more colors; the black outlining technique for design
figures with other colors used as fill; and a high polished
finish. Equally widespread are distinctive design ele-
ments derived largely from the stone incision style at
Tiahuanaco, such as the front view figure with a staff in

The Central Andes 145

each hand; the running profile figure, with cape and
bird mask; the puma and condor figures; the step design,
scroll, and trident; and appendages of animal and bird
heads. Furthermore, wherever textiles are preserved,
there are some samples of tapestry with distinctive ‘Tia-
huanaco designs. On the coast, other non-Highland
ceramic shapes, decorated with Tiahuanaco designs,
have a wide distribution: a spout and round-handled
jar, thick U-shaped ums, face bowls; modeled animal
bowls, although not like the Highland types, collar jars
with and without relief faces, double jars, and containers
with double spouts and connecting flat bridge. In spite
of the numerous horizon components, local styles are
equally prominent at most sites. For example, an
incised redware is abundant at Ancén on the central
coast; two-color negative ware at Wilkawain in the
North Highlands; and pressed relief blackware on the
North Coast.

The architectural features of the Central and South
Highlands have already been described. It has been
pointed out that large scale building on the coast is
not yet associated with this period, even though some
of the constructions at Pachacamac on the Central
Coast and at Chanchan on the North Coast were prob-
ably initiated in this period. In the North Highlands,
however, this period presents many one-room above-
ground house sites with walls of rough stone and roofs
of large slabs. At Wilkawain a three-story temple was
once ornamented with a projecting cornice and a row of
carved stone puma heads. Each floor of the temple has
half a dozen rooms and a ventilation shaft. The walls
are made of split stone laid horizontally in alternating
thick and thin rows. The slab roof is gabled. The con-
struction in general follows the North Highland stone
building tradition which was initiated with the Chavin
culture.

The graves and burial types vary locally. On the Cen-

146 Andean Culture History

tral Coast direct pit graves contain mummy bundles
with false heads adorned with masks of metal, wood,
and clay. Um burials are found on the South Coast,
but there are also log-covered subterranean chambers
hung with tapestries. At Wari in the Central Highlands,
subterranean boxes lined and covered with dressed
stone slabs served as graves. Similar boxes lined with
rough stone are found in the North Highlands.

On the coast the admirably preserved textiles illus-
trate skill in most of the known techniques, but the
tapestries are most characteristic and among the finest
made in the Central Andes. Other commonly employed
techniques ate brocade, warp pattern, double cloth,
painted cloth, square and flat braiding, velvet-like pile
knotting for caps and headbands, interlocking warp,
double cloth, and tie-dye patchwork. Both wool and
cotton fibers are used. Some colors are quite brilliant,
but tans, browns, light oranges, and pale blues are more
typical. Many of the tapestry designs are so similar to
the incised stone motifs at Tiahuanaco, that they might
easily have been used as the models for these.

Many other artifacts found present a great variety of
wood, shell, bone, and stonework (Fig. 15). Metal-
workers developed silver plating, continued to use ear-
lier techniques, and may have increased copper produc-
tion for such new applications as cast copper tie bolts
in masonry (Plate 20).

The over-all unity represented by the Tiahuanaco
horizon is soon interrupted and derived local styles ap-
pear. However, the coast is somewhat reunited towards
the close of the period by the spread of the Black-
White-Red horizon, represented by a geometric paint-
ing style for ceramics and a few characteristic shapes,
such as the flask, and the container with spout and
bridge to modeled figure. This horizon style forms a
minor element in the ceramic collections throughout
the coast and in the North Highlands, but its com-

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3. =
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193. == |

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Ke Le aati k its Wisllasssell 2

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prehistoric Peruvian artifacts

Miscellaneous

is.

Fic.
carved and painted box

wooden and ce-

comb, spoons,

?

Tamic ear spools.

148 Andean Culture History

ponents no longer even suggest any form of political
unity.

The Expansionist Period is then distinguished by the
widespread Tiahuanaco horizon complex, which cer-
tainly reflects a dominant, formalized religious impact,
and suggests a loose political unity as well. Some have
used the phrase Tiahuanaco Empire, but it is doubtful
that the unity and duration were of sufficient magni-
tude to justify such a designation, in spite of the fact
that the unification is greater than at any earlier time.
The Tiahuanaco horizon, while widespread, is not all
inclusive. The far North Coast valleys of Lambayeque
and Piura were not affected, but continued to develop
locally, perhaps inspired by the residue of Mochica cul-
ture. Cajamarca and Huamachuco in the far North
Highlands were also out of the range, and in this same
time period their inhabitants constructed sizable build-
ings and developed a distinctive ceramic style. It is of
even greater interest that in spite of the proximity of
Wari, the Cuzco region of the Central Highlands re-
mained totally independent of Tiahuanaco influence.
This suggests that the local Early Inca culture was al-
ready sufficiently advanced to resist even such strong
outside influences.

Whether political, religious, or merely stylistic in
basis, the unity of the Tiahuanaco horizon was rela-
tively short-lived. The local culture of each region had
not been entirely eradicated and reformulation soon
begins again. This was not achieved immediately, but
only after a period of some struggle. The new culture
is not a pure re-emergence of the old, but rather a mix-
ture. None of the technological techniques is lost and
the reorganization continues on social and _ political
lines. In some parts this takes the form of large con-
centrated populations which in many ways reflect a city
pattern.

a ee

The Central Andes 149

CITY BUILDER PERIOD

(Cd. 1200-1450 A.D.)

Following the Tiahuanaco dominated Expansionist
Period, local cultures re-emerge in the six main geo-
graphic divisions of the Central Andes (Fig. 16). The
disintegration of whatever type of unity the Expansion-
ists had imposed was succeeded by new struggles for
power so that the formulation of local cultures did not
follow immediately. This is illustrated by the fact that
the styles which finally appear are more than simple
derivatives of the ‘Tiahuanaco horizon. For example, the
Chimu ceramics on the North Coast present a fusion of
a number of styles: some from the earlier Mochica,
some from the Expansionist Period, some from more
local styles of the far North Highlands and the far North
Coast. Despite its diversity of origins, the Chimu style
which ultimately crystallizes is unified and distinctive.

Throughout Peru this new regional formulation is
based on political organization rather than technology.
There is now evidence for large, well organized popula-
tions living in planned building units in a pattern
which can be designated as urban, even though large
cities are not found everywhere. The established sub-
sistence techniques were extended so that a more ex-
panded terrain was irrigated and cultivated than ever
before. The population may have reached a new peak,
but the shift from rural to urban habitation makes this
dificult to verify. Since all cultures now possess ade-
quate technology and all are concentrating on political
controls, the balance of power depends largely on the
extent of territory. Consequently, it is not surprising
that the North Coast cultures become stronger than
those of the Central and South Coasts, since the north-

150 Andean Culture History

ern valleys are larger and have a more permanent water
supply.

For the City Builder Period, it is no longer practical
to list individual sites, since a single culture dominates
and is extensively represented in every major area. The
archaeological evidence for the cultures and their dis-
tribution is partially verifiable from the records of the

CENTRAL
HIGHLANDS

CENTRAL COAST

earty INCA @®CUZCO ;

SOUTH

DECADENT
TIAHUANACO

“
a
satu BOs &

Oe i i
HIGHLANDS 6g

=
3
oO
=
=
a
3

Fic. 16. Principal centers of the City Builder Period.

ede: iil oe Sas lt as ols na scclacaae

The Central Andes 151

Spanish chroniclers who list the names and locations
of the tribes conquered by the Inca in their expansion.
The Chimu who dominated the North Coast had their
political center at the large city of Chanchan in the

~Moche Valley. The Chimu or Chimor territory, just

before it was conquered by the Inca, extended six hun-
dred miles from Tumbez south to the Chillén. As the
relevant archaeological material within the area has
marked differences there is reason to doubt that it had
been unified for any appreciable length of time. To the
south, a small but powerful state occupied the Rimac
and Lurin valleys. Farther south, the people in the val-

_ leys of Mala, Cafiete and Chincha were united, and
_ had their main center of government in the Chincha.

In turn, still another state centered in Ica is reported

as composed of the Ica, Nazca and Acari valleys, a re-

_ gion with an established record of cultural and perhaps
- political unity. Regional cultures in the highlands are
_ less well known although there are many large stone

constructed villages, like Marca Huamachuco in the

_ North Highlands, which are pre-Inca but which lack dis-

tinctive styles. An Early Inca culture has recently been
isolated in the Central Highlands, although it is still
not well known. Presumably evidence for the anteced-
ents of the Inca Empire will eventually be clarified in
this region. In the South Highlands, particularly around
Lake Titicaca, the Tiahuanaco culture was not seriously

interrupted, but continued as a local development, al-

though there are no longer indications of strong organ-

ization. Around Arequipa and in North Chile are the
- remains of the Atacamefio culture. These regions were
not capable of supporting very large populations, but
_ the general cultural development is similar to that in ©
_ other parts of the Central Andes. The extensive flats

of the coastal valleys were the most suitable for large
concentrated populations. The highlands, on the other

_ hand, might support equally large populations, but not

152 Andean Culture History

in the same concentration. Consequently, the city pat-
tern reaches its highest development on the coast.

The City Builder Period cultures and sites fall into
the same relative time bracket, as verified by stratig-
raphy and other dating evidence. For example, their late
position is well demonstrated by the fact that the local
styles ultimately mix with the Incaic. On the North
Coast typical Inca aryballoid jars are made in the
Chimu blackware as are many Chancay and Ica vessels.
Whether such mixture occurred prior to the Inca ex-
pansion or as a result of the Inca conquest does not
affect the relative sequence. The duration of this period
is another matter. In this account, a guess-date dura-
tion of two hundred fifty years is assigned to the City
Builders. The numerous massive structures which per-
tain to this period might suggest a longer duration, but,
on the grounds that man-unit labor was now well or-
ganized and that the architecture is not particularly
complex, the buildings might well have been completed
in a relatively short time.

The period is designated City Builder because of the
enormous ruins of planned villages. Perhaps the largest
and certainly the best known of these cities is Chan-
chan near Trujillo on the north coast. These ruins cover -
about six square miles and contain ten distinct units,
some as large as four hundred eighty by three hundred
seventy-five meters. Between these units, which are not
symmetrically arranged, are irrigated areas, cemeteries,
numerous small structures and totora reed marshes.
The ten major units differ in detail, but each contains
approximately the same features. From one to three
high walls, some still nine meters high, surround each
unit. Within the inclosures are symmetrically arranged
streets, houses with gabled roofs, large pyramids, small
cells, cemeteries, gardens, and stone-lined reservoirs.
Some insist that Chanchan was a ceremonial center
rather than a city, but irrespective of its function, there

The Central Andes 153

must have been a large number of fairly permanent
residents.

Chanchan is the largest of the Chimu cities. There
are many others of great size, such as Pacatnamt or La
Barranca in Pacasmayo Valley and El Purgatorio in
Lambayeque Valley. All of these share such features as
symmetrical planning, rows of houses, streets, pyramids,
terraces, decorated walls (Plate 25), steps, ramps, and
reservoirs. On the Central Coast other cities, like Pa-
chacamac and Cajamarquilla in the Lurin and Rimac
valleys, are comparable in size and plan to those of the
north. The smaller valleys of the South Coast did not
support such large cities, but centers like La Centinela
in Chincha Valley and Tambo Colorado in Pisco Val-
ley resemble the North Coast towns in general plan
and combination of features.

From north to south, all of the coast cities, although
differing in size, are similar in the planning, the gen-
eral rectangularity, and the combination of pyramids,
stairways, terraces, and courts. Building materials are
everywhere identical. The rectangular mold-made ado-
bes are small and square on the South Coast, large and
flat on the North Coast, but identical in technique of
manufacture. Tapia walls, in which the clay is tamped
into large blocks between plank forms, are commonly
used for inclosures and terraces, and algarroba logs are
used as lintels and wall binders. The techniques of wall
decoration are widespread. Omamental niches are cut
out of the walls and mosaic arrangements of rectangular
adobes form decorative frets. Walls may be painted in
solid color or with designs. Most characteristic are clay
atabesques in which intricate small unit designs are cut
out of a thick clay plaster. The small geometric de-
signs, typically birds and fish, are arranged in textile-
like patterns. The most famous arabesques are found
at Chanchan, but there are equally good examples from
the Central and South Coasts.

154 Andean Culture History

In this period the elaborateness of the graves reflects
the importance of the deceased. Many graves are sim-
ply excavated pits, usually marked by an upright stick
or paddle. Others are subterranean chambers roofed
with poles. These contain more elaborate burials and
greater quantities of grave goods. ‘The burials are in
seated flexed positions, wrapped with cloth to form a
bundle, on top of which is a stuffed false head adorned
with a painted face or with a mask of clay, wood, or
metal.

Craftsmanship is still at a high level of competence,
but lacks individual artistry. Instead, attention seems
to have turned more and more to quantity production
at the expense of quality. In ceramics, for example,
the colors are reduced in number to monochrome on
the North Coast and to black, white, and red on the
South Coast. Shapes also have a more limited range.
The design style is generally geometric; a widespread
characteristic is the application of textile derived pat-
terns. ‘This decrease of attention to expressive indi-
vidual art may have been due to the stultifying effects
of the Tiahuanaco conventionalizations. In other ways
it represents a shift of emphasis from the artist as a
craftsman to the artist as a technical worker. In spite
of these generalizations about craftsmanship through-
out the Central Andes, each region has distinctive lo-
cal styles.

The Chimu ceramics, although varied in detail, can
be classified under a few basic shape categories: the
stirrup-spout, now squared in cross-section, with a small
modeled animal at the spout base; a double-whistling
jar; a globular container with taper spout and flat han-
dle; a vessel with spout and a bridge to a modeled fig-
ure; ollas; and plates (Plate 27). Some of these shapes,
like the stirrup-spout, are carryovers from the Mochica
culture; others, like the spout and bridge, are introduc-
tions from the Expansionist Period. ‘The Chimu ceram-

. ia

The Central Andes 155

ics are commonly mold made and typically polished red-
ware or smoked blackware. Painting is rare, but decora-
tion is achieved by modeling, pressed relief, stipple,
appliqué, incision, excising, and paddle marking. The
modeling is still somewhat depictive, but the skills of
the Mochica culture are no longer present.

The Chancay ceramics on the Central Coast are
made of a thin porous red or orange clay which is coated
with a scaley white slip over which textile derived pat-
terns are painted in black or dark brown. The typical
shapes are straight-sided goblets and face collar jars with
flat side handles. The commonest design elements are
bands, stripes, dots, wavy lines, cross hatch, serrated,
diagonals, and small birds and animals. On the South
Coast, Ica ceramics are generally painted in black,
white, and red. Open bowls with angular bodies, round
bottoms, and beveled rims are the most typical shape,
but also common are constricted flaring collar jars and
globular vessels with long tubular collars ending in
slightly flaring rims. The designs are either geometric
units or small birds and fish arranged in diagonals or
panels in imitation of textile patterns (Plate 28).

The ceramics attributed to the Atacamefio in Peru
and North Chile are characterized by constricted collar
_ jars with two body handles, and one-handled pitchers.
_ Again, the designs are geometric combinations of tri-
angles, diamonds, scrolls, and steps, painted in black
and white on a red base. The Atacamefio ceramic style
has sometimes been considered as a forerunner of that
of the Inca. However, many of the pieces considered
Atacameiio are most common outside the Atacama area
and are found unassociated with plainware types used
in that area. This indicates incomplete data so until
Atacamefio sites are systematically excavated, we must ©
avoid theories about their culture. Elsewhere in the
highlands, the ceramic styles are not particularly dis-
_ tinctive, as previously mentioned.

156 Andean Culture History

Woven fabrics are now produced in quantity, but
the ambitious, elaborate weaves are less frequent than
in some of the previous periods. The coast regions are
united by their great use of all cotton weaves and by
the quantity of painted, tie-die, and double cloth. Em-
broidery is still common, but is now applied to limited
areas or to figure outline. Border fringes are typical
although needle knitting is no longer practiced. ‘T'apes-
try is used to finish borders and for small inserts in the
centers or in the corners of the cotton pieces. Gauzes,
brocades, and pattern weaves are abundant. The tex-
tile designs are everywhere similar in the convention-
alization of small bird, fish, and geometric figures, and
in the arrangement of units in horizontal bands, diag-
onal rows, and within squares, diamonds, lozenges, and
frets. Over-all coast similarities are striking, although
detailed studies permit the differentiation of textiles
from the North, Central, and South Coasts. Feather-
work is also typical of this period on the coast. The
feathers are sewn on a base cloth and designs are pro-
duced by arrangement of different colored feathers,
sometimes resulting in mosaic-like patterns.

Metalwork is more abundant than in previous pe-
riods and some new techniques are added to the ear- ~
lier inventory. Bronze, or the alloy of tin and copper,
is now known, and the casting of copper became wide-
spread for the first time. Gold, silver, copper, and
bronze are all used in making such omaments as
masks, earrings, beads, crowns, and breastplates. ‘The
Chimu earplugs are long cylindrical tubes of gold, dec-
orated with fine incised designs. At one end is a Cir-
cular disc with hammered relief figures augmented by
attached bangles. Goblets, bowls, and plates are made
of silver and gold. There are also a great many utilitar-
ian artifacts of copper and bronze, illustrated by points
for digging-sticks, club heads, knives, and needles.
Many other artifacts are made of shell, bone, stone,

The Central Andes 157

and wood. Basketry is common. Decorated calabashes
are particularly typical, some ornamented by pyrogra-
vure, others by mosaic insets of beads and seeds.

The existence of an urban pattern in itself suggests
a strong social and political organization. The main-
tenance of a city must have been difficult under con-
ditions in which it was necessary to transport all food
by llama or by individuals on foot and in which mar-
kets, monetary units, or formal exchange patterns were
apparently unknown. The erection of pyramids com-
posed of billions of adobes and of cities covering
many square miles required organized labor. Certain
sections of the cities seem to have been religious cen-
ters, others the headquarters of administrative units.
Definite class distinctions are indicated by striking dif-
ferences between dwellings in the same site, by
marked contrasts in the quantity and quality of grave
goods, by variations in clothing, and by the few rec-
ords left by the Spanish chroniclers. The separated
walled-in units of Chanchan and other sites suggest
that social groups, of ayllu or clan type, persisted
within the political superstructure. The wide distribu-
tions of these regional cultures and the high degree of
similarity of materials within a region imply over-all
political unity. Although the nature of this unity is
unknown, its roots lay in the traditional experience
with centralized authority, the authority needed to
plan and control the irrigation systems. There is also
evidence for formalized religious organization, al-
though in general this seems secondary to the political
organization.

Rivalry and conflict would be the inevitable result
of a series of expanding local political organizations.
Although the City Builders of the coast seem far
stronger than their Highland neighbors, subsequent
_ history proves otherwise. In the next period the High-
land Inca not only conquered and incorporated all

158 Andean Culture History

parts of the Central Andes, but extended their politi-
cal empire well beyond its borders. There is remark-
ably little archaeological evidence for the development
of the Inca organization in the Central Highlands. The
Early Inca culture, recently isolated, is estimated to
cover the time period of 1200 to 1438 A.D. The few
known sites of this culture contain carelessly executed
ceramics with simple designs, rough stone walls, bee-
hive-shaped tombs with crude corbeled vaults, and a
limited inventory of metal, bone, and stone tools.
Future archaeological work will certainly enlarge this
picture. There is still no knowledge of cultural devel-
opment around Cuzco in the Mastercraftsman Period,
although it was presumably of sufficient strength to re-
sist the Tiahuanaco influence in the Expansionist Pe-
tiod and to continue through the City Builder Period
until it became the center of the Inca Empire.

IMPERIALIST PERIOD

(Cd. 1450-1532 A.D.)

The Inca Empire marks the final formulation of |
Central Andean culture which persisted up to the
time of the Spanish conquest (Fig. 17). The politi-
cal system in previous periods may have been a con-
federacy, a feudal state, or a military band organization.
However, the Inca had a true political empire which
united the enormous territory from northern Ecuador
to the Rio Maule in Chile under a single ruler, thus
encompassing not only the Central Andes, but much
of the Northen and Southern Andes as well. As
mentioned before, little is known about the specific
origins of the Inca culture. The Early Inca culture in
the Cuzco region is not very impressive and is not the
only stem for the development which followed. Inca

The Central Andes 159

mythology contains several accounts of their origin, but
while these are interesting, they have little historical
reliability. Actually, the question of precise origin is
only of academic interest since the basic roots of Inca
civilization are found in the archaeological past of the

Fic. 17. Maximum expansion in the Imperialist Period.

160 Andean Culture History

Central Andes, as demonstrated in the previous chap-
ters. The complete gamut of Inca technology had
been developed and the shift of emphasis to political
organization had occurred in earlier periods. The Inca
contribution was little more than a reformulation of
the political pattern into an empire building system.

The archaeological remains of the Imperialist Pe-
riod preserve a record of the material culture, the con-
struction, the types of towns, the modes of burial, and
the standard implications about social and political or-
ganization. However, the reconstruction of Inca culture
is no longer based exclusively on archaeological evi-
dence. The historical, documentary records present
the accounts of the first Spanish conquerors, the early
travelers, Catholic priests, and even of prominent In-
dians who were European educated. On the basis of
these documents, it is possible to reconstruct a fairly
detailed picture of Inca culture. However, even with-
out such records, it would still be feasible to verify the
extent and magnitude of the Inca Empire. Like the
Tiahuanaco, the Inca horizon is a complex composed
of a number of distinctive artifacts and styles. ‘The
chief diagnostics are the ceramic type, the building
style, certain techniques and designs in textiles, typical
metal artifacts, and specialized stone objects. ‘This com-
plex is found throughout the extent of the Inca Em-
pire. Furthermore, the concentration of unmixed Inca
materials at Cuzco implies that it was the center of this
vast cultural diffusion.

Although the geographical extent of the Inca Em-
pire is well known, the size of its pre-Spanish pop-
ulation is dubious, as shown by the estimates which
range from three to sixteen million. The Inca them-
selves undoubtedly kept census records, but none was
transmitted to the Spaniards. Since the Empire was or-
ganized in a decimal system and since the ideal prov-
ince had forty thousand workers representing about two

oo Re a pt ee Cee ee eee |

om, ,

The Central Andes 161

hundred thousand inhabitants, the population could
be easily computed if the number of provinces con-
tained in the Empire were known. The first Spanish
census, taken in about 1571, gives a total of about
1,500,000 Indians for the Central Andes. Since this
census was taken some time after the Spanish con-
quest, it raises the question of the rate of reduction of
Indian population during the years of struggle. Two
estimates have been made in the 1946 “Handbook of
South American Indians.” George Kubler favors a
two to one reduction ratio, based on comparisons with
Mexico and the absence of serious epidemics, and thus
arrives at a total pre-Spanish native population of
three million. John H. Rowe prefers a four to one re-
duction ratio, based on records of specific provinces,
and arrives at a figure of six million. Adding in other
parts of the Empire, it would not seem unreasonable,
then, that the population was not less than three and
a half million nor more than seven million. Some au-
thors have claimed that the populations were larger in
the pre-Inca periods but there is no archaeological
confirmation of this, nor is it likely since the Inca had
the same technica] and agricultural knowledge as their
predecessors. }

The early Spaniards recorded the traditional lists
of Inca rulers, together with miscellaneous information
on the reign and conquests of each. John H. Rowe has
made a study of these documents and arrived at the
following list of Inca rulers with their dates of reign:

. Manco Capac

. Sinchi Roca

. Lloqui Yupanqui

. Mayta Capac

Capac Yupanqui

. Inca Roca

. Yahuar Huaca

. Viracocha

. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (1438-1471)

CO ON AMAW YN

162 Andean Culture History
10. Topa Inca Yupanqui (1471-1493)
11. Huayna Capac (1493-1525)
12. Huascar and Atahualpa (1525-1532)

The information about the first eight rulers is hazy
and inconsistent. Rowe considers the year 1250 a tea-
sonable date for the first ruler and believes that the
first eight represent a local Cuzco development corte-
sponding archaeologically to the Early Inca culture.
The true Inca Empire was thus created between the
time of the ninth ruler, Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, and
the Spanish conquest, that is, in less than one hun-
dred years. Undoubtedly there had been raids outside
of the Cuzco region in earlier times, but the first terri-
torial conquest was the Lake Titicaca region campaign
in 1445. The incorporation of most of the other areas
occurred after 1470.

When the Inca began this expansion, many of the
coast cultures were well united politically, and the
Highland groups, while less concentrated, were organ-
ized into protective confederacies. The Inca military
conquest encountered varying degrees of resistance.
Many years of fighting were required to conquer the
Highland tribes and even then garrisons had to be con-
stantly maintained to prevent rebellion. Other groups
were less resistant and some of the largest, like the
Chimu on the North Coast, were incorporated by pas-
sive persuasion. Many of the marginal groups, like
the Chiriguano in the east and the Araucanians in
Central Chile, were never actually conquered.

The Inca conquests were not inspired by population
pressure, but rather by a desire for economic gain in
the form of new administrative posts, new produce,
new labor supply, and more soldiers, and by the neces-
sity of strengthening the position of the ruling class.
The conquests were carefully planned. A propaganda
campaign usually preceded the military aggression. Of-
ficial emissaries endeavored to point out the benefits

The Central Andes 163

of Inca control and missionaries attempted to make
converts for the official sun worship. If these were un-
successful, the army entered in mass formations of
eight to ten thousand soldiers and effected the con-
quest by siege, by cutting off the food supplies, by
building forts, and by pitched battles. The army was
well organized and discipline was severe. All officers
were from the upper class, but the soldiers were com-
moners. All able-bodied men were subject to the draft,
and it is estimated that one-tenth of the adult male
population was in the services. The families of the
draftees were supported by the state. Military instruc-
tion was given in the use of all weapons: bronze battle
axes, slings, bows and arrows, spear throwers, lances,
hard wooden clubs, and clubs with stone or bronze
heads. Metal helmets, thick jackets, and shields were
used for protection. All of the weapons had been used
for many years throughout the Central Andes, so
that success of the Inca is not ascribable to superiority
in weapons, but rather to superior military organiza-
tion.

The captured province was systematically incorpo-
tated into the Empire system. A census was taken and a
rough relief map of the terrain was modeled in clay.
Villages were frequently shifted and new towns were
built. The administrative officers were usually members
of the Inca caste, but every effort was made to con-
tinue the previous local rulers in office. ‘To assure their
loyalty, their sons were taken as hostages to Cuzco
where they received the formal, upper class education.
The Inca imposed their sun-worship religion on the
new subjects, made the Quechua language the official
one, and required Inca style dress, although local dis-
tinctions were permitted. If the conquered peoples
continued to be rebellious, the Inca resorted to the
system of mitimaes whereby whole villages were trans-
planted to another district and replaced by pacified

164 _ Andean Culture History

populations. As each new district was conquered, the
network of roadways was extended to include it, so that
ultimately the whole Empire was linked by connect-
ing roads. Some of the roads were paved, some hewn
out of the bed rock, and some merely indicated by
markers. Rivers and gorges were crossed by means of
suspension, pontoon, and cable bridges. Inns for the
travelers were maintained at intervals along the road.
Widespread communication was effected by means of
professional runners, the chasquis, who covered as
much as one hundred fifty miles a day by running in
relays. However, the Inca Empire did not endure long
enough to provide a true test of the effectiveness of
this system of pacification and incorporation.

In the Imperialist Period, subsistence was based
on intensive agriculture, which by this time had passed
through the stages of exploitation and conservation and
reached that of restoration. No new plants were do-
mesticated, but all those known previously were still
grown. Likewise, irrigation, terraces and other tech-
niques were little changed, although the digging-stick
was slightly improved by the addition of a foot bar and
a handle. The importance of agriculture was recognized
and intimately linked with other aspects of culture; a
great proportion of the laborers were so engaged and
the work was done in groups rather than individually.
For example, the planting season was determined by
solar observations; the priests fasted to insure good
crops; public religious ceremony accompanied the
first planting and the harvest. The ruling Inca and
members of the upper caste made agriculture a sym-
bol of honorable labor by breaking the first ground
themselves. The Inca used personal service as a form of
taxation and agricultural work became the economic ba-
sis of the system. Each family cultivated not only its
own plot of land, but also worked on the fields assigned

The Central Andes 165

to the church and the state, the produce from which
supported the political superstructure.

The common foods prepared in Inca times are still
used by the contemporary Indians and had undoubt-
edly long been known. Llama meat was cut into strips
and dried as charqui. Potatoes in the high altitudes
were frozen into chufio, which could be preserved for
long periods of time. The basic dish, called chupe, was a
com or potato soup with other foods added to form a
stew. Corn was toasted, popped, roasted, and used in
many other ways. For example, t’anta was a cornbread,
minta a sweet cormbread, yahuar cancu a cornbread
mixed with blood for ceremonial occasions. A corn
beer, chicha, was also prepared for religious and secular
celebrations. Tobacco was utilized only in the form
of snuff for medicinal purposes, but the narcotic coca
was of great importance. Coca chewing among the Inca
was a restricted upper class privilege; the commoners
were permitted to use it only on special occasions.

In the Imperialist Period, each district produced
more than was needed to support the local population
and this surplus was stored in state granaries through-
out the Empire. Careful records were kept of produc-
tion and storage since the surplus was used to support
the aristocracy, the priests, and the special artisans, and
the army and all laborers who were working on public
projects or in the mines. The surplus also provided
social security on the occasions when a district was
stricken with famine because of crop failure.

All cultivable land was divided into three parts.
The first, and usually the smallest area, was assigned
to the support of the priests and the temples. The
second was the property of the state, acquired by con-
fiscation or as the result of new irrigation projects. ‘The
third, and usually the largest portion, pertained to the
local villages for their own support. The village land
was divided into strips of equal size, each considered

166 Andean Culture History

large enough to support only one couple, so that ad-
ditional assignments were made for each child. Since
the village lands were controlled collectively, only a
house and perhaps a garden plot belonged exclusively
to the family.

There was no monetary system. Local markets al-
lowed simple exchange of goods on a barter basis, but
even this practice was not very extensive. To be sure,
great quantities of produce were transferred from one
region to another, but this was state property and
state controlled business. Foreign trade likewise was a
state monopoly.

The herding of llamas and alpacas continued to be
an important subsistence activity. Here again, a dis-
tinction was made between individually owned animals
and state flocks, the tending of which was another
form of tax payment. Along the coast and around Lake
Titicaca fishing was a common addition to the sub-
sistence, but hunting everywhere had become a sport
restricted to the upper caste.

Extensive building activities are characteristic of the
Imperialist Period. These range from irrigation sys-
tems, agricultural terraces, roads, and bridges through
various types of habitations to large public centers,
temples, and forts. The dwellings of single families
were generally one-story rectangular buildings, with
walls of rough stone or adobe, floors of trodden earth,
and gabled roofs with grass thatch. Such houses had
narrow doorways, and niches and pegs in the walls, but
no windows. The house furnishings were very meager,
consisting of a single platform bed and such utilitar-
ian objects as grindstones, clay braziers, animal skins,
and rush mats. A compound of several such houses was
occupied by the extended family, and a village con-
sisted of a scattered group of such compounds. In
general, the Imperialists were not urban dwellers, al-
though some of the religious and administrative centers

bee oer aol eee 6 a ee Te eee

The Central Andes 167

reached respectable sizes, and were planned and con-
structed by special architects. One of the best known
town centers is Machu Picchu (Plate 29), built on a
high ridge near Cuzco. The ruins present a conglomer-
ation of terraces, house compounds, courts, stairs, ter-
races, and temples. Most of the construction is done
with rough stone, but some of the important units
are built of carefully dressed and fitted stone. ‘The best
houses have windows, carefully built niches, stone wall
pegs, and narrow doorways capped with stone lintels.

The large public buildings for religious or adminis-
trative purposes are quite ambitious affairs, but even
so all of those better known can be assigned to the
one hundred year period of Empire expansion. In the
Coast buildings, large rectangular adobes were used,
but in the Highlands stonework of many types was
utilized. In Cuzco alone there is a megalithic style
with large slabs and blocks of irregular sizes and shapes
carefully fitted together; a similiar style but with smaller
stones; walls built of unit blocks, either dressed
smoothly on all sides or left slightly rounded on the
outer face (Plate 30). These different building styles
do not imply a sequence since their employment
seems to have been functionally determined by the
purpose of the construction, whether it was intended
to support a heavy superweight, to be a free standing
wall, or to have some other function. The architects
planned the buildings by making clay models. In view-
ing the finished structures it is worth bearing in mind
that they were produced without benefit of any iron
or steel tools; that the available bronze was of little
or no use in stone cutting. Quarrying was a laborious
process of pecking and hammering stone against stone
until the desired block was so nearly free that the final
cleavage was simple. Most of the dressing and fitting
was obviously done at the last moment at the con-
struction site. Many of these walls have stood for over

168 Andean Culture History

four hundred years, testifying to the skill exercised in
their construction. The quality of the masonry is a re-
markable achievement, although it does not surpass
that of some of the earlier periods.

Craftsmanship was still at a high level of compe-
tence, but the artistic quality does not match the earlier
achievements. Each family among the commoners made
the pottery, textiles, and other artifacts necessary for
its own use. Selected specialists produced the finer work
for upper class and ceremonial uses. These specialists
were supported by the state, but were not organized
into craft guilds, nor, so far as can be judged, was their
position particularly favored in the social system. The
art style of this period is distinctive and is identifiable
in every craft.

The ceramics are well made, highly polished, and
polychrome painted with black, white, red, yellow, and
orange. Except for small, stylized butterflies, bees, and
animals, the design is frankly geometric, consisting of
serrations, bands, diamonds, checkers, triangles, cross
hatch, circles, and dots. The vessel shapes are standard-
ized. Most characteristic is the aryballoid jar with its
conical pointed base, vertical, flat side handles, tall
flaring collar, and animal head body nubbin (Plate 31).
Shallow bird-handle plates, straight-sided goblets, ped-
estal base beakers, one and two-handled pitchers, and
bottles are also common. This typical Inca ceramic style
is found throughout the widespread Empire.

The weaving is competent; control of all earlier tech-
niques is demonstrated, but the number of truly fine
pieces is limited. Among the best examples of the
weavers’ craftsmanship are ambitious tapestry ponchos
decorated with small design units. Warp patterns and
repps (see p. 208) are very common. The clothing pat-
tern previously established is continued and details of
dress, particularly in headgear, distinguish class, special
occupation, and regional residence. The woven articles

et Rs en ee a

The Central Andes 169

include breechclouts, mantles, waistbands, headbands,
poncho shirts, rough blankets, belts, bags, and slings.

Metalwork now included quantities of both utili-
tarian artifacts and ornaments. ‘The collections of gold
ornaments demonstrate great skill in workmanship and
this is verified by the early Spanish descriptions. The
utilitarian objects are now commonly made of bronze
and include club heads, digging-stick points, tweezers,
chisels, flat-headed pins, discs, and needles. New
methods of gilding and casting are added to the tech-
niques previously known. Stone carving is not associated
with this period, but stone artifacts are numerous. The
most distinctive are bowls, club heads, stellate-shaped
mace heads, and small carved llamas with holes in their
backs for offerings. Wood is also used extensively. The
wooden kero, or goblet, decorated by lacquer inlay, is
a most characteristic container.

The Imperialist Period placed great emphasis on
social and political organization. Actually, the system
developed was little more than a formalization of tend-
encies already initiated in the Central Andes. The
family and extended family were still basic units. Sev-
eral extended families were united by a local village
group, or ayllu, which theoretically controlled the real
property. The ayllu is sometimes called a clan, but ac-
tually it lacks the kinship unity and other characteris-
tics of this unit of social organization. Instead, the
extended patrilineal family within the ayllu was the
most important kinship group, and also cooperated in
labor, controlled the education and marriage of the
children, and supported local religious cults. The entire
village, however, also had certain social and religious
functions which increased in importance when the
Inca formalized them. For example, the Inca made mar-
triage within the village compulsory. Furthermore, the
village was made an economically independent unit of

170 Andean Culture History

sufficient strength so that it has survived up to the
present day.

The economic system was based on the organization
of man-power labor units. The population was classi-
fied into twelve age grades to facilitate the mainte-
nance of a labor census. Those classed in the able-bodied
age grade were taxed by being assigned a specific
quantity of labor service such as agricultural work on
the state and church fields, army service, herding, or
work on a public building project. Records were kept
of each individual’s contribution. The assignments were
made in terms of quantity rather than time, so the man
who could use the assistance of his children finished
sooner than the others. The system also encouraged
exchange of labor on a cooperative basis, particularly
in the form of individual arrangements for substitute
laborers. In most cases this made little difference since
the work was performed in groups, and the tasks de-
manded little skill. In fact, much of the planning con-
sisted in reducing the work units to the unskilled level.

The political system, usually described as pyramidal,
was based on the labor unit. Ten laborers formed a
work group under the supervision of a foreman. In the
ideal pattern work groups corresponded to the village
or ayllu, under the direction of a head man. In tum,
ten village units formed a tribe, under the supervision
of a high-ranking official. Such pyramiding continued
until large units corresponding to the four quarters of
the Empire were attained. The ruling Inca formed the
apex. In the functioning of this system each adminis-
trator reported to his immediately superior official, and
so on up to the Inca. In reverse, the Inca’s orders fil-
tered down to the laborers. Administrative officers of
the same magnitude were not organized in any way.
Instead this vertical political organization was cut across
by the sharp class distinctions which had by this period
assumed the rigidity of a true caste system.

The Central Andes 171

The upper caste contained two classes: the Inca
aristocracy, the original conquerors and their families
and the nobles, composed largely of the previous rulers
in the local districts seized. The lower caste included
all the commoners, the basic mass of the labor popula-
tion. The outstanding distinction between these castes
was in the privileges accorded them. The upper caste
had finer garments, more permanent houses, gold and
silver service; but food was abundant for all, and coarse
clothing, adobe houses, and ceramic vessels do not
imply poverty. The differences in privilege, however,
were numerous. Not only were travel, dress, marriage,
and celebrations regulated for the commoners but they
were forced to perform all the manual labor. The upper
caste controlled all of the higher administrative and
religious posts, were permitted several wives, performed
no labor, and were treated with extreme reverence and
homage. Formal education was limited to the upper
group. Little mobility was allowed in the system so that
it was virtually impossible for a commoner ever to enter
the upper caste. Even those selected as specialists in
weaving or metallurgy remained in the lower caste. The
tuling Inca himself had absolute authority and was con-
sidered divine. His symbols of authority were a special
mace, a feather headdress, and other distinctive insignia.
Most of the Inca rulers, judged by achievement, were
outstanding men. The caste system had become so
dominant that in reference to any aspect of the Imperi-
alist Period, distinction must be made between upper
versus lower class.

_ Archaeological information about customs and cer-
emonies of the life cycle is at best meager and con-
jectural, and even with the addition of the Spanish
tecords the data are still limited. It is known that chil-
dren were considered an economic asset and, therefore,
desired. The mothers observed certain prenatal taboos,
but there was no special ceremony at the birth of a

:
:

te

172 Andean Culture History

child. The infants were kept in cradles until old enough

7
|

j
;

4

to walk, and weaned at about two years of age. At this —

time a special naming ceremony was performed by the —
family and close relatives. The infant’s hair was tied —

into bunches which were cut off singly by the partici-

pants who contributed gifts and selected a name. Most —

‘
:
:
‘
‘
7

of the names were those of animals, natural objects, —

places, or particular qualities. In the upper caste,

special titles of rank were added. Children played with ©
tops and balls, and competed in footraces. Education —

for the commoners consisted of practical home train-
ing in those crafts and techniques necessary for self
support. In the upper caste, education was formalized
under the supervision of special wise men who taught
regular courses in history, mathematics, religion, and
language. The twelve age grades, previously mentioned,

were not recognized in local custom. However, the tran-—
sition from youth to adulthood was an occasion for —
rigorous tests in the upper caste. Among the com-—

moners marriage was a family affair arranged by the
parents within the village unit. The families concerned
held simple home ceremonies; once or twice a year the
marriages were officially recognized by the Inca over-

lord at a public ceremony. Death and burial were

family affairs among the commoners but the occasion
for elaborate public ceremonies among the upper caste.
Pits, caves, and bottle-shaped graves were used for
burial; important individuals were buried in a seated

position, wrapped with fine cloth, and accompanied

by many offerings.

The Inca calendar was based on the solar year and
the lunar phases, but was not recorded. In contrast to
the Maya, however, their observations and calculations
were not elaborate. Although lacking any form of writ-
ing, numerical records were kept of the quantity of
crops raised, the size of the herds, the population totals
in terms of age-grades, and many others. ‘The exact

The Central Andes 173

system of calculation is not known although it had a
decimal basis. Boards with various box-like divisions have
been found which were probably used as a form of aba-
cus for calculation with beans or pebbles. Whatever the
system of counting, the totals were recorded on the
quipu. This consisted of a base cord with a series of
attached strings on which half-hitch knots represent
decimal units. The numbers from one to nine were
recorded at the extreme tip of the string, and the tens,
the hundreds, and sometimes the thousands were pro-
portionately closer to the base cord. Strings of different
colors represented specific categories of objects. On
some quipus the total for a group of four or more strings
was recorded on another on the opposite side of the
base cord.
In examining the religious beliefs and practices of
the Imperialist Period, a distinction must be made be-
tween the local village cults, maintained by the com-
moners, and the formal state religion directed by the
priests of the upper caste. The distinction is in elabora-
tion and formalization rather than in the basic beliefs
which are, in both cases, concerned with the agricul-
tural cycle, nature worship, and especially ancestor
worship. The gods in the official state religion were
arranged in a hierarchy. Viracocha, the leader, was
considered to be the creator of the world and to reside
in heaven. The Sun, second in importance, was the
protector of the crops. He was represented by a golden
disc with a hammered relief face. Thunder followed as
the god of weather and warfare, appropriately rep-
-tesented by a club and a shield. The Moon, as the wife
of the Sun, held an important position. Many stars
were identified as lesser gods and some constellations,

like the Pleiades and Lira, had special functions. ‘The
Earth and the Sea had apparently been important gods

in earlier periods and continued to be prominent.
There were many ghosts and spirits, both good and

}

a

174 Andean Culture History

evil, but these were outside of the formalized hierarchy.

The state religion was in the hands of a priest group,
arranged in a pyramidal system in which the upper
caste occupied the top positions. The priests as well as
the religious temples and shrines were supported by
the commoners. The principal ceremonies were calen-
drical, at least one for each month, and more important
ones for the new year and the solstices. Other cere-
monies were held on irregular occasions such as the
death of the ruler, the inauguration of his successor,
and the initiation of warfare. The public ceremonies
were elaborate, several day affairs organized by the
priests for the benefit of the commoners. East and
west were the most important ceremonial directions.
The gods were approached with special attitudes of wor-
ship in which the priest faced the image, bowed, and
stretched out his arms. Fasting and confession were
regular duties of the priests. Offerings and sacrifice were
important in the ceremonial. Prisoners captured in war-
fare were sacrificed or children were offered by their
parents for this purpose, but this practice was not
carried to extremes. More common was the sacrifice of
llamas and alpacas selected for their particular color or

markings. Food, coca, clothing, gold and silver objects, —

and other things were burned on the altars as sacrificial
offerings. ‘The ceremonies also included the consump-
tion of special ceremonial foods, chicha drinking, and
coca chewing.

The most elaborate ceremonies were held in Cuzco
and involved many participants. The priests and privi-
leged members of the upper caste conducted parts of
the ritual within the temples. The commoners were re-
stricted to special sections of the city where they
observed only the public phases of each ceremony.
Groups of warriors in full regalia engaged in violent
activities in order to drive off evil spirits. There were
parades, games, and dances at every performance, and

|

The Central Andes 175

sometimes the mummies of the important deceased
were removed from their burial vaults and carried in
the parades. The ceremonies started at sunrise and

Fic. 18. Musical instruments: panpipes, flutes, whistles,
and a horn.

closed at sundown with a ritual bath for all the per-
formers. Special chants and songs were composed for
the dancers who were specially trained groups with elab-
orate masks and costumes of skins or feathers. The
Music, all in the pentatonic scale, was provided by skin
drums, bronze gongs, copper bells, bone flutes, pan-
pipes, trumpets, and whistles (Fig. 18).

Apart from the hierarchy of priests in the state re-

’

ligion many lesser priests presided at local shrines.
These were actually medicinemen or soothsayers who,
under the influence of liquor and narcotics, went into
trances and then uttered oracles which revealed the
wishes of their controlled spirits. Some became very
famous and pilgrims traveled many miles to consult
them. Other medicinemen also practiced divination
with llama lungs, coca leaves, and dream interpretations,
or effected magical cures; still others specialized in herb
cures.

Among the commoners, the village and the extended
families conducted their own local ceremonies for cur-
ing the fields, curing the sick, calling the winds, before
beating and winnowing quinoa, increasing fertility and
the ritual occasions surrounding birth, naming, mar-
riage, and death. These ceremonies were not led by ~
priests, but by members of the village. Each extended —
family built a local cult around the founding ancestor —
and kept special household fetishes, such as bundles of
cornstalks or small stone llamas. Finally, each individual
had his own guardian spirit.

The Imperialist Period is a natural outgrowth of the
earlier Central Andean patterns. The techniques of
agriculture and craftsmanship had long since been per- —
fected to the point where large populations could be
supported and their fundamental needs successfully
met. Likewise, the shift of emphasis from technology
to manipulation of labor units had passed through a
reasonable period of experimentation. The Imperialist
pattern was only one of the possible formulations, but
certainly a logical one. An objective evaluation of the
Imperialist system is difficult. It consisted basically of
a sharp dual division between a large lower caste of
workers and a small privileged upper caste. The com-
moners were organized around the ayllu or village which
became a self-sufficient unit for the support of its mem-
bers, the production of the necessary housing, clothing

176 Andean Culture History

The Central Andes 177

and other artifacts, the maintenance of local govern-
ment and of local cults. National government, eco-
nomic security, and protection were under the control
of the upper caste. The gap between these castes was
ever increasing, until no equality was admitted. Knowl-
edge and education as well as the skilled productions in
the arts and crafts were controlled by the upper caste.
When the Spaniards replaced the upper caste, following
the conquest, there was naturally a rapid breakdown
in craftsmanship and education.

The Inca Empire had existed less than one hundred
years before the conquest, which probably furnished
insufficient experience to perfect final controls. Had it
been uninterrupted by the Europeans, modification
might well have occurred and the size of the Empire
unit might easily have been reduced. However, it is
doubtful that the fundamental pattern would have
changed greatly since it had been maintained for several
centuries. There were, to be sure, signs of weakness in
the Inca political system itself. ‘The pyramidal structure,
while efficient, failed to provide esprit de corps or com-
munication between officers of the same rank. The
tegimentation in the Empire was excessive in spite of
the guarantee of security. It certainly appears that the
commoners’ loyalty to the upper caste was not very
great. A final weakness was the failure to establish a
fixed rule for succession in the rulership so that im-
mediately prior to the conquest there were two con-
tenders who had already divided the Empire. The
Spanish conquest has always seemed amazingly rapid,
teflecting, in part, some of the fundamental weaknesses
of the Imperialist system.

178 Andean Culture History

AFTERMATH

The year 1532, when Francisco Pizarro and his fol-
lowers initiated the conquest of Peru, marks the end
of the archaeological and the beginning of the histori-
cal epoch. ‘The more dramatic incidents of the conquest
are well known: the bold seizure of the Inca ruler,
Atahualpa; the golden ransom paid for his release; the
assassination of the Inca; and the collapse of the Inca
Empire. Although amazingly rapid, the conquest was
not as simple as this historical condensation implies.
The initial shock was followed by forty years of active
resistance during which the balance of power was often
delicate. However, the Europeans eventually won and
the four hundred years since the conquest have made
many profound changes in the Indian culture.

One of the immediate effects of the conquest was
a marked reduction of the actual numbers of Indians,
whether one selects the estimate of three and a half
million or seven million for the maximum population
of the Inca Empire. In fact, the census records, such as
they are, show unrelieved loss up to 1796 when an
all-time low of under seven hundred thousand was
reached. Following the wars of independence, however,
the situation was reversed and the Indian population
increased at a rapid rate so that today there are some
six million in the area once included in the Inca
Empire. The vast majority of these, roughly five and a
half million, are the Quechua-speaking peoples in the
highlands of Ecuador, Peru, and eastern Bolivia. In the
Lake Titicaca basin, there are five hundred thousand
Aymara speakers, and along the Desaguadero River, —
which drains the lake, are still a few remnants of Uro
speakers. Today these Indian populations form an in-
tegral part of the several countries. After four hundred
years of European influence, the contemporary Indian

The Central Andes 179

cultures obviously do not represent a direct survival
from the past. Rather, these cultures are distinctive
blends of elements from the ancient times, from the
Colonial Spanish and from the recent Republican
_ period. Although it is not the intent to present any
_ detailed picture of this long historical period and the
modern scene, some of the major changes and survivals

_ may be briefly described.
The Spanish superimposed a new culture, a different
_ Janguage, and a contrasting physical type on the in-
digenous inhabitants of the Central Andes. The Euro-
pean conquerors became a new ruling caste, with
economic, political and religious controls. The sharp
caste differences which had divided the Indian popu-
lations were eradicated and a long leveling process was
inaugurated ultimately reducing all Indians to a single
lower class. In the Imperialist Period, travel for the com-
moners had been limited by law to strictly Empire busi-
ness. Such restrictions were not maintained after the
conquest, resulting in great mobility of the Indian pop-
ulation. This was motivated both by the desires of the
Indians to escape tax payments and too great Spanish
influence, and by the Spaniards’ need for miners in
_ the mountains. In time, there was considerable displace-
ment of the Indian population, particularly since the
coastal valleys were the most suitable for European com-
mercial crops and for urban settlements. Today, the
coastal region has a Spanish and Mestizo population,
while the Indians are concentrated in the highland
sections. The Europeans also introduced many new
techniques and new methods of power control which
effected the Indian culture, such as the principle and
use of the wheel, ocean travel, firearms, the true arch,
writing, iron and steel, frame looms, and new domes-
_ ticated animals. Of equal importance was the systematic
imposition of a new religion on the Indians, The suc-
cess of the church was amazing, since by 1650 the

180 Andean Culture History

Indians were pronounced to be Christianized and no
longer a field for intensive missionary activity.

A comparison of the Imperialist Period culture pat-
tern with that of the contemporary Indians reveals
other specific changes and survivals. Relatively few
changes have occurred in the subsistence pattern. The
Central Andean domesticated plants were well adapted
to the different environments and knowledge of their
cultivation was deeply ingrained in the Indian popula- —
tion. The Spaniards brought few practical substitutes
for such high altitude plants as potatoes, oca, and
quinoa. Barley, alfalfa, and a few other cereals have
been introduced, but on the whole, the modern Indians
still raise most of the old plants. Since food habits are
generally conservative, there has likewise been little
change in the preparation of the standard foods. ‘The
old agricultural tools were simple, inexpensive to make,
and effective, and consequently they are still in use. For
example, nothing has replaced the digging-stick for
cultivating the fields on the steep mountain slopes. Old
methods of terracing and irrigation are still practiced.
For Indian agriculture, the chief innovation has been
the introduction of the wooden plough and oxen as
draft animals. On the other hand, European domesti-
cated animals, including the pig, chicken, burro, horse,
cattle, sheep, and goats, were vastly superior to any
known in the New World. The Indians have accepted
most of the new animals, but have not abandoned the
llamas and alpacas.

The construction of temples, public buildings, and
similar major projects was taken over by Spanish archi-
tects, although the Indians still furnished unskilled
labor. The Indians continue to build their own houses,
however, much as in the past. The simple rectangular
room with frame and thatch roof is now made of adobes,
and several such units are arranged in compounds for

1g] Tiahuanaco ruins and decorated gateway. Panorama, taken
n 1896. Courtesy of University Museum, Philadelphia; others,
Souttesy of Harry Tschopik, Jr.

[20] ‘Iypical wall construction and detail of sockets for cast copper
cramps or tie bolts in stone paving at Tiahuanaco.

[21] Monolithic statue from Tiahuanaco. Discovered by Wendell
C. Bennett.

[22] Coast and Highland Tiahuanaco vessels. A, Pacheco; B, C, F,
Pachacamac; D, E, G-L, Bolivian highland.

[23] A fortress of the City Builder Period at Paramonga, con-
structed of clay bricks. Courtesy of W. R. Grace and Company.

[24] Molds for ceramic manufacture.

*

AS

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“

fot
3 i ht ;
Ds i (Kn

es

+>
>

[25] Clay arabesque wall decorations at the ruins of Chanchan,
Many walls were so decorated, but most of this decoration has been
destroyed by rains.

‘(qySt1) urn pue (jyJ9[) 1099u[d odeN ory [97]

‘yye1 esteq B UO WOW OM} ‘FYSTI Je fuOT}LIODIp
passaid-pjour jo ajdurexo ue ‘193u90 Surxoq vow omy Vor PY ‘siel JoyeM oIeMYORTG NUD [47]

PAUL Unda Gaerne
_ 2. Ca an . *

~~ a Pe neem .
SSS

[28] City Builder ceramic styles from the Central and South Coast.
A, F, Ica style; C, D, Chancay Black-on-White style; B, Negative
painted Recuay vessel of the Mastercraftsman Period; E, late vessel
from Pachacamac.

7 poe?

[29] The famous Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.

[30] ‘Types of Inca masonry. Top, Machu Picchu; lower left, Fort-
tess of Sacsahuaman; lower right, a street in Cuzco.

[31] Inca artifacts: lacquered wooden kero, ceremonial stone llama
form container and bowl, two very typical pottery containers,- a
pitcher and aryballoid water or beer jar.

‘J[LY OUO YS oY} UO 9soY}Z puR ozIs [RUTstIO ay} JoJIeNb uO are OT
dy} UO sjoalqo oY], ‘poroutULY ore urd pue s19z99M} ‘Ysvo aIe sfoods Ika puR ‘sjastyo ‘SsoATUy
‘}YUSIOM sejog ‘spray quo pure xy ‘syolqo sdApIs pure ‘ozuo1q ‘19ddoo uerANsiog ouOystYyaIg [Z£]

[33] Paracas Necropolis embroidery. Top, poncho shirt with heavy
shoulder fringe; center, mantle borders, with foundation fabric
completely hidden by the embroidery; bottom, half of a large
mantle. Center, Courtesy of Museo Nacional de Antropologia y

Arqueologia de Peru.

[34] Poncho shirt, shaped by inserting additional warp at center of —
fabric (North Chile); cape, shaped by expanding the warp; upper
half, cotton, warp faced; lower half, eccentric tapestry; boy’s shirt,
tapestry; woman’s work basket; detail of interlocked warp loom.

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The Central Andes 181

the extended family. ‘The scatter village pattern is still
common.
_ One of the major changes in craftsmanship has been
due to the fact that ceremonial objects are no longer
manufactured. Most utilitarian artifacts are, however,
still made by each family. ‘The ceramics are coarse and
poorly decorated, but made in the old techniques.
There are also some professional goups who now use
the potter’s wheel. Everywhere some weaving is still
done on the old types of girdle-back and belt looms,
although the European foot treadle loom is also com-
mon. Sheep wool is now used as extensively as llama
wool. For the most part, the weaving is limited to
coarse homespuns. Practically all native metalwork has
now disappeared, but wooden bowls and other artifacts,
decorated calabash containers, baskets, and mats are
still commonly made. There have been many changes
in the clothing pattern, but the breechclout, shirt, head-
dress, and carrying bag are still standard parts of the
Indian costume.

The Indians of today, as in the past, are largely en-
gaged in farming. Some are independent farmers, living
in small isolated communities; others are peon farm
laborers on the haciendas. The residence pattern and
the social organization is reminiscent of the old ayllu
village group. The village consists of a number of scat-
tered house compounds and the residents recognize
definite territorial claims. Individual ownership of land
is now the common practice, but the group as a whole
assumes the responsibility for the defense of its ter-
ritory. Marriage within the village is still the rule, so
that the members are united by many kinship ties, as
well as local cult practices. The village is a self-sufficient
unit and any form of inter-village unity is decidedly -
weak,

Indian languages have persisted with amazing te-
nacity. Many groups speak only their native language,

182 Andean Culture History

although the number of bilingual individuals increases —
every year. Mythology too has survived along with this
linguistic persistence. Catholicism was accepted as the -
official religion long ago, but local superstitions and
rituals have survived with only slight modifications. The
Indians still decorate llamas and march them around
the fields in a curing ceremony. Children receive names
at a simple ceremony in which the infant’s hair is tied
in bunches which are cut off by relatives who leave
small gifts. ‘The threshing of quinoa is initiated by a
medicineman who calls the proper winds. There are
many medicinemen who specialize in medicinal herbs,
predict future events with coca leaves, and perform
magical cures. Such practices do not constitute a for-
malized religion.

The Indian population of Ecuador, Peru, and Bo-
livia maintains a distinctive culture, even though
modified by many years of European imfluence. One
of the major problems faced by the contemporary
Andean countries is the incorporation of the Indian
population into the national scene. The cultural past
of these Indians is characterized by its high achieve-
ments. ‘There is every reason to believe that their future
achievements can be even higher.

PART 3: TECHNIQUES

One measure of the cultural development of a people
is their technical skill. This does not imply that culture
and technology are synonymous or that we can take
something like the metallurgical knowledge of a group
and use it to calibrate a scale for measuring their culture.
It will, however, if we have sufficient information, in-
dicate whether the group has adapted itself to its en-
vironment and available natural resources, whether it
has been receptive to cultural suggestion, or whether
the members of the group were themselves inventive
and ingenious. For better comprehension we must
sometimes compare the technological development not
only according to contemporary standards but in terms
of the total record of human achievement. A technical
comparison will often furnish the key to understanding
and appreciation; hence, this short resume of three of
the crafts. As our knowledge is still far from complete,
the section on each craft should have been prepared
by a specialist who could evaluate the published data
and point out where further work is needed. In a limited
way this has been attempted and if the following com-
ments stimulate interest, they will be justified.

CERAMICS

Clay suitable for ceramics is available in most coastal
valleys and highland basins of Peru. Most of it is de-
rived from igneous rocks of the Andes, while some, in
the Cuzco Basin and Nazca Area, is from marine terti-

184 Andean Culture History

ary formations. Due to the great variation in topogra-
phy, water flow, and rainfall, materials from these
sources must have been locally modified and differenti-
ated. A comparative study of available clays might serve
to explain some of the marked regional differences in
ceramics. Is the seeming inferiority of some Central
Coast wares due to absence of good clay obtainable in
quantity, rather than to lack of skill or interest? Is the
great emphasis on color in Nazca wares the result of a —
more varied supply of materials, or, is it due to fondness
of color evident in the textiles and traceable to the post-
fired treatment of earlier wares of the same region?
Were these colors unavailable to the Mochica artisans?
Answers to these questions would furnish a better
understanding of the ceramic record.

Ceramic processes have been reconstructed from an
examination of archaeological specimens and from our
knowledge of modern methods. The clays are soaked,
kneaded, pounded, and, when necessary, stored until
they become more evenly plastic. In some areas the
clay is first dried, then crushed and ground as an initial
step. Some clays can then be used without further
modification. Usually a grit temper is added rendering
them more workable, less liable to crack as they dry, and ~
better able to withstand the sudden temperature
changes of simple or primitive firing methods. ‘Temper-
ing materials in the Andean Area depended on what
was available and the type of product planned. Crushed
stone and potsherds, sand, mica, and sometimes shell
were employed. Where these were lacking, as in parts
of eastern Peru and Ecuador, siliceous material from
the burned bark of certain trees was used.

The methods of shaping vessels varied, and depended
on the desired size and form and on regional or period
practice. The coil method, widely employed through-
out the Americas, was common in Peru, but the coil
marks were usually smoothed out. In coiling, the vessel

Techniques 185

base is first formed by hand, and the sides raised by add-
ing cylindrical strips of clay, either row by row or spi-
rally. As the strips are added they are flattened, shaped,
and united by pinching and scraping, or by tapping
with a wooden paddle, while the inner surface is sup-
ported with an “anvil” of stone or other material. In an-
other process, direct shaping, a prepared lump of clay
is modeled into the desired form either by hand pres-
sure or with paddle and anvil. In both methods the base
of the vessel usually rests on a slightly concave pottery
plate or a large potsherd. This enables the potter to
rotate the clay as it is worked. In the construction of
some vessels the rotating motion must have been fairly
rapid, for the scratches and tool marks on the surface
of unpolished pieces closely resemble those on coarse
wheel-turned products. The symmetry of many of the
finer pieces supports the same conclusion.

Mold-made pottery is particularly characteristic of the
Mochica and later period products of the North Coast
of Peru. Very few molds have been collected, so we
must rely on finished products for our knowledge of
molds. Modeled jars and figurines, fruits and vegeta-
bles, were reproduced in piece-molds, generally of two
parts. More complex piece-molds were used where de-
tails or under-cut parts of the original object made them
necessary. The molds were of fired clay, so they could
be used repeatedly. Broken vessels show that the sec-
tions were joined after removal from the molds, none
shows slip casting. Spouts, handles and some ornamental
details were made separately and were often cast
(Plate 24).

Once shaped and smoothed, some vessels were then
coated with a clay wash, a thin slip to impart a desired
color, a finer surface, or to form a base for painted dec-
oration. The material used is normally a fine clay or
pigment chosen for color qualities. ‘These are prepared
by grinding and washing. The latter is a simple process;

186 Andean Culture History

the finer material being held in suspension, is poured
off and allowed to settle. The same methods were pre-
sumably followed in the preparation of pigments and
clays used for painted decoration.

There is no evidence that the Peruvian potters, like
some of their central American fellows, intentionally
used such dispersants as lye or gums to deflocculate
or further separate the coarser and finer clay particles.
After application both slip and painted details were
burnished, the exact procedure probably varying with
the type of product and effect desired.

Slips can also be used to create a better bond be-
tween such features as handles and spouts and the body
of a vessel. Although so used in Old World ceramics,
none of the American potters, as far as we know, was
aware of this fact.

Ceramic paints first appeared in the Andean Area
in the late Cultist stage and were combined with the
older decorative procedures, incising, grooving, rough-
ing, appliqué, and modeling. The red and blackish col-
ors first used were restricted to incised or grooved de-
sign areas. This practice spread gradually, and was used
in the ceramics at Pucara. Before it reached the
Nazca-Ica Area we find incised details colored, after
firing, with powdered mineral pigments mixed with
resins to form a lacquer-like coating. The colors so ob-
tained are often outside the color range of the local
fired pigments.

Firing is a relatively simple procedure. All of the
Andean wares can be reproduced in an open fire, and
do not necessarily require kilns. Where production was
on the scale which this craft attained, some form of
kiln was probably used at times though as yet none
has been reported. The terms “oxidized” and “reduced
or controlled” firing have been too loosely used by
archaeologists in writing about Andean ceramics. If
fuel and unfired clayware are so arranged that all or

Techniques 187

most of the carbon present is burned away in an open
fire, an oxidized ware results. As most clays used con-
tain iron compounds these will, in oxidized wares,
usually be in the form of ferric oxide and the ware col-
ors will range from cream to red, depending on the
amount of oxide present. ‘The same clays, fired to the
same temperatures without oxygen, may be colored
light to dark gray or even bluish because the iron com-
pounds will be reduced to ferrous oxide. Actually most
Andean wares, loosely classed as “reduced” owe their
dark tones more to retained or adsorbed carbon than to
reduction. They can be duplicated, with or without
some degree of reduction, simply by smothering the
fire with such organic material as leaves or grass or just
earth if all the carbon in the fuel has not been burned.
Without such covering the same pieces would come
out oxidized. Both procedures were employed by
Andean potters with varying frequency in different pe-
riods and areas.

After firing, various techniques were employed to en-
hance the products. The application of powdered pig-
ments and lacquer-like finishes has been mentioned.
Some Mochica potters added decorative details with a
water-soluble black substance, readily destroyed by
careless washing. More common was negative “paint-
ing”. This relatively simple procedure has been recon-
structed by Robert Sonin. A design is painted on a
fired, “oxidized”, vessel using a fine, fluid mixture of
clay. When firm, this forms a resist, protecting parts
of the surface. The exposed areas can then be black-
ened simply by smoking or they can be coated with
various water soluble substances. When held over a
fire these substances will char or deposit carbon on
the surfaces. The clay resist scales off and a carbon
negative image of the design remains. Because this
black readily burns away, it is never found on cooking
pots. If this treatment is applied to a surface that al-

188 Andean Culture History

ready has two colors fired on as slips, or as slip versus
paste color, it results in an effect that has frequently
and inaccurately been called “three-color negative”.

Students of ceramic technology will find much of
interest in the Andean Area. Without the potters’
wheel great skills and artistry were developed with
the alternative procedures. Similarly the lack of glazes
meant that surface treatment was restricted to a certain
line of development which reached a refinement un-
excelled anywhere else in the world.

METALWORK

Out of the vast treasure offered in futile ransom by
Atahualpa, a treasure with a present-day bullion value
of over eight million dollars, even the Spaniards were
constrained by admiration to keep a few objects intact.
Subsequent centuries of tomb robbing undoubtedly
yielded thousands of equally fine pieces, yet virtually
all have been reduced to ingots. The fraction surviving
shows that by the sixteenth century Andean smiths
possessed a wide range of technical skills developed by
trial and error over a long period. These skills are per-
haps more amazing to modern metalworkers than they
were to the Spaniards.

Gold, silver, and copper were the principal metals,
with tin, lead, and platinum used in lesser degrees.
Placer mining yielded most of the gold and all the
platinum. Native copper and ores were extracted from
open pit and shallow shaft mines with the simplest
tools. Examples of these were found with the remark-
ably preserved body of a north Chilean copper miner
killed by a cave-in. Long known in the museum as “the
copper man”, he and his crude implements are mute
testimony to the patience, labor and danger involved
in such mining.

Techniques 189

The extent to which smelting of ores was carried out
is still to be established. Remains of small smelting
furnaces, huairas, have been found in Highland Peru,
Bolivia, Northwest Argentina, and Chile, situated on
hill slopes so that prevailing winds would increase the
draft. In these the charge of ore and charcoal was
placed. Burning charcoal on platforms before the air
intake vents raised the temperature of the air as it en-
tered. These furnaces were adequate for reducing high-
grade ores, carefully selected carbonates and oxides,
and, in some instances, sulfides which had been desul-
furized by roasting. The molten metal was tapped from
the bottom of the furnace and cast into small ingots
for trade and subsequent working.

Among the alloys disclosed by analysis the most
common are gold-copper and gold-silver-copper, usu-
ally called guanin or tumbaga, silver-copper, gold-silver,
copper-tin (bronze), and in Ecuador, gold-platinum.
Except for the latter, more study is needed to deter-
mine which alloys were intentional. They vary consid-
erably in the proportions of each metal yet enough of
the combinations have lower melting points and other
desirable qualities, such as mold-filling, hardness, malle-
ability, and color, to indicate an awareness of the re-
sults.

The Indians treated metals mechanically, thermally,
and, to a limited extent, chemically. Mechanical treat-
ment included the crude shaping of nuggets by ham-
mering or grinding (perhaps the earliest techniques);
cold hammering for making sheets, stretching ax and
knife blades, and strain hardening (tempering); press-
ing or hammering of thin sheets over or into carved
matrices; repoussé decoration and chasing; incising;
foil sheathing of wood, bone, and shell objects; metal
inlays and incrustation with turquoise and_ other
stones; clinching or joining thin sheets of metal by
folding the edges over each other and hammering; sta-

190 Andean Culture History

pling and lacing with thin metal strips; and raising ves-
sels in one piece out of a sheet of metal. The principal
types of thermal treatment were melting in clay
crucibles and casting in open and closed molds; sol-
dering; wash-gilding by flowing a molten gold-copper
alloy over pre-heated copper; and annealing, an es-
sential step in all cold-working processes involving any
considerable amount of plastic deformation.

When alloys containing base metals are annealed,
oxides form on the surface. These are best removed
chemically by dipping the piece in an acid “pickle.”
This procedure, obviously used in pre-Hispanic times,
must have led to the discovery that objects made of
gold-copper alloys could be given the color and appear-
ance of those of nearly pure or high gold content. Such
change can be effected with acid baths as the acid not
only removes the oxides but also the surface copper
leaving the gold in place. When finished, sometimes
with burnishing and polishing, such tumbaga pieces
have been mistaken for examples of gold plating, and,
by the unwary, as solid gold. Whether or not any were
made with the intent to deceive, the process did
broaden the utilization of gold. Examples are more fre-
quently found in the areas where the casting of gold
was practiced to a greater extent than in the Central
Andes, specifically, Colombia and northwards into
southern Central America. Where silver was available
and was worked, silver-copper alloys were similarly
treated to modify the color. Not infrequently all three
types of treatment, the chemical, thermal, and mechan-
ical, were employed to finish a single object.

The greatest refinement of the casting process was
practiced by Colombian goldsmiths in making cer-
tain hollow objects. The first step was to form a porous
core of powdered charcoal and clay, corresponding
closely to the shape of the object to be cast. When
thoroughly dry, this was covered with a wax coating

°
»

Techniques 191

of uniform thickness, with details added to complete
an exact model. ‘To provide openings for the pour and
air vents, wax rods were attached to the model; and at
the same time, small wooden pegs or thorns were in-
serted through the wax into the core to hold it in po-
sition within the mold during the rest of the process.
The wax was then “faced” or coated with fine charcoal
paste, and completely covered with clay and coarser
charcoal, forming the mold. When dry, and all was
ready, the mold was heated to melt out the wax and
facilitate the flow of the molten metal, which was then
poured in, filling exactly the space formerly occupied
by the wax model. Such molds can be used but once
and must be broken away to free the “lost wax” (cire
perdue) casting. This was finished by cutting off the
excess metal remaining in pour and air vent channels,
burnishing and polishing, and, if necessary, removing
the core and plugging the holes left by the core sup-
ports.

Two-stage casting with metals of different melting
points was known in the southern highlands. Exam-
ples are boleadora weights with decorative or func-
tional frames of copper set in lead. Elaborate mace
heads from the Lambayeque area on the coast show
great skill in the creation of separate interlinked ele-
‘ments, probably cast simultaneously with separate
pours.

Platinum, with a melting point well over 1700 C.,
was not used in Europe until the nineteenth century.
Long before, the Indians of Ecuador had learned that
by alternately and repeatedly heating and hammering
fine platinum and gold grains together, they could
‘produce a homogeneous mass. The principle of this
process, called sintering, was later rediscovered and

forms the basis of our modern powder metallurgy.

Relatively few of the tools used by Andean metal-
workers have been collected. Among them are care-

192 Andean Culture History

fully made stone hammers of varied size and form, clay
crucibles, stone and porous clay molds, carved wood
and stone patterns for shaping sheet metal, chisels,
punches, and burins. These last were made of stone in
earlier times, and later of bronze and copper, as were
the blowpipes that served in place of bellows, as de-
scribed by Spanish chroniclers.

The types of metal objects made by these gifted
artisans are extremely diverse as shown in Plates 4, 10, ©
16, and 32. The oldest illustrated, the gold Chavinoid
pieces from Chongoyape, may have been made before
500 B.C.; the most recent, a cast copper decorative
detail showing a man on horseback (Plate 32) dates
from the late 16th century. Throughout this long pe- —
riod gold was used for ornaments, containers and ves-
sels, and in Inca times to adorn important structures.
The metal, without being diverted into a monetary
system, was a medium of artistic expression for things
more of the spirit than for material needs.

TEXTILES

Among the varied prehistoric products of Peru per-—
haps the most challenging and interesting are the tex-
tiles. The record of these textiles probably spans a full
5000 years and much research is needed before it can
be fully understood and appreciated. In addition to the
large collections already available for study, a vast
amount of material remains to be recovered from the
many arid sites of the coastal area. These however are
not inexhaustible and it is distressing to note that the
Peruvian government permits the destruction of this
heritage through the extension of irrigation without
thought of the consequences.

The development of a textile tradition in Peru re-
sulted from a fortunate combination of at least three

Techniques 193

factors. Excellent fibers were available from both plant

and animal sources. Climatically, even in coastal areas,
the temperature fluctuation is sufficient to make cloth-
ing desirable and, in some areas, essential. Finally
the improvement of agriculture and the prehistoric de-
velopment of irrigation provided enough leisure to
permit the creation of fine and complex fabrics.

In the second and third millennia B.C., if not earlier,
textiles were the primary media for artistic expression.
In subsequent centuries textile production became al-
most a competition in ingenuity, yet continued as
an honored and remarkable combination of art and
craftsmanship. Even today a few Peruvian weavers
maintain this tradition and still have pride in their
work.

In terms of modern technology the old Peruvian
fabrics are outstanding for several reasons. Almost every
known technique of modern weaving was used as well
as a number which are either impossible or impractical

for mechanical looms. The spinning ranks among the
finest known in the world and the large range of col-

ors is evidence of exceptional skill in dyeing. Ob-

viously, technical developments of this order were
_ based on a great pride in weaving and a widespread ap-
_preciation of quality, as shown by the frequency with

which examples of excellent workmanship occur in the

collections. The following notes are intended only as
a brief outline of our present knowledge and do not
cover the subject fully. A real appreciation of their
technical and artistic merits can only stem from first-
_hand experience with the textiles themselves.

FIBERS

Studies of the contents of the strata of refuse dumps

in widely separated localities have yielded basic data

on the occurrence and utilization of the different

194 Andean Culture History

fibers. In the Viru and Chicama valleys, in the great
deposits of debris left by an early farming group who
knew neither maize nor pottery, cotton is the principal
fiber. Bast, perhaps Asclepias, was sometimes blended
or plied with it. Twisted sedge, used in open mesh
coiled pouches and mats, served for cordage. From
this evidence it is clear that the Peruvian textile craft
is based on the use of cotton and not on wool or any
other fiber.

‘This explains the cotton-wool ratios in the analyses
of other series of Andean textiles for which chronologi-
cal data are available. One set of these from northern
Chile, covering the entire period from the introduc-
tion of weaving to the sixteenth century, shows pro-
portionately much more cotton than wool in the oldest
fabrics than in the more recent. This is also true of the
Paracas textiles checked by O’Neale; the older series
from the Cavernas graves contained more cotton than
wool as compared with the later Necropolis material.
Still older mummy wrappings from Ancén and Supe
are all of cotton, except for a single piece in which a
little wool is used. The latter may be contemporary
with the Cupisnique textiles from the Chicama Valley,
among which no wool has as yet been found. Consid- —
ered in terms of the still older preceramic fabrics, all
this evidence clearly establishes cotton as the oldest
textile fiber.

Modern Peruvian spinners are said to distinguish by
name six naturally colored varieties of cotton, ranging
from light tan to reddish brown and gray. At least
several of these are known from the Preceramic and
Cultist periods as examples occur among the Chicama
and Supe finds. Used with white cotton in patterns
and designs they have been and still are important to
the weavers for they eliminate the necessity of dyeing
in those shades.

To a people possessing the tradition of cotton spin-

P

Techniques 195

‘ning and weaving the value of wool would be obvious
once they moved into the habitat of the animals pro-
‘ducing it, namely, the Peruvian highlands southward
from the Ecuadorean border. We know nothing of the
wild forms of the Ilama and alpaca, but the wool from
their wild cousins, the vicufia and guanaco, is very soft
and fine. Parts of their coats are pure white and as
white wool is much more easily dyed than cotton, the
utilization of wool may have stimulated the use of dyes.
Wool from the vicufia was secured by great round-
ups of these animals. It was so highly prized for its
fineness that its use in Inca times was reputedly lim-
ited to the nobility. Because of this tradition many of
the finer fabrics have automatically been classed as
vicufia without proper verification. Recent research by
Mr. Truman Bailey leads him to believe that many of
the prehistoric fabrics formerly classed as vicufia are of
‘selected alpaca wool. He also reports that it is more
difficult to hand spin vicufa wool than alpaca; in ex-
planation, the spinners say that this is so because “the
-vicufia is a very active, playful animal,” and that its
wool retains these characteristics.
~ Guanaco wool is found in textiles from north Chile,
but we do not know how it was secured. Young
-guanaco are easy to tame, but they never seem to have
been domesticated. Was this because their habitat is
largely marginal to the area of intensive farming and
weaving? If the young of the wild llama and alpaca,
living within that area, were as easily tamed, it is quite
possible that a growing interest in wool was the major
incentive for the domestication of these animals.
Domestication ultimately increased the yield of
white wool and extended the range of the animals be-
yond their natural habitat. It may be impossible ever
to date the beginnings of domestication, but such finds
as the sacrificed Ilama burials beside a Cupisnique pe-
riod structure in the Viru Valley show that some ani-

196 Andean Culture History

mals were being brought down to the coast during
that period. It would be interesting to know if there
was a simultaneous spread of weaving into the high-
lands, where no other fibers were available and warm
clothes were needed.

Human hair was at times employed in twisted and
braided cordage but is so completely lacking in some
periods as to suggest that some groups may have had
taboos against its use. Sedges and reeds, and bast fibers
from fourcroya leaves were employed to some extent
in all periods, mainly for cord and rope. Their use, in
part, antedates the textiles, for fishlines of unidenti-
fied bast have been found with the remains of a non-
agricultural preceramic fishing culture in north Chile.

DYES

The variety of colors which were ultimately used in
the fabrics testifies to the skill achieved in dyeing, a
skill so advanced that it is tragic that so few data on
the subject were recorded after the conquest. O’Neale,
comparing Paracas Necropolis dyed yarns with the
Maerz and Paul color charts, distinguished one hun-
dred ninety hues. Uneven fading undoubtedly accounts ~
for some shades, but the record is nonetheless impres-
sive. Truman Bailey, gathering surviving information
and experimenting with native plants, has prepared
two hundred fifty color formulae which may well dupli-
cate most of the ancient ones. To these must be added
another important source, the cochineal insect, which
before the invention of synthetic dyes was an impor-
tant item of export from Peru and Mexico. There is
also reason to believe that a shellfish dye secured from
the concholepa was used.

Virtually nothing is known of dyeing procedures.
Mordants were used to an undetermined extent and
permanent brilliant and lovely colors were produced.

:
Techniques 197
The only attempt yet made to identify the mordants
used seems to confirm an early historic mention of
~ the use of alum for this purpose.
As these ancient peoples possessed no carding equip-
ment, the dyeing of raw wool stocks was not common,
for the process is apt to tangle the fibers. Raw stock
dyeing of cotton, unknown in modern industry until
recent years, was practiced, a technique which may ex-
_ plain the remark of a sixteenth century writer that a
blue cotton was grown. He must have observed the
several natural shades of cotton on the plants and
seeing the natives spinning blue cotton, assumed that
it was also grown. It was not mentioned by later writ-
ets, who were more familiar with the cotton plants and
were not concerned with dyeing processes. In 1946 a
possible explanation of this old error was found in the
Museum collection in a Peruvian work basket that
contained cones of dyed blue cotton prepared for spin-
ning. In 1947 survival of the practice was noted in
Bolivia and the Chicama Valley. In order to prevent
tangling of the fibers, the cotton is dyed with the seeds
still attached. When dry, the subsequent handling of
the fibers is no more difficult than the undyed cotton.
Some data on the chronology of dyes are available.
Blue is the only dye found on the preceramic textiles
of Chicama. A red pigment was applied to yarn before
weaving and to finished pieces, but this is not a true
dye. No further advance has as yet been noted on
the succeeding Cupisnique textiles, but in the old
Supe and Ancon series a little true red dye is found in
addition to the blue. In the Paracas Cavernas group,
ten or twelve colors are noted; while in the Paracas
Necropolis series, the range of colors reaches its maxi- -
mum. In the oldest textile series from northern Chile,
except for a single example of red and a questionable
yellow, only natural shades of wool and cotton are
found. Subsequently, there was a gradual increase in

198 Andean Culture History

the use of dyes, with this maximum use so late that a
marked time lag in their diffusion from the north is
obvious.

SPINNING

The yarns of the oldest textiles are all rather coarse
and uneven. The debris in which they occur in the
Chicama Valley contains thousands of twigs and
wood fragments; yet not a single recognizable spindle
and no spindle whorls have been found. In the same
valley, women are occasionally seen today twisting
coarse yarn, using an unworked straight shoot of a
local shrub for a spindle. In making coarse yarn they
are used without a whorl. The lower ends are continu-
ally held and twisted by the fingers of the nght hand
while the left hand draws and lays the fibers from a
bunch of cotton tied to the end of a stick or distaff.
The identification of these simple spindles would be
impossible unless found with yarn in place, so it may
well be that the earliest spindles were similar.

In the interval between preceramic time and this
decadent modern survival spinning was developed to —
an art yielding yarns several times finer than are pro-
duced by modern machines using the same staples.
The delicate spindles of wood and thorn used in spin-
ning these fine yarns were equipped with whorls so
small that their identity as such has been questioned.
In operation, the lower end of the spindle rested in a
special cup of pottery, gourd, or wood which, as Craw-
ford has emphasized, minimized vibration and strain,
a requisite for fine spinning of cotton. This method is
still used, though the spindles are crude by contrast
and the yarn produced is heavier.

In spinning wool the modern spinners all use free-
swinging spindles, and though such spindles are found

Techniques 199

archaeologically, we do not know whether the finest
of the old wool yarns were created in this way.
Whether the spindle is revolved clockwise (S twist)

_ or counterclockwise (Z twist) is, of course, optional,
_ but preference is usually shown for one or the other.

In doubling single ply yarns, the direction of twist

was consistently reversed, so that the spinner’s fingers
_ were trained to work in both directions. As the fibers
can be spun in either direction, there seems to be

nothing to dictate direction of twist other than local
custom. A small random sampling indicates that the
S twist predominated in preceramic and Cupisnique

_ fabrics and was fairly common in later yams on the

North Coast, while in old Supe, Paracas, the North
Chilean, and modem yarns the Z twist predominated.
Sometimes § and Z twist yarns are combined in a sin-

_ gle fabric, perhaps intentionally. A further recording of
_ twist seems warranted and should yield useful compar-

ative data.
Data on the use of distaffs are meager. In the six-

teenth century, the Inca used a forked stick. More

carefully made slotted wooden distaffs, one with wool

_ still in place, have been found occasionally. ‘Today one
- sees some spinners with a crude roving or roll of pre-
_ pared cotton or wool looped about the left wrist and

hand, drawing out and laying the fibers with the left
fingers, while the right hand operates the spindle and
stretches the fibers while spinning progresses. Others
fasten a bunch of prepared cotton to the end of a reed,
about thirty inches long, which is held between the

_ left arm and body, leaving the hands free to manip-

ulate the fibers. Some such simple distaff was perhaps
used to hold the conical bunches of prepared cotton so -
frequently found with the late period work baskets.
They may also have been wedged in the carved forked

_ sticks, as portrayed in the sets of miniature spinning

and weaving equipment made of silver.

200 Andean Culture History

When we marvel at the quality of the yarns produced
with such simple tools, it is interesting to note that
the use of hand-spun yarn is still economically justified
in Peru. Hand spinners, according to Truman Bailey,
can produce one hundred grams of yarn per day at a
cost about thirty per cent less than similar but inferior
machine-made yarn.

LOOMS AND WEAVING

As yet, no one has made a comprehensive study of
the loom types still in use and of their distribution in
Peru. Such a survey would be invaluable in interpret-
ing the archaeological material.

It is generally agreed that most of the excavated
fabrics were constructed on backstrap looms like the
modern ones used in the Central and Coastal valleys.
However, in the Southern Highlands and in Bolivia, the
loom bars are tied to four stakes driven into the ground
so that the warp lies horizontally. Less common is a
frame-loom set vertically.

Of these three types, only the first permits the
weaver to control the warp tension automatically, an |
important feature. In its essentials, this loom (Fig. —
19) is an exceedingly simple device, consisting of two
sticks, called loom bars, with the warp stretched be-
tween them. The lower bar, tied to a belt passing be-
hind the weaver’s back, rests above the lap, while the
upper is suspended from a post or other support. As
the work progresses on a long fabric, the warp is un-
rolled from the upper bar and the finished portion is
rolled on to the lower.

In warping these looms, the yarn was, and still is,
first wound with a figure-eight motion between two
stakes. The figure-eight crossing, called the lease, auto-
matically separates the alternate turns and creates two

Techniques 201
sheds, greatly simplifying the remainder of the prepara-
tory work.

After the yarn has been warped off, it is laced fast
to the loom bars in such a way that when completed,

\

ee ? , :

SSC EG eee P=
TIVV V2. a2 I

As)

~, . x
1d aa
{i

Fic. 19. Diagram of a backstrap loom: a, loom bars; bp,
shed rod; c, heddle rod; d, batten or sword; e, bobbin;
f, back strap; g, warp lashing; h, heading string; i, lease
cord; 7, leash cord; k, warp; l, weft.

all four edges of the fabric are finished off, sometimes
so uniformly that side and end selvages are indistin-
guishable. Usually, however, the end selvages incorpo-

202 Andean Culture History

rated the cord or yarn, which, with the lashing, held
them against the loom bars.

For plain weaves, the control of the warp sheds is
accomplished with two sticks, one inserted between
the alternate warps, holding them apart; the other, ly-
ing across the loom, attached with a looped cord to
each yarn of the lower warp set. By lifting this heddle
or heald rod, the lower warps are pulled up through
the others and the alternate shed is thus opened.

For holding either shed open while the bobbin is
passed through, a wooden batten or weave sword is in-
serted and turned on edge. The same implement is
used to beat or press the newly inserted weft into place.
Where the construction requires the separation of the
warps into several sheds, two or more heddle rods are
used. O’Neale has clearly shown by her analysis of cer-
tain examples of twill weaving that the necessary warp
manipulations must have been made with at least three
heddle rods. This demonstrates the use of the multiple
heddle loom in the Mochica period. Probably a careful
study of the double-cloths would supply further infor-
mation on the antiquity and distribution of multiple
heddle looms, and might show an even greater
antiquity.

One of the limitations of the backstrap loom is the
fact that a single individual cannot weave a fabric
wider than the working span of the arms. Length is
also limited by the amount of cloth which can be rolled
and supported on the lower bar. Average maximum
widths seem to be about thirty inches, so the occur-
rence of large fabrics like the Paracas specimens which
have widths up to seventeen feet eight inches and
lengths of eighty-seven feet, indicate that some other
type of loom was used. Truman Bailey has recorded the
use of a super backstrap loom which is roughly three
times the normal width and was operated by three
women working as a team. The limitations of such a

Techniques 203

loom would be in the length rather than in the
width.

WEAVING TECHNIQUES AND CHRONOLOGY

Very recent excavation has yielded an adequate
sample series of farbrics from the preceramic horizon
already referred to. Unfortunately, our data still depend
on field notes and an analysis of uncleaned specimens
as they were excavated. Cleaning and further study will
add detailed information, but should not appreciably
change the rate of occurrence for the techniques listed
below:

Per Cent

Twining 78.3
Looping and loop coiling 10.1
Fish nets, knotted 7.5
Plain cloth, warp face weave 3-7
Plain cloth, warp face with warp floats 0.2
Netted pouches 0.2

100.0

(This list does not include matting and basketry.)

Twining as a technique has been used with many
materials other than spun yarns, and survives today
mainly in mat and basket construction. From its world-
wide distribution and some archaeological evidence, it
is believed to be one of the oldest methods of creating
a fabric.

The principle is simple. The weft is always worked
in pairs intertwined between the warp elements, and,
if tightly twisted, they will remain in place even when
the weft rows are widely spaced. In the old Peruvian
material, the wefts are nearly all short, crossing the
fabric only once; with their ends tied together at the
selvage, forming a row of knots at the edge. There is no
simple mechanical method of placing the weft; it must

204 Andean Culture History

be done with the fingers, and, as the warp does not
have to be manipulated, a heddle is useless.

Twining, as shown by these old fabrics, was highly
developed. By crossing and arranging the warps, and by
varying their size and grouping, differences in texture
and pleasing effects were created. There are designs
of considerable complexity but none is constructed in
the manner of the Chilkat blankets of North America,
in which the wefts carry the pattern.

The contemporary woven pieces are surprisingly
small. Eight inches is about the maximum width, and,
except for belting, lengths do not seem to exceed twice
the width. All are warp faced, i.e., the warp yarns, more
closely spaced than the weft, predominate at the sur-
face. Patterning, as with the twining, is limited to warp
manipulation. Most common are stripes of warp floats
done with alternate yarns, a movement resembling that
employed in modern huck weaves. Occasionally some
intricate figure was made in this technique.

It is highly significant that in virtually all the woven
pieces at least some detail is accomplished by twining.
This may be limited to several compact twined rows to
hold the warp ends together or, in addition, may ap-
pear as twined weft rows separating woven areas. In
some textiles twining and weaving occur side by side,
with the same weft yarns used in both areas. Other
warp faced examples reveal the use of short wefts, with
the ends tied in knots along one selvage, exactly as in
the plain twining.

The impression from this material is that twining is
definitely the predecessor of weaving; that the heddle
was unknown, and that weaving did not evolve from
twining, but developed with it as an outgrowth of the
experimental manipulation of yarns. The invention of
the heddle was, in all probability, the critical factor in
further development, for without it weaving could not
compete with twining.

Techniques 205

A sudden increase in the frequency of woven pieces
occurs in the Cupisnique, or Cultist Period debris lying
above the primitive material mentioned. Their size and
the less compact spacing of the warp imply the use of
the heddle, while finished end or loom bar selvages
and a number of techniques not used earlier mark a
break in tradition. One would scarcely expect these
techniques to appear simultaneously had the develop-
ment occurred in the neighborhood of the Chicama
Valley. As they first appear in the Chicama Valley as-
sociated with Cupisnique sherds, the first maize, warty
squash, and a number of other culture elements, it is
clearly interpretable as influence from another area in
which weaving had evolved well beyond the preceramic
technical accomplishments.

A careful analysis of material from this horizon is
needed, but has not yet been made. The fairly com-
mon continued occurrence of twining may be a local
feature resulting from cultural fusion or, perhaps,
Cupisnique weavers were actually not far removed from
the pre-pottery stage. Completely new at that time in
Peru was gauze lace made by twisting adjacent warps
before inserting the weft. Design areas within the gauze
are woven in to match the plain weave adjoining the
gauze.

Another less practical device for creating design was
to wrap cotton lint around certain portions of the weft
just before it was laid in place, resulting in a compact
figure set in a relatively loosely woven field. Only two
jJater pieces show this patterning method. One is the
fabulous Paracas “altar” cloth at the Brooklyn Museum
with its central figures wrapped on the warp before
weaving; the other is a Nazca item incorrectly de-
scribed by O’Neale. This is quite distinct from the
wrapping or “facing” of yarn with yar in late period
slings and hair nets.

Another regionally new construction was tapestry,

206 Andean Culture History

which can be briefly defined as the use of independent
wefts for each color or pattern area of the design. Also
present are the simplest devices for varying the appear-
ance of plain weaves: the use of warp or weft stripes
and a combination of the two to form plaid. The weft
yarns are usually paired singles.

The series of textiles from Supe, perhaps close in age
to Cupisnique, add to the known technical data. As
with Cupisnique, warp-faced fabrics are in the minority,
about thirty per cent of the total. Apparently a higher
percentage of Supe fabrics has paired single ply wefts
and some also have paired warps. Brocading, the inser-
tion of secondary wefts in addition to the ordinary weft
at the places where the pattern falls, was known, but
embroidery seems to be lacking. ‘Tapestry is more com-
mon than yet noted among Cupisnique fabrics and is
found in several forms. One example, a Chavin styl-
ized condor head set in a plain weave field, is cleverly
executed with eccentric and slit techniques. At least
three shades of naturally colored cotton were used in
it, the over-all effect enhanced by the contrast between
the compact weft of the figure and the loose weave of
the adjacent fabric. Others have interlocked geometric
areas of loose tapestry in which, contrary to accepted
tapestry procedure, the wefts are not beaten tightly
together.

The Paracas Cavernas textiles here assigned to the
Experimenter Period are probably not quite as old and
among them, in addition to those mentioned for Cupis-
nique and Supe, are several more techniques. One,
which became very popular much later, is double cloth.
In this, two separate webs of contrasting colors, each
with its own warp and weft, are woven together. Pat-
tern is created by interlocking the two webs, a tedious
procedure on any hand loom. The complexity of the
oldest known examples shows complete mastery of the
process and indicates an earlier developmental stage.

Techniques 207

_ This concept of double cloth was carried still farther

by the Peruvians who produced a triple cloth and a
narrow quadruple cloth belting.
This Cavernas lot also adds embroidery and warp

float patterning to the list, comprising in all a remark-

ably broad range of techniques for such an early culture
level. The contrast with the preceramic fabrics is obvi-
ous. Plain twining survived in Chicama, while in the
south twining was limited in the Paracas Cavernas ma-
terial to basketry, matting, and elaborate twined lace.
With weaving, the break is so marked that at present
it can only be explained by postulating technical evolu-
tion outside the area, which would mean that the late
preceramic textiles were, in their time at least, out-
dated survivals. ‘There is such slight chance of recover-
ing old fabrics outside of Peru that if we are to locate
the area of development, careful attention must be
paid to the associated non-perishable items. Perhaps the
answer lies along the potsherd trail which may ulti-
mately reveal the origin of the Cupisnique-Chavin ce-
ramic techniques and designs.

The textile development subsequent to the Cupis-
nique-Supe-Cavernas stage shows marked differences by
period and area, not so much the result of technical
development as in the emphasis on and increasing pert-
fection of some device already in use. An excellent ex-
ample is the superb embroidery of the Paracas Necrop-
olis period when this art became fashionable almost
to the point of exclusion of other techniques (Plate
33). Great numbers of intricate and complex embroi-
deries were prepared and laid away with the dead;
pieces which were never again equaled in quality or in
the use of color. |

The omission here of published data is not intended
to slight or question the work of others. The identifi-
cation of weaves and trends in the Mastercraftsmen
and later periods is so comprehensive a topic with so

208 Andean Culture History

many incomplete details that it is inadvisable to at-
tempt to encompass it at present. As an alternative,
some comments can be made on certain techniques
which have not already been discussed.

Plain Cloth: Regional trends are well exemplified by
comparing the products from the northern coasts of
Peru and Chile made during the period of Inca con-
trol. At the time of the Spanish conquest and _after-
wards, an undetermined but high percentage of plain
cloth from Chicama was made with paired elements,
using single-ply cotton yarn, a custom well established
at least as early as the Cultist Period.

On the North Chilean coast, where the influence of
Inca culture was scarcely felt, sixteenth century and
earlier plain weaves are entirely warp faced. Most of
them are of two-ply wool yarn, and only one in a series
of nearly eight hundred has paired wefts. ‘This again is
founded on long established local tradition, with a
slight variation seen only among the oldest textiles,
four per cent of which are square count, the rest warp
faced.

At Pachacamac, plain cloth associated with Inca pot-
tery is predominantly warp faced and made with two-
ply yarns. Paired warps and wefts of single ply S spun
yarns are elements apparently introduced from the
north during this period. Cotton is six to eight times
more frequent than wool, with the latter most abun-
dant in the textiles associated with the highest con-
centration of Inca sherds.

Repp: Plain cloth in which the warps outnumber the
wefts and predominate on the surface is referred to as
warp faced. This generally has a ribbed appearance
which can be accentuated by the use of heavier weft
yarn. This effect, called repp, is sometimes mentioned
as a feature of Peruvian fabrics and is indeed quite
common. The term should perhaps be limited to those
fabrics in which the weft is heavier than the warp and

Techniques 209

until some such distinction is made little can be said
about it other than that it naturally follows the distri-
bution of warp faced textiles.

Twill: The rarity of the occurrence of twill in exist-

ing collections has occasioned some _ speculation.

O’Neale, in the only report on Peruvian twill, discusses
the seventeen examples known to her. As its produc-
tion required at least three heddle rods, the work of set-
ting them up may have limited its popularity. Perhaps
far more twill was woven than has been assumed for
most of it was collected in Mochica tombs, notoriously
poor in yielding textiles. In the light of our present
knowledge, however, it is clear that though the Peruvi-
ans did master the application of this technique, its
distribution is restricted.

Patter Weaves: The creation of well executed, in-
tricate patterns with the warp is a challenge to the
weaver’s ability; yet in spite of the difficulties involved,
it became very popular and still remains so in the
southern highlands. Though known to some degree
throughout Peru in all periods, the finest warp patterns
are generally from the South Coast and are relatively
late. The similarity of designs in modern and four-
teenth to sixteenth century specimens is often striking
and should give a good check on the conservatism of
such textile design. In North Chile this technique ap-
pears with the first painted pottery.

Weft or bobbin patterns are not so difficult to create
and, though widely used, never were as popular as warp
patterns. Much more common are the brocades, pos-
sibly because the use of supplementary wefts permits a
more varied application of color than in plain bobbin
patterns.

Tapestry: When the Spaniards entered Peru, tapestry
was definitely in fashion as, in a sense, it then was in
Europe. The Peruvian products, however, were tech-
nically far superior in every detail. Usually made with

210 Andean Culture History

cotton warp and wool weft, they frequently have over
two hundred weft per inch and some exceed two hun-
dred and fifty. One with an average of 327 per inch has
weft crowded together at the rate of soo per inch in
some details of the pattern. It would be impossible to
create such a fabric without having perfect yarn for the
warp. In this case a three-ply cotton yarn, with seventy
twists per inch, was used. The warp count is sixty-
seven to the inch. Roughly, contemporary European
tapestry, by contrast, seldom exceeds eighty-five weft
per inch, and modern examples much fewer. |

In a sense, this is an unfair comparison, for the Euro-
pean products were primarily pictorial wall hangings
in which fineness of weave and the condition of the
under surface were not very important; whereas in Peru,
tapestry was employed for clothing, belts, and bags.
In these, careful finish of both sides and compact yet
light construction were naturally appreciated. The ex-
treme fineness of weave, however, is only one aspect
of the Peruvian product. Every conceivable device ap-
plicable to tapestry construction was employed with
care and skill. As an example, one finds in the Nazca
area that the structural weakness of slit or kelim tap-
estry has been overcome by using hidden wefts. By using
paired warps a fine hard-spun single-ply cotton can be
woven in so it does not show through the wool weft
of the pattern unless the fabric is torn or badly worn.
These have sometimes been inaccurately classified as
“embroidery to resemble tapestry.” Actually, there is no
recognized name for this technique and, as often hap-
pens with Peruvian material, one has to be suggested.
In this case “reinforced slit tapestry” is adequate, if
we can agree at which limit the construction is tech-
nically something else. Some pieces show the reinforcing
yarns inserted only where the slits are largest. In others
a continuous fine cotton weft is inserted regularly, with
two or more pairs of tapestry weft between the picks

Techniques 211

of cotton weft. When only one pair of the pattern weft
separates the fine cotton yarns, the latter are usually
carried beyond the pattern and form a plain weave
area. Such pieces are certainly not tapestry, although
they reproduce its appearance exactly.

In addition to the more conventional types of tap-
estry, some very delicate pieces have been found show-
ing interlocked tapestry construction in which warps
and wefts are single-ply crepe twist, cotton. They are
sometimes so loosely woven that, as far as texture goes,
the fabric can be considered a voile, yet the construction
is essentially that of tapestry. Since this technique has
no parallel in modern weaving, again a term has to be
proposed and in this case perhaps “sheer tapestry” is
preferable to calling it interlocked plain weave. One of
the two examples in the American Museum of Natural
History is very rare among known Peruvian fabrics in
showing what is called “Swedish” or two-way interlock.
In it, the locking of the weft produces a ridge or wale
on the reverse side of the fabric. In the other, the wefts
interlock around a warp.

The antiquity of tapestry has already been men-
tioned in comments on the Cupisnique-Chavin fabrics.
As yet, we know little about it during the interval pre-
ceding the Tiahuanaco or Expansionist Period. In both
Known Paracas periods, it was virtually ignored, furnish-
ing a good example of the influence of fashion on the
occurrence of a technique. Certainly a people possess-
ing such skill in spinning, dyeing, and weaving ignored
it only by intention.

Somewhat later and far to the north there is some
evidence for its use in the Mochica period. ‘To what
extent, remains to be discovered, but from then on, all
down the coast, it appears with increasing frequency.
The major development seems to have come with the
spread of the Tiahuanaco influence from the southern
highlands. Beautifully executed pieces with character-

212 Andean Culture History

istic figures of this period are among the most easily
identified of all Peruvian fabrics. Though the stylistic
influence of Tiahuanaco faded in time, the manufacture
of tapestry continued, receiving new support with the
second wave of highland conquerors, the Inca. It is
interesting to note that while the Inca ultimately dom-
inated a larger area than their predecessors, they seem
to have had less influence on the general textile de-
velopment. The only marked Spanish influence on the ~
Peruvian textile record immediately after the conquest
was in tapestry design. The Spaniards recognized and
appreciated the native product, if not the patterns, and
soon had weavers making tapestry hangings and carpets
for their homes. These products, in which ideas from
two unrelated cultures have been blended, merit spe-
cial study.

Interlocked Warp Pattern: This construction which,
like tapestry, can yield a pattern identical on both sides
of the fabric is peculiar to Peru. It has sometimes been
called “patchwork” or “weft scaffolding,” but as the
pattern is set up in the warp before inserting the weft,
the term used here seems more appropriate.

A unique unfinished example in the American Mu-
seum collection has a rather intricate two-color pattern —
laid out with the aid of taut scaffolding yarns, set like
the rungs of a ladder, parallel to the loom bars and
presumably held in place by supplementary bars set at
right angles to the regular ones (Plate 34, lower night).
Warping was done very much as one inserts the weft
in one-way interlocked tapestry, with the warp span-
ning one or more “rungs” as the pattern required. The
interlocking turns of the contrasting yarns also encircle
the scaffold yarns. In other words, if all the warps were
pulled out of a finished piece of interlocked tapestry,
the weft would then resemble this type of interlocked
warp fabric before the insertion of the weft. It is obvious
that if the final product is to be smooth, warp tension

Techniques 213

must be perfectly distributed and, except for unusually
large areas, the weft must be inserted without benefit
of a heddle and in most cases was done with a needle.

Several types of interlocked warp are distinguishable
on the basis of the weft manipulation. In the most ele-
mentary, the warp is close together and a single weft
runs the full width of the fabric. In these the scaffold
yams are either left in place or the weft substituted for
them. Others show the use of different weft colors,
matching the colors used in the warp. In these the sides
of the color areas may be woven as slits, then stitched
up; or the different wefts may be interlocked between
the warps.

The complexity of some of the patterns in this weave
are astounding, considering the labor involved and the
limitations of the plan by which they were laid out.
In fact, they are excellent examples of the extremes to
which Peruvians carried their loom work. The inter-
locked warp technique is found among Paracas Ne-
cropolis fabrics and continued to be made until historic
times, demonstrating how fixed in their tradition was a
willingness to attempt the difficult.

One justification for the term “patchwork” is to be
seen in the garments made of small tie-dyed units. All
the units in any one garment were warped together
on scaffold yarns without interlocking the warp turns.
After weaving in the wefts of each unit, the removal
of the scaffold freed the “patches” for dyeing and left
_ the warp end loops open for reuniting. So far, there is
little to indicate that this “patchwork” was used before
the Tiahuanaco period, and nothing to show that it
was not consistently used with tie-dyeing.

Interlocked Darning: Another product which at first -
_ glance seems to belong to the interlocked warp group
and has been called “interlocked plain weave” and
“multicolored patchwork,” was created entirely by darn-
ing without any preparatory warping. O’Neale has de-

214 Andean Culture History

scribed one piece from the Paracas Necropolis period,
which must have been made by darning on a temporary
grid of both vertical and horizontal scaffold yarns. Oth-
ers seem to have been done with only horizontal yarns
as a guide but until an unfinished example is found,
there will be doubt about certain steps in the process.

As a group, they can be distinguished by the im-
possibility of identifying warp from weft. In any given
area of the pattern, the yarn laid in one direction as
“warp” turns and serves as “weft,” as in darning. Parts
of this “weft” may be used to extend the pattern and,
in doing so, they become the “warp.” Hence, warp and
weft yarn is continuous in each area and the warp-weft
counts are equal. The patterns are squared geometti-
cally and the colors are clear and contrasting. One
might expect such fabrics all to be small, yet a fragmen-
tary example in the American Museum apparently
measured thirty-two by eighty-eight inches when new.

Shaped Fabrics (weaving to shape): We are all so
conditioned to cutting cloth to a desired size or shape
that few of us realize what a relatively new concept
this cutting is in terms of our total textile history. The
Peruvians, like all ancient weavers, wove their fabrics
to the length and width needed for a particular gar-
ment or purpose and never cut or tailored them. As
the normal product was rectangular, this had a rather
depressing effect on clothing styles. Their response to
this limitation was to weave cloth to the shape desired.
Examples of this practice constitute a larger and more
important group than is generally realized.

Of several methods, the most rudimentary is based
on a very simple principle; fanning or spreading of the
warp between the loom bars, which, if evenly done,
yields a trapezoidal product. The side selvages were
curved as desired by varying the tension of the weft
during weaving. Loin cloths, quite similar to very
modern French bathing suits, were woven by keeping

—

g

Techniques 215

the center of the warp close together and spreading the
ends so that the finished corners could be tied over the
hips. Poncho shirts, some over twice as wide across
the shoulders as at the bottom, were made by spread-
‘ing the center of the warp before weaving. ‘To avoid
loose construction where the spreading became ex-
‘treme, additional warps were laid in as needed. ‘The
Museum collection contains one large shirt of this type
from North Chile (Plate 34); woven in one piece, it is
eighty-four inches across the shoulders by thirty-eight
across the bottom. For every hundred warps running
the full length of the loom, fifty more were added at
the center.

Other irregularly shaped pieces were made by setting
the loom bars so that one side selvage was longer than
the other. Uniform construction was maintained by
carrying some of the weft rows only part way across
the loom. The same weft manipulation was used in
‘pieces which appear to have been warped between two
curved loom bars for the production of capes which
are wider in the middle than at the ends.

Although no record has been made of the number of
techniques employed in conjunction with shaping, the
list includes tapestry, double cloth, two-faced warp pat-
tern, and interlocked warp. The oldest occurrence yet
noted is in pre-Tiahuanaco material from North Chile.
By the time the Spaniards arrived with the concept of
tailored garments, the shaped fabrics were more widely
used than has hitherto been realized. One cannot help
wondering where this phase of costume design would
have led had it not been interrupted.

Resist Dyeing: Tie-dyeing or “plangi” has already
been mentioned in connection with patchwork. This
basically simple process consists of binding portions
of a fabric with yarn or fiber before dyeing as protection
from the dye, and thus creating a pattern. If a small
portion of fabric is bunched and bound, then dye-free

216 Andean Culture History

circles result. When the binding is applied to folded —
and rolled cloth, straight lines can be created. Several
colors can be used successively by properly planning a
sequence of dyes and bindings, but only two colors,
in addition to the natural color, have so far been re-
ported. The resist process with wax to stop the dye
penetration, known as “batik,” has not been positively
identified in Peru.

Ikat: Another and more complicated resist dyeing —
process is made by dyeing the pattern on the warp
before weaving commences. For precise results, the
whole fabric must be carefully planned in advance. The
exact number of warp yarns required is calculated and
these subdivided into lots which are grouped, tied, and
dyed together for each division of the pattern row re-
peats.

From the present South American distribution of
ikats, south central Chile, Bolivia, north Peru, and
Ficuador, one might expect to find more examples from
pre-Spanish times than actually appear. Only a very
few have been collected, most within the Chimu area,
and none is older than the late Coastal Tiahuanaco
pottery, if that old. This and other reasons suggest that
it was introduced into Peru later than and independent ©
of “plangi” tie-dye. Most pieces show retouching after
weaving, when dyes were painted on parts of the de-
sign as if in an attempt to create the appearance of a
polychrome ikat.

Both warp and weft ikat are known in Central Amer-
ica, but the latter has not been found in Peru.

Painting: This is an older method of decorating
fabrics than resist dyeing. Though plain red pigment
was used in lieu of a dye in preceramic days, the crea-
tive application of pigments has not yet been reported
earlier than Paracas Cavernas. Afterwards, it is found
rather widely distributed in the different areas and
periods. Perhaps its greatest use was in copying the

Techniques 217

effects achieved by some structural method such as the
reproduction of tapestry designs. Rectangular wall
_ hangings of cotton cloth with large bold and weird
_ painted figures have been found in late Central Coast
sites (Plate 35).

Feather Work and other Surface Decoration: Quanti-
ties of feather-covered fabrics have been found, mostly
in post-Tiahuanaco graves. In some cases, the feathers
have been cemented fast but the more usual method
was to attach the feathers to a cord and stitch this to
a woven fabric row by row. Some of the feather work
is strikingly colorful. Quite common are feathers from
domesticated macaws and parrots, some of the latter
a yellow variety which is now extinct. Other feathers
are from tropical rain forest birds which must have
been brought a considerable distance. A study of such
material ought to yield information on trade contacts.

Correspondingly late fabrics are also occasionally
decorated with sheet metal discs and plates. Most of
these are of interest only in that they reveal a trend
which has little real appeal from an esthetic viewpoint.
Beaded fabrics are virtually unknown and are limited
to a net construction.

After the Paracas period, ea tay declined in
quality. Examples of a later use are the pieces which
look like brocade, but are actually created by em-
broidery. The stitches do not overlay the surface but
are inserted under the warp parallel to the weft. Selec-
tive choice of the warp creates a secondary pattern over
the embroidery yam unrelated to the figures formed
__ by the latter. One example shows two such independ-
ent patterns on opposite faces of an area with the
original weft completely hidden between them.

_ Miscellaneous Techniques: A number of special tech-
niques or devices are employed only occasionally or for

some particular purpose. As is true of most weaving
_ processes, a description without detailed illustrations

218 Andean Culture History

is almost wasted effort, so only a few of these special
techniques will be mentioned, without attempting to
explain fully the methods used.

Tubular weaving is a term applied to a group of belts
and straps in which the weft, in passing the warps,
forms a spiral so that the finished product is in the form
of a flattened tube. Almost invariably, these have warp
patterns with the pattern yarns carried along inside
the tube and brought to the outer surface when needed.
If the pattern units are spaced with plain weave areas
and the pattern warps do not shunt too frequently
from one side to the other, the product is quite round
in section. Where the pattern warps are used contin-
uously and are frequently shifted from one side to the
other, the result is a flat strong strap with rounded
hollow edges. This latter, popular in late Inca times,
was commonly used for coca bag straps and is still
made in parts of Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. However,
where a bold pattern was created with solid color areas,
the fabric is virtually a double cloth woven with a single
continuous weft.

Another tubular construction, but basically distinc-
tive, appears as a finish on warp end loops. In these

cases, the insertion of the weft does not stop at the

heading cord or rod, if one was used, but is continued
around it. Actually, the original heading cord must have
been removed to provide working room. The final re-
sult is a tubular warp end finish, seldom over a quarter
of an inch in diameter; yet, in spite of the small size,
one finds carefully executed weft patterns in them.
Other special edgings, such as narrow woven nbbons
with fringe, were created by carrying the weft out
around one or more temporary warps just as fringes
are made on power looms today. Late fabrics from the
North Coast have loose spun weft so the finished
fringe consists of open loops. The earlier Paracas Ne-
cropolis examples are of two-ply weft which has been

in

5 "

Techniques 219

uniformly over-spun in the doubling so that after the
temporary warps are removed each loop closes or twists
shut. This, too, is still standard procedure for modern

fringes of the same type and calls for carefully prepared
yarn.

A rather common practice which sometimes leads
to misunderstanding was the combination of several
techniques in one fabric. A number of Late period
shirts from the South Coast were set up in the looms
with interlocked warp border units at each end, with
the warp between them spaced in groups. When the
weft was inserted, it remained exposed where it crossed
the spaces between warp groups and this exposed yarn
was, in turn, used as warp for the construction of tapes-
try rows so that a tapestry-on-weft was created. The
same procedure is found in small bags from Nazca in
which rows of fine warp pattern parallel the weft of
such tapestry rows. Nearly identical specimens have
tows of fine interlocked warp patterns instead of the
tapestry rows; at least, that is what they appear to be.

A few examples of looped pile weave shirts of cotton
have been found. The outer surface of the one in the
Museum collection has rows of inch-long loops formed
by drawing out a supplementary weft yarn from be-
tween each warp of one shed. The regularity of the
loops implies the use of a gauge rod or stick and as the
loop rows are well spaced with plain weave, it is clear
that the objective was a shaggy-surfaced fabric which
would not be too warm for comfort.

Looped pile of wool is extremely rare. An unrelated
type of wool “pile” occurs in extremely coarse, heavy,
Late period, shirts and shawls (?) from northern Chile.
They are warp-faced fabrics in which tufts of alpaca
wool were wrapped twice about every other warp in
each alternate shed as the weft was laid in. The free
_ ends of each tuft were loosely twisted and are some-
times about ten inches long. A finished garment is

220 Andean Culture History

about as handsome as a mangy bearskin, but is probably
much warmer, if the American Museum specimen,
weighing twelve pounds, is typical. One has only to
experience the great diurnal temperature changes in
the interior of the Atacama Desert to understand the
reason for such heavy fabrics.

The only compact and patterned pile is a non-loom
product. Brightly colored spun wool yarns are caught
in a tightly knotted web at each knot, and are trimmed
off evenly a quarter of an inch or less above the surface.
The ends, when untwisted, form a soft pile of good
quality, completely hiding the base fabric. Actually,
the technique had only a limited application in hats,
headbands, and bags, most of which date from the
period of Tiahuanaco expansion.

If, as it appears, the foundation for this pile was
usually made by knotting various cords together, it dif-
fers from the bulk of the knotted and looped Peruvian
products which were made with a single element. In
these, a number of techniques were used; the common-
est in most periods was netting, because of its use in
fishing nets. It also had other, more refined application

as in very delicate lace-like hair nets. Knitting and —

crocheting, the single element techniques most com-
mon today, were not used, which is rather surprising
when one observes how both have been accepted since
the conquest. The somewhat misleading term “needle
knitting,” used in reports on Peruvian textiles, refers to
an embroidery stitch. Although it duplicates the turns
and loops of knitting, it is not made by interlocking
one loop with another. The direction of build-up is
opposite to that in knitting and is accomplished by
drawing the end of the yarn, threaded in a needle,
through the necessary turns. Maximum perfection of
this process is found in the “three dimensional needle
knitting” of the Paracas Necropolis period: small, deli-

ee ee ee ee ee

Techniques 221

cate, multicolored, elaborate figures in the round which
must be seen to be believed.

Utilization of multiple elements, in braiding or
plaiting, is found most commonly in slings, and ropes,
and to a lesser degree in flat bands. As in weaving,
nearly every conceivable elaboration was developed be-
yond the dictates of necessity. Anyone interested in
plaiting should find in the Peruvian examples much
more that is worthy of study than has yet been de-
scribed.

In the preceding comments, the finished fabrics have
been mentioned only incidentally. In view of the wide
range of techniques, it is surprising to find such a lim-
ited range of loom products in terms of their use.

At the time of the conquest, a well-dressed Inca man
might wear sandals, a loin cloth, a knee-length poncho
shirt, a belt, a rectangular shawl or cape, and a head-
dress or headband. Lacking any form of pockets, he
carried his chewing coca in a small cloth bag—a mini-
mum of six separately woven fabrics, each created for
its specific purpose and none cut from a larger piece.

His wife, if equally well dressed, might have five
fabrics in her costume: a rectangular mantle worn
wrapped around the body reaching from the shoulders
to the ankles, a belt, a shawl similar to the man’s, a
headband, and a kerchief used for various purposes but
mainly to carry things.

The number of items per person does not seem ever
to have been appreciably larger. Marked regional and
period variations of style, because of the absence of
tailoring and the limitations of shaped weaving, are
observable mainly in the application of structural or
decorative techniques. Thus we find that almost every
technique was at one time or another employed to —
some degree in every article of clothing.

No one has so far secured figures showing the ratio
of garments to other textiles. A guess of ninety-five

222 Andean Culture History

per cent may well be conservative and, if this seems —
surprising, we must remember that items common in |
our culture, such as blankets and rugs, were virtually
unknown. Past and present evidence indicates that
many people slept in their clothes and had little other
than mats for their beds. Perhaps next in number were
the outer wrappings for the dead and these, like other
fabrics for miscellaneous purposes, were virtually de-
void of decorative techniques.

_ A final comment on the method of designing may be
of interest. Lacking paper or any other simple medium
for plotting and recording designs, the weaver de-
pended mainly on memory. The artisan visualizing a_
new design had to formulate and remember all the
details of construction as the work progressed. As an
alternative, at times the process and details of design
were worked out on a sampler. Only a small number
of these have been collected and, like so many other
aspects of Peruvian weaving, they remain undescribed.

RADIOCARBON DATING

The purpose of these comments is not to review all
Carbon 14 dates for South America, but simply to point
out what has been and is being done and to offer some
suggestions which may prevent misunderstanding. The
possibility of using the radiocarbon 14 isotope for age
determination rests on the premise that the amount of
C 14 in the atmosphere of the earth and in living
matter has remained nearly constant for some time. To
be constant the rate of production of C 14 in the upper
atmosphere must balance off against its rate of disap-
pearance by decomposition and dispersal; and, if age
figures are to be accurate, the period of constant or
static condition should exceed the age.

Certain unduplicated tests suggest some fluctuation
in the C 14 pattern, but most indicate a rather long
stable situation. However, the fact that mankind has
altered the balance within a hundred years by burning
fossil carbon fuels in which the C 14 has completely
decomposed is proof that the natural balance can be
disturbed.

Theoretically all the C 14 present in all living matter
should match in radiation activity, as it derives directly
or indirectly from the C 14 of the atmosphere. With
death and the cessation of carbon intake and exchange,
if the formerly living matter is not dispersed, the radia-
tion count of its C 14 will gradually decrease, while
that of the atmosphere is maintained by the constant
production of new C 14. By measuring the difference
of these two factors, and by knowing the decomposi-
tion rate of C 14, the date of death can be computed.

224 _ Andean Culture History

Since this method of age determination was pro- |
posed and developed by Libby, Anderson, and Arnold
there have been refinements in the laboratory equip-
ment and procedures. ‘These have minimized the possi- —
bility of errors and have reduced the plus or minus
figures of each measurement, figures based mainly on ~
sampling errors calculated to one standard deviation
or sigma. As there is one chance in three that the true
age will fall outside the stated plus or minus and one
chance in twenty that it will fall outside the span of
two sigmas or twice the announced plus or minus, it is
statistically inevitable that some of the computed te-
sults will be larger or smaller than the actual age. As
long as one deals with a small number of tested sam-
ples it is dificult to recognize the deviant figures and to
judge the magnitude of their deviation.

Further studies of the C 14 in modem and recently
living matter have modified the earlier figures for what
is called the modern value of C 14. As this newer
figure is now used in calculating the age measurements,
those made previously must be corrected or re-com-
puted. As such correction does not exceed a few
hundred years (for one laboratory it was announced ~
as the addition of 240 to their published mean figures) —
it has a minimum effect on the larger age measurements
and a maximum on the smaller ones.

Another result of the newer techniques and equip-
ment is a reduction in the size of the sample needed.
In certain counters three grams of refined carbon are
now sufficient. However, the size of the raw sample
naturally depends on its yield of refined carbon and
this will vary greatly with the substance used and the
admixture of impurities or inert matter. In one case ten
grams of charcoal may be adequate; in another, fifty
or more may be required. In all cases more than the
minimum amount is desirable that tests can be re-
peated if necessary.

Radiocarbon Dating 225

At present there are at least thirteen laboratories in
which C 14 measurements are being made. Most are
run by non-profit organizations and the results are pub-
lished. Up to the present, most laboratories have issued
the lists of their measurements in Science, and by com-
mon agreement will in the future publish in the
American Journal of Science, Radiocarbon Supple-
ment. Commercial laboratories are under no obligations
to do more than process samples and return the results
to the person who submitted them. The figures may
appear in print anywhere, with or without adequate
data. Thus when one wishes to gather all the measure-
ments pertinent to the archaeology of any one region,
it is necessary to cull through an ever-mounting mass
of data, sometimes inadequately annotated, and with
need in some cases of the recalculation mentioned. In
an attempt to simplify this problem, the Society for
American Archaeology has agreed to issue a punch
card index covering all archaeological measurements to
date and those which will appear during the next five
years. This will be very helpful, yet it cannot do more
than quote the published data. Evaluation and ap-
praisal of the published data sometimes calls for first-
hand or personal knowledge of the material tested, its
source, and the circumstances of recovery, all of which
may be difficult to obtain.

There are also differences in final results which seem
to be related to the types of material tested. An experi-
ment conducted at the Lamont Laboratory of Colum-
bia University in which three radically different organic
substances were used, will illustrate this point. ‘These
were shell, cattail and other swamp-land plants, and
llama fur and skin. They were all contemporary and
came from the middle of a dry deposit of Incaic debris
at Pachacamac and can with reasonable certainty be
dated as 1508 A.D. + 25 years. The + 25 represents
the maximum time range in which the true date falls.

226 Andean Culture History

The samples, listed as L 123 A, B, C in the laboratory
records, gave the following results:

The shell, which, from adhering material derived
from the organism, was without any doubt freshly col-
lected when discarded, yielded figures more than 3300
years in excess of actual age. A similar discrepancy has
been noted when other Peruvian shells have been
tested; therefore, for the present, no dates based on
marine shells from the Peruvian coast should be ac-
cepted. In one measurement the Pachacamac cattail
and sedge gave a mean slightly more than twice the
known age; in another, a figure 80 per cent over that
expected. We cannot use this example as the basis for
questioning all dates derived from the C 14 in plants
of these species, but we should have data on the effect
of environmental differences on different species. Until
we have adequate data the dates derived from swamp
plants should be used with caution; unless supporting
data from other material are available, or if modern
examples from the same environment give the ex-
pected results. Two measurements of the C 14 in the
llama fur and skin gave 450 + 150 and 500 + 120
years. These both bracket the known age of 450 + 25.

The results of this experiment will serve to empha-
size the obvious; that more than one measurement is
desirable; that materials to be tested must be selected
with discretion, and that no archaeological samples
should be submitted for testing unless their cultural
context is unquestionable, as was the case with the
shells.

As might be expected, the majority of South Ameri-
can C 14 dates relate to Andean material, mainly
Peruvian, with others distributed from Venezuela to
South Chile. In 1951 the results of twenty measure-
ments of sixteen samples were available. By the end
of 1956 the total of published samples had risen to
fifty. By mid-1959 there are, published and unpub-

Radiocarbon Dating 227

lished, about 120 measurements. Among them one finds
a number of perplexing problems which may require
more field-work and other related measurements and
possibly additional basic research on C 14, before we
can understand the results.

A single instance will serve to illustrate one of the
problems mentioned. Measurement of charcoal pub-
lished as associated with the oldest pottery in the Viru
Valley gave 3800 + 150 years. Measurements con-
tracted for by Fredéric Engel at the New Zealand
laboratory indicate 3800 + 80 and 3740 + 100 as ages
for material in the upper parts of the preceramic at
sites on the Central Coast. These three would suggest
that the close of the preceramic period was in the
magnitude of 3800 years. Using charcoal which ante-
dated the Viru sample by sufficient time to allow for
the formation of a firmly compacted midden deposit
of over 45 feet thickness, another Lamont measurement
gave 3780 + 100 on one count and 3860 + 100 on a
second. These figures would indicate that the pre-
ceramic period ended about as soon as it started and
that the great deposits of debris marking it accumu-
lated at an impossible rate. In contrast seven measure-
ments by Libby imply that the preceramic period might
have a total time span of nearly 1300 years. Such dis-
crepancies must have an explanation, but if we cannot
find a satisfactory one immediately there is no reason
to criticize or reject the method. We simply do not yet
have sufficient knowledge of all the factors involved.

In so far as it has been possible, the chronological
chart (pp. 82-83) was compiled using C 14 dates. ‘There
are reasons to believe that the indicated duration of
the Chavin Horizon, particularly on the Central Coast,
is too short, and that the period between the Chavin
and Tiahuanaco material, in the north at least, is too
long. |

Unfortunately, no age measurements relating to the

228 Andean Culture History

Nomadic Hunters are available. If the association with
extinct fauna is valid, the magnitude of their age
should be at least eight or ten thousand years, judging
from the C 14 dates for Mylodon, horse and hunter
remains in the Magellan Strait Region and from similar
dates from Mexico and the Southwestern United
States. |

ge ae ee ee ae ee ee er

f
, it li” +b eel ee eer.

SELECTED SOURCES

This account has been based on the extensive archaeo-
logical bibliography for the Central Andes, on examina-
tion of many museum collections, and on unpublished
field-work by the authors and others. Virtually no citations
have been made in the résumé in view of the fact that
many excellent bibliographies exist. The following list of
publications is not intended to be a complete bibliography,
but contains, rather, some selected suggestions for further
reading on the specific topics and regions. Only a few ref-
erences are given for each division, selected, where possible,
because they are written in English, because they are good
source material, and because they contain additional bib-
liography. The references for Part 1, The Setting, and Part
3, Techniques, follow the chapter order. For Part 2, The
Central Andes, the sources are cited in terms of major
geographical regions, and a few selected topics. Since few
field reports are confined to one period or culture, a listing
of sources in terms of the major time periods of this ac-
count would require considerable duplication.

PART 1

Geography

JAMEs, Preston E. Latin America. New York, 1942.

Early Migrants

Birp, Juntus B. Antiquity and Migrations of the Early In-
habitants of Patagonia. Geographical Review, vol. 38,
no. 2, pp. 250-275, New York, 1938.

230 Andean Culture History

Excavations in Northern Chile. Anthropological Pa-
pers, American Museum of Natural History, vol. 38,
part 4, pp. 171-318, New York, 1943.

Carpicu, M. Aucusto. Los Yacimientos de Lauricocha,
Peru. Revista del Centro Argentino de Estudios Prehis-
toricos. Buenos Aires, 1959.

Hrpricka, ALES. Early Man in South America. Bureau of
American Ethnology, Bulletin 52, Washington, 1912.
SULLIVAN, Louis R. Aanp Mito Hetiman. The Punin Cal-
varium. Anthropological Papers, American Museum of
Natural History, vol. 23, part 7, pp. 309-337, New

York, 1925.

TscHopix, Harry, Jr. Some Notes on Rock Shelter Sites
near Huancayo, Peru. American Antiquity, vol. 12, no.
2, pp. 73-80, Menasha, 1946.

Plant Domestication

CuTLer, Hucu C. Races of Maize in South America. Bo-
tanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University, vol. 12,
no. 8, pp. 257-291, Cambridge, 1946.

Hurcainson, J. B., R. A. Sitow anp S. G. StepHens. The
Evolution of Gossypium and the Differentiation of the
Cultivated Cottons. Oxford University Press, London,
1947.

MaAncELsporF, P. C., AND C. Earnie Smita, Jr. New Ar-
chaeological Evidence of Evolution in Maize. Botanical
Museum Leaflets, Harvard University, vol. 13, no. 8,
pp. 213-247, Cambridge, 1949.

MancE.sporF, Paut C., AND R. G. Reeves. The Origin of
Corn. Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University,
vol. 18, no. 7, pp. 329-356, Cambridge, 1959.

SAUER, CARL. American Agricultural Origins: A Considera-
tion of Nature and Culture. In Essays in Anthropology,
presented to A. L. Kroeber, pp. 279-297, Berkeley,
1936.

Tower, Marcaret Asaiey. Description and Identifica-
tion of Plant Remains from Certain Sites in the Viri
Valley. In Cultural Stratigraphy in the Virii Valley, W.
D. Strong and Clifford Evans, Jr. Columbia Studies in

Selected Sources 231

Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 4, Columbia University,

New York, 1952.

Plant Remains from a Peruvian Mummy Bundle. Bo-
tanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University, vol. 15,
no. 9, pp. 223-246, Cambridge, 1952.

WaHiTAKER, THomas W., AND Junius B. Birp. Identifica-
tion and Significance of the Cucurbit Materials from

-Huaca Prieta, Peru. American Museum Novitates, no.
1426, New York, 1949.

Southern Hunters

STEWARD, JuLIAN (Editor). Handbook of South American
Indians, Volume 1, The Marginal Tribes. Bureau of
American Ethnology, Bulletin 143, Washington, 1946.

Tropical Agriculture

Rapin, Pau. Indians of South America. New York, 1942.

STEWARD, JULIAN (Editor). Handbook of South American
Indians, Volume 3, The Tropical Forest Tribes. Bureau
of American Ethnology, Bulletin 143, Washington,
1948.

Handbook of South American Indians, Volume 4,

The Circum-Caribbean Tribes. Bureau of American Eth-

nology, Bulletin 143, Washington, 1948.

Lowland Archaeology

Evans, CLIFFORD, Jr., AND Berry J. Meccers. Prelimi-
nary Results of Archaeological Investigations at the
Mouth of the Amazon. American Antiquity, vol. 16, no.
1, pp. 1-9, Menasha, 1950.

Cruxent, J. M., anp Irvinc Rouse. An Archeological
Chronology of Venezuela. Vol. 1. Social Science Mono-
graphs 6, Pan American Union, Washington, D.C.,
1958. Vol. 2, Illustrations, 1959.

Howarp, Grorce D. Prehistoric Ceramic Styles in Low-
land South America, their Distribution and History.

232 Andean Culture History

Yale University Publications in Anthropology, no. 37,
New Haven, 1947.

Kipper, ALFRED, 2ND. Archaeology of Northwestern Vene-
zuela. Papers, Peabody Museum of American Archae-
ology and Ethnology, vol. 26, no. 1, Cambridge, 1944.

LatHraP, Donatp W. The Cultural Sequence at Yarina-
cocha, Eastern Peru. American Antiquity, vol. 23, no.
4, Pp. 379-388, Menasha, 1958.

Meccers, Betty J., AND CLirrorp Evans. Archaeological
Evidence of a Prehistoric Migration from the Rio Napo
to the Mouth of Amazon. Social Science Bulletin, Uni-
versity of Arizona, no. 27, pp. 9-19, Tucson, 1958.

NoRDENSKIOLD, Ertanp. L’Archéologie du Bassin de
Amazone. Ars Americana, vol. 1, pp. 1-67, Paris, 1930.

Oscoop, CorNELIUS AND Gerorce D. Howarp. An Ar-
cheological Survey of Venezuela. Yale University Publi-
cations in Anthropology, no. 27, New Haven, 1943.

PALMATARY, HELEN. Tapajo Pottery. Ethnologiska Stud-
ier, no. 8, pp. 1-136, Géteborg, 1939.

Andean Farmers

STEWARD, JULIAN (Editor). Handbook of South American
Indians, Volume 2, The Andean Civilizations. Bureau
of American Ethnology, Bulletin 143, Washington,

1946.

Northern Andes

BENNETT, WENDELL C. Archeological Regions of Colom-
bia: A Ceramic Survey. Yale University Publications in
Anthropology, no. 30, New Haven, 1944.

CoLuieR, DoNALD AND JoHN Murra. Survey and Excava-
tions in Southern Ecuador. Anthropological Series, Field
Museum of Natural History, vol. 35, pp. 9-103, Chi-
cago, 1943.

Esrrapa, Emritio. Ultimas Civilizaciones Pre-Histéricas de
la Cuenca del Rio Guayas. Publicacion del Museo Vic-
tor Emilio Estrada, no. 2, Ecuador, 1957.

Los Huancavilcas, Ultimas Civilizaciones Pre-Histo-

*
ae

Selected Sources 233

ricas de la Costa del Guayas. Publicacion del Museo

Victor Emilio Estrada, no. 3, Guayaquil, 1957.

Prehistoria de Manabi. Publicacion del Museo Victor
Emilio Estrada, no. 4, Guayaquil, 1957.

Evans, CLIFFORD, JR. AND Berry J. Meccers. Preliminary
Report on Archaeological Investigation in the Guayas
Basin, Ecuador. Cuadernos de Historia y Arqueologia,

-afio 4, vol. 4, no. 12, pp. 308-336, Ecuador, 1954.

Evans, CLiFForD, Berry Mrccers AND Emiiio EstrabA.
Cultura Valdivia. Publicacion del Museo Victor Emilio
Estrada, no. 6, Guayaquil, 1959.

REICHEL-DoLMATOFF, GERARDO. Investigaciones Arqueo-
légicas en la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Revista
Colombiana de Antropologia, vol. 2, pp. 147-205,
Bogota, 1954.

REICHEL-DoLMATOFF, GERARDO, AND Axicia. Momil, Ex-
cavaciones en el Sinu. Revista Colombiana de Antro-

pologia, vol. 5, pp. 109-333, Bogota, 1956.

Southern Andes

BENNETT, WENDELL C., E. F. BLEILeR AND F. H. Som-
MER. Northwest Argentine Archeology. Yale University
Publications in Anthropology, no. 38, New Haven, 1948.

Birp, Juntus B. Excavations in Northern Chile. Anthro-
pological Papers, American Museum of Natural His-
tory, vol. 38, part 4, pp. 171-318, New York, 1943.

Boman, Eric. Antiquités de la Région Andine de la Ré-
publique Argentine et du Désert d’Atacama. 2 vols.,
Paris, 1908.

GonzaLEz, ALBERTO Rex. Contextos culturales y crono-
logia relativa en el area Central del N. O. Argentino.
Anales de Arqueologia y Etnologia, vol. 11, pp. 7-32,
Mendoza, 1955.

La cultura Condorhuasi del Noroeste Argentino.
Runa, vol. 7, pt. 1, pp. 37-86, Buenos Aires, 1956.

Montett, Gésta. An Archaeological Collection from the
Rio Loa Valley, Atacama. Oslo Etnografiske Museums,
Skrifter, vol. 5, hefte 1, pp. 1-46, Oslo, 1926.

234 Andean Culture History
PART 2

Central Andes General

BENNETT, WENDELL C. The Archeology of the Central
Andes. In Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 2,

pp. 61-147, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin
143, Washington, 1946.

BENNETT, WENDELL C, (Editor). A Reappraisal of Peru-
vian Archaeology. Society for American Archaeology,
Memoir No. 4, Menasha, 1948.

Bussane..z, G. H.S. Peru. London, 1956.

ENGEL, Frepéric. Sites et Etablissements sans Céra-
mique de la Céte Péruvienne. Journal de la Société des
Américanistes, Nouvelle Série, tome 46, pp. 67-155,
Paris, 1957.

Algunos Datos con Referencia a los Sitios Precerami-
cos de la Costa Peruana. Arqueologicas, 3. Publicaciones
del Instituto de Investigaciones Antropologicas. Museo
Nacional de Antropologia y Arqueologia, Lima, 1958.

KroeBeEr, A. L. Peruvian Archeology in 1942. Viking Fund
Publications in Anthropology, no. 4, New York, 1944.

MeEap, CHarxes W. Old Civilizations of Inca Land. Hand-
book Series, American Museum of Natural History, no.
11, New York, 1924.

Means, Puixip A. Ancient Civilizations of the Andes. New
York, 1931.

Dating

Birp, Junius. Preceramic Cultures in Chicama and Vir.
Society for American Archaeology, Memoir No. 4, pp.
21-28, Menasha, 1948.

South American Radiocarbon Dates. In Radio Car-
bon Dating, Memoirs, Society for American Archaeol-
ogy, no. 8, pp. 37-49, Salt Lake City, 1951.

KuBLEr, GrorcE. Towards Absolute Time: Guano Archae-
ology. Society for American Archaeology, Memoir No.
4, pp. 29-50, Menasha, 1948.

q

ar or - =

Selected Sources 235

Lippy, Witriarp F. Radiocarbon Dating. Chicago, 1952.

Rowe, Joun H. Absolute Chronology in the Andean Area.
American Antiquity, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 265-284, Mena-
sha, 1945.

Wittey, Gorvon R. Horizon Styles and Pottery Traditions
in Peruvian Archaeology. American Antiquity, vol. 11,
no. 1, pp. 49-56, Menasha, 1945.

General and IIlustrative Sources

BagssLer, Artuur. Ancient Peruvian Art. 4 vols., Berlin
and New York, 1902-3.

BENNETT, WENDELL C. Ancient Arts of the Andes. Mu-
seum of Modern Art, New York, 1954.

Dorrinc, Hernricu U. The Art of Ancient Peru. New
York, 1952.

KEeLEMEN, PAu. Medieval American Art. 2 vols., New

York, 1943.

LEHMANN, WALTER AND HeErnricw Dorrinc. The Art of
Old Peru. New York, 1924.

Mason, J. Atpen. The Ancient Civilizations of Peru. Peli-
can Books, A395, Edinburgh, 1957.

MUuELLE, JorcE C. aNd Camiio Bras. Muestrario de
Arte Peruano Precolombino. Revista del Museo Na-
cional, vol. 7, pp. 163-280, Lima, 1938.

ScumiptT, Max. Kunst und Kultur von Peru. Berlin, 1929.

North Coast of Peru

BENNETT, WENDELL C. Archaeology of the North Coast
of Peru. Anthropological Papers, American Museum of
Natural History, vol. 37, part 1, pp. 1-153, New York,
1939.

Birp, Junius. Preceramic Cultures in Chicoma and Virt.
In A Reappraisal of Peruvian Archaeology. Memoir, So-
ciety for American Archaeology, no. 4, pp. 21-29, 1948.

Coiiier, DonaxLp. Cultural Chronology and Change, as
Reflected in the Ceramics of the Viri Valley, Peru.
Fieldiana: Anthropology, Chicago Natural History Mu-
seum, vol. 43, Chicago, 1955.

236 Andean Culture History

Forp, James A., AND Gorpon R. WILLEy. Surface Survey
of the Viri Valley, Peru. Anthropological Papers, Amer-
ican Museum of Natural History, vol. 43, pt. 1, New
York, 1949.

KroeBeEr, A. L. The Uhle Pottery Collections from Moche.
University of California Publications in American Ar-
chaeology and Ethnology, vol. 21, pp. 191-234, Berke-
ley, 1925. |

Archaeological Explorations in Peru. Part I: Ancient

Pottery from Trujillo. Anthropology, Memoirs, Field

Museum of Natural History, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1-43,

Chicago, 1926.

Archaeological Explorations in Peru. Part I]: The
Northern Coast. Anthropology, Memoirs, Field Museum
of Natural History, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 47-116, Chicago,
1930.

Larco Horie, Rarart. Los Mochicas. 2 vols., Lima,
1938-1939.

Los Cupisniques. Lima, 1941.

A Culture Sequence for the North Coast of Peru. In

Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 2, pp. 149-

176, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 143,

Washington, 1946.

Cronologia Arqueoldégica del Norte del Peri. Buenos
Aires, 1948.

STRONG, WILLIAM DUNCAN, AND CLIFFORD EvANs, JR.
Cultural Stratigraphy in the Viri Valley, Northern
Peru. Columbia Studies in Archaeology and Ethnology,
Columbia University, vol. 4, New York, 1952.

TELLO, JuLio C. Arte Antiguo Peruano. Inca, vol. 2, Lima,
1938.

Wituey, Gorpon R. Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in
the Viri Valley, Peru. Bulletin, Bureau of American
Ethnology, no. 155, Washington, 1953.

Central Coast of Peru

Gayton, A. H. The Uhle Collections from Nieveria. Uni-
versity of California Publications in American Archae-
ology and Ethnology, vol. 21, no. 8, pp. 305-329, Berke-

ley, 1927.

CC
- a

Selected Sources 237

Kroreser, A. L. The Uhle Pottery Collections from Supe.
University of California Publications in American Ar-
chaeology and Ethnology, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 235-264,
Berkeley, 1925.

The Uhle Pottery Collections from Chancay. Uni-
versity of California Publications in American Archae-
ology and Ethnology, vol. 21, no. 7, pp. 265-304, Berke-
ley, 1926.

StronGc, Wit~L1AM Duncan. The Uhle Pottery Collections
from Ancon. University of California Publications in
American Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 21, no. 4,
pp. 135-190, Berkeley, 1925.

Stronc, WiLL1AM Duncan, Gorpon R. WILLEY AND
Joun M. Corsett. Archeological Studies in Peru, 1941-
1942. Columbia Studies in Archaeology and Ethnology,
vol. 1, New York, 1943.

Une, Max. Pachacamac. Philadelphia, 1903.

South Coast of Peru

Carrioné Cacuot, Reseca. Paracas Cultural Elements.
Lima, 1949.

ENGEL, FReDERIc. Early Sites in the Pisco Valley of Peru:
Tambo Colorado. American Antiquity, vol. 23, pp. 34—-
45, Menasha, 1957.

Gayton, A. H. anp A. L. Krorser. The Uhle Pottery
Collections from Nazca. University of California Pub-
lications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, vol.
24, NO. 1, pp. 1-46, Berkeley, 1927.

Kroeser, A. L. Archaeological Explorations in Peru. Part
IV: Cafiete Valley. Anthropology, Memoirs, Field Mu-
seum of Natural History, vol. 2, part 4, pp. 221-273,
Chicago, 1937.

—_— Paracas Cavernas and Chavin. University of California
Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology,
vol. 40, no. 8, pp. 313-348, Berkeley, 1953.

KroesBer, A. L. AnD WiLL1AM Duncan Stronc. The Uhle
Collections from Chincha. University of California Pub-
lications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, vol.
21, no. 1, pp. 1-54, Berkeley, 1924.

238 Andean Culture History

The Uhle Pottery Collections from Ica. University of
California Publications in American Archaeology and
Ethnology, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 95-133, Berkeley, 1924.

Stronc, WiLLt1AM Duncan. Paracas, Nazca, and Tiahu-
anacoid Cultural Relationships in South Coastal Peru.
Memoir 13, Society for American Archaeology, Salt Lake
City, Utah.

North Highlands of Peru

BENNETT, WENDELL C. Chavin Stone Carving. Yale An-
thropological Studies, vol. 3, pp. 1-9, New Haven, 1942.

The North Highlands of Peru. Anthropological Pa-
pers, American Museum of Natural History, vol. 39,
part 1, New York, 1944.

McCown, Tueopore D. Pre-Incaic Huamachuco: Survey
and Excavations in the Region of Huamachuco and
Cajabamba. University of California Publications in
American Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 39, no. 4,
pp. 223-400, Berkeley, 1945.

TELLO, JuL1io C. Andean Civilization: Some Problems of
Peruvian Archaeology. Proceedings, 23d International
Congress of Americanists, New York, 1928, pp. 259-
290, New York, 1930.

Discovery of the Chavin Culture in Peru. American
Antiquity, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 135-160, Menasha, 1943.

___. Arqueologia del Valle de Casma Culturas: Chavin,
Santa o Huaylas Yunga y Sub-Chimt informe de los
trabajas de la Expedicion Arqueoldgica al Marafion de
1937. Editorial San Marco, Lima, Peru, 1956.

Central Highlands of Peru

BENNETT, WENDELL C. Excavations at Wari, Ayacucho,
Peru. Yale University Publications in Anthropology, no.
49, New Haven, 1953.

BrncHaM, Hiram. Machu Picchu, a Citadel of the Incas.
New Haven, 1930.

Frjos, Paux. Archeological Explorations in the Cordillera,

Selected Sources 239

Vilcabamba, Southeastern Peru. Viking Fund Publica-
tions in Anthropology, no. 3, New York, 1944.

Rowe, Joun H. An Introduction to the Archaeology of
Cuzco. Papers, Peabody Museum of American Archae-
ology and Ethnology, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 3-69, Cam-
bridge, 1944.

‘South Highlands of Peru and Bolivia

BanpDELIER, Apotps F. The Islands of Titicaca and Koati.
New York, 1910.

BENNETT, WENDELL C. Excavations at Tiahuanaco. An-
thropological Papers, American Museum of Natural His-
tory, vol. 34, part 3, pp. 359-494, New York, 1934.

Excavations in Bolivia. Anthropological Papers,
American Museum of Natural History, vol. 35, part 4,
pp. 329-507, New York, 1936.

KippER, ALFRED, 2ND. Some Early Sites in the Northern
Lake Titicaca Basin. Papers, Peabody Museum of Amer-
ican Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 27, no. 1, pp.
3-48, Cambridge, 1943.

Posnansky, ArTHUR. Tihuanacu. The Cradle of American
Man. 2 vols., New York, 1946.

Rypén, Stic. Archaeological Researches in the Highlands
of Bolivia. Goteborg, 1947.

__ Andean Excavations I. The Tiahuanaco Era East of
Lake Titicaca. The Ethnographical Museum of Sweden,
Monograph Series, Publication no. 4, Stockholm, 1957.

__— Andean Excavations II. Tupuraya and Cayhuasi: Two
Tiahuanaco Sites. The Ethnographical Museum of Swe-
den, Monograph Series, Publication no. 6, Stockholm,
1959.

Tscuorix, Marion H. Some Notes on the Archaeology of
the Department of Puno, Peru. Papers, Peabody Mu-
seum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 27,
no. 3, pp. 3-57, Cambridge, 1946.

Quipu and Calculation

Locxr, L. Letanp. The Ancient Quipu or Peruvian Knot-
Record. New York, 1923.

240 Andean Culture History

NorRDENSKIOLD, ERLAND. Calculations with Years and
Months in the Peruvian Quipus. Comparative Ethno-
graphical Studies, vol. 6, part 2, G6teborg, 1925.

The Secret of the Peruvian Quipus. Comparative
Ethnographical Studies, vol. 6, part 1, Gdteborg, 1925.

Wasstn, Henry. The Ancient Peruvian Abacus. Compara-
tive Ethnographical Studies, vol. 9, pp. 189-205, Géte-
borg, 1931. |

Historic Period

Kusier, Grorcre. The Quechua in the Colonial World.
In Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 2, pp.
331-410, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 143,
Washington, 1946.

Means, Puirre Ainsworth. Fall of the Inca Empire. New
York, 1932.

MIsHKIN, BERNARD. The Contemporary Quechua. In
Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 2, pp. 411-
476, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 143,
Washington, 1946.

Rowe, Joun Howranp. Inca Culture at the Time of the
Spanish Conquest. In Handbook of South American In-
dians, vol. 2, pp. 183-330, Bureau of American Ethnol-
ogy, Bulletin 143, Washington, 1946.

___— The Kingdom of Chimor. Acta Americana, vol. 6, no.
1, pp. 26-59, Mexico, 1948.

Tscuorix, Harry, Jr. The Aymara. In Handbook of South
American Indians, vol. 2, pp. 501-574, Bureau of Amer-
ican Ethnology, Bulletin 143, Washington, 1946.

PART 3: TECHNIQUES

Ceramics

Harcourt, Raout p’ AND Marie D’ Harcourt. La Cé-
ramique Ancienne du Pérou. Paris, 1924.

Linnfé, S. The Technique of South American Ceramics.
Goteborg, 1925.

abe —o

Selected Sources 241

Teo, Jutio C. Arte Antiguo Peruano. Inca, vol. 2, Lima,
1938.

Tscuorix, Harry, Jr. An Andean Ceramic Tradition in
Historical Perspective. American Antiquity, vol. 15, no.
3, pp. 196-218, Menasha, 1950.

Metalwork

AntTzE, Gustave. Metallarbeiten aus dem N6rdischen
Peru. In Mitteilungen aus dem Museum fiir Volker-
kunde, 15, Hamburg, 1930.

Bercsge, Pauxt. The Metallurgy and Technology of Gold
and Platinum among the Pre-Colombian Indians. In-
genigrvidenskabelige Skrfter, Nr. A 44, Copenhagen,
1937.

The Gilding Process and the Metallurgy of Copper
and Lead among the Pre-Colombian Indians. Ingenigr-
videnskabelige Skrifter, Nr. A 46, Copenhagen, 1938.

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Easspy, Dupiry T., Jr. Los Vasos Retratos de Metal del
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Orfebreria y Orfebres Precolombinos. Anales del In-
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242 Andean Culture History

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INDEX

Acapana, mound, 138-39

Acknowledgments, ix, xv

Age grades, Inca, 170, 172

Agricultural areas, South Amer-
ica, 2

Agriculture, Amazon, 7; An-
dean Farmers, 42, 44; Cen-
tral Andes, 67, 68-69,
86-88; Colombia, 47; con-
temporary Indian, 180, 181;
Cultist period, 92, 93-94;
development, 13; diffusion,

14; Experimenter period,
106; Inca, 164, 165-66;
Mastercraftsman period,

114, 116, 117; Orinoco, 7;
Tropical Agriculturists, 25

Alacaluf, 17; house, 20

Alloys, 189

Alpaca, domestication, 17

Amazonia, archaeological sites,
38-41

Amazon lowlands, 7

Ancon, 85, 95, 97, 143; ceram-
ics, 145; textile dyes, 197;
textiles, 194

Andean Farmers, 8, 42-46; cul-
ture pattern, 53

Andes, 2; geographical divi-
sions, 4

Antiquity, Andean Farmers
pattern, 46; Cultist period,
92-94; plant domestication,
15; Venezuela sites, 37

Araucanians, 42; culture, 64;
dugouts and canoes, 44; geo-
graphical distribution, 46;
houses, 44; religion, 45

Arawak, 25

Arawaks, spread to West In-
dies, 31

Archaeological techniques, 75-

76, 77

Archaeology, Northern An-
dean, 47-59; Southern An-
dean, 59

Architecture, Central and
South Highlands, 145; City
Builders period, 152-53;
Cultist period, 97-98; Inca,
166-68; Mastercraftsman pe-
riod, 118-22; Tiahuanaco,
2390-40

Arica, middens, 12

Artifacts, Atacamefio, 60, 62;
Calchaqui, 61; Chavin de
Huantar, 9 . Ci
Builders sa oc xi
temporary Indian, 181; Cul-
tist period, 95; Experimenter
period, 110-11; Huaca Pri-
eta, 188-89; Inca, 59, 168;

_ Narifio sites, 50-51; North-
ern Chile, 12, 13; Peruvian,
147; Pichalo, 64; San Agus-
tin, 53; South Chile caves,
11; southern ‘Tierra del
Fuego, 11; Tairona, 49

Ascope, canal, 116

Aspero, 90, 92

Atacama desert, 5; occupation,
62

Atacamefio, 42; ceramics, 155;
culture, 60, 62-63, 151

Atahualpa, 178

Ayllu, 169, 170, 176

Aymara, 178-79; geographical
distribution, 46

Aztec civilization, 48

Backstrap loom, 200-3
Barama, River Caribs, 25

248

Bark cloth, Early Farmers, 89;
Tropical Agriculturists, 29

Barreales, culture, 61

Bast, use, Early Farmer period,
194; use, in textiles, 196

Beagle Channel, shell middens,

11

Belém type ceramics, 61

Belting, quadruple, 207

Black-White-Red Horizon, 80,
84, 146, 148

Blowgun, Guiana, 26-27;
Tropical Agriculturists, 33

Bobbin patterns, 209

Bolas, 11, 45; Southern Hunt-
ers, 19

Bora, cannibalism; upper Ama-
zon, 25

Bows and arrows, 45

Braiding, 221

Bridges, 164; Tropical Agricul-
turists, 20

Brocades, 209

Brocading, 206 :

Building, Cultist period, pl. 11;
materials, Experimenter pe-
riod, 106; projects, Inca, 166

Burials, Central and South
Coast, 146; City Builders pe-
riod, 154; cremation, 11;
Cultist period, 97; Experi-
menter period, 111; Master-
craftsman period, 122-23;
Paracas Necropolis, 123;
urn, Marajé, 38; Venezuela
sites, 37

Cajamarca, 148
Cajamarquilla, 119, 153
Calama, site, 62; Tiahuanaco
style, 142
Calasasaya ruin, 139
Calchaqui culture, 61
Calculation, system,
Wf eek,
Calendar, Inca, 172
Campa, upper Amazon, 25
Campsites, early, 10
Canals, ‘Tiahuanaco, 140

Inca,

Andean Culture History

Cafiari, 42

Canella Indians, social organi-
zation, 22

Cannibalism, Tropical Agricul-
turists, 35

Canoe Indians, 19; clothing,
20; utensils and implements,
21-22

Canoes, Southern Hunters, 20;
Tropical Agriculturists, 30

Carbon 14 dates. See Radiocar-
bon dates.

Caribs, 13, 25

Carvings, Chavin de Hudantar,
99; Cultist period, pl. 11;
Experimenter period, 111;
Inca, 169; Pucara, 122-23;
Recuay, 122; San Agustin,
52-53; Tiahuanaco, 140-
141

Cassava, preparation, 26

Castes, Inca, 170-71, 176-77

“Castillo”, 98, 99

Casting, metals, 190-91

Census, Inca, 160, 163, 170,
178

Central Andes, 1, 4, 8, 67-
182; building materials, 44;
cultivation of maize, 14; cul-
ture pattern, 64-65, 176; do-
mesticated plants, 16; econ-
omy, 17

Central Coast, subdivisions, 70

Central Highlands, sites, 70;
sites, Ecuador, 55-56

Central Valley, Chile, 6

Ceramics, Andean Farmers, 43,
44; Atacamefio, 62-63; Bar-
reales, 62; Calchaqui, 61;
Central Coast sites, 184;
Central Highlands, Ecuador,
56; Chinpa, 107; City Build-
ers period, 153-55; Colom-
bia, 48; contemporary In-
dians, 181; Cultist period,
91, pls. 8-9, 95; as cultural
diagnostics, 74; decoration
styles, 78-81; Early Cerro
Narrio period, Ecuador, 56;

Index

Ceramics (cont'd)
Ecuador, 54; Experimenter
period, 107-10; Huma-
huaca, 60; Inca, 168, pl.
31; Late periods, Ecuador,
56; Mastercraftsman period,
123-27; Manabi, Ecuador,
57-58; Maraca, 39-40; Ma-
rajO, 38; Mirakanguéra, 38;
-Narifio sites, 50-51; Nega-
tive painting, 51; North
Coast, 71; Pichalo, 64;
Ouimbaya, 51; Rio Napo,
38-39; Salinar, pl. 13,
106-7; San Agustin, 53; San-
tarem, 39-40; shaping, 184;
South Coast, 71; Tairona,
49; techniques, 183-88; Tia-
huanaco, 140-41, 144, 145;
Tierradentro, 52; ‘Tropical
Agriculturists, 39; Upper
Cauca Valley, 50; Venezu-
ela, 37

Ceremonial organization, ‘T'rop-
ical Agriculturists, 32-33

Ceremonies, burial, 45; Chavin
de Huantar, 101; Cultist pe-
riod, 101; Inca, 171, 172,
174-75, 176; Southern
Hunters, 22; Tropical Agri-
culturists, 35

Cerro Blanco, 98

Cerro Narrio period, Ecuador,
56-57

Cerro Sechin, carving, 100

Chama, Upper Amazon, 25

Chanapata, 104, 106, 107; Ce-
ramics, 108

Chancay, ceramics, 108, 109,
152, 155, pl. 28; graves, 111;
metalwork, 110; sites, 104

Chancay White-on-Red style,

10

Cheater atabesques, pl. 25,
153; constructions, 145; site,
Bet 262, 257

Charrua, 18

Chavin, ceramic techniques,
207; culture, 145; designs,

249

95, 96, 97, 98, 108; horizon,
78-79, 81, 92, 93, 102;
style, 64, 91, 103, 142, 206;
textiles, 205-7

Chavin de Huantar, 79, 98-99,
pl. 11, 101, 104

Chibcha, Andean Farmers pat-
tern, 47; civilization, 48; cul-
ture, 49, 50; distribution, 41;
goldwork, pl. 5

Chicama Valley, Early Farm-
ers, 194; textiles, 205, 207,
208

Chicha, 43

Chile, archaeology, 62-65; tex-
tiles, 219-20

Chilean-Diaguita culture, 64

Chimu, ceramics, 149, 152,
154; Culture, 135, 151; met-
alwork, 156

Chincha Empire, 151

Chiripa, 106, 107; ceramics,
109, 126; cultures, 104, 105;
graves, 111; metalwork, 110

Chongoyape, goldwork, 96

Chronology, Central Andes,
75-86; dyes, 196; weaving
techniques, 203-22

City Builder Period, 149-58

Clay, furnaces, 188; pottery-
making, 183-84

~ Climate, Andes, 5-6; East Bra-

zil highlands, 7; Central Val-
ley, Chile, 6; coastal plain,

5

Clothing, Andean Farmers,
43-44; Central Andes, 109;
Cultist period, 96; contem-
porary Indian, 181; Inca,
168-69, 221; Mastercrafts-
man period, 128, 130; North
Chile, 215, pl. 34; Southern
Hunters, 20; Tropical Agri-
culturists, 30

Coast ‘Tiahuanaco,
pl. 22

Coca, 221

Cochabamba, cemeteries, 142

Coconuco, 42

ceramics,

250

Coil technique, pottery mak-
ing, 184-85

Colombia, archaeology, 47-53;
houses, 44

Communication, Inca, 164

Confins Cave, 10

Construction units, Tiahuan-
aco, 138-40 7
Cooking, Southern Hunters,

19; stones, Early Farmers,
89, 90

Copacabana festival, 101

“Copper Man”, North Chile,
188

Corn (maize), 14

Cotton, 14, 88; use, Early
Farmer period, 194; use in
textiles, 197

Cotton-wool ratios,
textiles, 194-95

Craftsmanship, contemporary
Indian, 181; Inca, 168

Cultist period, 104, 105; Cen-
tral Andes, 91-102; religion,
111; sites, 86, 92, 93, 95;
stone carving, 111; textiles,
205, 208; varieties of cotton,

Peruvian

194
Cults, Tropical Agriculturists,
6

Culture, area, Central Andes,
71-73; centers, Central An-
des, 69; contacts, Spanish-
Indian, 178-80; develop-
ment, Central Andes, 1;
divisions, Mastercraftsman
period, 114; divisions, South
America, 18; periods, Cen-
tral Andes, 81-86; periods,
Central Highland sites, Ec-
uador, 55-56; periods, North
Highlands, Ecuador, 55; se-
quence, Experimenter period,
103-4; sites, Mastercrafts-
man period, 115

Culture pattern, Andean Farm-
ers, 41-46; Central Andes,
67-68, 72-73, 176; City

Andean Culture History

Builder period, 150; contem-
porary Indian, 180; Mochica,
131-33, 134; Imperialist pe-

riod, 176; Inca, 159-61;
Mastercraftsman period,
114-15; Nazca-Necropolis,

133-34; South America, 8,
17; Southern Hunters, 19;
Tiahuanaco, 134-48; Tropi-
cal Agriculturists, 24, 25,
36, 37

Cupisnique, 96, 97, 104; ce-
ramics, 94; llama _bumials,
195; textile dyes, 197; tex-
tiles, 194, 205, 206

Curare, preparation, 27

Cuzco, 158, 160, 163, pl. 31;
ceremonies, 174-75; poly-
chrome ceramics, 81

Dating, 76; Central Andes
chronology, 83-86; City
Builders period, 152; Cultist
period, 93; Experimenter pe-
riod, 104; Mastercraftsman
period, 113-14. See Radio-
carbon.

Decoration, ceramics, 186-87;

fabrics, 216-17; metals,
189-90
Deformation, head, Experi-

menter period, 110; Master-
craftsman period, 129; Trop-
ical Agriculturists, 31
Designs, Black-White-Red hori-
zon, 80; Chavin horizon,
78-79, 93-94; City Builders
period, pl. 27, 156; Cultist
period, pls. 8-9; Inca _ hori-
zon, 81; Negative horizon,
79-80; textile, 204, 205,
206, 222; Tiahuanaco, 144-
45; Tiahuanaco — horizons,
80; White-on-Red horizon,

79
Diaguita, 42; culture, 60
Distaff, 199
Divination, Inca, 176

Index

Domesticated animals, 195;
Andean Farmers, 43; Cultist
period, 95; European, 2, 180;
Experimenter period, 106;
Mastercraftsman period,
117; pre-Spanish, 4; Tropical
Agriculturists, 27

Domesticated plants, 13-17,
88; Andean Farmers, 42;
Central Andes, 117; Cultist
period, 94

Double cloth, 206-7, 218

“Draconian” style, Barreales,
61-62

Dugouts, Tropical Agricultur-
ists, 30

Dyeing, yarns, 193, 196-98

Early Cerro Narrio period, Ec-
uador, 56

Early Farmer cultures, 64

Early Farmers, 86-91

Early Inca culture, 148, 151,
158-60, 162

Early Lima culture, 116, 125

Early Migrants, 8-13, 64

Early Tiahuanaco, 105, 116,
122; ceramics, 126

East Brazil, ceremonies, 22, 23;
clothing, 21; highlands, 7;
house type, 20; material
equipment, 21; social organi-
zation, 22; weapons, 19

Economic system, Inca, 170

Economy, Canoe Indians, 19;
Foot Indians, 19; Tropical
Agriculturists, 24-32

Ecuador, archaeology, 53-59;
houses, 44

Education, Inca, 171, 172

Elen Pata period, Ecuador, 56

E] Purgatorio, city, 153

Embroidery, 206, 207, 217,
220

Environment, Central Andean,
67, 68, 69; South America,
1-8

Esmeralda, 42

ae

251

Esmeraldas, Ecuador, mounds,
57

European contacts, Southern
Hunters, 23; Tropical Agri-
culturists, 36

Expansionist period, 135-48

Experimenter period, 102-13;
textiles, 206

Fauna, extinct, Lagoa Santa,
9; Confins Cave, 10

Featherwork, 156, 217

Fell’s Cave, stratified remains,
11-12

Fibers, 192, 193-96

Firemaking, Southern Hunters,
21

F ine methods, ceramics, 186—
7

Fishing, cultures, North Chile,
12-13; Inca, 166; methods,
Tropical Agriculturists, 27

Food, economy, Andean Farm-
€Is, 42-43, 44; Inca, 164-
65; plants, diffusion, 14;
plants, wild, Andes, 5; prepa-
ration, Tropical Agricultur-
ists, 26, 27-28; preservation,
Experimenter period, 106

“Foot” Indians, 19

Fortifications, Andean Farm-
ers, 45; Southern Andes, 59

Frame-loom, 200

Fresco, Mastercraftsman _pe-
riod, 119

Fringe, 219

Gallinazo, 104; culture, 107;
mounds, 119

Gateway of the Sun, Tiahuan-
aco, 80, 139

Gauze lace, 205

Gé, 18-19

Gilding, metals, 190-91

Goajiro, Venezuela, 25

Gold. See Metalwork

Gourd, dispersal, 88

Gran Chaco, 6

Grazing areas, Andes, 4

252

Ground sloth, 11
Guanaco, 11

Guano period, Ecuador, 56
Guarani, Brazil, 25
Guinea pig, 17

Hair, nets, 220; use in textiles,
196

Hammocks,
turists, 29

Heddle, invention, 204; looms,
201-2

Herding, Andean Farmers, 43;
Inca, 166

Hierarchy, Inca, 173-74

Highland Tiahuanaco, ceram-
ics, pl. 22

Horizon styles, defined, 78

Horse, American, 11; intro-
duced to Southern Hunters,
: |

Hai Andean Farmers, 44;
contemporary, Indian, 180;
Experimenter period, 106;
Inca, 166; Mastercraftsman
period, 119; Southern Hunt-
ers, 20; Tropical Agricultur-
ists, 28

“Huaca de la Luna’, 120

“Huaca del Sol’, 120, 144

Huaca Prieta, 88, pl. 7, 89, 90

Huamachuco, 148

Huancayo, rock-shelters, 87

Huaraz, 107

Huavalac period, Ecuador, 56

Humahuaca culture, 42, 60

Hunting, Foot Indians, 10;
Mastercraftsman period, 117;
Pampas, 6; period sites, 86—
87; Tropical Agriculturists,
26-28

Tropical Agricul-

Ica, ceramics, 155, pl. 28; cul-
ture, 151

Ikat, 216

Imperialist period, 158-77

Implements, Cultist period, 95;
metal, 190-92; Southern
Hunters, 21; Tropical Agri-

Andean Culture History

culturists, 29, 30

Inca, chronology, 84, 161-62;
civilization, 48; clothing,
234° culture, Central Andes,
1; distaff, 199; Empire, 1,
41, 44, 59, 116, 158-77;
geographical distribution, 46;
horizon, 81, 84; influence,
northwest Argentina, 59; la-
bor, division of, 170; ma-
terials, Ecuador, 55; period,
Ecuador, 56; period, textiles,
208; social organization, 45;
textiles, 217

Indian cultures, contemporane-
ous, 179-82

Initiation, Tropical Agricultur-
ists, 33

Interlocked darning, 213-14

Interlocked tapestry, 211

Interlocked warp pattern, 212—

oe

Interlocking culture, 93, 116;
ceramics, 125

Intoxicants, Tropical Agricul-
turists, 27

Irrigation canals, Mastercrafts-
man period, 116

Jivaro, 25, 32; trophy heads, 34
Kelim tapestry, 210

La Candelaria culture, 62

La Paya, site, 59

Lagoa Santa, human remains,
Q-11

Lake Lauricocha, rock-shelters,
8

fake Valencia region, archaeol-
Ofy, 37 :

Languages, contemporary In-
dian, 181-82

Lanzén, 99

Late Cerro Narrio period, Eu-
uador, 56

Linguistic stocks, Tropical Ag-
riculturists, 25

Llama, domestication, 17, 195

Index

Loom plaiting, 109

Looms, 200-2; Cultists, 96;
Tropical Agriculturists, 29

Looped pile weave, 219

Lowland archaeology, 36-41

Lucurmata site, 142

Machu Picchu, 167, pl. 29

Macusi, River Caribs, 25

Maize, origin, 14

Manabi, Ecuador, ruins, 57-58

Manioc, preparation, 26

Manta, 42

Maraca, ceramics, 40; site, 39

Marajé, 38

Marca Huamachuco, 151

Masonry, Inca, 168, pl. 31;
Tiahuanaco, 140

Mastercraftsman period, 105,
113-35; weaving, 207, 208

Medicinemen, Andean Farm-
ers, 45; contemporary In-
dian, 182; Inca, 176; South-
erm Hunters, 23; ‘Tropical
Agriculturists, 35-36

Metals, decoration of fabrics,
217; source, 188

Metalwork, Andean Farmers,
43; Cultist period, pls. 8-9,
96-97; Calchaqui, 61; City
Builders period, 156-57; Co-
lombia, 48; Esmeraldas,
Ecuador, 57; Experimenter
period, 110; Inca, 169; Mas-
tercraftsman period, 129;
Quimbaya, 51, pl. 5; tech-
niques, 188-92; Tiahuanaco,
141, 146

Middle period, Colombia, 50;
Ecuador, 52

Migration routes, South Amer-
ica, 8-9, 13, 86-87

Military organization,
162-63

Mining, 188

Mirakanguéra, site, 38

Mirrors, 90, 96

Moche, constructions,
ruins, 120

Inca,

119;

253

Mochica, 109, 117; ceramics,
118, 120, 124-25, 126, 130,
131; clothing, 128-29; cul-
ture, 102, 115, 116, 148;

culture pattern, 131-33,
134; graves, 122; ideographic
writing, 130; metalwork,

129; multiple heddle loom,

202; textiles, 209
Modeling, ceramics, 184-85
Mojos, stratified mounds, 39
Mold-made ceramics, 185
Mordants, use, 196-97
Mounds, Amazonia, 38; Vene-

zuela, 37

Mountain ranges, South Amer-
ica, 2-4

Moxeke, 98

Musical instruments, Inca,
175; Mastercraftsman pe-

riod, 130; Tropical Agricul-
turists, 36

Narcotics, Andean Farmers, 43;
Inca, 165; Experimenter pe-
riod, 106; Tropical Agricul-
turists, 28, 36

Narifio culture, 50, 51, 52, 55,

AL

Nazca, bags, 219; ceramics, pl.
18, 125; culture, 105, 116;
graves, 123; textiles, 127,
128, 210

Nazca-B style, 144

Nazca-Necropolis, culture pat-
tern, 133-34

Negative horizon, 79-80, 84,

105

Negative (resist) decoration,
pottery, 50, 51, 53, 58, 79,
107, 187

Netting, 220

North Chile, painted pottery,
209; textile dyes, 197; tex-
tiles, 195, 208, 215, pl. 34,

219
North Coast, archaeological
subdivisions, 70; ceramics,

254

North Coast (cont’d)
71; Cultist period, ceramics,

95 |
Northern Andean archaeology,

21,99
North Highlands, Cultist pe-
riod, ceramics, 95; stone
carving, 71; subdivisions, 70
Northwest Argentina, archaeol-
ogy, 59-62

Occupation _ periods,
Chile caves, 11-12

Ocucaje, graves, 112

Ona, 17; artifacts, 11; ceremo-
nies, 22; Clothing, 20; fire-
making, 21; secret societies,
22; utensils and implements,
21; windbreak, 20

Origin, Central Andes cultures,
86; domesticated plants, 13-
15, 87-88

Orinoco, 7

Orinoco River basin, archaeol-

O8y> 37
Ormaments, metal, 190-91, pl.

32

South

Pacatnamu, city, 153

Pachacamac, 101, 119, 143,
153; Ceramics, 155; construc-
tions, 145; textiles, 208

Pacheco, site, 143

Painting, pottery, 186-87; tex-
tiles, 216-17

Palacio, inclosure, 139

Palli Aike cave, stratified re-
mains, 11

Pallka, 97

Palta, 42

Pampas, Argentine, 6; popu-
lation spread, 9

Panpipes, Experimenter period,
111

Panzaleo, 42

Paracas Cavernas, 104, 107;
ceramics, 108, pl. 12, 100,
187; graves, 111; metalwork,

Andean Culture History

110; personal adornment,
110; textile dyes, 197; tex-
tiles, 109, 194, 206, 207;
weaving, 112, 194

Paracas Necropolis, building,
118; burials, 123; culture,
105, 116, 130; dyeing, 196;
metalwork, 129; textile dyes,
197; textiles, 127, 194, 202,
207, pl. 33, 213, 216, pl. 35,
217, 218, 220

Pasto, 42

Patagonia, early campsites, 11;
environment, 6; population
spread, 9; utensils and tools,
21

Pattern weaves, 209

Personal adornment, Andean
Farmers, 44; Cultist period,
96; Experimenter period,
110; Mastercraftsman period,
129; Tropical Agriculturists,

31

Physical type, early, 13

Pichalo, site, 64

Pile weave, 219-20

Pilgrimage centers, Cultist pe-
riod, 101

Pisagua, middens, 12

Pizarro, Francisco, 178

Plain cloth, 208

Plaiting, 221

Plant domestication, 13-17.
See also Domesticated Plants

Plant lists, Andean area, 15-
17, 42; Central Andes area,
72; Experimenter period,
106; preceramic period, 89;
South American lowlands,
13; tropical forests, 25

Plating, metals, 190

Platinum, 191

Political organization, 169,
170; Andean Farmers, 44;
City Builder period, 149,
150, 157; Inca, 158, 160,
164, 177; Tropical Agricul-
turists, 31

Index

Population, City Builder pe-
riod, 150; Inca, 160; Master-
craftsman period, 131

Pottery-making process, 184-
85. See Ceramics

Pre-Atacamefio culture, Pi-
chalo, 64

Pre-ceramic, horizons, weaving
techniques, 203; sites, Cen-
tral Andes, 87, 88; period,
textiles, an, 207

Priests, Andean Farmers, 45

Proto-Panzaleo I and II, Ecua-
dor, 56

Pucallpa, 41

Pucara, carving, 111; ceramics,

109, pl. 12, 126, 186-87; cul-
ture, 105, 116; graves, 123;
temple, 121-22

Puelche, 17

Puerto Moorin culture,
104

Puma Puncu, platform, 139

Puna, 42

Punguri, 98

Punin skull, 10

Puruha, 42; period, Ecuador,

56

Quechua, 46, 178

OQuimbaya, 42; culture, 50, 52;
goldwork, pl. 5; sites, 51-52

QOuipu, Inca, 173

102,

Radiocarbon dates, Coastal
burials, 87; Early Farmers,
84; Early Hunters, 10, 12-
13; Orinoco basin, 37

Radiocarbon dating, 223-228

Rainfall, coastal plain, 5-6;
Orinoco River area, 7

Recuay, 144; carving, 111; ce-
ramics, 126, pl. 28; culture,
116, 119, 121; graves, 123;
houses, 118

Refuse deposits, Central Andes,

84
Religion, Andean Farmers,
42, 45; contemporary Indian,

255

179-80, 182; Cultist period,
100-1; Experimenter __pe-
riod, 112; Imperialist period,
173; Inca, 163, 174; Mas-
tercraftsman period, 130-31;
Southern Hunters, 23; Tia-
huanaco, 141-42; Tropical
Agriculturists, 36

Resist dyeing, 215

Rio Mantaro basin, sites, 71

Rio Napo, ceramics, pl. 26;
site, 38

Roads, Inca, 59

Rock-shelters, Huancayo, 87

Rulers, Inca, 161-62

Sacrifices, Inca, 174

Sacsahuaman, fortress, pl. 30

Salinar, 112; ceramics, 107,
108; culture, 102, 104;
graves, 111; metalwork, 110;
personal adornment, 110

San Agustin sites, 52-53

San Bartolo, 92-93

San José type ceramics, 61

er Maria style ceramics, 61—

2
Santa Marta, mountain range,

49

Santarem, 39, 40

Seriation, 77

Shaped fabrics, 214-15

Shell Fishhook culture, 12

Shiriana, 24

Sintering metals, 191

Siriond, 24

Slip, pottery, 185-86

Smelting, metals, 189

Social organization, Andean
Farmers, 44-45; City Build-
ers, period, 157; contempo-
rary Indian, 181; Cultist
period, 100; Experimenter
period, 111-12; Inca, 169;
Southern Hunters, 22; Trop-
ical Agriculturists, 31-32

South Coast, ceramics, 71; sub-
divisions, 70; textiles, 209

256
Southern Andean archaeology,

59
Southern Andes, extent, 4
Southern Hunters, 8, 17-24,

6

South Highlands, Ecuador, 56—
57; subdivisions, 71-72

Spanish conquest, 178-80

Spindle, modern, Chicama Val-
ley, 198; operation, 198—99

Spinning, 193, 198-200; direc-
tion of twist, 199; preceramic
period, 198

Stone carvings, 75

Stonework, Quimbaya, 51

Stratigraphy, 76-77; Chicama
Valley, 103, 104; Cultist pe-
riod, 93, 94

Subsistence patterns, 5; An-
dean Farmers, 42; Central
Andes, 87; City Builder pe-
riod, 149; contemporary In-
dian, 180; Cultist period, 91,
94; Experimenter period,
106; Huaca Prieta, 89; Inca,
164, 165-66; Mastercrafts-
man period, 116, 117

Subterranean houses, 89-90,
118

Supe, 96, 97; textile dyes, 197;
textiles, 194, 206, 207

Surface ruins, defined, 75

Tairona, 41-42; culture, 409,

50

Taltal, 12

Tambo Colorado, 153

Tapestry, 205, 206, 209-12; by
periods, 211-12

Tapestry-on-weft, 219

Tapirapé, Brazil, 25

Tattooing, 129

Techniques, 183-222

Technology, Andean Farmers,
43; City Builders period, 154;
Colombia, 47; Experimenter
period, 105-6, 112-13; Inca,
160, 168-69; Mastercrafts-
man period, 114—15,116,123

Andean Culture History

Tehuelche, 17

Temper, pottery, 184

Temperature, Andes, 3; Ata-
cama Desert, 220

Textiles, City Builders period,
156; Cultist period, 96; Ex-
perimenter period, 109; Hu-
aca Prieta, 89; Inca, 168-69;
Mastercraftsman period, 127
—28; Mochica, 127; Nazca-
Necropolis, 133; South
Coast, 71; techniques, 146,
192-222; Tiahuanaco, 141

Tiahuanaco, art style, 142;
carving, 111; ceramics, 126—
27; culture, 116, 134, 136—
48, 151; designs, 154;
graves, 141; horizon, 61, 80,
84, 102, 113, 134, 144,
148, 149; Masonry, 121—
22; site, 137-41; stonework,
142; textiles, 213, 220; type
burials, Calama, 63

Tie-dyeing, 213, 215-16

Tierra del Fuego, population
spread, 9

Tierradentro culture, 52

Time sequence, Central An-
des, 81-86

Tobacco, Tropical Agricultur-
ists, 28

Topography, South America,
2—

Trade, Andean Farmers, 43;
Inca, 166; Tropical Agricul-
turists, 30

Transportation, Amazon, 7;
Andean Farmers, 44; Andes,
4-5; Southern Hunters, 20;
Inca, 163-64; Tropical Agri-
culturists, 30

Traps, Tropical Agriculturists,

2

Tiephicer Mastercraftsman
period, 130

Triple cloth, 207

Trophy heads, 131; Tropical
Agriculturists, 33, 34-35

Index

Tropical Agriculturists, 8, 24-
6; antiquity, 36-37; Colom-
ae cultures compared, 47-
8; culture pattern, 67

Tubular weaving, 218

Tuncahuan period, Ecuador, 56

Tupi, personal decoration, 31

Tupi-Guarani, 25

Tupinamba, Brazil, 25; canni-

_ balism, 35

Twill, 209

Twining technique, 203-4, 207

Upper Cauca Valley, archaeol-
ogical sites, 50

Utensils, Experimenter period,
110-11; Southern Hunters,
21; Tropical Agriculturists,

4
Uro, 178

Valencia, site, 37
Venezuela, archaeological sites,

Village plans, Tropical Agricul-
turists, 28

Villages, City Builder period,
152-53; Mastercraftsman pe-
riod, 118-19

Viracocha, Inca, 173

Viru, Early Farmers, 194; sites,
75> 443-44

Wapisiana, River Caribs, 25

Warfare, 136; Andean Farmers,
45; Southern Hunters, 109,
23-24; Tropical Agricultur-
ists, 33-34, 35

Wari, 142-43, 148; graves, 146

257

Warp faced textiles, 204, 206,
209; patterns, 206, 207, 217

Warrau, 24

Watercraft, 8; Andean Farm-
ers, 44

Weapons, Andean Farmers, 45;
Experimenter period, 110;
Inca, 163; Southern Hunt-
ers, 19; Tropical Agricultur-
ists, 26-27, 33

Weaving, 200-3; Andean
Farmers, 43; City Builders
period, 156; contemporary

Indian, 181; Cultist period,
91, 96; Experimenter period,
110; Inca, 168; Mastercrafts-
man period, 127~—28; Nazca-

Necropolis, 133-34; pre-
historic Colombia, 48;
techniques, 193; ‘Tropical

Agriculturists, 29

Weft, patterns, 205, 209

White-on-Red horizon, 79, 93,
102-3, 105-6

Wilkawain, 143; architecture,
145; ceramics, 145; stratig-
raphy, 144

Witoto, cannibalism, 35; upper
Amazon, 25

- Woodwork, Inca, 169

Wool, spinning, 199; use in tex-

tiles, 194, 195-96
Workshop sites, 81, 87

Yagua, upper Amazon, 25

Yahgan, 17, 19; Ceremonies,
22; firemaking, 21; social or-
ganization, 22

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AMERICAN MUSEUM SCIENCE BOOKS

American Museum Science Books are a series of books in the
life and earth sciences published for The American Museum
of Natural History by the Natural History Press, a division of
Doubleday & Company, Inc.

Branley, Franklyn M. Exploration of the Moon B 1 $.95
Drucker, Philip Indians of the Northwest Coast B 3 $1.95
Lanyon, Wesley E. Biology of Birds B 2 $1.25
Lowie, Robert H. Indians of the Plains B 4 $1.95

E86) FOE yy
| Peuinjoy — |
) 3jDq

Altiemar ¢ IAAALIAg

*AIOYSTY 8INTTnND u

"DO Tle@puay #44

PO6I Gira? 6;

~B475 1964

F 3429

Wendell C.

Bennett,

‘Andean culture history.

SCIENCE, SOCIOLOCY

WENDELL C. BENNETT
AND JUNIUS B. BIRD

Andean
Cautture
Fi#istory

The high civilization of the Inca Empire, described at
its peak in the sixteenth century by its Spanish conquerors,
actually rested on a long, but not very well known,
history of growth through successive stages of culture.
Andean Culture Histery presents the archaeological
evidence of this long period of development from primitive
early man in South America, through the many stages

_ of cultural development in the Central Andes that
culminated in the remarkable achievement of the Incas.
Including a section on the technical skills of these
people, and well illustrated with maps, photographs, and
drawings, this is an invaluable archaeological
sourcebook for one of the most fascinating segments
of the history of man.

Wendell C. Bennett was, until his death in 1954,
Professor of Anthropology at Yale University and a
giant in the field of South American archaeology. He had
also been Curator of Archaeology at The American
Museum of Natural History. £

Junius B. Bird is Curator of South American Archaeology
at The American Museum of Natural History, where he
has been on the staff since 1933. He is also Consultant
for the Museum of Primitive Art and in 1957 hé receivellt’y
the Viking Fund Award in archaeology.

American Museum Science Books offer to the student aa

general reader up-to-date and authoritative writings .

life and earth sciences, including anthropol
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