FIELDIANA

Anthropology

NEW SERIES, NO. 34

Early Intermediate and Middle Horizon
Ceramic Styles of the Cuzco Valley

Brian S. Bauer
Bradford M. Jones

March 31, 2003
Publication 1521

PUBLISHED BY FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Information for Contributors to Fieldiana

General: Fieldiana is primarily a journal for Field Museum staff members and research associates, although
manuscripts from nonaffiliated authors may be considered as space permits.

The Journal carries a page charge of $65.00 per printed page or fraction thereof. Payment of at least 50

charges qualifies a paper for expedited processing, which reduces the publication time. Contributions from stall,
research associates, and united authors will be considered for publication regardless of ability to pay page charges,
however, the full charge is mandatory for nonaffiliated authors of unsolicited manuscripts. Three complete copies of
the text (including title page and abstract) and of the illustrations should be submitted (one original copy plus two
review copies which may be machine copies). No manuscripts will be considered for publication or submitted to
reviewers before all materials are complete and in the hands of the Scientific Editor.

Manuscripts should be submitted to Scientific Editor, Fieldiana, field Museum of Natural History. Chicago,
Illinois 60605-244(1. U.S.A.

Text: Manuscripts must be typewritten double-spaced on standard-weight, HVz- by 11 -inch paper with wide
margins on all four sides. If typed on an IBM-compatible computer using MS-DOS, also submit text on 5V4-inch
diskette (WordPerfect 4.1. 4.2, or 5.0, MultiMate, Displaywrite 2, 3 & 4, Wang PC, Samna, Microsoft Word, Volks-
writer, or WordStar programs or ASCII).

For papers over 100 manuscript pages, authors are requested to submit a "Table of Contents." a "List of
Illustrations," and a "List of Tables" immediately following title page. In most cases, the text should be preceded
by an "Abstract" and should conclude with "Acknowledgments" (if any) and "Literature Cited."

All measurements should be in the metric system (periods are not used after abbreviated measurements). The
format and style of headings should follow that of recent issues of Fieldiana.

For more detailed style information, see The Chicago Manual of Style (13th ed.), published by The University
of Chicago Press, and also recent issues of Fieldiana.

References: In "Literature Cited," book and journal titles should be given in full. Where abbreviations are
desirable (e.g., in citation of synonymies), authors consistently should follow Botanieo-Periodicum-Huntianum and
TL-2 Taxonomic Literature by F. A. Stafleu & R. S. Cowan (1976 et sec/.) (botanical papers) or Serial Sources for
the Biosis Data Base ( 19.83) published by the BioSciences Information Service. Names of botanical authors should
follow the "Draft Index of Author Abbreviations, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew," 1984 edition, or TL-2.

References should be typed in the following form:

Crom, T B. 1978. Flora of Barro Colorado Island. Stanford University Press, Stanford, Calif., 943 pp.

GRUBB, P. J., J. R. LLOYD, and T D. PENNINGTON. 1963. A comparison of montane and lowland rain forest in
Ecuador. I. The forest structure, physiognomy, and floristics. Journal of Ecology, 51: 567-601.
don. L. J. M. 1979. Yage among the Siona: Cultural patterns in visions, pp. 63 80. hi Browman, D. L..

and R. A. Schwarz, eds.. Spirits, Shamans, and Stars. Mouton Publishers, The Hague, Netherlands.
RA, J. 1946. The historic tribes of Ecuador, pp. 785-821. Fn Steward, J. H.. ed.. Handbook of South
American Indians. Vol. 2, The Andean Civilizations. Bulletin 143, Bureau of American Lthnology.
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

Stolze, R. G. 1981. Ferns and fern allies of Guatemala. Part II. Polypodiaceae. Fieldiana: Botany, n.s.. 6: 1-
522.

Illustrations: Illustrations are referred to as "figures" in the text (not as "plates"). Figures must be accompanied

ime indication of scale, normally a reference bar. Statements in figure captions alone, such as "X0.8," are not
acceptable. Captions should be typed double-spaced and consecutively. See recent issues of Fieldiana for details of
st\ le

All illustrations should be marked on the reverse with authors name, figure number(s), and "top."

Figures as submitted should, whenever practicable, be 8V? by I 1 inches (22 X 28 cm) and may not exceed 1 i'i
lies (30 X 42 cm). Illustrations should be mounted on boards in the arrangement to be obtained in the
printed work. This original set should be suitable for transmission to the printer as follows: Pen and ink drawings
may be originals (preferred) or photostats; shaded drawings must be originals, but within the si/e limitation; and
photostats must be high-quality, glossy, black and white prints. Original illustrations will be returned to the corre-
sponding author upon publication unless otherwise specified.

Authors who wish to publish figures that require costly special paper or color reproduction must make prior
ngements with the Scientific Editor.

Page Proofs: fieldiana employs a two-step correction system. The corresponding author will normally receive

py of the edited manuscript on which deletions, additions, and changes can be made and queries answered. Only
page proofs will be sent. All desired corrections of type must be made on the single set of page proofs.
1 page proofs (as opposed to corrections) are very expensive. Author-generated changes in page proofs can
only be made if the author agrees in advance to pay for them.

© This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).

FIELDIANA

Anthropology

NEW SERIES, NO. 34

Early Intermediate and Middle Horizon
Ceramic Styles of the Cuzco Valley

Brian S. Bauer

Department of Anthropology (MC 027)
University of Illinois at Chicago
1007 West Harrison Street
Chicago, Illinois 60607-7139

Bradford M. Jones

Department of Anthropology
University of Illinois
607 South Mathews
Urbana, Illinois 61810

Accepted November 1, 2002
Published March 31, 2003
Publication 1521

PUBLISHED BY FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

© 2003 Field Museum of Natural History

ISSN 0071-4739

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Table of Contents

Abstract 1

Introduction 1

Early Intermediate and Middle
Horizon Ceramic Styles of the

Cuzco Region 1

The 1999 Excavation Program 3

pukacancha 5

Inca Component at Pukacancha 6

Middle Horizon Component at Pukacan-
cha 8

Tankarpata 9

Early Intermediate Period Component at

Tankarpata 9

Middle Horizon Component at

Tankarpata 10

Peqokaypata 11

Early Horizon Component at

Peqokaypata 12

Early Intermediate Period Component at

Peqokaypata 12

Killke and Inca Components at Peqokay-
pata 13

Summary and Conclusions 13

Early Intermediate Period in the Cuzco

Valley 14

Middle Horizon in the Cuzco Valley 14

Acknowledgments 17

Literature Cited 17

Appendix 1: Radiocarbon Dates 35

Appendix 2: Arahu ay Ceramics 38

Appendix 3: Qotakalli Ceramics 45

Appendix 4: Incised Incensarios 57

Appendix 5: Muyu Orco Ceramics 63

List of Maps

1 . Location of sites selected for test exca-
vations in 1999 4

2. Site of Pukacancha 7

3. Site of Tankarpata 9

4. Site of Peqokaypata 11

List of Illustrations

1. Arahuay ceramic example from Tan-
karpata 19

2. Qotakalli polychrome (black-and-red-
on-cream) from Peqokaypata 19

3. Incised incensarios from

Peqokaypata 20

4. Muyu Orco ceramic examples from
Peqokaypata 20

5. Site of Pukacancha 6

6. Inca pottery from Pukacancha 21

7. Bronze "celt" from Pukacancha 21

8. Ground stone knives from

Pukacancha 22

9. Arahuay ceramics from Pukacancha 23

10. Bichrome Qotakalli from

Pukacancha 23

1 1 . Huamanga ceramic fragment from
Pukacancha 24

12. Ground stone knives from

Tankarpata 24

13. Arahuay bowl with wing design from
Tankarpata 25

14. Bichrome Qotakalli ceramics from
Tankarpata 25

15. Vinaque rim fragments from Tankarpa-
ta 26

16. Bichrome Qotakalli ceramics from
Peqokaypata 26

17. Qotakalli polychrome from
Peqokaypata 27

18. Puma head, incised incensario frag-
ments from Peqokaypata 18

19. Qotakalli polychrome fragments from
Peqokaypata 29

20. Qotakalli vessel with modeled face

from Peqokaypata 30

21. Qotakalli vessels with modeled faces

from Peqokaypata 31

22. Small figurine from an offering at
Peqokaypata 32

23. Miniature Killke jar from an offering

at Peqokaypata 33

24. Carved stone from an offering at

Peqokaypata 34

25. Calibrated radiocarbon dates from Wari
and Wari-related contexts in the Cuzco
region 16

Appendix Illustrations

2.1. Straight-sided, flaring Arahuay bowls
from Tankarpata 39

2.2. Straight-sided, flaring Arahuay bowls
from Pukacancha 40

2.3. Incurving Arahuay bowls from
Tankarpata 41

111

2.4. Straight-sided, flaring Arahuay bowls
and incurving Arahuay bowls from
Pukacancha 42

2.5. Vertical, rectangular panels on bowls
from Tankarpata 43

2.6. Arahuay ceramics from Tankarpata .... 44

3.1. Bichrome Qotakalli bowls from
Pukacancha 46

3.2. Bichrome Qotakalli bowls from
Tankarpata 47

3.3. Bichrome Qotakalli bowls from
Tankarpata 48

3.4. Bichrome Qotakalli bowls from
Peqokaypata 49

3.5. Bichrome Qotakalli bowls from
Peqokaypata 50

3.6. Qotakalli polychrome vessels from
Peqokaypata 51

3.7. Qotakalli polychrome vessels from
Peqokaypata 52

3.8. Tripodal Qotakalli bowls from
Peqokaypata 53

3.9. Qotakalli polychrome vessels from
Peqokaypata 54

3.10. Qotakalli polychrome jar fragments

from Peqokaypata 55

3.1 1. Qotakalli vessels with modeled

faces 56

4.1. Incised incensario fragments with

puma motifs from Peqokaypata 58

4.2. Incised puma heads from
Peqokaypata 59

4.3. Incised incensahos from
Peqokaypata 60

4.4. Rim scallops of incised incensarios

from Peqokaypata 61

4.5. Incised incensario fragments from
Peqokaypata 62

5.1. Muyu Oreo ceramics from
Peqokaypata 64

5.2. Muyu Oreo rim forms from
Peqokaypata 64

5.3. Fragments of Muyu Oreo pedestal

bases from Peqokaypata 65

5.4. Rim scallops on Muyu Oreo ceram-
ics from Peqokaypata 65

Above and back cover: Incised puma heads from Peqokaypata.

Early Intermediate and Middle Horizon
Ceramic Styles of the Cuzco Valley

Brian S. Bauer1 and Bradford M. Jones2

Abstract

This study presents new information on the ceramic styles of the Cuzco region during the
Early Intermediate period and the Middle Horizon. The results of excavations in 1999 and
2000 at three sites in the Cuzco Valley afford better definition of the ceramic styles and dating
of these two time periods. New information is presented on the Wari occupation of the Cuzco
region and the influence that Altiplano (i.e., Lake Titicaca) cultures had on the Cuzco region
during these time periods.

Introduction

The Middle Horizon encompassed a broad span
of time during which much of the central and
south-central Andean highlands came under the
influence of two great states, Wari and Tiwanaku.
Current research suggests that the Wari began to
expand from their traditional power base in the
Ayacucho region of Peru sometime after a.d. 550
and that state expansion continued through at least
a.d. 900, after which the state appears to have
suddenly collapsed (Williams 2001). Though less
is known concerning the development of Tiwa-
naku, it seems that by a.d. 300 the city of Tiwa-
naku, near the southwestern shore of Lake Titi-
caca in Bolivia, was of considerable importance.
Expansion of Tiwanaku may have begun around
a.d. 500 and waned, like Wari, near the end of
the first millennium (Kolata 1993).

During the Middle Horizon the Cuzco region,
which lies between the highland centers of Wari
and Tiwanaku, came under the sway of the Wari
empire. Archaeologically this situation is reflected
in changes in the use and production of

local ceramic styles as well as in the importation
of various foreign styles into the region. One of
the major goals of our 1999 field season was to
improve our understanding of the ceramic se-
quence for the Early Intermediate period and the
Middle Horizon in the Cuzco Valley. By investi-
gating the ceramic styles of these periods in light
of a series of new radiocarbon dates on materials
recovered during our excavations (Appendix 1),
we are better able to date the period of Wari oc-
cupation in the region and to evaluate its impact
on the material practices of the inhabitants of the
Cuzco Valley.

Early Intermediate and Middle
Horizon Ceramic Styles of the
Cuzco Region

The development of a ceramic sequence for the
Cuzco region was begun by John H. Rowe (1943,
1944, 1956) during his early, groundbreaking re-
search in the Cuzco region. Since that time, nu-
merous other researchers have helped to define
the general ceramic chronology for the area

1 Brian S. Bauer, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 West Harrison Street, Room
2102, Chicago IL 60607-7139 (bsb@uic.edu).

2 Bradford Jones, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Davenport Hall, 607 S. Mathews, Urbana,
IL 61801 (bmjones@uiuc.edu).

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY, N.S., NO. 34, MARCH 31, 2003, PP. 1-65

(Bauer 1999, 2001). The ceramic styles of the
Early Intermediate period and the Middle Horizon
in the Cuzco area have proved to be some of the
most challenging to date and to understand. It is
clear that several different styles of ceramics were
being produced in the Cuzco region during these
periods and that others were being imported from
areas to the west and southeast of Cuzco.

This work, discusses a number of different ce-
ramic styles of the Early Intermediate period and
the Middle Horizon found in the Cuzco region.
Many of these styles have been poorly described
and little illustrated. Furthermore, most of the
styles have been dated through relative dating
techniques rather than with the aid of radiocarbon
samples found in direct association with the pot-
tery styles. It is our hope that through a chrono-
logical refinement of the ceramic styles associated
with the Early Intermediate period and the Middle
Horizon in the Cuzco region, researchers will be
able to make more grounded interpretations about
these important periods of Andean prehistory.
Among the various styles discussed in this report
are (1) styles that were produced in the Cuzco
region but imitate or were greatly influenced by
Wari pottery traditions of the Ayacucho region,
(2) styles that were produced in other regions but
were imported to Cuzco, and (3) styles that were
indigenous to the Cuzco region. We present brief
discussions of these styles below and provide
more detailed descriptions and illustrations in the
appendices.

Among the various important styles are a series
of styles that were actually produced in the Aya-
cucho area and later imported into the Cuzco re-
gion.1 These include the Ayacucho styles of
Chakipampa, Okros, Vinaque, Huamanga, and
Robles Moco (Knobloch 1991; Glowacki 1996,
2002). Various examples of possible imported
Wari ceramics have been found in excavations at
Pikillacta and other sites in the Cuzco region.
Neutron activation analysis by Glowacki and her
associates of selected pieces indicate that they
were in fact produced in the Wari heartland and
then imported into the Cuzco region (Montoya et
al. 2000).

There are, however, a number of other ceramic
styles in the Cuzco region that appear to be lo-

1 The terminology used in this paper differs slightly
from that used in earlier works discussing the ceramic
styles of the Cuzco region (Bauer 1999, 2001). The re-
finement is based on our increased understanding of the
local and imported ceramics of the Cuzco region over
several additional years of research.

cally produced but that closely imitate ceramics
of the Wari heartland. For example, the finer
wares recovered at Pikillacta resemble the Okros
ceramics of the Wari homeland but were produced
in the Cuzco region (Knobloch 1991:253-254;
Glowacki 1996; Montoya et al. 2000). Another
example is the recently defined style of Arahuay
(Torres Poblete 1989; Glowacki 1996; Bauer
1999, 2001). Arahuay ceramics are characterized
by the use of broad red bands, outlined with nar-
row black lines, over a buff slip (Fig. 1) (photo-
graphs of the artifacts discussed in this report ap-
pear on pp. 19-34). Glowacki (1996) has dem-
onstrated that Arahuay pottery closely imitates the
Huamanga ceramics of the Ayacucho region.
Through neutron activation, she and her col-
leagues have also shown that Arahuay ceramics
were made from local clays (Montoya et al.
2000). Surveys have found that Arahuay ceramics
are widespread in the Cuzco region, and we cur-
rently use them as a marker for Wari influence in
the area. It has also been suggested that Arahuay
ceramics influenced or were the direct antecedents
of Killke pottery, a major ceramic style of the
Cuzco Valley during the Late Intermediate period
(Bauer 1999, 2001). Although Arahuay ceramics
represented one of the dominant ceramic styles of
the Cuzco region during the Middle Horizon, its
period of production was little understood before
our 1999 excavation season (Appendix 2).

Qotakalli is a distinct style of ceramics with a
cream slip and elaborate geometric designs (Fig.
2). Major subtypes of this pottery include bi-
chromes (black-on-cream, or more rarely red-on-
cream) and polychromes (black-and-red-on-
cream) (Appendix 3). First identified in the Cuzco
Valley in the 1970s (Barreda Murillo 1982), Qo-
takalli pottery is now known to be relatively
widespread (Espinoza Martinez 1983; Valencia
Zegarra 1984; McEwan 1984; Torres Poblete
1989; Glowacki 1996; Zapata 1998). Before our
1999 field season there was just one radiocarbon
date for Qotakalli materials. Excavations by Ann
Kendall (1996:153) at the site of Huillca Raccay
in the Cusichaca Valley recovered Qotakalli pot-
tery in a midden that yielded a radiocarbon date
of 1580 ± 60 b.p. (calibrated 95.4% probability:
a.d. 340-a.d. 620; sample Q3091; see Appendix
1). These data suggested that the production of
Qotakalli ceramics began in the Early Intermedi-
ate period. However, the results of investigations
conducted by other researchers elsewhere in the
Cuzco region have indicated that certain kinds of
Qotakalli vessels continued to be produced during

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

the Middle Horizon. For example, excavations at
Pikillacta and Batan Oreo have generated bi-
chrome Qotakalli (black-on-cream) pottery in as-
sociation with Middle Horizon ceramic styles, in-
dicating that this ceramic style was used during
the time of Wari influence (Barreda 1982; Mc-
Ewan 1984, 1991; Glowacki 1996; Zapata 1997).2

While Qotakalli and Arahuay represent the two
dominant ceramic styles of the Cuzco Valley for
the Early Intermediate period and the Middle Ho-
rizon, respectively, they were not the only ceram-
ics being used. Surface collections conducted by
Karen Chavez (1985) have documented the dis-
tribution of incised incensarios between Cuzco
and Lake Titicaca. Survey work by Bauer (1999,
2001) has also shown that these vessels can be
found directly south of Cuzco. Although neutron
activation work by Montoya et al. (2000) suggests
that incised incensarios were produced with local
clays, their distribution south and southeast of
Cuzco and their similarity to incised early Tiwa-
naku vessels suggest an Altiplano influence (K.
Chavez 1985). Because all of the examples of in-
cised incensarios in the Cuzco region had been
recovered in surface collections, the timing of this
influence was not well known, and the range of
its vessel forms was little understood. Our exca-
vations, however, have provided additional ex-
amples of this intriguing ceramic style (Fig. 3)
and new information on its production dates (Ap-
pendix 4).

Another ceramic style, called Muyu Oreo, may
also reflect Altiplano influence in the Cuzco re-
gion. First identified in the province of Paruro
(Bauer 1989, 1999, 2001), it has now been found
at various sites in the Cuzco Valley and surround-
ing areas (Espinoza Martinez 1983; Torres Poblete
1989; Zapata 1997). The proposed Altiplano con-
nection is based on two observations. First, Muyu
Oreo ceramics are decorated with bright white,
black, and orange colors painted over a polished,
dark red background (Fig. 4). These colors are
also used in the Altiplano ceramic traditions of
Pucara and Tiwanaku. Second, various vessel
forms (i.e., annulated bowls) and vessel attributes
(i.e., rim scallops and pedestal bases) found in the
Muyu Oreo collections are frequently seen in Al-
tiplano collections of this time period (Appendix

5). The timing of this influence, however, was not
well understood before we began our excavation
project.3

The 1999 Excavation Program

In 1994, Brian Bauer began the first systematic
regional survey of the Cuzco Valley to examine
the long-term developmental processes that oc-
curred in the valley from the time of the first hunt-
ing and gathering groups, ca. 7000 B.C., until the
arrival of European forces in a.d. 1532 (Bauer in
press; Bauer and Covey 2002). The study, which
covered some 350 square kilometers, was com-
pleted by Bauer and R. Alan Covey between 1997
and 1999. In the course of the survey, surface
collections were made at more than 1 ,200 archae-
ological sites. In 1998 and 1999, many of these
sites were revisited for second collections.

In 1999, building on the results of our system-
atic survey of the Cuzco Valley, we selected for
test excavations three small to medium-sized sites
that contained different combinations of Early In-
termediate and Middle Horizon ceramic styles
(Map l).4 In other words, rather than excavating
a single, large, multicomponent site, we used our
survey results to select sites that had the specific
combinations of pottery styles that we wanted to
study. By conducting test excavations at multiple
small sites, we were able to isolate and date the
various ceramic styles used in the Cuzco Valley
during the Early Intermediate period and Middle
Horizon. We were also able to address a series of
interrelated questions concerning the pre-Inca cul-
tures of the Cuzco Valley. Most important, we
wanted an answer to the question, When did the
Altiplano and Wari influences on ceramic produc-
tion in the Cuzco Valley begin and end? The sites
chosen for test excavations included the follow-
ing:

2 Because of this, Qotakalli has been classified as a
Middle Horizon style (Bauer 1999). The research pre-
sented in this report, however, indicates that most Qo-
takalli production took place during the Early Interme-
diate period.

3 In an earlier, report Bauer (1999) proposed that
Muyu Oreo ceramics post-dated incised incensarios.
Based on the excavation data from Peqokaypata, we
now believe that they were both produced during the
Early Intermediate period.

4 In 1999, test excavations were also dug at the small
site of Cruz Pata, above the village of Huilcarpay, to
gain information on the Late Intermediate period ceram-
ic style of Killke. Unfortunately, the site proved to be
poorly preserved. In 2000, excavations were also con-
ducted at the site of Kasapata, the first preceramic site
to be found in the region. The results of those excava-
tions are currently being analyzed.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Pukacancha (Co. 141): A medium-sized site on
the western slope of Taucaray Hill, with a small
cluster of Inca buildings. Numerous Inca and
Arahuay ceramic fragments as well as a few
Qotakalli sherds were recovered from the sur-
face of the site. The large number of Arahuay
sherds at Pukacancha suggested that its major
pre-Inca occupation dated to the Middle Hori-
zon. By excavating this site we hoped to better
understand the timing of Wari influence in the
Cuzco region.

Tankarpata (Co. 195): A medium-sized site beside
the village of Tankarpata with no visible archi-
tectural remains. It is located one ridge to the
west of the original type site of Qotakalli. Sur-
face collections from the site of Tankarpata
yielded numerous fragments of Qotakalli and
Arahuay ceramics and minor amounts of many
other styles. From the surface collection we be-
lieved that the site was continually occupied
during the Early Intermediate period and Mid-
dle Horizon.

Peqokaypata (Co. 31): A small site with no visible
architectural remains. The dominant ceramic
styles within the surface collections were Qo-
takalli and Chanapata-derived (also known as
Late Formative) pottery. Some Muyu Oreo and
incised incensario sherds were recovered, along
with a few later (Killke and Inca) styles. The
complete absence of known Middle Horizon
ceramics, including imported Wari styles and
Arahuay vessels, at Peqokaypata suggested that
this site would yield important information on
the immediately pre-Wari occupation of the
Cuzco Valley.

In sum, in order to investigate the Early Inter-
mediate and Middle Horizon cultures and asso-
ciated ceramic styles of the Cuzco Valley, we se-
lected Peqokaypata, an immediately pre-Wari site;
Tankarpata, a site that had been occupied during
both the Early Intermediate period and Middle
Horizon; and Pukacancha, a site that manifested
a clear Wari occupation with little evidence of
earlier remains.

The excavations began in June 1999 and con-
tinued for two months. We spent approximately
two weeks at each of the selected sites. We re-
turned to Peqokaypata in June of 2000 to spend
an additional two weeks of fieldwork at the site.
The excavations were conducted with picks, shov-
els, and trowels and followed both arbitrary (10
cm) and natural (stratigraphic) levels. All the ex-

cavated soil was screened through ^-inch wire
mesh. Attempts were made in all units to reach
sterile sediments before terminating excavation.
Standardized excavation forms were completed
for each level and photographs taken. Ceramic,
bone, metal, and stone artifacts were bagged sep-
arately in the field. Carbon samples were collected
separately and recorded on special inventory
forms. All artifacts recovered in the course of this
fieldwork were transported to Cuzco for analysis.
Laboratory work on the artifacts recovered at the
sites was conducted throughout the 1 999 field sea-
son and was continued in June and July of 2000
and 2001.

Pukacancha

The archaeological site of Pukacancha is locat-
ed at the end of a steep-sided ridge that juts out
from Taucaray Hill between Cuzco and the com-
munity of Huilcarpay (Fig. 5). The site covers an
area approximately 100 by 100 meters and con-
tains significant Late Horizon as well as Middle
Horizon occupations. Densely scattered pottery
and the crumbling foundations of a small Inca ar-
chitectural complex, composed of three rectan-
gular structures around a nearly square plaza, tes-
tify to the pre-Hispanic use of the site (Map 2).

Pukacancha is currently used for cultivating
wheat, corn, and potatoes and is owned by a sin-
gle family living in Tankarpata and San Sebastian.
Some of the Inca walls have been dismantled to
enlarge the size of the fields. Short-term corrals
and temporary shelters have also been constructed
at the site using material from the Inca structures.
Several months before our excavations at the site,
a tractor plowed an area to the northeast of the
Inca structures near the hill slope and damaged
the corner of the eastern structure. The other parts
of the site continue to be worked with traditional
scratch plows.

Two surface collections at the site recovered
fragments of Inca, Killke, Arahuay, and Qotakalli
pottery. (Fewer than five Killke fragments were
recovered at the site, suggesting that Pukacancha
was uninhabited during the Late Intermediate pe-
riod.) Excavations at Pukacancha involved six test
units, three of which were subsequently expanded
to better clarify features that were encountered.
Unit 1 was dug outside and slightly upslope from
the Inca buildings to examine a dense sheet mid-
den with a high concentration of Arahuay pottery.
Units 2, 4, and 6 were placed within the buildings

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

Fig. 5. Site photograph, Pukacancha.

to examine their construction techniques, evaluate
the Inca occupation at the site, and test for Middle
Horizon materials beneath the structures. Unit 3
was located in the plaza, and Unit 5 was posi-
tioned on a southern terrace of the site to test for
additional structures and middens.

Inca Component at Pukacancha

The name of the site (Pukacancha = Red En-
closure) comes from the three rectangular build-
ings, clustered around an open courtyard, that
once stood on this ridge. The cancha or courtyard
layout of the buildings is a typical feature of Inca
architecture found in the Cuzco region and
throughout the empire. The excavations revealed
that Building 2 rested above a Middle Horizon
occupation, whereas Building 1 had been con-
structed through excavations into sterile subsoil.
Inca artifacts recovered in the course of the ex-
cavation included fine and domestic vessel frag-
ments (Fig. 6), animal bones, and a bronze "celt"
(Fig. 7).

The excavations within the buildings produced
a relatively low quantity of Inca artifacts when
compared with deposits outside, and downslope,
from them, although some Inca sherds and a few

bone fragments were found in association with a
prepared red clay floor. In Building 2 (Units 2 and
6) and on the natural clay floor of Building 1
(Unit 4), the Inca structures appear to have been
kept relatively clean. During the excavations, no
clear activity areas were defined, and the manner
in which the structures were used remains un-
known. Carbon recovered from the Inca floor in
Unit 4 generated a date of 440 ± 45 b.p. (cali-
brated 95.4% probability: a.d. 1400 [85.3%] a.d.
1530, a.d. 1570 [10.1%] a.d. 1630; sample num-
ber AA 34936 [wood carbon]).

The most detailed information on how the Inca
constructed the buildings at Pukacancha came
from Units 2, 4 and 6. The excavation of Units 2
and 6 indicated that Building 2 was constructed
by first digging a wall trench over half a meter in
depth and several centimeters wider than the base
of the wall. Into this trench the outer structure
wall, approximately 80 centimeters wide and
composed of large stones with mortar, was set.
The trench was then filled with alternating layers
of different-colored clays from the hillsides sur-
rounding the site. A small clay mound, apparently
used to provide extra support, was constructed
abutting the wall. A fill of contay, a soft chalky
white stone that is the underlying bedrock of the
ridge, was then used to raise and level the interior

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

of the building. In the case of Building 2, this
contay fill capped and protected an underlying
Middle Horizon occupation. The excavation of
Unit 4 in Building 1 revealed that unlike Build-
ings 2 and 3, this structure was built in part by
excavating and leveling the hill slope and using
the underlying clay as a floor surface. Finally, a
thin coating of sterile red clay, roughly 5 centi-
meters thick, was laid down over the contay fill
to create a floor, and the walls were plastered. The
interiors of Buildings 1 and 2 were both subdi-
vided down the long axis by low courses of small
and medium-sized unmodified stones placed di-
rectly on the floor. The function of these stones is
not known.

Middle Horizon Component at Pukacancha

The Middle Horizon component of Pukacancha
is defined by the recovery of Arahuay ceramics
from both the site surface and in all the excava-
tion units. The excavation of Units 2 and 6 re-
vealed that intact Middle Horizon components
were preserved under the floor of Building 2, and
excavation of Unit 1 uncovered a stratified Middle
Horizon midden deposit in a natural depression.
The excavations also revealed, however, that the
Middle Horizon artifacts recovered in Units 3, 4,
and 5 were in secondary contexts as a result of
redeposition related to the Inca construction and
natural erosional processes. The intact Middle
Horizon deposits at Pukacancha held a wide va-
riety of artifacts, including decorated and undec-
orated ceramics, metal pins, animal bones, ground
stone knives (Fig. 8), obsidian flakes, and other
lithic debitage of andesite.

The majority of the decorated pottery sherds
recovered from the pre-Inca deposits at Pukacan-
cha fall comfortably within the definition of the
Arahuay style (Fig. 9). Nevertheless, some bi-
chrome examples of Qotakalli, the variant of the
Early Intermediate period ceramic style of the
Cuzco region that continued to be produced after
the arrival of the Wari in the valley, were also
recovered. For example, Unit 1, which sampled a
midden resulting from the gradual accumulation
of refuse within a small natural depression, yield-
ed various strata with Arahuay pottery mixed with
a small number of bichrome Qotakalli sherds (Fig.
10). In one level, a few bichrome Qotakalli sherds
were found with Arahuay fragments as well as a

single piece of Incised Black Ware.5 This level
provided a date of 1167 ± 39 b.p. (calibrated
95.4% probability: a.d. 770-a.d. 980; sample AA
39793 [wood carbon]). In another deposit, Ara-
huay and bichrome Qotakalli fragments were
found and dated to 1322 ± 40 b.p. (calibrated
95.4% probability: a.d. 650-a.d. 780; sample AA
39791 [wood carbon]). The lowest level of a trash
pit in Unit 1 contained bichrome Qotakalli pottery
and yielded a date of 1435 ± 65 b.p. (calibrated
95.4% probability: a.d. 430-a.d. 720; sample AA
34934 [wood carbon]). This date may mark the
founding date for the site by people who were
using both bichrome Qotakalli and Arahuay pot-
tery. In this regard, it is important to note that all
examples of Qotakalli pottery recovered at the
site, from the two surface collections as well as
from the excavation units, were bichromes (black-
on-cream).

More rarely still, samples of what appear to be
imported Wari fine wares were found in the same
contexts as Arahuay pottery. For example, in Unit
2, well beneath the Inca floor, we recovered a
fragment of Huamanga-style (Fig. 1 1 ) pottery
along with Arahuay ceramics in a deposit that was
dated to 1210 ± 45 b.p. (calibrated 95.4% prob-
ability: a.d. 680 [89.7%] a.d. 900, a.d. 920
[5.7%] a.d. 960; sample AA 34935 [wood car-
bon]). Together, this information suggests that Ar-
ahuay, Qotakalli (black-on-cream), Incised Black
Ware, and Huamanga ceramics were in use con-
currently during the Middle Horizon. The use of
several different ceramic styles during the Middle
Horizon is also supported by our excavations at
Tankarpata as well as by earlier work in the prov-
ince of Paruro immediately south of Cuzco (Bauer
1999, 2001).

It should also be noted that below the red clay
floor and contay fill of the Inca building in Unit 6,
a thick lens of burned material was found overlying
an occupation surface on which numerous large
sherds of Arahuay pottery and domestic wares,
along with a few Qotakalli sherds, were recovered.
The nature of the ash and carbon lens is uncertain,
although it appears to represent a single burning
episode that covered the ground surface in this
area, perhaps the result of the burning and subse-

s Numerous Incised Black Ware vessels have been
found at a Wari offering at the site of Muyu Roqo in the
Province of Paruro. A carbon sample (sample AA 35003
[bone]) from that site dated to 1 135 ± 50 b.p. (calibrated
95.4% probability: a.d. 770-a.d. 1000). For additional
information and for illustrations of Incised Black Ware,
see Bauer (1999, 2001).

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

3*

2*

5 '

house

fg 1999 Excavation Unit
^J Approximate Site Size

0 10

20m

canal
datum

north

Map 3. The site of Tankarpata.

quent collapse of a roof. Carbon collected from this
context provided a date of 1 100 ± 45 b.p. (cali-
brated 95.4% probability: a.d. 780 [1.3%] a.d. 800,
a.d. 820 [94.1%] a.d. 1030; sample AA 34937
[wood carbon]). It is possible that this date marks
the abandonment date for Pukacancha.

on the southern half of the site. This area of Tan-
karpata is divided into three large parcels by ir-
rigation canals (Map 3). At the time of our work,
the site was under both ox-plow and tractor-based
cultivation. All landowners are members of the
adjacent Tankarpata community.

Tankarpata

The archaeological site of Tankarpata (Co. 195)
is located in agricultural fields along the northern
edge of the modern village of Tankarpata. Situ-
ated on a broad ridge abruptly terminating in a
steep-sided bluff, the site overlooks the modern
airport. The site was identified in 1997 as a high-
density sherd scatter covering an area approxi-
mately 300 by 100 meters. An analysis of the ar-
tifacts collected during two surface collections in-
dicated that the majority of the diagnostic sherds
belonged to the Qotakalli and Arahuay styles.
Other minor styles recovered at the site included
Inca, Killke, and Muyu Oreo.

The site of Tankarpata was selected for exca-
vation with the hope that it would contain intact
Early Intermediate period and Middle Horizon re-
mains. Seven test units of varying sizes were dug

Early Intermediate Period Component
at Tankarpata

The Early Intermediate period component of
Tankarpata was defined by the presence of cultur-
al strata or features that contained only Qotakalli
or Muyu Oreo ceramics (or both). Such deposits
were identified in Units 4 and 7. Both of these
units are worth describing in some detail.

Unit 4 was located near the center of the site.
The unit proved to be the deepest of the site,
reaching sterile red clay at a depth of 1.5 meters.
The excavation yielded a large number of Qo-
takalli and Arahuay fragments, several Muyu
Oreo sherds, and two possible imported Wari
(Okros) sherds. Although several burial features
made the integrity of the components suspect, be-
cause of the depth of the deposit and the range of
ceramics found within this unit, we submitted five
carbon samples to help date its deposits. The re-

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

suits of the carbon dating confirmed that a Late
Intermediate period burial (dated to 640 ± 50 b.p.;
95.4% probability: a.d. 1280-a.d. 1410; sample
AA 34940 [wood carbon]) had been dug through
part of the unit, disturbing its deposits. This burial
compromised the stratigraphy of deposits in the
southeastern quadrant of the unit, where two of
our carbon samples, which provided dates of 1 250
± 45 b.p. (calibrated 95.4% probability: a.d. 670-
a.d. 890; sample AA 34941 [wood carbon]) and
1275 ± 50 b.p. (calibrated 95.4% probability: a.d.
660-a.d. 890; sample AA 34939 [wood carbon])
had been collected. Other areas of the unit, how-
ever, were unaffected. One level, approximately
halfway down, which contained pure Qotakalli
(bichrome and polychrome) materials, yielded a
date of 1 148 ± 39 b.p. (calibrated 95.4% proba-
bility: a.d. 770-a.d. 990; sample AA 39785
[wood carbon]). A level near the bottom of the
unit, again with only Qotakalli (bichrome and
polychrome) ceramics, provided a date of 1404 ±
47 b.p. (calibrated 95.4% probability: a.d. 540-
a.d. 710; sample AA 39787 [wood carbon]).

Unit 7 was located parallel to Unit 4 but 12
meters further west. The upper deposits in the unit
provided numerous examples of Arahuay ceram-
ics and a few Qotakalli sherds. Excavations re-
vealed a large trash pit cut into the sterile clay
that contained only bichrome Qotakalli fragments.
Two bones from this bichrome Qotakalli-bearing
feature were submitted for dating. The higher
bone yielded an age of 1 1 89 ± 40 b.p. (calibrated
95.4% probability: a.d. 710 [5.2%] a.d. 750; a.d.
760 [90.2%] a.d. 980; sample AA 39790), while
the lower was dated to 1345 ± 49 b.p. (calibrated
95.4% probability: a.d. 600-a.d. 780; sample AA
39789).

In sum, it appears that the site of Tankarpata
was founded late in the Early Intermediate period
and that Qotakalli pottery continued to be used at
the site for a considerable period of time. The
Early Intermediate period occupation was not
nearly as large as the Middle Horizon settlement
and was found undisturbed in only two units. Fu-
ture excavations in the area of Unit 4, where deep
strata were found, should provide additional in-
formation on the occupation of the site during this
time period.

Middle Horizon Component at Tankarpata

The Middle Horizon occupation at Tankarpata
is defined by the predominance of Arahuay ce-

ramics as well as the recovery of likely imported
Wari sherds. Common artifact types recovered
from Middle Horizon contexts included bones,
ground stone knives (Fig. 12), lithic debitage, un-
derrated pottery, decorated Arahuay pottery,
burned and unburned stones, and a surprisingly
high number of metal artifacts. Two of the test
excavations, in Units 2 and 3, encountered Middle
Horizon structures. Unit 2, which was positioned
near the southern end of the fields, exposed a
north/south-running wall. On the western side of
the wall was a dense gravelly matrix that con-
tained many broken tupu pin shafts. The east side
contained a floor level of red clay and various
large Arahuay pottery fragments. Carbon from the
floor level yielded a date of 1 192 ± 40 b.p. (cal-
ibrated 95.4% probability: a.d. 710 [6.0%] a.d.
750; a.d. 760 [89.4%] a.d. 980; sample AA 39788
[wood carbon]).

On the east side of the fields, Unit 3 revealed
several additional walls and a paved area. Two
shallow pits were also found cut into the basal
sediments, both of which contained an ashy ma-
trix that yielded bones, lithics, and large ceramic
fragments. One of the pits contained Arahuay
(Fig. 13) and bichrome Qotakalli ceramics (Fig.
14). Carbon from this feature provided a date of
1 127 ± 40 b.p. (calibrated 95.4% probability: a.d.
780-a.d. 1000; sample AA 39786 [wood car-
bon]). The other pit held several Arahuay pieces
as well as single fragments of bichrome Qotakalli
and likely imported Wari (Vinaque) pottery (Fig.
15). Carbon from this feature yielded a date of
1290 ± 50 b.p. (calibrated 95.4% probability a.d.
650-a.d. 880; sample AA 34938 [wood carbon]).

Since Arahuay pottery was recovered in large
numbers from all of the excavation units at Tan-
karpata, it is clear that the site reached its maxi-
mum size during the Middle Horizon. As was the
case with Pukacancha, excavations indicate that
during the Middle Horizon, bichrome Qotakalli
ceramics continued to be produced and used
alongside the more abundant polychrome Ara-
huay ceramics as well as rare imported Wari piec-
es. Ultimately, sometime during the Wari occu-
pation of the Cuzco region, the site of Tankarpata
was abandoned and was not reoccupied, although
burials were later placed there. (The few Killke
and Inca fragments found on the surface most
likely represent scatter from the many nearby Late
Intermediate period and Late Horizon occupa-
tions.)

10

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

irrigation canal

14

13

2 6 4

15

10

1

6

12

9

H

CO 31 Peqoykaykata

7 Excavation unit

Site area

i Grid north

(

)

10m

Map 4. The site of Peqokaypata.

Peqokaypata

The archaeological site of Peqokaypata is lo-
cated on a ridge immediately west of the hill
called Tuino Oreo (District of San Jeronimo), on
the south slope of the Cuzco Valley. Looking
north from the site, the communities of Chimpa-
waylla and San Jeronimo can be seen in the valley
below, and to the east is the village of Kayra. The
Peqokaypata site is defined by a dense scatter of

ceramics, approximately 60 by 100 meters in size,
in an agricultural field that belongs to a family in
Chimpawaylla.

The site was first found in 1994 during the pilot
project for the valley-wide survey. Subsequent
surface collections at Peqokaypata in 1997 and
1998 yielded ceramics and modified stones. Iden-
tified within the surface collections were numer-
ous examples of Chanapata-derived and Qotakalli
ceramics as well as a few Muyu Oreo and incised

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

11

incensario sherds. (There were also a few Inca
sherds. These, however, most likely came from
the large nearby Inca site on Tuino Oreo.) The
site was excavated to gain information on the
transition from the Early Horizon to Early Inter-
mediate period ceramics as well as information on
the production of the apparently Altiplano-influ-
enced styles of Muyu Oreo and incised incensa-
rios. The complete absence of any imported Wari
ceramics or locally produced Middle Horizon
styles such as Arahuay on the surface indicated
that Peqokaypata represented a rare Early Inter-
mediate period site that was abandoned before the
arrival of the Wari in the Cuzco Valley. Excava-
tions at the site took place over two field seasons
in 1999 and 2000, during which 16 units of vary-
ing sizes and depths were studied. Results of the
excavations indicate a substantial Early Interme-
diate period occupation and a smaller Early Ho-
rizon component. The surface collections and ex-
cavations provided no evidence of site occupation
after the Early Intermediate period, although an
isolated Late Intermediate period, Killke offering
was found at the site.

Early Horizon Component at Peqokaypata

A significant percentage (30%) of the diagnos-
tic sherds recovered from the surface of the site
can be classified as Chanapata-derived pottery
(Rowe 1956), a finely made red earthenware dat-
ing the late Early Horizon and early Early Inter-
mediate period in the Cuzco Valley. Numerous
examples of Chanapata-derived pottery were re-
covered from almost all levels of the excavation.
Several units, however, contained a dark brown to
black sediment, which overlies the basal sediment
of the site. The lowest levels of this deposit, rich
in organic materials, contain pure Chanapata-de-
rived materials. Two carbon samples from these
deposits provided dates of 1881 ±42 b.p. (cali-
brated 95.4% probability: a.d. 20 [2.1%] a.d. 40;
a.d. 50 [93.3%] a.d. 240; sample AA 39792
[wood carbon]) and 1985 ± 43 b.p. (calibrated
95.4% probability: 100 b.c.-a.d. 130; sample AA
39782 [wood carbon]). With the exception of seg-
ments of single-course stone "foundations" found
in Units 7, 9 and 10, no clear features of the
Chanapata-derived occupation were identified
other than this darker sediment. (A much older
date, 3395 ± 55 b.p. [sample AA 34932, wood
carbon], was provided by an additional carbon
sample from the site. However, laboratory work

indicated that the sample came from a disturbed
context.) It appears that the substantial construc-
tion activities carried on at the site by its inhabi-
tants during the Early Intermediate period de-
stroyed or irreversibly altered much of the earlier
occupation.

Early Intermediate Period Component
at Peqokaypata

The Early Intermediate period component of
the site is defined by the presence of Qotakalli
(Figs. 16 and 17) and Muyu Oreo ceramics, as
well as by incised incensarios (Fig. 18). Muyu
Oreo ceramics and incised incensarios were re-
covered in highest percentages in the upper levels
of the units across Peqokaypata, although always
in close association with the vastly more numer-
ous Qotakalli sherds. Qotakalli pottery, however,
continued to be found in abundance in deposits
below those in which the Muyu Oreo ceramics
and incised incensarios were present and above
the darker stratum with high percentages of Chan-
apata-derived materials (Figs. 19-21). These find-
ings suggest that the Qotakalli style predates any
Lake Titicaca influence in the Cuzco region and
may have been produced during much of the Ear-
ly Intermediate period.

The excavations indicated two distinct phases
of occupation for the site of Peqokaypata during
the Early Intermediate period. The first occupa-
tional episode relates to an intensive domestic oc-
cupation of the site, and artifacts recovered during
the excavation include large samples of both dec-
orated and undecorated pottery, animal bone and
bone tools, lithic tools and manufacturing debris,
and modified and unmodified stone. However,
with the exception of a pit feature excavated in
Unit 7, no clear architectural features or activity
areas could be associated within this initial Early
Intermediate period occupation. A carbon sample
retrieved from the Unit 7 pit feature dug into the
Chanapata-derived-bearing deposit generated a
date of 1615 ± 50 b.p. (calibrated 95.4% proba-
bility: a.d. 260 [2.0%] a.d. 280; a.d. 320 [93.4%]
a.d. 570; sample AA 34931 [wood carbon]),
which may mark the beginning of the Early In-
termediate period occupation. It is interesting to
note that this date was recovered in association
with several large fragments of an unknown ce-
ramic style with wide but opaque orange lines
over a dull buff surface. We felt that this new style

12

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

might be a transitional style between the Chana-
pata-derived and Qotakalli ceramics of the region.

The site takes on a distinct character in the lat-
ter Early Intermediate period occupation with the
apparent termination of the domestic use of the
site, and the construction around a small plaza of
at least two low mounds in Units 3 and 9/12 and
a large retaining wall (Units 2/4/6/13/15/16), with
a circular structure built at the southwest corner
(Units 2/15). While the particularities of construc-
tion varied among the structures, all cases adhered
to a similar tradition of construction that entailed
placing fill behind retaining walls of fieldstone in
order to create an elevated occupation surface.

Artifacts associated with this latter occupation
include large quantities of both decorated and un-
decorated ceramics, animal bone, and lithic ma-
terials. A small piece of gold foil recovered in a
midden context on the backside of the platform
mound in Unit 12 was the only piece of metal
recovered during the excavations. Three radiocar-
bon dates submitted from Qotakalli-bearing strata
associated with this second phase of occupation
greatly aid in dating this latter component of the
Early Intermediate occupation. Two samples were
from deposits that yielded only Qotakalli ceram-
ics. These provide dates of 1439 ± 39 b.p. (cali-
brated 95.4% probability: a.d. 540-a.d. 670; sam-
ple AA 39781 [wood carbon]); and 1527 ± 40
b.p. (calibrated 95.4% probability: a.d. 430-a.d.
620; sample AA 39783 [wood carbon]). A third
sample, taken from the surface of one of the plat-
forms that yielded a shattered incised incensario
as well as various fragments of Qotakalli and
Muyu Oreo ceramics, resulted in a date of 1422
± 51 b.p. (calibrated 95.4% probability: a.d. 530-
a.d. 700; sample AA 39783 [wood carbon]). Giv-
en the location of this sample, we believe that it
dates the last occupation period for Peqokaypata.
These radiocarbon dates suggest that between the
fourth and fifth centuries a.d., the function and
layout of the site were transformed before the site
was abandoned in the seventh century a.d. Fur-
thermore, they suggest that Altiplano influence in
the Cuzco region was strongest during the later
part of the Early Intermediate period.

Killke and Inca Components at Peqokaypata

The Killke and Inca components of the site
consist of two burials to the south of the main
structures and a small offering placed on the sur-
face of the Early Intermediate platform in Unit 12.

The offering comprised a small llama figurine of
Spondylus shell, a miniature Killke jar, and a
carved stone (Figs. 22-24). Nearby we also re-
covered a small fragment of unworked Spondylus
shell in association with a small crystal. Recent
excavations at the site of Choquepukio in the Lu-
cre Basin have shown that these items are com-
mon features of Late Intermediate period offer-
ings in the Cuzco region (McEwan et al. 2002).

An intact burial of an individual placed in a
small pit in a tightly flexed position with a tupu
pin as the only grave good was found in Unit 8.
The tupu pin and the excellent preservation of the
burial suggest that it dates to Killke or Inca times.
A second, larger, more elaborate burial was found
looted in Unit 10. This burial feature was asso-
ciated with both Killke and Inca ceramics. Al-
though these data indicate that the site was known
and visited during Killke and Inca times, there is
no evidence of significant Killke or Inca period
occupation at it.

Summary and Conclusions

We began the 1999 field season with the goal
of better understanding the complex ceramic se-
quence of the Cuzco Valley during the Early In-
termediate period and the Middle Horizon, as well
as wishing to gain additional information on the
cultures that occupied the valley during these pe-
riods. It was of critical importance to better doc-
ument the influence that the Ayacucho region, and
perhaps the Altiplano, had on the indigenous cul-
tures of the Cuzco Valley. The information gained
from our excavations at Pukacancha, Tankarpata,
and Peqokaypata allows us to draw some firm
conclusions about some of these issues and to
speculate about others.

Early Intermediate Period in the
Cuzco Valley

The Early Intermediate period is one of the
least understood eras of the Cuzco region. There
have been no major projects dedicated to under-
standing this period, and even its basic ceramic
styles are still being defined and debated. For
about half a century the name "Huaro" has ap-
peared on ceramic sequences in association with
the Early Intermediate period (Rowe 1956). How-
ever, the Huaro ceramic style remains virtually

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

13

unknown, because few illustrations or descrip-
tions of it have been published.

Although the specific characteristics of Huaro
ceramics continue to be debated, there has been
significant progress in recent years in identifying
and describing several other ceramic styles of the
Early Intermediate period. It is currently recog-
nized that when the Wari began the eastward ex-
pansion of their state from the Ayacucho area, the
dominant local ceramic style of the Cuzco Valley
was a cream-slip ware called Qotakalli (Bauer
2001). The origins of this local style are unclear;
however, excavations suggest that there was a rap-
id transformation in local ceramic production
from the burnished earthen Chanapata and Chan-
apata-derived styles to the distinctly different,
painted Qotakalli style some time after the begin-
ning of the modern era. More specifically, exca-
vations at Peqokaypata have yielded Chanapata-
derived ceramics that date to around a.d. 100, and
our earliest Qotakalli ceramics came from a se-
cure context that dated to about a.d. 500. (We also
identified a possible transitional style between
Chanapata-derived and Qotakalli that dated to
around a.d. 450 [sample AA 34931].) Thus the
transition appears to have occurred between the
second and fourth century a.d. (This date is also
supported by a date recovered at the site of Huill-
ca Raccay [sample Q 3091].)

Researchers have noted that there are several
variations of Qotakalli ceramics (Barreda Murillo
1982; Glowacki 1996; Zapata 1997; Bauer 1999,
2001). By far the most common substyles are
black-on-cream and black-and-red-on-cream. In
general, the polychromes tend to be of a higher
quality than the bichromes. Our research has
shown that there is a temporal element to the Qo-
takalli subtypes of black-on-cream and red-and-
black-on-cream. This is best illustrated by com-
paring the Qotakalli sherds found in surface col-
lections and excavations at Peqokaypata with
those recovered at Pukacancha. Peqokaypata is
primarily an Early Intermediate period site, aban-
doned just before the Wari entered the Cuzco Val-
ley. At this site, approximately 33% of all Qota-
kalli sherds found were classified as red-and-
black-on-cream. Pukacancha, on the other hand,
is a Middle Horizon site established about the
time that the Wari entered the Cuzco Valley and
was occupied for some three hundred years after-
ward. A small percentage of this site's total ce-
ramic collection was classified as Qotakalli, all of
which fell into the black-on-cream category. This
is to say, not a single example of Qotakalli red-

and-black-on-cream ceramics was recovered dur-
ing the two surface collections made at Pukacan-
cha or during our excavations there. It appears
that the production of the slightly less fine, Qo-
takalli black-on-cream pottery began early and
continued throughout much of the Early Inter-
mediate period and the Middle Horizon, although
the quantity of its production diminished greatly
after the Wari arrived. Qotakalli red-and-black-on-
cream wares were also produced during the Early
Intermediate period, but this finer version of pot-
tery was shorter-lived, and its production ended
around the time of the Wari occupation in the val-
ley. These findings are consistent with the fact
that only Qotakalli black-on-cream vessels have
been found in Pikillacta (Barreda 1982; McEwan
1984, 1991; Glowacki 1996) as well as in Wari
period tombs at Baton Oreo (Zapata 1997).

Our research has also provided information on
two other ceramic styles, Muyu Oreo (Bauer
1989, 1999, 2001) and incised incensarios (K.
Chavez 1985), which were in use in the Cuzco
Valley during the Early Intermediate period and
are currently believed to reflect a southerly, Alti-
plano influence. The most important information
on these two styles comes from the site of Peqo-
kaypata, which contained numerous Chanapata-
derived, Muyu Oreo, Qotakalli, and incised incen-
sario fragments, but no imported Wari or Arahuay
ceramics. Extensive excavations at the site re-
vealed several structures as well as stratified mid-
dens. Carbon extracted from the top of a small
platform in direct contact with a shattered incised
incensario provided a date of 1422 ± 51 b.p. (cal-
ibrated 95.4% probability: a.d. 530-a.d. 700;
sample AA 39783). Soon after this date the site
was abandoned. Furthermore, it should be noted
that no examples of these two ceramics styles
have been recovered in secure cultural contexts
that yielded imported Wari or Arahuay ceramics.
In other words, current data suggest that Muyu
Oreo ceramics and incised incensarios reflect an
Altiplano influence on the Cuzco region that dates
to the late Early Intermediate period and that end-
ed as a result of the Wari occupation of the Cuzco
Valley.

Middle Horizon in the Cuzco Valley

Researchers have long noted the presence of
Wari influence in the Cuzco region, and it is rec-
ognized that the Ayacucho empire held sway over
the thriving polities of the region for several cen-

14

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

turies. Thus the Middle Horizon is a fascinating
period for the Cuzco region. It is a time of both
foreign occupation and indigenous development.
Fortunately, it is also one of the better studied
periods of the region's history.

Changes in Material Cultural as a Result of
the Wari Occupation in the Cuzco Region. Dur-
ing the Middle Horizon, a relatively small number
of vessels were imported from the Wari heartland
to the Cuzco region. For example, various pieces
of imported Wari vessels have been recovered in
excavations at Pikillacta (Glowacki 1996, 2002;
Montoya et al. 2000). A few other exotic vessels
appear to have been imported from Nazca and Ca-
jamarca (Knobloch 1991:253; Glowacki 1996).
During our excavations in the Cuzco Valley, we
found various pieces of likely imported Wari ce-
ramics as well. Carbon from a trash pit at the site
of Tankarpata that contained a fragment of Vi-
naque-style pottery provided a date of 1290 b.p.
(calibrated 95.4% probability: a.d. 650 [95.4%]
a.d. 880; sample AA 34938). In addition, a mid-
den at the site of Pukacancha with a piece of Hua-
manga-style pottery dated to 1210 ± 45 b.p. cal-
ibrated 95.4% probability: a.d. 680-a.d. 960;
sample AA 34935). These dates fall within the
time traditionally believed to frame the Wari ex-
pansion outside its Ayacucho heartland.

More significant changes were occurring, how-
ever, at the level of local ceramic production. Dur-
ing the Middle Horizon the ceramic style now
called Arahuay, which imitates Huamanga pottery
of the Wari heartland, began to be produced in the
Cuzco Valley. At the same time Qotakalli black-
and-red-on-cream pottery disappears from the ar-
chaeological record and the quantity of Qotakalli
black-on-cream vessels greatly diminishes. Be-
cause the clay used in the production of Arahuay
pottery is very similar to that used in the manu-
facture of Qotakalli vessels (Montoya et al. 2000),
we believe that many of the local potters who pro-
duced Qotakalli wares before the arrival of the
Wari gradually accepted and began production of
Arahuay vessels as the Cuzco region was drawn
into the cultural orbit of the Ayacucho state. It is
interesting to note that in this process, it appeared
to be the local, finer polychrome Qotakalli black-
and-red-on-cream ceramics that were first re-
placed by the even better manufactured poly-
chrome Arahuay vessels.

These changes in ceramic styles and manufac-
ture correlate with other changes in the material
culture of the region as well. Burger et al. (2000)
have documented an important shift in obsidian

procurement patterns. For more than a thousand
years, the peoples of the Cuzco region obtained
their obsidian from sources located in the south-
erly region of Alca. However, during the Middle
Horizon, when Wari occupied the Cuzco region,
the obsidian flow from this source stopped. For
this relatively brief period of time, obsidian was
imported into the region from the Quispisisa area,
which, like the Cuzco Valley, was under Wari
control (Burger et al. 2000).

We also noted a possible change in the avail-
ability of metal. In our excavations of the Early
Intermediate period site of Peqokaypata and in
Early Intermediate period contexts at Tankarpata,
we recovered no copper or bronze artifacts; the
only metal recovered was a piece of gold lami-
nate. This contrasts greatly with the results of our
excavations of Middle Horizon contexts at Tan-
karpata and Pukacancha, where fragmented and
discarded copper or bronze objects were relatively
common. Although speculative, this trend sug-
gests that with the Wari occupation of the Cuzco
region came trade links (or possibly technology)
that brought a far greater number of metal objects
into the Cuzco area than had been available dur-
ing the Early Intermediate period.

Dating the Wari Occupation of the Cuzco
Region. The timing of the Wari impact on the
Cuzco region has long been debated. With the
completion of our excavations, we currently have
two independent data sets to date the arrival and
withdrawal of the Wari from the Cuzco region
(Fig. 25). (See Williams (2001) for a discussion
of Wari dates from across the Andes.) The first
set consists of nine dates extracted from Pikillacta
(McEwan 1948, 1996) (samples Beta 43230, Beta
43231, Beta 43232, Beta 43233, Beta 43234, TX
3996, TX 4247, TX 4750, and TX 4751; see Ap-
pendix 1. Sample TX 4747 was not used in this
study because of its large (± 370) sigma range).
The earliest dates are derived from excavated
floor levels in the complex that suggest a foun-
dation date after a.d. 530 (samples TX 4750 and
TX 4751. See also Appendix 1). The concentra-
tion of dates between a.d. 640 and a.d. 700 in-
dicates that the Wari were active in the region
during this period. The latest samples from Pikil-
lacta come from the wooden beams charred in the
fire that destroyed the central sector of the site
and provide a broad spread of dates that overlap
in the range of a.d. 780 and a.d. 980 (samples
Beta 43230, Beta 43232 and Beta 43233; see also
Appendix 1 ). It should be noted that because these
later samples come from construction materials

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

15

AD 1200

AD 1100

AD 1000

AD 900

AD 800

AD 700

AD 600

AD 500

| calibrated 68.2% probability □ calibrated 95.4% probability

Fig. 25. Calibrated radiocarbon dates from Wari and Wari-related contexts in the Cuzco region.

within Pikillacta, they do not date the destruction
of the site by fire but instead date what appears
to have been the last building phase (see Appen-
dix 1).

The second, independent data set for dating the
Wari impact on the Cuzco Valley comes from our
excavation program in the Cuzco region that fo-

cused on Pukacancha, Tankarpata, and Peqokay-
pata. In all, eight carbon samples have been dated
from clearly defined Middle Horizon contexts
(i.e., strata or features that contain imported
Wari — Vinaque and Huamanga — or Arahuay ce-
ramics) (samples AA 34935, AA 34938, AA
39786, AA 34937, AA 39788, AA 39791, AA

16

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

39793. See also Appendix 1. For this study we
have also added sample AA 35003, which comes
from Muyu Roqo, a Middle Horizon site in the
Province of Paruro [Bauer 2001]). The earliest of
these eight samples, sample AA 39791, dates to
between a.d. 650 and a.d. 780, while the latest,
sample AA 34937, falls between a.d. 780 and a.d.
1030. This suite of dates, taken from a series of
small Middle Horizon sites in the Cuzco region,
is very similar to that from the Wari center of
Pikillacta.

The combined data sets from Pikillacta and our
excavations at smaller sites in the Cuzco region
support the traditional dates of Wari expansion,
with some modifications. Our research suggests
that the Wari were certainly active in the Cuzco
region after a.d. 640 and remained in the region
until at least a.d. 900, and perhaps even into the
new millennium. Finally, it is worth noting that
the beginning date of Wari influence in the region
also meshes well with the final appearance of Al-
tiplano-influenced materials (Muyu Oreo and in-
cised incensarios) recovered at the site of Peqo-
kaypata. This suggests that ties within the Lake
Titicaca region that had been established centuries
earlier were dramatically transformed with the ar-
rival of the Wari in the Cuzco region.

Acknowledgments

Excavation project members included R. Alan
Covey, Miriam Araoz, Rene Pilco, Silvia Flores,
Richardo Huaullani, Reynaldo Bustinza, and Car-
los Arriola. We thank Silvia Flores for creating
the ceramic drawings, as well as Mary Glowacki
for her help in identifying the Wari (Huamanga,
Okros, and Vinaque) ceramics. All radiocarbon
samples dated during the course of this project
were processed at the AMS facility at the Uni-
versity of Arizona, which is supported by the Na-
tional Science Foundation.

Literature Cited

Barreda Murillo, L. 1982. Asentamiento humano de
los Qotakalli del Cuzc, pp. 13-21. In I. Oberti Rod-
riguez, comp., Arqueologia de Cuzco. Instituto Na-
cional de Cultura. Cuzco.

Bauer, B. S. 1989. Muyu Orqo y Ccoipa: Dos nuevos
tipos de ceramica para la region del Cusco. Revista
Andina, 7(2): 537-542.

. 1999. The Early Ceramics of the Inca Heart-
land. Fieldiana: Anthropology, n.s., 31: 1-156.

-. 2001. Las antiguas tradiciones alfareras de la

region del Cuzco. Centro de Estudios Regionales An-
dinos, "Bartolome de Las Casas," Cuzco. Peru.
. In press. Ancient Cuzco: Heartland of the Inca.

University of Texas Press, Austin.

Bauer, B. S.. and R. A. Covey. 2002. State develop-
ment in the Inca heartland (Cuzco, Peru). American
Anthropologist. 10(3): 846-864.

Burger, R. L., K. L. Chavez, and S. J. Chavez. 2000.
Through the glass darkly: Prehispanic obsidian pro-
curement and exchange in southern Peru and northern
Bolivia. Journal of World Prehistory, 14(3): 267-362.

Chavez, K. L. Mohr. 1985. Early Tiahuanaco-related
ceremonial burners from Cuzco, Peru, pp. 137-178.
In Dialogo Andino, No. 4. Departamento de Historia
y Geograffa Universidad de Tarapaca, Arica, Chile.

Espinoza Martinez, H. 1983. Evidencia cultural del Ho-
rizonte Medio (Wari) Aqomoqo-Cuzco, pp. 16-22. In
A. Gibaja Oviedo, ed.. Arqueologia Andina. Ediciones
Instituto Nacional de Cultura. Cuzco. Peru.

Glowacki, M. 1996. The Wari occupation of the south-
ern highlands of Peru: A ceramic perspective from the
site of Pikillacta. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor,
Michigan.

. 2002. The Huaro archaeological site complex:

rethinking the Huari occupation of Cuzco, pp. 267-
285. In W. Isbell and H. Silverman, eds., Andean Ar-
chaeology. Vol. 1. Variations of Sociopolitical Orga-
nization. Kluwer Academic, New York.

Kendall, E. A. 1996. An archaeological perspective for
Late Intermediate Period Inca development in the
Cuzco region. Journal of the Steward Anthropological
Society, 24(1-2): 121-156.

Knoblock, P. J. 1991. Stylistic date of ceramics from
the Huari centers, pp. 247-258. In Huari Administra-
tive Structure: Prehistoric Monumental Architecture
and State Government. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington
DC.

Kolata, A. 1993. The Tiwanaku: Portrait of an Andean
Civilization. Blackwell, Oxford.

McEwan, G. F. 1984. Investigaciones en la cuenca del
Lucre, Cusco. Gaceta arqueologica andina, 9: 12-15.

. 1987. The Middle Horizon in the Valley of Cuz-
co, Peru: The Impact of the Wari Occupation of the
Lucre Basin. BAR International Series 372. British
Archaeological Reports. Oxford.

. 1989. The Wari empire in the southern Peruvian

highlands: A view from the provinces, pp. 53-71. In
R. M. Czwarno, E M. Meddens, and A. Morgan, eds.,
The Nature of Wari: A Reappraisal of the Middle Ho-
rizon Period in Peru. BAR International Series 525.
British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.

. 1991. Investigations at the Pikillacta Site: A

provincial Huari center in the Valley of Cuzco, pp.
93-1 19. In W. H. Isbell and G. E McEwan, eds., Huari
Administrative Structure: Prehistoric Monumental Ar-
chitecture and State Government. Dumbarton Oaks,
Washington D.C.

McEwan, G. E, M. Chatfield, and A. Gibaja. 2002.
The archaeology of Inca origins: Excavations at Cho-

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

17

kepukio, Cuzco, Peru, pp. 287-302. In W. Isbell and
H. Silverman, eds., Andean Archaeology. Vol. 1. Var-
iations of Sociopolitical Organization. Kluwer Aca-
demic, New York.

Montoya, E., M. Glowacki, J. Zapata, and P. Men-
doza. 2000. A Study in the Production and Distribu-
tion of Middle Horizon Pottery of Cuzco Peru: Final
Report for Regional Coordinated Research Program
on Nuclear Analytical Techniques in Archaeological
Investigations. International Atomic Energy Agency
and Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

Rowe, J. H. 1943. Chanapata: La cultura pre-Incaica del
Cuzco. Tupac Amaru, 2(2/3): 41-43.

. 1944. An introduction to the archaeology of

Cuzco. In Papers of the Peabody Museum of Ameri-
can Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 27, no. 2. Har-
vard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

-. 1956. Archaeological explorations in southern

Torres Poblete, N. 1989. Sondeo arqueologico de Ar-
away. Licenciado en Arqueologia Tesis, Facultad de
Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Nacional San Antonio
Abad del Cusco.

Valencia Zegarra, A. 1984. Arqueologia de Qolqam-
pata. Revista del Museo e Instituto de Arqueologia,
23: 47-62. University Nacional de San Antonio Abad,
Cuzco.

Zapata, J. 1997. Arquitectura y contextos funerarios Wari
en Batan Urqu, Cusco, pp. 165-206. In Boletin de Ar-
queologia PUCP, Vol. 1 . La Muerte en el Antiguo Peru:
Contextos y Conceptos Funerarios. Peter Kaulicke, ed.
Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Lima.

. 1998. Los cerros sagrados: Panorama del Per-

Peru, 1954-1955. American Antiquity, 22(2): 135-
150.

iodo Formativo en la cuenca del Vilcanota, Cuzco, pp.
307-336. In Boletin de Arqueologia PUCP, Vol. 2.
Perspectivas Regionales del Periodo Formativo en el
Peru. Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, Lima.

18

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 1 . Arahuay ceramics are characterized by the use of broad red bands, outlined with narrow black lines, over
a buff slip. This example is from Tankarpata.

Fig. 2. Qotakalli polychrome (black-and-red-on-cream) from Peqokaypata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

19

Fig. 3. Incised incensarios from Peqokaypata.

Fig. 4. Muyu Oreo ceramics are decorated with bright white, black, and orange colors painted over a polished,
dark red background. These examples are from Peqokaypata.

20

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 6. Inca pottery recovered in Building 1 at Pukacancha.

Fig. 7. Bronze "celt" from Pukacancha.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

21

Fig. 8. Ground stone knives from Pukacancha.

22

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 9. Arahuay ceramics from Pukacancha.

Fig. 10. Bichrome Qotakalli (black-on-cream) from Pukacancha.
BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

23

Fig. 11. A fragment of Huamanga ceramics from Pukacancha.

Fig. 12. Ground stone knives from Tankarpata.

24

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 13. Arahuay bowl with wing design from Tankarpata.

Fig. 14. Bichrome (black-on-cream) Qotakalli ceramics from Tankarpata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

25

Fig. 15. Vinaque rim fragments from Tankarpata.

Fig. 16. Bichrome (black-on-cream) Qotakalli ceramics from Peqokaypata.

26

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 17. Qotakalli polychrome (black-and-red-on-cream) ceramics from Peqokaypata. These examples are the
bases of drinking vessels.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

27

Fig. 18. Puma head, incised incensario fragments from Peqokaypata.

28

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 19. Qotakalli polychrome (black-and-red-on-cream) ceramics from Peqokaypata. These are tripodal bowl
fragments.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

29

Fig. 20. Qotakalli vessel with modeled face from Peqokaypata.

30

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 21. Qotakalli vessels with modeled faces from Peqokaypata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

31

Fig. 22. Small llama figurine of Spondylus shell found in an offering at Peqokaypata.

32

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 23. Miniature Killke jar found in an offering at Peqokaypata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

33

Fig. 24. Carved stone found in an offering at Peqokaypata.

34

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

1

9

i
•n

5

e

■o

u

SB

■

06

U

e
o

8 DC

I

"2 8
11

o ;_

inoooino

OOMmna- OOOO © © O © o o o o

^irnor, «TfOr<nri(S\OOin w N w ir, C OO O CN ©OOcoOOOOO©

— — — CN © © mONCOOOOOOOOOOQOOOOOOOOOOOOOmooCOvO

.On— ~^-^- — OnOn©*— ~- — On~*Ont}*On"— 0*00^'mC>^,^^0 — C*OOC\OnO>

qqqqqq °° t-» oo . .oooo . r~ . r~ oo

jjjj^^oaaoaaa .qqqqq . . q q . . q . q . .qqqqqqqqqq
^1„^„ <<<<<<< Q. <<<<<a. a. <<a. °. <°. <D. D. <<<<<<<<<<

£f>££tt &&&&&&&£&&&&&££&&££&£&££&&& &&&&&&&
oo </o © \d — wSl/lr~:Pc^'^ric?^*~'. riTtri'*. ^^lo^^^Nqe^co^e^ooTfr <n -* r- «/-> -*t so >o rj-
nooo — cn^On^'coc^ — — 'vocor*l-<fro6i/So6'ir>'sC? . cni iri ""! ~". oo ~~ '. Tt^^o^wSooirisC) — v-i vi cn u-i

O Q O ""! "0 O w w"~^© O www^~~-'^-'w~~-'~~'WWWN-'wwww'wl— - w w w w w

(NOr-OTfOOOOOON-^-OiriOOOOU-lCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

-tTtintNf^DOMnoOO-ONMOOfSCO^-MCOOOfOt^t^OONOMt^OOfNVOI^COOOMfNM^NOO

„_„___ooonoo oooNr^oooor-oor---r^oooot^t-~oooor^r^r-oooor--r^Ncr~ONr~r--ONNO

dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

<■<<"<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<

^^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^ ^ ^^^^ ^^ ^

NTt (N "^tfN Tf CN Tf CN -i- CN Tf CN ^l; <"i ^ <N ^t ri'*ri ^t <1 ^t

oo *n oo in oo vi oo v~> oo vi oo >/o oo iriod >o oo </o oo >/o oo iriod «/S

vO On so On NO On NO On vO On NO On nO On NO On nO 0\*O0"O On nO On

4

4

PQ

I

Cfi

««

B

5

00
ON

c
o

i-^

Q

>->

-

3

©
CN

S

X

%

l.

tM

£

•—

pa

a

3

m

3

CO CO

©

©

<*

©

-t-

+ 1

+1

+ 1

+ 1

+ 1

o

VO

©

NO

©

§

©
©

r-

CN

i

2 o

O 3 73

.O O" o>

* .„ cos 'C o

ca ca ca >^ —r

4—

1

Arahu
Qotak
Arahu
Wari (
Black

ca ca

3s M

* i

=c

s

r-

vO

CO

»o

co

On

NO

ON

8

00

-t

ON

ON

W)

<N

■^

CO

co

W

CO

■*

co

<

/

<

<

X

S

<

H

<

<

H

-c

s.
U

sC

5

»

e>

c^

—

-~

a

-

*J

B

S3

*

Ix

*

-

<u

3

UJ

CO

PQ

9

+i

©

o

IT)
+ 1

©
CO

©

IT)

3

NO

©

©

IT)

©

NO

ON

CO

©
00

CO

©

+ !

+ 1

+ 1

+l

+ 1

+l

+1

+1

+1

+ 1

©
On

00

©
00

©

co

CM

oo

00

©

00

©

oo

3

oo

CO

vz

©

d

d

d

d

d

d

d

Q

Q

Q

Q

Q

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

CO

ca

CO

CO

09

NO

On
CO

©

00

On
CO

©

+1

+1

+1

+ 1

+1

©
-1-

00

©

NO

©

00

I

ta ca TJ

S2o'u|

x

-

-

«

2

1

—

a

a

£

(X

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

35

c
o

.a

.2 <

n
OS

| a
II

o •_

o oo o o o o © o © m o oooooooooooooooo

ovooooNOoooovoo<NOaNoooNr~~oo ooo\<N(-»ooc->oor--«Nr-oo<Nt-- — r-~ —

ooioovooinovtooovoxioooi^ooi^oo r~oor~-r-r-t~~r--oot~~r-r-r-r~-oovor~

.r^..r-~.r~-..ov.oo

Q.QQ.Q.QQ.Q.QQQQQ QQQQQQQQDQQQQQQD

<^<<R<H<<H<H<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

oo ^ d oo 9 o\ ■*. no ON^fN^irioo'iriodio o6^Niriinovairi(^dvi<nroioodin

no io on no no oo — 'voooin^oir)ONvoa\voaN nooni/i-— on^ — oni/-) — oni/-)-— onnoon

ooooooooooooooo>no oooooooooooooooo

r- — no J-- — NOrot--oo<NooTfrr--r--Nor--i/~> ^Dinvo^>nir)TtO't'*0^tTfvDO^f

m^m^m^m^^coi'Cm^o^vovovo NONONor--NONor--NONor--NONor^inNOi/->

QQQdDDD DDDDDQDDQD DDQQDQQDQDDQQDOQ

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

^^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^

rjTt (N^t; <N Tf <n TfcNTfcN'* (Srtis rf es ^^ ""* ^i TtrsiTt

odio oo io oo iri oo iriodirioo'in oo'iriod iriod irioo irjod iriodin

NO ON NO On NO On NO On vo ^ ^O 0\ NO On NO On VD On NO On no On nO On

4

cc

cc

!■ &

4

4 <a

oa oa

sp

U

sC

d>

On

5*

On

*■*

i— i

•~

s

r3

4

a

*

U

*

LU

BJ

11

o

00

o

t

en

C">

ON

r-

r-

ON

On

o^

ON

r->

On

On

-r

■t

^

^t

rf

On

CO

m

co

ro

CO

ro

8

r'".

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

QQ

<

a a a

4

pq

3 "

o

STr^

X>

'C .„

(3 f\ ca

>-.3:

ca co

rt

3 w^i

+-

3 _*:

H—

.* -W-

#

Cfl /— s

2 j* O

1

2 o

1

l

4

22

o
-t

O

in

o

O

O

NO

o
-1-

O

NO

ON

+1

+ 1

+1

+ 1

+1

+ 1

+1

+1

+1

+ 1

+1

+l

NO

00

o

o
o

NO

O
NO
NO

o

NO
NO

00
(N

NO

o

(N

NO

IT!

o

NO

o
o

NO

NO
1/1

D

6

Q

6

Q

Q

a

Q

Q

Q

Q

Q

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

<

IT)

IT)

O
in

O
IT)

O

o

O

NO

On

O

NO

+ 1

+ 1

+1

+ 1

+1

+1

+1

+1

+1

+ 1

o

(N

O
V~i

(N

i/~>
r-

(N

o

(N

o

ON

(N
<N
CO

o
m
<~n

in

o

lO

3t

o

0

36

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

u

s
e

3 M

.2<:

3 8
II

C u

O p
in © © © in © COOoOOOOOO O O ©

vONOhOO^OOO^XOmM- (NNO(NTf©r--©<N © ro

NCt-~NONor~ONNCr-ooNor~ inNDvoinNO<noo<noo<N -<t© —

. . . . in in . Tt . . . (N . — ' .©<Nr-

QQQQ . . Q Cl .QOQQQQQQDQ . Q . Q "* . . q
<<<< °-°-<<a- <<<<<<<<<< a. <D. ^a0-0-^.

o6<nod>n^^c<S>n^r^inod«nCNiinino6>nocPror"'': — _ ^ s'i «ri

\OOv\DO\MO\OOv — vOOwOOND^OwOOvvDriONvO— . tn 00 »
wwwwwwwwww^wwwwwwwwwwi,-) ^-"(N ON ^D >- '

oo^oinoinooooo . •, ©©oo©o©©w©WWw.t
(On^^^ooo^MM^nO yrorom — t(-o>ONOWOO .; y
inTfinininininin^j-in'^-CM as^vrt'tfi^Nmh-Nifl y oa

CD
DDQQQQQQDQQQ§QQQQDqQDDDQQ0§
<<<<<<<< <<<<•**<<<<<< <<<<<<m— ■

^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ i£j£j£^^ £ t£ ^^

(N ■* M i; (N "* OJ "st <N rl" (N "* (N Tfr (N tJ- c-j ^f M tJ

od in od >n od mi od mi od mi od mi od in! od mi od mi od mi

VO On VO On NO On n© On NO ON NO Ov VO ^ O On NO On >C On

o%j c$ <$j

oa pa

vC

m

+1

+ i

ON

en

CO

+1 +1

— — (N

X3

« *

<u . -

#

*

C 03

~* .*

03

03

T3 «J

-^

-^

& O

•So

O

03
O

a

a

tT

Tt

en

cc

cc

ON

r»

c

Tt

ON

ON

en

en

en

<

<

<

<

<

<

OS *3 *3

r»

00

3"

x

9

4

BQ

= 4

PQ

o

en

O
<*

o

NO

o

IT!

+ 1

+ 1

+ 1

+1

+ 1

©

ri
IT)

o
cm

IT)

en

o
en

en

en

0

Q

a

a

D

<

<

<

<

<

*C 2

C'

cc

J2 ^

o
—

4

DQ

a

U

u

od

8

OP

BO

©

re

c

rs

vO ^t

On

m,

cc

r»

^^

^

X

IT)

cc

C

■c

NO

rs

:/.

—

' — '

u

u

u

U

CO

oa

00

oa

o o © ©

r-

00

m

00

!-■

X

cc

r»

■■*

■ —

' — ■

• —

£*#!

<N tt

00

in

sO

o

4

cc

cc

o

ON

en

©
■>fr

©

NO

©

+1

+ 1

+ 1

+ 1

+ 1

+ 1

+ 1

©
en

©
rn

CM

■n

©

00

in

>n

oo

00

<r.
yz

ON

C3 C

S3 =

^

03 O

03 O

sS

2
o

o

o

c

C

erived-
Chanap
(Late F

erived-
Chanap
(Late F
isturbec

a

cx

D

Q

Q Q

0

= E

03 S3

. u

i ?

« 3

33

O -

1> 03

5 E °

t. a u

03 o«2 C

sj — £

.. 15 £

S 3 •=

OS O .—

e3 U * *^

03 S II

8 B o

W < X)

03 (U

a.

o E

too g=s

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

37

Appendix 2. Arahuay Ceramics

Arahuay ceramics take their name from the site
of Arahuay, located approximately 2 kilometers
south of Cuzco on the valley slope. The site was
excavated by Nilo Torres Poblete in 1989, and the
style was defined in his Licenciado thesis. Further
examples of Arahuay ceramics have been identi-
fied in the ceramic collections from Pikillacta
(McEwan 1990; Glowacki 1996), Batan Oreo
(Zapata 1997), Huaro (Glowacki 2002) as well as
the Province of Paruro (Bauer 1999, 2001).

A variety of vessel forms have been identified
in Arahuay collections, but the most common
fragments are from straight-sided, flaring bowls
(Figs. 2.1 and 2.2) and incurving bowls (Figs. 2.3
and 2.4). Some of the bowls are decorated with
broad, horizontal red bands, outlined with black
lines, running several centimeters below the rim.
Areas between the horizontal red band and the rim
have been marked off with vertical red bands, out-
lined with black lines. Others have sets of vertical,
rectangular panels that contain curving lines (Fig.
2.5). Others contain a wing motif. Small decora-
tive motifs can also be found on Arahuay ceram-
ics. Checks are common; however, curving lines,
X's and quartered circles have also been noted
(Fig. 2.6).

Glowacki (1996) has documented that the de-
sign compositions found on Arahuay ceramics as
well as their vessel shapes are very similar to
those of Huamanga ceramics in the Ayacucho re-
gion. (Glowacki [1996] prefers to call this style
Arahuay AVamanga.) She has also demonstrated
that while Arahuay ceramics reflect a strong Aya-

cucho (i.e., Wari) influence in the Cuzco region,
they are made from local clays (Montoya et al.
2000). Our recent survey of the Cuzco Valley
found numerous sites with Arahuay ceramics and
we currently use them to track Wari influence in
the Cuzco region. Our excavations at the sites of
Pukacancha and Tankarpata yielded seven radio-
carbon dates from secure contexts which con-
tained Arahuay ceramics. These samples, each of
which falls between 1100 ± 45 b.p. (sample
AA34937) and 1322 ± 40 b.p. (sample
AA39791), date to the period traditionally asso-
ciated with Wari control of the Cuzco region.

It is also important to note that there are some
similarities between Arahuay and Killke ceramics.
One of the most notable characteristics of Killke
ceramics is the use of broad red bands outlined
with black lines (Bauer 1999, 2001). This same
feature is also a distinctive characteristic of Ara-
huay ceramics. Outlined bands are found on both
Arahuay jars and bowls. Like their counterparts
in Killke vessels, these bands run horizontally and
vertically and are at times used to define panels
that are filled with geometric designs. Based on
these observations, Bauer has proposed that the
production of Arahuay ceramics began after the
establishment of Wari presence in the Cuzco re-
gion, and that Arahuay ceramics influenced, or
may prove to be the direct antecedent of, Killke
ceramics. If Killke ceramics did develop from Ar-
ahuay traditions, then the transition between Ar-
ahuay and Killke ceramics most likely occurred
after the abandonment of Pikillacta at the end of
the Middle Horizon.

38

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

1

—

I

Gfl

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

39

40

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

CM

Fig. 2.3. Incurving Arahuay bowls from Tankarpata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

41

^

7

r

CM

Fig. 2.4. Straight-sided, flaring Arahuay bowls and incurving Arahuay bowls from Pukacancha.

42

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

CM

Fig. 2.5. Sets of vertical, rectangular panels are common designs in straight-sided, flaring Arahuay bowls. These
examples are from Tankarpata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

43

o |

PS

i-

F

44

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Appendix 3. Qotakalli Ceramics

Luis Barreda Murillo (1982) published the first
description of Qotakalli ceramics. Since that time,
Qotakalli ceramics have been found at numerous
sites in the Cuzco region (see Bauer 1999, 2001).
The vessels are generally composed of a fully ox-
idized, pale pinkish cream fabric. A cream-col-
ored (ranging from yellow-cream to pink) self-slip
made from the body clay covers their exteriors.
The vessels have a matt, rather sandy surface that
is wiped but not normally compacted or polished
(pers. commun., Sara Lunt 2001). The walls of
the pots are generally very thin (average 4-5
mm). The lip is pinched from the topmost coil to
a thin, rounded profile. This is pulled out to form
a very characteristic flaring shape, or pushed in
for the small, incurving bowls (pers. commun.,
Sara Lunt 2001).

Qotakalli ceramics exhibit a limited variety of
geometric decorations. The most common ele-
ments are straight horizontal and vertical lines,
zigzagging lines, diamonds, triangles, and dots.
Two major substyles, black-on-cream and black-
and-red-on-cream, dominate the collections. In
general, the polychromes tend to be of higher
quality than the bichromes.

Recent studies suggest that Qotakalli was the
primary ceramic style in the Cuzco Valley at the
time of the Wari arrival. As such it represents the
indigenous style that was produced during the
Early Intermediate period in the Cuzco region.
Excavation data suggest, however, that the pro-
duction of the finer polychromes ended around the
time of the Wari occupation of the Cuzco valley,
while the bichromes continued to be made for
some time, although in diminishing quantities,
into the Middle Horizon.

The major designs are defined in black, while
the minor ones are executed in either red or black.

The straight and zigzagging lines tend not to ap-
pear singularly but in parallel groups of two to
five lines. In the polychrome vessels, these lines
alternate between black and red. The interior of
the diamonds is commonly cross-hatched, or con-
tains nested diamonds. The interior of the trian-
gles is at times painted solid, or filled with nested
triangles or dots. In general, the polychrome ex-
amples tend to have thinner lines than the bi-
chrome ones and are more extensively burnished.

There is a wide variety of bichrome and poly-
chrome Qotakalli vessels. Bowls are especially
common within the bichrome collections. They
include incurving, curved-sided and straight-sided
bowl forms (Figs. 3.1-3.5). These vessels have
small, flat or slightly curved bases. The exterior
Qotakalli incurving bowls frequently are decorat-
ed on the upper half, while the interiors are not
decorated. Bowls are also found within the poly-
chrome collections; however, they tend to be
straight-sided (Figs. 3.6 and 3.7).

Perhaps the most distinct, if not unique, poly-
chrome vessel form is a steep-sided, tripodal bowl
with legs varying in length from 1 to 3 cm (Fig.
3.8). The base of these steep-sided bowls is
rounded and the sides are slightly flared. The in-
terior rims are frequently decorated with nested or
cross-hatched triangles, which may alternate in
color. Rarely, the entire interior surface of the
steep-sided bowls is covered with geometric de-
signs. Another common vessel has a flat base and
stands on a rim that is approximately 0.5 cm high
(Fig. 3.9). These appear to be the bases of keros,
tall, flaring, straight-sided drinking vessels. Our
excavations have also yielded the remains of jars
(Fig. 3.10). Qotakalli ceramic inventories can also
include large face-neck vessels with modeled and
applied faces, which are painted with straight or
curving lines (Fig. 3.11).

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

45

p

o

46

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

CM

Fig. 3.2. Bichrome Qotakalli bowls from Tankarpata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

47

CM

Fig. 3.3. Bichrome Qotakalli bowls from Tankarpata.

48

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 3.4. Bichrome Qotakalli bowls from Peqokaypata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

49

Fig. 3.5. Bichrome Qotakalli bowls from Peqokaypata.

50

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 3.6. Qotakalli polychrome, straight-sided vessels from Peqokaypata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

51

Fig. 3.7. Qotakalli polychrome vessels from Peqokaypata.

52

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 3.8. Tripodal Qotakalli bowls from Peqokaypata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

53

Fig. 3.9. Qotakalli polychrome vessels with flat bottoms and rim bases from Peqokaypata.

34

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Fig. 3.10. Qotakalli polychrome jar fragments from Peqokaypata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

55

CM

Fig. 3.1 1. Qotakalli vessels with modeled faces.

56

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Appendix 4. Incised Incensarios

In 1985 K. Chavez noted the widespread distri-
bution of incised incensarios (ceremonial burners)
at sites between the Cuzco Valley and Lake Titi-
caca. Later systematic surface collections and ex-
cavations in the Province of Paruro, directly south
of the Cuzco Valley, yielded fragments of incised
incensarios at four additional sites (Bauer 2001).
A more recent survey of the Cuzco Valley itself
also identified several more sites with incised in-
censarios. Excavations at the site of Peqokaypata
provided a carbon sample, recovered in associa-
tion with a large fragment of an incised incensa-
rio, which yielded a date of 1422-51 b.p. (95.4%
probability: a.d. 530 [95.4%] a.d. 700; sample
AA 39784. All fragments shown in this report are
from the site of Peqokaypata). It is currently be-
lieved that the use of these vessels in the Cuzco
region ended with the arrival of Wari influence.

The designs on incised incensarios tend to be
geometric, although examples that contain styl-

ized puma motifs have also been noted (Fig. 4.1).
Our excavations at the site of Peqokaypata also
recovered various examples of incised puma
heads which were once attached to the vessels
(Fig. 4.2). Most incised incensarios appear to
have stood on pedestal bases (Fig. 4.3) and had
rim scallops (Fig. 4.4).

Circles are made with a hollow tool, which
leaves a raised, solid area in their centers (K. Cha-
vez 1985: 138). The lines are made by dragging
a U-shaped tool across the vessel's surface (Fig.
4.5). Their exteriors are roughly burnished, while
the interiors have simply been smoothed. The
faint remains of red and yellow postfiring pig-
ments can still be seen in the grooves of a few
examples, suggesting that the vessel were once
painted. While recent research by Montoya et al.
(2000) suggests that incised incensarios were pro-
duced with local clays, their distribution south and
southeast of Cuzco appears to reflect an Altiplano
influence.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

57

58

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

CM

Fig. 4.2. Incised puma heads from Peqokaypata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

59

J

CM
Fig. 4.3. Most of the incised incensarios recovered at Peqokaypata once stood on pedestal bases.

60

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

/

CM

Fig. 4.4. Rim scallops are distinctive features of incised incensarios (from Peqokaypata).

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

61

/

[7

/

CM

Fig. 4.5. Incised incensario fragments from Peqokaypata.

62

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

Appendix 5. Muyu Oreo Ceramics

Muyu Oreo ceramics were first identified in the
Province of Paruro, south of Cuzco, in the late
1980s (Bauer 1989, 1999, 2001). Muyu Oreo
(Round Hill) is a common Quechua toponym.
This ceramic style is named for a site near the
town of Yaursique in the Province of Paruro
(Bauer 1999, 2001). During our more recent sur-
vey work in the Cuzco Valley we found Muyu
Oreo pottery at 17 additional sites. It has also
been recovered in significant quantities during ex-
cavations at Batan Oreo (Zapata 1997, 1998) and
Raqchi (Bill Sillar, pers. commun. 1999). For oth-
er examples for Muyu Oreo ceramics found in the
Cuzco Valley, see Espinoza Martinez (1983) and
Torres Poblete (1989).

Muyu Oreo ceramics contain a distinct range of
colors, including dark red, black, white, and or-
ange (Fig. 5.1). The dark red is used as a back-
ground to which other colors are applied (Fig.

5.2). The black, white, and orange pigments are
relatively thick, and occasionally fall off the ves-
sel surface in flexes. The vessels tend to be me-
dium- to thin-walled and are composed of a dark
terra cotta fabric that contains abundant small in-
clusions of varied colors (pers. commun., Sara
Lunt 2001).

Few recovered fragments of this style were
large enough to suggest specific vessel forms. The
vessel forms that have been reconstructed includ-
ed straight-sided drinking vessels, steep-sided
bowls, and annulated bowls. Some vessels have
pedestal bases (Fig. 5.3) and rim scallops (Fig.
5.4). Recent excavation data suggest that Muyu
Oreo ceramics were used in the Cuzco Valley to-
ward the end of the Early Intermediate period. It
is also suggested that Muyu Oreo ceramics reflect
an Altiplano influence in the Cuzco region that
ended when the Wari established their administra-
tive control of the area.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

63

CM

I

CM

Fig. 5.2. Selected Muyu Oreo rim forms from Pe-
qokaypata.

Fig. 5.1. Muyu Oreo ceramics from Peqokaypata.

64

FIELDIANA: ANTHROPOLOGY

CM

Fig. 5.3. Fragments of Muyu Oreo pedestal bases from Peqokaypata.

Fig. 5.4. Rim scallops on Muyu Oreo ceramics from Peqokaypata.

BAUER & JONES: CERAMIC STYLES OF THE CUZCO VALLEY

65

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA

Field Museum of Natural History
1400 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60605-2496
Telephone: (312) 665-7055