Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: The Origins and Impact of the Inca State: A Bioarchaeological Investigation of the Cuzco Valley

University Of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project is a bioarchaeological study of the health status and population affinities of the prehistoric Cuzco Valley population of Peru. Despite the wealth of information on the Inca, the origin of their state remains obscure. In the proposed research, longstanding hypotheses concerning the geographic origins of the Inca will be tested through analyses of cranial vault modification and skeletal and dental traits. Paleopathological data will be used to document the health consequences of increasing sociopolitical complexity. By combining physical anthropological and mortuary data, this study will shed new light on the emergence and development of the Inca state. The intellectual merits of this research lie in the data it will provide on the origins of the Inca and their expansion into the largest empire in the prehistoric Andes. The research will also shed light on the relationship between the Inca state and the earlier Tiwanaku state. Analyses of pathology and trauma will provide key information regarding the impact of the state on health and the role of warfare in state formation. Moreover, by adding to a growing database of analyzed skeletal collections from throughout the Andean region, this research will help bioarchaeologists gain a broader perspective on the influences state level societies have on the living conditions of local populations under their control. The broader impacts of this research include its contributions to graduate training and education and fostering the development of international scientific cooperation. Finally, the dissemination of this research in Peru will contribute to the growing indigenous interest in the cultural achievements of the Inca.