Investigating the Emergence of Cranial Modification and Violence among the Chanka of Andahuaylas, Peru (AD 1000-1400)

Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN

Investigators

Abstract

Under the supervision of Dr. Tiffiny Tung, Danielle Kurin will conduct the final phase of dissertation research using AMS radiocarbon dates to determine the chronology of several different mortuary contexts and associated human remains from prehistoric Andean populations, known as the Chanka. The research is focused on how the collapse of the Wari Empire structured violence and bodily expressions of ethnic identity among post-Wari Chanka populations, and the carbon-14 dates will enable Ms. Kurin to document the timing of serious outbreaks of violence, whether during the Wari era (MH, ca. 600-1000 AD), or in the aftermath of imperial collapse (LIP, ca. AD 1000-1400). The carbon-14 dates will also aid in determining when a practice known as cranial modification became a common means for signaling ethnic identity. State collapse often causes people to redefine who they are, and how they interact with others. It is a recurring phenomeneon neither limited to a certain part of the world, nor a particular era in history. This research utilizes an innovative approach that elucidates mechanisms for violence and identity-marking applicable in both modern and ancient contexts of state disintegration. By documenting the emergence of violence in post-imperial populations like the Chanka, it may be possible to offer insights into the nature Wari fragmentation, specifically, as well as address broader issues of state transformation in general. This project provides a glimpse of a less-studied society and less-known time period, enriching and refining the chronology and history of the south-central highland Andes in general, and Andahuaylas in particular. Human skeletal remains from imperial and post-imperial burials in Andahuaylas, Peru, were excavated by the Ms. Kurin; analysis revealed evidence for violence (inferred through skull fractures), as well as prominent, corporeal markers of ethnic identity (i.e., cranial modification). Based on associated ceramics, evidence from human remains appears to demonstrate an increase in violence following Wari imperial collapse. Importantly, cranial fractures are almost exclusively present on skulls that exhibit cranial modification, while unmodified skulls largely lack evidence of injury. Radiocarbon dates will be used in this final phase to test whether modified and unmodified individuals existed contemporaneously, or whether these individuals lived in distinct time periods. This final set of data is necessary to understand how Wari's decline may have restructured interactions between 'post-collapse' Chanka groups in the hinterland region of Andahuaylas, Peru. The proposed research will have significant broader impacts. Project data formed the basis of two university courses developed and taught by the Ms. Kurin in Peru; artifacts and remains recovered during excavations will be exhibited at a new community museum in Andahuaylas, opened in late 2009 by Ms. Kurin and Peruvian colleagues. Future research in the region will continue to include female, minority, and indigenous students from both the United States and Peru. Finally, this project will result in Spanish and English language scholarly and general public publications, conference papers, and undergraduate and graduate theses, including Ms. Kurin's doctoral dissertation.