Agriculture and Empire in the High-Altitude Atacama Desert

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

This award will support a new collaboration between the principal investigator and researchers from Chile (Diego Salazar and Andres Troncoso, University of Chile) and Spain (Cesar Parcero-Oubina, U. of Santiago de Compostela, Spain) to study irrigation agriculture in pre-colonial Chile. The highlands of the Atacama Desert were conquered by the Inca in the 15th century to take control of the mineral wealth of the region. It is hypothesized that the changes in administration and population distribution were accompanied by the reorganization and expansion of irrigation agriculture to provision laborers and other personnel. It is further suggested that the appropriation of water and the new emphasis on tributary production would have resulted in the reorganization of local communities, as existing economic and social relations were transformed by increasing state control. In order to test these ideas, the international research team will initiate data collection in the Atacama region, including (1) detailed mapping of the study sites and associated fields and canals, with systematic observations of surface artifacts and architecture to detect changes in water management, field systems, and site organization through time, (2) geological survey to assess the geomorphic and hydrological contexts of the canal systems, (3) collection of samples from the canals and fields to test dating techniques, and (4) collection of archaeobotanical samples at both sites to assess the preservation of crops and associated wild plants and to begin their identification. Participating researchers will bring complementary skills and training to this international and interdisciplinary effort. The collaborators from Chile and Spain, funded by other sources, will direct the site mapping and study of surface remains. U.S. scientists will direct the geological reconnaissance and the collection of samples for dating and botanical analysis. Students from the U.S. and Chile will participate and work together in all stages of the research. This project will investigate how economic decisions made at distant centers of power affect the landscapes and lives of local farmers, particularly where water is a scarce resource. Archaeology provides a long-term, historical perspective on the relationship between water, land, politics, and society. The research will also contribute to Inca archaeology and to comparative studies of ancient empires. The award will catalyze a long-term, international and interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars from Chile, the U.S. and Spain, and their students. At the University of New Mexico, a Hispanic-Serving Institution with a large enrollment of Hispanic and Native Americans, students will receive training and mentoring opportunities through the project, and will work closely with their international peers. Research results will be shared with local descendant communities and will be broadly disseminated to the general public and to professional audiences in both English and Spanish.