Sara K. Simon, Dale Hutchinson NSF Proposal - DDIG 0925866
This project will provide a detailed understanding of labor in various communities during the formation and expansion of the Tiwanaku (AD 500-1100), the first Andean state. The study examines biological indicators to infer how habitual activity varies with state formation and the control and distribution of labor, essential topics for understanding prehistoric state development. This project addresses issues of heterarchical or hierarchical state formation and provides a comparative framework of specific skeletal evidence to amplify the archaeological record for an innovative perspective into prehistoric labor patterns during the formation and expansion of the Tiwanaku state. This project is the first comprehensive study of biomechanics and skeletal indicators of activity (musculoskeletal markers, osteoarthritis, and cross-sectional bone geometry) in the Titicaca Basin area of Bolivia and in Moquegua, Peru. It expands skeletal biology analysis through original data collection and statistical methods, having the potential to provide a new model for the study of activity patterns. Intellectual Merit: The analysis of data from multiple lines of evidence will further illuminate prehistoric political organization, political economy, and labor changes during the formation of Andean states. The methods used can be applied to similar studies around the world. Broader Impacts: This research has created ties between the University of North Carolina (UNC), the Bolivian Department of Archaeology, and Museo Contisuyo in Peru. This study also improves education for a local Bolivian student interested in learning about human osteology. It enhances the relationship between the Anthropology departments of University of North Carolina and Duke University, and the University of North Carolina Hospital Department of Radiology. This study contributes to the doctoral dissertation and training of a future female scholar in the sciences.
