With National Science Foundation support Dr. Christina Conlee will conduct three field seasons of archaeological research in Nasca, Peru at the late prehispanic site of La Tiza. The Nasca Valley is located in the southern desert coastal region of Peru at the foothills of the Andes. The period following state collapse is a dynamic time in which societies are restructured and new types of social, political, and economic organization emerge. Despite the important transformations that occur during these periods there is a lack of archaeological study on how societies reform after a time of disruption. This project is focused on testing the hypothesis that the collapse of the Wari empire facilitated changes in elite activities and transformed the foundations and relations of power in the Nasca region. The result was the development of a fundamentally new type of society in the following Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1476). This model will be tested through investigations at the site of La Tiza, the largest settlement in Nasca during the Late Intermediate Period and probably the political capital of the drainage. Three seasons of excavations and analyses are designed to: 1) identify elite versus non-elite domestic areas; 2) investigate the various levels of the social/political hierarchy; and 3) establish what activities elites were associated with and wielded power through. Excavations will recover information from four different types of domestic architecture that have been identified at the site and from specialized activity areas that include cemeteries, ritual lookout areas, and workshops. Various types of analyses will be undertaken from the data collected at the site. These include an analysis of architecture, ceramic manufacturing and distribution (including chemical compositional studies), food remains, prestige items, and exchange patterns.
The project team will include a variety of personnel including a Peruvian co-director, Peruvian archaeologists, students from the United States and Peru, and specialists from both countries. This project will contribute to general studies of social transformations and the development of complex societies. In particular, it will address the types of changes that take place after a period of state collapse and local disruption. The approach used to study these transformations includes a consideration of collapse, elite agency, and power and will build on other studies conducted in different regions and time periods that have addressed these issues. The broader impacts of this project are that it emphasizes collaboration between Peruvian and American archaeologists and students, and will provide important training for professionals and students from both countries. The results of this project will be disseminated widely to both scholars and the general public through presentations and written articles in both Spanish and English.
