Under the supervision of Dr. Tina Thurston, Amber Kling will analyze data gathered during archaeological excavations at six High Elevation Enclosures (HEEs) found in the highlands of Northern Ecuador at the Pambamarca Fortress Complex. Here, the Inca constructed a series of 14 tightly clustered fortresses towards the end of the 15th century as they struggled to conquer the indigenous groups in the area and expand their Empire northwards. In this highly contested peripheral region, numerous large and small fortifications were erected in groups, a feature rarely found elsewhere with such high numbers or close proximities. This research will specifically focus on the six smallest enclosures in the area that have been labeled as outposts due to their small size and lack of features, but have never been extensively studied or excavated.
In general, these HEEs lack the military attributes many of the larger fortresses in the area contain, and instead possess other distinct traits, such as a conscious incorporation of bedrock outcrops, unique physical and spatial placements within the landscape, and various sight lines to important ceremonial and sacred features in the area. These characteristics make the HEEs interesting cases for potential ideological markers or even ritually important places like huacas (sacred landscape features worshipped by the Inca and incorporated into many aspects of their lives) that would have had profound meanings and functions within such a heavily militarized landscape. Religion and ideology were known to be powerful driving forces behind Inca conquest and were woven into many aspects of Inca life: such a heavily war-driven landscape would be an ideal place to see the melding of these worlds. Work here may also help further understand the struggle the Inca had in conquering the region, as well as shed more light on the different military, political, economic and social tactics the Inca undertook on the northern frontier as opposed to their operations on the southern and eastern borders.
Methodologically, magnetometry, resistivity and geochemistry will be used, as these techniques are non-destructive and efficient. However, they tend to be lacking in Ecuadorian archaeology, so this project may prove their efficacy to other researchers and could be used by others in the future, especially as modern needs (roads, farming, tower construction) see many sites modified or destroyed. Excavation will also be used to determine the true functions of these enclosures, whether military, religious, or a combination of the two, and will offer valuable insight into imperial sequences, militarized landscapes, and the use of the sacred as both a spiritual weapon and a legitimation device during the conquest and incorporation of resistant regions and frontiers. Such sequences are found archaeologically in global contexts, and are key elements in many modern conflicts, providing a cross-cultural comparison for interpreting such conditions in past and present cycles of conflict. A public website will be created to enhance visibility and data sharing, while publications and presentations will further communicate results to the scientific community. Furthermore, this project will assist in the continued training of the Co-PI as well as enhance methodological training for many American and Ecuadorian students who will work on the project.
This archaeological project focused on a series of High Elevation Enclosures (HEES) within the Pambamarca Fortress Complex (PFC) in Northern Ecuador. During the beginning of the 16th century, the Inca spent over a decade trying to subdue the indigenous populations of Northern Ecuador and were forced to change their economic and political approaches to subdue these societies. The Inca constructed over 106 fortresses in Northern Ecuador, (nearly 66% of all Inca fortresses in their Empire), and created a hardened cordon of 14 tightly clustered fortresses in the mountains north of Quito, Ecuador, known as the Pambamarca Fortress Complex. Eight of the larger sites exhibit characteristics commonly associated with fortifications such as multiple concentric walls, parapets, bastions and baffled gates, and contain military related artifacts. However, the six smallest enclosures lack many of these military characteristics and have commonly been referred to as outposts even though only one had been studied previously. This study sought to understand the nature of these structures alongside their military counterparts and aimed to identify their possible uses and functions based on their unique placements within the landscape, inclusion of bedrock outcrops, prominent sight lines to religious features of their larger fortress neighbors, or location along important Inca roads. Testing and excavations were completed at four of the six enclosures, adding to our understanding of the nature of Incan warfare in the highly contested frontier zone of Northern Ecuador. This project was an independent project functioning under the Pambamarca Archaeological Project run by Dr. Samuel Connell (Foothill Community College) and Dr. Clarence Gifford (Columbia University). This project employed non-destructive chemical tests of soils looking for phosphate levels (which help determine areas of cultural activities), a method commonly used in European archaeology, but severely underused in South American archaeology. Although all six sites were believed to be outposts during Inca conquest of northern Ecuador, this study indicated several other uses were occuring. The smallest site, located along the Inca road, served as a way station, protecting the movement of goods and resources from Quito in the south to the upper levels of the rainforest in the east, where precious metals and resources were found. Two other sites functioned as places of ceremonial imporance and contained purposefully incorporated bedrock outcrops into the center of their enclosures, as well as within the outerwalls. The Inca believed their ancestors inhabited natural features of the world like bedrock outcrops, and these were frequently consulted by the Inca, given offerings, and worshipped. Known as huacas, this tie to the landscape was of the utmost importance to the Inca, especially during times of warfare. In the highly militarized landscape of the Inca world, one of these enclosures was located in the center of the complex, linking all the ceremonial platforms of the surrounding fortress to one place, while the other enclosure provided views of the sun capped mountain the region, thought to be the highest ancestral power. Another site had not been studied previously and provided many interesting details. Unlike other sites, artifacts and wall construction at Pi21 indicated a hasty occupation with several local and non local wares present, instead of Inca wares as one would expect. Carbon dates also came back from the Inca -Spanish conquest period and it appears this site may have been built after the Inca moved through Northern Ecuador. Soil tests were done at an additional site, but excavations were not permited at this site, as well as two others. As part of this project, several American undergraduate and graduate students, as well as Ecuadorian undergraduate students, and Ecuadorian community members, were taught proper excavation techniques, artifact analysis, soil testing, and public anthropology relations. While this study focused on enclosures and fortifications in Northern Ecuador, it has broader impacts into the meaning of so-called militarized landscapes, providing useful analogies for other areas where expansion, warfare and ideological conflicts occur. Archaeologically, lessons learned here can be applied to other heavily ‘fortified’ regions found around the world: the Aztec, Mississippian, Celtic, Germanic, Roman, Greek, Mediterranean contexts – or those of militarized non-state societies like the Aleutian Islands and Pacific Northwest (Johnson 1983b, Lawrence 1979, Konstam 2006). . Perhaps in many cases, too few factors have been considered when studying conquest and border zones and studies should be open to the tie between the landscape and ideological, religious or economic locales. Intellectually, such studies also put our understanding of conflict and violence in the modern world into a historical context. Our most conflict-ridden regions today, all involve a combination of religion, expansion, and resistance. To date, anthropological studies have offered many valuable insights into the varied worlds of conflicts and wars. Study of the Inca’s militarized landscapes of Pambamarca and all the components at play during conflict may provide new ways of theorizing and understanding such contexts.
