Under Dr. Paul Goldstein, Alicia Boswell will examine how the late prehistoric Chimu empire interacted with residents in the adjacent Sinsicap Valley in Peru. The goal is to understand Chimú imperial strategies in the valley. By collecting data related to site architectural patterns, domestic activities, economics, and subsistence patterns this excavation strategy allows a comparative study of the domestic activities of two sites occupied during Chimú expansion.
This project is relevant to imperial studies both within and outside the Andes, as its methodological approach emphasizes subject groups' degree of leeway and the extent to which they can pursue their own goals. Examining inhabitants' households and how practices changed over time is an important, but underutilized perspective in imperial studies.
The Sinsicap Valley is a tributary of the Moche river within the chaupiyunga ecological niche. Located between the coast and the highlands, the chaupiyunga (500-2,000 masl) is the only ecological zone on the western slope of the Andes that produces coca, a highly valued resource important for ritual and other traditional Andean strategies of political economy. Another crucial attribute of the chaupiyunga is its intermediary location between densely populated coast and highland polities with whom residents of this region maintained exchange relations throughout prehistory. In spite of its resources and strategic geographical location little archaeological investigation has occurred in this zone. Ethnohistoric and preliminary archaeological evidence collected by Boswell indicate a Chimú presence in the Sinsicap Valley. An additional consideration in this study is the close proximity of the Sinsicap Valley to the urban Chimú capital Chan Chan, located at the mouth of the Moche Valley on the coast. The Sinsicap Valley is only forty kilometers from Chan Chan.
Studies of the northern and southern frontiers of the Chimú Empire have examined administrative centers and associated sites to understand Chimú expansion, finding the use of diverse imperial strategies had a transformative impact on conquered territories and populations. Researchers have focused on how the Chimú interacted with other coastal polities, overlooking Chimú interaction with populations on its eastern frontier and its implications for understanding the empire. This project will further understanding of Chimú imperialism and Andean coastal polities' interaction with populations in other ecological zones.
This project emphasizes international collaboration as archaeologists and students from Peru and the United States will work together throughout the project. Project results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications in both English and Spanish, while the raw data will be made available for public use. Boswell has organized a partnership between MOCHE, INC, a 501c3 non-profit organization, and the Communidad Campesina Emiliana Gonzalez Obregoso de Collambay of the Sinsicap Valley. Community members have agreed to protect local archaeological sites from looting in return for assistance in development projects. This partnership is an essential component in developing local awareness of the importance of preserving local archaeological sites/resources. Boswell will continue to promote the cultural heritage of the Sinsicap Valley through presentation of her research at community meetings and schools in the region.
," is to understand the relationship between populations living just east of the border of the Chimu empire during the Late Intermediate Period (900- 1470). The project was successful in achieving this goal and also discovered that there is a substantial Inka period occupation at one of the sites under investigation, Cerro Huancha. The Inka defeated the Chimu incorporating them into its empire around 1470 so it is not surprising that there is evidence of an Inka period occupation at Cerro Huancha. The discovery of an Inka period occupation enabled the project to ask the same question of local populations relationship with both the Chimu Empire and the Inka Empire. Understanding relations between imperial powers and local populations remains a prominent topic in prehistory throughout the world. What was the relationship between the two groups, how did one impact the other socioeconomically, ideologically, etc? Archaeologists rely on the material record to piece together these relationships and understand interactions between groups in the past. The Chimu Empire originated in the lower Moche Valley, where they built their 20 square kilometer adobe city. Throughout their tenure of dominance on the coast of Peru, the Chimu Empire influenced and controlled an estimated 800 km along the coast of modern day Peru. While archaeologists have investigated how the Chimu expanded its northern and southern boundaries, understanding Chimu relationships with their eastern neighbors only 40 km away was unknown prior to this research. Additionally, the Chimu eastern boundary in the foothills of the Andes is within the chaupiyunga, the only ecological zone on the western slopes of the Andes that produces coca, a highly valued resource that is essential for ritual and other traditional Andean strategies of political economy. In addition to producing coca, the chaupiyunga was an interaction zone between the densely populated Andean highlands and coast, groups that maintained exchange relations throughout prehistory. We do not know much about populations who lived in the chaupiyunga, except their resources were coveted by all Andean populations. The expansion of the Inka Empire is well investigated throughout the central and southern Andes, however its administration of the north coast of Peru still remains little understood. This project presents the first information about how the Inka interacted with north coast chaupiyunga populations. To understand the Chimu and Inka Empires’ relationships with residents in the Moche Valley’s chaupiyunga ecological niche excavations were carried out in one of the Moche River’s tributaries, the Sinsicap. Two archaeological sites, Cerro Huancha and Cerro Ramon were selected for test excavations focused on excavating complete architectural structures to understand all site activities that occurred within buildings. Architectural and artifact analysis from Cerro Huancha and Ramon has helped us to begin to understand Chimu and Inka polities’ relations with Sinsicap locals. Our results indicate that locals maintained an exchange relationship with the Chimu however the area was never incorporated into the Chimu Empire. Sinsicap residents exchanged coca for Chimu products such as marine resources and Chimu ceramics. Sinsicap Valley occupants were, however, incorporated into the Inka Empire. There is not a significant shift in style of material culture at Cerro Huancha between the two empires, indicating the same population was residing in the Sinsicap Valley throughout the duration of both empires. There is an increased amount of storage spaces constructed at Cerro Huancha over time, which may be associated with the Inka Empire’s interests in the region. There is an absence of classic Inka style architecture and few pieces of classic Inka material culture were recovered indicating that while Cerro Huancha served as a local center the Inka likely ruled through local leaders. Ceremonial architecture at Cerro Huancha points to local population being more associated with the Andean highlands rather than coastal traditions. The presence of highland ceremonial architecture, called chullpas, indicates that chaupiyunga groups may have maintained exchange relations with the coastal Chimu, however, they themselves strongly identified themselves with highlands traditions. What does this case study mean for understanding imperial-local relationships in the Andes and elsewhere? It demonstrates that empires have different priorities and interests, not all imperial-local interactions are the same. The Chimu prioritized coastal expansion rather than controlling their chaupiyunga neighbors relying on exchange to attain needed resources. The Inka, however, appear to be more interested in investing in infrastructure and storage of goods in the chaupiyunga region. What this strategy was for is unclear at this time. Local chaupiyunga residents in the Sinsicap Valley interacted with these two distinct polities and had different experiences with each polity. Continued study of the region and site activities will provide more information for these distinct differences and experiences as well as enabling us to develop a better understanding of chaupiyunga groups.
