Political expansion is a common occurrence in the modern world. Researchers are interested in this process because colonizations, territorial annexations, and conquests have stimulated major transformations in history. Empires in particular have relocated populations, reworked local economies and changed the daily lives of millions. Archaeology provides the long term perspective to examine the consequences of political expansion. Like historical documents, monuments and cities tell the story of the conquerors, those who came to power; however archaeology also allows investigators to describe the impact of imperialism on common people. This study will assess how imperial control changed many attributes of daily life in a community incorporated by the Wari Empire (600-1000CE) of Peru. Excavations and related fieldwork will provide advanced training for graduate students and a study abroad archaeological field school to undergraduates. Research opportunities will be open to students at all levels. The project team, composed of US and Peruvian professionals and students, will participate in multinational conferences and publications. This study will generate a detailed data set for comparative analysis that social scientists can use to understand the general processes associated with political expansion in the past and present.
Since political expansion can have far reaching consequences it is important for social scientists to collect data from a variety of contexts. Without written history political expansion can be difficult to identify, especially since there are several ways an empire can control subject polities; however, from an administrative standpoint states and empires must have consistent ways that officials interact with each other and present information as it moves to the upper levels of the political hierarchy. Standardized practices generate patterned material remains, both facilities and artifacts which can be used by researchers to determine the difference between colonization and control in areas of political expansion. Theoretically if leaders are controlled by an empire they will adopt features of its political practice and exhibit similar patterns. These changes, as well as the extractive agenda of the empire, will impact daily life. To identify these standardized practices and assess the impact of imperial control the project team will excavate houses at Las Peñas, a village occupied before and after Wari political expansion and analyze the recovered materials (e.g., stone tools, pottery, plant and animal remains) using archaeological and geochemical techniques (XRF). The research site is located in the Torata Valley of Moquegua, Peru, which was sparsely populated until Wari colonization and nearly 600 km from the empire's capital. The villagers experienced dramatic transformations and witnessed their familiar landscape transformed by imperial engineers who terraced the steep hill slopes and designed aqueducts and canals to bring vast areas into cultivation. Las Peñas should provide an excellent data set to examine changes linked to political practices such as rituals, the style of wealth items, and the design of gathering spaces, as well as shifts in trade networks, food production, and local technologies among other consequences of political expansion.
