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Pataraya: The Archaeology of a Wari Outpost in Nasca

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Matthew J. Edwards  and
Katharina Schreiber
Matthew J. Edwards
Affiliation:
HDR Environmental, Operations, and Construction, Salt Lake City, UT, 84107-2386 (matthew.edwards@hdrinc.com)
Katharina Schreiber
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3210
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Abstract

The research reported in this article explores Wari imperial strategies in the upper Nasca Valley of south-central Peru and, building on previous research, documents the flexibility and diversity of those strategies. The focus of these investigations is the site of Pataraya, a small Wari provincial outpost, and its environs. Despite its size, the rectangular enclosure at Pataraya is well planned and conforms to the canons of Wari state architecture documented at other Wari provincial sites. The site was founded early in the Middle Horizon (A.D. 650-1000) and then abandoned during the collapse of the Wari system. Extensive excavation at this condensed version of the Wari building tradition—over 60 percent—uncovered a pattern of spatially segregated use and access within the enclosure. Activities were relegated to specific patio groups with little replication of function, and the sectors themselves were connected by an astonishingly complex system of narrow corridors. The site appears to have been involved in the transfer of coastal products, especially cotton, to the sierra along an ancient road that is also associated with another much larger Wari compound and with the reorganization of an older local site near modern-day Uchuymarca, both of which were also documented during the project.

Resumen

Resumen

Las investigaciones presentadas en este articulo exploran las estrategias imperiales Wari en el valle alto de Nasca en la región sur-central del Perú y documentan la flexibilidad y diversidad de esas estrategias. El eje de estas investigaciones es el sitio de Pataraya, un pequeño puesto provincial de avanzada, y sus alrededores. A pesar de su reducido tamaño, el complejo rectangular en Pataraya fue cuidadosamente planificado conforme a los cánones de arquitectura estatal Wari documentados en otros sitios administrativos Wari. El sitio fue construido en la parte temprana del Horizonte Medio (650-1000 d.C.) y abandonado durante el aparente colapso del sistema Wari. La excavatión extensa—alrededor del 60por ciento de la superficie de ocupación—de esta versión condensada de la tradición constructiva Wari, reveló un patrón de uso y acceso espacialmente diferenciado en Pataraya. Ciertas actividades fueron relegadas a grupos de patios especificos, que a su vez estaban conectados por un sistema sorprendentemente complejo de estrechos corredores. Hubo también escasa repetición de funciones entre los diferentes sectores, lo cual indica que la población de Pataraya durante el Horizonte Medio conformaba una sola unidad económica. Las actividades parecen haberse centrado en el traslado de productos costeños, especialmente algodón, a la sierra, a través de un antiguo camino asociado con Pataraya y con otra ocupación Wari en el mismo valle de Nasca también documentada durante el proyecto. Esta ocupación, cerca del poblado actual de Uchuymarca, está representada por otro complejo Wari más grande y por una significativa reorganización de un sitio local más antiguo.

Type
Reports
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , June 2014 , pp. 215 - 233
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2014

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