Preface to the Special Issue on Humans, Animals and Societies of Andean Civilization

Anthropological Science Preface Vol. 129(2), 107–108, 2021 Preface to the special issue on Humans, Animals and Societies of Andean Civilization Yuji Seki1* 1National Museum of Ethnology, Senri Expo Park 10-1, Suita, Osaka 565-8511, Japan This special report, arising from a collaboration of archae- Formative Period large-scale public architectures were con- ology and anthropology, consists of the results of a research structed, and that society was integrated through construc- project aimed at elucidating the process of social complexi- tion activities and the rituals performed in the sacred spaces fication that took place during the early stage of the Andean after construction. On the other hand, subsequent research civilization that established itself on the Pacific coast of has taught us that the scope of society integrated through the South America. activities in such public architectures was not so widespread Archaeology that focused on the Andean civilization of and that regional differences existed, even if it is true that South America was established as a field of study in the ear- there has been an increase in interaction between regions. In ly 20th century. The early days of Andean archaeology fo- other words, it is no longer possible to support the interpre- cused not only on the establishment of chronology but also tation that a unified culture existed as Tello once thought. on the origin of civilization. In particular, Dr Julio C. Tello, Another important issue regarding research on the Form- known as the father of Peruvian archaeology, investigated ative Period is the increasing complexity of society. In the the historic ruins of what is now the Chavín de Huántar site period following the Formative Period, at least along the (registered by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage) and northern coast, the first state society (Moche) in the history discovered numerous examples of stone carvings and earth- of the Andean civilization appeared. Since the public archi- enware. The iconography on these archaeological remains is tectures of the Formative Period disappeared around the be- similar to that on the murals and remains of archaeological ginning of the Common Era, it cannot be said that the Form- sites found throughout Peru, and due to the outstanding ar- ative Period’s social system led directly to a state-level chitectural scale and complexity of the Chavín de Huántar society. However, there is no doubt that society gradually site, Tello proposed the Chavín-centered theory that stated became more complex during the millennia of the Formative that this culture, which he broadly named the ‘Chavín cul- Period. In this way, research about the Formative Period ture’, was transmitted from Chavín de Huántar to various gradually shifted focus to topics such as when societal com- other places. The Chavín culture was positioned as the moth- plexity became apparent, the factors that contributed to soci- er culture of the Andean civilization. The era when the etal complexity, and how societies in each region became Chavín culture flourished, along with the periods before and more complex. after it, are together known as the ‘Formative Period’ (c. Among the discussions about the increase of social com- 3000 BC–50 BC) in today’s Andean archaeology. plexity, one theory presented by a Japanese research team is Japanese research teams who set foot in the Andes after the ‘temple renovation theory.’ Historical materialism, World War II were also interested in the origin of the civili- which emphasizes economic foundations, seeks the main zation. Tello himself speculated that an even more ancient cause of social complexity in controlling surplus products, culture had preceded the Chavín culture, and Japanese re- considers the emergence of public architectures as the last search teams excavated the Kotosh site in the Central High- device to support the ideology of those in power, and re- lands of Peru to verify the existence of a pre-Chavín culture. mains firmly rooted in academia. However, on the basis of As a result, not only did they find evidence of a pre-Chavín accumulated data, the Japanese research team proposed the culture, but they also discovered, for the first time in history opposite hypothesis that public architectures would appear of New World archaeology, public buildings constructed first in a relatively egalitarian society as a result of the before the development of earthenware. Over the more than voluntary collaboration of groups and that the renewal activ- 60 years since then, Japanese research teams have conducted ities would promote social complexity. This was named the archaeological surveys with the aim of understanding socie- ‘temple renovation theory.’ ty during the Formative Period. While the ‘temple renovation theory’ is an immensely in- As a result, it gradually became clear that during the teresting hypothesis with an important perspective that shows the diversity of practical human behavior, recent re- * Correspondence to: Yuji Seki, National Museum of Ethnology, search has also shown that some phenomena cannot be Senri Expo Park 10-1, Suita, Osaka 565-8511, Japan. grasped by this theory alone. The present-day Japanese re- E-mail: [email protected] search team pays particular attention to the Late Formative Published online 22 July 2021 Period (800–250 BC) and closely examines the realities of in J-STAGE (www.jstage.jst.go.jp) DOI: 10.1537/ase.210511 interregional exchange, craft production, animal breeding, © 2021 The Anthropological Society of Nippon 107 108 Y. SEKI Anthropological Science food production, and the rituals themselves that developed ch’arki hypothesis. Uzawa et al. also suggested that tender during this period, and is conducting cross-disciplinary re- meat would have been preferred for consumption in the ritu- search to demonstrate their relevance to the emergence of al feasting held in Pacopampa, for which the fleshy parts of social complexity. I would like to present a part of that re- the juvenile animals would have been well suited. On the search below. other hand, tools related to textile production began to be Yamamoto, the only archaeologist in this special issue, found when camelids were introduced to the site. It is sug- picks up two large ceremonial centers of the Formative Peri- gested that fiber from mature individuals might have been od in the Northern Highlands, Kuntur Wasi and Pacopampa, used. In this regard, it is significant to demonstrate that vari- where Japanese and Peruvian joint research has been accu- ous activities developed in the ritual space. mulating data for the past 30 years. He points out that these According to Seike and Watanabe’s study, animal use at sites underwent socioeconomic changes in local, regional, El Palacio is distinctly different from that of the Pacopampa and interregional interactions. In addition, Yamamoto has site. The site is located at the bottom of the Cajamarca Basin, shown that the transformations observed at these sites are slightly south of Pacopampa, and is dated to the Wari period, also compatible at the Ingatambo site in the northern fron- which is more than 1500 years later than the Formative tier, which he investigated himself, providing an overall Perid. Seike and Watanabe compared the location and fre- picture of the Formative Period in this issue. quency of cut marks on camelid bones to other archaeologi- Nagaoka summarized a series of studies of the human re- cal sites and to modern butchering methods of Andean mains excavated from the Pacopampa site from various an- herders. Compared to Pacopampa, where juveniles were gles to reconstruct the living conditions of the people at that dominant, more mature individuals were conspicuous at El time. From his dental analysis, Nagaoka concluded that the Palacio. In addition, the frequency of cut marks is lower than caries rate at both sites was higher than that of the average that found at Pacopampa. Based on these findings, they as- farmer, suggesting that the consumption of cultivated plants sumed the use of camelids at El Palacio also focused on us- was well established in the epoch. Nagaoka also examined ing secondary products, including labor and fiber collection. the frequency of cribra orbitalia in terms of nutritional disor- Referring to the Wari sites in the Southern Highlands as the ders. In general, lesions resulting from food processing and standard, many researchers have argued the for emergence iron deficiency anemia were less frequent than in the coastal of the Wari Empire, which extended its political power zone, as theorized from earlier studies. Regarding violence, throughout the Andes. The presence of widespread interre- several cases that are the oldest in Andean archaeology have gional exchange is expected during this period. The use of been analyzed from an anthropological perspective, suggest- camelids may also reflect the socioeconomic background ing that these may have been ritual violence. Furthermore, and the function of the site. the concerted efforts of archaeology and physical anthropol- Takigami and her colleagues measured the carbon and ogy have revealed intriguing facts. After the Pacopampa site nitrogen isotope ratios of human and animal bones excavat- ceased to function as a ceremonial center, the people of the ed from the Pacopampa site and examined the changes in Cajamarca culture reused this location as a ritual space and diet from the Middle to Late Formative Period. They found dedicated skulls that had been decapitated during the Form- that the use of C4 plants, specifically maize, increased from ative Period. The series of studies by Nagaoka is unique in the Late Formative Period and concluded that this was due analyzing human remains excavated from Formative Period not only to direct human consumption of maize but also to sites from multiple perspectives. In particular, the recon- human consumption of animals that ingested maize in some struction of ritual violence is an important data point in the form.

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