Interregional Obsidian Exchange During the Late Initial Period and Early Horizon: New Perspectives from Campanayuq Rumi, Peru
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INTERREGIONAL OBSIDIAN EXCHANGE DURING THE LATE INITIAL PERIOD AND EARLY HORIZON: NEW PERSPECTIVES FROM CAMPANAYUQ RUMI, PERU Yuichi Matsumoto, Jason Nesbitt, Michael D. Glascock, Yuri I. Cavero Palomino, and Richard L. Burger Campanayuq Rumi is a large civic-ceremonial center located in the south-central highlands of Peru. Founded in the late Initial Period (1100–800 BC), Campanayuq Rumi became an important center within the Chavín Interaction Sphere in the Early Horizon (ca. 800–400 BC). In particular, Campanayuq Rumi is significant because of its geographical proximity to Quispisisa, the most important and widely circulated obsidian source during the Early Horizon. Portable X-ray florescence (pXRF) was used to geochemically source a sample of 370 obsidian artifacts from Campanayuq Rumi. Though obsidian from Quispisisa dominates the assemblage throughout the site’s history, diachronic analysis indicates that the diversity of obsidian sources increases markedly in the Campanayuq II Phase (700–450 BC). The pXRF data lead us to conclude that Campanayuq Rumi was the locus of obsidian distribution to other locations in highland and coastal Peru within the Chavín Interaction Sphere, and functioned as a regional center of worship and interaction. Campanayuq Rumi es un centro cívico-ceremonial de grandes dimensiones localizado en la sierra centro-meridional del Perú. El sitio fue construido durante el período Inicial tardío (1100–800 aC) y se transformó en un centro ceremonial de gran importancia dentro de la esfera de interacción Chavín durante el horizonte Temprano (800–450 aC). Campanayuq Rumi es un sitio estratégico particularmente significativo por su proximidad a las canteras de Quispisisa, la fuente de obsidiana más importante en los Andes centrales, cuyos productos circularon extensivamente durante el horizonte Temprano. Se utilizó un espectrómetro de fluorescencia de rayos X portátil (pXRF, por sus siglas en inglés) para identificar geoquímicamente la proveniencia de una muestra de 370 artefactos de obsidiana recuperados en el sitio. Los resultados de estos análisis revelan que la obsidiana proveniente de Quispisisa constituye el mayor porcentaje de la muestra durante toda la historia del sitio. El análisis diacrónico indica también que la diversidad de fuentes de obsidiana incrementó considerablemente en la fase Campanayuq II (700–450 aC). Los datos de pXRF permiten llegar a la conclusión de que Campanayuq Rumi fue un lugar de distribución de obsidiana hacia otros lugares en la sierra y la costa del Perú dentro de la esfera de interacción Chavín, funcionando también como centro regional de veneración e interacción. he Early Horizon (800–400 BC) was char- 2012; Figure 1). This network was centered at acterized by important socioeconomic the urban and ceremonial center of Chavín de Tchanges in the Central Andes of Peru. Huántar and promoted long-distance exchange, During this time, much of ancient Peru was partially through the expansion of religious closely linked in a widespread exchange network ideology (Burger 1988, 2008; Patterson 1971). referred to as the Chavín Horizon or Chavín Exotic goods comprised crucial elements of Interaction Sphere (Burger 1988, 1993, 2008, the political economy of the Chavín Interaction Yuichi Matsumoto Faculty of Literature and Social Sciences, Yamagata University, Yamagata, Japan (Corresponding author: [email protected]) Jason Nesbitt Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA (Corresponding author: [email protected]) Michael D. Glascock Research Reactor Center, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA Yuri I. Cavero Palomino Facultad de Letras y Ciencias Humanas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru RichardL.Burger Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA Latin American Antiquity, page 1 of 20 Copyright © 2017 by the Society for American Archaeology doi:10.1017/laq.2017.64 1 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 183.91.99.232, on 20 Nov 2017 at 07:55:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/laq.2017.64 2 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY Figure 1. The location of Campanayuq Rumi and other Chavín-related centers mentioned in the text. (Color online) Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 183.91.99.232, on 20 Nov 2017 at 07:55:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/laq.2017.64 [Matsumoto et al.] INTERREGIONAL OBSIDIAN EXCHANGE DURING THE LATE INITIAL PERIOD 3 Sphere (Burger 2008, 2013), with obsidian fig- shared religious ideology (Burger 1988). The uring prominently among the exchanged exotic core of this area was centered in the north materials. Geochemical analyses over the last and north-central highlands, where several large, four decades demonstrate that the important regional centers, including Chavín de Huántar, obsidian quarries are situated over a large area Kuntur Wasi, and Pacopampa interacted as peer- of the south-central highlands (Figure 2), some polities (sensu Renfrew 1986; see also Burger 600 kilometers to the south of Chavín de Huán- 1993). Within this network a variety of exotic tar (Glascock et al. 2007). One source known goods rapidly appeared, including gold jewelry, as Quispisisa was used intensively, comprising foreign pottery, cinnabar pigment, and obsidian roughly 90% of all obsidian circulated through- tools, as well as Spondylus and Strombus shells out the Chavín Interaction Sphere (Burger and from coastal Ecuador (Burger 1988, 2008, 2013; Glascock 2009). The significant distances tra- Burger and Matos 2002; Burger, Lane, and versed to obtain obsidian and other exotic goods Cooke 2016; Cooke et al. 2013;Druc2004; raises the question of precisely how these mate- Lothrop 1941; Onuki 1995;Rick2005, 2008; rials were distributed and acquired within this Sayre 2010; Seki et al. 2010). Coinciding with interaction sphere. To address this question this intensification of interaction is strong evi- requires the study of obsidian procurement from dence for the development of social hierarchies. the perspective of the south-central highlands For instance, excavations at both Kuntur Wasi rather than from obsidian consumers in the north. and Pacopampa have revealed burials of elite In this article, we detail the changing role of the individuals accompanied with gold ornamenta- south-central highlands with respect to obsidian tion, cinnabar, and Strombus shells (Onuki 1995; exchange in the Chavín Interaction Sphere. To Seki et al. 2010). illustrate these changes and their significance, The evidence for the importance of long- we present the results of a recent portable X-ray distance trade is, however, best exemplified at florescence (pXRF) sourcing study of 370 obsid- the urban and ceremonial center of Chavín de ian artifacts from the civic-ceremonial center of Huántar. Chavín de Huántar had a long history Campanayuq Rumi. Campanayuq Rumi is criti- of development that began around 1000 BC, cal to understanding the circulation of obsidian reaching its maximal size in the Janabarriu because it is one of the largest known centers in Phase, around ca. 700 BC (Burger 1984, 2008). the south-central highlands of Peru and is located Chavín de Huántar consisted of a large cere- in close proximity to the Quispisisa quarry, as monial core that included a U-shaped platform well as other important south-central highland complex that functioned as a temple (Burger obsidian sources. Furthermore, Campanayuq 1992; Kembel 2008). Archaeological excava- Rumi has a long history of occupation, permitting tions in the temple core demonstrate that since a diachronic perspective on changing patterns its foundation around 1000 BC, Chavín de of obsidian exploitation between circa 1100 and Huántar was a center that received a significant 450 BC. As a result, we were able to docu- amount of foreign goods from distant locations ment how Campanayuq Rumi became embed- (Lumbreras 2007;Rick2005, 2008; Sayre et al. ded in the Chavín Interaction Sphere through 2016). time. Chavín de Huántar also has a large residential occupation with strong evidence for craft pro- The Chavín Interaction Sphere and duction activities and status distinctions (Burger Long-Distance Exchange 1984;Rick2005; Sayre 2010). Archaeological excavations indicate that the residential com- The Chavín Interaction Sphere was a cosmopoli- ponent grew significantly during the Janabarriu tan system of interacting polities spread over Phase (ca. 700–400 BC) to cover an area of a large area of the north and central Peru- at least 40–50 ha. The explosive growth of vian highlands, coastal areas, and tropical forest Chavín de Huántar corresponded with increased regions (Burger 2008, 2012; Contreras 2011). elite demand for the exotic materials circulated While these polities exhibited a great deal of within the Chavín Interaction Sphere of the Early regional diversity, they were also linked through Horizon described above. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 183.91.99.232, on 20 Nov 2017 at 07:55:20, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/laq.2017.64 4 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY Figure 2. Key obsidian localities in the south-central highlands of Peru. (Color online) Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 183.91.99.232, on 20 Nov 2017