DAILY LIFE AT CERRO LEÓN, AN EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD HIGHLAND SETTLEMENT IN THE MOCHE VALLEY, PERU Jennifer Elise Ringberg A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Anthropology. Chapel Hill 2012 Approved by: Brian R. Billman Vincas Steponaitis C. Margaret Scarry Patricia McAnany John Scarry Jeffrey Quilter UMI Number: 3545543 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 3545543 Published by ProQuest LLC (2012). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 © 2012 Jennifer Elise Ringberg ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT JENNIFER ELISE RINGBERG: Daily Life at Cerro León, an Early Intermediate Period Highland Settlement in the Moche Valley, Peru (Under the direction of Brian R. Billman) In this dissertation I examine the cultural identity and social dynamics of individuals in households through the activities and objects of daily life. The households I study are at Cerro León, an Early Intermediate period (EIP) (400 B.C. to A.D. 800) settlement in the middle Moche valley, Peru. My results support a model of migration and long-term settlement by highland groups from the upper limits of the valley. Highland people remained in settlements throughout the middle Moche valley for roughly two centuries, abandoning the region just prior to the consolidation of the Southern Moche polity (A.D.200 to 800). Understanding interaction between highland and coastal groups as they sought access to the fertile middle zones of coastal valleys provides insight into small- and large- scale social organization. Highland-coastal interaction remained an essential element in trajectories of social complexity throughout the Peruvian Andes from prehistory into the modern era. The three residential compounds excavated at Cerro León were the largest and best preserved of the entire settlement. Members of multi-generational, extended or multi-nuclear family households created spaces for cooking, storage, and productive tasks related to intensive farming and small-scale craft production, including production of cloth and tools and ornaments of stone and copper. Results of my multi-faceted study of the origins, manufacture, and function of the pottery assemblage demonstrate that Cerro León households imported nearly all of it for their culinary needs. Plainwares were manufactured in both highlands and coast, but over 90 percent of the fineware feasting assemblage was of highland origin. The identities of the highland settlers at Cerro León were materialized through the spatial organization of household activities and choices linked to foodways, especially the use of a highland feasting pottery assemblage, to promote and legitimize their place in iii middle valley EIP society. The residences at Cerro León, like households throughout the Andes, thrived on a variety of relationships that create networks of obligations. Daily and large-scale ritual consumption of food, drink, and coca leaves provided the fuel that kept networks of social ties, resources, and labor active. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Numerous individuals and institutions provided support for this study. Archaeological fieldwork in Peru was carried out with permission of El Ministerio de Cultura, Lima and Trujillo. Field research took place under the auspices of MOCHE, Inc. and the UNC South American Archaeology Field School through the Study Abroad program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Ford Foundation provided a pre-dissertation grant for my study of chicha (corn beer) brewers in the Moche valley in 2002. The Off Campus Dissertation Fellowship from the Graduate School at UNC–Chapel Hill provided funds during the spring 2009 semester for data collection and analysis in Peru for this dissertation project. The Timothy P. Mooney Fellowship provided funds for preparation of petrographic thin sections. I am grateful to my dissertation advisor, Brian Billman for his training and support over the last several years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Throughout the process he offered valuable feedback and advice and provided excellent technical commentary and constructive criticism on drafts of this manuscript. I also wish to thank my other committee members, Vin Steponaitis, Margie Scarry, Patricia McAnany, John Scarry, and Jeff Quilter for their advice, encouragement, and assistance throughout the fieldwork and write-up of this project. In the Research Laboratories of Archaeology at UNC, I am grateful for the advice and assistance of current and former staff members, Steve Davis, Brett Riggs, and Brenda Moore. I also gratefully acknowledge Drew Coleman and Alan Glaser for their assistance and permission to use equipment in the department of Geological Sciences at UNC–Chapel Hill. I thank Celeste Gagnon for generously offering to submit radiocarbon samples from Cerro León as part of her research. I also thank Amber VanDerwarker for identifying the carbonized plant remains submitted for absolute dating. At California State University at Stanislaus, I wish to thank v Marty Giaramita for allowing me to use the petrographic microscope in the Department of Physics, Physical Sciences, and Geology. I also want to express my gratitude to Austin Avwunudiogba of the Department of Anthropology and Geopgraphy for his technical expertise with digital geologic maps. At UNC I benefitted from discussion with and insight from many former and current graduate students over the years including Amber VanDerwarker, Tony Boudreaux, Kandi Detwiler, Amanda Tickner, Mark Plane, Lance Green, Will Meyer, and Theresa McReynolds Shebalin. Many provided not only insightful discussion on campus but also invaluable assistance in Peru, including Celeste Gagnon, Barker Fariss, Evan Surridge, Kim Schaefer, Drew Kenworthy, Mary Beth Fitts, Ben Shields, Meg Kassabaum, Erin Stevens Nelson, Sara Simon, and John Pleasants. I especially appreciate the contributions of fellow UNC graduate students Julio Rucabado-Yong, Greg Wilson, and Jon Marcoux for their expertise as crew chiefs and their insights as pottery specialists. Many other project members provided valuable assistance in Peru including Caitlin Lackett, who helped photograph artifacts for this dissertation, as well as Laura Burnham, Patricia Alexander, Chris Jochem, Vanessa Patchett, Nick Kier, and Rebecca Schellenberger who provided valuable assistance in the field. I’d also like to thank Gail Ryser for providing her expertise in setting up the flotation procedures. I am grateful for the work of Dana Bardolph who has begun a detailed analysis of Cerro León’s paleoethnobotanical collections and has been a great help in the lab. I am especially grateful to Alicia Boswell who over the years has generously provided assistance in the field and lab. She has become a dear friend and colleague since she first joined the field school as a student in 2004. I owe an immense debt of gratitude to many Peruvian friends and colleagues, without whose assistance this project would not have been completed. First and foremost, Jesús Briceño Rosario offered valuable advice and a vast knowledge of the Moche valley and highlands. Belsy Gutierrez provided invaluable assistance for project operations and living arrangements in Huanchaco. Julio Urbina Lara, Manuel Cortijo, Fidel Reyes, and Angel Tamay Flores generously shared their time and expertise on the clay resources of the Moche valley and highlands. I also thank Jaime Jimenez for all of his hard work as laboratory assistant and pottery analyst. His ability and insight are greatly vi appreciated. I owe Marina, Marielena, and Marcelina much gratitude for cheerfully inviting me into their homes and sharing their knowledge and experience of chicha brewing with me. Finally, many project members both in Huanchaco and in the middle Moche valley have contributed hard work, knowledge, humor, and friendship over the years. In Huanchaco I am grateful for the contributions of Eloisa Piminchumo, and her family, especially sons Roby and Mateo Valderrama Piminchumo for their patience and help in the archaeology lab. Rosa Melendez and her brother Jose Melendez Sempertegui have provided countless hours of assistance and companionship in the Huanchcaco lab house. In the field I gained invaluable experience from the contributions of skilled and experienced excavators, especially Andrés Guzman, Wilmán Guzman, Wilmer Guzman, and Americo Cruz. I also thank Justo Benavides, Casimiro Contreras, and Fernando Avelardo Guzman for many years of service to the project. I also wish to express immeasurable love and gratitude to my parents Ed and Mary Ann Ringberg and my sister Melissa Weems. Their unwavering support, interest in my research, and patient understanding through many years of research, writing, and long absences has been a source of strength that I have relied upon to achieve my goals. Finally, I don’t believe this project would have ever seen completion without the support