THE UNIVERSITY of CALGARY the Nasca and the Valley of Acari
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THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY The Nasca and the Valley of Acari: Cultural Interaction on the Peruvian South Coast During the First Four Centuries A.D. by Lidio M. Valdez Cardenas A DISSERTATION SUBMITIED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFll..LMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCfOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY CALGARY, ALBERTA MAY, 1998 @ Lidio M. Valdez Cardenas 1998 National Ubrary Bibliotheque nationale 1+1 of Canada duCanada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaON K1AON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada canada The author has granted a non L' auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant a Ia National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distnbute or sell reproduire, preter, distnbuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. Ia forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownership of the L' auteur conserve Ia propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts from it Ni Ia these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son pemnsston. autorisation. 0-612-34706-0 Canada ABSTRACT The Nasca and the Valley of Acari: Cultural Interaction on the Peruvian South Coast During the First Four Centuries A.D. On the basis of the initial studies carried out by D. Menzel and F. A. Riddell in 1954 in the Acari Valley, Peru, and from further visits, J. H. Rowe argued that the Nasca 3 pottery found in Acari "likely" represented a "Nasca invasion." Rowe's hypothesis was never tested, but frequently was cited as evidence of the Nasca invasion/occupation of Acari. This dissertation is aimed at evaluating the above assumption. Since Rowe's model was developed on the basis of pottery found in Acari, the pottery associated with the so-called "Nasca" walled sites of Acari is evaluated. According to this study, early Nasca is not the pottery style common to the Acari sites. Instead, there is an overwhelming presence of a type of pottery which is markedly different from the Nasca style. This style appears to be local and is referred to in this study as Huarato pottery. The presence of settlements distintive from Nasca in Acari strongly suggests that during the first four centuries A.D. the Acari Valley was inhabited by a local cultural tradition. lll It was into the context of this local culture that a few Nasca ceramics were first introduced, during Nasca phase 2. During Nasca phase 3 the number of Nasca items introduced to Acari increased, but began to decline during Nasca phase 4. Nasca 5 pottery has not been reported from Acari. In addition to securing some Nasca goods, the local inhabitants of Acari imitated early Nasca motifs. While early Nasca art was so rich in themes, only specific ones were emulated in Acari, however. It is of interest to point out that the introduction of the few Nasca goods to Acari took place when the early Nasca ceremonial center of Cahuachi was at its climax. It is possible, then, that the introduced items were brought to Acari by local residents who had made pilgrimage visits to this center. Considering the ideological significance of Cahuachi, it can be argued that the Nasca goods found in Acari perhaps symbolized the prestige of this center and as such likely were owned by specific individuals. If so, these foreign goods must have been regarded as "status insignia." In this regard, on the basis of current information, Rowe's hypothesis cannot be validated. To cite I Para citar: Valdez Cardenas, Lidio M. (or Valdez, Lidio M.) 1998 The Nasca and the Valley of Acari: Cultural Interaction on the Peruvian South Coast during the first four centuries A.D. Ph. D. dissertation, Deparnnent of Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. iv Acknowledgements My frrst words of acknowledgment belong to my wife, Katrina J. Bettcher, for her tremendous and continuous support during these years. Katrina not only took the difficult task of understanding me, but also of reading and editing early drafts of this dissertation. My thanks also go to my parents-in-law Kelvin and Rackel Bettcher who, in the frrst place, made possible my trip from Peru to Canada. Without their support, any attempt of studying at Calgary would have been impossible. "Daddy, why don't we play? why do you study all the time? why do you go to university?" never got a reasonable answer, but I hope that my little Kai will understand and figure out why I was away from home. Likewise, my little Kia always wanted to play, but often I told her "latter, not now." I am also very grateful to the encouragement of my relatives in Peru, especially my father, Julian Valdez, my aunt-mother Ricarda Valdez and cousin Celinda Cardenas, as well as my brother, Emesto. At home, few understood archaeology, my never ending studying. and my stay far away from home and the family. Emesto took the difficult job of explaining of what I was doing. v Archaeological research, on which this study is based. was made possible by a Dissertation Research Grant from the Office of the Vice-President of the University of Calgary. a Research Support from the Jack Carter Fund. and a Research Grant from the archaeology department of the University of Calgary. I am most grateful to my father-in-law for providing additional funding to make possible my 1996 fieldwork in Acari. My gratitude goes also to Francis A. Riddell. President of the California Institute for Peruvian Studies (CIPS). for giving me the opportunity to work in Acari and for giving me access to CIPS' collections. I am most thankful to him for graciously allowing me to study CIPS' archives in Sacramento, California. While in Sacramento, he and wife Caroline provided me their hospitality and friendship, which I tremendously appreciate. During my various field studies in Acari. I met many different people. now all friends. In particular, I am thankful to the Alcalde de Acari, senor Americo Monje, for his support. My gratitude goes also to my friend Angel Iglesias and wife. Rosa Mazuelo Sanchez, who when I arrived unexpectedly to Acari in October 1996 opened the doors of their house to make me feel at home. Angel provided me with free transportation and free cervezas and Rosa fed me for free. vi My thanks algo go to Thomas C. Patterson for providing me with copies of his 1962 fieldnotes in Acari and for allowing me to cite them. Similarly, my gratitude to John H. Rowe for his reply to a letter, providing me with the needed information. I am also thankful to Johny Isla for graciously allowing me to cite his unpublished research results on the Paracas occupation in the Rio Grande drainage of Nasca. I must mention my thanks to my advisor, J. Scott Raymond, for guiding me through these years of study at Calgary and particularly for his friendship. His familiarity with the region I come from made many of our conversations very special. Similar recognition goes to Patrick Carmichael for encouraging me to come to Calgary, his constructive advise during my years at Calgary, for providing me with the needed references, and most importantly for his comments on early drafts of this dissertation. His command of the Nasca culture, and the archaeology of the South Coast, was crucial for discussing the ideas developed in this dissertation. In this long journey, I met many people and in one or other way they helped me. These include, Jonathan Kent, Makoto Kowta, Francis A. Riddell, Katharina Schreiber, Jose Pablo Baraybar, Josue Lancho Rojas, Denise Pozzi-Scon, Johny Isla, Donald Proulx, Giussepe Orefici and Elvina Pierri. My gratitude to all of them as well as to those who made my dream a reality. To those who put effort in my study I hope not to disappoint. vii To the memory of Felicitas Cardenas Palomino, my mother, Hugo Fortunato Valdez, my cousin, and Nievesa Romero Valdivia and Pablo Valdez Mendosa. my grandparents viii Table of Contents Approval Page ...................................................................................................... .ii Abstract. ............................................................................................................... .iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... v Dedication ............................................................................................................. viii Table of Contents ................................................................................................... .ix List of Tables ....................................................................................................... xi List of Figures ..................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH PROBLEM Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 The Problem ................................................................................................... 7 Research objectives ......................................................................................... 8 Chronology .................................................................................................