Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 9-1-2017 9:00 AM The Richness of Food: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo, North Coast of Peru Arwen M. Johns The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Lisa Hodgetts The University of Western Ontario Joint Supervisor Dr. Jean-Francois Millaire The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Anthropology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Arwen M. Johns 2017 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, and the Other Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Johns, Arwen M., "The Richness of Food: A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo, North Coast of Peru" (2017). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4899. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/4899 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract This thesis is a zooarchaeological study examining the entangled nature of human-animal relations within processes of food production, preparation, and consumption at Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo in the Virú Valley, North Coast of Peru. It assesses how the consumption of animal products influenced social differentiation and identities during early state development in the Early Intermediate Period (200B.C.E – 800 C.E.). This thesis takes a social zooarchaeological approach and utilizes the framework of relational ontology to emphasize the social and symbolic roles of animals. Faunal remains suggest that individuals at Huaca Santa Clara had comparatively equal access to animal foods in both Administrative and Residential Sectors, while at Huaca Gallinazo differences are visible between the Southern Platform and Architectural Compound 2. Occupants of Huaca Gallinazo were focused more heavily on exploiting marine resources due to the site’s coastal location, while those inland at Huaca Santa Clara emphasized terrestrial faunal resources. Keywords Peru, zooarchaeology, Virú, Huaca Gallinazo, Huaca Santa Clara, identity, iconography ii Acknowledgments I would like to first start by thanking my fantastic supervisors Dr. Lisa Hodgetts and Dr. Jean-François Millaire for their limitless support and guidance. This thesis wouldn’t be half of what it is without the aid of your knowledge and enthusiasm (and a healthy dose of patience). Your teachings, edits, suggestions, and conversation have made me a better anthropologist, and I’m eternally grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to work with you both. I would also like to thank the entire Anthropology Department at Western for being my home away from home for so many years. The support I’ve received from the faculty and staff has known no bounds, and I’m forever thankful that I’ve had the chance to learn from, and literally grow up with, all of you. I would next like to extend heartfelt thanks to Dr. Teresa Rosales Tham and Dr. Víctor F. Vásquez Sánchez for all their assistance with identifications and for granting me access to their wonderful comparative collection at the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo’s ARQUEOBIOS Laboratory. Your instruction, humour, and chicha were always much appreciated. Huge thanks also go out to Estuardo La Torre Calvera, who was an invaluable help while in the field and always made sure everything was in its place, as well as to Hilda and Juan Sánchez, who welcomed me into their home and their family during my stay in Trujillo. You all made my time in Peru more than comfortable and it was truly one of the best times of my life that I’ll always look back on fondly. Warmest thanks are owed to my family. Your belief in me from day one inspired me to try harder, dig deeper, and think bigger throughout this process and in all other areas of my life. I’ll always appreciate you indulging me as I ranted about nothing but bones for two years, and for always reminding me that I could do it when times were tough and things felt impossible. I love you all, this thesis is for you. Finally to my friends, both inside and outside of the department, who saw me through it all, thank you. You, more than anyone, were there through the thick and thin, the celebrations and tears. Your companionship and support made the tough times bearable and the good times better than I could have hoped for. Thank you for the laughs, the music, the stats help (because lord knows I needed it), and the always stimulating, and sometimes downright ludicrous conversation; but most of all thank you for just being there with me through this wild ride. I would like to acknowledge the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for funding this research project. iii Table of Contents Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………… ii Acknowledgments …………………………………………………………………………….. iii Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………… iv List of Tables ………………………………………………………………………………. … ix List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………………..... xi List of Appendices ………………………………………………………………………….... xiv Chapter 1 ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………….. 1 1.1 The Development of Early States and the Culture Chronology of the North Coast ........ 4 1.1.1 Early State Formation ………………………………………………………….. 4 1.1.2 Culture Chronology of the North Coast ………………………………………... 6 1.2 Virú Socio-political Landscapes and Structures – A View from Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo ………………………………………………………………………... 9 1.2.1 Huaca Santa Clara ……………………………………………………………… 9 1.2.1.1 Administrative Sectors ……………………………………………... 11 1.2.1.2 Residential Sectors ………………………………………………..... 11 1.2.2 Huaca Gallinazo ……………………………………………………………..... 12 1.2.2.1 The Southern Platform …………………………………………..…. 13 1.2.2.2 Architectural Compound 2 …………………………………………. 14 iv 1.3 Thesis Structure …………………………………………………………………….… 14 Chapter 2 …………………………………………………………………………………….... 15 2 Context and Background ……………………………………………………………… 15 2.1 Situating Consumption within the Environments of the North Coast ………………... 15 2.1.1 El Niño Events and their Effects on the North Coast ……………………….... 16 2.2 An Overview of Previous Studies ………………………………………………..…… 16 2.2.1 Previous Zooarchaeological Studies on the North Coast ……………………... 16 2.2.2 Applying Social Zooarchaeological Approaches and Relational Ontology to Studies of Consumption Patterns ……………………………………………... 19 2.2.3 Reconsidering Human-Animal Relations in Domestication and Hunting ……. 21 2.3 Marine and Terrestrial Faunal Resources and Symbolism on the North Coast ………. 24 2.3.1 Utilizing Moche Iconography to Aid Zooarchaeological Interpretations …..… 25 2.3.2 Mammals …………………………………………………………………….... 27 2.3.3 Fish ……………………………………………………………………………. 30 2.3.4 Birds …………………………………………………………………………... 32 2.3.5 Reptiles and Amphibians ……………………………………………………... 35 2.3.6 Crustaceans ………………………………………………………………….... 36 2.4 Food, Identity, and Power …………………………………………………………….. 36 2.4.1 The Richness of Food ……………………………………………………….... 36 2.4.2 Presentation of Self and Group Affiliation ………………………………….... 38 v 2.4.3 Feasting ……………………………………………………………………….. 42 2.5 Chapter Summary …………………………………………………………………….. 45 Chapter 3 …………………………………………………………………………………….... 46 3 Methodology ………………………………………………………………………..… 46 3.1 Recovery …………………………………………………………………………….... 46 3.1.1 Recovery of Faunal Materials from Huaca Santa Clara …………………….... 47 3.1.2 Recovery of Faunal Materials from Huaca Gallinazo ………………………... 48 3.2 Identification ………………………………………………………………………..… 48 3.3 Recording ……………………………………………………………………………... 49 3.4 Quantification ……………………………………………………………………….... 52 3.4.1 NISP …………………………………………………………………………... 52 3.4.2 MNE and MAU ……………………………………………………………..… 53 3.4.3 Statistical Tests ……………………………………………………………….. 54 Chapter 4 ……………………………………………………………………………………… 56 4 Broad Patterns of Taxonomic Exploitation at Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo ……………………………………………………………………..… 56 4.1 Relative Abundances of Animal Classes at Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo …………………………………………………………………….… 61 4.2 Comparisons of the Main Mammal, Fish, and Bird Species between and within Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo …………………………………………………….. 63 4.2.1 Representation of Main Mammal Taxa …………………………………….… 64 vi 4.2.2 Representation of Main Fish Taxa ……………………………………………. 68 4.2.3 Representation of Main Bird Taxa ……………………………………………. 71 4.3 Chapter Summary …………………………………………………………………….. 74 Chapter 5 …………………………………………………………………………………….... 77 5 Exploitation of Key Species – Herd Management and Prey Selection ……………..… 77 5.1 Camelid Populations and Utilization at Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo ….... 77 5.1.1 Representation of Camelid Skeletal Parts …………………………………..… 77 5.1.2 Documenting Animal Age Distributions at Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo …………………………………………………………………….... 82 5.1.2.1 Camelid Epiphyseal Fusion at Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo ………………………………………………………….... 83 5.1.2.2 Camelid Tooth Eruption and Wear at Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo ………………………………………………………….... 85 5.1.3 Discussion of Trends in Camelid Utilization at Huaca Santa Clara and Huaca Gallinazo …………………………………………………………………….... 87 5.2 White-tailed Deer Epiphyseal Fusion at Huaca Santa Clara ……………………….… 88 5.2.1 Discussion of Trends in White-tailed