FOOD, FEASTS, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY AND POWER IN ANCIENT TIWANAKU: A BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE By Carrie Anne Berryman Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Anthropology May, 2010 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Professor Tiffiny A. Tung Professor Deborah E. Blom Professor John W. Janusek Professor Tom D. Dillehay Professor Steve A. Wernke Copyright © 2010 by Carrie Anne Berryman All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the assistance of many individuals and institutions, each of whom deserve special thanks. First, I would like to thank my advisor and the chair of my dissertation committee, Tiffiny Tung, for all of her support and encouragement over the past several years. She was always available to lend thoughtful advice and a critical eye throughout the grant writing, research, and dissertation writing processes. Her thorough and insightful comments on the drafts that I sent her broadened my perspective and significantly improved this dissertation. I am grateful to have her as a mentor. I would also like to thank Deborah Blom and John Janusek for introducing me to Bolivian archaeology and providing me with the opportunity to work with the Tiwanaku skeletal collections. Deborah and John welcomed me onto their projects, helped me obtain the necessary permits, generously shared their data, and provided me with unconditional support throughout the whole process. Their guidance and friendship were invaluable. I am also grateful to Tom Dillehay and Steve Wernke who provided me with excellent advice and suggested references I had not considered that greatly improved this thesis. Funding for this research was provided by several agencies. Preliminary fieldwork in 2005 was funded by a Vanderbilt Summer Research Award. Funding for fieldwork in 2006 and the majority of the laboratory analyses was provided by a dissertation research grant from the Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. A Sigma Xi Grant in Aid of Research also provided support for laboratory analyses. iii I am especially thankful to Lic. Javier Escalante and the Dirección Nacional de Arqueologia de Bolivia (DINAR) for allowing me to work with the skeletal materials and granting permission for the exportation of bone and dental samples. Members of Proyecto Wila Jawira (directed by Alan Kolata), Proyecto Jach’a Marka (directed by Nicole Couture and Deborah Blom), and Proyecto Jacha’a Machaca (directed by John Janusek) excavated the skeletal remains utilized in this study and provided me with valuable contextual information. In particular, Marc Bermann, Deborah Blom, Nicole Couture, Martin Giesso, John Janusek, Arik Ohnstad , and Jennifer Zovar generously took time to dig up old field notes to find information I needed. Special thanks go to Nicole Couture and Deborah Blom for giving me a place to stay and a chair at the dinner table in Tiwanaku. Their hospitality was greatly appreciated and my research benefited tremendously from the many stimulating conversations I had with them about bioarchaeology and Tiwanaku archaeology. Deborah has also been a wonderful editor, providing candid critiques when I needed them. Many other project members provided support and assistance throughout this process and generally made Tiwanaku a great place to work, including: Jahel Amaru, Elizabeth Arratia, Jonah Augustine, Cullen Black, Maria Bruno, Kelly Knudson, Velia Mendoza España, Ruden Plaza, James Pokines, Mabel Ramos Fernandez, Dennise Rodas Sanjinez, and Claudine Vallières. Robert Tykot at the University of South Florida processed all isotopic bone samples. Amanda Logan, under the supervision of Deborah Pearsall, processed and analyzed all dental calculus samples for the identification of plant starches and phytoliths. iv I thank them all for providing me with reliable results and for taking the time to answer all my questions. Christine Hastorf, Melanie Miller, and Paula Tomczak were kind enough to share their unpublished isotopic data with me. These data were tremendously useful to my research and I am very grateful for their trust. In addition, Christine took the time to answer many e-mails from me and I appreciate all her help. I would also like to thank a number of scholars whose knowledge and guidance significantly contributed to my education and inspired me to pursue a career in anthropology. During my undergraduate years at the University of Tennessee, Murray Marks and Bill Bass instilled in me their enthusiasm for physical anthropology. I am thankful to them for their support and confidence in me, which led to my pursuit of graduate studies. While working towards my Master’s Degree at the University of Arkansas, Jerry Rose provided me with wonderful hands-on opportunities in the lab and field that made me a much better researcher. He continues to be an excellent mentor and I greatly appreciate all the advice and assistance he has given me. Finally, Hugh Berryman generously took me under his wing very early in my academic career. He took the time to teach me human osteology and has always been there to listen and give advice. I am extremely grateful for all his encouragement over the years. My family has provided unwavering support throughout my academic career and without them I could not have completed this dissertation. My parents, Scott and Carole Berryman, have always believed in me and encouraged me to follow my own path. My mother has been there to listen through every high and low and to offer her wisdom when I needed it. My father has also listened and his great sense of humor helped keep things v in perspective. Whenever I needed just a couple more days of writing, one of them was always willing to make a trip to Nashville and baby-sit. My grandmothers, Martha Clark and Jean Berryman, were also great sources of support and encouragement. Words cannot express my gratitude to you all. I feel extremely fortunate to have such a family. Finally, I could not have completed this journey without the love and support of my husband and best friend Marcel Rodriguez and our son Lucas. Marcel encouraged me at every step. He always jumped up for the 2:00 am feeding when I was having a stressful week and he never flinched when I needed to go to Bolivia for a few weeks, leaving him alone to care for a small child. Few partners are as selfless and supportive and I cannot thank him enough. Lucas was patient with me when I could not play and his love kept me keenly aware of what is important and what is not. This dissertation is dedicated to you both. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. xi LIST OF FIGURES ...........................................................................................................xv Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1 State Formation and Social Identity: Insights from Tiwanaku ..........................1 The Tiwanaku Case Study .................................................................................3 Research Questions............................................................................................8 Materials and Methods.....................................................................................10 Organization of the Dissertation ......................................................................11 II. ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE SOUTHERN TITICACA BASIN ..............................14 Introduction......................................................................................................14 The Environmental Setting ..............................................................................14 Cultural History of the Titicaca Basin .............................................................17 Early Formative......................................................................................17 Middle Formative....................................................................................18 Late Formative........................................................................................20 Tiwanaku IV............................................................................................22 Tiwanaku V .............................................................................................25 Post Tiwanaku.........................................................................................26 Archaeological and Environmental Background of Tiwanaku Valley Study Sites..................................................................................................................28 Tiwanaku.................................................................................................28 Tiwanaku Middle Valley Sites: Tilata (TMV101) and Mollo Kontu (TMV 228) .................................................................40 Tiwanaku Lower Valley Sites: Guaqui (LV55), Iwawi (LV150), and Obsidiana (LV109) ..............................................40 Archaeological and Environmental Background of Katari Valley Study Sites..................................................................................................................42 Lukurmata...............................................................................................42