UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Inca Strategies of Conquest and Control: Toward a Comprehensive Model of Pre-Modern Imperial Administration on the South-Central Coast of Peru A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology by Kevin Bassett Hill 2020 © Copyright by Kevin Bassett Hill 2020 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Inca Strategies of Conquest and Control: Toward a Comprehensive Model of Pre-Modern Imperial Administration on the South-Central Coast of Peru by Kevin Bassett Hill Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology University of California, Los Angeles, 2020 Professor Charles S. Stanish, Chair This dissertation uses regional archaeological settlement data to develop a model of Inca imperialism along the south-central Peruvian coast during the terminal decades of the fifteenth century CE. A close investigation of lower and middle valley of Cañete, home to the Late Intermediate Period (c. 1100-1450 CE) societies, Huarco and Lunahuaná, along with survey data from the neighboring valley, Chincha, provide both the foundation and impetus for the regional model. The great disparity between the abundance of Late Horizon (1450-1532 CE) Inca ii architecture and artifacts in middle valley Cañete and the near absence of this evidence in the middle valley of Chincha is best explained within the context of the relationship between the lower and middle areas of each valley and a systematic examination of the south-central coast region as a whole. This regional overview presents the Late Intermediate Period sociopolitical and cultural context and what archaeology and ethnohistory reveals about how the Inca came to control each valley. Particularly illuminating is the variety of architectural layouts and features seen at the primary Inca administrative settlements in each area. This patterned diversity allows for the development of a theoretical model which links the archaeological signatures of Inca control to a set of imperial strategies pursued in the negotiation between state interests and practical limitations. More precise spatial modeling of pre-Inca political boundaries allows for a better understanding of the way the physical landscape structured local political boundaries. A valley by valley explanation of Inca administration reveals that each of the primary Inca sites functioned as the central element of an imperial control strategy oriented about the larger area. What results is a detailed, comprehensive patchwork of Inca imperial modalities, with recognizable material signatures, potentially applicable to the wider Andean sphere. iii This dissertation of Kevin Bassett Hill is approved. Stella Elise Nair Gregson T. Schachner Teofilo F. Ruiz Lawrence S. Coben Charles S. Stanish, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2020 iv To Areli, Ektor, and Nikolás. v Table of Contents List of Tables and Figures…………………………………………………..…………………vii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………...…...…….………..xiii Vita………………………………………………………..………………………………….….xv CHAPTER ONE Project Introduction……………………………………………….………...1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 Structure…………………………………………………………………………….……..7 CHAPTER TWO The Inca Empire and the Late Intermediate Period………….....………10 Ancient States and Empires………………………………………………..…………….10 The Inca Empire………………………………………………………………………….16 Regional Perspectives on the Late Intermediate Period and the Inca……………………26 Models of Inca Imperialism in the Highlands and Along the Coast……………………..32 CHAPTER THREE Cañete: Ethnohistory, Culture History, and Archaeology…………...41 Primary Study Area: Cañete/Lunahuaná, South-Central Coast, Peru…………………...41 Documentary Sources……………………………………………………………………43 Archaeological Research………………...………………………………………………58 CHAPTER FOUR Archaeological Reconnaissance: Cañete (and Chincha)…...…………..72 Introduction…………………………………………………………......………….……72 Middle Valley Cañete (Lunahuaná)………………………………………..……………72 Cerro Suero………………………………………………………………….…..78 Cantagallo……………….………………………………………………………80 Huajil………………………….…………………………………………………82 Cruz Blanca……………………………………………..……………………….83 (Comparative Case) Middle Valley Chincha + Topará………….………………………93 Synthesis………………………………………………….…………,,………………….89 CHAPTER FIVE South-Central Peruvian Coast; Regional Model………..……...………102 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….102 vi Cañete in Context: Regional Overview………………………….……………..……....103 Tertius Gaudens: An Inca Imperial Strategy……………………………...……………125 Toward a Comprehensive Model……………………………………………………….127 CHAPTER SIX Spatial Model of Pre-Inca Polities; Inca Administration in Context……141 Modeling Late Intermediate Period Territories………………………...………………141 Ritual Landscape………………………………………………………………..………149 Chancay and Collique…………………………………………………………………..152 Rímac and Lurín………………………………………………………………………..157 Mala and Asia…………………………………………………………………………..164 Cañete and Chincha…………………………………………………………………….168 CHAPTER SEVEN Discussion and Conclusion…………………………………………….177 Research Origins………………………………………….…………………………….177 Findings…………………………………………………………………...……………179 Broader Implications and Future Research……………………………………………..182 Appendix A: Polity Generation…………………………………...………………………….185 Appendix B: Site List………………………………………………………………………….202 Appendix C: Examples of Surface Ceramics from Lunahuaná………………..…………..211 References……………………………………………………...………………………………219 vii List of Tables and Figures Figure 1-1: Geography of Peru and surrounding nations………….……………………………..2 Figure 1-2: View of middle valley Cañete (Lunahuaná) landscape………………………………5 Figure 1-3: Inca Empire (outlined in blue) and important regional centers……………………...9 Figure 2-1: Schematic illustrating the concept of decision-making levels………………………13 Figure 2-2: The Four Quarters of the Inca Realm……………………...…….…………………17 Figure 2-3: Examples of Inca masonry from the Cusco area……………………………………21 Figure 2-4: Inca structures at Cusco, Pisac, and Ollantaytambo……………………………….21 Figure 2-5: Graphic representation of Andean horizons and intermediate periods…………….24 Figure 2-6: Graphic visualization of the classic model of Inca imperialism……………..……..26 Figure 2-7: Inca fortifications at Ollantaytambo near Cusco…………………………..……….30 Figure 2-8: Two satellite views of Cañete showing the ecological zones………..………..…….33 Figure 3-1: Study area: Lower and middle Cañete drainage outlined in green…………….…..42 Figure 3-2: Image illustrating differences between climate, production, and architecture……..42 Figure 3-3: “Sketch of the Ancient Huarco Valley” following Larrabure y Unanue……...……45 Figure 3-4: Important lower valley LIP/LH sites in Cañete……………………………………..48 Figure 3-5: Landscape of Lunahuaná. View west downriver……… ……………………………49 Figure 3-6: Inca ashlar masonry atop Cerro Centinela…………………………………………51 Figure 3-7: “Ancient Inca Fortress of Hervay at the mouth of the Río de Cañete”…………….53 Figure 3-8: A view to the east atop the Fortress of Ungará, lower valley Cañete………………53 Figure 3-9: View northwest of Cancharí, lower valley Cañete………………………………….55 Figure 3-10: Ancient wall at the Late Horizon site, Cruz Blanca……………………….………56 Figure 3-11: Huaca Daris near Pacarán in the Lunahuaná valley……………………………..57 Figure 3-12: Adobe architecture with trapezoidal niches……………………………………….57 Figure 3-13: A typical oblong, mostly-subterranean, stone-lined late period tomb…………….58 viii Figure 3-14: La Toma, an Inca settlement near the lower end of Lunahuaná…………………..60 Figure 3-15: A portion of the extensive andenes (stone-lined agricultural terraces)……...……62 Figure 3-16: View northwest from the valley rim toward the Inca settlement, Cantagallo……..63 Figure 3-17: Portions of Inca roads in Lunahuaná……………………………………………..64 Figure 3-18: Inca colcas above the site of San Marcos near Pacarán in Lunahuaná…………..65 Figure 3-19: Satellite image of Cerro del Padre a large Late Intermediate Period site……..…67 Figure 3-20: Inca colca compounds on a hillside above the site of Patapampa……….………..69 Figure 4-1: Landscape of Lunahuaná……………..…………………………………………….73 Table 4-1: Settlement zones and Inca site types…………………………………………………73 Table 4-2: Select important sites in Cañete middle valley………………………...…………….74 Figure 4-2: Major quebradas in the middle Cañete valley…………..………………………….75 Figure 4-3: Major sites with Late Intermediate Period occupations in Zone 2………..………..76 Figure 4-4: Massive curtain wall surrounding the peak of Cerro Pascua………………..……..76 Figure 4-5: Inca sites in the middle valley, Cañete (Lunahuaná)……………………………….77 Figure 4-6: Plan of the main Inca plazas and surrounding structures at Cerro Suero……..…..78 Figure 4-7: Cerro Suero: architecture and recovered artifacts……………...………………….79 Figure 4-8: Cerro Suero: architecture and view of surrounding landscape………….......……..79 Figure 4-9: Plan of the main Inca sector at Cantagallo…………..…………..………..……….80 Figure 4-10: Cantagallo: grinding stones and view up quebrada Cantagallo………………….80 Figure 4-11: Cantagallo: architecture and surrounding landscape…………………………….81 Figure 4-12: Satellite image of Cantagallo showing definite Inca sector……………………….81 Figure 4-13: Plan of two Inca sectors at Huajil…………………………………………………82 Figure 4-14: Huajil: architecture and surrounding landscape………………………………….83 Figure 4-15: Plan of the main Inca plazas at Cruz Blanca……………………………………...83 Figure 4-16: Cruz Blanca: architecture and surrounding landscape………...…………………84 Figure 4-17: Cruz Blanca: architecture and surrounding landscape…………………………...85 Figure 4-18: Huancor I a large LIP/LH site in the upper part of the Chincha middle valley…..86