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The dissertation of Valerie Anne Andrushko is approved.
_____________________________________________
Katharina Schreiber
_____________________________________________
Michael Jochim
_____________________________________________
Phillip L. Walker, Committee Chair
June 2007
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The Bioarchaeology of Inca Imperialism in the Heartland:
An Analysis of Prehistoric Burials from the Cuzco Region of Peru
Copyright © 2007
by
Valerie A. Andrushko
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Dedication
This dissertation is dedicated to:
My mother, Joann Andrushko
and
the memory of my father, Donald Andrushko,
with love and admiration
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Acknowledgments
This thesis represents the culmination of a journey I began many years ago as
a UC Berkeley undergraduate, under the tutelage of Tim D. White. Tim White
introduced me to the subjects that would become my future career—osteology,
bioarchaeology, and paleopathology; yet more than anything, he instructed me
through his dedication, commitment to scientific integrity, and demands for
excellence. For his guidance and support, I am forever grateful. Yohannes Haile-
Selassie also deserves accolades for his unending patience in the Human Osteology
class—a class notorious for driving students to unexplored heights of stress, but one
well worth the sleepless nights.
Several other individuals at Berkeley guided me in important ways. Christine
Hastorf played a crucial role in launching my career in Andean archaeology and was
always available for advice and encouragement. Kent Lightfoot, my professor for
Introduction to Archaeology, regaled us with hilarious tales of fieldwork yet also
studiously provided a foundation in archaeological method and theory. Barb Voss and
Laura Scheiber have remained friends long after leaving Berkeley, as has Walter
Hartwig, a great person to have in your corner. In a fortunate coincidence, Clark
Larsen spent a semester at Berkeley as a visiting professor during my time as an
undergraduate, and I heartily thank him for his wisdom and generosity. At UC
Berkeley’s Hearst Museum, Leslie Freund, Ann Olney, and Joan Knudson have my
sincerest gratitude for all their help. I am also indebted to Robert Jurmain for
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“adopting” me as a student and selflessly assisting me throughout the job search
process.
No acknowledgments section of mine would be complete without highlighting
the contributions of Steve Silliman and his crew: Julie Bernard, Jon Goodrich, and
Linda Ziegenbein, among many others. Working on Steve’s dissertation project at the
Petaluma Adobe, I gained archaeological and managerial skills, took part in an
impressive bucket brigade, heard far too many bad puns, and made life-long friends.
To my dear friends at Archeo-Tec, I am grateful for the personal and professional
support: Viviana Bellifemine, Anna Engberg, Cara Stimpson, Kate Latham, and Julie
Kirkenslager, and a special thank you to Allen Pastron for offering me a life-changing
opportunity. I would also like to recognize Randy Wiberg, Alisa Reynolds, and Eric
Bartelink for their keen interest in advancing the field of California bioarchaeology
and generous data sharing.
In shifting from California to Andean archaeology, I was welcomed by a host
of people during my first field season in 1998, including Brian Billman, Carol
Mackey, Alana Cordy-Collins, John Verano, Kathy Forgey, Lisa Trever, Kit Nelson,
Carie Moreno, Tiffiny Tung, Bonnie Yoshida, and Jason Toohey. Since that time,
I’ve made a number of great friends in Andean archaeology, and to my colleagues far
and wide, I thank you for the stimulating conversations and always enjoyable
conference meetings: Deborah Blom, Kenneth Nystrom, Tiffiny Tung, Bethany
Turner, Nicole Slovak, Melissa Murphy, Kelly Knudson, Carrie Anne Berryman,
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Maria Bruno, Alexei Vranich, John Janusek, Larry Coben, Brian Bauer, Alan Covey,
and Steve Kosiba.
This thesis would not be possible without the support of Gordon McEwan,
director of the Chokepukio project. I am grateful to Gordon for recognizing my
commitment and entrusting me with the osteological research project at Chokepukio.
Hearty thanks also go to the many individuals I have worked with at Chokepukio over
the years: Melissa Chatfield, Kenny Maes, Sheldon Baker, Liliana Zarabia, Froilan
Iturriaga, Paul Steele, Sara Block, Beth Turner, and the people of Huacarpay. At the
Cotocotuyoc project, I’ve been warmly welcomed by Mary Glowacki, Nicolasa
Arredondo, Louis Tesar, Silvana Rosenfeld, and Julie-Anne White, and I have greatly
enjoyed their fascinating project. Thanks to the Velasco family for their hospitality
over several years in Cuzco and for our stays at Rumichaca, a small piece of heaven
on earth in Urubamba.
This project was made possible through funds from the National Science
Foundation (Dissertation Improvement Grant #0424213), Wenner-Gren Foundation
(Individual Research Grant #7283), and the Graduate Division at UC Santa Barbara. I
would like to recognize Mark Weiss at NSF and Mary Beth Moss at Wenner-Gren for
their time and patience. Jenny Sheffield and the incredible people at ISBER provided
crucial assistance in administering these grants at UC Santa Barbara.
In pursuing my dissertation fieldwork, no person could ask for a better
collaborator than Elva Torres at the INC-Cuzco. Elva selflessly worked to assist me
in my dissertation data collection and quickly became a friend, mentor, and family
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At UC Santa Barbara, Phillip Walker has created a comprehensive and
dynamic bioarchaeology program with enormous peer support. I offer my sincerest
thanks to Phil for his tireless support as my committee chair and to Christina Torres-
Rouff and Michele Buzon, who have served as editors, sounding boards, and great
friends. To Jacqueline Eng, I am so glad to have gone through this program together.
And a hearty thank you to Walkerlab members past and present, I’m proud to be a
part of this group: Pat Lambert, Susan Kerr, Ed Hagen, Corina Kellner, Bonnie
Yoshida, Christina Torres-Rouff, Michele Buzon, Jacqueline Eng, Kaethin Prizer,
Rhonda Bathurst, Rebecca Richman, Susan Kuzminsky, and Sabrina Sholts.
Finally, my family and friends have been an invaluable source of support
through good times and bad, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart: Andrea
Rane, Hillary Haldane, Sarah Abraham, Nicole Hess, Julie Afflerbaugh, Barbara
Richmond, Jillian Wehner, Andrew Mikail, the Gabus family, Francine Mendlin,
Joyce Mendlin, Marc and Robin Errichetti, Deborah Andrushko, and my mother,
Joann Andrushko. And lastly, I’d like to acknowledge my father, Donald Andrushko,
who taught his daughters independence and a deep commitment to both work and
family. I hope this dissertation serves as a testament to his legacy.
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CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS2007 Andrushko, Valerie A., and Viviana Bellifemine
“Osteological Analysis at Cotocotuyoc, Peru: A Study of Health andTrauma from the Middle Horizon – Late Intermediate PeriodTransition in the Cuzco Region.” Invited symposium participant atthe 72st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology,Austin, Texas.
2007 Andrushko, Valerie A. , Michele R. Buzon, Antonio Simonetti, andRobert A. Creaser“Strontium Isotope Evidence for Prehistoric Migration in the Valleyof Cuzco, Peru: A Diachronic Study of Pre-Inca and IncaPopulations.” Paper presented at the 76st Annual Meeting of theAmerican Association of Physical Anthropologists, Philadelphia.
Abstracted in American Journal of Physical Anthropology,Supplement 44:64.
2007 Viviana Bellifemine, Valerie A. Andrushko, Anna Engberg, andAllen Pastron“Demographic Analysis of Burials from CA-CCo-235: PossibleCauses for an Overrepresentation of Infants.” Invited symposium
participant at the 41st Annual Meeting of the Society for CaliforniaArchaeology, San Jose.
2006 Andrushko, Valerie A. , Elva C. Torres Pino, and Viviana
Bellifemine“The Tombs of Sacsahuaman: A Bioarchaeological Analysis of EliteBurials from the Capital of the Inca Empire.” Paper presented at the71st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, SanJuan, Puerto Rico.
2005 Gibaja, Arminda, Gordon F. McEwan, and Valerie A. Andrushko “Excavating a Capacoccha Sacrifice in Cuzco.” Paper presented atthe 45th Annual Meeting of the Institute of Andean Studies,Berkeley.
2003 Gjerdrum, Thor, Phillip L. Walker, and Valerie A. Andrushko “Humeral Retroversion: An Activity Pattern Index in PrehistoricSouthern California.” Poster presented at the 72th Annual Meeting ofthe American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Tempe,Arizona. Abstracted in American Journal of Physical Anthropology,Supplement 36:100.
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2002 Bellifemine, Viviana, Valerie A. Andrushko , and Allen G. Pastron“Inter-Disciplinary Analysis of Differential Funerary Treatment at aBay Miwok Burial Site, CA-CCO-235.” Paper presented at the 32ndAnnual Meeting of the Society for California Archaeology, San
Diego.
2000 Andrushko, Valerie A. , Alana Cordy-Collins, and Gordon F.McEwan“Early Intermediate Period Burials at Chokepukio, Peru: PreliminaryResults from the 1999 Osteological Research Project.” Paper
presented at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Institute of AndeanStudies, Berkeley.
2000 Andrushko, Valerie A. , Diane L. Grady, Kate A. Latham, and AllenG. Pastron
“Trophy-Taking of Postcranial Skeletal Elements from the RubinoSite in Central California.” Poster presented at the 69th AnnualMeeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists,San Antonio, Texas. Abstracted in American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Supplement 30:97.
TEACHINGUCSB Instructor of Record Summer 2006 Teaching Associate, Introduction to Physical Anthropology
Lead Teaching Assistant2006-07 UCSB Anthropology Department
Teaching AssistantSpring 2006 Introduction to Physical Anthropology, UCSBWinter 2006 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, UCSBFall 2005 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, UCSB
ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELDWORK1999-2006 Chokepukio Burial Excavations, Cuzco, Peru 1998 CA-SCl-674 Rubino Site Burial Excavations, San Jose1998 CISA Advanced Field School, Moche Valley, Peru1997-98 Petaluma Adobe Archaeological Project, Petaluma, CA
1997 UC Berkeley Tel Dor Archaeological Expedition, Israel1996 Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Field School
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPSAmerican Association of Physical AnthropologistsSociety for American ArchaeologySociety for California Archaeology
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Abstract
The Bioarchaeology of Inca Imperialism in the Heartland:An Analysis of Prehistoric Burials from the Cuzco Region of Peru
by Valerie Anne Andrushko
Though much is known about the Inca Empire from Spanish colonial
documents, few studies have used skeletal data to examine the biological effects of
the empire in its capital region. This dissertation addresses the impact of Inca
imperialism on local Cuzco populations through the analysis of 855 skeletons from 11
sites. These sites span a temporal range from the Early Intermediate Period (200 BC-
AD 700) through the Late Horizon (AD 1476-1532), allowing an investigation into
biological changes related to the rise of the Inca Empire.
The results reveal significant differences between pre-Inca and Inca
populations in four categories—health and disease, trauma, cranial vault
modification, and strontium isotope values. Regarding health, both joint disease and
osteoperiostitis increased from pre-Inca to Inca times. Moreover, these pathological
conditions differed by location: while joint disease was more common in inner-
periphery populations, osteoperiostitis was more widespread in core populations,
highlighting the influence of dissimilar living environments. Overall, the combined
data from non-specific stress markers indicate that both core and inner-peripheral populations were relatively “unstressed”; these results also reveal that core
populations displayed no substantial health benefits from residence in the capital.
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Trauma patterns suggest that violent conflict rose during the period of Inca
state development; subsequently, in the Late Horizon violent conflict apparently
predominated in the inner-peripheral regions outside the capital city. Cranial trauma
also appears to have prompted the use of trepanation as a medical treatment, a finding
that corroborates other studies pointing to cranial trauma as a primary cause for the
surgical procedure.
Following the rise of the Inca Empire, cranial vault modification—indicative
of group affiliation—is seen more frequently in the inner periphery than in the core,
suggesting the migration of different ethnic groups into the areas around the capital
city. Strontium isotope analysis confirms the presence of migrants in the Cuzco
Valley during the time of Inca imperialism, based on the identification of a number of
non-local individuals at the site of Chokepukio. These studies accord with evidence
from colonial documents, demonstrating that migration—possibly state-coerced—
played a key role in influencing the composition of Cuzco populations.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ___________________________________________________ v
Abstract __________________________________________________________xiii
Table of Contents __________________________________________________ xv
List of Tables______________________________________________________ xxi
List of Figures ____________________________________________________ xxiii
Chapter 1. Introduction ______________________________________________ 1
The Bioarchaeological Approach ____________________________________ 2
The Present Study_________________________________________________ 3
Structure of the Dissertation ________________________________________ 4
Chapter 2. Ecological and Archaeological Background of the Cuzco Region __ 6
Environment and Ecology of the Cuzco Region_________________________ 6
Andean Chronology _______________________________________________ 7
The Inca Empire __________________________________________________ 9
Archaeology of the Cuzco Region ___________________________________ 13
Pre-Ceramic Period (9000 to 1800 BC) ______________________________ 14
Initial Period/Early Horizon/Early Intermediate Period (1800 BC to AD 700) 14
Middle Horizon (AD 700-1000) ____________________________________ 15
Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1400)____________________________ 15
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Inca Imperial Period/Late Horizon (AD 1400-1532) ____________________ 18
Osteological Studies in the Cuzco Region_____________________________ 24
Chapter 3. The Bioarchaeology of Inca Imperialism: Theoretical Considerations
and Hypotheses ____________________________________________________ 27
Empires - Theoretical Considerations _______________________________ 27
Biological Consequences of Empires_________________________________ 32
Skeletal Indications of Imperial Consequences ________________________ 36
Health and Disease ______________________________________________ 36
Trauma _______________________________________________________ 38
Ethnic Identity and Migration______________________________________ 40
Cranial Vault Modification________________________________________ 43
Bone Chemistry ________________________________________________ 44
Research Questions and Hypotheses_________________________________ 46
Chapter 4. Materials and Methods ____________________________________ 50
The Sample _____________________________________________________ 50
Accumulation of Study Sample- Research Design______________________ 50
Sampling Strategy_______________________________________________ 51
Sampling Challenges ____________________________________________ 56
Site Description- Core Sites _______________________________________ 59
Site Description- Peripheral Sites ___________________________________ 67
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Methods of Data Collection ________________________________________ 76
Age Assessment ________________________________________________ 76
Sex Determination ______________________________________________ 78
Analysis of Health Indicators ______________________________________ 79
Trauma _______________________________________________________ 86
Analysis of Commingled Remains __________________________________ 87
Cultural Modification ____________________________________________ 90
Strontium Isotope Analysis________________________________________ 92
Chapter 5. Demography _____________________________________________ 94
Paleodemographic Analysis ________________________________________ 94
Limits to Demographic Interpretation _______________________________ 95
Results of Demographic Analysis ___________________________________ 96
Sex Distribution ________________________________________________ 96
Age Distribution ________________________________________________ 97
Discussion_______________________________________________________ 99
Implications of Differential Age Distributions_________________________ 99
Implications of Differential Sex Distributions ________________________ 101
Case Study: Sacsahuaman________________________________________ 103
Conclusions___________________________________________________ 105
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Chapter 6. Health, Occupational Stress, and Trauma ___________________ 107
Non-Specific Stress Indicators_____________________________________ 107
Linear Enamel Hypoplasias ______________________________________ 108
Cranial Porosities ______________________________________________ 110
Osteoperiostitis ________________________________________________ 114
Stunted Femoral Growth_________________________________________ 116
Discussion of Non-Specific Stress Indicators_________________________ 119
Joint Disease ___________________________________________________ 123
Appendicular Joint Disease_______________________________________ 123
Spinal Joint Disease ____________________________________________ 127
Discussion of Joint Disease ______________________________________ 130
Trauma__________________________________________________________ 131
Cranial Trauma ________________________________________________ 133 Postcranial Trauma _____________________________________________ 139
Discussion of Trauma ___________________________________________ 143
Conclusion _____________________________________________________ 150
Chapter 7. Trepanation in the Cuzco Region___________________________ 153
Introduction____________________________________________________ 153
Previous Trepanation Analyses in the Cuzco Region __________________ 154
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Results ________________________________________________________ 156
Shape, Size, and Location________________________________________ 157
Trepanation Methods ___________________________________________ 159
Healing, Infection, and Trauma ___________________________________ 161
Demography __________________________________________________ 163
Geographic and Temporal Distributions_____________________________ 165
Discussion______________________________________________________ 167
Trepanation and Medical Treatment in Prehistoric Cuzco _______________ 167
Motivations for Trepanation ______________________________________ 169
Conclusion _____________________________________________________ 173
Chapter 8. Chokepukio Strontium Isotope Analysis_____________________ 175
Strontium Isotope Analysis in the Andes ____________________________ 176
Results ________________________________________________________ 178
Possible Influence of Food Importation and Preparation ________________ 183
Discussion______________________________________________________ 184
Implications of Pre-Late Horizon Results____________________________ 184
State-Directed Migration in the Late Horizon ________________________ 185
Sex Differences among Chokepukio Migrants________________________ 188
Conclusions ____________________________________________________ 190
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Chapter 9. Cranial Vault Modification________________________________ 192
Cranial Vault Modification in the Andes ____________________________ 193
Results ________________________________________________________ 197
Discussion______________________________________________________ 203
Conclusion _____________________________________________________ 210
Chapter 10. Summary and Conclusion________________________________ 212
Summary of Results _____________________________________________ 212
Demography __________________________________________________ 212
Health, Trauma, and Occupational Stress____________________________ 213
Trepanation ___________________________________________________ 216
Strontium Isotope Analysis_______________________________________ 216
Cranial Modification____________________________________________ 217
Research Hypotheses and Results __________________________________ 218
Hypothesis #1 _________________________________________________ 218
Hypothesis #2 _________________________________________________ 218
Hypothesis #3 _________________________________________________ 219
Hypothesis #4 _________________________________________________ 220
Future Research ________________________________________________ 220
Appendix: Data Tables and Figures __________________________________ 223
References Cited __________________________________________________ 238
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List of Tables
Table 2.1. Andean chronology.......................................................................................8
Table 2.2. Inca dynastic succession ............................................................................19
Table 3.1. Hypotheses regarding health impacts of Inca consolidation ......................47
Table 3.2. Hypotheses regarding evidence for violent injury......................................47
Table 3.3. Hypotheses regarding evidence for cranial modification ...........................48
Table 3.4. Hypotheses regarding strontium ( 87Sr/ 86Sr) isotopic analysis ....................49
Table 4.1. Sites included in the sample........................................................................51
Table 4.2. Skeletal material by time period and sample size.......................................55
Table 5.1. Sex distribution of the Cuzco sites .............................................................97
Table 5.2. Age distribution of the Cuzco sites.............................................................98
Table 6.1. Hypoplastic lesions by tooth type.............................................................110
Table 6.2. Femur length descriptive statistics- entire sample (in mm)......................117
Table 6.3. Late Horizon femur length by location (in mm).......................................119
Table 6.4. Percentage of elements showing slight or pronounced SJD.....................129
Table 6.5. Juvenile rib fractures.................................................................................142
Table 7.1. Trepanned individuals in the Cuzco sample.............................................156
Table 7.2. Number of trepanations per cranium ........................................................157
Table 7.3. Area of trepanned perforations by time period (in cm 2)...........................158
Table 7.4. Age distribution of trepanned individuals ................................................164
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Table 7.5. Survival rates of trepanation over time.....................................................167
Table 8.1. Chokepukio 87Sr/ 86Sr values by temporal phase.......................................181
Table 9.1. Age distribution of juveniles with cranial modification ...........................199
Table 9.2. Distribution of CVM types by time period...............................................200
Table 9.3. Distribution of Late Horizon CVM types by location ..............................202
Table 9.4. Strontium ( 87Sr/ 86Sr) values by cranial vault modification type...............203
Table A.1. Linear enamel hypoplasias by site ...........................................................223
Table A.2. Cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis cases by site............................224
Table A.3. Frequency of osteoperiostitis by bone with healing data.........................225
Table A.4. Joint disease by element with information on severity............................226
Table A.5. Cranial trauma cases by site.....................................................................227
Table A.6. Distribution of long bone trauma by element ..........................................228
Table A.7. Trepanation by site...................................................................................229
Table A.8. Individuals analyzed for strontium study with samples in ascending order
of 87Sr/ 86Sr value............................................................................................230
Table A.9. Chokepukio dental enamel strontium samples by time period ................232
Table A.10. Summary statistics of Chokepukio strontium datasets ..........................233
Table A.11. Cranial vault modification by site..........................................................234
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List of Figures
Figure 4.1. Map of Cuzco sites ....................................................................................53
Figure 5.1. Age distribution of the combined sample..................................................99
Figure 5.2. Sex distribution by site ............................................................................102
Figure 6.1. Degenerative joint disease by age category.............................................125
Figure 6.2. Spinal joint disease by age ......................................................................130
Figure 6.3. Histogram of fracture size by area (cm 2).................................................136
Figure 6.4. Cranial trauma by time period and location ............................................139
Figure 6.5. Long bone fractures by age .....................................................................141
Figure 6.6. Juvenile rib fractures in Kanamarca infant.............................................143
Figure 7.1. Individual with seven trepanations..........................................................157
Figure 7.2. Rectangular incised trepanation- unhealed..............................................160
Figure 7.3. Excised bone from trepanation with cutmarks ........................................161
Figure 7.4. Circular trepanation- unhealed ................................................................162
Figure 7.5. Perimortem trepanation with fractured inferior border ...........................163
Figure 7.6. Age distribution of the trepanned individuals .........................................165
Figure 8.1. Regional distribution of biologically available 87Sr/ 86Sr values
from sites in the Andes ..................................................................................178
Figure 8.2. Scatterplot of Chokepukio human enamel 87Sr/ 86Sr values
showing the presence of several possible migrant individuals ......................179
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Chapter 1. Introduction
In this dissertation, skeletal data are used to investigate the biological impacts
of the Inca Empire in the capital region of Cuzco, Peru. The Inca Empire rose to
unparalleled heights in the New World during the 15 th century: in less than 100 years,
the Inca conquered a wide territory of Andean South America, instituting a system of
governing policies to control populations under their realm. This study reveals the
biological effects of these policies on local populations living in and around the
imperial capital.
To investigate these effects, human skeletal remains have been analyzed for
patterns pertaining to health, trauma, group affiliation through cranial modification,
and indications of migration from biogeochemical analyses. Health, as impacted by
malnutrition, disease, and physical labor, is assessed through paleopathological
analyses of skeletal and dental conditions. The frequency of these pathological
conditions is used to measure the influence of imperial consolidation and expansion
on health. In addition, analysis of traumatic injuries provides a basis for assessing the
role of warfare in the rise of the Inca Empire. Cranial vault modification—an
indication of affiliation among ancient Andean groups—is examined for spatial and
temporal patterns, while strontium isotope results are presented to document state-
directed migration in the Cuzco region.
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A unique aspect of this research, which distinguishes it from other Andean
bioarchaeological studies, is the focus on health in the Inca heartland of Cuzco.
Recent studies have explored imperial influence in provincial regions (e.g., Murphy
2004; Nystrom 2005; Torres-Rouff 2003), yet until now the Cuzco area has not been
the subject of a regional bioarchaeological analysis. The current project addresses this
void with a study of skeletal collections from 11 sites distributed throughout the
Cuzco region.
The Bioarchaeological Approach
Bioarchaeology, the study of human remains and associated archaeological
materials, is the ideal approach for the present research. In this type of study, relevant
data are derived directly from skeletal remains of the people themselves, and
contextualized using information from archaeological studies of artifacts and
mortuary treatment. Human remains provide a wealth of evidence to better
understand diet, health and disease, warfare, social status, and population movements
(Buzon et al. 2005; Larsen 1997). Additionally, the interaction of culture and biology
can be investigated through analyses of body modification practices, such as
intentional head shaping (Torres-Rouff 2003:6).
Multidisciplinary in nature, bioarchaeology incorporates methods from
medicine, forensic science, archaeology, cultural anthropology, geochemistry, and
biological anthropology. In using a demographic approach with large sample sizes,
bioarchaeologists can reconstruct disease frequencies on a populational—rather than
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individual—level; this approach is appropriate for understanding large-scale, regional
phenomena in past cultures (Armelagos and Van Gerven 2003).
The independence of bioarchaeological data from written accounts is one of
its greatest strengths; much of our current information on Inca Cuzco comes from
Spanish chronicles, yet many of these accounts are suspected of inaccuracy and
cultural biases (Covey 2003:334; Urton 1990). Skeletal studies can be used to identify
and correct some of these inconsistencies in the ethnohistoric record. For example,
while many accounts highlight Inca warfare as a main component of imperial control,
some researchers question whether Spanish chroniclers exaggerated these claims.
Perhaps, as suggested by Morris (1998:304), the chroniclers interpreted Inca
expansion based on their own ethnocentric notions of conquest and thus overstated
the importance of Inca warfare. Skeletal analysis provides the means to address this
question, by documenting the frequency of interpersonal violence and how it changed
with the advent of Inca imperialism.
The Present Study
To address questions of the Inca Empire’s influence on health and warfare, I
analyzed burials from 11 sites in the Cuzco region of Peru. These sites are distributed
throughout the department of Cuzco at a distance of 0.2 km to 147.5 km from the
Plaza de Armas in the city of Cuzco (Figure 4.1). For analysis, the sites were divided
into two groups: a “core” group, consisting of four sites in and immediately around
the city of Cuzco, and a “periphery” group, consisting of seven sites greater than 30
km from Cuzco. This “core”/ “periphery” distinction loosely follows the inner Inca
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heartland/outer Inca heartland division illustrated by Farrington (1992), though the
sites of Aqnapampa in the Quiquijana Valley and Kanamarca in Espinar province lie
outside of the defined Inca heartland (within c. 70 km of the city of Cuzco [Farrington
1992:368]). The sites are only separated into two groups—rather than further dividing
the periphery group—to allow robust sample sizes yielding statistically significant
results. This bipartite division facilitates comparisons based on distance from the
imperial capital, and reduces the likelihood of overlooking nuances that could occur
by combining all the sites into a single group.
From these 11 sites, 855 burials were examined for data on age, sex, dental
and skeletal pathological conditions, trauma, trepanation, and cranial vault
modification. In addition, 59 human teeth from the site of Chokepukio were analyzed
for strontium isotopic ratios at the University of Alberta, the results of which are
presented in Chapter 8. When considered together, the conclusions from this research
broaden our knowledge of the impact of governing strategies, warfare, and migration
on local Cuzco populations under Inca rule.
Structure of the Dissertation
In Chapter 2, I describe the environment of the Cuzco region, along with a
review of previous archaeological investigations that have been conducted there.
Chapter 3 presents theoretical considerations of empires and their subsequent impact
on health and cultural identity, followed by an explanation of the research hypotheses
and data expectations of the present study. In Chapter 4, the study sample is described
with archaeological information on the 11 sites in the sample, along with the methods
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Chapter 2. Ecological and Archaeological Background of the Cuzco
Region
This chapter presents ecological and archaeological information on the Inca
Empire as a foundation for the present study. First, the Cuzco highland environment
is described with data on important resources for the Inca. Second, archaeological and
ethnohistoric evidence are examined for information on Inca imperial strategies.
Finally, previous osteological studies in the Cuzco region are detailed to provide a
comparative basis for the present study.
Environment and Ecology of the Cuzco Region
Located in the south-central Andes at a latitude of 13 degrees south, the Cuzco
region is situated in a highland ecozone well-suited for plant cultivation. The Cuzco
Valley stretches 40 km in length and is divided into three basins: Cuzco, Oropesa, and
Lucre, from northwest to southeast, respectively. The city of Cuzco sits in the
northwest corner of the Cuzco Basin at an elevation of 3,360 meters, flanked by the
Huatanay River and separated from the Yucay Valley by a series of hills to the east.
Modern precipitation patterns in Cuzco follow a six-month rainy period from
October through March (86% of the annual precipitation), and a drier period from
April to September (Wright et al. 2001). Inca agricultural schedules paralleled this
precipitation pattern, with planting in August and September and harvesting during
the months of April, May, and June (Rowe 1944:3). This climatic pattern has varied
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somewhat since the earliest human occupation of the Cuzco region, with climatic
perturbations evident in the Quelccaya and Marcacocha ice cores and sediment cores
from Lake Titicaca (Abbott et al. 1997; Bauer 2004; Chepstow-Lusty et al. 2003;
Kolata 1993:285; Thompson et al. 1985, 1988).
For the Inca, lands at lower elevations within the Cuzco and Urubamba
valleys proved ideal for maize agriculture, whereas the higher grasslands provided
space for potato cultivation and grazing areas for camelids. Besides land for
agriculture and grazing, the Cuzco area provided a number of important natural
resources for the Inca. High quality andesite, quarried from Rumicolca 35 km east of
Cuzco, was used to build the most important buildings in Cuzco (Ogburn 2004:104).
Salt came primarily from the nearby springs of Cachimayu outside of the village of
San Sebastián (Bauer 2004:7), but gold and silver had to be imported from areas to
the north and west (Vilcabamba and Chumbivilcas) (Rowe 1944).Resources from
other regions were brought into Cuzco through a well-defined network of roads
(Hyslop 1984).
Andean Chronology
The chronology of cultural developments in the Andean region is based on
large-scale changes in ceramic styles, with “horizons” defined as eras of stylistic
unity throughout a wide geographical area, and intermediate “periods” indicating
times of regional variation (Rowe 1960). The Early, Middle, and Late Horizons
correspond to the broad stylistic influences of the Chavin, Wari and Tiwanaku, and
Inca cultures, respectively, implying long-distance interactions that created
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similarities in material culture. For the intervening periods, cultural diversification
reflected a shift away from long-distance connections and supra-regional
organization. Decline of the Chavin influence was followed by regionalization in the
Early Intermediate Period, while the collapse of the Wari and Tiwanaku polities was
succeeded by Late Intermediate Period regionalization. The Late Horizon began in
AD 1476 with the appearance of imperial Inca ceramics in the Ica region of southern
coastal Peru (Rowe 1962; Rowe and Menzel 1967) (Table 2.1).
Table 2.1. Andean chronology
Period DatesLate Horizon AD 1476-1532Late Intermediate Period AD 1000-1476Middle Horizon AD 700-1000Early Intermediate Period 200 BC-AD 700Early Horizon 900-200 BCInitial Period 1800-900 BCPre-Ceramic Period To 1800 BC
This chronological scheme proves useful as a broad organization of Andean
prehistory, yet there are recognized challenges in its application (Conlee and Ogburn
2004:5; D’Altroy 2002:45-47; Rice 1993; Silverman 2004:11). While the reign of the
Inca Empire is generally considered synonymous with the Late Horizon, in Cuzco the
Inca imperial period actually began in the late stages of the Late Intermediate Period.
Accruing archaeological and radiocarbon data suggest an early 15 th century date for
the beginning of Inca expansion in Cuzco (Adamska and Michczynski 1996; Bauer
2004:12; Covey 2006a, 2006b:234; Gyarmati and Varga 1999:3), and so an initial
date of AD 1400 is used here to denote the Inca imperial period.
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The Inca Empire
At its height, the Inca Empire (AD 1400-1532) covered an area from Ecuador
through Peru and into Chile, northwest Argentina, and Bolivia. This region was
known as Tawantinsuyu, “the four parts together,” referring to the regional divisions
of Chinchaysuyu (northwest), Antisuyu (northeast), Collasuyu (southeast), and
Cuntisuyu (southwest).
Following initial solidification in the core of Cuzco, the Inca moved to
incorporate nearby Cuzco Valley groups but encountered resistance to their overt
occupation efforts (Bauer and Covey 2002; Covey 2003:346; Covey 2006b). Their
attempts to conquer neighboring groups eventually proved successful, and the Inca
subsequently expanded their strategies of conquest to include alliances and indirect
rule.
Each successive Inca ruler sought to further the reaches of the empire duringhis reign: Viracocha (deposed in 1438), Pachacuti (1438-1471), Topa Inca (1471-
1493), Huayna Capac (1493-1527), Huascar (1527-1532), and Atahuallpa (1532-
1533) (Rowe 1946:203). Viracocha first attempted to organize the areas around
Cuzco and led campaigns into the Lake Titicaca region (Rowe 1946:203-4). His son,
Pachacuti, is largely credited with constructing the capital city and consolidating
nearby regions, while his heir Topa Inca led conquests to the east of Cuzco, south into
Titicaca, and beyond to Bolivia, Chile, and northwest Argentina. Huayna Capac
furthered the Inca domain by integrating the southern region of Cochabamba and the
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northern areas of Chachapoya and Ecuador, eventually ruling from Tomebamba in
southern Ecuador. However, Inca expansion efforts were later hampered by
misfortune: Huayna Capac died suddenly from disease in his royal estate in Quito,
Ecuador, and his son succumbed as well (Cook 1998:76; Rowe 1946:208). The
subsequent period, marred by civil war between brothers Huascar and Atahuallpa,
ended with conquest by the Spanish and disease beginning in AD 1532 (Cook 1998;
Hemming 1970; Rowe 1946:209, 2006).
Politically, the Inca Empire functioned as a divine monarchy with regional
administrators and a military force focused on continual expansion. Cuzco served as
the locus of political power, from which the Inca wielded their authority through a
variety of imperial administrative policies (Rowe 1982; Stanish 2001:233). In an
analogy to Pax Romana, the Inca established a period of “ Pax Incaica,” a time of
unification and security with concomitant regional exploitation of labor and resources
(Kuznar 1996:7; Morris 1998:307).
Though the comparison to Pax Romana aptly illustrates the extent of Inca
power, it overlooks the nuances in their governing tactics. In actuality, the Inca
Empire employed a range of strategies incorporating militaristic, economic, political,
and ideological means (D’Altroy 1992). These flexible tactics cover a continuum
from military force with large-scale investment to subtler methods of control using
alliances and ideological persuasion. This approach, a “mosaic of control” (Schreiber
1992:62), depended on the location and level of complexity of the conquered
territory, resource exploitation potential, and possibility of revolt. Regional variation,
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power dynamics, and ideological interplay all contributed to how the policies of
control played out on the ground. Because of these variations, expansion
differentially affected the political structure and domestic economy of conquered
groups (Hastorf and D’Altroy 2001:22).
As a means of control through ideology, the Inca built upon the pan-Andean
principle of ancestor worship (Cieza de León 1985 [1553]; Cobo 1990 [1653];
Betanzos 1996 [1557]; Urton 1999:9). Ancestor worship was practiced in the Andes
for centuries before Inca expansion (Conrad and Demarest 1984:90; Cook 1992),
such as in the Preceramic Chinchorro culture of northern Chile, which created
elaborate mummies of children and adults (Arriaza 1995; Rivera 1995:63). In the
Nasca culture, tombs were reopened to collect bones for ancestor worship ceremonies
(Carmichael 1995:177), while evidence for ancestor worship in the Wari Empire
includes turquoise stone figurines (Cook 1992) and secondary burials in niched halls
(McEwan 1987:40; Topic and Topic 1992).
The Inca co-opted many of these religious tenets and rituals in their state
religion, which included an elite ancestor cult, temples for worship of the Sun, and
creation of a spatially distributed ceque system of shrines (Bauer 1998; Cobo 1990
[1653]; Conrad 1992; Conrad and Demarest 1984; Zuidema 1964). These shrines
included natural features such as caves, rocks, springs, and mountains, along with
places associated with deities and ancestors. To perpetuate the ancestor cult, Inca
rulers were embalmed, cared for as living entities, and displayed during ceremonial
events (Cobo 1990:40 [1653]; Betanzos 1996 [1557]:131; Niles 1999:47). Ancestors
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Capac, who emphasized great halls, oversized doorways, and doubled-jammed niches
(Niles 1999).
Much of the imperial Inca architecture was reportedly modeled after
Tiwanaku, seen as an exemplar of artistic and technical quality. As legend has it, the
emperor Pachacuti sent engineers to the Lake Titicaca region to study and emulate
Tiwanaku design (Gasparini and Margolies 1980:7). Many aspects of Inca urban
planning were thought to come from other cultures contacted during expansion: “The
monumentality of Wari, the grid plan of neighboring Pikillaqta, the compounds of
Chanchan, and the fine stonework of Tiwanaku probably contributed to the formation
of Inca expression” (Gasparini and Margolies 1980:44). However, a comprehensive
comparison of Tiwanaku and Inca architecture concluded that Inca stonemasonry did
not derive from Tiwanaku, but rather was an autochthonous creation (Protzen and
Nair 1997).
Archaeology of the Cuzco Region
The following section outlines the culture history of the Cuzco region, the
focus of study for the present analysis. Here, research from archaeological
investigations is presented to chart human occupation in the region from its earliest
inhabitants to the florescence of the Inca Empire. Settlement patterns, ceramic
typologies, and architectural trends are detailed to explore the corpus of knowledge
compiled through survey and excavation. Ethnohistorical evidence is also introduced
and evaluated as a major source of information on the development and expansion of
the Inca Empire.
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Pre-Ceramic Period (9000 to 1800 BC)
Recent survey and excavations have greatly increased the available
information on the Pre-ceramic Period in the Cuzco Valley, beginning around 9000
BC. Systematic surveys have revealed several sites that supported hunter-gatherer
habitation for thousands of years prior to permanent settlement in the Cuzco region
(Bauer 2004, 2007). Excavations at the site of Kasapata produced artifacts in the form
of obsidian and other lithics, faunal remains, and human burials of the earliest
occupants in the Cuzco region (Bauer 2007).
Initial Period/Early Horizon/Early Intermediate Period (1800 BC to AD 700)
During this time, the first large permanent villages were established (c. 1500
BC [Bauer 2004:39]). One well-known early settlement is the Marcavalle site, located
4 km southeast of the city of Cuzco (Chavez 1980). The site, though now nearly
destroyed (Bauer 2004:40), contained the remains of adobe structures along with
evidence of subsistence practices focused on herding, bean and corn cultivation, and
camelid and guinea pig domestication. Cuzco’s early settlements, such as Marcavalle,
were relatively self-sufficient, though networks of exchange did emerge as villages
developed local specialties (Chavez 1980:206, 259). These exchange networks,
involving trade in camelid meat, salt, ceramics, and obsidian, appear to have
functioned without a centralized administration.
Following Marcavalle in the ceramic sequence, Rowe (1944) identified the
succeeding Chanapata ceramic style from the type site of the same name, a style also
found at Minaspata, Chokepukio, and Mama Qolla (Dwyer 1971; McEwan 1989).
This style is associated with the earliest known architecture in the area, with low
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platforms, retaining walls, and straight-walled structures (as contrasted with the later
inclined-wall buildings) (Kendall 1985:352; Rowe 1944). The Derived Chanapata
style follows in the ceramic seriation around AD 100 (Bauer and Jones 2003:14;
Rowe 1944), during the time that a distinct settlement hierarchy emerged suggestive
of a small chiefdom society (Bauer 2004:45).
Middle Horizon (AD 700-1000)
In the Middle Horizon, the Wari Empire expanded from the central highlands
into the Cuzco region and established large settlements in the Lucre and Huaro
valleys (Glowacki 1996; McEwan 1987, 2005). Pikillacta, an enormous site laid out
in a rigid grid pattern, served as the Wari provincial capital in the empire’s
southeastern periphery (McEwan 1987, 1996:172), while at Huaro, evidence of a high
status cemetery along with several habitation sites provides an indication of the
intensive Wari occupation in the Huaro Basin (Glowacki 2002:269; Rowe 1956). The
Wari occupied the southeastern Cuzco area until approximately AD 1000, when
Pikillacta was abandoned before construction was completed (McEwan 1996:181;
McEwan et al. 2002:292). Wari influence is also evident in the large number of sites
found west of the Lucre Basin with Wari-affiliated ceramics (Bauer 2004:64),
indicating a shift in time from the earlier local Qotakalli ceramics to the later Wari-
influenced styles, such as Arahuay (Bauer 2004:68, see also Barreda 1973, 1995;
Bauer 1999; Bauer and Jones 2003:14; Lyon 1978; McEwan 1989:55).
Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1400)
During the Late Intermediate Period, factionalized polities engaged in regional
competition (Bauer and Covey 2002). Rowe (1944) determined that Killke, a ceramic
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functioned in consolidating and maintaining hierarchy through the Andean notions of
reciprocity and communal obligations (McEwan 1997). The Lucre-based polity used
the ability to requisition huge amounts of labor to construct monumental buildings at
Chokepukio, where evidence for ritual feasting includes artifacts such as luxury items
of metal, precious stones, and bone, along with polychrome vessels (McEwan et al.
1995).
Incorporating the archaeological data into a theoretical model of Inca origins,
McEwan and co-workers (2002) suggest that the consolidation of the Killke and
Lucre resulted in the genesis of the Inca polity. In contrast, Bauer and Covey (Bauer
1992, 2004; Bauer and Covey 2002; Covey 2003, 2006a,b) believe that the Lucre
polity was an important rival to the proto-Inca Killke polity, but eventually fell under
Inca domination. Despite the differences in these two interpretations, both emphasize
dynamic processes that led to the emergence of the Inca Empire. Far from being seen
as a “dark age,” the Late Intermediate Period was a time of creative innovation, from
which emerged the largest empire of the pre-Hispanic New World.
Inca Imperial Period/Late Horizon (AD 1400-1532)
The period of Inca imperialism in Cuzco is known primarily through
ethnohistoric documents, rather than archaeological data, for three main reasons.
First, modern urban construction has expanded to cover much of Cuzco city proper.
Second, the city suffered waves of destruction during Spanish conquest: the Spanish
dismantled sectors of Sacsahuaman and built a church over the Temple of the Sun
after stripping its walls of gold (MacCormack 2001a:342), while the Inca themselves
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burned the city when it was under Spanish siege in 1535 (Rowe 1967:59). Third, the
written records left by several chroniclers provide a detailed history of the daily life,
administrative workings, and imperial conquests of the Inca. They also detail the
dynastic succession of Inca kings, compiled by Rowe (1946) in “Inca Culture at the
Time of the Spanish Conquest” (Table 2.2). 1
Table 2.2. Inca dynastic succession (Rowe 1945, 1946:202-203)
Inca Ruler Possible Dates of ReignManco Capac
Sinchi RochaLloque YupanquiMayta CapacCapa YupanquiInca RocaYahuar Huacac
May be historical ormythical figures
Viracocha Deposed AD 1438Pachacuti Inca AD 1438-1471Topa Inca Yupanqui AD 1471-1493Huayna Capac AD 1493-1527Huascar AD 1527-1532Atahuallpa AD 1532-1533
Six Spanish chroniclers penned the most widely-read documents on the Inca
Empire. One of the earliest, a Spanish soldier named Cieza de León, traveled
throughout the region and recorded his observations in travel journals that became the
Crónica del Peru(1985 [1553]). Beginning explorations in 1547, Cieza’s work stands
as one of the most valuable sources on the Inca Empire. Though his devotion to
Catholicism may have biased his accounts of Inca religion, he praised the government
and administrative system. Cieza’s work is not chronologically oriented but rather
1 Accruing data suggest the twelve-ruler king list is an incomplete record of Inca sovereignty, based onarchaeological research and studies of Inca succession (Covey 2006a).
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organized as a detailed travelogue, describing each region and the pre-Inca
characteristics that endured into the Late Horizon. His informants were often older
men who created songs to record Inca history and important events—from these
accounts Cieza wrote three volumes focusing on the land and its people, Inca
civilization, and Spanish discovery and conquest.
Juan de Betanzos’ Suma y narracion de los Inca (1996 [1557]), commissioned
by the Viceroy of Peru, benefits from an intimate knowledge of Inca life due to his
marriage into the family of Atahuallpa in 1541. Betanzos had the unique distinction
of marrying an eyewitness to the Spanish conquest at Cajamarca, and drew on
testimony of Inca nobles for oral history and traditions. He became fluent in Quechua
and established personal relationships with many descendents of Inca nobility; as a
result, his account contains detailed knowledge of the Inca from the nobility’s
perspective. However, because of his marital affiliation to Pachacuti’s panaca,
Betanzos’ narrative is suspected of bias in skewing accounts of Atahuallpa’s actions.
He insisted that the first eight Inca rulers achieved little, while Pachacuti acted as the
catalyst for Inca success, a line of reasoning that legitimized Atahuallpa’s reign.
Born in 1539 to a Spanish conquistador and an Inca princess, Garcilaso de la
Vega spent the first 21 years of his life in Cuzco. His life in the capital city provided
material for Comentarios Reales de los Incas (1986 [1609]), a history of the Inca
Empire which he composed after traveling to Spain, his father’s homeland. Garcilaso
described two types of keepers of oral tradition, the amautas who transformed
historical events into short stories, and the harauicus who recorded these events in
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poems and songs (Niles 1999:7). With the use of these informants, Garcilaso
composed a thorough account of Inca history, with translations of songs and poems,
meditations on medicines, foods, and plants, and room-to-room descriptions of the
Temple of the Sun (Rowe 1944:34). Despite its value as a detailed reference,
Garcilaso’s account is considered Cuzco-centric and sympathetic to Huascar in the
Inca civil war, stating that his brother Atahuallpa was a blood-thirsty aggressor.
Notably, more than forty years passed between the time he left Peru and the
publication of his work (Rowe 1944:7).
Guaman Poma de Ayala’s main contribution is the roughly 400 drawings from
the Nueva Corónica y Buen Gobierno (1936 [1615]), along with descriptions of daily
Inca customs including norms of apparel, festivals, and administrative practices.
Guaman Poma was born in the province of Huamanga, Peru and trained by
ecclesiastical priests, which led him to join the ‘extirpation’ (literally, “to pull up by
its roots”) of indigenous idolatry. His chronicle includes a history of the dynastic
reign of Inca kings and queens, and their captains and noble ladies. Guaman Poma’s
account, addressed as a letter to the king of Spain, intended to show that the Inca had
a sophisticated system of government before the arrival of the Spanish, and illustrated
the extent of mistreatment the Inca suffered at the hands of the Spanish.
Sarmiento de Gamboa’s Historia de los Incas (2007 [1572]) contains an
account of Inca history—from origin myth to Spanish conquest—based on interviews
with 37 members of the 12 royal clans ( panacas). Following individual interviews,
Sarmiento called together all members to authenticate his text (Julien 2000:57).
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Sarmiento noted that, in lieu of writing, historical events were recorded on quipus
(knotted cords) and passed down from father to son (Niles 1999:14). In contrast to
Betanzos’ text supporting Pachacuti as the legitimate ruler, Sarmiento asserts that
Pachacuti took the “fringe” (Inca crown) without consent from his father Viracocha.
As mentioned earlier with Betanzos, Sarmiento’s account may be equally biased,
reflecting the Spanish agenda to invalidate Inca dynastic rule—Viceroy Toledo
commissioned Sarmiento’s text to justify Spanish conquest by portraying the Incas as
usurping tyrants (MacCormack 2001a:348; Niles 1999:16).
Jesuit priest Bernabe Cobo compiled information from previous chronicles,
supplemented with information from travels throughout Peru during twenty years of
missionary work, to create Historia del Nuevo Mundo(Cobo 1979 [1653], 1990
[1653]). The account synthesizes earlier chronicles including those from Garcilaso de
la Vega, José de Acosta, Cristobal de Molina, Pedro Pizarro, and Juan Polo de
Ondegardo, a colonial administrator of Cuzco intent on destroying royal Inca
mummies. Cobo’s work is considered one of the most reliable of the Spanish
chronicles, and presents a comprehensive description of Inca myths, religious beliefs,
and ceremonies (Urton 1999:31). Though admittedly impressed with Inca architecture
and craftsmanship, he also viewed Inca nobles as cruel and tyrannical, their subjects
victimized by an oppressive regime. Along with the six main chroniclers mentioned
here, other important Spanish chroniclers include Bartolome de las Casas, Miguel
Cabello de Balboa, Juan de Santacruz Pachacuti Yamqui Salcamaygua, and Martín de
Murúa.
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Though historic accounts provide a wealth of information, they must be read
in consideration of the intentions of their writers and commissioners (MacCormack
2001a:331). Varying agendas likely contributed to conflicting information, for
example, with regard to the role of warfare in the rise of the Inca Empire. Betanzos
and Sarmiento assert that Pachacuti led the Incas to victory over the Chanca (Julien
2000:222), a triumph that catapulted the Inca to the status of “the most powerful
people in the Andes” (Rowe 1946:204). In contrast, Cobo and Garcilaso place the
Chanca war one generation before at the end of Yahuar Huacac’s reign, a shift that
Rowe (1946:194) believed “distorted” the central history of the Incas. Julien
(2000:230) claims this discrepancy originates from different historical narratives,
with Cobo drawing from the ‘genealogical’ genre and Betanzos relying on the ‘life
history genre’.
Given these contradictions, which chroniclers—if any—should be literally
interpreted with regard to warfare and Pachacuti’s role in Inca emergence? Scholars
have noted that Spanish narratives often closely parallel European historical accounts,
and may have been inaccurately biased by Spanish historical tropes and a linear
chronological perspective that conflicts with the Inca worldview of cyclical time
(MacCormack 2001a). As a means to test assertions made in the chronicles,
osteological data provide an important line of evidence. Information from burials can
be used as a source independent of written accounts that complements archaeological
information derived from excavations.
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Osteological Studies in the Cuzco Region
Although archaeologists have worked in Cuzco since the early 1900s,
bioarchaeological analyses have not figured prominently in these investigations. A
review of the few available studies from the Cuzco/Urubamba region sets the stage
for the present bioarchaeological analysis. One of the earliest reports is Rowe’s
excavation at Chanapata, describing four Early Intermediate Period burials found
seated and flexed without grave goods. There is only a brief mention of skeletal
anomalies: “There were two bone lesions on the head, and the teeth are both badly
decayed (caries) and excessively worn, as is common in ancient skulls from the
Cuzco region” (Rowe 1944:14).
Eaton conducted a study of human skeletal remains from Machu Picchu,
published in 1916. The human remains were collected from cave deposits around the
mountain slope above which Machu Picchu sits, with a few remains recovered from
within the site near the Sacred Plaza (Eaton 1916:84). Eaton believed the skeletal
collection exhibited a skewed sex ratio, with nearly 4 females to every male, and
concluded that the site housed Virgins of the Sun and priestesses serving the temple.
In analyzing head shaping practices, Eaton documented both occipital flattening and
the “Aymara” annular (circumferential binding) deformation, suggesting a mixed
ethnic composition (Eaton 1916:94).
Verano’s (2003a) re-analysis of Eaton’s materials corrected many of his
original assertions. Restudy of sex ratios showed a more normal distribution of sexes,
contradicting the early interpretation of Machu Picchu as a community of “Chosen
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Women.” Age determinations were similarly reconfigured using new methods based
on pelvic changes, techniques unknown in Eaton’s time. However, some conclusions
of Eaton’s were substantiated by Verano, such as the ethnically diverse nature of the
Machu Picchu sample, which apparently included migrants from the Peruvian coast
and highlands (Verano 2003a:66). Other contributions of Verano’s restudy included
identification of anemia-related conditions, documentation of dental disease, and an
overall rarity of joint disease indicators. In addition, the diagnosis of two cases of
prehispanic tuberculosis, aided by radiographs, provided proof of this disease in the
Cuzco region (Verano 2003a:109).
MacCurdy (1923) analyzed 341 skeletons in the Urubamba river drainage area
southeast of Machu Picchu, excavated during Hiram Bingham’s 1914-15 Yale
University/National Geographic expeditions. The majority of individuals were
mummies recovered in a tightly flexed position, wrapped in cloth and secured with
coarse grass rope. Like Eaton’s (1916) cave burials from Machu Picchu, individuals
were commonly interred together in rock shelters. MacCurdy found various
pathological conditions, including fused vertebrae, long bone fractures (some healed
with non-union), osteomyelitis, osteosarcoma, spinal joint disease, and dental disease.
Nine percent of the adult skulls retained the metopic suture of the frontal bone,
normally fused by one to two years of age, and several crania exhibited the Inca bone
in their posterior surfaces (MacCurdy 1923:270). MacCurdy also documented
instances of cranial trauma associated with trepanation, and concluded that
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trepanation served to treat cases of cranial injury in the Late Horizon (MacCurdy
1923:259).
In “Los antiguos pobladores del Cuzco,” Quevedo (1942) studied 55 crania
from the site of Kinsarumiyoc in the Calca region, 20 miles north of Cuzco, and
presented data on craniometrics, cranial vault modification, and trepanation. He found
no evidence of cranial vault modification and asserted that, contrary to prior
assumption, modification was not customary in all regions of pre-Columbian Peru.
Eleven skulls showed evidence of trepanation, and 83% of the trepanned individuals
survived the surgery, with little evidence of infection (Quevedo 1942:55). Quevedo
concluded that trepanation was mainly performed in response to cranial trauma, and
was carried out by trained practitioners with skill and knowledge of cerebral anatomy.
While these studies provide a background on prehistoric skeletal conditions in
the Cuzco region, such studies have yet to be synthesized into a regional perspective.
The present study addresses this void by drawing together data from 11 sites
throughout the Cuzco region. This regional study provides the means to identify
geographical and temporal patterns in relation to Inca expansion. In this chapter, the
review of pre-Inca and Inca civilizations, along with Cuzco archaeological and
osteological investigations, has set the foundation for the study of Inca imperial
impacts from a biocultural perspective. The following chapter merges this
information with theoretical considerations to produce hypotheses regarding the
biological impacts of Inca expansion on local populations.
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Chapter 3. The Bioarchaeology of Inca Imperialism: Theoretical
Considerations and Hypotheses
This chapter addresses theoretical considerations regarding the biological
impacts of imperial consolidation and expansion on Cuzco populations. First, an
exploration of empires is presented, focusing on core/periphery models related to
imperial effects on local populations. Second, the four main datasets used to measure
these effects—skeletal markers of health, trauma, cranial modification, and isotopic
evidence for migration—are detailed through an examination of the relevant body of
literature for each dataset. Finally, hypotheses are formulated that serve as the
framework for ensuing analyses.
Empires - Theoretical Considerations
“[An empire] is a system of interaction between two political entities, one ofwhich, the dominant metropole, exerts political control over the internal andexternal policy—the effective sovereignty—of the other, the subordinate
periphery.” (Doyle 1986:12)
Empires belong in the anthropological category of the state, defined by Wright
and Johnson (1975:267) as having a hierarchy of control and specialized activities for
information processing. State-created institutions entrust individuals with decision-
making for lower levels of the hierarchy, which enable the centralized polity to
control a large populace. Marcus and Feinman (1998:5) augment this definition by
emphasizing the state’s power in areas of warfare, labor requisition, and state
religion, underscoring both corporeal and ideological control of subject populations.
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Though the world systems model provides an important framework for
studying empires, it has been criticized for its “top-down,” reductionist
characterization of core-periphery relations (Dietler 1998:297, 2005:58; Lightfoot and
Martinez 1995:476; Schreiber 2005; Stein 1998:226, 1999:16). While the core
represents the nexus of innovation, the periphery is depicted as passive and
homogenous (Schortman and Urban 1994:402). Class struggles within each region
are downplayed in Wallerstein’s framework, a critical oversight from the view of
Marxist scholars (Bergesen 1984:365; Patterson 1990). The separation of core,
periphery, and semi-periphery has been further critiqued as an artificial separation
more appropriately conceptualized as a continuum (Straussfogel 1997). Moreover,
boundaries are treated as unchanging over time, ignoring historical evidence of
empires as dynamic polities that fluctuate temporally (Stanish 1997:196).
Recent research has therefore expanded core/periphery studies to include
social dynamics, agency, and resistance (Carroll 1999; Deagan 2001; Elson and
Covey 2006; Goldstein 2000:337; Stein 2005). Within this broader perspective,
ideology is recognized as an important tool for both imperial hegemony and local
negotiation (Brumfiel 1996; Demarrais et al. 1996). This nuanced understanding also
emphasizes the primal importance of specific histories in shaping power dynamics
and processes of resistance (Hall 1996; Morrison 2001b; Patterson 1990; Stein
1999:9). In addition, frontiers along imperial borders are seen as loci of dynamic
interactions and ethnogenesis, rather than as irrelevant marginal zones (Alconini
2004; Hall 1986; Lightfoot and Martinez 1995; Sherratt 1993).
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This core/periphery perspective thus eschews simplistic depictions of
monolithic core versus passive periphery, and instead highlights regional differences
that appear within each empire. Several variables contribute to these regional
variations, such as proximity to the core, level of prior political complexity,
population size, complexity of technology and military organization, and amount of
resistance or allegiance (D’Altroy 1992; Kuznar 1996; Schreiber 1992; Stein 2005:8-
9). Another important variable is time: populations incorporated during the rise of an
empire may experience different conditions than those consolidated near the end of an
empire’s reign (Dietler 1998:298; Stanish 1997). Based on these different variables,
the political structure and domestic economy of a local people may be radically
altered, or relatively unaffected, by imperial conquest (Hastorf and D’Altroy 2001).
In summary, based on a world systems perspective, populations in the core of
an empire are expected to experience different circumstances from those in the
periphery. However, conditions in each region will not be uniform or static, but rather
will vary depending on several variables. This is particularly true in the Andes, where
each region responded differently to Inca conquest and consolidation (D’Altroy 1994;
Kuznar 1996; La Lone 1994; Morris 1998:295). While some areas were completely
transformed, with existing groups moved off their lands for purposes of imperial
restructuring, in other regions the Inca forged alliances and allowed local elites to rule
(Schreiber 1992:53-62).
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mechanisms—focus on resources and infrastructure provided through the state’s
organizational capabilities (Service 1975). The benefits of centralization, such as
stable food sources, translate into better health for all citizens. For instance, during
disasters or poor harvests, the state may offer subsidies through stored surpluses,
while disabled individuals or others in need receive welfare provisions from the state
(Kendall 1985:142).
Could such a characterization apply to the Inca Empire? Some researchers
have described the Inca Empire as a beneficent “socialist empire”:
[L]and was communally held and redistributed according to need, taxes andlabor were reallocated for the common good, and the state through its
beneficent aristocracy and clergy was the ultimate creator and purveyor of peace, prosperity, and happiness. (van den Berghe and Flores Ochoa2000:11)
Though this view seems simplistic, other researchers confirm the redistributive efforts
of the Inca Empire (Kuznar 1996:13; MacCormack 2001b:421; Murra (1980 [1955]),
maintaining that government storehouses held food supplies for state laborers
(Kendall 1985:142). In his classic text of Inca society, Rowe (1946:273) described
several socialistic aspects of Inca governance, asserting that the empire “insured the
individual against every sort of want.”
As a redistributive organization, the Inca Empire would have significantly
influenced health by provisioning a stable diet (D’Altroy 2001:46). In this scenario,
expansion benefits individuals in both the core and periphery: lower status
individuals in the capital profit from increased resources extracted from conquered
regions, while redistributed goods from the core provide additional resources to
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These conditions—visible as small circular lesions in the upper orbits and posterior
cranial surfaces—have been attributed to a number of causes, including nutritional
deficiencies, parasitic infection, and bacterial infection (El-Najjar et al. 1976; Lallo et
al. 1977; Reinhard 1992; Stuart-Macadam and Kent 1992; Walker 1985, 1986). Since
these conditions ensue from malnutrition and disease, their prevalence can reveal
evidence of stress in past populations (Blom et al. 2005; Cohen and Armelagos 1984;
Hill and Armelagos 1990; Kent 1986; Larsen 1997:30; Mensforth et al. 1978; Stuart-
Macadam 1985, 1992a,b; Ubelaker 1992; Walker 1986).
Two additional stress indicators, stunted growth and dental enamel
hypoplasias, reflect growth disruptions suffered during childhood development
(Larsen 1997:44; Rose et al. 1985). Inadequate nutrition will restrict growth, since the
individual receives too few nutritional resources to fuel normal development.
Furthermore, growth is restricted in diseased individuals because the body must divert
resources to the costly demands of fighting disease. The resultant “stunted” growth,
with long bones that are significantly shorter than those of healthy individuals,
indicates compromised health (Lambert 1993).
Dental enamel hypoplasias result from disruption of tooth enamel formation
and are visible as grooves in the labial dental surface. Cessations in growth leading to
hypoplasias may be caused by nutritional deficiencies or diseases that strain an
individual’s metabolism. As an indication of stress, the condition provides evidence
of compromised health in populations (Goodman and Rose 1991; Hillson 2000).
Documentation of this condition complements other indications of non-specific
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stress: while femur length usually reflects chronic stress incurred during an
individual’s entire development, hypoplasias more often indicate specific episodes of
stress that affected an individual during a short period of time (Goodman and Martin
2002:27).
One final stress indicator, osteoperiostitis (inflammation of the subperiosteal
cortical bone), ensues from bacterial infection and is easily visible in skeletal
collections. Osteoperiostitis often increases with dense population aggregation and
unsanitary hygienic conditions (Steckel et al. 2002). As such, osteoperiostitis can be
used to assess the influence of imperially-driven settlement changes involving
urbanism and aggregated living conditions.
These conditions—porotic hyperostosis, stunted growth, enamel hypoplasias,
and osteoperiostitis—comprise the overall “health index” of an individual (Steckel et
al. 2002). By combining health indices of all individuals within a group,
bioarchaeologists can measure the relative health of a population, and compare it to
other groups from different regions or temporal periods (Steckel and Rose 2002b).
The present study compares pathological conditions before and after the rise of the
Inca Empire to measure the health impacts of imperial expansion.
Trauma
Bioarchaeologists record traumatic injuries as a means to understand patterns
of violence throughout human history (Walker 1989, 2001). Specific skeletal
indicators of violence include depressed cranial fractures, embedded projectile points,
and cutmarks reflecting scalping or dismemberment (Andrushko et al. 2005; Jurmain
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1991a, 2001; Lambert 1994, 2002; Walker 1989; Walker and Lambert 1989). War-
related conflict may result in injuries such as blunt force trauma from clubs and
stones, cutting wounds from metal weapons (Novak 2000; Walker and Steckel 2002),
and “parry” fractures of the midshaft forearm bones, often attributed to self-defense
stances in which an individual raises their arm to ward off a blow and receives blunt
force trauma to the ulna (Judd 2002, 2004). To distinguish accidental injuries from
those related to violent conflict, location of injury, pattern of targeted body regions,
and sex of afflicted individuals are used to discern the social context of observed
trauma (Walker 1997; Lambert 1994; Larsen 1997:110).
Evidence of violent trauma can be used to investigate warfare in the Inca
Empire. Though the Spanish documents extensively describe Inca warfare (Arkush
and Stanish 2005; Niles 1999:61-62; Rowe 1946:274), some researchers believe the
chroniclers exaggerated these accounts, interpreting Inca expansion based on their
ethnocentric notions of conquest (Morris 1998:304). To assess the validity of these
historical accounts, skeletal evidence of perimortem trauma can be distinguished from
healed, nonlethal injuries, providing a means to assess the prevalence of pervasive,
lethal conflict.
Trepanation, the removal of a section of the cranial vault, provides
complementary (though indirect) evidence of violence, due to its association with
cranial trauma. This type of surgical intervention, a common practice in the
prehistoric Andean region, was performed largely to relieve intracranial pressure
from cranial trauma (Verano 1997a, 2003b). The analysis of trauma and associated
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trepanations can therefore test hypotheses of the role of warfare in Inca imperial
development and expansion.
Ethnic Identity and Migration
Two datasets in this study, cranial modification and strontium isotope
analysis, are used to identify Inca imperial influence on ethnic identity and migration.
In the Andes, migration played a key role in shaping the pre-Columbian social
landscape. At times, highland Andean groups exploited ecological niches at different
altitudes, maintaining a base population in one location and sending off smaller
groups to exploit other “vertical islands” (Masuda et al. 1985; Murra 1968, 1972,
1985). One well-documented example of resource-based migration is found in the
Middle Horizon state of Tiwanaku (AD 500-1000), where colonists migrated to the
Moquegua Valley, Peru from the capital near the Bolivian shore of Lake Titicaca
(Blom et al. 1998; Goldstein 1993, 2000; Knudson et al. 2004; Kolata 1993; Owen
2005). Described as “diaspora communities” (Goldstein 2000), the colonists remained
both biologically and culturally affiliated with the Tiwanaku core (Blom 1999; Blom
et al. 1998; Goldstein 1989a, b, 2005:266; Owen 2005:64; Stanish 2003:291). In
Moquegua they cultivated and exported resources—such as maize, cotton, peppers,
and coca—that were either unavailable or limited in the capital region (Goldstein
2005:237).
In the Late Horizon, the Inca adopted this pattern of ecological migration as a
tool of state control (Goldstein 2005:48; Wachtel 1982:200). This tactic proved
invaluable for imperial success: as Stanish (2001:224) notes, “Forcible movement of
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Further complicating the matter, ethnic identity is not static, but rather fluid
and varied, such that material assemblages may not properly reflect its multi-
dimensional nature (Bernardini 2005:32; Eriksen 1992; Jones and Graves-Brown
1996). Ethnic identity incorporates both self-ascription and ascription by others,
influenced by external circumstances and internal agency (Barth 1998; Nagel 1994).
Rapid shifts in ethnic identity can result from changes in the physical or social
environment (Reycraft 2005:5); in Late Intermediate Period Chile, Atacameños
created a unified identity in response to social encroachment following Tiwanaku
collapse (Torres-Rouff 2003:142). Ethnic identity may also be manipulated for
personal gain, such as Nubian individuals co-opting foreign Egyptian styles for status
elevation (Buzon 2006:692; Smith 2003). Due to the active, responsive nature of
ethnic identity, the use of bounded cultural assemblages to identify past groups and
their movements can be problematic (Chapman and Dolukhanov 1993; Emberling
1997; Singleton 1998:174).
Bioarchaeological methods offer promising approaches to some of these
problems. By focusing on skeletal remains and their associated artifacts, these studies
can reveal group affiliations through cultural practices and mortuary treatment
(Andresen 2000:554). Recent efforts towards the recognition of gro
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