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Objectives: Cranial vault modification (CVM), the intentional reshaping of the head, indicated group affiliation in prehistoric Andean South America. This study aims to analyze CVM data from the Cuzco region of Peru to illuminate patterns of early migration and settlement along with the later impact of the Inca Empire (AD 1438–1532) on the ethnic landscape. Materials and Methods: 419 individuals from 10 archaeological sites spanning over 2300 years were assessed for CVM using morphological analysis. Results: CVM patterns show distinct temporal attributes: the tabular type of modification appeared first and dominated the early sample (900 BC–AD 600), followed by an influx of unmodified crania during the Middle Horizon (AD 600–1000). The annular type appeared later during the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000–1438). In the subsequent period of Inca imperialism, modification rates were higher at sites in the Cuzco countryside than in Cuzco city sites. Discussion: The study results, combined with archaeological and ethnohistoric data, reveal the sociopolitical transformations that occurred prior to and during the rise of the Inca Empire. The influx of unmodified crania during the Middle Horizon resulted at least partly from Wari occupation, while the appearance of the annular type during the LIP points to migration into the area, possibly from the Lake Titicaca region. In the Inca Imperial Period, Inca individuals at Cuzco city sites refrained from modification as a sign of their ethnic identity, while modification patterns in the Cuzco countryside likely reflect state-coerced resettlement of different ethnic groups. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
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Although Spanish chroniclers referred frequently to coerced migration in the Inca Empire, these migrations have been difficult to document archaeologically. One approach to migration studies, strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analysis, has emerged as an effective technique. Until now, however, this method has not been applied to the Inca heartland region of Cuzco, Peru. In this study, we use strontium isotope analysis to examine patterns of prehistoric migration in the Cuzco Valley. Human dental enamel samples from the Cuzco Valley site of Chokepukio are analyzed and compared to the local 87Sr/86Sr signature established through faunal specimens. Though tentative due to a small sample size, the isotope results do not provide evidence for migration at this site from the time periods preceding the rise of the Inca Empire (200 B.C. to A.D. 1400). In contrast, there is substantial evidence for migration during the time of Inca imperialism (A.D. 1400-1532). Among these migrants, variation in 87Sr/86Sr values suggests that individuals emigrated from geologically diverse locations, while sex differences in the migrant group include a higher percentage of females and a greater diversity in female 87Sr/86Sr values. These data, along with ethnohistoric evidence, reveal how Inca labor policies reconfigured the composition of populations in the imperial heartland. Copyright ©2009 by the Society for American Archaeology.
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The study of the origin and causes of interpersonal violence and warfare in human prehistory has drawn the interest of anthropologists for over a century (Ember and Ember 1995; Ferguson 1984; Ferguson and Whitehead 1992; Gat 2000; Haas 1990; Keeley 1996; Kelly 2000; Lambert 2002; McCall and Shields 2008; Martin and Frayer 1997; Otterbein 1994; Turney-High 1971; Walker 2001; Wrangham and Peterson 1996). Over the past few decades, a plethora of research has provided unambiguous evidence for interpersonal violence and warfare in a vast number of prehistoric societies, countering the notion of a “pacified past” (Keeley 1996; Lambert 2002; Maschner and Reedy-Maschner 1998; Milner 1995; Walker 2001). This is particularly true in California, where the notion of idyllic, peaceful hunter-gatherer groups living in a bountiful temperate climate has been contradicted by numerous skeletal studies revealing evidence of cranial trauma, projectile point injuries and trophy-taking (e.g. Andrushko et al. 2005, 2010; Jurmain 1991, 2001; Jurmain and Bellifemine 1997; Jurmain et al. 2009; Lambert 1994, 1997; Nelson 1997; Walker 1989; Wiberg 2002). The study of human skeletal remains provides a unique perspective on trauma in pastsocieties that complements evidence from material culture, site context and ethnographic and ethnohistoric accounts (Jurmain 1999; Larsen 1997; Walker 1997). While early trauma analyses focused on single case studies or small samples, more recent studies have followed a population-based perspective, with greater emphasis on the examination of trauma patterns in larger and more representative skeletal samples (e.g., Lambert 1994, 1997; Lovejoy and Heiple 1981; Steadman 2008). This population-based perspective has allowed osteologists to recognize individual, temporal and geographic variation in traumatic injuries due to a wide range of cultural, biological and environmental factors. Over the past two decades, several studies have also increasingly focused on more definitiveindicators of violence, such as cranio-facial trauma and injuries associated with embedded projectile points or other types of weaponry (e.g. Andrushko and Torres 2011; Buzon and Richman 2007; Dawson et al. 2003; Fiorato et al. 2000; Jurmain et al. 2009; Kanz andGrossschmidt 2006; Lambert 1994, 1997; Lessa and Mendonça de Souza 2004, 2006; Murphy et al. 2010; Owens 2007; Paine et al. 2007; Smith, 1996, 1997, 2003; Standen and Arriaza 2000; Steadman 2008; Torres-Rouff and Costa Junqueira 2006; Tung 2007; Walker 1989, 1997; Webb 1995; Willey and Emerson 1993). Peri-mortem mutilation, including evidence of dismemberment and trophy-taking (e.g. scalping, body part removal), is also considered a corollary to interpersonal violence and warfare practices (Andrushko et al. 2005, 2010; Lambert 2007; Steadman 2008; Tung 2007, 2008; Tung and Knudson 2008; Verano 2003). When analysed together, these direct indicators of violence – cranio-facial trauma, projectile point injury and evidence of trophy-taking – provide powerful evidence for interpersonal violence in a society. Moreover, when these indicators of conflict are analysed from a population-based perspective, as described above and employed in the present study, a more accurate and nuanced understanding of violent conflict in the past can be achieved. © 2014 Christopher Knüsel and Martin J. Smith for selection and editorial matter; individual contributions, the contributors. All rights reserved.
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