The Management of Late Andean Irrigation Systems on the North Coast of Peru

1984 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia J. Netherly
Keyword(s):  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Canal System ◽  
Sociopolitical Organization ◽  
Irrigation Systems ◽  
The North ◽  
Canal Maintenance ◽  
North Coast Of Peru ◽  
Political Groups

Documentary research combined with field study has made possible the reconstruction of the sociopolitical organization of the Late Prehispanic Chimu and Chimu-Inca polities of the North Coast of Peru. Many aspects of the management of the large-scale irrigation networks of the region are integrated into that organization. Rights to the water of a particular canal–and to the lands it watered–can be shown to have been vested in socio-political groups which occupied different hierarchical positions according the size of the canal. Maintenance, repair, and distribution of the water were carried out by these groups; there was no centralized state bureacracy to oversee hydraulic affairs. Understanding the organization of the canal system permits a series of hypotheses for the reconstruction of ancient territorial units and the organization of settlement patterns within them.

scholarly journals Irrigation and the Origins of the Southern Moche State on the North Coast of Peru

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian R. Billman
Keyword(s):  
Political Development ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Irrigation Systems ◽  
Moche Valley ◽  
The North ◽  
State Evaluation ◽  
North Coast Of Peru

In this paper, I examine the role that irrigation played in the formation of the Southern Moche state in the Moche Valley, Peru. Specifically, I attempt to test Wittfogel and Steward's hydraulic model, which postulates that in certain arid environments, the managerial requirements of construction and maintenance of irrigation systems played a crucial role in the formation of centralized polities. I formulate and evaluate four hypotheses concerning the role of irrigation systems in the Moche Valley. Those hypotheses are then evaluated using settlement pattern data drawn from two surveys that cover the entire coastal section of the valley and provide information on 910 archaeological sites. Based on those data, I present a sequence of political development for the valley from the formation of the first autonomous village in the Late Preceramic period (2500–1800 B. C.) to the zenith of the Southern Moche state. Evaluation of the four hypotheses indicates that the managerial requirements of irrigation were relatively unimportant; rather, warfare, highland-coastal interaction, and political control of irrigation systems created opportunities for leaders to form a highly centralized, territorially expansive state sometime between A. D. 200 and 700.

scholarly journals Territorial Expansion in the Virú State: Updating Old Settlement Patterns to Explore New Ideas

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan T. Downey
Keyword(s):  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Territorial Expansion ◽  
The North ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Expansion Model ◽  
North Coast Of Peru ◽  
First Time

The territorial-expansion model, recently proposed as a general model to explain the development of first-generation states, is tested in the Virú Valley of Peru. The Virú state developed around 200 BC and is the earliest known state on the north coast of Peru. The settlement patterns and settlement hierarchies of the Virú Period (ca. 200 BC – 600 AD) are compared with those of the earlier Puerto Morin Period (ca. 400 – 200 BC) to investigate processes of territorial expansion. Two independent polities and several outlying communities occupied the valley during the Puerto Morin Period whereas settlement during the Virú Period was extensive, populations surged, and large swaths of the valley were settled for the first time. Evidence is presented to show that the Virú state incorporated the earlier Puerto Morin polities and that a three-tiered settlement hierarchy existed at this time. Drawing from cross-cultural evidence and recent studies on Virú expansionary dynamics, I propose a hypothesis that the Virú state expanded rapidly throughout the valley early in its developmental history and pursued a policy of territorial consolidation later in its history. Ultimately, the Virú case supports the territorial-expansion model of early state development.

The Pampa de Chaparrí: Water, Land, and Politics on the North Coast of Peru

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances M. Hayashida
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
North Coast ◽  
State Control ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
The North ◽  
Supervision And Management ◽  
State Administrators ◽  
Large Irrigation ◽  
Historical Accounts ◽  
North Coast Of Peru

AbstractLarge-scale irrigation agriculture formed the economic backbone of civilizations on the north coast of Peru. Contrary to the notion that large systems required the guiding hand of the state, historical sources suggest that management was largely local and segmentary. At the same time, water and land are a potential source of economic and political power for state administrators who may intervene in the supervision and management of farming. The Pampa de Chaparrí, in the Lambayeque region, is an unusually well-preserved system of canals, fields, and settlements where the dynamics of water, land and politics can be observed. Systematic survey documented a Middle Sicán (A.D. 900-1100), Late Sicán (A.D. 1100-1375), Chimú (A.D. 1375-1460) and Inka (A.D. 1460-1532) occupation. During Middle and Late Sicán, settlement patterns reflect the segmentary organization described in historical accounts. With conquest by the Chimú and Inka Empires, state administrative centers were constructed, existing social groups were reorganized and communities and households were transformed. Thus, though local management is an effective and stable strategy for managing large irrigation systems, the wealth and power that these systems represent make them potential targets for more direct state control, with significant consequences for local inhabitants.

scholarly journals Territorial Expansion in the Virú State: Updating Old Settlement Patterns to Explore New Ideas

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan T. Downey
Keyword(s):  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Territorial Expansion ◽  
The North ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Expansion Model ◽  
North Coast Of Peru ◽  
First Time

The territorial-expansion model, recently proposed as a general model to explain the development of first-generation states, is tested in the Virú Valley of Peru. The Virú state developed around 200 BC and is the earliest known state on the north coast of Peru. The settlement patterns and settlement hierarchies of the Virú Period (ca. 200 BC – 600 AD) are compared with those of the earlier Puerto Morin Period (ca. 400 – 200 BC) to investigate processes of territorial expansion. Two independent polities and several outlying communities occupied the valley during the Puerto Morin Period whereas settlement during the Virú Period was extensive, populations surged, and large swaths of the valley were settled for the first time. Evidence is presented to show that the Virú state incorporated the earlier Puerto Morin polities and that a three-tiered settlement hierarchy existed at this time. Drawing from cross-cultural evidence and recent studies on Virú expansionary dynamics, I propose a hypothesis that the Virú state expanded rapidly throughout the valley early in its developmental history and pursued a policy of territorial consolidation later in its history. Ultimately, the Virú case supports the territorial-expansion model of early state development.

scholarly journals Technology and organization of black pottery production on the north coast of Peru

2019 ◽  
pp. 133-156
Author(s):  
Izumi Shimada ◽  
Ursel Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Good Deal ◽  
The Body ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Pottery Production ◽  
The North ◽  
Reducing Conditions ◽  
Experimental Firing ◽  
North Coast Of Peru

Not all «black» pottery was produced in the same manner just as their social and symbolic uses and reasons for production varied a good deal. Nor are many examples truly black. The Middle Sicán culture (AD 900-1100) on the north coast of Peru distinguished itself with the perfection and large-scale production of black pottery made of fine paste. Based on our «holistic» study of a Middle Sicán workshop (including experimental firing and detailed chemical analyses of both archaeological and experimental samples), we present a detailed characterization of the blackware production technology and organization. Our study revealed that the glossy Middle Sicán blackware resulted from various factors including firing under strongly reducing conditions in small semi-closed kilns, an even carbon deposition on the vessel surface as well as penetration into the body, and the formation of graphite crystals on the well-burnished surface. Chimú reduced ware, in contrast, is typically made of coarser pastes, not as well burnished, and fired in relatively large “pit kilns” that did not permit a tight control over temperature and atmosphere. We infer that the prestige of the Middle Sicán religion and its art together with the lustrous, truly black appearance of the pottery that had been rarely achieved before played an important role in establishing the popularity of black pottery not only in the Sicán heartland but also much of the coastal Peru.

Huaynuná, a Late Cotton Preceramic Site on the North Coast of Peru

1990 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Pozorski ◽  
Shelia Pozorski
Keyword(s):  
North Coast ◽  
The North ◽  
North Coast Of Peru

BIOLOGICAL DISTANCE PATTERNS AMONG THE NORTHERN MOCHE LORDS: DENTAL PHENOTYPES AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION IN ANCIENT PERU

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 696-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haagen D. Klaus ◽  
Walter Alva ◽  
Steve Bourget ◽  
Luis Chero
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Cluster ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Biological Distance ◽  
R Matrix ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
The North ◽  
Limited Gene Flow ◽  
Dental Traits ◽  
North Coast Of Peru

Between AD 100 and 800, the Moche culture emerged on the north coast of Peru. Diverse debates surround the nature of Moche territorial and political centralization, sociopolitical identities, and the internal social diversity of Moche society. Here we address some of these issues in a biodistance study based on phenotypic variation of inherited dental traits within and between 36 individuals in the royal tombs of Sipán (Lambayeque valley), Úcupe (Zaña valley), and Dos Cabezas (Jequetepeque valley). Metric and nonmetric dental trait data were analyzed using hierarchical cluster and R-matrix analyses. The results independently indicate that the highest-level Sipán and Dos Cabezas lords likely represented different endogamous kin groups, while limited gene flow occurred between groups of Moche lower nobility between the Lambayeque and Jequetepeque regions. Although biology and material cultural link the Lord of Úcupe to Dos Cabezas, many objects in his tomb demonstrate his participation the world of the Sipán elites. These Moche lords were, on some levels, bioculturally interconnected. Nonetheless, the data broadly lend support to a “many Moches” model of sociopolitical structure, further casting doubt on earlier one-dimensional visions of a centralized hegemonic Moche polity.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document