15th Annual Northeast Conference

Presenters: By Names

By Names By Titles



Click on "Abstract" for detailed information
Abstract Isbell, William and Juan Albarracin, JoEllen Burkholder, Catherine Bencic, Tyler O'Brien, Emily Stovel
Click here for images of Iwawe excavation in 1996.
Abstract Malpass, Michael (William and Mary), Anthony Puglisi (Ithaca College), and Jason Kerschner (Ithaca College)
Abstract Urton, Gary (Colgate)
Abstract Prost, Jack (U. of Illinois-Chicago)
Abstract Steinberg, Ellen (U. of Illinois-Chicago)
Abstract Hyland, Sabine
Abstract Heckenberger, Michael (Carnegie Museum), James Petersen (U. of Maine- Framington), and Eduardo Neves (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, U. de Sao Paulo)
Abstract Sanchez, Amelia (ESPOL; Guayaquil Ecuador)
Abstract Graffam, Gray (Trent University-Toronto)
Abstract Zoubek, Thomas (SUNY-New Paltz)
Abstract Topic, Theresa (Brescia College)
Abstract Gundrum, Darrell S. (Illinois)
Abstract Rossen, Jack (Ithaca College) and Tom Dillehay (Kentucky)
Abstract Daggert, Richard E. (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
Abstract Pozorski, Thomas and Shelia Pozorski (U. of Texas-Pan American)
Abstract Thorme, Trisha (Cornell University)
Abstract Holmquist, Ulla (U. Catolica del Peru)
Abstract Williams, Sloan (U. of Illinois-Chicago)
Abstract Church, Warren (Yale University)
Abstract Masucci, Maria (Drew University)
Abstract Cook, Anita (Catholic University)
Abstract Nelson, Andrew (University of Western Ontario), Carol Mackey (California State University-Northridge), and Luis Jaime Castillo (Pontifica Universidad Cat¢lica del Peru)
Abstract Alconini, Sonia (University of Pittsburgh)
Abstract Burger, Richard L. (Yale University) and Lucy Salazar-Burger
Abstract Kaplan, Emily (National Museum of the American Indian-Smithsonian Institution)
Abstract Staller, John


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Isbell, William and Juan Albarracin, JoEllen Burkholder, Catherine Bencic, Tyler O'Brien, Emily Stovel

EXCAVATING THE IWAWI MOUND, LAKE TITICACA

ABSTRACT
Excavation of the Iwawi mound, on the south shore of Lake Titicaca, have revealed a long cultural sequence that promises to resolve chronological problems that have plagued Tiwanaku studies. The research has revealed some surprises: evidence for volcanic activity that appears to have played a major role in altiplano culture change; a fishing emphasis late in history of Tiwanaku that raises questions about the "great drought" theory of collapse; and remains of raised fields long before state institutions currently inferred as the motivating force behind agricultural intensification. This presentation offers a brief overview of the project, as well as the work being done with the ceramics, the architecture and features, the burials, the lithics.
Click here for images of Iwawe excavation in 1996.
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Malpass, Michael (William and Mary), Anthony Puglisi (Ithaca College), and Jason Kerschner (Ithaca College)

EXCAVATIONS AT SONAY, CAMANA VALLEY, PERU

ABSTRACT
Reconnaissance of the upper Camana Valley during 1991 discovered the multicomponent site of Sonay, the first reported coastal site with Orthogonal Cellular Architecture, which is characteristic of Wari administrative centers in the Andes. Test excavations were conducted in 1996 to identify the site's functions for comparison to other Wari centers. Test units failed to recover extensive artifactual remains, but subfloor deposits were discovered. This report will discuss the preliminary work done.
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Urton, Gary (Colgate)

THE MILAN QUIPU DOCUMENT: IS IT ANOTHER ROSETTA STONE OR A PILTDOWN HOAX?

ABSTRACT
This paper contains a critical appraisal of the new document that has come to light that purports:
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Prost, Jack (U. of Illinois-Chicago)

HEAD MOLDING AT ANCON

ABSTRACT
Three dimensional analysis of skull growth, using crania from the Peruvian site of Ancon, housed at the Field Museum (Chicago), shows that bone growth is always tangential to the curvature of the bone's surface. Two physiological processes mold bone form: 1) resorption, to accommodate expanding neighboring structures, or 2) deposition, to accommodate strain on the bone itself. In humans, the curvature of the surfaces are established well before the second year of life; thereafter, bone form changes only to accommodate growth in neighboring tissues and stress produced by positional behaviors. Cultural practices of head-molding, or deformation, must occur, roughly, within the first year after birth. It is only at that time that the bones, themselves, are pliable enough to have their surfaces shaped. Adult bone form is the product of bone growth throughout childhood and, consequently, the product , not of genes prescribing form, but of the processes of bone accommodation--remote effects of growth in neighboring structures and the habits of the growing child. The various patterns of head-molding in prehistoric times and today demonstrate the plasticity of bone shape and the non-genetic processes that determine adult features.
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Steinberg, Ellen (U. of Illinois-Chicago)

CRANIAL DEFORMATION AT PREHISTORIC ANCON AND TODAY

ABSTRACT
Some of the crania from the prehistoric site of Ancon in the Dorsey collection at the Field Museum (Chicago) exhibit fronto-occipital head deformations ranging from "extreme" to "moderate", others appear unmodified. Various interpretations of the reasons underlying head deformation and the effects of such procedures can be found in the physical anthropological and archaeological literature. Because extreme deformations are no longer seen, anthropologists have assumed there are no modern-day ethnographic parallels to help them interpret such practices. Data gathered from 75 Chicago-area residents unequivocally indicate otherwise. Current head-molding will be discussed and a reinterpretation of the nature and intent of prehistoric head deformations will be presented. The significance of this work reaches beyond the prehistoric record to new areas of ethnographic research, impacting modern-day medical practices.
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Hyland, Sabine

THE IMPRISONMENT OF BLAS VALERA: HERESY AND INCA HISTORY IN 16TH CENTURY PERU

ABSTRACT
This paper will present new information from the Archivo Hist¢rico Nacional concerning the imprisonment of the famed mestizo chronicler and Jesuit priest, Blas Valera, in 1583. Newly discovered 16th century documents reveal the attempt by the Jesuits at the time to claim falsely that Valera was a victim of the Tribunal of the Inquisition. Archival evidence shows, however, that Valera was jailed by the Jesuits themselves for disseminating heresy in his writings on Inca history and grammer. Through these documents one can also trace how the memory of Valera's punishment was spread secretly through the Society of Jesus by the Italian Jesuit, Lucio Garcete, who had reported on the affair to the Holy Office.
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Heckenberger, Michael (Carnegie Museum), James Petersen (U. of Maine- Framington), and Eduardo Neves (Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, U. de Sao Paulo)

RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN THE CENTRAL AMAZON: REPORT ON FIELDWORK AT THE ACUTUBA LOCALITY, LOWER NEGRO RIVER, BRAZIL

ABSTRACT
Recent archaeological investigations in the A‡utuba locality provide unique data regarding prehistoric occupation of the Central Amazon. The A‡utuba locality consists of a series of closely-spaced high-bluff terraces overlooking the Negro River roughly 60 km upstream from its confluence with the Solim”es/Amazon River at Manaus. These terraces were apparently occupied continuously and contemporaneously for several millenia, at least, and an early radiocarbon date of 6850 + 100 B.P. indicates that initial occupation of the locality began much earlier. In the present paper recent fieldwork and laboratory analyses, including preliminary results of ceramic, radiocarbon, soil chemistry, and other analyses, from A‡utuba are summarized and compared with materials from the broad Central Amazon region.
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Sanchez, Amelia (ESPOL; Guayaquil Ecuador)

CHANGES IN ECUADORIAN FISHING STRATEGIES FROM THE PRECERAMIC UNTIL THE CONQUEST

ABSTRACT
Nine developmental phases of fishing strategies from the Preceramic to the Conquest have been identified based on zooarchaeological analysis of faunal remains from 24 archaeological sites on the coast of Ecuador from Salango in the north to the Arenillas River to the south. The different phases are associated with variation in catchment area, techniques, and material culture. Fish remains recovered from Middle Formative to Machalilla Period sites were almost exclusively pelagic. In contrast, reef dwelling fish remains were recovered from Valdivia Period sites and from Chorerra to the Regional Development Period sites. The remains of estuary species were identified at sites of other periods. This evidence clearly indicates that Machililla people possessed the technology and knowledge to practice open water navigation.
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Graffam, Gray (Trent University-Toronto)

MIDDLE HORIZON SETTLENT AND ECONOMY AT SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA, CHILE: RESULTS OF A PILOT STUDY

ABSTRACT
Recent research has revealed 6 Middle Horizon habitational sites at San Pedro de Atacama, all of which are associated with the manufacture of ancient metals. Results include bronze-making molds that have been dated to 1220 +/- 80 B.P., which is some of the earliest evidence for bronze manufacture in the New World. The results are discussed within the context of on-going research.
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Zoubek, Thomas (SUNY-New Paltz)

HYDRAULIC SOLIDARITY, WATER TEMPLES, AND INITIAL PERIOD CEREMONIAL SITES: INTERDEPENDENCE VS. AUTONOMY

ABSTRACT
Initial Period "monumental" sites of the Peruvian Coast have been interpreted both as bureaucratic centers and as autonomous civic-ceremonial sites. Differences in the layout of sites and varying iconography have been offered as evidence of each centers' independence. Yet the degree of their autonomy is unclear. It is suggested that each temple served as a node in a valley-wide temple network whose function was intimately connected with irrigation systems and scheduling. The temples provided a means for interaction involving people from outside the temple's own congregation. Thus, the temples may be viewed as both autonomous (symbols of group identity, strength, and prestige) and interdependent (nodes in a greater temple system vital to the correlation of irrigation schedules, water sharing, and fallow periods as well as the stages for group ritual). Ethnographic data from Bali offers compelling evidence that such a temple system could have arisen from the bottom-up and not as is presumed from the top-down. The breakdown of the paradoxical role of the temples, at once independent and interdependent, may have contributed to the collapse of the coastal societies of the Initial Period and the cessation of monument building.
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Topic, Theresa (Brescia College)

HOUSEHOLD, GENDER, AND SPECIALIZED PRODUCTION AT CHAN CHAN

ABSTRACT
The expansion of Chimu political power during the Late Intermediate Period (LIP) triggered an escalation in the quantity of manufactured goods needed by elites and administrators. The Chimu manufactured goods needed by elites and administrators. The Chimu solution to the need for skilled labor is documented in the "small, irregularly agglutinated rooms" (SIAR) of Chan Chan, where evidence for intensive commodity production at the household level demonstrates that the labor of both women and men was appropriated by the state. This paper will review the ways in which intra-household economic roles must have changed for SIAR residents, and will question whether there was a fundamental shift in gender roles in the LIP.
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Gundrum, Darrell S. (Illinois)

THE "FABRIC OF TIME": A RE-EXAMINATION OF A PERUVIAN SOUTH COAST CALENDRICAL TEXTILE

ABSTRACT
The study of prehispanic Andean calendrical systems traditionally focuses on the Inca calendar and ceque system. In this paper, I will demonstrate that a sophisticated calendrical system existed on the Peruvian south coast approximately 1,500 years before the Incas. Analysis of Brooklyn Museum Textile no. 38.121, dated to the Early Horizon/Early Intermediate Period transition, reveals a complex calendrical system formed by the conjoining of three astronomical cycles (solar, sidereal lunar, and synodic lunar). Iconographic and calendrical analyses also suggest that the Pleiades, Alpha and Beta Centauri, and various dark cloud constellations were used in reckoning the calendrical round.
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Rossen, Jack (Ithaca College) and Tom Dillehay (Kentucky)

RETHINKING PRECERAMIC SETTLEMENT AND SITE STRUCTURE IN NORTHERN PERU

ABSTRACT
Recent reconnaissance, combined with previous survey and excavation data, has resulted in new perspectives on Preceramic settlement, economy, and site structure in the lower and middle Za¤a Valley. Fifteen new sites, probably ranging in age from 8000 to 4000 B.P., were documented on high terraces within quebradas and along hillsides in the middle valley and near the coastal plain. In contrast, sites on low- lying riverine terraces near the coast contain primarily later ceramic occupations. One hillside settlement exhibits remains of approximately 80 pit houses and a boulder and rock-lined plaza. The implications of these sites for the valley-wide scheme of Preceramic occupation are discussed. Future research at these sites will clarify issues of Preceramic subsistence and the organization of public and domestic space that have been previously developed at middle and upper Za¤a Valley sites.
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Daggert, Richard E. (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)

THE LIBERTAD CAMPAIGN AGAINST TELLO: SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

ABSTRACT
On October 9, 1930, Julio C. Tello received official notification that he had been replaced as Director of the Museo de Arqueolog¡a Peruana. His successor, Lu¡s E. Valc rcel, later recalled that serious accusations made against Tello and published in the Lima daily Libertad had undermined Tello's position at the national museum. The purpose of this presentation is to provide answers to questions which arise from this statement by Valc rcel. Specifically, what were the charges made against Tello, who made them and why? What was Tello's response and what, if any, countercharges did he make? Given the nature and extent of any supporting evidence provided by the contesting parties, what conclusions may be drawn about the veracity of the charges made?
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Pozorski, Thomas and Shelia Pozorski (U. of Texas-Pan American)

THE SECHIN ALTO SITE; 1995-1996 FIELDWORK IN THE CASMA VALLEY, PERU

ABSTRACT
During 1995 and 1996, excavations were carried out at the Initial Period (1800-900 B.C.) site of Sechin Alto in the Casma Valley, Peru. Sechin Alto, the largest mound in the New World for its time period, and three associated sites for the Sechin Alto Complex which served as the center of a complex polity encompassing the entire Casma Valley area some 3500 years ago. Recent investigations within both formal architecture and domestic remains have begun to clarify the chronological placement and function of the main site of Sechin Alto. Architectural and artifactual evidence suggests close connections with both Pampa de las Llamas-Moxeke and Las Haldas, two major Initial Period sites in other portions of the Casma Valley area. The main mound has monumental staircases giving access to its summit. Also present is a central conical adobe core that contains a colonnaded room with columns decorated with polychrome mud friezes. These data suggest that this area once served as a sacred precinct within the mound summit.
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Thorme, Trisha (Cornell University)

SIGNATURES OF ANCIENT AND MODERN POTTERY

ABSTRACT
In the upper reaches of the Lur¡n Valley in Peru, traditional potters maintain their craft in the area of Santo Domingo de los Olleros. Potters treat and mix their clays before fashioning a vessel. Chemical characterization projects depend on the assumption that potters' behavior is evident in the elemental concentrations that result form the analyses. Whether the chemical signature reflects mixing of known clays will be tested through neutron activation analysis (NAA) of a specific pot as well as mined and prepared clays. The implications for archaeology of this ethnoarchaeological study will be explored.
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Holmquist, Ulla (U. Catolica del Peru)

VALUES AND USES OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE IN A LOCAL CONTEXT: THE CASE OF SIPAN AND TUCUME, LABAYEQUYE, PERU

ABSTRACT
This paper focuses on the different uses and values given to archaeological collections and sites by the various collectivities in the country. I will illustrate this point with the cases of Sipan and in the country. I will illustrate this point with the cases of Sipan and Tucume, archaeological sites with recently created site museums. The museographic display of both museums is taken as a point of departure to identify the priorities and choices made by the agents in charge of their management. Both museums take a different stance regarding such issues as the protection and care of the site and the identity of the local community with the site. This study aims to stress the importance of recognizing and understanding the variety and complexity of local dynamics that shape archaeological heritage management in order to adopt coherent national strategies towards its protection and promotion.
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Williams, Sloan (U. of Illinois-Chicago)

THE CHIRIBAYA ALTA CEMETERIES: DEVELOPING GENETIC MODELS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ANCIENT DNA

ABSTRACT
Chiribaya Alta is a Late Intermediate Period site located in coastal southern Peru. It is surrounded by at least nine cemeteries, five of which southern Peru. It is surrounded by at least nine cemeteries, five of which were extensively tested in 1990. DNA extracted from 150 bone samples is now being analyzed to determine the relationships within and between the individuals buried in those cemeteries and whether those buried in the graves identified as "elite" on the basis of grave goods and tomb construction are a genetically distinct group or "ruling class." A pilot genetic study of 5 closely related present day Yanomama villages in Venezuela for which extensive genealogies exist was undertaken first. This presentation will focus on the latter research which allows us to more realistically predict whether kin groups and parent-offspring relationships can be reconstructed from the archaeological record in the Andes.
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Church, Warren (Yale University)

THE MANACHAQUI PHASE AND INITIAL PERIOD MONTANE FOREST INTERACTION SPHERES

ABSTRACT
This paper presents new data pertaining to the Initial Period occupation at Manachaqui Cave, a rockshelter at the edge of the Central Andean tropical montane forest. Various lines of evidence attest to the rockshelter's ancient use as a wayside station serving human transit between the Central Andes, the Northern Andes and lowland Amazonia. Rather than upslope and downslope migrations and colonization, the Initial Period data suggest the autochthonous and independent cultural development of montane forest populations. The evidence also indicates intensive interregional interaction with the Northern Andes, and permits the preliminary delineation of interaction spheres restricted to the forested slopes of the Central Andes.
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Masucci, Maria (Drew University)

CIRCLES OF STONES: NEW EVIDENCE FOR CULTURE CHANGE IN LATE PREHISTORIC SOUTHWEST ECUADOR

ABSTRACT
Colonial accounts and archaeology in the southwest coast of Ecuador document a series of coastal centers known as the "Senorio de Salangone". In the prehistoric sequence this chiefdom is referred to as the "Manteno Culture" and is well known due to ethnohistoric descriptions of an encounter between Pizarro's pilot and a balsa wood craft laden with precious metal, shell, and textiles. How this trading confederation came to be and the extent of its control over adjacent coastal regions is not known. Little attention has been paid to the Santa Elena area to the south in these investigations since the region was believed to have been abandoned at the end of the period immediately preceding the Manteno society. New research in the Santa Elena area demonstrates that abandonment of many parts of the southwest coastal area did not occur but instead there may have been shifts in settlement pattern, site function and ceramics. This evidence does not discount the possibility of climate as a causal factor but the nature of the evidence suggests the changes may be due in part to the development of the Manteno system.
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Cook, Anita (Catholic University)

CASA VIEJA AND THE EARLY MIDDLE HORIZON IN THE LOWER ICA VALLEY, PERU

ABSTRACT
Recent excavations shed light on domestic activities during the early Middle Horizon in Callango, a lower Ica Valley alluvial basin frequently described as an oasis. Within this area a rich array of settlements dating from the Early Horizon through the Inca and colonial periods were recorded during our regional survey of the valley. Callango is the heartland of Paracas and the locus of later Nasca settlements that predate the Middle Horizon. Some results of our 1995 excavations at the site of Casa Vieja will be presented with a regional overview of the settlement history of the period. Casa Vieja was a village whose remains include evidence of domestic, economic and local production activities. Issues regarding the presence of highlanders on the south coast will be reviewed and discussed in light of the preliminary results of our investigations at the site.
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Nelson, Andrew (University of Western Ontario), Carol Mackey (California State University-Northridge), and Luis Jaime Castillo (Pontifica Universidad Cat¢lica del Peru)

BOTTLES, BONES AND BUILDINGS: EVIDENCE OF PRE-COLUMBIAN CULTURAL DYNAMICS FROM THE SITE OF SAN JOSE DE MORO, PERU

ABSTRACT
The site of San Jose de Moro lies in the Jequetepeque Valley on the North Coast of Peru. It has long been recognized as an important Moche center, particularly since the discovery by Donnan and Castillo of the tomb of the individual recognized as a priestess holding a blood filled goblet in the Moche Sacrifice Ceremony. Work at Moro has entered a new phase with an international, multidisiplinary project with two major foci. The first focus is the excavation of unlooted tombs in the cemetery precinct. This work is important, as many fine Moche ceramics have been stripped of their original context by looters. Our work combines archaeological and osteological analyses, documenting the original context of fine and domestic Moche ceramics in association with skeletal remains. This has led to the discovery of several new aspects of Moche funerary rituals. The second major focus is on a series of previously unknown large Chimu and Chimu/Inca adminstrative compounds, complete with audiencias and adobe friezes. These compounds document the Chimu influence on the occupants of the valley, and in turn, the influence of the Inca on the Chimu. Moro preserves a rich cultural sequence of more than 1000 years, documenting the rise and fall of several major civilizations. This paper will summarize the findings of the last two field seasons.
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Alconini, Sonia (University of Pittsburgh)

STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF THE INKA FRONTIER: NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF INKA BORDERLANDS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN BOLIVIAN CHACO

ABSTRACT
This paper presents new information about the nature and structure of the Inka frontier in Antisuyu based on an archaeological survey conducted last summer in the Bolivian Chaco. Most ethnohistorical acccounts for this region suggest that Inka defensive structures were constructed to resist the intermittent invasions of the Guarani-Chiriguano groups from the Amazonian lowlands. However the nature of the Inka frontier and its effects on local social and economic processes are still unclear. I will discuss processes of trade and exchange, factional competition and alliance building between inner polities such as the Yampara and outer polities such as the Chiriguano groups. The distribution, location and variability of Inka and non-Inka structures in the frontier zone will be discussed as evidence of these processes.
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Burger, Richard L. (Yale University) and Lucy Salazar-Burger

A LATE INITIAL PERIOD RELIGIOUS IMAGE FROM MINA PERDIDA, LURIN VALLEY, PERU

ABSTRACT
This presentation will offer a description and discussion of a large three- dimensional image of a supernatural figure excavated on one of the back terraces of Mina Perdida's central pyramid. Made of perishable materials, this polychrome figure attests to the existence of a class of ritual items rarely recovered by archaeologists. Its study broadens our understanding of the ceremonial behavior carried out at the pre- Chavin "U-shaped" complexes of the central coast. The context, function, and symbolism of the figure will be considered during this talk.
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Kaplan, Emily (National Museum of the American Indian-Smithsonian Institution)

TECHNICAL STUDIES OF PAINTED ANDEAN OBJECTS: A PROGRESS REPORT

ABSTRACT
Preliminary results and implications of two on-going and related conservation research projects involving the materials, technologies, and contexts of painted Andean objects will be presented. In the first project, plant materials used as paint binders for Inka period carved wooded agricultural implements from the south coast of Peru, and for Paracas ceramics with post-fire paint are examined. This has involved collecting botanical reference specimens from the Andean region for comparison with data compiled from paint samples taken from artifacts. The second project is a collaborative effort to characterize and document the component materials and manufacturing techniques of painted colonial period wooden keros. This project, which includes more than 150 keros in four museums, includes scientific analysis of organic colorants and mineral pigments, and identification of paint binders (again of plant origin), wood, original repair materials, metal decorations, and later restoration materials and techniques, and these groupings will be compared to previously assigned iconographic groupings. It is hoped that this project can contribute to an understanding of the chronology and context of these cups.
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Staller, John

GENDER RELATED STYLISTIC ATTRIBUTES OF THE JELI PHASE COMPLEX

ABSTRACT
The Jeli Phase Complex is a Valdivia Phase VII and VIII pottery complex from souther El Oro Province, Ecuador. The complex was identified according to stylistic and modal attributes which delimited at least fifteen distinct reconstructed shape categories from collections derived from excavations at the site of La Emerenciana. Stylistic elements in the motifs of a number of diagnostics have symbolic correlations to specific gender related categories. These elements are outlined on the basis of attributes and color related associations. These symbolic associations are based upon linguistic data and experimental replication studies which reveal specific patterning which can be extended into prehistory. The evidence will attempt to demonstrate an underlying pattern of association with regard to color associations and stylistic attributes which have a consistent relationship to specific gender categories. Ethnoarchaeological evidence has found such associations are mirrored in present community lunar rituals and in the underlying structure of the language.
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