Frances Hayashida

• Ph.D.
• Professor at University of New Mexico

The chronology of the Inka Empire is poorly resolved, with most scholars utilizing a post hoc ethnohistoric reconstruction of imperial expansion as a common reference point. Radiocarbon-based analyses can now accomplish sufficient resolution for meaningful independent estimates of Inka chronology, however, and it is incumbent upon archaeologists to...

This article reconstructs the smelting and refining of copper at site 256A01 in the Pampa de Chaparrí, near Batán Grande, Department of Lambayeque, Peru. Two banks of furnaces were excavated, yielding calibrated radiocarbon dates between 1030 and 1180 AD (Middle Sicán through the Early Late Sicán period). This is the first published study from Sout...

The Inka conquered an immense area extending across five modern nations, yet most English-language publications on the Inka focus on governance in the area of modern Peru. This volume expands the range of scholarship available in English by collecting new and notable research on Qullasuyu, the largest of the four quarters of the empire, which exten...

Northern Chile is home to the world’s largest copper ore deposits, which have been exploited for thousands of years by different groups, at varying scales and for different purposes. In this context, it is important to develop new protocols to characterise the mineralogical variability of archaeological copper ores. A comprehensive and representati...

This article examines the social implications of pottery circulation in the southern Andes during the Late pre-Hispanic periods (ca. A.D. 1000–1550). In particular, its goal is to understand the role of Yavi-Chicha pottery in the dynamics of interaction between two regions: the Chicha valleys in the border of Bolivia and Argentina and the Atacama i...

In the Central Atacama Desert (22-24 S; henceforth CAD), around 3700 cal yrs BP, human economies begin to transition from relying mostly on hunting and gathering to increasingly incorporating horticulture and pastoralism became more intensive during the Late Intermediate Period (LIP; beginning at ca. 1050 cal yrs BP/900 AD). In this extreme environ...

The Atacama Desert is among the driest places on Earth, yet ancient agricultural systems are present in the region. Here, we present a study of terraced agricultural soils in the high‐altitude eastern margin of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, mainly dating to the Late Intermediate Period (ca. 950–1400 AD) and Inka period (ca. 1400–1536 AD). T...

Sculpted stone models or maquetas are a distinctive material expression of the inca occupation of the Atacama Desert. In this paper, we characterize a site with stone maquetas located along the Loa River above the town of Chiu-Chiu. Based on its formal attributes, the site can be dated to the Inca period. We consider the site’s internal spatial org...

Sculpted stone models or maquetas are a distinctive material expression of the inca occupation of the Atacama Desert. In this paper, we characterize a site with stone maquetas located along the Loa River above the town of Chiu-Chiu. Based on its formal attributes, the site can be dated to the Inca period. We consider the site’s internal spatial org...

Se presentan los resultados de los trabajos realizados en el marco de este proyecto durante el año 2015, último año dentro de la convocatoria Proyectos Arqueológicos en el Exterior, del Ministerio de Cultura. A partir de los resultados de los años anteriores, resumidos en distintas publicaciones dentro de esta misma serie, y del plan de trabajo pro...

In this paper we present an overview of the process of mapping and field surveying of an area of ancient fields and irrigation canals around the pre-Hispanic sites of Topaín, Paniri and Turi, in the Andean highlands of northern Chile. As opposed to the usual conditions for prospection in temperate or tropical regions, where the surface visibility o...

Resumen Durante el período Intermedio Tardío las comunidades del Loa Superior desarrollaron amplios proyectos agrohidráulicos orientados a la ampliación de la producción agrícola en un ambiente desértico. En este trabajo caracterizamos el sistema agrohidráulico del poblado de Topaín, el que habría estado en funcionamiento en el período Intermedio T...

Este texto ilustra un ejemplo de la utilidad y aplicación de tecnologías no invasivas para documentar, describir y comenzar a entender un conjunto de espacios de cultivo antiguos, de época prehispánica, situado en la periferia andina del norte chileno. Al contrario de lo que es habitual en las regiones templadas, donde la visibilidad del registro a...

Samples from a pre-Columbian furnace used for copper alloy smelting on the Pampa de Chaparrí in northern Peru during the Middle to Late Sicán Period (AD 900–1375) were studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence. The data thus obtained allow conclusions as to the temperatures and oxidation-reduction conditions preval...

We present the results of combined AMS-14C and single-grain luminescence dating of pre-Columbian irrigation canals that are part of the Racarumi Intervalley Canal System (RICS) in northern Peru. Archaeological and archival evidence suggest that the RICS was constructed during Middle Sicán (A.D. 900–1100) rule and continued to operate during Chimú a...

Archaeological studies of alcohol have tended to focus on consumption while production, particularly of beer, has been more difficult to recognize and interpret. The ethnoarchaeological study of modern maize beer or chicha production on Peru’s north coast provides information on (1) production steps and their material correlates, (2) labor and raw...

Large-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...

Ecologists have increasingly turned to history, including human history, to explain and manage modern ecosystems and landscapes. The imprint of past land use can persist even in seemingly pristine areas. Archaeology provides a long-term perspective on human actions and their environmental consequences that can contribute to conservation and restora...

The Pampa de Chaparrí (Pampa) in hyperarid northwest coastal Peru is an ideal area to study late prehispanic agricultural technology and production because irrigation canals and furrowed fields have been preserved since abandonment approximately 500 years ago. We collected 55 samples for soil characterization, fertility, and micromorphic analyses a...

Ceramic finds from the Inka workshops at Tambo Real and La Viña in the Leche Valley in northern Peru were studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy, thin section microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Sherds of Inka style vessels and of local style vessels can be distinguished by their shape, although local techniques appear to have been used in making both typ...

We report on an interdisciplinary approach to the study of finds of unfired clay lumps and unfired broken vessels from two workshops in the Leche Valley, north coast of Peru. The material is used as a reference in the study of pottery making at both workshops.

The collaboration between archaeologists and representatives of the physical sciences is often rendered difficult by differing training and expectations, poor mutual understanding, inconsistent terminologies, and a lack of time and willingness to bridge these gaps. In this paper some thoughts and suggestions on research design and interpretation in...

Culture changes over time and has geographic and other patterns. Evolutionary models have often been proposed to account for this. What has become of those ideas?

[English] According to historical sources, the Inka relocated groups of craft specialists to provincial centers to manufacture goods for the state. Recent fieldwork in the Leche Valley on the north coast of Peru provides insights into the organization and technology of pottery production at these centers. While Inka style jars were added to their r...

Many craft goods used to supply Inka administrators and personnel were produced in state-administered contexts as part of the labor tribute obligations of conquered polities. This paper examines ethnohistoric and archaeological data on state pottery production in the imperial provinces, including information from recent fieldwork at two administrat...

The 19 chapters presented in this volume deal mainly with the extraction and processing of precious metals. Studies of mercury, turquoise and early methods of petroleum extraction are also presented. Most of the essays stress ore processing and metallurgical technologies. The essays cover aspects of mining from the pre-colonial period to the 1940s,...

Results of neutron activation analysis of 100 obsidian specinens from the southern Sierra Madre Occidental are discussed. Two separate peralkaline sources are identified, Huitzila and La Lobera, which are chemically and spatially distinct. Subsequent subdivision of each source into spatial and compositional subgroups suggest separate flows or subso...

Archaeological studies of administered or sponsored craft production often emphasize the desires of ruling elites to control the manufacture of goods with economic or political significance. However, the ways in which control can vary and the implications for archaeological interpretation have rarely been addressed. Likewise, the producer's role in...

From 1991 to 1993, field surveys and geologic sampling were conducted in the region of the southern Sierra Madre Occidental in the states of Durango, Zacatecas, and Jalisco, Mexico, to investigate three previously unreported sources of obsidian or volcanic glass. The source areas are Huitzila-La Lobera, Llano Grande, and Nochistlan. Obsidian`s impo...