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Funebria incaica en el cerro Esmeralda (Iquique, I región)
Abstract
Durante la construcción de un camino al este de Iquique, a 905 m.snm, en la cordillera costera de los Andes, en el cerro denominado Esmeralda, se encontró un entierro de dos personas. El Museo de Iquique dio cuenta que el hallazgo es de suma importancia, y podría tener significado sobre la evidencia de los incas en la zona que es relativamente poco conocida. En este artículo informamos sobre el ajuar que ha sido encontrado en este entierro.
... This site, located in the Tarapacá region (Chile), allows us to hypothesize the existence of a cult relationship between male gods associated with earthquakes and female deities linked to the pre-Hispanic meaning of silver and water. Likewise, based on the study of Jorge Checura (1977), we emphasize on the archaeological and ethnohistorical analysis of pieces and emblems of power of the grave goods of the sacrificed maidens, consisting of bracelets, three possible llautu (male wool cords used on the head) and feather ornaments, which allows us to approach the social identity of these young women, as well as the symbolism of this capacocha. ...
... El presente artículo continúa la exposición de la capacocha del cerro Esmeralda presentada por Jorge Checura (1977), quien tempranamente estudió los restos del hallazgo. Lamentablemente, la mayoría de los objetos y su contexto fueron dañados al dinamitarse el lugar debido a la instalación de una antena de telecomunicaciones en el año 1976, impidiendo una comprensión precisa del contexto sacrifi cial. ...
... El ajuar también cuenta con objetos de cerámica, como jarros, escudillas del estilo Pacajes, ollas y un aríbalo. Además, contiene piezas de metalurgia y otros materiales, como brazaletes y adornos de plata, tupus; un collar de Spondylus o mullu, un colgante del mismo material; un recipiente de calabaza; una cuchara de madera, un tubo de rapé, hojas de coca y restos de alimentos (Checura 1977;Ojeda 2012). ...
El presente artículo pone en discusión el significado prehispánico de la huaca o mina de Huantajaya en relación con la capacocha de cerro Esmeralda, sacrificio humano inca de dos doncellas, un tema poco relevado desde la perspectiva etnohistórica. El sitio, ubicado en la región de Tarapacá (Chile), permite hipotetizar acerca de la existencia de una relación de culto entre dioses masculinos, asociados a los temblores, y deidades femeninas, vinculadas al significado prehispánico de la plata y el agua. Asimismo, a partir del estudio de Jorge Checura (1977), se enfatiza en el análisis arqueológico y etnohistórico de piezas y emblemas de poder presentes en el ajuar de las doncellas sacrificadas, consistentes en brazaletes, tres posibles llautu (cordeles de lana masculinos utilizados en la cabeza) y ornamentos plumarios; lo que posibilita acercarnos tangencialmente al ámbito socio-identitario de las jóvenes, así como a la simbología de esta capacocha.
... We present the discovered of mercury (Hg) in hair of capacocha inhumations of Cerro Esmeralda site in Iquique city, northern Chile (Fig. 1a) beside the analyses of hair of five samples from non-capacocha mummies from the same region. The Cerro Esmeralda is about 905 masl (Checura 1977) and the findings were located on the Norwest of the coastal mountain range of Iquique at 19 K 383,825.00 m E, 7,765,564.00 ...
... m N (Silva 2012). The Cerro Esmeralda mummies were accidentally found during dynamite explosions to aid in road construction (Checura 1977). Most likely, to avoid looting and further destruction of the biocultural evidence, the remains were recovered in a non-systematic work and unprofessional way. ...
... In total, 104 artifacts were found, including refined ceramic vessels or storage jars (aryballos) containing high quality chicha (corn beer) residues. In addition, cinnabar pigments, spiky spondylus shells, chuspa bags, silver ornaments, and possible small anthropomorphic and zoomorphic metal figures were used as offerings during this ritual (Arriaza et al. 2016(Arriaza et al. , 2018Checura 1977;Ojeda 2012). ...
We tested the hair of seven mummies housed at the Museo Regional de Iquique, northern Chile, to investigate evidence of mercury exposure in the Atacama Desert. Five mummies represent local inhumations and two came from a special burial known as capacocha, at Cerro Esmeralda, Iquique, northern Chile. The capacocha was a ritual of vital importance to both religious and political affairs wherein specially chosen children of both sexes were sacrificed throughout the Inca state. The cause of death of the two victims is unknown. Toxic cinnabar pigment has been found in the garments of the two Cerro Esmeralda sacrificed capacocha mummies. Using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), we evaluated if LA-ICP-MS was useful to discriminate between biogenic exposure and diagenesis of mercury. The capacochas inhumations’ hair presented a median level of 11.8 µg/g Hg vs.0.68 µg/g Hg found in non-capacocha mummies. We discuss these elevated levels of mercury in capacocha samples studied across and longitudinal sections of hair strands to elucidate possible endogenous consumption or perimortem contamination. We conclude that Cerro Esmeralda victims were subject to both external contamination and endogenous accumulation due to chronic Hg poisoning during the months-long capacocha ritual.
Graphical abstract
... En el ámbito local, la libación ritual de chicha en aríbalos también se incluía en algunos actos estatales, como las inmolaciones humanas -denominadas capacochas-, que conllevaban el reconocimiento oficial de un grupo étnico local preponderante (Besom 2013, Rostworowski 2014. Las capacochas del volcán Llullaillaco en el Noroeste Argentino, las del cerro El Plomo en Chile central o el entierro Inca de élite del cerro Esmeralda en Iquique (Checura 1977;Besom 2000Besom , 2013Ceruti 2003, Reinhard & Ceruti 2005Arriaza et al. 2016Arriaza et al. , 2018, entre otros) son evidencias de que, en esta macroárea denominada Collasuyu, el Estado inca reconoció unidades políticas importantes y negoció con ellas. ...
... Así, los referentes de los Grupos A y B estarían en las áreas nucleares del Tawantinsuyu, asociados a contextos de gran complejidad política y estatal, tales como recintos principales, santuarios de altura y el mismo Cusco (Rowe 1961, Checura 1977, Ceruti 2003. Estos grupos muestran artefactos que proliferan a propósito del Estado inca con determinadas dimensiones en áreas periféricas, en contraposición de otros artefactos que materializan las ideas morfofuncionales (prototipos) de los aríbalos adaptándolos a las tradiciones locales de hacer jarras (Grupo D). ...
... En Arica, el Grupo A aparece asociado al único recinto habitacional de piedra de la época en el sitio Az 15 (Santoro y Muñoz 1981, Focacci 1981, que presenta un patrón constructivo Inca (Piazza 1981). Otro ejemplar forma parte del ajuar fúnebre de entierro Inca de élite de Cerro Esmeralda en Iquique (Arriaza et al. 2016, 2018, Checura 1977. En tanto, el Grupo B se corresponde mayormente con los aríbalos que estudia Bray (2003aBray ( , 2004Bray ( , 2009, denominados medianos, los que tienen mayor difusión en áreas periféricas al Tawantinsuyu. ...
In this work we discuss the social role of the aryballos in northern Chile during the Tawantinsuyu or Late Period (1400-1536ad). Additionally, the decoration of some of these objects shows Ay mara iconographic motifs, while the different plant species kept in these vases (corn, beans, yucca, Lima bean) could be related to Collasuyu funeral rites. In summary, the circulation of forms with Inca influence (i.e. aryballos), mediated with local funeral rites, allowed for the negotiation of the identity of the subject in the funeral context.
... 106-107). 39 En 1976, producto de trabajos con dinamita para construir un camino que condujera a la cumbre de este cerro para instalar antenas, fue descubierto un entierro de dos mujeres, de 9 y 19 años (Checura, 1977), vestidas con textiles confeccionados en un evidente estilo estatal. Las piezas se caracterizan por su decoración geométrica lograda por la técnica de tapicería interlocked (algunos con tocapus), y otros decorados y tejidos con la técnica de urdimbres complementarias usando urdimbres de fibra de camélido y trama de algodón. ...
... En Chile, este tipo de prendas ha sido identificado principalmente en miniaturas, en contextos rituales situados en santuarios de las cumbres andinas (Dransart, 1995). Los cuerpos femeninos hallados en Cerro Esmeralda son los únicos que se han encontrado cerca de la costa y que han sido interpretados como capacocha (Museo Regional de Iquique, 1976Iquique, , 2012Checura, 1977). No obstante, ya que no existen pruebas de que las mujeres hayan sido sacrificadas, también cabe la posibilidad de que se trate de individuos enterrados en el cementerio asociado al mineral, correspondiendo los entierros a los encargados de su administración. ...
... 139-141). En términos arqueológicos, también, a través del efecto combinado de la política urbanística y vial implementada por el imperio en la quebrada de Tarapacá; los traslados de población local fuera de los valles de Camiña, Aroma y Tarapacá; la unificación de los cacicazgos de Pica y Tarapaca(Urbina, 2015) y, por último, la apropiación de los minerales de plata y algunos adoratorios (cerros tutelares) de amplia significación territorial(Checura, 1977;Reinhard y Sanhueza, 1982;Berenguer et al., 2011). ...
The Inca Empire reorganized conquered populations in different jurisdictions imposing the decimal system over local chieftainships or curacazgos, creating new provinces or administrative units where the local authorities lost, maintained or amplified their regional power. The system of encomiendas implemented by early Hispanic conquerors instrumentalized the indigenous political organization active in Inca times as a strategy to maintain the cohesion of the social units (tributaries) that supported the economy in each repartimiento and the payment of taxes that curacas had to give annually to the encomendero. The ethnohistorical study of Tarapaca (Lat. S 19º-21º) allows us to point out crucial aspects related to Inca expansionary policy in this territory, the manipulation of inherited political structures by the Spaniards, the organization of its populations, settlements and authorities, as well as the economic structure regional in the 15th and 16th centuries, demonstrating the originality of some old research hypotheses and the degree of convergence and uniqueness of the political history of this region in the context of the South Central Andes.
... In this area, known as Cerro Huantaca until the 19th century, two finely dressed young girls (ages 9 and 18-20 years), dated to around AD 1399-1475, were found buried in a foetal position. A total of 104 artefacts were found, including fine ceramic vessels (aríbalos), Spondylus shells, chuspa bags, silver ornaments and possible anthropomorphic and zoomorphic small metallic figurines, among others (Checura 1977;Besom 2000Besom , 2013Ojeda 2012;Arriaza et al. 2015). Thus, considering the quantity and quality of the burial goods, Checura (1977) indicated that the Cerro Esmeralda burial was a very significant interment. ...
... A total of 104 artefacts were found, including fine ceramic vessels (aríbalos), Spondylus shells, chuspa bags, silver ornaments and possible anthropomorphic and zoomorphic small metallic figurines, among others (Checura 1977;Besom 2000Besom , 2013Ojeda 2012;Arriaza et al. 2015). Thus, considering the quantity and quality of the burial goods, Checura (1977) indicated that the Cerro Esmeralda burial was a very significant interment. He said it was a ritualized human sacrifice carried out by the Inca State and that the buried girls came from Cusco (Checura 1977;Besom 2013). ...
... Thus, considering the quantity and quality of the burial goods, Checura (1977) indicated that the Cerro Esmeralda burial was a very significant interment. He said it was a ritualized human sacrifice carried out by the Inca State and that the buried girls came from Cusco (Checura 1977;Besom 2013). This is a long and arduous trip along the Inca road, or Qhapap ñan, and it most probably took several months to arrive at the coast, considering that Cusco is roughly 1200 km from Iquique. ...
... In 1976, road construction led to the fortuitous discovery of a rich Incan burial ground in Cerro Esmeralda (905masl) near the modern city of Iquique in northern Chile. Here, two young girls of 9 and 18-20 years of age were found buried in a fetal position; their remains were dated to around 1399-1475 A.D. Over 100 fine offerings were also present, including ceramic vessels (aríbalos), anthropomorphic and zoomorphic small metallic figurines, possible silver ornaments, chuspa bags, and Spondylus shells (Checura, 1977;Silva, 2012;Besom, 2013). This burial was classified as a Capacocha by several scholars (Checura, 1977;Ojeda, 2012;Silva, 2012;Besom, 2013) because it has six of the seven previously mentioned archaeological features. ...
... Here, two young girls of 9 and 18-20 years of age were found buried in a fetal position; their remains were dated to around 1399-1475 A.D. Over 100 fine offerings were also present, including ceramic vessels (aríbalos), anthropomorphic and zoomorphic small metallic figurines, possible silver ornaments, chuspa bags, and Spondylus shells (Checura, 1977;Silva, 2012;Besom, 2013). This burial was classified as a Capacocha by several scholars (Checura, 1977;Ojeda, 2012;Silva, 2012;Besom, 2013) because it has six of the seven previously mentioned archaeological features. The only discrepancy is that the burial was found at a lower elevation than usual. ...
... Initially, Checura (1977) indicated that the Cerro Esmeralda girls were strangled, but Silva (2012) noted that there are no external or internal lesions on the necks of the mummies to support this claim. The cause of death in Inca human sacrifice is not always immediately evident. ...
In this paper we examine five offerings from a funeral context found at Cerro Esmeralda, an Inca burial ground in the Iquique coast of northern Chile. We focus on the identification of utilized plants, and investigate the consumption of chicha during this mortuary ritual. We brushed and scraped aríbalo vessels and chuspa bags with sterile lab tools and collected and analyzed micro-samples for starch and phytoliths. We identified Zea mays starch, Cucurbita sp./ Lagenaria sp., Phaseolus sp., and a few grains of Mani-hot starch. The identified phytoliths that were present include festucodeae, dicotyledons, and graminoids. These results and this context suggest the consumption of high-quality chicha in the Inca regional funeral setting. Several possible interpretive scenarios are suggested, including the use of various types of plants to optimize the maize fermenting process; ritualistic consumption of chicha to feast with the dead (comer con el muerto); ancient anthropogenic contamination of the vessels due to different types of daily uses; and, finally, as social and ritual activities associated with all these possible scenarios.
... 4. Aparte de numerosos textiles, se encontraron cerámicas, algunas piezas de oro y plata, Spondylus, un recipiente de calabaza, hojas de coca, vegetales y frutos exóticos, pigmentos, bebidas y alimentos (Méndez-Quiros 2012). relevancia, es, en este caso particular, una clave determinante para acercarnos al sentido de este enterratorio (Baker 2001;Besom 2013;Checura 1977aChecura , 1977b; Hoces de la Guardia y Rojas 2016). ...
... En el registro del hallazgo depositado en el Museo Regional de Iquique no hay presente ninguna de estas pequeñas figurillas, aunque conforme al materiales en el momento del descubrimiento en que quedó material disturbado y no hubo un inmediato registro (Checura 1977a(Checura , 1977b. El informe del hallazgo da cuenta inicial de 100 piezas, más tarde, en los años en que este patrimonio permaneció guardado en condiciones poco favorables, fue afectada la integridad del conjunto. ...
Este texto expone un acercamiento al rol del textil en los Andes, su concepción como un cuerpo íntegro y su capacidad para ocupar un espacio privilegiado como medio de comunicación a través de elaborados y complejos sistemas de representación. Se aborda tangencialmente el tema de su función como envolvente tomando en consideración las características del textil utilizado para ello durante la vida y la muerte de una persona. El sitio del hallazgo, de características particulares en el contexto de los enterratorios de ofrenda inca, dada su ubicación en un cerro de baja altura en la cordillera de la Costa, revela una ceremonia de capacocha en la que se encontraron dos cuerpos femeninos con un excepcional ajuar y abundancia de textiles, que son la referencia directa de las registradas en las miniaturas de ofrenda incaica. En el estudio de la representación, en este caso de las piezas de mayor tamaño, acsu y lliclla, se relevan los elementos bases de su iconografía, amaru y ñawi, sus principales íconos, la modalidad compositiva de las franjas que los contienen y su sistema secuencial en la composición, buscando sentar las bases para un estudio comparativo más exhaustivo. El análisis de estos íconos, de gran valor simbólico en el Tawantinsuyu, plantea interrogantes dada la persistencia de su representación aun hoy en textiles etnográficos andinos.
... The human remains found at the site had been preserved by desiccation and many artifacts were found in association with the mummies, albeit not in a scientifically controlled excavation. Nonetheless, the items recovered, which included cumbi cloth, fine Inca pottery, and Spondylus shell, clearly indicated that this burial was a capacocha offering and furthermore, the victims seemed to have been killed by strangulation [52,53]. ...
... From an archaeological perspective, the fact that the bodies were recovered in association with sumptuous items such as cumbi tunics that served specific diplomatic functions (i.e., only the emperor could give such a gift to a local ruler as a token of his good will) indicate the high social status of these sacrificial victims [19]. Strangulation seems to have brought about the death of the two female mummies on Cerro Esmeralda [52], as well as for the man from Mt. El Toro [35]. ...
This study will focus on frozen mummies of sacrificial victims from mounts Llullaillaco (6739 m), Quehuar (6130 m), El Toro (6160 m), and the Aconcagua massif. These finds provide bioarchaeological data from mountaintop sites that has been recovered in scientifically controlled excavations in the northwest of Argentina, which was once part of the southern province of the Inca Empire. Numerous interdisciplinary studies have been conducted on the Llullaillaco mummies, including radiological evaluations by conventional X-rays and CT scans, which provided information about condition and pathology of the bones and internal organ, as well as dental studies oriented to the estimation of the ages of the three children at the time of death. Ancient DNA studies and hair analysis were also performed in cooperation with the George Mason University, the University of Bradford, and the Laboratory of Biological Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. Ethnohistorical sources reveal interesting aspects related to the commemorative, expiatory, propitiatory, and dedicatory aspects of human sacrifice performed under Inca rule. The selection of the victims along with the procedures followed during the performance of the
capacocha
ceremony will be discussed, based on the bioarchaeological evidences from frozen mummies and the accounts recorded by the Spanish chroniclers.
... Finalmente, el Inka se manifiesta claramente en Cerro Esmeralda (Checura 1977), así también en contextos funerarios más bien costeros como los de Patillos y Caleta Huelén (Moragas 1995;Núñez 1971), hacia el interior en Tarapacá Viejo y los cementerios de Pica, igual que en espacios altiplánicos de Isluga y Collacagua (Niemeyer 1962b;L. Núñez 1984;P. ...
... A partir de la colección de Cerro Esmeralda pudimos identificar vasijas restringidas y no restringidas (Checura 1977), distinguiéndose que la mayor variedad se concentra en las primeras, donde se observan ollas con pedestal, aríbalos, cántaros y jarros, mientras que las irrestrictas se reducen a platos bajos o escudillas. Todas muestran las típicas pastas del altiplano, arenosas muy compactas con cuarzo y biotita (mica), de cocción oxidante principalmente regular y colores anaranjado a café con diversos revestimientos y decorados en blanco o ante, rojo y negro. ...
In this paper we study the ceramic material from the archaeological villages of the Tarapacá region, located in the high ravines, the low valleys, and the coast to the west and east of Pampa del Tamarugal. Our objective is to do a systematic review of earlier studies by ourselves and by other investigators of domestic pottery in the region, to update knowledge about the culture history and social processes related to the still poorly known Pica Tarapacá cultural complex of northen Chile. We propose that this cultural complex developed during the Late Intermediate Period in at least two phases, initial and classic, that we have named Tarapacá Phase (ca. A.D. 900-1,250) and Camiña Phase (ca. A.D. 1,250-1,450), respectively. We propose a local pottery tradi- tion that began toward the end of the Formative Period and then, in the absence of Tiwanaku stylistic influences, incorporated new elements from the southern altiplano. This was the panorama that dominated the region when the Inka arrived. This work is intended to contribute with greater empirical evidence to the discussion about social dynamics and economic interaction between lowlands and highlands of this part of the South Central Andes during the Regional Developments of the Late Interme- diate Period.
... El primer director del Museo Regional fue Julio Romero, seguido por Horacio Larraín y Jorge Checura. Este último dirigió el museo desde 1971 hasta 1973, luego de una estadía de especialización en México en museología (Checura 1965(Checura , 1977. En 1983, el Museo Regional pasó a formar parte de la Corporación Municipal de Desarrollo de Iquique (CORMUDESI), perteneciente a la municipalidad de esta comuna, donde se mantiene hasta el día de hoy 2 . ...
... This unique burial revealed three immolations (Reinhard & Ceruti, 2000): a 15-year-old girl called Llullaillaco Maiden, a 6-year-old girl named Lightning Girl, and a 7-year-old Llullaillaco Boy (Figure 1a-c, respectively). The mtDNA sequence data discounts any close maternal relationship between the inhumation of the Llullaillaco (Wilson et al., 2005;Checura, 1977;Knudson et al., 2006;McEwan & Silva, 1989;McEwan & Van de Guchte, 1992). The capacocha sacrifices were first described by several chroniclers in the Andean region (see Duviols, 1976;Levillier, 1956;Schobinger, 2008; see also Arriaga, 1968Arriaga, [1621; Betanzos, 1996Betanzos, [1557; Cobo, 1990Cobo, [1653; de Gamboa, 2007de Gamboa, [1572; Guam an Poma de Ayala, 1980Ayala, [1615; Hern andez Príncipe, 1923Príncipe, [1622Príncipe, ], 1986Príncipe, [1621; Molina, 1943Molina, [1575), and their correlates have been discovered in the archaeological and bioarchaeological record (Besom, 2009;Bray et al., 2005;Ceruti, 2001Ceruti, , 2003Ceruti, , 2004Ceruti, , 2015Faux, 2012;Previgliano et al., 2003;Reinhard & Ceruti, 2000Schobinger, 2008;Vitry, 2008;Wilson et al., 2007Wilson et al., , 2013. ...
Here, we report an archaeometrical study of seven grave goods from the Inca sacrifice at Lullallalico Mountain (ca. 1430–1520 ce ) in search of microbotanical and chemical evidence of the content. Two queros (vessels), one aribalo (jar), one aisana (pot), and three textile bags were analyzed by optical microscopy and scanning electronic microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX). The results show significant chemical data and starches of Cucurbita , Oxalis , Fabaceae, Zea mays , Manihot esculenta , and Phaseolus . This archaeometrical evidence is discussed along with various perspectives on the capacocha ceremony to show that foreign and local identities were negotiated in this Andean mountain ritual.
... Indeed, in Cerro Esmeralda capacocha from Iquique, northern Chile, which correspond to Inca human sacrifice or offering, show in a ceramic vessel and textile bags six genera of phytoliths of edible plants, including Phaseolus, Cucurbita, Schinus sp. (seeds to flavor food), Acacia (seeds used as medicinal aid), and the Cyperaceae family (Arriaza et al., 2016, see also Besom, 2013;Checura, 1977). Also, in the Llullaillaco Mountain capacocha, Salta, Argentina, two queros, one aribalo, and one aisana (Inca pot) were positive for starch of Cucurbita sp., Fabaceae, Phaseolus sp., Manihot esculenta, or Zea mays (Ogalde et al., 2024). ...
We report observations of wear traces and microbotanical analysis of 29 ceramics, one pot of Cucurbita sp., and one wooden spoon—all artifacts of the AZ‐6 and AZ‐71 cemeteries of the Cabuza cultural phase (900–1200 ce ), Azapa Valley, northern Chile—. The results show some unused artifacts (11) besides 21 samples that were positive for starches of Zea mays , Cucurbita sp., Manihot esculenta , Ipomoea batatas , or Phaseolus sp., in addition to vegetable remains (13 cases). This evidence is interpreted as an expression of funerary rites in post‐state times, which could be an inheritance of the Andean Tiwanaku State (ca. 500–1000 ce ).
... En su cima, durante tiempos incaicos, se realizó una ofrenda humana o capacocha fuera del macizo andino (Checura, 1977). Asimismo, un tramo del camino incaico atraviesa Pampa Iluga, conectando el pueblo de Tarapacá con cerro Unita y el sitio Iluga Túmulos, así como con otros ramales hacia Huantajaya y la costa, o bien hacia valles y quebradas. ...
Fecha de presentación: 4 de mayo de 2022 Fecha de aceptación: 7 de octubre de 2022 Resumen Este artículo pretende ensamblar registros arqueológicos, etnográficos y etnohistóricos en sintonía con explicaciones andinas que se despliegan en torno a paisajes del Desierto de Atacama, tomando como referencia al sitio arqueológico Iluga Túmulos que fue utilizado hasta tiempos recientes en plena Pampa del Tamarugal. De este modo, se busca relevar y desentrañar la aparente contradicción entre atributos de aridez y fertilidad, de desierto deshumanizado y paisaje vivo que de forma simultánea caracterizan este lugar. Porque, justamente, esto tensiona nuestra propia teoría social y crítica cultural, obligándonos a explorar conceptos apropiados que nos permitan entender espacialidades locales y temporalidades
... Algunas hipótesis han señalado que Capacochas como las de Llullaillaco, Chañi y Cerro Esmeralda, en que se han encontrado más de un cuerpo, indicarían la necesidad de compañía para el viaje de las y los infantes(Checura, 1977;Ceruti, 2001;Mignole, 2015). En el caso del niño de El Plomo podemos suponer que la presencia de una figura femenina representaría el cuidado y la protección materna, sin embargo, no se ha podido establecer otro tipo de compañía ya que no existen hallazgos arqueológicos asociados a los dos enterratorios cercanos.En cuanto al origen del niño, inicialmente se plantea que la ocupación inka en la región de Santiago se inició hacia 1483 d.c., bajo el mandato de Tupa Inca Yupanki, información que se vio reforzada con la datación que arrojan los estudios del ajuar funerario del niño(Acevedo, 2012) y algunos datos etnoarqueológicos(Cabeza, 1986; Rodríguez et al., 2011). ...
This article aims to identify the interpretative repertoires associated with the figure of el niño del Cerro El Plomo within the framework of the Capacocha ritual, and within the current process of Andean ethnicity in the central valley of Chile, considering the commemorative festivity that develops the National Indianista Coordinator (CONACIN) in times of Inti Raymi, outside the National Museum of Natural History, in the city of Santiago de Chile. To this end, an ethnographic investigation was carried out, through in-depth interviews and participant observations, as well as a bibliographic review on sacred hills and huacas, the Tawantinsuyu occupation in the Mapocho Valley, and processes of ethnicization and restitution of indigenous bones.
... Variados son los contextos arqueológicos de los cuales provienen las figuritas antropomorfas y zoomorfas que tratamos en este trabajo, desde las cumbres andinas hasta el lago Titicaca (Pareja Siñanis 1992;Ramos Gavilán 1988; Reinhard 1992), o el cerro Esmeralda junto al océano Pacífico (Checura 1977). De modo llamativo, contrasta con esta diversidad geográfica la estandarización formal y técnica de unas y otras, con rasgos estilísticos comunes que les otorgan en conjunto un "sello" inca imperial característico (Figura 2a). ...
Resumen
En este artículo se propone un significado para las ofrendas de estatuillas en miniatura de seres humanos y camélidos en ritos incaicos, entre ellos la qhapaq hucha o capacocha, ceremonia principal de veneración a las huacas que incluía sacrificio humano. La investigación moderna ha buscado una explicación satisfactoria respecto de este rito, así como de la función de dichas estatuillas, apoyándose básicamente en información documental. Actualmente, se dispone de información de primera mano proveniente de hallazgos arqueológicos de diferentes cumbres de los Andes. En este trabajo se entrecruzan los datos históricos con los arqueológicos relativos a vestimenta e insignias de la nobleza inca, para proponer que dichas estatuillas simbolizaron a la pareja fundadora del linaje, Mama Ocllo y Manco Capac, en el acto mismo del surgimiento desde la pacarina del cerro Tambotoco, y que representaron por extensión, a los descendientes de tales progenitores. De esta manera, con las estatuillas se habría preservado la memoria de este pasaje crucial del mito de origen de la etnia inca, recordando a la pareja primigenia como creadora del orden social existente, y legitimando a la vez, el origen divino del poder de la élite gobernante.
... Por lo general, estas montañas con ofrendas humanas suelen tener una gran variedad de elementos arquitectónicos, que fueron los más estudiados y descriptos por la arqueología (plataformas, recintos, caminos, ushnus, etc.), en los que se aprecia la inversión de energía invertida en la construcción de infraestructura. Sin embargo, tales rasgos no son determinantes para su inclusión o exclusión de la categoría; esto, porque existen casos donde solamente se encontraron ofrendas humanas y no la infraestructura que se esperaría que hubiera asociada a la misma, como en el Cerro Esmeralda de Iquique (Checura 1977) o el Aconcagua (Schobinger 1999). Muchos de los escritos coloniales y actuales referidos al tema coinciden en que, las montañas donde se realizaban ofrendas humanas eran las wak'as más importantes del imperio, por tal motivo, para nosotros en el orden jerárquico, este tipo de evidencia se corresponde a un primer orden dentro de la jerarquía. ...
Estudio sistemático de caminos ceremoniales en los Apus (montañas sagradas) del Tawantinsuyu, con especial énfasis en el volcán Llullaillaco (6.739 m) y el Nevado de Chañi (5.896 m). Se realiza una propuesta metodológica para su estudio y se brindan indicadores arqueológicos para su localización. Se dan a conocer más de medio centenar de montañas con presencia de caminos ceremoniales.
... Para la costa arreica una situación similar pudo afectar a las poblaciones con un sustrato culturalmente vinculado al complejo Pica-Tarapacá y débil presencia de elementos inca locales como en Patillo (Moragas, 1995). Si bien la capacocha del Cerro Esmeralda es un elemento imperial emblemático en la región, no se relacionaría directamente con las poblaciones costeras sino con la explotación del mineral de Huantajaya (Checura, 1977;Ojeda et al., 2012) administrada desde Tarapacá Viejo (Zori y Urbina, 2014). ...
Se presentan los resultados de la caracterización arqueológica de Punta Patache, región de Tarapacá, compuesta por 18 basurales conchíferos y un cementerio. Se discuten los cambios sostenidos por grupos pescadores-cazadores-recolectores marítimos y las dinámicas poblacionales desde el periodo Arcaico Medio hasta la prehistoria tardía entre 7470 y 670 cal AP. Esta secuencia ocupacional se inicia con campamentos residenciales asociados a anzuelos de concha durante el periodo Arcaico Medio, seguida por una notable desocupación de ca. 1800 años. Durante el periodo Arcaico Tardío y el Formativo Temprano aumenta el número de sitios que manifiestan ocupaciones persistentes e intermitentes. Durante el período Formativo Tardío e Intermedio Tardío se consolida e intensifica la ocupación de la costa arreica y se incrementa el número de núcleos poblacionales.
... Most of the capacochas known to date were found on the high mountain peaks that were venerated as huacas. Twenty-eight individuals sacrificed as capacochas, varying in age from about 3.5 to 20 years old, were discovered on mountains in present-day Peru (Chachani, Ampato, Pichu Pichu, Misti and Sara Sara), Argentina (Chañi, Chuscha, Aconcagua, Quehuar and Llullaillaco) and Chile (El Plomo and Cerro Esmeralda) (Beorchia, 1985;Checura, 1977;Linares Málaga, 1966;Reinhard and Ceruti, 2010;Sanhueza S et al., 2005;Schobinger, 2003). A capacocha with an imperial assemblage was discovered on the Isla de la Plata, Ecuador (Dorsey, 1901). ...
Hallucinogenic plants and psychotropic stimulants performed an important role in the beliefs, rituals and divination practices in the ancient Andes. The aim of this article is to present the results of toxicological studies of two individuals immolated over 500 years ago during a capacocha ritual on the mountain of Ampato mountain in southern Peru. The capacocha was one of the most significant ceremonies carried out in the Inca Empire. During the ritual, the Incas sacrificed children and young women who were supposed to be beautiful and unblemished.
The hair and nails of two Ampato mummies were examined using LC-MS/MS for the presence of coca alkaloids and metabolites (cocaine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene), mescaline, tryptamine, harmaline and harmine. The results of the study show that during the last weeks of the victims’ lives, they chewed on coca leaves and were intoxicated by ayahuasca, a beverage made primarily from the Banisteriopsis caapi. In modern medicine, the properties of harmine led to the use of ayahuasca in the treatment of depression. Chroniclers mentioned the importance of the victims’ moods. The Incas may have consciously used the antidepressant properties of Banisteriopsis caapi to reduce the anxiety and depressive states of the victims.
... The burial of a young woman with the remains of ceremonial architecture was discovered on Pichu Pichu in southern Peru in 1963 (Linares 1966). The bodies of two females (9 and 18-20 years old) were discovered during road construction at Cerro Esmeralda in northern Chile in 1976 (Checura 1977), and the body of a 7-to 8-year-old boy was discovered by climbers on Aconcagua in 1985 (Schobinger 2001). ...
One of the most important rituals in the Inca Empire was the capacocha. It required the most prestigious sacrificial offering of male and female children and young women who were characterized by their beauty and purity. The aim of this paper is to present the results of a bio-anthropological analysis of the remains of five individuals sacrificed on the summits of Ampato and Pichu Pichu during this ritual. Various methods (bone analysis and radiography) were applied in the investigation due to the diverse states of preservation of the remains. Four individuals were in the same age category: 6-7 years old. The individual Pichu Pichu #2 was sacrificed at age 3.5 years, which makes him the youngest capacocha sacrifice currently known. Results show proper development of the victims' bodies, the presence of stress markers related to the early childhood period, and, in the case of the Ampato boy, malformation of the cervical vertebrae. The studies of the Pichu Pichu and Ampato sacrifices confirm their widespread origins, privileged position, and high social status. They show that the victims were well-nourished and had proper body growth compared to juveniles from the lower social strata in different cemeteries in the region.
... The nontypical age category and the lack of elaborate clothing and of a grave assemblage led to the conclusion that El Toro is probably a case of another type of event, not related to a state-sponsored capacocha ritual (Reinhard and Ceruti 2010:132). The capacochas from Cerro Esmeralda were discovered in 1976 in northern Chile during road construction (Checura 1977). The bodies belonged to two females of 9 and 18-20 years old. ...
One of the most impressive examples of an Inca capacocha ceremony was discovered during an archaeological expedition to the summit of Misti volcano in 1998. The offerings at the site included several human sacrifices, along with fine ceramics and figurines made from gold, silver, and Spondylus sp. shell. One of the two burials appeared to contain the bones of males and the other of females. The sex was established based on the contents of the graves, because the fragile skeletal material had been badly affected by volcanic activity and exact identification was difficult to make in situ. To limit the risk of damage, the bones were excavated together with the surrounding soil and transported in frozen blocks to the Museo Santuarios Andinos of Universidad Católica de Santa María in Arequipa. This material was the object of a bioarchaeological investigation in February and March 2018. The results revealed that at least eight individuals had been buried in the graves. The findings have increased our understanding of the age categories and physical condition of the individuals chosen to be sacrificed during the capacocha ritual.
... Por otro lado, existen trabajos que ayudan a entender a la Capacocha como una ceremonia ritual que presentó una variedad de espacios, no solo vinculada al ofrecimiento de niños y niñas a las cumbres sagradas (Gibaja Oviedo et al. 2014). Un contexto interesante es el del Cerro Esmeralda, en la costa de Iquique, Chile, donde la presencia de minas de plata de Huantajaya y de "islas de guano" motivó la instalación de un santuario interpretado como una clara forma de poder de corte ideológico, donde el Estado sacralizó el lugar con miras a mostrar y defender su posición sin tener que instalar avanzadas burocráticas o militares de mayor costo de mantención (Checura 1977). ...
It has been suggested that, depending on local, environmental, and demographic conditions, the Inca state implemented diverse strategies of landscape appropriation in the middle Calchaqui Valley, Northwest Argentina..One of the direct strategies consisted in the intervention of agricultural infrastructure in areas with no evidence of either local habitational or pukarastyle defensive settlements, which were very popular in the study area during the Regional Development Period (RDP) or Late Intermediate Period (LIP) and which could have become true Inca productive enclaves. Another strategy, of a more symbolic character, suggests that the Inca state appropriated places with a previous history, and that the pukaras acted as territorial milestones associated to a way of occupying the space, interweaving numerous practices and acting as referents of collective memory. In this article, we discuss the possibility that the strategies and ritual ceremonies were used as an expression of the territorial demarcation and annexation to the Inca policy in agricultural areas of the valleys and high gorges of Calchaqui, taking into account the concept of Capacocha.
... Although most sacrifices were conducted on high-altitude mountaintops in the south-central Andes (Covey 2008), a small subset of low-altitude capacochas are uniformly connected to nearby mineral resources, a relationship that is more explicit than can be easily documented for the high-altitude peaks. A capacocha sacrifice of a young woman and a girl at Cerro Esmeralda in northern Chile is believed to have taken place in relation to the nearby silver mines of Huantajaya (Checura 1977;Zori Fig. 11 Important mountain huacas in the ritual landscape surrounding the silver-producing centers of Porco and Potosí (redrawn from Cruz 2009, fig. 1). ...
Metal production in the prehistoric Andes entailed an array of political, economic, and ritual relationships that are increasingly the focus of archaeological investigation. One theme directing recent research is the link between metallurgy and political organization, including the origins of metal production, its relationship to sociopolitical complexity, and how shifts in the organization of metal production reflect and shape diachronic political transformations. A second theme is the use of metals to identify and interrogate interregional connections. Patterns in the circulation of different alloys and metal isotopes, as well as the transfer of technology, provide insight into the shifting constellations of economic and political connections maintained by prehispanic Andean populations. A final theme is ritual and meaning in Andean metallurgy, where I explore how the stages of mining, extractive metallurgy, and the production of metal objects added multivalent layers of meaning and value to metal artifacts. Operating in distinct ways across time and space, metallurgy in the ancient Andes could stimulate political complexity, drive geopolitical expansion and the integration of new subject populations, differentiate individuals and groups, connect people to one another and to the landscape, and harness the power of the numinous.
... In Chilean territory, treasure hunters excavated the burial of a male infant at 5.400 m, on the heights of mount El Plomo (Mostny 1957). Two sacrificed female individuals buried together with distinc- tive Inca offerings were accidentally exposed by workers during the construction of a road on the summit of mount Esmeralda, on the coastal town of Iquique (Checura Jeria 1977;Besom 2013). Material evidences of the pre-Columbian use of Andean summits during Inca rituals are mainly found on the mountains located in the ancient territories of Cuntisuyu and Collasuyu, the western and southern provinces of the Inca Empire, which in the XVI century included the Andean territories of southern Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile and northwestern Argentina. ...
This paper offers a summary of several years of high altitude archaeological investigations that I have undertaken in the South American Andes, focusing on the strategies used by the Inca to choose Andean peaks for the construction of mountaintop shrines that are the highest archaeological sites in the world. Selected mountains were used as places of pilgrimage in the context of sacrifices and offerings performed five centuries ago during state-sponsored ceremonies called capacochas. Diverse attributes could have been involved in the selection of the mountains to be crowned with imperial summit shrines. Archaeological examples are from Andean mountains above 5,000 meters in elevation, where I have been conducting high-altitude explorations on more than one hundred peaks since 1996. The evidence from archaeological surveys is contrasted with ethnographic data and references from ethno-historical sources. Attributes such as the altitude of the mountains and their visibility, as well as the accessibility of the summits, are taken into consideration in the analysis, pondering the strategies used by the Incas to cope with glaciers climbs, active volcanoes and snowcapped peaks.
... Es posible que la información recibida por los incas de la élite local no solo valoró los recursos mineros argentíferos (Checura 1977;Núñez 1979), sino también la riqueza marina excedentaria. De hecho, la explotación de la mina del Sol (Huantajaya) se realizó por la ruta preexistente Tarapacá -Mapocho -Huantajaya -costa de Iquique. ...
A micro spatial analysis is proposed to evaluate the circulation of resources between endorheic valleys settlements and coastal desert enclaves, through the caravan intermodal traffic in the Atacama Desert during the Late Intermediate Period. Within a harmonious social context, road circulation associated with geo-symbolic rites characterized these "island" settlements. While occupying permanent home bases, these groups also practiced longterm halts along these roads. The Pica-Tarapacá Complex's territoriality incorporated productive nodes in the Pacific through circuits associated with domestic sites and inter settlements rituals. We describe mobility indicators: materialities, camps, diets, funerary contexts, and rock art rites. These indicators establish connections between the oasis cemeteries of Pica, the intermediary camps of Pintados, Soronal and the coastal cemeteries of Patillos and Bajo Molle. We conclude that a segment of the Pica oasis population intensified their use of interfluvial sterile passages, where they occupied temporary halts in coexistence with local communities, and transported terrestrial and maritime food surplus. The complexity of these operations suggests the presence of a local socio-political leadership, which was later controlled and expanded during the Inca regime.
... Curiosamente, mientras en otras localidades mineras australes del imperio como Tarapacá (Checura 1977;Besom 2013), Charcas (Bouysse- Cassagne 2005Cassagne , 2008Platt et al. 2006;Cruz 2009) o Coquimbo (Iribarren 1962;Castillo 2007;Cantarutti 2013) la consagración de adoratorios sobre cerros con yacimientos mineros es más evidente, en la importante región minero-metalúrgica del Alto Loa, el ceremonialismo ligado a tales actividades parece haber tenido matices diferentes. En esta última zona, la evidencia parece sugerir que los rituales de producción minero-metalúrgicos auspiciados por el Estado involucraron a elevaciones como el volcán Miño y a otros rasgos del paisaje como el Cirahue, pero con un especial énfasis en las ceremonias públicas y a distancia, realizadas dentro de instalaciones estatales como Miño-1 y Cerro Colorado 6 (Berenguer 2007;Salazar et al. 2013bSalazar et al. , 2013a. ...
HIGH-ALTITUDE SHRINES AND INCA DOMINATION IN THE ALTO LOA, NORTHERN CHILE. Mountain
shrines are one of the most important expressions of Inca domination across the Collasuyu related to the ideological
manipulation of local religious beliefs and practices. Recent archaeological surveys conducted on the Colorado,
Palpana, and Miño mountains in the Alto Loa region (Antofagasta Region, Chile) have proved the existence of
high-altitude shrines, not previously documented on the latter two. In this article descriptions of the finds are
presented and, building on the data recovered, topics related to their chronology, the logistics of climbing,
and the types of activities conducted at the summits are discussed. In order to explain the role of these shrines
within the context of the Inca control of the region, possible relationships between mountain worship and the
occupation of major Inca facilities associated with state mining-metallurgical operations are examined.
Los adoratorios de altura constituyen una de las principales expresiones de la dominación incaica en el
Collasuyu relacionadas con la manipulación ideológica de creencias y prácticas religiosas locales. Prospecciones
realizadas en los cerros Colorado, Palpana y Miño en la región del Alto Loa (Región de Antofagasta, Chile) han
permitido comprobar la existencia de adoratorios de altura inéditos en los últimos dos cerros. En este trabajo
se realiza una caracterización de los hallazgos y, a partir de estos datos, se analizan aspectos relativos a su
cronología, la logística de los ascensos y la naturaleza de las actividades realizadas en las cumbres. A fin de
intentar explicar el rol de estos sitios en el contexto de la dominación incaica, se examinan las posibles relaciones
que a nivel de actividades productivas (particularmente minero-metalúrgicas) y ceremoniales podrían
haber existido entre el culto a los cerros y la ocupación de las instalaciones incaicas más importantes del área.
... Podemos mencionar entre otros, evidencias de rituales inkas en los siguientes cerros de Argentina: Chuscha (5,468m), Llullaillaco (6,739 m), Quehuar (6,130 m), Chañi (5,896 m), Mercedario (6,730 m), Aconcagua (6,962 m), Acay (5,716 m), Aracar (6,095 m), Aconquija (5,800 m), Socompa (6,051 m), etc. Si bien la veneración a los cerros es una tradición panandina anterior a los inkas, la construcción de estos adoratorios en las mismas montañas es una práctica que comienza con el Imperio (Kolata y Saignes 1992;Besom 2000;Glowacki y Malpass 2003;Leoni 2005; Moyano 2009). Estos cuentan con plataformas ubicadas en cerros que, por lo general, superan los 5,000 m de altura (sin embargo, esto no quiere decir que a alturas menores no se hallen este tipo de sitios, un claro ejemplo que podemos mencionar es el del cerro Esmeralda [Checura Jería 1977]), donde se llevaban a cabo ofrendas (Mercedario, Galán, etc.) o sacrificios humanos (Aconcagua, Llullaillaco, Chañi, Quehuar por mencionar algunos). Los sacrificados eran generalmente niños y su muerte se producía en el marco del ritual de la Qapac Hucha. ...
Este trabajo intenta transitar nuevos senderos en la investigación arqueológica de montaña. Si bien los adoratorios inkaicos de altura han sido ampliamente tratados, en los últimos años, el estudio de otros sitios ubicados a menores alturas también vinculados a este tipo de rituales se ha visto notoriamente relegado. Este artículo constituye una aproximación al estudio de este tipo de asentamientos a partir del caso del sitio El Apunao (4,760 m) situado en el cordón montañoso del Nevado de Cachi (Salta, Argentina), del cual presentaremos aquí sus primeras investigaciones sistemáticas. Es nuestro propósito humanizar este paisaje prehispánico, teniendo en cuenta a la gente que habitó estas alturas, a quienes lo experimentaban día a día, tratando de entender la forma en que los sujetos se manejaban y percibían este espacio tridimensional y comprender así la dinámica de estos asentamientos. Teniendo en cuenta que es en estos sitios donde el Tawantinsuyu adquiere un control absoluto del ceremonial, y despliega allí toda su parafernalia simbólica. De este modo observaremos claramente como prácticas sociales vinculadas al poder e ideología imperiales ad-quieren su correlato material en estos nuevos espacios, rituales y edificaciones. Palabras claves: Inkas, Valle Calchaquí, Ritual, Montañas. This work attempts to tread new paths in mountain archaeological investigation. Although high altitude Inka sanctuaries have been extensively treated during the last years, the study of other sites, located at lower heights, also related to this kind of ritual has been notoriously relegated. This paper constitutes an approach to the study of this type of settlement from the case of the site of El Apunao (4,760 m) located in the Nevados de Cachi mountain range (Salta, Argentina), whose first systematic investigations are presented here. Our intent is to humanize this prehispanic landscape, considering the people who inhabited these heights, who experienced it every day, attempting to understand the way in which these subjects conducted themselves and perceived this three-dimensional space and to understand the dynamics of these settlements. It is at these sites where Tawantinsuyu achieves an absolute control of the ritual and displays all its symbolic paraphernalia. In this way, we will clearly observe how social practices related to imperial power and ideology gain its material expression at these new spaces, rituals and buildings.
... Platt and colleagues (2006: 157, 158) suggest that these "papas" of silver were actually "mamas" revered by Andean peoples as sacred huacas (Albornoz 1989(Albornoz [1581(Albornoz /1585 2008), and that the Inka may have been particularly interested in controlling mines that produced such large nodules of gold or silver. Scholars have similarly argued that the richness and potentially sacred nature of the Huantajaya mines may account for why the Inka performed a capacocha ceremony at the nearby site of Cerro Esmeralda, which, at 905 m.a.s.l., is one of very few low-altitude sacrifices known in the Andes (Checura 1977; see fig. 2). ...
... Bioarchaeological evidence from diverse mountaintop shrines supports the accounts in the chronicles. Strangulation seems to have brought about the death of two female Inca mummies discovered accidentally on the summit of a coastal hill named cerro Esmeralda, in northern Chile (Checura 1977). Signs of strangulation were also observed in the mummified adult male from mount El Toro, found above 6000 meters in the Andes of western Argentina (Schobinger 1966). ...
Three frozen bodies belonging to a young woman and two infants were found at an elevation of 6.715 meters (22,100 ft.) above sea level, on the summit of volcano Llullaillaco, in the Andes of northwestern Argentina. The mummies were discovered (and recovered for ulterior preservation and study) during scientific excavations codirected by the author of this paper at the highest archaeological site in the world. The mummies belonged to children that were sacrificed five hundred years ago, under the rule of the Inca Empire, as part of a state-controlled ceremony known as capacocha. According to the historical sources written during the Hispanic conquest, the Inca human sacrifices were performed in response to natural catastrophes, the death of the Inca emperor, or to propitiate the mountain spirits that grant fertility. The selected children and the young acllas or “chosen women” were taken in processions to the highest summits of the Andes to be sacrificed. They were believed to become messengers into the world of the mountain deities and the spirits of the ancestors. Numerous interdisciplinary studies were conducted on the frozen mummies between 1999 and 2004, a time span during which the “Llullaillaco children” were preserved at the Catholic University of Salta (UCASAL). These studies included radiological evaluations by conventional X-rays and CT scans, which provided information about condition and pathology of the bones and internal organs; as well as dental studies oriented to the estimation of the ages of the three children at the time of death. Ancient DNA studies and hair analysis were also performed in cooperation with academic institutions in the United States and Europe, including the Institute of Bioscience at the George Mason University, the University of Bradford and the Laboratory of Biological Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. In this paper we focus on the frozen bodies of mount Llullaillaco as objects for bioarchaeological and medical research, providing an overview on the paleopathology of the mummies that are among the best preserved known to date.
... Los territorios y comunidades de esta parte de la costa de Atacama formaron parte del Tawantinsuyu, en un proceso histórico que incluso comprendió sacrificios en el contexto ritual de la capacocha, realizado en el santuario de altura costeño de cerro Esmeralda(Checura 1977). Asimismo, sabemos por datos etnohistóricos ciertos detalles de esta incorporación al Collasuyo, la que habría tenido también un probable interés en los recursos mineros locales. ...
We approach the analysis of the domestic economy of the coastal groups of Cobija, considering hunting, fishing and gathering as dynamic subsistence strategies, with a particular configuration during the late precolumbian periods. We propose the existence of specialized fishermen, dedicated to generating a surplus of fish with help from certain technologies such as metal hooks and cotton nets. This surplus was distributed into the highlands and coastal communities in the context of a strong economic integration in Atacama during the late periods. We based our analysis ofthe domestic deposits in the study of the depositional patterns of daily remains and the functional analysis of the associated instruments or tools. Furthermore, we discuss the nuances of their economic practices in relation to the documents written during the colonization of these territories.
... Cfr. Checura, 1977. Es significativo el gesto estatal hacia los habitantes locales y sus religión, pues éste espacio ceremonial donde se sacrificaron dos jóvenes, se ubicara en plena cordillera de la costa en medio de un paso que conectaba el "valle de Tarapaca" con el litoral de Iquique y a pocos metros de las minas Tarapaca. ...
La presente Tesis de Magister desarrolla un análisis etnohistórico de la región de Tarapacá durante el siglo XV y XVI (ca. 1400-1572), desde una perspectiva que articula e integra los aportes de la arqueología y la historia regional. A lo largo del escrito se recopilan, ordenan y analizan comparativamente datos y estudios relativos a poblaciones, asentamientos y autoridades indígenas durante este lapso cronológico.
El propósito central de esta Tesis es evaluar dos hipótesis relativas a las transformaciones sociopolíticas en la red de localidades que componen la región de estudio; primero como consecuencia de la incorporación de Tarapaca al Tawantinsuyo, y, luego producto de la implantación del sistema hispano de encomiendas en el marco de una frágil e incipiente organización del estado colonial en el Virreinato del Perú.
La primera hipótesis de trabajo se propone documentar los efectos de una política de urbanismo regional por parte del Estado Inca en la quebrada de Tarapacá y otros puntos detectados -sobre la base de inversiones en infraestructura vial y manipulación de las estructuras políticas y religiosas locales-, para estimar la conformación de una jurisdicción indígena, reconocido en ciertas fuentes tempranas (ca. 1563) como la provincia o “… la nación de los de Tarapaca”. La segunda, somete a escrutinio la tesis de una Historia Temprana de la provincia Tarapaca, previa a 1572 o “pre toledana”, en la cual el desenvolvimiento de encomenderos, visitadores y agentes eclesiásticos ocurre y se adecúa tácticamente a las condiciones sociales existentes, utilizando la infraestructura y esquema jurisdiccional legado por la administración cuzqueña y el patrón de asentamiento indígena vigente desde el siglo XIII en la región.
Esta Tesis es un primer paso en la integración y análisis de un magnífico y variado cuerpo de antecedentes arqueológicos y documentales respecto de la historia indígena y colonial de la actual región de Tarapacá. Para abolir aquellas consideraciones siempre adversas sobre la escases de fuentes o las dificultades del trabajo inter disciplinario en esta materia, esperamos que esta Tesis ilumine el camino hacia una prospección conjunta y sistemática de archivos en búsqueda de documentos inéditos, incluyendo aquellos publicados de modo fragmentario, e incentive el desarrollo de nuevos estudios en el campo de la arqueología histórica.
... A radiocarbon date of 350 ± 30 BP (Cal AD 1440-1530 and Cal AD 1560-1630) from a small hearth near the spondylus shells demonstrates these ritual offerings date to the LP. We must keep in mind that these shells were probably brought from coastal Ecuador and that in the LP northern Chile they appear almost exclusively associated with rituals performed at mountain-peak sanctuaries, usually including child sacri fi ce or Capacocha (Checura 1977 ) . The presence of specimens of Spondylus shells strongly suggests state-sponsored rituals performed in honor of the local mining huaca at El Abra. ...
In this paper we reconsider our previous interpretation on Inca control over the San José del Abra copper mines in northern Chile by evaluating new evidence that comes from recent research into the sociopolitical and ideological dimensions of mining during the Late Period. Our data show that two mining complexes in the study area were directly controlled by the state through diverse means, including (1) the financing of the operations; (2) the spatial concentration of production and the mining community; (3) the materialization and reproduction of sociopolitical differences within the mining community between the state’s representatives and the local workers; (4) the Inca mediation between the miners and the supernatural beings that probably control mining safety and fertility; and (5) the creation of a regional sacred landscape centered around mining and materialized through state symbols and state-controlled practices.
... was worked in the Early Colonial period (Berthelot 1978; Bouysse-Cassagne 2005; Gavira 2005; Platt et al. 2006). Although the treasured silver mine of Huantajaya was well known –it was even associated with the capacocha child-sacrifice ceremony at Cerro Esmeralda (Checura 1977)– there is little direct evidence of pre-Hispanic or Early Colonial mining operations in the area. The Huantajaya mine was reactivated in the late 18 th century, which in turn triggered the opening of several mining contexts in the Pampa del Tamarugal, where the main resources to process the ores, namely water and firewood, were to be found. ...
Mines, spoils, retention walls and pads are the most common material remains of pre-Hispanic mining activity studied by archaeologists. In this paper we will focus on yet another category, the mining ergology, defined as the material artefacts associated with day to day mining activities. Mining ergology seeks to document the technological equipment of the pre-Hispanic miner, which is seldom found in archaeological contexts due to poor preservation of organic materials. The arid conditions of the Atacama desert offer unique conservation possibilities which have shown a varied mining ergology that includes hafted stone hammers bound to wooden handles with rawhide and wool, lithic hammer heads, lithic and wooden shovels, baskets and capachos (rawhide sacks). The study of these components complements our knowledge of pre-Hispanic mining technologies and increases our understanding of the organization of mining operations, the diachrony of mining activity, the variability and continuity of the material record, and therefore of mining and its development in the Andes in general. ponencias presentadas en la Primera Reunión Internacional sobre Minería Prehispánica en América (PRIMPA), realizada en San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, diciembre 2010. Este manuscrito fue evaluado por investigadores externos y editado por Andrés Troncoso y Victoria Castro, en su calidad de editores invitados de la Revista.
... Platt and colleagues (2006: 157, 158) suggest that these "papas" of silver were actually "mamas" revered by Andean peoples as sacred huacas (Albornoz 1989(Albornoz [1581(Albornoz /1585 2008), and that the Inka may have been particularly interested in controlling mines that produced such large nodules of gold or silver. Scholars have similarly argued that the richness and potentially sacred nature of the Huantajaya mines may account for why the Inka performed a capacocha ceremony at the nearby site of Cerro Esmeralda, which, at 905 m.a.s.l., is one of very few low-altitude sacrifices known in the Andes (Checura 1977; see fig. 2). ...
Drawing on a survey of the Quebrada de Tarapacá in northern Chile and excavations at the Inka and Colonial administrative site of Tarapacá Viejo, we present archaeological evidence of small-scale purification of silver using lead. We argue that the use of techniques to refine silver-bearing ores most likely began in the Late Horizon (AD 1450-1532), when local metallurgists may have processed minerals from the nearby silver mines of Huantajaya as part of their labor tribute to the Inka state. Although the adoption of mercury amalgamation technologies introduced by Europeans allowed for large-scale refining of silver, lead purification techniques continued in use into the early Colonial Period (AD 1532-1700).
... Aun cuando haya que admitir los sesgos de la mirada cultural hispánica, también hay que señalar que el uso pautado del traje y todo tipo de atuendos que observan los españoles al tiempo de la Conquista corresponde a un conjunto significante de larga data, cuyas raíces se afincaban en tiempos preincaicos y sobre el cual la arqueología nos entrega valiosa información. Por otra parte, las descripciones y dibujos de Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala (1980 [1615]), así como el análisis tanto de las fuentes documentales como de las evidencias arqueológicas textiles (Abal 2001;Checura 1977;Mostny 1957;Rowe 1978Rowe , 1995Rowe y Rowe 1996;Rowe 1979;2000, entre otros) son muy precisas al respecto: las diferentes partes del atuendo incaico se hallaban regidas por reglas explícitas en cuanto a qué podía y debía usar cada miembro integrante del imperio. Además del carácter pautado, llama igualmente la atención el alto nivel de estandarización de la decoración de uncus, mantas y chuspas (Rowe 1978;Rowe 1979Rowe , 2000. ...
This article brings together and analyses archaeological and historical data concerning the use of prehispanic headdresses in the Andes, with specific emphasis on the south-central Andes. This serves as a context for the analysis of a fez-like headdress manufactured with the spiral-coiling technique recovered from various cemeteries in the Norte Grande region of Chile. Drawing on an examination of these archaeological contexts from a range of Chilean and foreign museums, I argue that the spiral-coiled chucu headdress served as an emblematic symbol of aymara or colla identity or, more specifically, of the Caranga and Pacaje ethnic groups serving as Inka mitimaes in the coastal valleys of the far north of Chile as indicated by historic documents. If my arguments were correct, this particular headdress would have represented, along with certain ceramic styles, an additional distinctive sign of the presence of Altiplano groups in the area during the Late Period (ca. 1,470-1,536 AD).
Standardized Inka tunics, or unku, were created under the auspices of the state as symbolic expressions of its expansionist power. To ensure these textiles acquired the status of effective insignias of power and territorial control, the Inka established and imposed technical and stylistic canons for their production (techne) by means of highly-skilled state weavers. In the provinces, social groups that came under imperial rule, local expert weaving agents adopted the conventions of the state and included meaningful symbolic elements of the idiosyncrasies, traditions, and experiential knowledge of the local community (metis). We therefore propose that this was not a unidirectional process and that the Caleta Vitor Inka unku (hereon referred to as the CV unku), presented here, reflects a syncretism promoted by local weavers. In terms of methods, we have developed a decoding tool for the unku, with the aim of distinguishing state from local hallmarks, thereby revealing the syncretic complexity of these iconic tunics. This methodological tool is based on a series of standard analytical parameters and attributes linked to morphological, technological, and stylistic features, which we applied to the CV unku. Unlike others, this unku does come from a looted tomb but was scientifically excavated in a cemetery located in the Caleta Vitor Bay in northern Chile. By deconstructing the CV unku we determined the steps in the chaîne opératoire at which local technical and stylistic elements were incorporated, thus affecting or transforming, in part, its emblematic imperial imagery. This study also marks a step forward in our understanding of a syncretic landscape that combines the state worldview and organized production system (imperial Inka) with craft-production practices that were rooted in provincial and local communities (provincial Inka).
This work attempts to tread new paths in mountain archaeological investigation. Although high
altitude Inka sanctuaries have been extensively treated during the last years, the study of other
sites, located at lower heights, also related to this kind of ritual has been notoriously relegated.
This paper constitutes an approach to the study of this type of settlement from the case of the site of
El Apunao del Chinchillar (4,800 msnm) located in the Nevados de Cachi mountain range (Salta,
Argentina), whose first systematic investigations are presented here.
Our intent is to humanize this prehispanic landscape, considering the people who inhabited these
heights, who experienced it every day, attempting to understand the way in which these subjects
conducted themselves and perceived this three-dimensional space and to understand the dynamics
of these settlements. It is at these sites where Tawantinsuyu achieves an absolute control of the
ritual and displays all its symbolic paraphernalia. In this way, we will clearly observe how social
practices related to imperial power and ideology gain its material expression at these new spaces,
rituals and buildings.
In this paper, we explore the complex subject of Capacocha ceremonies held in some mountain tops of the Andes during Incan times, where human sacrifices, especially of girls and boys of great beauty and deemed perfect, were done. We have focused on one aspect of these sacred rituals, namely, the pattern on the miniature woven feminine garments dressing the figurines that are part of the mortuary offerings. These patterns stand out not only because of their iconic nature, not always present in the Cusco art, but also because of their obsessive repetition in these offerings made in the Andean peaks.
Ruling over western South America for nearly 100 years, the Inca Empire was one of many global cultures that practiced human sacrifice, though few other rituals of human sacrifice are as captivating as the Inca child sacrifice of capacocha. Capacocha children were chosen to be representatives of the Inca people in the afterlife. As such, they were afforded an elevated position in society before their death. Following their selection, children would undergo a year-long pilgrimage terminating at a mountain top shrine where they would be killed. As a result of the low temperature and oxygen levels present at such a high elevation, the bodies of capacocha children were protected against decomposition, creating some of the best-preserved natural mummies in the world. These mummies have been the subject of numerous bioarchaeological analyses to determine their age, sex, geographic origin, pathological conditions, diet, and cause of death. Beyond these, however, the mummies present a unique opportunity to study how the capacocha ritual process — including the sudden ascension in status — manifested itself on the children's bodies. This paper aims to review the bioarchaeological data garnered from the mummies in order to reconstruct the experience of a child chosen for capacocha. Results suggest higher variability between children selected for capacocha than was originally outlined by Spanish chroniclers.
The Museo Regional de Iquique, Chile, holds a patrimony of extraordinary value consisting of offerings preserved from an Inca capacocha ceremony. The ceremony, an extremely important Inca ritual carried out throughout Tawantinsuyu took place approximately between the years 1399 and 1475 AC. in cerro Esmeralda near this city. This 1976-discovery revealed two female bodies and a group of more than seventy-seven artifacts, which include a majority of textiles (70%).The Esmeralda site, unlike others found primarily in high-altitude mountain regions was discovered at a low altitude (905 m.a.s.l.). The bodies of the women were wearing exactly the same garments that the clothed miniature figurines that were found in several of the capacocha burials from other sites in the Andes. Recent preparation of these materials for their display in the museum have allowed us to record their details and initiate comparative studies among Inca women’s garments that have been preserved both in real scale and their miniature similes. This work presents the progress made in the study that considers material, technical and formal aspects of the textiles in relation to composition, color and iconography that follow the strict patterns that have appeared to have been established by the Inca State.
My earlier article about Corral Redondo in Ñawpa Pacha focused on the famous Wari faceneck vessels and blue-and-yellow feather panels discovered at the site in January 1943. In this follow-up, I discuss and illustrate the sizable group of Inca-style objects—most of them miniatures—found at the site at the same time; only a few have been published, mostly without Corral Redondo provenience. These objects, along with information obtained during a visit to the Churunga Valley in 2013, suggest that, during Inca times, the site was a huaca where a capacocha ceremony may have taken place; the site may have been associated with a gold mine. Additional information found in newspapers from 1943 in libraries in Lima and Arequipa provides new details about the earlier Wari objects.
The coniguration of the Inca Empire in Tarapacá, located in Northern Chile, is still a matter of investigation and discussion. In this paper we present a synthetic study of the material expressions of the Inca at an emblematic settlement, Tarapacá Viejo, in which populations of the Pampa del Tamarugal, or Yunga, articulated with peoples of the highlands and desert coast of this region. We combine different architectural, artefactual and ecofactual information recovered from Inca deposits at Tarapacá Viejo, as well as precise historic, stratigraphic and chronological data. The purpose of this investigation is to contribute new and previously unpublished information to the debate regarding the economic logic and ideological strategies implemented by the Inca in Northern Chile and neighboring areas. In sum, we expect that the archaeological record at Tarapacá Viejo will contribute to a critical discussion of the classic dichotomies between direct or indirect and territorial or hegemonic domination, derived from Andean models of verticality.
Este ajuar funerario es resguardado en el Museo Regional de Iquique desde el año de su descubrimiento en 1976, año en que este sitio arqueológico fue accidentalmente destruido con dinamita por la instalación de antenas en su cumbre. Hoy, se presenta a la comunidad una propuesta que condensa los resultados de la investigación y los trabajos de conservación desarrollados entre los años 2011 y 2012. De esta manera, esperamos contribuir a la valoración y conocimiento de este legado cultural que atestigua un capítulo fundamental en la historia de Tarapacá.
This chapter presents preliminary results of research aimed at studying the organization and imperial control of the mining complex of Los Infieles, in north-central Chile, during the Inca Period (ca. AD 1450–1541). A full coverage archaeological survey was conducted in the Los Infieles area (50 km2). The survey confirmed the presence of a large mining complex focused principally on the extraction of opaline silica and chrysocolla. The materials registered during the survey suggest that each of the five mining clusters recorded at Los Infieles included at least one large site, in which similar operational sequences of mining activities were conducted. The absence of lapidary workshop remains and the small size of remaining sorted minerals at the sites also suggest that the final products obtained from the mining operations were high-quality granule and pebble size minerals. The large number of mines and their associated facilities across the Los Infieles region support the idea that during the Inca Period, chrysocolla and opaline silica had much greater economic value than scholars have thought, at least at an imperial provincial level. The evidence collected thus far also indicates that the Inca state was significantly involved in sponsoring and supporting these mining operations.
[English] In this article the widely accepted proposition of a direct correlation between the historically attested Inka expansion during the fifteenth century and the archaeologically recorded appearance of Inka-style ceramics is tested. Excavation of an Inka-type house in Caquiaviri, once a provincial capital of the Inka state in the southern Lake Titicaca area, revealed a stratigraphic sequence with both typical Inka pottery and local ceramics. Radiocarbon dates show that the lowermost strata accumulated before the middle of the fifteenth century, when Inka ceramics were already in use. This, together with several other radiocarbon dates from northern Chile, demonstrates that the archaeologically observed ceramic period does not correlate with the historically recorded conquest. // [Spanish] En este artículo se prueba la propuesta ampliamente aceptada de la directa correlación entre la expansión incaica del siglo XV mencionada en las fuentes históricas y la aparición del estilo cerámico inca en el registro arqueológico. La excavación de una casa inca típica en Caquiaviri (una capital provincial incaica, en el área meridional del Lago Titicaca) reveló una secuencia estratigráfica de cerámica incaica y alfarería local. Las fechas radiocarbónicas muestran que los estratos inferiores se acumularon antes de la mitad del siglo XV, cuando la cerámica incaica ya estaba en uso. Esto, junto con otros fechamientos radiocarbónicos del norte de Chile, demuestra que la fase cerámica del registro arqueológico no concuerda con la conquista mencionada en las fuentes escritas.
It is the aim of this study to examine a category of Inka artefacts in order to explore visual representations of the elements. In an Aristotelian or scholastic division they would be seen as water, earth, fire and air. The places at which an outwardly similar juxtaposition of elements can be seen to coalesce most clearly in symbolic form (and which have survived in the archaeological record) are the so-called high altitude shrines, located on or near the summits of extinct volcanoes in the Andes. Fully clad female and male figurines are frequently found at such sites and it is the aim of this work to explore their contexts and some aspects of the symbolism involved. The association of categories in the combination of elements involved appears to cross-cut European categorizations. This study suggests that Inka natural philosophy would have had a significantly different classificatory basis than the one employed by Spanish observers who came into contact with Inka people in the sixteenth century. The study also addresses the interplay of gender associations in the materials and forms used in the dress and placement of the figurines at mountain top shrines.
Northern Chile, part of the south central Andes, consists of two main ecological subareas: extreme northern Chile, including the western valleys, and the Atacama Desert and oases. Different ecological conditions obtain in each subarea: puna, altiplano, and precordillera in the highlands; valleys, the desert, and oases in the intermediate zone; and coastal environments along the Pacific shores. In prehistoric times, all these environments were very interconnected. There are three different cultural traditions in the local prehistory: the early hunting and gathering tradition (10,000–4000 B.P.), the Chinchorro Tradition (7500–2500 B.P.), and the Altiplano or Andean Tradition (3000–0 B.P.). This proposed sequence is described, with emphasis on the early Chinchorro adaptations, including the important patterns of mummification, and its possible relation to tropical forest groups of the Amazon basin; and the Pre-Tiwanaku and later Tiwanaku and Inca developments, in relation to the circum-Titicaca region. The data presented in the paper are further developed to explore ideas and hypotheses for future research.
One of the most momentous of Inca state ceremonies was known as the capacocha. Through the sacrifice of both precious objects and select children, the capacocha served to link the capital of Cuzco to its far-flung hinterlands and the empire itself to the deities that sanctioned it. While ethnohistoric sources offer some insight into the capacocha ritual, the information is sketchy. The present study furthers our understanding of the capacocha ritual through the use of archaeological data. The compositional analysis of a sample of ceramic vessels recovered from several different capacocha burial sites around the Inca empire was conducted using instrumental neutron activation. These data are compared to results of paste analysis performed on Inca pottery from Cuzco and other parts of the empire. The results of this comparative study offer insights into the origins, movement, and connections of the children who were sacrificed in this key state ceremony. These data, in turn, help us more clearly understand the role of this important state ritual as it figured in strategies of imperial Inca statecraft.
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