Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jan 28, 2015
The south central Andes is known as a region of enduring multiethnic diversity, yet it is also th... more The south central Andes is known as a region of enduring multiethnic diversity, yet it is also the cradle of one the South America's first successful expansive-state societies. Social structures that encouraged the maintenance of separate identities among coexistent ethnic groups may explain this apparent contradiction. Although the early expansion of the Tiwanaku state (A.D. 600-1000) is often interpreted according to a centralized model derived from Old World precedents, recent archaeological research suggests a reappraisal of the socio-political organization of Tiwanaku civilization, both for the diversity of social entities within its core region and for the multiple agencies behind its wider program of agropastoral colonization. Tiwanaku's sociopolitical pluralism in both its homeland and colonies tempers some of archaeology's global assumptions about the predominant role of centralized institutions in archaic states.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jan 28, 2015
The south central Andes is known as a region of enduring multiethnic diversity, yet it is also th... more The south central Andes is known as a region of enduring multiethnic diversity, yet it is also the cradle of one the South America's first successful expansive-state societies. Social structures that encouraged the maintenance of separate identities among coexistent ethnic groups may explain this apparent contradiction. Although the early expansion of the Tiwanaku state (A.D. 600-1000) is often interpreted according to a centralized model derived from Old World precedents, recent archaeological research suggests a reappraisal of the socio-political organization of Tiwanaku civilization, both for the diversity of social entities within its core region and for the multiple agencies behind its wider program of agropastoral colonization. Tiwanaku's sociopolitical pluralism in both its homeland and colonies tempers some of archaeology's global assumptions about the predominant role of centralized institutions in archaic states.
Abstract Dress can be a powerful statement of status, ideology, and ethnic identity. Archaeologic... more Abstract Dress can be a powerful statement of status, ideology, and ethnic identity. Archaeological textiles in their original contexts may provide insight to these and many other facets of social life. This study takes a contextual approach to study and interpret a set of four high-quality garments found in a single child burial at the Tiwanaku site of Omo M10 in Moquegua, Peru (700–1050 AD). By integrating the histories of textile objects and social groups, we consider the identity of the deceased, and how the layers of funerary dress reflect the child’s relationship to the community of mourners.
Sealings recovered from the Omo M10 temple, a provincial center of the Andean Tiwanaku state (AD ... more Sealings recovered from the Omo M10 temple, a provincial center of the Andean Tiwanaku state (AD 500–1100), and from the Muru Ut Pata neighborhood of the Tiwanaku capital, as well as a signet ring from the Akapana East complex of Tiwanaku's highland capital, shed light on the hitherto undocumented use of seals and sealings in Central Andean complex society. The identification of Tiwanaku sealings related to the signet ring seal has implications for understanding the transmission of identity, authority, and authenticity over time and distance in early Andean states.
American journal of physical anthropology, Jan 14, 2015
Gender and other facets of social identity play important roles in the organization of complex so... more Gender and other facets of social identity play important roles in the organization of complex societies. This study reconstructs dietary practices within the Middle Horizon (AD 500-1000) Tiwanaku colonies in southern Peru to increase our knowledge of gendered patterns of consumption within this early expansive state. We use stable isotope analysis of 43 human bone samples representing 14 females, 20 males, 8 juveniles, and 1 indeterminate individual recovered from burial excavations at the sites of Rio Muerto and Omo in the Moquegua Valley. Data are contextualized by comparisons with previously published Tiwanaku isotope data from the period. Our results find mean values of δ(13) Capatite = -7.3 ± 1.6% (N = 36, 1SD), δ(13) Ccollagen = -12.3 ± 1.5% (N = 43, 1SD), and δ(15) Ncollagen = 8.4 ± 1.6% (N = 43, 1SD). Between the sexes, Mann-Whitney U tests demonstrate significant differences in δ(13) Ccollagen (U = 74, P = 0.021), but no differences in δ(13) Capatite (U = 58, P = 0.095) ...
Artificial cranial deformation is a recognized attribute of many archaeologically recovered Andea... more Artificial cranial deformation is a recognized attribute of many archaeologically recovered Andean skeletal collections. Ethnohistoric sources document the diversity of forms used to mark both vertical and horizontal status distinctions among Late Horizon peoples. Region-specific social groups were characterized by distinctive deformation styles, as were individuals of Inka heritage. Review of early Spanish accounts and consideration of various strategies commonly used in analyzing deformation forms suggest that investigators be sensitive to both final skull shape and the nature of deforming devices. This case study maintains that detailed descriptions of skull form will permit interpretations of technique and apparatus used, without the actual deforming artifacts. We examined archaeologically recovered skeletal remains from Huaracane-phase, Tiwanaku-related Chen Chen-phase (Tiwanaku V), and Tumilaca-phase cemetery components of the Omo site group, located near the present-day town ...
The Archaeology and Politics of Food and Feasting in Early States and Empire, edited by Tamara L. Bray. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 2003.
80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Apr 2015
We test the hypothesis that the Omo M10A structure was constructed using adobes made from soil de... more We test the hypothesis that the Omo M10A structure was constructed using adobes made from soil deposits containing cultural materials from local, Formative Huaracane occupations (ca. 2000 BC – AD 600). This is done by detailing the close association of Huaracane style ceramic sherds with adobe materials within architectural collapse levels, and contrasting the condition of Huaracane sherds with Tiwanaku samples. Detailing the appearance of Huaracane ceramics at Omo M10A clarifies the systemic context for Huaracane cultural materials at this Tiwanaku temple.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jan 28, 2015
The south central Andes is known as a region of enduring multiethnic diversity, yet it is also th... more The south central Andes is known as a region of enduring multiethnic diversity, yet it is also the cradle of one the South America's first successful expansive-state societies. Social structures that encouraged the maintenance of separate identities among coexistent ethnic groups may explain this apparent contradiction. Although the early expansion of the Tiwanaku state (A.D. 600-1000) is often interpreted according to a centralized model derived from Old World precedents, recent archaeological research suggests a reappraisal of the socio-political organization of Tiwanaku civilization, both for the diversity of social entities within its core region and for the multiple agencies behind its wider program of agropastoral colonization. Tiwanaku's sociopolitical pluralism in both its homeland and colonies tempers some of archaeology's global assumptions about the predominant role of centralized institutions in archaic states.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Jan 28, 2015
The south central Andes is known as a region of enduring multiethnic diversity, yet it is also th... more The south central Andes is known as a region of enduring multiethnic diversity, yet it is also the cradle of one the South America's first successful expansive-state societies. Social structures that encouraged the maintenance of separate identities among coexistent ethnic groups may explain this apparent contradiction. Although the early expansion of the Tiwanaku state (A.D. 600-1000) is often interpreted according to a centralized model derived from Old World precedents, recent archaeological research suggests a reappraisal of the socio-political organization of Tiwanaku civilization, both for the diversity of social entities within its core region and for the multiple agencies behind its wider program of agropastoral colonization. Tiwanaku's sociopolitical pluralism in both its homeland and colonies tempers some of archaeology's global assumptions about the predominant role of centralized institutions in archaic states.
Abstract Dress can be a powerful statement of status, ideology, and ethnic identity. Archaeologic... more Abstract Dress can be a powerful statement of status, ideology, and ethnic identity. Archaeological textiles in their original contexts may provide insight to these and many other facets of social life. This study takes a contextual approach to study and interpret a set of four high-quality garments found in a single child burial at the Tiwanaku site of Omo M10 in Moquegua, Peru (700–1050 AD). By integrating the histories of textile objects and social groups, we consider the identity of the deceased, and how the layers of funerary dress reflect the child’s relationship to the community of mourners.
Sealings recovered from the Omo M10 temple, a provincial center of the Andean Tiwanaku state (AD ... more Sealings recovered from the Omo M10 temple, a provincial center of the Andean Tiwanaku state (AD 500–1100), and from the Muru Ut Pata neighborhood of the Tiwanaku capital, as well as a signet ring from the Akapana East complex of Tiwanaku's highland capital, shed light on the hitherto undocumented use of seals and sealings in Central Andean complex society. The identification of Tiwanaku sealings related to the signet ring seal has implications for understanding the transmission of identity, authority, and authenticity over time and distance in early Andean states.
American journal of physical anthropology, Jan 14, 2015
Gender and other facets of social identity play important roles in the organization of complex so... more Gender and other facets of social identity play important roles in the organization of complex societies. This study reconstructs dietary practices within the Middle Horizon (AD 500-1000) Tiwanaku colonies in southern Peru to increase our knowledge of gendered patterns of consumption within this early expansive state. We use stable isotope analysis of 43 human bone samples representing 14 females, 20 males, 8 juveniles, and 1 indeterminate individual recovered from burial excavations at the sites of Rio Muerto and Omo in the Moquegua Valley. Data are contextualized by comparisons with previously published Tiwanaku isotope data from the period. Our results find mean values of δ(13) Capatite = -7.3 ± 1.6% (N = 36, 1SD), δ(13) Ccollagen = -12.3 ± 1.5% (N = 43, 1SD), and δ(15) Ncollagen = 8.4 ± 1.6% (N = 43, 1SD). Between the sexes, Mann-Whitney U tests demonstrate significant differences in δ(13) Ccollagen (U = 74, P = 0.021), but no differences in δ(13) Capatite (U = 58, P = 0.095) ...
Artificial cranial deformation is a recognized attribute of many archaeologically recovered Andea... more Artificial cranial deformation is a recognized attribute of many archaeologically recovered Andean skeletal collections. Ethnohistoric sources document the diversity of forms used to mark both vertical and horizontal status distinctions among Late Horizon peoples. Region-specific social groups were characterized by distinctive deformation styles, as were individuals of Inka heritage. Review of early Spanish accounts and consideration of various strategies commonly used in analyzing deformation forms suggest that investigators be sensitive to both final skull shape and the nature of deforming devices. This case study maintains that detailed descriptions of skull form will permit interpretations of technique and apparatus used, without the actual deforming artifacts. We examined archaeologically recovered skeletal remains from Huaracane-phase, Tiwanaku-related Chen Chen-phase (Tiwanaku V), and Tumilaca-phase cemetery components of the Omo site group, located near the present-day town ...
The Archaeology and Politics of Food and Feasting in Early States and Empire, edited by Tamara L. Bray. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 2003.
80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Apr 2015
We test the hypothesis that the Omo M10A structure was constructed using adobes made from soil de... more We test the hypothesis that the Omo M10A structure was constructed using adobes made from soil deposits containing cultural materials from local, Formative Huaracane occupations (ca. 2000 BC – AD 600). This is done by detailing the close association of Huaracane style ceramic sherds with adobe materials within architectural collapse levels, and contrasting the condition of Huaracane sherds with Tiwanaku samples. Detailing the appearance of Huaracane ceramics at Omo M10A clarifies the systemic context for Huaracane cultural materials at this Tiwanaku temple.
Today, much is known about the role of plants in Tiwanaku households and political economy, yet, ... more Today, much is known about the role of plants in Tiwanaku households and political economy, yet, their function in ceremonial contexts is still unclear. Unlike the state's heartland in the Bolivian altiplano, where preservation conditions are not always favorable for the systematic recovery of paleobotanical remains, excavations of Tiwanaku sites in the hyper-arid environment of the Moquegua valley in southern Peru have resulted in the recovery of a wide array of ancient organic finds, including botanical remains. This research focuses on the Tiwanaku site of Omo M10 (ca. AD 600 – AD 1100) that features the only Tiwanaku temple found as yet outside the Altiplano. Based on the systematic collection, statistical analysis and study of spatial distribution of the paleoethnobotanical samples collected from the temple's three excavated platforms we interpret the presence of the edible plants recovered in this unique ceremonial context.
Much is known nowadays about the role of plants in Tiwanaku households and political economy, yet... more Much is known nowadays about the role of plants in Tiwanaku households and political economy, yet, their function in ceremonial contexts is still unclear. Unlike the state's heartland in the Bolivian altiplano, where preservation conditions are not always favorable for the systematic recovery of paleobotanical remains, excavations of Tiwanaku sites in the hyper-arid environment of the Moquegua valley in southern Peru have resulted in the collection of a wide array of ancient organic finds, including several plant species. This research focuses on the Tiwanaku site of Omo M10, AD 600 - AD 1100, that features the only Tiwanaku temple found as yet outside the Altiplano. Based on the systematic collection, analysis and study of spatial distribution of the paleoethnobotanical soil samples and macrobotanical remains collected from the temple's three excavated platforms we interpreted the multiple roles of the plants recovered in this ceremonial context, adding important information regarding Tiwanaku rituality.
This poster presentation examines the place of the dog in the ancient Andean society of Tiwanaku.... more This poster presentation examines the place of the dog in the ancient Andean society of Tiwanaku. The mummified remains of a small dog were recovered from a domestic context at the Rio Muerto site, located in the Osmore River drainage of far southern Peru. Although dog burials in Peru are not unusual, they appear mostly in high-status contexts in art and in mortuary practice. Offerings of young camelids and dogs have been found buried beneath floors and entryways of houses at Rio Muerto M43 and at other Tiwanaku sites in the Moquegua colony. A 2014 SAA paper provided an initial overview of the history of canids in pre-contact Peru as it relates to this individual burial, offering preliminary information from the archaeological and ethnographic records to suggest possible avenues of study focused on the ancient dogs of Peru. The isotopic study of the individual presented here will examine strontium signatures and carbon values to glean information relating to possible place of origin and dietary practices to further the hypothesis that dogs in ancient Peru were symbols of social rank and status.
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Papers by Paul Goldstein
Posters by Paul Goldstein