Chachapoya Mortuary Behavior: A Consideraron of Method and Meaning

Abstract

The Chachapoya region of northern Perú is characterized by a remarkable range of mortuary customs whose nature is incompletely defined and interpreted. The focus of this paper is to consider a single aspect of Chachapoya mortuary behavior: the presence/ absence and method of mummification. Complex, anthropogenic mummy bundles have been recovered from the Laguna de los Cóndores while less well documented and described "cadavers" and bodies have been illustrated from pre-Inca contexts, some contained within anthropomorphic sarcophagi and others located in burial chullpas and open-air sites. In this paper, we provide a general synthesis of Chachapoya mortuary behavior and then present a case study from the mortuary site of Laguna Huayabamba, a Late Intermediate site where mummified remains have been recovered. The relationship between mummified bodies and skeletal remains at this site is viewed as stages within a more unified ritual landscape, structured by continued kin-based access to specific mortuary contexts.Key words: Chachapoya, mummification, Inca. La región de los Chachapoya ubicada en el norte del Perú se caracteriza por una gran diversidad de tradiciones y estilos mortuorios. El propósito de este artículo se centra en un solo aspecto del comportamiento mortuorio Chachapoya: presencia/ausencia de métodos de momificación. Complejos fardos funerarios antropogénicos han sido recuperados en la Laguna de los Cóndores, mientras que contextos preincaicos no bien documentados de cuerpos y restos esqueletales contenidos en sarcófagos, chullpas y campamentos abiertos han sido descritos. En este estudio entregamos una síntesis general del comportamiento mortuorio

Emergence of social complexity among coastal hunter-gatherers in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile

“…Our hypothesis assumes that the selective impact of these funerary practices on the fitness of group members, at least at its time of emergence, was neutral. This could not be the case if AM was also associated with signaling control over resources (55), or enhancing intragroup cohesion, cooperation, and identity (56) as a consequence of intergroup competition and warfare (57,58). Currently, we cannot assess the relative contributions of these, or other factors, such as chronic arsenic poisoning (59), in the emergence of complex funerary practices.…”

Exploring imperial expansion using an isotopic analysis of paleodietary and paleomobility indicators in Chachapoyas, Peru

“…Prior to Inca conquest, the Chachapoya developed a variety of funerary practices, including the placement of the dead in deep caverns, individual cane and clay anthropomorphic sarcophagi, burials within residential structures, and also individual and collective aboveground masonry chamber tombs (chullpa) (Kauffmann Doig & Ligabue, 2003;Ruiz, 2009). Although there is some overlap, the individual sarcophagi, for example, are more common in the northern region and the aboveground stone chullpa structures are found generally in the southern region (Nystrom, Buikstra, & Muscutt, 2010).…”

“…The first radiocarbon date 305 1/2 45 years was calibrated to AD 1466-1663 at 95.4% confidence and the second radiocarbon date 250 1/2 50 years produced multiple intercepts and is considered unreliable(Nystrom et al, 2010). Los Pinchudos dates were obtained using Ox Cal 4.2 (Bronk Ramsey, Scott, & Van Der Plicht, 2013) and the IntCal13 atmospheric curve(Reimer et al, 2013).3 The marine regression line was not included as it is unlikely these individuals consume any marine resources this far inland from the Pacific Ocean.4 Chenery et al (2012) Equation 1 where d 18 O drinking water 5 (1.590*d 18 O apatite ) -48.634…”

Una mirada hacia el futuro: nuevas direcciones en la arqueología de los Andes nororientales

“…Otra cuestión que falta resolver es el significado de la variación en las prácticas mortuorias. Chachapoyas abarcó un gran número de tradiciones mortuorias, entre las más diversas del mundo andino (Nystrom et al 2010). Tomaban las formas de entierros en cuevas (Fabre et al 2008), bajo rocas y peñas (Koschmieder y Gaither 2010), dentro de terrazas agrícolas (Lerche 1986: 136), dentro de murallas perimétricas (Narváez Vargas 2013), chullpas aisladas (Schjellerup 2005: 314, 332-335) y, en contextos domésticos, en hornacinas en las paredes (Ruiz 2010:103-116), en urnas (Ruiz Barcellos 2004) y colocados bajo los pisos (Crandall, este número; Koschmieder 2012;Narváez Vargas 2013).…”