Tierras Olvidadas: Chiribaya Landscape Engineering and Marginality in Southern Peru

Abstract

The Peruvian south coast between the Tambo and Ilo rivers is a deserted wasteland. Yet tracts of abandoned farmland and expanses of desiccated lomas vegetation indicate that it was once vibrant and productive. Scattered habitations and cemeteries also indicate a pronounced resident Chiribaya population between A.D. 1200 and 1400. While river drainages of the western Andes and their canalized extensions are often treated as primary analytical units of study, our investigation of so-called peripheral intervalley regions points to a highly engineered and intensively managed landscape. When compared to the Ilo Valley, intervalley Chiribaya were organized into smaller communities and managed smaller spring-fed irrigation systems but were also heavily invested in adjacent maritime and lomas resource bases. Utilizing a mixed economic strategy, we argue, these intervalley populations were anything but marginal to the Chiribaya señorío of the Ilo region; rather, they were fully engaged in the social, political, and economic spheres of the late Intermediate period Peruvian south coast and formed a significant component of the Chiribaya cultural landscape. Our results hold implications for other similarly marginalized areas of the Andean coast, where distinct microenvironmental parameters and human ingenuity intersected to significantly transform the western Andes.

Climate change intensified violence in the south-central Andean highlands from 1.5 to 0.5 ka

“…The agricultural consequences of the MCA may have dissolved the sociopolitical ties and cultural norms tying together Wari and Tiwanaku, potentially instigating confusion and violence in the immediate aftermath of collapse in the highland regions where Wari and Tiwanaku held the greatest influence. It stands to reason that the periphery of these polities in middle-elevation and coastal environments felt the shock of collapse less intensely, evinced by the flourishing of coastal polities such as the Chiribaya along the south coast during this time frame (Buikstra and Lozada, 2002; Zaro et al, 2010).…”

Paleoepidemiology of Diphyllobothriosis: Cultural and Environmental Factors Affecting Adenocephalus Intensity and Prevalence

“…We anticipated finding more evidence of A. pacificus infection at San Geronimo because of its pescadores specialization on marine resources. There, stone-lined storage bins of dried fish and middens remains were dominated by both fish and shellfish (Zaro et al, 2010). The inclusion of shellfish in subsistence reduced the consumption proportionately of infected fish intermediate hosts.…”

“…Three primary settlements have been excavated, Chiribaya Alta, Chiribaya Baja, and San Geronimo. Chiribaya Alta has been postulated to have been an administrative center, Chiribaya Baja was a farming village, and San Geronimo was a fishing village (Zaro et al, 2010).…”

Landscape Engineering, Protecting Soil, and Runoff Storm Water

“…These outdoor living areas are a consequence of the design and the construction process made feasible by landscape architects through landscape contractors. Beside landscape engineer's interested in containing site grading and drainage, earthwork calculations, and watersheds [1, 12,13].…”