The context and meaning of an intact Inca underwater offering from Lake Titicaca

Abstract

Abstract

Holocene variations in Lake Titicaca water level and their implications for sociopolitical developments in the central Andes

“…In the final period of Late Holocene lake-level increase, between 1450 and 1750 CE, lake level rose steadily to reach its modern level (>3,810 masl). The reconstructed period of lake-level rise at the beginning of the Fifteenth century is consistent with reports by Spanish chroniclers for the Inca and Colonial periods of great inundation of nearshore areas ( 43 , 44 ) and corroborated by increased underwater offerings by the Inca in two ritual sites near the Island of the Sun, which were partially submersed at that time ( 11 , 45 ). Following a lake level maximum at ca.…”

Learning from the llama: on the broad contours of cultural contributions and geographic expansion

“…The expansion, contraction, and extension of the Andean civilizations prior to European contact contextualizes the origins of alpacas and llamas. Inca mythology placing their emergence in lakes and figurines excavated from the bottom of Lake Titicaca suggests associations of the herds with Mama Cocha, or the Mother of Water goddess, and rituals related to asking for rain (Delaere, Capriles, 2020). The origins of ritual offerings in the lake reinforce the idea of the lake as a site of religious and ritual importance and pilgrimage.…”

Inland Water Archaeology in Andean Lakes

“…These human activities have produced an abundant material culture in Andean lake environments. In addition, natural conditions have provided exceptional conservation of underwater material remains thanks to a constant temperature, anaerobic conditions, and the absence of light (Pareja Siñanis 1992;Delaere 2019Delaere , 2020Huybrechts et al 2015).…”

“…It is the most studied body of water in the Andes, both by inland water archaeologists (e.g., Ponce et al 1992) and geoscientists (e.g., Dejoux and Iltis 1992;Abbott et al 1997;Guédron et al 2020). Since 1954, at least twenty-eight expeditions have been carried out in the waters of Lake Titicaca, in both the Bolivian (Ponce et al 1992;Reinhard 1992;Delaere 2020) and Peruvian parts (Villavisencio 2002;Villar 2014).…”

“…The discovery and study of underwater offerings at Lake Titicaca is a notable example (Ponce et al 1992;Reinhard 1992). In recent decades, the development of research about the relationship between the Incas and their ritual landscape, including aquatic environments, has reinforced the relationship between pre-Hispanic ritual practices and the underwater heritage found in Andean lakes (Reinhard 1992;Orsini and Benozzi 2013;Delaere and Capriles 2020). However, recent archaeological results, especially from Lake Titicaca, now highlight the presence of an abundant material culture that is not linked to underwater offerings.…”