Society for American Archaeology

Local Elites and the Reformation of Late Intermediate Period Sociopolitical and Economic
Organization in Nasca, Peru
Author(s): Christina A. Conlee
Source: Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Mar., 2003), pp. 47-65
Published by: Society for American Archaeology
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 LOCALELITESAND l HIf REFORMATIONOF LATEINTERMEDIATE
PERIODSOCIOPOLITICALAND ECONOMICORGANIZATION IN
NASCA,PERU

Christina
A.Conlee

TheLate IntermediatePeriod (A.D. 1000-1476) was a time between empires in the Andes when many regional groups reorga-
nized and gained power. In the Nasca drainage this period has often been misrepresented,in part due to a focus on earlier cul-
tural developmentsthat were considerably different.Recent research attempts to provide a clearer picture of this time period
by investigatingsociopolitical and economic organization,and in particular the natureof local elites. Regional settlementpat-
terns reveal that during this period population in the drainage was at its height with increased aggregation at town-size set-
tlements.Excavations at the small village site of PajonalAlto have identifiedlocal elites throughvariations in architectureand
material culture. Evidencefrom Pajonal Alto reveals that there was a reformationof society in the Late IntermediatePeriod
and local elites were no longer primarily associated with ceremonial centers but instead were present at every level of the set-
tlementhierarchy.Elites obtained and maintainedpower in a variety of ways includingparticipation in the productionof util-
itarian items, exchange,feasting, and community/exclusiveritual. Instead of integrationthroughcommunalritual on a regional
level during certain times of the year, integrationwas based on a large networkof local elites who had power that was wielded
on a day-to-day basis.

El periodo IntermedioTardio(100F1476 d.C.)fue una etapa entre imperiosen el que muchosgrupos regionalesganaronpoder.
En el valle del Rio Grande de Nasca este periodo ha sido a menudo ignorado y mal entendido,en parte debido a la atencion
prestadaa anterioresdesarrollos culturalessignificativamentediferentes.Este trabajotiene como objetivocubriresta laguna en
la prehistoriade la regionNasca discutiendosu organizacionsociopolitica y economica,especialmentela naturalezade las elites
duranteel periodo IntermedioTardio.Excavaciones en el yacimiento de Pajonal Alto han identificadola presencia de elites a
trave'sde variaciones en su arquitecturay culturamaterial. La evidencia de PajonalAlto revela que se produjouna transforma-
cion de la sociedad en el periodo IntermedioTardiodonde las elites ya no se encuentranasociadas u'nicamentea centros cere-
moniales, s ino que se hallan p resentesen todo tipo de sitios. Estas elites ganaron y mantuvieron su poder de manerasdiversas,
incluyendola participaciony/o controlde la producciony distribucionde artefactosde uso dome'stico,asi como en el intercam-
bio, festins, y en rituales de cara'ctercomunitarioo exclusivo. En lugar de integrarsea trave'sde rituales comunitariosa nivel
regionalu'nicamentedurantedeterminadase'pocasdel ano, se observa un crecimientode elites locales que usan su poder de ma-
nera cotidiana.

In theAndes, the LateIntermediatePeriod(A.D. were quite diverseand they rangedwidely in char-

1000 1476) was a post-collapseperiodof refor-
mationwhenmanylargeregionalpolitiesdevel-
oped. Outside of northernPeru where the Chimu
statewas located,thisperiodis oftenassociatedwith
highlevelsof competitionandwarfare.Anotherchar-
acteristicof this era is the disappearance,in some
areas,of the fine potteryand textile styles of previ-
ous times. These generalcharacteristicshave often
shaped perceptions of the period and as a result
importantsociopoliticalandeconomicdevelopments
have sometimesbeen overlooked.In reality,polities
acter and in generallevels of political complexity.
Thedifferentialdevelopmentof societiesduringthis
period had roots in the previous Middle Horizon
(A.D. 75s1000) when two complex states devel-
oped:Wariin thecentralhighlandsof Ayacucho,and
Tiwanakuin the southernhighlandsnearLakeTiti-
caca. Local groupsrespondedto and were affected
by the developmentandcollapseof these statesin a
variety of ways. After the collapse of Wari and
Tiwanaku,regional groups were reformedand in
manyaspectsthese societies were significantlydif-

Chnstina A. Conlee * Departmentof Anthropology,Universityof California,SantaBarbara,CA 93106

LatinAmericanAntiquity,14(1), 2003, pp. 47T65

CopyrightC)2003 by the Society for AmericanArchaeology

47

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48 LATINAMERICAN
ANTIQUITY [Vol. 14, No. 1, 2003

Figure1. The Nasca drainagewith locationsof the Late IntermediatePeriodsites of PajonalAlto and Huayun (after
SchreiberandLancho1995:230).

ferent than the societies of the first intermediate
period (Early Intermediate Period A.D. 1-750)
beforethese statesdeveloped.
Increasesin occupationalspecialization,trade,
and interactionbetween variousregions have been
notedas particularareasof changein the LateInter-
mediate Period (Lumbreras1989; Rostworowski
1970, 1977, l999).InmanypartsoftheAndes,Lum-
breras(1989:23)proposesthatincreasedinteraction
was the resultof the use of networksestablishedby
the Wariempirein the MiddleHorizon.In this sce-
nario,inhabitantsmaintainedeconomicchangesthat
hadoccurredwiththeWariconquestandrestructured
them to fit each regionalgroup.Not only was there
considerablecontact between groups in terms of
tradeandeconomic activitiesduringthe Late Inter-
mediatePeriod,but some areasalso experiencedan
increasein politicalcomplexity.Thiswas in partdue
to the natureof the cycle of imperialconquestand
disintegration.Aftercollapselocal groupsmayreor-
ganizeandsomemaybe ableto growlargerandmore
powerfulthantheywerepreviously."Thesechanges
often occur in small-scale societies that, after the
collapseof externalpowers,atleastfora timebecome
more centralized,encompass a largerpopulation,
have a strongerethnicidentity(and/ormoreinterest
groups),aremoreaggressive,orproducemoreinten-
sively"(Hastorf1993:208).
The Nasca region on the south coast of Peru is
one areawherethenatureof LateIntermediate Period
societyhasnotbeenextensivelystudiedandis some-
times misrepresented.This periodis often ignored
dueto a focus on thefamousNascaculturethatflour-
ishedduringtheEarlyIntermediate Period.Therehas
been an impressionthat sociopoliticalorganization
"devolved"in many ways afterthe end of the clas-
sic Nasca. This assumptionis based on the lack of
investigationinto the Late IntermediatePeriodand
the strikingdifferencesbetween the two time peri-
ods. Recentresearchchallengesthis assumptionby

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Christina A. Conlee] SOCIOPOLITICALAND ECONOMICORGANIZATIONIN NASCA, PERU
Table 1. Chronologyof the South Coast of Peru.
Horizons and IntermediatePeriods Culture
Late Horizon Inka
Late IntermediatePeriod Tiza
Middle Horizon Wari/Loro
Early IntermediatePeriod Late Nasca
Middle Nasca
Early Nasca
Early Horizon Proto Nasca
Paracas
Initial Period
Archaic
investigatingsociopoliticalandeconomicorganiza-
tion, especiallythe natureof elites, duringthe Late
IntermediatePeriod. An examination of regional
developmentsand datafrom excavationsat the vil-
lage site of PajonalAlto revealthattherewas a trans-
formationin local society in whichthe numbersand
activitiesof localeliteschangedalongwiththemech-
anismsfor integratingits members.
Cultural Developments in the Nasca Region
TheRio Grandede Nasca drainageis partof a larger
geographicregion, the south coast, which encom-
passes an areafromthe ChinchaValleyin the north
to theYaucaValleyin the south.Inprehispanictimes
therewas significantinteractionbetweenthe differ-
ent valleysof the southcoast andthey shareda com-
mon cultural development. The region consists
primarilyof anextremelydryenvironmentwithriver
valleys that cross the desert landscape,providing
waterand arableland for the inhabitants.The Rfo
Grandede Nasca drainageitself consists of eight
rivervalleys (Figure 1), andthe largepampawhere
geoglyphs(theNascaLines)arelocatedlies between
the Nasca and Ingenio valleys and marksthe divi-
sion of the southernand northernsections of the
drainage.
Settlementof the Nasca regionbegan sometime
duringArchaictimes when people firstenteredthe
area and lived along the coast exploiting marine
resources (Carmichael1991; Engel 1981; Strong
1957) (Table1). Permanentsettlementof the region
didnotoccuruntiltheEarlyHorizon(800 B .C.-A.D.
1) and duringthis time populationgrew consider-
ably (Schreiber1998;Silverman1994,1996). In the
subsequentEarlyIntermediatePeriod(A.D.1-750)
the first large, complex society developed in the
drainage.Duringthe initial partof the EarlyInter-
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49
Approximatedates
A.D. 1476-1532
A.D. 100s1476
A.D. 75s1000
A.D. 55S750
A.D. 45S550
A.D. 1-450
100 B.C.-A.D. 1
80S100 B.C.
1800-800 B.C.
9000-1800 B.C.
mediate Period (Early Nasca), monumentalarchi-
tecture,mostlyin theformof truncatedmounds,was
constructed at the ceremonial site of Cahuachi
(Orefici 1993; Silverman 1993a). Cahuachimea-
sures 150 ha in size with approximately 25 ha
devoted to the mound architecture (Silverman
1993a:57). Despite the mound construction at
Cahuachi,Silverman(1993a:336)describesthe site
as "monumentally unmonumental"because the
moundswere energeticallycheap to build,consist-
ing of naturalhills thatwere supefficiallymodified.
One hallmarkof the Nasca periodwas the man-
ufactureof very fine polychromepotteryand elab-
orate textiles. The ceramicsin particularexhibit a
distinctand elaborateiconographyof both natural-
istic and supernaturalmotifs (Carmichael 1992;
Proulx 1968, 1983; Wolfe 1981). This pottery is
thoughtto embodythe "cosmology,sacreddogma,
andworldview. . ."of the Nasca people (Silverman
1993a:302).Despite the fine qualityof Nasca pot-
tery it is not thoughtto be the productof full-time
craft specialization(Carmichael1998:215; Silver-
man 1993a:335;Vaughn2000). Vaughn(2000:525;
VaughnandNeff 2000:88) suggeststhatritualprac-
titioners with elite status, who were based at
Cahuachi,producedmuchof the finewareceramics
duringthis period.
The level of sociopoliticalorganizationof Nasca
in the Early IntermediatePeriod has been highly
debated.Earlierresearchin the region, which was
primarilybased on work at Cahuachiand on the
Nascaceramicstyle,suggestedthata state-levelsoci-
ety existedwithacapitalatCahuachi(Lanning1967;
Lumbreras1974;Massey 1986;Proulx1968;Rowe
1963; Silverman1988; Strong 1957). More recent
researchbasedon regionalsurveyandexcavationat
the village level has rejectedthe state model and
50 LATINAMERICAN
ANTIQUITY
instead views Nasca as a chiefdom (Carmichael
1988; Schreiber 1998, 1999; Silverman 1993a;
Vaughn2000). From this perspective,Cahuachiis
primarilya ceremonial/pilgrimage centerwith only
a smallpermanentpopulation,andnottheurbancap-
italof anexpansionisticgroup.Outsideof Cahuachi,
people primarilylived in small villages (Schreiber
1999; Schreiber and Lancho 1995; Silverman
1993b;Vaughn2000) that were generallyundiffer-
entiatedin terms of status and economic activities
(Silverman 1993a:324;Vaughn2000). The largest
domestic site in the southerndrainageduringthis
periodwas 2.5 ha.
In the laterpartof the EarlyIntermediatePeriod
(LateNasca),peopleaggregatedin largersettlements
(the largest around 15 ha) and building ceased at
Cahuachialthoughthe cemeterieswere still exten-
sivelyused(Orefici1993;Schreiber1999;Schreiber
and Lancho 1995; Silverman 1993a). Fine poly-
chrome potteryremainedin production;however,
therewas a shift in the style and the motifs. Ritual
activitiesmoved from Cahuachito otherareas(Sil-
verman1993a:327)and leadershiplikely changed.
While Silverman (1993a:324, 339) envisions the
elites of EarlyNascato be priests/shamans,she con-
sidersthose of LateNasca to be warrior-chiefswho
hadanincreasein "secular"leadership.Overall,Late
Nasca was a time of increasedsociopoliticalcom-
plexity with a series of small polities existingin the
drainage(Schreiber1999:168).
In the Middle Horizon (A.D. 750-1000) the
Nasca drainagecame underthe influence and rule
of the highland Wari empire based in Ayacucho
(Menzel 1964;Schreiber1998, 2000). A close rela-
tionship existed between Nasca and the Ayacucho
region beginningin the Early IntermediatePeriod.
In the Middle Horizon Wari borrowedmany ele-
ments of Nasca iconography (Menzel 1964;
Schreiber1992), suggestingthatthis statealso bor-
rowed elements of Nasca religious ideology. The
Waripresencebroughta greatdeal of changeto the
Nascaregion.Inthenortherndrainageveryfew sites
of this time periodhave been identified,indicating
a decreasein population(Browne 1992:80;Reindel
andIsla 1998:48).Inthe southerndrainagetherewas
a decreasein the numberof sites, movementof pop-
ulation,andaggregationat Huacadel Loro(approx-
imately 15 ha in size) in the most southernof the
valleys (Schreiber1999:170).Whilethe presenceof
the Wariempire caused changes in the region, the
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[Vol. 14, No. 1, 2003
collapse of this empireappearsto have causedeven
greaterdisruptionin local life (Conlee 2000).
Duringthe LateIntermediatePeriodtherewas a
clear breakin materialcultureand settlementpat-
terns.No longerwereceremonialcentersconstructed
norwere fine ceramicsandtextilesproduced.Often
the region is depictedas a peripheralpartof other
south coast polities, especially Ica and Chincha
(Clarkson 1990: 126; Engel 1981; Menzel
1959,1976),andmuchof whatis knownor inferred
aboutNasca duringthis periodcomes from investi-
gationsin othersouthcoastvalleys.TheNascaregion
is thoughtto have had little politicalcentralization
becausethereare no Late IntermediatePeriodsites
with monumentalarchitecture,andIca style pottery
occurs in the drainage. In addition, historical
accountstell of no resistanceto the Inka,suggesting
a lackof integrationandpower(Menzel1959).Men-
zel (1959)foundno localcentersassociatedwithInka
sites,a situationthatimpliedto herlittlepoliticalcen-
tralizationor need for centralizedinfrastructure. A
closer investigationinto manyof these assumptions
revealsthatthey need to be reexamined.
In the Nasca Valleythe ceramicsencounteredat
late prehispanicsites have been called IcalChincha.
Analysisof theseceramicsfromexcavationcontexts
indicatesthatalthoughelementsof theIcastylewere
used, the local style was independent(Conlee2000,
2002). Few if any aspectsof the Chinchastyle were
present in the Nasca Late Intermediate Period
ceramic tradition,furthermaking the IcalChincha
designationmisleading.Although the Ica ceramic
style was the most prestigiousand widespreaddur-
ing the Late IntermediatePeriod,it did not stylisti-
cally unify the south coast (Conlee 2000, 2002;
Menzel 1977; Rowe 1956:148). Ceramic styles
appearto havebeen moresimilarearlyin the period
and John Rowe (1956) notes that the styles of the
south coast continuedto diverge throughthe Late
IntermediatePeriodand Late Horizon.Differences
in ceramicstyle alongwith differencesin site types,
constructionmaterial,and settlementsize indicate
thateachsouthcoastvalley,while sharingmanycul-
turalattributes,was an independentpoliticalentity
duringlate prehispanictimes.
In the Nasca region archaeologicalsurveys in
both the northernand southerndrainagerevealthat
therewas an increasein the numberandsize of sites
in the Late IntermediatePeriod and an increasein
town-sized settlements(generallythose sites over
Christina A. Conlee] SOCIOPOLITICALAND ECONOMICORGANIZATIONIN NASCA, PERU 51

Figure 2. Late Intermediate Period settlement patterns in the southern Nasca drainage (From Schreiber and Lancho 1995:

10 ha) (Browne 1992; Browneand Baraybar1988;
ReindelandIsla 1998; SchreiberandLancho 1995;
Silverman1994).Overall,populationwas atits high-
est and there was greateraggregationthan during
any previousperiod.The main settlementtypes in
both the northernand southerndrainagewere large
agglutinatedvillages andtowns containinginternal
divisions, althoughsmallersites includinghamlets
werealsopresent(Browne1992;SchreiberandLan-
cho 1995).
Thereare some notabledifferencesbetween site
types in the northernand southernNasca drainage.
Inthenorth,sitesgenerallywerenotlocatednearthe
mostfertileandwidestpartof thevalley;insteadthere
was a preferencefor locationsawayfromthe valley
edge in defensiblepositions(Browne1992:80).One
of the largestLate IntermediatePeriod sites in the
northerndrainageis Huayuri,in the SantaCruzVal-
ley (Figure 1). Its extent has not been measuredin
detailbutanestimateputsit at 1 km long and30-50-
m wide (Alfarode Lanzone 1978), andinternaldif-
ferentiation could further indicate an important
political capital.The settlementis also called Ciu-
dad Perdidabecause of its hiddenlocationbetween
two hills. The defensive location may reflect its
northernmostpositionon the edge of the pampathat
divides the Ica andNasca drainages.Previouslythe
IcainfluenceduringtheLateIntermediate Periodhas
been attributedto Ica'sprestigein the regionandthe
desireof otherareasto emulatetheIcaartstyle;there
has been littlediscussionof an actualthreatfromthe
Ica Valley.
In the southerndrainagean aggregationof pop-
ulation occurredas well; however,fewer sites are
foundin defensiblelocations.Settlementdatashow
a hierarchyof site sizes and a varietyof site types
indicatingthe presenceof a relativelycomplex set-
tlementand sociopoliticalsystem (Figure2) (Con-
lee 1996; Schreiber and Lancho 1995). The
patterningof site sizes reveals a large centerof 28
ha, La Tiza,in the NascaValleythatis almosttwice
as large as the next largestsites, which are located
in the smallerTarugaand Las Trancasvalleys and
are probably secondary centers (Conlee and
Rodriguez2002).
An expandedhierarchyof site sizes in the Late
IntermediatePeriod,along with an increasein max-
imum size andevidencefor internaldifferentiation,

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52 LATINAMERICAN
ANTIQUITY [Vol. 14, No. 1, 2003

Figure 3. Aerial photo of Pajonal Alto showing compound architecturenext to the river.Photographed in 1990 by Katharina
Schreiber.

suggestsan increasinglyhierarchicalNasca society. ble compoundarchitecture. Built on a naturalsand

It is also likely that some form of segmentation
existedbetweennorthand south.Because the local
settlementpatternwas morecomplexthanin earlier
periods,when societal organizationhas been com-
paredwith chiefdoms,it follows thatLate Interme-
diate Periodorganizationwas equally,if not more,
complex.Investigationsatthevillageof PajonalAlto
in the southerndrainagehelpto furtherelucidatethe
changing and complex natureof late prehispanic
Nasca society.
Sociopolitical and Economic Organization at
the Village Of Pajonal Alto
Thesiteof PajonalAltois locatedin themiddleTaruga
Valley(see Figure1) andcoversan areaof abouttwo
ha. In thepastit was muchlarger,probablyfive ha or
more,but erosionand modernlanduse have dimin-
ishedits size.WithintheLateIntermediate settlement
patternof the southerndrainage,PajonalAlto is con-
sidereda smallvillage andis locatedacrossfroman
agglutinated townlocatedon thenorthern valleyedge.
PajonalAltois a typicalvalley-bottomsitein thesouth-
erndrainage;it is smallandcontainsadobeandcob-
duneat 500 m asl, the mainvillageareais situatedin
thecenterof thedunewithcemeterieson thewestern
andeastemedges (Figure3).
PajonalAlto was identifiedandrecordedby sev-
eralresearcherswho workedin thearea(Engel1981;
KroeberandCollier1998:83;Robinson1957:6849;
Schreiberand Lancho 1995:252;Strong 1957:Fig-
ure1). KroeberandTello were the firstto locatethe
site during an archaeologicalexpedition in 1926
(Schreiber1998:265).The excellentpreservationof
the settlement,and the relativelack of looting, led
to excavationsatPajonalAltoin 1997inordertoeval-
uatechangesin local societyduringlateprehispanic
times (Conlee 2000). A small village site was
selectedin orderto collectdataon domesticlife. The
projectgoals were to obtaininformationaboutthe
effects of Waricollapseon the local populationand
the natureof society in the subsequentLate Inter-
mediatePeriodand LateHorizon.
Excavationswere conductedin bothmiddenand
habitationareaswithanemphasison verticaldeposits
in orderto acquireinformationon change through
time.Theexcavationsrevealedthesitewas occupied

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Christina A. Conlee] SOCIOPOLITICALAND ECONOMICORGANIZATIONIN NASCA, PERU
in the early Middle Horizon and abandonedsoon
afterthe collapseof theWariempire.The settlement
was reoccupiedin the middleof the LateIntermedi-
atePeriod(ca.A.D.1300) andinhabitedthroughthe
LateHorizon.Severallines of evidencefromPajonal
Alto canbe usedto reconstructprehispanicsociopo-
liticalandeconomic organizationandreveala great
deal about local life duringthe Late Intermediate
Period.
IdentifyingElites
The term"elite"has been definedin manyways by
archaeologists and ethnologists (e.g., Chase and
Chase1992a;Marcus1983a).Definitionsrangefrom
theverygeneralto theparticularwithvaryingdegrees
of utility."Inthe social sciences, elite has remained
a flexible cover termthatrefersto the rich, power-
ful, and privilegedin any society, past or present,
Westernornon-Western" (Marcus1983b:3).Despite
its somewhatvague definition,the termdoes focus
on actual persons as opposed to words such as
"inequality"or "social differentiation"that have
more abstractimplications.According to George
Marcus there are three qualities associated with
elites: agency,exclusivity,andrelationship(Marcus
1983b:10).Agency refersto elites' abilityto cause
change in a society throughtheircontrolof institu-
tions.Exclusivitypertainsto theseparatenessof these
people from the rest of society.The thirdqualityis
therelationshipbetweenelitesandbothnonelitesand
institutions,which in parthelps to define them.
Archaeologicallysome of these qualitiescan be
reasonablyidentifiedwhile othersare more elusive
(see Chase and Chase 1992a).Agency can be difEl-
cult to assign but is an important consideration
becauseit is necessaryto view elites as personswho
make decisions and cause societal change.Individ-
ual actions are difElcultto identify in the archaeo-
logical record;however,the realmsof society over
which elites have control is possible to assess.
Archaeologically,elite associationandparticipation
in differentrealmssuch as craftproductionor ritu-
als can tell us somethingaboutagency.Exclusivity
can be discernedthroughdifferencesin architecture
andartifactsthatreflectstatus.Elite-associatedarchi-
tecturecanbe identifiedin a numberof ways archae-
ologically includingthe presence of largerhouses
with high-qualityconstructionmaterialand special
storage areas (Hirth 1993; Lightfoot and Feinman
1982). In addition,high-valueand importedgoods
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53
areoftenassociatedwitheliteareas(CostinandEarle
1989; Smith 1987). Archaeologistscan identifythe
relationshipof elitesto othersby comparingandcon-
trastingdifferingareasof a settlementand associ-
atedartifacts.Therelationshipof elitesto institutions
is more problematicbut can also be incorporated
into analysisby looking at agency andthe activities
with which elites are associated.Chase and Chase
(1992b:14)cautionthat while power is often asso-
ciatedwith materialwealth,thereis not a strictcor-
relationwithcertainkindsoramountsof artifactsnor
with particulartypes of architecture.However,this
does notmeanthatelites orpeoplewithdifferentsta-
tus cannotbe identifiedby theirassociatedmaterial
cultureand architecture.Instead,it is importantto
carefullyconsiderall lines of evidence and be rig-
orous in assigning elite status (Chase and Chase
1992b:12).
Withinthe elite categorytherearevariouslevels.
Researchat PajonalAlto was concernedwith local
elites given that this was a small village and not a
centerof regionalpower.Localelites consistof per-
sons who have power and high statusin the village
andwho representthe village in the widerworld.At
PajonalAlto the identificationof local elites was
basedon severallinesof evidencethatarchaeologists
traditionallyuse including:elaborationof architec-
ture, presence of prestige goods, localization of
ceramicproduction,andfeastingactivities.Thisevi-
dencewasinterpreted in thecontextof whatis known
aboutthe site, the Nascadrainage,andpreviouscul-
turaldevelopmentsin the region.
IntrasiteDiffierentiation
and the
Presence of Local Elites
IntrasitedifferentiationatPajonalAltois a majorcat-
egoryof evidencein evaluatingthepresenceof local
elitesandsociopoliticalorganization.Severaldistinct
architecturalsectorsexist at the village andexcava-
tions providedevidence for differentuses of these
areas.The settlementcan be divided into midden,
habitation,and civic/ceremonialareas.The habita-
tion areasarelocatedin the centerof the site andare
flankedby middenareas,with the civic/ceremonial
area on the northernedge. Four sectors of Pajonal
Alto werechosenforexcavationincludingthesouth-
ern compoundarea,the easternmidden,the north-
ernhabitationarea,andthe westernmidden(Figure
4). Sixteen units were excavatedthatrangedin size
from 1 x.Sto2x2m,andfrom26to201 cmin
 14, No. 1, 2003
lVol.
ANTIQUITY
AMERICAN
LATIN
54

the different areas of the village and the excavation units.

Figure4. Site map of Pajonal Alto showing

com- wouldsee CerroBlanco, a sacredwhite mountain,

depth(Conlee 2000:Table4.1) The southern late
of a large, agglutinated, recti- risingover the valley.Presently,only one other
poundarea consists drainage has been
with both large and small rooms. prehispanicsite in the southern
linearcompound area.
on identifiedwith this type of plaza and mound
Theeasternmiddenis adjacentto the compound has been little close
The western midden is next to the Othersmay exist becausethere
itseasternside. of LateIntermediate Periodsites in the
most investigation
compoundon the west and is the deepestand
area at the site. The northern habi- region.
expansiverefuse
ThemoundandplazaatPajonalAltoarenotmon-
tationareaconsistsof largefree-standingstructures con-
which umental;instead,theyaresmallin scaleandtheir
andis locatednearthe civic/ceremonialarea, in labor
and mound. structiondid not requirea largeinvestment
containsa plaza
and materials.The mound is dramaticallysmaller
The plaza and mound are small in scale and
adja- thancontemporarymoundsin the Ica and Chincha
locatedin the northernmostsectorof the site
agricultural fields (Figure 5). The valleysandthoseconstuctedpreviouslyin theregion
cent to modern
open space that is approximately duringEarlyNascatimes.Monumentalarchitecture
plaza is a square
by a low wall.The has traditionallybeen seen as an indicatorof politi-
25 m on eachside andsurrounded scale
in the northeast corner of theplaza cal centralization(e.g., Trigger1990), andthe
moundis located of how much
2 m in height. The mound is con- of publicmonumentsis one indication
and is close to How-
a series of adobe and cobble walls and laborleaderscontrol(Drennan1991:282-283).
structedfrom architectureare
fill material. A person standing ever,the size andvisibilityof public
probablyadditional complexity. JerIy
notalwaysdirectlycorrelatedwith
in the plaza and looking northeastat the mound

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Christina A. Conlee] SOCIOPOLITICALAND ECONOMICORGANIZATIONIN NASCA, PERU 55

o E {iZE;ieo:E:2: : r /eB AK f

Figure 5. The mound and plaza area.

Moore,in his analysisof Andeanarchitecture, found andassociatedartifacts.Size oftenhas beenusedby

thaton the northcoasttherewas "fluctuatingimpor-
tance of highly visible monumentalmounds, and
thesevariationsappearto be partiallyindependentof
eithertotalpopulation(i e., thesize of thelaborpool)
orthecentralizednatureof politicalauthority" (Moore
1996:104).RobertDrennan(1995:106)discovereda
similarphenomenonin theAlto Magdalenaregionof
Colombiawheremonumentalmortuary remainswere
constructedduringa timeof "relativelyundeveloped
institutionsof leadership."Different pathways to
powerandinequalitywill resultin differentphysical
manifestationsinpublicarchitecture (Feinman1995;
Blantonet al. 1996).Therefore,the decreasein cer-
emonialmonumentsin the LateIntermediate Period
does not necessarilyrepresenta decrease in com-
plexity.Instead,thesmallsize of themoundandplaza
atPajonalAltoprobablyreflectsa changefromlarger
regional-basedritualactivitiesto morecommunity-
based(andperhapsmoreexclusive)activities.
Justto thesouthof themoundandplazaatPajonal
Alto is the northernhabitationarea.Severallines of
evidenceidentifylocalelites withthestructureexca-
vated here (Conlee 2000). Residences of persons
with elevatedstatusescan be distinguishedin many
ways includingsize, layout, constructionmaterial,
archaeologiststo identifyelite residences,andthey
are largerfor variousreasons. Elites may control
greaterquantitiesof resourcesand thereforeneed
areasfor storage,participatein distinctivefunctions
thatrequirelargerspacesuch as feastingor produc-
tionof prestigegoods,andmaybe allowedpolygamy
andlorexpandedkinshiprelations(Hirth1993:123).
Thestructurethatwasexcavatedin thenorthernhabi-
tationareaprovidesthe best evidence for villagers
withspecialstatus.This structureis verylarge,mea-
suring approximately23 by 10 m, and material
remains including hearths, storage areas, food
remains,and tools indicatethatthis was, in part,a
habitationarea.While much of the otherarchitec-
tureat PajonalAlto also consistsof largeroomsand
buildings, additionalaspects distinguishthis area
and associateit with local elites.
The locationof the northernhabitationareanext
to the moundand plaza suggests it was associated
with nondomesticactivitiesand personswith spe-
cial status.Controllingpublicareasis a wayforelites
to exert power over ritualactivities(De Marraiset
al. 1996:19),andpositioningan elite residencenext
to a civic/ceremonialareais a physicalway to assert
control. It is not clear to what degree local elites

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56 LATINAMERICAN
ANTIQUITY [Vol. 14, No. 1, 2003

Figure 6. The structure in the northern habitation area with a well-made adobe and cobble wall and an internal quincha wall.

actuallycontrolledthisareaatPajonalAlto;however, tureis a markerof exclusivitythatseparatesthepeo-

the spatialrelationshipindicatestheyhadprivileged
access and possibly an importantrole in the activi-
ties thattook place there.It seems likely thata close
relationshipexistedbetweenlocal elites andthe rit-
ual realm,perhapshelpingto define elites andtheir
statusin society.Intermsof agency,thisrelationship
mayhaveenabledlocal elites to influencechangein
societythroughtheirpositionin thereligiousrealm.
The highest-qualityarchitectureat PajonalAlto,
in termsof materialsandlaborinvestment,was also
foundin the northernhabitationarea.The structure
was constructedof an adobe and cobble wall mea-
suringover 80 cm highSin contrastto otherareasof
the site wherethe walls were muchlowerandnot as
well built.The materialsused in construction(rec-
tangularadobesScobbles, and mud) are the same
materialsused in the moundandthe plaza walls. In
centralMexico,archaeologistshavefound;'thatres-
idenceswhichweremostlikecivic-ceremonialstruc-
tures in the type and quality of architectural
constructionwould have a high likelihoodof being
occupied by the highest-rankingmembersof soci-
ety"(Hirth1993:134).The high qualityof architec-
ple who lived in the northernhabitationareafrom
othersin the village. The structurein the northern
habitationareaalsohadmoreinterTlal differentiation.
Attachedto theoutsidewallweresmallsquarestruc-
tures and inside a quincha(cane) wall separateda
largerpartof the buildingwherecooking,food pro-
cessing, ceramicandtextilemanufacturetook place
froma smallerareathatcontainedseveralstoragepits
(Figure6).
The northernhabitationareais the only place at
the site where evidence of ceramic production
occurredwithin a structure.The primaryevidence
for ceramicproductionat PajonalAlto consists of
unfiredceramics (both body and rim sherds) and
unfired,workedpieces of clay. All unfiredceramic
pieces were found in the northerTl habitationarea,
which also containedworked,unfiredclay (Conlee
2000: Figure9.1, Table9.1). Whileunfiredclay was
foundin a few othercontexts,unfiredceramicves-
sel sherdswere not. Othermorelimitedevidenceof
productionconsists of polishinglburnishing stones,
andfragmentsof platesused as supportsin making
ceramics.These materialswere found in the west-

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 ! v x hs \

Christina A. Conlee] SOCIOPOLITICALAND ECONOMICORGANIZATIONIN NASCA, PERU

57
- -

/
a.

- L f

/ : .

/ ;
i _ ._

b.

0 5

cm

Figure 7. Ceramic types manufactured in the northern habitation area: (a) neckless olla, (b) short necked olla (original draw-
ings by Nadeshna Molina).

ernmiddenassociatedwiththishabitationarea.Two in the southerncompoundarea(Conlee 2000), per-

unfiredrims fromthe northernhabitationareawere haps associatedwith a foundinggroup.In the por-
completeenoughto determinethevessel shape.One tion of the structurewhere the storage pits were
is partof a flaringshortneckedolla andthe otheris located,two guineapig sacrificeswerefoundunder-
partof a necklessolla (Figure7). Thesearebothutil- neaththe southernwall (Figure8). Besides playing
itariantypes, with necklessollas probablyused pri- animportantrolein subsistencein theAndes,guinea
marily for cooking and shortnecked ollas used to pigs were used historically and prehistoricallyin
store solid food or liquids (Conlee 2000, 2002). medicaldiagnosis,as burialitems, andas ritualsac-
These types of vessels could have been relatedto rifices (Morales1995; Sandweissand Wing 1997).
feasting activities (Blinman 1989; Blitz 1993; In the area where cooking, ceramic n:lanufacture,
DeBoer andLathrap1979; Mills 1999) and suggest andspinningtookplacethereweretwo cachesin the
a potentialrelationshipbetweenpeoplewithhighsta- sterilesandbeneaththe occupation.One cachecon-
tus, large gatherings,and the productionof utilitar- sistedof 8 kg of perfectlypreservedpurplecornand
ian goods. the otherconsistedof 1 kg of yuca.Cachesarecom-
Severalotheraspectsof the structurein thenorth- monlyfoundin Peruvianarchaeologicalsitesandare
ernhabitationareaareuniqueandindicatepeopleof interpretedas offerings.The featuresin this struc-
highstatuslivedandworkedhere.Therewas a longer ture are consideredcaches because they were not
andearlierLateIntermediatePeriodoccupationthan inside any pit or storagebin, they were intact,and

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58 LATINAMERICAN
ANTIQUITY
Figure 8. Guinea pig sacrifice underneath the wall in the
northern habitation area.
werepurposelybunedin the sandbelowtheareathat
was used for habitation.
Differences in the distributionof food remains
also indicatethatresidentsof thenorthernhabitation
area had differentialaccess to certainfoods. This
areahas the highestdiversityof plantspecies of any
nonmiddenareaof the site (19 species in 12 fami-
lies) andit has the secondhighestat the site afterthe
eastern midden (Conlee 2000:Table 7.4). Coca
remainswere also restrictedto the northernhabita-
tionareaandtheeasternmidden.IntheNascaregion
coca is grown not at the elevationof PajonalAlto,
but around1200 1600 m because of the increased
aridityatlowerelevations(KatharinaSchreiber,per-
sonalcommunication2002).
While the strongestevidence for local elites at
PajonalAlto comes from the northernhabitation
area,a largeagglutinatedcompoundin the southern
partof the village is anotherareawhereelite-asso-
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[Vol. 14, No. 1, 2003
ciated activities were identified.In general adobe
compoundarchitecture,such as thatof the southern
compoundat PajonalAlto, has elite associationsat
otherlate prehispaniccoastalsites. At Lo Demas in
the ChinchaValley,local Late Horizonelites lived
in a compound made of rectangular adobes
(Sandweiss 1992). In contrast,the "commonresi-
dences"at Lo Demas were made of cobbles set in
mud mortar(Sandweiss 1992:21).At Manchan,a
Late IntermediatePeriodChimusite in the Casma
Valley,elites lived in adobe architecturewhile the
lower classes lived in densely populatedsectorsof
quinchaarchitecture(Moore 1985).The LateInter-
mediatePeriodsite of CerroAzul in the CaneteVal-
ley has a large adobecompoundthatis considered
to have been an elite residencewith storagefacili-
ties andcontrolled-accessworkareas(Marcus1987).
In particular,large rooms in the southerncom-
poundwereprobablyassociatedwithlocalelitesand
special feasting activities.Very little materialwas
found in the large room that was excavatedand it
appearedto have been sweptclean. Thereis a clear
associationof largefaunalremainswith this sector
of the compound. These remains are probably
camelids given their size and the large quantityof
cameliddungfoundin the excavations.Largemam-
malremainsmakeup62 percentof thefaunalassem-
blage by weight as opposedto 25X6 percentin all
othercontexts at PajonalAlto (Conlee 2000:Table
8 2). Overall,the greatestquantityof largemammal
bone came from the easternmiddenthat is associ-
atedwiththe largeroomof the southerncompound.
In addition, a substantialamount of it was burnt
and/orhadcut marks.
Anotherimportantfind in this room was a large
intactvessel with a long pointedbase.This vessel is
categorizedas a tinajaaftersimilarAndeanvessels
thatcontainwaterandotherliquids.Thistinajacould
have been used for storingchicha. Chicha,;;sym-
bolicallychargedmaizebeer,"is usedthroughoutthe
Andes for feasting and ritual activities (Hastorf
1993:53).Theuse of beveragessuchas chichain hos-
pitalityandritualactivitiesservesto maintainsocial
solidanty,increaseprestigeandpower,andreinforce
statusdifferences(Dietler1990:363-364).Evidence
for liquid storageand the special treatmentshown
by the cleannessof the largeroom in the southern
compoundsuggestsit was dedicatedto nondomes-
tic activities.It may be thatgeneralfeastingactivi-
ties tookplacein thesoutherncompoundwherefood
Christina A. Conlee] SOCIOPOLITICALAND ECONOMICORGANIZATIONIN NASCA, PERU
andbeveragewas broughtin a "potluck"style (Blin-
man 1989) or it may have been a type of chicheria
used exclusively to drinkchicha (Goldstein 1993).
In contrastto the largeroom, the small room exca-
vated in the southerncompoundhad an abundance
of domesticremainsincludingash/charcoaldumps,
sherds, and faunal and flora material, domestic
remainsthatare typicalof otherhabitationareasof
the site.
The elite-associatedareasin the northernhabita-
tion sector and in the southerncompoundcan be
comparedwiththeeasternpartof PajonalAlto,which
was likely a "commoner"area.This sectoris located
between the adobe and cobble structuresand the
cemeteryto theeastwherethereis no standingarchi-
tecturebut a high densityof surfaceartifacts.In the
rivercut in this sector,the remainsof quinchawalls
canbe seen, suggestingtheareacontainedstructures
made only of this materialand probablywith dis-
tinct functions,or a differencein the statusof resi-
dents. Structuresmade of less-substantialmaterial
such as quinchahave a low cost to buildbut a high
cost to maintain.Such structuresare typical when
peoplecan not affordthe greaterproductioncosts of
more substantialmaterialsuch as adobe (McGuire
and Schiffer 1983).
The intrasitedifferentiationat PajonalAlto in
architectureand materialculturereveals that there
were local elites at this small village. The plazaand
moundareaclearlyindicatesthatnondomesticactiv-
ities tookplace,probablyorganizedby personswith
specialstatus.ThenorthernhabitationareaatPajonal
Alto withits proximityto the moundandplaza,large
and fine architecture,internaldifferentiation,long
occupation,offerings,diversityof plantremains,and
presenceof coca was an area associatedwith per-
sons of special status.Also, local elites likely were
associatedwith at least one of the largeroomsin the
southerncompoundwherethe consumptionof large
mammals(probablycamelids) and the drinkingof
chichatook place. In contrast,the easternsite sector
containsarchitecture thatwas occupiedby thosewith
less statusand abilityto marshalresources.
Elite Involvementin Productionand Exchange
The people who lived at PajonalAlto were involved
in a varietyof economic activitiesincludingfarm-
ing, herding,and ceramic and textile manufacture.
Whilemanyof theseactivities,suchas farming,were
done by most, some part-timespecializationalso
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59
probablyoccurred(Conlee 2000). Economic spe-
cialization is often used as a general indicatorof
overallsociopoliticalcomplexity(e.g., Brumfieland
Earle 1987), and there are several aspects of pro-
ductionthatcan be used to evaluatespecialization.
Some of the most importantarethe contextof pro-
duction(independentvs. attached),geographiccon-
centration(dispersedvs. nucleated),makeupof the
productiveunits (individual,family, size of group
etc.), andthe degreeof specialization(part-timevs.
full-time) (Costin 1986, 1991). Not all of these
aspects of specializationcan be evaluatedfor the
Nasca region duringthe Late IntermediatePeriod
since thereis no comparativedatafromothersettle-
ments. However,PajonalAlto does provide some
insightsinto the structureof economic activities.
The best evidence for local elite involvementin
productionandexchangeis the manufactureof pot-
tery.Evidencefor productionof at leasttwo typesof
utilitarianceramics was concentratedin the elite-
associatedstructureexcavatedin the northernhabi-
tationarea.Workshopsorworkareasassociatedwith
elite residencesare generallyassumedto be under
the controlandpatronageof an elite (Brumfieland
Earle1987;ClarkandParry l990;Costin l991;Earle
1981). Nevertheless,elite-controlledproductionis
usually associated with prestige goods made by
attachedspecialistsandexchangedby elites to make
alliances and gain power. In contrast, utilitarian
goods are producedby independentspecialists,are
practicalin nature,andobtainedby mosthouseholds
in a society (Costin 1991:11).As at PajonalAlto,
other researchers,including those working in the
Andes, have found that the dichotomy between
attachedand independentproductionis not so clear
(Ames 1995;Costin1998;Janusek1999;Spielmann
1998). The producersof the utilitarianvessels at
PajonalAlto may havebeen "commoners"working
for the local elite or they may have been the elites
themselves(Ames 1995).
Exchange of goods both within the region and
overlongdistarlcesis evidentatPajonalAlto.Ceram-
ics couldhavebeenusedin exchange,in partexplain-
ing why special-statusresidentswereinvolvedin the
productionof utilitarianwares. Preliminaryobser-
vationsof severalpastetypes (Conlee2002) suggest
thatceramicsat the site weremanufactured in a vari-
ety of areas.In the Nasca drainage,communityspe-
cialization may have occurred with the different
ceramictypes exchangedamongthe local groupsto
 LATINAMERICAN
ANTIQUITY
60
maintain local social ties and alliances (Conlee
2000).
Pajonal Alto ceramics were likely used as an
exchangeitem for goods such as marineresources.
Shellfishremainsin particularwere commonin the
middens at the site. During the Late Intermediate
Period and the Late Horizon there is evidence of
organizedgroupsof specialistsliving in permanent
communitieson the coast (Carmichael1991:24).In
earliertimes only temporarysettlementshave been
identified.This suggestsa changefrominteriorpop-
ulationsmakingseasonaltripsto gathershellfish,to
a situationin the Late IntermediatePeriodin
which
interiorpopulationsfrequentlyexchangedwithyear-
roundcoastal groups.Carmichael(1991) found no
evidenceof local ceramic productionon the coast
andproposesceramicsmay have come from
inland
groups.
Judgingfrom large amountsof raw fiber,yarn,
andspindle whorls, spinningcotton into yarn
was
themost common craft activity at the
settlement
(Conlee2000). Evidencefor spinningwas foundin
allcontextsincludingthe elite-associated
northern
habitation area.Itis likelythatmostpeoplewerespin-
ningcottonfor personalor family use. The
textiles
consisted mostlyof cottonclothingwitha smallnum-
berof bags madeof cottonandcamelidfiber,and
a presence
fewtextile fragmentsmade of purelycamelid
fiber
(Conlee 2000:Table9.3).The scarcityof textileswith
dyed camelid fiber,with a majorityfrom the west-
ernmidden,suggeststhese may have been prestige
items. Theuse of cottonandcamelidfibersin coastal
sites,and especially the use of dyed camelid yarns
to
decoratecottonfabrics,is generallyinterpretedas
alocal,cotton-basedtextile industryin which
spe-
cial
fabricsweredecoratedwith dyedyarnimported
from the highlands(Clark1993;Marcus1987:107;
Rowe 1984:25).
Cottonyarnwas also a commoditythatthe peo-
ple
at PajonalAlto could tradewith groupsliving in
the
highlandsfor goods such as dyed camelidyarn,
obsidian,orhighlandcrops.Tounderstandthe focus
on
utilitarianproductionit is necessaxyto consider
whygoods were produced,wherethey were going,
andthe manner in which they were distributed.
Because cottondoes not growathigh elevationsthis
yarn
possiblywas a coveteditem in the sierra.Trade
mayhave been conductedwith groupsin the upper
valley
for camelidyarnbutmay also havebeen car-
ried
out with more distanthighlandgroups on the
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[Vol. 14, No. 1, 2003
punawherelargerherdsof camelidswerekept.Many
areas of the coast may have been involved in
exchangingcottonyarnfor camelidfiberyarn.Ann
Rowefindsthatnotonlywerethedyedcamelidyarns
from coastal sites made in the highlands,they "are
so uniformin spin thatmass productionfor trade
in
some highlandarea seems indicated"(1979:200).
Coastal/highlandexchange such as at PajonalAlto
mayhaveincludedgoodsconsideredutilitarianin
the
producingcommunityand prestigiousin the con-
suming community.The evidence for elite partici-
pationin theproductionof utilitariangoods suggests
elite involvementin regional exchange.
Regional
exchangeduringtheLateIntermediatePeriod,espe-
ciallyof marinegoods, ceramics,andpossiblyyarn,
mayhavebecomefairlystructured withdefinedtasks
forcertainpeople,in partundersponsorshipby
local
elites.
Itemsprocuredfromoutsideof thedrainagereveal
thatPajonalAlto was also articulatedinto
networks
farbeyond the Nasca region. There was
exchange
withothersouthcoastgroupsandespeciallywith
Ica.
DirectceramicimportsfromIca consistof fineware
thatis thinandpaintedwithratherintricate
geomet-
ricdesigns. This finewareis associatedwith
elites
and prestigein the IcaValley(Menzel 1976), andits
in Nasca may indicatethe desireof Nasca
elitesto sharein this status.Ica finewarewas found
invery small numbersat PajonalAlto, mostly
from
midden contexts. The small amountsindicate the
restricted natureof Ica importsandpossiblythe dif-
ficultyof obtainingthem.Thegreatestconcentration
ofthese wares was in the easternmiddennear
the
southern compound,which may have been associ-
atedwith local elites and feastingactivities.
Otherlong-distanceexchange items at Pajonal
Alto includeobsidianfromthe centralhighlandsin
Ayacucho and Spondylus shell that originatedin
southern Ecuador.Obsidianwas found in the mid-
denareasof the site butthe greatestquantitywas in
the
elite-associatednorthernhabitationarea (Table
2).
Thishighlandimportappearsto havehadspecial
statusat the settlementalthoughthe amountswere
small,especiallycomparedto earliertimeperiodsin
the
region (BurgerandAsaro 1979;Vaughn2000).
Spondylus is a particularlywell-documentedpres-
tige
item in theAndesthatwas used in rituals,offer-
ings,
and as a burial good (Murra1975; Paulsen
1974;
Pillsbury1996).Elitedemandmayhavefueled
efforts
to obtainthis shell. One essentialadvantage
Christina A. Conlee] SOCIOPOLITICALAND ECONOMICORGANIZATIONIN NASCA, PERU
61

Table2. Obsidianfrom PajonalAlto.

Location Tool Flake Chunk Total

NorthernHabitationArea 3 5 11 19
WesternMidden 1 1 3 5
EasternMidden 2 2 0 4

of controllingaccess to a prestigeor wealthitem is nomic activities.DuringEarlyNasca, the largecer-

its use as a tool in getting and maintainingpolitical
power (Brumfiel and Earle 1987: 3) . Because
Spondyluswas also associatedwith ritualactivities
it probablyhad even greatervalue. Two of the four
pieces fromPajonalAlto are small,elongatedtrian-
gularshapesthatareprobablybrokenpendantsand
came from the northernhabitationarea.The other
twopieceswerefoundin theassociatedwesternmid-
den. Like obsidian,Spondylusappearsto be a spe-
cialitemassociatedwiththelocalelites.Thepresence
of Spondylusat a small village site marksan impor-
tant change from earliertimes in the Nasca region
when it has been documentedprimarilyat largecen-
tersandceremonialsites,mirroringa similarchange
in manytypesof elite activitiesduringtheLateInter-
mediate Period. However, the small amount of
importedprestige goods at PajonalAlto indicates
thattheseitemswerenotthemainfocus of local elite
powerbutjust one component.
Late IntermediatePeriodElites
The archaeologicaldata from PajonalAlto concur
withtheregionaldatato reveala relativelyhigh level
of sociopoliticalandeconomiccomplexityduringthe
LateIntermediatePeriod.Local elites in Nasca dur-
ing the LateIntermediatePeriodwereno longerpri-
marilyassociatedwithlargecentersbutinsteadwere
presentat small villages andprobablyat everylevel
of the settlementhierarchy.At PajonalAlto these
elites were involvedin local civic/ceremonialactiv-
ities, productionof utilitarianitems, feasting, and
regionaland long-distanceexchange.
Regional Reformation
The evidence from the Nasca region and Pajonal
Alto indicatesa reformationof local society during
the LateIntermediatePeriod.Manyaspectsof soci-
ety were profoundlychanged includingthe disap-
pearanceof monumentalarchitecture,an increasein
the numberof local elites, an increasein the diver-
sity of settlementtypes,changesin iconographyand
style, and a reorganizationin the structureof eco-
emonialcenterof Cahuachiwas a place of congre-
gation for a populationdispersed throughoutthe
region, and ritualactivitiesthere acted to integrate
themsociallyandpolitically(Silverman 1993a:317);
ritualis an importantintegratingforce in sedentary
societies with noncoercive leadership (Hegmon
1989:6).
In the subsequentLate Nasca and Middle Hori-
zon therewas no longerconstructionof monumen-
tal architecturebutsome continueduse of Cahuachi
(Silverman 1993a). The Middle Horizon offering
site of Pachecoreflectsthe continuedimportanceof
specialceremonialareasunderWarirule.Incontrast,
in the Late IntermediatePeriod use of Cahuachi
(except for some cemeteries)and other sites with
monumentalarchitectureceased.The small mound
andplazaareaatPajonalAlto indicatesthatthe scale
of monumentschanged and that civic/ceremonial
activitiestookplaceatordinaryhabitationsitesrather
thanlarge ceremonialcenters.This decreasein the
size of monumentsdoes notcorrespondto a decrease
in complexitybutinsteadto a restructuring of social
integration.The small size of the ceremonialareaat
PajonalAlto reflectsa de-emphasison regionalpub-
lic ritualand a focus on communityor exclusively
elite ritualactivities,a change probablytied to the
changingnatureof powerheld by local leadersdur-
ing the Late IntermediatePeriod.
TheevidenceforlocalelitesatPajonalAlto attests
that duringthis time even small villages had high-
statusresidents,unlike the Early Nasca village of
Marcayawheretherewas littleevidenceof socialdif-
ferentiation(Vaughn2000). If local elites were pre-
sent at small Late IntermediatePeriod villages, it
representsa regionalincreasein thenumberof elites
from earliertimes, and perhapsa diffusionof con-
centratedpower.Therewas likely a change from a
small number of very powerful individuals who
resided at a ceremonial center, to many elites at
numeroussiteswithmorelimitedpower.Thegrowth
in local elites coincideswith a considerablechange
in settlementpatterns.Populationwas at its height,

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62 LATINAMERICAN
ANTIQUITY
domestic sites became larger, and aggregation
increased.Insteadof a hierarchyexpressedperiodi-
cally when the populationgatheredat a ceremonial
center like Cahuachi (Silverman 1993a:317), the
LateIntermediatePeriodsocial andpoliticalhierar-
chy was expressedon a day-to-daybasis at domes-
tic sites.
Throughoutthe Early IntermediatePeriod in
Nasca ceramicsand textiles exhibiteda well-devel-
oped and much-admiredstyle. During the Middle
Horizon,until the collapse of the Wariempire,fine
ceramicproductioncontinued,but duringthe Late
IntermediatePeriodceramicsand textileswere less
well madeandtheirstyle was less decorative.Inpar-
ticular, there was a dramatic change from poly-
chrome pottery with a complex iconographyto a
style thatis relativelypoorly made and simplydec-
orated.Therearemanypossibleexplanationsforthis
shift unrelatedto a decreasein sociopoliticalcom-
plexity.The elaborateiconography,especially dur-
ing the EarlyIntermediatePeriod,was an efficient
way of communicatinginformationand may have
been particularlyimportantif there was a periodic
congregationforritualsandpoliticalactivitiesas Sil-
vermanhas suggested.Thelackof elaborationin the
Late IntermediatePeriod suggests that it was no
longernecessaryto transmitinformationin thisform.
Perhapsregionalinhabitantshad a sufficientlycon-
creteunderstanding of socialinformation(religious,
political,etc.)thatreinforcementin ceramicswas not
needed.Because local elites were presentat domes-
tic sites therewouldhavebeen a daily aiErmationof
the social hierarchyand ideology; ceramicssimply
ceasedbeingthe mediumthroughwhichthese ideas
were expressed.
In Puerto Rico, Antonio Curet (1996:121) has
noteda similartransformation andbelievesit was due
to increasedcontrolby elites over symbolsand ide-
ology.Hefindsthatwheneliteauthority is betterestabv
lishedandeliteshavemorecontroloverideologyand
its symbolism,therewill be a decreasein symbols,
especiallyon domesticandpersonalartifacts(Curet
1996:124).This is not to say thatLate Intermediate
Periodeliteswerenecessarilymorepowerfulthanpre-
viouselitesin theregion.However,it does appearthat
elite authoritywas betterestablishedin some ways
thanbeforebecauselocal elites residedat most sites
andwereparticipating in a broaderrangeof activities.
In this situationsharedsymbols on a regionallevel
may havebecomeless important.
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[Vol. 14, No. 1, 2003
The structureof economicactivitiesin the Nasca
region was also altered in the Late Intermediate
Period. In the Early IntermediatePeriod, while
ceramicsandtextileswere finely madeandpossibly
the work of specialists,EarlyNasca domestic sites
wererelativelyundifferentiated in termsof economic
activities.Eachsite was generallyself-sufficientand
producedthe neededgoods exceptfor finewarepot-
tery.At the Early Nasca village of Marcayaeach
householdappearsto have producedtheirown util-
itariangoods andto havebeen fairlyindependentof
others (Vaughn2000). The evidence from Pajonal
Alto suggests that residentsof villages duringthe
Late IntermediatePeriod were involved in more
diverseeconomic activitiesthanpreviously.Within
the site, ceramicproductiondid not occur in every
habitationareabut insteadwas restrictedin nature,
indicating interdependence among households.
Anotherchangewas the involvementof local elites
at PajonalAlto in the productionof utilitarianitems
for possibleuse at feasts andin exchange.Villagers
were able to obtain items from regionaland long-
distanceexchange more frequentlythan in earlier
times because local elites were presentat even the
lowest level of the settlementhierarchy.
Conclusions
Analysisof the archaeologicalevidencefromNasca,
in particularfromPajonalAlto, atteststo a complex
sociopoliticalandeconomic systemduringthe Late
IntermediatePenod.The regionalpolityof this time
wasintegratedin a newway andthereappearsto have
been a fundamentalchangein organi7.ation. Instead
of integrationthroughcommunalntualon a regional
level,integrationwasbasedon a largenetworkof local
elites who held dfflerenttypesof power.Elitesof the
Late IntermediatePenod obtainedand maintained
powerin a varietyof ways includingparticipationin
the productionof utilitarianitems, exchange,feast-
ing, and communityor exclusiventual.This power
waswieldedon a day-to-daybasisbecauselocalelites
were probablypresentat all domestic sefflements.
Increasedtownsize,thedevelopmentof a largegroup
of localelites,andincreasedproductionandexchange
in the LateIntermediatePenod replacedceremonial
centersandcomplexiconographyas mechanismsfor
integratingthe membersof a sharedsociety. This
same transformation likely occurredin many areas
of the Andes as local groupsrespondedto the col-
lapse of powerfulstatesin the MiddleHonzon.
Christina A. Conlee] SOCIOPOLITICALAND ECONOMICORGANIZATIONIN NASCA, PERU 63

Acknowledgments.Funding for research at PajonalAlto was of the 23rdAnnualChacmoolConference,edited by A. S.

provided by National Science Foundation Dissertation
Improvement Grant #9616637 and by a University of
California Santa Barbara Humanities and Social Science
Grant. Permission to excavate was granted by the Instituto
Nacional de Cultura of Peru Resolucion #1466-97. I would
like to thank Justin Jennings, Liz Klarich, ChristinaTorres-
Rouff, and Kevin Vaughn who read various versions of this
paper.Fouranonymousreviewersprovidedvery insightfuland
instructive comments, and I greatly appreciate their input.
Thanksalso go to ChristianZlolniski who helped translatethe
abstractinto Spanish.
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