Aldenderfer_2005_Preludes to Power in the Highland Late Preceramic Period

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14 Mark Aldenderfer

persistent or indicative of a significant level of social con-

trol by that individual or group over others. This conception

of preludes acknowledges that all societies, even those la-

beled as egalitarian, are permeated by social asymmetriesbased on age or generation, kinship, gender, or valued abil-

ity (Flanagan 1989) and that under certain combinations of

circumstances, individuals may be able to use these asym-

metries to further their self-interest. I have deliberately cho-

sen the termpreludesin contrast to Haydens (1995) use of

pathways to avoid any suggestion that a prelude neces-

sarily develops into a power relationship that can be placed

into a typological scheme or a widely applicable general

model. Indeed, one of the empirical challenges of this line

of inquiry is to identify which strategies lead to persistent

leadership under which constellations of contextual factors

(Drennan 1996).

The search for explanations of the processes by which

thesetransient asymmetries become persistentand,once per-sistent, how they form the basis of a more pervasive social

control is, of course, one of the major themes of modern

anthropology. My goal in this chapter is more humble and

is directed at the identification of the material indicators of

the social processes leading to these asymmetries that may

have been operative in the highland Late Preceramic Period.

To achieve this, I will discuss from a theoretical perspective

various strategies used to exploit inherent inequalities within

egalitarian societies, describe the conditions under which

such strategies are likely to succeed in becoming persistent,

and, finally, review the archaeological evidence of the high-

land Late Preceramic to evaluate which of these strategies

may have been operative.

Although chronological schemes vary (see Quilter

1991, for example), for the purposes of this chapter the

Late Preceramic in the central Andes ranges from 4800 to

1800 cal B.C. This includes what I call the Terminal Prece-

ramic (30001500 cal B.C.) in the Titicaca Basin (Aldender-

fer 2002b).

Leadership in Egalitarian Societies

There are two fundamental strategies of leadership: one

based on prestige and the other on dominance. Although

these may overlap in some individuals, it is also the case

that the two strategies invoke distinct pathways to achieving

a leadership role (Henrich and Gil-White 2001). Prestige is

high standing achieved through past success, influence, or

wealth. High prestige allows individuals to influence others

through an inherent characteristic (such as age or gender),

successful performance of a valued ability, or, importantly,

association with someone who has that ability. In the ethno-

graphies of egalitarian societies, examples of potentially

prestigious abilities include hunting success, impressivesub-

sistence work effort, or hunt leadership (Hawkes1991, 1993;

Paine 1971); control of esoteric knowledge (e.g., shamanicpower among the Gabrileo; Blackburn 1974; Gayton 1930)

or healing skills(e.g., !kia healers and trance dancers among

the !Kung; Katz 1976; Wiessner 2002); oratorical talents

(e.g., Enga big men; Wiessner and Tumu 1998:260261;

Nomolaki chiefs; Goldschmidt 1951); special craft skills

(e.g., Chumash canoe makers; Arnold 1992); and skill at

handling wealth (Strathern 1971).

Perhaps one of the most powerful ways in which pres-

tige leadership operates is through competitive generosity

and consequent debt formation strategies (Clark and Blake

1994; Hayden 1995). Best known from the New Guinea

highlands (Godelier and Strathern 1991; Strathern 1982),

numerous ethnographies have been written about big men

and great men who are able to mobilize the labor ofboth kin and nonkin to support their competitive displays.

Although feasts are often the modality by which this gen-

erosity is made manifest, gifts of desired objects (often of a

sacred or ritual variety), display of the overproduction of

subsistencegoods, massive bridewealth payments, exchange

of women, participation in trade or exchange systems or

cycles, and other kinds of payments are also employed.

These displays are made under conditions of reciprocity,

meaning that the recipients must respond in kind within a

reasonable period. If they are unable to do so, this creates

debt on their part, which can be repaid by their labor on

behalf of the prestigious individual. Failure to repay debt

diminishes the debtors prestige and tends to limit his social

opportunities. Not only is the debt itself important, but

the widespread public acknowledgment of the debt further

enhances the prestige of the debt holder. This may serve

to attract more followers willing to offer their labor freely

so that they may improve their own prestige or obtain other

benefits.

Prestige leadership tends to be highly situational and

does not necessarily carry over into other social domains.

However, as many ethnographies also make clear, individu-

als of high prestige may exert real influence on decision-

making in other domains because they have earned the

right to have their opinions heard. Prestigious individuals

often have followers who act to support a potential leader

because they see clear benefits in so doing but who are

also free to deny them support as situations change unless

powerful social norms (such as a prescription requiring the

repayment of gifts or benefits from feasts) serve to bind

them more tightly to the prestigious leader. Leaders with

high prestige who become too proud or seek to extend

their influence in ways seen by both followers and others


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Highland Late Preceramic Period 15

as inappropriate are often subjected to ridicule and scorn,

which are seen as leveling mechanisms (Lee 1990) or mani-

festations of reverse dominance hierarchies (Boehm 1999).

One-time followers may decamp, leaving the former leaderto recoup his prestige through renewed efforts. Leadership

based on prestige is fluid, impermanent, and open to chal-

lenge and question. Consequently, it is difficult for leaders

with high prestige to transfer their influence to individual

followers or their children except in very narrow domains

(e.g., Enga Kepele ritual specialists; Wiessner and Tumu

1998:204).

Leadership through dominance in human societies is

achieved primarily by the threat of force or punishment.

Hayden (1995:2842) refers to these leaders as despots

and notes that the threat of force tends to be external, rather

than internal, to the group. That is, potential leaders capital-

ize on intergroup disputes and offer themselves as protec-

tors, war leaders, or mediators of external disputes. Warfareis endemic in despot communities and potentialleaders gain

prestige through the mobilization of labor for feasts, both to

solidify internal support and to attract potential allies, and

for war reparation payments, wherein despots demand and

obtain surplus production from followers to settle claims for

the deaths of allied warriors and, in some cases, of enemies

as well. Ethnographies are replete with examplesof despotic

leaders who create climates of fear both within and between

communities in order to enhance their leadership opportuni-

ties.However,fear tendsto be a high-costleadership strategy,

and as Hayden (1995:32) and others have remarked, success-

ful despots tend to become skillful orators and speakers, in

great part because they must convince reluctant followers

to engage in potentially risky activity and to provide labor

and food for ceremonial feasts, whichoften mark the start of

hostilities (see also Wiessner and Tumu 1998:252292), as

well as convince them to finance reparations. Like leaders

who rely on generosity and debt generation, despots find it

difficultto transfer theirpersonal influence to followers, kin,

or children since so much of their influence is based on their

own efforts and personal qualities.

However, dominance leadership strategies may also

existwithin groups,especiallyif they arerelatively large and

composed of multiple, often competing, kin groups or lin-

eages. As Chagnon (1979a) hasshown, theability to produce

large numbers of offspringprovides over timea demographic

foundation of potential prestige for an aspiring leader to tap

into. Having large numbers of close consanguines willing

to cooperate in food production, dispute handling, alliance

formation, and raiding is a decided advantage not available

in smaller, less effectual groups. Note also that the implicit

threat of intragroup violence that can be achieved through

these groups may also be convincing to many to become

active followers or to at least remain neutral and cooperate.

Among the Yanomamo, for example, Chagnon (1979b)

reports that under conditions of intervillage warfare, it is

common for large villages composed of multiple lineages toform. These lineages have varying degrees of interrelated-

ness as a result of extensive intermarriage. Eachlineagehead

tends to be aggressive in positioning himself and his kin

group in the most advantageous manner possible vis--vis

alliance formation, requirements to contribute to feasts, and

other social obligations, a situation that frequently leads to

potentially dangerous levels of conflict. The headman of the

largest lineage is well positioned based on its demographic

strength to have significant influence over decision-making.

Chagnon notes that in some instances, these headmen abuse

this influence by favoring close kinsmen by, among other

things, seizure of women from less powerful lineages and

relaxation of punishment for offenses committed by his

kin. But since the headmen may also have strong kin tiesto other lineages, they, like their New Guinea counterparts,

necessarily find themselves acting as mediators in disputes

and usually avoid the use of force or its threat in dispute

resolution.

The combination of lineage, prestige, and consequent

influence is one that has implications for the development

of persistent leadership. Descent principles mean that the

offspring of lineage heads are well positioned to become

lineage heads themselves and thus potentially able to move

into a leadership role relatively quickly. However, charac-

ter counts, and whether leadership is achieved by any aspi-

rant depends on his ability to convince others of his right

to lead and the willingness of others to grant it. Another

problem looms, and that is potential factional competition

within large lineages. These factions may promote alterna-

tive candidates, and the potential for interlineage strife may

weaken a once-dominant group. Thus while descent groups

provide a structural basis for persistent leadership, the real-

ities of daily interaction and face-to-face politics offer con-

tinual challenges to its establishment.

Yet another challenge to the development of persistent

rule based on descent within despot communities is the

degree to which a climate of constant hostility can be main-

tained between communities. In the case of the Yanomamo,

an alternative for any smaller lineage that finds itself dom-

inated by a larger one is for it to make a long-distance

move into a lesshostile environment.Chagnon (1979a, 1988,

1997:7481) has documented a number of such moves and

notes that these are undertaken with great reluctance and

consideration. Removals of this kind weaken the position of

the dominant headman and force him to burden subordinate

groups still further or press his kinsmen for additional sup-

port. This may provide new challenges to his persistent rule.


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16 Mark Aldenderfer

However, such moves are often impossibleunder condi-

tions of regional packing, and under these circumstances the

developmentof persistentleadership becomes morefeasible.

Wiessner and Tumu (1998:289291) describe the watenge,the Great War leader of the New Guinea highlands. This po-

sitionwas inherited, butthis could only be achievedif theson

in question was sufficiently accomplished. However, there

was a strong expectation that one of the watenges sons or

nephews would inherit the watenges position. As Wiessner

and Tumu state, What one sees, then, in the context of the

Great Wars is the development of inherited social inequal-

ities in response to demands from the people that consis-

tent leadership be instituted in order to provide predictable,

established figures behind whom large groups could rally

(1998:290291).

The watenge is not simply a lineage head; he is the ac-

knowledged leader of a number of lineages or clans who

directs the complex Great War arrangements. Since thereare few of these leaders, they wield enormous influence,

but they are nevertheless aware that while they and their

kin may benefit greatly from this position, it is one under

constant scrutiny and that right behavior and good perfor-

mance are necessary to maintain their position despite its

inheritance.

What can we conclude from this brief review of lead-

ership in egalitarian societies? It is obvious that there are a

multiplicity of forms of potential leadership, ranging from

thevery impermanent andhighly situational to themore per-

sistent and relatively permanent. However, no matter what

the specific basis for leadership, it is clear that those who

aspire to it must be able to mobilize support across other

social formations and work consistently and energetically

to maintain their position. Another conclusion to draw from

this review is that leadership may operate at a multiplicity of

levels within a group. That is, individuals may seek prestige

on a private basis with others; an individual may act for a

family within the framework of a larger descent group or

within the context of his valued activity; an individual may

act as a leader for an entire descent group; or a combination

of these levels may be employed. For the archaeologist,what

this means is that there may well be material remains of each

of these actions and that it may be difficult or even impossi-

ble to unravel the record and make sense of it. Rather than

simplicity, then,the archaeologicalrecord of early inequality

is itselfquitecomplex, andindeed thingsget much simpler

(i.e., easier to understand) when society gets complex and

leadership is truly persistent and pervasive. These observa-

tions certainly underscore Drennans (1996) concerns about

attempting to build a one-size-fits-all model of the emer-

gence of early inequality, and in the spirit of that concern,

I now turn to an evaluation of the contexts in which we

might reasonably expect early inequality to emerge and how

it might be promoted.

Contexts for the Emergence of Persistent

Inequality

Since early inequality may take a bewildering variety

of social forms, many of which are invisible or difficult to

see archaeologically, a different avenue of approach focuses

on the range of contexts in which one can expect persistent

inequality to emerge. Not surprisingly, this has been a topic

of real interest among archaeologists, since we often have

greater success with their identification. For instance, while

we may not be able to see debt generation per se, we may

be able to determine that it appears only in a limited range

of economic and ecological circumstances.

One area of broad agreement is apparent: persistent in-equality cannot emerge in environments characterized by

patchy resource distributions of high interseasonal or inter-

annual variance. This does not mean that certain behaviors

that enhance prestigesuch as showing off hunting prowess

(Hawkes 1991) or control of ritual behaviors for personal

ends (Aldenderfer 1993) cannot occur. It does mean, how-

ever, that potential leaders will find it difficult or impossi-

ble to hold competitive feasts and showy displays or presta-

tions of ritual or sacred objects simply because it is difficult

to support these ventures under these circumstances. Extra

labor cannot be used to substantially increase subsistence

production. This also suggests that settlement systems char-

acterized by moderate to high levels of residential mobil-

ity are not likely to develop persistent leadership. Likewise,

despotcommunities characterized by extensive warfare with

a strongly ritualized component are not expected in highly

variable environments. Raiding, and thus war leaders, can

certainly occur, but, again, the intensity of warfare is not

sufficient to support persistent leadership strategies based

on dominance and threat.

Most authors now concur that an ecological context of

abundance is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for the

emergence of persistent inequality. From this perspective,

persistent inequality could appear in foraging societies (of-

ten labeled complex hunter-gatherers) as well as in those

reliant on plant and animal domesticates. Relatively abun-

dant and predictable environments provide the reliability re-

quired by potential leaders to create a basis for feasting, gift

acquisition and prestation, and othersocial displays. Beyond

this general agreement, however, the roles of other environ-

mental and ecological factors, such as population density,

degree of subsistence risk, and circumscription (both social

and environmental) are disputed. In part, disagreement over


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the contribution of these factors is driven by differences in

theoretical perspectives. Thus, those espousing theories de-

rived from an agency perspective argue that causality in the

emergence of persistent leadership is primarily motivatedby social concerns, not resource configurations (Clark and

Blake 1994:19). In someregionsof the world, thereis empiri-

calsupport forthis perspective.For instance,Clark and Blake

argue for Early Formative Chiapas that persistent inequal-

ities emerged under conditions well below environmental

carrying capacity and of relatively low population density.

These findings are echoed by Feinman (1991) in highland

Oaxaca. And instead of persistent leadership arising as a

consequence of environmental stress (i.e., agricultural risk

or population pressure) as is postulated in many models of

the origins of inequality from processual perspectives (e.g.,

Price and Brown 1985), it arises instead under conditions of

abundance. But there seem to be exceptions to this. Hayden

(1996)asserts that in times of environmental stressin groupsthat have already developed a strong ethos of private own-

ership of property and resources and have some form of

inequality, owners of those resources and properties may

be able to augment their prestige and status through overt

generosity and manipulation of their good fortune. So while

it seems that abundance is very important to this process,

responses to stress are more complex and variable.

To a numberof authors, most notably Hayden (1995:74)

and Clark and Blake (1994), the role of circumscription is

likewise thought to be unimportant for the emergence of

persistent inequality. However, I have argued elsewhere that

circumscriptioncan indeedplaya significant role in this pro-

cess. In many processual models, circumscription is seen as

a necessary condition for the origins of persistent leadership

(Price and Brown 1985) and can either be environmental

(Carneiro1970, 1988) or social(Brown andPrice1985:438)

in form. However, these terms say little, and instead I have

usedelsewhere (Aldenderfer1993:11) a definitionfrom evo-

lutionary biology that captures the behavioral aspects of cir-

cumscription: the net benefit, or relatively lower cost, of

remaining in a group for any individual member (Betzig

1986:102). Individuals or families may tolerate increasing

inequality because of perceivedbenefitsof so doing or, more

often, to avoid some far greater cost. The dilemma of the

small Yanomamo lineage being dominated by a larger one is

instructive here. The immediate environment is surrounded

by hostile neighbors as well as potential allies, but the small

lineage is dependent on the will of the dominant lineage

for its political decision-making and survival. A local move

to another village may well be fatal. The costs of a long-

distance move to an unknown area are very high, and while

thesemoves have occurred historically, theyare notcommon.

The acquisition and expansion of ritual leadership positions

likewise has occurred under circumscription in a number of

simple and complex foraging societies (Aldenderfer 1993).

Finally, as Wiessner and Tumu (1998:372) have shown, it

is possible to examine the emergence of Great War lead-ership positions in highland New Guinea as an attempt to

define and regularize avenues of both cooperation and com-

petition in a highly circumscribed environment. Therefore,

while circumscription may not be a necessary context for

the emergence of persistent inequality, it appears to have a

causal role in at least some transitions toward it.

One conclusion to be drawn from this discussion is

that variability in circumstances and possible trajectories

to persistent inequality is likely to be the rule, rather than

the exception, in prehistory. But this should not be surpris-

ing since the origins of persistent rule are to be found in

highly fluid, situational consequences that are difficult to

model a priori. Instead of a top-down modeling approach,

we should instead develop so-called pattern models to ex-plain the emergenceof persistent inequality. A pattern model

(Kaplan 1964:332335) explains by relating one set of el-

ements with others so that they form a unified whole in

a network of objective relations. We may find, for exam-

ple, that in a particular case study, circumscription, resource

stress, and low population density form a causal network for

the emergence of inequality, whereas in another we may ob-

servehigh levels of warfare, no obvious population pressure,

and extensive long-distance trade. Depending on the nature

of the objective relationships, both these sets of factors may

explain the emergence of inequality. Hayden (1995:72) has

made a similar point by attempting to define his leadership

types (despots, reciprocators, and entrepreneurs) as poly-

thetic sets. I tend to agree but would rather avoid the attempt

to essentialize the types and instead focus on the factors and

variables observed to make sense of how they articulate.

To develop pattern explanations of archaeological

trajectories toward persistent inequality, we must com-

bine evidence for potential sources of prestige enhance-

mentage/generation, gender, and valued abilitieswith

potential leadership strategiesgenerosity and debt gener-

ation and various dominance tacticsand with contextual

data on resource configurations, mode of production, pop-

ulation density, and evidence for territoriality, along with

specific classes of archaeological datasettlement patterns

(degree of mobility), mortuary remains (who is treated how

where), warfare (intensity), trade and exchange (what and

at what intensity), feasting (presence and intensity), nonres-

idential architecture (ifpresent and at what scaletoward what

purpose), and craft specialization. In the following section

of this chapter, I shall examine this evidence in a number of

archaeological settings in the Andean highlands during the

Late Preceramic.


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18 Mark Aldenderfer

Persistent Leadership in the Highland Late

Preceramic?

The archaeological data requirements necessary to ex-amine the origins and evolutionary trajectory of persistent

leadership and social inequalityare substantial. Ideally, these

data would include settlement pattern surveys, intensive ex-

cavations at key sites, and robust and fine-grained chronolo-

gies. Sadly, data of this quality and quantity are lacking

for most of the highlands during the entire epoch, let alone

the Late Preceramic Period (Aldenderfer in press b). With

few exceptions, we either have settlement pattern data with-

out much excavation or excavation of key sites with little

regional-scale data. Because many of these sites were ex-

cavated before the development of much middle-range the-

ory for the identification of the indicators of leadership, it

is sometimes difficult to extract these from the excavation

reports. Despite this, we can nevertheless examine a num-ber of locations in the highlands to get a sense of whether

any kinds of persistent leadership and incipient inequal-

ity can be observed (Figure 2.1). These include the Junin

puna, Ayacucho Basin, the upper Osmore (Asana) drainage

in Moquegua, the Chila and Ilave drainages in the Lake Titi-

caca Basin, and the central Andean high sierra (including

the famous sites of Huaricoto, Kotosh, La Galgada, and

Piruru).

Junin Puna

The Junin puna has been the focus of intensive archae-

ological research since the 1970s. John Rick (1980) sur-

veyed the environs of the puna around Lake Junin and has

tested and excavated a number of rockshelters, most no-

tably Pachamachay and Panaulauca (Rick and Moore 1999).

Danile Lavaleet al. (1985) have excavated the nearby shel-

ter of Telarmachay and also conducted limited settlement

pattern sur veys in a small area around the town of San Pe-

dro de Cajas at the margins of the puna (Lavale and Julien

1975). Finally, Kaulicke (1999) reports on research at Uchu-

machay, which is located circa 20 kilometers southeast of

Pachamachay.

What is known of Late Preceramic settlement pat-

terns offers some interesting variability. At Pachamachay,

in Phases 35 (dating ca. 50001500 B.C.), settlement was

sedentary at thesite with a small numberof sites in thevicin-

ityused on a logistical basis. Subsistence was focused on the

specialized hunting of vicua, and although Rick (1980) ac-

knowledges that their domestication is possible, he argues

strongly against it. Although population grew during these

phases, population density was apparently very low. Not sur-

prisingly, no clear indicators of persistent leadership are to

be found in the assemblages of these phases. Most lithic

raw material was local, and no obsidian or other artifacts

indicative of long-distance trade were encountered. The sit-uation at Panaulauca (Rick and Moore 1999:271272) is

similar. In Phases 45 (dating from 38001620 B.C.) the

site apparently becomes more frequently visited and served

as a residential base for a sedentary group of specialized

vicua hunters. Occupation was apparently not permanent;

seven burials were recovered from levels dating to circa

3000 B.C. Rick and Moore (1999:273) suggest these buri-

alswhich have no goods with them, little consistent pat-

terning, and no children presentwere placed in the mouth

of the shelter during a brief abandonment of the site. No

artifacts of exotic origin were recovered in any of the Late

Preceramic deposits and, again, the material evidence ar-

gues strongly against any form of persistentleadership being

present.Telarmachay and Uchumachay present a somewhat dif-

ferent picture of Late Preceramic lifeways on the Junin

puna. At Telarmachay, the Late Preceramic is found in

Level IV and ranges from 5000/45003800 B.P. (Lavale

et al. 1985:5659), which corresponds roughly to circa

38002200 B.C. Jane Wheeler (1985, 1999) argues that un-

like at Pachamachay and Panaulauca, the occupants of the

site were probably vicua pastoralists and that the domes-

tication process was probably complete in this part of the

puna by 4200 B.C. The site is said to have been occupied

during the wet season (DecemberMarch). Level 4 of Uchu-

machay is said to be contemporarywith Level IVat Telarma-

chay and likewise reflects a pattern of animal domestication

and more temporary residence (Kaulicke 1999:320322).

Although subsistence practice and aspects of settlement pat-

terns are different from Ricks sites, overall population sizes

and densities are very low, and if in fact these are pastoral-

ists, they have yet to create large herds. No burials were

found at either site during this period, although six individ-

uals were found at Telarmachay in the levels dating to the

Middle Archaic. Kaulicke (1997:3031) reports that one of

the skulls of these burials is not present, and this suggests

to him a religious motivation, possibly regarding ancestor

worship. Very little evidence of long-distance trade is found

at either site aside from a small fragment of a Strombus shell

at Telarmachay.

It seems clear that no persistent leadership is recog-

nizable during the Late Preceramic Period on the Junin

puna. Population densities are quite low, and although

some groups may in fact be sedentary, neither this nor

the domestication of the vicua provided as yet a basis

for the emergence of more obvious forms of leadership or

inequality.


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Figure 2.1. Locations of major sites discussed in the text. 1, Pachamachay/Panaulauca; 2, Telarmachay; 3, Ayacucho

Basin sites; 4, Qillqatani; 5, Asana; 6, Jiskairumoko; 7, Kotosh/Shillacoto; 8, Huaricoto; 9, La Galgada; 10, Piruru.


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20 Mark Aldenderfer

The Ro Chila Drainage

On the basis of extensive excavation at the rockshel-

ter called Qillqatani (also known as Quelcatani), survey inits environs (Aldenderfer n.d.), and additional survey in the

nearby Ro Huenque drainage (Klink 1999), it appears from

circa 48002000 B.C. the human use of the landscape of

this harsh, high puna environment was characterized by a

modified logistical mobility with an unknown frequency of

residential moves. Qillqatani is at this time very probably

a short-term residential site or, more probably, a logistical

camp. Mobility is confined to the high puna, but its scale is

unknown. The faunal materials present indicate that hunt-

ing deer and camelids was important, although a wide va-

riety of plant remains recovered in levels dating between

22002000B.C. suggests a broad spectrum of plant use that

supplemented the diet. There is no indication that camelids

were herded; no animal control features like corrals or smallpens for neonates or small camelids have been encountered

in these levels at Qillqatani.

Just after 2000 B.C., and possibly earlier, Qillqatani be-

comes a residential base. Small, but permanent, structures

are built within the rockshelter, ceramics appear for the first

time in the cultural sequence, and plant use is more clearly

focused on the use of probably domesticatedChenopodium

spp., which cannot be grown at the elevation of the shel-

ter (4420 meters) and therefore had to be either obtained

through exchange or cultivated by moving part of the resi-

dential group to a lower elevation locale. However, the ab-

sence from the faunal assemblage of high-utility parts of

camelids suggests that trade, and not cultivation, was the

most likely way in which the inhabitants of Qillqatani ob-

tained these plants. Settlement patterns in the region also

support the inference of decreased logistical mobility. Taken

together, these data suggest that by just after 2000 B.C.,

the inhabitants of Qillqatani practiced a pastoral lifeway.

Again, whether this is an in situ development of popula-

tion replacement is not definitive and, again, given the small

scale of production, aggrandizing is not a likely explanation

for the appearance of this mode of production (Aldenderfer

2002a).

Theonly materialindicator of a potentialpersistent lead-

ership strategy at Qillqatani is obsidian. Although present at

the site in levels dating from 48002000 B.C., it makes up

only a small proportion (slightly more than 4 percent by

count) of both debris and formal tools. Just after 2000 B.C.,

and coincident with the dramatic changes in settlement and

subsistence, the proportion of obsidian in the assemblage

increases to 12 percent for tools and 16 percent for debris.

In fact, these proportions of obsidian are characteristic of

all Formative assemblages at the site. The majority of this

obsidian comes from the Chivay source in the Colca Valley

(Fryeet al. 1998), thus making it a long-distance trade good.

Almost all of the obsidian is used to fashion small trian-

gular arrow points. Importantly, obsidian is not a necessitysince very high-quality tool stone is found in the immedi-

ate environs of the site. Aside from scraping tools, almost

all of the formal tools in the assemblage are these projectile

points.

These data point toward two distinct leadership strate-

gies: display and warfare. Obsidian is not required, but it

is strongly desired. Obviously, the inhabitants of Qillqatani

made strong efforts to obtain it, and the process of getting it

was undoubtedly expensive. Whatever meager surplus these

people generated, at least part of it went to obsidian procure-

ment.

The display of obsidian was in warfare and conflict.

Very large numbers of arrow points of obsidian and local

materials are found in the post-2000B

.C

. levels, many morethan arefound in earlier occupations of theLate Preceramic.

While loss and breakage of arrow points is not uncommon,

my intuitive impression is that there are many more points

than one would require for hunting and replacement. Keeley

(1996) describes a number of ethnographic and archaeolog-

ical examples of the use of stone projectile points used in

warfare, and those used in conflict are often edge modified

to make them more lethal. They arealso made in abundance.

Kuznar (n.d.) notes that pastoral societies are quite violent

and, worldwide, frequently engage in raiding, theft, and in-

timidation of rivals. Since population densities are low and

high-quality pasturage abundant at this time, conflict may

be more about prestige and status than resource concerns.

The few mortuary remains of this period, however, do not

exhibit traumas associated with conflict. However, one com-

plex image of rupestral art at the site shows what appears

to be two groups of humans facing one another in various

poses reminiscent of conflict and injury (Aldenderfer and

Klarich n.d.). It is interesting to note that this pattern of a

large volume of obsidian turned into lethal projectile points

continues until Tiwanaku times, suggesting that low-level

warfare was endemic through the Formative. However, other

signs of potential persistent leadership are absent, and dis-

play and warfaredo not appear to haveled to more permanent

leaders.

Ayacucho Basin

The Ayacucho Basin is one of the better-studied re-

gions of the Andean highlands during this period as a result

of the combination of regional-scale survey and testing

and excavation at key sites, such as Pikimachay, Puente,


9/23


and others (MacNeish et al. 1983). The Late Preceramic

here spans three phases: Chihua (50004000 B.C.), Cachi

(40002200 B.C.), and Andamarka (22001670 B.C.); data

on the latter have yet to be published extensively and willonly be outlined here.

In the precedingPiki phase, domesticated plants, includ-

ing gourd, quinoa, and squash, were apparently introduced

into the region from elsewhere. However, remains of these

plants are very scarce and they did not form a significant part

of the diet at the start of the Chihua phase. Guinea pigs may

havebeen penned, if notdomesticated,at this time. Although

MacNeish (1983:266) reports discovering a hamlet dating

to this phase, the occupants of the Ayacucho Basin were

residentially mobile, but at a very low level, possibly mak-

ing only three to four moves per year. MacNeish (1983:269)

defines four macrobands inhabiting the basin. Logistical

forays were made into adjacent ecozones, including the high

puna. Subsistence was a mixture of horticulture, hunting,and collecting in a scenario that resembles Smiths (2001)

model of low-level food production. There is no evidencefor

domesticated camelids. By the end of thephase, more plants

have been added to the diet, including tubers and Ayacucho-

type corn. Population density is low, but population levels

show growth from the preceding phase.

There is little evidence for strategies leading to per-

sistent leadership. Of the two burials dating to this phase,

neither shows special treatment or contains nonlocal grave

goods. Obsidian procurement is seen as an important activ-

itybut onethat involves directprocurement from thesources

well known in Ayacucho, primarily Quispisisa (Burger et al.

2000). Although MacNeish (1983:272) sees evidence for in-

creased exchange, it is apparently at the local level. Much

of the obsidian found in the basin at this time was fash-

ioned into projectile points, and some styles are thought to

be arrow points. The use of obsidian for projectile points

stands in sharp contrast to its use in earlier phases, in which,

while obsidian was used, most points were fashioned from

cherts, basalts, and other materials. This pattern continues

into the Cachi phase and, as is the case in the Chila drainage,

may reflect the preferred use of obsidian points in raiding or

conflict.

The Cachi phase reflects a significant reorientation of

settlement and subsistence. MacNeish (1983:272) sees evi-

dence for two distinct subsistence systems in the basin, one

focused on lower-elevation resources and another at high

elevations, and each is integrated into a system of verti-

cal complementarity. In the wet season, the high-elevation

groupsdescendedto lower elevations, where theyg rewpota-

toes and herded domesticated camelids. In the dry season,

they pastured their animals on the puna. Settlement in the

wet season was in eithera hamletor macroband camp, while

in thedry season, these groups dispersedinto smaller groups

to preferred pasturage. Mobility wasrelatively low, however.

MacNeish (1983) suggests that this adaptation generated a

modest surplus, a significant portion of which was used tomaintain complementarity relationships.

The lower-elevation adaptation was effectively seden-

tary (MacNeish 1983:272), although it did send logistical

parties out to other ecozones. Subsistence was increasingly

reliant on agricultural production of seed plants, primarily

corn, quinoa, andbeans, andsupplementedby a wide variety

of other plants. The surplus generated by these groups was

substantial, and much of the production went to trade with

their highland neighbors as well as maintenance of the com-

plementary ties. Highlanders traded obsidian and camelid

meat for corn and other agricultural products. Across the

basin, population levels were up to three times greater than

in Chihua times, with over 19 macrobands postulated. There

is no sense, however, that this dramatically increased popu-lation led to resource stress and, indeed, it appears that sur-

pluses generated were substantial and effectively distributed

by the complementarity system.

Despite these major changes in subsistence, settlement,

and presumed social relationships, evidence for persistent

leadership or strategies leading to them is essentially nonex-

istent. Although MacNeish notes that there were rumblings

in the ceremonial line (1983:278) that presaged develop-

ments in the subsequent Andamarka-Wichqana phase, little

clear evidence of ceremonial activity was discovered. None

of the artifacts, aside possibly from the obsidian used to

make projectile points, is of long-distance origin or an ex-

otic nature (MacNeish, Vierra, et al. 1980). Burials show no

special treatment, and grave goods are of local origin and

quite modest.

The absence of evidencefor persistent leadershipstrate-

gies is puzzling, especially given the very significant sur-

pluses said to have been generated by the intensification

of agriculture and pastoralism. Aside from the possible in-

crease in numbers of obsidian projectile points, there is no

evidence at all for raiding or conflict. It is possible that the

inhabitants of the basin expressed any competitive generos-

ity or gift display with perishable materials. An alternative

explanation, however, may relateto theemergence of a com-

plementarity relationship between highlanders and lowlan-

ders. Although MacNeish (1983:278) casts it in terms of a

functional benefit (i.e., groups in the two zones would be

better off cooperating than competing), it is more likely the

case that complementarity relationships were first instituted

between individual families and on the basis of balanced

reciprocity, which is common today in the Andes. Theserela-

tionships mayhave been maintainedthrough devoted trading

partners who also sought marriage partners and other social


10/23

22 Mark Aldenderfer

benefits. This would have been especially beneficial to the

highlanders, since pastoral adaptations tend to be highly ter-

ritorial (because of pasturage requirements) and prone to

raiding and conflict. Ties may have been strong enough tocount lowlanders as allies or at least as sources of surplus

that could be used in other arenas.

Lowlanders would have benefited through risk amelio-

ration but, overtime,may also havebeen able to usehighland

labor toward their own ends. In a sense, then, the emergence

of complementarity may have trumped competitive gen-

erosity and the use of costly gifts, at least in the short run,

but it is easy to speculate on how it could have been manipu-

lated by potential leaders. Unfortunately, no evidence exists

for any of this in the Cachi phase.

Even greater changes are seen in the basin during

Andamarka times (MacNeish, Nelken-Turner, and Vierra

1980:12). Although very poorly known, the phase is char-

acterized by highland agropastoralists and lowland farmersconnected via complementarity relationships. Settlement at

lower elevations is focused on five geographically separate

groups of hamlets associated with ceremonial centers with

small pyramids. None of these sites are found in the high-

lands. It is fascinating to speculate that the patterns for the

exploitation and the manipulation of complementarity I de-

scribed above might have resulted in the emergence of these

ceremonial centers, but, again, the data are insufficient to ex-

amine this possibility. If these mounds do date to this phase

(it is possible they date to the subsequent Wichqana phase),

they almost certainly reflect the emergence of some form

of persistent leadership based in part on religion, ceremony,

and ritual activity.

The Upper Osmore (Asana) Drainage

TheupperOsmore drainage hasbeen thefocus of inten-

sive study since1985 (Aldenderfer 1998b). A siteless survey

discovered 120 components (ten of which can be assigned

to the Preceramic), nine rockshelters were tested, and two

open-air sites, Asana and El Panteon, were extensively ex-

cavated. Two other sites in the region, Caru and Toquepala,

were excavated by Ravines (1972), and these provide com-

parativeinformation. Murro (1999) conducted a brief survey

to the west of the drainage and discovered a few new lithic

components likely to date to the Preceramic.

Based on this research, the Late Preceramic in the

upper Moquegua can be divided into two phases: Qhuna

(ca. 38003000 B.C.) and Awati (ca. 30001500 B.C.). Resi-

dential mobility in the Qhuna phase is restricted to the high

sierra environment of the drainage, and the evidence from

Asana suggests that the frequency of moves was relatively

low. Subsistence wasfocused on the exploitation of camelids

andtaruca(Hippocamelusantisensis,orhuemuldeer,asmall

herbivore) and the intensive collection ofquinuay, a wild

variant of Chenopodium spp. common to the high sierraenvironment. Residential structures at Asana were signifi-

cantly larger than those in previous periods at the site, mea-

suring some 9.5 square meters in covered floor area. Ob-

sidian is present but in very small quantities (Aldenderfer

1999:384). No other obvious nonlocal or exotic materials

were discovered.

The inhabitants of the site during this phase also con-

structed a series of small ceremonial structuresone per

level in the midst of the domestic residences. In the earli-

est levels of the phase, these structures were small and had

covered floor areas ranging from 2267 squaremeters. Over

time, however, these structures grew substantially, such that

by the end of the phase, the structure was 132 square me-

ters in area. A variety of features are associated with thesestructures, including a prepared clay floor, surface hearths,

simplebasins, clay-lined basins, ovoids madeof smallstones

or small post molds,shallow, narrow trenches,clayand earth

platforms, and miniature artifacts. At the start of the phase,

the structures are simple and most activity performance

takes place outside of them. The haphazard placement of

post molds suggests a visible but bounded space, which I

have interpreted as being analogous to dance floorscommon

in many foraging societies. Through time, however, feature

placement and reuse becomes considerably more complex,

and by the end of the phase, the structure is large, is closed

frompublic view, and contains the clay-earth platform and its

associated small stone ovals. The closed nature of the struc-

ture suggests that a limited number of individuals witnessed

events transpiring inside, and the presence of the platform

suggests a formalization of ritual activity. I have interpreted

these data as reflecting an attempt to control ritual practice

and content (Aldenderfer 1993, 1998b:307).

Thecontextwithin which thesechangestake placeis one

of circumscription and reduced residential mobility. Subsis-

tence is clearly focused on the intensive use of chenopods,

but, interestingly, there is no evidence for their domestica-

tion. However, until these wild plants have been cultivated

(making them single-stalk plants with thin testas), it is hard

to increase their productivity since they have very high har-

vesting costs. But given the low regional population den-

sities, it seems unlikely that resource stress is playing a

causal role in the transformation of ritual. However, if we

consider that the inhabitants of the Qhuna phase also main-

tained complementarity relationships basedon someform of

balanced reciprocity with other groups living at lower and

higher elevations, it may have become increasingly difficult

to repay these obligations given the difficulty of increasing


11/23


productivity in a systematic way. Since ritual can act as an

agent of social change, the changes in the use of the ceremo-

nial structure may well reflect the redefinition of social cat-

egories through the actions of leaders who have capturedritual practice. This may reflect, then, an attempt to build

persistent leadership. No other signs of aggrandizement can

be seen in the archaeological record of this phase.

If these changes reflect an attempt to build persistent

leadership, they failed, for in the subsequent Awati phase,

ceremonial structures are not built, subsistence is now fo-

cused on camelid pastoralism, residential mobility includes

movement into the adjacent puna, and residential structures

are far smaller and consistent with what is known from the

ethnographic record of a pastoral lifeway. Whether this dra-

matic change reflectsan in situ transformation of subsistence

economy from Qhuna times or an outright replacement of

population from some other place is not clear (Aldenderfer

2002a), although a reanalysis of thedata fromthe perspectiveof costly signalingtheory suggests that an in situ transforma-

tion is plausible(Aldenderfer in press a).Hayden (1996) has

argued that domestication may be seen as a means by which

aggrandizers create a new level of production to be used not

forsubsistencebut instead fora basis forfeasting andconse-

quent debt generation. Given the very small scale of the site

and the associated corral, it seems unlikely that pastoralism

in this case was an aggrandizing effort,although it may have

been used by men in a form of limited status competition

(Aldenderfer in press a). Aside from a very small amount of

obsidian flaking debris, there are no other artifacts indica-

tive of long-distance trade. In fact, Awati phase settlement

is very similar to that seen on the Junin punasmall groups

of pastoralists with small herds and with little obvious so-

cial differentiation and no evidence whatsoever of persistent

leadership.

That leadership based on ritual alone is prone to failure

is notsurprising (see Vaughn, this volume). Unlessritual has

a coercive element to it, ritual leaders can only exhort and

persuade their followers to action. Although ritual practice

can transform religious belief and worldview, it is likely that

if leadership is ultimately to prove persistent, it must com-

bine ritual practice with more worldly strategies of control,

eitherthrough extension of hierarchy viaritual into other do-

mains or by creating alliances with other powerful, secular

figures (Aldenderfer 1993).

The Ro Ilave Drainage

The Ro Ilave drainage, the largest in the southern part

of the Lake Titicaca Basin, has been the focus of intensive

researchsince 1994. A selective reconnaissancewith the pri-

mary goal of defining the presence of the Preceramic in the

circumTiticaca Basin was undertaken in 199495 (Alden-

derfer and Klink 1996; Klink and Aldenderfer 1996); this

survey resulted in the discoveryof morethan 200 PreceramicPeriod components that can be securely dated. Selected

sites were tested and excavated, most importantly Pirco,

Jiskairumoko (Craig n.d.; Craig and Aldenderfer 2002), and

Kaillachuro (Aldenderfer 1998a). Although analyses of the

materials recovered are continuing, there are sufficient data

available to examine the question of persistent leadership.

Settlement patterns in the drainagereflecta trendtoward

decreasing residential mobility, increasing length of resi-

dence at base camps, and settlement aggregation. As mea-

sured on a number of scales, population growth rates remain

very flat from the Middle Preceramic through the end of the

Terminal Preceramic. However, population dramatically in-

creases during the Early Formative, possibly doubling from

theTerminalPreceramic baseline in a span ofonly 500years.This growth rate is accompanied by settlement aggregation.

The proportion of large sites remains flat from the Middle

Preceramic through the Late Preceramic, jumps slightly by

the end of the Terminal Preceramic, and increases signifi-

cantly by the end of the Early Formative. Since population

does not decrease over time, it seems clear that settlement

reorganization is taking place, with population shifting to a

growing proportion of larger sites in the settlement system.

Subsistence practice reflects continued hunting through

all periods but with increasing reliance on Chenopodium

spp. and possibly tubers through time. Prior to 2600 B.C.,

both tubers and chenopods were low-density, low-ranked re-

sources. However, with increasing climatic amelioration af-

ter this date, which led to the creation of new niches for the

expansionof therange of theseplants (new terraces along the

major river courses subject to annual flooding; see Rigsby et

al. 2003), they became increasingly attractive to the inhabi-

tantsof the valley, whomoved manyof theirresidential bases

nearer to these terraces during the Terminal Preceramic. By

2000B.C., chenopods have become a subsistence staple. The

role played by camelids in this transition is unclear, but as I

have argued elsewhere, it is probable that they were part of

what is best termed an agropastoral adaptation by 2000 B.C.

(Aldenderfer in press a).

Pirco, occupied sometime between 48003000 B.C., is

a good example of a Late Preceramic residential site. Exten-

sive geophysical survey revealed few substantial features,

and excavation of those that were discovered indicated a

short-term residential use of the site. There is no evidence

of planned reoccupation, and the artifact assemblage con-

tains large numbers of projectile points in various stages of

reduction.Importantly, there areno obsidian points or debris,

and all tools are made from locally available raw materials.


12/23

24 Mark Aldenderfer

One secondary burial was found, but it was not accompa-

nied by grave goods. There are no indicators whatsoever of

persistent leadership strategies of any kind at the site, a find-

ing consistent with the settlement pattern and subsistencedata.

A very different picture emerges from Terminal Prece-

ramic Jiskairumoko and Kaillachuro. At the former, large-

scale excavation and geophysical survey discovered six small

pithouses in a semicircle surrounding a larger pithouse.

The date of occupation of these structures ranges from

28002000 B.C. Thesmallerpithouses,interpreted as domes-

tic structures, contain well-made stone hearths and have in-

terior storage features (small chambers dug into their walls).

The quality of construction implies planned reuse of the

facility. The larger, centrally located pithouse contains a

somewhat larger central hearth showing obvious signs of

reconstruction and has an interior bench that differentiates

it from the domestic structures. No storage facilities werefound within it. Given its size (twice the floor area of the

smaller structures), the presence of special architectural fea-

tures (interior bench, large central hearth), and its central

location, this structure may have had a religious, ritual, or

public function.

A numberof artifactsassociatedwiththe pithouseoccu-

pation are of note. Obsidian is common, all of the samples of

it that were sourced (n = 6) are from the Chivay source, and

it was used exclusively to fashion small projectile (prob-

ably arrow) points; 13 percent of all points were made of

obsidian, and more than half of these points had edge mod-

ifications making them more lethal. In contrast, fewer than

ten percent of all other points of similar style were edge

modified. This is an earlier manifestation of the pattern seen

at Qillqatani. Twomodified camelid phalanges dated to con-

texts of2300 B.C. were carved to make them into small

containers that may have been used to ingest dr ugs, possibly

cebil (Anadenanthera colubrine var. cebil). Cebil is found

on the eastern flanks of the Andes and, if this inference of

its use is correct, this is another indication of long-distance

trade. Finally, the most impressive artifact recovered from

the site is a necklace of nine tubular beads made of cold-

hammered gold and seven circular lapis lazuli beads found

with a secondary burial dated to 2500 B.C. The source of

this gold is unknown, but there are gold mines in northern

Puno, and it is possible that the gold could have come from

the central Andes, most notably the Mina Perdida source,

which has an initial occupation of2000 B.C. (Burger and

Gordon 1998).

Human remains dating to the Terminal Preceramic were

recovered from both Jiskairumoko and Kaillachuro. All of

the burials at the former were secondary in nature, and none

showed evidence of trauma associated with violence. The

interment associated with the gold necklace consisted of a

cranium and some postcranial elements of an adult aged in

his or her twenties mixed with postcranial elements of a

juvenile aged one to three years. The necklace was foundbeneath the cranium. All of these individuals were interred

in small pits near the domestic structures and, aside from

the interment with the gold beads, none had grave goods,

although one burial was placed on a thin lens of red ochre.

Mortuary patterns at Kaillachuro are quite different. A

total of nine low ovoid to circular mounds consisting of rock

and soil are present, placed in an area of domestic habitation

judging from the dense lithic debris on the surface and large,

complex subsurface anomalies discovered through geophys-

ical prospection. Trenching in two of these mounds shows

them to contain numerous secondary burials as well as what

appears to be a primary intermentin a centrally located stone

chamber in Mound 4 that descends well below ground sur-

face. The remains found at the base of the chamber werethose of a small child, possibly five to eight years of age.

The matrix within which the bones were found had evi-

dence of carbon staining and red ochre, which may have

been turned to a purplish color as a result of the burning.

The only artifact found associated with the remains was a

quantity of very small obsidian debris or shatter that was

dusted on the surface of the chamber. The matrix has been

dated to 2400B.C. In addition to this burial, six other sec-

ondary interments were found in the mound. Most of these

interments were placed on ovoid or circular white and yellow

clay lenses. None hadartifacts associated with them. Mound

1 (only partially excavated) contained two secondary buri-

als, one of which was associated with a stone hoe commonly

used in the Formative Period.

For these sites during the Terminal Preceramic, there

are strong indicators of prestige-building that mayhave been

associated with attempts to develop a foundation for persis-

tent leadership. Most obvious arethe artifacts obtained from

long-distance exchangethe obsidian, cebil, and gold. As

at Qillqatani, the obsidian was used primarily for display

and possibly warfare. The cebil was not present in abun-

dance, but only those individuals with strong connections

could obtain it, then use it or offer it as a gift. The gold is the

most extraordinary of these, and the context of its disposal

is significant. Someone with powerful connections obtained

it, displayed it, and, most important, took it outof circulation

by interring it with the dead. If the association with a child

burial as a part of this process is sound, then the significance

is even greater since children with costly burial goods can

only possess theseby some kind of inheritedstatus.The child

burial in Mound 4 at Kaillachuro also speaks to inheritance,

albeit at a more humble level since obsidian was the only

good associated with the interment. Taken together, these


13/23


data suggest that display, possibly in a competitive manner,

occupied the potential leaders at Jiskairumoko and was a

favored leadership strategy for prestige-building.

The large numbers of secondary burials at both sitesspeak to the likely importance of ancestors in the ritual and

religious practice of these peoples. Ancestor worship and

veneration is well documented in Andean societies (Isbell

2002) and secondary burials are seen as a probable manifes-

tation of this (Brown 1991). If true, this implies that lineage

is recognized and is a likely source of inequality in Terminal

Preceramic times.

Finally, the burial mounds at Kaillachuro speak to yet

another important social process associated with increasing

sedentism: the formation of territories. The use of mortuary

facilities as markers of social boundarieshas beeninferred in

a number of societiesaround the world (Charles and Buikstra

1983). While this does not imply that persistent leadership

is yet present, it does suggest that a context wherein suchleadership may emerge is forming after 2400 B.C. Indeed,

social circumscription is invoked as a causal mechanism in

many processual modelsof the emergence of social inequal-

ity (Johnson 1982),and,as I have argued above,while neither

sufficient nor necessary for inequality to emerge, it appears

to contribute to its origins in some trajectories to persistent

leadership. In the Ilave, a pattern emerges wherein warfare

and territorial marking define a potential leadership strategy

based on threat and force, while at the same time, ancestral

worship and display define a complementary, or possibly

competing, strategy of leadership.

The Central Andean Ceremonial Sites

The central Andean ceremonial sitesKotosh,

Huaricoto, Shillacoto, La Galgada, and Pirurucontain

some of the best evidence for understanding the emergence

of persistent leadership in the Andean highlands. A number

of important similarities among them have led some authors

to construct models of their interrelationships, including

the Kotosh Religious Tradition (Burger and Salazar-Burger

1980), which primarily describes aspects of ritual practice

that appears to span the Late Preceramic well into the

subsequent Initial Period, and the Mito architectural tradi-

tion (Bonnier 1988, 1997; Bonnier and Rozenberg 1988),

which is concerned with the stylistic development of the

earliest ritual architecture in the highlands. Although the

sites themselves are impressive, and the work done at them

is of the highest quality, a more complete understanding

of the fundamental bases of potential persistent leadership

at them is hampered by a lack of regional-scale data in

which to describe population densities and aspects of their

subsistence and settlement systems. The only one of these

sites that has a reasonable level of contextual data is La

Galgada (Grieder et al. 1988). Even at the sites themselves,

our understanding of developmental sequences has beenhampered by the very deep deposits found at them, which

has severely limited, or even made impossible without

wholesale destruction of later levels, the scale of excavation

efforts in their basal layers.

La Galgada is found along a tributary of the Ro Santa

some 74 kilometers from the Pacific coast at an elevation

of1100 meters. The site is located on a broad terrace in

a narrow river valley. Survey in this valley discovered some

11 Preceramic sites and evidence fora small-scale irrigation

complex. Grieder et al. (1988:192) speculatethat thesesmall

communities could have been in place by 3000 B.C. and pos-

sibly earlier. What is known of subsistence practice shows

that it was based on cotton, gourd, squash, beans,somefruits,

and avocado. No corn is present in the Late Preceramic. Lo-cal population density is thought to be relatively high since

there were few easily irrigated terraces in the valley. The

earliest ceremonial architecture at the site consisted of the

North Mound with a circular court, now partially destroyed,

to its west. Atop the mound were a series of small (3

5 m in diameter), circular or ovoid masonry chambers with

plastered interiors, niches, benches, and central hearths with

ventilator shafts (Moore 1996:27). They varied in their ori-

entation, some construction details, and apparently colors.

Ritualpractice withinthe chamberswas focused on theburn-

ing of offerings in the central hearth. The small size of the

chamber meant few people could enter and witness a ritual

act, a situation made more difficult as these chambers also

were used as mortuary loci. As many as four or five of these

chambers were in apparent useat any time. Chambers would

be filled in periodically, and new chambers (and mortuary

features) built atop them. The North Mound grew by ac-

cretion, although some effort was devoted at different times

during the Late Preceramic to building exterior retaining

and supporting walls. By 2200B.C., the North Mound was

some ten meters in height and a smaller South Mound had

also been constructed, with small rectangular chambers with

ventilators and central hearths very similar to those seen at

Mito phase Kotosh (Grieder et al. 1988:197198) and Mito

phase Shillacoto (Izumi et al. 1972:fig. 9).

A number of burials were recovered from the site.

The oldest, from Tomb F-12:B-2, dates to 2300 B.C.

(Grieder 1988:242244). The tomb contained three individ-

uals, an adult male and two adult females. The bodies were

tightly flexed and wrapped in barkcloth and textiles. The

females had items of what were apparently personal decora-

tions, including fragments of minerals, bone pins, and stone

beads. Associated with the bodies were a number of totora


14/23

26 Mark Aldenderfer

baskets,gourd containersand tools, and cotton bags. In Tomb

C-10:E-10, somewhat later in time, but still in the Late Pre-

ceramic, three adult females in an extended position were

discovered. The bodies were wrapped in cotton fabrics andplaced on totora mats. Each of the women had stone-and-

shell bead necklaces and hair pins (made of human bone),

and one had a pendant made ofSpondylus shell. Other ar-

tifacts included totora baskets, cotton bags, tufts of cotton

fiber, and gourds. A few artifacts of turquoise were also re-

covered; Grieder et al. (1988:200) suggest that the amount

of turquoise at the site, while never substantial, nevertheless

grew through time. Other artifacts of personal adornment

included a variety of beads and pendants made of marine

shell. Colorful bird feathers were found with some inter-

ments. None of the skeletal remains showed obvious signs

of trauma caused by violence, and no infants were found in

these tombs, although there were remains of children and

subadults (Malina 1988).The data from La Galgada offer fascinating, and possi-

bly contradictory, insights into the development of persistent

leadership in the Andean highlands. The creation of small

chambersfor ritualand theirlateruseas mortuary loci speaks

strongly to a sense of lineage and the importance of ances-

tors, a pattern with apparent deep antiquity in the Andes

(Salomon 1991). Burger and Salazar-Burger argue that the

constructions at the two larger of the highland ceremonial

sites, La Galgada and Kotosh, were performed by corporate

labor under direction of permanent authority (1986:66),

while the smaller, less elaborate constructions at sites like

Huaricoto were directed by some other form of labor orga-

nization, possibly one involving a system of rotating ritual

authority within which labor is mobilized through ties of

blood, marriage, ritual kinship, and friendship and perhaps

modeled on a cargo-like system (Burger and Salazar-Burger

1986:78).AlthoughI agree with them that theevidence from

Huaricoto does not support an inference of a permanent au-

thority, I am not compelled by their argument that the larger

sites would have required permanent authority for the con-

structions to have been completed. Instead, I believe that a

strong case can be made for lineages as the most probable of

these formations for both small and large sites. What makes

a strongcase forlineagesis theclearand convincing connec-

tion between the construction of the ceremonial chambers,

ritual practices conducted within them, and their ultimate

use as mortuary facilities. In many parts of the world, in-

cluding the Andes, lineage heads have special ritual duties

and are often the leaders of ritual hierarchies (Aldenderfer

1993:2931). Ritual practice serves as the moral basis of

authority for the lineage head and provides at least one av-

enue by which this leader can potentially extend that power

to other social fields. Because of their privileged position,

lineage heads are in a good position to mobilize labor for

communal tasks that benefit both themselves andtheirkin. If

kin can be persuaded to cooperate and work together toward

some beneficial end, these lineage structures can exert con-siderable social and political power (Aldenderfer 1993:30).

From this perspective, then, lineages, when properly moti-

vated and organized, arecapableof providing laborsufficient

to create structures like those seen at La Galgada.

As Salomon (1991) has shown, there is a strong con-

nection in the Andes between lineages, ancestor cults, and

the creation of specialized mortuary facilities in which to

house the dead. Although his data pertain directly to the

Colonial epoch, they nevertheless provide a reasonable plat-

form for inference into a deeper antiquity. Colonial mortuary

practice was characterized by considerable variability cre-

ated by Spanish oppression and indigenous transformation

and resistance, but the connection between descent group,

ritual practice, and a sense of place crosscut most of thisvariability. Although caves and rockshelters were used to

house the dead, some groups constructed small cult centers,

calledllacta, composed of small buildings that housed dead

ancestors, relics, and other artifacts associated with thedead

(Salomon 1991:321).Villages thatperceived common origin

or relationshipwould often bury theirhonored dead in differ-

ent parts of the same llacta. These llacta had a clear relation-

ship with place: It was typical of the best documented llac-

tas to imagine some of their component ayllus as descended

from ancient, valley-owning agricultural heroes and ances-

tors (Salomon 1991:322). Rituals were conducted at these

llactaand at other burialfacilities by members of thedescent

group andincludedserving theancestors food anddrinkand,

as Salomon puts it, creating a climate of solemn commu-

nion between newer generations and the ancient mothers and

fathers (1991:324).

There are strong similarities between these Colonial

mortuary practices and the small chambers at La Galgada.

The chambers appear to have been used first as ritual fa-

cilities, then as mortuary loci. They were rebuilt and ex-

panded through time, a pattern also described by Salomon

(1991:343), and more ancestors placed within them. Sa-

lomon also alludes to a competitiveprocess in thewaycham-

bers were expanded: At provincial and village levels the

approach of death was the occasion for planning to heighten

the affected kindreds standing. Andean curacas (loosely

glossed as headman or chief) prepared before their death

tombs not only sufficient to aggrandize their own mummies,

but extra vaults so that their descendants might come to be

venerated in fealty to their persons (Salomon 1991:343).

Further, Salomon shows how a mortuary facility might

wax or wane in size, complexity, and upkeep depending

on the fortunes of the descent group. Successful groups


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may have been able to manipulate and display their suc-

cess, thereby signaling their quality and status, thus ampli-

fying their already growing social influence and prestige.

He also notes that mortuary officers (described in docu-ments as priests) sat at a nexus of considerable power and

wealth. Given the ways in which lineage heads sit at such

places in more traditional societies, it is easy to see how they

could enhance their status and prestige while also providing

group-level benefits to their followers (Salomon 1991:341).

Lineage headmanship, then, could be a potential source of

persistent leadership.

The range of artifacts associated with the dead does not

seem to indicate that display or gift prestation was an impor-

tant leadership strategy unless it was made manifest through

perishable materials. Although there are objects from distant

places, such as the single Spondylus shell pendant, turquoise

beads, and feathers most probably obtained from the Ama-

zon Basin, their quantities are not substantial. The shellsused to make the personal adornments were easily obtained

from the coast either through trade or direct procurement.

However, larger shell necklaces, like that found on one of

the women in the C-10:E-10 tomb, were quite large, and al-

though plain in decoration, may have been used as gifts in

exchange cycles like those seen in New Guinea. The other

artifacts in the tombs were quotidian and are probably those

used by the deceased persons during their lives. It is possible

that the decorated cotton cloths were seen as prestige items,

although, again, the small quantities of these in the tombs

suggest that artifact disposal in mortuary contexts with the

intentof display was not a leadership strategy at La Galgada.

But prestige competition may have been manifest in a

wholly different arena: the construction of chambers and the

consequent growth of the North and South Mounds. In their

earliest form, chambers varied considerably in size, treat-

ment, and location. As noted above, chambers were proba-

bly constructed by kin groups, most likely lineages. Through

time, however, more and more chambers were constructed

on the North Mound, which began to grow larger through

this process. The chambers themselves became larger and

moreelaborate and other, smaller, chambers were beingbuilt

elsewhere near the mound. It is tempting to argue that the

larger, later chambers were being built through a process of

competitive display, wherein a lineage attempted to build a

larger, more complex chamber. To do so required the labor

of others, and it is possible that it was obtained by promises

of enhanced prestige for those who willingly gave their la-

bor. It is also likely that feasting was employed as a means

to reward those who participated, but unfortunately no evi-

dence ofit has beenfound atthe site. Given whatis knownof

subsistence production, feasting would have been feasible.

Only the largest and most successful lineages could pursue

this process, and over time the numbers of competitors di-

minished, which may account for the ever-smaller number

of large chambers built on the North Mound over time. This

process culminates with a wholesale transformation of rit-ual practice in the Initial Period, when a large, open plaza

is built atop the North Mound. This also helps to explain

the construction of the South Mound with its Kotosh-style

rectangular chambers. Lineages left out, too poor, or un-

willing to participate in the prestige competition unfolding

on the North Mound may have deliberately chosen different

architectural stylesand patrons andengagedin theirown dis-

play and prestige enhancement. The South Mound, however,

never achieved the size and complexity of its neighbor.

This process of competitive construction and continual

corporate effort directed at building ever-larger support and

retaining walls around the North Mound did not require a

permanent manager or emerging hereditary upper class, as

is suggested by Grieder et al. (1988:199). As with the EngaGreat War leader, who has great power in a narrowly defined

arena through mutual agreement of all participant parties,

the inhabitants of La Galgada may well have agreed on a

temporary director of this project. This couldobviously have

enhanced that individuals prestige as well as that of his

lineage, but this additional prestige did not necessarily

translate into other social fields. Once the project was

completed, all parties could return to their competitive

construction displays.

Whether the dramatic changes seen in the Initial Period

reflect theemergence of a hereditary upper classor a form

of persistent leadership is not clear. The transformation of

the platform of the North Mound to an enclosed plaza with

a single large ceremonial hearth and no other architectural

embellishments certainly suggests that one of the Late Pre-

ceramic competitors may have won the prestige competition

and assumed a dominant position in ritual activity. Unfortu-

nately, other lines of evidence that could be used to bolster

this hypothesis or to see whether this prestige translated into

othersocialarenascannot be obtainedfrom the NorthMound

because of extensivelooting. Excavations in residential areas

surrounding the mounds, however, could provide some in-

sight into this. Although we might not be able to know the

exact form of persistent leadership, that is, how it played out

in other social arenas, it is plausible that it is indeed present

at the very end of the Late Preceramic at La Galgada.

This model of competitive construction within a ritual

context is not characteristic of the other highland ceremo-

nial sites despite very significant similarities in the archi-

tectural details of ceremonial spaces and the kinds of rituals

performed within them. At Piruru, the earliest ceremonial

structures in Bonniers (1997:127) pre-Mito phase are quite

variable and include eight small square or circular chambers


16/23

28 Mark Aldenderfer

similar to those at La Galgada, a single semisubterranean

temple, one open-air hearth with associated sacred floor,

and two subterranean spherical structures. What all facili-

ties(exceptthe two subterranean structures) shareare centralhearths used for ritual burning and the use of red soil and

clay both to make floor-altars and to cap them to build new

ones atop the old ones. In the following Mito phase, a single

Mito-style temple is constructed that is similar in size to its

contemporaries at Kotosh. At Chaukayan phase Huaricoto,

which dates to 23002200 B.C., although ritual form and

performance within the earliest ceremonial constructions

central hearths surrounded by a cleared platform, but no

surrounding wallsis similar to that of the earliest cham-

bers constructed at La Galgada, the number of platforms

grows very slowly through time, as does change in their

architectural plan (Burger and Salazar-Burger 1985:121).

It is probable that the social formation that built the plat-

forms was a family or, more probably, a lineage (Burgerand Salazar-Burger 1980). Kotosh is perhaps the most sim-

ilar to La Galgada in terms of the numbers and complexity

of structures built during the Late Preceramic (Izumi and

Terada 1972; see also Bonnier 1997:129140 for a thor-

ough review of Kotosh architectural sequences), but here

too the number of constructions is quite limited. Only two

structures are known from the earliest occupation of the site

(Mito I); this increases to four chambers in Mito II times

(the famous Templo de las Manos Cruzadas on Platform 2

and a two-story, three-chamber construction on Platform 4).

In Mito IIIa, the Templo de las Manos Cruzadas is ritually

buried, and the first Templo de los Nichitos is constructed.

The two-story chambers on Platform 4 are consolidated into

one larger rectangular temple by Mito IIIc times, a pattern

that continues through the end of the Late Preceramic. Thus

while the number of structures at these sites is consolidated

through time, there is no evidence for competitive construc-

tion at them. Ritual practice may have been similar at all of

them as is indicatedby common architectural features, andit

is probable that the chambers all served lineages or perhaps

multilineage formations, but the only site that has convinc-

ing evidence for the emergence of persistent leadership by

the end of the Late Preceramic is La Galgada.

Why Is Persistent Leadership Uncommon in

the Late Preceramic?

Only one setting in the highland Late Preceramic

La Galgadaappears to have some form of persistent

leadership. Even here, however, it comes very late in the

occupation of the site, right at the advent of the Initial

Period. Much of what seems complex about the site earlier

in the Preceramic can in fact be explained by a model

of competitive construction, rather than one involving an

emergent elite. The only other region that approaches the

complexity seen at La Galgada is in the Ayacucho Basin,and, again, whatever we can identify as persistent leadership

appears at the very end of the Preceramic. Elsewhere in

the highlands, while there are clearly attempts to build

individual and collective prestige, these attempts are very

small scale and in some cases, as at Qhuna phase Asana,

unsuccessful. What can explain this pattern?

We can begin with a review of contexts for the emer-

gence of persistent leadership. Among those identified as

having a role in the emergence of inequality are high popu-

lation density, circumscription, sedentism or lowfrequencies

of residential mobility, resource abundance, resource stress,

and the presence of easily intensified resources. Being mind-

ful of the lack of archaeological data for many of the case

studies, of these, La Galgada and the Ayacucho Basin sharesedentism, resource abundance, and easily intensified re-

sources. In both areas, Late Preceramic subsistence systems

are thought to involve low-level food production of domes-

ticated plants and, at least in the Ayacucho Basin, maize is

thought to be a plant of growing significance to the diet, al-

though not yet a full subsistence staple. Although the other

case studies show sedentary or near-sedentary occupations,

none can be characterized by resource abundance, although

this requires more discussion. None of the case studies show

any sign of resource stress; if anything, the regional climatic

picture suggests climatic amelioration across the highlands

throughout the entire Late Preceramic (Baker et al. 2001;

Cross et al. 2001). While this does not necessarily imply

that some local ecologies in the highlands could not have

suffered some deterioration, the regional data suggest such

reversals would have been temporary and short lived. Popu-

lation growth is seen in every case study for which we have

settlement data, and while this growth may have been rapid,

no case study appears to reflect a situation of high popu-

lation densi

Documents

Aldenderfer_2005_Preludes to Power in the Highland Late Preceramic Period