Understanding Wari State Expansion

A "Bottom-Up" Approach at the Village of Ak'Awillay, Cusco, Peru

Bibliographic Data

ID4374166
AuthorsVéronique Bélisle (0000-0003-1492-6843, corresponding author), Véronique Bélisle Véronique Bélisle
Year2015
Volume26
Issue2
Pages180-199
Publication date2015-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLatin American Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.7183/1045-6635.26.2.180
OpenAlexW2569931875
LanguageEN
Citations received24
References cited47

This paper documents how ancient state expansion affected local communities. Many scholars have argued that the Wari state of Middle Horizon (A.D. 600-1000) Peru established direct imperial control over several provinces. Archaeologists have studied large Wari sites using a "top-down" approach, but rarely have they studied local settlements to see how and if local populations were affected by the expansion of the Wari into their regions. My research takes a complementary "bottom-up" approach and examines the impact of Wari state expansion on the village of Ak'awillay in the Cusco region. I report on the excavation of contexts dating to the Middle Horizon and earlier periods at the site. These provide a unique perspective for evaluating change through time and assessing local responses to Wari expansion. Results suggest that most of the changes seen at Ak'awillay occurred before the arrival of Wari colonists in Cusco. Their presence had minimal impact on the daily lives of the villagers of Ak'awillay, although it provided new exchange opportunities that local leaders mayhave used for their benefit. Like other early states elsewhere, the Wari state may have controlled a small area around its colony but had a limited impact on more distant communities

Archaeology · Geography · Horizon · Human settlement · Settlement (finance · State (computer science · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Latin American history and culture · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · History

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