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 __ A look at Andean Warfare in the Early Intermediate Period, __ __ Middle Horizon and Late Intermediate Period __ The late Early Horizon was a time of great changes following the collapse of the Chavín civilization around 300 B.C. The profound disruption of traditional cultural patterns suggests a radical restructuring of the sociopolitical landscape. For instance, many centers were abandoned and in some centers village residents occupied ritual spaces. The Chavín horizon style was replaced by distinctive local styles, and the Chavín interaction sphere disintegrated. There was a great degree of conflict underlying the development of a regional orientation following the collapse of Chavín, with forts and fortified settlements being widely erected. In the Casma Valley, for example, substantial numbers of forts were constructed for the first time. Warriors were commemorated in art; they wore elaborate dress and ornamentation and had specialized combat weapons and body protection. These changes suggest that warfare as a concept, and warriors in particular, had high status, and that the threat of warfare was, for the first time, a significant consideration in the organization of societies, and their patterns of settlement.



One of the forts that was constructed around this time in the Casma Valley in Peru was the site of Chankillo. Structures at Chankillo include a fortified temple, with massive walls, a ceremonial-civic area with buildings, a plaza, and storage facilities, and several smaller scattered buildings, within an area of about 4 square kilometers. Chankillo was first investigated by [|Julio C. Tello]. Excavations at Chankillo have been conducted by a Yale University expedition, led by Ivan Ghezzi more recently. Chankillo has the distinct characteristic of being built on a hill with two massive walls that were probably used for defense, with 3 gates allowing access from the Interior wall, and 4 gates from the exterior wall. It is also noted that these walls had a parapet on the inside of them primarily used for standing on and attacking invaders while using the wall as a shield. Warrior figurines were also found as well as some store rooms that had serving vessels and remains of corn and shellfish. Chankillo is believed by most Archaeologists, to be defended because of its religious importance. On the other side of the giant open plaza at Chankillo are the thirteen towers, which were built correlating with the sun's position during the summer and winter solstice.  Chankillo

Recent excavations at the fortress of Acaray in the Huaura Valley, Peru, confirm the site was used during two periods: the Early Horizon (ca. 900–200 BC) and the Late Intermediate Period (ca. AD 1000–1470). These two periods are characterized by the construction of fortifications in neighboring valleys on the north coast and in the central highlands. The fortress of Acaray in the Huara River Valley is situated on a ridge along the valley. The fortress was constructed along the summits of three hills that for that ridge. Acaray’s location offers a great view of the river valley, and is in an easily defended location. Some defensive structures found here are architectural features such as parapets and bastions, plus the presence of an abundance of sling stones found within the fortification. The ridgetop on which Acaray is located has steep slopes and cliff faces. These natural defensive features are augmented by megalithic walls that would be difficult to penetrate. These defensive walls restrict access to all sectors of the fort. One section has a slightly lower wall that almost entirely encircles the hilltop, with two entrances that are well defended.

Acaray, Huaura Valley, Peru



Differences in construction material and technique provide some insight into when certain architechural elements were in use or constructed at the site. One technique is characterized by large cut stones set in mortar with smaller cut stones fitted between, giving them the façade of an orderly look. These wall segments have wall anchors that support the walls and give them greater stability and permit them to stand vertical. The other technique is easily contrasted with the first one. This technique was used to repair some of the walls built according to the methods described above, and thus was done later in time. Builders of these later walls employed smaller, irregular stones that did not fit well together and consisted of rubble. Also, two slate blade remains were recovered dating back to the Late Early Horizon. Slate blades like these are recognized in the Early Horizon and Early Intermediate Period and found at Chavin. The Late Intermediate Period occupation of Acaray was believed to be more of a military settlement, than a long-term settlement. Had the fortress at Acaray been a permanent settlement during the LIP, archeaologists would have found more domestic evidence and residential architecture. Archeaologist Margret Brown Vega believes that the LIP occupation of Acaray “was probably used more as a refuge, than a settlement.” Other eveidence that backs her hypothesis up is the numerous amounts of slingstones found, as well as the presence of bastions, and parapets. She thinks that “the nature of the threat was sufficient to motivate reconstruction, but people did not live day in and day out at the fortress.” (Prehispanic warfare in the Huaura Valley, Peru).

The middle Horizon gave rise to a unique culture, the Wari. They flourished in Peru from about A.D. 500 – 1000. The Wari were believed to have political influence almost all the way up the Peruvian coast. The cities they built are characterized by grid like plots called //patio groups.// The Wari cultures broke through after the downfall of the Nazca, Moche, and Paracas cultures of the Early Intermediate Period, and are believed to have been interdependent of the Tiwanaku culture. The Wari people are believed to have engaged in some warfare because of the evidence of them taking Trophy Heads. These trophy heads appear to have been skinned and sometimes burned, and all of them have holes drilled in the Cranium and sometimes have a rope going through the hole which allows multiple heads to be strewn together. The rise and growth of the Wari Empire included militarism and violence. Wari iconography depicts military themes, and warfare, combined with the presence of Wari administrative sites in distant parts of the empire suggest that they controlled this vast amount of land sometimes by military force.

Conchopata, Peru - Wari site Trophy Heads found at floor of U-shaped center

Burial at Conchopata

In the Late intermediate Period / Late Horizon, we get the beautifully constructed city of Sacsayhuaman. It is located a few kilometers from the Inca capital, and modern Peruvian city of Cuzco. It is constructed of fine stonework so tight, that not even a sheet of paper can fit in between the stones. It is made up of 3 main walls, the longest of which is about 400 meters. The Spanish harvested a large quantity of rock to build the church in Cuzco, which is why the walls are in perfect condition up to a certain point, and then missing above that. There are many theories as to how this wall was built, and why it was built. There is Ethno historic evidence that says the Inca used it as a defense in battle against Spanish in 1533.

Sacsayhuaman



There are many Archaeologists who disagree with the idea of warfare in the Andes. The first is that not a lot of Archaeological research has been done in the Andes on the subject, compared to that of other pre Columbian cultures. Also, the distinction between ritual combat and militaristic warfare is especially hard in the Andes, where a form of ritual combat called “tinku” has been practiced in the area from at least the time of the Inca, leading some scholars to believe Andean militarism was more ritual rather than political. Another reason some archeaologists believe this is because many of these highly fortified sites, especially in the Early Horizon/Intermediate Period lack any water source within, in which the people seeking refuge inside would not be able to stay for long without suffering dehydration.

Archeaologists sometimes propose that fortifications were more symbolic than utilitarian (Conflict in the Ancient Andes, Arkush and Stanish). Fortification walls send powerful messages of fierceness, numbers, and impregnability to outsiders, as well as marking off special places and create categories of an “insider” and an “outsider.” Iconographic portrayals of violence are particularly difficult to assess. At the Initial Period site of Cerro Sechin in the Casma Valley, stone carvings of two facing rows of armed figures and mutilated, dismembered bodies have been variously interpreted. Urton suggests that the symbolic architectural dualism of the carved panels may represent not “real war” but the social dualism of two moieties engaged in repeated ritual battles. Archeologists are still debating on whether or not these various places were used in Military warfare or ritualistic warfare, and the answer might not be known for sure until more research and field work is done to the Andes region.

Sources: //__[|Trauma and Violence in the Wari Empire of the Peruvian Andes: Warfare, Raids, and Ritual Fights]__// ; Tiffiny A. Tung; AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 133:941– 956, (2007)

__//[|Prehispanic Warfare during the Early Horizon and Late Intermediate Period in the Huaura Valley,]//__ Peru; Margaret Brown Vega ; U Chicago Journal

__//[|Social Identities and Geographical Origins of Wari Trophy Heads from Conchopata, Peru]//__; Tiffiny A. Tung and Kelly J. Knudson ; U Chicago Journal

__//[|Interpreting Conflict in the Ancient Andes: Implications for the Archaeology of Warfare]//__ ; Elizabeth Arkush and Charles Stanish ; Course website article

//__[|Wari Trophy Heads Discovery]__// ; Tiffiny A Tung ; FAMSI website article