(NSF/SBE-RCUK) Rise of divine lordships in the ancient Andes: ancestors and polity in northern Peru

Divine lordships characterised much of western South America when the Europeans arrived in the 16th century. These native polities featured social ranking and kin-based lineages centred on special leaders who held power as god-like, ancestral beings. Despite the prevalence of divine lordships across the world, very little is known about their emergence.

Our project investigates the early record of divine lordship in ancient Peru. It grows out of our previous work which independently observed evidence of political centralisation in two adjacent areas of northern Ancash: districts of Moro (Nepeña coastal midvalley) & Cabana (highland Pallasca). This project aims to more fully document the process of centralisation (AD 1-200), and postulates that four main factors were crucial: intensified resource control; warrior leadership; rival factions; ancestralisation of leaders. Data to test these factors will be acquired through a 4-year plan of fieldwork and analysis, including:

A) Regional Settlement Survey. Social complexity models have tended to focus on single valleys. We examine adjacent valleys to widen the frame of analysis to observe larger scale systemic change. Each basin is dominated by an impressive hilltop centre, Cerro San Isidro (Moro) & Pashash (Cabana), which overlooks valuable lands and features commoner and elite dwellings, fortifications and mausolea. Surrounding them are many other settlements and features (hamlets, fields, roads, canals). Detailed survey will help determine their dating, activities and functional relationships to the centres.

B) Excavations at Cerro San Isidro & Pashash. Both sites show excellent archaeological preservation; because new residential and mortuary buildings appear in both areas almost simultaneously, our project can clarify their co-development. Lordships should show evidence of segmentary organisation, ancestor veneration and wealth differences. We aim to study these patterns in large compounds, as palatial spaces of kin groups at the seats of power. Burials and mausolea inside them may indicate 'living with the dead,' ritual practices that helped legitimise increasingly powerful noble groups. Post-excavation analyses (organic & non-organic remains) should show variability in diet, wealth accumulation and trade items.

The project is led by two mid-career archaeologists, who combine four decades of work in Peru and accomplished records of major field projects and outputs in the study areas. A postdoctoral researcher will complement the team to bridge the case studies during fieldwork, heading activities in impact/dissemination, and developing personal research topics on social complexity and material culture. The project will have two Peruvian co-directors, local research technicians and international student participation, while working with local authorities, towns and museums.

Overall, our project researches the rise of Andean polities as part of large-scale, regional systemic change in northern Peru. It develops the material record for early divine lordships and contributes directly to general theory about the emergence of social complexity in the Americas and beyond. It examines topical themes in the sciences and humanities, and resonates with current events - charismatic leadership; wealth inequality; conflict; political ideology.

Key scholarly outputs include new case studies and technical data for two understudied regions, as well as joint publications (books/articles), presentations, meetings and outreach. Wider impact includes capacity-building in Peru: adding collections and sharing data with three regional museums; transferring knowledge for site protection, heritage management & public exhibitions; enabling local museums and stakeholders to know and present their past effectively. It also offers numerous student & researcher opportunities to help develop a new generation of scholars and grow academic and public links between UK, North America and Peru.

Our project has two principal domains for impact: [1] public outreach activities in the UK & USA; [2] economic input, capacity-building activities and public outreach in Peru.

[1] Project results will be disseminated to general audiences in the UK & USA through presentations in education/lecture programmes (e.g., Norwich, London, Cambridge). News, informal updates and video clips about events and discoveries can be posted through a staff-maintained online blog, social media and distribution lists (with possible coverage by international news and documentary media, if appropriate).

[2] Our impact in Peru highlights three main categories: a) economic assistance; b) archaeological capacity-building; c) outreach & networking.

2a. As the study cases are in poor rural provinces, our presence immediately brings local economic benefit over the fieldwork period (principally labourer wages, facilities & equipment hire, food, incidentals). The project also employs two professional Peruvian archaeologists as co-directors.

2b. Over the long-term, the project helps establish pathways for capacity-building. As all project finds must remain in Peru, their final repositories will be at three regional archaeology museums. They become significant collections, permanent resources available for future study, exhibition and stimuli for Peruvians to learn and engage with the past.

The integrity of both case study sites is under perpetual threat by development, vandalism, natural erosion and looting (see URLs in 'Pathways to Impact'). Systematic, technical knowledge of their archaeology is the first step for planning their protection and upkeep in conjunction with nearby communities and townships. Direct project contributions include: mapping the off-limits zones; site reports; and consultations on improving protection and heritage infrastructure (e.g., signage, paths, fencing, conservation).

These activities will stimulate tourism initiatives of the provincial municipalities, rural groups (adjacent to sites) and private enterprises. Both sites are visually impressive and accessible with automobiles, and thus can be easily incorporated into touristic circuits. The other pathway for long-term benefit concerns developing local crafts/souvenirs and foods for visitors. Each field season, we will arrange for a consultation session with each municipality and potential stakeholders (potters, women's groups, tour companies, food/drink outlets); ultimately, such capacity is to foster self-reliance and sustainability.

2c. Peruvians take great interest and regional pride in their millenary past, and project activities will be sure to have newspaper, radio and television news coverage at local & national levels. Presentations (2 annually, 6 total) and site tours will be given to townspeople, and news- and school-groups to inform of field activities, the value of archaeology and archaeological heritage, and their role in the future. With the finds and project team already on hand, the local museums also serve as key venues for additional outreach and presentations, formal and informal. In years 3-4, project staff, with local archaeology BA students, will oversee temporary exhibitions and posters at the museums, to highlight the richness and potential of local archaeology.

Finally, development of education networks is essential. The project provides unique work and travel opportunities for international students, drawn from a range of fields, not just archaeology. We will also secure partner links with universities in Lima, Huaraz and Trujillo to help promote training and professional opportunities, and as an investment for enduring UK-USA-Peru interchanges.

These activities balance academic and public interests, with the project at the centre of working synergies between different institutions (academic & museums), town/rural communities and private enterprises. They will result in mutual benefits over the short- and long-term.