Cervantes Quequezana, Gabriela
(2020)
URBAN LAYOUT AND SOCIOPOLITICAL ORGANIZATION IN SICÁN, PERÚ.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
The Sicán polity (AD 750 - 1375) developed in the middle La Leche Valley on the north coast of Peru. This dissertation presents the results of a comprehensive program of full-coverage high-resolution pedestrian survey, with systematic surface collections and architectural mapping, covering 50 km2 in the capital city of the Sicán polity located in the current-day Bosque de Poma Historical Sanctuary in the La Leche Valley. My research was designed to address the urban and architectural layout of the Sicán city, its size and population density, the socioeconomic differentiation and economic activities of its residents, and continuity and change through time in residential patterns in the area.
The results provide new evidence about the layout and sociopolitical organization of the Sicán city. The city was formed by the Sicán Core, a civic- center formed by the Platform Complex and Pyramid Complex with a central plaza, and a much larger surrounding area of low-density urban occupation I call Greater Sicán. Greater Sicán surrounds the Sicán Core and its formed by several demographic districts, each with its own civic-ceremonial nucleus of monumental architecture, and engaged in diverse economic activities such as craft production. Unlike other well-known centralized Andean cities, Sicán is a dispersed city with several separate nuclei that I propose corresponds to a segmentary form of sociopolitical organization. Sicán’s layout resembles the sprawling outline of a dispersed or garden city as originally defined for the Maya area and southeast Asia.
Widespread distribution of wealth consumption objects such as finewares, metals and beads show that the Sicán city had a large middle class population. Evidence suggests that craft production, particularly metallurgy, was the critical source of wealth, prestige and power in the Sicán city. Finally, this research provides a complete social trajectory of the research area spanning the Formative, Moche, Sicán, Chimú/Late Horizon and Contact/Colonial periods.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
| Creators | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Cervantes Quequezana, Gabriela | gac29@pitt.edu | gac29 | |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
8 June 2020 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
19 April 2019 |
| Approval Date: |
8 June 2020 |
| Submission Date: |
29 May 2020 |
| Access Restriction: |
1 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 1 year. |
| Number of Pages: |
327 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Anthropology |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Archaeology, Ancient cities, Andes |
| Additional Information: |
cervantes.gabi@gmail.com |
| Date Deposited: |
08 Jun 2020 15:58 |
| Last Modified: |
08 Jun 2021 05:15 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/39139 |
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