Garrido Escobar, Francisco Javier
(2015)
MINING AND THE INCA ROAD IN THE PREHISTORIC ATACAMA DESERT, CHILE.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Traditionally, treatments of the Inca Empire have sought to document its deep economic and political impact on local populations in the Andes. There has been less study of how subject groups might have independently negotiated opportunistic economic responses to the Inca Empire. This research explores this issue through the investigation of the relationship between the Inca Road and a recently discovered, non-Inca system of mining camps, isolated deep in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile. Study of the development of these camps, and of their relationship with the Road aimed at addressing whether the Atacama Inca Road, served as a linear exchange nexus, or only as a highway servicing Inca imperial needs.
To address this objective, I conducted a one-year project of survey, surface collection, and excavation to investigate: (1) the social organization and chaîne opératoire of turquoise and malachite beads, and red pigment production at the Cachiyuyo de Llampos Mountain camps; and (2) the nature of settlement and associated artifact assemblages along a nearby section of the Inca Road. In contrast to Inca state-ruled mining sites from the Inca epoch, these Chilean camps lacked Inca architecture and production patterns, presenting instead a pattern of artisan household mining and craft production of copper ore beads, iron oxide red pigment, and the crafting of items with distantly acquired raw materials. This craft production predated the Inca, and was not greatly altered following Inca conquest. However, occupation and production did intensify following Inca conquest, as the Road became a logistical resource for the camps, facilitating provisioning and exchange. Local miners and artisans worked full time in the desert, far from agricultural areas; the Inca Road became their main connection for the acquisition and movement of goods, independent of the Inca Empire’s imperial purposes. The data generated on domestic and craft activities, and on local and long distance exchange, contributes to our understanding of the use of the Inca Road and to how populations respond to imperial infrastructure.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
15 September 2015 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
27 April 2015 |
| Approval Date: |
15 September 2015 |
| Submission Date: |
5 August 2015 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
343 |
| 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: |
Inca Road, Prehistoric mining, Atacama desert, Household Archaeology, Inca Empire |
| Date Deposited: |
15 Sep 2015 15:01 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 14:29 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/25901 |
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