HOUSES, RESIDENTIAL BURIALS, AND IDENTITY IN THE RAPAYÁN

VALLEY AND THE UPPER MARAÑÓN DRAINAGE, PERU, DURING

LATE ANDEAN PREHISTORY

Alexis Mantha

The impressive multi-story funerary monuments found in the Upper Marañón Drainage of the northern Central Andes of
Peru have long fascinated people. Archaeologists and historians have studied their spatial distribution to define the identity
of the populations occupying the region during the Late Intermediate period (A.D. 1000–1450). Rather than focus on mon-
umental architecture, in this paper I explore group identity in the Upper Marañón by analyzing the shape and layout of
houses and evidence of residential funerary practices. Based on a regional comparative approach, I argue that diversity in
domestic architecture and mortuary customs reflects a constellation of distinct collective identities.

Los impresionantes edificios de varios pisos en la región del alto Marañón, en Perú, han cautivado la atención de la gente
desde hace tiempo. Arqueólogos e historiadores utilizaron su distribución espacial para definir la identidad cultural de las
poblaciones del alto Marañón durante el periodo del Intermedio tardío (1000–1450 d.C). En este artículo, en lugar de

T
enfocarme sobre la arquitectura monumental, analizo más bien la morfología y la organización espacial de las viviendas, así
como las evidencias de prácticas funerarias residenciales, para explorar cuestiones de identidad cultural en el alto Marañón,
en los Andes centrales del Perú. A partir de una perspectiva comparativa regional, mantengo que la diversidad morfológica
de las viviendas y las distintas prácticas funerarias residenciales reflejaban una constelación de identidades colectivas durante
los periodos tardíos de la prehistoria andina en el alto Marañón.

he usefulness of studying ethnic identity influence the particular form of a dwelling, Stan-
in the Andes using household archaeology ish further argues that the overall shape of houses,
has been advocated primarily by Stanish their spatial arrangement in a settlement, and the
in a series of influential papers (Stanish 1989, layout of distinct functional rooms and activity
1992; Stanish et al. 1993; see Aldenderfer and areas are determined primarily by conservative
Stanish 1993). Stanish argues that, because arti- cultural preferences (Aldenderfer and Stanish
facts found in burial contexts result mainly from 1993:8; Stanish 1989, 2005:228–229; Stanish et
interregional exchange ensuing from ritual, eco- al. 1993).
nomic, and political ties among groups, they are The claim that the shapes and layouts of houses
not good indicators of local ethnic identity. He represent a fairly conservative dimension of
maintains that domestic architecture, of which culture—thus communicating a form of cultural
the household represents the basic component, is affiliation—is well documented in anthropology
a better marker of ethnicity. House structures and and archaeology (e.g., Bawden 1993; Blanton
the materials found in association with them result 1994; Kent 1990; Van Gijseghem and Vaughn
mainly from the production and consumption pat- 2008:113). Nonetheless, the proposal that domes-
terns of local residents. Thus, they reflect the cul- tic contexts are more indicative of ethnic identity
tural particularities and identities of these indi- than funerary contexts is far more tentative. In-
viduals (Stanish 1989:12–13). After reviewing deed, several Andean ethnographic and archaeo-
social, ecological, and economic factors that may logical studies have shown that houses are the lo-

Alexis Mantha 䡲 Champlain College, Saint-Lambert Campus, 900 Riverside Drive, Saint-Lambert, Québec, Canada,
Office E-242, J4P 3P2 ([email protected])

Latin American Antiquity 26(4), 2015, pp. 433–451

Copyright © 2015 by the Society for American Archaeology
DOI: 10.7183/1045-6635.26.4.433

433
434 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 26, No. 4, 2015

cus not only of everyday activities, but also of di- and King 2011; Adams and Kumsumawati 2011;
verse and rich rituals (e.g., Candeler 1997; Gillespie 2000, 2011; King 2011; Joyce 2011). In
Cutright 2013; Ramirez 2005:141; Salazar 2012; this conceptual framework, it is assumed that res-
Vaughn 2004:80). Furthermore, many archaeo- idential burials materialize the efforts of the living
logical studies have documented that burials are to maintain a strong connection to the past by
often found within house structures and that the venerating, remembering, or commemorating im-
latter may also contain a high proportion of foreign portant ancestors (Adams and King 2011:4–5).
exotic items, both in the Andes (e.g., Millaire By the same token, the connection between the
2004; Nash 2009:242; Vaughn 2005) and else- living and the dead through residential burial is
where (Adams and King 2011; Gillespie 2000; assumed to reflect one of the fundamental values
McAnany 1995; Hodder and Cessford 2004; Kuijt of “house societies”—that is, a desire for perpe-
2001; Laneri 2007). The distinction between do- tuity or an active effort to maintain continuity
mestic and funerary contexts, although useful in with the past (Gillespie 2000:12–14).
some circumstances (e.g., Aldenderfer 1993), nev- Evidence of continuity with the past is best
ertheless obscures the fact that these two social seen through the degree of interactions the living
contexts are often interrelated and inseparable. maintain with the dead (Thompson 2014). In
In this article, I examine the relationship be- many societies, the most intense contact between
tween group identity, household architecture, and the living and the dead occurs through ancestor
residential burials within the Rapayán Valley, and veneration. These practices are based on the belief
more broadly within the Upper Marañón that specific and unique deceased kin possess su-
Drainage of Peru (Supplemental Figure 1) during pernatural powers that can directly affect, either
the Late Intermediate (A.D. 1000–1450; LIP) and positively or negatively, their living descendants
Late Horizon (A.D. 1450–1532; LH) periods. I (DeLeonardis and Lau 2004:78; Townsend
begin by discussing some theoretical and method- 1969:23). Ancestor veneration should thus be dis-
ological problems related to the concept of an- tinguished from other funerary programs (e.g.,
cestor veneration. I proceed by outlining previous Sheils 1975; Thompson 2014) such as the cult of
archaeological hypotheses concerning identity in the dead (Morris 1991). For example, Christians
the Upper Marañón, after which I discuss data honor the dead. Nonetheless, unlike in the case
on residential burials and house architecture in of ancestor veneration, the deceased are generally
the Rapayán Valley and the Upper Marañón. I not believed to be endowed with the power of
conclude with a discussion outlining a new per- interfering in the affairs of the living (Ariés 1975;
spective regarding identity in the Upper Marañón Krauskopff 1991:66). To obtain the goodwill of
Drainage during the latter periods of Andean pre- ancestors, the living must propitiate them peri-
history. odically or intermittently through rituals, offer-
ings, feasts, and prayers. Ancestor veneration thus
Residential Mortuary Practices, Ancestor entails ceremonies that extend well beyond the
Veneration, and Identity formal disposal of the dead (Fortes 1965; Lau
2002:281; Morris 1991). Repeated rituals focus-
Several recent archaeological studies have em- ing on the veneration of a common ancestor are
phasized the close relationship between burials particularly important events during which indi-
found in or near house structures, social memory, vidual and collective identities are asserted be-
and identity (Adams and Kusumawati 2011; Hod- cause the communicative performance of these
der and Cessford 2004; King 2011; Kuijt 2001, rituals is centered on the common genealogy of
2008; Joyce 2011). According to this perspective, participants. As a result, ancestor veneration pro-
similarities in residential burial practices promote motes a shared sense of origin and memory, and
shared experiences surrounding death and thus hence of common identity (Dillehay 1990:226–
the transmission of common norms, values, and 27, 235; Fortes 1965; Hastorf 2003:308; Kuijt
identity. Furthermore, several authors have con- 2001:81). It is noteworthy, however, that not all
sidered the presence of residential burials as good the dead become ancestors (Thompson 2014;
material indicators of “house societies” (Adams Whitley 2002:122). A deceased person can reach
Mantha] HOUSES, RESIDENTIAL BURIALS, AND IDENTITY IN THE RAPAYÁN VALLEY 435

the status of ancestor initially because of excep- more, ancestor veneration practices have been
tional qualities shown during his or her lifetime documented within a wide range of political sys-
(e.g., being the original founder of a group, a tems, from mid-range societies to empires (Lau
leader, conqueror, possessor of wealth or knowl- 2002:281; McAnany 1995). Finally, and probably
edge, etc.), and later by the conscious collective most importantly, inferring the same memorial-
acts of remembrance undertaken by his or her izing effect for diverse mortuary and funerary
living descendants (DeLeonardis and Lau practices within and between societies is likely
2004:80; Helms 1998:35; Krauskopff 1991:65). to result in oversimplified and homogeneous in-
Researchers are often faced with a challenge terpretations of the social practices of the past.
when attempting to recognize ancestor veneration In the following sections, I review previous
in the archaeological record. Proposed material archaeological hypotheses regarding cultural
correlates include grave reopenings, delayed buri- identity in the Upper Marañón during the LIP,
als, more elaborate shrines located within lived after which I present the diversity of house mor-
spaces, evidence of feasting near mortuary struc- phology and residential burial practices in the
tures, secondary offerings and caching, and, most Rapayán Valley.
compellingly, the postmortem manipulation of
the deceased. The latter includes, for example, Previous Archaeological Hypotheses
artificial mummification as well as the removal, Regarding Late Prehispanic Group Identity
cleansing, and keeping of skulls and long bones in the Upper Marañón
(DeLeonardis and Lau 2004:80–82; Helms
1998:50; Isbell 1997; Millaire 2004; Parker The Upper Marañón region, located in the central
1999:158–161; Thompson 2014). eastern Andes of Peru, encompasses both banks
In the absence of clear evidence, some re- of the Marañón River in the modern departments
searchers have circumvented the problem of iden- of Huánuco, Ancash, and La Libertad, between
tifying ancestors by arguing that individuals the Cordillera Blanca to the west and the Amazon
buried in residential contexts, and sometimes the drainage to the east (Figure 1). The Upper
objects buried with or without them, were memo- Marañón Drainage extends over 500 km on its
rialized, remembered, or commemorated by the north-south axis and 250 km from east to west.
living (Gillespie 2011; Joyce 2011; King 2011). Ethnohistorical studies (León 2003; Mantha 2004;
In doing so, these archaeologists have, on the one Vallaranos 1959) suggest that this region was oc-
hand, inferred conscious efforts on the part of cupied by at least a dozen ethnic groups in early
the living to maintain a continuity with the past, colonial times (Figure 2).
and, on the other, they have suggested that the Following early archaeological explorations
connection between the living and the dead re- (e.g., Cardich 1958; Ribero 1841), the French
flected a supposed desire for perpetuity typical scholar Bertrand Flornoy became the first to con-
of “house societies.” This line of thinking is prob- duct more systematic archaeological investiga-
lematic for several reasons. First, as Elizabeth tions in the Upper Marañón in the 1940s and
Arkush (2011:205) notes, just like ancestor ven- 1950s. Flornoy (1955–1956, 1957) carried out
eration, the concepts of social memory and, by an archaeological reconnaissance over a vast area,
extension, remembrance and commemoration are from the headwaters of the Marañón River in the
so broadly inferred that they have become ex- modern province of Dos de Mayo to the south,
tremely vague both in terms of meaning and in up to Tantamayo to the north (Figure 1). Im-
terms of the procedure required for archaeologists pressed by tall and well-preserved multi-story
to recognize them materially. Second, using an- buildings at several LIP sites in the region (Sup-
cestor veneration (or remembrance and commem- plemental Figure 2), he suggested that the settle-
oration of the dead) as the sole criterion to identify ments around Tantamayo were the center of a
“house societies” is troublesome because other culture that spread over a vast and unspecified
kinds of corporate organizations, such as lineages, zone (Flornoy 1957:207).
ramages, and conical clans, are known to practice Strongly influenced by the pioneering work
ancestor veneration (Hageman 2004:65). Further- of Flornoy, Elisabeth Bonnier and Catherine
436 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 26, No. 4, 2015

Figure 1. Map of the research area and its surroundings.

Rozenberg carried out a survey of the Tantamayo walls, above-ground mortuary structures, a partic-
Valley in 1980 (Bonnier 1981; Bonnier and ular construction technique (pachilla), ridge-top
Rozenberg 1981; Bonnier et al. 1983). Within a locations, and LIP ceramics called estampado. The
radius of 61 km around the modern village of “Alto Marañón Culture” would have covered a
Tantamayo (Figure 1), they identified 81 sites large territory spanning from the department of
with well-preserved stone architecture that they Amazonas in the north to the department of
attributed to the LIP and the LH. Based on the Huánuco in the south. Amat singles out sites like
spatial distribution of tall multi-story buildings Kuélap in Chachapoya, Pajatén in San Martín, Ra-
and village architectural layouts, they suggested payán, Tantamayo, and Ichu as part of the “Alto
that the “Tantamayo Culture” likely extended Marañón Culture” (Amat 1971:50–51).
south of Tantamayo on the western bank of the In a later publication, Amat substantially mod-
Marañón River into the modern department of ifies his interpretations, as well as the chrono-
Ancash, where the Rapayán Valley is located logical sequence identified at Rapayán (Amat
(Bonnier et al. 1983:106, Note 8; Bonnier and 1980). Notably, he divides the LIP into two sub-
Rozenberg 1981:15–16). periods. In the first half of the LIP he places the
By the end of the 1970s, Hernán Amat had con- emergence, development, and fall of the Yaro
ducted several archaeological explorations in the Empire (A.D. 1000–1200), followed in the second
department of Ancash and Huánuco, with a focus half of the LIP by the development of the “Alto
on the site of Rapayán (Figure 1). Amat places the Marañón Culture” (A.D. 1200–1450). Because
development of surface stone architecture at Ra- of lack of evidence, subsequent archaeological
payán and many other sites in the LIP. He suggests investigations in the region have either rejected
the name “Alto Marañón Culture” for the settle- (Ibarra 1999; Mantha 2004; Matos 1994) or ig-
ments bordering the Marañón River that shared nored (Bonnier et al. 1983; Salcedo 2012) Amat’s
such attributes as multi-story buildings, defensive arguments for the existence of the Yaro Empire.
Mantha] HOUSES, RESIDENTIAL BURIALS, AND IDENTITY IN THE RAPAYÁN VALLEY 437

Figure 2. Ethnic groups of the Upper Marañón in early Colonial times.

The Rapayán Valley The late prehispanic stone architectural re-

mains of the Rapayán Valley are among the best
The Rapayán Valley is located on both banks of preserved in the Andes. During three field seasons
the Upper Marañón River at the eastern border held in 2001, 2002, and 2007, my team and I sur-
of the department of Ancash and the western limit veyed a territory of 500 km2 and identified and
of the department of Huánuco, in the provinces closely studied the surface architecture of 81 sites
of Huari, Huamalís, and Marañón (Figure 1). In (Figure 3). Based on excavations carried out at
crossing the Andes from west to east, the steep the site of Rapayán in 2005 and surface ceramics
mountains of the Rapayán area are one of the collected at the other sites, most of the settlements
last physical barriers one faces before reaching with visible architecture were originally con-
the tropical forests of the Amazon drainage. The structed during the LIP (A.D. 1000–1450) and
Marañón and the numerous small streams that continued to be occupied during the LH (A.D.
feed it have carved spectacular depressions in the 1450–1532).
mountains through time. As a result, valleys in
the Upper Marañón such as Rapayán are largely LIP/LH Intrasite Settlement Pattern
devoid of flat space. Altitude changes substan- Without considering hilltop forts (indicated as
tially over short distances, varying thousands of DCC in Figure 3), residential sites are the most
meters over the course of a few kilometers. In abundant type represented in the survey data set,
this extremely rugged topography, agriculturally making up 58 of the 81 total sites recorded (Figure
productive lands are limited and tend to be con- 3). They are located on top of hillsides between
centrated on smoother hillsides. 2,400 m and 3,700 m of altitude in the quechua
438 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 26, No. 4, 2015

Figure 3. Map of the surveyed sites within the Rapayán area.

ecological niche. Their placement in the agricul- had inferred the presence of house structures from
turally favorable quechua zone, their association two of the three criteria defined by Stanish
with countless agricultural terraces, and the ab- (1989)—that is, segregated structures that repeat
sence of corrals in the region before the arrival themselves in each residential site. Despite the
of the Inkas suggest that the population of Ra- fact that residential settlements include a variety
payán had an economy based on farming. of stone constructions, house structures are by
The vast majority of residential sites displays the far the most widely distributed architectural units
same architectural pattern and can be divided into at these sites.
three parts according to different types of mortuary Since house structures are relatively homoge-
structures (Figure 4). They exhibit small above- neous from one residential site to the other, I will
ground sepulchers (chullpas) in the lower end, houses designate them from now on as the Rapayán
and residential burials in the middle, and one or House Type. They have a roughly rectangular
more multi-story buildings in the upper part. shape and are built beside one another on long
horizontal terraces (Figure 4). They are usually
House Structures of the Rapayán Valley so densely constructed that, on occasion, the back
Before conducting excavations at the settlement wall of a house also functioned as a retaining
of Rapayán at the time of the first two surveys, I wall for the dwelling constructed above it.
Mantha] HOUSES, RESIDENTIAL BURIALS, AND IDENTITY IN THE RAPAYÁN VALLEY 439

Figure 4. Map of Area II of the Rapayán site showing structure distribution and excavated house structures (Houses 15
and 30).
440 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 26, No. 4, 2015

Table 1. Dimensions of Rapayán House Structures.

House Wall Width, Main Width, Back

Structures Length Width Thickness Door Frame Wall Door Frame
Number of Measurements 141 141 141 141 128
Mean 6.27 m 5.15 m 46.3 cm 75.6 cm 65.3 cm
Standard Deviation 1.49 m 1.10 m 7.9 cm 10.5 cm 16.2 cm

Based on measurements taken from a sample As these observations from Cobo suggest, I
of well-preserved constructions at the Rapayán believe that the wall cavities served as mortuary
settlement, on average, house structures cover 33 chambers used to keep the embalmed bodies of
m2 and measure 6 m in length by 5 m in width the dead in the houses. It is interesting to note
(Table 1). Their plan and construction technique that the primary school at the village of Rapayán
are very homogeneous. Walls are invariably con- keeps a collection of a dozen mummies. They
structed of superimposed flat and finely polished are all placed in the fetal position, with their
stones held together by a fine layer of mortar—a hands and feet tied. Given their size, each of the
construction technique commonly known as cavities could easily have held a mummy. The
pachilla (Figures 5 and 6; Supplemental Figure small window giving access into the cavity would
3). Internal walls also possess many small niches. also have allowed household members to make
Their number and spatial disposition within the offerings to the deceased (Ramirez 2005:30, 202).
walls do not appear to follow any pre-established The fact that most of the flat, vertical stones seal-
pattern. Door frames are rectangular or slightly ing the cavities appear to have been deliberately
trapezoidal (Figure 5 and 6; Supplemental Figure ripped out also suggests that these cavities once
3). They are built by superimposing alternating contained important objects usually encountered
horizontal and vertical flat stone blocks on each in tombs—such as mummies, ceramics, and
external side of the frame. The voids left in the metals—which would have attracted looters from
middle of the frame are filled with small flat the past and present. In fact, some of the best-
stones (Figure 5; Supplemental Figure 3). preserved household cavities still contain human
Some houses comprise up to four rooms, but bones. Direct evidence comes from an amateur
the great majority have only two. The wall that video filmed in Huaraz in the 1990s to encourage
divides the first and second (i.e., “front” and tourism in the Callejón de Conchuco. In a scene
“back”) rooms is very distinctive. On either side set in the ruins of Rapayán, a group of looters
of the door frame, there is a wide cavity in the take a mummy out of a wall cavity, piece by
wall (Figures 5 and 6). These two spaces in the piece. Additionally, in a documentary film about
wall are completely sealed, with the exception of Rapayán (Delfour 2008), an elder of the present-
a small window above a vertically oriented flat, day village, Delia Achic Picón, reveals that her
circular piece of limestone. The openings face cousin, an expatriate from the same village who
the frontal room (Figure 6). A sample of 43 well- now lives in Huaraz, keeps a mummy in his sec-
preserved wall cavities from Rapayán averages ond house in Rapayán in order to protect it while
100 cm in width, 97 cm in height, and 101 cm in he is away. In the same documentary film, several
length. elders confess to having discovered mummies in
What function did those cavities serve? Father the ruins during their youth.
Barnabé Cobo’s work, written around 1653, is One of the objectives of our 2005 excavations
very instructive in this regard. While discussing at Rapayán was to test the hypothesis that rec-
the mummification of the dead in different regions tangular constructions were indeed house struc-
of the Andes, Cobo informs us that “The embalmed tures. To this end, we systematically excavated
bodies were greatly venerated and sacrifices were two presumed house structures (Houses 15 and
made to each one according to their resources. 30; see Figure 4). Ceramic stratigraphy indicates
Some kept the bodies of their relatives in their that the two structures were originally built during
own houses” (Cobo 1990:40 [1653], emphasis the LIP and continued to be occupied during the
added; see also p. 247 for a similar statement). LH. Indeed, the occupational floor levels con-
Mantha] HOUSES, RESIDENTIAL BURIALS, AND IDENTITY IN THE RAPAYÁN VALLEY 441

Figure 5. Plan and elevation drawings of a house from Area II of the Rapayán site illustrating large wall funerary niches
and the pachilla construction technique.

Figure 6. Frontal view of the large funerary niches in the interior dividing wall of House 30, Area II of the Rapayán site.
The flat vertical stones sealing the cavities have been ripped out.
442 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 26, No. 4, 2015

tained several sherds of Inka-style ceramics, a humerus) and several undecorated typical LIP
whereas the subfloor levels, which correspond to ceramic fragments.
the original construction of the houses, displayed We also recovered important data in one of the
typical LIP ceramics and no Inka-style fragments. two rooms located behind the wall containing the
In addition to this chronological data, the exca- two large niches. In Room A, still on floor level,
vations also revealed the presence of hearths, car- we unearthed two stone polishers, a claw from a
bonized corncobs, llama and guinea pig bones, a bird of prey, a dozen shell beads, and a silver
great quantity of ceramic fragments with carbon jewel (tupu), as well as human bones, including a
residues, hoes, mace heads, mortars, pestles, femur, an ulna, three vertebrae, and a sacrum (Fig-
grinding stones, and a variety of other lithic and ure 7). The association of what appear to have
bone tools at the floor level in both structures been offerings with human bones—both in the
(Figure 7, Supplemental Figure 4). This evidence small L-shaped feature and in Room A—seems
of domestic activities, the third criterion defined to imply that they had a funerary function and
by Stanish (1989), confirms that the rectangular that funerary rituals took place inside House 30.
constructions were indeed residential. In House 15, among the several small niches
In addition to domestic activities, our investi- decorating the interior walls, we unearthed a
gations also brought to light evidence of ritual small, sealed niche in the north side wall (Sup-
practices. The two large niches within the back plemental Figure 5). Located 2 cm above the oc-
wall of the front room of each house structure cupational floor, it was buried under a meter and
were most likely used to keep human remains a half of debris. The opening of the niche in the
and would have been related to rituals in honor interior wall measured only 10 cm wide and 15
of the dead. However, as opposed to other mor- cm high, but within the wall it extended 3.40 m
tuary structures such as the chullpas and the tall on its east-west axis and 40 cm north to south.
multi-story buildings (see Mantha 2009 for a Inside we discovered a great quantity of car-
more complete discussion on these mortuary bonized maize grains associated with a polished
structures) found within residential sites, the large circular stone tool with a perforation in the mid-
household niches reflect a ritual practice that was dle. I believe the latter to be a mace head, but
much more exclusive and private in nature. The others would argue that it was a farming imple-
fact that the cavities are sealed except for small ment. Some archaeological studies conducted
windows suggests that the mummified bodies or elsewhere in the Andes have established a close
bones were not meant to be moved. The deceased relationship between niches and offerings made
kept in the household were thus venerated by a in the context of ancestor veneration practices
limited number of people, most probably mem- (e.g., Hastorf 2003; McEwan 1998). In addition,
bers of the same family. The bodies held in the historical documents clearly mention that rituals
wall cavities might thus have been the ancestors involved the burning of food, especially maize,
from whom each family traced its most direct as a way to feed ancestors or mythical beings in
origin. Since this pattern is repeated in every order to obtain their goodwill (Doyle 1988; Isbell
dwelling, each house structure most likely hosted 1997; Ramirez 2005). It is thus highly probable
co-residents composed of socially and biologi- that the Rapayán household niche offering was
cally related family members. related to an ancestor veneration practice. It can
The two excavated house structures displayed be tentatively proposed that if the lithic tool was
further data indicating that they were the locus a mace head, the household ritual involved pleas
of rituals. In House 30, we unearthed in the north- for success in warfare or defense. On the other
west corner of the main room a small L-shaped hand, if it was a farming tool, it can be hypothe-
feature measuring 58 cm in height, 170 cm in sized that the offerings were linked to an agricul-
length, and 80 cm in width (Figure 7). It had four tural fertility ritual. Finally, it is important to
openings near the floor level and a top covering mention that these offerings were discovered in
of stone slabs. Despite the fact that it had been the only sealed niche context found to date at
partially destroyed by looters, we recovered on Rapayán. When we consider the great number of
the inside floor human remains (three molars and niches decorating the inside walls of households,
Mantha] HOUSES, RESIDENTIAL BURIALS, AND IDENTITY IN THE RAPAYÁN VALLEY 443

Figure 7. Plan view of House 30 at the floor level (Level 3), Area II of the Rapayán site.

it can be postulated that they were also used dur- their own deceased kin, as demonstrated by a va-
ing the course of specific rituals. In fact, people riety of evidence for intra-household funerary
today still make offerings in the form of coca practices. Evidence of such household ritual prac-
leaves, cigarettes, alcohol, squashes, sodas, and tices at Rapayán includes bones found in house
flowers in house niches and near chullpas niches, carbonized maize grains associated with
(Delfour 2008). Houses were clearly the locus of a lithic artifact in a small niche of House 15, and
various rituals. several offerings associated with human bones
In sum, the people of the Rapayán Valley lived in House 30. Indirect evidence of ritual interac-
in relatively homogeneous house structures that tions with the dead includes the conservation of
hosted kin members. People also co-resided with prehispanic mummies at the Rapayán elementary
444 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 26, No. 4, 2015

school, testimonies made by present-day Rapayán sions. Moreover, many of Pampan house struc-
elders about the existence of mummies in local tures are organized in groups around an enclosed
ruins, the ongoing practice of placing offerings patio (Figure 8), a type of spatial arrangement
in the niches of ruined houses, and abundant eth- not found at Rapayán, where house structures are
nohistorical evidence about late prehispanic an- individually aligned on parallel terraces. Short
cestor veneration for the region under considera- walls separate one group of houses from another
tion (e.g., Ramirez 2005). When considering the at Pampan.
crucial importance of the deceased in the con- Despite differences in form and arrangement,
struction of group identity in the Andes (Ramirez the Pampan and Rapayán house structures nev-
2005), the widespread pattern of families sharing ertheless share the large wall cavities or niches
their living space with their mummified ancestors presumably built to host the mummified bodies
suggests that the people of the Rapayán Valley or bones of deceased family members. Nonethe-
shared common practices of memory, origin, and less, the wall cavities of the Pampan sites have a
identity. Did the people of other neighboring val- different morphology. As opposed to Rapayán
leys also share this pattern? house niches, constructed within the interior di-
viding wall, those of Pampan surround the upper
The Rapayán House Structures in Wider part of the single house wall (Figure 8; Supple-
Regional Context mental Figure 6). As a result, they tend to follow
the oval contour of the structures. Most of the
Pampan dwellings have at least four large wall
The Southern Edge of the Survey Area: cavities.
Pampan I, Pampan II, San José, and Huata The ruins of Huata extend on 6 ha and occupy
Within the southern edge of the surveyed territory a long ridge crest at an elevation of 3,800 m (Fig-
(Figure 3), the residential settlements of Pampan ure 3). Large agricultural terraces are located to
I, Pampan II, and San José share very similar ar- the south of the site, whereas a steep cliff forms
chitectural features that differ substantially from the northern border of the settlement. The pres-
those of Rapayán. These three sites represent the ence of terraces and the absence of corrals in the
highest residential settlements of the survey area, vicinity of Huata suggest that farming, as opposed
located at an altitude above 4,100 m in the puna to herding, was the main economic activity. The
ecological zone. Their high elevation makes agri- layout of Huata is typical of other Rapayán resi-
cultural production of certain crops such as maize dential settlements: multi-story buildings in the
unsuitable. On the other hand, they represent the upper part, house structures in the middle, and
only settlements associated with large corrals. small above-ground sepulchers in the lower part
For example, Pampan I, the largest site of the en- (see Mantha 2013:173, Figure 10.6).
tire surveyed region with dense architectural con- Huata displays the most morphologically di-
structions spreading over 15 ha, has a large corral verse house structures of the survey area. Two
measuring up to 70 m long and 50 m wide at the house types coexist in relatively equal proportion:
western edge of the settlement (Mantha the Rapayán and Pampan house types. Both of
2004:197). The economy at these sites thus ap- them exhibit their own respective architectural
pears to have been largely based on agro- features and typical large wall niches. Yet, none
pastoralism, as opposed to simply farming for of the Pampan house types at Huata are organized
the Rapayán Valley as a whole. in groups around a common patio, as observed at
The shape and spatial organization of the Pampan I, Pampan II, and San José. Rather, they
house structures at San José, Pampan I, and Pam- are individually aligned on long parallel terraces
pan II also present clear differences compared to like those of other Rapayán residential settle-
those of Rapayán. I will refer to them as the Pam- ments.
pan House Type. While a rectangular plan and
minimally two rooms characterize the Rapayán The Tantamayo Valley
House Type, the Pampan House Type has a D- The Tantamayo Valley is located on the eastern
shaped or oval outline and no internal subdivi- side of the Marañón River, at about the same lon-
Mantha] HOUSES, RESIDENTIAL BURIALS, AND IDENTITY IN THE RAPAYÁN VALLEY 445

Figure 8. Pampan House Type structures organized around common patios, site of San José.

gitude as the settlements of Pampan I and II, Hu- zones under consideration. Nonetheless, the use
ata and San José, and only 20 km south of the of these names implies nothing about ethnicity,
Rapayán village (Figure 3). At the conclusion of especially beyond the early colonial period.
their survey, Elisabeth Bonnier and Catherine Daniel Morales describes a dozen sites mainly
Rozenberg identified 81 sites with surface archi- from the Huamalí area (Morales 1984). He pro-
tecture. Based on radiocarbon dating and detailed vides several beautiful illustrations of the LIP sur-
ceramic stratigraphy, these sites were all occupied face architectural features found in most settle-
during the LIP and LH. Among these, 42 settle- ments, including house structures and multi-story
ments are classified as residential sites exhibiting buildings. Houses are consistently described as
house structures and tall multi-story structures circular with various circumferences. They were
(Supplemental Figure 2; Bonnier 1981; Bonnier built mainly using the unworked stone pirka tech-
and Rozenberg 1981; Bonnier et al. 1983; Rozen- nique. Most of them are also linked to a corral (or
berg 1982). patio?) made with the pirka construction technique.
Bonnier and Rozenberg describe fairly homo- Luis Salcedo (2012) has studied nearly 70 set-
geneous dwellings inside the enclosing walls of tlements both in the Huamalí and Allauca
the residential settlements. Tantamayo house Huánuco areas, with a specific focus on the site
structures have no internal subdivisions and are of Garu (Figure 1). Most of the LIP and LH set-
rectangular or square in plan, measuring on av- tlements he reports are residential sites con-
erage 5 m long by 4 m wide (Supplemental Figure structed on top of ridges between 3,400 and 4,300
7). Their roofs were likely gabled because the m of altitude. Residential surface architecture
opposing sustaining walls display a triangular also includes circular house structures varying
shape. Finally, these structures do not contain from 4 to 9 m in diameter, as well as tall multi-
any large niches within their walls. story buildings (see also Bruhns 1994:323;
Thompson 1968:180–181). The roofs were likely
The Areas South of Rapayán and Tantamayo: conical in shape and made of thatched material
Allauca Huánuco and Huamalí held by beams and a central pole (see also
To facilitate the description of areas located out- Morales 1984:88). Internal walls display several
side of the Rapayán and Tantamayo regions, I small niches, but no large wall cavities are re-
will refer to the names of early historical ethnic ported. House structures also possess a patio de-
groups (Figure 2) to designate the geographical limited by low walls. The former is either indi-
446 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 26, No. 4, 2015

vidual or shared with other house structures. Fi- between two and six rooms, as well as circular
nally, Thompson (1983:120–123) also briefly de- house structures grouped around large corrals.
scribes a few residential sites constructed on the Both types were constructed with the pirka
tops of ridges that consistently feature circular method. They were not connected to patios and
or oval house structures as well as multi-story had no large funerary niches.
buildings elsewhere in the Allauca Huánuco area.
Other Areas of the Upper Marañón
Southeast of Rapayán and Tantamayo: Yacha, The data available for assumed LIP and LH set-
Quero, and Chupachu tlements in other Upper Marañón valleys are usu-
Northeast of Huamalí, Donald Thompson ally vague and tentative, but some summary ar-
(1968:179, 1977:19; Morris and Thompson chitectural descriptions are available.
1985:154–158) and Matos (1972) describe two West of Rapayán: Pinco. Bebel Ibarra (2001,
settlements in Yacha territory (Figure 2): Wakan 2003) conducted a systematic survey in the Pinco
and Wagrin. They report rectangular house struc- area (Figures 1 and 2) on both sides of the Puchca
tures roofed with flat stone slabs and grouped River. He identified 44 LIP settlements in this
around a common patio. Most rectangular struc- area. As in many other regions during the LIP,
tures were single-roomed, but a small number the residential sites were constructed at high alti-
displayed more than one room. According to tude, above 3,800 m. The dwellings are described
Matos, a few of them also exhibited large wall as being circular structures varying from 4 to 5
niches in which he recovered human skulls and m in diameter and built with the pirka technique.
long bones (Matos 1972:372). It is not clear, however, whether they were erected
The Chupachu territory is also located southeast individually or in patio groups. Noemi Castillo
of Rapayán between the Marañón and Huallaga (2003) describes similar circular house structures
rivers in the surroundings of the city of Huánuco at the site of Cerro Castillo near the municipality
(Figure 2). Thompson investigated five Chupachu of Uco in the Puchca drainage (Figure 1), which
sites located east of Huánuco in the Pachitea represents the last stop to the west before reaching
province (Ichu, Watuna, Quero, Paco, Warpo). Rapayán.
House structures at these sites were organized Northwest of Rapayán: Guari. With the ex-
around a common patio and displayed a square or ception of Thompson’s (1972:364–365,
rectangular plan. They measured on average 4.7 1973:119–120) description of three LIP/LH hill-
m wide by 5 m long and were surmounted by top sites near the modern village of Llamellín,
gabled roofs, presumably made of poles and grass. little is known archaeologically about the area of
The unworked stone pirka technique was used the Guari (Figure 2). The settlements Thompson
(Morris and Thompson 1985:119–142; Thompson describes possess defensive walls, rectangular
1967, 1968:181, 1977:17, 1983:124–125). No large house structures built with the pirka technique,
wall cavities inside houses are reported. and gabled roofs. However, it is unclear whether
Sue Grosboll conducted a survey immediately the dwellings were built individually or grouped
south and west of Huánuco in Chapachu and around a common patio. Orsini, who studied sev-
Quero territories, where she identified some 30 eral LIP sites west of Llamellín, states that LIP
sites of fairly small size with surface architecture house structures are best described as patio groups
(Grosboll 1993). These settlements invariably ex- organized around large corrals (Orsini 2006:158).
hibit single-roomed circular house structures or- Northeast of Rapayán: Huacrachuco. The
ganized in patio groups and built with the pirka Huacrachuco area is located about 20 km north
technique. The shape of these house structures of Rapayán on the eastern edge of the Marañón
conforms to those reported by Thompson (1967) (Figure 2). Even though Huacrachuco covers a
at the Chupachu site of Aukimarka, east of the vast territory, it remains poorly studied. The best-
area surveyed by Grosboll. known site in the area is Tinyash (Falcón and
Finally, Matos visited another Quero site con- Díaz 1998; Thompson and Ravines 1973), found
fusingly called Wamalli (1972:373–376). He de- near the modern village of Huacaybamba and no
scribes quadrangular house structures containing more than 25 km downstream from Rapayán (Fig-
Mantha] HOUSES, RESIDENTIAL BURIALS, AND IDENTITY IN THE RAPAYÁN VALLEY 447

ure 1). The settlement occupies the puna at an very similar to Rapayán. They are rectangular,
altitude of 4,160 m. It contains several groups of built with the pachilla construction technique,
house structures enclosed by high walls. The and have more than one room with internal di-
houses are rectangular in plan, have gabled roofs, viding walls. Nonetheless, as opposed to Ra-
and, like at Rapayán, they were built with the payán, they do not contain large niches built to
pachilla construction technique. Some of them host the mummies or bones of deceased family
have more than one room and several display in- members. In fact, none of the house structures of
ternal dividing walls. Many also possess rectan- the Upper Marañón, except those in the Rapayán
gular small niches in their interior walls, but ap- Valley, the area south of Rapayán (Pampan and
parently no large wall cavities. Huata), and the Yacha sites of Wakan and Wagrin,
display large funerary niches. Consequently,
Discussion: Houses, Funerary Practices, and household members in most regions of the Upper
Identity in the Upper Marañón Marañón do not appear to have shared their living
space with their mummified dead. I believe that
As outlined at the beginning of this paper, ar- the observed differences in house morphology
chaeological hypotheses regarding the cultural and funerary practices between the areas of the
affiliation of the populations inhabiting the Upper Upper Marañón reflect a constellation of different
Marañón during the LIP—be they Flornoy’s and local identities. If this scenario is accurate, then
Bonnier and Rozenberg’s “Tantamayo Culture” a host of cultural groups would have occupied
or Amat’s “Alto Marañón Culture”—do not im- the Upper Marañón Drainage during the LIP and
ply a political system of a given level of com- LH. In fact, cultural diversity during late prehis-
plexity. Rather, they involve shared archaeologi- panic times appears to have been even more im-
cal traits, mainly the distribution of multi-story portant than what early colonial documents imply.
buildings, which would entail a common cultural Despite similarities among Rapayán, Huata,
identity among some populations of the Upper San José, and Papam I and II in terms of house
Marañón. funerary practices (house wall niches), they differ
While it is true that several collectivities of considerably when house morphology is consid-
the Upper Marañón used multi-story buildings, ered (Figure 3). Significant differences exist be-
these groups nevertheless differed significantly tween houses at Rapayán and those at Pampan I,
when house plans and construction techniques Pampan II, and San José to the south. Pampan
are compared. Houses in the Rapayán Valley are and Rapayán house structures share the large wall
rectangular, multi-roomed, constructed with cavities or niches presumably built to host the
finely polished stones in the pachilla technique, mummified bodies or bones of the deceased. But,
and individually aligned on narrow terraces. They the wall cavities at the Pampan sites have a dif-
also have large wall niches to host the bones or ferent morphology. In contrast to Rapayán, where
the mummified bodies of the dead. Houses in house niches were constructed within the interior
Pinco, Allauca Huánuco/Humalí, and some areas dividing wall, those at Pampan followed the upper
of Chupachu are described as being single- part of the single oval house wall. The Pampan
roomed circular structures built with unworked and the Rapayán people, despite their close geo-
natural stones in the pirka technique. In Yacha, graphical proximity, clearly had different con-
the Chupachu of the Pachitea province, and Guari, ceptions of what a house should be like. The ideal
most houses appear to be rectangular or square house at Rapayán was rectangular with minimally
single-roomed structures organized in patio two rooms; the Pampan dwelling was D-shaped
groups. At the Quero site of Wamalli, some or oval and possessed a single room. The spatial
dwellings are multi-roomed and rectangular, organization of houses also differed in the two
while others are circular. In both cases, they are areas. The Rapayán dwellings were individually
constructed with the pirka technique. In Tanta- aligned on long and narrow horizontal terraces,
mayo, houses have a square plan and are orga- whereas those at Pampan were organized in
nized individually. Nonetheless, they possess only groups around a common patio. In sum, I believe
a single room. In Huacrachuco, dwellings are that the form and organizational differences ob-
448 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 26, No. 4, 2015

served between Rapayán and Pampan house (contra Stanish) is contradicted by the evidence I
structures reflected different cultural preferences have presented from the Rapayán Valley as well
and hence different regional collective identities. from the Pampan and Huata areas during the LIP
Nonetheless, future surveys to be held south of and LH. In these regions, house structures were
Pampan should clarify whether these regional the locus not only of domestic activities but also
differences were related to additional factors aside of important rituals and unique funerary practices.
from identity. For example, the fact that the two In this context, the dwellings in the Rapayán and
groups occupied different ecological niches Pampan areas represent cases in which the as-
(quechua vs. puna) may suggest that they had sumption of a clear distinction between both do-
distinct but complementary economies, such as mestic/ritual and household/funerary spaces can
those seen with the historically documented be misleading in the exploration of group identity.
groups of Huari (cultivators) and Llacuaz When considering simultaneously the ritual and
(herders) (Duviols 1973; Orsini 2006; Parsons et domestic dimensions of house structures in the
al. 1997). Upper Marañón during LIP/LH, it becomes ap-
The site of Huata (Figure 3), near Pampan, parent that identity varied tremendously from one
contained both Rapayán and Pampan house types. area to the other. The Upper Marañón appears to
Nonetheless, the Pampan houses at Huata were have been peopled by a myriad of ethnic groups
not organized in groups around a common patio, during the LIP/LH. I also suggest that archaeolo-
as observed at Pampan I, Pampan II, and San gists should attempt to demonstrate the existence
José. Instead, they were constructed individually, of ancestors and memorizing practices rather than
aligned on long terraces like those of other Ra- simply assuming them a priori. Finally, archaeo-
payán residential settlements. The presence of logical investigations in the Upper Marañón
Rapayán and Pampan house types may suggest Drainage are extremely scarce and in their infancy.
that Huata was a bi-ethnic community, including Future surveys and excavations will certainly be
families of both Rapayán and Pampan, and that needed in order to better understand the domestic
close social and economic ties bound the two economy, political ties, ideology, and household
groups together at some point in time. Whether organization of the groups living in this remote
the bi-ethnic configuration at Huata is best ex- zone of the Andes during the latter periods of An-
plained by the vertical archipelago model (Stanish dean prehistory.
1992:43–45, 2005:229), by the particular social
interactions between cultivators and herders (Du- Acknowledgments. I am thankful to the Canadian Social Sci-
ences and Humanities Research Council, to the Fonds société
viols 1973; Orsini 2006), by Inka governing et culture du Québec, and to the Heinz Foundation Latin
strategies (Julien 1993:203–211), or by early American Archaeology Program for the financial support of
Spanish administrative imperatives will require this research. I am grateful to Hernando Malca Cardoza, Jorge
extensive excavations at Huata and Pampan in Cortina Mauricio, Victor Peña, and Cesar Serna, who partic-
order to obtain a fine-grained chronology through ipated or contributed to different stages of this investigation.
I am also thankful to the three anonymous reviewers whose
radiocarbon dating. comments and suggestions were very thoughtful.

Conclusion Supplemental Materials. Supplemental materials are linked

to the online version of this paper, which is accessible via the
In this paper, I have argued (following Stanish SAA member login at www.saa.org/members-login:
Supplemental Figure 1. Map of the research area within
1989) that house morphology, construction tech- Peru (after Ogburn 2005).
nique, and the spatial distribution of dwellings in Supplemental Figure 2. Multi-story building at the site of
a settlement are a rather conservative dimension Susupillo in the Tantamayo area.
of culture and a good material indicator of identity. Supplemental Figure 3. Doorframe and exterior façade
We have seen that the groups of the Upper of a Rapayán House reaching over 5 m of height, Area IV
of the Rapayán site.
Marañón are characterized by distinct ways of Supplemental Figure 4. Hearth (left) and grinding stone
conceiving and building their houses. Nonetheless, (right) set into the occupational level of the floor of House
the idea that domestic contexts are better material 30 (Level 3), Area II of the Rapayán site.
indicators of identity than funerary or ritual ones Supplemental Figure 5. Small L-shaped funerary feature
Mantha] HOUSES, RESIDENTIAL BURIALS, AND IDENTITY IN THE RAPAYÁN VALLEY 449

on the occupational level of the floor of House 30 (Level Affaires Étrangères, Société des Explorateurs et des
3), Area II of the Rapayán site. Voyageurs Français, Paris.
Supplemental Figure 6. Funerary niches in an upper house Bonnier, Elisabeth, Howard Kaplan, and Catherine Rozenberg
wall, Pampan House Type, site of Pampan I. 1983 Recherches archéologiques, paléobotaniques et eth-
Supplemental Figure 7. Foundations of a typical Tanta- nolinguistques dans une vallée du Haut Marañón (Pérou):
le Projet Tantamayo – Piruru. Bulletin de l’Institut français
mayo house structure, site of Susupillo.
d’études andines 12 (1–2):103–133.
Supplemental Figure 8. Map of the Rapayán Site illus- Bruhns, Karen Olsen
trating Areas II, III, and IV (A and B) (Area I, located be- 1994 Ancient South America. Cambridge University Press,
low Area II to the East, is not shown on this map). Cambridge.
Candeler, Kay
1997 Balanced Justly: A Quechua Household Ritual.
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