Burning down the brewery: establishing and evacuating an ancient imperial colony at Cerro Baul, Peru

Early evidence for beer drinking in a 9000-year-old platform mound in southern China

Alcoholic beverages played an essential role in rituals in ancient societies. Here we report the first evidence for beer drinking in the context of burial ritual in early Holocene southern China. Recent archaeological investigations at Qiaotou (9,000-8,700 cal. BP) have revealed a platform mound containing human burials and high concentrations of painted pottery, encircled by a human-made ditch. By applying microfossil (starch, phytolith, and fungi) residue analysis on the pottery vessels, we found that some of the pots held beer made of rice (Oryza sp.), Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi), and USOs. We also discovered the earliest evidence for using mold saccharification-fermentation starter in beer making, predating written records by 8,000 years. The beer at Qiaotou was likely served in rituals to commemorate the burial of the dead. Ritualized drinking probably played an integrative role in maintaining social relationships, paving the way for the rise of complex farming societies four millennia later.

Population dynamics in pre-Inca human groups from the Osmore Valley, the Azapa Valley and the coast of the South Central Andes

The present study applies a dental morphological perspective to the understanding of the complex pre-contact population history of the South Central Andes, through the detection of the underlying dynamics, and the assessment of the biological ties among groups. It presents an analysis of 1591 individuals from 66 sites that date from the Archaic to the Late Intermediate phases from Bolivia, Chile and Peru. The results suggest this area is characterized by significant movement of people and cultures and, at the same time, by long standing population continuity, and highlight the need for wider perspectives capable of taking into account both the different micro-regional realities and the region in its entirety.

Archaeometric Approaches to Defining Sustainable Governance: Wari Brewing Traditions and the Building of Political Relationships in Ancient Peru

Utilizing archaeometric methods, we evaluate the nature of production of feasting events in the ancient Wari state (600–1000 CE). Specifically, we focus on the fabrication of ceramic serving and brewing wares for the alcoholic beverage chicha de molle. We examine the source materials used in the creation of these vessels with elemental analysis techniques (INAA and LA-ICP-MS). We then assess the chemical traces of the residues present in the ceramic pores of the vessels to detect compounds indicative of the plants used in chicha production (DART-MS).While previous research has identified circumstantial evidence for the use of Schinus molle in the production process, this research presents direct evidence of its existence in the pores of the ceramic vessels. We also assess what this material evidence suggests about the sustainability of the feasting events as a mode of political interaction in the Wari sphere. Our evaluation indicates that regional resource use in the production of the ceramic vessels promoted locally sustainable raw material procurement for the making of the festivities. Likewise, drought resistant crops became the key ingredients in the beverages produced and provided a resilient harvest for chicha production that was adopted by successor groups.

A change in landscape: Lessons learned from abandonment of ancient Wari agricultural terraces in Southern Peru

Ancient agricultural terrace practices have survived for millennia, sustaining populations through extreme climatic shifts and political regime changes. In arid regions with abrupt relief such as Southern Peru, agricultural terracing is undergoing a resurgence, as has seen revitalization of once abandoned terrace and hydraulic systems. Wari terraces at Cerro Baul provide clues to past cultural practices. They also document sustainable farming practices by using resilient land management techniques which can help combat desertification and degradation of arable lands. Three abandoned Wari terrace systems were mapped using microtopographic methods, the erosion patterns examined, the states of preservation compared, and then the design contrasted with modern terracing practices in the Moquegua Valley. In order to negate the harmful effects of desertification, rehabilitation and reconstruction of these terraces using ancient knowledge and techniques may be necessary. Rehabilitation must be conducted with consideration for preservation of cultural patrimony that may be encountered within the terrace treads or riser structures. With future climatic shifts impacting vulnerable dryland areas more than others, the ability to resiliently respond to these changes may be found in the lessons learned from ancient farming techniques such as the Wari.

Statecraft and expansionary dynamics: A Virú outpost at Huaca Prieta, Chicama Valley, Peru

Interpolity interaction and regional control were central features of all early state societies, taking the form of trade-embedded in political processes to varying degrees-or interregional conquest strategies meant to expand the polity's control or influence over neighboring territories. Cross-cultural analyses of early statecraft suggest that territorial expansion was an integral part of the process of primary state formation, closely associated with the delegation of authority to subordinate administrators and the construction of core outposts of the state in foreign territories. We report here on a potential case of a core outpost, associated with the early Virú state, at the site of Huaca Prieta in the Chicama Valley, located 75 km north of the Virú state heartland on the north coast of Peru. This site is discussed in the context of other possible Virú outposts in the Moche Valley, Pampa La Cruz, and Huaca Las Estrellas, and as part of a broader reflection on expansionary dynamics and statecraft.

Multiethnicity, pluralism, and migration in the south central Andes: An alternate path to state expansion

The south central Andes is known as a region of enduring multiethnic diversity, yet it is also the cradle of one the South America's first successful expansive-state societies. Social structures that encouraged the maintenance of separate identities among coexistent ethnic groups may explain this apparent contradiction. Although the early expansion of the Tiwanaku state (A.D. 600-1000) is often interpreted according to a centralized model derived from Old World precedents, recent archaeological research suggests a reappraisal of the socio-political organization of Tiwanaku civilization, both for the diversity of social entities within its core region and for the multiple agencies behind its wider program of agropastoral colonization. Tiwanaku's sociopolitical pluralism in both its homeland and colonies tempers some of archaeology's global assumptions about the predominant role of centralized institutions in archaic states.

Diet and gender in the Tiwanaku colonies: Stable isotope analysis of human bone collagen and apatite from Moquegua, Peru

OBJECTIVES

Gender and other facets of social identity play important roles in the organization of complex societies. This study reconstructs dietary practices within the Middle Horizon (AD 500-1000) Tiwanaku colonies in southern Peru to increase our knowledge of gendered patterns of consumption within this early expansive state.

METHODS

We use stable isotope analysis of 43 human bone samples representing 14 females, 20 males, 8 juveniles, and 1 indeterminate individual recovered from burial excavations at the sites of Rio Muerto and Omo in the Moquegua Valley. Data are contextualized by comparisons with previously published Tiwanaku isotope data from the period.

RESULTS

Our results find mean values of δ(13) Capatite = -7.3 ± 1.6% (N = 36, 1SD), δ(13) Ccollagen  = -12.3 ± 1.5% (N = 43, 1SD), and δ(15) Ncollagen  = 8.4 ± 1.6% (N = 43, 1SD). Between the sexes, Mann-Whitney U tests demonstrate significant differences in δ(13) Ccollagen (U = 74, P = 0.021), but no differences in δ(13) Capatite (U = 58, P = 0.095) or δ(15) Ncollagen (U = 116, P = 0.755) values.

CONCLUSIONS

These data indicate relatively high C4 plant consumption among the Tiwanaku colonies, and support paleobotanical and archaeological evidence that maize (Zea mays) was the staple crop. Dietary values are similar overall between the sexes, but significantly higher δ(13) Ccollagen values in males is consistent with a model of gendered norms of consumption similar to that of the later Inca (AD 1438-1533), where males consumed more maize than females, often in the form of beer (chicha). Results provide new insights on social dynamics within the Tiwanaku colonies and suggest the increased importance maize consumption for males during the Tiwanaku expansion.

Paleomobility in the Tiwanaku diaspora: biogeochemical analyses at Rio Muerto, Moquegua, Peru

Paleomobility has been a key element in the study of the expansion of ancient states and empires, including the Tiwanaku polity of the South Central Andes (AD 500-1000). We present radiogenic strontium and oxygen isotope data from human burials from three cemeteries in the Tiwanaku-affiliated Middle Horizon archaeological site complex of Rio Muerto in the Moquegua Valley of southern Peru. At Rio Muerto, archaeological human enamel and bone values range from (87) Sr/(86) Sr = 0.70657-0.72018, with a mean of (87) Sr/(86) Sr = 0.70804 ± 0.00207 (1σ, n = 55). For the subset of samples analyzed for oxygen isotope values (n = 48), the data ranges from δ(18) Ocarbonate(VSMOW)  = +18.1 to +27.0‰. When contextualized with other lines of archaeological evidence, we interpret these data as evidence for an archaeological population in which the majority of individuals had "local" origins, and were likely second-generation, or more, immigrants from the Tiwanaku heartland in the altiplano. Based on detailed life history data, we argue a smaller number of individuals came at different ages from various regions within the Tiwanaku polity. We consider whether these individuals with isotopic values consistent with "nonlocal" geographic origins could represent first-generation migrants, marriage exchange partners, or occupationally mobile herders, traders or other travelers. By combining isotopic life history studies with mortuary treatment data, we use a person-centered migration history approach to state integration and expansion. Isotopic analyses of paleomobility at the Rio Muerto site complex contribute to the role of diversity in ancient states by demonstrating the range of geographic origins rather than simply colonists from the Lake Titicaca Basin.

Local domestication of lactic acid bacteria via cassava beer fermentation

Cassava beer, or chicha, is typically consumed daily by the indigenous Shuar people of the Ecuadorian Amazon. This traditional beverage made from cassava tuber (Manihot esculenta) is thought to improve nutritional quality and flavor while extending shelf life in a tropical climate. Bacteria responsible for chicha fermentation could be a source of microbes for the human microbiome, but little is known regarding the microbiology of chicha. We investigated bacterial community composition of chicha batches using Illumina high-throughput sequencing. Fermented chicha samples were collected from seven Shuar households in two neighboring villages in the Morona-Santiago region of Ecuador, and the composition of the bacterial communities within each chicha sample was determined by sequencing a region of the 16S ribosomal gene. Members of the genus Lactobacillus dominated all samples. Significantly greater phylogenetic similarity was observed among chicha samples taken within a village than those from different villages. Community composition varied among chicha samples, even those separated by short geographic distances, suggesting that ecological and/or evolutionary processes, including human-mediated factors, may be responsible for creating locally distinct ferments. Our results add to evidence from other fermentation systems suggesting that traditional fermentation may be a form of domestication, providing endemic beneficial inocula for consumers, but additional research is needed to identify the mechanisms and extent of microbial dispersal.

Investigating regional mobility in the southern hinterland of the Wari Empire: biogeochemistry at the site of Beringa, Peru

Empires have transformed political, social, and environmental landscapes in the past and present. Although much research on archaeological empires focuses on large-scale imperial processes, we use biogeochemistry and bioarchaeology to investigate how imperialism may have reshaped regional political organization and regional migration patterns in the Wari Empire of the Andean Middle Horizon (ca. AD 600-1000). Radiogenic strontium isotope analysis of human remains from the site of Beringa in the Majes Valley of southern Peru identified the geographic origins of individuals impacted by the Wari Empire. At Beringa, the combined archaeological human enamel and bone values range from (87)Sr/(86)Sr = 0.70802 - 0.70960, with a mean (87)Sr/(86)Sr = 0.70842 ± 0.00027 (1σ, n = 52). These data are consistent with radiogenic strontium isotope data from the local fauna in the Majes Valley and imply that most individuals were local inhabitants, rather than migrants from the Wari heartland or some other locale. There were two outliers at Beringa, and these "non-local" individuals may have derived from other parts of the South Central Andes. This is consistent with our understanding of expansive trade networks and population movement in the Andean Middle Horizon, likely influenced by the policies of the Wari Empire. Although not a Wari colony, the incorporation of small sites like Beringa into the vast social and political networks of the Middle Horizon resulted in small numbers of migrants at Beringa.