Chinchawas sits atop a steep hilltop in the Cordillera Negra, with strategic vantages of the Casma headwaters and routes into the Callejon de Huaylas.

Also, the data are used to detail how different dimensions of the prehistoric community altered under changing internal and regional socio-political conditions. We can document transformations in ceremony (ancestor veneration, mortuary practices, and status display), architectural programs, and local economy (production, exchange patterns, and consumption). In particular, the data inform about cultural patterns before, during, and after Wari expansion, the first pan-Andean state. The research contributes to the literature on Andean mortuary practices, the role of public ritual and art in community and leadership, and the emergence of complexity in small-scale societies.

Cultural patterns
Based on ceramics and radiocarbon dates, we know that Chinchawas was most intensively used between A.D. 500 - 900. Exploiting its strategic hilltop location at 3850 meters above sea level, local peoples resided in stone rectangular houses located within a series of large perimeter walls. It stands to reason that the inhabitants were not unfamiliar with the risk of local hostilities and took precautions: slingstones, projectile points, a spear straightener and a spearthrower (atlatl) hook were also found.  A series of large walls ring the perimeter of the site, which protected the people and contents inside and kept enemies outside. A circular structure, known as the Torreon or Tower, crowns the highest part of the hilltop.

Like today, local peoples made a living off of agriculture and herding. Numerous grinding tools were recovered, suggesting that grains such as quinua or maize were acquired from lower zones to supplement a diet based on potatoes and other high altitude tubers.  As demonstrated by spindle whorls and needles, processing camelid fiber was a common domestic activity at the site. Besides residential functions, communal gatherings took place in open patio enclosures, where we encountered abundant remains of large scale consumption (eating camelids and drinking) associated with ancestor ceremonies.

With crew chief Martin Justiniano (left) in front the trench excavation in the foreground. Note the jamb sculptures and also the large grinding stones in the lower right corner. (Photo © R L Burger)

Above: Abundant camelid remains were found at the site through excavation, such as this large deposit from one of the site's midden trash heaps. Differently sized fused elements, such as the femurs in the foreground, inform about the presence and proportions of mature llama versus alpaca animals.

People built elaborate masonry structures using stone from local rock outcrops. Vertical faces were made by combining the flat sides of large and small stones, directly on top of bedrock. Rubble and mud mortar filled and cemented the space between these veneers. Later renovations coopted or built over existing walls.

The ceremonial program of Recuay peoples at Chinchawas included the use and veneration of carved stone sculptures. Dozens of monoliths, depicting anthromorphs (probably ancestors) and felines, were originally engaged as parts of walls to special residential (right) and religious buildings. Vertical stone slabs and horizontal lintels were the principal forms.  Their contexts at Chinchawas indicate that local groups venerated ancestors near their settlements, and that their imagery was vital in the social and political life of the community.

To the east of the ridgetop, local peoples established a cemetery. Initially, subterranean shaft tombs were used, but later, interments occurred in aboveground mausolea, known in many parts of the Andes as chullpas. Interaction with coeval cultures is demonstrated by the presence of goods acquired through long-distance trade, especially of marine shell (from the coast), precious stones, obsidian (Ayacucho area) and imported pottery, especially connections to the North Coast (late Moche), North Highlands (Recuay and Cajamarca), Central Highlands (Wari styles), and the Central Coast (Nievería and Supe styles). A dramatic surge in regional interaction and other socio-cultural transformations become evident at Chinchawas during the Middle Horizon (A.D. 700 - 1000), a time associated with the religious and economic sway of the Wari state.

Interaction through time
Throughout its occupation, Chinchawas was a peripheral community in the affairs of influential regional polities. Located along one of the major passes from the lower coastal valleys to the Callejón de Huaylas, Chinchawas served, among other functions, as a node for coast-highland trading networks in Northern Peru. Local peoples probably insinuated a role in regional commerce by providing agro-pastoral products, including tubers, camelid meat, raw textile fiber, and possibly finished cloths, in return for much-desired sumptuaries and exotic commodities, like salt, coca, dried seafood, and fruits.

The first phase, Kayán (circa A.D. 300-600), is characterized by a fairly insular community that drew culturally from connections with a Recuay to Late Recuay center based in Huaraz. The nature of Chinchawas' rapport with Huaraz is unclear, but it is reasonable that it was at least partly based on exchange of Recuay kaolinite pottery and its attendant cultural/ideological content.

By the end of the Chinchawasi 2 phase (circa A.D. 850), Chinchawas was flourishing in a larger social and economic network associated with Wari's expansion into the North Highlands. This is a period that sees considerable broadening of exchange ties and economic intensification, especially of camelid-based industries, but there is no evidence for direct Wari control of Chinchawas. On the contrary, patterns in material culture and ceremonial practices manifest marked reinforcement of local highland traditions even in the face of imperial expansion. The patterns of economic growth and cultural vigor may be more expressive of local autonomy, revitalization, and rural complexity rather than simple top-down domination during the period of Wari expansion. The spread of Wari culture into other Andean regions frequently coincides with exchange interests, and access to wool resources, specifically, has been suggested as a motivation for Wari expansion into parts of the Southern Highlands. I argue that small autonomous communities like Chinchawas entered into exchange relationships with Wari for prestige goods and to enable increased economic interaction.

Cultural transformations are the strongest during the Warmi occupation, dating to the 9th and 10th century, with dramatic changes in local decorated pottery and religious practices. Also, trade pottery is the most common during this period. Unlike earlier occupations when highland styles were the most significant, coastal trade wares take center stage for Warmi peoples, probably reflecting stronger cultural influences from the Central, North-Central, and North Coasts. Notably, camelid production drops considerably during this period, suggesting that previous economic orientations privileging fiber/textile production, associated with earlier Wari exchange interests in the region, did not continue.

The new cultural patterns at Chinchawas were not simple emulations or direct results of Wari culture. Rather, they appear to reflect local strategies based on earlier Recuay traditions that were adopted to respond to new socio-political priorities.