Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Anthropology

Supervisor

Nelson, Andrew J.

Abstract

This thesis is a bioarchaeological analysis of cranial modification and dental pathology in a sample of human remains excavated from the pre-Hispanic MUNA cemetery. This cemetery was on the outskirts of the Archaeological Sanctuary of Pachacamac in the Lurín Valley. The cemetery was comprised of disturbed skeletal remains and relatively well preserved fardos funerarios (funerary bundles) from the Late Intermediate Period (1100-1470 CE) and early Late Horizon (1470-1532 CE). The results of this thesis show that the skeletal remains and fardos likely belonged to a single community, and the analyzed sample showed intra-site variation of the fronto-occipital cranial modification. The dental pathology results showed a relatively homogenous, carbohydrate-rich, and cariogenic. Comparisons with other Pachacamac and Central Coast samples suggested that the MUNA people were likely a coastal community that was local to the Central Coast and/or Pachacamac and the Lurín Valley. In the former scenario, the MUNA people could have participated in regional pilgrimage. This would be consistent with the current interpretation that during the Late Intermediate Period, Pachacamac was an important administrative and religious center in the Central Coast, but not across the Central Andes.

Summary for Lay Audience

This research project is a study of human remains from the pre-Hispanic MUNA cemetery. This cemetery sat on the outskirts of the Archaeological Sanctuary of Pachacamac in the Lurín Valley and has been dated to the Late Intermediate Period (600-1100 CE) and the early Late Horizon (1100-1432 CE). During this time, the Lurín Valley was occupied by the Ychsma Culture, a pre-Inca coastal group which was later conquered by the Inca in the Late Horizon. The MUNA cemetery was composed of disturbed skeletal remains and relatively well preserved fardos funerarios (funerary bundles).

Through bioarchaeology, the study of human remains from archaeological contexts, this thesis aims to compare the skeletal remains and fardos to determine if they were part of a single, larger sample, or if they were two culturally distinct samples. Additionally, this study aims to explore the social organization of the people buried within the MUNA cemetery and the larger context of Pachacamac and the Central Coast. These questions will be explored using cranial modification and dental pathology.

Cranial modifications were a form of irreversible identity assigned in infancy (up to about three years of age) that have been broadly associated with ethnicity and/or socioeconomic status in the Central Andes. Dental pathology aims to study and interpret disease and anomalies in teeth and the surrounding tissues to provide information about cultural practices and physiological processes. Thus, these two variables are suitable to explore the social dynamics of the people buried within the MUNA cemetery.

The variation of cranial modifications within the MUNA sample and similarities with other Pachacamac and Central Coast samples, plus the dental pathology results, suggested that the MUNA people were a group likely local to the Central Coast and/or Pachacamac and the Lurín Valley. In the former scenario, the MUNA people could have participated in regional pilgrimage, which would be consistent with the Late Intermediate Period interpretation of Pachacamac as an important administrative and religious center in the Central Coast, but not across the larger Central Andes.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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