Migration and state expansion: Archaeological and biochemical evidence from Pataraya, a wari outpost in Nasca, Peru (A.D. 650–1000)

Abstract

This paper reports on the results of archaeological excavations at the cemetery sector of the Middle Horizon (AD 650–1000) Wari site of Pataraya, located in the middle Nasca valley of southern Peru, and biochemical analyses of human skeletal remains recovered during those excavations. The findings reported here demonstrate that the sharp differences in cultural practice between Pataraya’s occupants and local traditions leading up to the Middle Horizon are echoed in noticeable isotopic differences in the biochemistry of its burial population. We explore the implications of these findings in the context of an uneven and unequal political landscape created by, and responding to, both overt Wari imperialism and the consequences of unprecedented regional interaction. We conclude that these data support previous conclusions drawn from other archaeological evidence that the site is formed from the remains of a Wari state colony. Pataraya’s inhabitants served an explicitly political function in the administration of a key transportation route between the Wari heartland and this distant province, roles that may have been filled by newcomers to the area or from elsewhere in the Nasca valley itself.