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Water, Huacas, and Ancestor Worship: Traces of a Sacred Wari Landscape
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2017
Abstract
During the Middle Horizon (A.D. 540–900) the Wari of the central highlands Ayacucho region expanded their control into many parts of the Andes. While different motives have been cited for Wari state expansion, we suggest that a severe and prolonged drought during the sixth century may have played a significant role. We posit that the Wari responded to this environmental crisis not only by seeking practical solutions, such as securing productive land outside the heartland, but also by implementing religious practices intended to cosmologically restore fertility to drought-stricken areas and validate acquisition of arable land in foreign territories. Using a model of Inka ideology developed by Peter Gose, we propose that a strong religious complex involving ancestor worship, huacas, and the cosmological control of water led the Wari to seek out and control locations where water could be drawn from supernatural sources. The presence of large bodies of water near major Wari administrative sites as well as other natural phenomena, particularly certain mountains, rock formations, and large stones, and site offerings of Spondylus, copper, and stone figurines support this model. A sacred Wari landscape is thus seen as complementary to the established political landscape and providing a supernatural justification.
Durante el Horizonte Medio (540–900 d.C.) los Wari del altiplano central en la región de Ayacucho llegaron a controlar una gran parte de los Andes. Aunque se han ofrecido muchas explicaciones sobre este fenómeno, favorecemos la teoría de que este movimiento fue impulsado por una sequía terrible de larga duración durante el siglo sexto. Es probable que los Wari no solamente hayan buscado soluciones practicas como la conquista de territorio extranjero, pero también implementaron prácticas religiosas para restituir cosmológicamente la fertilidad de sus tierras y de esta manera validar su invasión. Basado en el modelo de ideología Inka propuesto por Peter Gose, teorizamos que los Wari fueron motivados por sus practicas religiosas tales la veneración de los antepasados y huacas. Esto les impulsó buscar y controlar cosmológicamente el agua. La presencia de grandes cuerpos de agua, montañas, formaciones rocosas, y ofrendas de Spondylus, cobre, y figurinas de piedra cerca de la sede de centros administrativos Wari soportan nuestra teoría. Es decir, que el panorama sagrado corresponde al panorama político y se complementan el uno al otro, lo cual justifica la existencia de este ultimo.
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- Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2003
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