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Moche Sociopolitical Dynamics and the Role of Licapa II, Chicama Valley, Peru

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michele L. Koons
Michele L. Koons*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO 80205 ([email protected])
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Abstract

Fieldwork at the Moche (A .D. 250–900) site of Licapa II in the Chicama Valley, Peru, has resulted in a more nuanced history of the changing sociopolitical relationships among Moche centers. The distinct archaeological signatures of Moche society, namely ceramics and huacas (monumental structures), have been interpreted as emblematic of an ethnic and political reality and as evidence for a state. Nonetheless, scholars are now disentangling these assumptions, arguing that Moche society was a complex mosaic of interacting settlements. My research at Licapa II combined surface collection, geophysical surveys, excavation, and chronometric analysis to better understand this site within the context of broader Moche sociopolitical dynamics. Ceramic and architectural evidence from Licapa II indicates that a shift in ideological organization occurred around A.D. 650. This shift reflects changes seen throughout the Moche world. Licapa II is located on the border of the northern and southern regions of Moche cultural development, and ceramic styles indicate that many of the interactions between these regions could have occurred here. By comparing these findings to evidence of sociopolitical reorganization seen elsewhere, research from Licapa II contributes to a non-state and decentralized view of the sociopolitical structure of Moche society.

Resumen

Resumen

El trabajo de campo llevado a cabo en el sitio Moche (250–900 d.C.) de Licapa II, ubicado en el valle de Chicama, Perú, nos presenla una historia más matizada de las relaciones sociopolíticas entre los centros Moche y los cambios de estos a través del tiempo. Las caracteristicas arqueológicas distintivas Moche, es decir, la cerámica y las huacas (edificios monumentales hechos de adobe), han sido interpretadas como emblemdticas de una realidad étnica y polttica, y definidas como evidencia de un estado. Sin embargo, los investigadores están ahora evaluando estas hipótesis, argumentando que la sociedad Moche pudo haber sido un mosaico complejo de asentamientos de interacción. La investigatión realizada en Licapa II combina la recolección superficial, los estudios geoflísicos, la excavatión y el andlisis cronológico para entender mejor el sitio dentro de un contexto más amplio de la dinámica sociopolítica Moche. La eviáencia cerámica y arquitectonica de Licapa II indica que alrededor del 650 d.C. se produjo un cambio en la organizatión ideólogica, que refleja los cambios vistos en todo el mundo Moche. Licapa II está situado en lafrontera de las regiones norte y sur Moches y los estilos cerámicos indican que gran parte de las interacciones entre las regiones podrían haber ocurrido allí. Al comparar estos resultados con las pruebas de reorganizatión sociopolítica en zonas fronterizas, la investigatión en Licapa II contribuye a una visión no-estatal y descentralizada de la estructura sociopolitica de la sociedad Moche.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , December 2015 , pp. 473 - 492
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1999

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