8/15/2019 2014 Book Review - Lima Subterranea, Criptas, Bóvedas, Arqueología

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Lima Subterránea: ArqueologíaHistórica: Criptas, Bóvedas,Canales Virreinales y RepublicanosRICHARD CHUHUE AND PIETER VAN

DALEN (EDITORS)Fondo Editorial de la UniversidadNacional Mayor de San Marcos,Lima, Peru, 2014. 204 pp., 128 fgs.

The city of Lima, Peru, was founded in1535 as the base of operations of FranciscoPizarro after conquering the Inca Empire. Atthe time it was named La Ciudad de los Reyes

(The City of Kings) and it was placed nearthe mouth of the Rimac River so it couldserve as a port. Before the Spanish arrived inthe Chillón, the Rimac and Lurín Valleys hadbeen occupied by permanent settlements andlarge ceremonial centers for over 4,000 years. That history can be seen throughout thecity from the mounds of the Initial Period’s

(1800–800 B.C.) U-shaped temples, to LateIntermediate (A.D. 900–1400) pyramids withramps, to colonial mansions (1532–1821), tomodern skyscrapers.

Richard Chuhue and Pieter van Dalen’snew edited volume, Lima Subterránea, exploresLima’s history and shows how the urbanlandscape is marked by social and politicalchanges. Lima is littered with traces of itspast: there are numerous archaeological sitesthat date to Lima’s pre-Hispanic occupation,and many colonial churches and buildings arestill being used to this day. The work pre-sented in this volume represents the ways thatarchaeology provides a deeper understandingof the city’s history.

Two themes that recur throughout thebook are the treatment of the dead and the way constructions were altered and repur-posed over time. These two themes seemnatural given that the majority of the researchpresented in this volume was conducted bycultural resources management (CRM) rms. Most of the CRM work done in Lima iseither to evaluate archaeological sites withinthe city or restore historical buildings, includ-ing churches with crypts. Very little data arepublished from this type of work, and thatalone makes this volume worthwhile. Beyond

publishing data, however, this volume exam-ines the continued use of buildings from oneperiod to the next and the way human bodiesare treated to explore Lima’s history. Thearchaeological data presented show the conti-nuity from period to period, and in particularfrom the region’s prehistoric occupation to itsSpanish occupation.

The rst two chapters primarily deal withLima’s prehistory. Alberto Bueno gives a gen-eral survey of Lima’s preconquest occupation,discussing a number of sites including Mateo,Salado, and Maranga. Bueno makes some oddchoices in his discussion of Lima’s prehis-tory. He begins his discussion in the LateIntermediate Period, deciding not to discussthe earliest major sites in the Lima area orthe many important sites that emerged inthe Middle Horizon (A.D. 600–900) duringthe Huari Empire’s domination of the region.Similarly, he makes no mention of the oraclecenter of Pachacamac, which was a majorreligious center that wielded considerablepower during both the Later Intermediate

Historical Archaeology, 2015 , 49(2):141–142.Permission to reprint required.

8/15/2019 2014 Book Review - Lima Subterranea, Criptas, Bóvedas, Arqueología

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Period and within the Inca Empire (A.D.1400–1532). Van Dalen’s chapter discusses thecontinuity from the Late Intermediate to thecolonial period. By focusing on excavations atthe site of Lumbra, he is able to demonstratethe transition from period to period. There isevidence of the site’s use rst by the Yschmaand then by the Inca, and van Dalen alsocomplements this with historical documentationthat shows the Spaniards’ attitude toward Incaadministrative centers.

The following three chapters focus onmortuary practices in colonial Lima. Edwin

Greenwich chronicles the history of FranciscoPizarro’s body and uses this as a starting pointfor discussing differences in crypt architectureat different colonial chapels. Carlos Farfán’schapter on excavations at the church Santa Ana de Lima looks at whether or not it con-tained evidence of a pre-Hispanic occupation.Farfán provides an interesting discussion into

why the church may have been built over apre-Hispanic site, and then proves this was notthe case. What is missing from this section isa discussion of who was buried at Santa Anade Lima and what that says about Lima’s colo-nial history. Chuhue’s chapter on the sepulchral vault of Lima’s orphanage and hospice uses acombination of excavation and historical docu-ments to discuss issues of child mortality, thelegal standing of children, and the role of thechurch in colonial Lima.

The subsequent three chapters look atthe construction and use of different build-ings in the colonial period. Miguel Fhon’schapter discusses the construction of under-ground structures at Casa Bodega y Cuadra. The description of the tunnels is interesting

but the article does little to provide a contextfor the structures. Conversely, Boris Márquezand Hugo La Rosa begin their history of San

Marcos University with a lengthy history ofits structures before discussing the impressiverestoration work being undertaken at the Con-gress building. Unlike van Dalen or Chuhue, who use historical documents to supplementarchaeological excavations, Márquez and LaRosa show how excavations can enrich histori-cal texts in Lima. Antonio Coello and BrianBauer balance data from excavations and his-torical texts about the Medical School of SanFernando de Lima. Much like Fhon, they startfrom historical texts on the medical school andthen show how excavations provided more data

on the topic. They also dwell on the treatmentof bodies by the medical school and how thisreects social classes in Lima.

The nal chapter, by Paul Peréz, tells thehistory of the Huatica canal, which has fed water to large parts of the center of Limasince the colonial period. Through a combina-tion of historical documents and photographs

of the canal’s current state Peréz demonstrateshow canals have been an essential part ofLima’s landscape since the rst villages wereestablished. Peréz’s chapter is also a summaryof what this book succeeds at doing. The bookshows how material culture can supplement thehistorical record. Lima Subterránea delves intothe intimate details of Lima’s past and showsthe continuity from its pre-Hispanic occupationto its foundation as a Spanish colony to themodern day. Lima has a complicated relation-ship to its past: while it is constantly growingand modernizing itself, traces of its historyare still evident. Looking at the archaeologi-cal record in conjunction with the historicalrecord provides some enlightening details onhow that past shaped the city.

C HRISTOPHER M ILAND EPAUL U NIVERSITYD EPARTMENT OF A NTHROPOLOGYC HICAGO , IL 60613-9998