from bodies to bones: death and mobility in the lake ......from bodies to bones: death and mobility...

From bodies to bones death andmobility in the Lake Titicaca basinBoliviaScott C Smith1lowast

amp Maribel Perez Arias2

Nuestra Sentildeorade La Paz

Khonkho Wankane

N

0 km 500Disposal of the dead in early societiesfrequently involved multiple stages of ritualand processing At Khonkho Wankane in theAndes quicklime was used to reduce corpsesto bones in a special circular structure atthe centre of the site The quicklime wasobtained from solid white blocks of calciumoxide and was then mixed with water andapplied to disarticulated body parts A fewplaster-covered bones were recovered from thestructure but most had been removed fromthe site possibly by itinerant llama caravansThus Khonkho Wankane was a ritual centreto which the dead were brought for processingand then removed for final burial elsewhere

Keywords Bolivia Titicaca basin Late Formative mortuary ritual quicklime llama caravans

IntroductionApproaches to the archaeological study of mortuary practices and ritual have moved awayfrom perspectives that conceptualise the living and the dead in opposition to one anotherThese approaches which Rakita and Buikstra (2005 8ndash9) refer to as ldquoancestral-descendentrdquohighlight the ways in which the dead play an active role in social life influencing ceremonialpolitical and economic dynamics (Buikstra amp Charles 1999 Parker Pearson 1999 Adamsamp King 2011 cf Whitley 2002) In the Andes these insights find strong support inethnographic ethnohistoric and archaeological studies (Dillehay 1995 Isbell 1997 Arnoldamp Hastorf 2008) Hastorf (2003) in particular has discussed the active role played by thedead in social and political life during the Middle Formative period (800ndash200 BC) inthe southern Lake Titicaca basin (Figures 1 amp 2) At the ritual centre of Chiripa human

1 Department of Anthropology Franklin amp Marshall College PO Box 3003 Lancaster PA 17604-3003 USA(Email scottsmithfandmedu)

2 Department of Anthropology University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA 15260 USA (Emailpermaribelgmailcom)

Author for correspondence

Ccopy Antiquity Publications Ltd 2015ANTIQUITY 89 (2015) 106ndash121 doi1015184aqy201432

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Scott C Smith amp Maribel Perez Arias

Figure 1 The location of Khonkho Wankane within the southern Lake Titicaca basin

remains were buried in small structures that surrounded a central enclosure and were accessedperiodically for ritual Hastorf argues that human remains were central to the creation ofcommunity The dead helped to anchor social identity in a collective understanding of thepast and embedded lineage in the landscape

During the subsequent Late Formative period (200 BCndashAD 500) however evidencesuggests that community came to be defined differently (Janusek 2008 2013) New centresreplaced their Middle Formative predecessors and were often located further away fromLake Titicaca and nearby rivers These centres exercised a wider political influence andtheir development was driven in part by the increasing importance of llama caravans whichcirculated animals people objects and ideas regionally and inter-regionally (Browman 1978Nunez Atencio amp Dillehay 1995 [1979] Bandy 2005) How did the social importance of thedead change during this time of increased mobility and population fluctuation We explorethis question through an analysis of early mortuary ritual at one of the most important LateFormative period centres in the southern Lake Titicaca basin a site called Khonkho Wankane(Figure 1) A process is highlighted whereby human remains were processed from bodies tocurated bones In contrast to the evidence from Chiripa where human remains anchoredcommunity to a particular location in the landscape specialists at Khonkho Wankane mayhave served a mobile population of caravan drovers from distant regions through the creationand curation of portable relics After a brief introduction to the region and site we describethe results of the excavation of one particular early structure at Khonkho Wankane and

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From bodies to bones

detail the fascinating assemblage associated with it interpreting it in terms of mortuaryritual This is given additional strength through a brief discussion of the iconography

Figure 2 Chronological chart for the Central Andes and thesouthern Lake Titicaca basin

present on the carved monoliths fromKhonkho Wankane We conclude witha discussion of the significance of thisargument for our understanding of socialdynamics during the Late Formative periodand how these patterns differ from earlierMiddle Formative period traditions

The Lake Titicacabasin and Khonkho WankaneKhonkho Wankane is located roughly46km south-west of Chiripa and wasprincipally occupied during the LateFormative period a dynamic time ofincreasing social complexity when anumber of centres were influentialincluding Khonkho Wankane TiwanakuLukurmata Kala Uyuni Palermo andKallamarka (see Figure 2) (Janusek et al2003 Stanish 2003 Hastorf 2005 Bandyamp Hastorf 2007 Janusek 2008 2013) Bythe end of this period Tiwanaku beganto expand in both extent and density ofpopulation consolidating power within theregion while at the same time strengtheningsocial hierarchy within the site itself andexpanding its influence throughout muchof the south-central Andes (Kolata 2003)

Khonkho Wankane was founded duringthe late first century AD and there werethree broad periods of occupation at thesite referred to as Early Middle and LateKhonkho (Figures 3 amp 4) (Smith 20092013) The Early Khonkho occupationconsisted of eleven circular structures inthree sectors of the site Seven of them arearranged around a central patio while theother four structures were located to the

north and south of this central patio (Figure 4a) During the Middle and Late Khonkhoperiods significant changes to the spatial organisation of the site included the constructionof at least three sunken temples long compound walls and earthen platforms (Figure 4b ampCcopy Antiquity Publications Ltd 2015

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Figure 3 Plan of architecture identified at Khonkho Wankane showing the location of architectural features discussed in thetext

c) (Smith 2009 2013) By AD 500 the ceremonial core of Khonkho Wankane was largelyabandoned (Janusek 2013)

Early ritual and Structure 12C9Our focus here is specifically on the Early Khonkho period and the ceremonial dynamicsthat anchored the sitersquos growth and influence The Early Khonkho period circular structureswere fairly uniform in size with most measuring roughly 25m to 35m in diameter but onestructure Structure 12C9 was significantly larger measuring 49m in diameter (Figure 5)This structure also contained a unique and fascinating assemblage (Smith amp Perez Arias2007 Smith 2009) Some 972 human bones were recovered from at least 25 individualsMost were isolated elements phalanges carpals tarsals patellae and teeth were particularlyprevalent (Smith amp Perez Arias 2007 Domanska amp Janusek 2008 Janusek 2009) Thearticulated remains of one hand and one foot were also found (Figure 6) Relatively fewlong bones or crania were present and at least 14 specimens exhibited cut marks Analysisof these remains by Domanska indicates that 20 of the 25 individuals represented in theassemblage were adults over 25 years of age (Domanska amp Janusek 2008 Janusek 2009)Most of the bones were covered with a thin white plaster coating including the articulatedhand and foot and 23 of the specimens showed evidence of having been painted with redpigment


109


Also associated with this structure were 27 blocks made from a relatively soft whitechalky material that appeared to be the same material as that covering the human bones

Figure 4 andashc) Reconstructions of the Early Middle and LateKhonkho-period built environments showing the location ofarchitectural features discussed in the text For referencethe location of the Early Khonkho-period central patio isindicated in the reconstructions of the Middle Khonkho-period (b) and Late Khonkho-period (c) built environments

(Figure 7a) Nine of these blocks weredeposited in two small caches along thenorthern and eastern interior perimetersof the structure Blocks such as these arefound in different forms and in severalcontexts at Khonkho Wankane They arefound as solid cubes cylinders and (mostfrequently) rectangular blocks associatedwith floors or in small caches In additionto the two caches encountered in thisstructure one cache of nine blocks wasassociated with one of the later sunkentemples and another cache of eight blockswas associated with a Middle Khonkhoperiod domestic structure (Figure 7c)These blocks have also been found in burialcontexts sometimes placed beside the headof the interred Maks Portugal Zamorarsquos1955 publication of his early excavationsat Khonkho Wankane documents one caseof this practice and he notes that it iscommon in burials at the site (PortugalZamora 1955 62ndash67) Our excavationsdocumented one instance of this practicein an infant burial associated with LateKhonkho period architecture (Figure 7b)(Zovar 2006)

Other white blocks are also found witha hole in one side as if they had beenperforated and hollowed out (Figure 8a)The perforated blocks are never found in

caches but are found in fill and associated with floors This material is also encountered asconcave corner fragments as if a whole cube had been hollowed out to the extent that itfractured (Figure 8b) These fragments are often found in midden or floor contexts Theperforated blocks and the concave block fragments may be the result of a process wherebythe solid blocks were hollowed out to release the white chalky material in powder formExcavations recovered four worked-bone tools made from llama scapulae and long bonesthat were covered with what appeared to be the same white material suggesting that theseimplements were used to process it (Figure 8c)

White blocks like these are not uncommon in the southern Lake Titicaca basin andare found at contemporaneous sites including Lukurmata Tiwanaku and Kala Uyuni Theearliest example was encountered in association with Middle Formative period ceramicsCcopy Antiquity Publications Ltd 2015

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Figure 5 Plan (a) and photo (b) of Structure 12C9 facing north

during our recent excavations at the site of Iruhito along the Desaguadero River Theseblocks are commonly interpreted as moulds or crucibles for metal working (Bermann 1994

Figure 6 Articulated hand and other skeletal elementsdiscovered on the floor of Structure 12C9

73) Working with a sample of similarblocks from Kala Uyuni Di Hu (2011)analysed their elemental compositionusing energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescenceShe determined that the samples werecomposed principally of calcium oxide(CaO)mdashquicklime or cal viva in SpanishHu further found no evidence that theblocks from Kala Uyuni were used inmetal working (Hu 2011 120) Recentlya sample of the blocks from KhonkhoWankane was similarly analysed using aportable X-ray fluorescence unit by RyanWilliams and John Janusek Preliminary

results indicate that the blocks from Khonkho Wankane are also quicklimeCcopy Antiquity Publications Ltd 2015

111


Figure 7 a) Calcium oxide blocks recovered from Structure 12C9 b) block associated with infant burial c) cache of stackedblocks

Calcium oxide is produced through the thermal decomposition of limestone by heating itto between 800 and 900C (Hu 2011 119) This process requires the sustained applicationof heat and may require long firings because the decomposition reaction begins at the surfaceof the limestone block and slowly proceeds to the core (Kingery et al 1988) Sustaining thesetemperatures for long periods of time may have been difficult a problem which may explainthe form of the blocks recovered at Khonkho Wankane and other sites in the region Smallerblocks and cylinders of limestone would make for a more efficient production process bydecreasing the firing time required to produce the quicklime

To the west of Structure 12C9 across the central patio excavators encountered a largehearth that was adjacent but not attached to the westernmost circular structure (Structure6C1 Figure 9) (Janusek et al 2005) This hearth is particularly interesting because whileit was comparatively large relatively low proportions of ceramic cooking-vessel fragmentswere associated with it (10 per cent of the ceramic assemblage by weight) compared with theCcopy Antiquity Publications Ltd 2015

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other circular structures surrounding the central patio (26 per cent of the structure ceramicassemblages by weight) and the other contemporaneous structures outside this patio area(51 per cent of the structure ceramic assemblages by weight) Further when exposing thishearth excavators noted copious inclusions of what they described as hard chalky whiteclay ranging in length from 10mm to roughly 100mm It is possible that these inclusionswere waste associated with the process of firing cut limestone blocks to produce quicklimeThese data may indicate that in addition to its use for cooking food the hearth may havealso been used as a lime kiln

Figure 8 a) Perforated blocks of calcium oxide b) blockfragments c) worked llama femur coated with whitematerial

Quicklime is alkaline and whencombined with water produces calciumhydroxide (Ca(OH)2) known as hydratedor slaked lime During the process ofproducing hydrated lime considerable heatis released and the pH of the mixtureincreases significantly Upon exposure to airthe hydrated lime mixture absorbs carbondioxide causing it eventually to revert backto calcium carbonate (CaCO3) creatinglime plaster (Schotsmans et al 2012) AtKhonkho Wankane there is some evidencethat hydrated lime was created by mixingthe quicklime powder with water Forexample seven complete vessels of varyingforms were found on the floor of thisstructure and several of these had evidenceof white plaster coating the interior surfaceAdditionally cooking vessel fragments withthe same white material on the interior wererecovered from this context and others atKhonkho Wankane

Other vessels associated with the floorof Structure 12C9 included small bowlswith evidence of pigment on the interior(Figure 10a) In addition there weredeposits of red (10R 46) yellow (25Y 78)and light red (25YR 68) paint on the floorEleven labrets many bone and shell beadsof varying sizes and several grinding stones

were also associated with this surface (Figure 10b) (Smith amp Perez Arias 2007)

Processing the deadThe evidence described above indicates that Structure 12C9 was a specialised space usedby early ritual specialists at Khonkho Wankane to process human remains The process was


113


one in which bodies were disarticulated and then cleaned and curated using the hydratedlime which when exposed to air coated the bones in calcium carbonate or lime plaster

Figure 9 Plan showing location of possible lime kiln

Figure 10 a) Ceramic vessel with pigment b) sample oflabrets recovered from Structure 12C9

Intentional defleshing and cleaning ofbones is not uncommon in the regionBlom et al (2003 442) for examplenote evidence of light repeated cuttingon human remains from Tiwanaku 1period (AD 500ndash800) occupations at thesite of Tiwanaku which they argue isindicative of post mortem defleshing (seealso Blom amp Janusek 2004) It is possiblethat at Khonkho Wankane the limewatermixture was used to help deflesh andclean the bones While quicklime powderis a desiccant and would actually preservehuman flesh (Schotsmans et al 2012) thereis some evidence to suggest that hydratedlime helps to break down and dissolvemuscle tissue (Laudermilk 1932 62)Leather producers use limewater mixturescalled lsquolime liquorsrsquo to remove hair andfats from specimens in a process calledliming (Proctor 1903) The solvent actionof the hydrated lime increases when thetemperature of the limewater mixture isincreased (Proctor 1903 127) In Boliviapresent author MPA has observed the use ofheated limewater mixtures to remove fleshfrom bones in order to create comparativecollections and specimens for medical andveterinary training At Khonkho Wankanethe presence of ceramic cooking vesselswith white plaster coating the interior maysuggest that specialists heated limewaterpossibly to increase its ability to break downmuscle and fat

This helps to explain the presence ofplaster-coated bones in Structure 12C9

Disarticulated human remains may have been submerged in large cooking vessels containingthe heated limewater mixture and manipulated using the llama-bone tools which explainswhy they were also covered with the white material Once the defleshed bones were exposedto the air the mixture would have formed a thin calcium carbonate coating over the boneThis scenario would help to explain why the calcium carbonate coating is found on theinterior of cranial fragments and especially covering the articulated hand and foot In thatCcopy Antiquity Publications Ltd 2015

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particular case it is less likely that the remains were first completely skeletonised and thencovered with the plaster precisely because we find them articulated in situ Additionally theplaster coating gave them a bright white colour possibly as a way of enhancing or revealingthe essence of the bone itself similar to the Andean metallurgical processes described byLechtman (1984) The presence of painted bones small bowls with pigment on theirinterior and deposits of pigment on the surface of the structure suggests that one part of thisprocess involved painting bones Portugal Zamorarsquos (1955) early excavations at KhonkhoWankane exposed a burial with a red-painted femur

Whilst there is evidence of painted bones at Khonkho Wankane no bones coatedin white plaster were found in any other context including burials The specimensprocessed at Khonkho Wankane may have been removed from the site after processingFurther we suggest that the deceased may have been specifically brought to KhonkhoWankane for this specialised ritual from surrounding areas perhaps by llama caravanExcavations on peripheral mounds surrounding the site show evidence of periodicoccupation and abandonment in the form of thin superimposed floors and ephemeralhearths (Ohnstad 2007) No permanent architecture was documented at these peripheralmounds Additionally Gasco and Marsh (2013) identify a population of very large llamasin the faunal assemblage from Khonkho Wankane Drawing on analogy with modern herdmanagement practices they suggest that these llamas were castrated possibly for use incaravans (Gasco amp Marsh 2013 11) Kelly Knudson (forthcoming) conducted isotopeanalysis on a variety of bone and tooth samples from Khonkho Wankane including twosamples from Structure 12C9 Both samples have strontium isotope signatures outside therange for the southern Lake Titicaca basin indicating that the individuals processed in thisstructure did not live near this region during dental enamel formation

This suggests that mobile populations visited Khonkho Wankane periodically possiblywith llama caravans for rituals involving the processing of human remains that were thenremoved from the site when the visitors departed That may explain the high frequencyof smaller bones such as teeth carpals tarsals phalanges and patellae in Structure 12C9These might have been deposited when bodies were processed into bones and the largerlong bones crania and ribs were removed from the site Such a process may also help toexplain the high frequencies of decorative adornments such as labrets and beads They toomight have arrived at the site with the bodies and been left behind when the bodies weretransformed into bones

Representations of the processThere are four carved sandstone monoliths at Khonkho Wankane and an analysis of theiriconography provides insight into the mortuary process described above (Ohnstad 20112013) Figure 11 shows the Jinchun Kala monolith which was likely erected sometimeafter AD 150 (Ohnstad 2013 65) and probably after the process described above wasalready well established The back and sides of the monolith seem to portray individualsin movement (Figure 11b) (Ohnstad amp Janusek 2007 Ohnstad 2011 2013) Moreoverthese individuals appear to move up the back of the monolith with flesh and down thesides partially defleshed with the ribs portrayed as exposed This may be a depiction of the


115


Figure 11 a) Jinchun Kala monolith from Khonkho Wankane (photo courtesy of John Janusek) b) drawing of Jinchun Kalamonolith (drawing by Arik Ohnstad and Jenni Ohnstad)

process of producing bones that we have associated with Structure 12C9 Human remainsenter Khonkho Wankane with flesh and leave as bone The top panel of this monolithportrays a complex and somewhat abstract scene in which the individuals with flesh seemto be approaching and the excarnated individuals seem to be departing (Figure 12a amp b)It is possible that this is a depiction of the stacked caches of quicklime blocks and cylinders(compare with Figure 7c) Note the spirals associated with these blocks possibly depictingthe gas released when water is added to quicklime Additionally the top panel portraysa bean-like element that in light of the identification of the blocks as quicklime couldCcopy Antiquity Publications Ltd 2015

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Figure 12 a) Photo and b) drawing of the top panel of the Jinchun Kala monolith (photo courtesy of John Janusekand drawing by Arik Ohnstad and Jenni Ohnstad) c) Anadenanthera colubrina or vilca seed pod (Martius 1876 tab76) Image adapted from Missouri Botanical Garden (httpwwwbotanicusorg) Licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution-Noncommercial 25 licence

be a representation of Anadenanthera colubrina or vilca which was commonly used in theAndes to produce hallucinogenic snuff (Knobloch 2000 Torres amp Repke 2006) (Figure 12c)Modern indigenous communities in the Orinoco basin of Venezuela and Colombia producethe hallucinogen by removing the seeds from the pod grinding them and mixing them witha lime mixture produced from calcined shell (Torres amp Repke 2006 64ndash70) In addition toits use in the process of cleaning and curating bones it is possible that the quicklime wasmixed with ground vilca to produce hallucinogenic snuff Snuff paraphernalia includingtrays tubes and spoons have been encountered in archaeological contexts in Bolivia PeruChile and Argentina (Llagostera M 1995 Torres amp Conklin 1995 Torres amp Repke 200657ndash60) Similarly it is possible that the quicklime was consumed with coca (Erythroxylumcoca) today indigenous groups chew coca with alkaline substances to enhance the analgesiceffects of the plant

DiscussionThe evidence suggests that during a time of heightened movement and circulation KhonkhoWankane was propelled to prominence in part because of a ritual process of preparing humanremains for a mobile agropastoral population Ritual specialists may have transformedhuman remains by disarticulating them and then cleaned and curated them using heatedlimewater mixtures made from quicklime blocks that were fired at the site It seems clearthat the quicklime blocks were associated with the dead at Khonkho Wankane particularlygiven that these blocks are also found in burials placed next to the head of the deceased Thereaction produced by adding quicklime to water is a violent one where heat is producedand gas is released This would have been quite an impressive sensory experience Modern


117


indigenous communities in Bolivia conceptualise smoke gas and mists as ways in whichofferings are transmitted to the supernatural realm (Arnold amp Hastorf 2008) Similarly thevisceral gaseous process of cleaning human remains to produce plastered bones may haveconveyed the deceased to the otherworldly realm Additionally the quicklime may havebeen chewed with coca and mixed with ground vilca to produce a hallucinogenic snuff thatcould have formed an integral component of a ritual designed to shepherd the dead into theafterlife

This process seems to represent a shift from earlier Middle Formative modes of integratingthe dead into social life At Chiripa important individuals were buried in designated placessurrounding ritual enclosures During later iterations of this practice a series of small stonestructures were built in a ring surrounding a sunken enclosure These structures all containedmultiple burials and there is evidence to suggest that the burials were periodically accessedperhaps for rituals involving people gathered in the enclosure Hastorf (2003) has arguedconvincingly that this mortuary pattern reflects the creation of group cohesion and alsoincreasing hierarchy These processes were tied to the memorialisation of the particularlineages buried in this central ceremonial space and the exclusivity of restricted access tothe burial structures

The mortuary evidence discussed here from the subsequent Late Formative period atKhonkho Wankane suggests a break from Middle Formative period traditions While thecontinued social importance of the dead is evident in the careful processing and curation ofhuman remains at Khonkho Wankane these curated remains were not buried at the site asthey had been at Chiripa The evidence reviewed here indicates that human remains werebrought to the site for processing and then removed probably by periodic llama caravansRather than anchoring lineage to the ceremonial centre curated remains travelled withmobile populations of caravan drovers We submit that the ancestors were still crucial to thedefinition of community but that community was conceptualised in very different termsduring the Late Formative period and may have united people who were dispersed overmuch larger regions

This research responds to recent studies encouraging us to expand the spatial and temporalscales at which archaeologists analyse mortuary ritual For example Ashmore and Gellersuggest that archaeologists might usefully consider ldquomortuary space as an analytical domainembracing scales ranging from within individual interments and other forms of dispositionto distributions of burial sites across the landscaperdquo (Ashmore amp Geller 2005 82 originalemphasis) Whereas archaeologists typically have access to the final resting point of mortuaryremains the data from Khonkho Wankane give us a window into a midpoint of a spatiallyand temporally extended process of transition from the world of the living to the world ofthe dead

AcknowledgementsAn earlier version of this paper was presented at the 53rd annual meeting of the Institute of Andean Studies inBerkeley CA in January 2013 Many thanks to John Janusek Victor Plaza Carlos Lemuz Kelly Knudson RyanWilliams and the town of Qhunqhu Likiliki We also thank the Unidad Nacional de Arqueologıa de BoliviaThis paper also benefited greatly from conversations with Wendy Ashmore Tom Patterson Arik Ohnstad AndyRoddick Erik Marsh Randi Gladwell Misty Bastian and Mary Ann Levine We would also like to thank Emma


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Pomeroy and a second anonymous reviewer for their excellent comments This research was supported by aUniversity of California Riverside Humanities Research Grant and a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research toSCS SCS would also like to thank Franklin amp Marshall College for its support through the Junior FacultyResearch Leave programme This work was also supported by grants from the following institutions to JohnJanusek the National Science Foundation (BCS-0514624) the Curtiss T amp Mary G Brennan Foundationthe National Geographic Society (Scientific Field Research Grant 7700-04) the Howard Heinz Endowmentfor Archaeological Research and Vanderbilt University We thank these institutions for their generous supportAny errors remain our responsibility

ReferencesADAMS RL amp SM KING 2011 Residential burial in

global perspective in RL Adams amp SM King(ed) Residential burial a multiregional exploration(Archeological Papers of the AmericanAnthropological Association 20) 1ndash16 Arlington(VA) American Anthropological Association

ARNOLD DY amp CA HASTORF 2008 Heads of stateicons power and politics in the ancient and modernAndes Walnut Creek (CA) Left Coast

ASHMORE W amp PL GELLER 2005 Social dimensionsof mortuary space in GFM Rakita JE BuikstraLA Beck amp SR Williams (ed) Interacting with thedead perspectives on mortuary archaeology for the newmillenium 81ndash92 Gainesville University Press ofFlorida

BANDY MS 2005 Trade and social power in thesouthern Titicaca basin Formative in KJ VaughnD Ogburn amp CA Conlee (ed) Foundations ofpower in the Prehispanic Andes (Archeological Papersof the American Anthropologial Association 14)91ndash111 Arlington (VA) AmericanAnthropological Association

BANDY MS amp CA HASTORF (ed) 2007 Kala Uyunian early political center in the southern Lake Titicacabasin (Contributions of the University of CaliforniaArchaeological Research Facility 64) BerkeleyArchaeological Research Facility University ofCalifornia Berkeley

BERMANN M 1994 Lukurmata household archaeologyin Prehispanic Bolivia Princeton (NJ) PrincetonUniversity Press

BLOM DE amp JW JANUSEK 2004 Making placehumans as dedications in Tiwanaku WorldArchaeology 36 123ndash41 httpdxdoiorg1010800043824042000192623

BLOM DE JW JANUSEK amp JE BUIKSTRA 2003 Are-evaluation of human remains from Tiwanaku inAL Kolata (ed) Tiwanaku and its hinterlandarchaeology and paleoecology of an Andeancivilization Volume 2 urban and rural archaeology435ndash49 Washington DC amp LondonSmithsonian Institution Press

BROWMAN DL 1978 Toward the development of theTiahuanaco (Tiwanaku) state in DL Browman(ed) Advances in Andean archaeology 327ndash49 TheHague amp Paris Moutonhttpdxdoiorg1015159783110810011327

BUIKSTRA JE amp DK CHARLES 1999 Centering theancestors cemeteries mounds and sacredlandscapes of the ancient North Americanmidcontinent in W Ashmore amp AB Knapp (ed)Archaeologies of landscape contemporary perspectives201ndash28 Malden amp Oxford Blackwell

DILLEHAY TD (ed) 1995 Tombs for the livingAndean mortuary practices Washington (DC)Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection

DOMANSKA C amp JW JANUSEK 2008 Bioarchaeologyand an early death cult in the Bolivian AndesPoster presented at the Society for AmericanArchaeology 73rd Annual Meeting 26ndash30 March2008 Vancouver

GASCO AV amp EJ MARSH 2013 Hunting herdingand caravanning osteometric identifications ofcamelid morphotypes at Khonkho WankaneBolivia International Journal of Osteoarchaeologyhttpdx doiorg101002oa2331

HASTORF CA 2003 Community with the ancestorsceremonies and social memory in the MiddleFormative at Chiripa Bolivia Journal ofAnthropological Archaeology 22 305ndash32httpdxdoiorg101016S0278-4165(03)00029-1

ndash 2005 The Upper (Middle and Late) Formative in theTiticaca basin in C Stanish AB Cohen amp MSAldenderfer (ed) Advances in Titicaca basinarchaeology I 65ndash94 Los Angeles (CA) CotsenInstitute of Archaeology

HU D 2011 Analysis de los artefactos lıticos inExcavaciones en Kala Uyuni informe de latemporada 2009 del Proyecto Arqueologico Taraco102ndash22 Report prepared for the Unidad Nacionalde Arqueologia de Bolivia La Paz

ISBELL WH 1997 Mummies and mortuary monumentsa postprocessual prehistory of Central Andean socialorganization Austin University of Texas Press

JANUSEK JW 2008 Ancient Tiwanaku CambridgeCambridge University Press


119


ndash 2009 Centralidad regional ecologia religiosa ycomplejidad emergente durante el periodoFormativo en la cuenca del Lago Titicaca in PKaulicke amp TD Dillehay (ed) Procesos y expresionesde poder identidad y orden tempranos enSudamerica 23ndash51 Lima Fondo Editorial PUCP

ndash 2013 Jesus de Machaca before and after Tiwanaku abackground to recent archaeology at KhonkhoWankane and Pukara de Khonkho in A Vranich ampAR Levine (ed) Advances in Titicaca basinarchaeology II 7ndash22 Los Angeles (CA) CotsenInstitute of Archaeology

JANUSEK JW AT OHNSTAD amp AP RODDICK 2003Khonkho Wankane and the rise of TiwanakuAntiquity 77(296) Project Gallery Available athttpantiquityacukprojgalljanusekjanusekhtml(accessed 5 June 2014)

JANUSEK JW AP RODDICK amp M PEREZ ARIAS 2005El Compuesto K1 y su vecinidad (Sector 6) in JWJanusek (ed) Khonkho Wankane primer informepreliminar del Proyecto Arqueologico JachrsquoaMachaca 123ndash40 Report prepared for theViceministry of Culture and the DireccionNacional de Arqueologıa La Paz

KINGERY WD PB VANDIVER amp M PRICKETT 1988The beginnings of pyrotechnology part IIproduction and use of lime and gypsum plaster inthe Pre-Pottery Neolithic Near East Journal of FieldArchaeology 15 219ndash44httpdxdoiorg102307530304

KNOBLOCH PJ 2000 Wari ritual power atConchopata an interpretation of Anadenantheracolubrina iconography Latin American Antiquity11 387ndash402 httpdxdoiorg102307972003

KNUDSON K Forthcoming Isotope analyses and themovement of humans and camelids in Machaca inJW Janusek (ed) Early complexity in thesouth-central Andes Khonkho Wankane and itshinterland Los Angeles (CA) Cotsen Institute ofArchaeology

KOLATA AL (ed) 2003 Tiwanaku and its hinterlandarchaeology and paleoecology of an Andeancivilization Washington (DC) SmithsonianInstitution Press

LAUDERMILK JT 1932 Concerning quicklime burialAmerican Journal of Police Science 3 59ndash63httpdxdoiorg1023071147292

LECHTMAN H 1984 Andean value systems and thedevelopment of prehistoric metallurgy Technologyand Culture 25 1ndash36httpdxdoiorg1023073104667

LLAGOSTERA M A 1995 Art in the snuff trays of SanPedro de Atacama (northern Chile) in P Dransart(ed) Andean art visual expression and its relation toAndean beliefs and values 51ndash77 AldershotAvebury

MARTIUS KFP VON 1876 Flora Brasiliensisenumeratio plantarum in Brasilia hactenusdetectarum quas suis aliorumque botanicorum studiisdescriptas et methodo naturali digestas partim iconeillustratas Munich amp Leipzig R Oldenbourg

NUNEZ ATENCIO L amp TD DILLEHAY 1995 [1979]Movilidad giratoria armonıa social y desarrollo en losAndes meridionales patrones de trafico e interaccioneconomica Antofagasto Universidad Catolica delNorte

OHNSTAD A 2007 Investigaciones en areas perifericasde los montıculos de Wankane y Putuni in JWJanusek amp V Plaza Martinez (ed) Khonkho eIruhito tercer informe preliminar del ProyectoJachrsquoa Machaca (investigaciones en 2006) 141ndash86Report prepared for the Viceministry of Cultureand the Direccion Nacional de Arqueologıa La Paz

ndash 2011 La escultura Prehispanica de KhonkhoWankane Jesus de Machaca Bolivia Nuevos Aportes5 119ndash42

ndash 2013 The stone stelae of Khonkho Wankaneinventory brief description and seriation in AVranich amp AR Levine (ed) Advances in Titicacabasin archaeology II 53ndash66 Los Angeles (CA)Cotsen Institute of Archaeology

OHNSTAD A amp JW JANUSEK 2007 The developmentof lsquoTiwanaku stylersquo out of the ideological andpolitical-economic landscapes of the Formativeperiod Titicaca basin Paper presented at theSouthern Andean Iconographic Series aColloquium in Pre-Columbian Art andArchaeology Santiago de Chile March 2007

PARKER PEARSON M 1999 The archaeology of deathand burial College Station Texas AampM Press

PORTUGAL ZAMORA M 1955 El misterio de lasTumbas Wankani Khana 11ndash12 51ndash67

PROCTOR HR 1903 The principles of leathermanufacture London E amp FN Spon

RAKITA GFM amp JE BUIKSTRA 2005 Introductionin GFM Rakita JE Buikstra LA Beck amp SRWilliams (ed) Interacting with the dead perspectiveson mortuary archaeology for the new millennium1ndash11 Gainesville University Press of Florida

SCHOTSMANS EMJ J DENTON J DEKEIRSSCHIETERT IVANEANU S LEENTJES RC JANAWAY amp ASWILSON 2012 Effects of hydrated lime andquicklime on the decay of buried human remainsusing pig cadavers as human body analoguesForensic Science International 217 50ndash59httpdxdoiorg101016jforsciint201109025

SMITH SC 2009 Venerable geographies spatialdynamics religion and political economy in theprehistoric Lake Titicaca basin BoliviaUnpublished PhD dissertation University ofCalifornia Riverside


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ndash 2013 Late Formative period spatial organization atKhonkho Wankane Bolivia in A Vranich amp ARLevine (ed) Advances in Titicaca basin archaeologyII 23ndash44 Los Angeles (CA) Cotsen Institute ofArchaeology

SMITH SC amp M PEREZ ARIAS 2007 Excavaciones enel Sector 12 (Compuesto 3 Parte Sur) in JWJanusek amp V Plaza Martinez (ed) Khonkho eIruhito tercer informe preliminar del ProyectoJachrsquoa Machaca (investigaciones en 2006) 114ndash39Report prepared for the Viceministry of Cultureand the Direccion Nacional de Arqueologıa La Paz

STANISH C 2003 Ancient Titicaca the evolution ofcomplex society in southern Peru and northernBolivia Berkeley University of California Presshttpdxdoiorg101525california97805202324570010001

TORRES CM amp WJ CONKLIN 1995 Exploring theSan Pedro de AtacamaTiwanaku relationship in PDransart (ed) Andean art visual expression and itsrelation to Andean beliefs and values 78ndash108Aldershot Avebury

TORRES CM amp DB REPKE 2006 Anadenantheravisionary plant of ancient South AmericaBinghamton (NY) Haworth

WHITLEY J 2002 Too many ancestors Antiquity 76119ndash26

ZOVAR JM 2006 Excavaciones en Sector 9Compuesto K2 y su vecinidad in JW Janusek ampV Plaza Martinez (ed) Khonkho Wankanesegundo informe preliminar del ProyectoArqueologico Jachrsquoa Machaca 127ndash41 Reportprepared for the Viceministry of Culture and theDireccion Nacional de Arqueologıa La Paz

Received 11 November 2013 Accepted 23 December 2013 Revised 5 February 2014


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Figure 1 The location of Khonkho Wankane within the southern Lake Titicaca basin

remains were buried in small structures that surrounded a central enclosure and were accessedperiodically for ritual Hastorf argues that human remains were central to the creation ofcommunity The dead helped to anchor social identity in a collective understanding of thepast and embedded lineage in the landscape

During the subsequent Late Formative period (200 BCndashAD 500) however evidencesuggests that community came to be defined differently (Janusek 2008 2013) New centresreplaced their Middle Formative predecessors and were often located further away fromLake Titicaca and nearby rivers These centres exercised a wider political influence andtheir development was driven in part by the increasing importance of llama caravans whichcirculated animals people objects and ideas regionally and inter-regionally (Browman 1978Nunez Atencio amp Dillehay 1995 [1979] Bandy 2005) How did the social importance of thedead change during this time of increased mobility and population fluctuation We explorethis question through an analysis of early mortuary ritual at one of the most important LateFormative period centres in the southern Lake Titicaca basin a site called Khonkho Wankane(Figure 1) A process is highlighted whereby human remains were processed from bodies tocurated bones In contrast to the evidence from Chiripa where human remains anchoredcommunity to a particular location in the landscape specialists at Khonkho Wankane mayhave served a mobile population of caravan drovers from distant regions through the creationand curation of portable relics After a brief introduction to the region and site we describethe results of the excavation of one particular early structure at Khonkho Wankane and


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from bodies to bones: death and mobility in the lake ......from bodies to bones: death and mobility...

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