Title
Mortuary practices and human sacrifice in the middle Chao Valley of Peru: Their interpretation in the context of Andean mortuary patterning
Date Issued
01 January 2008
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Society for American Archaeology
Abstract
Investigations at several northern Peruvian coastal archaeological sites by archaeologists and physical anthropologists are beginning to provide details on long-term patterning of mortuary behavior. Some of these patterns include retainer sacrifice, child sacrifice, and the metaphorical principle we refer to as "like with like." In this paper, we discuss the data relating to these mortuary patterns discovered at the site of Santa Rita B in the middle Chao Valley. Examples of each of the patterns presented are evident at the site. These include at least three child sacrifices and one adult sacrifice. The sacrifices appear to be retainer sacrifices, defined as sacrifices intended to accompany a deceased principal personage in the afterlife. The inclusion of the child sacrifices with a subadult principal burial is part of the "like with like" pattern seen here and at other Andean sites. Dating to the start of the Late Intermediate period (ca. A.D. 1100-1300), these finds are compared to other north coastal sites, both earlier and later, and the extent of temporal continuity in these patterns is discussed. Copyright ©2008 by the Society for American Archaeology.
Start page
107
End page
121
Volume
19
Issue
2
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Historia Temas sociales
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-60950413915
Source
Latin American Antiquity
ISSN of the container
10456635
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus