CHACHAPOYAS DURING THE MIDDLE HORIZON

Despite the dearth of radiocarbon dates representing the Middle Horizon (MH) between AD 700-1000, many scholars have assumed that construction of Chachapoyas monumental settlements and tombs began during the mid-MH, around AD 800. This assumption rests upon Ruiz’s (1972) association of masonry constructions at Kuelap with Pumahuanchina phase layers containing Chachapoya tradition ceramics and both imported and emulated Cajamarca III (Reichlen and Reichlen 1949) or Middle Cajamarca (Terada and Matsumoto 1985) floral cursive bowls. Based upon later excavations at Kuelap, Narvaez (1988) concurs with Ruiz’s assessment. Huepon’s stratified deposits evidently include a MH component (Schjellerup 1997), though details have not yet been reported. Further south near Pataz, only a few Wari-influenced tri-colored sherds from excavations at Chirimachay Cave represent the MH (Church 1994). In summary, archaeological evidence suggests continuous occupation of Chachapoyas through the MH, but more precise chronological evidence for the beginning of Chachapoyas monument building is needed.

Although Wari imperial incursions and interactions dating to MH epochs 1B-3 (approximately AD 650-850) had increasingly attenuated impact on societies north of Huamachuco, several lines of evidence indicate that MH interaction spheres stretched into Chachapoyas and the northeastern fringes of the Central Andes. A few Wari-style sherds collected during “cleaning” at Kuelap date to MH 2B (Ruiz E. 1972), while a single sherd from Cerro

Campanario near Uchucmarca dates to late MH 1B (Keith Muscutt, personal communication, 2002) (see Figure 45.4c). Imported Cajamarca III ceramics at Pirka-Pirka (Vega 1978) near Uchucmarca, and a Cajamarca floral-cursive bowl from a tomb at nearby Laguna Huay-abamba (Figure 45.4d) radiocarbon dated to AD 1050 (Briceno and Muscutt 2004) attest to

Figure 45.4. Detail of tie-dyed tunic from Laguna de los Condores (CMA 0600) (Adriana von Hagen); b. Detail of tapestry tunic portraying human heads and profile feline heads, Laguna de los Condores (INCL-0111) (Adriana von Hagen); c. Middle Horizon IB sherd found at Cerro Campanario (Keith Muscutt); d. Cajamarca floral-cursive bowl from Laguna Huayabamba (Keith Muscutt)

MH exchange across the Maranon. Like their Inca successors, Wari likely sought access to Chachapoyas’ tropical resources, perhaps through Cajamarca intermediaries.

Aside from trade pottery, evidence for Wari impact in Chachapoyas is most clearly seen in textiles from well-preserved Chachapoya-Inca chullpas and mortuary contexts now housed in the Museo Leymebamba (see Figure 45.4a-b). While several technical features suggest an Inca affiliation, iconography and technical attributes such as tunic assembly methods and tapestry weaving techniques point to Wari inspiration (von Hagen n. d.). Cajamarca intermediaries may have introduced Wari textiles into the region, where Chach-apoya weavers imitated the new techniques and iconography; many of these traits apparently lingered in Chachapoya weavers’ repertoire well into the LIP. Tie-dyed tunics from Laguna de los Condores and nearby Quintecocha offer particularly compelling examples of Wari influence. The tunics are simplified interpretations of stunning Wari “patchwork” textiles (see Stone-Miller 1992: plates 21a, 21b) documented from coastal tombs. South of Laguna de los Condores, excavations at the aforementioned Laguna Huayabamba tomb yielded a fragment of plain weave, tie-dyed cotton (Muscutt, pers. comm. 2002). Associated radiocarbon dates suggest that tie-dye was used in Chachapoyas by 1050 AD and the end of the MH.