During the LIP, the Chachapoya embarked on a period of population growth, settlement nucleation and artistic fluorescence, a trend that scholars believe began by the end of the MH. The timing of these profound changes remains poorly documented, but participation in MH interaction spheres no doubt had a significant catalyzing impact. The onset of the LIP marks the genesis of “classic” Chachapoya culture, with its hallmark hamlets, villages and fortified urban complexes of circular stone constructions, and cliff tombs. Throughout the region, hundreds of settlements cluster above 3,000 masl along the Maranon-Huallaga divide or between 2,000-2,900 masl on the forested slopes of the eastern cordillera. Nucleated settlements with four hundred or more structures are rare, but include Kuelap, high above the Utcubamba, (Narvaez 1996a, 1996b), Caserones or Timbambo in the Atuen watershed (Schjellerup 1997), Purun Llaqta de Cheto east of the modern city of Chachapoyas (Ruiz B. 2004), and La Jalca east of the Utcubamba (Lerche 1986). While the promontory location of sites may be a response to internecine hostilities, as suggested by the chroniclers, few settlements, aside from Kuelap, are fortified. Mountain terrain provided natural defenses for some settlements. Walled settlements include Vira Vira (Muscutt
1998), Teya (Langlois 1939; Lerche 1995) and Pabellon (Lerche 1995). The Chachapoya may have placed their villages on mountaintops to mitigate high rainfall and landslides, or to avoid occupying potential farmland (Schjellerup 1997). Unfortunately, very few Chach-apoyas sites have been adequately dated, and in the absence of excavated samples and examination of architectural details, it is often difficult to determine whether settlements were built and occupied during the LIP, Late Horizon (LH) or both. It is seldom possible to date sites merely by the presence or absence of Chachapoya architectural canons and iconography since many of these have EIP roots, persist through the LH, and even appear accentuated at some Inca period sites.
Subsistence practices focused on high altitude tubers and grains, hunting, and tending domesticated guinea pigs and camelid herds for needed meat protein. Many settlements are
Surrounded by the extensive remains of field systems, ranging from broad, earthen terraces to ridged fields and stone-faced terraces in protected gullies. At 3,800 masl, Timbambo (or Caserones) in the Atuen drainage is surrounded by 500 ha of field systems and nearby Boveda (3,400-3,600 masl) includes 100 ha of field systems (Schjellerup 1997). Around La Jalca in the Utcubamba Valley, studies by Lerche (1986) revealed similarly constructed, extensive terracing systems. Further down the eastern slopes, especially in the Huayabamba and Abiseo drainages, large terracing systems covering slopes in the Montecristo Valley surrounding Gran Pajaten suggest that maize was probably cultivated intensively.
Although circular houses are not unique in the ancient Andes, singular features distinguish Chachapoya constructions. They frequently sit atop larger, circular platform bases, accessed by ramps or stairways. Decorative, stone mosaic friezes (zigzags, rhomboids, step-frets or figurative motifs such as those at Gran Pajaten) embellish the platforms or structures’ upper walls; only rarely are these found gracing interior walls (see Figures 45.5, 45.6). Cornices, surrounding or set in a half-moon around the houses, served as decorative features or walkways, protecting the foundations from rainfall. Steeply pitched, conical thatch roofs crowned the constructions. The settlements appear to follow the terrain in a seemingly random pattern, although Kuelap includes houses clustered along corridors or facing common patios, suggesting planning, and reflecting social relations (Narvaez 1988).
Perched on a ridge at 3,000 masl, high above the Utcubamba, Kuelap is one of the most impressive northern Chachapoya sites, not only for the natural beauty of its setting but for the sheer audacity of its surrounding wall. Today, orchids and bromeliads festoon large trees, hinting at the lush forests that once blanketed much of the region. The citadel occupies around 6 ha and runs north-south along a limestone ridge almost entirely encased by a giant retaining wall. The site complex, however —including outlying settlements, tombs and agricultural terraces— covers approximately 450ha. The height of the perimeter
Figure 45.5. A slate frieze portraying human figures with carved sandstone tenoned heads decorates the lower exterior wall of Building No. 1 at Gran Pajaten. (Gregory O. Jones)
Figure 45.6. Typical Chachapoya circular dwellings, partially reconstructed at Kuelap. (Warren Church)
Figure 45.7. Kuelap’s surrounding wall reaches up to 20 m in height. (Warren Church)
Wall ranges between 10 and 20 m, and is entirely built of finely cut limestone masonry covering an interior core of rubble fill and mud mortar (see Figure 45.7). Ongoing ceramic analysis (Narvaez and Morales G. 1999) suggests steady occupation from the EIP through early Spanish colonial times, but the period of peak construction activities remains to be determined.
Three entryways punctuate the waU, two on the eastern side and one on the western, cliff side. The main entry is trapezoidal and was once partly covered by a corbelled vault. The entryway is actually a 60 m-long, walled corridor that narrows into a passageway allowing only one person at a time to enter. Excavations and mapping within the settlement by Narvaez (1988) revealed 420 mostly circular structures distributed in lower and upper sectors, likely reflecting social divisions. Such bipartite divisions appear to be common at LIP Chachapoya settlements such as Vira Vira, Patron Samana and La Congona (Ruiz 1985). At Kuelap, the walled-off upper sector contains several rectangular structures with unknown functions. The imposing surrounding wall, restricted entryways, possible parapets and 2,500 sling stones stashed on the Torreon, a tower at the settlement’s northern side, imply that Kuelap’s inhabitants were preoccupied with security. Large clumps of burnt roofing thatch indicate that residents either burned the structures at the time of abandonment or that Kuelap came to a violent end.
World History
