Chincha

The Chincha Valley is often regarded as politically more centralized than any other valley of the south coast during the LIP, mainly because of the existence in this valley of LIP settlements with monumental architecture and a unique network of straight roads connecting some of these settlements. Uhle (1924b) was probably the first to conduct archaeological reconnaisances and excavations in the Chincha Valley. He noted the existence of several large mounds, very similar to the ones known in the Rimac Valley (see above), as well as the existence of at least one straight road connecting some of these mounds. Later, Wallace (Wallace 1959, 1970a, b, 1971) conducted archaeological reconnaissances in the Chincha and Pisco valleys, identifying between thirty and forty LIP settlements with monumental architecture in the Chincha Valley, as well as a concentration of similar settlements in the lower Pisco Valley. He also described in detail the network of straight roads connecting these settlements in the Chincha Valley (Wallace 1991). The study of this road system is particularly important in our understanding of the political and economic organization of the Chincha Valley populations during the LIP. The four major roads of the network radiate from La Centinela, which is the LIP settlement with the largest mounds in the valley (Figure 38.6). One of the roads connects La Centinela with the mouth of the Chincha Valley. A second road is at an exact right angle to the first and runs parallel to the beach, connecting La

Figure 38.6. La Centinela in the Chincha Valley. (reframed from the Shippee-Johnson photograph)

Centinela with a smaller center known as La Centinela de San Pedro. The other two major roads are at evenly spaced intervals within this right angle and cut diagonally across the valley, according to Wallace. At least another two straight roads radiate from La Centinela de San Pedro, connecting it with the lower and middle sections of the Pisco Valley. The analysis of this network shows that these buildings and the roads connecting them might reveal not only that the Chincha polity was centralized, but also that it was organized according to principles of hierarchy and duality—a situation that is similar to that already observed for the north and central coasts. It also reinforces the idea that the Chincha polity controlled, at some point, at least the lower section of the Pisco Valley to the south.

Ica

The situation is different in the Ica Valley. In contrast to Chincha, the only LIP settlement with monumental architecture known in the Ica Valley is Ica La Vieja (Figure 38.7), which has several mounds, all of them much smaller than any of the largest mounds known in the Chincha Valley. Because of this, the Ica Valley is usually regarded as politically less centralized than Chincha. Indeed, Menzel (1959: 220-221) regarded Ica La Vieja as the seat of a “religious rather than political authority.” However, as Menzel (1976, 1977) herself noted, during the LIP, Ica, not Chincha, was the center of production of the most prestigious pottery style on the south coast. The LIP Ica style pottery was imported and/or imitated in other south coast valleys to the north (Chincha and Pisco) and to the south (Nazca, Acarl, and Yauca) and, occasionally, even in other areas of the Central Andes such as the central coast and the south highlands (Menzel and Rowe 1966). Menzel’s (1976, 1977) analysis of gravelots from LIP and LH burials excavated by Uhle (1924a) also showed the existence of sharp differences between the burials of elite and commoner groups. According to Menzel these differences were sharper during Inca times, suggesting that an already stratified society became even more stratified under imperial rule.

Nazca

In contrast to the Chincha and Ica valleys, the Nazca drainage, as well as the Acarl and Yauca valleys to the south, are usually considered to be politically fragmented during the LIP (see, especially, Menzel 1959). But Conlee (2000, 2003, 2004; Conlee et al. 2004) disagrees with this assessment of LIP Nazca. She interprets her archaeological data as

Figure 38.7. Map of Ica La Vieja. (redrawn from Menzel 1976: 17, Map 3)

Showing that the Nazca drainage was unified into “an integrated regional polity that was independent of Ica and Chincha” (Conlee et al. 2004: 227). Her analysis of settlement patterns leads her to conclude that during the LIP both the number and the size of settlements increased. Most of the settlements were agglutinated villages. Conlee’s analysis also shows that the actual coastal (littoral) area began to be occupied during this time. She infers population growth, nucleation, and expansion to new ecological areas. Other lines of evidence allow further characterization of these changes. Site-size differences as well as internal division of villages and towns, especially the large ones, probably indicate hierarchical organization both within and between settlements. In turn, location of sites in defensible places implies some degree of inter-village warfare. Piles of sling stones found on defensive terraces at the large site of La Tiza support this idea. The appearance of public

And ceremonial spaces within LIP villages, such as Pajonal Alto, and a general reduction in the size of these spaces compared to previous periods, could indicate an emphasis on local rather than regional elites. Likewise, decreased household self-sufficiency, in favor of more local - and community-level production of goods, might indicate greater elite-commoner differentiation within (and between) these communities. Independence from Ica and Chincha is certain. Still to be conclusively demonstrated is Conlee’s interpretation of a unified and integrated regional polity in the Nazca drainage—again, the issue appears to be one of authorial definition and criteria as I indicated at the beginning of this chapter. Nevertheless, many of the changes she lists are akin to those reported for the LIP in other regions of the Central Andes.