Who were Invited? Temporal and Functional Changes in Public Spaces as a Reflection of Shifting Leadership Strategies at Pukara during the Late Formative Period

Abstract

In the Lake Titicaca Basin, the sunken court complex has long been considered the archetypal public space. It is generally assumed that courts served as the major setting for ritual performance during the Formative period and possibly during the subsequent Middle Horizon; however, sunken courts are only one of several types of public architecture in use during these time periods. A diachronic study of public spaces within the ceremonial district at Pukara, specifically focused on the Qalasaya complex and central pampa areas, is directed at addressing the relationship between ritual architecture and early leadership during the Late Formative period (500 BC-AD400). Based on excavation data from the investigations of Alfred Kidder II in 1939, the Plan COPESCO excavations of the Qalasaya in the 1970s, and recent excavations on the central pampa in 2001, it is possible to develop a framework for characterizing temporal and functional changes in Pukara’s public spaces. Changes in the location, layout, and use of these spaces by both hosts and intended audiences are used as indicators of a shift from inclusive to exclusive leadership strategies at Pukara during the Late Formative period.