Chachapoyas boundaries and interfaces in Rodriguez De Mendoza, Amazonas, Peru

Abstract

Chachapoyas was one of the largest prehispanic cultures located in the eastern montane forest. The location on the interface of Andean and Amazonian environments gave middle-man status in trading important exotic goods withneighbors.
The nature of the interface with the Chachapoyanos eastern neighbors speaks to important aspects of Chachapoya identity in the past. If Chachapoyas was an extension of highland cultural hegemony, then the eastern Chachapoyas interface may have been an important location for boundary maintenance between «Andean» and «Amazonian» peoples. Conversely, the Chachapoya may have been a bridge society that facilitated interaction by presenting a mutually intelligible venue for exchange. The LIP sites in the Mendoza region share many characteristics with typical Chachapoya sites: settlement pattern; pottery styles; and mortuary style, but Mendoza sites lack elaboration of household architecture, such as cornices, friezes, tenon heads, or platform bases, and these sites do not have the same density of stone constructions as documented at most “Classic” Chachapoya sites. This article reviews survey of Mendoza area habitation sites, mortuary sites, and pathways of movement as part of a network of local, regional, and interregional connections to consider what Mendoza sites can tell us about the construction of what was «Chachapoyas.»