Collota, Netahaha y el desarrollo del poder wari en el valle de Cotahuasi, Arequipa, Perú

Abstract

Collota, Netahaha and the Development of the Wari Power in Cotahuasi Valley, Arequipa, Perú

An enduring problem in the study of ancient states and empires is modem recognition of different forms of regional consolidation when employing only data available in the archaeological record. The construction of an administrative center is one of the clear indicators of a state's presence. Areas with these types of centers are often described as pockets of direct control in an imperial mosaic. During the Middle Horizon (600-1000 A.D.), significant changes in settlement patterns and subsistence regimes occurred in the Cotahuasi Valley of Peru that were a significant departure from its previous course of development. At the same time, two new administrative centers, Collota and Netahaha, were constructed, in the architectural style of the Wari Empire. Architectural and ceramic evidence from Collota and Netahaha, however, suggest that the installations were not constructed by the Wari Empire as part of a strategy of direct control in the valley. Instead, the sites were local administrative centers constructed by local elites who emulated Wari style. Although the empire probably did exercise substantial control over the affairs of the valley during the Middle Horizon, local elites initiated the changes that we see in the material record.