Diversidad residencial y el surgimiento de la complejidad en Tiwanaku

Abstract

Domestic Variability and the Emergence of Complexity at Tiwanaku

The character of the ancient settlement of Tiwanaku has been a subject of debate for the past half century. Despite general acknowledgement that Tiwanaku influenced vast regions of the south-central Andes for several hundred years, the problem of whether or not Tiwanaku was an "empty" pilgrimage site or a densely populated urban center, and if urban, the constitution of its resident populations, remain compelling questions. This paper addresses these questions by presenting the results of extensive excavations in several residential sectors of the Tiwanaku site. Discussion of comparative spatial architectural and artifactual data emphasizes several intersecting patterns in the changing nature of residential organization during the Tiwanaku IV phase (AD 500-800), during which the site expanded into a major political and religious center. Comparative evidence indicates that during this phase Tiwanaku expanded into a densely populated urban center. This evidence emphasizes notable patterns of spatial order and stylistic uniformity across the site, pointing to the creation and dissemination of a common "state culture". Residential patterns were also characterized by traditional markers of social complexity, including marked status differentiation and specialized craft production. At the same time, these residential areas remained mutually differentiated in local social affiliations with group identity, indicating that the urban center developed out of and remained grounded in a fundamental segmentary social order. These results offer a unique perspective into the distinctive nature of pristine Andean urbanism and social complexity.