This thesis project describes research using headspace solid phase micro-extraction with gas chromatography (HS-SPME GC-MS) as an analytical tool for assessing textile fibres. It was found that this method required a temperature of >500oC to pyrolize the textile sample. A total of 5 minutes was determined to be the optimal time for collecting the volatile analytes. Numerous analytes were found to be chemical markers for each of the individual textile fibres. The chemical markers are qualitatively used to describe each textile uniquely, and it was found that by using the chromatographic patterns, the textiles could be identified individually and in mixtures containing two textiles. Lastly, by accelerating the age of the textile fibres by means of heat, ultra-violet light, and humidity, a comparison was made between the un-aged and aged fibres. It was found that each of the techniques arose different results and in some cases new compounds. / October 2016

abstract: Social identities are fundamental to the way individuals and groups define themselves. Archaeological approaches to social identities in the Andes emphasize the importance of group identities such as ethnicity and community identity, but studies of gender and age identities are still uncommon. In this dissertation, I build on these earlier approaches to Andean social identities and consider community, gender, and age identities at the site of Chiribaya Alta using case studies. The coastal Ilo Chiribaya polity is associated with the Andean Late Intermediate Period in the lower Osmore drainage of southern Peru. Previous analyses indicate that Chiribaya sites in this area formed a señorío, an Andean chiefdom with separate occupational groups of fishers and farmers. The most complex excavated Chiribaya site in this region is Chiribaya Alta. At this time, excavations have sampled nine of the cemeteries present at the site. Two of these cemeteries, four and seven, have the most elaborate burials at the site and are each associated with different occupational communities. This dissertation examines community, gender, and age identities at Chiribaya Alta through the use of three case studies. The first case study argues that the iconographic designs on coca bags interred with the dead signified occupational community identities. Coca bags buried in cemetery four have designs relating to mountains and farming, whereas those from cemetery seven have symbols associated with water. These designs correspond to the occupational community groups associated with each of these cemeteries. The second case study uses grave good presence and absence to examine the nature of gender roles and identity at Chiribaya Alta. Multiple correspondence analysis indicates that normative gender roles are reflected in grave good assemblages, but that gender identity was flexible at the individual level. The final case study presents newly generated age-at-death estimations using transition analysis combined with mortuary analyses to explore the manner in which gender and age intersect for older individuals at Chiribaya Alta. This final paper argues that there is an elderly identity present amongst individuals at Chiribaya Alta and that gender and age intersect to impact the lives of older men and women differently. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2019