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In the now hyper-arid desert of the south coast of Peru, the natural desiccation of human remains provides a rare and unique opportunity for detailed study into the dietary practices of the people that once lived there. My research investigates the changing subsistence strategies of four groups from the lower Ica Valley from the Early Horizon to the Late Intermediate Period. This area witnessed a dynamic history over this 1500-year time frame, including the emergence and collapse of the Nasca, the spread of influence by the highland Wari empire and the local development of the Ica-Chincha trading society. Yet very little is known about the daily life of the individuals who inhabited this area. By reconstructing their diets it has been possible to examine the economic and land use practices they used as well as the ways in which they created and maintained social relationships using food. Mummified human remains (bone, teeth, hair and skin) from the four Pre-Columbian groups - Late Ocucaje (c.100 B.C.-200 A.D.), Late Nasca (c.450-650 A.D.), Wari (c.800-1000 A.D.) and Ica-Chincha (c.1200-1400 A.D.) - have been analysed for stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. The combination of multiple tissues has allowed analysis at the intra-individual as well as the intra- and inter-group levels creating a detailed and nuanced dietary reconstruction that incorporates dietary information about childhood, adulthood and over a short-term (monthly) period. The analysis of multiple tissues from the mummified remains has allowed a critical evaluation of the isotopic relationship between different tissues from the same individuals as well as their use for reconstructing dietary life histories. A review of all tissue isotopic comparisons including the data from this research shows that the relationships are difficult to constrain. The carbon and nitrogen isotope data show that terrestrial resources, both plant and animal, were the mainstay of the diet in all four periods. Maize was of varying importance over the time frame, with its contribution to the diet increasing over time. Marine resources did not contribute significantly to the diet, despite their abundance in the middens. The strongest case for social differentiation using food is from the Middle Horizon results, which show a high diversity between groups in terms of dietary choice and do not conform to the hypothesis based on the rich botanical data from the valley. From the observations from all four periods the existing theories about the socio-economic structure of the south coast have been critically evaluated in light of this new evidence.

The people of ancient Peru produced textiles four thousand years before the Spanish Conquest in 1532 A.D.. They used almost every known technique and created some of the world's most outstanding handwoven textiles. One of the most visually exciting groups are the finely woven interlocking tapestry tunics that served as the official garments of the Wari (Huari) culture (c.700-1000 A.D.). The Wari maintained a highly organized social and economic state and its rigidity is manifested in the formal iconography and artistic conventions of their textiles. With sophisticated design principles and the masterful use of colour, however, the Wari counteracted the problems of monotony and repetition inherent in the strictly prescribed design of the garments. Few of the existing Wari tunics have accompanying scientific provenience or grave associations and therefore little is known of their cultural role. An art historical approach, however, utilizing stylistic analysis breaks the barrier created by the sparse scientific documentation and facilitates the deciphering of design conventions. Very little has been written specifically on Wari textiles. To date, the most important work is a brief article by Alan Sawyer. (Sawyer, 1963:27-38) In it he examines some of the complex design conventions and suggests a methodology for establishing a relative chronology. His methodology will be used in this study. This thesis begins with an examination of the Wari culture based on well documented ceramic evidence and continues with a discussion of provenience (when known), distribution, technology and iconography of the textiles. The focus of this study is the use of design conventions. Examination of three major design conventions - lateral distortion, symmetry and colour usage - is followed by a comparative analysis and a discussion of relevant ceramic evidence. Sawyer has divided Wari official garments into the following three types: 1. Type 1 - Paired elements 2. Type 2 - Composite motifs 3. Type 3 - Staff bearing anthropomorphic figures. This thesis is primarily concerned with the first type. The sample for this study consists of 47 representative examples ranging from fragments to complete tunics of Type 1. Through the examination of lateral distortion and the comparative analysis of relevant ceramic evidence and known textile provenience, a relative chronology can be proposed. It will be shown that it is possible to evaluate the design conventions of symmetry and colour usage to determine the rules governing their application. This in turn permits the identification of regional and temporal traits. / Arts, Faculty of / Art History, Visual Art and Theory, Department of / Graduate

The goal of this thesis was to offer a functional database of stone sculptures, ceramics and textiles to scholars investigating Recuay iconography, through which human figures, their attributes, clothing styles, functions and possible status in society could be examined. A second objective was to enrich the general knowledge of Recuay society and the agencies acting in it. Based on this research, one main conclusion is that the Recuay culture was a stratified society in which warriorhood and ancestry played vital roles. Analyses of the monoliths reveal that only men were represented as petrified ancestors by the Recuay. The central position and larger size of men in the representations of ceremonies on the ceramics also imply the predominance of men in religious life. Among the Recuay men, however, hierarchical differences appear to have also existed. The different sizes and positions of male figures within scenes, and the variations of attributes and clothing styles among warriors and guardians all seem to refer to different social positions. The smaller sizes, less elaborately decorated clothes and often auxiliary positions of women in iconographical representations, on the other hand, seem to suggest that women held lower ceremonial statuses. Nevertheless, the presence of women – often associated with cups or shells, represented in copulation scenes or holding a child - seems to have been a crucial element of the ceremonies. In this dissertation, it is proposed that women’s procreative abilities made them vital aspects of religious life as they added significance to the rituals by their overt reference to fertility. By profiling themselves mainly as warriors or at the centre of libation scenes, men, on the other hand, could extract power from the rituals in which they were key players. Ceramics were therefore not only used within ancestry ceremonies in order to carry out libations, but they were probably also commissioned in order to enhance, the ceremonial status of certain men, and perhaps also to accentuate their political position in society. / Doctorat en Histoire, art et archéologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished