The Complex Relationship between Tiwanaku Mortuary Identity and Geographic Origin in the South Central Andes

A groundbreaking analysis reveals that the Tiwanaku polity's influence (AD 500–1000) triggered distinct identity shifts among incorporated peoples, with local inhabitants in San Pedro de Atacama deliberately reshaping their social identities to align with distant Tiwanaku power structures. This contrasts with Chen Chen, where immigrants from the Tiwanaku heartland were interred alongside locals without such conscious identity manipulation. The study leverages isotope and biodistance analyses, cranial modification data, mortuary artifacts, and burial treatments to demonstrate how bioarchaeological evidence can unravel complex interactions between material culture, geographic origin, and identity formation in ancient Andean societies.

KNUDSON, K. J., & STOJANOWSKI, C. M. (2011). The Complex Relationship between Tiwanaku Mortuary Identity and Geographic Origin in the South Central Andes. Bioarchaeology and Identity in the Americas, 194–211. https://doi.org/10.5744/florida/9780813036786.003.0009