Moche social boundaries and settlement dynamics at Cerro Castillo (c. AD 600-1000), Nepeña Valley, Peru Volume 1
This dissertation explores the pre-Columbian occupation at Cerro Castillo, a coastal settlement in the Nepeña Valley, Peru. The study examines the site’s internal organisation as well as its relationship with regional cultural phenomena during its most important period of occupation (circa AD 600-1000). Characterising the Moche presence at the site is one of the main subjects of this investigation. Moche was one of the grandest civilisations that developed in the pre-Columbian Andes, dating from circa AD 100 to 850. Its high levels of complexity are materially expressed in the archaeological remains of urban centres, monumental temples, irrigation systems, funerary practices and fi nely made artefacts. This work builds on decades of previous research to assess the nature of Moche at Cerro Castillo questioning uni-directional approaches to cultural interaction, social complexity and the secondary role attributed to small to mid-scale communities in their own development and in the regional affairs. This investigation relies on an archaeological approach and methodology on analysis of contextual data obtained from excavations at Cerro Castillo. This information is examined within a theoretical framework that integrates and evaluates perspectives of boundaries, cultural identity and social practice. By articulating material evidence with different lines of interpretative models, this thesis demonstrates that settlements such as Cerro Castillo were not passive recipients of the agency of a stronger political entity. Alternatively, it postulates that Cerro Castillo was a competing community that experienced its most signifi cant period of development in times of profound regional transformations. Rather than a political or military imposition, Moche is seen as a belief system that dovetailed with Cerro Castillo’s growing power and economy as its inhabitants embraced the lifestyle of a worldview that brought prestige and innovative cultural features.
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