Associated Products
Water, Ritual and Power in the Inca Empire (Article)Title: Water, Ritual and Power in the Inca Empire
Author: Bray, Tamara
Abstract: Archaeological, ethnohistoric, and ethnographic evidence provides ample indication that water was a key symbol in Andean thought. During the late precolumbian era, the attention lavished on waterworks and features by the Inca emphasizes a clear concern with control over water and its movement. This paper examines the way in which specific relations of power and identity were constructed through Inca management of water. To this end, I offer a comparative analysis of water-related features from different sectors of the Empire, representing different moments in its historical development. The intent is to further our understanding of how the manipulation of water figured in the imperializing process and how its use and meaning may have evolved over time. The architectural evidence from the sites included in the study suggests that conspicuous exercise of control over the movement and flow of water may have been more critical to the establishment of Inca hegemony than to its subsequent maintenance.
Year: 2013
Primary URL:
http://saa.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/saa/laa/2013/00000024/00000002/art00003;jsessionid=1ur73v2e2sjlu.alexandraAccess Model: sub
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Latin American Antiquity
Publisher: Latin American Antiquity
Analytical applications of fine-scale terrestrial lidar at the imperial Inca site of Caranqui, northern highland Ecuador (Article)Title: Analytical applications of fine-scale terrestrial lidar at the imperial Inca site of Caranqui, northern highland Ecuador
Author: Bray, Tamara
Author: Romero, Boleslo
Abstract: The relatively recent availability of terrestrial lidar for mapping archaeological subjects has allowed for great advances in representation and reconstruction but the analytic potential of this technology remains under-developed in archaeology. This paper provides an overview of the analytical directions we are taking with point cloud data generated through ground-based laser scanning at the imperial Inca site of Caranqui in northern Ecuador. Our approach to data analysis employs insights and ideas from the domains of GIScience, remote sensing, cartography, computer vision and hydrology. While creating a comprehensive visual record of the site was an important project goal, we also sought to develop improved methods of feature extraction and surface calibration to better understand water manipulation and flows at the site. Here we highlight some of the preliminary results of our analyses as well as the challenges and benefits of employing terrestrial lidar to investigate a mid-sized archaeological site.
Year: 2014
Primary URL:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00438243.2014.890910Access Model: sub
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: World Archaeology
Publisher: World Archaeology
The late imperial site of Inca-Caranqui: At the end of Empire (Article)Title: The late imperial site of Inca-Caranqui: At the end of Empire
Author: Echeverria, Jose
Author: Bray, Tamara
Abstract: This article reports on recent investigations at the late imperial site of Inca-Caranqui located at the northernmost edge of Tawantinsuyu. The interdisciplinary research conducted at this site since 2008 has been aimed at exploring the role of imperial architecture as a material strategy of Inca statecraft and the extent to which such strategies may have evolved as a function of time and distance from the imperial capital of Cuzco. Investigations at the site have involved the use of a variety of methodological techniques as well as controlled excavations and ethnohistoric research. An overview of the ethnohistoric context of the site together with some of the preliminary results of our fieldwork are presented in this article.
Year: 2014
Primary URL:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/0077629714Z.00000000020Access Model: open
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Nawpa Pacha
Publisher: Nawpa Pacha
Al Final del Imperio: El Sitio Arqueológico de Inca-Caranqui en la Sierra Norte del Ecuador (Article)Title: Al Final del Imperio: El Sitio Arqueológico de Inca-Caranqui en la Sierra Norte del Ecuador
Author: Echeverria, Jose
Author: Bray, Tamara
Abstract: Este artículo informa sobre las investigaciones recientes en el sitio imperial tardío Inca-Caranqui localizado en la frontera norte del Tawantinsuyu. Los estudios interdisciplinarios realizados en este sitio desde el año 2008 se han dirigido a explorar el papel de la arquitectura imperial como una estrategia material de la política incaica y el tipo o clases de tácticas militares y sociales que pueden haber evolucionado por presión del tiempo y la distancia entre Caranqui y el Cuzco. Las investigaciones en el sitio han implicado el uso de sensores remotos de radar (GPR), técnicos geoquímicos, el uso experimental de LiDAR para la representación 3D, excavaciones controladas y estudios etnohistóricos. Una descripción y algunos resultados preliminares de estas actividades se presentan en este artículo. Los hallazgos discutidos aquí incluyen nuestra interpretación de los componentes estructurales del sitio y su configuración, los materiales y técnicas de construcción, los contextos fechados y el significado de la manipulación del agua en el sitio.
Year: 2015
Access Model: sub
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Antropología: Cuadernos de Investigación
Publisher: Antropología: Cuadernos de Investigación
Las Tolas Perdidas de Caranqui en Contexto Histórico y Regional (Article)Title: Las Tolas Perdidas de Caranqui en Contexto Histórico y Regional
Author: Bray, Tamara
Author: Echeverria, Jose
Abstract: The archaeological site of Caranqui constitutes one of the numerous centers of monumental earthworks that characterized the pre-Columbian landscape of the province of Imbabura in the northern highlands of Ecuador. This zone was the territory of the Caranqui-Cayambe ethnic group during the late pre-Columbian period. The enormous cultural mounds or tolas, formerly found throughout this region but fast disappearing, constitute an important material legacy of the past and a unique window into the daily, political, and ceremonial lives of the original inhabitants of this region. In this article, we briefly review the ethnohistoric data pertaining to the Caranqui-Cayambe; provide an update on the results of recent research on the mound sites of the region; and document on the basis of oral history, collective memory, and archaeological vestiges, the “lost tolas” of the village of Caranqui.
Year: 2016
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Antropología: Cuadernos de Investigación
Publisher: Antropología: Cuadernos de Investigación
Al Final del Imperio: El Sitio Arqueológico de Inca-Caranqui en la Sierra Norte del Ecuador (Article)Title: Al Final del Imperio: El Sitio Arqueológico de Inca-Caranqui en la Sierra Norte del Ecuador
Author: Echeverria, Jose
Author: Bray, Tamara
Abstract: Este artículo informa sobre las investigaciones recientes en el sitio imperial tardío Inca-Caranqui localizado en la frontera norte del Tawantinsuyu. Los estudios interdisciplinarios realizados en este sitio desde el año 2008 se han dirigido a explorar el papel de la arquitectura imperial como una estrategia material de la política incaica y el tipo o clases de tácticas militares y sociales que pueden haber evolucionado por presión del tiempo y la distancia entre Caranqui y el Cuzco. Las investigaciones en el sitio han implicado el uso de sensores remotos de radar (GPR), técnicos geoquímicos, el uso experimental de LiDAR para la representación 3D, excavaciones controladas y estudios etnohistóricos. Una descripción y algunos resultados preliminares de estas actividades se presentan en este artículo. Los hallazgos discutidos aquí incluyen nuestra interpretación de los componentes estructurales del sitio y su configuración, los materiales y técnicas de construcción, los contextos fechados y el significado de la manipulación del agua en el sitio.
Year: 2015
Access Model: sub
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Antropología: Cuadernos de Investigación
Publisher: Antropología: Cuadernos de Investigación
At the End of Empire: Imperial Advances on the Northern Frontier. (Article)Title: At the End of Empire: Imperial Advances on the Northern Frontier.
Author: Bray, Tamara
Abstract: Recent research on the northern frontier of the Inca Empire is beginning to bring to light new information pertaining to the affairs of the imperial state in the final decades of its existence. The region to the north of Quito associated with the ethnic Caranqui-Cayambe and Pasto populations was the last to be effectively annexed by the Inca prior to the Spanish invasion. The highly militarized landscape of this region speaks to the intensity and duration of the final Inca wars of conquest, while recently discovered sites such as that of Inca-Caranqui provide a window into evolving strategies of statecraft in the latter phases of empire. Fresh analyses of ethnohistoric sources are similarly re-focusing attention on the importance of Inca actions in this region in the immediate aftermath of Atahualpa’s execution. By more fully integrating the archaeological data from Ecuador into the larger narrative of Tawantinsuyu, our understanding of the evolution of imperial policies, practices, and politics is enriched and new lines of inquiry are suggested.
Year: 2015
Primary URL:
http://utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/books/shimada-inka-empireAccess Model: book
Format: Other
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Potting clays and ceramic provenance in northern highland Ecuador (Article)Title: Potting clays and ceramic provenance in northern highland Ecuador
Author: Minc, Leah
Author: Bray, Tamara
Author: Echeverria, Jose
Author: Yanchar, Kaitlin
Abstract: Northern Ecuador represents the northernmost frontier of the Inca Empire. Conquered late in the empire’s expansion - and only decades before the Spanish arrival in 1532 - the region provides a unique opportunity to examine the organization of indigenous ethnic groups as well as the impact of imperialization on their pre-existing political and territorial structure (Bray 1991, 1992). This study lays the foundation for exploring these issues through the lens of ceramic production and exchange. Utilized in both mundane and elite tasks, and capable of signaling function, status, and ethnicity, ceramics are invaluable for tracking the movement of people and goods, and for exploring the kinds and scale of interactions among them. Key questions motivating this study include: were ceramics moving among communities in the pre-imperial period, and if so, over what distances? What types of vessels were involved, and what social contexts and activities (tribute, communal feasting, gift exchange) account for their movement? How did Inca strategies of imperial subjugation and incorporation change these patterns of interaction?
Year: 2016
Primary URL:
http://www.barpublishing.com/vessels-explored-applying-archaeometry-to-south-american-ceramics-and-their-production.htmlAccess Model: sub
Format: Other
Publisher: BAR International, Oxford
Inca-Caranqui Archaeological Project Website (Web Resource)Title: Inca-Caranqui Archaeological Project Website
Author: Bray, Tamara
Abstract: The archaeological site of Inca-Caranqui is located near the foot of Mt. Imbabura in the northern highlands of Ecuador. Situated at the very northern edge of Tawantinsuyu, Inca-Caranqui likely represents the last major imperial building event prior to the Spanish invasion. The Inca-Caranqui Archaeological Project was designed to investigate the role of this site within the larger imperial agenda as well as how it figured in the context of the local political landscape. The archaeological research conducted at Inca-Caranqui over the past several years offers new insights into the origins, nature and affiliation of this site; Inca strategies of statecraft during the "mature" phase of empire; and the ways in which imperial state installations communicated and compelled new systems of order in the distant provinces.
Year: 2012
Primary URL:
http://clas.wayne.edu/IncaCaranqui/The Inca Centers of Caranqui and Tomebamba in the Northern Chinchaysuyu (Article)Title: The Inca Centers of Caranqui and Tomebamba in the Northern Chinchaysuyu
Author: Echeverria, Jose
Author: Bray, Tamara
Abstract: Abstract. The only two imperial Inca centers still extant in the northernmost realm of Tawantinsuyu are those of Tumipampa and Inca-Caranqui. In this chapter, we offer a comparative look at the archaeology of these royal settlements, reflecting on site location in the context of the local landscape, architectural elements, and the physical layouts of each. Though the two sites represent different moments in the history of the Inca’s northward advance and, consequently, different stages in the imperializing process, their comparison serves to illuminate how the material strategies of the Empire were sequenced and adapted to fit local circumstances.
Year: 2016
Access Model: sub
Format: Other
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Saving the Palace of Atahualpa: The Late Imperial Site of Inca-Caranqui, Imbabura Province, Northern Highland Ecuador (Web Resource)Title: Saving the Palace of Atahualpa: The Late Imperial Site of Inca-Caranqui, Imbabura Province, Northern Highland Ecuador
Author: Bray, Tamara
Author: echeverria, jose
Abstract: In late 2006, the local historic preservation organization known as FONSALCI (Fondo de Salvamento de Patrimonio Cultural, Cantón Ibarra) undertook exploratory excavations and cleaning operations on a recently acquired municipal lot in the parroquia of Caranqui. Situated on the lower northern slopes of Mt. Imbabura, Caranqui has long been recognized as the "centro antiguo" of the city of Ibarra by local residents. Numerous large earthen mounds or tolas dating to the late precolumbian period (AD 1200–1500), which once served as platforms for the construction of chiefly residences (Athens 1980; Oberem 1981), are known to have been clustered in this zone. Also preserved in Caranqui, directly across from the parish church, are two standing stone walls with multiple doors and niches that form part of a large rectangular Inca building (Bedoya 1990; Almeida 1995:44–46). The size of this building and its construction features suggest that it likely represents an Inca kallanka or great hall. The western edge of the lot acquired by FONSALCI in 2006 is situated approximately 50 meters to the northeast of this Inca building.
Year: 2009
Primary URL:
http://www.doaks.org/research/pre-columbian/project-grant-reports/2008-2009/doaks-pco-project-grant-report-2008At the End of Empire: The Inca, the Caranqui, and the Northern Imperial Frontier (Public Lecture or Presentation)Title: At the End of Empire: The Inca, the Caranqui, and the Northern Imperial Frontier
Abstract: Recent research on the northern frontier of the Inca Empire is beginning to bring to light important new information pertaining to the affairs of the imperial state in the final decades of its existence. The region to the north of Quito associated with the ethnic Caranqui population was the last to be effectively annexed by the Inca prior to the Spanish invasion. The highly militarized landscape of this region speaks to the intensity and the duration of the final Inca wars of conquest. How did this ultimate chapter of Inca history unfold, what strategies did the Cuzqueños deploy to subdue and manage such distant lands, and what role did this region and its people play in the final dramas of the imperial state? These are fascinating questions that are currently being addressed with new archaeological and ethnohistoric data from the northern highlands of Ecuador. In this talk, I present the results of recent archaeological investigations at the northernmost imperial center of Inca-Caranqui. Based on the evidence, we believe this site to have been originally constructed by Huayna Capac to commemorate his hard-won victory over the recalcitrant Caranqui, and subsequently appropriated and re-modeled by Atahualpa to serve as the intended site of his royal panaqa. The archaeological data also suggest the ways in which material strategies of imperial rule evolved over time and as a function of distance from the Inca heartland.
Author: Bray, Tamara
Date: 12/10/11
Location: Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC
Archaeology, Identity, and Art: The Murals of Caranqui, Ecuador (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Archaeology, Identity, and Art: The Murals of Caranqui, Ecuador
Author: Bray, Tamara
Abstract: The incorporation of signs and symbols derived from an ancient, indigenous past has a long and venerable history in the tradition of New World muralism. As an important form of public art, murals merit a more sustained consideration of content, context, and communicative intent. The use of specific, realistic archaeological content in contemporary works is an interesting phenomenon that underscores the relation between the politics of identity (re-)construction and historical “veracity”/materiality, as well as the different of ways in which archaeology figures in society today. This paper explores the intersection of public art, community identity, and local archaeology in the context of a recently painted set of murals created by a group of local activist artists in the vicinity of Ibarra, Ecuador.
Date: 04/15/15
Conference Name: Society for American Archaeology (SAA)
Imperial Inca Statecraft on the Northern Frontier: Recent Investigations at Inca-Caranqui (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: Imperial Inca Statecraft on the Northern Frontier: Recent Investigations at Inca-Caranqui
Author: Bray, Tamara
Abstract: This paper reports on recent investigations at the late imperial site of Inca-Caranqui located at the northernmost edge of Tawantinsuyu. The interdisciplinary research initiated at the site in 2008 aims to explore the role of imperial architecture as a material strategy of Inca statecraft, and the extent to which such strategies may have evolved as a function of time and distance from the imperial capital. Investigations at the site have involved the use of GPR, geochemical studies, the experimental use of LiDAR scanning for 3D imaging, controlled excavations, and ethnohistoric research. The preliminary results of these activities are presented here.
Date: 04/06/2011
The Broken and the Whole: Manos and Metates from the site of Inca-Caranqui (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: The Broken and the Whole: Manos and Metates from the site of Inca-Caranqui
Author: Bray, Tamara
Author: Krull, Amy
Abstract: xx
Date: 04/01/12
Conference Name: Society for American Archaeology (SAA)
“El Arte del Gobernar del Imperio Inca en la Frontera Norte: Un Informe Sobre Investigaciones Recientes en El Sitio Inca-Caranqui en la Sierra Septentrional del Ecuador.” (Conference Paper/Presentation)Title: “El Arte del Gobernar del Imperio Inca en la Frontera Norte: Un Informe Sobre Investigaciones Recientes en El Sitio Inca-Caranqui en la Sierra Septentrional del Ecuador.”
Author: Bray, Tamara
Abstract: xx
Date: 07/14/11
Conference Name: Interdisciplinary Seminar for the Post-Graduate Program in Andean Studies of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru in Pisac, Peru