Archaeological Pilot Study at Pisanay, Peru: Corporate Identity at the Margins of Andean Tradition

FAIN: RZ-50958-08

University of Wisconsin, Whitewater (Whitewater, WI 53190-1705)
Jo Ellen Burkholder (Project Director: November 2007 to March 2011)

Survey and excavation at an archaeological site with evidence of human occupation from about 200 B.C. through about 1400 A.D. in the Sihuas Valley of present day Peru to illuminate the function of borderland areas in the formation of the Andean state. (12 months)

Researchers propose a pilot study at an archaeological site, Pisanay, southern Peru. Pisanay is a large site (~30 hectares) in the Sihuas Valley that shows evidence of human occupation from ~200 B.C. through ~A.D. 1400. The site has excellent preservation of delicate materials including ancient textiles. Textile fragments and rock art panels suggest the inhabitants were part of a material tradition unique to the Sihuas area and influential in the formulation of larger, more recognized iconographic traditions in the Andes. Researchers will map the area's topography and visible architectural features, and sample (sub)surface materials to assess overall site integrity and complexity. This is phase one of a larger multi-disciplinary project seeking to enhance understanding of the identities of the Sihuas Valley peoples to shed light on the complex and influential nature of cultural borderlands in formation of Andean state and their ideologies.