The Andean reciprocity: Ancient traditions and the use of ritual feastings to legitimize elite status at a

kancha residential structure of the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca, Callejn de Huaylas, Peru.
Miguel A. Aguilar1
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to study evidence of ritual feasting, ancestor veneration and the construction of
social landscape through elites residential architecture in the Early Intermediate Period (EIP) in the
Central Andes of Peru (circa 200 BC 600 AD). After corroborate the evidence of household activities,
ceremonies and ritual feasting, it is believed that these activities were made as a strategy to gain
prestige and legitimize social inequalities and social order related to Andean ancient traditions, which
can be particularly observed in the archaeological evidence of the Central Andes.
Introduction
The following study analyzes traditional ceremonies and the strategy to legitimize power relations
between the elite and the common people in Keushu, an Early Intermediate Period circa AD 200-600
(EIP) site located in the Cordillera Blanca of Ancash, Peru. I will use evidence of residential architecture
and production and consumption of food and beverages to substantiate my arguments. This evidence is
observable on the basis of ethnohistorical and archaeological record, especially from kancha structures.
This type of residential architecture was registered in different sites of the region (Herrera, Amaya &
Aguilar 2012) and also in Keushu. This research will focus in the ceremonies conducted inside a kancha
structure and what appears to be an example of the use of the social memory and the appropriation of
the social landscape based upon the construction of the structure. This type of structure is characterized
by a number of rooms and a circular or quadrangular delimited space, which was related to elites
household activities, public feasting, and ritual consumption patterns and ceremonies. Finally, this paper
will argue that kancha structures constitute a space where the social elites legitimize their privileges as a
consequence of a social order, underpinned in the appropriation of the landscape and ancestor cults.
As Lau well describes (2008:1028) Andean groups perceived ancestral divinity in different types of
things. According to ethnohistory, regional creator deities were called huacas, and were manifested
frequently as stone monuments or geographical features, such as mountains, lakes, stone uprights and
rock outcrops (Duviols 1967; Salomon 1991). The term huaca can be ambiguous. It refers to creator
divinities but also grew to mean a wide range of sacred things and places, especially those that
manifested the superhuman (Salomon 1991:17; Lau 2008:1028). It is important to mention Garcilaso
de la Vega (1966: 73-77, in Staller 2008: 270-271) who states in 1609 the Inca said that huaca refers to a
place or things that are sacred or extraordinary (Staller 2008: 270) when he said that huaca means:
a sacred place a sacred thing such as idols, rocks, great stones, or trees which the enemy
[Devil] entered to make the people believe he was a god. They also gave the name huaca to things
they offered to the Sun, such as figures of men [figurines and statues], birds, and animals made of
silver, gold or wood Huaca is applied to any temple, large or small, to the sepulchers set up in
fields and to the corners in their houses where the Devil spoke to their priests They use the same
word huaca to very high hills that stand above the rest as high towers stand above ordinary
houses, to steep mountain slopes All these things and others like them were called huaca, not
because they were considered gods and therefore worthy of adoration, but because of their special
superiority over other common run of things they were regarded and treated with veneration and
respect. (1966:73, 7677. Reproduced from Staller 2008: 270-271)
1

Cerediar, Associate Researcher. Universidad Nacional Santiago Antnez de Mayolo, Ancash, Per.

It is evident in this passage that Huacas can be represented by a different sort of things, including
places in the natural environment that can be considered also as mediator sites between the natural
and supernatural (Staller 2008: 271). Therefore, the term huaca is a place or a thing, an animal or even a
person, or a mummy.
Ethnohistorical documents and scholars (Duviols 1967; Guaman Poma 1980; Taylor 2008) recognize
the importance of mummy bundles (mallquis) of important individuals, who were considered group
progenitors and the offspring of huacas (Doyle 1988: 97). Similar to the conceptual slippage of huaca,
when describing images, idols or apical ancestors, the use of mallqui and huaca as terms, often
converged (Duviols 1967; Zuidema 1973:19).
Other minor deities were also part of the Andean cosmology, known as conopas or cunchuri,
personal, family or house gods. These were often small stones with peculiar animal shapes or colors.
These idols were essentially specific to an individual and his/her near kin (Arguedas and Duviols
1966:255-256; Arriaga 1968:28, 68; Duviols 1967:20; Lau 2008:1028). All of these features are
archaeologically evident at Keushu.
The study area is located in the modern province of Yungay, in the Sierra of the Cordillera Blanca.
The site is placed at the west side of the Huandoy Mountain, which rises over 6200 meters above sea
level. The landscape is particularly homogeneous, especially among the mountains of Huandoy and
Huascaran. It is surrounded by a set of mountains, which according to paleo-environment studies,
during the EIP featured much lower temperatures and higher levels of snow (Thompson et al. 1995).
There are a number of contemporary archaeological sites in this region (Herrera 2005). The more
important registered site near Keushu is the Ancient Town of Huandoy (also known as Awkismarka)
(Figure 1).
The specific objective in this research was to address the archaeological evidence of elite groups in
Keushu and the dynamics they used to establish their leadership and legitimize their social order.
In order to achieve this, the fieldwork methodological approach was developed in three steps. First,
elaborate a complete topographical and architectonical map of the site using GIS tools (Figure 2) to
identify difference in sectors to recognize architectonical patterns of household and elites residence
areas in the site. Second, identify specific architectonical pattern of the elites residence, resulting in the
hypothesis that kancha structure EB-1 was elites residential. Third, conduct excavations in the structure
with the aim of corroborate this hypothesis and find archaeological samples for laboratory analysis and
identify types of activities inside. My conclusions will draw on these results.

Figure 1. Location of archaeological sites and the hydrological system of the west bank of Huandoy and
Huascaran mountains, Cordillera Blanca, region of Ancash, Peru (Aguilar 2010).

Figure 2. Topographical map of Keushu including sectors, archaeological features as architecture and
water canals and landscape features (Aguilar 2010).
The field work
The excavations were conducted in sector B of Keushu. This sector contains a high concentration of
evidence of funerary architecture. This includes above ground tomb structures known as chullpas. This
sector is located over a small hill of 30 meters high from it base. At its top the large chullpa structure TB1 is located. At the base of the mountain along the west side is located the kancha structure EB-1 (Figure
3).
The architectonical layout of EB-1 fits into broader discussions of what is a kancha (Morris 2004;
Herrera 2007; Aguilar 2010; Herrera, Amaya and Aguilar 2012). This structure has a central patio and
three separated rooms at its western side, where the test units where placed (Figure 3).

TB-2

Figure 3. The Sector B of Keushu with Kancha structure EB-1, chullpa structures TB-1 and TB-2, possibly
residential area (Herrera 2008; Aguilar 2010).
Excavation Results
As result of the excavations (Figure 4) it can be observed three phases of occupation in the structure.
The first corresponds to an occupation that exists before to the Kancha construction (possibly earlier
EIP).
The second phase is associate with the construction of the kancha. The area of this structure
includes a modification of the mountain base with the construction of the contention wall MC-1. This
wall may be defining a possible path toward the top of the hill, heading to the chullpa mortuary
structures TB-1 and TB-2.
The third phase is associated to some attached walls and its collapse. These walls can be related to
later occupations before abandon the structure (MB-5, MB-6 and MB-7) (Figure 4 and 5), which could be
related to post-collapse corral activities. It is possible that the construction of the outside walls SM -1,
SM-2, SM-3, SM-4 could be associated with this phase too.
As a result of the test pits, different forms of ceramics and stone tool artifacts were found. There
were evidence of use of consumption vessels in different spaces inside the structure. Test pit Unit 1
(located in the courtyard) had different types of forms much more diverse than in the other rooms test
pits, and presence of charcoal and burned clay suggests cooking activity area. Presence of burned clay in
the floor suggests the place of a stove for cooking (Aguilar 2010).
Seventeen diagnostic sherds were found in the kancha from of a total sample of 347 with evidence
of burning and charcoal residues (Figure 5). Based on these forms, processing technology, composition,
and surface treatment, these characteristics suggest that the pottery was used in consumption activities,
such as drinking and eating food, cooking. The diagnostic forms includebowls (eight sherds), open cups
(three sherds), a fragment reused as a spinning spindler (6%) and a ceramic fragment with holes used as

a strainer. This suggests the use of instruments for textile specialists and the preparation of maiz beer or
chicha (Aguilar 2010).
Thus, the ceramic typology consists of open bowls, closed bowls, open cups, pots, a strainer and a
spinning spindler (piruru). The surface of ceramics were basically polished and the used material for
tempering were locally accessible fragmented rock with white quartz and pyrite, and other less common
as crystalline quartz and mica.
The variability of the open bowls with different types of external and internal treatments, suggests
that the production of these bowls were made by different artisans. It is possible that the inhabitants of
this kancha did not produce their bowls in particular, since these appear to have been made by different
ceramists. It is possible that the productions of these artifacts were external to the elites and obtained
through interaction or trade. This fact also suggests that elites shared same type of material culture with
the rest of the population at Keushu. The diversity in the ceramic treatment reinforces the idea that the
structure of EB-I was a space evidencing ritual feasting.
A grinding stone artifact was found in the Kancha from a total of 5 different stone artifacts. From a
functional point of view, these artifacts were regularly efficient because they can be well grasped by
hand without much effort. If we analyze the forms, techniques, rock type and dimensions of these, we
can infer it was used in household activities such as cutting, abrading, scraping and / or grinding (Aguilar
2010).

Figure 4. Map of the Kancha structure EB-1 with architectonical features and location of test units within
the structure. Topographic lines mark 1 meter levels (Aguilar 2010).

Figure 5. Quantity of diagnostics sherds versus non diagnostics sherds at different units pits and levels
(e.g. 3.03 means Unit 3, Level 03) (Aguilar 2010).

Figure 6. Excavation of the perimetric wall at the Room 2 in the kancha structure. Archaeological
features at the unit correspond to: Level 3.01, associate to the collapse of the wall. Level 3.02
correspond to the wall construction. Level 3.03 correspond to the foundations of the wall and the
moment of large cultural activity. Level 3.04 correspond to an occupation previous to the construction
of the wall (Aguilar 2010).
Rite and feast at Keushu
The site of Keushu is more complex than just a set of archaeological structures of stonewalls and mud
mortar. It is in essence a material representation of the social landscape, a site that reflects an Andean
way of conceiving the social space, articulating the past with the present and its own social order. It is
located, not coincidentally, in a place surrounded by outstanding geographic features in the landscape,
next to natural elements which were considered alive by the ancient populations as well as places of the
union of different worlds (paqarinas or places of mythical origins) as the lagoon Keushu that captures
water from the melting glacier on the summit of Huandoy. The site was occupied from before the year
200 B.C. (Herrera 2005, 2007, 2008), but it was during the Early Intermediate Period when it began the
monumental buildings of large scale, as the funerary chullpa structure TB-1 (Matsumoto et al. 2008),
one of the most representative large mortuary structures in the Central Andes. With no doubt, there
was a conception of the space, a religious ideology that animated the peoples from the Huaylas ethnic
groups to settle in this place (Druc 2005; Herrera, personal communication).
In this sense, it is important to mention the sacred place association with the ayllus ethnic
identity. Different authors agreed traditional and symbolic relationships between, communities, ayllus,

and territory (Staller 2008: 272. See also Salomon 1991:23-24). Paraphrasing Staller (Staller 2008:272),
who cites Allen (1988: 107, 257), ayllu mates derive their well being from the same locality or place
and through this shared relationship they are a set apart as a distinct social unit. Thus, ayllus denotes a
relationship between people that can be expressed through a lace or locality, descent, or political
affiliation (Gelles 1996:8, vide Staller 2008: 274-275). In this context it is possible to consider the lagoon
of Keushu as it may have been considered as a mythical place of origin or paqarina (Guaman Poma
1980) of the local ayllus.
The presence of the lagoon and the largest chullpa structure in the region is not casual. The cult to
the ancestors was closely related with symbolic control of water and social arrangement of space. As we
can observe in the Figure 2, the construction of water canals conduct water to the lagoon, to keep it
with a regular level of water during the year.
The ancient people of Keushu perceived the marks of landscape as sacred places. They assumed the
mountain and water as transcendental to ritual performance. Architecture modified the natural
landscape which represented their cosmology and ideology, transforming it in social landscape. The
large chullpa of Sector B was built in the top of the mountain, in what they considered a sacred area
where the ancestors could live, a point of union for this world with the dead world. This worship was
managed by the elites. Other minor rank funerary structures in the site were located around the large
chullpa (TB-2). The kancha structure EB-1 (Figure 4) was constructed in the base of mountain as the
residence of the elite, but also as a place to control and managed the access to the ancestors residence
as a strategy of let everybody knows that they were the administrators of the religion. Later Spanish
campaigns to extirpate idolatries throughout the Andes, describes the destruction of ancestor
veneration (e.g., Arriaga 1968; Duviols 1986 and Lau, 2008).
It is almost impossible to determine if the ancestors buried into the large Chullpa were biological
ancestors of the people, living in the kancha, since we did not find human remains in our excavations.
Human remains at the chullpa were mostly looted by huaqueros. But its possible that the placement of
this kancha structure in the base of the mountain respond to a principle of appropriation of the sacred
space thus to manage veneration of ancestors. It is also important to mention that the EB-1 kancha
structure includes a natural pathway to the top, delimited by a contention wall or pirca that does not
allow to people to take any other way to get the large chulpa (Figure 3 and 4).
As its mention above, there is a smaller chullpa (TB-2) possibly contemporary to kancha structure
EB-I. Matsumoto and colleagues states that the large chullpa was constructed before EIP and it has
evidence of later offerings to Late Intermediate Period based in ceramic analysis (Matsumoto et al.
2008). Radiocarbon dates and large excavations in the site are necessary to confirm this hypothesis. If
this could be corroborate and since this area was considered a sacred space, it would be feasible to
think that the elites wanted to bury their dead kin next to the collective ancestors, and legitimate
themselves as real descendants of them. This could be a case of appropriation of sacred space as a way
to appropriate of ancestor veneration and social memory. In this context it is also possible to suggest
that appropriation of the collective memory was a way of practicing authority and the exercise of power
in Keushu.
The excavations could determine that the kancha structure was a house with mass consumption
activities. Since this house was one of a kind in Keushu, it can be inferred that the family or ayllu living
there was the higher class hierarchy family in the site.
Other similar structures were found in the Cordillera Blanca in the site of Honcopampa (Tschauner
2003) but those were relatively dated to the Middle Horizon Period. As previous researches stated, it is
necessary to rethink this evidence under the light of more intense excavations and a set of radiocarbon
dates (Herrera, Amaya & Aguilar 2012).
Ethnohistorical information and the evidence also suggest that these elite groups convinced
commoners to build their homes in communal labor or ayni (Murra 1975; Guaman Poma 1980) Even in

modern days the communal construction of houses or public architecture is part of an ancient Andean
tradition based on the principle of Andean reciprocity, an institution of communal work that is also
practiced in agriculture (Morlon 1996).
Leaders need labor investment and they should conceal the high work investment under the
legitimization of their power as an aspect of the natural social order. The feasting suggests an
apparent equality at the time of eating and drinking. But some social restrictions were required. In order
to construct the kancha it was necessary a large investment of quantitative and qualitative labor. The
construction of the house is a rite itself that could also include ritual feasting. As it was recognized in the
archaeological record, evidence suggests the preparation and consumption of food and drink for a group
of people. Women prepared chicha and gave drinks to the workers while prepared the food (Gero
1992). They also cooked Pachamanka for participants, a ritual food cooked under the ground in an
encounter that will put every participant into an apparent common space instead of social hierarchy.
They would eat and drink after finishing with the communal labor (Guaman Poma 1980; Rostworowski
1978, 1997). According to some analysis in the site (Aguilar 2010), the kancha courtyard has a total open
area of 140 square meters. In this space 100 persons could be standing comfortably. But if they decided
to properly seat to eat or even dance in the Andean way, there should be 30 people at most. That is the
minimal number of person that could participate in a ceremony inside the structure. According to the
final architectonical map of the site in the five sectors, a total of 74 households units were recognized
(Aguilar 2010; Herrera, Amaya & Aguilar 2012). If we assume that a regular family unit (FU) could have
at least 4 members, then we will have a total of 296 as minimal number of individuals living in the site
(74(UF) x 4 = 296). This figure suggests that the kancha structure could not hold more than 10% of the
people living in the site and that the access to this ceremony was restricted. This quantity of people
could build the structure in two or three days.
The rite is a performance conformed by roles that need to be played. In our evidence we can
recognize participation of woman in the ceremonies. Men could attend the guests and discuss social and
political decisions to take. Women prepared and serve the food. Everybody eats and drinks, but not
everybody cooks and serves. Evidence of artifacts as piruru as well as evidence of chicha preparation are
related to woman activities in this period and in the same region (Gero 1992). This role of woman
formed the basis of the reproduction of the Andean community and its political institutions since on her
successful depends the successful of the entire system.

Conclusions: Between rite and daily life in Keushu.

If we use the evidence from Keushu for reconstructing the past we can recognize aspects of the Andean
tradition described in the early Spanish documents. We can infer the presence of a curaca or chief and a
common social group. They certainly are not invisible. In the former excavations of the site, there is
evidence of rite associated with music playing and musical instruments offerings (Herrera 2007, 2008).
They used to play the pututu (Strombus conch trumpet) probably at the beginning of every ceremony. As
in any performance, the common people can be considered as the passive participants or the public. In
fact they are the main reason of the ceremony and the performance. After playing the trumpets the
people will know when the ceremony begins. They will be part of a ceremony where the landscape will
be the stage, the Pachamama or mother earth. Herrera (2008) also found conopas, small polished
stones, modified with shapes of frogs and birds found it at other sector excavations used as house or
personal gods (Lau 2008) and which use was register by Spanish in the ethnohistorical documents
(Duviols 1967, 2003; Guaman Poma 1980). These conopas are associated with water since frogs are
small animal that appears with water. Herrera (2008) found this conopas while conduction excavations
in Sector A of Keushu.

While the feasting is itself a performance, it is possible to reconstruct the past from a theater
perspective. The scenario of this act was the kancha structure itself. The excavations in the kancha
suggest that this structure serve not only as house but as a place for public ceremonies for a small
percentage of the people living in Keushu.
Since ayllus were related to a social place with their mallqui or ancestors are closely related to
huaca or sacred place, there is strong evidence to consider the association of geography with ayllus In
Keushu. In addition to this, if we consider the fact of water management in the site then we can
establish a relationship between ancestor veneration, sacred place and ayllus that could be centered in
the elites household. This fact enforce the idea defined by Glowacki and Malpass (cf 2003) in the
meaning that ancestor veneration the are closely related to symbolic and cosmological control of water
as it was critical to understand ancient Andean traditions that Spanish conquers and their campaigns to
extirpate idolatries.
After considering the evidence presented in this paper, I will conclude that the hypothesis of social
landscape management and legitimation using feasting as way to gain prestige still needs to be
supported with radiocarbon dates and more in depth analysis. But the evidence strongly suggests a
management of the ancient Andean ceremonies in order to legitimize empowerment. Even though the
Kancha structure is a residential one, we could find evidence of preparation and consumption of food,
burned clay and ceramics, which suggest several episodes of underground cooking and massive
consumption. There is also evidence of the elaboration of maiz beer or chicha that had to be strained
before it could be drank and residential activities such a kitchen space in the Room 1 and possibly
habitation space in Room 2.
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