Empire of the Ancestors, livre ebook

Uncovering evidence that ancestor veneration was deeply rooted in Wari society, shaping Wari expansion, rituals, and statecraft

This volume examines the central role of ancestors in Andean society during the Wari Empire of the Middle Horizon period (600–1000 CE), centuries before the rise of the Inca. As one of the earliest expansionist states in the Americas, the Wari laid the foundations of statecraft later adopted by the Inca. Their imperial growth was shaped by environmental changes linked to the El Niño cycle, which brought drought to the Ayacucho heartland and drove the search for new farmland. Empire of the Ancestors shows that expansion also required honoring ancestors, who oversaw the life-sustaining flow of water from underground channels and glacial lakes.

Presenting archaeological evidence from throughout the Wari territory, including Huari, the capital, this volume reveals changes in how ancestors were treated and revered over time. Contributors explore many expressions of ancestor veneration at Wari sites: tombs designed with space for offerings, mummy bundles and body modifications, burial architecture integrated into ritual landscapes, and depictions of ancestors in ceramics and other media. Together, the evidence shows that ancestor veneration was not an Inca development but a long-standing Andean tradition inherited from the Wari.

List of Figures

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. Introduction
Anita G. Cook and Mary Glowacki

Chapter 2. The Wari Ancestral Deities: Reevaluating Ceremonial Architecture in the Imperial Capital
José Ochatoma, Martha Cabrera, and J. Antonio Ochatoma Cabrera

Appendix 2.1. Ancestor-Related Religious and Mortuary Architecture

Chapter 3. Death, Reciprocity, and Identity
John R. Topic

Chapter 4. Huacas and Ritual Activities: A Case Study of Middle Horizon Cajamarca, Northern Highlands of Peru
Shinya Watanabe

Chapter 5. Imperial Projects and Local Ancestors in the Northern Highlands: Wari and Cajamarca Entanglements During the Middle Horizon
Patricia Chirinos Ogata

Chapter 6. Corporal Ancestors, Gender, and Power in the Wari Outpost of Castillo de Huarmey
Miłosz Giersz

Chapter 7. A Regional Sanctuary and Local Cemetery: Pachacamac and Huaca Malena
Rommel Angeles Falcón and Denise Pozzi-Escot

Chapter 8. Local Histories and the Bodies of Ancestors
Francesca Fernandini Parodi

Chapter 9. Wari’s Foothold in the Southern Highlands: Defining Ancestral Veneration in Imperial Expansion
Mary Glowacki and Gordon McEwan

Chapter 10. Wari Ancestors: Personhood and Figuration
Anita G. Cook and Susana Arce

Chapter 11. The Role of Wari Ancestors and Religion in the Provinces: A View from Nasca
Christina A. Conlee

Chapter 12. Visualizing the Ancestors: The Wari Occupation in the Palpa-Lucanas Area
Johny Isla, Markus Reindel, Mike Lyons, and Christian Mader

Chapter 13. Emptying the Cists: Ancestors at the Wari Outpost of Quilcapampa
Justin Jennings, Stefanie L. Bautista, Patricia Quiñonez Cuzcano, and Willy Yépez Álvarez

Chapter 14. Sky, Earth, or Underworld: Where Were Wari Ancestors?
Donna J. Nash

Chapter 15. Ancestral Regimes: Perspectives on Wari Ritual and Politics During the Middle Horizon
George F. Lau

Appendix 15.1. Summary of Middle Horizon D-Shaped Structures

Chapter 16. Ancestor Worship in Middle Horizon Wari: An Evaluation
William H. Isbell

List of Contributors

Index