Patterns of War in the Andes from the Archaic to the Late Horizon: Insights from Settlement Patterns and Cranial Trauma

Over the pre-Columbian sequence, Andean warfare ranged greatly in intensity. This review combines published information on cranial trauma and settlement patterns, which often align and clarify each other, to make an initial assessment of how severely Andean populations were affected by war over time and space. The data speak to a number of major topics in the archaeology of warfare, such as the origin of war, contrasts in state militarism, and changes in the practice of war related to social organization. Although there is considerable regional variation, two large-scale “waves” of escalated conflict that are clearly supported by the cranial trauma and settlement pattern data occurred in the Final Formative (late Early Horizon, 400 BC–AD 100) and the Late Intermediate period (AD 1000–1400).     

Identifying locals, migrants, and captives in the Wari Heartland: A bioarchaeological and biogeochemical study of human remains from Conchopata, Peru

The site of Conchopata in the central Peruvian Andes was the secondary center in the heartland of the Wari Empire (AD 600–1000), and in this study we examine whether this urban locale was populated by locals, voluntary migrants from distant regions, and/or captives who were forcibly brought to Conchopata. We examine radiogenic strontium isotope ratios from 72 dental enamel and bone samples representing 31 formal burials and 18 human trophy heads to distinguish between locals and non-locals, and we examine skeletal and archaeological data to establish whether non-local persons were voluntary migrants or captives. We also describe a new, straightforward technique in the evaluation of radiogenic strontium isotope ratios to assist in detecting non-locals when large datasets are available.Results show that natal Conchopata inhabitants should exhibit radiogenic strontium isotope ratios that range from ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70548 to ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70610. Thus, among the 31 burials, 29 exhibit local values, suggesting that Conchopata was not a cosmopolitan center to which numerous foreigners migrated; rather, it was populated by local peoples, likely the descendants of the preceding Huarpa culture. The two individuals with non-local radiogenic strontium isotope ratios are an infant and a 17–22 years old female. The archaeological context suggests that the female may have been taken captive for subsequent sacrifice, as she was interred in front of the ritual D-shaped structure in which decapitated human heads (trophy heads) and sacrificed camelids were deposited. Among the 18 trophy heads sampled, 14 have non-local values, confirming previous studies of smaller samples that suggested that Wari warriors travelled to other locales and took captives—both adults and children—for subsequent transformation into trophy heads. Additional analyses of bone-tooth pairs from a subsample (12 burials and six trophy heads) shows that the burial group was much more sedentary (homogenous radiogenic strontium isotope ratios in bones and teeth) and the trophy head individuals were much more mobile (heterogenous radiogenic strontium isotope ratios in bones and teeth). Overall, the multiple lines of evidence support the notion that the Wari Empire occasionally used militaristic means, combined with elaborate ritualism, to subjugate other populations, a tactic that may have helped Wari establish and maintain control in particular regions in the Andes.     

Survey and Experimental Investigation of Movable Fire Loads in Japanese-Style Wooden Historical Buildings

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the movable fire loads and the characteristics of combustible materials in Japanese-style wooden historical buildings via field surveys and cone calorimeter experiments. Twenty-one historical buildings with 102 rooms and a total floor area of 2235.06 m² were surveyed to determine the movable fire load. Strong correlations among fire load density, compartment floor area, and spatial use are found in this survey. The mean values of the movable fire load density in decreasing order in terms of room use are storeroom (431.38 MJ/m²), study room (298 MJ/m²), bedroom (294.88 MJ/m²), reception room (287.20 MJ/m²), and dining room (217.11 MJ/m²), providing fire engineering design with a reliable fire load setting in various types of rooms in historical buildings.