The Archaeology of Rituals: Middle Horizon Shattered Ceramics and the Acari Valley, Peru

Abstract

Ever since the discovery made back in 1926 at the site of Pacheco of the Nazca Valley, on the south coast of Peru, it is known that an important aspect of the ritual celebrations staged by the Wari state consisted on the deliberate smashing of large-sized and finely painted ceramic vessels that afterwards were buried in the ground. Subsequent research has shown that this tradition was initiated by the Wari and the earliest known purposely shattered vessels are found in the Ayacucho Valley, heartland of the Wari state. As Wari expanded, similar celebrations were performed elsewhere in the recently annexed regions, as the finding of analogous ceramic deposits indicate. One such deposit has been found in the Acari Valley of the south coast of Peru. The finding from Acari is described here, and it is argued that the act of shattering the vessels marked the culmination of a complex ritual celebration probably performed to spread Wari religion and Wari deities, as well as to befriend the locals, which ultimately helped to legitimize Wari’s intrusive presence in the region.