Gallinazo Controversy PDF

Dr. Kayeleigh Sharp THE GALLINAZO/MOCHICA DEBATE  The Gallinazo and Mochica: A Long-standing Problem  Throughout the first millennium, the Gallinazo and Mochica coexisted on Peru’s north coast  Today, there remains considera...

Dr. Kayeleigh Sharp THE GALLINAZO/MOCHICA DEBATE  The Gallinazo and Mochica: A Long-standing Problem  Throughout the first millennium, the Gallinazo and Mochica coexisted on Peru’s north coast  Today, there remains considerable debate over the nature of Gallinazo as an ethnic, political or even distinct social group  Primary questions to consider:  What was the nature of Gallinazo coexistence with the Mochica? ○ (were they distinct cultural entities or social groups)  Are studies limited to a few larger-scaled archaeological sites skewing our perception of these groups? ○ (do the sites under study accurately reflect them)  How might the sociopolitical significance of Gallinazo material culture remains be better understood? ○ (refining this view)  The Mochica (aka Moche) of the North Coast of Peru  The primary cultural development of the first millennium AD on the north coast (A.D. 100-750)  The first multi-ethnic, multi-valley, state-level polity with at least 3 hierarchical tiers of administrative settlements and clear social differentiation  Dual economy of irrigation agriculture & fishing  Naturalistic, narrative art and culmination of the north coast plastic ceramic tradition (realistic sculptural vessels); bichrome decoration and mold-based production  sophisticated metallurgy  Monumental multi-level platform mounds  Segmentary construction & marking of constituent adobe bricks - labor tax?  Warfare: ritualistic & secular  Virú Valley and the Southern Gallinazo Moche Valley Gallinazo Group Site of Moche Virú Valley Gallinazo Group  Architectural Features of the Gallinazo: Gallinazo Group, Capital of the Gallinazo and Castillo de Tomoval Gallinazo Group Capital Castillo de Tomoval The Southern Gallinazo (aka Virú): Negative-paint Finewares The Northern Gallinazo  Problem:  Mochica featured is characterized as the premier civilization ○ Moche flourished among lesser-developed societies  Much work devoted to identifying unique aspects of Moche civilization at the expense of studying other group ○ Fundamentally viewed relative to all other coastal groups who did not produce Mochica-style ceramics  Groups that produced non-Moche artifacts were considered to be: ○ Earlier residents ○ Competing factions ○ Simply, non-Mochica ○ Not a culture Where did the traditional View of the Southern North Coast Subsector come from?  Virú Valley Project and Gordon Willey (1953)  Extensive surveys in Virú Valley ○ Documented many settlements with Gallinazo Negative and Castillo Decorated wares  Gallinazo and Mochica cultures presented as 2 distinct societies  Gallinazo and Mochica occupied the coast successively  Gallinazo polity had been challenged and overthrown by Mochica war leaders who took control of their local administrative centers through military conquest Competing Views about the Gallinazo: 1. First multi-valley state in Andes region 2. Social Substratum 3. Pan-North Coast Utilitarian art style 4. Asymmetrical Moieties  Competing View 1 Gallinazo as the first multi-valley state in Andes region  Urban Capital at Gallinazo Group (fortresses and irrigation)  Argues that Gallinazo political hegemony was concentrated between Lambayeque and Casma valleys with administrative nodes in other valleys (based on Gallinazo ceramics from Virú and neighboring valleys, particularly the Moche valley)  Gallinazo society was stratified and contributed burial traditions directly to Mochica suggesting close ancestral relationship (based on mortuary data)  Problem: nature of data used to identify ‘Gallinazo’ sites  Competing View 2 Social Substratum of the Mochica Some burials contain both Mochica fine wares and Gallinazo domestic types (Ceremonial centers in the Jequetepeque valley) Coarse-ware Gallinazo vessels found in upper-echelon Mochica burials (Sipán and Ucupe) Problem: Information derived from a limited number of sites and funerary data  Competing View 3 Gallinazo as a Pan-North Coast Utilitarian Phenomenon Gallinazo Illusion: Only negative-paint finewares represent distinct political manifestation Gallinazo utilitarian wares are not a defining feature of Gallinazo culture Evidence: Small number of sites with many Gallinazo utilitarian wares in conjunction with other Mochica remains Cultura Norcostena: Gallinazo ceramics are not markers of political affiliation Utilitarian ceramics of Gallinazo style are the product of shared artistic tradition Fine wares emphasize distinctive polities in relation to other ethnically related groups Evidence: Huaca Santa Clara, Viru where Gallinazo appears to have been subsumed or subordinated by hostile Mochica factions from the north (Moche Valley) Problem: Overly broad view of Gallinazo ceramics as a non-culture  Competing View 4 Gallinazo and Mochica as Asymmetrical Moieties  Gallinazo and Mochica communities were not successive occupants of the coastal environment but had lived side by side, competing for the same resources.  Mochica and Gallinazo coexisted and their social organization differed significantly from one valley to the next (Shimada and Maguina 1994)  The Northern Gallinazo is a distinct social and political entity engaged in mutualistic social interrelationships with Mochica and others (Sharp 2019; 2024) Northern North Coast, Lambayeque Region Southern North Coast, Southern Moche Region © Kayeleigh Sharp 2024 Map of Northern North Coast region Northern Gallinazo is an ethnic polity characterized by:  a settlement pattern that includes emblematic corporate architecture,  mortuary practice including presence well defined cemeteries and  a distinct art style that expresses shared beliefs  associated with irrigation, mining, metallurgy Gallinazo III-Moche III (350-550 CE) Gallinazo III-Moche V (650-750 CE) Evidence of independent Gallinazo polity and ethnic identity? Huaca Letrada (ca. 360-390 CE) Huaca Songoy (680-910 CE) Emblematic Corporate Architecture Unlike Mochica art style, Northern Gallinazo pottery is not concerned with realism Unlike Mochica art style, Northern Gallinazo pottery is decorated with emoji-like facial expressions What the heck does that even mean? Evidence of independent ethnic polity and a capital 1. Emblematic Corporate center in La Leche? Architecture (H. Letrada) 2. Hilltop Administration Huaca Letrada (ca. 360-390 CE) from La Calera 3. Workforce from Co. Saijino 4. Nearby Settlement at Cabeza de Leon La Calera 5. Mine at Barranco Colorado 6. Intervally Road Network 7. Irrigation Canals Barranco Copper Mine Cabeza de Leon Co. Saijino Evidence of independent Gallinazo administrative/crafting center in Zana? 1. Emblematic Corporate Cojal Architecture (H. Songoy) Huaca Songoy 2. Workforce from Cojal 3. Copper in Songoy Architecture 4. Intervally Road Network 5. Intervally Irrigation Canals Zana River & Canals Copper Mineralization Characteristics of Gallinazo settlement Pattern: Huaca Songoy Huaca Letrada Emblematic Corporate Architecture = 1. large-scale monument building near + 2. dramatic natural landforms  THE NORTHERN GALLINAZO POLITY IS CHARACTERIZED BY MONUMENTS, CANALS, MINING-METALLURGY AND ANCIENT EMOJIS © Kayeleigh Sharp 2024 27  Transformation Growth Birth Death What social capital does the ability to control the lifecycle of copper afford one in ancient society? Gallinazo, Lords of Copper Bibliography: Shimada, Izumi, and Adriana Maguiña. "Nueva visión sobre la cultura Gallinazo y su relación con la cultura Moche." Moche: Propuestas y perspectivas 79 (1994): 31-58. Sharp, Kayeleigh. Iconography for the living or the dead? New perspectives on Moche IV-V ceramic iconography, north coast Peru. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 2008. Donnan, Christopher B. "The Gallinazo Illusion." Gallinazo: An early cultural tradition on the Peruvian north coast (2009): 17-32. Millaire, Jean-François. "Gallinazo and the tradición norcosteña." Gallinazo: An early cultural tradition on the Peruvian North Coast (2009): 1-16. Sharp, Kayeleigh, Juan Martinez, and Museo Brüning. "Multicrafting in Coexisting Gallinazo-Moche Contexts at Songoy-Cojal, North Coast, Peru.“ 2016. Sharp, Kayeleigh. Rethinking the Gallinazo: A Northern Perspective from the Mid-Zaña Valley, Peru. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 2019.