Agropastoral Taskscapes and Seasonal Warfare in the Southern Andes During the Regional Developments Period (Thirteenth–Fifteenth Centuries)

Abstract

Building on the analysis of settlement data from two environmentally contrasting regions of the Southern Andes, Quebrada de Humahuaca (Jujuy, Argentina) and Northern Lípez (Potosí, Bolivia), I argue for two working hypotheses regarding the practice of war before the Inka expansion (thirteenth? fifteenth centuries). Firstly, I propose that the variability observed in defensive settlements can be partially explained by reference to the different roles that pukaras played in broader territorial strategies, which always involved other locations and activities that were important for the reproduction of the communities who built them. Secondly, I argue that warfare was restricted to the dry season, when the labor demands of farming and herding were at their lowest levels and populations could aggregate in defensive locations.