Esquina de Huajra Vessels. A Morphological and Decorative Study of Humahuaca-Inca Pottery

Abstract

We discuss the morphological and decorative protocol of pottery from the Humahuaca-Inca site of Esquina de Huajra, based on a stylistic perspective, in order to understand regularities in the shape–decoration relationships identified for each pottery style present. The protocol accounts for Esquina de Huajra’s morphological and decorative pottery variability. This variability, as well as the high incidence of foreign vessels, is significantly higher than that observed at the nearby and contemporary settlement of Pucara de Volcán. This situation suggests that Esquina de Huajra would have played a significant role within the new landscape created by the Inca administration, related to the status of its inhabitants and to their participation in interaction networks that extended well beyond northwestern Argentina.