Wari Empire

Wari Empire
Wari Empire
6th century–11th century
	Expansion and area of cultural influence.
Capital	Huari
Common languages	Aymara?, others.
Religion	Staff God
Historical era	Middle Horizon
• Established	6th century
• Disestablished	11th century
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Wari culture
	Tiwanaku Empire
Kingdom of Cusco	File:Kigdomofcuscomap.JPG
Chimor
Aymara kingdoms
Today part of	Peru

The Wari Empire or Huari Empire was a political formation that emerged around 600 AD (CE) in Peru's Ayacucho Basin and grew to cover much of coastal and highland Peru.^[1] The empire lasted for about 500 years, until 1100 CE. It existed during the same era as the Tiwanaku culture, and at one time, was thought to have been derived from it. In 2008, archeologists found a precolumbian city, the Northern Wari ruins (also called Cerro Pátapo) near modern Chiclayo. The find was the first extensive settlement related to the Wari culture discovered that far north.^[2]^[3]

Debate on "empire" label

Some scholars in the field debate whether the Wari communities can be deemed an "empire". For instance, the archaeologist Ruth Shady has suggested the society could better be considered a loose economic network of Wari centres.

Scholars who contend the society did constitute an empire include William Isbell, Katherine Schreiber and Luis Lumbreras. They note its construction of an extensive network of roadways linking provincial cities, as well as the construction of complex, characteristic architecture in its major centres, some of which were quite extensive. Leaders had to plan projects and organize large amounts of labor to accomplish such projects.^[4]^[5]

The discovery in early 2013 of an undisturbed, imperial royal tomb, El Castillo de Huarmey, provides evidence of the material wealth and political power exercised by the Wari for centuries. The discovery of three royal women's bodies and their burial wealth plus the accompanying 60 bodies demonstrates a culture with the material wealth, political power, and administrative apparatus to provide extended veneration of the royal dead.^[6]

Political relations

The Wari Empire was a second-generation state of the Andean region; both it and Tiwanaku had been preceded by the first-generation Moche state. When expanding to engulf new polities, the Wari Empire practiced a policy of allowing the local leaders of the newly acquired territory to retain control of their area if they agreed to join the Wari empire and obey the Wari. The Wari required mit'a labor (non-reciprocal public labor for the state) of its subjects as a form of tribute. Mit'a laborers were involved in the construction of buildings at the Wari capital and in the provinces.

The political relationship between the Wari and Tiwanaku has been compared by archaeologist Joyce Marcus to that of the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War: the two empires did not go to war with one another for fear of mutual destruction. The two empires met at Moquegua, where the Wari and Tiwanaku populations co-existed without conflicts.^[7]

Administration

While the Wari likely had significant organizational and administrative power, it remains unclear what the origins of its political and artistic forms were. Emerging evidence suggests that rather than being the result of Tiwanaku traits diffusing north, the Wari and Tiwanaku ideological formations may be traceable to previous developments at Pukara, an Early Intermediate Period culture to the north of Lake Titicaca. The polity seems to have survived until ca. AD 1100, when it collapsed, likely as a result of both environmental change and internal socio-political stresses.

One of the commodities was beer, communal consumption of beer served as a potent instrument of Wari governance.^[8] Forging hierarchical ties within, and between groups, was often a prevalent theme in Wari feasting. At Quilcapampa, guests partaking in Wari-related feasts were served alcohol infused with vilca. The vilca-infused brew fostered collective, psychotropic, experiences. The providers of the brew, Wari leaders, reinforced their elevated status within the social hierarchy. The presence of alcoholic beverages, evidenced by the abundance of maize and molle at Wari sites, indicates their widespread consumption during feasts.^[9]

The empire established long-distance exchange networks to obtain hallucinogens.^[10] To connect the highland capital and Paciﬁc coast, the Wari constructed an imperial highway. Going through the Sondondo Valley, the highway connected three imperial sites.

With the tremendous amount of effort required to obtain the drug, it hints that vilca was an important part of the Wari political economy.

War, Conflict, and Imperialism

Militarism played a significant role in the Wari Empire, evident in various aspects of its structure and iconography. Subsidiary centers surrounding the capital were fortified, indicating a strategic emphasis on defense^[11]. A 2-square-kilometer walled complex at Pikillaqta potentially housed a military garrison, fortified with smaller sites and walls designed to resist military threats and control access.^[12] Wari iconography frequently depicts soldiers equipped with military weaponry suggesting readiness for violent conflict.^[13]

By building imperial-style infrastructure, the empire-controlled areas along the Pacific coast and Andean highlands. Provincial centers include Viracochapampa, Honcopampa, and Cerro Baúl, all of which share similar architectural styles and ceramic vessels.^[14] These sites were connected to the capital, Huari, by a network of imperial roads creating a unified polity.

At the World Congress on Mummy Studies, research shed light on the collapse of the Wari Empire, where Wari society transitioned from cooperation to violence. Tiffiny Tung, a bioarchaeologist of Vanderbilt University, showcased a study highlighting the connections seen between environmental stressors, political instability, and societal collapse in the empire's collapse.^[15] Following 1000 C.E. was a period marked by violence and hardship following the empire's demise. The collapse, possibly exacerbated by severe drought, unleashed centuries of violence and social breakdown, leaving a vivid record in human bones.

Through analysis of skeletal remains from Huari, violence seemed to be present even during the empire's peak, intensifying afterward, seen by a dramatic increase in fatal injuries. The collapse also affected dietary patterns, with women experiencing significant changes, possibly indicating food scarcity or dietary shifts. Moreover, post-collapse burials showed signs of desecration, suggesting a shift in traditional burial practices and social norms. Ongoing research seeks to uncover molecular indicators of stress in ancient DNA, providing further insights into the health and well-being of Wari society during this period.^[15]

References

^ Schreiber, Katharina J. (April 1987). "Conquest and Consolidation: A Comparison of the Wari and Inka Occupations of a Highland Peruvian Valley". American Antiquity. 52 (2): 266–284. doi:10.2307/281780. ISSN 0002-7316. JSTOR 281780. S2CID 155131409.
^ "'Ancient city unearthed' in Peru". BBC. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
^ "Archeologists in Peru unearth ancient Wari city". Reuters. 16 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
^ Susan E. Bergh (2012). Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-51656-0. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
^ Isbell, William H.; Schreiber, Katharina J. (July 1978). "Was Huari a State?". American Antiquity. 43 (3): 372–389. doi:10.2307/279393. ISSN 0002-7316. JSTOR 279393. S2CID 164117358.
^ "First Unlooted Royal Tomb of Its Kind Unearthed in Peru". Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-30.
^ Flannery, Kent; Marcus, Joyce (2012). The Creation of Inequality: How Our Prehistoric Ancestors Set the Stage for Monarchy, Slavery, and Empire. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-06469-0.
^ Cook, A. G., Glowacki, M., & Bray, T. (2003). The Archaeology and Politics of Food and Feasting in Early States and Empires.
^ Biwer, Matthew E.; Álvarez, Willy Yépez; Bautista, Stefanie L.; Jennings, Justin (12 January 2022). "Hallucinogens, alcohol and shifting leadership strategies in the ancient Peruvian Andes". Cambridge Core Home. 96 (385): 142–158. doi:10.15184/aqy.2021.177. ISSN 0003-598X.
^ Wilkinson, Darryl. "The influence of Amazonia on state formation in the ancient Andes." Antiquity 92.365 (2018): 1362-1376.
^ Pérez Calderón, I., & Cabrera, R. M. (2001). Investigations on the periphery of the Huari complex. In XII Peruvian Congress of Man and Andean Culture Luis G. Lumbreras (Vol. 2, pp. 246-270). Ayacucho, Peru: National University of San Cristóbal de Huamanga.
^ McEwan, G. F. (1991). Investigations at the Pikillacta site: a provincial Huari center in the valley of Cuzco. Huari Administrative Structure: Prehistoric Monumental Architecture and State Government, 93119.
^ Paravicino, J. O., & Romero, M. C. (2002). Religious ideology and military organization in the iconography of a D-shaped ceremonial precinct at Conchopata. In Andean archaeology II: Art, landscape, and society (pp. 225-247). Boston, MA: Springer US.
^ Marsh, Erik J; Schreiber, Katharina (21 February 2015). "Eyes of the empire: A viewshed-based exploration of Wari site-placement decisions in the Sondondo Valley, Peru". Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 4: 54–64 – via Science Direct.
^ ^a ^b Wade, Lizzie (August 17, 2016). "The Wari's grisly end—the fall of a South American empire". Science. Retrieved April 28, 2024.