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Sediments in social context: group memory and visual culture in dwellings of the Bolivian Formative

Melissa Goodman-Elgar (Washington State University)

Abstract

Pre-Hispanic residents of the Taraco Peninsula, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia used earth to construct their dwellings, shape their towns and form their monuments. Under tropical alpine conditions, these structures have largely been reduced to their foundations and component sediments leaving an intricate - and often frustrating - archaeological record. This geoarchaeological project used soil micromorphology and bulk analyses to help reconstruct these structures and their component technologies. Results demonstrate that ancient Taraco residents imported a palette of pigmented sediments for use in their built environments and that these were selectively employed. Variations in construction methods reveal efforts to extend the use-lives of certain dwellings so that these structures would endure through generations. These results indicate that construction technology formed an important medium of visual culture and informed the creation of social memory in the early development of complex socio-political entities in Bolivian prehistory.