Empire and Death in Southern Peru

Dr Jacob Bongers | Boston

21 September | 4pm

How do interactions between empires and Indigenous communities change ritualized behavior and produce new relationships of power? This talk explores the relationship between local mortuary practice and the Inca (15th century) and European (16th century) colonialism in the Chincha Valley on Peru’s South Coast. I employ various methods ranging from survey and excavation to drone photography and Bayesian statistical modelling to study a landscape of over 500 graves. Transformations in tomb use and post-mortem manipulation of the dead coincided with Inca and European incursion, demonstrating mortuary practice as a strategy for reshaping the socio-political landscape and living through colonial rule. My research reveals the agency and adaptability of Chincha communities during one of the most turbulent periods in Peruvian history. It widens the scope of colonialism studies to include a mortuary perspective on the dynamics between empires and local peoples.

To be held on Campus at the Chau Chak Wing Museum. All welcome. Please click here for CCW map.

Image courtesy of Jacob Bongers

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