Evidence for Long-Distance Transportation of Building Stones in the Inka Empire, from Cuzco, Peru to Saraguro, Ecuador

2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis E. Ogburn

Abstract Ethnohistorical and archaeological data suggest that a collection of more than 450 finely worked Inka building stones found near Saraguro in the southern highlands of Ecuador originated outside that region. The origin of those andesite blocks was investigated via geochemical analysis. Wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence determined the concentrations of nine elements in samples from stones in the Saraguro region and in samples from known Inka andesite quarries at Cojitambo in the southern sierra of Ecuador, and at the Rumiqolqa and Huaccoto quarries near the Inka capital of Cuzco in Peru. The results show that the geochemical composition of the Saraguro stones closely matches that of the Rumiqolqa material, indicating that the Inka had these large andesite blocks moved over a distance of more than 1,600 km, the greatest known distance for the transport of large objects in the precolumbian New World. This endeavor had many implications, including reinforcing state power and ideology, and is also perceived to reflect an imperial “made-work” policy that consumed excess labor through non-utilitarian assignments. These “made-work” projects are best explained as a strategy for reinforcing state control over subject provinces, in contrast to current models of Inka economic organization that focus on efficiency in the use of labor.

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis E. Ogburn

AbstractThe Carboncillo area in the southern highlands of Ecuador is identified as the only confirmed source of archaeological obsidian located in the country outside of the northern highlands and is the first identified in the large gap between the known Ecuadorian and Peruvian sources. With the identification of this source, it can no longer be assumed that all obsidian found in Ecuador came from sources in the northern highlands. Thus the Carboncillo source has significant implications for interpreting patterns of long-distance exchange in the Andes, especially in southern Ecuador and the far north of Peru. A geochemical analysis of the Carboncillo material shows that it can be easily distinguished from the obsidian from other Ecuadorian sources. A provenance study of archaeological obsidian samples from the southern highlands of Ecuador using x-ray fluorescence demonstrates that the Carboncillo obsidian was used at the Preceramic site of Chobshi Cave and at a number of late prehispanic sites in the Saraguro region. The results indicate a high level of sociopolitical and economic isolation in late prehistory, most likely tied to a preoccupation with warfare between neighboring groups, and provide additional evidence that the economic organization of the southern highlands differed markedly from that of the north during this time.


2007 ◽  
Vol 62 (9) ◽  
pp. 1133-1138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veli T. Kasumov ◽  
Ibrahim Uçar ◽  
Ahmet Bulut ◽  
Fevzi Kösal

The coordination chemistry of N-(2,6-di-methylphenyl)-2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldimine (1) with Cu(II) has been investigated by X-ray crystallography, electronic and EPR spectroscopies, as well as by electro- and magnetochemistry. The title complex 2 crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P212121 (a = 8.1538, b = 17.7466, c =19.8507 Å). The mononuclear square-planar molecules 2 featuring trans-N2O2 coordination are connected via weak intermolecular C-H· · ·π interactions into infinite chains parallel to the a axis. Although the intermolecular Cu· · ·Cu separations within individual chains and between chains are very long (8.154 and 9.726 Å ), the exchange interaction parameter G = 2.03 < 4, estimated from solid state EPR spectra, suggests the existence of long-distance superexchange pathways between adjacent Cu(II) centers. The electronic and electrochemical features of the compound are also discussed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna A. Luginina ◽  
Sergey V. Kuznetsov ◽  
Vladimir K. Ivanov ◽  
Valery V. Voronov ◽  
Alexey D. Yapryntsev ◽  
...  

Abstract Luminescent nanocomposite films, containing SrF 2 :Но up-conversion particles, were prepared by two different protocols from aqueous dispersions of TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (TOCNF) functionalized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) without the use of organic solvents at pH = 4.0-4.5 and 9.0-9.5, respectively. Proposed synthetic protocols included formation of the films by drying the dispersions containing pre-hydrolyzed APS adsorbed onto TOCNF and SrF 2 :Но particles followed by heating at 105 °C. Hydrophobic (water contact angle 101 ± 2°), strong, and translucent TOCNF/SrF 2 :Но-APS films were prepared by casting from a solution at pH = 4.0-4.5. Scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy with element mapping, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction methods confirmed homogeneous distribution of up-conversion particles in TOCNF matrices as well as the grafting of linear polysiloxanes via the condensation of silanol groups and OH-groups on the surface of TOCNF. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry data confirmed an increase in thermal stability of the APS modified nanocomposite films obtained at pH = 4.0-4.5. Hydrophobic TOCNF/SrF 2 :Но-APS nanocomposite films exhibited an intense red luminescence in the visible spectrum range ( 5 I 7 level excitation of Ho 3+ ions with 1912 nm laser irradiation) as well as two-times higher laser damage threshold compared to unmodified TOCNF/SrF 2 :Но films. TOCNF/SrF 2 :Но films can be used for visualization 2 μm laser radiation in medicine and long-distance atmosphere monitoring.


Author(s):  
Céline Carayon

As the 1550 Royal Entry in Rouen described in the opening of this chapter reveals, Renaissance and Early Modern France was home to a deeply ceremonial culture in which political and social rituals held complex meanings. This chapter reviews significant historical and cultural developments that transformed Europeans’ predominantly oral cultures after 1500. At the time of their explorations in the Americas, the French were familiar with a variety of sign traditions that informed their perception of Indigenous gestures and prepared them well to communicate with signs in the New World. In France, gestural communication was deeply connected to the realms of religious and secular oratory, drama (theatre), and court protocols. The seventeenth century saw a renewal of scientific and philosophical interest for manual eloquence with new universal language schemes being developed, including some of the first manuals of sign language. Increased state control over definitions of civility and ongoing distrust of theatrical gestures as unauthentic resulted in diverging types of nonverbal expression among the elite and the rest of the population. The chapter ends with an overview of early Atlantic repertoires of signs that evolved from the traditions of mariners and soldiers who participated in early voyages.


The Auk ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 868-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Miller ◽  
Eldredge Bermingham ◽  
Robert E. Ricklefs

Abstract Solitaires (Myadestes spp.) are montane-forest birds that are widely distributed throughout the New World, ranging from Alaska to northern Bolivia and including both Hawaii and the West Indies. To understand the origins of this impressive distribution, we used five mitochondrial gene sequences to reconstruct the historical biogeography of the genus. The resulting phylogeny indicates a rapid initial spread of the genus to occupy most of its contemporary continental range at least as far south as lower Mesoamerica, plus Hawaii and the Greater Antilles. The North American M. townsendi appears to be the sister taxon of the rest of Myadestes. Myadestes obscurus of Hawaii is more closely allied to Mesoamerican lineages than to M. townsendi. The strongly supported sister relationship of the two West Indian taxa, M. elisabeth and M. genibarbis, indicates a single colonization of the West Indies. A more recent node links the Andean M. ralloides to the Mesoamerican M. melanops and M. coloratus. A standard molecular clock calibration of 2% sequence divergence per million years for avian mitochondrial DNA suggests that the initial diversification of Myadestes occurred near the end of the Miocene (between 5 and 7.5 mya). Cooler temperatures and lower sea levels at that time would have increased the extent of montane forests and reduced overwater dispersal distances, possibly favoring range expansion and colonization of the West Indies. The split between South American and southern Mesoamerican lineages dates to ∼3 mya, which suggests that Myadestes expanded its range to South America soon after the Pliocene rise of the Isthmus of Panama. Despite the demonstrated capacity of Myadestes for long-distance dispersal, several species of Myadestes are highly differentiated geographically. Phylogeographic structure was greatest in the West Indian M. genibarbis, which occurs on several islands in the Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles, and in the Andean M. ralloides. The phylogeographic differentiation within M. ralloides was not anticipated by previous taxonomic treatments and provides a further example of the importance of the Andes in the diversification of Neotropical birds. Overall, the historical biogeography of Myadestes suggests that range expansion and long-distance dispersal are transient population phases followed by persistent phases of population differentiation and limited dispersal. Biogeografía Histórica de los Zorzales del Género Myadestes


Radiocarbon ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
R E Taylor

When introduced almost five decades ago, radiocarbon (14C) dating provided New World archaeologists with a common chronometric scale that transcended the countless site-specific and regional schemes that had been developed by four generations of field researchers employing a wide array of criteria for distinguishing relative chronological phases. A topic of long standing interest in New World studies where 14C values have played an especially critical role is the temporal framework for the initial peopling of the New World. Other important issues where 14C results have been of particular importance include the origins and development of New World agriculture and the determination of the relationship between the western and Mayan calendars. It has been suggested that the great success of 14C was an important factor in redirecting the focus of American archaeological scholarship in the 1960s from chronology building to theory building, led to a noticeable improvement in US archaeological field methods, and provided a major catalyst that moved American archaeologists increasingly to direct attention to analytical and statistical approaches in the manipulation and evaluation of archaeological data.


1970 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen H. Hymer

This paper uses a simple physiocratic model to examine forms of economic organization prevailing in Ghana before it was incorporated into the British Empire at the end of the nineteenth century. It is divided into three parts. The first analyzes the village subsistence economy and suggests that the egalitarian nature of the land-tenure system prevented the emergence of a land-owning class and the appropriation of an economic surplus. This led to an economic structure characterized by a low level of material production and a low degree of specialization and exchange. The second part analyzes forms of economic organization associated with long distance trade: that is, the very old northern trade with other parts of Africa, and the southern coastal trade with Europe which began in the fifteenth century. It argues that foreign trade not only expanded the consumption possibilities of the society, as predicted by the theory of international trade, but also introduced a new class structure and greater income inequality, since it allowed a small group to appropriate a surplus for its own use. The third part discusses the relevance of Pre-Colonial forms to twentieth century economic development.


1994 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Burger ◽  
Frank Asaro ◽  
Helen V. Michel ◽  
Fred H. Stross ◽  
Ernesto Salazar

We have examined the role of long-distance trade in Prehispanic Ecuador using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and neutron-activation analysis (NAA) of obsidian artifacts from the archaeological sites of El Inga, Chobshi Cave and Site OGSE-46 on the Santa Elena Peninsula. Results indicate that two geological sources east of Quito, Yanaurco-Quiscatola and Mullumica, were the principal source of raw obsidian at these sites. We situate our findings within a broader archaeological context through a review of the literature and a discussion of an earlier provenience study undertaken by us. We express concerns about recent attempts to apply ethnohistoric models to early periods of Ecuadorian prehistory, and argue that despite early exploitation of the principal obsidian sources, long-distance trade in obsidian was initiated at a relatively late date and remained at a surprisingly low level in southern Ecuador during most of prehistory.


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