UC San Diego

Despite emphasis placed by transnational theorists on the uniqueness of contemporary connections to homeland, such theories are relevant to the expansion of the ancient Tiwanaku state into the Osmore Drainage of southern Peru. These archaeological connections to homeland were maintained in the broader context of Tiwanaku sociopolitical organization, understanding of which is advanced by recent approaches to inter-regional interaction emphasizing studies of heterogeneous identities in peripheral contexts. The present study employs radiogenic strontium isotope analysis and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of bone collagen from individuals buried at a Tiwanaku provincial center in comparison with published diet and mobility data to better understand how different communities engaged with their ethnic and broader political identities. Additionally, radiogenic strontium isotope analysis of architectural material from the same provincial center is used to determine its source location and to better understand how the construction of the provincial center’s temple related to colonists’ ethnic and/or broader sociopolitical identities. Overall, a lack of difference in diet and mobility practices between different colonial communities and the building material’s origin in the Osmore Drainage supports more heterarchical notions of Tiwanaku colonial organization, as well as concepts of Tiwanaku as both a political entity and a deeply held cultural milieu. Moreover, the presence of an anomalous young woman suggests the possible exchange of marriage partners with coastal Huaracane-related populations, an intriguing mechanism for the poorly understood indirect procurement of marine resources by Tiwanaku colonists.