Yunkaray and Cheqoq Archaeology Projects
Inka Zooarchaeology in Cusco, Peru
2010-Present
I began working on Inka archaeology with Dr. Kylie Quave in 2010. Over the last decade, we have collaborated on a number of articles studying how indigenous laborers lived under Inka colonial regimes throughout the Inka Empire.
Peruvian archaeologist Karen Durand Cáceres has served as co-direct for this research for many field seasons. Here, she teaches students about archaeology (photo by Rodrigo Durand).
Identifying Domestic Incan Contexts
Through micro-artifact analysis at Cheqoq in Maras, Cuzco
Frequently, archaeological studies of domestic units include the identification of dwellings through the contextualization of surface architecture. However, what are the tools available in the absence and/or poor preservation of architectural contexts with archaeological value?
The present article covers this question as a result of our investigations conducted within the Inka archaeological site of Cheqoq, located northwest of Cuzco, in the district of Maras. With recovery through flotation and dry screening, we analyze paleobotanical, archaeozoological and lithic micro-artifacts to identify and define domestic contexts in the absence of architecture.
Frequency, percentages and ubiquity calculations are presented in order to explain the benefits and limitations of this type of analysis and its results. Consequently, the present study provides a model that allows us to identify domestic contexts in other places in the region where there is an absence of architectural evidence.