Revolving Scales: Exploring Locality During the Late Formative Period on the Taraco Peninsula, Bolivia

Abstract

This study aims to identify processes of localization-moments when material practices become shared or diverge and become individualized- and to clarify spatial organization within Late Formative (250 BC – 590 AD) sites on the Taraco Peninsula, Bolivia. The word local is a term that can embody many meanings as a noun, an adjective, and a process of transformation, but its meaning is assumed in many archaeological investigations. Its usage, however, heavily influences how archaeologists interpret the material record, from archaeological constructions of boundaries of space, to how we conceptualize the ways in which people lived day-to-day. Pottery has also been used extensively to interpret identities, practices, and geographical boundaries through decoration and production elements. Definitions of locality are dependent on perspective and position, and “local” is dynamic in nature. I seek to open the discussion on understanding different scales of locality may intersect and how this influences the interpretations of the past. I study the distribution of ceramics from three sites, Kala Uyuni, Kumi Kipa, and Sonaji. My research explores the differences between the production of locality at these sites, and whether this is visible through ceramic production and deposition. I accomplish this using GIS to visualize and analyze the distribution of paste, surface treatment, sherd carbonization, fragmentation, and paleoethnobotanical data. The results show that ceramic production practices generally constituted one localized community of practice. When it came to depositional practices, I identified two separate localized practices in terms of the treatment of ceramic waste and where inhabitants chose to start fire-related activities. The contributions of this thesis include the creation of GIS ceramic point data, opening further discussion on the concept of locality at other relational scales, a better understanding of the daily motions of past peoples on the Taraco Peninsula, and a method for re-examining and incorporating legacy data.