Impact, Expansion and Heterogeneous Strategies of the Tawantinsuyu at its Borders: The Case of Santiago del Estero in the Eastern Lowlands of Argentina

CARLOS I. ANGIORAMA; CONSTANZA TABOADA

Congreso; SAA 81st Annual Meeting; 2016

In this presentation we discuss the particular situation of a set of archaeological sites located in a small area of Santiago del Estero?s lowland (centralArgentina), outside the territory traditionally included in the Collasuyu. The area concentrates several sites where Inca and Andean artefacts were found atthe beginning of the twentieth century, along with Inca features incorporated to the archaeological pottery and to ethnographic textiles. Moreover, there arecertain kind of archaeological objects found in exorbitant number, a strong presence of quichua language in the area and myths related to the Inca.However, there are not Inca settlements or other type of Inca artefacts such as imperial pottery. The area could be the origin of ceramist and warriormitmaqkuna, but also a center of production of objects at large scale. Based on on-going fieldwork, we propose that this area and its inhabitants couldhave been of economic and politic interest for the Tawantinsuyu. In this sense, the latter would have developed alliances with this population framed on itsspatial and strategically heterogenous expansion to certain sectors of the Eastern lowlands at the end of the Empire.