Andean Expressions: Art and Archaeology of the Recuay Culture

5. Pottery and Society

chap ter five Pottery and Society more than architecture and stone sculpture, pottery has been the hallmark of Recuay culture since the definition of the style some hundred years ago (Eisleb 1987; Grieder 1978; Reichert 1977; Smith 1978). Scholarly studies commenced at the turn of the twentiethcentury,withaparticularemphasisontheiconographyinwider discussions of Andean art and civilization (Lehmann and UbbelohdeDoering 1924; Levillier 1926; Montell 1929; Schmidt 1929; Seler 1893; Tello 1923). Pottery provides essential lines of evidence to understand the close relationships between Recuay material culture and society. First, at the most basic level, it facilitates study of the culture’s distribution in geographical space and time: when and where people used pottery (fig. 24). Second, it allows us to characterize the cultural differences between Recuay groups: variability expressed through ceramic frequencies and style. Third, study of ceramics can investigate what people did with pottery: how they used and interacted with ceramic things. Finally, pottery is a crucial medium which is preserved in the archaeological record and carries the few remaining clues to understanding an ancient belief system. Time and Terminology in Recuay Pottery Studies Many different local styles existed in Ancash, leading to some debate as to what the pottery should actually be called. Few people have undertaken synthetic interregional studies of Recuay-style ceramics (e.g., Reichert 1977; Smith 1978). It is worthwhile to identify the salient differences in pottery style as well as to note potential ambiguities in cognate terms (Gambini 1984; Lau 2004b; Wegner 1982). It was Dr. José Mariano Macedo (1881: vii) who coined the term “Recuay ” for materials coming from the rich tombs of the Katak area in the province of Recuay. Some scholars have preferred “Huaylas” to describe 128 l pottery and soCiety FiGure 24. Regional sequences and chronology of the Recuay culture. Recuay pottery. Tello (1923, 1929) first popularized “Huaylas.” Tello (1930: 284) divided his sample of pottery from the Callejón de Huaylas into two types. The “primitive technique” type (evidenced by materials from tombs at Copa) and the “Recuay” type (Macedo collection) were “very similar and differ only in certain characteristics. [In t]he more primitive technique, the predominance of the utilitarian forms, the lack of ornamentation and the incipient form of the first type, contrast with the more advanced technique, the better material, and the variety of form and ornamentation which the second type affords.” In later works he was more sanguine about a general Recuay culture and used “Huaylas” and “Recuay” synonymously (Tello 1940: 657–673, 1960: 13). It is not exactly clear why Tello opted not to use “Recuay” regularly. At that time he may have intended to make an implicit reference to the “Huaylas” (or “Wayla”) ethnic group of the Ancash highlands documented historically (e.g., Tello 1940: 652). It is possible that he also believed the distribution of the style extended to the geographic limits of the Callejón de Huaylas and beyond, so it was not just centered on “Recuay ” (e.g., Tello 1929: 86, 91). Tello (1923: 204–205, 218) regularly used the term “Huaylas” or “Callej ón” to describe Recuay-style materials as a regional cultural entity or R e c u a y T r a d i t i o n A B C A B Pashash Pierina Chinchawas Yayno 1 2 3 EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD MIDDLE HORIZON LATE INTERMEDIATE PERIOD AD 1 700 Huarás Recuay Late Recuay Wilkawaín 1 Wilkawaín 2 Aquillpo Cajamarca 600 800 900 500 400 300 200 100 1200 Late Cajamarca Middle Cajamarca Early Cajamarca Initial Cajamarca Huamachuco Purpucala Huamachuco Amaru Chamis Urpay Tuscan Toro Usú Huacohú Quinú Quimít Yaiá Cotojirca V Cotojirca IV Cotojirca III Cotojirca II Chakwas Warmi Kayán Chinchawasi 2 Chinchawasi 1 Moche Transicional Early Moche Middle Moche Late Moche Virú Gallinazo EarlyMiddle Gallinazo Salinar Late Gallinazo I II III IV V Late Suchimancillo Early Suchimancillo Guadalupito Huancaco Santa Early Tanguche Late Tanguche Early Tambo Real N o r t h H i g h l a n d s Ancash C o a s t Tomaval La Plata Chimú Rayo Huanchac Asuac pottery and soCiety l 129 phenomenon across highland Ancash. This was a conservative designation privileging geographic provenience. Tello was never explicit in his published works about the precise pottery distinctions. He tended to use more localized terms for cognate styles from specific places, such as “Copa” (or “Kopa”), “Katak,” or “Aija” (especially Tello 1923). In other...