Un fardo funerario del Horizonte Tardío del sitio Rinconada Alta, valle del Rímac

Abstract

This article documents the unwrapping of a coastal fardo dating to the Inca period. The fardo, excavated at Rinconada Alta in the Rimac Valley, is particularly rich in garments and textile accessories, and provides the opportunity for examining the suite of textiles associated with one man. Garment types, both Inca and coastal, are identified using recent studies of Inca and Inca-provincial textiles. Ethnohistoric information on Inca production and distribution of cloth is linked where possible to the archaeological textiles in the fardo. Comparisons with other coastal burials of this period are made to assess the relative prestige of the objects in the fardo. Using the archaeological, ethnohistoric, and technical studies now available, inferences can be drawn from the textiles regarding the status and roles during life of the man buried at Rinconada Alta. The configuration of the fardo and the spatial disposition of non-textile items are also documented. The types of offerings and their placement in the fardo suggest that, while some mortuary customs may have been local, others were widely practiced on the coast of Peru over long periods of time.

Keywords

• textiles
• funerary bundle
• Central coast
• Late Horizon.