| This thesis describes and analyzes gravelots excavated by German geologists Wilhelm Reiss and Alphons Stubel at the Necropolis of Ancon, Peru in 1875. Their work is historically significant as the first scientific archaeological excavation carried out in Peru, and as the source of the first Huari tapestry tunic ever published. Located on Peru's and central coast, the Ancon burials include well preserved organic materials, including numerous textiles. Twenty-eight individual gravelots including nine bundles and nineteen false-heads (interred about A.D. 750--1100) are identified in the holdings of the National Museum of Ethnology in Berlin, Germany. The gravelots are analyzed to elucidate change in mortuary practices over time, and to discover status distinctions among the deceased. It is found that the gravelots can be divided into two chronologically distinct groups. Textile data from the tombs are also utilized to define a textile tradition in use at Ancon. Textiles from the earlier group of burials are found to be more elaborate, and to include more camelid-fiber yarns than those from the later burials. Comparison of Ancon's textiles to those from other central coast valleys permits identification of a regional complex, characterized by shared garment forms and weaving techniques. Competing historical reconstructions of Middle Horizon events are evaluated in light of the regional textile complex identified at Ancon. It is concluded that the Ancon gravelots provide no evidence to support the widely accepted theory that the central coast region was incorporated into a politically and economically integrated Huari State. |
