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Review article

Violent times: bioarchaeologies in the Americas

Richard J. Chacon

DEBRAL. MARTIN, RYAN P. HARROD & VENTURAR.PEREZ (ed.). The bioarchaeology of violence. xiv+291pages, 42 illustrations, 21 tables. 2012. Gainesville(FL): University of Florida Press; 978-0-8130-4150-6 hardback $74.95.

TIFFINY TUNG. Violence, ritual and the Wari empire.A social bioarchaeology of imperialism in the ancientAndes. xxiv+244 pages, 66 illustrations, 17 tables.2012. Gainesville (FL): University of Florida Press;978-0-8130-3767-7 hardback $74.95.

In recent years, a number of investigationsdocumenting the antiquity and spatial distributionof warfare and ritual violence in the Americas have

called for the dispassionate analysis of data and forthe accurate contextualisation of the violence beingreported (Chacon & Dye 2007; Chacon & Mendoza2007a & b, 2012). To these publications are nowadded the well-researched volumes under review here.These works meticulouslyanalyse the types of physicaltrauma visited upon victims and also explore themany underlying socio-economic and religio-politicalcauses for such violent treatment.

* Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC 29733, USA (Email:chaconr@winthrop.edu)

The bioarchaeology of violence

In the first chapter ofThe bioarchaeology of violence,Perez points out that violence is part of a larger socio-cultural milieu in which some members of societymay support acts of aggression that target certainindividuals. He cautions against simplistic notionsthat unequivocally characterise incidents of violenceas deviant behaviour. Klaus contribution shedslight on the relationship between oppressive societalstructures, violence and poor health. Moreover,this investigation documents the negative impactthat Western colonisation had on Amerindianpopulations. Harrod, Lienard and Martin identifythe segments of Turkana society which are likely to besubjected to particular forms of violence. Among theirmany significant findings is that violence is not genderneutral. Montgomery and Perry present data on thekilling of a number of individuals from the EarlyIslamic period site of Qasr Hallabat (the only non-American case study in the collection). The victims

remains were discarded into a cistern, thus fouling acritical water source.

Palkovichs research on the Ancestral Puebloansite of Arroyo Hondo documents the recovery ofseveral individuals who were subjected to lethalviolence. These victims may have been thought tobe witches and, therefore, their killing would havebeen considered as a type of public service (seeChacon 2007 for a similar situation in Amazonia).Kuckelmanreports the recovery of Ancestral Puebloanhuman remains in the Northern San Juan region

which indicate a variety of lethal and non-lethaltrauma. Additionally, evidence of human trophytaking and anthropophagy is put forth. Worne, Cobb,Vidoli and Steadman expose the importance thatsite visibility played, for defensive purposes, in theselection of Mississippian settlement locations ofthe Middle Cumberland area. These investigatorsexplore how site selection was related to naturalresource acquisition and defensibility. Tiesler and

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Cucina analyse the frontal bones of ancient Mayaskeletons. While both males and females sufferedtrauma, findings indicate that the frontal bones ofmales were more likely to show evidence of scalping,defleshing or tzompantli (skull rack) exhibition.Tungs paper identifies the harsh treatment of

foreigners among the Wari (a theme taken upin her monograph, below). Data indicate thatforeign male captives were decapitated and theirheads converted into human trophies (female trophyheads are uncommon). Foreign female captives weresometimes integrated into society but at a low levelof the social hierarchy. Hatchs investigation of theMississippian Larson site presents evidence whichindicates the taking of scalps and mandibles ashuman trophies. This research also points out thedifficulties of distinguishing between instances of

secondary mortuary rites and cannibalism. Koziolputs forth evidence for the human sacrificial offeringsat Cahokias Mound 72 and also observes howmortuary practices reflect social relationships. Finally,Duncans work on Mesoamerican sacrificial skulldeposits at Ixlu, Guatemala, indicates that victimswere likely related to each other (perhaps as part of alineage).

Violence, ritual and the Wariempire

Tungs Violence, ritual, and the Wari empire offersgreat insight into Wari society. After introducingthe Wari empire and providing a synopsis of thebioarchaeological approach, in Chapter 2 Tung putsforth theoretical frameworks for understanding therelationship between political complexity and thehuman body, emphasising skeletal material. Thischapter also offers a useful overview of Andean ritual

fighting (tinku) that complements previous work onAndean ritual combat (Chacon et al. 2007). Situatingthe Wari in the larger Andean context, Chapter3 describes three study sites from which humanskeletal remains are analysed: Conchopata (urbancentre with craft specialisation), Beringa (hinterlandvillage in the crop-growing yungas zone) and LaReal (elite mortuary location). This section alsoprovides a summary of the origins of the Wariempire. In Chapter 4, age-at-death and sex profilesare provided for each study site in order to reconstructaspects of community organisation. The findings at

Conchopata indicate a high female-to-male ratio.

This may be the result of males travelling to distantregions as part of a military campaign and then failingto return. Beringa had a symmetrical sex distribution,while La Reals burial population had more males thanfemales.

Chapter 5 reports how Conchopata females wereoften targets of violence while the Beringa dataindicate that males and females sustained their injuriesin different kinds of violent encounters. The findingsat La Real suggest that males may have regularlyengaged in tinku. Chapter 6 documents the recoveryof human trophy heads at Conchopata. Analysis ofstrontium isotope data indicates that trophy headswere taken in foreign locales. The taking of suchtrophies may have served to establish political controlin the region. Furthermore, the transformation ofdisembodied human heads into trophies possessingsupernatural power was likely performed by ritualspecialists. Chapter 7 summarises how patterns ofWari aggression were designed to promote stateagendas. Individuals who faithfully served the stateas a warrior class would have enjoyed enhancedsocial status. A class of ritual specialists gained andmaintained legitimacy by converting disarticulatedhuman heads into supernaturally charged trophies.This speculation finds support in how some modernday Amazonian Shuar (Jvaro) leaders employ theirguardianship oftsantsas(shrunken heads) as a means

of legitimising their tribal authority (Rubenstein2007).

Since groups such as the Inka built upon practicesoriginating with the Wari (e.g. forced relocation ofpopulations for state projects), this research shouldappeal not just to Wari specialists but also to Andeanscholars more generally. Throughout the book, Tungsskilful use of analogies to modern state societiesand situations greatly elucidates the informationpresented.

Together, these two important publications shedmuch-needed light on the impact that warfare andritual violence had on the lives of individuals. Addi-tionally, these investigations will greatly enhance ourunderstanding of how various forms of violence wereemployed to further certain political agendas. Bothvolumes incorporate an interdisciplinary approachwhich identifies the various socio-economic andreligio-political factors associated with warfare andritual violence and they pave the way towards a betterunderstanding of the multi-faceted nature of humanconflict. In this manner, both of these volumes can

rightly be considered as part of the legacy of the

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late Phillip L. Walker (19472009). A biologicalanthropologist based at UC Santa Barbara, Walkerwas among the first to champion the coupling ofbiological anthropology with ethnographic data (seeWalker & Hewlett 1990). These volumes testify thatPhil Walker was and remains an inspiration to all who

had the privilege of knowing him.

References

CHACON, R. 2007. Seeking the headhunters power: thequest for Arutam among the Achuar Indians of theEcuadorian Amazon and the development ofranked societies, in R. Chacon & D. Dye (ed.) Thetaking and displaying of human body parts as trophiesby Amerindians: 52346. New York: Springer.

CHACON, R. & D. DYE. 2007. The taking and

displaying of human body parts as trophies byAmerindians. New York: Springer.

CHACON, R. & R. MENDOZA. 2007a. North Americanindigenous warfare and ritual violence. Tucson:University of Arizona Press.

2007b. Latin American indigenous warfare and ritualviolence. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.

2012. The ethics of anthropology and Amerindian

research: reporting on environmental degradation andwarfare. New York: Springer.

CHACON, R., Y. CHACON & A. GUANDINANGO. 2007.Blood for the Earth: the Inti Raimi festival amongthe Cotacachi and Otavalo Indians of highlandEcuador, in R. Chacon & R. Mendoza (ed.) LatinAmerican indigenous warfare and ritual violence:11841. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.

RUBENSTEIN, S. 2007. Circulation, accumulation, andthe power of Shuar shrunken heads. CulturalAnthropology22(3): 35799.

WALKER, P. & B. HEWLETT. 1990. Dental health, diet

and social status among central African foragers andfarmers. American Anthropologist92(2): 38398.

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