Residence Near Colonial Potosí in Comparative Perspective Mary Van Buren

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Tarapaya: An Elite Spanish Residence near Colonial Potosí in Comparative Perspective Author(s): Mary Van Buren Source: Historical Archaeology, Vol. 33, No. 2 (1999), pp. 108-122Published by: Society for Historical ArchaeologyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25616693Accessed: 13-08-2014 22:30 UTC

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108

MARY VAN BUREN

Tarapaya: An Elite Spanish Residence near Colonial Potosi in Comparative Perspective

ABSTRACT

Research at a variety of Spanish colonial settlements in the

circum-Caribbean region (Deagan 1983, 1988; Ewen 1991) has

revealed consistent patterns in the types and proportions of in

digenous and European artifacts in domestic assemblages. These

results have suggested that acculturative processes influenced

largely by gender were the standard adaptive response through out the Spanish colonial world. Excavations at colonial sites

in Peru by Rice and Smith (Rice and Smith 1989; Smith 1991,

1997) and in Bolivia by the author have yielded assemblages,

however, which are differently structured and include much

larger proportions of locally produced goods, including a wide

variety of ceramics. These findings indicate that there were

regional differences in the degree to which colonists incorpo rated indigenous technology into their domestic activities, a

divergence that was influenced largely by local geographic and

historical conditions.

Introduction

European expansion and the emergence of dis tinctive American cultures have been important research topics in archaeology during the last two

decades. A large body of data bearing on these

issues in the Spanish colonial world has been

generated in the circum-Caribbean region by Kathleen Deagan and her students (Deagan 1983, 1988, 1995, 1996; Smith 1986, 1997; McEwan

1988; Ewen 1991; Cusick 1995). As a result, the ways in which class, ethnicity, and gender affected the initial formation of colonial culture are beginning to be clarified, and researchers

have been able to identify patterns in the mate

rial record that reflect the development of Span ish-American lifeways. In order to assess

whether perceived patterns of acculturation were

pan-Hispanic, as has been argued, archaeological

assemblages from regions operating under a di verse range of socioeconomic conditions must

also be investigated (Steward 1943).

This work examines the pattern of consumption associated with an elite household near the urban center of Potosi, Bolivia, and compares it to find

ings from similar contexts in Haiti and Peru.

Additionally, data from Smith's (1991, 1997) re

search on the colonial wineries of Moquegua, Peru are presented that suggest that Spaniards relied on indigenous technology to a much

greater degree than did the European residents of the circum-Caribbean. Whether these data repre sent a pattern that is unique to the Andean re

gion or one that is common in other areas can

only be determined by investigations of a wider

range of colonial settlements and site types.

Archaeological Research in the Circum Caribbean Region

Deagan's (1974, 1983) initial research at St.

Augustine, Florida, demonstrated that two factors were particularly important in determining the

adoption of elements from local, indigenous cul tures or the maintenance of Spanish practices: socio-economic status and gender. As in other communities in the Spanish empire, social status in St. Augustine was strongly conditioned by ancestry as well as personal wealth. An elabo rate system for classifying individuals emerged that was based on biological characteristics, but also included factors such as place of birth

(Morner 1967). Peninsulares, or immigrants from Spain, occupied the highest levels of this

hierarchy, while criollos, people of Spanish de scent born in the Americas, ranked just below.

Mestizos, individuals of Native American and

European ancestry, as well as other people of

mixed descent, were regarded as occupying lower

rungs of society, with indigenous and African

people at the bottom.

Deagan and her colleagues used documentary sources to locate house lots that were occupied

during the 18th century by mestizo and criollo

families with different income levels. These were then excavated and the assemblages com

pared. While the ethnic composition of the mar

ried couple had some effect on household con

Historical Archaeology, 1999, 33(2): 101-115.

Permission to reprint required.



TARAPAYA: AN ELITE SPANISH RESIDENCE NEAR COLONIAL POTOSI IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE 109

sumption, the most important factor seems to have been income. The wealthiest households

appear to have consumed more Spanish goods, presumably because imports were relatively scarce, expensive items that were used to express status and cultural affiliation with the mother

country. Spanish goods, however, were not

equally represented in all artifact categories. In

stead, artifacts and technology used in highly visible (male) social contexts, such as clothing and serving wares, tended to be of Hispanic manufacture, while material culture associated with the more private (female) sphere, such as the vessels used to prepare food, included a

greater proportion of indigenous items. Deagan hypothesized that this pattern reflected a pan-His panic response to the colonial experience, one in which the adoption of indigenous culture by Euroamerican households was mediated primarily by women.

Charles Ewen (1991) later tested this proposi tion with material recovered during excavations at Puerto Real, Haiti. There, Ewen investigated a

relatively wealthy 16th century household be lieved to have been occupied by an elite family from Spain, and his findings substantiated the

pattern identified by Deagan at St. Augustine. Such a correspondence suggested that economic status and gender were important factors in the creation of Hispanic-American culture throughout the colonies. During the 17th and 18th centuries the circum-Caribbean region, however, was po litically and economically marginal, a frontier

region that was under supplied, and, from the

perspective of Spain, under productive. House holds near economic centers, as well as those

subject to different environmental and cultural

conditions, may exhibit patterns of consumption that reflect a disparate mix of factors that shaped colonial culture.

The assemblage recovered during the 1995 and 1996 excavations on the property of Francisco

Gomez de la Rocha at Tarapaya, a community in the Department of Potosi, Bolivia, is examined here in order to further the recognition of com monalities and variability in the Spanish colonial

4 City ?Railroad ""^N )*M|raflores Town -Road --jU ^Aqueduct River Tarapaya

f _ /Ss'^\*-V?Potosi ? / Cantumarca 7<WC

] S y^y^JCjri Karl

^y^r^ if /L/ 5 km

FIGURE 1. Location of Tarapaya.

experience. La Rocha was one of the wealthiest

occupants of one of the most important cities of the 17th century, and the patterning of goods recovered from his property thus provides an in

teresting comparison to the Caribbean cases de scribed in the literature.

Potosi

Potosi was established in 1545 by miners ex

ploiting recently discovered silver deposits in

nearby Cerro Rico. The population boomed, declined briefly during a recession caused by the exhaustion of high grade ore, and then climbed

again in the 1570s after Viceroy Toledo pro moted the use of mercury amalgamation to pro cess lower grade deposits. By 1611 Potosi was a vibrant, multicultural city with approximately 160,000 inhabitants according to Baquijano y



110 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 33(2)

Carillo (Cole 1985:145), making it one of the

largest cities in the Americas at that time. Lo cated in the cold, arid, highlands of south central Bolivia at an elevation of 4000 m (13,000 ft.), almost all the goods consumed by the city's resi dents had to be imported by llama and mule trains. Despite this apparently limiting factor, however, contemporary authors often stressed the

quantity and diversity of goods available in the

city's market (Cieza de Leon 1945:272-273; Jimenez de la Espada 1965(2):372-383).

|^ ^ FIGURE 2. Tarapaya as illustrated by Arz?ns de Orsua y Vela in the early 18th century. The lake and inn located in

the upper basin dominate the drawing. The smaller build

ings in the upper right are situated in the lower basin.

(Courtesy of Brown University Library.)

In 1995 an archaeological investigation of Potosi was initiated to examine the ways in which indigenous and European populations re

sponded to conditions in this urban, industrial environment. Test excavations were conducted at three sites: a silver and tin processing mill named San Marcos; adjacent to San Francisco el

Chico, one of the first indigenous churches; and at Tarapaya, a site located 25 km (15 mi.) to the northwest of the city. Only Tarapaya yielded undisturbed domestic refuse dating from the 17th

century, and excavations were resumed there dur

ing the 1996 field season while testing continued within the city itself.

Tarapaya

The modern village of Tarapaya is situated at the confluence of the Totora and Tarapaya rivers at an elevation of 3,300 m (11,000 ft.) (Figure 1). The highway, connecting Potosi to both La Paz and the Pacific port of Arica in modern-day Chile, branches to the west of the village while a smaller dirt road continues downstream to the Miraflores hot springs and the former hacienda

community of Mondragon. According to local

informants, Tarapaya formerly was a small, pro ductive agricultural community, but large-scale dredging of the river by a succession of mining companies destroyed floodplain fields and led to the abandonment of the village over the last few decades. What brings people to the area now are the thermal springs located in 2 small basins 80 m (260 ft.) above and 1 km (0.6 mi.) to the north of the village. The upper basin contains a

small, circular lake, while in the adjacent lower basin two hot springs feed a rectangular, con crete-lined swimming pool. These springs also

provide water to two recreational complexes lo cated adjacent to the river below. Today's visi tors include small numbers of foreign tourists, local residents, and people from Potosi who are

attracted by the hot water and relatively warm

climate.

The most important source of information re

garding the history of Tarapaya comes from




Arzans de Orsua y Vela, a resident of Potosi who wrote extensively about the city in the early 18th century. He describes the development and

contemporary condition of the springs based on his knowledge of previous writers and oral his

tory, as well as personal observation (Figure 2). Arzans de Orsua y Vela (1965[1]:21) states that

Mayta Capac, the Inka who first conquered the area, had the lake enlarged and made perfectly circular (Figure 3). A few generations later, one of the last Inka rulers, Atahuallpa, stopped at

Tarapaya to bathe and constructed a house half a

league away. Today local people continue to refer to the rectangular pool in the lower basin as the "Inka Bath," and identify nearby founda tions as the remains of Inka structures (Figure 4). At the time Arzans wrote the first section of

his chronicle?from 1705 to 1708?Tarapaya was

being used as a recreational facility by residents of Potosi and other visitors. An inn stood on the north side of the lake, and people who did not know how to swim could safely enjoy the waters in two small compartments that were built on the shore (Arzans de Orsua y Vela 1965[1]:22). Arzans also mentions that private houses with baths fed by the hot springs had been constructed in the lower basin, but these were in ruins by the time he described them. The houses had been owned in the past by Francisco Gomez de la

Rocha, a powerful silver merchant and provincial official who resided in Potosi during the 17th

century. La Rocha is a notorious figure in the history

of Potosi not only because of his wealth, but due to his involvement in a scandal that pitted some of the city's most powerful residents against the

Spanish government (Arzans de Orsua y Vela

1965[1]:123). In 1648 the Crown sent Francisco de Nestares Marin, a former inquisitor, to Potosi to investigate the debasement of silver coins pro duced in the city and to punish those deemed

responsible. On his arrival Nestares suspended the production of coins for four months, devalued the coins that were already circulating by as

much as 25%, and imprisoned 42 men, including la Rocha, for their involvement in the crime. La

FIGURE 3. The upper basin of Tarapaya. Structures in the foreground are 20th century bath houses.

Rocha was eventually released and subjected to a fine of 500,000 pesos to be paid over 5 years.

According to Arzans, at some point in 1650 Nestares began to pressure la Rocha for the first installment of the fine, and the merchant arranged to have him poisoned by a servant. The plot, however, was discovered, and la Rocha was ar rested by Nestares' men while awaiting news of the assassination in Tarapaya. He was returned to Potosi and imprisoned in Nestares' house

where he was tortured, garrotted, and finally hanged in the main plaza as an example.

FIGURE 4. The lower basin of Tarapaya. The "Inka Bath" is at right; the foundation near the center of the photograph is Structure 2.




^ modern /'/ dirt road /s' -\ ^ construction '/ / / i \ ^ stone excavation unit // s \ ^ foundation // f-..^ \

.... possible N / / \ foundation t _ // g^<l \ canal 1 20meters / / /

.?^ /

f^fei LACUNA \ \\

V: TARAPAYA ;J /

FIGURE 5. Plan of the upper basin of Tarapaya.

La Rocha never admitted to plotting Nestares'

death, nor did he reveal the whereabouts of the

7,000,000 silver pesos that he was rumored to have hidden before the official investigation be

gan. Potosinos rallied to his defense when he was last imprisoned by Nestares, sending delega tions from the city council and silver guild to

plead for his life. At his death he became a folk

hero, a gallant, generous, elegant man who earned his fortune in the silver trade and then lost everything, including his life, to a Crown official who was intent on destroying Potosi. Poems were written lamenting his tragic fate, and an entire corpus of legends centering on his love affairs and lost treasure still circulates among

people of both European and indigenous ancestry (Aitken Soux 1993; Quesada 1996). Among them is the belief that la Rocha hid his silver in

the springs or on his property at Tarapaya, a

possibility that motivated some to dig holes in the foundations of his houses and attempt to

drain the lake in the years following his death

(Arzans de Orsua y Vela 1965[1]:24).

Excavations at Tarapaya

Test excavations were initially conducted at

Tarapaya because the combination of historical, oral, and archaeological evidence suggested that it was inhabited during the late prehistoric and colonial periods and thus would yield a ceramic

sequence that spanned the conquest. Mapping during the 1995 season revealed the badly dis turbed remains of the inn at the edge of the lake

(Figure 5) and the foundations of six buildings in the lower basin (Figure 6). Excavations focused

primarily on middens adjacent to the inn and next to five of the structures in the lower basin,

although a number of rooms were also sampled in order to gain a clearer understanding of the

way in which they were used. By the end of the 1996 season a total of 6 units measuring 2 x

2 m each had been excavated in middens near

the inn and 8 units, ranging from 1 to 6 m2

each, had been dug next to buildings in the lower basin. In addition, two rooms in the inn and eight rooms in structures located in the lower basin were also sampled. The discussion here will focus on the lower basin that contains resi dential structures presumably owned by la Rocha.

Architectural remains in the lower basin consist of the remnants of stone building foundations that are clearly visible on the surface. These structures are similar in layout to 17th century Spanish houses in Potosi, although they are

smaller and more simply constructed. The three best preserved examples are rectilinear com

pounds that range in size from approximately 23 x 28 to 30 x 44 m (75 x 92 to 100 x 144 ft.) and are composed of cobbled interior patios sur

rounded by small rooms. In cases where en trances are still visible, they lead directly into the central patios. Excavations within rooms re

vealed that the stone foundations were sur

mounted by adobe walls, the interiors of which were plastered with mud and, in some cases, whitewashed. Floors were constructed of packed silt and were sometimes plastered with lime as

well. The absence of roof tiles suggests that the

buildings were thatched, as was apparently the




norm in Potosi at the time (Jimenez de la Espada 1965[2]:373). The features and artifacts recovered during ex

cavations suggest a purely residential occupation.

One room in the best preserved building, Struc ture 3, was cleared completely, and four others

were tested. Low adobe platforms were uncov

ered in the corners of Rooms 4 and 5 (Figure 7)

modern excavation \\ construction unit j: : ; !

^ stone canal (\ / | UO foundation \\ _ ; / 11 1

... '

dry canal \/N ?>-*vJJ possible / x T7"?> /'

' foundation s?\ spring %%\\i1*r4y

// dirt road ^ x\ /// 20 meters \ ^^^L// ^^^^^''^^X

///s::>7 ^ prong

\\ ,-<.'-- -p*

FIGURE 6. Plan of the lower basin of Tarapaya.




that appear to have been used for cooking and, perhaps, storage. The former is suggested by signs of burning on two of the platforms along

with charcoal trampled into the floor of Room 4. In contrast Room 2, located just to the west of the entrance, was almost devoid of artifacts and contained no ash or charcoal. A low stone bench built against the south and east sides of the room and the absence of other features sug gest that it served some social purpose. A 2 x 2 m unit placed in Room 3, the only room tested on the north side of the structure, revealed an

ashy midden with a large quantity of domestic trash. No indications of how the space was used

prior to refuse disposal were apparent. Excavations in refuse associated with five of

the six buildings in the lower basin also yielded domestic debris. All of the middens consisted of

deposits of sheet trash that ranged up to 40 cm

(16 in.) thick and that were located along the walls and near the entrances of structures. The recovered artifacts reflect a limited range of ac

tivities, primarily food preparation and consump tion. Ceramics and animal bones were the most

frequently recovered items, although small quan tities of personal ornaments, horse tack, and other

objects were also found. The only structure, which did not serve a resi

dential function at the site, is the single-room building situated in the center of the basin, Struc ture 6. No surface middens were associated with the structure, and excavations in the west end of the building revealed a series of three small adobe platforms made of fine red clay built

against the west and south walls. These had been separated from the rest of the building by a thin partition, the base of which could be seen in the plastered floor. These features, in addition to the overall size and shape of the structure, suggest that it was used as a chapel. The pres ence of a human burial located against the north wall lends support to this interpretation. Due to concerns about local sentiment, the burial was not fully excavated and was immediately re-in

terred, so a detailed assessment of the remains cannot be provided. Some aspects of the burial

FIGURE 7. Room 4 in Structure 3 after excavation. The

adobes on top of the small platforms in the corners at left have already been removed.

are clear, however. The grave was cut through the floor, and the individual, probably an elderly

man, had been placed in a seated position. No remains of a coffin, shroud, or other objects were

noted, except for colonial period domestic trash that was incorporated into the burial fill. The

position of the body points to an indigenous burial, since many Andean groups interred their dead seated. The fact that the floor was never

replastered suggests that the grave was dug at a time when the structure was no longer being

maintained, but was probably still regarded as sacred ground. One of the most important findings to emerge

from these excavations is the complete lack of artifacts or features indicative of an Inka presence at the site. Either the Inka visited the area

briefly without leaving physical traces, or the

occupation described in the historical sources

actually occurred elsewhere. The architecture and artifact assemblage uncovered at Tarapaya are consistent with Arzans' description of the colo nial occupation of the zone. The material culture indicates a 17th century date, although occupation during the last decades of the 16th and the first

part of the 18th century cannot be ruled out. A narrower time range is suggested by the histori cal evidence. Capoche (1959:120-121) described the lake and nearby springs in 1585, but made



TARAPAYA: AN ELITE SPANISH RESIDENCE NEAR COLONIAL POTOSt IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE 115

no mention of any architecture in the zone other than a silver mill adjacent to the river. Arzans,

writing in the first decade of the 18th century, states that the buildings in the lower basin were in ruins. If the abandonment of these structures

were a result of la Rocha's death in 1650, then the occupation was probably confined to the first half of the 17th century, perhaps even the two decades before 1650, when la Rocha was acquir ing his fortune.

Tarapaya and Puerto Real

Ewen's (1991) investigations at Puerto Real were framed as an explicit test of the model

developed by Deagan (1983) on the basis of materials from St. Augustine. Specifically, Deagan found that indigenous elements in mestizo and Spanish households were largely associated with low visibility activities performed by women, while higher visibility, often masculine activities were more likely to incorporate Euro

pean material culture. Ewen wanted to ascertain if this pattern of commodity consumption oc curred in other Spanish colonial sites and so could be construed as a process of acculturation that was common to a broad range of situations, or if it were limited to mainland garrison com munities such as St. Augustine. In contrast to the latter, Puerto Real was a relatively prosper ous community that over the course of its occu

pation served as a base for mining operations, operated a port used by slave traders, and pro duced hides and tallow for sale to Spain and

foreign smugglers. Occupied from 1503 to 1578, the town consisted of approximately 100 house holds at its peak, only a small proportion of which were headed by Spaniards (Ewen 1991:27). One of these relatively high status

households, Locus 19, was the focus of Ewen's

investigation. In order to evaluate Deagan's model, Ewen

(1991:44-48) developed five test implications that were ultimately met by data from Puerto Real, thus confirming that the processes at the two sites were similar, despite differences in settle

ment location, function, and overall economic status. Two of the hypotheses and their associ ated test implications will be evaluated here us

ing material from Tarapaya that will be compared to the assemblage from Puerto Real. First, if

indigenous elements were more frequently incor

porated into low-visibility activities, the ceramics used in the storage and preparation of food should consist of a mixture of European and in

digenous types, rather than being dominated by the former. The corollary to this is that items used in high visibility activities that reflected social status, such as serving wares and personal apparel, should be predominantly European in

origin or manufacture. The latter trend should be even more pronounced at Tarapaya than Puerto

Real, simply because the site was located near a

major economic center and was occupied at a later date and presumably by a much wealthier individual. For the same reasons, a larger pro portion of European-style utilitarian wares might also be expected.

In order to compare the assemblages from the two sites, the artifacts from Tarapaya were clas sified using the same categories employed by Ewen that were based on a modified version of South's (1977) system. Only artifacts from two middens associated with Structure 3 were used in the analysis, since that locale produced the larg est sample of artifacts. This material was com

pared to the assemblage recovered from late con texts at Locus 19 in Puerto Real that Ewen dated between 1550 and 1578.

A comparison of the relative proportions of artifacts recovered from the two sites shows strik

ing differences, particularly with regard to ceram ics (Table 1). At Tarapaya majolicas comprise only 3% of the entire artifact assemblage, and the remaining types of European tablewares con tribute 0.41% to the total. In contrast, majolicas at Puerto Real constitute 19.12% of the total, with European and Hispanic tablewares making up an additional 4.15% of the assemblage. Eu

ropean utilitarian wares, such as olive jars and lead glazed cooking vessels, are also more com

mon at Puerto Real; they constitute almost 27%




of the assemblage compared to 9.28% at

Tarapaya.

The dominant component of the assemblages from both sites are colono and aboriginal wares, but they form a much greater proportion of the

assemblage from Tarapaya. Ewen (1991:75-76), following Willis (1984:169), defines colono ce ramics as hybrid forms resulting from contact between European and Native American popula tions. In the case of Tarapaya only handmade

TABLE 1 RELATIVE FREQUENCY OF ARTIFACTS

RECOVERED FROM TARAPAYA AND PUERTO REAL

Category_TarapayaL Puerto Real2

Majolica 3.00 19.12

Hispanic Tablewares 0.39 3.75

European Utilitarian Wares 9.28 26.93

"European" Tablewares 0.02 0.40

Colono & Aboriginal Wares 83.86 43.07

Kitchen Artifacts 0.23 2.57

Structural Hardware 0.23 2.74

Weaponry and Armor 0.00 0.04

Clothing & Sewing Items 1.40 0.74

Personal Items & Jewelry 0.09 0.42

Activity-Related Items 0.02 0.09

Furniture Hardware 0.09 0.04

Tools 0.00 0.02

Toys & Games 1.07 0.02

Harness & Tack 0.40 0.05

Artifacts recovered from middens associated with Structure 3.

These include deposits in TA4, TA9, and Room 3. N=5,280. 2Ewen 1991, Table 7.2. Locus 19, late contexts only.

N=40,330.

earthenwares that were produced in European shapes were included in this category. At

Tarapaya over 80% of all artifacts are fragments from colono and aboriginal vessels, and at Puerto Real they constitute 43.07% of the total.

While the comparison of artifacts categorized using South's system of classification shows

striking differences between the assemblages, the

categories are not entirely adequate for testing the

hypotheses proposed by Ewen. Some of the ce ramic categories refer primarily to the technology used to produce pottery and its place of manufac

ture, rather than vessel function. This is particu larly problematic with regard to the category that

encompasses all indigenous and colono wares,

regardless of vessel form. A more precise mea sure of the degree to which indigenous ceram ics were incorporated into food preparation and service is to determine the relative proportions of

indigenous and European vessels used in those activities. For Tarapaya this was accomplished using rim sherds that could be identified as to function and ware. Utilitarian ceramics, primarily cooking and storage vessels, are composed almost

entirely of indigenous wares, with 95% of iden tifiable rims produced locally using native tech

niques. This contrasts with Locus 19 at Puerto

Real, where Ewen reports that only 62% of all utilitarian vessels were produced locally. Of the 349 rim sherds from serving vessels at Tarapaya, primarily brimmed plates and small hemispherical bowls, 14.9% were of European-style manufac

ture, 68.5% were indigenous, and 16.6% were colono wares. Comparable data are not available from Ewen's tables, but he does mention that no

local copies of European tableware forms were

found at Locus 19, a situation in marked contrast to Tarapaya where these forms actually outnum

ber majolicas and lead glazed serving vessels. The overall trend predicted by Deagan does

occur at Tarapaya, where European-style wares were more frequently incorporated into dining activities than cooking or storage. Indigenous ceramics clearly dominate the assemblage, how

ever, and European style-ceramics were used much less often than in the Caribbean, despite




the fact that the site was located near an impor tant economic center. What factors could explain the relatively infrequent use of European-style vessels, not just in the kitchen, but at the dinner table as well? La Rocha's annual income is not

known, but the fact that he made interest-free loans to the Spanish treasury (Bakewell 1988:40) and was deemed capable of paying a fine of

100,000 pesos a year indicates that he was ex

tremely wealthy. His income probably far ex

ceeded that of the wealthiest resident of Puerto

Real, as well as the more affluent occupants of St. Augustine whose highest paid official had an

annual salary of 4000 pesos in 1763 (Deagan 1983:Table 3.2). Based on the recovery of pendants and a lace

bobbin from Locus 19, Ewen believes that it was one of the few homes in Puerto Real run by a

Spanish woman. Historical records indicate that la Rocha, who was of Iberian birth, was also

married to a Spaniard, dona Andrea de Herrera y Bonilla (Bakewell 1988:195) who resided locally. Differences in wealth or the ethnic composition of household heads thus cannot explain the diver

gence in consumption patterns noted above. Similarities between the ceramic assemblage from

Tarapaya and those excavated at colonial sites in

Moquegua, Peru, suggest that the discrepancy may stem from regional differences in the con

sumption of European and indigenous goods.

Tarapaya and the Wineries of Moquegua

The Moquegua Valley, in far southern Peru, is one of the few areas in the Andes to be system atically studied by historical archaeologists (Rice and Smith 1989; Smith 1991; Rice and Van Beck 1993 ; DeFrance 1996; Rice 1996a, 1996b; Van Buren 1996). The Moquegua Bodegas Project, directed by Prudence Rice, focused on the colonial wineries, or bodegas that produced wine and spirits for export, primarily to Potosi.

Bodegas were located on rural estates that lined the relatively isolated valley near the small town of Moquegua. The owners of these wineries were wealthy Spaniards who probably resided in

town and visited their properties during the har vest and at other important times in the produc tion process. The precise economic and ethnic

composition of the bodega residents is not

known, but based on the admixture of material and technological elements present, Greg Smith

(1991:76-77) argues that they were not members of the local elite and suggests that they included mestizos after the 16th century (Faron 1985).

An important part of the Moquegua Bodegas Project entailed shovel-testing 28 wineries and more extensive excavations at 4 of these sites, work that was conducted by Smith (1991) as part of his dissertation research. The objective of Smith's study was to assess the relative contribu tion of indigenous and Spanish elements to the formation of colonial culture in the Moquegua Valley by applying the methodology developed by Deagan in St. Augustine to material from the

bodegas. Smith divided these assemblages, which included both domestic and industrial de

bris, into early (pre-1600), middle (1600-1775), and late (post-1775) contexts depending on their

provenience relative to a volcanic ash fall that occurred in 1600 and the presence of pearl and whitewares that have a terminus post quern of 1775. Only ceramics from early and middle contexts at the bodega Locumbilla, and from the

middle contexts at Chincha and Yahuay will be discussed here as they overlap in time with the material from Tarapaya and Puerto Real.

Smith's findings in Moquegua are very similar to those from Tarapaya. His classification sys tem, which is also based on South's (1977) scheme, is roughly, but not entirely comparable to the one used to analyze the artifacts from Puerto Real and Tarapaya. The overall similari ties between the sites are clear; however, the

assemblages are dominated by locally made earthenwares and include very small quantities of

pottery imported from Europe. Majolicas, grouped by Smith within the tin-enameled cat

egory, constitute less than 1% of the total early assemblage from Locumbilla, and 3.9%, 9%, and 7.8% of middle period collections from

Locumbilla, Chincha, and Yahuay respectively.




Colono and aboriginal wares, which Smith cat

egorizes as coarse earthenwares, comprise 96.4% of the early assemblage from Locumbilla, and

56.4%, 79.2%, and 71% of the middle period artifacts from the three sites (Smith 1991: Tables

7.1, 7.4, 7.7). The assemblage from the early context at Locumbilla thus includes a slightly smaller proportion of majolicas, and a larger percentage of colono and aboriginal wares than does the collection from Tarapaya. Middle pe riod collections show the reverse pattern, but in all cases proportionally fewer majolicas and a

much greater percentage of aboriginal and colono wares were found at the Moquegua sites than at Locus 19 in Puerto Real.

The overall similarity in the proportions of ceramic wares from the bodegas and Tarapaya obscures some important differences in the types of pottery that were used. Interestingly, deco rated coarse earthenwares derived largely from an

indigenous tradition continued to be employed as

serving vessels in both areas into the 17th cen

tury. The painted designs and the forms differed, with the annular rings and design repertoire char acteristic of the Moquegua pottery entirely absent at Tarapaya. Cooking vessels in both places were also of local manufacture, but again, differ ent in form, paste, and decoration. Smith

(1991:259), identified most cooking vessels at

bodegas sites as Cuy Plain, a thin-walled colono ware that shares some paste similarities with in

digenous wares. This type does not occur at

Tarapaya, where most cooking pots are identical to indigenous vessels that were produced in the

highlands prior to the Spanish conquest. Finally, and most surprisingly, the types of majolicas found in the two areas are also distinct. Pana

manian polychromes account for the majority of tin-enameled sherds found at Tarapaya. While this is also found in small quantities in

Moquegua, tin-enameled pottery from middle pe riod contexts at the bodegas is dominated by locally produced types?Escapalaque and Mas

Alia Polychromes as well as Mojinete Glazed Enameled Ware (Rice 1990)?none of which are

found at Tarapaya.

These differences suggest that the Spanish resi dents of both Andean areas tended to rely much more heavily on local commodities than did their

counterparts in Puerto Real, and that the distribu tion of such items was very restricted. This holds true not just for indigenous pottery, but for the majolicas as well. Such a pattern appears to contrast with the situation in Central America and the circum-Caribbean where the products of local pottery manufacturing centers were widely distributed throughout the region at a relatively early date (Deagan 1987:23-24). The absence of Andean majolicas at Tarapaya may be due to the site's occupation in the first half of the 17th

century rather than to limited distribution; only excavation of deposits securely dated to the lat ter part of Smith's middle period?the late 17th

through late 18th centuries?can clarify the extent to which locally produced majolicas were traded.

Discussion

The data from colonial period sites in the Andes that are available thus far suggest that

consumption patterns were distinct from those in the circum-Caribbean region. Assemblages from two widely separated and different types of sites indicate that Spaniards who resided in what are now Peru and Bolivia incorporated more indig enous technology, specifically ceramics, into their household activities, and acquired very little pot tery from outside the region. This contrasts with circum-Caribbean settlements, where Spanish- and

European-style goods occur in greater abundance overall and increase in frequency with the wealth of the household.

A number of factors could account for these

differences, including characteristics of geography and the indigenous population, as well as the nature of the sites thus far investigated. Smith

(1991:318) points out the importance of Spanish trade restrictions in limiting colonists' access to

commodities, as the quantity of foreign goods increased dramatically in Late Period contexts at

the bodegas after these restrictions were lifted. The low frequency and very narrow range of




European-style ceramics used at Tarapaya also

suggest that imported pottery was not available, even at high prices. The only identifiable non

Hispanic artifact found at Tarapaya was a single sherd of Chinese porcelain; ceramics manufac tured in Europe were completely absent, and 98% of the majolicas were produced in Panama.

Mercantile policy by itself, however, cannot ex

plain the differences between the Andes and the

circum-Caribbean region, since they were subject to most of the same restrictions. In contrast to

Puerto Real and St. Augustine, the Andean sites were much further from Spain, were located a

significant distance from ports and, perhaps most

importantly, were within one of the cores, rather than the frontier of the Spanish colonial world.

Cusick (1991), in his discussion of late 18th

century St. Augustine, suggests that the location of circum-Caribbean settlements on the northern frontier may have enhanced their ability to pro cure contraband and perhaps legal goods, rather than inhibiting it. With the colonization of

Mexico, the Caribbean was economically marginalized, and smuggling became one of the

primary ways in which colonists provisioned their households. The scale of illicit economic activi ties on Hispaniola is attested to by the fact that the occupants of Puerto Real were forcibly relo cated by the Spanish government because of their extensive trade with foreign smugglers (Ewen 1991:30). In contrast, colonists in the Andes resided in communities that were more self-suf

ficient and presumably monitored more inten

sively by Spanish officials as a result of their location near economic and political centers.

In addition to geography, the organization of Andean cultures at the time of contact can also

help to account for differences in consumption patterns. Unlike Hispaniola and Florida, a num ber of pre-colombian states had emerged in the

Andes, the last of which was the Inka empire. A long tradition of craft specialization existed in the region, and many items continued to be

manufactured after the Conquest. These were marketed by both indigenous producers and

Spaniards, many of whom held some native tech

nologies, such as textiles, stonework, and metal

lurgy, in high regard. The persistence of indig enous populations who survived European dis eases in greater numbers than did their circum Caribbean counterparts, and the continuing pro duction of native goods made these items more

available, and perhaps even more acceptable to

Spanish consumers. The presence of indigenous ceramics in the markets of Potosi is suggested by the fact that a community of native potters re

sided just a few blocks west of the city's center

(Arzans de Orsiia y Vela 1965[1]:128). Finally, the types of sites investigated in

Moquegua and Potosi may also account for the nature of the material culture found there, par

ticularly in the latter case. Tarapaya was used

primarily for recreational and medicinal purposes, rather than as la Rocha's primary residence.

While he appears to have visited it frequently, he owned another home in the center of Potosi and

probably had a house in La Plata, the adminis trative capital of the region, as well. No docu

mentation indicates the presence of a permanent staff at Tarapaya, but the fact that the site was

occupied only intermittently by its owner sug gests that servants, most likely native people, would have lived there year round. The recov

ery of two tupus, decorative pins used by Andean women to fasten their clothes, as well as

spindle whorls manufactured from indigenous ceramics, suggests that native women were

present, although the use of these artifacts by European women cannot be discounted. In any event, native caretakers, if they existed, would have been the primary consumers of ceramics, and their activities would have increased the pro portion of indigenous wares at the site.

Tarapaya's special status as a rustic get-away

may also have influenced the type of goods that were consumed there. While the importance of urban life to Spanish colonists has been much discussed (McAlister 1984:Ch. 7; Schell Hoberman and Migden Socolow 1986), the writ

ings of Arzans indicate that Tarapaya was appre ciated by city residents for its natural beauty and

pastoral charm. Like the owners of contempo




rary camps and lodges, la Rocha may not have felt compelled to display his wealth and social status in his country home. In other words, the

expression of his ethnic or class affiliation may have depended on the social context, rather than

being a permanent feature of the man himself.

Although little information exists regarding the

year-round inhabitants of the Moquegua bodegas, the same sorts of factors may have operated at them as well. Wealthy owners were probably in residence only intermittently, and may have uti lized different material culture items at their

country estates as opposed to their city homes.

Additionally, much of the domestic refuse was most likely deposited by employees who were

much lower on the socio-economic scale. Future excavations of house lots inhabited by the urban elite should help clarify differences associated with site function.

Conclusion

The divergence of Tarapaya and the Moquegua bodegas from the Caribbean pattern of artifact distribution identified by Deagan and Ewen sug gests that multiple factors influenced acculturation and consumer choice among Spanish colonists, in addition to wealth and the sexual division of la bor within households. The current diversity in

Hispanic cultures points to the importance of lo cal conditions in the development of Latin American traditions, while ethnographic research indicates that the expression of ethnic and class affiliation is flexible and context dependent. In the case of Tarapaya, sex roles certainly played a part in determining the choice of material cul

ture, but additional factors?geographic and his torical?have been equally influential.

The original model proposed by Deagan was

rooted in theories of acculturation developed by scholars such as Foster (1960) and Spicer (1961) and informed by an interest in gender, class, and

ethnicity that was emerging in anthropology dur

ing the 1960s and 1970s. The existence of re

gional differences in the articulation of house

holds with the European market that are begin ning to emerge as new data become available

suggests that archaeologists should also examine their data from a broader comparative perspec tive?and that they will have much to contribute to current debates regarding the development of the modern world economy.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1997 meeting of The Society for Histori cal Archaeology Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology, Corpus Christi, Texas. This research was supported by the H. John Heinz III Charitable Fund Grant Program for Latin American Archaeology and Trinity Univer

sity. Special thanks go to Greg Smith, Susan

DeFrance, Kathleen Deagan, and Charles Ewen for reading and providing constructive suggestions on an earlier draft of this paper, and particularly to Dimitris Stevis, Ludwing Cayo, Martha Mor

gan, Sandra Quispe, Carlos Flores, and Rosmery Berrios for their good work in the field. I would also like to thank the Insituto Nacional de

Arqueologia for granting permission to conduct this research and for facilitating my work in

Bolivia, and I am grateful to the staff of the Casa Nacional de Moneda in Potosi for allowing the collections from Tarapaya to be stored there.

All errors of fact, interpretation, and judgement, are, of course, my own.

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Mary Van Buren Department of Anthropology Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523-1787



Residence Near Colonial Potosí in Comparative Perspective Mary Van Buren

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