A Culinary History Of Collapse, Conquest, And Cultural Identity In Ancient Perú

A Culinary History Of Collapse, Conquest, And Cultural Identity In Ancient Perú

AIA Society: Kentucky

How do archaeologists use food to tell the story of the past? Archaeologist Robyn Cutright (Centre College) addresses this question in our next talk!

​Between 650-1450 CE, residents of the Jequetepeque Valley of northern coastal Perú experienced several large-scale sociopolitical disruptions, including the collapse of the Moche polity, the transition to the subsequent Lambayeque period in the context of highland and northern influences, and conquest by the expanding Chimú empire. This talk explores local experiences of these events, using cuisine as a window onto everyday life in rural communities. Culinary continuities and changes across three Jequetepeque Valley sites suggest that while collapse represented a deep rift in the fabric of rural daily life, conquest was marked by local accommodation and cultural persistence.

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