Alluvium and Empire: The Archaeology of Colonial Resettlement and Indigenous Persistence on Peru’s North Coast (Archaeology of Indigenous-Colonial Interactions in the Americas)

"Alluvium and Empire examines the archaeology of Indigenous communities and landscapes that were subject to Spanish colonial forced resettlement during the sixteenth century. Written at the intersections of history and archaeology, the book critiques previous approaches to the study of empire and models a genealogical approach that attends to the open-ended-and often unpredictable-ways in which empires take shape."-- Provided by publisher Alluvium and Empire uncovers the stories of Indigenous people who were subject to one of the largest waves of forced resettlement in human history, the Reducción General. In 1569, Spanish administrators attempted to move at least 1.4 million Indigenous people into a series of planned towns called reducciones , with the goal of reshaping their households, communities, and religious practices. However, in northern Peru's Zaña Valley, this process failed to go as the Spanish had planned. In Alluvium and Empire, Parker VanValkenburgh explores both the short-term processes and long-term legacies of Indigenous resettlement in this region, drawing particular attention to the formation of complex relationships between Indigenous communities, imperial institutions, and the dynamic environments of Peru's north coast. The volume draws on nearly ten years of field and archival research to craft a nuanced account of the Reducción General and its aftermath. Written at the intersections of history and archaeology, Alluvium and Empire at once bears witness to the violence of Spanish colonization and highlights Indigenous resilience in the aftermath of resettlement. In the process, VanValkenburgh critiques previous approaches to the study of empire and models a genealogical approach that attends to the open-ended—and often unpredictable—ways in which empires take shape. Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction 20 1. Studying Empire, Genealogically 41 2. The Development of Reducción 70 3. Environment, Settlement, and Indigenous Political Subjectivity in Zaña Before the Reducción General 101 4. How Reducción Worked: Indigenous Resettlement and Regional Transformation in the Zaña Valley During the Late Sixteenth Century 147 5. After-Affects: The Transformation and Persistence of Indigenous Communities and Reducción in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries 198 Conclusion 226 Appendix: Methodological Essay 234 Archival Abbreviations 238 Notes 240 References 272 Index 312