LATE NASCA FOOD AND CRAFT PRODUCTION IN THE TIERRAS BLANCAS

VALLEY, PERU

Verity H. Whalen and Luis Manuel González La Rosa

The analysis of food, drink, and crafts has formed the foundation of archaeological research in multiple world regions.
The contexts of production are equally as important as those of consumption, particularly when multiple production
activities occur within a single space. Here we present a residential production locale from Cocahuischo, a Late
Nasca (A.D. 450–650) settlement on the south coast of Peru. Food, drink, and craft production are not well understood
in the Nasca region, due to a dearth of settlements with evidence of suprahousehold production locales. Drawing from
recent ethnographic, ethnoarchaeological, and archaeological research, we examine the material expressions of food and
craft production activities represented in an atypical building at Cocahuischo. We argue that the structure was a multi-
function production facility used for food preparation, chicha beer brewing, and low output copper metallurgy, illus-
trating an example of “cross-craft production.”

El análisis de artesanía y gastronomía ha formado la fundación de investigaciones arqueológicos en tantos regiones del
mundo. Los contextos de producción son tan importante que los de consumo, especialmente cuando se ocurren múltiples
actividades en un espacio. Presentamos un espacio residencial de producción de Cocahuischo, un asentamiento Nasca
Tardio (A.D. 450–650) en la costa sur de Perú. La producción de alimentos y artesanía no se conoce bien en el región
Nasca, debido a una falta de asentamientos que contienen evidencia de espacios de producción. Por medio de inves-
tigaciones recientes etnográficas, etnoarqueológicos, y arqueológicos, se discute la evidencia de la producción de alimentos
y artesanía en un instalación no residencial de Cocahuischo. Sugerimos que el edificio era un instalación de producción
multifunción que se usaba para la preparación de alimentos, la producción de chicha, y la metalurgia, ilustrando un
ejemplo de “cross-craft production.”

T he production, distribution, and consumption of

food, drink, and crafts form the foundation of
archaeological research in numerous world regions
(see Costin 2007; Dietler 2006; Hayden and
Villeneuve 2011). The consumption of food and
drink is a dynamic social phenomenon that can play

Verity H. Whalen, Purdue University, 700 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907 (vwhalen@purdue.edu)
Luis Manuel González La Rosa, Proyecto Arqueológico Nasca Tardío, Calle Alfredo Maldonado 770, Pueblo Libre,
Lima 21, Perú (lmgonzalez@arqueosystems.com)

Ñawpa Pacha, Journal of Andean Archaeology, Volume 34, Number 1, pp. 79–106. Copyright # 2014 Institute of Andean Studies. All rights reserved.

79
 Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology
a key role in sociopolitical and religious practice (e.g.,
Blitz 1993; Bray 2003; Brown 2001; Dietler and
Herbich 2001; Lucero 2003; Spielmann 2002).
Likewise, crafts are multi-faceted objects that simul-
taneously express identities, negotiate politics, materi-
alize ideology, serve a practical function, and play an
active role in people’s lives (e.g., Brumfiel 1996;
DeMarrais et al. 1996; Gosden and Marshall 1999;
Inomata 2001; Schortman and Urban 2004).
Production locales are key to understanding food
and craft economies, particularly when spaces are
used for multi-crafting. Facilities not reserved for
one production activity often serve multiple purpo-
ses—both contemporaneously and at different times
(e.g., Hirth 2009; Shimada 1978; Topic 1990). In
spite of methodological difficulties, recent research
has established material correlates of production
activities and nuanced interpretations of multifunc-
tional spaces.
While food and craft production facilities have been
investigated in other parts of the prehispanic Andes,
few have been encountered in the Nasca region of
southern Peru. Thus far, production locales are
known only from Cahuachi, the regional ceremonial
center. Nasca settlements have provided no evidence
of suprahousehold production activities. In this
article, we present the first example of a multi-use pro-
duction facility in the Nasca region, documented at
the site of Cocahuischo. The site is a large Late
Nasca (A.D. 450–650) settlement located in the
Tierras Blancas Valley. Fieldwork in 2012 revealed
domestic spaces, as well as an atypical building that
was not strictly a residence. Drawing from published
archaeological, ethnoarchaeological, and ethnographic
data, we suggest that the building was a suprahouse-
hold facility used for food preparation, chicha beer
brewing, and low-output metallurgy. We conclude
by discussing the implications of multifunctional pro-
duction spaces and the archaeological difficulties of
reconstructing the activities that occurred within
them. Notions of discrete spatial boundaries are
largely a modern construct (Robin and Rothschild
2002: 164) and, by exploring the nature of cross-
craft production, we illustrate the fluidity inherent in
the prehispanic built environment.
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Volume 34, Number 1
Archaeological Context
The end of the Early Intermediate Period (circa A.D.
1–750) on the south coast was a time of social change
that culminated in the colonization of the region by
the Wari, forming one of the first Andean empires
(Conlee 2010; Conlee and Schreiber 2006;
Schreiber 1998, 1999, 2005). The tumultuous end
to this period mirrored its beginnings. Nasca society
grew out of a loose federation of rural communities
that participated in pilgrimages to the ceremonial
center of Cahuachi (Kantner and Vaughn 2012;
Silverman 1993; Silverman and Proulx 2002;
Vaughn 2004, 2009). Cahuachi emerged from mul-
tiple competing religious cults in a frontier setting,
and became an integrating force in the region (Van
Gijseghem 2006; Vaughn and Van Gijseghem
2007). The Cahuachi cult was associated with a reli-
gious ideology based on agricultural fertility and water
(Carmichael 1992, 1994, 1998). Pilgrims engaged in
large-scale ritual food consumption within the site’s
numerous plazas (Silverman 1993; Vaughn 2010).
Key symbols of the religious ideology were materia-
lized in polychrome ceramic vessels which may have
been produced at Cahuachi and were distributed to
pilgrims who traveled from around the south coast
to visit the site (Kantner and Vaughn 2012;
Vaughn 2005, 2009; Vaughn and Neff 2000,
2004; Vaughn et al. 2005, 2006). These vessels
were subsequently used within Early Nasca villages
to recreate feasting events at the household level
(Vaughn 2004, 2005; Vaughn and Linares Grados
2006).
By around A.D. 350, construction at Cahuachi had
halted and the center of sociopolitical influence shifted
to the central Nasca region (Isla and Reindel 2006;
Reindel 2009; Silverman 1993: 318; Silverman and
Proulx 2002: 119–120). There, individuals rose to
positions of considerable status as evidenced by the
elite tombs at La Muña (Isla and Reindel 2006). In
the wake of Cahuachi’s decline, sociopolitical organiz-
ation in the southern Nasca region became localized
with the rise of valley polities (Figure 1; Schreiber
1998: 263, 1999: 168). The residents of these settle-
ments engaged in trade and interaction with groups
 Whalen and González La Rosa: Late Nasca food and craft production in the Tierras Blancas Valley, Peru

Figure 1. Location of the research site and other archaeological sites mentioned in the text, including the Early Nasca pilgrimage center
and Late Nasca settlements.

around the Andes (Knobloch 1983: 289–316; Leoni
2006: Figure 11.10; Menzel 1971: 128; Paulsen
1983; Proulx 1994). Iconographic evidence and
bioarchaeological remains suggest that Late Nasca
society was characterized by ritualized conflict associ-
ated with territoriality and the production of trophy
heads (Kellner 2002: 93; Knudson et al. 2009;
Proulx 2006: 42–44; Williams et al. 2001).
While evidence of feasting has been recovered from
Cahuachi (Silverman 1993; Silverman and Proulx
2002: 132; Strong 1957: 31; Valdez 1994), there
are few data regarding suprahousehold food prep-
aration and brewing in the Nasca region. Limited evi-
dence of food and beverage storage was noted by
Silverman during her fieldwork at Cahuachi. She
encountered plainware urns embedded in clay floors
and free-standing plainware pots in facilities that she
suggests were used to temporarily house food and
drink brought to Cahuachi by pilgrims (Silverman
1993: 302). Orefici (2012: 173) also mentions silo-

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 Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology
like structures in temples that were used for food
storage. However, he found no evidence of kitchen
areas or hearths at Cahuachi (Orefici 2012: 174). In
spite of these storage facilities, Silverman found that
the majority of pottery (70 percent) at Cahuachi
was fineware (1993: 301). This high percentage
suggests that communal spaces at Cahuachi might
have been used for feasting and food consumption
rather than preparation.
At Nasca settlements such as Marcaya, Upanca,
and La Puntilla, scholars have documented house-
hold-based food preparation (see Vaughn 2000:
478–479). Features and artifacts such as hearths,
storage pits, grinding stones, cooking pots, and food-
stuffs provide ample evidence of preparation activities
in domestic contexts (Van Gijseghem 2006: 297;
Vaughn 2000: 259; Vaughn and Linares Grados
2006: 601). Yet no evidence has been encountered
of suprahousehold food preparation (e.g., Vaughn
2000: 495). Communal areas such as plazas are
present at La Puntilla, but were kept clean and lack
facilities or space used for food preparation (Van
Gijseghem 2004: 208). There is a similar dearth of
evidence of alcoholic beverage production at Nasca
settlements. It is possible that ceramic assemblages
at Marcaya and La Puntilla include cooking and
storage vessels used for both food preparation and
household-based chicha beer brewing (see Van
Gijseghem 2006: 255–258; Vaughn 2000: 357).
Neither Van Gijseghem nor Vaughn, however, cite
any clear evidence of either household-based or supra-
household chicha production. Indeed, when discuss-
ing the function of jars recovered from Marcaya,
Vaughn only mentions the storage of water (2000:
353, 357).
There is also little evidence of metallurgy. Gold,
silver, and copper artifacts are known from Nasca
sites and are often objects of personal adornment
such as tupu pins or funerary masks (e.g., Orefici
2012: Figure 16–17; Reindel et al. 2013: Figure
14.7). Yet the only data on metallurgy come from
baked clay molds which Orefici (2012: Figure 15)
recovered from a plaza area in front of the Great
Pyramid at Cahuachi (Figure 2). The molds had
burn marks and some also contained pigment
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Volume 34, Number 1
Figure 2. Photograph of casting molds recovered from
Cahuachi, courtesy of La Misión Arqueológica Italiana Proyecto
Nasca—artifacts on display at the Museo Antonini, Nasca, Peru.
staining. Orefici (2012: 196) argues that they were
used in metal-working and subsequently pigment
processing. Beyond that, no scholars mention metal-
lurgical activities at Nasca sites. Ingots that would
have been produced using molds are absent and no
other byproducts of metal-working have been ident-
ified. Even though excavations have been conducted
at numerous residential settlements, there is presently
no archaeological evidence of suprahousehold food
and drink preparation or metal-working at Nasca
sites besides Cahuachi. Consequently, the data from
Cocahuischo are unique and illustrate the first resi-
dential example of food, drink, and craft production
in a multi-use space.
Field Research at Cocahuischo
The southern Nasca region is a dry, pre-montane
desert formation (ONERN 1971) composed of four
river valleys. Cocahuischo is located in the upper
Tierras Blancas Valley at an elevation of 1,250 masl
in the yunga ecological zone (Figure 1). The seasonal
rivers of the Nasca region are some of the narrowest
and driest along the Andean coast (ONERN 1971).
Drought and flooding events impacted the societies
living here in prehistory and continue to do so
today. Cocahuischo occupies 6 ha of the southern
flank of the valley. Its 471 structures occupy a steep
hillside, defined on the northern edge by a cliff that
descends steeply 20 m to the Tierras Blancas floor.
 Whalen and González La Rosa: Late Nasca food and craft production in the Tierras Blancas Valley, Peru
The site is divided by the natural topography (in par-
ticular, two deep quebradas) into two main residential
zones and an isolated cemetery (Figures 3 and 4). The
average structure size varies, ranging from small habi-
tations or storage rooms measuring less than 3 m in
diameter to large patios over 13 m in length. Most
buildings are attached to two or three other structures
to form patio groups. Following criteria outlined by
Vaughn (2009: 91) and Stanish (1989), the 119
patio groups are assumed to represent archaeological
households.
Based on accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS)
dates, Cocahuischo was a Late Nasca settlement occu-
pied around A.D. 450–550 (Figure 5, Table 1).1
Carbon samples were collected from occupation
levels throughout the site. The distribution of struc-
tures sampled and the lack of evidence of reoccupa-
tion indicate that all areas of the site were occupied
Figure 3. Topographic map of Cocahuischo illustrating the excavated structures.
83
contemporaneously. Cocahuischo’s size also suggests
a large population when compared to other Nasca
settlements in the valley, such as the 1 ha village of
Marcaya (Vaughn 2009: 65). Due to a presumed
drought during the sixth century A.D. that was
exacerbated by human-induced deforestation
(Beresford-Jones et al. 2009; Eitel et al. 2005), the
large residential population likely lived off a mixed
agro-pastoral economy in precarious balance with
limited water resources in the valley.
Research Strategy and Methods
As part of a broader research program, nine possible
habitations were excavated throughout the residential
zones of Cocahuischo (Figure 3). Surface remains and
intact walls indicated that these structures were circu-
lar or ovoid in shape. Each structure was bisected and
 Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology Volume 34, Number 1

Figure 4. Photograph of Sector

V at Cocahuischo. The
nonresidential building is in the
foreground and the Tierras
Blancas river is pictured in
the background. Photo by
V. Whalen.

Figure 5. Calibrated AMS 14C

dates from Cocahuischo.
Calibrations were performed
using the OxCal 4.2.3 calibration
program (Bronk Ramsey 2009)
and the IntCal13 curve (Reimer
et al. 2013).

Table 1. Raw accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon (14C) dates from Cocahuischo
14
Sample Cocahuischo Laboratory C age Median
# Context Sample # d13C F BP Dates (2 σ) (at 2 σ) Context
1 Locus 007 AA99879 −22.7 0.8244 ± 0.0041 1,551 ± 40 CAL A.D. CAL A.D. Subfloor ash
422–595 509 deposit
2 Locus 209 AA99880 −23.0 0.8188 ± 0.0039 1,606 ± 38 CAL A.D. CAL A.D. Subfloor
356–549 453 burial pit
3 Locus 410 AA99881 −21.9 0.8017 ± 0.0038 1,776 ± 38 CAL A.D. CAL A.D. Subfloor ash
132–378 255 deposit
4 Locus 811 AA99882 −26.9 0.8251 ± 0.0039 1,545 ± 38 CAL A.D. CAL A.D. Subfloor ash
426–596 511 deposit

one half of the building was excavated in levels follow- was the archaeological house, this excavation tech-
ing the natural stratigraphy of the deposits. Since the nique produced a comparable dataset for each habi-
socially meaningful unit of measurement in this study tation. Pottery and lithics were analyzed based on

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 Whalen and González La Rosa: Late Nasca food and craft production in the Tierras Blancas Valley, Peru

construction technology, material, size, form, and
function. Preliminary analyses of faunal remains and
comestibles collected during screening recorded
weight and count for each locus, and noted basic
taxa diversity. The faunal and botanical material
and soil samples are presently awaiting more detailed
analyses.
Domestic Space
and subterranean pits filled with ashy cultural
refuse. Patios were kept clean except for hearths and
trash pits, which were the only locales wherein cul-
tural refuse was recovered. Excavations in Structure
255 revealed atypical stratigraphy and features that
suggest the building was not strictly a residence. As
Table 3 illustrates, many traits characteristic of
Nasca domestic activities were absent, and—as dis-
cussed below—Structure 255 contained evidence of
multiple production activities.

Excavations in multiple Nasca settlements have pro-

vided a suite of features and artifacts associated with
domestic contexts, which are summarized in
Table 2 (Van Gijseghem 2006; Vaughn 2000,
2009). Houses and patios at Cocahuischo are charac-
terized by the same traits. Habitations contained
informal floors or occupation surfaces embedded
with pottery, artifacts of adornment, lithics, weaving
implements, and food remains (Table 3). Some habi-
tations also contained subterranean human burials.
Other features include low stone benches, hearths,
Table 2. Typical features and assemblages associated with Nasca
habitations and patios
Architectural features Storage pits
Small hearths
Benches
Prepared floors
Subfloor burials
Refuse pits
Subsistence activities Cooking pots
Storage jars
Serving vessels
Grinding tools
Faunal remains
Comestibles
Production activities Weaving implements
Textiles
Lithic debitage
Adornments & exotica Pendants & beads
Tupu pins
Obsidian knives & points
A Suprahousehold Facility
Structure 255 is the largest circular building at
Cocahuischo and has a long patio and subsidiary
structure (Figures 3 and 6a). It was constructed
with large, well-coursed stone slabs and a doorway
defined by upright jambs. We found no evidence of
a roof, indicating that Structure 255 might have
been an open building with a 1–2 m retaining wall.
As Figure 6b illustrates, beneath the post-abandon-
ment deposits of Structure 255 is a thin layer of
loose sandy matrix embedded with large quantities
of plainware sherds. In the center of the structure,
some of this matrix is compacted into an informal
floor surface. The planar orientation of the sherds
and presence of the compaction indicate that this
layer is the final occupation surface. Beneath is a
deep ash deposit that extended throughout the build-
ing. The ash is thickest along the eastern half of the
structure, where it reaches 20 cm in depth
(Figure 7). Throughout the structure, the ash rests
on the sterile soil of the natural hillside, which is
leveled to form the foundation of Structure 255.
In addition to pottery, the ash deposit is embedded
with artifacts that were not recovered in any other
context. As Figure 6a shows, there are fire-cracked
rocks, large plainware slabs, and miniature plainware
ollas, as well as fragments of baked clay box-shaped
molds, ground-stone basalt manos and hammerstones,
and small quantities of fire-altered porous material
(see also Table 3, Figure 8). Two of the fire-cracked
rocks and one large plainware slab rest on the sterile
soil below the ash and had been placed prior to the

85
 Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology Volume 34, Number 1

Table 3. Features and artifacts observed in the excavated structures

Features & Artifacts 17 32 88 104 190 203 285 293 255

Subsistence activities Faunal remains X X X X X X X X X
Comestibles X X X
Cooking pots X X X X X X
Storage jars X X X X X X X X X
Storage lids X X
Serving vessels X X X X X X X X X
Grinding tools X X X X
Hearths X X X
Objects for controlling fire X
Pot supports X
Domestic production activities Weaving implements X X X X
Lithic debitage X X X X X X X X
House features Storage pits
Benches X X
Prepared floors X X
Adornments & exotica Pendants & beads X X X X X
Tupu pins X X
Obsidian knives & points X X X X X X
Metal-working Hammerstones X
Furnace Possible
Casting molds X
Slag lumps Possible

initial burning event. One of the miniature ollas was
smashed beneath a fire-cracked rock and, likewise,
had been placed before the first burning event. We
also recovered large quantities of animal bone, shell,
and scattered remains of comestibles from the ash
deposit.
As Figure 6a illustrates, there are multiple locales of
reddish burned earth at the base of the ash. These fire
centers correspond to the different ash concentrations
identified throughout the building. After Structure
255 was abandoned, the ash produced from these
fires was differentially distributed throughout the
structure by the strong afternoon winds. The winds
blow west to east, producing the deep concentration
of ash on the eastern side. As Figure 6a shows, the
largest fire centers are concentrated on the western
side. Based on these data, the thick ash layer was pro-
duced by several discrete combustion events, likely
occurring over a number of years. Yet, as Table 4
demonstrates, the area and volume of the ash and
fire centers in Structure 255 suggest that it is not a
typical domestic hearth. Nash (2010: 93) documents
similar distinctions in the size of house and suprahou-
sehold cooking hearths at Cerro Mejía in the
Moquegua Valley.
Table 4 also illustrates that the volume and compo-
sition of the ceramic assemblage recovered from
Structure 255 are different from the habitation assem-
blages. The density of artifacts, particularly large frag-
ments of coarse plainware pottery, was very high in
Structure 255. Indeed, the pottery accounts for 48
percent of the site assemblage and the majority of

86
 Whalen and González La Rosa: Late Nasca food and craft production in the Tierras Blancas Valley, Peru
Figure 6. Plan-view drawing of Structure 255, illustrating:
(a) unit of excavation and features encountered during excavations
and (b) unit profile. Drawing by V. Whalen.
these artifacts come from the ash deposit. As Figures 9
and 10 show, the ceramic types and wares recovered
from Structure 255 are also distinct from the
houses. Based on an analysis of 84 unconjoining
rims, the assemblage is primarily plainware cooking
pots and storage jars. In contrast, fineware bowls are
Figure 7. Photograph of eastern half of Structure 255,
illustrating the ash deposit and fire centers. Photo by V. Whalen.
87
Figure 8. Items recovered from Structure 255: (a) ground-stone
mano, (b) hammerstones, (c) baked clay molds, (d) large
earthenware fragment, and (e) highly burned porous material.
the dominant form in domestic contexts (based on
296 unconjoining rims). The vessels recovered from
Structure 255 are larger than those recovered from
habitations (Figure 11). There is also a higher percen-
tage of burned or sooted vessels (Table 4), indicating a
greater density of cooking vessels in Structure 255
than in any of the habitations.2 These data point to
an assemblage of large serving bowls, wide-mouthed
cooking pots, and large storage jars that served a
purpose beyond daily household subsistence.
The shapes of cooking pots and storage jars recov-
ered from Structure 255 are also distinct (Figure 10).
Most necked jars from habitations are characterized
by a convex neck profile. In contrast, those from
Structure 255 have a straight neck profile and taller
necks. Some jars recovered from houses are neckless,
yet all cooking pots and storage jars from Structure
255 are necked. While such differences in the form
of utilitarian vessels often point to long-term cultural
change, excavations, pottery style, and AMS dates
(including one from Structure 255) confirm that
Cocahuischo was occupied contemporaneously for a
brief window of time. These differences thus point
to synchronic variability in style and function rather
than diachronic change. The variation in morphology
may reflect the higher production output of Structure
255 or the use of the vessels. Rice (1987: 241)
 Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology Volume 34, Number 1

Table 4. Excavation results from the habitations and Structure 255

Features & Artifacts 17 32 88 104 190 203 285 293 255

Area excavated (m2) 7.77 3.19 10.11 3.53 7.48 4.65 8.85 3.85 20.63
Volume of excavated matrix (l) 810 410 1,910 270 1,700 880 2,440 940 1,550
2
Area of hearth (m ) 0.28 — — 0.24 — — — — 6.21
Volume of ash (l) 27 — — 13 — — — — 1,020
Pottery (kg) 6.65 1.19 17.99 0.57 6.26 4.59 2.84 8.22 45.49
Density of pottery (g/l excavated) 8.21 2.91 9.41 2.11 3.68 5.22 1.16 8.74 29.35
Burned pottery (count) — — 9 — — — — — 22
Burned pottery (%) — — 10 — — — — — 43
Plainware pottery (#) 7 2 41 0 9 3 2 2 34
Plainware pottery (%) 33 33 46 0 23 10 100 29 67
Fineware pottery (#) 14 4 48 1 30 28 0 5 17
Fineware pottery (%) 67 67 54 100 77 90 0 71 33
Faunal remains (g) 235 11 918 43 587 364 74 76 1,070
Comestibles (g) — — 7 — 4 — — — 10

Note: Volumes, quantities, and densities reflect occupation levels. The burned pottery and plainware and fineware counts are based on
unconjoining rims.

suggests that high necks on vessels aid in the accurate
pouring of liquids. The high, straight necks of the
Structure 255 storage jars and cooking pots may indi-
cate that they were used to store and transfer higher
frequencies of liquids. The vessels with convex
necks found in domestic contexts, by contrast,
might have stored dry goods.
Figure 9. Distribution of (a) vessel forms and (b) wares
recovered from the occupation levels of Structure 255 vs. all
habitations.
Finally, there appears to be variability in food
remains between Structure 255 and domestic con-
texts. Both the faunal material and comestibles are
presently awaiting further analysis, but a few pat-
terns are apparent based on preliminary obser-
vations. The remains from Structure 255 include
camelids, unidentified large and small mammals,
marine and freshwater mollusks, crustaceans,
maize, peanuts, lucuma, and unidentified seed
pods. Throughout the habitations, food remains
include camelids, unidentified large and small
mammals, marine and freshwater mollusks, maize,
lucuma, gourd, and unidentified seed pods. As
Table 5 indicates, however, none of the habitations
contained all of these remains, making the Structure
255 assemblage appear more diverse. Admittedly,
the perceived diversity may be partly due to preser-
vation. Many of the remains from Structure 255
were burned, rendering them more durable and
easily preserved. Comestibles were only recovered
from two other habitations, possibly because of
poor preservation (Table 5).
Further analysis reveals spatially distinct activity
areas within Structure 255; the western excavated

88
 Whalen and González La Rosa: Late Nasca food and craft production in the Tierras Blancas Valley, Peru
side contains large fire centers, whereas the eastern
side lacks large fire centers and includes a series of
shallow refuse pits (Figure 6a). Since the ash lenses
produced by the fire centers were separated and exca-
vated as discrete contexts, these activity areas were
identified based on the associated artifact assemblages.
The type and ware of pottery and the quantity of
faunal remains are different between the eastern and
western side (Figure 12). The fragmented remains
of the box-shaped clay molds, however, were recov-
ered throughout.
Figure 11. Rim and neck diameters of pottery by vessel form
recovered from: (a) all habitations and (b) Structure 255.
89
Figure 10. (a) Bowls and
(b) cooking pots & jars recovered
from the occupation levels of
Structure 255; (c) cooking pots
and jars recovered from the
occupation levels of habitations.
Summary
Research at Cocahuischo has resulted in a clear
picture of the types and densities of artifacts and
features associated with domestic space. The traits
that characterize habitations and patios mirror
those of other Nasca settlements. The features,
assemblage, and density of artifacts encountered
in Structure 255 are distinct and suggest the
space was not used strictly as a habitation
(Tables 3, 4, and 5). The assemblage from
Structure 255 lacks artifacts and implements associ-
ated with domestic occupation. Objects of personal
adornment are absent, as are tools for textile and
lithic production, exotica and objects of prestige,
and high quantities of fineware polychrome Nasca
pottery. Based on these data, we suggest that
Structure 255 was nonresidential in that it was
not used simply for sleeping quarters and typical
domestic activities. The building and its patio
group, however, may have been part of a larger
household entity. As discussed in the conclusion,
currently it is unknown who used Structure 255
and what its role was in the community. Yet the
activities that occurred within it are characteristic
of suprahousehold production. In the following
section, we consider the archaeological signatures
of food and craft production and evaluate the evi-
dence regarding production activities.
 Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology Volume 34, Number 1

Table 5. Faunal remains and comestibles recovered from the habitations and Structure 255

Food Remains 17 32 88 104 190 203 285 293 255

Faunal Material Camelid X X X X X
Unidentified large mammal X X X X X X X X X
Unidentified small mammal X X X X X X X X
Mytilidae (mussels) X X X X X X X X X
Pectinidae (scallops) X X X
Acmaeidae (limpets) X
Trochidae (sea snail) X X X
Crab X
Comestibles Zea mays (maize) X X
Arachis hypogea (peanuts) X
Cucurbita sp. (squash) X
Lucumabifera (lucuma) X X X
Bottle gourd X
Unidentified seeds X X X

Archaeological Correlates of Food

Figure 12. Distribution of (a) vessel forms, (b) wares, and (c)
faunal material recovered from the eastern and western activity
areas of Structure 255.
and Craft Production Facilities
Recent decades have seen a proliferation of research on
production activities. Studies have examined locales of
food preparation for consumption events (Adams
2004; Clarke 2001; Klarich 2010; Rosenswig 2007),
breweries where alcoholic beverages were produced
(Hayashida 2008, 2009; Moseley et al. 2005), and
workshops where pottery, metals, and other tools
were manufactured (Donnan 1997; Feinman 1982;
Shimada and Wagner 2001). Ethnoarchaeological
studies and improved analytical techniques have shar-
pened the lens through which archaeologists examine
food and craft production (e.g., Hayashida 2008;
Sayre et al. 2012). In particular, such research has devel-
oped criteria for identifying production activities in the
archaeological record. Here we review the material indi-
cators of these activities, with a focus on the production
facilities themselves. We draw from ethnographic,
ethnoarchaeological, and archaeological studies of food
preparation from multiple world regions, but concen-
trate on Andean examples of brewing and metallurgy.
Especially in the case of food preparation and
brewing, we emphasize the archaeological correlates

90
 Whalen and González La Rosa: Late Nasca food and craft production in the Tierras Blancas Valley, Peru
of non-quotidian or group production in contrast to
daily household-based production.
Food Preparation
The archaeological investigation of nonresidential
food production facilities often focuses on prep-
arations for feasts. Yet excavations at Cocahuischo
provide no evidence of such extraordinary meals.
The data we present come from a building that was
used for food preparation beyond the household
level. Who consumed the food, where, how
frequently, and under what circumstances are all
presently unknown. Structure 255 may have served as
a communal kitchen for an extended kin group or it
might have been used to prepare food for commu-
nity-wide feasts. We draw from the feasting literature
to establish material correlates because Structure 255
was used in suprahousehold production. The scale
and non-quotidian nature of both suprahousehold
production and feasts mean the archaeological signa-
tures will be similar. Much like feasts, suprahousehold
food preparation involves meals for more than one
person or family. Since they are non-quotidian,
these meals may involve more diverse or high status
foods. While there are clear differences, the feasting
literature may serve as a proxy for distinguishing
suprahousehold production from daily household-
based food preparation. We thus find the criteria out-
lined by both Twiss (2008: Table 1) and Rosenswig
(2007: Table 1) useful for approximating the archae-
ological correlates of suprahousehold food
preparation.
The structure and features of food preparation
facilities are often distinct from those found in a
habitation. There is commonly evidence of multiple
areas of food preparation and a lack of evidence of
other domestic activities. For instance, ethnographic
and ethnoarchaeological data suggest such facilities
might have large hearth areas or roasting pits
instead of a single small cooking fire, and distinct
areas for cooking and food preparation (see Brown
2001: 372; Clarke 2001: 161; Wiessner 2001:
91
128). Suprahousehold facilities contain the remains
of multiple activities: storage of raw food materials
(including animal meats, shell and shellfish, grains,
legumes, fruits, vegetables, and tubers; see DeBoer
2001: 218; Twiss 2008: 421), manual processing
of raw food materials (such as chopping or grinding),
cooking, preparation, and assembly (see Clarke 2001:
158–162; Hayden 2001: Table 2.1; Twiss 2008:
422). While this may mirror the range of activities
found in habitations, the scale of production will
be comparatively greater. Ethnographic, ethnoarch-
aeological, and archaeological studies also suggest
artifact assemblages will be denser in suprahousehold
buildings than in domestic spaces. Artifacts associ-
ated with the storage and preparation of raw food
materials may include ceramic storage vessels, in-
ground pits or stone storage structures, ground-
stone grinding tools (batanes and manos), and stone
knives or choppers. Based on ethnographic and eth-
noarchaeological data, cooking activities are often
evidenced by the remains of large cooking pots or
ollas (see Clarke 2001: 157; Wiessner 2001: 116),
storage jars for water, objects used to control fire
temperatures and stabilize cooking pots within the
fire, and stirrers used to manipulate cooking foods.
Again, these artifacts and features mirror what
might be found in a habitation, but they will be
comparatively denser in suprahousehold production
contexts.
The composition of artifact assemblages also will be
different. Building from an ethnoarchaeological com-
parison, Clarke (1998, 2001) found the Akha house-
holds that participated in feasts most often also
possessed the largest cooking vessels. This suggests
that vessels reserved for daily domestic use would be
smaller than vessels used for suprahousehold food
preparation. Finally, ethnographic and ethnoarchaeo-
logical studies suggest the food materials themselves
can evidence specialized food preparation through
their distinct or extraordinary nature (Clarke 2001:
151; Hayden 2003: 460; Twiss 2008: 423), includ-
ing the consumption of higher quantities of large
animals, both wild and domestic (see de Garine
1996: 202; Wiessner 2001: 129).
 Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology
Chicha Beer Brewing
In many cultural settings, a key component of com-
mensal politics is the consumption of alcoholic bev-
erages (Dietler 2006). In the Andes, chicha or maize
beer plays a central role in state politics and ritual
(Anderson 2009; Bray 2009; Goldstein 2003;
Goldstein et al. 2009). The production and con-
sumption of chicha can occur on many different
levels, ranging from household-based to large, state-
sponsored drinking events. From an archaeological
perspective, the material traces of production are
visible through raw materials and production
facilities.
Based on Hayashida’s (2008: 167) ethnoarchaeolo-
gical study of chicha brewing on the north coast of
Peru, the basic raw materials involved in chicha
brewing include grain (typically ground maize
flour), malt, water, and fuel. Other studies suggest
some chicha recipes and variations are non-maize
based and include other plants and fruits (such as
molle [Schinus molle], quinoa [Chenopodium quinoa],
and kiwicha [Amaranthus caudatus]; Goldstein et al.
2009: Table 6.2; Sayre et al. 2012: Table 1).
Hayashida (2008: Table 1) found that women mill
grains into flour in troughs or on stone batanes
using a rocker stone or mano. Archaeological evidence
suggests that brewing facilities also contain the
remains of large cook pots or urns with evidence of
sooting and/or blackening, in association with ash
deposits and fire-burned soil (Moore 1989: 686;
Shimada 1978: 587). Hearths may be informal pits,
leveled surfaces, or stone-lined features (e.g.,
Hayashida 2008: Figure 3; Moseley et al. 2005:
Figure 6).
Ceramic assemblages associated with chicha pro-
duction are composed of large, wide-mouthed pots
(necked or unnecked) and narrow-necked jars.
Ethnoarchaeological and archaeological evidence
indicates that people used these wide-mouthed
vessels for cooking the chicha, while they used the
narrow-necked vessels as fermentation jars (Cook
and Glowacki 2003: 180; Hayashida 2008:
Table 1). A number of studies show that people
often used small adobes, stones, or discarded rim
92
Volume 34, Number 1
sherds to stabilize cook pots within the fire. Large
flat sherds or sheets of metal were used to shield the
fire from wind and control the temperature
(Hayashida 2008: Table 1; see also Jennings 2005:
Figure 13.4; Moseley et al. 2005: 17267). Both
Hayashida (2008: Table 1) and Moore (1989:
Table 1) have recorded long wooden paddles, sticks,
or bone stirrers that people used to manipulate the
cooking chicha, and Hayashida (2008: Table 1) also
notes women using small gourds as dippers to transfer
the brew to storage and fermentation jars. If people
sieved the brew to remove the mash (afrecho) before
fermentation, studies suggest that they would have
used cotton cloth or basketry (Hayashida 2008:
Table 1, 2009: Figure 9.1; Moore 1989: Table 1).
Finally, ethnoarchaeological and archaeological data
indicate that people often placed storage jars in par-
tially subterranean pits that both cooled the chicha
and provided structural support to the vessels (see
Cook and Glowacki 2003: 180; Hayashida 2008:
Table 1).
The difference between household-based chicha
beer production and communal brewing events is pri-
marily one of scale and context. Communal pro-
duction requires a larger quantity of ingredients and
equipment and a larger workspace. Open-air
brewing sites for feasts and buildings used exclusively
for brewing activities are archaeologically distinct
from habitations wherein household-based brewing
occurred (see Moseley et al. 2005 for an example of
a brewery). For household activities, objects and
tools used in brewing would likely be repurposed
for other domestic activities such as food preparation.
Furthermore, household-based brewing can be distin-
guished from suprahousehold brewing facilities based
on the presence of weaving tools and other domestic
artifacts.
Metallurgy
The literature on Andean metallurgy is robust and
includes a number of different technological tra-
ditions (see Bird 1979; Epstein 1993; Lechtman
1976, 1980; Petersen 1970; Rivet and Arsandaux
 Whalen and González La Rosa: Late Nasca food and craft production in the Tierras Blancas Valley, Peru
1946). For the present purposes, however, we are nar-
rowing our focus because Nasca metal artifacts are
characterized by sheet metal production. People pro-
duced such metal artifacts through three primary
steps:
1) ore was smelted (and often refined) and the
product melted into ingots
2) ingots were then cold-hammered or otherwise
manipulated to produce sheet metal
3) finally, the parts were assembled and modified
to produce finished objects (Shimada 1978: 582).
Most evidence regarding metallurgy thus comes
from the production facilities themselves and the
tools and byproducts of metal-working.
While large, state-run, metal-working facilities are
known in the Andes (e.g., Epstein and Shimada
1984), small metal workshops were likely more
common, particularly for copper production. As
Shimada notes: “smelting a small quantity of copper
does not necessarily require a large or elaborate
furnace” (1978: 581). Whether small-scale or indus-
trial, archaeological evidence suggests that people
smelted ores in surface or semi-subterranean furnaces
which were lined with stone or clay-walled (e.g.,
Shimada et al. 1982: Figure 4; Zori 2011: 576,
Figure 8.7). Inverted ceramic urns also may have
been used as furnaces (Shimada and Wagner 2001:
Figure 5), and people sometimes used ceramic
sherds as temporary covers for furnace openings
(Shimada et al. 1982: 957). For lung-powered smelt-
ing traditions, cane was often used for the blowtubes
that served as bellows for the furnace. While the cane
has not always been preserved, studies have recovered
ceramic tips that are diagnostic of smelting or refining
furnaces (Shimada et al. 1982: 956, Figure 5; Zori
2011: Figures 6.18, 6.105). In wind-driven tra-
ditions, the morphology of the furnaces (or huayras)
and wind holes harness and funnel wind to serve as
bellows (Epstein 1993: 73–83). People likely broke
down ore and slag with quimbales, batanes, and ham-
merstones (Shimada et al. 1982: 954). Finally,
archaeological data suggest that crucibles or casting
molds were made of unfired clay vessels or stone
93
(Shimada 1978: 581; Thornton and Rehren 2009;
Zori 2011: Figures 6.16, 6.17).
Evidence of metallurgical production also can come
from byproducts, such as crushed metal bearing slag
and bits of metallic mineral and ore (Lechtman
1991: 44; Shimada et al. 1982: 954). Shimada
(1978: 580) also noted that evidence of metal-
working can come from the hammerstones, chisels,
and anvils which people would have used once ores
had been refined. As Moore (2006) has demonstrated,
while metal-working often occurs in specialized work-
shops, it also can be done in contexts where other
domestic activities occurred. Smelting may be less
common within houses, depending on the mor-
phology of the furnaces (as well as the noxious
vapors they can produce).
Summary
Based on these data, we expect the material
expressions of food and craft production activities to
include:
1) facilities where people engaged in these
activities
2) raw materials, tools, and objects they utilized
3) final products
4) byproducts people generated during the manu-
facturing process.
As Table 6 illustrates, these archaeological correlates
often overlap. All three production activities involved
the use of fire, often controlled by large pot sherds or
sheets of metal which directed airflow. Likewise, both
food preparation and brewing required large cooking
pots, ground-stone tools, and stirrers. Identifying
the specific production activities that occurred in pre-
history thus requires careful consideration of multiple
lines of evidence. It also requires comparison of poss-
ible suprahousehold locales with typical house assem-
blages representative of quotidian production activity.
We now return to Structure 255 and suggest that it is
the first multi-purpose food and craft production
facility to be identified at a Nasca residential site.
 Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology Volume 34, Number 1

Table 6. Material correlates of food preparation, brewing, and metal-working compared to the artifacts and features recovered from
Structure 255

Food Chicha Metal- Structure

Object Material Wear Preparation Brewing Working 255
Faunal remains Animal bone, shell, X X
crustaceans
Remains of large animals, Animal bone (e.g., X X
wild or domestic camelid, deer)
Comestibles Seeds, maize, peanuts, X X
wild plants, legumes
Storage jars Clay None X X
Serving vessels Clay None X X
Grinding tools Ground-stone batanes, Smoothing X X X
manos
Hearth Stone-lined or undefined Ash, sooty stone, and/ X X X
fire center or burnt soil
Cooking pots Clay Sooty, discolored X X X
Objects for controlling Large sherds Sooty, discolored X X X
fire
Pot supports Small adobes, stones, Fire-cracking X X X
rim sherds
Stirrers Wooden or bone Worn at ends X X
paddles, sticks
Fermentation jars Clay (with wooden, None X X
ceramic, or gourd lid)
Small dippers Small-necked gourds None X
with handle
Anvil Stone Chipping X
Hammerstones Hard, dense Chipping of use X X
metamorphic rock surface
Furnace Inverted ceramic urn or Ash, sooty stone, and X Possible
stone-lined hearth ceramic, burnt soil
Blowtubes Ceramic tip, cane None X
Casting molds Clay Fragmented X X
Slag lumps Metal oxides and silicon None X Possible
dioxide
Chisels Stone Chipping of use X
surface

Note: Based on Hayashida (2008); Rosenswig (2007); Shimada (1978); and Twiss (2008).

Evidence of Food and Craft
Production at Cocahuischo
The features, assemblage, and density of artifacts
encountered in Structure 255 are different from the
habitations. The deposits point to long-term pyro-
technologies, including cooking hearths and possibly
metal-working furnaces. Similar deposits were ident-
ified by Moseley et al. (2005) in the brewery at
Cerro Baúl, by Nash (2010) in the food preparation

94
 Whalen and González La Rosa: Late Nasca food and craft production in the Tierras Blancas Valley, Peru
facility at Cerro Mejía, by Shimada (1978) in the
food, chicha beer, and craft production complex at
Pampa Grande, and by Moore (1981, 1989, 2006)
in the multi-crafting barrio at Manchan. Structure
255 would have been an ideal locale for such activi-
ties, given its position within the settlement.
Located at the top of Sector V, the building is posi-
tioned such that any smoke or noxious fumes
would have been blown up towards the hillside by
the strong afternoon winds. As both Lechtman
(1976: 41) and Shimada et al. (1982: 955) note,
this is especially ideal for smelting because it disperses
fumes and helps to increase the draft for the furnaces.
Food Preparation
Suprahousehold food preparation is associated with
high frequencies of implements and a lack of typical
domestic artifacts. In addition to cooking pots and
storage jars, Structure 255 contained at least one
basalt mano and three hammerstones. These artifacts
might have been used for a number of tasks, including
grinding grain and breaking large animal bones to
extract marrow (see Table 6). Fire-cracked rocks like
those recovered are not known from any other
locale—domestic or otherwise. The densities of
ground-stone tools and plainware cooking and
storage vessels are higher than any of the habitation
or patio contexts wherein domestic food preparation
activities occurred. Additionally, the limited fineware
pottery consists of shallow serving bowls that are
larger on average than those recovered from habi-
tations, again pointing to suprahousehold food prep-
aration (Clarke 2001: 160; see Figure 11). Cooking
pots are also larger than those recovered from habi-
tations (see Figure 11), suggesting food preparation
beyond the daily household level (see Jennings and
Chatfield 2009 for a similar argument regarding the
size of chicha cooking pots).
The large quantities of faunal material and comes-
tibles also point to food preparation. While the pres-
ence of food remains within a thick ash deposit could
also suggest the structure was used as a refuse dump,
the high frequency of cooking pots and large hearth
95
areas indicate that it was not. The in situ rocks used
to prop up cooking pots in the fire and pot sherds
used to shield the fire and control temperatures also
suggest that the nonresidential building was actively
used (see Moseley et al. 2005 for similar artifacts
and deposits at a brewery). Additionally, the
compact floor surface above the ash and the horizon-
tal orientation of pottery sherds atop the ash indicate
that the building was not a refuse dump.
As mentioned before, the culinary use of large
animals was common in feasts cross-culturally (see
de Garine 1996: 202; Wiessner 2001: 129). While
large mammal remains were recovered from habi-
tation contexts, the density is higher in the non-
residential building. Additionally, while all parts of
small mammal skeletons are represented in the assem-
blage, large mammal bones are restricted to long
bones, carpals, tarsals, ribs, and vertebrae, suggesting
that some level of off-site processing occurred. The
types of large mammal bones recovered from habi-
tations are even more restricted, suggesting differential
access to meat packages.
Brewing
The presence of narrow, high-necked storage jars in
addition to cooking pots suggests that brewing activi-
ties might have occurred within Structure 255 as well
(see Cook and Glowacki 2003: 180; Hastorf and
Johannessen 1993: 127–128). These vessels could
have served as fermentation jars for producing
chicha beer. As Table 6 illustrates, there is consider-
able overlap in the material signature of brewing
activities and food preparation. Suprahousehold
food preparation often results in the same archaeolo-
gical assemblage of large cooking pots, hearths, and
hearth equipment as would be found in a brewery.
Many of the objects from Structure 255 (such as
grinding stones) may have been multi-purpose. Due
to the preservation of archaeological remains in the
upper Tierras Blancas Valley, we recovered little
organic material. Some of the more diagnostic signs
of chicha brewing—such as the mashed maize bypro-
duct (afrecho) of cooking the brew or seeds (such as
 Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology
Schinus molle) used in special recipes of chicha—are
unlikely to be preserved.
Yet the high density of burned vessels when com-
pared with the houses also points to chicha brewing
(Table 4). Chicha is one of the foodstuffs that
would have been regularly cooked to a high heat by
Nasca people. As an agro-pastoral community, the
Cocahuischo residents would likely have eaten some
meals away from the house on a daily basis. People
may have brought portable foods with them to the
fields or to graze camelids. Fresh foods may have
been harvested and wild animals hunted and prepared
as well (e.g., Beresford-Jones 2004: 468; Chiou et al.
2013: 43). For foods prepared within the home,
methods of cooking such as roasting and toasting
may have been common, as Hastorf and
Johannessen (1993: 123) observed for the Mantaro
Valley. In the houses, pottery consisted primarily of
fineware serving bowls and smaller storage jars ( poss-
ibly used to store dry goods). There is consistently less
evidence of burned cooking vessels. These data
suggest cooking occurred on a larger scale or with
greater frequency in Structure 255. Given the increase
in Late Nasca maize consumption documented by
Kellner and Schoeninger (2012) and the high fre-
quency of storage jars associated with brewing (see
Hastorf and Johannessen 1993: 127–128), it is
reasonable to think the product being cooked was
chicha.
Metallurgy
At the Moche site of Pampa Grande, Shimada docu-
mented a “box-shaped clay vessel” resembling “a min-
iature trough” whose outside dimensions were
4 cm × 4 cm × 6.5 cm, with a capacity of about
50–60 cm3 (1978: 581). He argues that the clay
vessel served as a casting mold, which was sub-
sequently broken to remove the copper ingot
(Shimada 1978: 582). As Figure 8c illustrates, the
casting mold Shimada recovered is nearly identical
in form and size to the fragments of box-shaped
baked clay molds from Structure 255. Like the
objects Shimada encountered, these artifacts were
96
Volume 34, Number 1
also fragmented. The most complete fragment
measures approximately 7 cm × 10 cm × 5 cm, with
a capacity of about 30–40 cm3. Such objects have
only been recovered by Nasca scholars at the pilgrim-
age center of Cahuachi. Orefici (2012: Figure 15)
illustrates box-shaped vessels made of baked clay
that appear identical in form and size to those recov-
ered from Cocahuischo (Figure 2). He suggests the
artifacts were used as casting molds for metallurgy
and later repurposed for pigment processing (Orefici
2012: 196). Yet neither Orefici nor other Nasca scho-
lars report box-shaped ingots that would have been
cast in these molds. Only finished metal artifacts
have been recovered from Nasca sites. In addition to
the casting molds, the three hammerstones recovered
from Structure 255 may have been used for working
metal artifacts. The presence of small fragments of a
fire-altered material points to high firing temperatures
as well. This material may be clay, a fragment of a
furnace wall, or some other byproduct of metallurgi-
cal activity. Finally, if Nasca people used wind-driven
rather than lung-powered furnaces, the position of
Structure 255 would have been ideal because the
afternoon winds in that portion of the site are strong.
The presence of casting molds, hammerstones, and
the possible remains of fire-altered clay comprise pre-
liminary evidence of metallurgy. Future analyses,
however, will further investigate the evidence regard-
ing metal-working. The fragmented cook pots and
storage jars may include the remains of a vessel repur-
posed as an inverted urn furnace, as described by
Shimada and Wagner (2001: 27). Soil sample analysis
could provide evidence of byproducts of metallurgical
activities and furnaces. Thin section and electron
microprobe analysis of the molds and porous
burned material could test for the presence of
copper or other metal residue. Even though the
material expressions of metallurgical activity are pre-
liminary, other data support low-output copper
metallurgy. A small copper mine, Mina Pataraya, is
located 360 m from Structure 255 in the steep hillside
above Sector V (Eerkens et al. 2009: 743). Surface
analysis conducted in 2010 by Kevin Vaughn and
Jelmer Eerkens revealed evidence of prehispanic
pottery. While test excavations at the mine revealed
 Whalen and González La Rosa: Late Nasca food and craft production in the Tierras Blancas Valley, Peru
no evidence of prehispanic use, the northern slope of
Cerro Chiuchipampa (where Mina Pataraya is
located) contains no architecture or evidence of
activity besides the mine. It is likely that pottery
recovered from the area is associated with prehispanic
use of Mina Pataraya by local Cocahuischo residents.
When descending the informal pathway from Mina
Pataraya, Structure 255 is the first building one
encounters. Finally, although no copper artifacts
have been recovered from the nonresidential building,
three copper tupu pins were encountered in other
habitations.
Discussion
Given these data, we suggest Structure 255 was a
multi-purpose facility for food preparation, chicha
brewing, and low-output copper metallurgy.
Archaeological evidence suggests it is unlikely that
there were permanent, activity-specific workstations
within the building. Yet the distinct features and
assemblages between the western and eastern exca-
vated sides suggest there may have been some spatial
division of food and drink production activities.
The western side might have been the locale of large
hot fires where people cooked food and drink in
large, wide-mouthed pots. Items, such as fermented
beer, could have been stored in large, narrow-
necked jars. On the eastern side, community
members might have prepared food to be served else-
where in large shallow bowls. They may have pro-
cessed animal bones and shell, and eventually
discarded faunal remains in shallow refuse pits.
People likely used coarse plainware bowls for food
preparation steps and finely painted polychrome
vessels to hold the finished culinary products.
Remains from metallurgical activities were scattered
throughout the structure, suggesting that whatever
small-scale metal-working people engaged in was
intermittent and not spatially restricted.
The role of this building as a multi-purpose facility
articulates well with architectural patterns. Some of
the patio groups in Sector V are large and complex
when compared to those in the rest of the site (see
97
Figure 3). At Cerén in El Salvador, Brown (2001)
found a correlation between households and partici-
pation in suprahousehold food preparation based on
the location of ground-stone batanes. While the
food preparation facility lacked sufficient grinding
tools given the quantity of food being produced, a
nearby house exhibited an unusually high frequency
of grinding stones (Brown 2001: 376). Brown
argues that this house was in charge of processing
raw food for feasts. Despite the presence of at least
one ground-stone mano, Structure 255 and its
attached patio lack large batanes. As was encountered
at Cerén, the hypothesized quantity of food and
chicha beer being prepared should have necessitated
at least one station for processing raw food materials
such as maize. The absence of such a station is
notable. In Sectors I–III, large ground-stone batanes
are well distributed throughout the site and many
patio groups have at least one. In Sector V, however,
most large batanes are centralized in one area and
are associated with a few large patio group complexes
(see Figure 3). Rather than typical domestic resi-
dences, the structures associated with these patio
groups may have been specialized houses or work-
shops. Residents might have processed raw food
materials en masse for Structure 255 and perhaps
the sector as a whole.
While the material expressions of metallurgy are
more distinctive, we recognize that the archaeological
correlates of food preparation and brewing activities
are similar. Aside from the presence of storage jars
used for fermentation and cooking pots, there is no
clear data to support chicha brewing over food prep-
aration. The lack of truly definitive evidence,
however, should not rule out the presence of
brewing activities. As Dietler notes: “the brief
window of consumption for most traditional alco-
holic beverages is one reason that ancient breweries
have been relatively rare archaeological finds, and
those that have been identified … are facilities for
state sponsored feasting at an adjacent location”
(2006: 238). Whatever suprahousehold brewing
occurred at Cocahuischo would have been intermit-
tent. It may have been linked to suprahousehold
meals, ceremonial kin group or community events,
 Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology
or to the presence of influential non-local leaders or
kin groups visiting the settlement. Chicha beer
would have been prepared just before these events
and then not again until the next one. We would
not expect to find evidence of large-scale permanent
brewing facilities, but rather limited evidence of
occasional brewing in a space that was also used for
other activities. While such a conclusion might
seem straightforward, it contrasts with the tendency
in archaeology to seek out specialization and establish
normative activities that occurred within clearly
defined spaces.
Cross-Craft Production, Site
Formation Processes, and Fluid
Spaces
The singularity of activity-space relationships has
been questioned in recent years. Scholars have
explored multi-crafting traditions within domestic
and non-domestic contexts, challenging the notion
that one activity equals one space (e.g., Feinman
and Nicholas 2000; Goldstein and Shimada 2010;
Hirth 2006, 2009; Marcus and Flannery 1996;
Moore 1981, 1989, 2006; Shimada 1998, 2007).
Only rarely are media completely isolated from the
production systems of other crafts, making the inter-
play between different production systems a key
element. Cross-craft interaction encompasses the
ways in which a given product integrates materials,
knowledge, and/or techniques from other crafts to
generate different properties of the final product
(Shimada 1998). Oftentimes, it is manifested in
the spatial organization of craft production areas.
For instance, at Pampa Grande, copper-working,
weaving, chicha brewing, and food preparation
areas were all found clustered and interconnected
within a workshop sector (Shimada 1978, 1994).
Likewise, at Huaca Sialupe, Goldstein and
Shimada (2010) observed how quotidian food prep-
aration intertwined with suprahousehold ceramic
production and metallurgy. In a lower status
barrio at Manchan, Moore (1981, 1989, 2006)
documents metal-working and chicha brewing
98
Volume 34, Number 1
within households that also engaged in typical dom-
estic activities such as food preparation, weaving,
and lithic production. The Manchan data highlight
the role of “domestic production for nondomestic
contexts” in some multi-crafting traditions (Moore
1981: 120). Topic (1990) documents a similar
pattern at the Chimú capital of Chan Chan. As
Topic observes: “workshops were specialized spaces
but did not necessarily specialize in one product”
(1990: 156). The data from Structure 255 mirror
this phenomenon. The food and craft production
activities interacted spatially as well as on a more
complex level. From a materials standpoint, people
engaging in metal-working did so using the same
prevailing winds, fuel resources, and possibly the
same hearth spaces as those preparing food and
brewing chicha. Knowledge of how to control fires
and generate high temperatures necessary for metal-
lurgy was no doubt related to the expertise necessary
for cooking and brewing activities. Furthermore, if
some of the broken cooking pots and storage jars
represent a repurposed furnace like that described
by Shimada and Wagner (2001: 27), people used
the vessels employed in one craft again in the pro-
duction of another.
Teasing apart individual acts of food, beer, and
metal production within the nonresidential building
is more problematic. Most archaeologists do not exca-
vate at sites such as Pompeii or Cerén, where there is
exceptional preservation and sudden site abandon-
ment. Rather, the lens through which we see the
past is coarser and we often work with midden depos-
its that represent the remains of diverse events
(Rosenswig 2007: 5). The features and assemblage
from Structure 255 are no different, representing
preparations for numerous activities. We recognize
that, when discussing suprahousehold production,
we are speaking of an ongoing practice composed of
individual events and acts that amalgamated in the
archaeological record to form a palimpsest. The
same applies to the evidence of metallurgy. Metal-
working activities may have been separate events
from food preparation and brewing, removed by
years or even decades. The seemingly uninterrupted
Late Nasca occupation of the nonresidential building
 Whalen and González La Rosa: Late Nasca food and craft production in the Tierras Blancas Valley, Peru
represents years of use and activities, possibly over
multiple generations.
Unfortunately, post-occupation deposition and
erosion rendered shallow deposits that are not well
defined stratigraphically. The resolution of the depos-
its allows us to recognize multiple fire events that pro-
duced the ash in the nonresidential building. It does
not allow us to tease apart the temporal relationships
between different activities. We are unable to make
the argument, for instance, that food production
and chicha brewing activities occurred prior to the
use of the building as a metallurgical facility. What
we can argue is that the nonresidential building was
likely used for food preparation, brewing, and metal-
lurgy within the same period. That is to say, it was
not a space whose use necessarily changed over
time, but rather a space that served multiple purposes
simultaneously.
The fluid nature, function, and definition of space
in prehistory have important implications for our con-
ceptualization of all buildings and particularly pro-
duction facilities. It should be of no surprise that
multiple different activities could occupy the same
place. The boundaries between activities are temporal
as often as spatial and, even then, sometimes non-
existent. Complementary production activities may
have occurred side by side, taking advantage of
mutually useful expertise, materials, and resources.
Even the lines between domestic or production-
related spaces and locales of ritual activity can be
blurred (e.g., Brown and Sheets 2000; Dean and
Kojan 2001). In this article, we argue that Structure
255 illustrates an instance of “cross-craft produc-
tion”—a space that was used for multiple interrelated
food and craft production activities. Regardless of
timeframe, the one common thread running
through these activities is an intimate knowledge of
fire and pyrotechnologies. These activities were poss-
ibly intertwined more deeply than in just a pro-
duction sense. The presence of two miniature
ollas—one smashed beneath a fire-cracked rock—
supports this impression because such objects were
often used in ritual activities, whether household-
based, funerary, or otherwise (Brewster-Wray 1990:
264–265; see Goldstein and Owen 2001: Figure
99
19; Leoni 2009: Figure 7.45; Ponte 2000: Figure
23; Silverman 1993: Figure 13.32, for examples).
Their presence within a multi-craft facility brings a
ritual element to production and illustrates the truly
fluid nature of these activities and the space in
which they occurred.
Conclusion
The presence of a suprahousehold multi-craft facility
within a Nasca settlement was unexpected given the
current archaeological data and raises numerous ques-
tions. Who were the people carrying out these pro-
duction activities and for whom were the products
being prepared? We suggested the building was used
for food preparation and chicha beer brewing, yet
we know little of the meals themselves, their fre-
quency, or who participated in them. Cocahuischo
was occupied at a time of intense societal interaction
between Nasca people and groups around the
Andes—particularly Huarpa people in Ayacucho
and subsequently the emerging Wari state. Were
feasting events part of these engagements? Or were
these meals more local and restricted to only a few
members of the community? There are a number of
large houses centralized in the portion of Sector V
where the building is located. Was Structure 255
simply a private kitchen and production facility uti-
lized by these families? The presence of such a build-
ing raises questions about its role within the
community, but also the role of feasting and food
politics in Late Nasca society as a whole. Finally, we
know little about the people engaging in metallurgical
activities. Were the individuals who worked metal
community members or itinerant specialists? We
recovered a limited quantity of copper artifacts from
the houses, all of which were of higher social status.
What was the nature of metalcraft economies within
the community, as well as Late Nasca society as a
whole? Future research will allow us to address these
questions and further clarify the role of suprahouse-
hold production at Cocahuischo.
We also argued that Structure 255 illustrates an
example of cross-craft production. Community
 Ñawpa Pacha: Journal of Andean Archaeology
members used the building to prepare food and
chicha beer, yet they also worked copper. It should
be of no surprise that individuals engaging in these
activities drew upon similar areas of expertise. They
employed knowledge of controlling fires and the
properties of clay vessels for food production, chicha
beer brewing, and metallurgical practices. The data
from Cocahuischo simultaneously demonstrate the
difficulty of teasing apart these individual activities
and events that occurred in a communal space. The
behavioral practices associated with food preparation
and brewing result in very similar marks upon the
archaeological record, as was the case here. While
the material expressions of metallurgical activities
are more distinct, there was still overlap. Careful
analysis and extensive comparative data, however,
allowed us to reconstruct the activities that occurred
in a multi-crafting facility.
Acknowledgments
Fieldwork at Cocahuischo was made possible by
funding from the National Science Foundation
(Dissertation Improvement Grant BCS-1155710)
and the Explorers Club Exploration Fund, and a
permit from the Peruvian Ministry of Culture. We
extend gratitude to Susana Arce Torres and Rubén
García Soto from the Ica Regional Museum and the
Peruvian Ministry of Culture for their continuous
assistance and support of our research. We would
also like to thank all the field and laboratory team
members at Cocahuischo whose hard work and
discussions contributed to this study. Giuseppe
Orefici graciously allowed us to include a photograph
of the casting molds recovered from Cahuachi, which
we deeply appreciate. We would also like to thank
Patricia Chirinos Ogata, who provided the photo-
graph of the molds in Figure 2. We are grateful to
Hendrik Van Gijseghem, who read and thoughtfully
commented on previous drafts, and provided inspi-
ration and encouragement through discussions as we
developed the ideas expressed here. Jerry Moore also
provided continuous guidance and helpful rec-
ommendations that were much appreciated. Finally,
100
Volume 34, Number 1
our deepest thanks to Kevin Vaughn, Nicole
Couture, Matthew Edwards, Randy Hahn, Catherine
Whalen, Marie-Pierre Gadoua, and three anonymous
reviewers who took the time to carefully review previous
drafts and provided thoughtful comments and valuable
suggestions which helped to improve this article. All
errors or omissions are ours alone.
Notes
1. While three of the AMS dates are highly consistent,
one date is considerably earlier than the others. The
carbon sample was taken from a subfloor ash pit,
indicating that perhaps the sample came from old
wood (the durability of the south-coast huarango
tree is notable) or the earliest moments of activity
at the site.
2. Data regarding burning and sooting were recorded
for sherds diagnostic of either form or style. In
Table 4 the data presented are based on unconjoin-
ing rims, to avoid overrepresentation because of
highly fragmented vessels. The rate of burning is
likely higher since the base of cooking vessels is
often the most exposed to fire.
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