The Wari enclave of Espíritu Pampa by Javier Fonseca Santa Cruz and Brian S. Bauer, with contributions by Julio Cesar Sierra Palomino, David A. Reid and Jeffrey C. Splitstoser, provides the reader with the results of excavations conducted between 2010 and 2013 by Javier Fonseca at the site of Espíritu Pampa. Situated in the Vilcabamba region of Peru, Espíritu Pampa represents a Middle Horizon site related to the expansionist Wari state (c. AD 650–1000), with an associated group of elite burials.
This book imparts much of the excitement engendered by a find of the magnitude of the ‘Lord of Vilcabamba’ discoveries, significant both in terms of the rarity of Wari elite burials and the uniqueness of the identification of a Wari Middle Horizon colony in the eastern, jungle-covered mountain range of Vilcabamba.
Previously, the site was principally known for being the final retreat of the neo-Inca state during their resistance to the Spanish conquest. Following an unsuccessful revolt against the colonisers, Manco Inca—who had originally been installed as the Indigenous ruler by the Spanish usurpers—withdrew with his followers to the Vilcabamba area. From here, the Sapa Inca (Unique Inca) and his successor sons successfully resisted the Spanish administration for some 40 years. Túpac Amaru, the last of Manco Inca's sons to wear the royal fringe, was captured and executed in AD 1572, ending the period of organised Inca challenge to the Spanish Crown.
The discovery of a major Wari elite burial complex and ‘D’ shaped temple structures at the site came as a surprise to the academic world, as no previous significant incursion of the Wari state into the jungle-covered, eastern mountain slopes of the Andes had been identified before. The discovery of the ‘Lord of Vilcabamba’ burial, and its associated funerary complex and Wari architecture, ranks among the most important archaeological discoveries in Peru during the last hundred years.
The Wari enclave of Espíritu Pampa volume manages to do full justice to the finds. In nine chapters and three appendices the authors provide a thorough description of both the structures and material culture, describing in considerable detail the architecture, ceramics, metal objects, textile fragments and eco-facts. The bone preservation was very poor, however, precluding any analysis of human or animal remains. The authors manage to thoroughly contextualise the finds in an up-to-date and fulsome understanding of Middle Horizon Wari archaeology. Comparisons with artefactual parallels are well researched, with even the more obscure material and sites being given the prominence they deserve. The reader is also presented with copious illustrations of the artefacts and their analogues from elsewhere. Similarly, good use is made of state-of-the-art analytical and dating tools in the study of the artefactual material, resulting in the discovery of much valuable information on the origins of the finds.
The surviving bone is limited to a few teeth and small bone fragments, precluding confirmation of the sex of the buried individuals. Despite this, the authors argue convincingly that at least some of the human remains may be women, based on associated grave goods, including topu pins.
The interpretation of the remains of the ‘Lord of Vilcabamba’ as a “third-level lord” (p. 195) or provincial governor, at a site of Wari colonists situated in the region in order to access the varied local resource base and with a contact network across the wider Wari-dominated areas, concurs with the evidence presented.
This volume adds significantly to a small corpus of important Wari Middle Horizon funerary assemblages, such as the coastal elite women mausoleum at Huarmey, published by Milosz Giersz and colleagues (Giersz & Pardo Reference Giersz and Pardo2014; Giersz Reference Giersz2017). The Wari enclave of Espíritu Pampa provides similarly detailed descriptions, in-depth analysis and interpretations. The reader is offered an understanding of the functioning of this settlement of Wari colonists situated on the densely vegetated and difficult topography of the eastern Andean foothills. Despite its remote location, the site and its elite were fully integrated into the wider Wari state hierarchy and exchange networks, with access to prestige goods from as far afield as the Titicaca region, the central and south Peruvian coast and the Arequipa area. The Vilcabamba region was incorporated into the Wari domain early in the period of Wari state expansion.
The book is well-written and presented and is a must read for anyone with an interest in Andean prehistory in general, and Middle Horizon Wari in particular.
