The new imperial subjects from Copiapó valley: Diaguita and Inca local styles on Late period pottery bowls

Abstract

During the Inca imperial expansion, new kinds of pottery forms and styles appeared in
Copiapó valley. Besides the presence of new pots such as aríbalos, aisanas, and shallow plates,
local unrestricted and simple profile pots persisted. Furthermore, their designs incorporated a
mix of locally re-interpreted Diaguita-Inca styles.
This paper is based on the morphological and stylistic analysis of pots from museum
collections, which came from Copiapó coast and valley, excluding the Copiapó black-on-red
style local pots. The most abundant stylistic patterns in the sample are the Zigzag, Double
Zigzag, Diamonds in Double Mirror Reflection, and Greca Inca including all their variations,
which are local interpretations of Cuzco and Diaguita designs. The creation of these new
types suggests the rise of new social identities, where local actors negotiated the symbolic
referents of their material culture during a time of important political and social changes.