Where the water flows: continuities in water management and ancestor-based lineages in the Chicha Soras Valley, Peru

Meddens, F., Aramburu Venegas, D. M., Branch, N. P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8826-0365, Vivanco Pomacanchari, C. and Simmonds, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7845-0392 (2026) Where the water flows: continuities in water management and ancestor-based lineages in the Chicha Soras Valley, Peru. Latin American Antiquity. ISSN 2325-5080 doi: 10.1017/laq.2025.10112

Abstract/Summary

The Chicha Soras valley on the boundary of Ayacucho with Apurimac in south-central Peru sees the introduction of intensive irrigated terraced agriculture in the Middle Horizon. The control over the water sources and the terracing systems fell to corporate lineage groups laying claim to common ancestors, viewed as being the founders of the local irrigation systems. The control over these systems and the rights of the respective lineages to land and water was expressed in the placement of ancestral tomb locations across the local landscape. This article demonstrates that ancestor-based organization of water sources was long lived across the area and survived the large-scale demographic and sociopolitical disruptions resulting from the Spanish conquest and the imposition of Christian belief systems.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/127640
Identification Number/DOI	10.1017/laq.2025.10112
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Geography and Environmental Science Science > School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science > Department of Archaeology
Publisher	Society for American Archaeology
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