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More than Kindling: Algarrobo Posts and Social Memory on the Peruvian North Coast
Wooden posts have been a critical element of Andean architecture within the Jequetepeque valley on the North Coast of Peru, particularly in the Moche site of Huaca Colorada (650-850 CE). However, wooden posts have frequently been interpreted in the archaeological canon as architectural features with little connection to ritual procedures except in their inclusion as an inert element of ritual architecture. Utilizing new analyses of wooden posts made from the algarrobo tree (Neltuma pallida), this paper identifies trends in the use and recycling of wooden posts at Huaca Colorada during the Middle Horizon, shedding light on the role of the algarrobo tree as more than a simple resource by examining how the algarrobo tree may have participated in the ritual, political, and social structures at Huaca Colorada as revered ancestor within the local ontology. This research explores the use and perception of algarrobo trees within the complex of Huaca Colorada and the role of trees in establishing or promoting culturally specific perceptions of place, ancestry, and memory.
Date:
30 October 2025, 12:30
Venue:
Radcliffe Observatory
Venue Details:
Room 20.421, History Hub, Schwarzman Centre
Speaker:
Madeleine Fyles (PhD Anthropology, University of Toronto)
Organising department:
Faculty of History
Part of:
Environmental History Working Group
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Belinda Clark
