State Production, Chicha, Gender: A Stylistic Analysis of Eight Unprovenienced Chimú-Inka Ceramic Vessels at a Small Museum
Faculty Sponsor(s)
Leslie Walker and Amy Orr
Subject Area
Anthropology
Description
This honors thesis uses an original stylistic analysis of eight ceramic vessels from the Duerst Collection, housed at the Linfield Anthropology Museum, to discuss the Chimú and Chimú-Inka period in the Andean region of South America. The vessels are positioned within an existing seriation developed by Scheele and Patterson (1966) to establish age, compared to other existing collections to establish context, and identified as chicha vessels that were burial goods through analysis and research. Once confirmed, the intersections of gender, state production, and chicha (corn beer) consumption and production in this time period and region, and how archaeological evidence can provide insight into human behavior in the past, are explored through the lens of style. Also examined are the implications of collections like this one for small museums, the legal and ethical obligations of museums, and the value of researching collections without provenience.
Recommended Citation
Irvine, Emmaline, "State Production, Chicha, Gender: A Stylistic Analysis of Eight Unprovenienced Chimú-Inka Ceramic Vessels at a Small Museum" (2021). Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement. Event. Submission 5.
https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/symposium/2021/all/5
State Production, Chicha, Gender: A Stylistic Analysis of Eight Unprovenienced Chimú-Inka Ceramic Vessels at a Small Museum
This honors thesis uses an original stylistic analysis of eight ceramic vessels from the Duerst Collection, housed at the Linfield Anthropology Museum, to discuss the Chimú and Chimú-Inka period in the Andean region of South America. The vessels are positioned within an existing seriation developed by Scheele and Patterson (1966) to establish age, compared to other existing collections to establish context, and identified as chicha vessels that were burial goods through analysis and research. Once confirmed, the intersections of gender, state production, and chicha (corn beer) consumption and production in this time period and region, and how archaeological evidence can provide insight into human behavior in the past, are explored through the lens of style. Also examined are the implications of collections like this one for small museums, the legal and ethical obligations of museums, and the value of researching collections without provenience.
