Negotiating Community and Landscape in the Peruvian Andes: A Transconquest View

This article explores how constructs of "community" and "landscape" mediate power relations between households and colonial states. I analyze archaeological and documentary data in a common spatial framework to reconstruct the local-scale negotiation of community and land-use organization during successive colonial occupations by the Inka and Spanish states in the Colca Valley of southern highland Peru. Using GIS-based analytical tools, I present a detailed reconstruction of the land-tenure patterns of Andean corporate descent groups ( ayllus ) registered in colonial visitas from the heartland of the Collagua Province. I then compare these land-tenure patterns to archaeological settlement patterns from the Inka occupation (C.E. 1450–C.E. 1532) and subsequent early Colonial Period occupation up to the forced resettlement of the local populace into compact, European-style reducción villages in the 1570s. This analysis reveals how both Inka and Spanish colonialist projects for reordering and rationalizing local community and land-use organization were met by local understandings and interests that emerged from patterns of land tenure, residence, and the features of the built environment.     

The Articulated Peasant: Household Economies in the Andes.

The Articulated Peasant: Household Economies in the Andes. Enrique Mayer. Boulder: Wesrview Press, 2002. 390 pp.     

Potato-associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in the Peruvian Andes

The world's fourth largest food crop, potato, originates in the Andes. Here, the community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) associated with potato in Andean ecosystems is described for the first time. AMF were studied in potato roots and rhizosphere soil at four different altitudes from 2,658 to 4,075 m above mean sea level (mamsl) and in three plant growth stages (emergence, flowering, and senescence). AMF species were distinguished by sequencing an approx. 1,500 bp nuclear rDNA region. Twenty species of AMF were identified, of which 12 came from potato roots and 15 from rhizosphere soil. Seven species were found in both roots and soil. Interestingly, altitude affected species composition with the highest altitude exhibiting the greatest species diversity. The three most common colonizers of potato roots detected were Funneliformis mosseae, an unknown Claroideoglomus sp., and Rhizophagus irregularis. Notably, the potato-associated AMF diversity observed in this Andean region is much higher than that reported for potato in other ecosystems. Potato plants were colonized by diverse species from 8 of the 11 Glomeromycota families. Identification of the AMF species is important for their potential use in sustainable management practices to improve potato production in the Andean region.     

An association between phlebotomine sandflies and aphids in the Peruvian Andes

Abstract. As the composition of natural sugars in the diet of adult sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) may affect the development of Leishmania (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) in sandfly guts, and so play an important role in the epidemiology of leishmaniasis, there is increasing interest in the sources of sugars for wild sandflies. Advanced chromatography techniques have provided indirect evidence that wild sandflies feed on honeydew, a substance released by aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) when feeding. Our objective was to determine whether sandfly density can be influenced directly by the local density of aphids. Aphid density was determined by counting absolute numbers of aphids on alfalfa stems in Purisima Valley, Peru, where sandflies transmit Leishmania peruviana causing Andean cutaneous leishmaniasis (uta). Sandfly relative abundance was measured using sticky trap sampling repeatedly in alfalfa fields. Lutzomyia verrucarum accounted for 92% of the total sandflies collected. As there was a female bias in sandflies collected close to houses, only the numbers of male sandflies were used in analysis. Most of the adult aphids found feeding on alfalfa were either Therioaphis trifolii forma maculata (97%) or Acyrthosiphon pisum (3%). By regression analysis, a significant relationship was found between the density of Lu. verrucarum males and the density of adults of both aphid species. This is the first ecological study to support the hypothesis that aphid honeydew may be a source of sugar for sandflies.     

Change and Continuity in a Pastoralist Community in the High Peruvian Andes

Pastoralists of the high Andes Mountains raise mixed herds of camelids and sheep. This study evaluates the land use of herdsmen who are confronted by both socioeconomic and climate changes in Huancavelica, central Peru. Land use/ land cover change (LULCC) was measured through satellite imagery, and pastoralists’ capacity to adapt to socioenvironmental changes was evaluated through interviews and archival research. The most dynamic LULCCs between 1990 and 2000 were large increases in wetlands and a loss of permanent ice. We conclude that the people’s responses to these changes will depend on availability of institutions to manage pastures, other household resources, and perceptions of these biophysical changes. Socioenvironmental change is not new in the study area, but current shifts will likely force this community to alter its rules of access to pastures, its economic rationales in regards to commodities produced, and the degree of dependence on seasonal wage labor. In this scenario, households with a greater amount of livestock will fare better in terms of assets and capital that will allow them to benefit from the increasing presence of a market economy in a landscape undergoing climate change.

Agricultural Intensification, Market Participation, and Household Demography in the Peruvian Andes

The causes of agricultural intensification in a peasant community in the north central Andes are explored using a methodology derived from the tradition of Systems Ecology. Hypotheses derived from different research traditions??mainly development economics and anthropology??regarding the causes of intensification are integrated and evaluated for their relative effects. It is found that among the variables, household size is better at explaining the degree of intensity with which labor and technology are employed. The results suggest that technologically-driven agricultural intensification is generally forced upon households by the diminishing returns of their labor, and that this process is normally accompanied by increased financial debt for those peasant households who remain in agriculture and do not completely migrate to regional urban centers.     

Implications of Livelihood Dependence on Non-Timber Products in Peruvian Amazonia

The present and future well-being of the world’s forest dwelling populations depends on their ability to gain livelihood resources from their immediate environment. Sustainable extraction of non-timber forest products has been promoted by conservationists and development agencies as a feasible strategy for forest dwellers that does not compromise the resource base. Yet surveys of actual resource use suggest that for poorer resource-dependent communities without access to markets, non-timber forest products can only ever represent a safety-net activity and a supplementary income source. Others argue that resource availability, in terms of the diversity and productivity of the forest, is the key parameter in realizing a contribution of forest products to well-being. This paper examines the scope and heterogeneity of forest product use to reveal whether resource availability necessarily provides the context for significant contributions to well-being of forest dwellers. We present data from an area of tropical rainforest, close to Iquitos in Peru, which was previously shown to have high potential value. We find, through a census survey of households within a forest reserve area, that non-timber forest products provide only a relatively small portion of income and that only a small proportion of available products are actually commercialized, despite apparent market availability. We show that the low rates of commercialization can be explained by unequal access capital assets used for extraction, to natural resources themselves, and to product markets. They are also explained by the concentration of capital-poor households on subsistence gathering activities. The value of destructive uses of forests, both logging and agriculture, remain higher than returns from non-timber products. This research demonstrates that although non-timber forest products are an important livelihood source, market integration and commercialization is not everywhere an appropriate or realistic strategy.     

Chorion patterns on eggs of Lutzomyia sandflies from the Peruvian Andes

Abstract. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to depict and describe the eggs of five species of phlebotomine sandfly from the Andean region of Peru: Lutzomyia caballeroi, Lu.noguchii, Lu.peruensis, Lu.tejadai and Lu.verrucarum. Two new types of chorionic sculpturing of sandfly eggs are reported: these were named disperse (Lu.tejadai) and verrucose (Lu.noguchii). The aeropylar area of the eggs is also described for the first time for neotropical sandflies. These character states appear to vary for ecological rather than phylogenetic reasons and could be used for species identification.     

Microbial diversity in Maras salterns, a hypersaline environment in the Peruvian Andes

Maras salterns are located 3,380 m above sea level in the Peruvian Andes. These salterns consist of more than 3,000 little ponds which are not interconnected and act as crystallizers where salt precipitates. These ponds are fed by hypersaline spring water rich in sodium and chloride. The microbiota inhabiting these salterns was examined by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis, and cultivation techniques. The total counts per milliliter in the ponds were around 2 x 10(6) to 3 x 10(6) cells/ml, while the spring water contained less than 100 cells/ml and did not yield any detectable FISH signal. The microbiota inhabiting the ponds was dominated (80 to 86% of the total counts) by Archaea, while Bacteria accounted for 10 to 13% of the 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) counts. A total of 239 16S rRNA gene clones were analyzed (132 Archaea clones and 107 Bacteria clones). According to the clone libraries, the archaeal assemblage was dominated by microorganisms related to the cosmopolitan square archaeon "Haloquadra walsbyi," although a substantial number of the sequences in the libraries (31% of the 16S rRNA gene archaeal clones) were related to Halobacterium sp., which is not normally found in clone libraries from solar salterns. All the bacterial clones were closely related to each other and to the gamma-proteobacterium "Pseudomonas halophila" DSM 3050. FISH analysis with a probe specific for this bacterial assemblage revealed that it accounted for 69 to 76% of the total bacterial counts detected with a Bacteria-specific probe. When pond water was used to inoculate solid media containing 25% total salts, both extremely halophilic Archaea and Bacteria were isolated. Archaeal isolates were not related to the isolates in clone libraries, although several bacterial isolates were very closely related to the "P. halophila" cluster found in the libraries. As observed for other hypersaline environments, extremely halophilic bacteria that had ecological relevance seemed to be easier to culture than their archaeal counterparts.     

No Differences in Soil Carbon Stocks Across the Tree Line in the Peruvian Andes

Reliable soil organic carbon (SOC) stock measurements of all major ecosystems are essential for predicting the influence of global warming on global soil carbon pools, but hardly any detailed soil survey data are available for tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) and adjacent high elevation grasslands above (puna). TMCF are among the most threatened of ecosystems under current predicted global warming scenarios. We conducted an intensive soil sampling campaign extending 40 km along the tree line in the Peruvian Andes between 2994 and 3860 m asl to quantify SOC stocks of TMCF, puna grassland, and shrubland sites in the transition zone between the two habitats. SOC stocks from the soil surface down to the bedrock averaged (±standard error SE) 11.8 (±1.5, N = 24) kg C/m² in TMCF, 14.7 (±1.4, N = 9) kg C/m² in the shrublands and 11.9 (±0.8, N = 35) kg C/m² in the grasslands and were not significantly different (P > 0.05 for all comparisons). However, soil profile analysis revealed distinct differences, with TMCF profiles showing a uniform SOC distribution with depth, shrublands a linear decrease, and puna sites an exponential decrease in SOC densities with soil depth. Organic soil layer thickness reached a maximum (~70 cm) at the upper limit of the TMCF and declined with increasing altitude toward puna sites. Within TMCF, no significant increase in SOC stocks with increasing altitude was observed, probably because of the large variations among SOC stocks at different sites, which in turn were correlated with spatial variation in soil depth.     

Microbial Diversity in Maras Salterns, a Hypersaline Environment in the Peruvian Andes

Maras salterns are located 3,380 m above sea level in the Peruvian Andes. These salterns consist of more than 3,000 little ponds which are not interconnected and act as crystallizers where salt precipitates. These ponds are fed by hypersaline spring water rich in sodium and chloride. The microbiota inhabiting these salterns was examined by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis, and cultivation techniques. The total counts per milliliter in the ponds were around 2 × 10⁶ to 3 × 10⁶ cells/ml, while the spring water contained less than 100 cells/ml and did not yield any detectable FISH signal. The microbiota inhabiting the ponds was dominated (80 to 86% of the total counts) by Archaea, while Bacteria accounted for 10 to 13% of the 4′,6′-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) counts. A total of 239 16S rRNA gene clones were analyzed (132 Archaea clones and 107 Bacteria clones). According to the clone libraries, the archaeal assemblage was dominated by microorganisms related to the cosmopolitan square archaeon “Haloquadra walsbyi,” although a substantial number of the sequences in the libraries (31% of the 16S rRNA gene archaeal clones) were related to Halobacterium sp., which is not normally found in clone libraries from solar salterns. All the bacterial clones were closely related to each other and to the γ-proteobacterium “Pseudomonas halophila” DSM 3050. FISH analysis with a probe specific for this bacterial assemblage revealed that it accounted for 69 to 76% of the total bacterial counts detected with a Bacteria-specific probe. When pond water was used to inoculate solid media containing 25% total salts, both extremely halophilic Archaea and Bacteria were isolated. Archaeal isolates were not related to the isolates in clone libraries, although several bacterial isolates were very closely related to the “P. halophila” cluster found in the libraries. As observed for other hypersaline environments, extremely halophilic bacteria that had ecological relevance seemed to be easier to culture than their archaeal counterparts.     

Regulating Mobility in the Peruvian Andes: Road Safety,Social Hierarchies and Governmentality in Cusco's Rural Provinces

Significant developments in road safety regulation have taken place in Peru during recent years, reflecting international efforts to reduce worldwide fatalities and injuries. A series of measures has sought to bring about transformations in governmentality among passengers on public transport. Seen ethnographically, these have had uneven success on the ground. In rural provinces of Cusco, situated histories and sociologies of mobility have sometimes led to ambivalence, unobtrusive resistance or reinforcement of discriminatory attitudes. This article explores how reception of the regulations has been refracted through class, ethnic and geographical divisions within Peruvian society, and argues for both the applied and theoretical utility of anthropological study of road safety governance.     

Recent Changes in Patch Characteristics and Plant Communities in the Jalca Grasslands of the Peruvian Andes

Habitat loss and fragmentation are considered major threats to biodiversity, especially in tropical mountain ecosystems. Most studies focus on the relationships between biodiversity and patch characteristics such as patch size, connectivity or degree of contrast with the surrounding matrix, but leave the rate of change within these variables little explored. We analyzed the importance of changes in patch characteristics over time on species diversity and species composition in the paramo of northern Peru, a tropical grassland ecosystem, locally known as jalca. We obtained land use/cover maps for 1987 and 2007 spanning an area of 6300 km², and quantified land use change, jalca patch characteristics and their proportional changes over 20 yr. In 2009, 371 vascular plant species were recorded in 92 plots, each plot representative of single patches. Between 1987 and 2007, jalca cover decreased from 47 to 35 percent due to encroaching agriculture. This activity showed an upward shift probably favored by climate change. The number of jalca patches increased, mean patch size decreased, and the patches showed a higher contrast with the surrounding matrix. Multiple linear regression failed to show that species diversity relates to changes in patch characteristics. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that species composition relates to the degree of contrast between the patch and its surrounding matrix and its changes through time. We concluded that changes in patch characteristics are important only for species composition. This study highlights the importance of considering matrix management with a long term perspective for conservation efforts.     

Trauma and violence in the Wari empire of the Peruvian Andes: warfare, raids, and ritual fights

This study examines bioarchaeological evidence for violence during the period of Wari imperialism in the Peruvian Andes through analysis of skeletal trauma from three populations dating to AD 650-800. The samples are from contemporaneous archaeological sites: Conchopata, a Wari heartland site in central highland Peru; Beringa, a community of commoners in the Majes valley of the southern Wari hinterland; and La Real, a high status mortuary site, also in the Majes valley. Given the expansionist nature of Wari and its military-related iconography and weaponry, it is hypothesized that Wari imperialism was concomitant with greater levels of violence relative to other prehispanic groups in the Andes. It is also hypothesized that differential articulation with the Wari empire (e.g., heartland vs. hinterland groups) affected the frequency and patterning of trauma. Results show that cranial trauma frequency of the three Wari era samples is significantly greater than several other Andean skeletal populations. This suggests that Wari rule was associated with high levels of violence, though it may not have always been related to militarism. The three adult samples show similar frequencies of cranial trauma (Conchopata = 26%; Beringa = 33%; La Real = 31%). This may suggest that differential positioning in the Wari empire had little effect on exposure to violence. Sex-based differences in cranial trauma frequencies are present only at La Real, but wound patterning differs between the sexes: females display more wounds on the posterior of the cranium, while males show more on the anterior. These data suggest that Wari rule may have contributed to violence.