On ch'arki consumption in the ancient central Andes: a cautionary note

Valdez, Lidio M.

On ch'arki consumption in the ancient central Andes: a cautionary note

Author

Valdez, Lidio M.

Date

2000

Keywords

bones, zooarchaeology, archaeological sites, ethnoarchaeology

Abstract (summary)

Recently, Andeanist zooarchaeologists have introduced the so-called "ch'arki effect": a taphonomic factor to explain the disproportional occurrence of some camelid skeletal parts at archaeological sites. Briefly, it has been argued that the lower frequency of head and foot bones is the by-product of ch 'arki (dried meat) exchange and therefore indicative of ch 'arki consumption. This generalization, however, is problematic. When fresh meat is distributed (by trade) and consumed, exactly the same pattern as with charki distribution is produced. To infer ch'arki consumption on the basis of the absence of head and lower limb bones is therefore misleading.

Publication Information

Valdez, Lidio M. "On Ch'arki Consumption in the Ancient Central Andes: A Cautionary Note." American Antiquity 65, no. 3 (2000): 567-72. doi:10.2307/2694536.