The UMMAA Brown Bag Lecture Series is pleased to present a lecture by Isabel Yaya McKenzie, associate professor of historical anthropology at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris). The lecture, "When Ancestorship Isn’t About Descent: The Inka corporate groups as a house society," will be held on Friday, April 24, 12-1 pm in Room 2218 in the School of Education Building.
In 1533, the first Spanish contingent to enter the Inka city of Cuzco was both repelled and astonished by the reverence that the ruling elite showed toward their deceased rulers. As young soldier Pedro Pizarro later remarked: “The greater part of the people, treasure, expenses, and vices were under the control of the dead” whose human remains were allegedly preserved for ritual purposes. Housed within their own residences, these relics would have been constantly attended by members of their respective corporate groups (ayllus), paraded daily in Cuzco’s ceremonial plaza, lavishly fed, and even consulted on matters of governance. However, a reexamination of early colonial documents complicates this long-standing understanding of Inka mortuary practices. These sources suggest a limited concern for the preservation of corpses and challenge the assumption that the ruling elite was composed of lineages. This paper proposes to integrate these materials into a new analysis of ancestor veneration in the pre-Hispanic Andes. It argues that membership in Inka sociopolitical units was defined primarily by co-residence and the fulfillment of ritual duties. These “houses” constituted entities anchored in space and materiality rather than in the genealogy of individuals. Such a perspective opens up stimulating avenues of discussion between anthropology and archaeology.
Please note that this talk will be in Room 2218, not in the usual spot. The talk will be catered by UMMAA.
The Museum's Brown Bag Lecture Series is free and open to the public.
