Abstract:
This thesis serves as a bioarchaeological investigation of cranial modification spanning
three millennia and originating from several different archaeological sites found on the
north coast of Peru. Utilizing perspectives from cultural anthropology, archaeology, and
biology to interpret the nature, variation, and meanings associated with this particular
form of body ritualization, this study seeks to translate the emic motivations exercised by
indigenous groups long ago of Latin America and specifically the central Andes. Since a
single standard interpretation of head shaping is not representative of all cultures that
performed this tradition, analysis of data collected from the Lambayeque Valley will
provide vital contextual information about the body and this transformative process as
regarded by native groups specific to this region. For these reasons, a set of hypotheses
addressing cranial modification will address broader questions of social complexity,
class, and difference while assessing their relevance to head shaping practices on the
north coast of Peru.
