 
This gold mask from the Tiahunaco period in Peru is one of 50 objects and 60 graphics on display in the Peabody's new exhibition, which focuses in part on Machu Picchu. |
to Empire' is exhibit's theme
The origin of empire in Peru -- one of the few areas in the world where complex societies formed independently of outside influences -- is the subject of a new exhibition opening at the Peabody Museum of Natural History on Friday, Sept. 21.
"Peru: From Village to Empire" coincides with events celebrating Yale's Tercentennial. Focused in part on Machu Picchu, the exhibit will also allow visitors to preview a full-scale exhibition on the ancient Inca site opening in the fall of 2002.
Drawing upon recent archaeological research, "Peru: From Village to Empire" traces the rise of complex society in the country, with particular attention placed on its northern part. Although dozens of distinct cultures flourished in Peru over thousands of years, the exhibition focuses on nine in a chronological progression, beginning with the concept of the state prior to Spanish contact and concluding with the Inca today.
Richard L. Burger, director of the Peabody Museum and professor of anthropology, consulted on the new exhibition and is curator-in-charge of its installation at Yale. Burger is a noted authority on ancient Andean civilization in South America, whose research has increased an understanding of the origins of complex societies. His studies focus on the social and economic origins of Andean civilization, and he has conducted fieldwork throughout Peru, serving as director of major excavations in the Lurin Valley. His research in Peru, which extends back to 1973, includes the Chavin-San Marcos Archaeological Project and the 3,000-year-old monument center at Cardal.
According to Burger, the Inca represent the culmination of development that began more than 20,000 years earlier with the arrival of the first people. The Incas called their empire Tahuantinsuyu, or "Land of the Four Quarters," because of its four political divisions. About 3,500 miles long, this Peruvian empire was larger than the Roman Empire and that of Ming China. Stretching from present-day Chile and Argentina to southern Colombia, it was the largest native state to develop in the western hemisphere.
The Inca empire absorbed 12 million people from more than 85 ethnic groups, according to Burger. Although the term "Inca" most commonly refers to the culture, it was also the title of the ruler and referred collectively to his blood relations. The Inca himself was regarded as divine and occupied the most important position in the hierarchical society. Beneath him were noble Incas, Incas by privilege who were nobility outside their rulers' bloodline, imperial administrators, local leaders and commoners.
The Inca government perpetuated the ancient Andean idea of reciprocity that balanced rights with obligations, Burger says. Labor was the most important obligation and was the foundation of the imperial economy. To fulfill their textile taxation, women spun and wove and men made cordage and ropes. Men and women also provided agricultural labor. Inca men were also obliged to perform annual mit'a service, a form of communal work that provided farmers, soldiers, quarrymen, masons and other skilled people to the state. The millions of men performing such service resulted in thousands of miles of well-built roads, extensive irrigation and terrace systems, and great architectural monuments, notes Burger.
The exhibit "Peru: From Village to Empire" will feature 50 objects and 60 graphics, including maps, photographs and drawings. Site plans and maps reveal regional settlement patterns and population growth in the country, while other objects express major themes within their cultural milieu. A pot depicting a fanged deity associated with the Chavin religion, for example, reveals the geographical spread of the cult through its iconography. Fine metalwork and ceramics by highly skilled craftspeople communicate details of daily life among the elite and commoners of the Moche culture, while a Huari hat expresses male status and a tunic exemplifies the Incas' "Imperial" style, an official style for art and architecture created under the rule of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, the ninth ruler of the Inca empire. Metal, wood, textile and ceramic objects are among the items in the exhibition that reveal the culture of the Inca.
"Peru: From Village to Empire" originated at the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Its curators are Malinda S. Blustain of the Robert S. Peabody Museum and James B. Richardson III of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. It was designed by Booth Simpson Designers of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The exhibit comes to Yale before traveling to the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine in Orono.
To complement the exhibit, the Peabody Museum will host a series of family programs, lectures and workshops on topics related to the exhibit's themes. More information on these will appear in future issues of the Yale Bulletin & Calendar.
The Peabody Museum of Natural History is located at 170 Whitney Ave. It is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children (ages 3-15) and senior citizens. Visitors can park in a lot located at the south end of Yale Lot #22 (accessible from Whitney Avenue, one block north of the museum). For directions, events or other information, call the InfoTape at (203) 432-5050 or visit the museum's website at www.peabody.yale.edu.
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