Making and Marking Maleness and Valorizing Violence: A Bioarchaeological Analysis of Embodiment in the Andean Past

This study investigates the intersection of gender, violence, and social structure in the pre-Hispanic and early colonial Andes. By analyzing a large dataset of 4,500 adult crania alongside dietary isotope data, the author challenges the common assumption that human violence is an innate, natural proclivity. Instead, the research frames violence—both overt physical trauma and subtle structural inequalities—as a socially constructed phenomenon that is deeply embedded in political and economic systems.

The author employs a bioarchaeology of embodiment, which treats the human body as both a canvas and a tool. This approach examines how social norms are inscribed onto the body through physical trauma and dietary patterns. By comparing cranial trauma frequencies across different chronological eras—from the Archaic period to the Spanish colonial era—the study tracks how the emergence of state-level societies (such as the Wari and Tiwanaku) and their subsequent collapses altered the rhythms and targets of violence.

The data reveal that violence in the Andes was not a static feature of human existence. Pre-state societies exhibited the lowest levels of cranial trauma, while state-level societies and the volatile periods following their collapse showed significantly higher rates of violence. Notably, males were consistently the primary targets of physical violence, suggesting that gendered roles and expectations were central to the enactment of conflict. Beyond physical blows, the study identifies structural violence in the post-Wari era, where women were systematically excluded from access to maize and chicha (maize beer). This dietary disparity suggests that gender hierarchies were reinforced through the unequal distribution of resources, effectively limiting women's participation in political and social life.

This research is significant because it denaturalizes violence and highlights the role of institutional structures in shaping human health and lived experience. By demonstrating that violence and inequality are not inevitable, the study provides a framework for understanding how societies create, maintain, and justify hierarchies. It emphasizes that archaeologists must look beyond the individual to the broader sociopolitical context to understand how power is exercised and how it leaves lasting marks on the human body.