Chachapoya

Quipu (Khipu), Inca, AD 1430-1530 

A collective memory

The only form of writing known in pre-Columbian South America, Quipu are still one of the great mysteries of archaeology as they have never been deciphered. These Quipu have been found at late Chachapoya sites and reflect the essential role of trade in this society. The different colours, twining, knot styles and lengths of string all hold information that can be read by a Quipu reader.

Feather headdress from the Amazon basin, Cayapo, 20th Century 

Trade

The Chachapoya controlled the trade of produce from the Amazon up into the cultures of the high Andes. Exotic feathers like these coming from the tropical rainforest were held in extremely high esteem for their beautiful colours and cultural links with the lowlands.

Slingshot, Peru, 20th Century 

Violence and conflict?

There is little evidence of violence and conflict within Chachapoya society before the arrival and invasion of the Inca in the fifteenth century. At the remarkable Chachapoya site of Kuelap over 2000 slingshot stones were found at the top of one of the towers.

Mummy bundle, Acari, unknown date 

Linking the living and the dead

How the Chachapoya prepared their dead provides one of the best indications of the egalitarian nature of their society. The same reverent conditions were provided for each person and the way they were mummified, preserved and often visited suggests that the link between the living and the dead was always maintained.

Bronze star shaped mace, Inca, AD 1430-1550 

Resistance and conquest

The Inca fought a series of brutal battles against the resistant Chachapoya and they were never fully conquered. As the Inca employed their superior military capacity to dominate the Chachapoya they also chose to forcibly remove sections of the population to the Titicaca basin in order to subjugate them more successfully.