Food and identity in the Inca imperial core

What is it about?

We look at how people eat before and after incorporation into the Inca empire and want to understand whether people identify as Inca and how well they eat.

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Why is it important?

This research looks at the Maras region, which is northwest of Cuzco. In Maras, there was a group of people who were political rivals to the growing Inca empire and they did not eat and drink like the Incas. This was a surprising finding because histories told by the Incas indicated that they were close societies for many generations. Around 1450, that group was removed from Maras and was replaced by a multi-ethnic community of permanent retainer laborers who were forced to migrate to the area. Those people, though participating as unfair/unfree laborers, ate more like the Incas in some limited ways. This work helps us understand more of the complexities of how people identify with a dominant culture and what kinds of limitations and possibilities they have when experiencing cultural change under empire.