Collapse and cohesion: building community in the aftermath of Tiwanaku state breakdown

Abstract

Cross-cultural data demonstrate that the political collapse of states is frequently accompanied by social fragmentation. This is apparent in settlement pattern shifts that occurred with the breakdown of the Tiwanaku state in the south-central Andes circa ad 1000, as populations abandoned large, urban centers and established smaller villages that were dispersed across the landscape. This article examines how inhabitants of one new settlement built a sense of community. Crafting cohesion was especially challenging because factional differences within the village were asserted more strongly than they had been during state control. I suggest that community solidarity was fostered through collective ceremonial practices. While the activities themselves replicated long-standing Tiwanaku ritual behavior, they were performed in very different physical spaces than during the height of the state. Undertaken in an open, accessible, central collective space, these practices simultaneously referenced the villagers’ shared ancestry and reinforced the rejection of elite power and authority.