Society for American Archaeology

Demographic Correlations of the Wari Conquest of Junin

Author(s): David L. Browman
Source: American Antiquity, Vol. 41, No. 4 (Oct., 1976), pp. 465-477
Published by: Society for American Archaeology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/279012
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DEMOGRAPHIC CORRELATIONS OF THE WARI CONQUEST OF JUNIN

DAVID L. BROWMAN
The shift from llama pastoralism to potato agriculture in the Jauja-Huancayo basin of highland Peru has
previously been considered a result of the Wari conquest. An alternative hypothesis, based on population
pressure, is suggested here. As an adjunct to the description of population distribution, the concepts of an
exploitable territory threshold model and of site catchment as a part of central place theory are explored.

MY MAJORHYPOTHESISis that demographicpressurescontributeddirectly to the shift from

llama pastoralismto tuber agriculturein the Jauja-Huancayobasin of the Peruviansierra(Fig. 1)
duringthe Early Intermediateperiod. I am concernedwith the historicalsignificanceof this shift
because it coincided with the Wariimperialexpansion into the region and strongly affected the
relationships between the Wari and the local population. In light of evidence derived from
exploitable territory thresholds and site catchment models, I propose that the local population
exceeded the carryingcapacity of llama pastoralismby A.D. 400-500, resultingin a numberof
economic and sociopoliticalshifts, and that internalratherthan externalfactors are responsiblefor
the shifts in economic systems.

PACI F IC

Fig. 1. Location of the Jauja-Huancayo basin.

465

466

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

[Vol. 41, No. 4, 1976

EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD SETTLEMENTS

The archaeological evidence indicates a pattern of population increase from the first Late
Pleistocene hunting groups. Until the Early Intermediate period, group fissioning was the most
probable method of alleviating population pressure, but subsequently the surrounding zones were
occupied to the extent that other alternatives had to be explored.
Two major ceramic units characterize the Early Intermediate period settlements: Usupuquio
(A.D. 200-450) and Huacrapuquio (A.D. 450-600) (see Fig. 2). Survey data and test excavations
(Browman 1970, 1973) indicate the Usupuquio phases are the last in which alpaca and llama
pastoralism is the major subsistence mode. Population pressures placed a premium on more
intensive land utilization techniques during the subsequent Huacrapuquio phases.
The typical wet-season Usupuquio settlement pattern is small hilltop or upper hillslope hamlets,
each associated with one of the four or five valley floor centers. (The dry-season herding and
hunting encampments were mainly in the surrounding puna, outside the area of intensive survey.)
The hillside hamlets ranged from 3-15 houses, yielding hamlet population estimates between 15
and 75 persons, assuming the ethnohistoric and contemporary averages of 5-6 persons per
household are valid prehistorically, as indicated by the constancy in house floor areas.
Valley floor centers were utilized on a year-round basis, and show evidence of continual use
over long periods. In contrast, the wet-season hillside hamlets were short-lived; some of the
Usupuquio phase encampments seem to have been utilized for only one or two seasons. The
population served by each of the valley floor centers is estimated to be approximately 250
persons. Thus five or six hillside hamlets are associated with each valley floor administrative and
ceremonial center. The correlation of the seasonal sites with the various centers (Figs. 3 and 4) is
based both on various distance measures, defined later, and on cultural remains.
Huacrapuquio phase archaeological remains suggest a cultural crisis. Population centers at the
upper end of the basin are abandoned; the number of mid-basin settlements is reduced; and the
heaviest population density is now at the lower end of the basin. There was increasing contact
the area and
between the Jauja-Huancayo
Ayacucho-Huanta region following A.D. 450-500,
of the area
ea into the Wari state around A.D. 600-650 (Middle
culminating in the incorporation the
Horizon epoch I B). Very specific ceramic features are shared between the contemporary Pongora
or Huarpa style of Ayacucho and the Huacrapuquio style of Huancayo (MacNeish, Patterson, and
Browman 1975), and Wari-derived ceramics essentially replace local wares in the subsequent
Calpish phases. There is substantial evidence to suggest that the entire Wari class structure was
borrowed by the Calpish peoples (Browman 1970).
While earlier settlements were seasonal, the first permanent settlements with stone architecture
appear at the end of the Huacrapuquio period. Permanent year-round settlements are common by
A.D. 600, with Wari-introduced towns appearing, and with structures occurring in grid patterns
around rectangular courtyards and compounds. Storage buildings (colca) first appear early in the
Calpish occupation. Three important Middle Horizon temple complexes were constructed
(including the famous branch oracle of Wariwilka) in areas close to the earlier Huacrapuquio
centers of Orcotuna, Huacrapuquio and Sapallanga (Fig. 4).
The Huacrapuquio population shift to the south end of the valley is not wholly understood.
The southern end of the basin is closest to the Wari state, and it might be argued that there were
political and military reasons for the shift. However, even after extension of Wari political control
far to the north, the settlements remained at the south end of the valley. Local rain shadow effects
appear to be a more important consideration. The southern end of the valley receives 100 mm
more rain than the northern (740 mm versus 635 mm, Browman 1970); and today year-round
gardening is practiced at the southern end while only seasonal agriculture is possible at the
northern end. Thus agriculture seems to be a strong factor in the population shift in the
Huacrapuquio and Calpish phases.
Striking changes are evidenced in the lithic assemblages as well. From the earliest evidence
through the Usupuquio phases, lithic assemblages are dominated by hunting implements and tools
associated with carcass processing, with a slight shift in tool inventories noted about the fourth
millennium B.C. associated with the shift from hunting to pastoralism. This lithic assemblage
undergoes a dramatic change in the Huacrapuquio phases, and by the Middle Horizon hunting and

Jauja-Huancayo
Terminal
Preceramic

467

WARI CONQUEST OF JUNIN

Browman]

Southern
Sierra

Northern
Sierra

Coastal Peru

2000 B.C.
Tinyari

Cachi

Lauricocha III

Gaviota

Pirwapuquio

Marcavalle

Kotoshlevels DEF/4

Curayacu CD

1800 B.C.
Initial
Period

1600 B.C.
1400 B.C.
1200 B.C.
1000 B.C.

Early
Horizon
800 B.C.

Wichqana
Atalla
Chanapata

600 B.C.
Cochachongos

Kotoshlevels BC/23

400 B.C.

Rancha

Chavin-Mosna
and San Bias

200 B.C.

Chupas

San Bias

Los Patos
Ocucaje 8-10
Topara (Chongos)

Huaylas
0 A.D./B.C.
Early
Intermediate
Period

Wimpilley

Miramar

Uchupas
A.D. 200

Caja
Usupuquio

A.D. 400
Huacrapuquio
Middle
Horizon

A.D. 600

Calpish

A.D. 800

Quinsahuanca

Huarpa
Chakipampa
Ocros
Vifiaque
(Huarpa 11)
Coras
Pillpintuyoq

Nieveria
Huamachuco
Cajamarca III

Pachacamac AB
(Atarco)

A.D. 1000
Late
Intermediate
Period

Matapuquio
A.D. 1200

Arhuaturo

Late
Horizon

A.D. 1400

Arhuaturo-lnca
Viques
Llaqsa

Colonial

A.D. 1600

Republican

A.D. 1800

Arjalla
Patarjay
Inca
(Angara)

(Chimu?)

Pachacamac-Inca

Ocopa
Retama
Modern

A.D. 2000
Fig. 2. Jauja-Huancayo phases compared with other Peruvian sequences.

carcass processing implements have completely disappeared, and are replaced by agricultural tools.
This crucial epoch, perhaps no more than a century in duration, marks the shift from primary
llama and alpaca pastoralism, with secondary hunting and horticulture, to a new economic base of
primary agriculture with secondary herding.

i
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adwt-esn
napmns

Fig. 3 (top). Usupuquio administrative centers and wet-season encampments.

Fi.4(otm.7ucauuoam
napet.a

Browman]

WARI CONQUEST OF JUNIN

469

LLAMA PASTORALISM AS AN ADAPTIVE STRATEGY

Llama pastoralism is an efficient adaptive stategy under certain population conditions. The
earliest domestic camelids or ilamoids are found at Pachamachay rockshelter near Lake Junin
around 5000 B.C. and at Pikimachay cave in Ayacucho around 4500-4000 B.C. The period from
4000-1000 B.C. marks an epoch of manipulation of phenotypic characteristics of the llamoids and
an epoch of consolidation and integration of the pastoral regime.
In investigating the pressures causing a shift from a pastoral exploitative strategy to an
agricultural one, it is useful to outline the selective forces favoring pastoralism. I have dealt with
this question elsewhere (Browman 1973, 1974) and here only outline a few points.
(1) The extremely variable meteorological conditions in the high Andes place a premium on
mobility, favoring pastoralism as a subsistence mode, and upon a diversity of resources, favoring
the development of secondary subsistence modes such as horticulture and trade networks, and
technological specialization such as mining and pottery manufacture.
(2) Pastoralism is integrated into and maintains the structure of the previous hunting
ecosystem. It is a conservative innovation that preserves the former nomadic hunting lifeways to a
greater extent than other alternatives.
(3) Pastoralism is a response to population pressure. It permits more efficient exploitation and
predators, may crop approximately ten percent of the available biomass (Schaller 1972; Pimentel
and Soans 1971; Martin 1973). The shift to pastoralism eliminates the competition of other
predators, reduces social intolerance and its genetic limitation on host species reproduction,
reduces effects of weather and vagaries in food supply, and thus permits human groups to crop a
much greater percentage, in some cases as much as 20-30% of the herbivore biomass.
(4) The Andean puna and altiplano are areas of high forage productivity for herd animals, but
are in general poorly suited for cultivated crops. In such an environment, llama pastoralism allows
cultural expansion by enlarging the resource fields to sources previously not exploitable.
(5) There are pressures from surrounding agricultural groups upon the pastoralists that act as
positive feedback, reinforcing pastoralism. Trade with nomadic pastoralists is one way that settled
agriculturalists may continue to utilize resources that they formerly exploited, but which their
sedentary lifestyle has removed from their local resource field.
EXPLOITABLE TERRITORY THRESHOLD MODEL
A human population finds it profitable to directly exploit resources in the vicinity of their
occupation site. The cost curve rises geometrically as distance increases from the occupation site
(Fig. 5). Distance and its associated costs may be conceptualized as having four major
components: (1) geodesic distance, the straight line distance between two points; (2) pheric
distance, the time needed to cover topographic space, such as hills versus plains; (3) transport
costs, such as the energy costs for the hunter to bring game back to camp, the agriculturalist to
bring field produce back to the settlement, as well as the more traditional sense of transporting
goods to market centers; and (4) social and psychological costs, such as incurred when the hunter's
game or the farmer's field are far enough away to require temporary separation from the social
community. There will be one range where returns increase more rapidly than costs, the preferred
territory of exploitation (up to Threshold A); a second range where costs rise sharply toward a
limit of what is considered a maximum range of economic exploitation (Threshold B); and a
marginal range where exploitation is considered uneconomic, and which is generally not exploited
without modification of the system of exploitation, establishment of new settlements, or in
periods of economic crisis (between Thresholds B and C).
Sedentary populations, such as agriculturalists, have distance costs that are different from
mobile economies, such as herders and hunters. A major constraint upon the territory that can be
effectively exploited, in both cases, is that it lies within a day's round trip from the occupation
site. The form of the curve in Fig. 5 will be the same for both, but the numerical values of the
thresholds will be different.

470

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
EXPLOITABLE

[Vol. 41, No. 4, 1976

TERRITORY

THRESHOLDS

/
/

nZ
0 iI
u: ____-~
_-

0\
O

z/ -

~
grgross

^,-'

economic
social

and
costs

"
/

V'

//

-/

net

returns
\

Al

BI

DISTANCE

Fig. 5. Exploitableterritorythresholdsmodel.

Estimation of numerical values for mobile economies is difficult, for although there are
substantial data on hunting and politically defined territories, there is little information on the
territory exploited from a single encampment. African and Australian data indicate that in areas of
high vegetative food yields, limits on collecting are more important than those on hunting, while
evidence from northern Canada suggests the reverse is true where meat sources are the more
important energy sources. The Pitjandjara of the western Australian desert (Tindale 1972) select
campsites on the basis of game within easy walking distance for the men, and plants, grubs, and
small animals within easy collecting distance for the women. The women prefer these sources
within 2-3 km; begin complaining when they must go 4-5 km; and begin to rebel when they must
go more than 5-6 km. Among the Hadza of eastern Africa (Woodburn 1968, 1972), the women
collect within a radius of 4-5 km or a one hour's distance; the men may go further to hunt, but
generally abandon a wounded animal if it is not caught within a day's journey from camp. Hunting
in other geographic areas is comparable: Great Basin Shoshone hunt within a radius of one day's
journey, a maximum radius of 35 km (Steward 1938; Thomas 1972), and Bolivian Siriono initiate
a hunt only if the spoor is within a half-day's walk of camp (Holmberg 1969).
The best data come from the Bushmen of southern Africa. Threshold A is about a two-hour
hike (7-10 km) for both the G/wi Bushmen of the Kalihari desert (Silberbauer 1972) and the
!Kung Bushmen of the Dobe (Lee 1968, 1969, 1972). For the !Kung Bushmen, Threshold B is
reached between 16 and 22 km and Threshold C is reached at approximately 30-35 km.
Data for threshold estimations for agricultural settlements are more abundant. In the most
encompassing survey, Chisholm (1968) noted that at one km, the decline in net return was
significant as a factor adversely affecting the prosperity of the subsistence agriculturalist; at 3-4
km, the costs rise sufficiently to be oppressive; and beyond 3-4 km the costs of cultivation become
prohibitive without modification of the system of cultivation or settlement.

Browman]

WARI CONQUEST OF JUNIN

471

The same regularitieshave been observedin studies of centralplace theory. In the United States
and England (Loesch 1954; Brush and Bracey 1955), Germany (Christaller 1966), Rhodesia
(Roder 1969), and China (Skinner 1964), the lowest level agriculturalcentral places are spaced
with maximumexploitative areasof 4-6 km radius,or one hour'swalkingdistance.Morrill(1970)
estimatesthat with moderntransportationthis radiusis closerto a half-hourmaximum.
Archaeologicalstudies allow us to extend this threshold backwardin time. Hodder (1972)
found the preferreddistance in Roman Britainwas a radiusof 3-6 km; Hammond(1972, 1974)
and Bullard (1960) noted a radius of 3-6 km among the lowland Maya;and Adams (1972) has
indicateda radiusof perhaps3-8 km in Mesopotamia.
Most agriculturalstudies have been of permanent rather than shifting cultivation. However,
studies of the Maya as well as those in Amazonia(Carneiro1956; Butt 1970) and New Guinea
(Clarke 1971) indicate that for shifting cultivation, farmingis impracticablemuch beyond 5 km,
with a maximum radiusof 7-8 km. Thus the one hour radiuslimit appearsto hold for subsistence
agriculture,whether based upon permanentirrigationor on any of a varietyof fallowingsystems.
SITE CATCHMENT MODEL IN PERU

Using data similar to the above, Higgs, Jarman, and Vita-Finzi (Jarman 1972; Higgs and
Vita-Finzi 1972; Jarman,Vita-Finziand Higgs1972) developeda model termed "site catchment."
Under their model, the critical threshold (Threshold A in Fig. 5) for hunting and gathering
walking distance: thresholds which would permit an effective working day after discounting
travellingtime. These limits appearto be the same as those postulated for classicalcentral place
theory. In one formulationof that theory, Christaller(1966:159-60) regardedone hour'sdistance
the establishmentof the size of the lowest rankedregion,and suggested
as the basic measurefor
the time-measurehad an importantgeographicaleffect in determiningthe numberand distribution
of central places. Investigationof site catchment therefore can provide results that will partially
explain the economic and social costs which determinethe location of settlements.
In applying the site catchment model to the Peruvianllama pastoralists,I have hypothesized
that the intermittently occupied, wet-seasonsites and their distancesfrom the recurrentlyutilized
valley floor administrativecenters should be describedby one of the two limits developed:either
the one hour walkingdistancelimit (34 km in the basin) or in the two hour walkingdistancelimit
(6-8 km). Because the constraintsplaced on herdingare more similarto those of huntingthan to
those of farming,I expected to find the distanceto be the two hour limit, 6-8 km.
The Early Intermediateperiod data (Figs. 3, 4, 6) appearto supportthis prediction.In Fig. 6,
there are two modes of clusteringin the sample of 90 sites (55 Uspuquioand 35 Huacrapuquio):
a second mode
from the centers.The
6-7
one mode about 3 km from the centers,
aboutand km
major mode of 6-7 km is just that hypothesized, the two-hour limit; the apparentmode at 3 km
needs furtherexamination. Of the 90 sites, only three lie at significantlygreaterdistancesthan 11
km. Two of these were guardor lookout sites and should not be expected to conform to the same
restrictionsregardingeffective distancefrom centers.The third may belong to a center outside my
surveyarea.
The administrativecenters also appearto conform to the distancepatternsas predictedby our
two models. The sample is too small to be statistically significant,but the centers appearto be
located more than an effective day's round trip apart. The median distance separating
administrativecenters is 21 km; this is about twice the observeddistanceof 11 km that appearsto
be the maximumeffective exploitative distancefrom each respectivecenter. Withreferenceto the
exploitable thresholds model (Fig. 5), the value of Threshold A is 6-7 km, and the value of
ThresholdB is about 11 km.
POPULATION GROWTH AND DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS

A basic assumption here is that with the exception of a few marginal groups, human
populations do not reach homeostasis, but operate as systems of inherent growth, a concept

...

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

472

[Vol. 4'1, No. 4, 1976

Distance Of Seasonal Occupation Sites

From Valley Floor Centers
Early Intermediote

Period, Jauja-Huancayo

2018-

1614-

::

6 -

............

1-2

.3..:

..4

..............'.'

...

.......'::::::

..

...........
.

- 7..........
8

........

9 I0

113

II

12

13

1517

14

15

16

17

18

Number Of Kilometers From Ceremonial And Administrative Sites

Fig. 6. Site catchment distances for the Usupuquio and Huacrapuquio phases.

(1972), and Cohen (n.d.).

Several factors may reduce the llama and alpaca herds below the level adequate for the
minimum, household-maintaining herds; the factor I am isolating is human population growth. For
human populations to continue to grow in a pastoral regime, there must be continually increasing
herd sizes. At some point, the carrying capacity of the land with respect to grazing is reached,
inhibiting further growth in herd size, and the human population, still growing, reaches what might
be termed a demographic crisis.
Continued growth of the human population will result in herd sizes below the socially and
economically viable minimum. The pastoral group may choose to attempt to reach a steady state
through birth control, infanticide, warfare, and other population reducing mechanisms. A second
choice is to increase the efficiency of resource utilization. The shift from guanaco hunting to llama
herding was one step toward more efficient use of the animal biomass. The shift to plant energy
sources is another step. Plant exploiters utilize a primary level of trophic energy whereas herders
exploit a second, less efficient level, in which the herd animals serve as intermediaries between
plants and man. Therefore agriculture permits intensification of available energy through
application of new techniques, and higher population densities may be maintained.
In the case of the Jauja-Huancayo basin, I propose that the human population had grown so
large by the end of the Early Intermediate period that the pasture within reasonable access was
insufficient to support continually greater herd numbers, thus making it impossible to maintain a
lifestyle predicated primarily upon llama and alpaca pastoralism. Population densities of
surrounding zones were large enough that it was no longer possible to reduce local densities by
fissioning and emigration. This population expansion and new agricultural emphasis is also noted

Browman]

WARI CONQUEST OF JUNIN

473

north of our study area in the puna around Lake Junin and Lake Lauricocha(Cardich1974),
where huntingand pastoralismwere dominantpreviously.
To demonstratea demographiccrisis,it is necessaryto determinethe minimumherd size under
primary pastoralism,the upper limits on the number of animalswhich could be herded without
degradationin the basin, and to then show that the humanpopulationwas greaterthan could have
been supportedunderprimarypastoralism.
If a major portion of nutrition is to be derived from pastoralism,then the averagesize of the
lama and alpaca herds must be significantly larger than the size of contemporaryllama herds,
maintainedprimarily for wool and pack animals. The averagesize of contemporaryherds is 70
animalsper household (Browman 1974); herd composition and fertility are such that the annual
increase to meet social and economic obligations is only 6-8. If the same low fertility and high
mortality were also the case for earlierherds,and if the earlierherd compositionwas more similar
to that of other ethnographically-knownprimarypastoralists,then I have estimated(Browman
1973) a herd size for primaryllama and alpaca pastoralismto be 150-200 animalsper household.
Thus herd sizes per household pre-A.D. 500 must be two to three times largerthan the post-A.D.
500 economic reorientation.
Estimatesof the maximumnumber of llama and alpacawhich could have been herdedwithin
reasonable access without environmentaldegradation are more difficult. Quantitativedata are
practicallynon-existent, so I have used two differentmodels to arriveat estimates.Both estimates
are based on a guess that the Early Intermediateperiod population probably exploited land no
morer than
three days'journey from the valley. The problemof overlapof the exploitation areasof
different ethnic groups was ruled out to simplify the estimating procedures,but as population
densities increase, such overlap becomes a significant factor contributing to the demographic
pressre on the resourcebase. Based on the estimatesobtained from the ththrholdand catchment
models, this three days' radius is equivalent to about 30 km, correspondingto an area of
exploitation for the basin of 8,400 km2 or 840,000 ha.
The Biomass Estimate. The first estimation of the maximum number of llamasand alpacason
this 840,000 ha is based on biomass estimates worked out in Africa,Asia, and North Americafor
the maximumanimal units per section that variousbiotopes can support. Grasslandssuch as the
Andean punas theoretically should be capable of carryingten animal units per section (Martin
1973). ConvertingEnglish to metric units, the equivalent is 1.75 kg/ha, or in terms of current
weight distributionstatistics, the amount of land requiredto supportone alpacaor llamawill vary
between 3 and 5 ha. Thus 168,000-280,000 animals could be supported on the 840,000 ha.
Conversion factors are based partly on the carrying capacity with reference to European
domesticates,but the llamas and alpacasare between 10 and 50%more efficient than cattle and
sheep.in metabolizingthe high cellulose grasses,dependingon the foragespecies(FernandezBaca
1971). This increase in metabolizing efficiency will increase the carryingcapacity in terms of
animal numbers, but it is not directly calculable.It does indicate, however, that the numberof
animalsunderthis estimate is low.
The EthnographicEstimate. My second estimate is based on recent figures on land needed by
different age and sex sets of camelids(Maccagno1932; Flores Ochoa 1968). These figuresindicate
that each animal requires 1.5-3.5 ha, or that the sample area could support 240,000-560,000
animals.
These two estimates of carrying capacity are roughly within the same range: the biomass
estimate 168,000-280,000 camelids, and the ethnographicestimate 240,000-560,000 camelids.In
terms of our problem, we need to know how many people could be supportedunder primary
pastoralismfor these estimates. If an averageof 200 animalsperhouseholdis used(Browman1973),
then the biomass estimate suggests a maximum of 840-1,400 households and the ethnographic
estimate 1,200-2,800 households.
To indicate demographicpressure,the number of households during the Early Intermediate
period should be greaterthan the maximumnumber of households estimated possible above. To
obtain estimatesof household numbersin the basin, I used two separateprocedures.
The Survey Estimate. The first estimate is based on my survey data on 305 sites in the basin

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

474

[Vol. 41, No. 4, 1976

(Browman 1970 and unpublished field notes). To simplify computation, I assumed that I had
located 100 percent of the occupationsites, that I had made accuratesite measurements,and that
the estimates

of population

ranges were approximately

correct. These assumptions may

short-changethe data and will yield low estimates, but they have allowed numericalapproximation. This estimating procedureyielded the following household counts (variationdue to survey
data):
A.D. 250
A.D. 500
A.D. 750

Usupuquio phase
Huacrapuquio phase
Calpish phase

300-450 households
900 households
1,600-3,200 households

The Population Increase Estimate. My second estimate is based on an assumption of a constant

population increase rate. Patterson (1971) argued that an annual increase of 0.20-0.25% will
generate the observed population densities on the central coast of Peru. The second estimating
procedure assumes that this rate of increase can usefully be extended to the central highland
Jauja-Huancayoregion. Ethnohistoric census data (Browman 1970; Vega 1965) indicate 30,000
households in the Jauja-Huancayobasin at the Spanishconquest in A.D. 1532. Using these figures,
the following household counts may be computed:
A.D. 250
A.D. 500
A.D. 750

Usupuquio phase
Huacrapuquio phase
Calpish phase

900 households
1,800 households
3,600 households

From carrying capacity computations, the maximum number of households possible for a

primarilypastoral subsistence mode was 800-1,400 households using the biomass estimate, and
1,200-2,800

households

using the ethnographic model estimate. But household

estimates

computed by the survey data and population increase estimating procedures indicate actual
household counts as large as 3,200-3,600 households during the early Middle Horizon Calpish
phases. The fact that the number of households duringthe Calpishphases is substantiallygreater
than predicted on the basis of carryingcapacity estimates under a primarilypastoralsubsistence
mode strongly suggeststhat llama pastoralismwas no longer the majorsubsistencebase. One may
infer from the known data and the above discussionthat a demographiccrisisoccurredduringthe
late Early Intermediateperiod when the carryingcapacity of the region with respect to llama
pastoralism was surpassed.
Other modes of subsistence (agriculture) were then required to support the growing human

population. Because other highlandcommunitieswere wholly agriculturalfor at least 3,000 years

before the Jauja-Huancayoarea abandoned its pastoral mode, acquisition of knowledge of
agriculturaltechniques is not an explanation. The population in the Jauja-Huancayoarea was
clearly aware of agriculturaltechnology, but preferentiallychose to maintaina pastorallifestyle
until the Middle Horizon. Another explanation must be offered for the subsequent change in
economic orientation: this analysis suggests that it was population pressure.
CONCLUSION
There was a shift from primary pastoralism to primary agriculture in the Jauja-Huancayo basin

approximately A.D. 500. The Jauja-Huancayobasin was incorporated into the Wari empire
approximatelyA.D. 500. One possible explanation for the co-occurrenceof these two events is
that the Wari people, through military conquest, forced the change in subsistence mode from
herding to farming.
Demographic and carrying capacity data summarized in this paper, however, imply that even if

there had been no Wari conquest, the valley would still have shifted from pastoralism to
agricultureat the same time. Populationcontrol was not effective in maintaininga zero population
growth. Group fissioning, as an alternativeto alleviatepopulationpressure,functions only as long

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WARI CONQUEST OF JUNIN

475

as there are underutilizedareas for the new groups to exploit. By the Early Intermediateperiod,
fissioning was no longer a viable alternative as the empty space no longer existed, and other
alternativesfor maintaininga largerpopulation,such as increasingthe economic base by shiftingto
agriculture,were explored.
The demographiccrisisexperiencedat this time made the people receptiveto the advancesbeing
made by the forming state in the Ayacucho area. The Huacrapuquiopolity in Huancayo
extensively borrowed cultural traits from the Pongora-Huarpapolity in Ayacucho. I suggest the
reason the Jauja-Huancayoarea was so completely dominatedby Wariconcepts was that the basin
was experiencingsocial disorganizationdue to the collapseof its pastoralmode just at the time of
the Wari expansion. Therefore the inhabitants of the Jauja-Huancayoarea were extremely
receptive to the new modes of organizationrepresentedby the Wariexpansion,and accepted them
in a wholesale fashion that is otherwise very difficult to explain. If the Wari capital was
over-extendedin its local valley as Isbell (1973) has suggested,then there was additionalreasonfor
them to aid in the rapidconversionof the Jauja-Huancayolands to theirfull agriculturalpotential.
Thus the Jauja-Huancayoareamay have been an importantlogisticalsupportareafor the Warijust

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