large, central plazas were the focal points of these sites, rather than any specific
buildings. The size and configuration of these plaza spaces, in conjunction with
the evidence provided by the artifacts, suggest that these spaces were likely sites
of state-sponsored feasting. The physical features of Inca administrative sites
underscore the centrality of commensal politics to the imperial agenda.
A complementary line of archaeological research focusing on imperial state
ceramics offers further support for the idea that state-sponsored feasting was a
key strategy of Inca state expansion. The elaboration of a specific repertoire of
service, storage, and cooking vessels provides another indication of the
importance of the relationship between food and politics for the Inca. The richly
embellished polychrome wares produced by the imperial state were stylistically
and morphologically distinct from both their historical antecedents and
contemporaneous local wares in the provinces (see Ceramics). In addition to the
superlative aesthetic quality of Inca state pottery vis-à-vis most local wares, the
specific vessel forms comprising the imperial assemblage indicate a clear
emphasis on serving and consumption (as opposed to “behind-the-scenes”
cooking). It is noteworthy that the most common Inca vessel by far, the tall-
necked jar or aríbalo, is clearly associated with the storage and serving of the
fermented maize beverage, chicha. The widespread distribution of this vessel
form around the empire, together with the rest of the imperial assemblage,
highlights the significance of state-sponsored drinking, and feasting, in general.
Both the archaeological and ethnohistoric evidence point to the fact that
commensal politics was a key component of imperial Inca statecraft and one of
the primary methods employed toward the dual ends of promoting state
allegiance and creating class difference.
Further Reading
Bray, Tamara L. “Inca Pottery as Culinary Equipment: Food, Feasting, and Gender in Imperial State
Design.” Latin American Antiquity 14, no. 1: 1–23, 2003.
———. “The Role of Chicha in Inca State Expansion: A Distributional Study of Inca Aríbalos.” In Drink,
Power, and Society in the Andes, edited by Justin Jennings and Brenda Bowser, 108–32. Gainesville:
University of Florida Press, 2009.
Bray, Tamara L., ed. The Archaeology and Politics of Food and Feasting in Early States and Empires. New
York: Kluwer/Plenum Press, 2003.
Dietler, Michael. “Theorizing the Feast: Rituals of Consumption, Commensal Politics, and Power in
African Contexts.” In Feasts: Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives on Food, Politics, and
Power, edited by Michael Dietler and Brian Hayden, 65–114. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution
Press, 2001.
Dietler, Michael, and Brian Hayden, eds. Feasts: Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives on Food,
Politics, and Power. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001.