Violence After Imperial Collapse: A Study of Cranial Trauma Among Late Intermediate Period Burials From the Former Huari Capital, Ayacucho, Peru

This study documents the frequency and patterning of cranial fractures to evaluate the role of violence after Huari imperial collapse. These Late Intermediate Period burials were interred at the Monqachayoq sector at Huari, the former capital of the Huari empire. Twenty-two of 31 adults exhibit healed cranial fractures (71%). Perimortem cranial fractures were observed on 42% of adults (n=31) and 30% of children (n=10). Men, women, and children all suffered from lethal attacks, suggesting that they may have been victims of raids and killing sprees. Although the skeletal sample is not wholly representative of all LIP communities in the former imperial heartland, the data indicate that the post-Huari period was a violent time for numerous individuals, regardless of their age or sex.