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(http://news.stanford.edu/)

APRIL 25, 2016

Stanford archaeologist traces the origins of

authority to the Andes of Peru
Stanford archaeologist John Rick found that the ancient Peruvian site of Chavn de Huntar
offers clues about how authoritarianism arose in human civilization. The priesthood at this
South American site used elaborate manipulations to demonstrate its seemingly special
powers.
BY TANU WAKEFIELD
The Humanities at Stanford (http://shc.stanford.edu/)
Why do we live in systems where a single person or a small group of people make decisions on behalf of
other people?
A 3,000-year-old archaeological site in the Andes of Peru may hold the answer to this question, said John
Rick (https://web.stanford.edu/dept/anthropology/cgi-bin/web/?q=node/157), an associate professor of
anthropology at Stanford. Rick has studied Chavn de Huntar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Peru, for
the past 20 years.

Go to the web site to view the video.

Authoritarianism is an issue of special gravitas this year, as claims of heavy-handedness in U.S.

presidential politics and widening conflicts against dictatorships in Syria and elsewhere make clear.
As Rick observed, More than 5,000 and certainly 10,000 years ago, nowhere in the world was anyone living
under a concerted authority. Today we expect that. It is the essence of our organization. Take me to your
leader. Whos in charge here? So where did that come from?
A current fellow (http://shc.stanford.edu/people/fellows) at the Stanford Humanities Center
(http://shc.stanford.edu/), Rick is synthesizing the large amount of evidence from more than two decades
of fieldwork at Chavn, where that culture developed from roughly 900 BC to 200 BC.
He is collecting his research on Chavn and how authority-minded systems arose in human society for an
upcoming book, Innovation, Religion and the Development of the Andean Formative Period. The work will
explore the role of religion in the shaping hierarchical societies in the New World, especially the Andes.

Tools of manipulation

Tools of manipulation
Chavn was a religious center run by an elaborate priesthood, Rick explained. Located north of Lima, in the
Andes mountains, it sat at the mouth of two large rivers that once held religious significance for the region.
During its existence, the Chavn priesthood subjected visitors to an incredible range of routines, some of
which involved manipulating light, water and sound.
According to Rick, the priesthood deliberately worked with underground spaces, architectural stonework,
a system of water canals, psychoactive drugs and animal iconography to augment its demonstrations of
authority.
I was fascinated with the evidence we have for this idea of manipulation of people who went through
ritual experiences in these structures, he said.
The priesthood sought to increase its level of authority, Rick added. They needed to create a new world,
one in which the settings, objects, actions and senses all argue for the presence of intrinsic authority both
from the religious leaders and from a realm of greater powers they portray themselves as related to.
Prior archaeological research on Chavn has suggested that the site attracted people because it was a cult of
devotion. However, Rick and his team have drawn alternative conclusions.
They found very little evidence that common people were involved in worshipping at Chavn. Instead they
have surmised that visitors were elite pilgrims, local leaders from far-flung parts of the Central Andes.
These people were looking for justification to elevate their own status and their positions of control in
society.
After their experiences at Chavn, they would use the experiences to more adroitly disseminate messages
of authority to their own people, the researchers said.
Theyre basically in a process of developing a hierarchy, a real social structure that has strong political
power at the top, Rick said.

A body of evidence
Architecture was critical to producing this effect, Rick and his colleagues found. They estimate that there
are 2 kilometers of underground labyrinthine, gallery-like spaces, which were clearly designed to confine
and manipulate those who entered them.
This was a removal from one world and the creation of another, he suggested. As a result, the rituals were
dramatic and effective in changing ideas about the nature of human authoritative relationships.

Stone was another key element, Rick said. Leaders at Chavn often recorded their actions by engraving
their deeds in stone. While other ancient sites used wood, papier-mch or textiles, those at Chavn
revealed their strategies in the ground and rock itself.
The priesthood also manipulated visitors with psychoactive drugs. According to Rick, the evidence is found
in the portrayal of psychoactive plants in stone engravings, with clear illustrations of paraphernalia and
the drugs effects on human beings.
Rick believes Chavn was a place where human psychology was explored and experiments were being
conducted to test how people would react to certain stimuli.

Power of water
Yet another tool of authoritarian manipulation was water, through a sophisticated hydraulic system and
underwater canals at the site, Rick said.
Despite waters danger in flooding, the Chavn priesthood clearly attempted to control water visibly, Rick
and his colleagues found.
They were playing with this stuff. They were using water pressure 3,000 years ago to elevate water, to
bring it up where it shouldnt be. Theyre using it as an agent to wash away offerings, he said.
The water control, Rick said, is a powerful demonstration of human agency over nature.
These are only a few examples that Rick and his team have uncovered at the site, a place where excavation
continues.
He conjures up a picture of what it must have been like for pilgrims to visit Chavn and its dark,
underground spaces, undergo strange experiences and observe the seeming abilities of priests to wield
supernatural powers.
Ancient places like Chavn reflect a major change in the way human beings would treat each other, Rick
said. Such places gave rise to complex, highly authoritarian, communications-driven, sometimes
charismatically led societies in human civilization, he said.

Media Contacts
Veronica Marian, Stanford Humanities Center: (650) 724-8155,vmarian@stanford.edu
(mailto:vmarian@stanford.edu)
Clifton B. Parker: Stanford News Service: (650) 725-0224, cbparker@stanford.edu
(mailto:cbparker@stanford.edu)

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