Indigenous accounting and exchange at Monte Sierpe (‘Band of Holes’) in the Pisco Valley, Peru
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Stretching for 1.5km and consisting of approximately 5200 precisely aligned holes, Monte Sierpe in southern Peru is a remarkable construction that likely dates to at least the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000–1400) and saw continued use by the Inca (AD 1400–1532). Yet its function remains uncertain. Here, the authors report on new analyses of drone imagery and sediment samples that reveal numerical patterns in layout, potential parallels with Inca knotted-string records and the presence of crops and wild plants. All this, the authors argue, suggests that Monte Sierpe functioned as a local, Indigenous system of accounting and exchange.
Source: Antiquity
Authors: Jacob L. Bongers, Christopher A. Kiahtipes, David Beresford-Jones, Jo Osborn, Manuel Medrano, Ioana A. Dumitru, Christine Bergmann, José Román, Carito Tavera Medina, Henry Tantaleán, Luis Huamán Mesía, Charles Stanish
Institutions: The University of Sydney, Australian Museum, University of South Florida, University of Cambridge, Texas A&M University, Harvard University, Instituto Peruano de Estudios Arqueológicos, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Universitat de Barcelona, National University of San Marcos, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,550
OpenAlex ID: W4416095842