Late Prehispanic Coquina Quarrying and Tomb Construction in Coastal Southern Peru

We document the quarrying and source of coquina stone used in elite tomb construction at two late prehispanic sites in southern Peru. Excavations document tomb construction that includes coquina slabs for chamber walls, doorway lintel stones, and large slabs used to seal tomb openings. At the Inca site of Tacahuay Tambo, we uncovered two massive coquina slabs covering the opening of an extended familial tomb. Smaller coquina blocks were used to create the burial chamber. At the Late Horizon and earlier fishing village of Pueblo Picata we document a tomb chamber for a single elite individual constructed of large coquina slabs. A short distance from the village area at Pueblo Picata is a marine terrace outcrop with extensive evidence of prehispanic quarrying. Macroscopic petrographic comparisons of geological samples from the marine terrace and a sample of the archaeological tomb contexts indicate that coquina at both sites derive primarily from the Picata quarry while one tomb slab is from an unknown locale. The study indicates that a significant labor investment was needed for the quarrying and transport of coquina slabs. Furthermore, the use of coquina exclusively for elite tomb construction at these sites, and not for domestic or administrative architecture, suggests a strong symbolic association between coquina and mortuary practices. Coquina quarries and coquina use in tombs have not been reported previously for this or other regions of the Central Andean coast.