| This dissertation presents an archaeological and ethnohistorical examination of the Inca occupation of the Saraguro region in the southern highlands of Ecuador, with the objective of exploring the strategies of expansion and maintenance employed by pre-industrial empires, and the role played by forced resettlement within those processes. These issues were addressed by assessing the sociopolitical, economic, military, and other conditions encountered by the Incas in the Saraguro region and analyzing how those conditions may have influenced the strategies the state pursued in the conquest and consolidation of control over the area.; Two sources of data were utilized to explore these issues in the context of Saraguro. First, a field survey was conducted to collect data on settlement patterns, architecture, and artifacts from the Integration Period (ca. A.D. 500 to ca. A.D. 1460) and the Inca Period (ca. A.D. 1460 to ca. A.D. 1534). Second, ethnohistorical documents from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were examined for information regarding the pre-Inca inhabitants and the nature of the Inca conquest and occupation of the area.; A total of thirty-eight sites dating to the Integration Period and six Inca imperial sites were recorded during the survey. The pre-Inca settlement patterns indicate that the region was probably not unified politically, but organized into separate chiefdom-level societies, with a generalized economy. The inhabitants also appeared concerned with warfare, as indicated by the establishment of settlements on terraced hilltops. After taking over the region, the Incas imposed direct state control, as indicated by the establishment of administrative centers, the construction of storehouses, and the creation of ceremonial sites. Although the survey data did not reveal any convincing evidence of resettlement in the Saraguro region, the settlement patterns suggest that the Incas may have placed colonists within existing habitation sites. Overall, the relatively high level of investment by the Incas in the region may have been connected to its strategic location within the Inca road network and its proximity to the important center at Tomebamba. |
