The Late Horizon and Early Colonial Period: conquest and colonial administration

The end of the Late Intermediate Period generally, and of the Early Pacajes phase locally, resulted from the rapid conquest of the Titicaca Basin by an upstart power from the North: the Inka Empire. The Aymara señorios of the Titicaca Basin were apparently brought under Inka rule during the reign of the Inka emperor Pachacuti. The Taraco Peninsula was most likely annexed along with the remainder of the southern Titicaca Basin during Pachacuti's campaign following a revolt in Ayaviri in the northern basin. That is to say that it was incorporated into the Inka empire some years after the northern basin was subjugated. Rowe places this expedition sometime between 1438 (the crowning of Pachacuti) and 1463, when Pachacuti handed over command of the armies to his son, Topa Inca ([Rowe 1946]: 203, 206-207). These dates are naturally inexact, and I here follow Stanish in dating the beginning of the Pacajes-Inka phase to 1450 A.D. ([Stanish et al. 1997]: 14; see also [Bauer and Stanish 2001]: 51-55, [Julien 1982,Julien 1983]).

The Late Horizon saw a reversal of some of the trends which had begun during the Early Pacajes phase. Population began moving back to the lakeshore, and this resulted in very rapid population growth rates on the Taraco Peninsula. Also, some villages were founded and a site size hierarchy reappeared. Both of these facts most likely reflect the organization and imposition of the Inka administrative apparatus.

Inka rule came to an end in the Titicaca Basin in 1532, when the invading Spaniards toppled the imperial dynasty and bureaucracy. However, the first decades after the Spanish arrival were very chaotic ones. The first Spanish visit to the Titicaca Basin was in 1534, when a small scouting party sent by Pizarro arrived at the lake. However, actual Spanish control was not established for some time. As late as 1538 the Lupaqa mounted armed resistance to Pizarro's army at Desaguadero ([Bouysee-Cassagne 1987]: 27). For this reason, I am using 1540 A.D. as the date for the beginning of the Late Pacajes phase, and the end of the Pacajes-Inka phase. I am therefore according to the Pacajes-Inka phase a span of 90 years. I follow Albarracín-Jordan in ending the Late Pacajes phase at 1600 A.D. ([Albarracín-Jordan 1992]: 326), though in actuality we have no clear idea of when the ceramic style ceased to be produced. This is a question for future research.