Political mosaics and networks: Tiwanaku expansion into the upper Desaguadero Valley, Bolivia

Ongoing debate about the expansion of the Tiwanaku state has centred on the extent to which it exercised direct political control over a continuous territory. Positions in this debate range from those that posit a unified Tiwanaku heartland comprising much of the Lake Titicaca Basin to those that conceptualize Tiwanaku influence as more circumscribed, and perhaps limited to the city itself. We engage this debate by assessing evidence for Tiwanaku expansion into the upper Desaguadero Valley, a region often argued to have been within the core area of Tiwanaku control. We present new evidence from four sites: Khonkho Wankane, Iruhito, Cerro Chijcha and Nazacara. These data suggest that Tiwanaku political influence was selective and focused on developing relationships with riverine communities in order to gain access to caravan circuits. Rather than a core area of continuous control, these processes created a shifting political mosaic rooted in fluid politico-religious webs.