Anthropologist to Reveal Secrets of Ancient Dismemberment Ritual

Free public lecture to be held Monday, April 14, at The College of Wooster

WOOSTER, Ohio - Tiffany Tung, professor of anthropology at Vanderbilt University, will present "Dismembering Bodies for Display: A Bioarchaeological Study of Wari Trophy Heads from the Peruvian Andes" on Monday, April 14, at The College of Wooster. Tung's illustrated lecture, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7:30 p.m. in Room 105 of Scovel Hall (944 College Mall).

Ancient expansionist states deployed myriad strategies for incorporating and consolidating diverse groups within their domains, including the threat or use of violence. Skeletal and artifactual remains from the Wari site of Conchopata suggest how violence was portrayed and used as a political tool in the highland Wari state (AD 600 - 1000). Through detailed analysis of 31 Wari trophy heads (disembodied heads that are modified for display), Tung suggests that the Wari state sanctioned the taking of prisoners, several from distant locales, and oversaw their dismemberment and transformation into war trophies. Tung argues that the trophy heads are standardized in their preparation and appearance, suggesting Wari state supervision. Additionally, iconography on state-produced ceramic urns found in association with these trophy heads depicts bound prisoners and trophy heads under the control of Wari supernatural beings, strongly supporting the notion that the Wari state was intimately involved in the production and performance of violence.

Tung's lecture is sponsored by the Archaeology Student Colloquium, the Program in Archaeology, the Cultural Events Committee, the local society of the Archaeological Institute of America, and the local chapter of Lambda Alpha National Honor Society in Anthropology. There will be an open reception with beverages and snacks after the presentation in the foyer outside the lecture room. Additional information is available by phone (330-263-2474) or e-mail (pkardulias@wooster.edu).