Indigenous accounting and exchange at Monte Sierpe (‘Band of Holes’) in the Pisco Valley, Peru

Stretching for 1.5km and consisting of approximately 5200 precisely aligned holes, Monte Sierpe in southern Peru is a remarkable construction that likely dates to at least the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000–1400) and saw continued use by the Inca (AD 1400–1532). Yet its function remains uncertain. Here, the authors report on new analyses of drone imagery and sediment samples that reveal numerical patterns in layout, potential parallels with Inca knotted-string records and the presence of crops and wild plants. All this, the authors argue, suggests that Monte Sierpe functioned as a local, Indigenous system of accounting and exchange.

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Publication Details

Journal
Antiquity
Published
2025-11-10
DOI
https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2025.10237
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
8.66
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article

Indigenous accounting and exchange at Monte Sierpe (‘Band of Holes’) in the Pisco Valley, Peru

Carito Tavera Medina, Jacob L. Bongers, Christine Bergmann, Jo Osborn et al.
2 citations
Antiquity
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
8.66
article

Indigenous accounting and exchange at Monte Sierpe (‘Band of Holes’) in the Pisco Valley, Peru

Carito Tavera Medina, Jacob L. Bongers, Christine Bergmann, Jo Osborn, Henry Tantaleán, Ioana A. Dumitru, Charles Stanish, Manuel Medrano, David Beresford‐Jones, Christopher A. Kiahtipes, Luis Huamán Mesía, José Román
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Stretching for 1.5km and consisting of approximately 5200 precisely aligned holes, Monte Sierpe in southern Peru is a remarkable construction that likely dates to at least the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000–1400) and saw continued use by the Inca (AD 1400–1532). Yet its function remains uncertain. Here, the authors report on new analyses of drone imagery and sediment samples that reveal numerical patterns in layout, potential parallels with Inca knotted-string records and the presence of crops and wild plants. All this, the authors argue, suggests that Monte Sierpe functioned as a local, Indigenous system of accounting and exchange.

AntiquityVol. 100(409)
The University of Sydney (AU), Australian Museum (AU), Harvard University (US), National University of San Marcos (PE), Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (PE), University of Cambridge (GB), University of South Florida (US), Mitchell Institute (US), Harvard University Press (US), Institute of Peruvian Studies (PE), Institute for Advanced Study (DE), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (FR), Universitat de Barcelona (ES), Texas A&M University (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
8.66
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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