The Process as the Purpose: Thermography, Stratigraphy, and Ephemeral Communal Mound-Building at the Late Preceramic Period Huaca Herrera de Guañape, Virú Valley, Peru

This article addresses early monumentality through the first scientific investigation of Huaca Herrera de Guañape in the Virú Valley, Peru. Methodologically, UAV-acquired infrared thermography identified subsurface architectural layouts, guiding the sampling strategy for subsequent excavation. Stratigraphic analysis and Bayesian modeling then reveal that the terminal phases of mound construction involved massive accumulations formed within extremely brief windows. These episodic construction events also reflect a pattern of horizontal expansion distinct from the vertical accretional models commonly observed in other non-hierarchical Andean contexts. By revealing the construction process, Huaca Herrera offers an opportunity to examine the social logic of monumentality through the act of building. Current work suggests that the building process could function as a social mechanism for communal gathering and cooperative goal-attainment within small-scale societies. At Huaca Herrera, the communal act of construction itself served as the primary purpose of these collaborative social endeavors.