Analogism at Chavín de Huántar

Approaches to understanding the core beliefs and worldviews of ancient peoples are not superficially facilitated by the archaeological record. Sometimes, pre-Columbian people are described by analogy to presumably similar contemporary people; that is, a theoretical framework applicable to certain modern peoples is applied a priori in the investigation of a site. This chapter argues that at Chavín de Huántar, interpretations centred around animism and shamanism employ these concepts a priori as ways of understanding the material record. Many of the references to shamanism make specific analogies to Amazonian practices and import these ideas to Chavín de Huántar. Furthermore, the chapter authors argue that, if the iconographic and material record at Chavín de Huánta are carefully evaluated, interpretations centred around animism and shamanism will not follow. The authors demonstrate that the analogist ontology formulated by Descola finds a firmer grounding in the iconographic and material record when these are considered together.