Plant Use at Quilcapampa

This chapter discusses the plants used in Quilcapampa, especially in regards to daily subsistence. The data, recovered from the dry screening of soil samples and, to a lesser extent, starch residues, suggest a wide variety of plants were consumed at the site. Differences between sectors are explored, revealing that everyone had access to a similar suite of local products. The core’s residents, nonetheless, also maintained a diet of highland foods like freeze-dried potatoes that were prepared in certain ways. These foods, as well as drinks made from molle berries, suggest that those living in the site’s core ate a diet that linked them more closely to the diets of the Wari heartland. These core residents also appear to have taken hallucinogenic drugs that were imported from the Amazon region. The core’s access to exotica may have been important for elevating their status relative to those living in the outlying area and in the local community.