Blog Post 2: Comparative Analysis: Pikillacta and Thamugadi

This week’s blog post will examine the Wari military center of Pikillacta and the Roman colonial center of Thamugadi.  Both sites were archeologically excavated, which enables experts (and Art History students) to examine the ruins and derive meaning.  This analysis will start off by briefly summarizing the literature and highlighting the relevancy to our studies.  Furthermore, this post will compare the two sites and highlight the similarities and differences between them.  The reader should acquire a good understanding of both Wari and Thamugadi, in terms of the physical and social meaning.

The Wari civilization existed between about 500 to 1000 CE located in modern day Peru.  Examining the Wari military center of Pikillacta, the most unique features is the rigid geometry.  They used a grid pattern, which is a well-known form of planning used in Western civilization.  During the archeological dig many misleading symbols were found.  They found grand monuments, such a 12-meter walls and the “turquoise treasure”, but also rooms that suggested living quarters.  Furthermore, some of the rooms appeared to have no window, door, or connections to the roads.  They looked for ceramics to suggest habitation but couldn’t find enough to prove people lived at the site.  Many theories were suggested, including a: prison, insane asylum, state storage facility, military complex, and village.  In any case, these forms gave a way for typology and a baseline for Wari social behaviour and organization.

Timgad (Thamugadi in old language) was founded by Emperor Trajan around AD 100, in modern day Algeria.  It was significant because it represented the largest use of grid planning by the Roman Empire.  It should be noted, that as the city expanded it lost some of its structured grid shape.  Timgad was used for protection against the Berbers of the nearby mountains.  Its primary purpose was for protection of the important people, located at the center.  However, much later in the 5^th Century vandals destroyed the city.  Luckily, for our purposes, the Saharan sand preserved it very well!

Wari and Timgad have some important similarities and differences.  Both utilized the rigid grid pattern of planning.  Due to the fact that there is no definite answer of why Wari was built, it is difficult to contrast the historical uses. However, some unique attributes suggest they had been done to achieve similar goals.  The grid form is significant because it represents the manipulation of land to achieve the goals of society.  Furthermore, the use of such planning allowed for control of: the flow of people, more precise organization, military structure, protection of the governors and rulers (lived in the center), and class distribution.  This signifies social hierarchical order, where the riches live in the center and poor live near the periphery.  Furthermore, these complex planned structures show the need for protection and the control by rulers.  Therefore, there are some linkages in the meaning of the structures but we are unsure if the Wari and Timgad were in fact used for the same purpose.