The Casma City of El Purgatorio

“Defines the Casma culture and demonstrates its importance in late Andean prehistory for the north coast of Peru. Vogel’s pioneering work at El Purgatorio sets the stage for anticipated future studies.”—Thomas Pozorski, University of Texas-Pan American

“This detailed study fills a major gap in coastal Andean prehistory while also addressing broader issues of ancient urbanism and the variability of urban forms in pre-industrial societies.”—Daniel H. Sandweiss, University of Maine

The Casma state, which flourished on the north coast of Peru in the centuries before European contact, is an important and vastly understudied ancient culture. Its capital city, El Purgatorio, was inhabited from ca. 700–1400 AD. The rise and fall of El Purgatorio spans a period of dynamic transition in Andean history but has rarely been mentioned in previous research.

Melissa Vogel investigates this extensive, monumental urban site in The Casma City of El Purgatorio. Using the city’s architecture and spatial organization, its rituals, religion, and mortuary practices, its political economy, and other material evidence, she describes the people who lived there. A culmination of Vogel’s sixteen-year study of the Casma culture, this book demonstrates how ancient cities help us understand the development and collapse of complex societies.

A volume in the series Ancient Cities of the New World, edited by Michael E. Smith, Marilyn A. Masson, and John W. Janusek