Use, symbolism, and access to red pigments based on hematite and cinnabar between 400 B.C. and A.D. 1450 in Huanchaco, a pre-Hispanic maritime community on the North Coast of Peru

In this article, we discuss the usage and availability of red pigments in the Huanchaco Maritime Community (HMC), a multi-generational group of people who subsisted on fishing practices and exploited other marine resources for 2600 years. This study aims to measure the degree of continuity and change in the use of red pigments (made of hematite and cinnabar), an essential element in their daily lives and ceremonial activities along the Andean coast. We conducted an elemental analysis of 17 red pigment samples from two archaeological sites in Huanchaco, on the North Coast of Peru. The methods employed were scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and conventional x-ray diffraction (XRD) refined using the Rietveld method. There was a significant decrease in the usage of red pigments, which shifted from domestic practices to state-sponsored craft production and then to exclusive use by powerful political entities performing large-scale ceremonies and practices. In other words, the red pigment became a critical good that was in the control of political and religious elites.