Fire in the Ancient Rituals in the Acarí Valley of the Peruvian South Coast

In the central Andes, the use of fire in non-domestic contexts is widespread and deeply rooted in tradition. Due to its sacred nature and transformative power, fire has been an important component of ritual performances, past and present, to cleanse and purify, to diseases, to communicate with powerful invisible agents, and above all, to protect the community. Archaeological evidence from the Acari Valley, on the south coast of Peru, demonstrates that fire was used continuously in ritual contexts from as early as the Initial Period up to the time of the Inka state. Throughout this long period of time, fire was used either to signal the beginning or to mark the culmination of rituals.