This paper explores how archaeology can study the relationships between complex multidimensional societies in critical periods of their development through an analysis of the multiple variables, circumstances and contingencies that define social interactions. By focusing on the archaeological record of San José de Moro, an important funerary and ceremonial center in the Jequetepeque valley, the authors approach the multifaceted natures and purposes behind the relationships between the Moche States of northern coastal Peru and the southern Andean Wari during the end of the Early Intermediate Period and the Middle Horizon.