The Late Intermediate period (LIP, AD 1000–1450) in the South Central Andes is commonly characterized by an increase in violence. Here, we analyse evidence to test whether the population that inhabited the oasis of Pica (Region of Tarapacá, Northern Chile) during LIP was engaged in violent warfare. The analysis of 96 individuals showed a low prevalence of violence‐related injuries (N = 6/96). Facial traumas observed on females could be a result of domestic violence, whereas nasal traumas found in males could be interpreted as a result of ritualized combats. One male exhibits a point embedded in his first right rib which is the only injury that can be attributed to open intergroup combat. These findings, combined with the mortuary characteristics of the Pica 8 cemetery, the lack of defensive constructions at the site, the settlement pattern and the iconography, do not support the existence of war at Pica during the LIP. The weapons found at Pica 8 cemetery are elaborately decorated, and many are clearly useless in combat so they were likely not made to be used in open conflicts. In addition, clothes considered to belong to warriors may be alternately interpreted as garments used for ceremonial purpose. Taking into account the belligerent climate in contemporaneous San Pedro de Atacama, we suggest that the Pica population employed ritualized violence as a means of avoiding larger conflicts or war. We propose that male violence in controlled scenarios permitted the sublimation of social inequalities or internal conflicts, and could have been used in order to create and maintain social stability. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.