CONTENTScomeltur.com/docs/arqueologia_eng.pdf · CONTENTS A UNIQUE CIVILIZATION ... Temple or huaca de los Reyes Huacas of the Sun and Moon ... Puruchuco ICA Desert cultures

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The Travel´s Guide to

PERU´S PRE-HISPANIC ARCHEOLOGICAL LEGANCYThe Traveler´s Guide toPERU´S PRE-HISPANIC ARCHEOLOGICAL LEGANCY

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CONTENTS

A UNIQUE CIVILIZATION

PRE-HISPANIC CULTURES IN PERUThe emergence of the city and the stateThe Andes as a cultural challengeTechnological foundations and community spirit

LAMBAYEQUEThe true El Dorado

The royal mausoleum of SipanThe Pampa Grande citadelPyramids at Batan GrandeThe Tucume-Purgatorio pyramidsThe Chotuna-Chornamkap pyramidPRE-HISPANIC NAVIGATION

LA LIBERTADThe Moche and Chimu kingdoms

The Chan-Chan citadelPakatnamuTemple or huaca de los ReyesHuacas of the Sun and MoonThe huacas at Cao (El Brujo)The temple at PañamarcaThe Galindo pyramidsThe administrative center at ViracochapampaCERAMICS PORTRAITS: FACES OF THE MOCHICA

AMAZONASA territory of lost cities

The Kuelap fortressThe mausoleums at Los Condores lagoonPAJATÉN AND THE LOST CHACHA CITIES

CAJAMARCANorth of the empire

The KunturwasitempleThe “small windows” at OtuzcoThe Inca’s BathsThe Cumbemayo canal

ANCASHThe origins of the Andean civilization

CONTENTS

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Las Haldas en the Casma coastlineThe Temple at Sechin and the Casma valleyPampa de las Llamas-MoxequeThe Chavin de Huantar ceremonial centerCHANKILLO AND THE DEFENSE SYSTEMS ON THE NORTH-ERN COAST

HUANUCOA barn for the Central Andes

The Kotosh templeThe Huanuco Pampa administrative center.

LIMAPre-Inca archeology in the Metropolis

Temple or huacas in Metropolitan LimaHuallamarca HuacaPucllana Huaca

Huacas south of Metropolitan LimaThe Pachacamac oracle

Huacas north of Metropolitan LimaThe Paramonga fortress

Huacas in the Highlands of LimaThe “dead city” of CajamarquillaPuruchuco

ICADesert cultures

Tambo de Mora pyramidsThe Inca’s residence at Tambo ColoradoParacas cemeteriesThe Nazca LinesThe Cahuachi ceremonial centerDEFEATING THE DESERT: THE NAZCA PUQUIOS

AYACUCHOThe land of the Gods

The Vilcaswamán administrative centerThe Wari capitalThe walled city of PikillaqtaTHE QUIPUS: A PAPERLESS BUREAUCRACY

AREQUIPAThe geography of high altitude sanctuaries

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The Lady of Ampato

CUZCOThe empire of the Incas

The main square or HuacaypataThe Coricancha templeThe Saqsayhuaman fortressTHE TERRACESThe Moray agricultural laboratoryThe aqueducts of TiponThe fortress and town of OllantaytamboThe royal estate of Machu PicchuThe Qenqo and Tambomachay sanctuariesThe living Inca village of ChincheroThe religious hub of PisaqThe Raqchi templeThe Choquequirao fortressTHE INCA TRAIL: THE GREAT LINK TO THE CONTINENTALANDEAN UNIVERSE

PUNOThe magic of Lake Titicaca

The Llalahua cochasThe Titicaca waru-warusThe Pukara ceremonial centerThe Sillustani chulpas

HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY

LOCATION AND WEATHER

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QQuite spontaneously –and almost inevitably- themention of Peru brings to our mind images ofMachu Picchu and the Inca Empire.

However, the remarkable civilization of the Incasemerged only at a latter stage of cultural devel-opment in the pre-Hispanic Andes. In fact, Incahistory scarcely spans one century in 12.000 yearsof human occupations of Peruvian soil.

Peru is a peculiar case among the handful of fociof independent pre-historic human developmentbecause it breaks established patterns and re-quires us to thoroughly rethink the concept ofcivilization itself.

Since the nineteenth century, one of the centralcomponents of the universal paradigm that ac-

A Unique Civilization

counted for the emergence of civilization was thaturban societies around the world could have ap-peared following the pattern set by the Europeancities of the Renaissance.

Nevertheless, recent decades have seen evidence–mostly coming from the Central Andes and,particularly, from Peru- against this supposedlyuniversal process.

This guide is an invitation to discover the com-plex civilizations and cultures that flourished inancient Peru which were partially relegated tooblivion despite of the richness of their icono-graphic manifestations and the wide range ofcontributions they have made in uninterruptedsuccession to mankind’s technological and cul-tural heritage during almost four millennia.

Note: The archeological legacy to which this guide refers encompasses 12 of Peru’s departments following a North toSouth axis. The term “Central Andes” refers to the vast territory stretching along the Andes mountain range fromsouthern Ecuador to northern Bolivia. The term “Andean world” is broadly used in a similar sense.

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The emergence of the city and the state

Grandeur, rigorous straight lines, rectangularblocks separated by access ways and amplesquares found in Peru’s archeological compoundsbring to our mind the layout of Mediterraneancities of Greek as well as Roman heritage. How-ever, compared to Mesopotamia, cradle of man’sfirst juridical and economic organization built onmarket and individual property principles,Andean civilization shows substantial differences.The first of such differences concerns agglomera-tion processes. Large cities like Wari,Cajamarquilla and Chan-Chan had relativelyshort lives of 400 to 600 years, they were bornsuddenly and expanded quickly. Not even ceremo-nial centers like Chavín or Pachacamac were oc-cupied continuously under the same design pat-tern for more than one thousand years.

Another difference lies in the fact that in West-ern cities, roofed houses separated from otherhouses, i.e. the family’s place of residence, werethe basic units and the reason for the existenceof the whole. Inside them, courtyards, passagesand streets are organized around private roofedareas. In the Andes, instead, communal spacesthat served political and economic functions- likesquares, courtyards and open areas- were theorganizing core. They include sacred spaces suchas pyramids, platforms and restricted monumentcompounds, but exclude homes. In most Medi-terranean cities, public spaces occupy about 30%of the total area and their monumental buildingsare at the center of a residential belt that grewslowly and haphazardly, as shown by the maze –like layout of their roads and passages. In theAndes, we find the exact opposite relationshipeverywhere.

But the differences do not end there. Also chal-lenging modern understanding is the location ofseveral monument compounds that may havebeen cities. In the Andean highlands, they areoften located at the top of almost inaccessiblemountain peaks. On the Coast, they hide in gorgesor sit at the top of high, barren plateaus, far fromagricultural areas. The peculiar character ofAndean city design stems from its origin. InMesopotamia and most ancient Mediterraneancivilizations, urban growth gave birth to the es-

tate as the guide of a new society where kinshiphad ceased to play the most prominent role inhuman relationships. In the Andes, the emerg-ing state fostered the construction of large ar-chitectural compounds to serve administrative,religious and production ends.

How sedentary life was organized in the Andesis another source of amazement. Even the largecapital cities of Andean kingdoms and empiresoften had a small permanent population. Citiescomprised sanctuaries as well as sacred palaceswith innumerable administrative buildings lo-cated along roads and irrigation canals. A pro-fuse calendar of ceremonial activities performedin public spaces organized the numerous eco-nomic and political functions that characterizedthe life of crowded cities in other parts of theworld.

Taxes paid in labor and kind always arrived atthe scheduled times, and the hierarchical posi-tions, duties and obligations of the ruling elitewere confirmed. A loose layout guided an unceas-ing flow of people who traveled to either pay hom-age or taxes. With evident relation to the roads,canals, mountains and other sacred places, cit-ies basically served as a stage for periodical fes-tivities where the ceremonial corn beer called“chicha” was abundantly poured. Thus, the statecould count on an extended reservoir of labor atthe right time and place without having to con-centrate large population contingents in big cit-ies. By and large, most pre-Hispanic Andean so-cieties follow this model, although we can clearlyidentify at least three broad categories of sitesexhibiting pre-Inca and pre-Chimu architecturalpatterns, including rural settlements of aboutone half to 4 Ha; monument compounds servingadministrative and religious functions usuallylarger than 8 Ha; and dispersed religious struc-tures such as pyramids, and other smaller groupsof closed buildings, platforms and terraces.

The Andes as a cultural challenge

The peculiarities of Andean civilization can onlybe understood if we take into account that theAndes imposes daunting challenges and demandcreative solutions given its total or almost totalphysical isolation from other major cultures.

Pre-Hispanic Culture of Peru

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Contrary to other mountain ranges like theHimalayas in Asia, or the mountains of Centraland Eastern Africa, the Andean mountain rangeruns from north to south and parallel to the Pa-cific Ocean, thus creating a vast range of east-west niches that make Peru one of the world’smost environmentally varied sceneries, climate,and plant populations.

Towering mountain ranges contributed to therelative isolation of Andean intervalleys from thetropical High Jungle and the Pacific Coast thatcould only be reached by foot in at least one weekafter crossing the frozen Puna glaciers. Still,coastal valleys running from east to west com-municated somehow naturally with Highlandintervalleys stretching from north to south orconversely. Remarkable geomorphological andecological differences between Peru’s northernand southern Andes led to independent culturaldevelopments linked however by a shared his-torical destiny. These two developments poleswere divided by a constantly shifting broad bor-der band, stretching from the Fortaleza valley tothe Cañete valley on the central coastal strip andreaching the higher Mantaro river basing on theadjoining Highlands.

The North

The wide strip stretching from the Piura to theHuarmey valleys and rising to the upperMarañón river basin in the first center of cul-tural development en Peru. The rivers runningacross this area –some of which like theJequetepeque and the Santa carry waters allalong the year- prompted the building of irriga-tion systems. Lower mountain heights in thisregion let humid air masses move freely and per-mit the growth of a humid tropical forest in somehighland regions, much like the tropical typicallyfound on the eastern Andean slops. The domes-tication of tropical tubers and the diffusion of cornstarted here.

Almost since the end of the pre-ceramic period(around 2.700 BC) an impressive developmenttook place in this area. Names of local styles likeSechin, Cupisnique, Salinar, Mochica,Lambayeque and Chimu on the Coast andHuacaloma, Chavin, Layzon, Huaraz, Recuayand Cajamarca in the Highlands remind us oflater periods in the region’s rich ancient history.Further north, the Chira and Tumbes basins lieat the border with the Northern Andes.

The South

At an altitude of about 3.000 masl in the High-lands, the Apurimac river valley, the Valley ofCuzco and the Lake Titicaca basin make up thesecond pole of development. The narrow coastalstrip is connected to the High Plateau by deepgorges distant from each other. The Pisco, Ica,Palpa and Nazca valleys play a pivotal role inthe southern Coast of Peru, because the route tothe Ayacucho inter-Andean basin starts at theirheadwaters. Their history reflects the area’sharsh and extreme conditions. Scarce water, inparticular on the western Andean slopes, and lowtemperatures in the Highlands were offset bymeans of technological introductions like under-ground canals on the Coast, terraces providedwith forced irrigation in the Highlands, andplanting on mounds amidst fields in the HighPlateau. Poor and fragile soils were rendereduseful through the domestication of grains andtubers specially adapted to grow at high altitude,the abundance of South American camelids, anda rich life in the cold ocean waters that are hometo the world’s largest diversity of fish and shell-fish. Complex social and political organizationsemerged almost 2.000 years later than in theNorth but this development pole was the stagefor remarkable breakthroughs like the domesti-cation of camelids, sophisticated fishing meth-ods, and elaborate funerary rites. Paracas, Nazca,Wari and Ica-Chincha evoke the main stages ofpre-Inca history in the region’s southern half. Thenorthern area evolves around the Titicaca areaand has its own sequence of cultural developmentfrom Pukara to Tiawanaku to Chuquibamba andChurrajon.

Technological foundations and communityspirit

As in other part of the planet, adapting to envi-ronmental changes after the last ice-age led tothe emergence of agriculture and the fast spread-ing of sedentary life. However, Andean civiliza-tions followed a wholly different technologicalpath than the Mediterranean, South East Asianor Central American civilizations. Among themost glaring differences stand the absence ofdraught animals, and a limited number ofdomesticable species that could provide largeamounts of animal protein. Only two ancestorsof the South American camelids, the guanaco andthe vicuña –wild predecessors to the llama andthe alpaca, respectively- were available. The gua-naco, an almost extinguished species in Peru, was

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particularly suited to living on the Coast, whilethe vicuña, source of the finest fleece in the world,lived in remote places at high elevations.

South American ruminants were the source ofwool for clothes, meat for food, hide and bonesfor making instruments and tools, manure togenerate heat and energy, and the beasts of bur-den and transportation for long haul travel. Onlyafter they were domesticated, it was possible formen in the Andes to exploit regions above 4.200masl where farming is impossible. Andean menrequired high mobility to gain access to a widerange of ecological niches and complementaryeconomic resources. Although it is a proven factthat domesticated llamas could live on the Coastand ritual hunting of deer and guanaco took placeon the forested slopes along the coastline, exploit-ing sea resources was essential to provide a bal-anced diet to the people of western Andean slopesand to produce sufficient dry meat surplus forlater consumption. Probably, shellfish harvest-ing and fishing supplemented by gathering andincipient horticulture, sufficed to lay the foun-dations of small sedentary communities alreadytowards the fourth millennium BC. Herding so-cieties in the Highlands, who depended basicallyon camelid herding for their daily subsistence,emerged parallel to and independently from theCoast’s sedentary or semi-sedentary settlements.

Another basic peculiarity of Central Andean cul-tural evolution is the wide variety of domesti-cated plant species in at least three different geo-graphical areas: The High Jungle, straddling theeastern and western Andean basins; the HighAndean area, and the coastal desert. Some ofthese species have gained world recognition re-

cently, such as mashua -presumably aphrodisiac-, or maca, an equivalent of world-famous Koreanginseng. Others have been a staple in makind’sdiet for several centuries, including hundreds ofpotato varieties and four of the world’s ten cere-als: corn (developed independently from Mexico),cañihua, kiwicha and quenoa. Hot chili peppers–known as aji- were included in the diet ofAndean people since 8.000 BC, and from about2.700 to 1.500 BC the menu already includedtubers and roots like manioc, mashua, potato,sweet potato, olluco, oca and achira; legumes andpulses including tarwi, broad beans and beans,roots like yacon and jiquima; fruits includingavocados, chirimoya (custard apples), lucuma andguava, peanuts and pumpkins, and plants of in-dustrial use like gourds and cotton. An outstand-ing aspect of Andean agrarian civilization is thatthe whole of its production relied on human la-bor. Only a few rudimentary tools were available.At a later stage, the chakitaclla or wood ploughwas improve by adding stone or metal points.Maces to break earth clumps were the most com-monly used tools until the time of the Spanishconquest. On the other hand, cropping techniquesforetold the environmental viewpoints adoptedin the western world only towards the end of thetwentieth century. The most common farmingsystem was similar to small-parcel horticulturethat allowed the best use of soils, water resourcesand natural fertilizers. Considering this back-ground, it is not surprising that individual sur-vival hinged on coordinated work among all com-munity members. In Peru’s vast territory, theneed to count on large numbers of hands andminds moved by a grand common goal fostered asound sense of community belonging that is stilltoday a salient feature of Andean culture.

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TTons of gold, silver and copper were unearthedby tomb looters from the Royal Tombs of BatanGrande, Sipan and other sites in Lambayeque.Later research showed that the area comprisedbetween the Piura and Jequetepeque rivers wasone of the cradles of Andean metallurgy. Whenthe Spanish arrived, pre-industrial regionalstates like the Moche –which had built large scaleirrigation systems and developed almost everymetallurgical technique used in pre-HispanicPeru- were still very much alive. Chiclayo, thedepartment capital, is one hour away from Limaby plane and from 8 to 10 hours by car along thePan-American highway. The region’s weather iswarm, with around 20ºC average annual tem-perature in summer and 15ºC absolute minimumin winter.

The royal mausoleum of Sipan

The first of the tombs belonging to the Lordsof Sipan was found in 1987 at the HuacaRajada site by Walter Alva and other arche-ologists working with the Bruning Museum.It was immediately ranked, as the world’smost important archeological discovery inthe last quarter century and compared tothe finding of King Tut’s tomb in the Valleyof Kings in Egypt.

The evidence of funerary rites unmistakablypoints to a strongly stratified Moche societywhere political and religious roles were veryclearly defined. The highest members of the rul-ing elite were priest (as in Huaca de la Luna),religious bureaucrats (as in Huaca de la Cruz),princesses and priestesses (as in San Jose deMoro), or warriors (in Sipan). At the Sipan burial,the number of corpses accompanying the maininterment, the wealth of the attires and goldadornments, and the number of vessels with of-ferings, leave no doubt about the prominent po-sition of the buried personage in the social pyra-mid. The tumi, or half-moon shaped ceremonialknife –hanging from his belt or worn as the maindecoration on his headpiece-, the rattles, largeearrings, and nose-rings were worn as a sign ofdistinction by war chiefs. A scepter ending in atumi knife at the bottom symbolized the chief’spower over the life of his vassals. The rattle at

the top end of the scepter shows an embosseddecoration representing the capture of a van-quished warrior about to be sacrificed.

After placing the dead ruler’s body on a woodendais, his face was covered with embossed goldplates that replicated in minute detail the shapeof his eyes, nose and chin. His right hand holdsan oval gold ingot. He has a silver ingot in hisleft hand. The symbolic gold-silver opposition isfound again in the chief warrior’s scepters andgarment decorations, probably as a sign of hispower or control over the two halves of his king-dom, and as a metaphorical representation of therealms of the feminine Moon and the masculineSun.

The bottom of the sarcophagi, made of wood tiedwith copper, is covered by a layer of tropical shells(Spondylus sp. and Comus sp.) coming fromEcuador’s warm waters, and ceremonial clothesand decorations- including necklaces of embossedgold beads shaped as human heads, and tunicscovered with gilded copper plates resembling anarmor. The platform carrying the body was placedover the offerings and then covered with new lay-ers of ceremonial clothes. Each set of clothes in-cluded not only the garments, but also a set ofchest plates made with thousands of chaquirabeads, gold and silver necklaces in the shape ofhuman heads, peanuts, spiders and rays, a pairof gold earrings, and large nose-rings. Other goldand copper figurative elements were applied tothe headpiece or the dress. Rattles were tied tothe chief’s waist together with the coccix protec-tor.

Once the corps was laid right at the bottom ofthe funerary chamber, the priests surrounded themain sarcophagi with other minor ones madewith reeds bearing the corpses of the chief’s kinand attendants, some of whom had died monthsor even years before him. The women’s corpseswere placed in the opposite direction to men’s,on the other side of the principal sarcophagi.Nearby, room was reserved from the llama’s body,symbolizing the means of transportation for im-portant personages to the world beyond. Theniches on the walls were filled with pots, jugs,and bottles mostly representing human figures.

LAMBAYEQUEThe True EL DORADO

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We do not know if these vessels also containedchicha de jora corn beer or blood from sacrificedhumans or animals. Some of the secondary in-terments found in the chamber probably belongedto the chief’s attendants, obliged to accompanytheir lord in his voyage to the netherworld.

In 1990, two more tombs were discovered nearthe first site: the tombs of the Old Lord of Sipanand the Priest. A mud brick platform adjoiningtwo pyramidal monuments (named HuacaRajada) had been periodically expanded in a fash-ion similar to the temples and probably with thesame purpose of renewing the chamber’s magi-cal power. Undoubtedly, the platform used in thefourth and fifth centuries AD was a collectivegrave for various generations of Mochica rulers.It was surrounded by burials of other personagesrelated to the power structure.

The Pampa Grande citadel

The political capital of the Mochica livingto the north of the vast Paijan plains wasbuilt from the sixth to eighth centuries ADat Pampa Grande, on the left bank of theChancay river.

Th urban compound lying at the foot of the Hillof the Gentiles spreads over a 2.000 by 2.400meters area. Residential quarters for the eliteand the populace, warehouses and workshops liearound scattered on both sides of the axis link-ing the main temple and other smaller ones. Theformer comprises a large pyramid and two pyra-midal constructions surrounded by large walledspaces. Invaluable detail about the everyday life,production and economy of a Mochica capital citysurfaced during the excavations at PampaGrande. Like Sipan, Pampa Grande was built ata strategic location allowing overseeing and con-trolling a vast network of irrigation canals. Inevery valley in the northern Coast, the canalslaid out at the beginning of the Christian era(Salinar civilization) carried water by gravity andturned the surrounding desert into fertile farm-ing lands. Vast and flat, the Lambayeque coastalstrip allowed the Mochica to undertake an en-terprise with few equivalents in the world’s an-cient history. Wide main canals, like Raca Rumiand Taymi, connected neighboring basins, as inthe case of Saña, Chancay-Reque and La Leche.Many of these canals are still in use today.

Pyramids at Batan Grande

Dispersed amidst an impressive carob tree(Prosopis juliflora) forest are the monumen-tal mud brick construction of Batan Grande.The elongated towering platform walls havebeen carved by the rain of El Niño weatheroscillations.

Now known as the Poma Reserve, the forest givesthe traveler a glimpse of the original scenery onthe northern Coast when powerful warlords be-longing to the Sican –or Moon, in Muchik lan-guage- house ruled over this region. TheLambayeque civilization, another name archeolo-gist give the Sican culture, appeared in the ninthcentury when invading neighbors caused the col-lapse of the Mochica states.

Later, the Mochica political gravity center movednorth to the distant La Leche basin. Sican lordsspread their power over the coastal band fromPiura to Jequetepeque, amassing considerablewealth. One probable source of such privilegedposition was the discovery of bronze enrichedwith copper and arsenic.

Batan Grande has also become very well knownfor the other reasons. In past decades, grave-loot-ers sacked innumerable funerary chambers bydigging deep wells, up to 14 meters down. Theroyal tombs have been carved inside pyramidalplatforms at the top of which were usually court-yards, hypostylic halls, and other areas devotedto different ceremonial, administrative and resi-dential functions.

Some document instances point to a rite wherethe construction was purposefully set on fire andthen abandoned. Photographs of room filled withgold, silver and gilded copper vessels, as well asstories about tons of buried precious metals, trig-gered a rush of looters to the site.

Fortunately, some tombs escaped the greed of thelooters. Archeological surveys have determinedthat the Sican rulers were buried amongst afunerary luxury not less impressive than theirMochica counterparts, Gold headpieces andmasks, cinnabar-died feathers, clothes coveredwith semiprecious stones and tropical shells wereplaced over the corpses on the platforms.

More surprising are the bundles of small L-shaped metal plates like “playing cards” said tohave had monetary and exchange value. Thepriests places the cards at the bottom of the ar-

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senic-copper well, together with some workshopwaste like wood chips and metal plate cutouts. Anew and modern site museum exhibits these andother remarkable features of the Lambayequecivilization.

The Túcume-Purgatorio pyramids

Batan Grande’s imposing pyramids wereabandoned towards the eleventh century AD,possible due to catastrophic flooding dur-ing a massive El Niño weather phenomenon.This event was paralleled by the flourish-ing of Tucume, one of the most spectacularmonument compounds on the northernCoast.

The large terraced constructions found atTucume, that probably became the regional capi-tal, spread like spikes around the mountain hub.Some served residential and administrative func-tions while others were clearly dedicated to reli-gious ceremonies. With a longer history thanBatan Grande’s, Tucume kept its importanceuntil the times of the Conquest. On top of the oldpyramids, the Inca rulers added new construc-tions blending Inca and Lambayeque character-istics. At least one high Inca dignitary was bur-ied at Tucume bearing the mascaypachaheadband that was a symbol of his rank. Thebeauty and monumental aspect of Tucume re-sembles the grandiose capitals of Mesopotamia,a fact remarked recently by Thor Heyerdahl, thelegendary researcher of possible pre-historicmaritime routes. Heyerdahl’s efforts led to sev-eral excavation projects the result of which maybe seen at the beautiful site museum inspired inthe architectural style of the first Colonialchurches built under a rustic roof of carob treetrunks.

The Chotuna – Chornamkap pyramid

Thor Heyerdahl’s curiosity was sparked,among other reasons, by a myth narratingthe arrival of Naylamp, a founder of theLambayeque royal lineage

According to legend, the civilizing hero arrivedaccompanied by eight courtesans, one of themwas in charge of throwing crushed tropical shell-fish (Spondylus sp.) on the road on the Naylamp’sfeet. Naylamp most probably traveled on a raftlike the Kon Tiki vessel Heyerdahl used in hisfamous Pacific Ocean crossing. One of the places

mentioned in the myth may be identified asChotun, an imposing pyramid near the Spanishcolonial city of Lambayeque. It is said thatChotuna was one of the capital cities of Naylamp’sroyal house because the figurative high reliefrepresentations found there are in some casesalmost exact replicas of the decorations at HuacaDragon in Trujillo’s Moche valley.

Archeologists tend to think that the most popu-lar icon of Lambayeque art –the so-called Lordof Sipan- actually represents Naymlap, a wingedcharacter of slanted eyes and aquiline nose whoarrived from the other side of the ocean. Naymlapappears profusely in ceramics, textiles, and evenfrescoes on many walls. Sometimes it is possibleto identify an obviously supernatural being por-trayed with the attributes of a high rank marinedeity accompanied by the Sun and the Moon. Inother circumstances, he appears only as a maskedhuman being wearing the divine headpiece. In-deed, Lambayeque rulers were buried wearingthe sacred being’s mask over their faces, and withthe corresponding attire. We can assume that therich Lambayeque imagery may actually be anaccount of episodes from the dynastic myth aboutthe supernatural origin of royal power.

PRE-HISPANIC NAVIGATION

Naymlap’s myth bears a close relationshipwith one of Peruvian ancient history, i.e.navigation and the exchange of Spondylus,a warm water shellfish harvested at consid-erable depth near the Plata island in Ecua-dor.

Red and impressive, Spondylus shells were con-sidered the perfect offering in the native reli-gions of Peru and Mexico (e.g. Teotihuacan).Spondylus first arrived at Peru’s central Coastfrom Ecuador during the Late Preceramic Period(2.700-1.500 BC). Ecuadorian balsa trees alsoprovided a light and water-resistant wood usedin making vessels known by the same “balsa”(raft) name, Propelled by a large square sail, theraft were equipped with large oars and woodplanks inserted among the trunks acting as ahull.

Some researchers hold the rafts were capable ofsailing from North to South against the Peru-vian or Humboldt current, reaching Chincha, 200km south of Lima, to deliver their precious cargo.Others suggest that before the introduction ofthe square sale, traveling against the current was

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unfeasible, therefore proposing instead that onlytravel by land would allow trading withSpondylus sp., Strombus sp.and Conus sp. shell-fish. Expansionist states like the Chimor, per-haps Lambayeque and certainly the Inca empire,may have even created colonies or enclaves andintroduced some other institutional arrangement(as taxation in the Inca experience) to avail them-selves of the prized mollusks.

Despite the arguments for more sophisticatednavigational arts, the pre-Hispanic iconographyof the northern Peruvian Coast shows only one-man boats used in river travel, usually pulled byswimmers, as well as the reed rafts used for fish-

ing near the shore. A local reed variety known astotora (Schoenoplectus californicus) is still usedto build the peculiar one-man boats. After let-ting the reed dry for a month, it is woven into asort of kayak. The rider kneels on the raft androws out to the sea. Fishermen in the Pimenteldistrict in Chiclayo are among the modern usersof the ancient caballito de totora, or “totora reedhorses” as they are called locally. The Mochicaalso seems to have used a sort of totora catama-ran provided with a covered deck but with nosail. This vessel was large enough to carry pris-oners and offerings to the site of the ceremonialsacrifice, usually a rocky island away from theshore.

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RRecent archeological findings show that the coastof the La Libertad department was home to an-cient civilizations that in many respects were justan important as the Incas, Mayas or Aztecs. Mostof their legacy is in the form of remarkabletemples located only a few minutes from Trujillo,a city in northern Peru. This city, thedepartment’s capital, is 45 minutes away fromLima by plane (560 km) and lies 209 km fromChiclayo, following the northern Pan-Americanhighway. Average summer temperature is 24ºCand the weather is mild and sunny the rest ofthe year.

The Chan-Chan citadel

Spreading over more than 20 square kilo-meters, the world’s largest mud brick cita-del was declared part of Mankind’s CulturalHeritage by UNESCO. From a pure func-tional viewpoint, it resembles more the Egyp-tian necropolis at Gizeh than the walled cit-ies of Babylon.

Located almost at the city limits of Trujillo, Chan-Chan (or The Great Sun in the Mochica language)was the capital of the vast Chimu empire. Builtbetween the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, itcomprises palaces, residential quarters, cemeter-ies, gardens and platforms for religious perfor-mances surrounded by walls up to 13 meters high.Exquisite high reliefs sculpted with refined tech-niques depict geometric and animal patterns thatevidence the unique artistry and complexityreached in the use of clay in Chan-Chan in asso-ciation with the liturgy and customs of the domi-nant castes.

Located in the lower Moche valley, the Chan-Chan compound gradually expanded from aninitial core in the Cayhuac citadel and the El Higopyramid to eventually embrace a total of whatseem to be 10 adjoining monumental citadels.Appearances, however, are deceiving. The highperimeter walls and the labyrinth of roomsaround the main squares were in all likelihoodbuilt as palaces for the Chimor kings. After thedeath of each sovereign, the corpse was buried

together with his harem and some members ofhis retinue inside the platform monument builtbehind his residence. The surviving members ofthe dead king’s household and other special at-tendants were charged with collecting tribute inkind and labor to keep the palace in good state ofrepair, thus ensuring the continuity of the post-humous cult to the dead monarch.

A total population of 26.400 residents has beenestimated of which some 10.500 were handicraftsmakers of both sexes. A vast network of irrigatedfarms and sunken field, as well as llama packs,ensured the uninterrupted supply of foodstuffsand raw materials. In Chan-Chan, like in theEgyptian necropolis, ample quarter for artisansand bureaucrats were located near the pyramidsand funerary palaces to ensure the continuity ofworship to the god-monarchs during hundredsand even thousands of years after their death.

Pakatnamu

Sitting on a high plateau straddling thevalley and the sea, Pakatnamu ranks amongthe most beautiful and largest of allMochica, Lambayeque or Chimu sites.

Protected by two large walls and deep precipices,Pakatnamu spreads over 1,5 square kilometers.It reached its present configuration during theLambayeque period, and although the purposeserved by its architectural layout is not perfectlyclear to modern eyes, plentiful evidence of com-plex rites, including human sacrifices, suggestsresearchers this was a large ceremonial center,in some way similar to the Pachacamac oracle inPeru’s central Coast.

Temple or huaca de los Reyes

Upstream of the Moche river rises severaltemples that pre-dates Chan-Chan by morethan 2.000 years. Huaca de los Reyes, a 200Ha compound under the eight earth moundat the Caballo Muerto site, was built duringthe second millennium BC and required thelabor equivalent of 350.000 man-days.

LA LIBERTADThe Moche and Chimu Kingdoms

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Probably one of the political and religious cen-ters of the Cupisnique civilization, Huaca de losReyes is well-known for its sculpted, carved pot-tery often mistaken for Chavin ceramic. Judgingfrom its Carbon-14 dating, the Cupisnique stylemay have spread beyond the valley only afterHuaca de los Reyes was abandoned. In its finalform, this group of three large platforms (each160 by 120 meters at the basis and six metershigh) located around a rectangular square is pre-cisely aligned along the cardinal points. On itssummit six temples of stone and mud mortarwere built. A fine stucco plaster covers the walls,square-shaped 1,50 meters wide columns and therooftops of the arches opening to U-shapedatrium. On the façade decorated with sculpturedclay friezes, some well-preserved images clearlyrepresent the heads of 12 mythical ancestors withmouths full of sharp jaguar fangs. Each of thecomplex head sculptures stands 2 meters tall is1,80 meters deep.

Huacas of the Sun and Moon

The kingdom of Chimor can be traced backto the Moche –for the name of the valley- orMochica, as these people are called in thepre-Hispanic language of the neighboringLambayeque department. The Chimorspread between the second and eighth cen-turies AD along 700 km of between the val-leys of Piura and Huarmey.

On the left bank of the Moche river, 8 km fromthe city of Trujillo, was located the main powercenter of the Mochica civilization, at the sol andLuna Huacas, as they are known today. The SunHuaca- or temple- is the largest of all pre-His-panic pyramids and compares by volume to theEgyptian pyramids at Saqqara. Its constructionrequired some 143 million mud bricks. Unfortu-nately, a sizable part of this edification was de-stroyed by looters who in 1602 cut the pyramidin two by making the river’s waters flow throughits middle.

An impressive cross section left by the river wa-ters shows the successive development stages ofthe pyramid, both outwards from the core andupwards from the basis. As other similar con-struction from pre-ceramic times, the Mochetemples were subject to periodical renovationsafter their users had carefully covered with dirtthe areas that were no longer in use. To build

the high platforms, they erected large rectangu-lar molded-adobe columns reclining against eachother. People from several groups must have con-tributed their labor as tax paid to the state tobuild the temple.

The pyramidal Cerro Blanco (White Mountain)is 500 meters away. At its foot stands the Huacade la Luna or Moon Temple (95 x 85 x 25 meters)in sharp visual and ceremonial contrast to theTemple of the Sun. It comprises three indepen-dent ceremonial compounds, each possessing asystem of restricted access ways, wallet court-yards and roofed halls. On the walls, polychromepaintings and high reliefs seem to have beenmade only yesterday. At present, most areas areprotected with roofs and provided with walkwaysfor visitors. The temple’s external walls are deco-rated with high relief motifs of fanged deities,with hair made of monster snakes ending inheads of marine birds. A Similar divinity guard

Huaca of the Moon, La LibertadDomingo Giribaldi / PromPerú

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the main entrance to the central complex, flankedon each side by a sliding viper crowned with acondor head.

Both characters appear again in the scenespainted on Moche ceremonial pottery to describemyths and ritual practices. One of the person-ages is represented as a fisherman wielding hispower over the seas. The other one appears asliving in the heart of the mountains. Usually de-picted as an owl or a spider in the company ofbaths, this divinity stands for the night and thenetherworld. The knife and the head, he holds inhis hand, shows his third for human sacrifices.Some scenes show the sacrifice of victims pusheddownhill to kill them in his honor.

Some private inner temple chambers to whichaccess was restrictive were also decorated withmural paintings, the most renowned amongwhich depicts some scenes from the myth aboutthe “rebellion of things” where the warriors’clothes and weapons rebelled against their mas-ters, defeated them in combat and offered theprisoners’ blood to a supernatural couple: a malegod with an owl face and a woman with braidedsnakes as hair. Often, the woman is seen drink-ing from the first quarter Moon while sailing thesea, thus leading weapons, and processions ofprisoners decorated the walls along the rampleading into the main building.

Between the two Huaca temples there is a flatarea long believed to have been a square or avacant lot. Excavations have revealed that thearea is in fact full of constructions. A whole citynow hidden under the sand, it depended on thetwo temples for its livelihood. A broad avenuerunning parallel to the Moon temple channeledhuman traffic and divided the cult and the resi-dential areas. Small squares with a single accesspoint were surrounded by houses of severalrooms. Next to them, the workshop produced re-ligious paraphernalia, ceramics and metal ob-jects. Its dimension and orderly layout give theensemble a clear urban aspect.

The huacas at Cao (El Brujo)

Probably, the political and religiousMochica capital in the Chicama valleyricher in water and farming land than theMoche area, was located in Cao where twopyramidal buildings sit on the shore facingeach other. One, El Brujo -or The Sorcerer-stands out for the rich and well-preserved

polychrome relief scenes that cover thefaçade.

On the wall surrounding the large square nearthe main building, images of dancing priests –wearing either a headpiece and crown that re-mind us of the feminine deity, or a frayed tee-shirt like male partner, the owl-spider divinity-are depicted together with the procession of na-ked prisoners tied with ropes around neck. A rowof supernatural spiders decorates the top friezeof the façade. On the north-west corner of thefaçade, a small roofed room stands on a low plat-form. Its outside walls, the vestibule’s walls andthe ceiling were decorated with mythologicalscenes –mostly well-preserved- of ritual combatsbetween groups of warriors.

A mythical deity attends these mythical repre-sentations against a nocturnal seascape. On a fewceremonial jugs, delicately drawn line-paintingsnarrate a sequence of rituals honoring the deity.Prisoners defeated in combat are taken on reedboats to the islands where they will be sacrificedby bleeding their jugular vein, an offering thatthe gods of the sea rewarded with plentiful fish-ing and sea lions for hunting. Possible these cer-emonies took place totally or partially at thetemple.

From the summit of the pyramid, the visitor willnotice the difference between this and Egyptianor Maya pyramids. As in the Moon Huaca, thecorridors and halls -some of which are coveredby roofs resting on columns- follow each other atthe top of the edification. Several are decoratedwith reliefs and painting of multiple colors. Insome areas, the scary god of the world belowwields his ceremonial knife and severed head. Inother areas, three-story high walls preserve theirintact decoration where we frequently see theface with snake hair and pointed fags.

Like in the Moon Temple, whenever the Caotemple had to be rebuilt, additional funerarychambers were built. Probably, the reconstruc-tion itself was related to the death of an impor-tant bureaucrat or priest.

Unfortunately, for some reason the chamberswere opened and their occupants moved else-where. The ceramic vessels found there, some ofwhich are of exceptionally high quality, can beseen at the Wiese Foundation Museum inTrujillo. Another exceptional piece found thereis a carved wood column with a capital depicting

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a priest and two rampant felines facing him.

The temple at Pañamarca

For decades, the images of fierce warriorsled to believe that the Moche culture wasbuilt on a purely military foundation.

Results of recent research about Moche iconog-raphy have questioned this belief. Apparently,their religious cult and complex ceremonies re-volved around the relatively peaceful relationsamong various ethnic groups who lived along thenorthern Coast. The complex power ideology, socharacteristically represented in the rich Mocheiconography, may even reflect the cohesivenessbetween one or several multiethnic Moche states.

As a matter of fact, the most important buildingon the Moche states’ southern frontier was not afortress but the Pañamarca temple located in theNepeña valley. There, a set of elevated bouldersof whimsical shapes merges beautiful with thesugar cane fields. These rocks were consideredsacred by the users of Moche pottery (second toseventh centuries AD) and so they decided tobuild two pyramids – one small and the addedwalled squares and more elevates rooms. The siteis well known for its large-scale mural paintingsillustrating myths and religious ceremonies.

The Galindo pyramids

Weather changes recorded in the expansionrings of high Andean glaciers show that theseventh and sixth centuries BC were hardtimes for the residents of the northern Coast.

The Moche culture knew very well to fend off thenegative effects of droughts and catastrophicrains. Still, the political consequences of thosephenomena must have been severe for the Mocherulers. Indeed, several clues point to sudden massmovements of population on the northern limitsof the Moche area of cultural influence, both inthe Highlands and on the Coast, announcing theemergence of a new cultural phenomenon: theWari civilization. Quickly emerging new capitals,located in strategic places and equally distantfrom critical irrigation and defense locations seemto fit into this context. In the Moche valley, forinstance, rulers made a decision to build a largesettlement around imposing pyramids. Galindo,as the site is called, is surrounded by walls prob-ably for defense purposes. Between the sixth an

eighth centuries of our era, Galindo undoubtedlyachieved a greater political weight than the Sunand Moon temples. The Moche finally yielded toexternal pressure towards the end of the eighthcentury AD.

The administrative center atViracochapampa

To better understand the cultural identityof the Highlands invaders who contributedto the end the Mochica civilization, we musttravel deep into the mountain region of LaLibertad, to a compound located some 2,5km from Huamachuco.

Viracochapampa is an architectural compoundbuilt to serve administrative functions in theWari empire. Its size and design make it similarto Pikillaqta in Cuzco and Azangaro in Ayacucho.Walls about 2 meters high divide the large (581x 574 meters at the base) trapezoidal area intosquares, open areas and courtyards of carefullyplanned architecture.

Typically, the courtyards are surrounded on threesides by covered archways while the fourth arch-way leads to a rectangular room with niches onthe walls. There has been with niches on thewalls. There have been many debates about thefunction of this layout. The similarity with Greek,Roman and Renaissance urban layout led to be-lieve these were also cities of the same kind butrecent excavations show that the sites had a veryshort permanent population, despite their largesurface area. Instead, the planned modules prob-ably functioned as warehouses and lodging ar-eas for the visitors who arrived to pay their trib-ute either in kind or in labor (the so-called mita)

An imposing aqueduct, 800 meters long, 16meters wide and from 6 to 10 meters high, is prob-ably related to this remarkable administrativecenter. The waterway runs through the entireLa Cuchilla flatlands, the granaries and circularwarehouses at Amaro Mountain and the monu-mental mausoleum at Marca Huamchuco. Evi-dence found in the region points to an indepen-dent cultural development antedating the Warioccupation which does not seem to have been verylong (600 to 800 BC), because Viracochapampawas never finished. Although the ceramic andarchitectural findings leave no doubt about itsrelationship to Ayacucho, there is debated aboutthe exact nature of this link. However, the preva-

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lent opinion is that Viracochapampa was the pro-vincial capital of an expansionist state with Wari,in Ayacucho, as its administrative center.

A religious system probably originating inTiawanaku, on the shores of Lake Titicaca inPuno, may have been at the origin of the politi-cal doctrine upheld by the latter -often appear-ing in the kero vases and other fine ceremonialvessels- are characters with radiant headpiecesfollowed by a retinue of bird-like attendants ofTiawanaku inspiration.

Ceramic portraits: faces of the Mochica

Amazing realism, expressiveness and variedand detailed facial features characterize theMochica ceramic portrait vessels that areone of the most interesting and enigmaticaspects of Peruvian pre-Hispanic art.

Exact replicas of human faces appeared only lateand exceptionally in art. The dramatic realismof Roman republican portraits was probably bornfrom the custom by the deceased person’s rela-tives of wearing masks representing other deadrelatives. Made using a wax mold taken from thedead person’s body, the masks were subsequentlykept in the family altar, thus may have been bornthe fashion of sculpting a truthful representa-tion of human faces.

A different origin may explain the intricate bal-ance between ideological representation and theunrepeatable naturalness of some Egyptiandignitary’s effigies originally kept in chambersdestined to funerary cult. They were principallymeant to protect the shape of the body from de-cay and propitiate the return of the soul.

Due to their variety and expressiveness, Mochicarepresentations stand at a par with the Romanfigures and in number they equal Egyptian ones.We may wonder though about the identity of thecharacters immortalized by the ceramists. Thelist is long but definitely limited to the powerelite. Among the characters we can perfectly dis-tinguish sick people suffering multiple skin le-sion, women with the unmistakable braided hair,and corps almost down to their skeletons. Thepot-makers also made reproductions of super-natural animals and other beings, including theirdivinities.

This peculiarity gives us a clue to try and unveilthe likely reasons driving Mochica handicraft

makers as well as explain the unexpected appear-ance of realism as away to depict the unique fea-tures of individual human faces. Most of thesepresumed portraits represent males who per-formed ritual functions as attendants and priests.They delivered the victims’ blood to supernatu-ral beings, carried rattles and banners, dancedand took part in orgiastic heterosexual rites.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, effigies of dig-nitaries are infrequent and those that have beenfound correspond to supreme priests who presideover track competitions and other rituals fromtheir comfortable seats at the top of the pyra-mids. Birds, felines or tassels decorate their fineturbans. Rulers are distinguished from priestsby their war clothes and the helmet-shaped head-piece.

Numerous portraits show characters with looselong or short hairstyles who may be sacrifice vic-tims and executioners of bloody rituals, like inthe bottles with the stirrup handle used as de-posits for ceremonial liquids and blood in par-ticular.

Then why to make portraits of individual sacri-fice attendants and their victims? Apparently thisceramics were not actual individual portraits inthe western sense of the word –although theirmakers were undoubtedly inspired by real faces-but were rather type faces. The facial features,paintings, tattoos and details of the headpiece,earrings and nosering may have served to rankthe person portrayed in the ceramic within a com-plex ethnic and political structure.

Mochica material culture and, in particular theiricons, make us think of group of one or severalmultiethnic states sharing a common religiousideology. Ritual combats facing warriors fromvarious ethnic groups or places, exhausting racecompetitions and human sacrifices served bothas propitiation rites for the well-being of the com-munity and for young people’s initiation.

Almost surely, the expressive faces on Mochicabottles were not meant to remember gone rela-tives or to honor their rules. Rather, they wereplaced in tombs as a sign of the dead person’sfully –entitled membership in Mochica societyand who therefore was expected to perform peri-odically the roles ascribed to him by reason ofkinship and political function.

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TThe department of Amazonas is one of the leastknown, but at the same time one of the most beau-tiful regions of Peru. More than 500 archeologi-cal remains- rock paintings, fortresses, sar-cophagi and citadels- confer its landscape a mys-terious and intriguing halo. It was the scene forthe discovery of tens of “lost cities” in the secondhalf of the twentieth century. Chachapoyas (2.334masl) –the capital of the department- is 1.191 kmfrom Lima and can be reached by car fromChiclayo. Always hot, with an average annualtemperature of around 25ºC, Amazonas is thebest visited between May and September to avoidexcessive rain and enjoy the lush vegetation.

The Kuelap fortress

The most impressive tourist attraction in theNorth East of Peru is Kuelap, a giganticmonument of 400 million cubic feet of con-struction material, three times the volumeof Egypt’s Great Pyramid.

The archeological compound is located on a rockyslope 3.000 masl and sits on two huge overlyingartificial platforms built stone by stone. Mostimpressive in Kuelap are the huge defense walls(30 meters high by 600 meters long) around theso-called “lower town” and “upper town”. Thou-sands of bromeliads render especial beauty to aconstruction entirely carved in limestone show-ing a variety of finishings, the best of which aredefinitely found in the sacred rooms. These ru-ins –584 by 110 meters at the base- are often com-pared to Saqsayhuaman and Machu Picchu, be-

cause of their size and characteristics. Three en-trances to the fortress, two to the East and oneto the West, are designed as huge funnel-likehallways ending in a small opening to allow theentrance of just one person at time. Crags andprecipices on three of its four sides make the for-tress effectively impregnable.

Inside, the citadel is divided in quarters at dif-ferent elevations, each comprising several dozencircular buildings of great artistic and estheticinspiration. Stones are distributed precisely,complemented by rhomboidal friezes and high-reliefs figures, mostly anthropomorphic. Seem-ingly reserved to the Chachapoya chiefs, thequarters in the upper town have façades deco-rated with friezes in geometric fretwork. Curi-ously enough, the houses and buildings lack win-dows. Instead, they are protected by watertightstone roofs from the abundant rainfall, (frequentin this area). The visitors’ attention is called toan extraordinary circular construction thatstands out in the southern end. Known as the“ink well”, this structures is almost 6 meters highand shaped as an inverted cone. Most probablyit was destined to ceremonial use.

The mausoleums at Los Condores lagoon

A high crag with a view to heaven-like La-guna Negra was where the Chaschas de-cided to build their huge funerary chambers.

Six almost intact mausoleums have been discov-ered on one of the steep wooded slopes borderingLos Condores lagoon, one day and a half awayfrom the locality of Leimebamba. They containmummies -some in wood coffins- idols, woodenspears, abundant and varied pottery and sugges-tive rock paintings. Each of the funerary cham-bers sheltered a great quantity of bundles belong-ing to several generation of people probably re-lated by kin. Ceremonial clothes with rich Chachaand Inca iconography were used as covers alter-nating with rags of simple cloth. Evidence showsthat the same space had been occupied not onlyby the Sachapuyas (Chachas), but also by the Incaand Chimu. In fact, the Incas led by TupacYupanque conquered this region around 1470.

AMAZONASA territory of lost cities

Kuelap Fortress, Amazonas© Mylene D’Auriol / PromPerú

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Chimu presence could be explained by the sys-tem of mitimaes (entire populations of settlersremoved from their place of origin) that theQuechua used to control defeated populations.

Even for modern and expert adventures reach-ing Los Condores lagoon is no easy accomplish-ments, belying the apparently fluid contact therewas between so diverse peoples. Swamps, SteepMountain ranges dot the road from Leimebambato the mausoleums partially shrouded by a wa-ter curtain that descends from the summit. Thefast-flowing and crystalline river glows as itcrosses the huge granite crags. Small and denseforests of ferns and orchids cling from the smoothwalls at impossible angles. Tourists can learnabout several aspects of this spectacular archeo-logical area at the recently inaugurated site mu-seum outside Leimebamba.

PAJATÉN AND THE LOST CHACHA CIT-IES

Since the Gran Pajaten was discovered inthe neighboring department of San Martin,many explorers have headed to this north-eastern region to look for lost cities in thedepth of the jungle. Later, the discovery ofthe Karajia sarcophagi, the expeditions byAmerican explorer Gene Savoy to the GranVilaya and the finding of almost one hun-dred mummies in Los Condores lagoon at-tracted world’s attention to Chachapoyas.

The language they used was forever lost in thefirst year of the Spanish conquest, but linguisticresearch has found that there may have been alinguistic relationship between Inca place namestypical of this area and the Chibcha of Colombia.

Although their pottery is undoubtedly related tocertain types of ceramics in the lower Amazon,the more sophisticated monuments basically fol-low a clear Andean pattern. Apparently, theChachapoyas ethnic group migrated from theAndes to settle in the steep mountain jungle,successfully repelling attack from neighboringgroups.

This civilization’s natural borders were theMarañon River to the West, the Huallaga Riverto the East, Bagua to the North and the AbiseoRiver to the South, in the present departmentsof Amazonas and San Martin. Although theSachapuyas (from sacha: mountain and puyo:fog, after the constant cloud cover hanging overthe area) settled in intricate jungles, the centralartery of this civilization is undoubtedly theUtcumbamba River. Exquisitely green, the riverflows amidst a jungle landscaper of reeds, andmolle and tara trees. After passing under tworemarkable colonial bridges near its headwatersin Leimebamba, the river’s course narrows to runflanked by towering mountains, until it reachesthe broad plains around tropical Bagua, whereits waters merge with the Marañón.

Since the valley is so narrow, the Sachapuyasbuilt their main villages on mountain ridges, stra-tegically controlling the main affluents to theUtcubamba River. Exceptionally conserved build-ings still show us their exquisite architecture,including La Petaca, La Congona, Cerro Olan,Macro, Ollape, Gran Vilaya, Gran Pajaten,Kuelap, Karajia, Levanto and many others builtbetween 900 and 1450 AD. that were still in useat the beginning of the Colonial period.

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YYanacocha is one of the largest and most mod-ern gold mines in the world. Its forerunners dateback to the eighth century BC, when theCajamarca goldsmiths made sumptuous crowsfor the priests of the ancient temple ofKunturwasi. The city of the northern Highlands,is 856 km from Lima (55 minutes by plane). Thatcity can also be reached by land from Trujillo orChiclayo (about 300 km west). Visits are recom-mended between April and October, the sunnyseason in the Highlands region of high humid-ity.

The Kunturwasi temple

The oldest evidence of goldsmithing inCajamarca comes from the old site ofKunturwasi (San Pablo district), wheredwellers from nearby villages in the secondmillennium BC started to transform themountain summit for ceremonial purposes.

Representatives of the Cupisnique culture, fromthe Coast, probably settled in Cajamarca between

the eighth and second centuries BC. In any case,their pottery, goldsmithing, sculpture and archi-tecture show several similarities with Chavin, acontemporary culture of the Highland area.

Imposing walls and stairways have changed themountain into a pyramid with squares andtemples at its summit. One of the platforms atthe top was used to bury the members of thepriestly elite. Crowns and other gold plate andembossed ornaments have been found inside thechambers.

Figurative motifs in the pottery are similar tothose in the architecture: deities with impressivefang and/or eagle or owl features, or severed hu-man heads. Visitors can see them at the modernsite museum.

The “small windows” at Otuzco

8 km of road separate Cajamarca from theOtuzco windows, an impressive ensemble offunerary niches literally carved on a rockycrag.

CAJAMARCANorth of the empire

Little windows of Combayo, CajamarcaCarlos Sala / PromPerú

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Some of these holes are simple niches, otherscommunicate with a corridor and through it, withniches carved in the heart of the rock mass. En-sembles similar to Otuzco’s are found inBambamarca, Quilcate, San Cristobal, CerroYanüil and a larger one in Combayo.

The tombs are completely depredated, and littleis known about the rituals linked to them. Thepottery suggests they were used by theCajamarca Culture of the Late Intermediate Pe-riod (900-1470 AD).

The Inca’s Baths

The pre-Hispanic site known as the Inca´sBaths is 6 km from the city. It is an orderlyset of structures, baths, canals and ponds ofsulfurous water coming from volcanichotsprings.

Historical accounts state the baths were a ritualresting place for Atahualpa, the last reigning

Inca. It was precisely there that the SpanishConquistador arrived to capture him. The stonecanal and piping system that mix hot and coldwater and open to the public.

The Cumbemayo canal

An astounding canal that relies on relativelyhigh humidity of the northern Highlands ofPeru to collect and transport water alongalmost 8 km, even climbing upwards in somestretches.

In Cajamarca, the highest part of the Andes is agrassland area or jalca that captures water likea gigantic sponge.

At a place known as Cumbemayo, 3.670 masl, ahydraulic system consisting of a 7,6 km canal,out of which 4,5 km are carved in rock, starteddiverting waters from the Pacific to the Atlanticbasin 500 years ago.

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AAn exceptional trip along the coastline to Ancash|awaits all visitors who wish to understand howabout 4.700 years ago critical foci of sedentarylife appears in the small valleys surrounded byone of the driest deserts on the planet, and ofCHAVIN DE HUANTAR, the first cultural mani-festation in the Americas rightfully deservingbeing called a civilization. Huaraz (3.050 masl),the department’s capital located 400 km north ofLima and 200 km from the sea (Paramonga), canbe reached trough a paved road in excellent stateof repair. Visits are best from April to October,and ideal from June to August.

Las Haldas and the Casma coastline

A beautiful ceremonial scenery makes Las Haldasthe most remarkable of a string of temples – thefirst in the New World – that amaze us for theirmonumental proportions and early date, amongwhich are Salinas in Chao, Aspero and Carral-Chupacigarro in Supe, and El Paraíso in Chillon.

Las Haldas ceremonial compound is located southof the Casma valley (300 km north of Lima) sit-ting on top of rocky outcroppings by the seashore.Four squares along a single axis facing an irregu-larly shaped pyramid, these buildings, featuringstone walls and clay mortar, were erected bypeople ignorant of pottery, other than makingsmall figurines in raw clay. Nowhere else onEarth were primitive farming communities ca-pable of sharing their efforts to such a grandscale. The compound’s units effectively cover from8 to 58 Ha and required mobilizing up to 100.000tons of building materials. On the other hand,hamlets in the vicinity are smaller than one hect-are. In Egypt, Mesopotamia, Central Americaand China, 30 or more centuries had to elapsefrom the emergence of agriculture to the build-ing of the first initial religious temples that canbe truly called monuments.

The temple at Sechin and the Casma valley

The earliest temples in the Americas are inCasma valley, a wonderful oasis surrounded bywhite sand dunes. At the fork of the valley, trav-

elers will find Sechin hill, one of the oldest ex-amples of monumental art in the Americas.

A rectangular layout temple with rounded cor-ners built over several centuries and in stages,during the first half of the second millenniumBC, the Sechin temple features a stone coveredfaçade depicting figurative low reliefs that enve-lope the whole construction. The entrance gate,symbolically protected by flanking warriorswielding their weapons and provided with sump-tuous headpieces, leads to the elevated internalatrium, the sacred-most place in the building. Toits sides, severed body parts (trunks, heads, ver-tebrae, limbs) spurt blood upwards to create amacabre frieze. Accounting for the impressivestrength of this artwork are ritual combats wheredefeated combatants had to offer their lives andblood to ancestral divinities in exchange for thecommunities well-being.

The modern site museum near the temple ex-hibits reproductions of the multicolor reliefs andscale models of the buildings, introducing us tothe valley’s amazing ancient history, a place thatfor reasons still unknown to us is home to thelargest number of monument compounds fromthe second and third millenium BC found on theentire Peruvian Coast. Further into the valleynot far from the museum is the Sechin Alto com-pound – the largest temple built in the Americasin the second millenium. Its main pyramid (250by 300 meters at the base and 44 meters high),like all pyramids of its time, grew in stages untilreaching its present form.

During more than five hundred years, genera-tion, people renewed the ceremonial center per-haps to inject new life to the deities. Courtyards,enclosed areas and roofed rooms from the oldtemple were carefully buried with landfill to buildnew areas for religious cult, in a process repeatedat leas once every hundred years. The front wallswere covered with mud friezes (in the early peri-ods) or granite blocks weighing up to two tons.Facing the imposing central pyramid are fourrectangular plazas lined one after another alonga 1.400 meter axis. Several smaller pyramidssurround the main compound.

ANCASHThe Origins of the Andean Civilization

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Pampa de las Llamas-Moxeque

Not less impressive for its size, decorationsand regular design reminding us of an ur-ban settlement, is the Pampa de las Lla-mas-Moxeqe compound (1800-1400 BC).

An axis providing perfect symmetry over 1.100meters connects the compounds three compo-nents: the large rectangular plaza in the middleand two imposing monuments at the ends. Onthe southwest, the step Moxeque pyramid fea-tures rounded corners and is 160 x 170 meters atthe base and 30 meters high. Several smallerbuildings and atriums at the top can be reachedby stairs.

Obviously used as a temple, the building’s façadeis decorated by deep niches with sculptures ofhuman figures up to 3,20 meters high made withclay in different colors.

A different type of pyramid (140 x 140 x 9 meters)is situated at the other end of the axis (Huaca A)in Pampa de las Llamas. A stairway cutting thefaçade at the middle leads to a labyrinth of roofedareas, with rounded corners and walls lined withniches.

Around 70 smaller rectangular buildings line upalong both sides of the center axis all the way tothe grand square. The monumental character andplanning required in building the compound sug-gest this may have been the capital of the oldestkingdom in the Andes and the Americas.

The Chavin de Huantar ceremonial center

For reasons not yet totally clear, during the ninthcentury BC the large temples on the Coast wereabandoned for good while two centers in theHighlands –probably oracles- gained the devo-tion of people both from the Coast and Highlands.They were Kunturwasi in Cajamarca and Chavin,in Ancash.

To reach Chavin we must first make a stop inHuaraz, capital city of the Ancash department.Ancash offers visitors a wide range of tourist cir-cuits for nature, adventures and mountaineer-ing lovers. In Huaraz visitors should not miss theMunicipal Museum that houses an important

collection of Recuay civilization artifacts (0-700AD). Beautiful multicolored ceramics, massivestone sculptures, and tenon heads illustrate themain illustrate the main elements of the religiousand political life of a people that competed withthe Mochica for the control of the Coastal oases.The war lords – dressed in richly decorated at-tires depicting their divinities – and the womenin their entourage are the leading participantsin these rites.

Chavin de Huantar, located at 3.150 masl in theupper Mosna river valley, is located half waybetween the Coast and the Jungle regions, sepa-rated from either by two towering mountainranges. The Old Temple (eighth to third centuryBC) is particularly well preserved thanks to thesemi-quarried stone used to build it. It comprisestwo pyramid-shaped bodies reclining on eachother that were erected on a vast platform sys-tem housing a labyrinth of some 14 galleries. Thetemple’s “U” shape was inspired by the sacredarchitecture of the central Coast with a circularplaza in the middle. The main gallery still housesthe principal cult image: an obelisk called theLanzon or great Spear. The New Temple re-sembles the constructions of its type found onthe Coast and northern Highlands, i.e. a mas-sive truncated pyramid with a rectangular foun-dation on top of which sit two chapel-like build-ings placed along a façade adorned with a figu-rative portico. The similarities are no coincidenceas proven by the offerings placed inside galleriesby people who came from a radius of about 800km, from Cajamarca to Paracas.

The fierce iconography on the Tello Obelisk –originally standing in one if the squares- givesus a glimpse of Chavin doctrines. It shows twomythical bird-tailed alligators of opposite sexjoined in unnatural intercourse whereby theyexchange body fluids flowing from their mouths,noses and genitals depicted as serpents. Theirhind legs are placed below ground level while theforepaws rise to the sky. Their acolytes -–the jag-uar for the male divinity and the fishing eaglefor the female deity – suggest the divine coupledivides their power between the two confines ofthe universe: the jungle and the sea. If so, theimage was an attempt at explaining the mysteryof life and the eternal cyclical exchange of wa-ters between the heavens, earth and the sea.

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Another couple of supernatural beings guards theentrance to the New Temple, a portico dividedinto two equal segments, one light and the otherdark, as if evoking the joining of day and night.Both are winged beings and of opposite sex: themale deity is shown as a hawk and the female asan eagle. Different classes of lesser gods are alsorepresented in the Tello Obelisk, and on theplaques decorating the sunken small squares fac-ing the façade, to thus configure a rich pantheonof mythical ancestors. The dual and four-somepartitions (couples and groups of four charactersin symmetric opposite arrangements) appearagain and again as the guiding principles in thesculpted ornamentations.

Judging from its decor and layout, the templewas designed to mimic the universe and con-ceived as the fruit of the union of two portions ofthe world, complementary with and opposed toeach other: one masculine and the other femi-nine, in conformance with the principle thatguides the beginning of life itself. Each of theparts was in itself made up of two mutually criti-cal halves because each needed its own day andnight, its own rainy and dry seasons. Priests ofthe Old Temple descended inside the building torender tribute to the Great Spear god, lord of thenetherworld whom they conceived as a feline-man emerging from the dark jungle to drink itsvictim’s blood. On the contrary, the priests of theNew Temple climbed to the summit of the pyra-mid to make offerings to heavenly deities (themale hawk and the female eagle). Building thetemple at the joining of two rivers may not be acoincidence either. In the religious beliefs ofQuechua-speaking peoples, this union –ortincumayo- symbolizes the strong driving forces

of the Wiracocha universe and is replicated inthe night sky as the merging arms of the MilkyWay, near the Southern Cross constellation.

Chankillo and the defense systems on the North-ern Coast

Chankillo –an easily reachable site on thePan-American highway- was the stage ofunceasing ritual combats to gain supremacyover land and other resources.

Chankillo occupies the summit of one of the manybarren hills on the fringes of the valley, right inthe middle of the desert. Probably its construc-tion dates back to the times immediately beforethe fall of this civilization, although it continuedto be used after the fall of Chavin de Huantar inthe last four centuries before our era. The struc-ture is comprised of three high concentric wallsall built of semi-quarried masonry of which somefour meters from the ground have been preservedto our days. A total of five gates restrict accessby means of diagonal walls that direct traffic side-ways, and by fences. Symmetrical stairways al-low access to the circus from the center of theedifice. Two circular towers and an eight-sidedbuilding stand out inside the defense circuit.

Together with other sites, Chankillo served as adefense line along the river banks of the Viru,Santa and Casma valleys. Casma also features agroup of seven imposing walls, 5,50 meters highand as thick as 2,70 meters as the base, that runalong hundreds of meters up and down desertmountains where they provided a backdrop forritual where they provided a backdrop for ritualbattles and young warriors’ passage rites to man-hood.

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TThe Central Highlands and Jungle have beeninhabited by Peruvians since remote times. TheLauricocha cave, for example, contains humanremains, the oldest found in Peru, dating back tothe last Glacial Period (10.000 years). Besides,the oldest temple in America –Kotosh- is also inHuanuco. Central Jungle geography character-izes a great part of the department that is themost accessible amazon region from Lima. Thecity of Huanuco (2.000 masl) lies 400 km fromLima, 360 km from Huancayo and 179 km fromJunin. It is advisable to visit the region betweenApril and October.

The Kotosh Temple

Just 5 km from the city of Huanuco liesKotosh (2.100 masl), a group of temples builtwith quarried stones joined with mud mor-tar in stage starting in the year 2.000 BC.

Up to 11 buildings have been identified in somesectors, built in stages from the initial Ceramicto the Early Horizon periods. The temples arenot large. On the contrary, they are rectangularconstructions of curved corners not exceeding 20m2. They are all oriented to the southwest. In-side, seats run along the walls and a circular fire-place in the central part is connected to the out-side through a ventilation duct running underthe floor. Some of the oldest constructions arethe Nichitos Temple, the Crossed Hands namecomes from two crossed arms modeled in mudon one of the building´s inside faces. Similar con-structions have been found elsewhere inHuanuco, in the highlands of Ancash and, re-cently, on the coast of the Kotosh-type temples’tradition, originating in the Eastern Highlands,seems to represent a very old religious ideologywhose spread is still unknown.

The Huanuco Pampa Administrative cen-ter

Huanuco Pampa, the most important Inca cen-ter in the region, is located in Dos de Mayo, aprovidence about 150 km from the city ofHuanuco. It sits on a plain at 3.800 masl over anarea of 2.500 square meters. Among its remains,Huanuco Pampa, or Huanuco Viejo (oldHuanuco), as it is also known, features thekallankas, large rectangular halls for state-or-ganized functions. Also to be seen are the colcasor deposits for huge amounts of corn, tubers andmanufactured goods. More than 500 circular andrectangular colcas have been identified. Theyhave a total storage capacity of approximately40.000 m3. These deposits are aligned along theslopes surrounding the site, and were built so thattemperature and wind would create a surprisingrefrigerating effect in their interior. HuanucoPampa was also a manufacturing center, whereproducts were prepared and transformed for theirfurther redistribution to the population, espe-cially textiles, which were very much appreciatedgoods during the Tahuantisuyu times.

The Inca center had access to end control over alarge variety of resources, as well as a numerousand well-organized population. Given its eco-nomic and political importance, Huanuco Pampawas connected to Quito to the north and to Cuzcoto the south through the main road that ran alongthe mountain range and was part of the CapacÑan, the great Inca road system. Huanuco Pampashows a planned pattern of streets and buildingsconverging towards a large square in the middleof which an ushnu or ceremonial platform wasbuilt with finely-carved stone blocks. The ushnuis an architectural element of profound symboliccontent present in many Inca administrative sitesand related to a series of ritual and politicalevents aimed at legitimizing the domination ofnew territories.

HUANUCOA Barn for the Central Andes

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DDifferently from colonial buildings, the main pre-Hispanic archeological remains in Lima can befound, as should be expected, outside the His-torical Center of the city or in coastal valleys closeto it. Lima, the capital of Peru, is located at sealevel and virtually in the middle of the PeruvianCoast. Because of its importance as a port dur-ing the Colony, it is the only South American citylocated close to the sea. Its benign weather knowsno seasonal extremes (12°C-20°C in the winterand 19°- 30°C in the summer) and varies littlebetween the day and night, so it is a tourist city365 days a year.

Temples or huacas In Metropolitan Lima

Huallamarca Huaca

An important archeological compound in the SanIsidro district is the small Huallamaca go fromthe third century AD to the advent of the Incasin the fifteenth century. Apparently,Huallamarca was a ceremonial center used by apriestly elite, as sown by floors with little wearand tear. A long sequence of use and abandon-ment of the center reveals changes in thefunerary habits over a long period of time. Dur-ing the early intermediate Horizon (stages 3 and4), corpses were wrapped in bundles covered witha mock head, a sort of mask made from fabric orpainted wood.

Pucllana Huaca

This huaca is located in downtown modernMiraflores district over a surface of about 5Ha.

An administrative and ceremonial center for theRimac valley residents during the Early Inter-mediate Horizon (fifth to eighth centuries AD),it features a 500 meters long, over 100 meterswide and 22 meters tall massive truncated pyra-mid, built of small adobe bricks on a landfill.Besides, it is surrounded by a set of smallerequally remarkable areas, as well as rooms, hall-ways, courtyards and ramps with a fine plasterfinishing, and in some cases painted yellow. Theremarkable height of this ancient adobe build-ing is evidenced when from its top the visitor canobserve the sea the modern buildings surround-

ing it. Pucllana must have been the administra-tive center of religious and productive activitiesin the valley, as may be gathered from its archi-tecture and the site. Archeologists have recov-ered textiles, pottery – decorated in red, white,black, gray and orange- rests of corn ears, beans,broad beans, custard apple, pacae fruit, and al-pacas, llamas, guinea pigs, and ducks, as well asfinished and mollusks from the Pacific.

Huacas south of Metropolitan Lima

The Pachacamac oracle

Pachacamac, an ancient pre-Columbianoracle, dominates the fertile Lurin valley, 31km south of Lima, and can be reached bythe south Pan-American highway. This well-known ceremonial center amazed the Span-ish conquerors and undoubtedly the Incasthemselves when they arrived at the coast.

Entirely built with adobe mud bricks, it rankedtogether with Cuzco among the main religiouscenters of pre-Hispanic Peru. Pilgrims from themost remote palaces arrived there from the mostremote places arrived there to pay homage to thePachacamac God, creator of the world and itscreatures. The Inca section of the archeologicalcompound (1440-1533) is the best-preserved area.The site includes palaces, squares and carefullyrestored temples and has a site Museum hous-ing an interesting collection of artifacts.Pachacamac was a pan-regional religious centerwhose origins remain little known. It seems tohave been built as an important center of powerat the beginning of the Early Intermediate Pe-riod. Max Uhle, a reputed German archeologist,discovered a temple of that period whose facadewas painted in red. This temple is known todayas the Old Temple. Uhle´s findings, especiallypottery and textiles, feature motifs from theHighlands, which in many cases are of clear HighPlateau inspiration. Another construction namedthe Painted Temple was built at a later stage,maybe at the end of the Intermediate Horizon(ninth to tenth centuries AD). The name comesfrom the remains of the frescoes on its walls.

During the ninth to fifteenth centuries AD con-struction speeded up driven by the powerful ide-

LIMAPre-inca archeology in the metropolis

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ology linked to the god honored at the side. Thetemple-palaces reminding us of the Near andMiddle East zigurats and known as “ramp pyra-mids” date back to this time. Fifteen of these socalled “provincial temples” have been identified.They were the fruit of the effort of several cen-tral Coast communities’ efforts to legitimize theirbelonging to a surprisingly prestigious religion.The coexistence of temples from different peri-ods during this time and the presence of offer-ings coming from coastal areas contribute to thehypothesis that Pachacamac functions as anoracle (European chronicler of the sixteenth cen-tury narrate that the supreme deity was theEarth god Ichma). When the Incas settled in thecentral Coast, they acknowledged its power andeffectively included it in their expansionist poli-cies. However, they also built a new sanctuaryon the summit of the rocky hill: the imposingTemple of the Sun. From it we can observe theceremonial center to the east and the PacificOcean to the west (as well as two nearby islandsthat have been Hispanic times). As a whole,Pachacamac represents one of the most impor-tant hubs in the long, complex and dynamic pro-cess of Andean regional integration.

Huacas north of Metropolitan Lima

The Paramonga fortress

Paramonga, a terraced pyramidal of impec-cable preservation, lays 200 km north ofLima and can be easily reached by the pan-American highway.

The summit of a natural mound on the fringe ofagricultural fields was completely transformedthrough the construction of five high layered ter-races. Restricted access doors lead to the sum-mit, where there is a solitary and small construc-tion of four rooms. Characteristic pottery andlarge rectangular adobes dispel any doubts aboutits Inca origin while the defensive appearance isdeceitful, because the building probably did nothave military but religious functions. Inciden-tally, the compound is still one of the major Incaconstructions on the coast, together with thepyramid of the Sun in Pachacamac that re-sembles this fortress because of its constructioncharacteristics and colorful plaster.

Huacas in the highlands of Lima

The “dead city” of Cajamarquilla”

The next stop in Lima should beCajamarquilla, one of the large urban cen-ters in the Rimac valley, only comparable tothe Pachacamac site in neighboring Lurin.

15 km east of Lima up the Central Highway,Cajamarquilla lies in a gradually narrowing por-tion of the Rimac valley where hills become taller,steeper and numerous. Sitting at the crossingpoint of the main irrigation canal intakes thatcarry water to the fields downstream,Cajamarquilla was a regionally important cen-ter between the sixth and seventh centuries AD.The citadel itself covers 120 Ha on the left bankof the Huaycoloro ravine. The “dead city” ofCajamarquilla comprises pyramids, squares,streets, rooms and perfectly recognizable maze-like quarters sitting in the middle of a barrenlandscape, very well-protected from possiblelandslides occurring in the rainy season. Humanburial remains in various quarters witness to thecomplex and dynamic life of the site. Artifactsfound there reproduce the ornamentation typi-cal in the valley and other motifs from the Coastand southern Highlands. Numerous under-ground silos were used to store food and supplies.Chicha corn beer was prepared in open court-yards for celebrating. Water systems met thepeople’s daily needs.

Towards the eighth century AD, the place seemsto have been abandoned, but a fresh culturalthrust brought it back to life. Gradually, thepeople of Cajamarquilla added several new build-ings on top or by the side of the old ones, untilthe site reached its present disorderly aspect.

Puruchuco

Puruchuco served as the residence and pal-ace of the chieftains that ruled during andshortly after the Inca conquest of the Rimacriver valley east of Lima, along the presentCentral Highway.

Built with rectangular adobe bricks, the squarePuruchuco residential palace is confined by athick wall, 4 meters high and 60 cm wide, thatsurrounds a coherent array of rooms, courtyardsand hallways, some for public functions and oth-ers reserved to private use.

The modern site museum houses valuable pre-Inca artifacts found in the area, and many oth-ers from around the Rimac valley.

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IIn Ica, Andean man from the Coast changed theconstraints of the desert into life-giving oppor-tunities through enhanced knowledge and tech-nology that allowed him to make the best pos-sible use of harsh water and weather conditions.Also, the art of these people flooded the monoto-nous landscape with color and profound enigmas.Ica, the department capital, located 300 km southof Lima and 104 km north of Nazca, can bereached along the Pan- American highway. Theregion can be visited throughout the year, be-cause its warm weather (an annual average of24°C) is amazingly bright and stable.

Tambo de Mora pyramids

In the valley of Chincha (200 km south ofLima), we find Centinela Tambo de Mora, aseries of pyramidal mounds, mostly from theLate Intermediate period.

All the mounds are built with large blocks, ex-cept in the Inca section, where they were madewith rectangular adobe bricks. The four roadsdeparting from this site seem to have had a cer-emonial character and served to communicatewith other settlements in the valley. The archeo-logical compound, extending over a surface ofapproximately 400 by 1.000 meters was probablythe capital of the Chinchas, a coastal civilizationreputed for its remarkable commercial and sail-ing skills.

The Inca’s residence at Tambo Colorado

Situated at only 566 masl and about 50 kmfrom the coast, halfway between the Coastand the Highlands, this important archeo-logical site is the most representative Incasettlement on the Peruvian coast.

Tambo Colorado (250 km north from Lima) wasprobably the Inca and his retinue’s residence inthe central plains region. A large trapezoidalsquare enclosed by four walls with niches fea-tures platforms and benches to the south andwest. Noteworthy is the small ushnu platform tothe west that was used during Inca times for ritu-als.

Also outstanding in the residential sector towhich restricted access may be gained trough adouble-threshold entrance gate (3.300 squaremeters). Inside, a series of rooms lies separatedby courtyards and hall ways, two of which in-clude ponds built with Cuzco style carved stones.Several rooms in this area are closed by paintedfences (red, white and yellow), while some sepa-rating walls exhibit triangular and crenellateddecoration.

Evidence of niches and trapezoid windows at dif-ferent levels are accompanied by the remains offriezes depicting figures made of painted andhigh-relief mud decorations.

Paracas cemeteries

Paracas (235 km south of Lima) is knownfor the beauty of the natural scenery, therichness of its funeral ritual, the quality ofits textiles, and its advanced knowledge ofsurgery dating back to 2.500 years ago. Al-most 60% of the patients who underwent cra-nial trepanations are estimated to have sur-vived the operation.

In 1925, Peruvian archeologist Julio C. Tellounearthed the first remains of the Paracas civi-lization. Their splendid fabrics- witnessing to arich magical vision of this civilization’s social life-were woven in cotton, the wool of South Ameri-can ruminants or a mix of both, and decoratedwith brightly colored embroideries in woolenthread. One of the most frequent characters isdepicted as a line drawing of bird-and feline-likehuman beings holding a scepter, severed heads,arrows, plants and various emblems. It is vari-ously represented in standing and flying position,looking straight ahead or to the side. The oldestParacas human remains date back to at least5.000 years BC, attesting to impressivelycontinuos human habitation in an oasis anddesert environment that seems to have changedlittle in thousands of years. Around approxi-mately 400 BC The peninsula started to look likea gigantic cemetery. Generation after generationburied their dead in the desert sand, thus turn-ing the area into a land of the dead. Tombs weredug deep in the shape of a bottle. A large under-

ICADesert cultures

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ground chamber that could hold 30 to 40 indi-viduals wrapped in fabrics was accessed througha long and narrow well. This configuration is atthe origin of the Paracas Caverns name given tothis stage of their evolution. Hundreds of theseburials were found by Tello in the 1920s, funda-mentally in the Cerro Colorado zone, near thepresent day Paracas site museum.

Towards 200 AD, funeral habits changed. At thisnew stage- Paracas Necropolis- the grouped in-dividuals were interred at a lesser depth, fre-quently among the garbage in houses of formeroccupations, although always in funerary bundleswrapped in textiles, located one next to the other.Wari Kayan and Cabeza Larga, cemeteries of thistype, provide many of the best evidence of tex-tile art and pre-Hispanic surgery. The fabricswrapping the buried corpses, a product of theircreative work, were made of cotton using natu-ral dyes. They are one of the most outstandingachievements of Andean techniques and aesthet-ics. During its complex history, the peninsulabecame also attractive for the inhabitants ofneighboring regions. Pottery found in the ParacasNecropolis burials, specially the most recent one,shows a series of cultural patterns originated inthe immediately neighboring valleys, Pisco andChincha, area of the Topara culture.

The Nazca Lines

Some of the world’s most famous geoglyphscan be seen in the arid San José plains onthe southern bank of the Ingenio river. Onthe barren, dry plain, the Nazcas, but alsomore recent occupants, carved geometric fig-ures and animal silhouettes in a giganticscale that has not been replicated elsewhereon Earth.

Representations of spiders, humming birds, mon-keys, reptiles, fish and other beings cover morethan 1.000 square kilometers, some around 300meters long, like the guanay bird (280 meters)and the pelican (285 meters). Among the humanfigures, the most enigmatic is that known as theextraterrestrial. Innumerable figures crisscrossthe plain, sometimes 30 meters wide and up to 9km long. How these figures were made has beenexplained quite well. The desert is covered by areddish film of dirt that has remained stable forthousands of years thanks to the absence ofstrong winds and erosion. Under this cover, the

soil is light yellow. This allowed the Nazcas todraw these large figures on the plain by simplyremoving the reddish film, generally a few centi-meters thick, until they achieved a remarkableeffect of light lines over a dark backdrop.

The design of figures at scale does not seem tohave been a substantial problem if we considerthat the methods of using grid patterns to de-sign textile motifs, and laying out the ground tobuild temples and canals were arts which thepeoples of Ica had known for long and at whichthey excelled. However, the meaning of theseenormous representations is the subject of ongo-ing debate. For Maria Reiche, the German math-ematician that studied them for more than 40years, the lines were a gigantic agricultural andreligious calendar. Others hold that they werejust ritual paths. More recently, some hold thatfigures were a sort of “hydraulic map” of thevalley. In any case, carving the Nazca lines waspossible only through the joint action of peoplesbrought together by religion and faith.

The Cahuachi ceremonial center

Nazca (200 BC-900 AD) is the name of one ofthe most famous pre-Columbian Andeancivilizations. Reputed around the wholeworld for its fine pottery and for the enig-matic lines and figures drawn in the Palpaand San José plains, this culture saw its firstdevelopment in the Rio Grande basin, about400 km south of Lima and many kilometersaway from the sea. Cahuachi spreads over150 Ha of arid hills and dunes.

The ancient Nazca people built their pyramidaltemples by terracing the fossil sand dunes. In thelowers parts, smaller architectural mounds,streets and squares give the site a general cityaspect. However, this is a deceiving appearancebecause Cahuachi was a ceremonial center, asacred destination of Nazca pilgrims between 100and 500 AD. The ceremonies in the place includedthe construction of temples using thousands ofconical or wedge adobe bricks. Each participat-ing community demonstrated their true belong-ing to their religious community by singing, danc-ing and banqueting, thus explaining why inCahuachi there is little garbage, while offeringsabound (pan flutes and musical drums, sacrificedllamas and guinea pigs, fine textiles, human buri-als and pottery representing deities). The ceremo-

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nial site, center of the social, political and reli-gious life of the region, became very busy whenthe pilgrims arrived at a scheduled date to thenrecover its peace under the care of the priest anda very small care-taking population.

DEFEATING THE DESERT: THE NAZCAPUQUIOS

The Nazca valley also has evidence of largehydraulic projects. Taking advantage of thewater table, which was close to the ground,the ancient Nazca developed an under-ground filtering gallery system, known aspuquios, to irrigate the areas lacking sur-face water.

These clever galleries, known as puquios, suc-cessfully met the challenge of hash water condi-tions in the valley’s middle sections, a 15 kmstripe where water can only be found under-ground. The lack of surface water is due to thefact that the Nazca desert is regularly interruptedby small valleys made up by the driest rivers ofthe Pacific. Coast, which carry water only in thesummer and even then irregularly. In these con-ditions, simple detouring canals are useless, be-cause the river and its small tributaries torn intobarren dry courses. Irrigation ditches are effec-tive when the sloping ground can take the water

where needed by simple gravity, as in the val-leys of northern Peru. But in the southern val-leys, where the slopes are less marked, pre- His-panic societies found other technological answersfor taking water away from its natural courseand defeated the ongoing threat of desert, madeeven worse by the strong winds blowing in theregion.

By means of series of deep wells spaced every 20meters, Ica people reached the water table. Thewells can still be seen around. They were com-municated by means of a network of a networkof galleries for circulating water. Careful moni-toring of the ditches’ inclination and lining themwith stones to minimize leaks allowed to bringwater to the surface to finally store it in circularreservoirs or qochas, from which it was trans-ported to the fields by canals. To date, 35 puquioshave been identified, many of them still in use.Numerous galleries covered with boulders androofed with large stone slabs and huarango tree(Acacia machracanta) branches are still seen inthe area. Also, every 10 to 20 meters vents per-mitted air circulation and the periodical clean-ing of the galleries. These were often built at morethan 10 meters of depth over an average lengthof 500 meters. An exceptionally long gallery how-ever reaches 1.5 km long and even runs under ariverbed.

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PPisco on the coast and the Highland ofHuancavelica and Ayacucho have been tradition-ally linked by a flow of myths, gods, ideas, rulersand goods since the times of Chavin (400 BC).Standing along the roads connecting the two re-gions are the monuments that bear witness tosuccessive stages of domination: the Spanishalong the roads connecting the two regions arethe monuments that bear witness to successivestages of domination: the Chavin, the Wari, theIncas and, finally, the Spanish conquerors.Ayacucho (2.750 masl) is reached after a 45minute flight from Lima or after a 4-5 hour drivefrom Pisco (235 km south of Lima) through anexcellent paved road. The most recommendedvisit time is April to October (with average tem-peratures of 8-16° C).

The Vilcaswaman administrative center

Founded by Pachacutec in the second halfof the fifteenth century AD Vilcaswaman,110 km from Ayacucho (3.470 masl), was thefirst Inca administrative center in theChinchaysuyu.

The settlement of about 2 square kilometers com-prises a large square and homes assigned toTupac Inca Yupanqui and Huayna Capac, twolate Cuzco sovereigns that lived here on a tem-porary basis. These are also two religious build-ings known as the Temple of the Sun and theUshnu sanctuary. Built in stone following theCuzco Style, the Temple of the Sun is located atthe south end of the square over three overlyingplatforms. The first, at the bottom, is crenellated.The second has large and small niches and lower.Its architectural characteristics make it thegreatest sanctuary built during theTahuantisuyu period. The temple of the Sun canbe reached from the square up two flights of stairs30 steps each. A Catholic church, San JuanBautista, was built in Colonial times on top ofthe old Temple of the Sun. The Acllawasi or“House of the Virgins of the Sun” was behind thetemple. A wonderful finely carved polygonal wall,ponds, canals and interior walls still stand.

One of its kind in the Tahuantisuyu, the othermonument is the sanctuary or ushnu standing

on the west side of the square. An 8 meters highpyramid formed by overlying quadrangular plat-forms, it includes a fine gate with a double thresh-old in middle of the upper level, where there is afinely carved stone block. Chronicles state therock was used to offer sacrifices to the Sun. TheInca’s square was quasi-trapezoid and borderedby terraces on the east and north sides. About1.500 meters south, some 700 deposits or qolqaswere found by Spanish chronicler Cieza de Leónabout 1548. A beautiful stone panel carved in finecells can be seen on the eastern slope. It is 100meters wide and three meters high. The “sacrifi-cial stone” is in the same area. On one of its sidesthere is a hole from where two zigzagging gut-ters come out to embrace the stone before join-ing again.

The Wari Capital

Wari -the first pan-Andean state- emergedin Ayacucho between 550 and 800 AD. Itscapital, also called Wari, is located 25 kmnorth of Huamanga, in the department ofAyacucho (2.740 masl).

Wari is an example of urban planing and pre-Hispanic engineering techniques. Its urban core,stretching over about 400 Ha and home to 40.000inhabitants, is located strategically to gain easyaccess to the central Coast and Jungle, while ly-ing halfway between the northern and southernHighlands. To control these vast four regions, theWari state built provincial administrative cen-ters that depended on its capital. The most im-portant were Pikillaqta (Cuzco), Cerro Baul(Moquegua) and Viracochapampa (northernHighlands). Wari controlled many colonies in dif-ferent regions that supplied it with resources liketurquoises, textiles, cotton, coca and corn. Wariis internally divided in functional sectors. Re-markable Cheqowasi sector or cemetery area, isa network of underground funerary chambers atseveral levels. Built with rectangular, circularand quadrangular slabs, these chambers prob-ably hosted rulers and aristocrats. Another sec-tor, Moradochayoq shows the earliest evidenceof the site’s occupation, and provides additionalsupport to the hypothesis of permanent contactswith the Tiawanaku culture that evolved at the

AYACUCHOThe lands of the gods

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same time 1.500 km away in the Lake Titicacabasin. This site comprises a small temple builtpartially underground with ashlar stone, stronglyresembling the small Putuni (Tiawanaku)temple, also a partially underground temple. Onthe other hand, the central god of the Waris wasthe “god of the scepters”, an adapted version ofthe Tiawanaku god represented in the so-calledGate of the Sun (Puno). A third sector worth no-ticing is Capillapata, a large group of trapezoidand rectangular constructions up to 400 meterslong and with stone walls over 10 m high. Fi-nally, the Ushpaqoto sector exhibits sculpturesof modeled human figures. Evidences of work-shops and warehouses have been found here.

The walleed city of Pikillaqta

Pikillaqta or “city of fleas”, thus called be-cause of the numerous four square meterrooms located over a hill dominating thebeautiful Lucre lagoon (3.806 masl), is thelargest pre- Inca city in Cuzco and is entirelyWari.

One of the most representative Wari sites isPikillaqta, this civilization’s most important ad-ministrative center and symbol of the Wari statein the Cuzco region. At the same time, it was aceremonial center and a place of residence foraristocrats, priests and temporary workers. Amodel of urban planing, the walled 50 Ha areawas densely occupied for 150 years from 700 to850 AD. Located 32 km from the city of Cuzco,Pikillaqta is built over large rectangular andsquare fields of restricted access. Streets and cor-ridors connect the various areas separated bywalls over 12 meters high. To the northeast, aremarkable compound comprising more than 500standard- size elements can be entered onlythrough one door. These rooms were used as tem-porary lodgings for visiting workers. Other sec-tors comprise two floor houses with painted andplastered walls.

The Quipus: A paperless bureaucracy

Bureaucracy inevitable makes us think oflarge offices crowded by bored workers whoclassify huge stacks of documents. It is evenhard to imagine a state that will functionwithout some sort of coded information.However, the well-organized Inca state didexactly that by resorting to Quipu memory

techniques based on the used of coloredstrings that were as efficient as they weresophisticated.

And in spite of the demeaning modern connota-tion of the “bureaucrat” term, the first Spanishconquerors who saw the Inca State still at workhad only words of praise for the efficiency of thestate apparatus. How was this possible whenwriting and reading were apparently unknownto the Incas? Thanks to endless Andean creativ-ity in handling information. The well-known Incaroad network, the road inns knows as tambos,the sending of encrypted information with quipuscarried by teams to relay runners called chasquis,and the quipus themselves, together with spe-cialized quipu interpreters known asquipukamayocs were all logistic arrangementswithin a highly sophisticated communicationsystem.

Quipus, which earliest examples date back to theseventh century AD, from Wari origin, were ba-sically numerical records where figures referredto quantities of nonnumber classes recorded inthe quipu. These classes included populationheadcounts, farm output, important dates, capac-ity at state warehouses, quantity and type ofproducts stored, and –of course-military serviceand labor time owed to the state. Handling ofthe data so stored demanded knowledge and useof alla basic arithmetic operations, as well asmore sophisticated mathematical operations in-cluding matrices and hierarchical functions.Quipus permitted to record, and then express, asymbolic numerical order at the very same levelof abstractions as written narration.

The quipu´s mathematical structure seems tohave been powerful enough to allow encoding ofmathematical propositions. In turn, the encryp-tion key for a specific class could also be encodedand decoded by a quipucamayok, or master ofquipus, elsewhere. Evidence suggests a standard-ized encryption process was already underway.If quipus were thus used, at least in some casesby specific users, then they were indeed evolv-ing into a writing system.

Quipus and numbers

Quipus were made with a main cord from whichother secondary strings hang. Hanging cordswere organized in several subclasses separated

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by a gap in the primary cord, and organized bycolor pattern, type of thread and other distinc-tive marks. Non.numerical class markers re-ferred to specific categories. Each set of hangingcords was in turn attached to a higher-level cordrunning in the opposite direction to the hangingcord. This cord gave the set’s total. Additionalsubsidiary cords were tied to the hanging andhigher level cords, and so on.

Number information was represent by the formand spacing of knots in the hanging cords. The

knots required from two to nine turns, each turnstanding for digits from two to nine, while an “8”shaped knot stood for number one. Digits wereknotted at the furthest end of the primary cord.Bundles of simple knots tied together stood forfigures to the power of 10. The higher on thestring, the higher the power. For instance, twoknots together, one level above the primary dig-its meant 600 and so on. Zero was representedby the absence of knots in the corresponding nu-merical position.

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UUsually known for its elegant and sober colonialarchitecture in ashlar stone, and for the incom-parable agricultural terraces in the Colca can-yon, the world’s second deepest, Arequipa hasmore recently caught the world’s attention as itsvolcano- dominated geography has emerged as ascenery for amazing archeological sites. The cityof Arequipa (2.350 masl) can be reached by planefrom Lima (1.021 km away) in 60 minutes, Cuzco(516 km) or Juliaca, in Puno (281 km). Visits toArequipa will be most enjoyable between Apriland October when temperature fluctuates be-tween 8°C and 16°C.

The Lady of Ampato

Named “Juanita”, out of affection, thismummy of an Inca young girl about 14 yearsof age was found in perfect state of conser-vation on the summit of the Ampato moun-tain (6.310 masl). The study of her remainswill provide us a better understanding of thehabits and diet of ancient Inca empire popu-lations.

Juanita lived 500 years ago, when she was sacri-ficed on the Ampato glacier (patron god of theregion), probably to stop the anger of theSabancaya volcano that was erupting at thattime. The sacrifice Qapac Cocha ceremonystarted at huacaypata (Cuzco’s main square) andwas dedicated to a number of sacred mountains,islands and other magic places around theTahuantinsuyo or Inca Empire.

Healthy and beautiful children between 5 and15 years of age chosen from different villages inthe four suyus or regions of the empires weresacrificed as the close to the rite. The victims wereburied together with human figurines, miniatureanimals, pottery and jewelry to ask the huacasfor good health for the Inca and stronger rela-tions between Cuzco and the provinces. Archeo-logical evidence of this ritual has been found innumerous high altitude Inca sanctuaries, someas distant as the Aconcagua glacier in Chile.

AREQUIPAThe geography of high altitude santuaries

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TThe Incas were the most advanced political, eco-nomic and cultural entity in Andean pre-Hispanicevolution. They were also a powerful civilizationthat spread its domains to the kingdom of Quitoand much of Chile and Bolivia. Building onformer complex societies like the Wari civiliza-tion, they founded their capital in Cuzco (1.200km southeast of Lima) and built provincial ad-ministrative centers along more than 4.000 km.They have left evidence of a complex military,theocratic and patriarchal State with great po-litical and religious power. When the Spaniards-and the new epidemics brought by them- reachedCuzco, the empire, already undermined by a frat-ricidal war between Huascar and Atahualpa, col-lapsed. Cuzco (3.400 masl) is located 1.200 kmfrom Lima (a 55-minute flight). The recom-mended visit time is from April to September (dryand sunny weather). However, it must be notedthat temperatures in the region change consid-erably according to altitude and time of the day.

The main square or Huacaypata

According to legend, Cuzco (3.500 masl) wasfounded by the mythical couple of MancoCapac and Mama Ocllo. Large scale remod-eling, around 1438 AD, was the work of thetenth historical Inca Pachacutec, whosename stands for “cataclysm”, “crisis”,“transformation”. Works followed an urbanlayout representing a puma. The animal’swomb was the huacaypata square dividingCuzco in two halves from which four roadsdeparted, thus allegorically separating thearea into four large spaces calledChichcaysuyu, Antisuyu, Collasusyu andContisuyu, the four suyus or major regionsthat made up the Tahuantinsuyu empire.

The monumental sector, located beneathSacasayhuaman, occupied a triangular space,which- imitating the shape of a puma- spreadsbetween two rivers, Tullumayu and Saphi. Thesector include 11 palaces grouped around twocenters, as well as trapezoid square, presentlythe Plaza de Armas, the residence of women(acllahuasi) and the temples of the Thunder(Hatun Cancha) and Viracocha or Marker of theWorld (Quishuar Cancha), destroyed at the be-

ginning of Colonial times and where now standsthe Cuzco Cathedral. In Hurin Cuzco (the lowerquarter) lived the supreme priest. There wereLimacpampa square and the Temple of the Sun(Coricancha). Residents in the upper quarter heldthe social supremacy in the city. Diarchic gov-ernment was reflected by this dual distribution.

How the palaces looked can be gathered from theexisting remains. Each group contained widecourtyards (canchas), rooms surrounded bysmaller rooms, and long roofed buildings remind-ing of a basilica (Kallankas). Except for the SapanInca residence, the palaces were inhabited by themembers of panacas, that is the families of deadIncas.

Other members of the Incas elite and the non-Inca population residing in the capital lived invillage-like settlements, scatters among the ter-races, canals and agricultural fields distributedaround the monument center. A very complexinstitutional system forced all of Cuzco inhabit-ants to maintain 328 sacred spots (huacas) in-cluding rocks, springs, caverns and religious con-structions scattered within and beyond view.

The Coricancha temple

The most important and sumptuous templein the Tahuantinsuyo was the Coricanchaor Temple of the Sun, which occasionallysheltered images of Thunder and Wiracocha,deities brought from different regions, andmummies of Inca kings.

The temple’s inner ritual was restricted to priests,the Inca and the acllas. Its only entrance was onthe north side and it had a central courtyard sur-rounded by buildings made of fine stonework.Curving walls and a series of springs and ter-races can be seen to the southwest. Gold sculp-tures representing at certain festivities. Stonerooms were covered with gold and silver plates.Imaginary lines (ceques) radiated from thistemple, linking the huacas and serving as re-minders of dates and places for the ceremonies.At fixed dates, representatives of non-Inca popu-lations arrived in Cuzco from all over the empireto adore and play tribute to the Tahuantinsuyo

CUSCOThe empire of the incas

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gods.

The Sacasayhuaman fortress

Built over a hill to the west of Cuzco by tensof thousands of workers provided only witha few metal tools, the fortress sheltered atemple to the Sun built in carved stone.

Constructed during the Tupac Inca Yupanqui,Huayna Capac and Huascar reigns, this hugefortress comprises a series of staged platformson the north esplanade that deserves the visi-tors most especial attention. Its cyclopean archi-tecture required using huge and heavy carvedstones that fit each other in almost invisiblejoints. Each of its three platform levels is over200 meters long. At the summit, a series of build-ings and terraces include three circular buildingscomprises three concentric rings of walls. In thissame sector were the Temple of the Sun andwarehouses for weapons, soldiers’ clothes, basemetals, silver, gold, covers and war materials.Other equally complex and interesting sectorscomplete this monumental site. In the sectorknown as “the slide”, carved stones in the shapeof small altars and ramps deserve attention.These are vestiges of an artificial circular pondfor ritual use, as well as several water canals andunderground passages, with niches and smallstairs carved on the walls. A huge carved stonecalled the “tired stone” finishes the list of remark-able sights.

The terraces

Among the greatest achievements of Incaengineering were the agricultural terracesbuilt to feed an estimated population of some10 million inhabitants, basically with pota-toes and corn, two crops that later becamepart of the world’s diet.

Built by cutting the mountain sides in the shapeof stairs, the terraces were separated by pirkasor stones walls, and filled with fertile soil toachieve the optimum use of rain and water.

A blending of resistance and functionality, theterraces helped to prevent landslides caused byrains in deep and narrow Andean valleys wherethe surface area of land that can be irrigated isseverely limited. Besides, during the rainy sea-son, downhill runoff seriously jeopardizes farm-ing fields and valley populations. Pre-HispanicAndean societies solved both problems by build-

ing terraces on both sides the valleys. During theInca period extensive terracing work led toreconfiguring and leveling whole valleys. Ter-raced agriculture meant more dense farming andhigher, less fluctuating yields. By providing moreland suitable for farming, terraces probably ofNew World crops.

Terracing may have started as long ago as 900years BC on the banks of Lake Titicaca. Since300 AC the construction of terraces for agricul-ture spread until it covered a large part of thecentral Andes, and it boomed during the empireas part of a systematic state policy for improvingland and expanding colonies that was in forceuntil just before the European conquest. Spread-ing corn and associated irrigation techniques wasseemingly the reason for building terraces inAndean valleys. Above the upper altitude limitfor growing corn (3.200 to 3.500 masl), rainfedfarmland in the higher valleys and in the highPlateau was devoted to other staples like tubers(potatoes, oca, olluco) and local cereals (quenoa,cañihua). Certain terraces kept as family gardenswere probably reserved to special varieties ofsome food crops, spices and medicinal plants, orto species of ceremonial meaning. On the east-ern slope of the Andes, a special class of terraceswas devoted to growing coca, considered the“mother plant”.

The moray agricultural laboratory

Only 38 km away from Cuzco, almost a halfhour drive, are the mysterious four circularterraces of Moray that resemble gigantic fin-ger prints on a high plateau at 3.500 masl.

As Recent research has shown, the terraces atmoray were used for adapting plants to newweathers and environments, and are additionalproof of the highly sophisticated level of agricul-tural knowledge reached by the Incas. At theexperiment station, the large conic depressions47 to 84 meters deep cut in limestone made itpossible to replicate on each terrace’s depth.

Resembling a sunken amphitheater or an artifi-cial crater, the terraces were built by erectingcontainment walls filled with fertile land andprovided with complex irrigation systems. Tem-perature differences between the top and bottomof these depressions permitted using each ter-race for adapting many different plant varieties(more than 250 plant species). The Incas are re-ported to have organized the agricultural produc-

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tion throughout the Tahuantinsuyo from the ex-perience gained at the moray site.

The aqueducts of Tipon

This beautiful compound of agriculturalterraces, long stairs and stone canals is lo-cated 20 km south of the city of Cuzco.

Apparently, Tipón was part of the royal estatebelonging to Inca Yawar Huaca, and at the sametime, a place devoted to religious adoration andagricultural experiments. The site’s functionaland aesthetic harmony, typical of Quechua ar-chitects, is remarkable. They drove the waterthrough fine stone structures, either in the formof aqueducts- some of them underground –or ca-nals, falls and spillways.

The fortress and town of Ollantaytambo

The fortress of Ollantaytambo (2.846 masl),located at the end of the road Sacred Valleyof the Incas, 61 from Cuzco, was named af-ter the legendary Ollanta, a chieftain fa-mous for his romance with a princess, thedaughter of Pachacutec.

Ollantaytambo is divided in two sectors, accord-ing to the dual Hanan and Hurin scheme, sepa-rated by a rivulet (Patacancha) that flows northto south along an old Inca canal. The upper sec-tor occupies a hill and part of the rivulet’s banks,where there is a large square and a series of adobebrick and stone rooms. A beautiful stone knownas the “Ñusta Bath” can be seen to one side ofthe square. The top of the hill can be reached bystairways built between terraces. At the summit,we find plastered-wall rooms, the Temple of theSun and other fine buildings of cyclopean size.Finally, a half-finished wall of finely polished andcarefully fitted stone blocks featuring high reliefmotifs found between the Kachijata quarry andOllantaytambo reveals that the building processwas suddenly interrupted. The site is completedwith ponds, carved rocks and several hectares ofagricultural terraces with their respective canalsand stairways.Large courts with four rooms and a courtyardseparated by stone streets and squares of orthogo-nal design like a chessboard form the lower sec-tor. The peasants who live there today have notmodified the original quite closely a small urbancenter of Inca times. The best preserved area, tothe point of being a living museum, spans the

four streets parallel to the stream, with their re-spective crossing roads, making up a total of 15blocks of houses built over old carved-stone walls,located north of the main square. Careful atten-tion should be paid not only to the area’s design,but also to the Inca-epoch walls and even the in-terior of houses. After a while, visitors will felltransported in time. Ollantaytambo boasts res-taurants, hotels and horse and mountain bicyclerental services. A dirt road climbs up to theMálaga opening (4.200 masl) and dives into theHigh Amazon forest, crossing villages like pic-turesque Huilloc, the some of renowned wayrurosor porters.

The royal estate of MachuPicchu

Peru is known all over the world for Cuzcoand Cuzco for Machu Picchu. Because of itsincomparable beauty, its harmonious land-scape and the spiritual strength it trans-mits, this Inca citadel has the privilege ofmaking part of that chosen group of worldclass monuments that millions of people inthe five continents dream of visiting.

In July 1911, an American scientific expeditionled by Hiram Bingham arrived at the Urubambariver canyon, a warm and humid region of largevegetation. The majesty of a landscape combin-ing distant glaciers and gigantic ravines thatpoured their waters into the quiet river amazedthe expeditioners. Bingham was obsessed withdiscovering Tampu-Tocco, the mythical city of thefirst Incas reported by some chronicles. On July24, after a difficult ascent to the mountain knownby the place’s inhabitants as Machu Picchu (2.350masl), Bingham discovered among the vegetationan extraordinary compound of ruins. The ex-plorer thought he had found the lost capital ofthe Incas, without imagining that instead of solv-ing a mystery he was unearthing another onethat would last throughout the twentieth cen-tury. If that citadel with buildings as gorgeousas the most beautiful ones in Cuzco was notTampuTocco, what was it, then? Why did thechronicles fail to write about this marvel of Incaarchitecture? The powerlessness of science toanswer these questions made the mystery groweven more and the most imaginative theorieswere proposed.

The territories where Machu Picchu is locatedwere conquered by Inca Pachacutec, the rulerwho had the merit of converting the small Inca

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kingdom, which did not reach much beyondCuzco, into a vast and powerful empire.Pachacutec ordered the construction of MachuPicchu as proof of his military exploits. Moreover,he had done likewise before when, younger, heconquered Pisaq and Ollantaytambo. Subse-quently, remarkable Inca buildings were builtthere.Pachacutec lived in the memory of his people notonly as a wary conqueror, but also as a great con-structor and as the ruler that reformed religionand organized the official ritual to their minut-est details. This argument supports the theorythat Machu Picchu was a place its creator deemedappropriate for the adoration of imperial gods.In fact, beside the finely finished buildings, suit-able for the residence of a ruler, there are manyothers presumably destined to religious func-tions. The place’s topography was characterizedby rocky cone-shaped peaks, caverns, snow-capped mountains. It is located at a tight curveof an impressive canyon combining essential fea-tures for a religion that focuses on the relation-ship between man and nature.

Pachacutec likely visited the citadel of MachuPicchu sporadically. Apparently several familiesof royal lineage lived there, as well as priests andpriestesses that adored the sun, the snowed-capped mountains (apus) and natural phenom-ena. The site’s dwellers did not exceed one or twothousand in number and lived off what was grownin the terraces surrounding the citadel and onthe slopes of neighboring mountains, like WiñayWayna. When the Spanish conquest came about,a sacred place, which could only exist as part of ahighly organized State, lost its reason for being.Not only the victorious gods had changed, butalso the farmers and servants that fed the priests,who came from very far away lands, as it wasusual in the Inca empire, felt the moment hadarrived for them to return to their places of ori-gin. On the other hand, it was natural for con-querors not to value a place like Machu Picchu:the Inca agricultural compounds, a prodigy ofagricultural science and hydraulic engineering,interest them only as they felt safe, or close tolarge tribute-paying populations. Thus, the sanc-tuary was swallowed by plants and oblivionwhich, paradoxically, permitted its conservationto present.

By far, Machu Picchu is the most important tour-ist attraction in Peru. It is located three hoursby train from Cuzco, although it can also be

reached by helicopter (30 minutes) or by foot (4days down the Inca Trail). Considered one of theworld’s most extraordinary landscaping works,Machu Picchu looks down the summit of a moun-tain overlooking the deep Urubamba river can-yon, in the middle of tropical forests. It is com-prised of two large areas: an agricultural one andan urban one. The first is basically formed byfive groups of terraces irrigated with waters de-scending through canals and ponds. It also hasfood warehouses and lodging for the farmers. Thesecond comprises the sacred area, with temples,squares and royal mausoleums carved to exquis-ite perfection, like the Temple of the Three Win-dows, which commerates the mythical origins ofInca founders coming out of the three sacred cav-ern of Paqarictambo. Notable among adorationplaces, are rocky outcrops and carved stones,usually called intiwatanas, which have astro-nomic and religious functions. A sacred stone,characteristic of important Inca centers, sits inthe main square. The set is completed withpriest’s houses, hostels for pilgrims and tombs.The stairways, streets, hallways and carved stonecanals can be seen everywhere in this archeo-logical site right across from the spectacularHuayna Picchu mountain that may be reachedup a steep stone-paved road.

The Qenqo and Tambomachay sanctuaries

Two places surrounding Cuzco that standout for their ritual architecture are the sanc-tuaries of Qenqo and Tambomachay.

Qenqo is a huge rockly mound with carved stairs,holes and gutters, probably made to depositchicha (corn beer) drank during Inca rituals. Thissite is completed by a semicircular courtyarddefined by an isometric wall with several large

Machu Picchu Citadel, CuzcoTerra Incógnita / PromPerú

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niches that surround a thin stone slab or wankaenclosed in a chamber, like an image inside itsown chapel.

Tambomachay is a very remarkable place of re-fined architecture made up of platforms, nichesand ponds still used today. The spillways carrywater from a higher spring. In Inca times, it wasa secret place devoted to the adoration of water,and one of the sanctuaries comprised in theceques system of Cuzco.

The most important huacas in the Cuzco areacan be seen from Tambomachay. One of them isHuanacaure, a sacred mountain that played atranscendental role in the mythical foundationof Cuzco.

The living Inca village of Chinchero

Built at the time of Tupac Inca Yupanqui,Chichero is a compound of squares, ramps,terraces and finely carved stone chambers.The remarkable terrace built with carvedstones bordering one side of the main squarewill not go unheeded.

To have the village built as a place of rest andmerry-making, the Inca donates houses to Cuzcoaristocrats and kept some houses to himself andthe royal family. During Colonial times, thepresent Catholic church was built over what prob-ably was a temple of the Sun. Its altar is coveredwith gold leaf and its walls are decorated withpaintings of the Cuzco school. The site gatherspeople from different places who come every Sun-day to barter subsistence products. Both men andwomen of the numerous communities attendingthe Sunday fair wear colorful and varied clothes.

The religious hub of Pisaq

This Inca site, located at 2.900 masl in themiddle valley of the Vilcanota river or Sa-cred Valley of the Incas, sits on a smallmountain on whose slopes and summit itsoccupants built beautiful buildings and ter-races.

Pisaq is an exquisite example of engineering forland and water management and the transfor-mation of a natural landscape into a cultural one.The Intiwatana and Pisaq sectors ar among themain constructions. The sacred Intiwatana (sun

clock) sector comprises carefully built buildings,terraces and ceremonial ponds. A small semicir-cular chamber stands out in this sector for itselegant wall enclosing a small rock outcrop,carved on its sides and with a bulk in the center,to which tradition ascribes the function of a sun-dial. The Pisaq compound is remarkable for thedisposition, shape and standardized sizes of thebuildings, which are grouped around small court-yards of restricted access through double-thresh-old gates. These buildings form the Acqllawasi,or dwelling of the virgins.

The Raqchi temple

The largest and most beautiful temple builtto commemorate Wiracocha Pchayachachi(maker of the wall) is found along the roadto Sicuani (119 km south of Cuzco) in SanPedro de Cacha (3.485 masl).

Raqchi had a great reputation as and was animportant destination for pilgrims, a fact thatexplains the warehouses and other buildingsaround the temple that served as dwellings forpriests, servants and the populace. Its rectangu-lar layout with four large walls (92 m long by 25m wide) features two entries on the south sideand an altar in the side opposite the doors. In-side the temple, there is a longitudinal divingwall made of delicately carved stone and adobebricks over 12 meters high. The internal struc-ture is completed with 22 cylindrical columnsmade of carved adobes and holding the roof ofthis chamber more than 2.300 square meterslarge. Its walls were plastered and painted red.

The Choquequirao fortress

The Manco Inca dynasty resisted the Span-ish conquerors during 40 years (1536 to 1572)from this fortress in the Vilcabamaba area.The Spanish conquerors were never able toexpel them from it.

The building of Chocquequirao is the work of IncaPachacutec successors Tupac Inca Yupanqui(1471-1493) and Wayna Capac (1493-1527).Household and ceremonial pottery has beenfound here that bears both the classic Cuzco styleand also from other populations who came to livehere to build and permanently populate the area.Most likely, they were experienced farmers whoknew how to build and use farming terraces in

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high Amazon forest areas. Located at 3.050 maslon the border with department of Apurímac, theChoquequirao archeological compound was notbuilt to be a place of easy access. Reaching it de-mands two days of disciplined march, largelycompensated by the beauty of the landscape thatwayfarers cross from the beginning of their ex-pedition.

The road starts at Cachora (2.300 masl), a smalltown in the Apurímac department, after travel-ing four hours on the mostly paved road fromCuzco (145 km paved and 10 km of dirt road).Mule packers can be contacted there who can alsoact as guides. A local family offers accommoda-tion and the only telephone in town. Approxi-mately 40% of the Choquequirao Inca ceremo-nial center has been cleared of vegetation. Theremaining area is formed by a complex terracesystem built on extremely steep slopes. A veryimpressive stairway of 180 terraces has been re-cently spotted. It descends from one of the cer-emonial center flanks and reaches the river opento swimming.

Choquequirao was probably one of the entrancecheck point to the Vilcabamba region, and alsoan administrative hub serving political, social andeconomic functions. Its urban design has followedthe symbolic patterns of the imperial capital, withritual places dedicated to the Sun (Inti) and theancestors, to the earth, water and other divini-ties, with mansions for administrators andhouses for artisans, warehouses, large dormito-ries or kallankas and farming terraces belong-ing to the Inca or the local people. Spreading over700 meters, the ceremonial area drops as muchas 65 meters from the elevated areas to the mainsquare.

The Inca Trail: The Great Link to The Con-tinental Andean Universe

Not only did the Inca roads symbolize thepower of the state around a space articu-lated by 23.000 km of roads, but were alsothe link between the real and the supernatu-ral, between the earth and the goals withina cultural universe spanning from the northof Argentina and Chile to the Venezuelaplains.

At kilometer 88 of the Cuzco- Quillabamba rail-ways is Qorihuayrachina, the starting point of

one of the most famous trekking routes in Peru.During four days of journey, trekkers cross vari-ous altitudes and environmental systems be-tween 2.800 and 4.000 masl, while at the sametime enjoying a spectacular view of the most im-pressive glaciers in the region. Before reachingMachu Picchu, the Inca Trail goes through thebeautiful citadels of Phuyupatamarca and WiñayWayna among other 16 archeological compound.The 40 km route ends at the relaxing hot springsin Aguas Calientes (2 km from the train station).

Two large longitudinal roads make up the Incaroad system. A coastal one, from Chile to Tumbes.The other one, paved with stones, was thekingdom’s backbone linking Cuzco to Quitothrough the Highlands. It was equipped withgutters, bridges, containment and defense walls,elevation ramps and stairs in many stretches.The great road or Capac Ñan was at some places16 meters wide. In other segments the road hadtwo lanes, one paved and wide for the Inca, andthe other, a narrow dirt road for the cargo andhis assistants. In the southern coast, at Quebradade la Waca, we can still see a road across theAndes for transporting fish from the Coast to theimperial capital.

Most important among all roads, however, wasthe so-called Chicnchaysuyu road. Built duringthe reign of Tupac Yupanqui, it was the largeststate undertaking during the imperial phase ofthe Cuzco Quechuas, when the Cañari territoryand the humid northern highlands were annexedto their social organizations which permittedthem to develop an admirable road technologythat took advantage of previous designs and that,ironically, was a precious gift to their conquer-ors.

In its northern portion, the Capac Ñan fromCajamarca to the Ecuadorian province of Loja,the road passed by the Mariviña and bola ware-houses. In Cuenca, a place of admirable roads,the largest warehouses were at Tambo Blanco,Tomebamba itself, Paredones and Ingapirca, inthe area called Hatun Cañar.

The Incas’ arrival at present-day Ecuadorian ter-ritory brought about the transformation of so-cial space. Work was organized following a re-volving system for supplying goods and serviceto all state structures, roads and warehouses. Theroad’s superb characteristics were constantly

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maintained through the system described aboveand rod building during the most recent and high-est stage of Inca expansion.

To the south, the roads were those in thecontisuyu and the Collasusyu that the Incas splitin two, the Umasuyu and the Urcosuyu on theeastern and western borders of Lake Titicaca.Connecting roads linked main ones. Large, cir-cular royal warehouses can be seen along thepresent border between Arequipa, Puno andCuzco (the Contisuyu and the Collasuyu). Achurch built on Inca foundations reveals thewarehouse was still used in Colonial times forwine and people traveling between Arequipa andCuzco.

Historical information is readily available aboutthis road system such as that related to the tech-nology used in the bridges, traffic, orientation andmaintenance system. But there is other less evi-

dent information. Journeys were organized sothat there would be a tambo or travelers’ innapproximately every 30 km. Larger royal innswere almost palaces, with warehouses for foodand supplies called collcas, meeting halls, andaccommodation for permanent service personnel.Chaskiwasis were inns for the foot postmen orchaskis. Other smaller posts were available towayfarers and postmen. The most reliable esti-mations put the total number of road inns atsomewhat over two thousand. Human energy wasadministered by Andean society in harmony andbalance with a harsh environment. It was a wayof measuring and using space that Westernknowledge and technology failed to understandand preserve. Studies on the ancient Andeanpeople’s vision of the world and technology couldmake a valuable contribution to human resourcemanagement and adaptation to the natural en-vironment.

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P

PUNOThe magic of Lake Titicaca

Puno is fundamentally a high plateau (3.500-4.800 masl). Its landscape surprises because ofthe vast Lake Titicaca (8.300 square kilometers),the highest navigable lake in the world (3.812masl), and the snow-capped peaks flanking itseastern side The foundation myths and severallegends mention the lake and its islands as thesacred origin of the Inca forefathers and gods.Tauile, Amantani, Suasi and now home toQuechua and Aymara populations of farmers andweaves.

The Llallahua cochas

Located in the high altitude Highlands orPuna, over 3.850 masl, these cochas (la-goons) are a system still used today by thecurrent indigenous population for raisingtheir cattle and intensive farming.

In the Titicaca high plateau, framing systemsevolve under very adverse weather conditionsthat constantly jeopardize production. There,unstable weather translates into prolongeddraughts, flooding, hail and frost that old popu-lations of the area fought through clever agricul-tural technologies.

The cocha system, for example, is made up ofsmall rainfed artificial lagoons linked by canalsto manage water within and among cochas. Soilprovides natural fertility.Always humid, the ground breeds abundant bio-mass, that the system turns into fine, nutrient-rich soil.

Cochas also contributes to fight frost, one of thegreatest challenges of high-altitude framing.Water mirrors acting as heat pumps, the cochasstore heat during the day and transfer it whenthe sun sets, thus preventing frost. Sloping sideshelp circulate air, specially when a draft risesfrom the water mirror, also contributing to miti-gate frost.

The Titicaa waru-warus

In the lower, lees steep reaches of the HighPlateau, between 3.800 and 3.850 masl, an-

cient populations rose to another challengeposed by Lake Titicaca and its tributaries:floods.

To counteract floods, gigantic furrows- four to 10m wide by 100 m long and one m high- improveddrainage, soil fertility and created water mirrorsto defend plants from hail and frost. Dating backto be found scattered over 142.000 Ha. Recentresearch has shown potato yields 40% higherthere than on mountain slopes or plains.

The Pukara ceremonial center

This 4 square kilometers archeological site,in activity around 150 AD, is located at 3.825masl and 106 km from Puno. It stands outfor its monumental architecture boasting agroup of pyramidal mounds built overecheloned platforms.

The most important among them is Kalasaya,where stucco walls were painted yellow. On theeastern and upper sector of the pyramid, sitswhat is left of a small temple called Red andWhite, of semicircular shape open through astairway to a square, sunken plaza. Human restsand fragments of gold, silver and copper artifactshave been found in the funerary chambers oneach side of the square open to the outsidesthrough double threshold gates. A series of smallchambers of obvious ritual function can be seensurrounding the higher side of the plaza. Thefaces of the platforms were decorated with stonesculptures, presumably those of The Beheader,sculpted, fish images, and a stone-slab decoratedwith representations of lightnings. Excavationshave revealed a group of profusely decorated cer-emonial vases and small stone sculptures placedin niches.

The Sillustani chulpas

Dating back to Inca times, Sillustani is 4km from the Hatunqolla site, capital of theQolla kingdom. It is famous for its chulpas(tombs), built to host the bodies of the Umayopeninsula aristocrats.

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Variously sized, the chulpas can be 12 meters highand either rectangular, square or circular. Manyare built rustically, others are fine Inca stonework,and others still are built in adobe brick.

Superb construction techniques were used intheir internal false vault and lateral rock inter-locking. Outside they are made with polished andcushioned ashlar, showing cornices and reliefanimal decorations.

Typical Inca materials combine with Qolla ele-ments. Some evidence shows that many chulpaswere painted in white. Similar chulpas can befound in places like Viscachani, Paro-Paro andKatati in the same region.

LOCATION AND WEATHER

The Pacific Ocean borders the Peruvian coast,which is located in the central region of SouthAmerica. Peru’s population is 24 million inhabit-ants while its surface area covers 1.285.215square kilometers (comparable to all of Spain,France and Italy combined). Peru ranks as oneof the 20 largest countries on the planet. Owingto its location, its coasts have always been a vitalfor seafaring vessels and for trade in the sub-continental region. Additionally, Peru claims sov-ereignty over 200 nautical miles and has territo-rial rights over 60 million hectares in the Ant-arctic.

Coast

Peru’s extensive and arid desert coast is the re-sult of the cold Humboldt ocean current and thepresence of the Andes to the East. There is al-most never any rainfall in the central and south-ern regions of the Peruvian coast, which has twodistinct seasons: winter between April and Octo-ber and summer between November and March.During the winter a dense layer of cloud coversthe sky and there are frequent light showers anddrizzles. Although it seems much colder becauseof the high humidity, the temperature rarely fallsbelow 12 °C . During the summer on the otherrise to 30°C. The northern region of the coast does

not endure the effect gives almost 300 days of sun-shine and warm temperatures all year (up to 35°Cin the summer).

Rainy season in this region is from November toMarch which are considerably increased due toThe El Niño weather phenomenon.

THE ANDES

The Andes has two very well-defined seasons: thedry season, between April and October, charac-terized by sunny days, very cold nights (oftenfreezing) and the absence of rain (ideal for trav-eling); and the wet season (improperly called“winter”), between November and March whenrainfall is heavy (generally over 1.000 mm). Atypical characteristic of this region is the markedvariation in temperatures range from highs of24°C at mid-day and lows of 3°C at day-break.The climate in the highlands is dry, pleasant andideal for growing a great variety of crops.

Jungle

The Jungle can be divided into the high-jungleor mountain fringe (over 700 masl) and lowerjungle (below 700 masl). The climate in the highjungle is subtropical and mild, with plenty of rain,(around 3.000 mm per year) between April andOctober. Nights are always cool. The lower jungle,on the other hand, has two distinct seasons de-fines in direct relation directly to their distancefrom the Equator. The dry season, between Apriland October (ideal for tourism), features sunnydays and high temperatures, which normally top35°C.

River water levels during these months drop radi-cally and roads are easily traveled. The rainyseason, between November and March is char-acterized by frequent downpours (at least once aday) and by tough road conditions. Humidity inthe jungle is very high throughout the year. Thesouthern region also sees the occurrence of friajesor surazos: cold fronts that arrive from the ex-treme southern tip of the continent from Maythrough August. During these cold snaps, tem-peratures tend to fall to 8-12°C.

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CONTENTScomeltur.com/docs/arqueologia_eng.pdf · CONTENTS A UNIQUE CIVILIZATION ... Temple or huaca de los Reyes Huacas of the Sun and Moon ... Puruchuco ICA Desert cultures