History of Civil Engineering in Peru

7/17/2019 History of Civil Engineering in Peru

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/history-of-civil-engineering-in-peru 1/13

INTRODUCTION

Civil engineering will probably be one of the oldest branches of engineering.

The placement of stones on a boundary or digging a small irrigation ditch

could be the beginning of the Civil Engineering.

The Agricultural Revolution, when the man gives a shift from a nomadic

existence to another in a more or less fixed place to grow crops and raise

food animals, was a necessary precondition for industrial development.

Since ancient times, the pre!nca and !nca cultures, have had a

technological development in various areas, and civil engineering do not

escape from them.

!n this wor", we will be able to appreciate how different cultures made use

of engineering in the construction of buildings and other facilities needed for

a comfortable and easy life.

HISTORY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING IN PERU

1



1. ORIGIN OF CIVIL ENGINEERING IN PERU:

The first engineers were civil engineers and architects, specialists in

irrigation and military wor"s.

As societies became more complex, housing, transportation and food

supplies problems appear, and with them, roads, construction methods and

irrigation development.

#ne of the first tas"s of the engineers was to build walls to protect cities$

due to the ris" of an enemy attac", the protected feeling is one of the basic

human needs. !t is fair to thin" that the ancient architects precede engineers

in meeting this need. %owever in the design and building of structures for

public use, temples, house, it became necessary to resort to the s"ills of Civil Engineers.

!n those days

the

innovation of inventions was extremely slow at the time, military and

agricultural needs have a higher priority. Also by limitations in the field of

communication, distances between populations were extremely large and itcould say it was really difficult to exchange "nowledge, and many of the

inventions had to reinvent rather than be part of the constant evolutionary

process society of that time.

First signs of construction in Pru:!t is noteworthy to highlight that our ancient constructions in the field of Civil

Engineering was one of the most outstanding in the world.

The first inhabitants of &eru that laid the foundation for the reali'ation of civil

engineering wor"s were(

2



T! "#n of C!i$c# in Pru% &!o &#s t! first 'ui$(r

T! )#n of C#r#$% &!o &#s on of t! first to 'ui$( t)*$s in Pru.

T! )#n of +otos!. t! cross( !#n(s &r foun( in !is t)*$

,. CIVIL INGINEERING IN

PRE-INC ER

,.1 First !ori/on 0!ori/on #r$ir:

Ci2i$ Enginring #t C!#2in cu$tur:

!t was evident from the first millennium )C. At this time we are facinga great Andean civili'ation( *Chavin de %uantar*. This Andean

3



civili'ation was located in the village Chavin de %uantar, in the

Ancash department, + "ilometers north of -ima. Also, this culture

was discovered by ulio C. Tello in /0/0.

Chavin Civil Engineering

manifested through the use of cut and polished stones, for the

construction of temples, castles, ventilation systems and

underground irrigation channels. !t is also composed of several

pyramidal buildings, s1uares, covers, etc. %owever, the most

representative sample of monumental structures was the temple of

Chavin also called *Castillo de Chavin*

The old temple of Chavin was

built between /2 )C This temple is made up of three pyramids

which together form a letter 3. The old temple was built with a mass

consisting of uncut stones and mud. Also, this temple housed inside

a networ" of underground passages that were called *galleries*

which had important roles in ceremonies held in the temple. Among

the most important galleries we have the gallery of sandeel.

The old temple is preceded by a circular sun"en pla'a form. This

s1uare has two steps, which are located on opposite sides. )y which

4



you can access inside. The walls of this circular courtyard were of

finely polished stones forming structures and impressive walls.

The old temple over time have undergone expansions and

renovations, which have given way to the *new temple*. This li"e the

old temple shares the 3shaped temple. The central pyramid is cube

shaped and impress all visitors. That is why, it is given the name of

*castle*. Also in the construction of this pyramid, stones, as whitegranite which they polished and given rectangular shape, were used.

The 1uadrangle pla'a is sun" off the main pyramid. 4our stairways

connect the outside with the inside. These four walls are made of

polished stones. #n one wall is carved the famous 5edusa.

Ci2i$ nginring #t Cu*isni3u Cu$tur:

5



This culture manifested through the buildings of 67ead %orse8

complex, which is composed of seven buildings that exhibit the 3

shaped plants, being the best "nown the building of the 6%uaca de

los Reyes8. This is the most famous sacred pyramid of the 7ead

%orse Ceremonial Center of the Training &eriod. !t is located in the

district of -aredo, near Tru9illo on the north coast of &eru.

*%uaca de los Reyes* is an religious engineering monument. This

building adopts a typical 3shaped configuration. !t Consisted of

overlapping platforms, with a sun"en courtyard and rectangular

rooms with multiple entries. Also, this building was made with semi

manufactured stone and adobe. !t was the wor" of the great

Cupisni1ue civil engineers, who managed to ma"e a ma9estic wor"

that has a harmonious design. The techni1ue of Cupisni1ue

engineers was to ma"e plans for ma"ing their buildings. This was

performed for aesthetic reasons.

Ci2i$ nginring #t Puc#r# Cu$turThis one stands out because its buildings were built with stone,

beating Chavin builders. #ne of the most important structures in the

6



&ucara culture is :alassaya pyramid with + m long, /2 m wide

and + m high.

,., E#r$4 Intr)(i#t

Ci2i$ Enginring #t t! N#/c# cu$tur:

!t was developed in the region of &isco, Chincha, ;a'ca, !ca and

Acari <southern of &eru=. The capital of the culture was Cahuachi.

This culture stood out for their irrigation canals and big urbani'ations.

The civil engineering wor" in ;a'ca culture highlighted because they

had a great sense of urban design. They had his primarily cultural

center Cahuachi, located at the southwest of the present city of

;a'ca, it is a city composed of six complex buildings and walls.

!nside this city they built huge monuments. The building material was

stone and adobe. Also, the city of Cahuachi has been considered the

capital of the ;a'ca culture. As it was his most important

administrative center.

Ci2i$

Enginring #t t! "oc! Cu$tur:

!t corresponds to the intermediate period called early. This culture

developed between centuries + )C and > A7. !ts geographical

location is on the north coast of &eru. This culture includes the

7



current departments of Ancash, -ambaye1ue and -a -ibertad. About

their buildings, 5oche culture had different structures and buildings

as large monuments, temples and platforms.

5oche culture was characteri'ed by using mud and adobe in its

constructions. They stood out greatly in storage and transportation of

water by dams, canals and irrigation systems, sophisticated for its

time, to prevent water loss.

This society built ceremonial urban centers also 5oche built two

important structures that were 6-a %uaca del Sol8 and 6-a %uaca de

la -una8. Sixteen "ilometres at south of the city of Tru9illo, these

being the largest adobe structures in South America. These were

made of mud and adobe and were built on solid terraced platforms

and ramps. 6-a %uaca del Sol8 was an administrative center, with a

measure of ?0+ metres long by /@ metres wide and ?/ metres high.

This 6%uaca8 has overlapping terraces. The construction was made

of adobe. 6-a %uaca de la -una8 <wall decorated with frie'es= has a

lower volume and is at the base of Cerro )lanco. !t was the religious

8



center. !t consists of three pyramids, measuring 0 metres from

north to south and / metres from east to west.

,.5 Scon( !#$f !ori/on

Ci2i$ Enginring #t t! Ti#!u#n#co Cu$tur:

This stood out for their large complex buildings. !t is located

"ilometres from -a"e Titicaca. !t is a center that consists in

administrative and religious buildings. This culture used adobe in

their buildings. That is the reason why Tiahuanaco could not be

maintained due to the low resistance of adobe facing a devastating

climate. At the center of this complex is the building "alasasaya. This

was one of the most important ceremonial buildings of the large setof Tiahuanaco. :alasasaya means *standing stone*. This

construction consists of large elongated stones planted in the ground

li"e sta"es. -arge stones used were approximately 2 metres high and

some bloc"s weighed more than / tons.

Ci2i$ Enginring #t t! Hu#ri Cu$tur:

5a9or buildings of its cities loo"ed li"e the old European cities. %uari

was so wide that archaeologists divided into sectors. Additionally,

%uari were the first to develop the idea of urbanism in the mountains.

!n this culture ma9estic giant complexes were built. Among them are

some buildings in letter *7* form that had a circular contour. They

were centers where ceremonies were held. Bou can also find an

architectural organi'ation *&i"illa1ta*. This is a vast field that has

enormous exterior walls that cross the landscape. !ts plan is almost

9



s1uare and measure /, metres long. These buildings were built

for civil administration and military fittings.%uari culture was characteri'ed from other cultures for the

independence of walled urban centers with good planning and

location <strategic locations=. The walls were made of stones together

with mud$ and the walls reached a height of / metres. A sample of

the buildings is ill"awayin building near %uara' in 6Calle9on de

%uaylas8. This building was part of the town of ill"awain. !t was of a

considerable si'e, and was constructed with carved stones,

measuring /2 metres by metres and has + floors reaching a

height of 0 m with a ventilation system.

5. CIVIL ENGINEERING IN INC ER-arge buildings, temples, castles, forts and !nca irrigation channels were

executed from the fifteenth century to the midsixteenth century. !t is

characteri'ed by simplicity of form, solidity, symmetry and the searching

that its buildings harmoni'e the landscape.

3nli"e the Chimu culture, !ncas used a 1uite sober decoration. The main

material used was stone, in the simplest constructions was placed uncut.

!nca builders developed different techni1ues to raise enormous walls,

true mosaics formed by carved stone bloc"s that fit perfectly, without

among them could pass nor a pin. e "now they were the best stone

carvers.

!n these buildings and constructions, besides functionality, they also

sought and achieved the ideal of beauty and perfection, it can still be

seen in the palaces and temples of Cu'co, Dilcashuamn, %uaytar,%unuco Die9o and Cochabamba <Chachapoyas=.

10



The !nca empire

consisted by a rigid military system in Sacsaihuaman. This consists of

three platforms made with huge retaining walls in 'ig'ag, on which three

towers were located. The walls were made of stone bloc"s with

astonishing dimensions, some measuring up to 0m x 2m x ?m.

#ne of the religious buildings is Dilcashuamn, it was an administrative

and religious center established after the !ncas con1uered the Chancas

and &ocras. !t is located in the province of Dilcahuasmn in the

department of Ayacucho, at +,?0 meters. This was home to ?,

people. The town consisted of a large s1uare in which ceremonies with

sacrifices were reali'ed, around it are the two most important buildings(

6El Templo del Sol y la -una8 and 6El 3shnu8. 3shnu is a terracedtruncated pyramid of four levels at which you enter through a dual 9amb

door, characteristic of the ma9or venues. !n its upper dec" there is a large

uni1uely carved stone "nown as the seat of the !nca and it is said that it

was formerly covered with gold leaf.

!n some of the coves

excavations performed in temples of Fori"ancha and 5achupicchu, tools

to slope, carve and polish roc"s were found, consisting in crowbars,

hammers of high hardness <higher than any roc"= "nown as *hiwaya8

stone, being a heavy oligisto with a compact texture, and with oval and

11



rounded shapes, as well as barriers bron'e tools, chisels and other,

which physically can be seen in the museum of 5achupicchu and the

!n"a and Fori"ancha museums of Cusco . The door of 6Templo del Sol8

and the vain located in the most important venue of Fori"ancha, both are

trape'oidal in shape and have circular holes in their around, that may

have been used to set certain icons.

Also, #llantaytambo is located G "m. at the northeast of the city of

Cusco and ? "m. of 5achu &icchu by rail, in the district of

#llantaytambo, province of 3rubamba, department of Cusco.

According to some historians$ the architectural complex of #llantaytambo

belongs to the !mperial !nca stage, that means, between the !nca

&achacutec and %uayna Capac governments. This stage embrace to

only three generations of !ncan rulers and it preceded the con1uerors for

only /2 to years.

This fortress shows the provident spirit of the !nca that provisioned of

water by underground a1ueducts whose reception places were state

secrets in his time and even today are not discovered. At the top of the

architectural ensemble, there are six gigantic bloc"s that apparentlybelonged to 6Templo del Sol8, neatly wor"ed on the hard red porphyry,

li"e a soft and pliable material. These enormous and perfectly fitted

pieces that resisted the onslaught of grubbers idolatry, form a simply

admirable stony canvas for their strength, volume and mutual

assembling.6I6LIOGRPHY

• Cuadros, Bony. </+=. Historia de la Ingeniería Civil (History of Civil

Engineering). %uara'. &erH.

12



• &eralta, &elayo. </+=. El agua en el Perú: Pasado, Presente y Futuro.

(The ater in Perú: Past, Present and Future).http(IIagroenf.comI/+I/I2Ielaguaenelperupasadopresentey

futuroI

• atanabe. -uis. </002=. Culturas Pre!In"as del Perú. (Pre!in"as Cultures

in Peru). C#4!7E Editorial. &eru

• )usto, osJ. </00?=, Historia #eneral del Perú: $as "ulturas Prein"as

(#eneral History of Perú: Pre!in"as Cultures). )rasa Editorial. &eru

13

http://agroenf.com/2013/12/05/el-agua-en-el-peru-pasado-presente-y-futuro/




Documents

History of Civil Engineering in Peru