Perspectivas sobre las sociedades estatales antiguas. Orígenes y dinámicas sociales, 2023
The Inka Empire, or Tawantinsuyu, was the largest ancient empire in the Americas. During the
fift... more The Inka Empire, or Tawantinsuyu, was the largest ancient empire in the Americas. During the fifteenth century and the first decades of the sixteenth century, the Inkas managed to conquer vast regions of the South American Andes, subduing a variety of groups and polities. But the Inkas did not expand their realm for the sole purpose of extracting resources and accumulating wealth. To various degrees, they developed a colonial project that aimed at reshaping the political, economic, cultural and religious institutions and practices of the colonized. There is no doubt that Inka colonialism involved, among other things, corvée labour, the strategic relocation of people(s) and the exploitation and production of staple crops and luxury goods. Nevertheless, we argue in this paper that, above all, the Inkas expanded into the Andean region to meet and relate to the Sacred. Inka expansionism was a sort of religious quest through which the Inkas built up their authority and legitimized their rule.
La vida bajo el cielo estrellado: la arqueoastronomía y etnoastronomía en Latinoamérica, 2022
This paper describes an astronomical and landscape analysis at four Inca sites located in the Nev... more This paper describes an astronomical and landscape analysis at four Inca sites located in the Nevados de Cachi, North Calchaquí Valley, in the Province of Salta, Argentina. In particular, we considered existing ushnu platforms and their associated architectural elements, such as gnomons, and a petroglyph in Guitian, Cortaderas, El Apunao, and Uña Tambo. These results show the location, spatial layout, and arrangement of particular structures within Inca settlements based on astronomical orientations involving solstices, equinoxes, and lunar standstills.
Boletín del Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, 2021
Numerosos trabajos refieren sitios inkas en cumbres, precumbres
y laderas de altura, pero hay poc... more Numerosos trabajos refieren sitios inkas en cumbres, precumbres y laderas de altura, pero hay poca evidencia de copresencia de representantes imperiales y locales allí, y menos de la existencia de sitios preinkaicos. Se discuten aquí los resultados de investigaciones en el sitio de Uña Tambo (X = 4707 msnm), incluyendo análisis de la arquitectura, de la cerámica y fechados radiocarbónicos sobre carbones vegetales recuperados en las excavaciones. Argumentamos que Uña Tambo es el resultado de una larga historia iniciada al comienzo del Período Intermedio Tardío y continuada durante la ocupación inka.
Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Études Andines, 2020
The esteem, predilection and veneration of the Inkas towards the color red is a subject that has ... more The esteem, predilection and veneration of the Inkas towards the color red is a subject that has been widely treated in archaeology and ethnohistory. For example, the geoforms of this color have been chosen as places of worship or wakas and have influenced when choosing certain spaces to build their settlements. The objective of this work is to provide an explanation for this phenomenon and to unravel what aspects underlie the Inka conceptions of Andean spaces and places. Thus, the idea is not to simply repeat that the Inkas had a particular appreciation for the color red, but that, based on different types of archaeological evidence from different parts of the Tawantinsuyu, the aim is to construct a story that gives some kind of answer plausible to this phenomenon.
Este trabajo aborda el estudio de los paisajes celestes andinos a partir de la arqueoastronomía v... more Este trabajo aborda el estudio de los paisajes celestes andinos a partir de la arqueoastronomía virtual. Específicamente, se centra en uno de los espacios públicos del sitio Las Pailas -SSalCac 18 (1)-. Se considera la existencia de horizontes de observación astronómica y la ocurrencia de ciertos fenómenos lumínicos durante la salida del Sol en fechas específicas a través del uso del programa de seguimiento estelar Stellarium. A lo largo de este artículo se desarrollan los procedimientos y programas empleados para llevar a cabo el estudio. Los análisis realizados permitieron dar cuenta sobre las posibles propiedades astronómicas del espacio público considerado. Se destaca la importancia de un fenómeno lumínico que se produce al amanecer y que involucra a una de las rocas presentes en el espacio público y al cerro Meléndez -cumbre visible más importante del Nevado de Cachi y de gran importancia regional.
This work presents new results of archaeological research carried out in a mountain massif known ... more This work presents new results of archaeological research carried out in a mountain massif known as Nevado de Cachi (Salta, Argentina). We will focus on an Inka ceremonial platform located near the summit of Cerro Meléndez (6020 masl), which is one of its most prominent peaks, and integrate this information with data collected on two archaeological settlements located on its hillsides to the east. We will argue that a complex system of archaeological settlements and sacred places which included local and Inka enclosures, was designed not only for mountain worship but also as the manifestation of the Inka conquest of the North Calchaquí Valley. Thus, the existence of a complex system of settlements and sacred Inka sites in the Nevado de Cachi is highlighted. En este trabajo se presentan nuevas investigaciones arqueológicas realizadas en el Nevado de Cachi, Salta Argentina. Se tratarán fundamentalmente los datos obtenidos en la plataforma ceremonial Inka ubicado en del Cerro Meléndez (6020 msnm). Esta información se integra con la recabada en ese mismo cordón montañoso en los sitios Uña Tambo y El Apunao ubicados en sus faldeos orientales. Así, se destaca la existencia de un complejo sistema de asentamientos y lugares sagrados Inkas en el Nevado de Cachi. Una significativa infraestructura vinculada al culto y al peregrinaje que articuló la conquista del Valle Calchaquí Norte por parte del Tawantinsuyu.
Indigenous peoples of the Andes have shared their territories with a variety of animated and sacr... more Indigenous peoples of the Andes have shared their territories with a variety of animated and sacred non-human entities, with whom they have maintained complex interactions. Because these entities are providers of the vital elements that human communities need to guarantee their survival and reproduction, people must treat them with respect and affection. This entails reattributing with rituals, offerings, and attention, the goods and materials these entities supply them. Denial and neglect make these entities sad and angry, and willing to harm people in different ways. In this paper, we discuss how Diaguita-Kallchakí communities from the North Calchaquí Valley (Argentina) interacted with the sacred high-altitude territory of Nevado de Cachi during pre-Hispanic times, with the wak'as that dwelled in it, and how this interaction was completely transformed once the Inkas conquered and settled in the region around CE 1400/1450. We show that the Inkas not only reorganized pilgrimage and ritual activities in this area, but they also intentionally marked their presence in order to represent themselves as superior entities capable of dealing, without risk, with non-human forces.
This chapter discusses Inca rule over Northern Argentina from a landscape perspective,
analyzing ... more This chapter discusses Inca rule over Northern Argentina from a landscape perspective, analyzing the politics of space of Inca imperialism. For the indigenous peoples of this rather large region of the South Andes, this process of colonial encounter entailed their forced relocation, the imposition of an Inca landscape overlapping the native one, the intrusion and remodeling of some of their towns and villages, and the seizure of their sacred places and shrines. Through this strategic intervention and reshaping of the native landscape, the Incas sought to construct a new socio-spatial order that served them to set the relationships with their subjects, to spread their ideology, and to redefine the interaction with supernatural entities.
In this paper, we present results of astronomical and landscape analysis at four Inca sites locat... more In this paper, we present results of astronomical and landscape analysis at four Inca sites located in the Nevados de Cachi area, North Calchaquí Valley, Salta Province, Argentina. Selection criteria took into consideration the existence of certain traits of paramount importance amongst Inca architecture, such as ushnu platforms, gnomons and a particularly interesting petroglyph located in a high-altitude sanctuary. Results show that the location and spatial layout of certain Inca settlements, as well as certain structures within, were designed and located based on astronomical observation patterns centred on solstices, equinoxes and lunar standstills.
Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Etudes Andines, 2020
En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de los análisis efectuados por medio de SEM-EDAX (Dis... more En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de los análisis efectuados por medio de SEM-EDAX (Dispersión de Energía de Rayos X), con un equipo Jeol JSM - 6460 LV, a dos objetos metálicos, un tumi y una lámina, hallados en contextos inkaicos en el sitio La Huerta, Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, Argentina. Este estudio posibilitó conocer la composición química elemental de los objetos. Por un lado, el tumi fue confeccionado en bronce estannífero, mientras que la lámina fue producto de una aleación de oro y plata. Esta lámina, en la que predomina la presencia de oro, representaría, de acuerdo a los antecedentes regionales, el primer elemento confeccionado en este metal conocido para tiempos inkas en la Quebrada de Humahuaca.
Cuadernos del Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, Series Especiales , 2018
In this paper I intend to discuss how a direct experiential approach, based on a oriented fieldwo... more In this paper I intend to discuss how a direct experiential approach, based on a oriented fieldwork, can become a fundamental tool to approach the archaeological record and obtain data that would usually be left out. Without assuming a unity of human subjectivity, or denying our social constitution and our corporeity as a product of postmodernity, this approach seeks to problematize and highlight the experience, stimulating different ways of seeing and recording both objects and past landscapes and thus broaden our interpretive capacities. In this way, the information collected, combined with other types of evidence, as well as more established and accepted archaeological criteria can help to reach more complete and ingenious understandings of the past. It is proposed to overcome the limits imposed by positivist methods to the archaeological fieldwork and leave behind the neutrality at the moment of recording the material evidence. The mere fact of having more and different lines of evidence about a site and / or region will give more variables, generate more ideas and reach wider interpretations.
The opening and closing of spaces have been extensively documented at an ethnographic level in th... more The opening and closing of spaces have been extensively documented at an ethnographic level in the Andes. In an archaeological context, though I have numerous examples, there are not many examples that testify to the abandonment of a particular enclosure or settlement. However, with research and fieldwork undertaken in Juella, Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy Province, I have made a significant archaeological discovery – that of Enclosure 94 (R94), which includes a door closure, the interment of a foetus in the occupation floor, and the intentional burial of some goods. I consider this activity as part of an occupation that is restricted to the Late Intermediate Period (ad 1250–1450), that the material found and analyzed here is related to ritual and ceremonial activity of the closure and also the symbolic ‘death’ of this space. Based on radiocarbon dates obtained from this particular enclosure and its relationship to the overall site, I believe that this deposition is not only associated with the abandonment of the structure, but it is closely linked to the site at a time of the Inca conquest of the region.
La caracterización dominante de las sociedades del Período de Desarrollos Regionales del Noroeste... more La caracterización dominante de las sociedades del Período de Desarrollos Regionales del Noroeste Argentino ha sido la de entidades fuertemente estratificadas a nivel social, con una producción artesanal especializada al servicio de una elite, la cual controlaba el intercambio de bienes suntuarios, y situaciones de competencia por liderazgos y bienes de subsistencia. En este trabajo se intenta no quedarse solo en una postura negativa, sino analizar este fenómeno desde ciertas materialidades que nos permitan indagar sobre esta situación y generar explicaciones alternativas desde la presencia de cierta evidencia y no solo desde la falta de ella. Así, se propone que dentro de sociedades cuya materialidad es a grandes rasgos homogénea, existen particularidades que puedan estar dando cuenta de la existencia de personajes que debido a su condición o habilidad especial, mas no sea ésta temporal, hayan gozado de alguna clase de prerrogativa.
Consideramos que en el siglo XIII, durante el Período de Desarrollos Regionales, se comenzaron a ... more Consideramos que en el siglo XIII, durante el Período de Desarrollos Regionales, se comenzaron a conformar
nuevas sociedades que surgieron de la agregación en nuevos espacios de comunidades menores que vivían dispersas.
En la Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, Argentina, este proceso de conformación de identidades, involucró
multitud de prácticas sociales que permitieron el desarrollo y la permanencia en el tiempo de estas sociedades.
Creemos entonces que las celebraciones y rituales fueron fundamentales a la hora de estimular y mantener los
vínculos sociales que afirmaban la cohesión de la comunidad. Con estas ideas en mente nos acercaremos a un
excepcional hallazgo realizado en el sitio Juella, donde se encontraron, enterradas en el piso de ocupación, 17
vasijas completas o semicompletas, algunas de las cuales contenían en su interior los restos de escarabajos de
la especie Scotobius sp. Intentando desentrañar las prácticas y relaciones sociales involucradas en este contexto,
proponemos la existencia de un espacio supradoméstico de producción, consumo y almacenaje de chicha.
Un contexto de reunión y celebración donde se llevarían a cabo diversas actividades, propiciando relaciones
de comunalidad, donde las experiencias de la vida se comparten, formando una identidad comunal, antes que
generar o promover diferencias sociales.
This work presents new results of archaeological research carried out in a mountain massif known ... more This work presents new results of archaeological research carried out in a mountain massif known as Nevado de Cachi (Salta, Argentina). We will focus on an Inka ceremonial platform located near the summit of Cerro Meléndez (6020 masl), which is one of its most prominent peaks, and integrate this information with data collected on two archaeological settlements located on its hillsides to the east. We will argue that a complex system of archaeological settlements and sacred places which included local and Inka enclosures, was designed not only for mountain worship but also as the manifestation of the Inka conquest of the North Calchaquí Valley. Thus, the existence of a complex system of settlements and sacred Inka sites in the Nevado de Cachi is highlighted.
En este trabajo se presentan nuevas investigaciones arqueológicas realizadas en el Nevado de Cachi, Salta Argentina. Se tratarán fundamentalmente los datos obtenidos en la plataforma ceremonial Inka ubicada en el Cerro Meléndez (6020 msnm). Esta información se integra con la recabada en ese mismo cordón montañoso en los sitios Uña Tambo y El Apunao ubicados en sus faldeos orientales. Así, se destaca la existencia de un complejo sistema de asentamientos y lugares sagrados Inkas en el Nevado de Cachi. Una significativa infraestructura vinculada al culto y al peregrinaje que articuló la conquista del Valle Calchaquí Norte por parte del Tawantinsuyu.
Este artículo presenta nuevos datos e interpretaciones respecto del modo en que los Inkas utiliza... more Este artículo presenta nuevos datos e interpretaciones respecto del modo en que los Inkas utilizaron la arquitectura para manipular las experiencias somáticas de las comunidades que habitaban el valle Calchaquí Norte (Salta, Argentina) a partir del control de su participación en espacios ritualizados. En esta línea, nos focalizaremos en las experiencias disímiles que estos espacios promovieron, ya sea a partir del estímulo de ciertas modalidades sensoriales sobre otras o mediante la secuenciación e intensidad con las que ellas intervinieron. Recientemente, y en respuesta al ocularcentrismo predominante en esta clase de investigaciones, se ha planteado la necesidad de integrar sentidos adicionales a la vista y avanzar hacia paisajes sonoros. Este trabajo expone la permeabilidad visual y las propiedades acústicas de la plaza de un pequeño asentamiento predominantemente Inka a partir de ensayos experimentales in situ y el modelado tridimensional de la arquitectura y de la dispersión de vectores de sonido. Propondremos que una cuidadosa planificación destinada a espacializar grupos y prácticas no se circunscribió a habilitar e inhibir selectivamente la accesibilidad visual a la plaza, sino que además utilizó la accesibilidad auditiva para crear diferentes experiencias entre sus visitantes. Palabras claves: conquista Inka, espacialidad, arquitectura, paisajes sonoros. This article presents new data and interpretations on how Inka representatives utilized the architecture of ritualized spaces to manipulate local communities' somatic experiences. In an attempt to overcome the prevailing ocularcentrism among this line of inquiry, it has been suggested that additional senses should be considered, and some scholars have begun to advance towards the study of ancient soundscapes. This article will focus on the plaza of an Inka settlement located in the North Calchaquí Valley (Salta, Argentina) paying specific attention to how it privileged certain sensorial modalities and managed their sequential stimulus and intensity. It article presents an analysis that combines on-field visual and acoustical permeability data generation, with three-dimensional models of architecture, terrain, and sound propagation. Results indicate that a careful layout design not only spatialized groups and practices, but also created different experiences by promoting disparate visual and acoustic stimulations upon approaching and entering the plaza.
Throughout history, empires have deployed a vast array of
strategies to promote their worldview a... more Throughout history, empires have deployed a vast array of strategies to promote their worldview and to control the colonized. Amongst non-violent ones, hosting public ceremonies to show off an empire’s capabilities and to enact and reinforce new desired relations and identities, seemed to be especially effective. This article presents new data and interpretations on how the Inkas employed ritual architecture to manipulate the somatic experiences of the colonized. Specifically, we analyze the public space of an Inka settlement located in the North Calchaquí Valley (Argentina) in order to show how the Inkas used architecture and spatial design to impose certain sensorial modalities and to manage their sequential stimulus and intensity. In an attempt to overcome a reigning visual paradigm among this line of inquiry, we present an analysis that combines visual and acoustical data collected on site, with three-dimensional modeling of terrain, architecture, and sound propagation. Results indicate that through a careful layout design that involved the management of visual and acoustic permeability, the Inkas not only organized groups and practices, but also created different experiences for different people.
In this paper, we present results of astronomical and landscape analysis at four Inca sites locat... more In this paper, we present results of astronomical and landscape analysis at four Inca sites located in the Nevados de Cachi area, North Calchaquí Valley, Salta Province, Argentina. Selection criteria took into consideration the existence of certain traits of paramount importance amongst Inca architecture, such as ushnu platforms, gnomons and a particularly interesting petroglyph located in a high-altitude sanctuary. Results show that the location and spatial layout of certain Inca settlements, as well as certain structures within, were designed and located based on astronomical observation patterns centred on solstices, equinoxes and lunar standstills.
Perspectivas sobre las sociedades estatales antiguas. Orígenes y dinámicas sociales, 2023
The Inka Empire, or Tawantinsuyu, was the largest ancient empire in the Americas. During the
fift... more The Inka Empire, or Tawantinsuyu, was the largest ancient empire in the Americas. During the fifteenth century and the first decades of the sixteenth century, the Inkas managed to conquer vast regions of the South American Andes, subduing a variety of groups and polities. But the Inkas did not expand their realm for the sole purpose of extracting resources and accumulating wealth. To various degrees, they developed a colonial project that aimed at reshaping the political, economic, cultural and religious institutions and practices of the colonized. There is no doubt that Inka colonialism involved, among other things, corvée labour, the strategic relocation of people(s) and the exploitation and production of staple crops and luxury goods. Nevertheless, we argue in this paper that, above all, the Inkas expanded into the Andean region to meet and relate to the Sacred. Inka expansionism was a sort of religious quest through which the Inkas built up their authority and legitimized their rule.
La vida bajo el cielo estrellado: la arqueoastronomía y etnoastronomía en Latinoamérica, 2022
This paper describes an astronomical and landscape analysis at four Inca sites located in the Nev... more This paper describes an astronomical and landscape analysis at four Inca sites located in the Nevados de Cachi, North Calchaquí Valley, in the Province of Salta, Argentina. In particular, we considered existing ushnu platforms and their associated architectural elements, such as gnomons, and a petroglyph in Guitian, Cortaderas, El Apunao, and Uña Tambo. These results show the location, spatial layout, and arrangement of particular structures within Inca settlements based on astronomical orientations involving solstices, equinoxes, and lunar standstills.
Boletín del Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, 2021
Numerosos trabajos refieren sitios inkas en cumbres, precumbres
y laderas de altura, pero hay poc... more Numerosos trabajos refieren sitios inkas en cumbres, precumbres y laderas de altura, pero hay poca evidencia de copresencia de representantes imperiales y locales allí, y menos de la existencia de sitios preinkaicos. Se discuten aquí los resultados de investigaciones en el sitio de Uña Tambo (X = 4707 msnm), incluyendo análisis de la arquitectura, de la cerámica y fechados radiocarbónicos sobre carbones vegetales recuperados en las excavaciones. Argumentamos que Uña Tambo es el resultado de una larga historia iniciada al comienzo del Período Intermedio Tardío y continuada durante la ocupación inka.
Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Études Andines, 2020
The esteem, predilection and veneration of the Inkas towards the color red is a subject that has ... more The esteem, predilection and veneration of the Inkas towards the color red is a subject that has been widely treated in archaeology and ethnohistory. For example, the geoforms of this color have been chosen as places of worship or wakas and have influenced when choosing certain spaces to build their settlements. The objective of this work is to provide an explanation for this phenomenon and to unravel what aspects underlie the Inka conceptions of Andean spaces and places. Thus, the idea is not to simply repeat that the Inkas had a particular appreciation for the color red, but that, based on different types of archaeological evidence from different parts of the Tawantinsuyu, the aim is to construct a story that gives some kind of answer plausible to this phenomenon.
Este trabajo aborda el estudio de los paisajes celestes andinos a partir de la arqueoastronomía v... more Este trabajo aborda el estudio de los paisajes celestes andinos a partir de la arqueoastronomía virtual. Específicamente, se centra en uno de los espacios públicos del sitio Las Pailas -SSalCac 18 (1)-. Se considera la existencia de horizontes de observación astronómica y la ocurrencia de ciertos fenómenos lumínicos durante la salida del Sol en fechas específicas a través del uso del programa de seguimiento estelar Stellarium. A lo largo de este artículo se desarrollan los procedimientos y programas empleados para llevar a cabo el estudio. Los análisis realizados permitieron dar cuenta sobre las posibles propiedades astronómicas del espacio público considerado. Se destaca la importancia de un fenómeno lumínico que se produce al amanecer y que involucra a una de las rocas presentes en el espacio público y al cerro Meléndez -cumbre visible más importante del Nevado de Cachi y de gran importancia regional.
This work presents new results of archaeological research carried out in a mountain massif known ... more This work presents new results of archaeological research carried out in a mountain massif known as Nevado de Cachi (Salta, Argentina). We will focus on an Inka ceremonial platform located near the summit of Cerro Meléndez (6020 masl), which is one of its most prominent peaks, and integrate this information with data collected on two archaeological settlements located on its hillsides to the east. We will argue that a complex system of archaeological settlements and sacred places which included local and Inka enclosures, was designed not only for mountain worship but also as the manifestation of the Inka conquest of the North Calchaquí Valley. Thus, the existence of a complex system of settlements and sacred Inka sites in the Nevado de Cachi is highlighted. En este trabajo se presentan nuevas investigaciones arqueológicas realizadas en el Nevado de Cachi, Salta Argentina. Se tratarán fundamentalmente los datos obtenidos en la plataforma ceremonial Inka ubicado en del Cerro Meléndez (6020 msnm). Esta información se integra con la recabada en ese mismo cordón montañoso en los sitios Uña Tambo y El Apunao ubicados en sus faldeos orientales. Así, se destaca la existencia de un complejo sistema de asentamientos y lugares sagrados Inkas en el Nevado de Cachi. Una significativa infraestructura vinculada al culto y al peregrinaje que articuló la conquista del Valle Calchaquí Norte por parte del Tawantinsuyu.
Indigenous peoples of the Andes have shared their territories with a variety of animated and sacr... more Indigenous peoples of the Andes have shared their territories with a variety of animated and sacred non-human entities, with whom they have maintained complex interactions. Because these entities are providers of the vital elements that human communities need to guarantee their survival and reproduction, people must treat them with respect and affection. This entails reattributing with rituals, offerings, and attention, the goods and materials these entities supply them. Denial and neglect make these entities sad and angry, and willing to harm people in different ways. In this paper, we discuss how Diaguita-Kallchakí communities from the North Calchaquí Valley (Argentina) interacted with the sacred high-altitude territory of Nevado de Cachi during pre-Hispanic times, with the wak'as that dwelled in it, and how this interaction was completely transformed once the Inkas conquered and settled in the region around CE 1400/1450. We show that the Inkas not only reorganized pilgrimage and ritual activities in this area, but they also intentionally marked their presence in order to represent themselves as superior entities capable of dealing, without risk, with non-human forces.
This chapter discusses Inca rule over Northern Argentina from a landscape perspective,
analyzing ... more This chapter discusses Inca rule over Northern Argentina from a landscape perspective, analyzing the politics of space of Inca imperialism. For the indigenous peoples of this rather large region of the South Andes, this process of colonial encounter entailed their forced relocation, the imposition of an Inca landscape overlapping the native one, the intrusion and remodeling of some of their towns and villages, and the seizure of their sacred places and shrines. Through this strategic intervention and reshaping of the native landscape, the Incas sought to construct a new socio-spatial order that served them to set the relationships with their subjects, to spread their ideology, and to redefine the interaction with supernatural entities.
In this paper, we present results of astronomical and landscape analysis at four Inca sites locat... more In this paper, we present results of astronomical and landscape analysis at four Inca sites located in the Nevados de Cachi area, North Calchaquí Valley, Salta Province, Argentina. Selection criteria took into consideration the existence of certain traits of paramount importance amongst Inca architecture, such as ushnu platforms, gnomons and a particularly interesting petroglyph located in a high-altitude sanctuary. Results show that the location and spatial layout of certain Inca settlements, as well as certain structures within, were designed and located based on astronomical observation patterns centred on solstices, equinoxes and lunar standstills.
Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Etudes Andines, 2020
En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de los análisis efectuados por medio de SEM-EDAX (Dis... more En este trabajo se presentan los resultados de los análisis efectuados por medio de SEM-EDAX (Dispersión de Energía de Rayos X), con un equipo Jeol JSM - 6460 LV, a dos objetos metálicos, un tumi y una lámina, hallados en contextos inkaicos en el sitio La Huerta, Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, Argentina. Este estudio posibilitó conocer la composición química elemental de los objetos. Por un lado, el tumi fue confeccionado en bronce estannífero, mientras que la lámina fue producto de una aleación de oro y plata. Esta lámina, en la que predomina la presencia de oro, representaría, de acuerdo a los antecedentes regionales, el primer elemento confeccionado en este metal conocido para tiempos inkas en la Quebrada de Humahuaca.
Cuadernos del Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, Series Especiales , 2018
In this paper I intend to discuss how a direct experiential approach, based on a oriented fieldwo... more In this paper I intend to discuss how a direct experiential approach, based on a oriented fieldwork, can become a fundamental tool to approach the archaeological record and obtain data that would usually be left out. Without assuming a unity of human subjectivity, or denying our social constitution and our corporeity as a product of postmodernity, this approach seeks to problematize and highlight the experience, stimulating different ways of seeing and recording both objects and past landscapes and thus broaden our interpretive capacities. In this way, the information collected, combined with other types of evidence, as well as more established and accepted archaeological criteria can help to reach more complete and ingenious understandings of the past. It is proposed to overcome the limits imposed by positivist methods to the archaeological fieldwork and leave behind the neutrality at the moment of recording the material evidence. The mere fact of having more and different lines of evidence about a site and / or region will give more variables, generate more ideas and reach wider interpretations.
The opening and closing of spaces have been extensively documented at an ethnographic level in th... more The opening and closing of spaces have been extensively documented at an ethnographic level in the Andes. In an archaeological context, though I have numerous examples, there are not many examples that testify to the abandonment of a particular enclosure or settlement. However, with research and fieldwork undertaken in Juella, Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy Province, I have made a significant archaeological discovery – that of Enclosure 94 (R94), which includes a door closure, the interment of a foetus in the occupation floor, and the intentional burial of some goods. I consider this activity as part of an occupation that is restricted to the Late Intermediate Period (ad 1250–1450), that the material found and analyzed here is related to ritual and ceremonial activity of the closure and also the symbolic ‘death’ of this space. Based on radiocarbon dates obtained from this particular enclosure and its relationship to the overall site, I believe that this deposition is not only associated with the abandonment of the structure, but it is closely linked to the site at a time of the Inca conquest of the region.
La caracterización dominante de las sociedades del Período de Desarrollos Regionales del Noroeste... more La caracterización dominante de las sociedades del Período de Desarrollos Regionales del Noroeste Argentino ha sido la de entidades fuertemente estratificadas a nivel social, con una producción artesanal especializada al servicio de una elite, la cual controlaba el intercambio de bienes suntuarios, y situaciones de competencia por liderazgos y bienes de subsistencia. En este trabajo se intenta no quedarse solo en una postura negativa, sino analizar este fenómeno desde ciertas materialidades que nos permitan indagar sobre esta situación y generar explicaciones alternativas desde la presencia de cierta evidencia y no solo desde la falta de ella. Así, se propone que dentro de sociedades cuya materialidad es a grandes rasgos homogénea, existen particularidades que puedan estar dando cuenta de la existencia de personajes que debido a su condición o habilidad especial, mas no sea ésta temporal, hayan gozado de alguna clase de prerrogativa.
Consideramos que en el siglo XIII, durante el Período de Desarrollos Regionales, se comenzaron a ... more Consideramos que en el siglo XIII, durante el Período de Desarrollos Regionales, se comenzaron a conformar
nuevas sociedades que surgieron de la agregación en nuevos espacios de comunidades menores que vivían dispersas.
En la Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, Argentina, este proceso de conformación de identidades, involucró
multitud de prácticas sociales que permitieron el desarrollo y la permanencia en el tiempo de estas sociedades.
Creemos entonces que las celebraciones y rituales fueron fundamentales a la hora de estimular y mantener los
vínculos sociales que afirmaban la cohesión de la comunidad. Con estas ideas en mente nos acercaremos a un
excepcional hallazgo realizado en el sitio Juella, donde se encontraron, enterradas en el piso de ocupación, 17
vasijas completas o semicompletas, algunas de las cuales contenían en su interior los restos de escarabajos de
la especie Scotobius sp. Intentando desentrañar las prácticas y relaciones sociales involucradas en este contexto,
proponemos la existencia de un espacio supradoméstico de producción, consumo y almacenaje de chicha.
Un contexto de reunión y celebración donde se llevarían a cabo diversas actividades, propiciando relaciones
de comunalidad, donde las experiencias de la vida se comparten, formando una identidad comunal, antes que
generar o promover diferencias sociales.
This work presents new results of archaeological research carried out in a mountain massif known ... more This work presents new results of archaeological research carried out in a mountain massif known as Nevado de Cachi (Salta, Argentina). We will focus on an Inka ceremonial platform located near the summit of Cerro Meléndez (6020 masl), which is one of its most prominent peaks, and integrate this information with data collected on two archaeological settlements located on its hillsides to the east. We will argue that a complex system of archaeological settlements and sacred places which included local and Inka enclosures, was designed not only for mountain worship but also as the manifestation of the Inka conquest of the North Calchaquí Valley. Thus, the existence of a complex system of settlements and sacred Inka sites in the Nevado de Cachi is highlighted.
En este trabajo se presentan nuevas investigaciones arqueológicas realizadas en el Nevado de Cachi, Salta Argentina. Se tratarán fundamentalmente los datos obtenidos en la plataforma ceremonial Inka ubicada en el Cerro Meléndez (6020 msnm). Esta información se integra con la recabada en ese mismo cordón montañoso en los sitios Uña Tambo y El Apunao ubicados en sus faldeos orientales. Así, se destaca la existencia de un complejo sistema de asentamientos y lugares sagrados Inkas en el Nevado de Cachi. Una significativa infraestructura vinculada al culto y al peregrinaje que articuló la conquista del Valle Calchaquí Norte por parte del Tawantinsuyu.
Este artículo presenta nuevos datos e interpretaciones respecto del modo en que los Inkas utiliza... more Este artículo presenta nuevos datos e interpretaciones respecto del modo en que los Inkas utilizaron la arquitectura para manipular las experiencias somáticas de las comunidades que habitaban el valle Calchaquí Norte (Salta, Argentina) a partir del control de su participación en espacios ritualizados. En esta línea, nos focalizaremos en las experiencias disímiles que estos espacios promovieron, ya sea a partir del estímulo de ciertas modalidades sensoriales sobre otras o mediante la secuenciación e intensidad con las que ellas intervinieron. Recientemente, y en respuesta al ocularcentrismo predominante en esta clase de investigaciones, se ha planteado la necesidad de integrar sentidos adicionales a la vista y avanzar hacia paisajes sonoros. Este trabajo expone la permeabilidad visual y las propiedades acústicas de la plaza de un pequeño asentamiento predominantemente Inka a partir de ensayos experimentales in situ y el modelado tridimensional de la arquitectura y de la dispersión de vectores de sonido. Propondremos que una cuidadosa planificación destinada a espacializar grupos y prácticas no se circunscribió a habilitar e inhibir selectivamente la accesibilidad visual a la plaza, sino que además utilizó la accesibilidad auditiva para crear diferentes experiencias entre sus visitantes. Palabras claves: conquista Inka, espacialidad, arquitectura, paisajes sonoros. This article presents new data and interpretations on how Inka representatives utilized the architecture of ritualized spaces to manipulate local communities' somatic experiences. In an attempt to overcome the prevailing ocularcentrism among this line of inquiry, it has been suggested that additional senses should be considered, and some scholars have begun to advance towards the study of ancient soundscapes. This article will focus on the plaza of an Inka settlement located in the North Calchaquí Valley (Salta, Argentina) paying specific attention to how it privileged certain sensorial modalities and managed their sequential stimulus and intensity. It article presents an analysis that combines on-field visual and acoustical permeability data generation, with three-dimensional models of architecture, terrain, and sound propagation. Results indicate that a careful layout design not only spatialized groups and practices, but also created different experiences by promoting disparate visual and acoustic stimulations upon approaching and entering the plaza.
Throughout history, empires have deployed a vast array of
strategies to promote their worldview a... more Throughout history, empires have deployed a vast array of strategies to promote their worldview and to control the colonized. Amongst non-violent ones, hosting public ceremonies to show off an empire’s capabilities and to enact and reinforce new desired relations and identities, seemed to be especially effective. This article presents new data and interpretations on how the Inkas employed ritual architecture to manipulate the somatic experiences of the colonized. Specifically, we analyze the public space of an Inka settlement located in the North Calchaquí Valley (Argentina) in order to show how the Inkas used architecture and spatial design to impose certain sensorial modalities and to manage their sequential stimulus and intensity. In an attempt to overcome a reigning visual paradigm among this line of inquiry, we present an analysis that combines visual and acoustical data collected on site, with three-dimensional modeling of terrain, architecture, and sound propagation. Results indicate that through a careful layout design that involved the management of visual and acoustic permeability, the Inkas not only organized groups and practices, but also created different experiences for different people.
In this paper, we present results of astronomical and landscape analysis at four Inca sites locat... more In this paper, we present results of astronomical and landscape analysis at four Inca sites located in the Nevados de Cachi area, North Calchaquí Valley, Salta Province, Argentina. Selection criteria took into consideration the existence of certain traits of paramount importance amongst Inca architecture, such as ushnu platforms, gnomons and a particularly interesting petroglyph located in a high-altitude sanctuary. Results show that the location and spatial layout of certain Inca settlements, as well as certain structures within, were designed and located based on astronomical observation patterns centred on solstices, equinoxes and lunar standstills.
En este trabajo me propongo discutir como un abordaje experiencial directo, basado en un trabajo ... more En este trabajo me propongo discutir como un abordaje experiencial directo, basado en un trabajo decampo orientado, puede convertirse en una herramienta fundamental a la hora de acercarse al registroarqueologico y obtener datos que habitualmente serian dejados de lado. Sin asumir una unidad de lasubjetividad humana, ni negar nuestra constitucion social y nuestra corporeidad, como un producto dela posmodernidad, este acercamiento pretende problematizar y poner en relieve a la experiencia, estimulandodiferentes maneras de ver y registrar tanto los objetos como los paisajes preteritos y de este modoampliar nuestras capacidades interpretativas. De esta manera, la informacion recolectada, combinadacon otros tipos de evidencia, asi como con criterios mas establecidos y aceptados dentro de la disciplinaarqueologica, deberia permitirnos alcanzar comprensiones mas acabadas e ingeniosas del pasado. Asi,se propone la superacion de los limites que imponen los metodos positivistas al trabajo de ...
The opening and closing of spaces has been extensively documented at an ethnographic level in the... more The opening and closing of spaces has been extensively documented at an ethnographic level in the Andes. At the archaeological level however, we have numerous examples of the first type and not many testimonies of abandon of a particular enclosure or settlement. In Juella, Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, we have a unique context that includes the closure of a door, a burial of an unborn in the occupation floor, and the intentional burial of some objects. In the context of an occupation restricted to the Regional Developments Period, we consider that the material found and analyzed here is related to rituals and ce-remonies of the closure and symbolic death of this space. From radiocarbon dates obtained from this particular event and its relationship to the overall site context, we believe that this event not only had to do with the abandonment of the structure, but is closely related to the site as a whole, and to the time of the Inca conquest of the region as well.
Das Inka-Reich (Tawantinsuyu) war das groste Reich in den Amerikas vor Ankunft der Europaer. Wahr... more Das Inka-Reich (Tawantinsuyu) war das groste Reich in den Amerikas vor Ankunft der Europaer. Wahrend des 15. und der ersten Jahrzehnte des 16. Jahrhunderts gelang es den Inkas, weite Regionen der sudamerikanischen Anden zu erobern und eine Vielzahl von Gruppen und Gemeinwesen zu unterwerfen. Die Inkas dehnten ihr Reich jedoch nicht aus dem alleinigen Grund aus, Ressourcen abzuschopfen und Reichtum anzuhaufen. Sie entwickelten zudem, wenn auch in unterschiedlichem Mase, ein koloniales Projekt, das darauf abzielte, die politischen, wirtschaftlichen, kulturellen und religiosen Institutionen und Praktiken der Kolonisierten umzugestalten. Ohne Frage war der Inka-Kolonialismus unter anderem gepragt von Zwangsarbeit, der gezielten Umsiedlung von Menschen sowie der Abschopfung und Produktion von Grundnahrungsmitteln und Luxusgutern. Dennoch vertreten wir in diesem Aufsatz die These, dass die Expansion in die Andenregion den Inkas vor allem dazu diente, dem Heiligen zu begegnen und sich mit ...
Abstract Indigenous peoples of the Andes have shared their territories with a variety of animated... more Abstract Indigenous peoples of the Andes have shared their territories with a variety of animated and sacred non-human entities, with whom they have maintained complex interactions. Because these entities are providers of the vital elements that human communities need to guarantee their survival and reproduction, people must treat them with respect and affection. This entails reattributing with rituals, offerings, and attention, the goods and materials these entities supply them. Denial and neglect make these entities sad and angry, and willing to harm people in different ways. In this paper, we discuss how Diaguita-Kallchaki communities from the North Calchaqui Valley (Argentina) interacted with the sacred high-altitude territory of Nevado de Cachi during pre-Hispanic times, with the wak’as that dwelled in it, and how this interaction was completely transformed once the Inkas conquered and settled in the region around CE 1400/1450. We show that the Inkas not only reorganized pilgrimage and ritual activities in this area, but they also intentionally marked their presence in order to represent themselves as superior entities capable of dealing, without risk, with non-human forces.
En este trabajo daremos cuenta de las nuevas investigaciones realizadas en los Nevados de Cachi, ... more En este trabajo daremos cuenta de las nuevas investigaciones realizadas en los Nevados de Cachi, Salta, Argentina focalizándonos en el sitio que hemos denominado Uña Tambo, y cuál fue su integración dentro de la red de sitios inkaicos de la región. En esta ocasión haremos hincapié en algunos aspectos arqueoastronómicos del asentamiento, sin dejar de lado la importancia visual y simbólica que tuvo la ubicación de esta clase de sitios así como también la relevancia de los mismos dentro de los rituales inkaicos relacionados con el agua, la agricultura y con el culto a los Apus.
Se analizarán algunas de las relaciones y prácticas sociales que se generaban y promovían al habi... more Se analizarán algunas de las relaciones y prácticas sociales que se generaban y promovían al habitar los grandes poblados conglomerados de la Quebrada de Humahuaca, noroeste de Argentina, durante el Período Intermedio Tardío, PIT, (ca. 1250-1450 dC). Desde los trabajos realizados en el sitio Juella, se observarán características como ubicación, tamaño, visibilidad, accesibilidad y capacidad de grandes recintos o espacios libres de estructuras que pudieran haber funcionado como lugares de reunión o posibles plazas. Esto cobra relevancia a sabiendas de la importancia que tienen las plazas dentro de la concepción espacial andina, como lugares donde se producían y reproducían ideologías, relaciones sociales y de poder. Se discutirán las propiedades de esta diversidad de posibles espacios públicos registrados tanto en Juella como en otros sitios del PIT. Ante este panorama de poblados compuestos por distintos barrios o sectores, los cuales contaban con sus propios espacios abiertos donde...
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Papers by Iván Leibowicz
fifteenth century and the first decades of the sixteenth century, the Inkas managed to conquer
vast regions of the South American Andes, subduing a variety of groups and polities. But the
Inkas did not expand their realm for the sole purpose of extracting resources and accumulating
wealth. To various degrees, they developed a colonial project that aimed at reshaping the
political, economic, cultural and religious institutions and practices of the colonized. There is no
doubt that Inka colonialism involved, among other things, corvée labour, the strategic relocation
of people(s) and the exploitation and production of staple crops and luxury goods. Nevertheless,
we argue in this paper that, above all, the Inkas expanded into the Andean region to
meet and relate to the Sacred. Inka expansionism was a sort of religious quest through which
the Inkas built up their authority and legitimized their rule.
y laderas de altura, pero hay poca evidencia de copresencia
de representantes imperiales y locales allí, y menos de la
existencia de sitios preinkaicos. Se discuten aquí los resultados
de investigaciones en el sitio de Uña Tambo (X = 4707 msnm),
incluyendo análisis de la arquitectura, de la cerámica y fechados
radiocarbónicos sobre carbones vegetales recuperados en las
excavaciones. Argumentamos que Uña Tambo es el resultado de
una larga historia iniciada al comienzo del Período Intermedio
Tardío y continuada durante la ocupación inka.
(Salta, Argentina). We will focus on an Inka ceremonial platform located near the summit of Cerro Meléndez (6020
masl), which is one of its most prominent peaks, and integrate this information with data collected on two archaeological
settlements located on its hillsides to the east. We will argue that a complex system of archaeological settlements
and sacred places which included local and Inka enclosures, was designed not only for mountain worship but also as the
manifestation of the Inka conquest of the North Calchaquí Valley. Thus, the existence of a complex system of settlements
and sacred Inka sites in the Nevado de Cachi is highlighted.
En este trabajo se presentan nuevas investigaciones arqueológicas realizadas en el Nevado de Cachi, Salta Argentina. Se
tratarán fundamentalmente los datos obtenidos en la plataforma ceremonial Inka ubicado en del Cerro Meléndez
(6020 msnm). Esta información se integra con la recabada en ese mismo cordón montañoso en los sitios Uña
Tambo y El Apunao ubicados en sus faldeos orientales. Así, se destaca la existencia de un complejo sistema de asentamientos
y lugares sagrados Inkas en el Nevado de Cachi. Una significativa infraestructura vinculada al culto y al peregrinaje
que articuló la conquista del Valle Calchaquí Norte por parte del Tawantinsuyu.
analyzing the politics of space of Inca imperialism. For the indigenous peoples of this
rather large region of the South Andes, this process of colonial encounter entailed their
forced relocation, the imposition of an Inca landscape overlapping the native one, the
intrusion and remodeling of some of their towns and villages, and the seizure of their
sacred places and shrines. Through this strategic intervention and reshaping of the native
landscape, the Incas sought to construct a new socio-spatial order that served them to set
the relationships with their subjects, to spread their ideology, and to redefine the
interaction with supernatural entities.
nuevas sociedades que surgieron de la agregación en nuevos espacios de comunidades menores que vivían dispersas.
En la Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, Argentina, este proceso de conformación de identidades, involucró
multitud de prácticas sociales que permitieron el desarrollo y la permanencia en el tiempo de estas sociedades.
Creemos entonces que las celebraciones y rituales fueron fundamentales a la hora de estimular y mantener los
vínculos sociales que afirmaban la cohesión de la comunidad. Con estas ideas en mente nos acercaremos a un
excepcional hallazgo realizado en el sitio Juella, donde se encontraron, enterradas en el piso de ocupación, 17
vasijas completas o semicompletas, algunas de las cuales contenían en su interior los restos de escarabajos de
la especie Scotobius sp. Intentando desentrañar las prácticas y relaciones sociales involucradas en este contexto,
proponemos la existencia de un espacio supradoméstico de producción, consumo y almacenaje de chicha.
Un contexto de reunión y celebración donde se llevarían a cabo diversas actividades, propiciando relaciones
de comunalidad, donde las experiencias de la vida se comparten, formando una identidad comunal, antes que
generar o promover diferencias sociales.
(Salta, Argentina). We will focus on an Inka ceremonial platform located near the summit of Cerro Meléndez (6020
masl), which is one of its most prominent peaks, and integrate this information with data collected on two archaeological
settlements located on its hillsides to the east. We will argue that a complex system of archaeological settlements
and sacred places which included local and Inka enclosures, was designed not only for mountain worship but also as the
manifestation of the Inka conquest of the North Calchaquí Valley. Thus, the existence of a complex system of settlements
and sacred Inka sites in the Nevado de Cachi is highlighted.
En este trabajo se presentan nuevas investigaciones arqueológicas realizadas en el Nevado de Cachi, Salta Argentina. Se
tratarán fundamentalmente los datos obtenidos en la plataforma ceremonial Inka ubicada en el Cerro Meléndez
(6020 msnm). Esta información se integra con la recabada en ese mismo cordón montañoso en los sitios Uña
Tambo y El Apunao ubicados en sus faldeos orientales. Así, se destaca la existencia de un complejo sistema de asentamientos
y lugares sagrados Inkas en el Nevado de Cachi. Una significativa infraestructura vinculada al culto y al peregrinaje
que articuló la conquista del Valle Calchaquí Norte por parte del Tawantinsuyu.
strategies to promote their worldview and to control the
colonized. Amongst non-violent ones, hosting public ceremonies
to show off an empire’s capabilities and to enact
and reinforce new desired relations and identities, seemed
to be especially effective. This article presents new data and
interpretations on how the Inkas employed ritual architecture
to manipulate the somatic experiences of the colonized.
Specifically, we analyze the public space of an Inka
settlement located in the North Calchaquí Valley (Argentina)
in order to show how the Inkas used architecture and spatial
design to impose certain sensorial modalities and to manage
their sequential stimulus and intensity. In an attempt to
overcome a reigning visual paradigm among this line of
inquiry, we present an analysis that combines visual and
acoustical data collected on site, with three-dimensional
modeling of terrain, architecture, and sound propagation.
Results indicate that through a careful layout design that
involved the management of visual and acoustic permeability,
the Inkas not only organized groups and practices, but
also created different experiences for different people.
fifteenth century and the first decades of the sixteenth century, the Inkas managed to conquer
vast regions of the South American Andes, subduing a variety of groups and polities. But the
Inkas did not expand their realm for the sole purpose of extracting resources and accumulating
wealth. To various degrees, they developed a colonial project that aimed at reshaping the
political, economic, cultural and religious institutions and practices of the colonized. There is no
doubt that Inka colonialism involved, among other things, corvée labour, the strategic relocation
of people(s) and the exploitation and production of staple crops and luxury goods. Nevertheless,
we argue in this paper that, above all, the Inkas expanded into the Andean region to
meet and relate to the Sacred. Inka expansionism was a sort of religious quest through which
the Inkas built up their authority and legitimized their rule.
y laderas de altura, pero hay poca evidencia de copresencia
de representantes imperiales y locales allí, y menos de la
existencia de sitios preinkaicos. Se discuten aquí los resultados
de investigaciones en el sitio de Uña Tambo (X = 4707 msnm),
incluyendo análisis de la arquitectura, de la cerámica y fechados
radiocarbónicos sobre carbones vegetales recuperados en las
excavaciones. Argumentamos que Uña Tambo es el resultado de
una larga historia iniciada al comienzo del Período Intermedio
Tardío y continuada durante la ocupación inka.
(Salta, Argentina). We will focus on an Inka ceremonial platform located near the summit of Cerro Meléndez (6020
masl), which is one of its most prominent peaks, and integrate this information with data collected on two archaeological
settlements located on its hillsides to the east. We will argue that a complex system of archaeological settlements
and sacred places which included local and Inka enclosures, was designed not only for mountain worship but also as the
manifestation of the Inka conquest of the North Calchaquí Valley. Thus, the existence of a complex system of settlements
and sacred Inka sites in the Nevado de Cachi is highlighted.
En este trabajo se presentan nuevas investigaciones arqueológicas realizadas en el Nevado de Cachi, Salta Argentina. Se
tratarán fundamentalmente los datos obtenidos en la plataforma ceremonial Inka ubicado en del Cerro Meléndez
(6020 msnm). Esta información se integra con la recabada en ese mismo cordón montañoso en los sitios Uña
Tambo y El Apunao ubicados en sus faldeos orientales. Así, se destaca la existencia de un complejo sistema de asentamientos
y lugares sagrados Inkas en el Nevado de Cachi. Una significativa infraestructura vinculada al culto y al peregrinaje
que articuló la conquista del Valle Calchaquí Norte por parte del Tawantinsuyu.
analyzing the politics of space of Inca imperialism. For the indigenous peoples of this
rather large region of the South Andes, this process of colonial encounter entailed their
forced relocation, the imposition of an Inca landscape overlapping the native one, the
intrusion and remodeling of some of their towns and villages, and the seizure of their
sacred places and shrines. Through this strategic intervention and reshaping of the native
landscape, the Incas sought to construct a new socio-spatial order that served them to set
the relationships with their subjects, to spread their ideology, and to redefine the
interaction with supernatural entities.
nuevas sociedades que surgieron de la agregación en nuevos espacios de comunidades menores que vivían dispersas.
En la Quebrada de Humahuaca, Jujuy, Argentina, este proceso de conformación de identidades, involucró
multitud de prácticas sociales que permitieron el desarrollo y la permanencia en el tiempo de estas sociedades.
Creemos entonces que las celebraciones y rituales fueron fundamentales a la hora de estimular y mantener los
vínculos sociales que afirmaban la cohesión de la comunidad. Con estas ideas en mente nos acercaremos a un
excepcional hallazgo realizado en el sitio Juella, donde se encontraron, enterradas en el piso de ocupación, 17
vasijas completas o semicompletas, algunas de las cuales contenían en su interior los restos de escarabajos de
la especie Scotobius sp. Intentando desentrañar las prácticas y relaciones sociales involucradas en este contexto,
proponemos la existencia de un espacio supradoméstico de producción, consumo y almacenaje de chicha.
Un contexto de reunión y celebración donde se llevarían a cabo diversas actividades, propiciando relaciones
de comunalidad, donde las experiencias de la vida se comparten, formando una identidad comunal, antes que
generar o promover diferencias sociales.
(Salta, Argentina). We will focus on an Inka ceremonial platform located near the summit of Cerro Meléndez (6020
masl), which is one of its most prominent peaks, and integrate this information with data collected on two archaeological
settlements located on its hillsides to the east. We will argue that a complex system of archaeological settlements
and sacred places which included local and Inka enclosures, was designed not only for mountain worship but also as the
manifestation of the Inka conquest of the North Calchaquí Valley. Thus, the existence of a complex system of settlements
and sacred Inka sites in the Nevado de Cachi is highlighted.
En este trabajo se presentan nuevas investigaciones arqueológicas realizadas en el Nevado de Cachi, Salta Argentina. Se
tratarán fundamentalmente los datos obtenidos en la plataforma ceremonial Inka ubicada en el Cerro Meléndez
(6020 msnm). Esta información se integra con la recabada en ese mismo cordón montañoso en los sitios Uña
Tambo y El Apunao ubicados en sus faldeos orientales. Así, se destaca la existencia de un complejo sistema de asentamientos
y lugares sagrados Inkas en el Nevado de Cachi. Una significativa infraestructura vinculada al culto y al peregrinaje
que articuló la conquista del Valle Calchaquí Norte por parte del Tawantinsuyu.
strategies to promote their worldview and to control the
colonized. Amongst non-violent ones, hosting public ceremonies
to show off an empire’s capabilities and to enact
and reinforce new desired relations and identities, seemed
to be especially effective. This article presents new data and
interpretations on how the Inkas employed ritual architecture
to manipulate the somatic experiences of the colonized.
Specifically, we analyze the public space of an Inka
settlement located in the North Calchaquí Valley (Argentina)
in order to show how the Inkas used architecture and spatial
design to impose certain sensorial modalities and to manage
their sequential stimulus and intensity. In an attempt to
overcome a reigning visual paradigm among this line of
inquiry, we present an analysis that combines visual and
acoustical data collected on site, with three-dimensional
modeling of terrain, architecture, and sound propagation.
Results indicate that through a careful layout design that
involved the management of visual and acoustic permeability,
the Inkas not only organized groups and practices, but
also created different experiences for different people.