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Huchuy Qosqo, (also spelled Yuchuy Cuzco), is an Incan
archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
north of
Cuzco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...
,
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
. Its name is
Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...
for "Little Cuzco." It lies at an elevation of , overlooking the
Sacred Valley The Sacred Valley of the Incas ( es, Valle Sagrado de los Incas; qu, Willka Qhichwa), or the Urubamba Valley, is a valley in the Andes of Peru, north of the Inca capital of Cusco. It is located in the present-day Peruvian region of Cusco. In ...
and west and above the town of
Lamay Lamay District is one of eight districts of the province Calca in Peru. Geography Some of the highest mountains of the district are listed below: escale.minedu.gob.pe - UGEL map of the Calca Province (Cusco Region) Ethnic groups The peo ...
at an elevation of . The site received its name in the 20th century; previously it had been known as Caquia Xaquixaguana (alternative spelling Kakya Shakishawana), or Kakya Qawani. Huchuy Qosqo or Kakya Qawani, as it was known by the Incas, was probably established as a royal estate by the Inca Emperor
Viracocha Viracocha is the great creator deity in the pre-Inca and Inca mythology in the Andes region of South America. Full name and some spelling alternatives are Wiracocha, Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra, and Con-Tici (also spelled Kon-Tiki, the source of t ...
about 1420 CE.


Royal estate

The settlement at the archaeological ruin at Huchuy Qusqo dates back to between 1000 and 1400 CE. In the early 1400s, according to the Spanish chronicler Pedro de Cieza de León, it became a royal estate of the semi-mythical Viracocha, (c. 1410-1438), the eighth
Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts",  "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
ruler. The Inca Empire did not as a common practice tax the income or production of its citizens, but rather controlled land and labor. Thus, Inca leaders acquired large royal estates to increase their power and wealth and that of their descendants who inherited the estates. Royal estates served also as elegant country palaces and, at times, fortresses to fend off rivals for power. Thus, the name Huchuy Qosqo, "Little Cusco", for a royal estate or government center modeled on the Inca capital. To build, operate, and maintain his estate, Viracocha and his descendants required large numbers of workers. Citizens of the Inca empire were obligated, under the
mit'a Mit'a () was mandatory service in the society of the Inca Empire. Its close relative, the regionally mandatory Minka is still in use in Quechua communities today and known as ''faena'' in Spanish. Historians use the Hispanicized term ''mita'' to ...
system, to contribute labor to the Empire, rather than being taxed on their wealth or production. The impressed mit'a labor was most probably found among nearby ethnic groups, although specialists and craftsmen might be imported. Another Inca policy, that of
mitma Mitma was a policy of forced resettlement employed by the Incas. It involved the forceful migration of groups of extended families or ethnic groups from their home territory to lands recently conquered by the Incas. The objective was to transfer bo ...
, was probably used to collect labor for the royal estate. Mitmaqkuna were families or whole ethnic groups who were relocated to new lands in the empire or settled in enclaves among the earlier inhabitants of an area. The purpose was to distribute different ethnic groups widely, thus separating potential troublemakers and reducing the possibility of organized resistance to the Incas. The mitmaqkuna were discouraged from mixing with local ethnic groups. A third source of labor for the estate was the
yanakuna Yanakuna were originally individuals in the Inca Empire who left the ayllu system and worked full-time at a variety of tasks for the Inca, the ''quya'' (Inca queen), or the religious establishment. A few members of this serving class enjoyed high s ...
s, the permanent servants of the Incas. The Yanakuna's often rose to high positions in the Empire, and like the mitma were governed directly by the Incas. Still a fourth source of labor for the royal estates was the aqllakuna, sequestered women who lived together and produced textiles, a major source of Inca wealth, and
chicha ''Chicha'' is a fermented (alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post-Spanish conquest periods, corn beer (''chicha de jora'') made from a variety of maize land ...
, the
fermented drink This is a list of fermented foods, which are foods produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms. In this context, Fermentation in food processing, fermentation typically refers to the fermentation of sugar to ethanol, alcohol using yeas ...
consumed at feasts. The allakuna were often married to men honored for their service to the Empire. These four sources provided the labor and expertise for the management of a royal estate which might control thousands of acres of agricultural and grazing land, mines, textile factories, and other resources and employ thousands of people. Sixteenth century Spanish sources identify more than 40 ethnic groups found in one area of the Sacred Valley, an indication of the degree of resettlement and population disruption undertaken by the Incas during their reign. The Emperor Viracocha faced a revolt late in his reign by the Chancha people. Viracocha took refuge in Huchuy Qosqo, leaving the defense of Cuzco to his son
Pachacuti Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui ( qu, Pachakutiq Inka Yupanki) was the ninth Sapa Inca (1418–1471/1472) of the Kingdom of Cusco which he transformed into the Inca Empire ( qu, Tawantinsuyu). Most archaeologists now believe that the famous Inca si ...
. who put down the revolt, deposed his father, and became the Emperor, or Sapa Inca (1438-1471). Huchuy Qosqo was expanded after Viracocha was deposed. Radiocarbon dating indicates construction on the site took place between 1420 CE and 1530 CE. The Spanish conquistador
Gonzalo Pizarro Gonzalo Pizarro y Alonso (; 1510 – April 10, 1548) was a Spanish conquistador and younger paternal half-brother of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca Empire. Bastard son of Captain Gonzalo Pizarro y Rodríguez de Aguilar (senior) (14 ...
looted Huchuy Qosqo and burned the mummy of Viracocha about 1534.Renfrew, Colin, Boyd, Michael J. and Morley, Ian N., eds. (2016), ''Death Rituals, Social Order and the Archaeology of Immortality in the Ancient World'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 404


The archaeological site

Amongst a large number of buildings, some stone, some adobe, is a ''kallanka'' (great hall), long. Providing water to the site is an Inca built irrigation channel, lined with stones for about .The Spanish took control of Huchuy Qosqo in the 1500s, after the Manco Inca Revolution (approx. 1540) and used the site as a farm. The Incas had constructed several small reservoirs for irrigation. During their time at Huchuy Qosqo the Spanish demolished some other Inca structures to build the larger reservoir you see today. Below the main Huchuy Qosqo site is the recently restored store houses
qolqa A qullqa ( "deposit, storehouse"; (spelling variants: ''colca, collca, qolca, qollca'') was a storage building found along roads and near the cities and political centers of the Inca Empire. To a "prodigious xtentunprecedented in the annals of ...
s for dried meat and crops such as corn, potatoes, quinoa, and beans. In this two story structure, you can see the historic cooling storage system known as ´conjeras.´ This site is inaccessible by public road and only reached by a physically strenuous hike or on horseback. The two main access points by foot are from
Lamay Lamay District is one of eight districts of the province Calca in Peru. Geography Some of the highest mountains of the district are listed below: escale.minedu.gob.pe - UGEL map of the Calca Province (Cusco Region) Ethnic groups The peo ...
— 3 hours up a steep set of switchbacks — or from Tauca, Peru — about 4 – 6 hours on foot, the first third of the hike steadily increasing to a pass at , then mostly downhill, and visiting some other ruins. The 2 day route from Tauca to Lamay is described in Peter Frost's "Exploring Cusco". A number of tour groups also lead two-day hikes or horseback trips to Huchuy Qosqo.


See also

*
List of archaeological sites in Peru Archaeological sites in Peru are numerous and diverse, representing different aspects including temples and fortresses of the various cultures of ancient Peru, such as the Moche and Nazca. The sites vary in importance from small local sites to UNE ...


Sources

*''Exploring Cusco'', Peter Frost, 5th Edition (1999), Nuevas Imágenes. Although not directly accessible by road, a dirt road leaving Lamay runs a long set of switch backs and arrives at a viewpoint of the ruins. The walk from this viewpoint to the north entrance of the ruins is about , and runs past a few houses inhabited by local farmers. The entrance fee for this national park is 22 Peruvian soles for adults, 10 for students, and free for Peruvian citizens with official vertification(DNI), which will be collected by the two groundskeepers who permanently reside near the ruin entrance.


References


External links


Huchuy Qosqo


{{Archaeological sites in Peru Archaeological sites in Peru Ruins in Peru Former populated places in Peru Archaeological sites in Cusco Region Tourist attractions in Cusco Region Inca