Mawk'allaqta, also Mawk'a Llaqta ( Quechua ''mawk'a'' ancient, ''llaqta'' place (village, town, city, country, nation),Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary): ''mawk'a'', ''thanta'' - ''adj. Usado, -da. Gastado y deslucido por el uso. , , Antiguo, lo que ya pasó de moda. Mawk'a.'' ''llaqta'' - ''s País. Nación, región, provincia o territorio, pueblo pequeño. , , s. Nación. Conjunto de los habitantes de un territorio. , , s. Patria. Lugar, ciudad o país en que se ha nacido. , , s. Pueblo. , , s. Urbe. Ciudad, en especial populosa.'' "ancient place", hispanicized spelling ''Maucallacta''), is an architectural

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 ...

complex above the contemporary mountain village of San Antonio (

Pampacolca District Pampacolca or Pampaqullqa ( Quechua ''pampa'' large plain, ''qullqa'' deposit) is one of fourteen districts of the province Castilla in Peru. Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática. Banco de Información Distrital''. Retrieved April 11, ...

, Castilla Province,

Arequipa Region Arequipa ( ay, Ariqipa; qu, Ariqipa) is a department and region in southwestern Peru. It is the sixth largest department in Peru, after Puno, Cuzco, Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto, its sixth most populous department, and its eleventh least ...

). It is located 3,700 meters above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

, overlooking the neighbouring valley. The nearest bigger town, Pampacolca, is located approximately 170 kilometers (approx. 110 miles) north-west of the city

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...

in the southern highlands of

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 ...

. The archaeological project "Condesuyos" has been carried out since 1996 by the Center for Pre-Columbian Studies (

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

) represented by its Director, Prof. Dr. Mariusz Ziółkowski, and Universidad Católica Santa María (Arequipa, Peru) represented by Dr. Luis Augusto Belan Franco, the Director of the University Archaeological Museum and Dr. Maximo Neira Avendaño – the scientific consultant for the project. The project is being carried out in co-operation with the ''Instituto Nacional de Cultura'' of Peru and covers archaeological investigation in the vicinity of the volcano

Coropuna Coropuna is a dormant compound volcano located in the Andes mountains of southeast-central Peru. The upper reaches of Coropuna consist of several perennially snowbound conical summits, lending it the name Nevado Coropuna in Spanish. The compl ...

which was frequently mentioned by chroniclers of the 16th and 17th centuries as an oracle, worshipped since pre-Inca times. The architectural complex Mawk'allaqta, composed of more than two hundred stone buildings and

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a :wikt:repository, repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be ...

s, an

ushnu An ushnu or usnu is a pyramid-shaped, terraced structure that was used by the Inca to preside at the most important ceremonies of the ''Tawantinsuyu,'' or Inca Empire. Name Little is known of the Quechua root of the term ''ushnu'', but it see ...

and three huge ceremonial platforms, made of stones and earth, may be considered the principal administrative,

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

and religious centre related to the volcano and the most important Inca site discovered in Kuntisuyu, the fourth quarter of the

Inca Empire 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 ...

. Mawk'allaqta is being investigated as part of a sub-project which forms part of the archaeological project "Condesuyos". Mawk'allaqta was inaugurated and opened to visitors on August 29, 2009.

References

External links

Mawk'allaqta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mawkallaqta, Castilla Archaeological sites in Peru Inca Empire Pre-Columbian archaeological sites Archaeological sites in Arequipa Region 1996 archaeological discoveries