Sillustani is a pre-

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 ...

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

on the shores of Lake Umayo near

Puno Puno (Aymara and qu, Punu) is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 140,839 (2015 estimate). The city was establish ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. The tombs, which are built above ground in tower-like structures called

chullpa A ''chullpa'' is an ancient Aymara funerary tower originally constructed for a noble person or noble family. ''Chullpas'' are found across the Altiplano in Peru and Bolivia. The tallest are about high. The tombs at Sillustani are most famou ...

s, are the vestiges of the

Qulla people The Qulla (Quechuan for ''south'', Hispanicized and mixed spellings: ''Colla, Kolla'') are an indigenous people of western Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina living in west of Jujuy and west of Salta Province. The 2004 Complementary Indigenous Survey r ...

, who are

Aymara Aymara may refer to: Languages and people * Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language ** Aymara language, the main language within that family ** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...

conquered by the Inca Empire in the

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian dates from 1 January 1401 ( MCDI) to 31 December 1500 ( MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period. ...

. The structures housed the remains of complete family groups, although they were probably limited to nobility. Many of the tombs have been dynamited by grave robbers, while others were left unfinished.

Chullpa

Veneration of the dead The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

and kinship were integral parts of Aymara culture, and the huge chullpas or "chupa" at Sillustani were built to house the Aymara elite of the immediate pre-Inca and Inca period. The word was used in the 19th century and comes from the ''Dictionary of Ludovico Bertonio'' (1612). Bertonio referred to the basket burials of the semi-nomadic pastoralists as "chulpas" and actually referred to stone towers as ''uta amaya'' "houses of the soul". However, the term "chullpa" remains used today for the towers. Many of the chullpas at Sillustani show pre-Inca characteristics that were later redressed with Inca stone blocks. Similar chullpas are found throughout the entire south Central Andes with the above ground burial styles going back at least to the mature Tiwanaku period (ca 500–950). The insides of the tombs were built to hold entire groups of people, most likely extended families of the Aymara elite. Corpses were not intentionally mummified, but in the dry environment created by the closed tomb, they survived for centuries. Most mummy bundles indicate burial in a fetal position. Some of the tombs also have various animal shapes carved into the stone. The only openings to the buildings face east, where it was believed the

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was reborn by Mother Earth each day. File:Urna funeraria, Sillustani, Perú, 2015-08-01, DD 99.JPG, Chullpa from Inca epoch File:Urnas funerarias, Sillustani, Perú, 2015-08-01, DD 113.JPG, Chullpas from the Tiwanaku epoch File:Urna funeraria, Sillustani, Perú, 2015-08-01, DD 94.JPG, Inside of a chullpa File:Petroglifo, Sillustani, Perú, 2015-08-01, DD 114.JPG, Stone with carvings at the entrance

Architecture

The architecture of the site is often considered more complex than typical Incan architecture. In contrast with the Inca, who used stones of varying shapes, the Colla used even rectangular edges. While ''chullpas'' are not unique to Sillustani and are found across the

Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechua and Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extensive high plateau on Earth outside Tibet. The plateau is located at the ...

, this site is considered the best and most preserved example of them. A large ramp on one of the chullpas demonstrates how stones would have been stacked upon the walls during construction. Father Cobo saw Inca builders using a similar ramp in the construction of the Cusco Cathedral. Sillustani Overview

References

External links

Tripideas.org: Ancient Sillustani and environs, in Peru
— ''images of landscapes and Lake Umayo, stone burial tombs and setting, and current indigenous peoples.'' {{Authority control Cemeteries in Peru Tombs in Peru Monuments and memorials in Peru Aymara people Archaeological sites in Peru Ruins in Peru Archaeological sites in Puno Region