Vilcashuamán or Vilcasguaman (from

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...

Willka Waman, "sacred hawk") is the capital of Vilcas Huamán Province,

Ayacucho region Ayacucho (), known as Huamanga from its creation in 1822 until 1825, is a department and region of Peru, located in the south-central Andes of the country. Its capital is the city of Ayacucho. The region was one of the hardest hit in the 1980 ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. It is located at an altitude of 3,490 m on the eastern slopes of the Andes. It is located on an ancient archaeological site. Vilcashuamán was an Inca administrative center, established after the Incas conquered the

Chancas The Chanka (or Chanca) were an ethnic group living in Pre-Columbian South America, whose chiefdom was part of the Chanka "confederation": a loose defensive alliance of various chiefdoms, such as the Vilcas, the Huancas, the Chancas, and the ...

and the

Pocras Pocras (called ''Pacora'' and ''Pocora'' in colonial documentation) were the ancient Wari culture () inhabitants of the modern-day city of Huamanga, Peru before the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, bounded on the northwest by the Warivilcas, an ...

. According to the Chronicler

Pedro Cieza de León Pedro Cieza de León ( Llerena, Spain c. 1518 or 1520 – Seville, Spain July 2, 1554) was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler of Peru and Popayán. He is known primarily for his extensive work, ''Crónicas del Perú'' (The Chronicle of Peru), ...

, Vilcashuamán was home to 40,000 people.Cieza de León, Pedro (2005

553 __NOTOC__ Year 553 ( DLIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 553 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europ ...

. Crónica del Perú - El señorío de los Incas - edited by Franklin Pease G.Y. - Fundación Biblioteca Ayacucho - Caracas - Venezuela The city was located around a large plaza where ceremonies involving sacrifices were performed, usually camelids or

libation A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an Sacrifice, offering to a deity or spirit, or in Veneration of the dead, memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of Ancient history, antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures t ...

of corn wine. Around this plaza were the city's two most important buildings: the Sun Temple (Templo del Sol) and the

Ushnu In the Inca Empire the ushnu (other spelling ''usnu'', sometimes ''usñu'') was an altar for cults to the deities, a throne for the Sapa Inca (emperor), an elevated place for judgment and a reviewing stand of military command.Hyslop, John (1990) ...

which remain to this day. It is believed that the city had the shape of a falcon, in which the Ushnu was located in the head. The Ushnu is a truncated pyramid which is accessed through a double doorjamb, characteristic of the most important compounds. In its upper platform is a large stone with unique carvings that is known as the Seat of the Inca (Asiento del Inca); this seat, according to Cieza de León, was once covered with gold leaf.

Climate

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vilcashuaman Populated places in the Department of Ayacucho Temples of Inti Archaeological sites in Peru Inca Empire Archaeological sites in the Department of Ayacucho