Inca Presence at Las Huacas, Chincha Valley

Summary

When the Spanish arrived to the coast of Peru they heard stories of the wealthy Chincha Kingdom and the privileged position that they enjoyed within the Inca Empire. Previous archaeological and ethnohistorical research has concluded that at the Chincha Kingdom’s capital of La Centinela, the Inca rulers set up their authority alongside the local lord, and that they left him in charge of ruling the rest of the valley. This poster will present recent research conducted at the site of Las Huacas, a 60-hectare site located 10km away from La Centinela in the prime agricultural fields of the valley. Based on architectural features and preliminary ceramic analysis this poster will argue that the Inca intervened in activities at Las Huacas. It will then explore what this new evidence on the Chincha case adds to understanding the specific type of indirect rule that the Inca set-up in the Chincha Valley. Furthermore, it will interpret the function of Las Huacas within the Chincha Valley and the Inca Empire as a whole. Excavations this past summer encountered large quantities of botanics and artifacts from diverse types of craft production, leading to the interpretation that structure N1 at Las Huacas was a multi-functional structure.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15859