First and Last: Stone Quarrying at the Start and End of the Inka Empire

Summary

This is an abstract from the "New Advances in Cusco Archaeology: From the Formative to the Late Horizon" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Qeuña Sondor andesite outcrop is 16 km to the north of Cusco at 4300 m. Stone from here was first used to construct the Inka royal estate of Caquia Xaquixahuana (JuchuyQosqo), associated with Viracocha Inka. Small blocks from here were also used in some of the earliest Inka andesite constructions in Cuzco (Cusicancancha and Coricancha). At the quarry there is abundant evidence of stone working stretching over a 1km ridge. The numerous cooling joints have resulted in large lumps of rock which the stoneworkers shaped without needing to excavate material from the bedrock. In one area there is a 30 m wide depression containing a spread of stone working debris with some quartzite hammerstones. Notably, there are over 100 finely worked large square and rectangular blocks, as well as some unusual shapes, these are evidence of a much later form of Inka stoneworking. As we have not found blocks of this size and shape from this quarry in any surviving Inka structures, we assume these were being prepared late in the Inka Empire for a building that was never constructed. This quarry provides unique opportunities to understand changes in the management of Inka stoneworking.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• New Advances in Cusco Archaeology: From the Formative to the Late Horizon

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 53664