Inca Art & Architecture Midterm

Coricancha (Qorikancha)

"Gold compound" Most important space in Cuzco

punona uasi

"house of the bed" (for sleeping and sex) - for entire family in poorer families; elite husband & wife had own room - coya (queen) may have her own since marriages were often political, and Inca ruler had multiple wives - in the royal estate, would exist in the private quarters - accessible to sapa inca, the royal family, and servants when permitted

camachicona uasi

"house of those who govern or counsel" - long building of polygonal masonry with windows along one if the longer side (facing the pampa in Chinchero) - function as viewing area for activities on the pampa as well as potential meeting place for sapa inca and visitors - Chinchero has one easily accessible from pampa/viewing platform - easy to see out of, not as easy to see into - features double jambs on the outside of the windows (indicating interior as important space)

carpa uasi

"tent house" - rectangular structure with one entire wall omitted and three complete walls (generally gabled wall missing) - completely open wall allowed visibility within space (exchange but also differentiation for space) - Machu Picchu has a building with omitted wall (long side) facing unusual outcrops - inside of impressive roof structure would have been visible on the exterior - open gable end is wider than the opposite closed end (trapezoid) in the surviving example at Huaytará (pictured) - open-faced auditorium

Cuzco's physical layout

- betwen two rivers which came to a point (tinquy) - four roads radiate from the center toward the four quarters (suyus) - ceque system - the radiation of roads/lines toward landscape with sacred buildings (huaca) along

Function of Cuzco plaza

- center of many of the most important activities in Tahuantinsuyu (Inca empire) - Hawkaypata as center of almost every important event in the life of the empire and its people (Protzen & Rowe) - key role in initiating young men into adulthood, ancestor worship, remembering history, sanctifying new rulers, celebrating the religious calendar (Pampa, Nair) - place for canacas to perform songs of their ancestors, for announcements

Activities in Cuzco plaza

- dancing, singing, playing instruments - multi-sensory political and religious ceremonies incorporating beautiful objects and decorated animals, often involved offerings or sacrifices

Movement through Chinchero plaza

- exclusive spatial transitions exist depending on individual's status -- exists and buildings around plaza have varied accessibility

categories of value for Inca

- facture - patron - materiality - sensory/spatial practices

Function of Chinchero plaza

- for elaborate ceremonies involving Topa Inca while he was in residence - political, cultural, religious stage for Topa Inca

Design of Chinchero plaza

- has four exits depending on the status of the individual - view of ceremony varied depending on access (division of populations) - size meant to disorient visitor - forecourt for preparation for events (unlike streets/roads in Cuzco)

cumbi/kumpi cloth

- high quality cloth - finely woven - high thread count - ornamental, dyed gay colors (Murra)

Design of Cuzco plaza

- numbers cancha, pata, and pampa for imperial rituals and activities divided in two: - hawkaypata (terrace of leisure) for festivals, amusements, and drinking - kusipata (fortunate terrace) for military reviews and exercises - hawkaypata filled with sand brought from dry deserts to city - transitional spaces are the streets and roads of the city

how Inca architecture was critical to empire

- proclaimed presence in the landscape - architectural gestures used to articulate messages of conquest, power, and relationships with the sacred - administrative centers along the roads helped control movement throughout the land

Architecture around Cuzco plaza

- residence of the chosen women (acllauasi) and residences of the sapa inca - slope opposite Hawkaypata was terraced

problems that have plagued study of Inca architecture

- size and form do not define function - neglect, rebuilding, expanding settlements, modern reconstruction - resources from colonizer's POV

roles of textiles in Andean culture and Inca state

- textiles used as offerings in ceremony and preferred gift (Murra) - highlighted crisis points in the life cycle and provided otherwise unavailable insights to the reciprocal relations of kinfolk (Murra)

coca bag

- used to hold coca leaves that were either chewed by the holder of given as offerings to the gods - example with butterfly designs (emphasis on rebirth/release of soul after death) - larger than a standard coca bag - butterfly motif used in Coya Raimi ceremony (Queen's Festival of the Moon)

Architecture around Chinchero plaza

- viewing platform for Topa Inca (Pumacaca) - cuyusmanco facing pampa and another facing private plaza - camachicana uasi (to view activities on the plaza) - terraces along the north edge of the plaza where visitors enter the royal estate

seven key elements of Inca architecture

1 battered walls 2 trapezoidal elements 3 bonded/mortarless masonry 4 terraces 5 roofs 6 single room structures 7 relationship to nature

Titicaca

A lithic landscape accessible via a hidden staircase from Chinchero

Kusipata

A separate portion of Cuzco plaza

Chinkana

Area with many sacred stones, caves, and water courses accessible via

Who lived and worked in Cuzco?

Ceremonial center and place of residence for elite nobility and royalty - those who worked in Cuzco lived in bedroom communities in the direction of their origin - rulers have houses next to the Hawkaypata - chosen women (aclla) live in acclauasi near plaza

Hawkaypata

Main plaza in Cuzco

Inca understanding and meaning of buildings

Meaning based on specifics of visibility (both inward and outward view of the structure), the single/double jambs to signify entry into sacred spaces

How did Cuzco's form allow for conceptual and practical running of empire?

Roads form Cuzco led to all quarters of the empire

Significance of plazas in studies of Inca religion, politics, and culture

Signifies a unification of ideology due to the sharing of large spaces for ceremonies and traditions throughout the empire

Pumacaca

The space in which the sapa inca would have sat during ceremonies on the Pampa at Chinchero

Condorcaca

Two stones accessible from the Chinchero pampa by elite visitors. Pictured is the saycusca, stone brought from elsewhere that stopped here

saycusca

a stone that refused to move further symbolizes the voluntary movement of other stones, power of the sapa inca over nature example of Condorcaca at Chinchero, large stone brought from another location

polygonal masonry

an example of the mortarless masonry of Inca architecture characterized by blocks with no right angles which are carved to fit tightly together

relationship to nature

an important element of Inca architecture that blurs the lines between nature and man-made, utilizing the senses to experience the space

terraces

an important element of Inca architecture used to change the shape of the landscape to allow for farming

mallquis

ancestral mummies attended ceremonies, continued to own land and control their people after their death

Sacsayhuaman

architectural complex on hill north of Cuzco, temple-fortress

patron

architecture embodied the state and the patron, expressed their legitimacy (Nair, Pirca) Pachacuti and Topa Inca as important examples of such an important category of value for Incas, central in discussion of structures

plaza function

as theaters of communication between the state and local inhabitants

sayhua

border/territory marker stones protectors of the land example: Chinkana at Chinchero

huauque

brother stones replace the presence of the ruler represents the masculine side of the ruler after death, while mummy represents the feminine

cuyusmanco

characterized by a large doorway on side with an intact gable, generally made of polygonal masonry - examples at Chinchero face plazas - sapa inca may have performed in the opening of the building as the interior of the building would be dark, and the doorway (puncu) would frame his actions -- interior darkness emphasized exclusivity - access to interior thought to be limited to the elite

ashlar masonry

characterized by rectangular blocks that have been carefully worked and generally have a smooth surface used on buildings of higher importance

Cuzco's conceptual layout

city as a puma - Sacsayhuaman as its head - Hawkaypata as its belly - confluence of the two rivers as its tail (with pumac chupau) city as the navel of the universe, AXIS MUNDU city as divided into two, hanan (upper) and hurin (lower)

awasqa

cloth for domestic purposes - rough, unevenly colored (Murra)

trapezoidal elements

doorways, for example

huaca

elements of the physical world that were believed to have supernatural powers by the Incans, these could be rivers, stones, plants, bridges, mountains, or anything of the sort said to hold kamay (the breath of life)

importance of textiles for Incas

facture (difficulty and time making was highly valued)

roofs

gabled & hipped roofs, similar to Ise shrine

cancha

group of structures defining blocks & streets

wall batter (entasis)

inward angled walls

llama figurine

made of silver, cinnabar, and gold inlay - rigid pose of Inca figures, human or animal - color embedded into the object rather than just painted on, red color as a signal of llama's symbolic importance - blanket symbol of cloth made for llamas who were to be sacrificed - underscores critical importance of native camelid to Inca

huanca

male ancestor stones as owners of the location on which they stood; preceded and superseded humans as owners

aquilla

metal drinking vessel - typically used in ritual celebrations to offer toasts of corn beer - made in pairs, emphasizing Inca concept of Hanan and Hurin and principal that completeness is achieved through mirroring - given as offerings to curacas along with textiles (refusal came at a great consequence)

echo stone

mimic of mountain landscape presentational stones of apus in architecture blurring the lines between nature & man-made

presentational versus representational

presentation over representation objects presented as important and understood as such without representation; perception of presence NOT through similarity but through knowledge of object's substance (Dean) example of saycusca meant to present as sacred quarry, a space to give offerings of thanks

mascaypacha

red royal fringe worn by kings

tiana

royal seat This example with the pumas signifies it was for a ml

miniature wall at Cuper Bajo

significant due to its size and materiality - multicolored stone - 1 meter high

aca uasi versus aka uasi

signifies the importance of the interpretation of names; "aca" as excrement, and "aka" as corn beer

callanca

single brick although misunderstood as the name for an entire structure

single room structures

single system of building type suited for rapid expansion, abled to be built by unskilled labor force as part of their labor tax

taquis

song and dance

usnu

specific type of platform generally for the ruler or elite to stand upon to view a ceremony, or be seen. viewing platform

marca uasi

storage space for valuables capa marca usai is called a royal treasury - a type of colca (storehouse) - shelf on interior of building 5' above the ground made of wooden beams and woven fibers -- creates a lofted space for valuables to be stored - many marca (lofts) found in colonial remains

materiality versus form

substance supersedes surface

quipu

textile-based record-keeping device made of knotted strings - importance as device for management of contents of storage systems (collca) - utilized for census-keeping of newly conquered lands

facture

the act of making an important category of value for Incas

kamay

the animating force

pumac chupau

tinquy of the rivers, sacred place in Cuzco

sensory / spatial practices

to see, touch, taste is to experience since power is transferred through the senses status a related to sensory access an important category of value for Incas

uncu with checkboard design

tunic for men - may be a military garment - emphasize Inca aesthetic: craftsmanship, geometric design, two-faced, meticulous finished edges - seen as linking to the architectural features of Inca - cumbi cloth - advanced "black" dye technique, well-preserved color not actual black

uncu example

tunic for men pictured example: made of cotton and camelid - cumbi cloth (woven with the most luxurious materials, two-faced) - waistband tunic, significant type with religious associations - white camelid as considered rare and associated with Inca king - colors associated with sacrifice and ritual ceremonies

abstraction versus iconicity

understanding of importance for Inca via knowledge of abstract forms and materiality rather than explicit iconography

materiality

what something is made of adds value for the Incas went to great lengths to obtain stone (Nair, Pirca)

lliclla

woman's mantle pictured example: warp of cotton and weft of camelid - part of a set of ceremonial clothes - red and yellow stripes associates with activities related to the sun cult - cumbi cloth (high thread count, fine weave) - false seem meant to link to Highland mantles which were composed of two units sewn together

tupu

women's dress pins

quero/kero

wood drinking vessel - typically used in ritual celebrations to offer toasts of corn beer - made in pairs, emphasizing Inca concept of Hanan and Hurin and principal that completeness is achieved through mirroring - given as offerings to curacas along with textiles (refusal came at a great consequence)