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The Inka empire stretched throughout South America from southern Colombia to southern Chile to eastern Bolivia. The Inka constructed massive cities and administrative centers in a distinctive architectural style frequently featuring impressive stonework. An extensive road network connected the far corners of the empire. Much of the state was located in the Andes Mountains, more than 10,000 feet above sea level. The Inka constructed such well known sites as the Coricancha (Temple of the Sun) and Sachsahuaman (a fortress or temple with three sets of large concentric zigzag walls), both in their capital of Cuzco, Peru and the famous Machu Picchu, a royal palace.
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I am presently director of Proyecto Inkallakta, at the monumental Inka site of that name ( also spelled Incallacta, Incallajta or Inkallajta ) . This project consists of extensive reconaissance and survey in the zone around the site, as well as excavations in Inkallakta's monumental core. The project seeks to determine the function of the site and the nature of the Inka expansion near the eastern border of their empire, and to explore Inka architectural techniques. We also analyze the Inka's expression and communication of power and ideology, and the role of performance in that process.
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With Charles Stanish (UCLA) and Pepe Nunez (Programa Collasuyu), I recently completed extensive reconnaissance of the Ollachea Valley, Carabaya, Peru. We believe that this valley, to the east of Cuzco, was a route from the capital to the gold mines. Gold was a major resource for the Inca, and lay at the center of elite ritual practice. We located a series of pre-Inka sites upon which the Inka had superimposed their own ritual spaces and structures. Through the placement of these spaces and structures in the center of others' settlements and the performance of rituals within them, the Inka manifested control of the Ollachea Valley. This repeated and physical reminder of power and hegemony cowed the local populace with architecture and performance, reducing or eliminating the need for and the resources required to maintain a martial presence in the area while reinforcing the incorporation of this region and its peoples into the empire.
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