Inca technology and ideology in the offerings dedicated on top of the highest Andean mountains

MARÍA CONSTANZA CERUTI

Londres

Conferencia; Technology: Ideology, Economics and Power in the Andes; 2015

Institute of Archaeology - University College of London

The highest mountains of the Andes were climbed by Inca ritual experts in the context ofthe ceremonies of capacocha, which oftentimes included the sacrifice and subsequentburial young women and children. Material items transported to elevations above 6000meters and buried as associated offerings included gold and silver figurines, shellnecklaces, high quality textiles and pottery ware. The technology to manufacture many ofthese offerings involved skilled handwork provided by full time artisans, as well assumptuous materials coming from remote corners of the empire. Inca offerings andsacrifices fulfilled an important ideological role when dedicated on the most inaccessiblesummits, for the good fortune of a recently crowned Inca emperor and/or to propitiate thefertility of the crops and llamas.In this presentation I will refer to diverse offerings found on mountaintop sites, includingthe assemblages associated to the three frozen mummies discovered during thearchaeological research that I conducted with Johan Reinhard on the summit of MountLlullaillaco, in northwestern Argentina. By cross checking the archaeological evidence withthe historical sources, interpretations will be presented regarding the entanglement of Incatechnology and ideology in the material items transported to the top of the highest Andeanpeaks.