Under the Imperial Thumb: Inka Domination in the Calchaquí Valley (Salta, Argentina)

ACUTO, FÉLIX A.; GIFFORD, CHAD

Darmounth

Jornada; 19th Annual Northeast Conference on Andean Archaeology and Ethnohistory; 2000

Darmounth College

During the last decade imperial expansion, cultural encounters, and colonial entanglements have become central topics both in archaeology and socio-cultural anthropology. For many years scholars have studied Inka expansion and imperialism, however Inka domination on provincial territories has been described principally from the perspective of how the Empire controlled and subjugated local societies at economic and political levels. This paper aims to explore the idea that Inka rule not only involved economic and political domination, but also south to influence local societies cultural practices. Using the Calchaquí Valley as our main example, we will argue that one method of Inka domination was the outright and conscious manipulation of landscape. Following here the emic notion that landscapes are cultural entities structuring and symbolizing surroundings, in our work we see clear patterns in the way that Inka landscapes were constructed so as to impact the experience and meaning of place for Inka and non-Inka populations alike.