Human sacrifice, mountain worship, Andean archaeology

Studies about the Inka State have generally considered the economic, political, and bureaucratic spheres as the key and most important aspects to understand Inka domination. Contrary to this perspective, I claim that Inka imperialism was embedded in a symbolic/religious matrix (which involved elements as diverse as tradition, kinship, nature, specific landscape features, ancestors, history, memory, and myths) that colored imperial institutions, defined Inka strategies and tactics of conquest and domination, and shaped the relationships between the Inkas and the colonized. From this perspective, I sustain that Inka State expansionism was driven by an urge to create a pan-Andean cosmological order defined in Inka terms, which fictionally established kinship relations between the Inkas and their subjects, and to build, throughout the Andes, a symbolic and material landscape related to Inka cosmology, religion, and ritual. In order to accomplish this project, the Inka State developed a number of strategies to dominate the symbolic world of Andean communities and to control their ritual practices. In this paper, I explore these ideological/symbolical strategies of domination.

The Incas carried out some of the most dramatic ceremonies known to us from ancient times. Groups of people walked hundreds of miles across arid and mountainous terrain to perform them on mountains over 20,000 feet (6,096 m) high. The most important offerings made during these pilgrimages involved human sacrifices (capacochas). Although Spanish chroniclers wrote about these offerings and the state-sponsored processions of which they were a part, their accounts were based on second-hand sources, and the only direct evidence we have of the capacocha sacrifices comes to us from archaeological excavations. Some of the most thoroughly documented of these were undertaken on high mountain summits, where the material evidence has been exceptionally well preserved. In this study, we describe the results of research undertaken on Mount Llullaillaco (22,109 ft / 6,739 m), which has the world's highest archaeological site. The types of ruins and artifact assemblages recovered are described and analyzed. By comparing the archaeological evidence with the chroniclers' accounts and with findings from other mountaintop sites, common patterns are demonstrated, while at the same time previously little-known elements contribute to our understanding of key aspects of Inca religion. This study illustrates the importance of archaeological sites being placed within the broader context of physical and sacred features of the natural landscape.

""El objeto de estudio es la iconografía del Sacrificador y el Señor de los Cetros que aparece en el Norte Grande de Chile, presente en las tabletas para el uso de psicoactivos (de influencia Tiwanaku) y el arte rupestre, ambos del Período Medio (500-1000 d.C.) principalmente.
Se analizan mitos andinos que pudieron tener relación con estos personajes, y finalmente se realiza una interpretación simbólica junguiana.""

In this paper, I will attempt an alternative interpretation of Inka domination. My hypothesis is that the Inka sought to transform Andean cosmology and social order, and impose their own worldview and ideology, locating themselves at the pinnacle of the new social order, but also representing the Inka as the true carriers of Andean traditions and the past, as the original people and ancestors of the world. Material culture was an integral part in the development of this symbolic aspect of Inka domination, especially in terms of the construction and reconstruction of new landscapes. With these ideas in mind, I will explore Inka spatiality or how the Inka re-organized the social space in the areas they conquered. I intend to demonstrate how the Inka sought to impose their worldview and legitimize their domination using the re-organization of the landscape and the appropriation of ritual spaces.

Abstract
The Wari Empire expanded throughout the highlands of the Andes during the Middle Horizon (AD 550-1000); imposing their rigid form of architecture throughout the landscape as communities became integrated into the larger Empire.  Orthogonal architecture has become an indicator of Wari influence and control as well as a very different type of ceremonial structure.  Ritual appears centered around or in circular or D-shaped structures.  D-shaped structures take their name from their appearance, consisting of a straight wall that connected to a curved wall.  The structure appears as the letter “D.”
These ceremonial structures have been found throughout the Wari Empire, including the capital city, Huari.  Frequently these structures have been found at Wari sites in numbers greater than one.  Many of the D-shaped structures have large, uncovered, open spaces associated with the flat walls.  The flat walls often contain the single entrance to the structure.  The relationship between the plazas and D-shaped structures suggest a public gathering place to witness or participate in the exclusive rituals occurring around or within the D-shaped structures.
The aim of this paper is to look at one of the earliest D-shaped structures in the southern part of the Wari site Conchopata.  This structure was abandoned relatively early at the site while ceremonial focus shifted to another D-shaped structure to the north.  Shortly after abandonment the EA 33 D-shaped structure had a patio group or rooms constructed over it, erasing its significance as a ceremonial focal point.  In addition, to the west of the flat wall there appears to be a large, open space or possible plaza.  This paper will attempt to connect occupational and use periods between the possible public plaza and exclusive D-shaped structure.
A brief discussion will follow regarding the EA 72 D-shape structure, one that possibly post dates the EA 33 D-shaped structure, and the large open area or plaza associated with its entrance and flat wall.  Analysis and discussion will span three years of excavations at Conchopata, from 1998-2000.  Further connections are hoped to be established between this architectural analysis to better understand ritual and ceremony at Conchopata.

Multilayered social phenomena, such as ritualized violence of the past and specifically human sacrifice, can only be studied and understood culturally after combining scientific approximations and blending different lines of hard and discursive evidence. This paper discusses the chapters of an recent volume edited by Haagen Klaus and Marla Toyne on ritual violence in the Andes and adds a view from Mesoamerica.