Reproduction of a smallsectionof scriptfromtheVisitaof IñigoOrtizde Zúñiga.

A tran-
ofthesection
scription readsas follows:
4 En cuantoal cuartocapitulosobrela ordende tributar los indios/ dijo que elloseran
escogidosparael yngaporsusyanaconas / y paralo traeren hamacay en el Cuzcoteníancon
el yngamuchos indios/ conun caciqueparalo que tocabaal servicio del dichoyngay que le
tribu-/ -tabanlos que estabanen el dichorepartimiento dándolemaízque se lo ponían/ en
Guanucoel Viejoque era lo que se cogíaen estevalleen tierras del ynga/ que ellosbene-
y que de sustierras
ficiaban no le dabanninguna cosay / que tardaban en lo llevarsietedías
desdelos depósitosdondelo tenían / y lo llevabana cuestas
y tributabanen cocaque cogíanen
losandesy/ la poníanennuevediasenel dichoGuanuco yquela ropade cumbi quele da-/
The paleography was doneby DomingoAnguloand FelipeMárquezAbanto(see Visitade
de Leonde Huánucoen 1562[Huánuco1967]). The sectiondealswithhowthe
la Provincia
Indianspaidtribute to theIncain grain,cocaandfinecloth,journeying fora weekor more,
theirburdensontheir back,toHuánucoViejoandCuzco.

Peru:
Huánuco,

By DONALD E. THOMPSON

The Inca Empirewas a vast conqueststatewhich describedImperiallife in its ideal formas theysaw
stretched
roughly fromwhatis nowNorthwest Argen- it at thetimeof theconquest.Sucha situation would
tinato Quito,Ecuador.Naturally, it embracedmany be ratherakin to describingthe BritishEmpirein
differentpeoplesor ethnicgroups.Yet mostbooks termsonlyof London and the social,politicaland
and articleswhichdeal withthe Inca and theirvast religiouslifein thatcityat theturnof thecentury.
empiretend to describeonlywhatmightbe called In 1962 JohnV. Murrain an articlein American
the "Classical"or ImperialInca,thatis, thosemani- Antiquity (27 [1962] 1-4) proposeda newapproach
of theempiretypicalof thecapital,Cuzco, to thestudyof theInca: to workfarawayfromCuzco
festations
and therulingclique.Thus,bothresearch and popu- and to makegreateruse of visitasor colonialcensus
lar writinghave tendedto be somewhatrepetitious,data, instead of the usual time-worn chroniclers.
concentratingon a fewof thewell knownsitesin the Specifically, he pointedto theregionwhichnowcom-
Cuzco area and relyingon a fewof themostfamous prisestheDepartment of Huánuco,Peru,northeastof
of the sixteenthcenturySpanish chroniclers who the moderncityof Lima, and to the 1562 visitaof

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 Riversystemandsitemapof
Huánuco.
highland Simplified
froma map preparedby
RobertMcK. Birdwiththe
aid of the InstitutoGeo-
Militar.
grafico

A Survey of a Province of the Inca Empire

one Iñigo Ortiz de Zúñiga. The visitaconsistedof
withlocal chiefsand a detailed
a seriesof interviews
door to door censusof certainpeasantvillages.By
combining theinformation containedin thiscolonial
visitawitharchaeological surveyand excavations, a
studycouldbe madeof thelocal peasantsunderInca
rule.The resulting project,withthe
interdisciplinary
support of two grants from the National Science
Foundationand the sponsorship of the Instituteof
AndeanResearchand the University of Wisconsin,
beganthe archaeological partof the researchunder
the author'sdirectionin 1964 and continueduntil
early1967.
The firstsitesstudiedin detailwerethelocal cen-
ters of the ImperialInca, the regionalcapitalsto
whichwe knowfromthevisitathesurrounding peas-
antscarriedtheirtribute.At thesametime,theroyal
highway, whichconnected thesesitesto Cuzco to the
southand Quito to the north,was investigated, to-
getherwiththetambosor waystations alongtheroad.
The most important local ImperialInca site is
HuánucoViejo, theregionaladministrativeand trib-
utecenter.On a hill justaboveHuánucoViejo, some
500 qollqa or smallwarehouseshad beenbuiltbythe
Inca to storethetribute
broughtfromthesurrounding

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 Circular house)atHuánuco
qollqa(storage Viejo,thechief administrative
regional center
undertheIncaEmpire.Partofthecityis visibleinthebackground, northeast.
looking

calledan usnu,in thecenter

ofthelargeplatform,
Incamasonry
HuánucoViejo: typical of theplaza.

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HUÁNUCO continued

villages.The excavationof thesestoragehousesand

theanalysisof theircontents has becomea disserta-
tionprojectof Mr. CraigMorrisof theUniversity of
Chicagoas partof a broaderstudyof Inca storage
economy. On theflatpampabelowtheqollqa hill are
locatedthemainresidential and ceremonialpartsof
HuánucoViejo. Here thereis a large centralplaza,
in thecenterof whichstandsa largeplatform, called
an usnu,whichprobablyplayeda part in political
and otherceremonial events.To theeastof theplaza
lies themostelaboratepartof the site.This area is
approachedby a seriesof typicalInca trapezoidally
shaped gates of well fittedmasonry.This section,
calledtodaythe"Casa del Inca" or houseof theInca,
probablyhousedimportant people or playeda cere-
monialrole. Amongthe structures presentare two
elaboratehousesof wellcutandfitted masonry, a pool,
a bath,an unfinished temple,and a raised terrace
overlooking a largeenclosure.
To thenorthand southof thecentralplaza maybe
seenotherpublicbuildingsas well as themainbody
of the regulardomesticarchitecture. The ordinary
housesare builtof simplepirkamasonryof rough
angularstoneset in mudmortar. The houses,rectan-
gularin plan,rangein irregular patternsaroundsmall
centralcourtyards. This domesticarchitecture is Inca
but
inspired poorly executed;it in no way resembles
thearchitecturefoundin theneighboring villagesof
thelocalpeasants. Thecharacteristic Incatrapezoidal
gateway
Imperial
The Inca highwaypassesthroughHuánucoViejo, ofHuánucoViejo.
section
■nt'^eeastern

TheIncathermal bathontheroadsouthfromHuánucoViejo
is stillusedbyresidents
ofthenearbytownofBaños.

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 westattheremains
viewlooking
A general ortambo
ofthewaystation
calledTunsucancha southofHuánuco
ontheIncahighway Viejo.

HUÁNUCO continued
and we followedit to thenorthto thefirsttamboor
waystation,calledTaparaku,a sitedescribed in Ameri-
can Antiquity 31 (1966) 632-639.To thesouth,the
roadpassesa smallInca town,perhapsa resort, with
a hotthermal bathwhichis stillin use todayand then
continueson to anothertambocalled Tunsucancha.
Peasantsfromsomeof thevillagesvisitedduringthe
censustakenby Iñigo Ortiz servedunderthe Inca
administrative systemat Tunsucancha,and excava-
tionswerecarriedouttherein an unsuccessful attempt
to uncoverceramicevidencefortheirpresence.None
of thepottery at Tunsucancha, or at HuánucoViejo,
resembled thepeasantpottery fromthevillages.The
potteryused at ImperialInca centers, then,musthave
been made to ratherpreciseInca standards.From
Tunsucanchathe Inca highwaycontinuessouthand
eventually arrivesat Pumpu,thenextmajoradminis-
trativecenter.Pumpu,althoughsimilarto Huánuco
Viejo in manyways,is smallerand lesselaborate, and
laid outin a somewhat differentplan.
Incaaryballus
Huánuco
from Viejo. Priorto conquestby the Inca, thisarea was dom-
Height,72cm. inated by at least threemain ethnicgroups: the
Chupachu,the Yacha, and a groupprobablyto be
identifiedas the Wamali. Wamali sitesprovidean
interesting contrastto thoseof the Yacha and Chu-
pachu, and some Wamali villagesweresurveyed, al-

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 ořa groupofhousesat theYachavillagesiteofWakan.
Excavations
Thestoneroofsstillstandintact. byPeterJenson.
Photograph

thoughgreater attention
was paid to theothergroups.
Priorto the unifying rule of the Inca, as we know
fromchroniclers like Cieza de León, these three
groupswereinvolvedin constant warfare.The loca-
tion of theirvillages on steep, highlydefensible
ridgesreflectsthispatternof warfare. Duringthepe-
riodof Incadomination thevillageswereincorporated
into the Inca politicalsystem,thoughtraditional
leaderswere apparently maintainedfor local rule.
HuánucoViejo servedas a commonadministrative and
tributecenterfor thesepreviouslyfighting groups,
and, at thesame time,the Inca movedin Mitimaes
or colonistsfromother,morepacified,partsof the
empire.Two majorobjectivesof our archaeological
studyof thelocal villageswereto comparethearchi-
tecture,settlementpatterns and ceramicsof different
knownethnicgroupsand to measurethe degreeto
whichIncarulewas feltatthelocallevel.
Yacha villages generallyare located on steep
ridgesandconsistofgroupsof wellbuiltstonewalled
and stoneroofedhouses.The housesvariedin shape,
accommodating themselvesto the steep terrainon
whichtheywerebuilt.Frequently, therearwall of a
houseservedas a retaining wall forthehouseabove.
Some of thesevillage siteswere exceptionally well
preserved andthestoneroofswerestillintact.
Generalviewlooking
eastoftheYachavillage
siteofWakan.PhotographbyPeterJenson.

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 Excavations
intheChupachuvillagesite
ofIchu,possibly
inthehouseofPaucar
Guarnan,oncechiefoftheChupachus.

A circular (?) villageofAukimarka.

houseattheChupachu housesat theWamalivillagesiteofGaru.
Circular

structure
Tower-like useattheWamalivillagesiteofChikiarurin.
ofundetermined up atthestoneroofofthestructure.
straight
(Right)Looking

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HUÁNUCO continued

Chupachu villages, on the other hand, varied of themwereso used.

somewhataccordingto location.In the high puna In summary, our archaeological surveyand exca-
country they were built in groups on the crests and vations in the modern Department of Huánucohave
sidesof rollinghills,and theindividual housestended uncoveredlocal manifestations of the ImperialInca
to be almostrectangular in shape. Nearerthe main in theregionalcenters of HuánucoViejo,Pumpuand
riversystems, by contrast, the villageswerebuiltin the stateinstallations along the royalInca highway.
very defensible on
positions steep ridges,and the Althoughnot of the qualityof the more famous
ideal rectangular housesbecamesomewhatirregular architecture knownfromaroundCuzco, thesesites
in accommodating themselvesto the ruggedland- are clearlyderivedfromthe Inca in both masonry
scape.All houseshad gabledroofs,presumably built techniques and overallplan. The pottery shapes,in-
of poles and grass thatch;the Chupachudid not cludingthearyballus, arealso clearlyIncainspired.
build roofsof stoneas did the Yacha and in some The peasantvillagesin Huánuco,however, present
cases,the Wamali. In some Chupachuhousesthere a verydifferent picture.The threegroups,Yacha,
was a line of small holes or nichesjust below the Chupachuand Wamali,all sharesimilarlocationson
gable,suggesting thattheremayhave been a small steepridgesfortheirvillages,probablyas protection
attic supportedon cross beams insertedinto the fromraiding,priorto the imposition of Inca central
niches.Such atticsexist today in modernpeasant rule.With theexceptionof thecommunity of Auki-
housesandserveprimarily forstorage. marka,the villagesof each ethnicgrouptendto be
Of the Chupachuvillages,one of the mostinter- similarto one anotherand collectively different
from
esting was called Ichu. Ichu was the home villageof othergroups. The same may be said of the pottery
one PaucarGuarnan,who we knowfromthevisitas stylesforwiththeexception of Aukimarka, theytend
servedat one timeas chiefof the Chupachus.One to be similarwithinan ethnicgroup but different
structure at Ichu was largerand betterbuilt than fromgroupto group.
mostChupachuhouses,and it containeddecorated A fewpreliminary conclusions maybe drawnabout
Inca stylepottery, a veryrarethingin villagesites. the relationships betweenthe rulingImperialInca
We strongly suspectthatthiswas thehouseof Paucar and thelocalpeasants : Inca influence is virtually
non-
Guarnan,himself,the decoratedInca pottery reflect- existentin peasantarchitecture and exertsitselfonly
inghis important positionin thenewlyimposedInca slightlyin the local potterystyles.The impactof
politicalstructure.A nearbybuildingof typicalChu- Inca rule,then,is not feltstrongly in the material
pachumasonry had whatappearedto be a stonealtar cultureat thelocal level,except,as observedat Ichu,
at one end. Perhapsit was the altar of the later in thehousesof localleaderssuchas PaucarGuarnan.
Colonialchurchsincesuchconstructions are nottypi- Conversely, despitethefactthatlocal peasantsserved
callyChupachuor Inca. The presenceof the church at the ImperialInca installations and paid tribute
also givessomecredibility to themodernmythof the (includingpottery) , thiscontactmadeno visibleim-
existence at thesiteof a supernatural bell whichtolls pressionupon eitherthe architecture or the pottery
on certainspecialoccasions.Somedistanceawayfrom bothof whichremainalmostpurelyInca at suchsites
IchuanotherChupachuvillagecalledAukimarka had as HuánucoViejo. Our experience in thisprojecthas
circularhouseswhichgave Aukimarka an aspectquite shownthereis muchto be learnedin theboondocks,
differentfromthatof otherChupachuvillages.Since so to speak,of the Inca Empire.The approachof
thepottery differs às well fromotherChupachupot- combiningthe census data fromthe visitaswith
tery, we wonder if the ethnohistorical sourcesare archaeological techniqueshas yieldedresultssignifi-
correctin assigning thisvillageto theChupachu. cantto ourunderstanding of theIncaEmpire.

Wamali sites were not includedin Ortiz' 1562

visita,but theywere by far the largestand most
elaborateof thelocal sitesand theyprovidean inter-
estingcontrastto the Yacha and Chupachuvillages.
Wamalivillages,like theothers,are usuallybuilton
steepridges.The housesare generallylargeand cir-
cular,ratherlike those found at Aukimarka.Also
presentare 'large tower-likebuildings,which fre-
quentlyhave theirstoneroofsstillintact.The func-
tionof thesestructures is uncertain;some maywell
haveservedas burialchambers, butI do notthinkall
The authoris an AssociateProfessorof Anthro-
pology at the University of Wisconsin,Madison,
wherehe has taughtsince1961.He received hisPh.D.
fromHarvardUniversity in 1962. His earlyarchae-
ologicalfieldexperiencewas in NorthAmerica, butin
1955he embarked on his LatinAmerican careeras a
fieldassistantforThe CarnegieInstitution of Wash-
ingtonin excavationsat Mayapanin Yucatan,Mexico.
Sincethenhe has concentrated on AndeanArchaeology
withfieldresearchon theNorthCoastof Peruin 1956
and in 1959-60.Since 1964 he has beenworkingon
theproject inthisarticle.
discussed

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