Cuzco - Late Intermediate II

  General Description   After the collapse of the Wari empire, the Cuzco valley once more underwent a phase of regionalization, known as the Late Intermediate Period (1000‒1476 CE). ^[1] In other valleys of Peru, this period saw the emergence of complex kingdoms such as the Chimu, the Chincha, the Ischma and the Chanchay.
In the Cuzco Valley, this period lasted from the early 11th century to the early 15th century and was characterized by incipient state formation in two areas. To the west, the Killke or K’illke may have been the successors to the local Qotakalli chiefdoms of the Early Intermediate period and Middle Horizon. ^{[2] [3]} Centred around the location of modern Cuzco, where Killke material has been excavated, ^[4] their sphere of influence extended south of Cuzco for around 20 kilometres. ^[5] Smaller undefended polities to the west of modern Cuzco may have been under Killke domination, while it is likely that the developing political units to the north were independent. ^[5]
In the Lucre Basin to the east, another powerful cluster emerged, referred to as ’Pinagua’ or ’Pinagua-Moyna’ by ethnohistorians. These polities developed around the sites of Choquepukio, Cotocotuyoc and Minaspata. ^[6] They may have upheld the cultural legacy of Wari colonizers from the Middle Horizon, ^{[7] [8]} as their ceramics and architecture show profound Wari influence. ^[3] Choquepukio in particular exhibits significant continuity with the Wari through its monumental architecture. ^[7] Even further to the east, another small state may have existed around the settlements of Andahuaylillas, Huaro and Urcos. It has been suggested that the Pinagua cluster and these polities together prevented the eastern expansion of the Killke until the late 14th century. ^[7] Between these two extremities of the Cuzco Valley, the Oropesa Basin acted as a buffer zone. ^{[9] [10]}
The Killke, centred in the Cuzco region, appear to have been the most influential and expansionary of these cultures during the Late Intermediate Period: their ceramics were widely used, in contrast to the limited spread of Lucre Basin styles. ^[11]
Population and political organization
The Cuzco Basin and the Sacred Valley experienced significant population growth after 1000 CE, ^[12] although population estimates are extremely difficult to produce. ^[13] The Lucre Basin cluster comprised at least 4 settlements extending over 10 hectares (e.g. Minaspata and Coto-coto), and Choquepukio covered 60 ha. These settlements may have housed several thousand people each. ^[14] The capital of the Killke polity, now buried beneath modern Cuzco, may have covered 50 ha. ^[15]
The second half of the Late Intermediate Period proved to be a gradual phase of consolidation for what would become the Inca Empire. ^[16] Indeed, the Killke followed a pattern of ’leapfrogging’, conquering new territories on an ad hoc basis. ^[17] Administrative and temple buildings at Qhapaqkancha, Markasunay and Pukara Pantillijlla probably developed during the Inca expansion into the Sacred Valley (1250‒1310 CE). ^[18] One suggested cause of this expansionary strategy is a period of drought between 1250 and 1310. ^[19]
Meanwhile, there was another phase of construction at the site of Choquepukio around 1300 CE, which may have corresponded to the arrival of a new elite group from the Titicaca cultural sphere. ^[2] Our evidence for this incursion comes from DNA analysis as well as from the presence of chullpas (burial towers) and ceramic styles characteristic of the Altiplano. ^[2] The construction of grand niched halls and the presence of luxury items made of ceramic, metal, precious stones, and bone may indicate elite-sponsored feasting. ^{[1] [20]} The paramount leader of Choquepukio may have held these feasts in order to establish his power in relation to other local elites. ^[21] Early Inca chronicles document these Pinagua leaders or capacs as a rival force, blocking their expansion into the Lucre Basin. ^[21]
Archaeological evidence of a major burning event between 1400 and 1430 CE indicates that the Choquepukio state finally succumbed to Killke expansion. ^[22] Choquepukio’s arts and monumental architecture profoundly influenced the material culture of the Inca Empire: ^[23] for example, Inca ceramics blended Lucre ceramic technology with Killke motifs. ^[3] With the demise of the Choquepukio polity and the expansion of Killke dominance across the valley, the conditions were in place for the rise of the Inca Empire during the 15th century, creatively building upon the legacy of its predecessors.

[1]: (Andrushko, Torres Pino and Bellifemine 2006, 66) Valerie A. Andrushko, Elva C. Torres Pino and Viviana Bellifemine. 2006. ’The Burials at Sacsahuaman and Chokepukio: a Bioarchaeological Case Study of Imperialism from the Capital of the Inca Empire’. Ñawpa Pacha 28: 63-92.

[2]: (McEwan 2006, 95) Gordon F. McEwan. 2006. ’Inca State Origins: Collapse and Regeneration in the Southern Peruvian Andes’, in After Collapse: The Regeneration of Complex Societies, edited by G. M. Schwartz and J. J. Nichols, 85-98. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.

[3]: (McEwan, Chatfield and Gibaja 2002, 295) Gordon F. McEwan, Melissa Chatfield and Arminda Gibaja. 2002. ’The Archaeology of Inca Origins: Excavations at Choquepukio, Cuzco, Peru’, in Andean Archaeology I: Variations in Sociopolitical Organization, edited by W. H. Ibsell and H. Silverman, 287-301. New York: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers.

[4]: (Farrington 2013, 142) Ian Farrington. 2013. Cusco: Urbanism and Archaeology in the Inka World. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.

[5]: (Covey 2006, 105) R. Alan Covey. 2006. How The Incas Built Their Heartland: State Formation and the Innovation of Imperial Strategies in the Sacred Valley, Peru. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.

[6]: (Covey 2006, 103) R. Alan Covey. 2006. ’Intermediate Elites in the Inka Heartland, AD 1000-1500’, in Intermediate Elites in Pre-Columbian States and Empires, edited by Christina M. Elson and R. Alan Covey, 112-35. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.

[7]: (Hiltunen and McEwan 2004, 246) Juha Hiltunen and Gordon F. McEwan. 2004. ’Knowing the Inca Past’, in Andean Archaeology, edited by H. Silverman, 237-54. New York: Blackwell.

[8]: (McEwan 2006, 93) Gordon F. McEwan. 2006. ’Inca State Origins: Collapse and Regeneration in the Southern Peruvian Andes’, in After Collapse: The Regeneration of Complex Societies, edited by G. M. Schwartz and J. J. Nichols, 85-98. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.

[9]: (Bauer 2004, 86) Brian S. Bauer. 2004. Ancient Cuzco: Heartland of the Inca. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

[10]: (Covey 2006, 117) R. Alan Covey. 2006. ’Intermediate Elites in the Inka Heartland, AD 1000-1500’, in Intermediate Elites in Pre-Columbian States and Empires, edited by Christina M. Elson and R. Alan Covey, 112-35. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.

[11]: (Covey 2006, 103) R. Alan Covey. 2006. How The Incas Built Their Heartland: State Formation and the Innovation of Imperial Strategies in the Sacred Valley, Peru. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.

[12]: (Covey 2006, 89) R. Alan Covey. 2006. How The Incas Built Their Heartland: State Formation and the Innovation of Imperial Strategies in the Sacred Valley, Peru. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.

[13]: Alan Covey 2015, personal communication.

[14]: (D’Altroy 2014, 81-82) Terence N. D’Altroy. 2014. The Incas. 2nd ed. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.

[15]: (Covey 2003, 339) Alan R. Covey. 2003. ’A Processual Study of Inka Formation’. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology (22): 333-57.

[16]: (D’Altroy 2014, 85-86) Terence N. D’Altroy. 2014. The Incas. 2nd ed. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.

[17]: (Bauer 2004, 88) Brian S. Bauer. 2004. Ancient Cuzco: Heartland of the Inca. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

[18]: (Covey 2006, 129, 134) R. Alan Covey. 2006. How The Incas Built Their Heartland: State Formation and the Innovation of Imperial Strategies in the Sacred Valley, Peru. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.

[19]: (Covey 2006, 117) R. Alan Covey. 2006. How The Incas Built Their Heartland: State Formation and the Innovation of Imperial Strategies in the Sacred Valley, Peru. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.

[20]: (McEwan, Gibaja and Chatfield 2005, 258) Gordon McEwan, Arminda Gibaja and Melissa Chatfield. 2005. ’Arquitectura monumental en el Cuzco del Periodo Intermedio Tardio: Evidencias de continuidades en la reciprocidad ritual y el manejo administrativo entre los horizontes medio y tardio’. Boletín de Arqueología PUCP 9: 257-80.

[21]: (McEwan, Gibaja and Chatfield 2005, 274) Gordon McEwan, Arminda Gibaja and Melissa Chatfield. 2005. ’Arquitectura monumental en el Cuzco del Periodo Intermedio Tardio: Evidencias de continuidades en la reciprocidad ritual y el manejo administrativo entre los horizontes medio y tardio’. Boletín de Arqueología PUCP 9: 257-80.

[22]: (D’Altroy 2014, 64) Terence N. D’Altroy. 2014. The Incas. 2nd ed. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.

[23]: (Moseley 2001, 248) Michael E. Moseley. 2001. The Incas and Their Ancestors: The Archaeology of Peru. Revised edition. London: Thames and Hudson.