CUSCO - CUZCO

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STONE
INCAN ARCHITECTURE

CUSCO

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- Inca Center

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ENJOY CORPORATION
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Schell 343 - Of. 607
Miraflores - Lima 18
PERU
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P E R U

CUSCO PICTURES

SPANISH VERSION

STONE

Incan Architecture

Indisputably, not only was the knowledge the result from a creative capacity of these villagers but also, as we stated before, the Peruvian culture has an age of 18 to 20 thousand years B.C.

The Peruvian researcher V�ctor Angles affirms: "The Inca phase is the shortest regarding the development of pre-Hispanic peoples, it is the last policy characterized by a fast and powerful military expansion that crowns earlier phases of gradual development of nations from a long time ago".

There are still some doubts regarding how the stones fitted exactly without affecting their good condition.

Historical Information Introduction

History of Cusco

Tahuantinsuyo
  - Incan Society
  - Background:
      * The Conquest
      * The Rebellion
        of Manco Inca
      * The XVIII
        Century

Incan Architecture
* Stone
* Adobe

Planification

Inca City Description

The Incan Center

There are only some hypotheses that can be considered as logical: the most feasible indicates that the work was extremely slow but efficient and the regular walls were started very carefully and in the lowest part the following upper line was more complex because the stones had to fit laterally with the lowest junctures. This case is practically proved in all the areas of Cusco where they carved upper faces beating slightly with the stone hammers according to the shape of the lower surface. The work was relatively simple when manipulating the small stones, because it could have been possible to put them in and out many times; but the problem was to lift the stones from the corners since they weighted hundreds of tons.

The reality suggests that the Quechuas could have used natural models or maquettes made of slight materials and maybe clay. These models were supposed to be exactly reproduced. Certainly, the use of this method contributed to make it easier the enormous works.

Another respected opinion states that they could have used certain current technique that consisted in taking the measures and shape of the stones the planned to work with (in the archaeological museum of Cusco there is a long silver band), and that is how they got to carry out a very complex work.

ADOBE

Incan Architecture

Among the materials used in the Incan walls we can find the adobe (sun-dried bricks). Many buildings and even entire cities of the Tawantinsuyo were made with this material; that is the case of Pachacamaq, which is still standing in the south of Lima. To make the "adobes" the preferably chose good-quality clayey soil and they mixed it with the "ichu", and in some cases with alpaca wool. All these materials were mixed with water, placed in rectangular molds and dried with the sun. The adobe buildings are still preferred in the Andes because they are easy to obtain and besides having thermal properties, they are durable and can be covered with straw or tiles.