Today we visited the Municipalidad Metropolitana de Lima: Parque de Leyendas. Inside the park we toured a small museum, Museo de Sitio "Ernst W. Middendorf". The Sitio gave us our first insight of huacas. The first huacas were built approximately between 800-200 b.C. However it is important to note that the huacas we see today aren't the ones originally built due to the fact that different cultures, from 600 b.C to Incan period in 1532, occupied the area and gradually changed its original layout.
I found the following website very useful in describing how huacas were constantly changing due to new settling cultures; there were seven main cultures, each branched off of Maranga.
When we first arrived at Huaca Cruz Blanca I was blown away by the enormity of it. I wondered how long it would have taken to build one of these; my best guess would probably be a year or two depending on how many people constantly worked on these structures. I researched this huaca and found that it was used "by regional chiefs or the Curazago of Maranga and was an important administrative and ceremonial center." (http://archive.peruthisweek.com) I would put my picture up of Huaca Cruz Blanca but google has better images than I do. It makes sense that this huaca was an administrative and ceremonial center because it contains a series of steps leading to the top where people of higher authority would sit at and overlook whatever activity was going on. Not to mention, the word Cruz, translates to Cross so it seems appropriate that ceremonies were practiced in the large spaces at the bottom of this huaca.
Another huaca used as an administrative center was Huaca La Cruz, built in the time between 900 A.D-1476 A.D. which falls during the Ichma time period. An interesting observation about this huaca is that it was built directly in front of Huaca Tres Palos (1100 A.D-1532 A.D) also built during Ichma Tradition and used by the Incas. Huaca Tres Palos is known for its use solely as a temple and an observatory. In the animated picture from the Museo de Sitio found below, you can see a total of 96 wells that were used as a solar clock and calendar to help indicate appropriate times for planting crops or fishing season. (http://archive.peruthisweek.com) Since this site was used for agricultural purposes, I decided to plot Huaca Tres Palos on Google Earth.
Strikingly enough Huaca Tres Palos faces NorthEast and the smaller huaca directly to the right of it (it almost looks like one big huaca but it is instead two different ones), is the Huaca La Cruz. The picture above also depicts two more huacas that I've chosen to focus my attention on. One of them is the Huaca La Palma, built and used between 1476 A.D. - 1532 A.D, was an administrative site during the time of the Incas. It is located right above the L in Laguna Recreativa, making approximately an 80 degree angle with Huaca Tres Palos. The second huaca I want to direct attention to is oneon near the top right hand corner, west of the stadium, called Huaca San Marcos. This huaca was built during Lima culture around 150 A.D. - 450 A.D. but it was used by later cultures and built upon to give the shape we see today. What started as small abode bricks huacas later grew into extended huacas with platforms, enclosures, passages, ramps, steps and sidewalks. It also extended upwards and to its sides as well as the addition of new smaller huacas surrounding it.
It is of great importance to note that all of the huacas listed above face NorthEast and that they can all be connected linearly. Huaca San Marcos and Huaca La Palma, although both built at different time periods, can be connected by a straight imaginary line. The picture below may help with you visualize. Directly southeast of La Palma is San Marcos.
Also worthy of observation is that on the first picture on this post, Huaca Tres Palos almost runs parallel to Huaca San Marcos, only intersecting at some point very far in the distance. Could it be that the Ichma tried in some way to mimic Lima arquitecture? Or that both cultures solely based the positioning of these huacas on their own observation of the sun? Comments welcomed.
That's all the huacas I've got for now!
Julie
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