Los Caminos Ceremoniales en Los Apus Del Tawantinsuyu

Abstract

En el proceso de expansión territorial de los Incas, los sistemas viales jugaron un rol estructural fundamental, llegando a conformar -a través de la infraestructura edilicia-una suerte de continuidad espacial desde la capital del Tawantinsuyu hasta las lejanas periferias. Los vastos paisajes cordilleranos, con sus altas montañas, lejos de ser considerados como obstáculos o lugares inaccesibles, fueron la morada de deidades, conformando una territorialidad simbólica e ideológica con una fuerte presencia material y cultural en los paisajes. Hasta el presente se tiene conocimiento de poco más de doscientas montañas con evidencias arqueológicas en los Andes y cordilleras vecinas, en quince de estas montañas se realizaron ofrendas humanas y en muchas de ellas se registraron caminos ceremoniales que conducen a lo alto de los picos. En otras oportunidades hicimos referencia a los caminos del nevado de Chañi y el volcán Llullaillaco. En la presente investigación daremos a conocer un amplio listado de montañas que poseen caminos, intentando establecer algunos indicadores arqueológicos y espaciales de estas particulares vías que fueron desarrolladas en unos de los ambientes más extremos del mundo.Palabras claves: caminos ceremoniales, apus, arqueología de alta montaña, capacocha, Montañas sagradas.During the process of territorial expansion of the Incas, the road systems played an essential structural role by shaping a type of spatial continuity through built infrastructure, which started in the capital of Tawantinsuyu and spread to distant peripheries. Far from being considered as obstacles or inaccessible places, the vast Andean landscapes and their high mountains were the abode of deities, which shaped a symbolic and ideological territoriality with strong material and cultural presence in the landscapes. So far, a little more than two hundred mountains with archaeological evidence have been studied in the Andes and other neighboring mountain ranges. On fifteen of these mountains human offerings were made, and in many of them, ceremonial roads leading to the top of the peaks have been surveyed. We have previously referred to the paths of Mount Chañi and the Llullaillaco volcano.Here, we present an extensive list of mountains with roads in an attempt to establish some archaeological and spatial indicators of these particular paths, built in some of the most extreme environments in the world.

The genomic and cultural diversity of the Inka Qhapaq hucha ceremony in Chile and Argentina

“…The individuals associated with this ceremony were mainly children or young women, buried with a rich and diverse assortment of grave goods. Textiles of different kinds, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines made of different metals or Spondylus , feathers of different birds, and pottery are some of the most common elements found in these burials [17,37]. It is particularly interesting that the material evidence from the burial contexts was very diverse, bringing together valuable elements from the different regions of the empire or territories that were in contact with the Inka and local populations.…”

“…While the location of the burial at high altitude (6,120 masl) constitutes one of the main features of the ceremony, the individual’s grave features and age have prompted suggestions that the El Toro individual may not have been related to the Qhapaq hucha ceremony or, at least, was not one of the main burials associated with the ceremony [43]. While there are only a handful of high peaks with human burials along the Andes (N = 14), they are all surrounded by several other structures of ceremonial or administrative nature, which could alternatively explain the presence of the El Toro burial [19,37]. Taken together, this implies that the El Toro individual may have either been involved in the Qhapaq hucha ceremony or may have served as chaski or messenger for the Inka, which is supported by osteological evidence of plantar keratosis that may have been caused by extensive walking, and possibly associated with a long journey or a high mobility during this individual’s life [43].…”

“…, they are all surrounded by several other structures of ceremonial or administrative nature, which could alternatively explain the presence of the El Toro burial[19,37]. Taken together, this implies that the El Toro individual may have either been involved in the Qhapaq hucha ceremony or may have served as chaski or messenger for the Inka, which is supported by osteological evidence of plantar keratosis that may have been caused by extensive walking, and possibly associated with a long journey or a high mobility during this individual's life[43].…”

Refugios naturales asociados al Qhapaq Ñan en el extremo austral del Tawantinsuyu

“…Por su emplazamiento y contexto, pudo ser una posta para descansar antes de iniciar el ascenso hacia el paso Cristo Redentor y/o hacer un "pago" a las wakas para superar ese desafío o en agradecimiento por haberlo logrado si se venía en sentido inverso. También pudo ser, en sí mismo, un lugar al que se acudía a través del Qhapaq Ñan con el propósito de hacer un ritual específico o ser una posta de un camino ceremonial (Vitry 2017(Vitry , 2020. El estar dentro de un enorme desprendimiento de rocas que se destaca claramente en el paisaje y tener cerca una pequeña laguna, un río de aguas rojas y una vertiente, pudo conferirle a este sitio un significado especial (figura 3B).…”

Escuela-Montaña: desmontar el poder desde la altura

“…Donde la figura de dominio montañoso, de condiciones climáticas rigurosas, fuertes vientos y sustratos inestables (Cavieres, Valencia y Hernández, 2021) pueden cubrir desde una reducida proporción del territorio continental hasta abarcar la mitad de este (Gómez y Villalobos, 2020). Incluso, dentro de su imponente radio geográfico no solo pueden incorporarse numerosos asentamientos poblacionales, recursos naturales fuertemente negociables o de ser áreas geo-estratégicas en términos económicos y geopolíticos (Sánchez, 2013); sino que además, a diferencia de las tierras bajas, estas logran depositar una dinámica social especial de patrones religiosos, lingüísticos e ideológicos (Urban, 2020), donde gran parte de la biodiversidad, las relaciones sociales residentes, culturales y los modos de producción son definidos por el poder que irradian estas zonas (H. García, 2019) o del que se les haya atribuido en los años de su eminencia (Bolívar y Dueñas, 2013;Calvo, 2020;Vitry, 2020).…”