Constructing and Disarticulating the World: Landscapes, Memory, and Power in the Cuzco of the Inkas - The Case of Chakan

This essay investigates the construction and disarticulation of social landscapes at both conceptual and material levels, tied to the memory and power of the elites in the Cuzco Valley during the Inka period. It uses a case study of the micro-basin of Chakan, situated in the far northwest of the city. The social and religious implications of the landscape shaped by the Hanan Cuzco dynasty are examined through an analysis of a colonial myth. Additionally, the ritualized disarticulation of the landscape is analyzed based on the available archaeological record from excavations at the Chakan site. The results indicate ritual abandonment of ceremonial architecture, reflecting material consequences related to the cosmogonic restructuring of the known world due to Spanish presence in the area or as part of a more intricate phenomenon of historical awareness and social change. Este ensayo investiga la construcción y desarticulación de paisajes sociales a nivel conceptual y material, vinculados a la memoria y el poder de las élites en el Valle del Cuzco durante el período Inka. Se utiliza un estudio de caso de la microcuenca de Chakán, situada en el extremo noroeste de la ciudad. Se examinan las implicaciones sociales y religiosas del paisaje moldeado por la dinastía Hanan Cuzco a través del análisis de un mito colonial. Adicionalmente, se analiza la desarticulación ritualizada del paisaje con base en el registro arqueológico disponible de las excavaciones en el sitio de Chakan. Los resultados indican un abandono ritual de la arquitectura ceremonial, lo que refleja consecuencias materiales relacionadas con la reestructuración cosmogónica del mundo conocido debido a la presencia española en el área o como parte de un fenómeno más intrincado de conciencia histórica y cambio social.

This essay investigates the construction and disarticulation of social landscapes at both conceptual and material levels, tied to the memory and power of the elites in the Cuzco Valley during the Inka period. It uses a case study of the micro-basin of Chakan, situated in the far northwest of the city. The social and religious implications of the landscape shaped by the Hanan Cuzco dynasty are examined through an analysis of a colonial myth. Additionally, the ritualized disarticulation of the landscape is analyzed based on the available archaeological record from excavations at the Chakan site. The results indicate ritual abandonment of ceremonial architecture, reflecting material consequences related to the cosmogonic restructuring of the known world due to Spanish presence in the area or as part of a more intricate phenomenon of historical awareness and social change.