Phases of activity at Pachacamac

Cul tur e

Lima

Wari

Ychsma

Inca

Transition

Period

Main Evid e n ce dis c uss e d in th e t e xt Ap roxi m at e d at e s

Early Intermediate (EIP)

200 BCA D 650 M iddle Horizon ( M H)

n/a

Cemetery, B15 A D 6501000

Late Intermediate (LIP)

Late Horizon (LH)

Early Colonial (ECP)

Pyramids with ramps, cemetery, B15, Pachacamac Temple A D 10001470

B3, B4, B15, E8, Pachacamac Temple, S un Temple, Pilgrims' Plaza, Acllahuasi A D 14701533

B4, B15 A D 15331572

Such behaviour raises many questions. What motivated the faithful? Why did they bend to such strict rules? What benefit did the pilgrims seek? Why was the worship of Ychsma-Pachacamac so popular? Was it just for his abilities as an oracle, or for other reasons? How old was the pilgrimage custom? Was it instituted by the Incas, the Ychsma, or could its origins lie even further back in time? Such questions cannot be safely answered by recourse to colonial texts alone, and the Incas and their predecessors did not create written records, so it is to archeology that we must turn.

The protocol that the pilgrims followed also held sway at all the great pilgrimage sites of the Inca Empire, such as the island of the Sun of Titicaca, or the Coricancha of Cusco. Indeed, the snippets of information that are known about the Pachacamac pilgrimage and oracular worship have been used to create a model for interpreting the site not only at the time of the Incas, but also in previous periods. It has also been applied to other sites across the Andes, which are more or less distant in time and space. Given that this interpretation is primarily built on conquest-era documents and the conquistadors’ perceptions of what they saw, it is important to verify their statements. Some details, such as fasting and praying, are by nature archaeologically intangible, but others could be tested to support, qualify, invalidate, or confirm the interpretation of these texts. So, we began an excavation programme to better understand the character of the pilgrimage, its longevity, and its popularity. The places that we targeted were selected to answer questions relating to the logistics of the pilgrimage, the types of rituals that the pilgrims carried out, and their place of origin.

The main cemetery of Pachacamac Excavations carried out near the Sacred Precinct revealed an intact portion of an extremely important cemetery lying in front of the Pachacamac temple. More than 300 pre-Inca burials were extracted from this burial ground, one third of which came from the same large funerary chamber (see CWA 54). Palaeopathological and bioarchaeological studies revealed that an unusually high proportion of the deceased were afflicted with various trauma. It is a trend that was also observed in the Inca-period tombs. This discovery sent me back to the texts, where I noted that among the many attributes of the oracle of Pachacamac was a reference to his role as a healing god: ‘They came to this demon on pilgrimage in the hope that he would heal their diseases.’ Pachacamac was also presented as a creator god associated with the earth and fertility. The cyclical view of the world and life among the ancient Andean people also links these elements – even though it may seem paradoxical to us – to night and death. It is understandable that for all these reasons the pilgrimage became extremely popular.

The Incas developed the site and built a Temple of the Sun on the highest promontory, which had probably been previously occupied by other buildings that are now completely obscured. They also built an acllahuasi (a kind of convent) and an immense patio called the Pilgrims’ Plaza. All these arrangements can be viewed as an attempt to promote and control the pilgrimage and cult of Pachacamac by elevating it to an imperial level. By default, such activity indicates that the origins of the pilgrimage predate the arrival of the Incas, supporting ft Spondylus shells from Ecuador, painted textiles, goldwork and statuettes from the north coast, feathers from Amazonian birds, stones from the central highlands, ceramics and textiles from Cuzco, and so on: the origin of artefacts and raw materials found in building B15 (see p.28) suggests that Pachacamac was in contact with all regions of the Inca Empire, and beyond.

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CurrentWorldArchaeology

Issue 92