El Qhapaq ñan como espacio de poder de la política incaica

Abstract

This paper analyzes the importance of visibility along the Qhapaq Ñan or Inka Road that crosses the archaeological site of El Shincal de Quimivil, which is considered to be one of the main administrative and ceremonial centers of northwestern Argentina. The methodology used is one of the most powerful tools offered by GIS software and consisted of an accumulated viewshed analysis. To explore the pattern of visibility of Qhapaq Ñan, a statistical comparison was made between it and the accumulated viewshed of a theoretical predictive road. These results allowed us to differentiate visible and non-visible areas within the site that appear to be in accordance with a specific spatial organization. This organization might have been socially patterned through different ideological and symbolic mechanisms deployed by the State.