The Huánuco Pampa archaeological project volume I: The plaza and palace complex

Abstract

This volume represents the first in a series of publications detailing the archaeological research conducted by Craig Morris and his colleagues at Huánuco Pampa, an Inka provincial administrative center located in highland Peru. The site offers a unique opportunity to study Inka urbanism, and the present publication discusses the form and function of Inka cities, as well as the extent to which the Andean urban form could be coopted by the Spanish empire after the conquest of the Inkas. Open spaces and special state compounds were key components of Inka administrative centers, and attention is given to the archaeological remains found in and around the central plaza at Huánuco Pampa. Buildings on the plaza were probably used by local provincial groups for festive and ceremonial activities presided over by Inka officials. While the central plaza provided space for a broad provincial constituency, a series of smaller open spaces in the Zone IIB administrative palace offered more exclusive areas for encounters between provincial and Inka elites. After discussing Inka palace compounds, the archaeological focus turns to excavations inside structures and in exterior spaces in the palace, revealing patterns of access and degrees of status in the transit from accessible administrative spaces to restricted residential ones. An appendix to the volume provides a detailed description of the analysis of ceramic artifacts from excavations at Huánuco Pampa. © American Museum of Natural History 2011.