Memory in conflict. The incas in "El Calvario de Fuerte Quemado de Yocavil", Northwest Argentina

Abstract

This work intends to study the Inca occupation in El Calvario de Fuerte Quemado, an important late village (XI-XV century AD) of the Yocavil valley, which, when confused with another nearby site, had been relegated from regional investigations. On this occasion, based on the planialtimetric survey of the settlement, the different sectors with evidence of Inca occupation are analyzed and the results of the excavations carried out in three circular stone structures, known as "torreones", are presented. The destruction of a local tomb under a rocky ledge for the construction of one of the Inca towers and the redeposition of part of the burial content under its floor are stressed. We consider that these data will be relevant to discuss the different interpretations of the relationship between the Inca state and the local populations. The destruction of a significant structure for local historical memory by representatives of the Inca state, an event that has been hardly documented in archaeology, reveals -beyond the negotiation strategies with local elites- the violent character of the imperial conquest.