Inca Rituals and Sacred Mountains: A Study of the World's Highest Archaeological Sites - Brossura

Reinhard, Johan; Ceruti, Maria Constanza

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1931745773 ISBN 13: 9781931745772

Casa editrice: Cotsen Inst of Archaeology, 2009

Riassunto

The Incas carried out some of the most dramatic ceremonies known to us from ancient times. Groups of people walked hundreds of miles across arid and mountainous terrain to perform them on mountains over 6,096 m (20,000 feet) high. The most important offerings made during these pilgrimages involved human sacrifices (capacochas). Although Spanish chroniclers wrote about these offerings and the state sponsored processions of which they were a part, their accounts were based on second-hand sources, and the only direct evidence we have of the capacocha sacrifices comes to us from archaeological excavations. Some of the most thoroughly documented of these were undertaken on high mountain summits, where the material evidence has been exceptionally well preserved. In this study we describe the results of research undertaken on Mount Llullaillaco (6,739 m/22,109 feet), which has the world's highest archaeological site. The types of ruins and artifact assemblages recovered are described and analyzed. By comparing the archaeological evidence with the chroniclers' accounts and with findings from other mountaintop sites, common patterns are demonstrated; while at the same time previously little known elements contribute to our understanding of key aspects of Inca religion. This study illustrates the importance of archaeological sites being placed within the broader context of physical and sacred features of the natural landscape.

Su questo libro

Informazioni sull?autore

Johan Reinhard is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and a Senior Research Fellow at the Mountain Institute. He is a leading expert in high-altitude archaeology, and has conducted research from the Andes to the Alps to the Himalayas. His discoveries have included a number of well-preserved Inca burial sites high in the Andean mountains, including the famous "Ice Maiden" in 1995.
Maria Constanza Ceruti, Professor of Inca Archaeology at the Catholic University of Salta, is the only female high-altitude archaeologist in the world. She specializes in exploring and excavating Inca ceremonial centers on the summits of Andean mountains. She has also been distinguished as an Emerging Explorer of the National Geographic Society.

Dal risvolto di copertina interno

This book is the result of research undertaken on Mount Llullaillaco, which has the world's highest archaeological site; the types of ruins and artifact assemblages recovered are described and analyzed, and the results discussed.

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: Cotsen Inst of Archaeology
• Data di pubblicazione: 2009
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1931745773
• ISBN 13: 9781931745772
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 264
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Friedensallee 273; Hamburg; 22763; Germania