1470 INCA EXPANSION INTO THE LAND OF
THE CHACHAPOYA
ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE CLOUD FOREST
ON THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE ANDES MOUNTAINS IN
PERU
Inge Schjellerup
ABSTRACT
Starting from around AD 800, the Chachapoya developed
their own culture with monumental architecture. It came
to an end in 1470 after the conquest by the Incas. At that
time, a different architecture was introduced in the re-
gion followed by changes in the landscape. The article
summarises the available evidence on architectural and
archaeological remains dated to the period following the
Inca conquest.
INTRODUCTION
When the first Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro
arrived in Peru in 1531, he entered the largest empire in
South America, the Inca Empire. It was called Tawantin-
suyu in Quechua (see Table 1 for Quechua terms used in
the article), the language of the Incas. The Inca Empire
stretched from southern Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bo-
livia and part of Argentina and Chile. The Incas had not
developed a writing system, nor were they familiar with
such technologies as the use of wheel and extraction of
iron. Our earliest records come from the Spanish chroni-
clers, mainly transmitting the information on the Incas as
seen from the capital Cuzco in central Peru. Ethnohistory
combined with archaeological investigations can give a
more enhanced understanding of the Inca Empire.
To ensure the functioning of an empire, it is necessary
to have a counting system. The Incas had developed such
a system based on knots, the quipu. The counting system
used the decimal numbers and was applied for counting
the population, animals, production and stocks (Fig. 1).
The Incas first initiated a large-scale conquest around
the 1430s and conquered a large number of different eth-
nic groups. They used existing trails or roads but also
built an enormous road system for large llama caravans
and transport of soldiers. Many of the ethnic groups sur-
rendered when presented with rich presents such as gold
and silver objects, women or textiles.
THE CHACHAPOYA PEOPLE
The northeastern slopes of the Andes Mountains in Peru,
the so-called Ceja de Montaña or “eyebrow of the moun-
tain” is still considered as the last natural refuge for wild-
life. Here the civilisation of the Chachapoya developed
a distinct culture from around AD 800 until being con-
quered by the Incas in 1470. Our research since the 1980s
has shown an overwhelming Inca presence in the region,
which is indeed surprising.
We still have an insufficient image of the Inca prov-
ince of Chachapoya. The information regarding the Inca
conquest of the mountainous and densely forested re-
gion in historical records is scarce. The Inca province
of Chachapoyas was first mentioned in a letter in 1538
by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro (BNL A
585, f 112r). He manifests his primary interest in finding a
pleasant place to establish a town and where to find gold.
The Chachapoya developed a strong and vibrant cul-
ture of their own, utilising and maintaining shared sym-
bols as seen in designs applied in architecture, pottery
and textiles. Geometric designs, such as rhombs, zig-zags
and meanders were used to decorate roundhouses. Monu-
mental settlements were placed in strategic positions at
high altitudes on mountainsides and ridges overlooking
communication and transport routes that followed the
rivers (Muscutt et al. 1993; Schjellerup 1997; Guerenge-
rich 2014). The most famous site is Kuelap, situated on a
136
Fig. 1. Drawing by Guaman Poma de Ayala of a quipucamayoc, an
Inca official in charge of counting the contents in storage houses (after
Guaman Poma de Ayala 1615).
hilltop, at an altitude of 3000 m and surrounded by walls
in two layers making up to 14 m in thickness, with three
controlled entrances (Fig. 2).
Our research of abandoned field systems gave evi-
dence of the Chachapoya as ingenious agriculturalists.
They developed remarkably varied and intensive agricul-
ture: earth and stone terracing systems, concentric earth
mounds for drainage, amphitheatrical earth terracing sys-
tems surrounding sinkholes in the upper ecological zone.
They possessed herds of alpaca, gold mines, coca fields,
and had access to salt and cotton. The forests were full
of wild animals, colourful birds and timber for firewood
for the burning of sacrifices. The landscape was filled
with symbolic resources including a lake in the shape of a
snake, springs and rivers and unusually shaped boulders.
The Chachapoya were not only known as fierce warriors
but also as clever agriculturalists, talented weavers, as
sorcerers or shamans and herb doctors, and bridge build-
ers (Schjellerup 1997, 41).
Acta Archaeologica
THE INCA CONQUEST OF THE
CHACHAPOYA
The Incas had a policy of sending messages to offer peace
or war to reigning chiefs of a territory, but not before the
Inca had acquired sufficient information on the strategical
position of Chachapoya as a gateway towards the east, the
character of the people and their natural resources. “The
Chachapoya resolutely replied that they were obliged to
take up arms and die in defence of their freedom” (Gar-
cilaso de la Vega [1609] 1967, 14). But whom did the Inca
address the inquiry to? And who responded? The Chacha-
poya people, a common name given to them by the Incas
consisted of many chiefdoms, so-called curacazgos.
Before going to war, the Incas had to make sacrifices,
and the divining ritual of the callpa had to be performed
to ensure a favourable result. A llama had to be sacrificed
and the intestines analysed (Fig. 3). The Inca ruler Tupac
Inca Yupanqui decided to invade the territory despite the
apparent resistance of the Chachapoya around 1470.
Archaeological investigations have produced evi-
dence of violence, such as skulls showing traumatic in-
juries attributed to star clubs. Some skulls showed that
trepanation procedures were known (Fig. 4). Human
remains were associated with provincial Inca ceramics
(Schjellerup 1997, 222).
The Inca ruler Tupac Inca Yupanqui left some rela-
tives in Levanto in Chachapoya (Lerche 1995, 106). He
then sent part of his army to conquer Moyobamba almost
thirty leagues (165 km) away, where they surrendered
easily but protested against embracing the idolatry of the
Incas and their laws and customs. Tupac Inca Yupanqui
is then mentioned to have brought prisoners taken during
the warfare with the Chachapoya to Cajamarca. Pachacuti
Yamqui observes that Tupac Inca Yupanqui when return-
ing from his expeditions against several warlike people,
among them the Chachapoya, took “the Chachapoyas for
his halberdiers and many girls were brought from Qui-
to [...] Chachapoyas, Yungas, Guayllas and Huancas as
chosen maidens for his queen [...]” (Pachacuti Yamqui
[1613] 1968, 302).
THE TERRITORY
The Inca province of Chachapoyas is some 30,000 km2
not including Moyobamba with the Rio Marañon as the
western limit; the other three limits are uncertain and were
probably not stable for more extended periods depending
 1470 Inca Expansion into the Land of the Chachapoya 137

Fig. 2. Part of Kuelap from the Chachapoya culture (800-1470 AD). Photo: S. van Deurs.

on socio-economic interests, political alliances and pow-
er struggles. Supposedly the north-eastern boundary in
the late Inca times was located where the mountains flat-
ten out towards the north. The southern border was most
likely to be found towards the Inca political demarcation
near the Huacrachuco province (Fig. 5).
After the conquest, the Incas immediately devised a
plan to divide the land according to their socio-religious
and political ideology and began remodelling the cultural
and sacred landscape with the construction of various
state installations. Boundaries had to be tangible when
Inca officials made their inspections in the empire. They
had to know where to go to inquire about population
numbers for their workforce and the economic capacity
of their new province. But in a conquest situation, the In-
cas had to consider their territory with shifting boundaries
for their new provinces. The lands of the Inca and Inca
religion, the Sun cult, were established simultaneously
with the obligation to provide labour.
The Incas established their control over the local cu-
racazgos, i.e. chiefdoms. The traditional rivalry between
segmental curacazgos was probably reduced and eventu-
ally eliminated in confronting the common enemy.
Given the diverse and valuable resources, both tangi-
ble and intangible that the Chachapoya region possessed,
it is understandable that the Incas wanted to have full
control over the area.
138 Acta Archaeologica
Fig. 3. Drawing by Guaman Poma de Ayala of the sacrifice of a llama
(after Guaman Poma de Ayala 1615).
INCA POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION
Tupac Inca Yupanqui introduced an administrative unit
of huno (10,000 households) with divisions of guar-
angas (500 hundred households), and pachacas (100
households), and may have chosen Cochabamba as the
religious and administrative centre on his first visit to the
Chachapoya region for this huno. Later, the Chachapoya
province was divided into three hunos as each of three cu-
racas are mentioned as being in charge of an huno (Espi-
noza Soriano 1967, 299). Tupac Inca Yupanqui undoubt-
edly selected Cochabamba as a religious and administra-
tive centre on his second visit to the Chachapoyas region.
The Inca site of Cochabamba became the junction of a paral-
lel running branch of Capac Ñan, the royal Inca road from Cuz-
co, Huánuco road towards the north and the western road from
Cajamarca, and was visited by the three Incas, Tupac Yupaqui,
Huayna Capac and Atahualpa.
In the following years some of the curacazgos, es-
pecially the Caxamarquilla rebelled three times, and the
Incas were ambushed by another group, the Pomacocha
(Murúa 1968, 155). The construction of many Inca instal-
lations from south to north must have taken place in these
years as the archaeological remains speak of strong Inca
activity.
INCA INSTALLATIONS
The Cochabamba complex
Cochabamba is situated on a mountain plateau at an al-
titude of 2800 m above sea level near a small lake. The
layout of the Cochabamba complex is dispersed in the
landscape within the Challua Cancha drainage, and in
this way differs from more nucleated settlements of other
larger administrative centres in central Peru like Huánuco
Pampa and Pumpu (Fig. 6).
Cochabamba consists of six sectors, including three
elite compounds and two stone-lined canals.
The central part of Cochabamba consists of two elite
compounds with gateways in imperial Cuzco style ma-
sonry with kancha (a rectangular enclosure housing three
or more rectangular buildings) and kallanka structures.
Kallankas are also very typical for Inca architecture be-
ing longhouses for fiestas and housing of soldiers (Figs.
7 & 8). Two stone-lined canals carried water from each
side of the mountain into two fountains in imperial Cuzco
style masonry emphasising the Inca ideology of a tinku,
a sacred place where two streams meet. During the con-
struction phase, massive levelling and drainage works
were carried out to obtain a level building surface in the
northern compound. An usnu, a ceremonial platform, is
mentioned by the local inhabitants to have been placed
where the church is standing now.
Moyambol in front of Cochabamba with about a hun-
dred round houses seems to have been a settlement with
a Chachapoya population who presumably had been re-
moved down from their original settlements at higher al-
titudes on the order of the Incas to control the disobedient
people and use their labour force.
Pucalpa, the kancha structure with storage sections is
situated higher up a south-western slope of the mountain.
The layout of this characteristic enclosed Inca kancha in-
cludes two round structures. The excavated material with
provincial Inca polychrome ware provides evidence that
the place was of particular importance and high prestige.
The presence of a well-constructed fountain, another ma-
jor element in Inca site planning in this area, had a utili-
tarian and symbolic meaning in the settlement (Fig. 9).
1470 Inca Expansion into the Land of the Chachapoya 139

Fig. 4. An example of multiple trepanations. Note the fine textile.

Fig. 5. The extension of the Chachapoya culture.

140 Acta Archaeologica
Fig. 6. View towards the Cochabamba plateau in the Chuquibabamba district, the Chachapoya province. Photo: I. Schjellerup.
Both Mollepata and Challua Cancha are situated near
the Inca road. Mollepata at an altitude of 1900 m above
sea level has only three buildings on a levelled terrace,
of which one is a three-walled structure. The upper part
of the buildings was constructed in adobe. In front of
the open building, a double fountain with a back wall in
Cuzco imperial masonry gives a spectacular view over
the valley.
Challua Cancha at an altitude of 2470 m above sea
level is an ovoid semi-subterranean basin surrounded by
a double wall of dressed fieldstones, including two natu-
ral rocks. Inside the basin, an oval stone-walled platform
was constructed to the northeast. The structure lies close
to the river Challua Cancha. The basin was probably a
sanctuary as Inca religion had a belief of mana (power) in
natural elements when being close to a river.
The Tampu de las Lagunas lies just before crossing
the Calla Calla near a prominent boulder, presumably
the huaca, a sacred monument, mentioned by Albornoz
([1570], in Duviols 1967, 33) (Fig. 10).
Twenty-three storehouses were constructed near Pu-
calpa on a slightly sloping mountain shelf and partly dug
into the slope. The rectangular structures are arranged in
two rows with ventilation and drainage slots in the walls.
An imprint at the floor level indicates how the crops were
stored leaving space around the crops that probably in-
cluded bales of tubers.
Several Chachapoya sites are located on nearby moun-
tain tops with a full view of the Cochabamba plateau.
Atuén
At an altitude of 3550 m above sea level, the Inca road
towards the east passed by Atuén, where the Incas con-
structed a large settlement at the shores of La Sierpe, i.e.
a snake-shaped lake, which is the source of the river Ut-
cubamba (Fig. 11). Several rectangular houses, an usnu,
the ceremonial platform, an enclosed kancha structure
and two fountains are situated below the two Chachapoya
sites of La Peña Calata and Cabildo Pata. The Incas be-
low La Peña Calata constructed a system of regular stone
terraces for tuber crops. Oral tradition tells of the place
as a “spa” for Huayna Capac, who has supposedly stayed
here for some time (Schjellerup 1997, 173).
 1470 Inca Expansion into the Land of the Chachapoya 141

Fig. 7. Reconstruction of the North compound in Cochabamba. Drawing: N. Bech.

Fig. 8. Gateway of the North compound in Cochabamba. Photo: I. Schjellerup.

142 Acta Archaeologica

Fig. 9. Plan of Pucalpa. Drawing: L. Jørgensen.

Fig. 10. Tampu de las Lagunas with the stone huaca. Photo: I. Schjellerup.
 1470 Inca Expansion into the Land of the Chachapoya
Fig. 11. View of Atuén with the snake-shaped lake and remains of Inca ruins at the shore. Photo: I. Schjellerup.
The Chilchos Valley
The Chilchos Valley east of Leimebamba was one of the
entrances towards the east and considered yunga, warm
territory (Fig. 12). The Chilchos people formed part of
the pre-Hispanic Chachapoya curacazgos as a specific
Ceja de Selva ethnic group with their own curacas. One
of the first Chilcho curacas to be mentioned in the Span-
ish sources is “Chilcho, Lord of the Anayunga Indians
and Chontaces”, which illustrates the yunga connec-
tion and the Chilcho’s supremacy over the Chontaces,
a group most likely dedicated to the cultivation and
manufacturing of the chonta palm (AGI 123, Ramo 4,
2r). The chonta palm was used for making lances and
halberds, which were weapons used by the Chachapoya
people. For example, twelve hundred Chachapoya and
Cañaris were selected to serve the Inca Huascar in Cuz-
co: “for his halberdiers and attendants of his house” as
Tupac Inca Yupanqui had done earlier. Several chonta
lances have also been found in the burial chambers of
the Chachapoya.
143
The mention of five guarangas – five groups with 500
tribute payers each, under the principal curaca Don Her-
nando Chilcho at the time of the Spanish conquest suggests
the existence of more settlements and residential houses
than have been registered until now (AGI 585 f 97v).
Cascarilla Wasi
Cascarilla Wasi situated at an altitude of 2000 m above
sea level on a levelled plain near the Inca road and be-
tween two rivers. The site shows features of a modest
Inca administrative centre with the characteristics like
almost all other Inca sites in the region. It has a kallanka,
a kancha construction, an Inca fountain, and a structure
subdivided into three symmetrical enclosures, presuma-
bly storage rooms. Two circular structures were located to
the north of the fountain. The number of terraced moun-
tain slopes suggests intensive agricultural activity in the
fertile Chilchos valley that provided excellent conditions
for the cultivation of maize and production of cotton,
later to be continued into the colonial period (Schjellerup
et al. 2005).
144 Acta Archaeologica

Fig. 12. The Chilchos valley. Photo: I. Schjellerup.

Fig. 13. Chachapoya and Inca sites in the Chilchos valley. Drawing: I. Schjellerup.
 1470 Inca Expansion into the Land of the Chachapoya
Fig. 14. Plan of Pucarumi. Drawing: M. Vedsø & I. Schjellerup.
Pre-Hispanic interconnected trails cut through the
Chilchos valley, and the Incas made good use of the val-
ley as one of the entrances towards the eastern lowlands.
The location of Cascarilla Wasi was strategically impor-
tant to control a place where people entered the Chilchos
Valley from the west, from Leimebamba and from the
south, from the Laguna de los Condores.
The site is related to the springs of the Río Chilchos
having a sacred significance to the Incas. Llactacocha at
the Laguna de los Condores is a Chachapoya site with
Inca occupation probably in charge of burial chambers
at the steep mountain slope above the Laguna de los
Condores first used by the Chachapoya and later by the
Incas. The burial chambers with more than 200 mummy
bundles gave evidence of fine textiles produced by the
Chachapoya as mentioned by Cieza de León, as well as
Inca provincial wares and quipus (von Hagen 2002, Bjer-
regård 2007).
Unfortunately, most of the archaeological sites in the
Chilchos Valley have been destroyed due to the modern
agriculture and cattle (Fig.13).
The Pucarumi complex
The Pucarumi complex at 1960 m above sea level is situ-
ated at a confluence of the Huabayacu and Israel rivers.
The complex is surrounded by stone walls of varying
145
thickness on all four sides (Fig. 14). A stone-paved ramp
leads into the site, which consists of five sectors includ-
ing a large levelled plaza, a closed kancha structure with
three buildings towards the south and a sunken fountain,
and a large kallanka. Two red sandstone stelas with in-
cised signs of the sun, spirals, volutes, meanders and
waves together with upraised arms and legs and other pat-
terns adjoin the side of the ramp. A stoneworking place
with quarried blocks of red sandstone, foreign to the site,
was located near the Huabayacu river (Fig. 15).
The middle sector has a minor closed kancha struc-
ture with three buildings and an open fountain. Water for
both fountains runs in covered canals from the mountain
behind the complex. The northern sector includes two
rectangular structures and two platforms, one of which
appears to have been an usnu with an interior stone-lined
chamber containing charcoal. The site shows a remark-
able combination of a closed defensive fortification com-
plex and a potent religious ceremonial site.
Travelling eastwards one had to pass Pucarumi, and it
probably involved participation in ritual ceremonies and
obtaining permission to continue the journey (Schjellerup
et al. 2003).
Inka Llacta
The existence of Inka Llacta with imperial Cuzco style
146
Fig. 15. Stone stela in Pucarumi. Photo: I. Schjellerup.
architecture in the middle of the dense Cloud Forest sheds
new light on Inca conquest and politics in this remote
north-eastern part of Tawantinsuyu (Fig 16).
Inka Llacta is situated at an altitude of 1975 m above
sea level with stone terraces facing the south and the
north. The three sectors consist of a main elite area, two
kancha structures, a platform with two kallankas, and a
tampu higher up the mountain. A canal divides the site
in two and runs partly in a natural depression in the bed-
Acta Archaeologica
rock but has been further cut and lined with stones. The
canal runs for 150 m with a fall of approximately 10 m.
The main elite area contains 18 house structures, not in-
cluding a rectangular building and a fountain in Cuzco
imperial style masonry of elaborate red sandstone. A line,
carved in the upper stones of the rectangular building,
runs around the whole building, resembling the gold band
around the Coricancha temple in Cuzco (Cobo 1990, 50)
(Fig. 17). The sandstone is not found naturally in close
vicinity, but in a distance of two days travel, near the ar-
chaeological site of Pascuala Baja.
The botanical investigations showed wild relatives
of the domesticated species of pepinillo or tree tomato,
papaya, avocado, and ciruela de monte or forest plum.
Pollen analyses gave evidence of the cultivation of maize,
beans and fruit trees. Unfortunately, pollen from the Inca
sites are often in a poor state of preservation.
The importance of Inka Llacta with imperial Cuzco
architecture in the dense Ceja de Selva cannot be over-
stated. The decision to locate such a site in the forest im-
plied cutting of trees over a large area, introducing fruit
trees and keeping the fields free of weeds and all-embrac-
ing wild plants. The site must have appeared like an open
oasis in the dense forest (Schjellerup et al. 2009).
The Posic complex
The Posic complex lies 190 m above sea level in the
Cloud Forest along the Inca road further to the northeast
towards Moyobamba. Posic is known in oral traditions
to have gold and salt, two important resources. Posic has
no fewer than three major sectors representing the three
population groups of the Chachapoya, the Incas, and lo-
cal tribes. The Inca site is constructed on a gently sloping
mountainside between two rivers with full view of the
mountains towards the south (Fig. 18). The central area
was levelled to build a double kancha, a large kallanka, a
minor kancha, a fountain and an usnu in imperial Cuzco
style masonry, a canal and two intihuatanas, so-called
sunstones. The presence of two intihuatanas is most
unusual. Both mirror a mountain ridge behind which is
a completely different vegetation cover with low bushes
and orchids, in contrast to the other surrounding forested
mountains (Fig. 19). Towards the north and the south an
elaborate system of stone terraces is located. These ter-
races seem to be of an earlier construction date of the
Chachapoya period and have some peculiar kinks for
ritual purposes.
 1470 Inca Expansion into the Land of the Chachapoya
Fig. 16. Plan of Inka Llacta. Drawing: V. Peña, A. Tadaypan & I. Schjellerup.
Fig. 17. Part of Inca imperial architecture with a line carved around the
house in the upper part. Photo: I. Schjellerup.
147
The Chachapoya site is located across the river Mash-
uayacu with roundhouses and ritual platforms. A stone-
paved trail runs through the whole area to be encountered
again further up the mountains. More than 25 rocks and
large stones have petroglyphs and cup marks. On some
of the largest rocks cup marks are combined with long in-
cised lines (Fig. 20). Most of them are found in and nearby
the Inca site. None of the petroglyphs seems to belong to
either the Chachapoya or Inca cultures but are probably
evidence of an earlier tribal population which may have
used the place for special ceremonies (Schjellerup et al.
2003). The discovery of seven large monoliths in 2016 in
a stone-lined canal in the dense forest came as a big sur-
prise and may be the evidence of links with central Peru
(Fig. 21).
Mitimaes, compulsory movement of the
Chachapoya
It became part of the Inca administrative policy to de-
stroy the rebellious nature of the Chachapoya and other
people, as they forcibly relocated disobedient subjects in
the empire to other places. At least twenty-six Chacha-
poya groups had to resettle in other parts of Tawantinsuyu
148 Acta Archaeologica

Fig. 18. View of the Posic site in the Huallaga province. Photo: I. Schjellerup.

Fig. 19. The outline of an intihuatana against the mountain ridge behind. Photo: I. Schjellerup.
 1470 Inca Expansion into the Land of the Chachapoya 149

Fig. 20. One of the rocks with carved cup marks and incised lines in Posic. Photo: I. Schjellerup.

Fig. 21. Stone monoliths in the rainforest. Photo: I. Schjellerup.

150 Acta Archaeologica

Fig. 22. Part of the map of the Intendencia de Trujillo, MS1767d. Courtesy of the British Museum.

(Moreno Yanenez 1980; Salomon 1986; Ramos Gavilan
[1621] 1976). However, the historical sources have re-
corded that relatively few mitimaes groups from other
parts of Tawantinsuyu were moved into the Chachapoyas
region. Huancas near the city of the Chachapoya was a
mitimaes group placed by the Inca Huayna Capac. Today
the Huancas is a pottery making community. The Inca
Huascar is mentioned as having ordered 200 Chupachos
to garrisons in Chachapoya (Helmer 155, 40) but until
now no evidence of them has been found.
Capac Ñan, the royal Inca road
The royal Inca road obviously used the earlier trails all over
the mountainous region but improved them everywhere
with stone pavement, drainage canals and staircases. The
road from the Inca administrative centre of Cochabamba
not only went towards the west and north-south but
also towards the east to the Ceja de Selva. It followed
the river systems towards the east. Another road went
from Levanto/Chachapoya eastwards to Moyobamba.
This main transportation and communication route was
used for centuries after the Inca conquest. We were
able to locate it with the help of a map from the British
Library, and we travelled as a group of eight persons
with twelve mules along this road in 2014 (Fig. 22). The
road is stone-paved and with many staircases over long
distances but with only a few Inca installations (personal
expedition 2014) (Fig. 23). There was a high degree of
communication between highland and lowland until the
end of the 16th century and then later in the 18th century
and onwards (Church 1996; Schjellerup et al. 2003). All
the Inca installations are connected to the Inca roads.
 1470 Inca Expansion into the Land of the Chachapoya 151

Fig. 23. The stone paved Inca road, Capac Ñan from Chachapoyas towards Moyobamba. Photo: I. Schjellerup.

DISCUSSION
The Inca sites can be grouped hierarchically, as observed,
into smaller and larger Inca installations. It is highly unu-
sual to find Cuzco imperial architecture so far away from
the capital Cuzco. Most of the Inca sites are placed near
Chachapoya settlements to control the population and
because of their economically important agriculture.
Many sites were also chosen for the sacred topography
being near springs and rivers, a snake-shaped lake, at a
confluence of two rivers, and rivers disappearing into the
ground as well as rocks with unusual shapes. Most of
the Inca sites are at lower altitudes than the sites of the
Chachapoya.
The chronicler Betanzos has an interesting remark on
Huayna Capac, who went to Levanto in Chachapoya on
a military expedition to get the necessary coca and chilli
pepper for the funeral of his mother, Mama Occlo. He is
said to stay there three years with a contingent of 100 000
warriors as his personal guard - undoubtedly exagger-
ated to show his magnitude! (Betanzos 1987, Cap. XLIV,
188-190).
152 Acta Archaeologica
Some of the major Inca sites at the altitudes of 1000-
1900 m above sea level are situated in coca producing
areas that even today demonstrate an abundant presence
of wild coca with exceptionally long leaves.
The Incas transformed the existing environment into
their cultural landscape when they invaded the Chacha-
poya country. They levelled the chosen areas for their
new settlements and occupied them with an architecture
based on square and rectangular elements, also found in
their ceramic style. The settlements were fashioned with
new terraces for agriculture and water canals. Similarly,
the Chachapoya have also put their distinctive fingerprint
on the land before the Inca conquest. The Incas had to
maintain the Inca roads and installations to keep them
free of rapidly expanding vegetation and watch out for
dangerous animals like the ever-present jaguars in the
dense forest.
The Inca presence in the landscape was charged with
meanings that became important for their existence in
the foreign land of the Chachapoya. Inca daily life was
based on complex ideologies that combined their deities,
ancestors and sacred landscapes. The Incas had to main-
tain their religious structure and impress the Chachapoya
with almost constant ceremonies, following the calendar,
the same way as they were performed in Cuzco. The con-
cepts of theatricality and drama provoked and promoted
a recognition that was expressed in the ideological as-
pects as part of the political and economic control. This
brief intermezzo of approximately sixty years had severe
consequences for the population and their subsistence.
Only lately we are beginning to learn more about the re-
markable strong presence of the Incas and their utilisa-
tion of the land in Chachapoya.
 1470 Inca Expansion into the Land of the Chachapoya
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154 Acta Archaeologica

APPENDIX

Table 1. A vocabulary of Quechua words and other specific expressions used in the text.

Expression Explanation

Alpaca A domesticated species of camelid, raised mainly for their wool, not to be confused with a llama that is used as a pack
animal
Callpa An Inca ritual with an esoteric meaning

Chachapoya The Inca name for the people mentioned in this article

Curacas Inca nobility

Curacazgos Organisational unit by curacas

Guarangas An Incan administrative unit of 500 households

Huaca An object or place of ritualistic importance

Huno An Incan administrative unit of 10 000 households

Inca The name of the Andean people and the title of the ruler of the people

Intihuatana Ritual stone, the word meaning a place where to “tie up the sun”

Kallanka A large building defined by its stone foundation or stone threshold. Often an important administrative building

Kancha A large structure with rectangular walls encompassing many small rooms. See also Tampu.

Mitimaes A term for “resettled people”, resettled by the Incas

Quechua Andean language, used by the Incas

Quipu A counting device, used by the Incas, consisting of knotted strings

Quipucamayoc An Inca official in charge of counting the contents in storage houses

Pachacas An Incan administrative unit of 100 households

Tampu A waystation along the Inca roads with facilities for travellers, merchants and messengers

Tawantinsuyu A name in Quechua for the Inca empire

Tinku A place of or an act of ritual dances

Usnu A stone structure used during certain ceremonies

Yunga Quechua word for warm areas on the slopes of the Andes range