2008 - Inka Roads Lines and Rock Shrines

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2008 Inka Roads, Lines, and Rock Shrines: A Discussion of the Contexts of Trail
Markers. Journal of Anthropological Research, vol.64, no.1, pp.41-66.
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Inka Roads, Lines, and Rock Shrines: A Discussion of the Contexts of Trail Markers
Author(s): Jessica Joyce Christie
Source: Journal of Anthropological Research, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Spring, 2008), pp. 41-66
Published by: University of Chicago Press
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INKA ROADS, LINES, AND ROCK SHRINES
A Discussion of theContexts of Trail Markers
Jessica JoyceChristie
School ofArt andDesign, East Carolina University,Greenville,NC 27858.
Email: christiej@ecu.edu
KEYwoRDs: Andes; Inka; Pilgrimages; Road system; Rock art; Sacred geography;
Syncretism
This essay discusses how Andean people have "constructed" nature with four
categories of Inka rockwak'as (shrines) located on trails. Three groups consist
of sculpted rocks on physical roads. The fourth category refers to the concept
of extended zeq'es (radial lines and paths marked by shrines) which structured
the natural and social environment of Cusco and probably of other Inka towns.
I show that the Inka modified boulders on physical and conceptual roads and
zeq'es for practical and symbolic reasons related, on the one hand, to thepan
Andean worship ofmountains and, on theother hand, to a specifically Inka stone
ideologymade material ina politically conceptualized ideational landscape. The
concept of extended zeq 'es may provide a context for some poorly understood
carvedrocksintheInkaempire.
Contemporary practicesrecreatesome
religious
of these lines with regional pilgrimages and the scheduling offeast days. Part
of these practices is theworship of holy images painted on sacred rocks, and
Jesus is turned into a mountain deity. The essay places Inka stone trailmarkers
in thewider context of an Andean identity informedby itssacred geography and
culturally
constructedprocessual
landscape.
TODAY INTHEANDEAN HIGHLANDSone can still observe an ancient but nonetheless

very popular custom: people pile up small stones, creating what are known as
apachetas along mountain roads and passes, hoping that theywould thereby be
protected on theirjourney. In June2005 I noticed numerous apachetas on the sharp,
zigzag turnsof the road to theAbra Malaga, which connects Ollantaytambo with
the lowland jungle areas. Another time,walking from theSinakara sanctuary back
toMawallani after themain day of theQoyllur Rit'i (an annual ritual described
below), I observed a Quechua woman quickly erect an apacheta topped by a small
stone and thenwalk on. Roughly 130 years earlier, George Squier (1877:520)
also observed that itwas the custom of native people to place a rock at the side
of mountain trails so they would continue traveling unharmed. Even earlier,
Spanish writers commented on the same custom: in 1574 Cristobal de Molina
(1943:78) wrote thatwhen people ascended a mountain, theypaused to rest at the
top and shouted, "Apachita!"(his spelling). Cristobal de Albornoz (1968:19 [ca.
1582]) says that thesemarkers are also called camachicos; one can find them at
high points on trails.Native people greet them and offer them part of what they
Journal
ofAnthropological vol.64,2008
Research,
CopyrightC by The UniversityofNew Mexico
41
42 JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH
carry or simply add a rock, so there are many heaps of rocks at such high points.
Descriptions by Molina and Albornoz (see also Cobo 1990:45 [1653: Book I,
chap. 11] and Ramos Gavilan inBouysse-Cassagne and Harris 1987:13) imply that
the high point ormountaintop is the actual wak'a (shrine) referred to by the term
apacheta (or apachita). Apachetas thus came to be identifiedwith the ubiquitous
piles of stonesleftas offerings
to thewak'as by travelers,
which symbolically
replicated themountain. Going furtherback in time, along Inka trails one can find
carved rockwak'as which were somehow related to trails and roads.
These examplesillustrate
that
Andean peoplehavemarked theirlandscape
with stone shrines at least since theLate Horizon Period. Their physical formshave
changed and the rituals conducted at these shrines/wak'as have evolved with the
social context. Thus, when we explore trailmarkers on Andean roads today,we
have to account for at least four differentways of seeing and understanding the
markers and the land they frame: the Iika way, the early Spanish colonial way,
the contemporaryQuechua way, and our way as cultural outsiders. Given the great
complexity of these relations, it is not possible to retrieveprecise meanings of rock
wak'as since meaning varies according toworldview and social and interpretative
contexts. Rather, I seek here to identifyInka social codes and hegemonic practices
which have inspired the production of these wak'as and the particular sense of
place theycreate (Wilson and David 2002:2). Within thevast space of the towering
mountains and deep valleys of theAndes, people have made and continue tomake
places through physical and metaphysical markings. In Bradley's (1997) terms,
Andean people "have signed the land" with stone wak'as. These shrines change
neutral space into constructed landscapes. They are not monumental; rather they
are subtle constructions thatdo not radically alter the topography.But they endow
the natural stone featureswith powerful religious and artisticmeanings and thus
become part of a conceptualized landscape (Knapp and Ashmore 1999:10-11).
Knapp and Ashmore (1999:11-12) extend the idea of "conceptualized landscapes"
to "ideational landscapes," which they define as both imaginative and emotional,
revealing an insider's perspective, and embracing sacred as well as other kinds of
meanings embodied in landscapes. Dichotomies such as built and unbuilt, constructed
and conceptualized, thereforebecome positions on a conceptual continuum (Brady
and Ashmore 1999:126; Knapp and Ashmore 1999:16), which I (Christie 2003b,
n.d.) have described as theongoing dialogue the Inka held with nature bymeans of
thevarying degrees towhich theymodified stone.
In this article, I explore the social significance of carved rocks in general
and the social construction of the specific sense of place they projected onto
trails. This essay is based on a book-length manuscript (Christie n.d.) about the
Inka sculpted outcrops and discusses selected examples of carved rocks on roads
from the database I have compiled. The examples share the ideological context
of sculpted outcrops but provide additional and particular insights into Inka
approaches tomapping space. My methodology is processual, and I agree with
Bernard Knapp (1997:17) that, in this sense, theAndean landscape is "perpetually
under construction." The theoretical problem I address is theways inwhich it
is possible forWestern scholars to reconstructAndean strategies of integrating
space and nature, while necessarily remaining cultural outsiders. I present thus
INKA TRAIL MARKERS IN CONTEXT 43
far-unpublished descriptions of Inka stone wak'as and new ideas about the
interrelationships
betweenInka and Spanish colonialaxes of communication
marked by shrines. The discussion is organized into five categories of rocks on
trails and takes into consideration Inka, early colonial, contemporary Quechua,
and contemporaryWestern perspectives of viewing landscape and nature. The
conclusions outline themechanisms of what I call stone ideology, or patterns by
which Andean people have seen and explained theirnatural environment through
thematerial and symbolic, animated essence of stone. This is the central argument
of my book project, and itwill here be tailored to the stone trailmarkers.
The most extensive work on Inka roads and associated phenomena has been
conducted by JohnHyslop (1984). He defines an Inka road as "any route, exhibiting
formal elements of construction or not,which was used at the time of the empire
and which was continually associated with structures and/or settlementswhose
functionwas related to the operation of the Inka state" (1984:3). Hyslop (1984:7)
emphasizes the importance of carefully reading early historical sources, such as
the Spanish colonial chronicles, as well as the accounts by nineteenth-century
travelerswho describe a certain region, before attempting to explore and identify
an Inka road in that region. Furthermore,Hyslop himself only surveyed about 5%
of the road system (1984: fig.1.1) known at the time. Indeed, he never investigated
the lower parts of theUrubamba Valley or theVilcabamba region, inwhich I have
been interested. Some Inka roads in theVilcabamba region have been identified
by Vincent Lee (2000). To complicate matters, Katharina Schreiber (1984) has
shown that the Inka at times reused existingWari roads. In her case study of the
Carahuarazo Valley, however, she does notmention stone trailmarkers.
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHIC DATA
To organize the following discussion, I have grouped selected examples into five
categories. My database of Inka stone trailmarkers consists of 12 solidly recorded
cases, but there are probably many more. Owing to space constraints, I have
chosen a few examples in different spatial contexts and a number of heretofore
case studies(seeFigure1).
unpublished
Carved/Foregrounded Rocks as Primary Trail/Road Markers

This group contains examples whose primary context is Inka roads. The
firstcase is Kusilluchayoq, a well-known, major carved rock complex located
on the northern outskirts of Cusco. The site consists of numerous sculpted rock
surfaces displaying platforms, seats, a rounded disk, cave-like formations, as
well as damaged figurative sculptures which seem to have represented a feline,
snakes, and monkeys (Figure 2). Kusilluchayoq is situated on themain Inka road
fromCusco towardAntisuyu. Antisuyu was thenortheastern quadrant of the Inka
empire, where lowland jungles abound. This may account for the depiction of
monkeys, unique in Inka rock art,who do not live in theAndean highlands. This
line of reasoning also assigns the context of Kusilluchayoq convincingly to the
road. (For furtherdescription and discussion, see Bauer 1998:81; Christie 2003a;
van de Guchte 1990:170-8 1, illus. 69).
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(Field drawingby JessicaChristiewith Brian Garrett,
Martin Carrillo,
andRoyer Carrillo; digital renderingbyM. and J.Labadie)
The second example of a carved rock whose primary context was a major
road takes us toKollasuyu (the southeastern quadrant of the Inka empire) in the
Lake Titicaca basin. This road had multiple functions and presents us with the
opportunity to fine-tune our understanding of themechanisms throughwhich
people in theAndes have socially constituted and marked the land. First and most
importantly, theKollasuyu road was for transportation. Itwas part of themain
north-south highland road which connected the northern part of the Inka empire
inwhat is now Ecuador with its southernmost extension inwhat is now northern
Chile and Argentina (see Hyslop 1984:116-37, especially p. 119, and 245-53;
Stanish 2003:205-6, 262 forsurvey descriptions of this road, as well as forpractical
aspects of Inka road design). The vast extent of this road systemwas economically
and politically driven by the acquisition, management, movement, and protection
of labor and the transportof trade items andmilitary forces. The challenge for Inka
road planners was to provide the infrastructurethatwould facilitate such tasks.
From thisperspective, I argue, Inka considerations in road design overlap closely
with contemporaryWestern criteria, somethingwhich is confirmed by the fact that
thepresent highway roughly parallels with the Inka road.
On a second level, theKollasuyu road had a very important religious purpose
because it linked Cusco with Copacabana and the Islands of the Sun and Moon
in Lake Titicaca, which were major pilgrimage sites (see below, "Physical
versus Conceptual Inka Roads"). Hyslop (1984:136-37, fig. 8.1) thinks that two
smaller roads leading toYunguyu (where the firstcheckpoint for pilgrims was
located) branched off themain route.Kollasuyu and, especially, theLake Titicaca
basin were rich in history and mythology, cultural aspects the conquering Inka
attempted to appropriate. Southeast of Lake Titicaca lies theMiddle Horizon site
ofTiwanaku, whichexhibits
monumental architecture,stonesculpture,
andmany
preciselycutandoftentightly stoneblocks.It ismythologically
fitted associated
with the creator god Wiraqocha, who made model humans out of stone and then
hiked from Tiwanaku in a. straight northwesterly line to Cusco and eventually
arrived in Ecuador. During his walk, he called forth from springs and caves the
first
humansof fleshandblood,modeledaftertheirstonelikenesses(seeBetanzos
1996:7-11 [1551: Part 1, chaps. I, II]). The Inka emperor Pachakuti is reported to
have visited the ruins of the city of Tiwanaku during his Kollasuyu campaigns and
supposedly was so impressed by thequality of themonuments thathe ordered his
artisans to copy Tiwanaku stonework inCusco.
The Islands of the Sun and Moon constituted the focal points of the pan
Andean origin myth of the Sun, which stipulated that the Sun and Moon first
rose out of openings in a rock outcrop on the Island of the Sun. In an act of
ingeniousideologicalmanipulation,the Inka revisedthismythologicalstory
by declaring that the Sun called forth the firstpair of Inka,Manqo Qhapaq and
Mama Oqllu, from the same outcrop and sent them northwest to Pacariqtambo
where they reemerged from the cave of Tampu T'oqo, togetherwith their three
brothers and three sisters. From Pacariqtambo, the Inka ancestors hiked north and
eventually rested on themountain Huanacauri. Here for the firsttime they saw the
fertileCusco Valley extending below them,where Manqo Qhapaq would found
the capital. In thismanner, the Inka gave themselves a history that connected
themwith the beginning of theworld and provided themselves with ideological
legitimacy to claim and conquer the regions inwhich the creation events had
transpired andStaller2004; Salles-Reese1997;Urton1990,1999).
(Christie
The practical manifestation of the new Inka ideology was the establishment
and administration of a pilgrimage leading fromCusco southeast to the Islands
of the Sun and Moon. The pilgrimage route used the main north-south road
until it turned off toward Yunguyu, Copacabana, and the islands. The generous
aspects of the Inka state are exemplified by the storehouses on the Copacabana
peninsula, which provided for the physical needs of poor pilgrims (Bauer and
Stanish 2001:216; Christie 2006a). In this context, the Inka would have viewed
the road differently from a simple transportation artery.Here the road not only
had a practical function, itwas primarily a conveyance to bring travelers and
pilgrims to sacred sites. These sites constituted a landscape ofmemory and origin
places in the social memory of all Andean people. Although memory stresses
continuity researchincognitivescience(Connerton
and repetition, 1989:25-29)
suggests thathuman memory constructs rather than retrieves. The Inka added the
layer of "Inka-ness" to pan-Andean memory by tacking on their story ofManqo
Qhapaq and Mama Oqllu and by marking the origin places with sacred rocks.
We might say that they turned the sacred sites from ideational into constructed
withclearphysical
landscapes markers.
One type of marker used inKollasuyu to announce the presence of the Inka
state and its ideological claims was carved rocks located on themain north-south
road. One well-known example is the so-called Inka's Chair, located near Santiago
Chambilla, next to themodern highway between Ilave and Juli. Itwas described
and illustrated by Squier (1877:350), whose drawing exaggerates the complexity
of the carvings. The site is a rounded sandstone outcrop which exhibits multiple
rows of finelyhewn apparent carved seats facing thehighway. Between the seats
a thinvertical channel runs from the top down, which iswhy the larger outcrop
has been named El Bebedero ("the trough"). The style of these rock sculptures is
similar to thatofmany examples in theCusco region. Less-precisely-cut steps lead
to the top of the outcrop. Here a tower, covered with graffiti,has been constructed
in recent times. Squier (1877:350) speculated that the carvings served as a
"resting-place of the Inka," where local people came to do him [the Inka] homage
and bring him chicha. Stanish (2003:274) argues that the Inka's Chair may have
functioned as a stop along the pilgrimage route thatwas associated with certain
ritual requirements. This is a good possibility, since we know thatcontrol stations
and checkpoints forpilgrims fromYunguyu to the Sanctuary on the Island of the
Sun were staffed by priests. Hyslop (1984:123) recorded the site, but he simply
states that its significance remains unknown (for a thorough discussion of the
Inka's Chair, see also Arkush 2005). Other carved rocks on or near theKollasuyu
Altarani(Arkush2005; Hyslop 1976:352;Stanish2003:274) and
road include
Altar (Frye2005:204).
Calahuata/Inka
outsiderstofullyunderstand
Althoughitisnotpossibleforcultural how the
Inka experienced these carved rocks, we might argue that they created places
that symbolically marked the presence of the Inka state. The Inka's Chair, in
particular, articulated what I have referred to elsewhere (Christie n.d.) as Inka
stone ideology and which I will discuss in the conclusion of this essay. In the
case at hand, this stone ideology was manifested in selected foregrounded (i.e.,
emphasized) rocks which shared thematerial and symbolic essence of stonewith
the sacred outcrop in the originmyth on the Island of the Sun.
Views
RockswithSignificant
Carved/Foregrounded
In theMachu Picchu region, one can enjoy gorgeous views of significant
mountains from a number of carved rocks. In 2004, I noticed a carved rock along
the tourist trail in the section between Sayaqmarka and Phuyupatamarka. It is
located below the ridge beyond which one descends into Phuyupatamarka. The
rock is overgrown with moss and obscured by vegetation but clearly exhibits
seatlike carvings (Figure 3). The carved seats are oriented toward themountain
range in the distance, among which the nevados (snow-capped) mountains of
the Pumasillo or Sacsarayoq Range stand out prominently. From a twenty-first
centuryWestern perspective, this sculpted rock appears to have functioned as a
restingplace on the trail,offering a panoramic view of themountains.
Reinhard(1991) has emphasizedthat
Machu Picchu shouldbe understood
in the context of the sacred geography of itsmountain setting.According to him,
withconspicuous
theInkanoticedand soughtvisualconnections mountains,
just
as we do, but they endowed natural featureswith theirown culture-specific and
symbolic meanings. Throughout theAndes, mountains are personified as theapus
or mountain deities. Dean (2006) has made a similar argument for apachetas,
based on painted illustrations in the recently published Galvin manuscript by
the chroniclerMurua. The apachetas stand for the civilized and cultivated lower
mountain slopes, as opposed to the rugged and wild, untamable peaks.
Figure 3. Carved rockbetweenSayaqmarka and Phuyupatamarka.(Photo by theauthor)
I located a similar carved seat near the top ofWayna Picchu (Figure 4). The
site context is the trail and the view toward theVeronica Range and specifically
Putukusi Peak, the rounded mountain in this range closest toMachu Picchu.
Again I posit the function of this sculpted seat as a resting place on the trail,
which established visual bonding with surroundingmountains (see also van de
Guchte 1999:156). Whereas Westerners may experience romanticized awe for
the grandeur of a seemingly pristinemountain wilderness, the Inka would have
acknowledged thepresence of themountain deities in rituals.
Figure 4.Machu Picchu, isolatedseat-likecarvingnear thesummitofWayna Picchu.

(Photo by theauthor)
INKA TRAIL MARKERS INCONTEXT 49
The ideational landscape closely linked mountains, the apus, trails, and
carved rocks with the royal estate of Pachakuti Inka Yupanki. Spanish colonial
writers (Betanzos 1996:44-58, 65-73 [1551: Part One, chaps. XI, XII, XIII, XV,
XVI]; Sarmiento de Gamboa 1942:106-10, 116, 119 [1572: chaps. 30, 31, 32,
36, 37];Molina 1943:18-21)andcontemporary
researchers 2003b,n.d.;
(Christie
Niles 1992;Paternosto anddiscussedhowPachakuti
1996:180)havedocumented
redesigned and rebuilt the capital, reorganized wak'a worship and the calendar,
commissioned many carved rocks in theCusco area, and ordered the build-up of
theterrace
system
as themajoreconomicinfrastructure.
Throughsuchmeasures,
he was instrumental indefining the sacred landscape of the Inkawith its important
religious
aswell as politicalimplications.
A thirdexample is located on the Inka road toAbra Choquetacarpo, a pass
in themountain range which separates the valley of the Rio Vilcabamba and
Urubamba from theYanama and Rio Blanco valleys, tributariesof theApurimac
River (Figure 1). The Inka road from Huancacalle to Abra Choquetacarpo
corresponds to Lee's "Road III" (2000: fig. 3) and is clearly defined. Structural
reinforcements and retaining walls that I assume go back to Inka times are
noticeablein theupperrockysections.Severalkilometers
down theApurimac
side I located a stonewak'a which had probably never been documented (Figure
5). The remains of several shortwall sections are next to a stream which runs
alongside the trail.The best-preserved walls define two chambers reminiscent of
basins throughwhich water flows. They are approximately 1.5 m tall, and their
masonry consists of roughly shaped blocks. Nearby is a huge boulder that seems
to have been shaped and smoothed into a large cube (Figure 6). I did not see
carvings in theprecise geometric style prevalent in theCusco examples.
Figure 5.Abra Choquetacarpo, stonewak'a at Inka trail.(Photo by theauthor)
Evidence of
N Landslide
0 12 34 5 M...
Scale 1:200
) Chi~~~~~~chicara
. . Muntains
Carved Stone
Possible lnka
\ 1 %t e Step Stone
Figure 6.Abra Choquetacarpo, stonewak'a and associated complex.

(Drawing by theauthor,digitizedbyAndy Belcher)
This modified stone block and associated fountainwas likely a trailmarker

and perhaps resting place, a ceremonial site formountain worship, and perhaps
a communication point fromwhich strategic sight lineswere drawn. A landslide
likely destroyed thewalls and dispersed the stones. The practical functionsof trail
marker and resting place are evident from itsproximity to the Inka (and modern)
trail and, I assert, would be understood in a similar way by the Inka chasqui
(messenger and carrier of loads) and the contemporary hiker. In addition, the Inka
transformed this location into a socially constructed, Inka-specific place.
The stonewak'a was most likely a ceremonial site formountain worship since
it is situated in a spectacular mountain settingknown by the locals as Chichicara.
The Chichicara Mountains are towering,vertically formed stone needles unique in
the region,where present-day touristspractice mountain climbing. In theAndean
view, theirunusual form impregnates thesemountains with a particularly potent
animating essence or life force,while theypose a daunting challenge to the rock
climber. Furthermore, the stonewak'a sits at the trail to a pass that separates the
drainage systems of themost importantrivers in the Inka heartland: theUrubamba
and Apurimac. The shaped block lies within a section of the trail fromwhich
the traveler has the last or firstview depending on whether one is ascending
or descending of themountain on whose top is located the Inka settlement of
Qoriwayrachina (Figure 7). This location and itsview may have been important to
the Inka because, fromQoriwayrachina, one can just barely see the outer section
with the rounded platform of the core of Choqequirau, a site that sits high above
theApurimac River.
i _>
se.."'~~~~~~~~w;f
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Figure 7. View fromthe Inka trailtoAbra Choquetacarpo towardQoriwayrachina.

(Photoby theauthor)
Little has been published about these sites (see Lee 1997; Lumbreras,
Uccelli, and Wust 2003; the Peruvian InstitutoNacional de Cultura is working
at Choqequirau), but the consensus of most authors is that they are late in the
Inka empire and were built or used byManqo Inka and his sons. The sixteenth
centurywas a time of incredible turmoil and instability for the Inka; the central
state system had already been destroyed, as the Spaniards were occupying Lima
and Cusco, and Manqo Inka and his followers were trying to set up a counter
govemment in theVilcabamba region. In this context, the Inka used sites such as
Choqequirau, Qoriwayrachina, and the stone wak'a near Abra Choquetacarpo to
draw sight lines and points of visible connections over large distances. Drawing
fromethnography, I argue that in the sixteenth century,many rounded platforms,
mountaintop sites, and stonewak'as with significant views may have functioned
primarily as strategic and sometimes military points of communication and only
secondarily as ceremonial places dedicated to mountain worship (as Reinhard
1991 has proposed, among others).' If so, itwould imply that the contexts of such
sites, theways they construct landscapes as well as Inka perspectives of nature,
shiftedduring Inka rule in theLate Horizon.
Carved/Foregrounded Rocks Delimiting Important Sites

The most spectacular examples in thiscategory are on Thupa Inka's personal
properties atChinchero. Today the town of Chinchero covers the southern portion
of the archaeological site. To the north,Thupa Inka's royal estate was delimited
by the Inka road leading fromCusco toYucay in theUrubamba Valley. Two
impressive sculpted rock complexes appear tomark the boundaries of the estate.
The northeastern boundary is formed by a very large and fancifully sculpted
boulder nicknamed Chinkana or "cave" by some local people (Figure 8). Another
boundary.I
carvedrockcomplex,knownas Titiccacca,formsthenorthwestern
argue that the two outcrops, sculpted in Inka style, embodied an Inka identity,that,
I postulate, Thupa Inka defined at least partly through rock art (Christie 2005).
(For further
description
anddiscussion,seeCaceres Silva and Jurado
Carrasco
2000:124.)
Figure 8. Chinchero,northeastern
carved rockcomplex
(Chinkana,Q'ellomachayniyoq), fullview. (Photo by theauthor)
Physical versus Conceptual Inka Roads

Thus far I have discussed actual, physical roads with special, foregrounded
stonemarkers. The Inka and many otherAndean people have another typeof road,
which is conceptual; these are imagined, usually straight lines that are marked
on the ground by wak'as, many of which are stones. The primary example is
the zeq'e system of Inka Cusco, which has been amply covered in the literature
(for example, Bauer 1998; Christie n.d.; Cobo 1990 [1653]; van de Guchte
1990; Zuidema 1964). Zeq'es were imagined abstract lines that radiated from
theQorikancha (Inka Temple of the Sun) in central Cusco into the four suyus
(officially named quadrants) of the empire. As Bauer (1998) has shown, they
varied in length and many were not straight, but they defined a circle around
Cusco, with a maximum radius of about 20 km. The most importantethnographic
source is Father Bernabe Cobo's encyclopedic Historia del Nuevo Mundo,
completed in 1653 and consisting of 43 books. Book 13 includes four chapters
describing and naming the zeq'e lines and their associated shrines in each suyu.
These zeq'es were marked by more than 328 wak'as, many of which have been
identifiedby Bauer (1998) in his meticulous archival and fieldwork. Of the 328
wak'as, 96 (29%) were springs or sources of water and approximately 95 (29%)
were standing stones, some ofwhich had been carved. Together, these springs and
stonesmade up nearly 60% of the known shrines (Bauer 1998:23).
Cobo (1990:51 [Bk. 13]) furthertells us that each zeq'e linewas maintained
by individual Cusco families, which he lists as royal panaqas (royal dynastic
descent groups founded by each ruler) and non-royal ayllus (Andean social units
of varying inclusiveness based on kinship and family relations).Members of these
kin groups saw to it thatprescribed offeringswere given to specific wak'as at the
requiredtimes.
During theEarly Intermediate Period, Nasca people may have used a similar
system,given thatsome Nasca lineswere organized as ray centers (centrifugal lines
or paths departing froma center) (Aveni 2000:141-55, especially p. 144). Straight
processional ritual lines thatgo up and down mountains, rather than leading around
them, have been used by many Andean peoples: the non-figurative Nasca lines
were built towalk on (Aveni 2000:167). The Inka used such unbent lines during
theQhapaq ucha walks from the capital back to theirvillages (discussed below).
Similar lines have also been reported from contemporary religious practices in
theBolivian highlands(Aveni2000:172-73; Reinhard1992). It followsthat
conceptual roads, trails, and lines were not solely abstract phenomena but have
been linked tomany symbolic ceremonial activities in theAndes.
I have argued elsewhere (Christie 2006a) that the Inka may have been
anextended
implementing would eventually
zeq'e systemthat haveencompassed
and integrated the entire empire, reconstructing it as an imperial landscape. This
explainstheexistenceof isolatedand far-outlying
lineof reasoning carvedrock
complexes, such as Sayhuite, Ingapirca, or Samaipata, as stations or endpoints of
extended zeq'e lines (for amap of Inka carved rocks, see van de Guchte 1990). This
extended zeq'e systemwas incomplete, and only a few lines can be postulated based
on outlying carved rock complexes. However, its existence is partly supported by
the consensus of numerous colonial and contemporary writers regarding other
Inka zeq'e systems outside the area of Cusco (see Bauer 1998:143-54; Polo de
Ondegardo 1916 [1571]) and by the recognition that the conceptualizing of ray
centers and straight ritual lines is profoundly Andean (see above).
Heffeman (1996) and Zuidema (1982) have identified and documented
one such line thatmust have been very important in the Inka empire. Heffernan
(1996: figs. 1, 8) has archaeologically documented a series of Inka sites to the
west of Cusco which form a nearly straight line to Chincha at the coast. Major
sites along this line are Cusco, InkaMoqomallinan, Quilla Rumi, Choquechurqo,
Saihuite (Sayhuite), Vilcashuaman (Vilcaswaman), Huaytara, and Chincha. The
andpossible significance
identification of thislineprovidesa contextforsuch
important rock art sites as Sayhuite and Quilla Rumi, the latterof which remains
(Figure9).Heffernan
poorlyunderstood (1996:27-31)discussesthefunctions
of
this line of sites based on threepieces of ethnographic evidence. First, some of the
places were on the route thatmembers of theChinchaysuyu ayllus of Cusco took
when going westward toward the Apurimac River during the Citua ceremony
described in great detail by Cristobal deMolina (1943:29-40).
Second, the east-west linemay also have played a role in theQhapaq ucha
ceremony and itsmandated pilgrimages as described most thoroughly byMolina
(1943:69-72; also see D'Altroy 2002:169-74; Duviols 1976). A major motivation
for holding these rituals was that each wak'a in the imperial provinces should
R.B F- SAN
R.
L.,rin
L/i~ B_j DAMIAN
A
LCHAC;AMAC
12-30S C
MALA
Inka
Moqomallinan
Huaytara Vilcashuaman QuillaRumi
\ D JarP>g J| s L.Chocococha AAt, Saikan
CHINCHA 4 F
Saihuite
ANDAHUAYLAS
0 50 100km
WWChoquechurqo17Tw-v
Figure 9. Line of thewesterly Inka carved rock sites (afterVan de Guchte 1990) and the
Cusco-Chincha-Pachacamac ceremonial routeshowing the locations (afterRostworowski
1992:53) of Pachacamac (A) and his "sons" (B-F). (Adapted fromHeffeman 1996)
receive offerings as recorded and prescribed by khipu kamayuqs (Inka accounting

specialists who kept records on khipus, knotted strings attached to a principal
cord) in Cusco. Qhapaq ucha was highly effective politically, religiously,
administratively, and economically in theway itorchestratedmandated interactions
between theperiphery of the empire and the center.As theprovincial delegations
leftCusco with their offerings,which had been empowered by their symbolic
display, the reciprocal obligations between the outlying centers and the capital
had been reaffirmed and validated. The ritualwalks from the provinces to the
center and back had to follow specified rules (Molina 1943:75-76; McEwan and
van de Guchte 1992:361; Zuidema 1982:429-31). On theirjourney toCusco, the
village priests, along with children and other offerings,walked on the royal Inka
roads, whereas the returnjourney had to be made following straight lines,which
could mean climbing and descending mountains and gorges rather thanwalking
around them.Molina (1943:69-70) mentions a location by thename of Sacalpina
on theQhapaq ucha walks, which Heffernan (1996:30) identifies as Salpina on
theCitua route toChinchaysuyu; thereforeboth ritual routeswould have partially
overlapped.
Third, the east-west linemay have been mirrored by a series of Pachacamac
shrines Thupa Inka Yupanki was instructed to build by the god Pachacamac (see
Hernando de Santillan [1563] cited by Heffernan 1996:27). Heffernan (1996:
fig. 8) shows that theChincha-Andahuaylas-Cusco series of Pachacamac shrines
repeats the east-west line of carved rockwak'as described above, althoughMala
and Pachacamac are situated furtherto the north.
The data summarized above present the ethnographic contexts for three
conceptual underpinnings of a physically constructed Inka road. The Chinchaysuyu
road proceeded fromCusco in a westerly direction until reaching Vilcaswaman
(Vilcashuaman), where it divided into the Chinchaysuyu road proper leading
northwest to Jauja, Cajamarca, Tumipampa, and Quito and the coastal connector
running due west to Tambo Colorado (Hyslop 1984: frontispiece, General Map
of the Inka Road System). In termsof economic infrastructure,theChinchaysuyu
road plus the coastal connector throughVilcaswaman leading roughly in an east

west direction functioned as a vital transportation artery to the coast on which
trade itemsunavailable in thehighlands could be brought in.The modern highway
thatconnects Cusco with the coast roughly parallels the Inka road. The system of
four roads which originated in the heart of Cusco and led northwest, northeast,
southeast, and southwest divided the empire into four quarters with the capital
as its center. In the political context of the state, the Inka marked the land with
cultural stamps radiating out from their capital and ordering their territoryinto
an Inka-specific replica of themythohistoric creation landscape taypi (Bouysse
Cassagne and Harris 1987:19-21). These cultural stamps were not limited to
the roads but also included the sacred rocks lining them in specific places. As
explained above, the roads as well as their stone markers did not fulfill just a
single function as Western highways do, but could hold many positions on the
fluidcontinuumbetweenphysical,functional
andconceptual,
symbolic.
The threeconceptual oftheChinchaysuyu
underpinnings roadwereperformed
as ritual runs and pilgrimages and materialized as a set of shrines strung on an
east-west line fromCusco to the coast, as described above. In the Inka ideational
landscape,physicalroadsand symboliczeq'es could overlap.They servedas
conveyances, directions, and means to connect with sacred and spiritually potent
places. Rock wak'as and sculpted boulders occur on physical roads as well as
on ritual and symbolic lines, and they seem to connect the two metaphorically
(discussed inmore detail below). With regard to "ways of seeing," the roads
and carved rocks must be considered thematerial records of the Inka manner
of perceiving and constructing the land,while the descriptions of the ritual runs
and pilgrimages provided by the chroniclers add an early colonial perspective.
Western scholars will not be able to disentangle the two owing to the distance in
time, space, and culture.
a long-distance
Zuidema(1982:439-45)reconstructs zeq'e leadingsoutheast
fromCusco toTiwanaku based onMolina's (1943:25-28) detailed description of
a pilgrimage toVilcanota conducted by priests at the time of thewinter solstice.
He also refers to themore general mythohistorical accounts about theorigin of the
Sun and the firstInka linked to thephysical locations of themountain Huanacauri,
Vilcanota, Lake Titicaca, and Tiwanaku. Zuidema (1982:440-42) identified and
mapped many of thepilgrimage stations (Figure 10). InAymara, Vilcanota means
"theHouse of the Sun," and Santacruz Pachacuti (1950:251 [ca. 1613]) mentions
that one Inka king placed "two clubs of gold and silver with lines and heaps of
stones" atVilcanota.
In Inka mythohistory, Huanacauri, Vilcanota, Lake Titicaca, and Tiwanaku
appear invarious accounts of the origin of the Sun andMoon and the ancestors of
the Inka dynasty (see above). Therefore, as viewed fromCusco, the southeast
Kollasuyu-and the Lake Titicaca basin became powerful metaphors ripe with
multi-layered, sacred qualities. As was the case with the east-west line, the
southeastern line orKollasuyu roadwas a transportationand communication road,
a pilgrimage route, as well as a conceptual sight line. Zuidema (1982: fig. 16.4)
reconstructs
a straight,
long-distance from
zeq'e running Cusco through
Vilcanota,
Pukara, slightly south of Copacabana, and on toTiwanaku (Figure 10). Thus in the
II
LLANTAY TAM 60
Pi SAC
Cuzc
14
VILCANOTA
\(LA RAY A)
PUCARA
LAKE
TITICACA
HATUN COLLA *
PUNO I ISLAND
16 CHUCUITO TITICACA
INKA'S CHAIR
COPACA9AMA |
N KILOMETERS
O 0 50w *D
100 150
l
20TIHACON
TIAHUANACOO
?~~~~j
Figure 10. Long-distance zeq'e fromCusco toTiwanaku. (Adapted fromZuidema 1982)
Inka way of seeing, as ithas been communicated to us by Spanish writers during

the colonial period, the southeastern direction established the linkwith origin sites
which could physically be reached by the road,which were rituallyperformed and
re-created by thepilgrims and priests, and which were symbolically appropriated
through the long-distance zeq'e and sightline by the Inka administration inCusco
(see above). Even today, themain transportation artery fromCusco to Bolivia
overlaps or runs parallel to the Inka Kollasuyu road.
Post-Contact Rock Shrines on Trails

In this section I consider roads, zeq'es, and sight lines with stone shrines in
the colonial period and into the present.Michael Sallnow (1987) discusses two
highly influential,extralocal miraculous shrines in theDepartment of Cusco, the
sanctuaries of the Sefnorde Qoyllur Rit'i and the Sefior deWank'a (Seiior in this
case means Lord or Christ). In both instances thecentral shrines are rock outcrops
adorned with painted images of the sufferingChrist, attesting that certain rocks
continue to function as liminal places and both are the destinations of important
pilgrimages. The sanctuary of Sefior de Qoyllur Rit'i is located on the flanks of
Mount Ausangate at Sinakara, thepilgrimage site above the village ofMawallani
situated on theRio Mapacho east of Cusco. The official legend of Qoyllur Rit'i,
concerning an Indian boy named Mariano Mayta and his otherworldly friend
Manuel, is discussed by Sallnow (1987:207-9). The sepulcher of Mariano at
Sinakara became the principal shrine for the native people of the area, and to
avoidpagan interpretations,
religiousauthorities
had an imageof thecrucified
Christ painted on the rock. "This is the image known today as Seiior de Qoyllur
Rit'i, 'Lord of the Snow Star"' (Sallnow 1987:209) (Figure 11). Today it forms
part of the altar area of the church of Sinakara, which was built on top of this
sacred outcrop (Sallnow 1987:207-9). The sanctuary of Sinakara is relatively
unused throughout the year except on two important occasions. On the feast
day of Corpus Christi it is the final destination of one of themost significant
pilgrimages
intheDepartment
ofCusco.The secondimportant
date isSeptember
14, the feastof theExaltation of theCross, when primarily local villagers convene
at theSinakarachurch(Sallnow1987:235).
Various versions ofthe SefnordeQoyllur Rit'i storyexist, each differingslightly
from the official account. In the context of this study, theQamawaran version is
of interestbecause itdoes not include church officials and represents the cult as a
purely Indian affair.Sallnow emphasizes that theQamawaran account establishes
a tight link between Sefior de Qoyllur Rit'i and Apu Ausankati: "a pilgrimage to
theChristian shrine is deemed to be at the same time a visit to the pagan mountain
deity" (Sallnow 1987:211). Thus, apparently in the eyes of Quechua people the
rockwith the painted image of Sefior de Qoyllur Rit'i becomes an Andean stone
wak'a, which shares the spiritual essence of the nevado Ausangate/Ausankati,
but at the same time it is the heart of the Christian church. In thismanner, the
Figure 1 1.Church of Sinakara, rockpaintingof Sefiorde Qoyllur Rit'i.

(Photo by theauthor)
liminal, sacred quality of this rockwak'a has been expanded to include Christ, the
Christian protagonist, who is paired with the apu ormountain deity.
The sanctuary of Seiior de Wank'a or Lord of the Crag is located on the
eastern slopes ofMount Pachatusan about two kilometers northwest of thevillage
of San Salvador. The focal point of the church is a rock outcrop with a mural of
Christ: he is depicted as tied to a column and being whipped by his torturers.The
official mythohistory of Sefior de Wank'a was compiled by one of the shrine
chaplains in the 1930s and relates the stories of three apparitions (see Sallnow
1987:243-53). The Mercedarians, who owned the land with the rock on which
theflagellated
Christhad appeared,
were givenpermission
by churchofficialsto
paint a mural of Christ on the rock. The church thathouses this shrine todaywas
completed in 1965 (Sallnow 1987:253), and each year on September 14, the feast
of theExaltation of theCross, the sanctuary of Seinor deWank'a is the destination
of a large, regional pilgrimage bringing in thousands of visitors.
Another, less famous example of a Christian painted rock shrine can be found
on the trail toChoqequirau. Throughout theAndes, one can encounter numerous
similar examples (Figure 12). They attest to the fact thatmany Andean people still
consider some rocks to be powerful localities throughwhich the supernaturalmay
be accessed.
I take the post-contact parallels one step further,although my argument
rests on highly speculative grounds. One of Sallnow's maps (1987:290 map 6)
(Figure 13) shows a striking east-west line of Christ shrines, all of which have
their feast day on September 14, extending fromSinakara/Qoyllur Rit'i in the east
toMollepata in thewest. The Christ shrines between Mollepata and Cusco almost
mirror Heffernan's line/road (1996; see above), and the stations ofWank'a and
Qoyllur Rit'i extend it east toMount Ausangate. I am by no means suggesting
that someone deliberately planned and orchestrated this east-west stringof Christ
shrines with their shared feast and fair day. Rather, this concurrence should be
attributed to an Andean way of perceiving and ordering the landscape and to
generationally transmitted knowledge about the interconnectedness of Inka
roads (zeq'es)-marked by sacred rocks and boulders which contained part of
the animating essence of mountains/apus-and the powers of Christ as the great
mediator between thevertical divisions of the cosmos. One of these strikingpoints
of interconnectedness comes to the forefront in a story about two Christ shrines
(Sefior deMollepata and Senforde Inkilpata) as told by Sallnow (1987:78). These
two shrines in the formof crucifixes, togetherwith the crucifix of theCusco Sefior
de Temblores, were sent to Peru by Carlos V. During their transport fromLima
to Cusco on thewest-east road described above, two of the crucifixes became
increasingly heavy atMollepata and Inkilpata, respectively, and were said to have
wanted to be leftat these locations, where theybecame local shrines. The porters
continued on toCusco with the Senior de Temblores crucifix only. This replicates
the story of the Piedra Cansada, the huge sculpted boulder near Saqsawaman,
which could not complete its journey to Cusco because itwas exhausted and
startedweeping blood, as related by Pedro Cieza de Leon, Gutierrez de Santa
Clara, Garcilaso de laVega, Guaman Poma de Ayala, Martin deMurua, and Cobo
(van de Guchte 1984).
Figure 12. Cross shrine on a boulder inAguas Calientes. (Photo by the author)
Z g~~ILATA; P4.\t ALICA6TA2A8C

Al.
T C.na C4,L
15A.4u16?
set.9 oi Tem . o
MOLLEPATA CUSC WNK'A14 SWpt.mb. 14S6p6?bA
/-XR~~~~~~1 /
KILAT ANx SINAKARA
}< \/)~'. .\EN14. ..
15Auust
--- Depmentbourxdary
| ACu4J-,O
I,ack
Road! wS1 J e tb r s : .
1:+.(J_
*Prownual rtpotl :.-:s.
-:;,........s 1644?46us24
A2~~~4III \
To12g~~~~~~~~~o.~em
L 16143s_ 30 (1 ;( .''
Figure 13. East-west lineofChrist shrineswith thefeastday on September 14.

(Adapted fromSallnow 1987)
60 JOURNAL
OFANTHROPOLOGICAL
RESEARCH
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The foregoing
description
of Inka foregrounded
and/orcarvedoutcropsas well
as Christian shrines and apachetas on trails.and conceptual lines has shown that
the use of roadside wak'as is clearly a precontact tradition thathas been adjusted
to post-contact times. These Inka trailmarkers, Christian shrines, and apachetas
should be understood as thematerializations of the social construction of the
Andean landscape defined by mountains and their building blocks, which is
stone. In general terms, the cultural shaping of Andean nature and the roles sacred
rockshaveplayedwithinthisprocesshavebeen summarized
byChristie(2006b),
Heckman (2003:115-16),Reinhard(1991:21),Salomon (1991:15), Sherbondy
(1992:57),Urton(1981:69,170-77).
Here I argue specifically thatstones and rocks are fragmentsofmountains and
thus share some of theiranimating essence. Linguistically, early colonial Quechua
words for stone-for example, rumi and its derivatives (Gonzailez Holguin
1989:319-320[1608])-carryconnotations
of hardandprecioussubstances.
The
word uma and its derivatives link the concepts of head and mountaintop with
that of precious stones (Gonzalez Holguin 1989:354 [1608]). Fundamental are
themultiple and complex layers of mediating qualities-between high and low,
sky and river valleys, dry and wet, cold and warm-with which, as derivatives of
mountains, stones/rocks seem to be imbued. In terms of landscape iconography,
sculpted rocks mediate between object and image (see van de Guchte 1996).
Their place is somewhere between the dialectic poles, just as Andean people
live in different ecological zones and trade and barter their products grown at
different elevations. This system of symbolic and economic reciprocity has been
fundamental toAndean culture in pre- and post-contact times. From the same
perspective, stones and rocks become vital nodes on trails/roads and conceptual
lines since the latter outline a horizontal direction and stones/rocks access the
vertical, cosmic divisions. They mark a center, an encounter or tinkuyof opposing
axes and opposite forces, and offerings have to be placed and rituals conducted to
maintain equilibrium in the animated world of man and nature.
In this sense, all rocks share this inherent animistic potential, but not all
rocks were or are wak'as. The Inka selected boulders and outcrops thatwere
situated close to their roads, and theypreferred in particular those that exhibited
cavelike overhangs, were associated with water sources, and/or displayed some
unusual characteristic. Van de Guchte (1999:151) argues for an Inka aesthetic
of alterity or difference in theway they selected wak'as, an integral aspect in
the Inka cognition of landscape as embedded in a state-controlled practice that
blended
mythology, andpoliticalambitions.
geophysicalreality, Anthropologists
have frequently talked about culture as a system of shared meaning. Recent
discussions, however, have emphasized that the production ofmeaning is always
the result of power relations (see Sharman 2006:843-44). In our context, I argue
thatAndean people experienced stone in a shared, egalitarian manner and that the
Inka imposed their authority of meaning upon thatmaterial. As van de Guchte
(1999:155) emphasizes, the Inka selected stones, rocks, and boulders to become
wak'as but could also change them back into non-wak'as (wak'a atisqa). These
selections clearly reflect the processes of power involved in bestowing meaning

which I contextualize
upon rocks,
ornon-meaning below.
further
There was an evident political component in the Inka strategy of forming
an inherent (van Dommelen 1999:277-78) Inka landscape by dotting roads and
conceptuallineswith carvedand/or but foregrounded
unmodified (emphasized)
rockwak'as, which I refer to as "stone ideology" and which constitutes a primary
argument in this essay. The recognition thatstone has powerful animating essences
is pan-Andean and has great time depth (for Chavin de Huantar, see Burger
1992; forTiwanaku, see Kolata and Ponce Sangines 1992; and forpost-contact
stone idols, see Pablo Jose de Arriaga 1968:201 [1621: chap. II] and Cristobal
de Albornoz 1968 [ca. 1582]). I argue that the Inka co-opted this general form
of Andean stone worship and manipulated it for their own political strategies.
In anthropological experienceof stonewith
terms,theyinstilledtheegalitarian
authoritativemeaning as one manifestation of thehegemonic practices of the Inka
state. Itwas most likely Pachakuti Inka Yupanki who initiated and promoted the
geometric style of Inka rock art (Christie 2003b, n.d.) and an engagement with
stone channeled by the state in the imperial vision of landscape. While local wak'a
worship continued on one level, the Inka ruler and his officials ritually activated
rocks as strategicwak'as in state-sponsored settlements, on zeq'e lines, and on
roads. These statewak'as replicated aspects of the Inka stone pacarinas (Andean
origin places, such as the rock outcrop on the Island of the Sun and Tampu
T'oqo, which were the origin places of the Inka dynasty mentioned earlier) and
constructed Inka territoryas an Inka version of theAymara space-time concept
of taypi,which implies an original concentration on a central place of origin
followed by a phase of spatial diffusion and extension. In theAymara origin story,
the central place of beginning or taypiwas the rock sanctuary on the Island of the
Sun fromwhich, in a second phase, thepacarinas of individual ayllus or lineages
spread out in all directions. In the Inka context, Cusco was the capital and the
center fromwhich thezeq'e lines and roads marked by stonewak'as extended in a
radial fashion (Bouysee-Cassagne and Harris 1987:19-21). This spatial extension
was likely ordered by Pachakuti intomacro- and micro suyu and zeq'e systems
inordertoreciprocate economic,and ideologicalneeds (Duviols
administrative,
1976). Roads and stone wak'as defined many of these divisions. In thismanner,
the layout of Cusco and themarking of the Inka landscape repeated and relocated
theAndean origin narrative.
I also argue (Christie n.d.) that rock sculpting, as a vital element of stone
ideology, materialized and made visible various degrees of control exerted by the
Inka state over nature and itshuman inhabitants.Varying landscape settings called
forparticular modifications of stone, and different sites and situations demanded
differing degrees of give-and-take relations, which in the political arena played
out as how local lordswere installed intokuraka (local ethnic authority) positions
(D'Altroy2002:232-34,327). Pre-Inkapeople, likethe
Wari, constructed
roads,
but Schreiber (1984) does not mention the existence of any stone trailmarkers.
Carved rocks on Inka roads are the formalmaterializations of theirnegotiations
of power and control between the dialectic poles of culture and nature, core area
and periphery, as well as expressing political aspects of Inka identity.
Sherbondy (1992:61-62) argues that the Inka used the Sea as a symbol that
would help unite thediverse people theyhad conquered because all Andean groups
respected thePacific Ocean as the source and end of all water. To apply this symbol
to theirpoliticaladvantage,theydevelopedwhat Sherbondy(1992:62) calls a
water ideology,which included placing theSea at the religious and political center
of the empire by filling the central plazas of Cusco, Awkaypata, and Kusipata
with sand two and a half palms thick brought fromvarious Pacific beaches. This
sand stood for the Sea, which highland and coastal peoples revered as an origin
place. I have added to this the concept of stone ideology. Mountains are visible
to all highland and most coastal peoples, and for all Andean inhabitants, they are
paramount sources of water because they are where rivers originate. Thus, water,
stone, and mountains are intimately linked in Salomon's (1991:15) image of the
world mountain around which water circulates.
To conclude, I have sketched the history of Andean stone and mountain
worship and theassociated use of rockwak'as as roadside shrines and trailmarkers.
Whereas pre-Inka cultures tended to set up a dialogue between themselves and
nature in theway they constructed man-made mountains and channeled water,
the Inka redefined the animistic qualities of stone into a stone ideology controlled
by the state. In Spanish colonial times, Catholic priests, in their turn,worked to
replace the apus with Jesus Christ, in part by painting him on the very stones
endowed with powerful mediating qualities in the Andean mind. Another
possible-Christian strategy was to assign the September 14 celebrations of
the Exaltation of the Cross to communities that lay on the extended east-west
Inka zeq'e line. But it is not thatone oppressive system simply replaced another.
As Sallnow (1987:55-73, 267-69) cogently analyzes, following the reforms of
Viceroy Francisco Toledo in the 1570s, Andean religious cults became very
much localized. These reforms included the resettlement of the dispersed native
populations into villages of Spanish design, the introduction of the Spanish
version of themita or draft labor system, and the establishment of cofradias (local
confraternities), each dedicated to theworship and maintenance of a particular
Christian saint and charged with the celebration of his/her annual feast.What
Sallnow (1987:268) calls "the extralocal miraculous shrines" of Sefior de Qoyllur
Rit'i and Seinor de Wank'a have flourished in opposition to the cults of local
saints. These regional shrines are historical in the sense that during the annual
pilgrimages and fiestas they turn into stage areas, where contemporary Andean
spirituality is lived and played out. Such performances and their organization
do not stay the same but adjust to changing circumstances, and they continue to
evolve around images of Christ painted on sacred rocks, mountains, pilgrimage
roads, and apachetas. This leads me to conclude that stone and mountain worship
are indeed one timeless aspect of Andean identity.
NOTES
I have conductedyearly fieldworkin theAndes beginning in 1997,with two to sixweeks

per season.My fieldworkinvolveshiking,visiting,and documentingcarved rockwak'as
throughoutthe Inka empire.My documentationmethods include photographs,drawing,
andmapping. FurthermoreI regularlyattendcontemporaryceremonies in locationswith
sacred rocks,such as theQoyllur Rit'i. My fieldworkisusually self-fundedexcept in2001,
when I received a generousFacultyResearch Grant fromEast Carolina University.
Iwould like to thanktheeditor,Lawrence Straus,and thereviewersfortheirthorough
comments,which greatlyassistedme toproduce an intellectually more sophisticatedessay.
Most of all, I expressmy gratitudetoHelaine Silverman,who took the timetoprepare for
me an extensive reading listof theoreticallyoriented landscape studies.
1. This issuemerits furtherinvestigationthatgoes beyond the scope of this essay.

Several platformswith panoramic views at late Inka sites-one example is the rounded
platformatChoqequirau-have all tooquickly been labeled usnus (platformsand seats on
which theInka rulerpresentedhimself to thepublic).Were theytraditionalInkausnus that
were ritual innature,or did theyalso experiencepractical, strategicuses? If so, does this
mean thatfunctionsand formsof theInkausnu changed fromthereignof Pachakuti to that
ofManqo Inka (see Christie 2007)?
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Article in Journal of Anthropological Research · January 2008

Research theme MAYA STELAE View project

RELATIONAL LANDSCAPES View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

TODAY INTHEANDEAN HIGHLANDSone can still observe an ancient but nonetheless

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHIC DATA

Carved/Foregrounded Rocks as Primary Trail/Road Markers

821 ,< 16e

Pachacamac-~ Machu Picchu

Tambo Colorado <

b gquiabo (La Paz)

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? moderntown ~~Santiagrode Sat

Figur 1. Mp ofthe IkaCepiapo derxmt lctoso

Figure 2. Plan ofKusilluchayoq rockcomplex on theroad toAntisuyu.

Figure 3. Carved rockbetweenSayaqmarka and Phuyupatamarka.(Photo by theauthor)

Figure 4.Machu Picchu, isolatedseat-likecarvingnear thesummitofWayna Picchu.

Figure 5.Abra Choquetacarpo, stonewak'a at Inka trail.(Photo by theauthor)

Figure 6.Abra Choquetacarpo, stonewak'a and associated complex.

This modified stone block and associated fountainwas likely a trailmarker

Figure 7. View fromthe Inka trailtoAbra Choquetacarpo towardQoriwayrachina.

Carved/Foregrounded Rocks Delimiting Important Sites

Physical versus Conceptual Inka Roads

receive offerings as recorded and prescribed by khipu kamayuqs (Inka accounting

road plus the coastal connector throughVilcaswaman leading roughly in an east

Figure 10. Long-distance zeq'e fromCusco toTiwanaku. (Adapted fromZuidema 1982)

Inka way of seeing, as ithas been communicated to us by Spanish writers during

Post-Contact Rock Shrines on Trails

Figure 1 1.Church of Sinakara, rockpaintingof Sefiorde Qoyllur Rit'i.

Z g~~ILATA; P4.\t ALICA6TA2A8C

Figure 13. East-west lineofChrist shrineswith thefeastday on September 14.

selections clearly reflect the processes of power involved in bestowing meaning

I have conductedyearly fieldworkin theAndes beginning in 1997,with two to sixweeks

1. This issuemerits furtherinvestigationthatgoes beyond the scope of this essay.

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