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Investigations at the Pikillacta Site: A Provincial Huari Center in the Valley of

Cuzco

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 AN OFFPRINT FROM

Huari Administrative Structure

Prehistoric Monumental Architecture
and State Government

William H. Isbell and

Gordon F. McEwan, Editors

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection

Washington, D.C. 1991
 6
Investigations at the Pikillacta Site: A Provincial Huari Center in
the Valley of Cuzco
GORDON F. McEWAN
DUMBARTON OAKS
N PREHISTORIC TIMES THE SOUTHERN END of the valley of
I Cuzco, known as the Lucre Basin, was heavily occu-
pied and a number of impressive architectural monu-
ments were built. The largest of these monuments is the
enormous ruin of Pikillacta (Plan 2). The name means
"flea-town" in Quechua and probably dates from Inca
times; the original name is unknown. Located on the north
side of the basin, the site lies on a series of low ridges that
form the western flank of Cerro Huchuy Balcon (Fig. 1).
The most startling characteristics of Pikillacta are its size
and format. The area covered by the main architectural
block and the attached great enclosures compares favorably
with Inca inner Cuzco (Fig. 2). The site completely dwarfs
modern settlements in the area such as Lucre, Huacarpay,
and Caicay, and is larger even than the modern center of
Oropesa (Fig. 1). Even the sizes of the individual structures
are on a grand scale, with some of them measuring 40 or 50
on a side. Some of their ruined walls still stand 12 m high .
The format cif the site is no less impressive: the grid plan
of the site forms a nearly perfect rectangle . Viewed from
the air (Fig. 3), the precision of the imposed grid is astonish-
ing; yet it is even more impressive when viewed on the
ground. From the air, the precision and symmetry of the
architecture tends to fool the eye into assuming that the site
lies on level terrain. First-time visitors are often surprised
by the undulating terrain and the steepness of the slope of
Cerro Huchuy Balcon. In fact, the top of Sector 1 of
Pikillacta is nearly So m higher in elevation than Sector 3.
Beyond its overwhelming size and startling layout,
Pikillacta has numerous other peculiarities that have stimu-
lated much comment and speculation over the years. De-
spite its size and apparent prehistoric importance, there are
few if any obvious indications that anyone ever lived there.
Aside from architectural remains, there are almost no sur-
face artifacts. Potsherds in particular are conspicuous by
their near total absence. Those few sherds that can be found
on the surface tend to be concentrated in the lowest part of
the site, Sector 3. Most of these are either nondescript plain
ware or Inca polychrome sherds brought in by tourists or
local children who pick them up at the nearby Inca sites of
Chokepuquio, Olleriayoq, and Site B. A few sherds may
also have been contributed by people occasionally tran-
siting the site in Inca times. This situation with regard to
sherds stands in marked contrast to nearly all of the other
sites in the basin and, for that matter, most ceramic period
sites in Peru.
Without the evidence of surface ceramics to assist in
assigning cultural provenience, Pikillacta's association with
the Huari culture was not recognized for many years and
was not generally accepted until the late 19 50s and early
1960s after Rowe's (1956: 149) suggestion that it was a
Huari site because of its architectural similarities with the
site ofHuari in Ayacucho, and Sanders' (1973) excavations
in which he found Huari-style ceramics. Even with the
recognition of its cultural provenience, the dating of
Pilkillacta's construction remained only somewhere within
the Middle Horizon, a time span including several hundred
years. A more precise date of construction remained al-
most as obscure as the question of whether or not the site
had been occupied.
A further complication to the question of occupation
was the problem of determining how the occupants could
have circulated within the complex, and how and for what
purpose the buildings were used. There are more than 700
individual structures within the main architectural block
but very few corridors, which provide direct access to only
a small percentage of the structures . Furthermore, there are
very few doorways or windows in the walls. The majority
of the doorways encountered in mapping the site were in
the interior of structures or enclosures and only permitted
access between galleries and courtyards. Only two door-
ways were found in the main architectural block that
would permit entrance to or exit from an enclosure or
allow passage between adjacent structures. Of these two
doors, one was sealed in antiquity and the other was lo-
cated 3 m above the surface in the second-story level of a
wall. This apparent absence of doorways in the high walls
of Pikillacta has led to speculative theories, including the
suggestion that it had served as an insane asylum or prison,
with the absence of entryways necessary for the confine-
ment of the inmates (these are reported in Sanders 1973:
403).
93
...
\C)

. ~UIIOC . . . IL
· OHETIO,
· OOllflO

• ,AIIU,,.
• - • - . .... tl''tNMOu(Ol.o.l(;O,

1.0KM

Fig. Map of the Lucre Basm

A Provincial Huari Center in the Valley of Cuzco
Fig. 2 Outline of Pikillacta (heavy lines) superimposed over
plan of Inca Cuzco. Drawing of Cuzco after Gasparini and
Margolies 1980: 46 .
Yet another mystery concerning Pikillacta was its water
supply. If it had functioned as a city, a very large amount of
water would have been required for the daily needs of the
people living there. This problem seems to have mystified
even the Incas, who, as Pardo reports (1937= 199), had a
legend about a contest to bring water to Pikillacta, with a
beautiful maiden as the prize. The results of this contest
were supposedly the construction of a canal and an aque-
duct over the Rumiqolqa wall that, it is said, brought water
from the Rio Lucre across the basin. The problem with this
story is that the Rumiqolqa wall , on top of which the
aqueduct was supposedly built, lies at a lower elevation
than Pikillacta. In order for water to reach Pikillacta it
would have to flow uphill.
The part of the site that has elicited the most interest and
speculation consists of 501 small conjoined structures lo-
cated on the northwest side. These relatively small, uni-
form structures are laid in orderly rows with alleys running
between each row. Inasmuch as the Inca were known to
build rows of small storage buildings called qolqas it has
been speculated that these numerous small structures also
must be storage silos (Harth- Terre 1959). Since state stor-
age and redistribution systems seem to have been at least a
theoretical requirement of imperial administration in Pre-
Columbian Peru, the notion of Pikillacta as a state storage
center had become ever more deeply embedded in the
literature, despite the lack of an archaeological test for this
function or tests for the function of the site in general.
PREVIOUS STUDIES
Pikillacta seems to have first gained the serious attention
of prehistorians as a result of the 1927 discovery of two
remarkable sets of carved green stone figurines . These
figurines are commonly referred to as the turquesas, al-
though tests done in the 1930s to identify the stone were
inconclusive and suggest that the stone may be sodalite and
not turquoise (Valcarcel 1933: 15).
The discovery and characteristics of one set of figures
were described in a 1933 article by Luis Valcarcel. This set
was discovered under a stone placed into the plaster floor
on the northwest side of structure 34- 2B in Sector 2 (see
Fig. 6) and consisted of forty small human figurines made
of a turquoise- colored stone. Laid within a cavity beneath
the stone, they surrounded a bronze bar, a strombus shell,
and several other marine shells (Valcarcel 1933: 4) . The
figurines depict humans wearing elaborate costumes and
headdresses, with no two of the figures alike.
The context of the other set was not recorded, except that
witnesses claim that it was found in a similar cavity in the
floor quite near to the first set (Fig. 6). It likewise contained
forty figurines. One of these was separated from the set and
lost. The remaining thirty-nine figurines were sold and
eventually ended up in the Museo de America in Madrid.
Although Pikillacta became known for this "turquoise
treasure, " very little was published regarding the site itself.
It was not until the late 1950s and early 1960s that any
serious attempt was made to interpret the site as a whole .
Harth- Terre ( I 9 59) was the first to publish a detailed
examination of the superficial remains of the site and to
publish its ground plan, although he did not excavate. His
research was carried out under the direction of Valcarcel,
who presided over the committee of the Fourth Centennial
of Cuzco in 1934. He drew his ground plan as early as
1934, but did not write his interpretation until 1958 (Harth-
Terre 1959: 7) .
A general clean-up and restoration of the ruins was
conducted for the Fourth Centennial of Cuzco, resulting in
some rather unfortunate reconstructions in Sector 3 that
apparently had no basis in archaeological evidence. These
reconstructions resulted in the alteration and obscuring of
the ruins at the junction of Sector 2 and 3 by a large set of
terraces. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the notes
and the excavated materials from the reconstruction work
have been lost.
Harth-Terre apparently did not have access to these mate-
rials, which eyewitnesses report contained Huari-style ce-
ramics, and he apparently made his ground plan after the
reconstruction was done. He concluded that the site was
Inca in origin and could best be interpreted as a state
storehouse. His conclusion was based on the descriptions
in the early Spanish Chronicles. He also felt that the close
association of the Rumiqolqa gate, the name of which he
translated from Quechua to mean "stone granary," sup-
ported this conclusion (Harth- Terre 1959: ro).
95
Gordon F. McEwan
Fig. 3 Air photo of Pikillacta. Photograph courtesy ofServicio Aerofotografico Nacional, Peru.
In the early 1960s, William Sanders conducted an exami-
nation of the architectural surface remains and m ade a
more detailed plan of parts of the central portion of the site
(Sectors 2, 3, and 4, see Fig. 7). He also excavated in two
apparently unique structures in Sector 2 (structures 12- 2B
and 33-2B) but turned up very few artifacts . Because of the
scarcity of artifacts, Sanders concluded that the site had
probably not been occupied after it was constructed. He
suggested that the main part of the site had probably served
as a frontier garrison or refu ge for use in time of emer-
gency, and that the rows of small conjoined structures on
the northwest side of the site (Sector 4) had probably
served as storage silos for the garrison commissary (Sand-
ers 1973: 404-408) . He also assigned the site to the Huari
culture rather than the Inca, as have most recent writers on
the subject (Rowe 1956, 1963; Lanning 1967; Lumbreras
1974; Isbell 1978; Schreiber n. d. ), because of the similarity
of the architecture (and the few artifacts that were found)
to those of the site of Huari in Ayacucho .
Despite Sanders' conclusion that the site was a military
garrison with only limited commissary-type storage, the
most popular explanation of the site's function has contin-
ued to be the state storage facility hypothesis as modified
by Rowe ( 1963 : 14) to reflect a Huari rather than Inca
origin. The storage center hypothesis has in fact b eco me so
widely accepted that several other Huari sites, notably
Viracochapampa in the north highlands , and Pampa de las
Llamas in the Casma Valley of the north central coast, have
been interpreted as storage centers because of their pre-
sumed Huari origins and superficial resemblance to the
architecture at Pikillacta (Rowe 1963: 14; M enzel 1964: 70;
Lanning 1967: 135).
Most scholars would probably accept an administrative
function for the site, in addition to its serving as a state
storage center, and indeed Isbell (1977, 1978), Lumbreras
(1974: 168) , and Schreiber (n.d.) have all presented arg u-
ments in this vein. Isbell in particular (1978) has arg ued for
the existence of Huari state storage facilities as a means for
.-\. Provincial Huari Center in the Valley of Cuzco

A B C D E
2 3

D +
a Type
A
a [] a D D

D + + D B Type B [[g] [] D STRUCTURAL

TYPES c:J
AND
VARIATIONS

D + --

D Type C C [QJ [] j ,,jo ,,,:,,°

METERS
The five basic structural
D

B D
types found ~t Pikillact a

D
with some common varia-

D [J
tions shown below.
Type D CI.llJ

Fig. 5 The five structural types at Pikillacta.

D = D Type E

Fig. 4 The three architectural elements used to make up the five

structural types at Pikillacta.

ml~
~~

ii ii
!I ii
O 5cm
I I ' t ( f

Fig. 6 Left: plan of structure 34-2B. Shaded areas indicate the extent of looting activities.
Asterisks mark supposed location of figurine caches. Right: some examples of the turquoise
figurines found at Pikillacta (courtesy of Luis Barreda).

temporal energy averaging, an argument central to his
theory of the origin of the Andean state.
During the course of the 1979 fieldwork for my master's
thesis, together with Dr. Luis Barreda of the University of
Cuzco, I excavated four test cuts in the smaU conjoined
roo ms in Sector 4, the so-called qolqas (see McEwan n.d.) .
The results of these tests seemed inconsistent with the
sto rage center interpretation usually given to these struc-
tures and provided the impetus for further studies under-
taken in 1982.
THE PIKILLACTA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT
In 1982 the Pikillacta Archeological Project under my
direction began investigating the site in an effort to shed
new light on the problems and questions raised above . The
long- term aim of the project is elucidation of the role of
Pikillacta and the Huari occupation in the culture history of
the Lucre Basin and Cuzco area. Three general concerns
guided field research at Pikillacta: (1) the nature of the
occupation, (2) the site's function, and (3) description of
the architectural remains.

97
Gordon F. McEwan
SECTOR 1
A D
SECT O R 2
C
a:
0
I-
u SECTOR 3
.,
w
Fig. 7 Division of Pikillacta by sectors.
In order to address the first two research concerns, it was
necessary to sample the site systematically and to survey
the Lucre Basin that forms the context for the site. The
absence of surface artifacts complicated the positioning of
test cuts. A site constructed on a grid, such as Pikillacta, is
ideal for a random statistical testing program. However,
the great size of the site and its individual structures, the
limited time and resources available to the project, and the
variable condition of the ruins made statistically significant
random sampling impossible. Instead, the ruins were di-
vided into sampling strata according to formal properties,
and judgment sampling was employed in each stratum.
Neither of the existing plans of Pikillacta (Harth-Terre
1959; Sanders 1973) was sufficiently complete or accurate
to be useful for our purposes . Therefore the first step was
to remap the site. During the course of the mapping,
several structural types were identified that constitute the
architectural basis for the entire site, through repetition and
variation on a theme (Figs. 4, 5). Each of these structural
types formed an architectural stratum to be sampled, with
a residual stratum consisting of unusual or unique types
lumped together. At least one structure of each major type,
except Type D, was tested, as well as two structures in the
unique group. In this fashion a reasonably representative
sample of the various architectural types was investigated.
THE CONTEXT OF THE SITE
During the course of the survey of the Lucre Basin in
1979, it became apparent that Pikillacta was not an isolated
Huari site but rather one of several large Huari occupation
zones within and on the periphery of the Lucre Basin (Fig.
1) . At least two of these occupation zones, Raqchi (Mi-
naspata) and Muyurinapata, had been previously recorded
by John Rowe (1963: 14, and personal communication,
1982) but several others were identified both within the
basin and just outside the southern margin. Given the small
size of the basin and the close proximity of several large
Huari sites, it seemed that these sites must have been
related in a systematic fashion and should therefore be
considered to form together a "Greater Pikillacta" site. A
model of this "Greater Pikillacta Site" was developed on
the basis of the 1979 survey (see McEwan n.d.), and the
1982 survey data allowed this model to be refined and
adjusted to take into account additional evidence of Huari
occupations.
The survey evidence suggests that the Huari invaders
completely reorganized the settlement pattern of the Lucre
Basin, imposing a particular type of planned settlement.
Schaedel (1966) has termed this type of planned settlement
the "Middle Horizon town" and defines it as being com-
posed of formally and functionally distinct elements . The
settlement is divided into components, each having a dis-
tinct general function. These functions include ceremonial
or religious, residential (elite and non-elite), administrative,
defensive, and presumably economic functions. Within
each component there should exist architectural forms pecu-
liar to its general function . The components of the "town"
are connected and interrelated by a communication system
in the form of a road- path network and probably by other
systems as well, such as drainage and water supply, since
they encompass internal systems as noted by Schaedel
(1966) and occupy a contiguous large area formally bounded
at its extreme perimeters. A final organizational aspect of the
plan is that of external boundaries and circumscription of
certain of the components by walls or a combination of
walls and natural features such as artificially modified natu-
ral embankments, terraced slopes, and partially blocked
ravines. This circumscription serves to channel and poten-
tially restrict access and traffic flow and to limit the maxi-
mum desired perimeter of the component. The net effect of
this settlement plan is that of a strategically chosen, purpose-
fully designed entity, well adapted and oriented, as Schaedel
(1966) suggests, to a society in which administrative and
economic processes took precedence over ritual concerns.
COMPONENTS OF "GREATER PIKILLACTA"
The surface surveys and excavations in 1979 and 1982
provided a description of"Greater Pikillacta." The location
of Huari sites within the Lucre Basin appears to involve a
plan that took three factors into account: strategic locations
for security, the locations of already existing non-Huari
populations, and ceremonially important sites. There also
A Provincial Huari Center in the Valley of Cuzco
seems to be a preference for uplands and hillsides, which
may reflect defensive concerns. Thus we find Huari sites at
each of the five entrances to the basin, evidence of Huari
presence at the two known major pre-Huari occupations,
and evidence of Huari presence at the religious shrine of
Mama Qolla. The ruins of Pikillacta proper appear to
occupy the only virgin parcel ofland that was large enough
to contain it within the basin and yet be convenient to the
quarries at Rumiqolqa, the highway, and the lake.
The Administrative Component
The large formal architectural complex located on the
lower slopes of Cerro Huchuy Balcon that has traditionally
been considered the site of Pikillacta was undoubtedly the
nerve center of the Huari occupation. As argued below,
this complex most likely represents the residence of both
political and religious elites and the center of political ad-
ministration. Although some religious structures may be
present within the complex, most of the structures are
probably secular in nature, and I consider this complex to
have been the center of civil administration.
The Ceremonial Components
The major pre-Huari shrine in the Lucre Basin was proba-
bly the small hill called Marna Qolla on the southern side of
the basin, which is even today considered to be a huaca by
the local inhabitants. The Huari invaders most likely co-
opted this shrine as a matter of policy. Schaedel (195 r: r IO-
I 12, and personal communication, 1978) has observed that
the Huari apparently applied this policy to the huacas of the
Moche on the north coast, noting that at Panarnarca there
was clear evidence that the huaca had been taken over and
modified by the Huari to serve their own purposes.
Other probable religious shrines are located in the very
large enclosures called canchones on the southeast side of
Pikillacta proper and to the northwest in the area served by
avenue 8. These consist of earthworks and large natural
rock formations that appear similar to huacas of the Incas.
Residential Components
As mentioned above, the highest- ranking secular and
religious elites probably resided at Pikillacta proper. The
remaining noncerernonial sites of the Huari occupation of
the basin contained the residences of the lesser bureaucrats,
military garrisons, artisans, and workers, most of whom
were probably natives of the basin. Those sites in strategic
locations probably served dual functions as residences for
troops and strategic defensive installations.
The basic residential clusters, because of their nonstrate-
gic locations in terms of defense, are Minaspata, Qolqe
Haycuchina, and Waska Waskan. The latter two sites consist
of large areas containing numerous small-house founda-
tions but no large formal architecture. The presence in the
surface collections of waste flakes from both turquoise-
colored stone and obsidian as well as broken marine shells
suggests that craft production was also carried out in the
residential areas. The presence of both Huari and local Mid-
dle Horizon-style sherds on the surface of these sites may
indicate that the Huari were fully integrated into certain
native residential clusters, probably for security reasons.
Other sites that may have contained residential clusters
include Unca Puncu, Tukuywayku, and Morro de Arica,
all on the southwestern side of the basin. The quantity of
local Middle Horizon-style sherds on these sites is quite
large, and Huari sherds are rare. This may indicate that
these relatively nonstrategic sites contained residential clus-
ters for the native non- Huari population. The analysis of
the nature of these sites is rather speculative, since the
conclusions are based on data drawn only from surface
collections.
Defensive Components
Strategic locations were occupied at the five entrances to
the basin. On the north side of the basin the sites of
Chokepuquio and Muyurinapata guarded the Oropesa nar-
rows and the quebrada of the Rio Huatanay. A large wall
similar in ground plan to the Rurniqolqa wall was built to
control the main highway where it entered the basin, run-
ning behind Cerro Condor Moqo and Chokepuquio.
Chokepuquio may have also served as the residence for the
native ruler and 11011-Huari elite, who were probably
guarded by a Huari garrison. Chokepuquio, which I be-
lieve can be identified as the ancient site of Muina men-
tioned in Inca historical accounts (Cieza de Le6n 1959:
chapter 88) became the major native center in the basin
after the abandonment of Pikillacta. It is likely that it had
been a site of some importance even during the Middle
Horizon. Excavations and surface collections at Choquepu-
quio produced Huari ceramics. Radiocarbon dates suggest,
however, that the major archaeological ruins date to the
Late Intermediate Period (McEwan 198T So; Kendall 1976:
97). To the southeast, the two passes into the basin on
either side of Cerro Cornbayoq were guarded by Pikillacta
proper and by Rayallacta. At the southeastern extremity of
Pikillacta lies the Rumiqolqa gate which was probably
manned by a garrison quartered nearby. It appears that
during the Middle Horizon, the highway did not pass
through the great wall but rose up above it on the flanks of
Cerro Cornbayoq. The companion great wall at Rayallacta
is nearly identical in construction to the Rurniqolqa wall
and obviously served the same function. At Rayallacta, a
large Huari-style rectangular enclosure is strategically lo-
cated on the flanks of Cerro Cornbayoq overlooking this
great wall. Large numbers of local imitation Huari-style
potsherds as well as many 11011-Huari style buildings indi-
cate that in addition to the Huari installation there was also
a substantial native population at Rayallacta.
The southwestern entrance to the basin, the quebrada of
the Rio Lucre, was controlled by the site of Mullirnulliyoq.
A few kilometers up the quebrada there is another site
strategically placed on a hilltop overlooking the highway
that appears to have been a guardpost. Both of these sites
contain local imitation Huari pottery on the surface and
must certainly also have had a Huari garrison, an inference
based on the strategic value of their locations. Through this
system of walls and garrisons, all access to the basin and
Pikillacta proper could be effectively controlled.
99
Cordon F. McEwan
The Road System
The road system forms a triple loop connecting all of the
sites in the Lucre Basin and, on its periphery, with each other
and to the main highways that enter approximately from the
four cardinal directions (Fig. 1). The large central loop runs
inside the basin perimeter, above the swampy bottomland,
connecting all of the sites inside the basin. Two raised cause-
ways cross the marsh from Chokepuquio to Muyurinapata,
and from Chokepuquio toward Pikillacta proper. Since they
connect major Huari sites it is assumed that they are Huari
constructions.
The two smaller loops in the road system run around
Cerro Condor Moqo on the north west side of the basin and
Cerro Combayoq on the southeast side, connecting several
sites just outside of the basin proper with those inside.
Many of the surviving fragments of the original road
systems are walled, particularly the approach avenue to
Pikillacta proper and the road that connects Pikillacta with
Rayallacta. In several places on Cerro Combayoq, ravines
were filled in to form embankments for the road. Both
there and on the road that runs up the Lucre quebrada, steps
were cut into the steeper parts of the hillsides.
A Special Function Component
The Rumiqolqa quarries , which probably provided the
stone for Pikillacta's construction, should also be consid-
ered part of the "Greater Pikillacta" system. These quarries
lie about 3 km southeast of Pikillacta, at the southern tip of
Cerro Hatun Balcon. There are numerous structures built
within the quarries, some of which are similar to the Type
E structures found at Pikillacta.
The "Greater Pikillacta" complex outlined above pro-
vides the context within which the site of Pikillacta must be
considered. The remainder of this paper is devoted to the
examination of the administrative sector of this model, the
site of Pikillacta itself.
SITE DESCRIPTION
The site of Pikillacta lies on the northeast side of the
Lucre Basin and rests on a series oflow ridges that form the
lower slopes of Cerro Huchuy Balcon. The average eleva-
tion of the site is approximately 3,250 m above sea level.
The most prominent portion of the site consists of a very
large, rectangular enclosure that contains most of the archi-
tecture and measures approximately 745 m northwest to
southeast, and 630 m southwest to northeast. On the north
and southeast sides of the main architectural block are
several large semirectangular enclosures that appear to be
corrals and are commonly called the canchones. With these
taken into account, the site measures approximately l, 680
by 1,120 m, or nearly 2 km 2 •
The mapping project and careful study of the resulting
ground plan (Plan 2) revealed that Pikillacta is composed of
three main architectural elements used consistently in com-
bination in order to form five basic structural types (Fig.
4). These three elements are (1) the rectangular enclosure,
(2) the peripheral gallery, and (3) the small rectangular
building.
IOO
Element 1, the rectangular enclosure, consists of four
walls joined at their ends to form a large open rectangle.
Rectangular enclosures are usually close to being square,
with all sides often nearly equal in length, although excep-
tions to this generalization do occur. This is apparently the
most basic Huari architectural form and seems to occur at
all major Huari sites where architecture is present.
Element 2 , the peripheral gallery, consists of long nar-
row rooms arranged around the inside periphery of a rect-
angular enclosure. These long narrow rooms are often
subdivided into smaller rooms by crosswalls that are abut-
ted but not bonded to the gallery walls. As Spickard (1983 :
156) points out, the term g allery is not an accurate architec-
tural description for these structures since it tends to con-
note an open structure consisting of a roof supported by
columns . Nevertheless, I have retained the use of the term
gallery to refer to these long narrow rooms because it is the
term most commonly used in the archaeological literature
to describe them.
Element 3, the small rectangular building, consists of a
four-sided rectangular structure that was probably roofed
with thatch. Although some of these buildings are quite
large, they are almost always smaller than rectangular en-
closures and have a plan more rectangular than square in
which two parallel sides are longer than the other two
parallel sides. The rectangular buildings are found in sev-
eral variations in which the interior or exterior corners may
be rounded, or in some buildings both the exterior and the
interior corners are rounded. These buildings are also some-
times joined together in strings as in Sector 4, where they
are joined end-to-end, sharing walls.
These three elements, in various combinations, form the
five basic structural types illustrated in Figure 5. Type A
structures consist of a rectangular enclosure with peripheral
galleries arranged symmetrically so that there are two or
more parallel galleries on each side. Type B structures
consist of a rectangular enclosure with or without periph-
eral galleries, but always containing a rectangular building
inside the enclosure. Type C structures consist of a rectan-
gular enclosure with peripheral galleries laid out in an
asymmetrical pattern; that is, one or more sides may have
multiple galleries, but all four sides never have the same
number of galleries except when only a single gallery is
present on each of the four sides. Type D structures consist
simply of an empty rectangular enclosure. Type E struc-
tures consist of a rectangular building unaccompanied by
the other elements.
In order to facilitate mapping, the main architectural
block was divided into four sectors that appear to corre-
spond to original units employed by the ancient Huari
architects (Fig. 7).
Sector 1, the part of the site having the highest elevation,
consists of eighty-one rectangular enclosures averaging 3 5-
40 meters on a side. The structures are arranged in a
rectangular grid with five rows of fourteen enclosures each
and one row of eleven. This last row gives the impression
of never having been completed, but due to poor preserva-
tion in this area it is difficult to determine whether or not
this is the case. Of the eleven structures in this row, six are
A Provincial Huari Center in the Valley of Cuzco
Type A and are alternated with five of Type D . The lowest
row of fourteen is composed of seven Type B structures
alternated with seven Type C structures. The Type A and B
structures in this sector are placed at opposite ends of
alternating vertical rows of the grid. All of the remaining
63 structures are Type C. T he preservation of this sector is
very poor. Most walls are destroyed to the surface level,
and only a few fragments stand higher than two or three
meters. There are no streets or other means of access visible
in this area.
Sector 2 is architecturally the most complex part of the
main block, with great variety of size and distribution of
structural types. This sector contains 124 structures. Six-
teen are Type A, one is Type B, one is Type E, and the
remaining 106 are Type C. There is also a series of four
very long galleries paralleling the southwestern side of this
sector just above the junction with Sector 3. These are
subdivided into sections by crosswalls and gates. Preserva-
tion of the northeastern half of Sector 2 is very good, with
many structures having walls still standing to heights of
10- 12 m above the present ground surface. In contrast,
many of the structures in the southwestern half of Sector 2
are destroyed to the surface level. Three streets pierce this
sector, and a fourth divides it from Sector I.
Sector 3 consists of a very large open area, eleven struc-
tures, and a large set of terraces reconstructed in 1934. The
structures are arranged at either end of the large open area
and consist of three Type B, six Type C, and two Type D.
There is also one anomaly: Structure I0- 3, which may not
be an independent structure but is perhaps part of struc-
tures 11 - 3 or 9-3. The modern road has been driven
through structure 10-3, so it is difficult to discern the
original arrangement. There may have been an original
entrance here, but it is not possible to say with certainty.
Just outside of the southwest wall of Sector 3 is Exterior
Group 1, which is separated from Sector 3 by the terminus
of Avenue 8. This group consists of seven rectangular
structures set on an artificial platform. They are too badly
destroyed to determine their type.
The reconstructed terraces on the northeast side of Sec-
tor 3 sit on top of some original foundation walls that cross
them at right angles. I suspect that originally there may
have been a series of parallel galleries here that would be
more in keeping with the principles of site construction
exhibited everywhere else in the site.
No original streets penetrate Sector 3. It is separated
from Sector 2 by Avenue 9, which may have been an
original feature but has been reconstructed. The condition
of the non- reconstructed walls in Sector 3 is generally poor
with only the peripheral wall standing about 12 m high.
Sector 4 consists of 501 small conjoined Type E struc-
tures. These are arranged in neat rows and are divided into
five discrete groups, A through E. E ach structure has a
doorway and is served by an alley running in front of it, in
marked contrast to the other sectors of the site.
Group A of Sector 4 consists of 48 Type E structures and
has a destroyed rectangular architectural block associated
w ith it. A ravine running through it is probably the result
of stone robbing.
Group B, consisting of 153 Type E structures, does not
include a large rectangular structure. However, this group
may have been associated with structure 123 -4C in Group
C.
Group C differs from the other groups in that the 122
Type E structures are divided into subgroups of four and
five structures each, by walls and gates built into the streets
between the rows. Three large Type C rectangular struc-
tures are also found within Group C. Structures 124-4C
and 125-4C are located in the western corner of the group,
and structure 123-4C is located in the eastern corner of the
group.
Group D consists of 35 Type E structures divided into
two blocks and separated from each other by an architec-
tural block containing seven rectangular structures: one
Type B, one Type C, four Type D, and one unique struc-
ture. Group E consists of 149 Type E structures and also
contains a single large Type C rectangular structure in the
southern corner. There are also a few cross- walls and gates
in the streets of this group.
Approximately half of the space of Sector 4 is taken up
by six very large rectangular enclosures. Four of these are
located at the southwestern end of the sector, one is at the
northeastern end, and one lies between Groups D and E.
The one between Groups D and E may have some buried
structures within it, but a test excavation will be required
in order to prove this. Otherwise all of these large enclo-
sures appear to be empty, except for enclosure R5-4 at the
southwestern end of the sector which contains, in its south-
western end, the remains of three rectangular chullpas, or
burial towers. These towers are destroyed to their founda-
tions, which measure approximately 1m2 • Their identifica-
tion is based on comparison to better-preserved examples
that exist elsewhere in the basin. I believe that these chullpas
are a later intrusion , since they are not typical of the Huari
culture, and they probably represent a reuse of this portion
of the site in the Late Intermediate Period .
The preservation of the walls in Sector 4 varies greatly,
although in general it is quite good. The best preserved is
Group E, with parts of B and C also in good condition.
Some of the walls in these groups still stand to 6 m in
height.
On the north and southeast sides of the main architec-
tural block are two groups of very large enclosures com-
monly called the canchones . These may have served as cor-
rals, although their function is not certain.
There are four canchones on the north side. They are
somewhat less carefully made than the usual construction
at Pikillacta and do not form perfect rectangles. This group
measures approximately 400 by 600 m. A very strange
feature of these structures is that some surviving fragments
of the walls are 8- IO m high . Another unusual feature is a
rock formation near the center of this group that contains
several small natural caves. Looted burials were observed
in these caves, but their cultural affiliation could not be
determined.
On the southeast side of the main block there are eight
canchones . These also cover an approximate area of 400 by
600 m. There may also be two more canchones between
IOI
Gordon F. McEwan

~••l\tf11U1111..,,

tPlllllllllf/ul,•Jc:.::2)
Fig. 8 Features in Canchon 4.

140M

...
0

~
"'

0 50
METERS
100
..
w
:;
z
w
.
>

Fig. 9 North approach avenue and associated features.

these and the Rumiqolqa wall. Of the eight, five are
empty; however, no . 5 contains the site of Olleriayoq, 7
contains Site A, and 4 contains some unusual earthworks
and a fragment of a walled highway approximately 160 m
in length (Fig. 8). There are no definite indications of the
cultural provenience of these features, but they may be
ceremonial in nature for the reasons given in the discussion
of Avenue 8 below.
In addition to the few avenues penetrating the architec-
tural block and the streets or alleys between the rows of
Type E structures in Sector 4, there are two main avenues
that approach the site from the northwest and from the
south.
Avenue 8 terminates at Exterior Group I just outside the
southwest wall of Sector 3. It is approximately IO m wide
and is walled on both sides. Fragments of these walls still
stand 3 and 4 m high. This avenue runs around the periph-
ery of the western corner of Pikillacta and heads to the
northwest, crossing two high, steep hills and several large
rock formations (Fig. 9). Approximately 500 m to the

102
A Provincial Huari Center in the Valley of Cuzco

northwest of Pikillacta and just after crossing the second

hill, the avenue ends abruptly. There is a wall sealing the
end at this point, and three other walls cross the avenue
before it reaches this point. The western wall of the avenue
continues on alone past the end wall for approximately 340
,
m more and stops at the top of a high bluff overlooking the D C B A
Huatanay Quebrada.
Due to its peculiarities, this avenue could not have func-
tioned as an access to the site. It goes nowhere, and does so
over the most difficult route available. In some places the
rock outcrops that it crosses completely fill the avenue
~
between the walls, forcing one to go out and around in
order to pass. These outcrops are part of an enormous
geological feature and were not placed in the avenue after it
'
was built. It seems likely that this avenue had some sym-
N
bolic or ceremonial function . The rock formations to 0 10 M
which it runs look suspiciously similar to Inca huacas, or 1""..-..-'I
sacred stones.
Avenue 1, on the southeast side of Pikillacta, appears to
have been functional, providing access to the site. It is also Fig. IO E xcavation unit 3 I in structure 5-r.
walled and varies between 4 and 6 m in width. It runs to
the south directly towards the Rumiqolqa gate. Its only
features are fifteen step-like terraces where it parallels the
southeast side of the main architectural block.

The Excavations

A total of twenty- two test cuts were made during the

1982 field season. These were designed to sample structural
types and to shed light on features of special interest. The
excavation units were numbered sequentially from ten to I
thirty- two. Units numbered zero to nine include all of the
known previous scientific excavations by Sanders (1973),
Barreda (personal communication, 1982), and Lumbreras
(personal communication , 1982), as well as those done by
Barreda and the author in 1979. N
Type A Structures. Two Type A structures were sampled: 0 10 M

structure 5-1 (Unit 31), located in the top row of Sector 1,
and structure 14- 2C (Unit 18), located in the central part of
Sector 2. The Unit 31 excavation was designed primarily
to provide architectural data, since the type of this structure
was uncertain due to poor preservation and a heavy over-
burden obscuring the ground plan. The test cut ran perpen-
dicular to the northwest wall and was designed to intersect
all of the potential interior walls on that side of the struc-
ture (Fig. ro). The test cut formed a trench l X 14 m and
was 1 m deep. It was continued until the bottom of the wall
was reached, since no floors were encountered. The trench
was subdivided into sections A, B, C, and D by the walls
that it crossed. The only artifacts encountered were in
section D and consisted of forty- three small, buff- colored,
plain body sherds. A slate knife was also found on the
surface.
Unit 1 8 consisted of a trench parallel to the northern ends
of all three galleries on the northwest side of the structure
(Fig. 11). The cut formed a trench 2 X 12 m and was
divided into sections A, B, and C by the gallery walls.
Section A was excavated to a depth of 2.6 m and pro-
duced only a few small bone fragments and a small ash
~--'"'I
Fig. I I Excavation unit I 8 in structure 14- 2C.
lens. One other interesting feature was the presence of a
number of prehistoric fingerprints visible in the mud be-
tween the stones in the northern corner. The floor ap-
peared to have been made of packed earth over sand.
Section B was excavated to a depth of 2.2 m below the
surface and produced only a few bone fragments and one
worked bone. A large fragment of a floor was also found,
consisting of an apparent mix of plaster, gravel, and clay,
resting on a bed of sand and gravel. This floor was very
rough and uneven, probably due to the effects of rain-
water erosion.
Section C was excavated to a depth of 3. 3 m below the
surface and contained a large pile of fine dark gray ash
rising into the north corner of the unit and a large fire
hearth along the length of the northeast wall . Recovered
from the fire hearth were 232 sherds as well as a large
number of bones and burned bone fragments. Many of

103
Gordon F. McEwan

were found, though we excavated to the base of the walls

of the structure. At the bottom of the excavation in section
B-C several very large stones, resting on top of the level
even with the base of the walls, were encountered. These
must have been original features inside the Type E struc-
ture, but their function was not apparent.
The data recovered in Unit 11 indicate that the Type E
structure and the space between it and the wall of the
enclosure were filled with domestic trash, suggesting that
these structures may have been residences. The trash con-
sisting of ash, burned bone fragments, and fragments of
soot-marked pottery suggest that at least food preparation
Fig. 12 Polychrome bowl found in unit 18 .
was taking place in this structure. The absence of a com-
p~ct floor inside the Type E structure is puzzling. It is
difficult to reconcile the apparent heavy use of the
these bones appeared to be camelid bones. Most of the
structure- as indicated by the accumulation of cultural
sherds were plain utilitarian ware, many with soot marks,
material-with the failure of the floors to have compacted
but fifteen were diagnostic and the majority of these were
simply from people walking on them. In contrast, all of the
pieces of a large polychrome bowl (Fig. 12). A doorway
other structures sampled in the site had at least packed-
connecting sections B and C was also discovered and
earth floors, and several had well- made plaster floors.
cleared during the excavation.
The Type C Structures. Three Type C structures were
The limited data recovered in these excavations tends to
sampled: structures r24-4C, r2-2A, and r8- 2C. Structure
suggest that Type A structures may have been residences.
r24-4C is located in the western corner of Sector 4 and was
Section C is clearly a food preparation area. The paucity of
sampled by two test cuts (Units 14 and 15).
artifacts in sections A and B was perhaps due to their use as
Unit 14 was located on the north side of the median
sleeping quarters. Further excavations in this type of struc-
crosswall in the southwestern gallery of structure 124-4C
ture are needed to clarify the nature of their use.
and measured 2 X 3.2 m (Fig. 15). It was excavated to a
A Type B Structure. One Type B structure was tested:
depth of 1. 8 m below the present surface and produced
structure 6-3 in the west corner of Sector 3. The test cut
only a few bones and 79 pot sherds, three of which were
(Unit II) was located near the western corner of the enclo-
decorated . Three separate floors made of packed earth
sure so that it would intersect the corner of the Type E
were encountered at depths of 1.08 , I. 34, and I. 80 m
structure and the space between it and the back wall of the
below the surface. Each of these floors contained a sepa-
enclosure (Fig . 13).
rate fire hearth. On the upper two floors these hearths
Section A of Unit r r was excavated to a depth of 2. 8 m
were located in the southern corner of the unit, while on
below the surface and produced 269 sherds, of which only
the lowest floor the hearth was located in the eastern
nine were decorated. There were numerous small pockets
corner. One additional feature was an apparent camelid
of ash mixed in the fill as well as many bones and burned
bone fragments.
Section B-C was excavated to a depth of 2. 8 m below the
surface. There were 340 sherds in this unit, of which only
eleven were decorated . Most of the decorated sherds be-
longed to a single large polychrome bowl (Fig. 14) . There
were numerous small pockets of ash and carbon encoun-
tered, as in section A, and some fairly large concentrations
as well; one of these appeared to be a fire hearth. Numer-
ous bones and bone fragments, some burned, were also
found in the fill. Otherwise the fill consisted of loosely
compacted soil , gravel, and gray sand. No compact floors
A
B
C

N
10 20 M

~---------
Fig. 14 Polychrome bowl found in unit 1I. Fig. I 3 Excavation unit I I in structure 6-3.
A Provincial Huari Center in the Valley of Cuzco
N
0
l"\.r'------..
10 20 M
Fig. 15 Excavation units 14 and 15 located in structure 124-4C.
bone offering that had been partially burned and buried in
the upper-most fire hearth. The floor in this unit seems to
have been remade periodically by 20- 40 cm of fresh,
packed earth.
Unit 15 was located in the north corner of structure 124-
4C in the end of the northwest gallery. It measured 2. 3 m
wide and varied between 1. 5 and 3. 5 m in length due to the
diagonal wall in the corner of the structure (Fig. l 5). Unit
15 was excavated to a depth of 2. 3 m below the surface, but
only five sherds and a few bones were found . Of these,
only three were decorated sherds. One of them from the
upper levels is a Lucre-style sherd.
Structure 12-2A is located slightly to the northeast of the
center of Sector 2. Four test cuts (Units 16, 16A, 16 B-D,
and 16E) were located in the southern corner of the struc-
ture where the ends of three galleries come together (Fig.
16).
.... --------------
N
~
r-..-. ;---~~
0 10 20 M
Fig. 16 Excavation units 16 and 16 A-E in structure 12-2A.
Unit 16 was located at the southern end of the southeast-
ern outside gallery of structure 12-2A. It measured 2 x 2 m
and was excavated to a depth of 3.69 m, level with the
bottom of the wall foundation. No artifacts were encoun-
tered in the fill, but a hard floor made of plaster mixed with
clay was found at a depth of 2. IO m below the surface. This
floor was approximately 80 cm thick, and cemented into it
were about seventy sherds all belonging to a single large
polychrome vessel bearing a typical Huari-style motif (Fig.
l 7). This vessel apparently represented a ceramic offering
made at the time of the construction of the gallery floor.
Fig. 17 Portion of ceramic offering from unit 16.
Unit 16A was located in the south end of the inside
gallery on the southeast side of the structure, which runs
parallel to the gallery in which Unit 16 was located. This
unit measured 2 X 2 m and was excavated to a depth of 2. 5
m below the surface. No artifacts were found, but a hard
floor of mixed plaster and clay was encountered at the 2. 5
m level below the surface.
Unit 16 B-D was located in the southern end of the
gallery on the southwest side of the structure. It measured
2 X 4. 5 m and was excavated to a depth of r. 9 m below the
present surface. This unit contained a stratified deposit
approximately 1.4 m deep that appeared to be a trash
midden . More than a thousand sherds were found, many
of which were large fragments of good-quality poly-
chrome vessels. Other artifacts included obsidian flakes;
pieces of metal, including two miniature topo pins (all
probably bronze); and a very fine miniature carved-bone
spoon with a bird effigy handle.
Underneath the midden, a fine white plaster floor was
encountered. This floor was at least 1 5 cm thick, but the
thickness was variable since the floor was very uneven and
had many depressions and prominences.
The excavation of the midden also exposed two door-
ways set opposite each other in the northeast and south-
west walls of the gallery. The doorway in the northwest
wall was open to the central courtyard of the structure.
The doorway in the southwest wall, however, had been
sealed in antiquity with stones set in mud mortar. This
sealed doorway was one of only two known doorways in
the entire site of Pikillacta that would have permitted pas-
sage between two adjacent structures.
105
Cordon F. McEwan
17A ~
-
17/
I I
N
~ =----
O 1O 20 M
Fig. rS Left: excavation units r7 and r7A in structure r8 - 2C .
Right: detail of canal in unit r7 .
Unit 16E was located in the courtyard just outside the
doorway in the northwestern side of the gallery mentioned
above. This unit measured 2 X 2. 5 m and was excavated to
a depth of 2 m below the surface; the doorway into the
gallery was also cleared. About 150 sherds, which seemed
to have spilled out of the trash midden in ancient times,
were found in this unit. The plaster floor was encountered
at the bottom of the excavation and was traced through the
doorway into the gallery. This find suggests that the entire
courtyard, an area of more than 900 m2, may have been
plastered.
Structure 18-2C is located in the center of the northwest-
ern half of Sector 2. Two test cuts (Units r 7 and 17 A) were
made in the courtyard of this structure in order to expose a
subterranean canal running diagonally across the courtyard
(Fig. 18).
Unit 17 was a trench I. 5 X 6. 5 m that varied in depth
from 50 to 90 cm below the rather uneven modern court-
yard surface. The canal exposed by this trench had been
carefully made. It had a rectangular cross section (30 cm
wide and 45 cm deep) and a lining of flat stones along the
bottom and sides. A cap of stones was laid across the top
and sealed with clay.
Unit 17A was a 2 X 2 m cut in the eastern corner of the
courtyard and was excavated to a depth of 2. 8 m below the
surface. In this cut the top of the canal and the remains of a
white plaster floor located . 5 5 meters above it were ex-
posed. This suggests that the canal probably originally ran
about half a meter below the floor of the structure. A fully
plastered courtyard is again suggested by the fragments
encountered, and a plaster stucco for the walls also seems
to be indicated.
In comparison with Unit 16E, the plaster floor found in
Unit 17A is much thinner and more finely made. This may
indicate that the courtyard was roofed, protecting the floor
from the elements and allowing the use of a thinner layer of
plaster. Given the comparatively smaller size of structure
18-2C in which Units 17 and 17A were located, roofing it
w ould not have been terribly difficult.
ro6
No ceramic artifacts were encountered in either Unit 17
or 17A. The only artifacts were several large, rectangular
pieces of worked slate. Some of these had holes drilled in
one end.
The excavations in Type C structures suggest that these
structures may have been lived in. Architectural variations
may reflect differences in the social status of the occupants.
Structures 12-2A and 18-2C have fine white plaster floors,
and the artifacts found in 12-2A have a high percentage of
fine pieces, possibly indicating that higher-status individu-
als occupied these two structures.
The Type E Structures. During my visit to Cuzco in
1978, Dr. Luis Barreda of the University of Cuzco had
mentioned to me that he discounted the storage facility
theory as an explanation of the function of the 501 small
conjoined Type E structures in Sector 4. His conclusion
was based on the results of his excavations in several of
these so-called qolqas in which he had found what he be-
lieved to be domestic trash. We decided to do some further
tests, and in 1979 four additional structures were tested
(Figs. 19, 20). Two of these test units produced little or no
cultural material, but in the other two we encountered
what appeared to be domestic trash. These test cuts were
approximately 90 cm deep, and the fill from them con-
tained both utilitarian and fancy Huari-style potsherds,
several pieces of obsidian including a projectile point, a
number of bone tools, numerous bones and burned bones,
and a fire hearth . These results seemed to confirm
Barreda's hypothesis concerning a domestic-type occupa-
tion for these structures rather than storage.
In 1982 I returned with the intention to systematically
test the storage hypothesis for these Type E structures. In
A Provincial Huari Center in the Valley of Cuzco

-
\I~--~ unit 7

0 2 3 4 5
'---'--L-------'-----'~ M

Fig. 19 Excavation units 6 and 7 in Sector 4.

\ 0 1 2 3 4
M

Fig. 22 Excavation units 26 and 27 in Sector 4.

Barreda in 1963 (Units 4 and 5) , and the single unit exca-

vated by Lumbreras (Unit r) in 1972 (personal communica-
N tion , 1982), give a total sample of sixteen of the Type E
structures in Sector 4 (Fig . 24).

Fig. 20
\ 0 1

Excavation units 8, 9, and 9a in Sector 4.

3 4 5
M
Of the sixteen structures sampled, six contained fire
hearths (Units 9, 22, 23, 26, 27, and 28). The hearths were
all found on the southwest side of the door opening and,
with the exception of the hearth in Unit 28, which was
found towards the center of the structure, all were located
against the wall. The hearths were made by digging a
shallow hole in the floor in which the fire was built. There
were no formal boundaries such as a ring of stones or other
delimiting features. The contents of the hearths typically
consisted of a fine powdery ash, very small amounts of
charcoal, burned bones and bone fragments, and soot-
N marked potsherds. The scarcity of solid carbon o_r charcoal

\ made it difficult to obtain samples of sufficient size for

0 1 2 3 4
'-----'---------'--'--~~ M
Fig. 21 Excavation units 28 and 29 in Sector 4.
an effort to obtain a representative sample of the structures,
I made test cuts in various structures in groups A, B , C,
and E. These included Units 28 and 29 in group A (Fig .
21), Units 26 and 27 in group B (Fig. 22), Units 21 - 24 in
group C (Fig. 23), and Units 9A and 12 in group E. These
units , together w ith the four excavated in 1979 (Units 6, 7,
, and 9, all in group E), the two units excavated by
radiocarbon dating. This was probably due to the nature of
the material used as fuel. If camelid dung were used as fuel,
for example, the residue would consist mostly of powdery
ash.
Twelve of the sampled structures (all units except 7, 12,
21, and 29) contained artifacts consisting of potsherds ,
burned bones, bones, bone tools, and obsidian flakes. In
four of the structures no artifacts were uncovered in the
test cuts . The quantity of cultural material found varied
considerably from one structure to the next, with some
containing almost a meter of fill and others only a few
centimeters. The heaviest concentration of material was
encountered in Units 8 and 9, just inside the doorways.
These concentrations seemed highly localized within the
structure, since in Unit 9a, excavated as an extension of
Unit 9, nothing was found.

107
Gordon F. McEwan
10
M \
Fig. 23 Excavation units 21-25 in Sector 4.
One other excavation, Unit 25, was made in the street in
front ofUnit 24 in group C. It was sicuated to expose a cross-
wall and gate that divided the structures in group C into
smaller groups of four and five structures each (Fig. 23).
The result of these test excavations was, with only a few
exceptions, the uncovering of what appeared to be the
remains of a domestic occupation. At least six of the Type
E structures contained fire hearths , and ash found in the fill
from the other structures suggests that they too may have
had fire hearths. One fire hearth in Unit 28 contained parts
of a human body, including a radius and ulna, several ribs,
and several teeth.
Another unusual feature of the Type E structures in
Sector 4 is that one of them, 136-4B, is almost completely
filled by a single large boulder. It is curious that this stone
was not removed, a feat that was surely within the techni-
cal capability of the Huari engineers. It may be that the
stone was a huaca or sacred stone and was thus retained in
place. The Incas were known to build around certain
stones (there is an excellent example of this at the nearby
Inca site ofKanaraqay), and this example at Pikillacta may
indicate that it was a long-standing practice. A similar
situation exists in structure 24-4D that will be discussed
below.
Unique Structures. Three relatively umque structures
were tested: structures 25-2E, 24-4D, and a structure in
enclosure R5-4 that proved to be a chullpa or burial tower.
Structure 25-2E is located on the southwestern edge of
Sector 2, just above the reconstructed terraces in Sector 3.
It is a rather large Type E structure, measuring 17 X 29 m
internally. There is a gallery attached to the southwest wall
which measures approximately 3 X 28 m. This gallery has
been reconstructed and its authenticity is unknown. The
features that make structure 25 - 2E particularly interesting
are the presence of two large niches in the southwest wall .
One of these niches is trapezoidal in the horizontal plane
IO
N
0 10 M
~-'""
Fig. 25 Excavation unit IO and detail of plaster floor showing
looter's pit in which the ten skulls were found.
(Fig. 25) and the other has been reconstructed in a rectangu-
lar form but may have originally been trapezoidal also .
There is only one other structure at Pikillacta containing
large niches, structure 12- 2B, excavated by Barreda and
Sanders in 1963 (Sanders 1973: 409). Another unusual fea-
ture of structure 25-2E is the presence of two internally
rounded corners to the west and south.
Excavation Unit IO was located in the western corner of
structure 12-2B and measured 3 X 4.5 m (Fig. 25). This
unit was excavated to a depth of r.4 m below the surface,
at which level a fine white plaster floor was found. This
floor averaged IO-I 5 cm in thickness and was laid on a thin
cap of brown clay (r. 5 cm) that covered a prepared founda-
tion of crushed stone and sand, approximately I m thick.
The interior walls of this structure were covered with a
thick ( IO cm) stucco of mud , and over this a thin ( 1 cm) cap
of plaster was laid.
In the southern half of this unit there was a large (2 X 1. 2
m) irregular hole in the plaster floor. Ten human skulls
were found tucked up under the floor around the northeast
and southeast margins of this hole (Fig. 25). Sr. Leonidas
Wilson, the Pikillacta site guard, related that seven of these
had been exposed in the 1930s by looters. According to
Wilson, he had reported the find to the Patronato De-
partamental de Arqueologfa del Cuzco, and they had or-
dered that the skulls be reinterred and the looters' pit
backfilled. We found in our excavations several modern
A Provincial Huari Center in the Valley of Cuzco

unit 29

unit 26

unit 12

-t--;.t--!-t--;-t----unit 9 & 9a
;----,r-t-,-;--r-1-----uni.t 8
-t-r+-rli-1-+---unit 5

unit 7

nit 6

24
t 23
t 22
l&.~-t:i:±:i-::1=::i--cd-f-+--------------t---un t 21

Fig. 24 Plan of Sector 4 showing locations of excavations.

sherds and some bones, apparently the remains of the
looters' meal, that seemed to confirm Wilson 's account. In
addition to the seven skulls mentioned by Wilson, three
more were found. These three were buried further under
the floor than the other seven. Whereas the first seven
found were buried in the red soil used to backfill the
looters' pit, these three were in the grey sand and gravel
foundation layer under the floor. This suggests that these
three may have been found in the original context. The
only other artifact found in this unit was a metal spike
(probably of bronze).
The skulls consisted of four males and six females of a
wide variety of ages. One had a frontal suture crossing its
forehead, a condition sometimes depicted in Huari ceram-
ics, and another showed evidence of three separate
trephinations (Bauer and Bauer n.d.). No mandibles or
other bones were found with the skulls, which suggests
that the flesh had already been removed at the time of their
burial.
The second unique structure investigated, structure 24-
4D, is located near the center of group D in Sector 4. It
consists of a relatively small enclosure (8 X IO m) contain-

109
Gordon F. McEwan

probably a ceremonial offering, and the large niches in the

0 5M
N offerings presented to the stone.
~-..t-i
Fig. 26 Above: excavation unit 30 in structure 24-4D. Below:
object found in unit 30 that may represent an offering.
southwest wall may also indicate a ceremonial function.
This structure certainly had the most carefully finished
interior, in terms of floor and wall preparation, of any that
were sampled at Pikillacta .
Structure 24-4D can probably best be understood as a
huaca similar to sacred stones found in some Inca buildings.
Inasmuch as the stone completely fills the room, it is hard
to imagine any other function for this structure. The minia-
ture ceramic bottle and the shell bead may be parts of
The chullpa in enclosure R5- 4 is almost certainly intru-
sive and most likely dates to the Late Intermediate Period.
Chullpas have not been reported as a cultural trait of the
Huari, but are known in the southern highlands from Late
Intermediate Period and Late Horizon sites. They are quite
common at Late Intermediate Period occupations in the
Lucre Basin (e.g . , Ra yallacta and Chokepuquio).
Investigated Features. In Canchon 1 on the southeast side
of Pikillacta, an erosion channel in a sheep trail revealed a
high concentration of ceramics near the surface. A 3 X 3 m
test cut was placed there and designated Unit 19 (Fig. 27).
This unit produced a very high volume of artifacts: 3,600
potsherds; thousands of bones; several fine carved- bone
weaving tools; many pieces of metal, including several topo
pins; polished stone beads; and many pieces of obsidian,
including a very fine large point and several large blades.
The fill contained many small pockets of ash, giving the
impression of a trash midden.
Unit 19 was located on a very steep hill slope, and the
excavation revealed that originally it may have been ter-
raced. About 2 m below the surface a prepared living floor

ing two conjoined Type E structures. The corners of the

southeast wall are rounded, as are those of the Type E
structures. The excavation in 24-4D (Unit 30) included the
whole of the interior of the Type E structure on the south-
west side (Fig. 26). This unit measured 3. 5 X 4 meters and 12·3
was excavated to a depth of 3. 2 meters below the surface.
This structure proved to be entirely filled with a very large
stone that was part of the natural rock outcrop underlying
this part of the site. The rock sloped upward from the
southwestern side, reaching its maximum elevation on the unit 19

northeast side of the structure. Only a few sherds were

found in the fill, including half of a miniature ceramic 11·3

bottle. One other artifact found was a shell bead that

looked like a miniature strombus shell (Fig. 26). At the
deepest point of the excavation, the western corner, a large 10·3

charcoal deposit was found.

The third unique structure excavated, Unit 13, was lo-
cated in enclosure R5-4 just above Avenue 8 and proved to
be a rectangular chullpa. A 1 X 2 m cut, 50 cm deep,
produced about 25 potsherds and a few human bones. Two
of the sherds are decorated in the Huari style, but the rest
are plain and all seem to belong to a single, bottle-shaped
vessel.
The results of the excavations in structures 25-2E and 24-
4D suggest that they may have been ceremonial in func-
tion. In 25- 2E the cache of skulls buried under the floor is Fig. 27 Location of excavation units 19 and 20.

!IO
A Provincial Huari Center in the Valley of Cuzco

E bly served to feed the workers and was abandoned after

SHELF construction of the site was completed. This whole area
was then used as the main trash dump for the site, and the
gradual accumulation of trash and the erosion of the hill
slope eventually obscured the living floor found in Unit 19.
One other feature was investigated by excavation. In
BATANES Avenue 7 there are many humps on the surface that are
PIT WITH aligned with the walls approaching perpendicularly on ei-
JAR
ther side in Sectors I and 2, suggesting that these walls
crossed the avenue. We excavated one of these humps,
located between structures 5- 2C and 73-1. This excavation
PLASTER was designated Unit 32 and revealed that there was a gate
LINED in the wall crossing the avenue. This gate was very similar

\,~ "''~
to those in the streets of Group C, Sector 4.

DATING THE PlKlLLACTA SITE

0 .5 1.0 M
As previously noted, most scholars now accept a Middle
Horizon date for the Pikillacta site. Menzel (1968: 93) has
w s
suggested that Pikillacta may date to late Epoch 1B or early
Epoch 2A of the Middle Horizon, on the basis of some of
Fig. 28 Floor of unit r9. the sherds found in Sanders' excavation in structure 12-2B
(Menzel 1968: 70, note 77) . This would place Pikillacta in
rested on a level platform. This floor contained many time at around A.D. 650 in Rowe and Menzel's chronology
features suggesting that it had been a food preparation area (Rowe and Menzel 1967: iv).
or kitchen (Fig. 28). In the north corner was a large fire During the 1982 excavations new evidence for dating the
hearth that was partially cut into the terrace wall. In the occupation of the site was uncovered in the form of ceramics
east corner of the unit were two grinding stones set in a and radiocarbon samples. Sherds excavated from the lowest
foundation of small stones and globs of plaster. One of levels of Unit 19 have been identified by Lumbreras (per-
these grinding stones is rectangular and looks as if it had sonal communication, 1982) as belonging to the Ocros style
been made from a dressed-stone block. This is interesting · dating from Middle Horizon Epoch 1B (Fig. 30). A carbon
in view of the fact that cut stones have not been found in sample from the same level of Unit 19 produced a date of
the ruins of Pikillacta. A.D. 600 ± 60 (Tx 4750) (Note that all radiocarbon dates
In the floor were three specially prepared pits. Two of reported here are uncorrected]. A second carbon sample,
these were plaster-lined and the third was made to hold a · found resting on the plaster floor of structure 12-2A in Unit
very large ceramic vessel. The vessel was still in place in 16 B- D, produced a date of A.D. 520 ± 90 (Tx 4751). Both
the third pit, with only the top broken around the shoul- of these dates are reasonably consistent with the estimates of
ders. The pieces had fallen into the vessel after the break so Menzel and Lumbreras. The sample from Unit 16 B- D was
we were able to recover them. smaller than the sample from Unit 19, and this may account
To the northwest, the floor continues under the wall of for the larger plus-minus factor and the earlier date.
Avenue 1. This suggests that the living floor predates the In Section 4, three additional radiocarbon samples were
construction of Pikillacta. obtained; two were taken in 1979 and one in 1982. The two
One other very interesting find was a fragment of the samples taken in 1979 were obtained from braided vines
rim of a polychrome Huari vessel (Fig. 29) that proved to that had been placed in the walls of the Type E structures at
be part of one of the rims recovered in Unit 16. This
suggests that the trash in structure 12-2A was allowed to
accumulate and was periodically disposed of in the area
around Unit 19.
In an effort to confirm that Canchon I represented the
main trash dump for the Pikillacta site, a second test cut
(Unit 20) was made on the extreme southwestern edge of
Canchon 1, just above Avenue 1 (Fig. 27). Unit 20 mea-
sured 2 x 2 m and was excavated to a depth of 2. 7 m below
the surface. This unit produced 7,840 potsherds; a large
quantity of bone; many pieces of metal, including several
topo pins; and many fragments of obsidian. The fill also
contained numerous pockets of ash and globs of plaster.
In conclusion, the data from Units 19 and 20 suggest that Fig. 29 Fragments of vessel rim. The portion on left side of
there may have been at a work camp in Canchon l during break was found in unit r6E. The portion on right side of break
the construction of Pikillacta. The kitchen in Unit 19 proba- was found in unit r9.

II I
Gordon F. McEwan
Fig . 30 Middle Horizon Epoch 1B Ocros-style sherds fo und in
excavation unit 19.
the time of their construction. These yielded dates of A.D.
8IO ± 60 (Tx 4247), and A.D. 850 ± 60 (Tx 3996). Since
both of these samples were taken from the same piece of
vine braid, a somewhat more precise date can be obtained
from them by correcting them using the dendrochronologi-
cal calibration table of Damon et al. (1974: 353) and then
using the averaging procedure suggested by Long and
Rippeteau (1974: 206). This yields a corrected average date
of A. D. 830 ± 42. The sample taken in 1982 was obtained
from the charcoal deposit in the bottom of Unit 30 and
yielded a date of A.D. 520 ± 370 (Tx 4747). The very large
deviation renders this date of little use .
These radiocarbon dates suggest that Pikillacta was con-
structed at the end of Middle Horizon Epoch 1B and that
the structures in Sector 4 may have been a later addition.
Architecturally this is possible since the Type E structures
in Sector 4 are the only large group of structures not
physically bonded to the main architectural block.
RESULTS OF THE ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY
During the course of the mapping project and excava-
tion, a systematic investigation of the architecture of
Pikillacta was conducted on a structure- by- structure basis,
obtaining a great deal of architectural data. Summarized
below are the results of investigations of the principles of
design and sequence of construction, construction materi-
als, process of construction, and wall features.
Principles of D esign and Sequence of Construction
The Pikillacta site is based on the three fundamental
architectural elements: the rectangular enclosure, the pe-
ripheral gallery, and the rectangular building. These are
used in conjunction with the principle of common walls, in
w hich structures are conceived from the interior perspec-
I !2
tive rather than from the exterior perspective. Whereas in a
free-standing structure space is defined by the limits of
exterior walls, at Pikillacta most of the structures are inte-
grated so that space was defined by the limits of interior
walls. Thus, in the vast majority of structures in Pikillacta
there simply is no exterior perspective as there are no
exterior walls. Space is defined from within by the various
arrangements of the three basic architectural elements .
These three elements almost invariably produce arrange-
ments that can be defined within the five basic structural
types: A, B, C, D, and E. Although there are a few unique
structures, they are also composed of or are variations on
the theme of the three basic elements. In many respects the
structures at Pikillacta are analogous to the rooms of a large
palace. They form a functioning, integrated whole, and in
this sense the entire complex may be viewed as a single,
enormous building.
The results of the structural survey made in conjunction
with the mapping project suggest that all of the shared
walls- the walls serving as boundaries between structures,
the walls serving as boundaries between structures and
avenues, and the walls serving as the perimeter of the site-
were built first. This provided the basic structural shell,
since all of these walls were bonded together. All of the
major areas of the site were thus laid out in the preliminary
stage of construction, and must have been conceived as one
master plan. This plan must have been extraordinarily de-
tailed, since·the location of all major rooms must have been
known in advance in order to construct such features as
subterranean canals that must have been built first.
After the basic shell had been put up, or at least laid out,
the interiors of each structu re were then put together. The
construction of the interiors allowed for a limited amount
of flexibility since the interior walls were generally un-
bonded. It was therefore theoretically possible to modify
the interior design of a structure by moving a wall without
the risk of disrupting neighboring structures. In her study
ofHuari architecture, Schreiber (n. d.: 148) identified a four-
step sequence of construction: (1) pre- construction layout,
(2) foundations, (3) wall construction, and (4) finishing ofin-
teriors. Pikillacta conforms to this sequence, and data from
other major Huari sites such as Viracochapampa (Topic and
Topic 1983: 20- 21), and Huari itself (Spickard 1983: 148)
suggest that they also follow Schreiber's sequence, confirm-
ing its validity for Huari architecture in general.
Construction Materials
The materials used in the construction of Pikillacta are all
found relatively close to the site. In his study of the nearby
Rumiqolqa quarries , Protzen (n . d.: 3) has remarked that
these quarries probably provided the stone for Pikillacta .
The actual stone used is red sandstone and lava. The sand-
stone predominates, giving the ruins a distinctive reddish
cast that is augmented by the red color of the soil used to
make the mud mortar. Several very large borrow pits are
still visible on the northeast and northwest sides of the site,
just outside of Sectors I and 4, and these surely provided a
great part of the mud used in construction. The yeso or
 _-:.. Prl: i1: -i.1/ Hriari Center in the Valley of Cuzco
Reconstruction of
Type C Structures
Hypothetical
Reconstruction of
a Type B Structure
Fig. 3 r Hypothetical reconstructions of structural types Band C.
gypsum for plaster is abundant on nearby Cerro Hatun
Balcon and is still mined there.
Roofs were most likely made of thatch and were proba-
bly steeply pitched for the high rainfall of the highlands
(Fig. 31). In contrast, Sanders (1973: 389-390) has argued
for flat roofs constructed from a layer of earth and gravel
over a network of wooden beams and poles, capped with a
thick layer of gypsum plaster. Topic and Topic (1983: 18),
on the other h and, have suggested that comparable Huari
structures at Viracochapampa were roofed with claystone
used as shingles. I believe that flat roofs were unlikely due
to their impracticability in a high- rainfall environment and
also because thatched roofs would be simpler to construct
and much cheaper in terms of labor expended in procuring
and preparing materials and in manufacture of the roofs. I
also believe that claystone shingles were probably not used
at Pikillacta, since none have turned up in the excavations.
Process of Construction
The actual process of construction involved the digging
of foundation trenches as much as 1. 5 m deep. The bases of
the walls were laid in these trenches, and the walls were then
built in both vertical and horizontal sections. Curiously, the
vertical sections are not bonded at their edges. This failure
to bond the sections has resulted in the differential wall
collapse that accounts for the present sawtooth appearance
of the walls. It is very puzzling that the architects, after
taking care to bond all of the wall intersections in the basic
shell, would leave the vertical sections unbonded.
The horizontal sections are also unusual in that the sizes
of the stones used in the sections are fairly uniform. How-
ever, the size of the stones differs from section to section,
with some sections consisting of large stones and others of
small stones. The stones are generally not laid in regular
courses but seemingly at random, with the exception of the
margins of a section where relatively straight courses will
occur. One wall in particular is remarkable because a sec-
tion of large stones is laid over a section containing rather
small ones.
Wall thickness was variable and difficult to gauge accu-
rately due to erosion of the original surfaces. The boundary
walls of enclosures, that is , the shared walls that form the
four walls of the enclosure, averaged 90 cm thick. The
interior walls, those forming galleries and crosswalls, aver-
aged 70 cm thick. The walls forming the boundary of the
main architectural block averaged 1. 5 m thick. Because of
the poor condition of the wall surfaces it was not possible
to accurately gauge whether the walls tapered toward the
top . It seems unlikely that they would taper significantly
due to the fact that almost all walls in Pikillacta are shared,
with each face belonging to a separate structure.
After the walls had been erected, the final step was the
application of thick stucco of mud and plaster. Surviving
fragments discovered in situ in excavation unit ro indicate
a thick (ro cm) cap of clay or mud, covered in turn by a
thin frosting of plaster approximately I cm thick .
Wall Features
As the walls were constructed, various features were
incorporated into them. These features included rows of
stone corbels, setbacks, rows of small niches, large niches,
windows, rosettes, and vine cores.
The rows of corbels , rows of small niches , and setbacks
in most cases appear to be part of a support system for
multiple story structures. The best evidence for this is the
stairway discovered in Sanders' excavation of structure 12-
2B (Sanders 1973: 388), which terminates at the level of the
rows of corbels that would have supported the second
floor.
The rows of corbels consist simply of stones set into the
wall in a row in such fashion that they project 15-30 cm
horizontally from the wall. The spacing between individ-
ual stones varies greatly, with some set so close to each
other as to almost form a shelf, whereas in other cases they
are set widely apart. It has been generally assumed that the
function of the corbels was to support the upper floors of
buildings (Sanders 1973: 3 88; Schreiber n. d.: 13 8) . Presum-
ably a framework of wood spanned the gap between walls
and was supported b y the corbels; the floor was then laid
on this framework (Fig. 32). This must have been the case
in many of the structures, since corbels are generally found
inside the galleries and the distances to be spanned for
flooring were rarely much more than 2 m wide.
rr3
Gordon F. McEwan
Rosette
Fig. 32 Above: rosette. Below: reconstruction showing proba-
ble method of floor constru ction for upper stories. A framework
of wood spans the gap between the row of corbels in the left
wall and the setback in the ri ght wall. This framework is cov-
ered wi th a layer of mud or clay and capped w ith a laye r of
gypsum plaster.
There are, ho wever, several cases where the floor sup-
port argument does not m ake sense. In structure 12-2A the
row of corbels in the outside southeastern gallery zigzags at
3 m intervals with an approximate shift in height of 50 cm
at each interval (Fig. 33). In structure 2- 2A the row of
corbels in the southwest standing wall has a pronounced
curve that cannot be attributed to wall subsidence. Another
curious fact is that several structures have vertical rows of
corbels in addition to horiz ontal rows. Further, the site
perimeter wall near the modern entrance to Sector 3 has a
row of corbels just below the top of the wall . This is at a
level approximately 12 m above the present ground surface
and seems much too hig h for a second story.
It seems likely that the corbels had, in fact, several differ-
ent functions. Some clearly were intended as floor supports
for two and three story structures, while others may sim-
ply have been decorative. Another possible function is that
they helped support the mud and plaster stucco on the
walls . Surviving fragments of the stucco indicate that it
was at least IO cm thick and that by the time that a wall 40
m long and IO to 12 m tall had been covered, literally tons
of stucco would have had to be supported.
Setbacks are formed by narrowing the width of a wall so
114
1 M
1 M
Niches Windows
1M
Corbels in Zig-Zag Pattern
Fig . 33 Wall features.
that a shelf or ledge IO to 15 cm wide is formed . Setbacks
are commonly found in walls opposite another wall con-
taining a row of corbels. Their function is presumably
identical to that of the corbels in supporting a wooden
framework on which a floor is laid. As noted, setbacks
occur opposite corbels, but never in the same wall face as
corbels (Fig . 32).
The rows of niches consist of a series of small irregular
rectangular niches that average 20 X 25 cm in size. As with
the corbels, the spacing and placement of the nich es varies
considerably. Niches are frequently found in conjunction
with setbacks or rows of corbels. They are sometimes set
flush with the corbels or setbacks, or can be located from IO
cm to 1 m above or below them . If the setbacks and corbels
are in fact floor supports, then the niches would seem redun-
dant as an additional floor support system. Sanders (1973:
402) reports that Lumbreras told him that he believes that
certain of the sm all niches at the site of Huari in Ayacucho
may have served to support tenoned stone heads, yet as
Sanders notes , no stone sculpture h as been found at
Pikillacta. Spickard (1983: 157) suggests that the niches , or
"square holes" as she calls them, served to support scaffold-
ing during construction and were later plastered over when
the wall was finished. One other possible function of small
niches in certain cases may have been for a door-fastening
system similar to that used by the Incas. Sanders' excavation
Unit A in structure 33-2B uncovered niches so positioned
which I observed in 1982. The Topics (1983 : 14) also report
niches used for this function at Viracochapampa , a large
Huari site somewhat similar to Pikillacta, located in the
north highlands. It seems likely that, like the corbels, the
niches served a variety of functions that are not all readily
apparent to the modern observer.
One very curious aspect of the whole problem of
multiple- story structures is that in none of my excavations
was any material found that suggested the remains of col-
lapsed floors. Sanders (1973: 389- 390) reports that in his
excavation Unit A a number of thick gypsum slabs were
A Pro vincial Huari Center in the Valley of Cuzco
found. These were smoothed on one side and rough on the
other, w ith chunks of earth clinging to some of them.
These may be remains of collapsed upper floors that were
probably constructed by spanning the space between a set
of corbels on facing walls or between a set of corbels and a
setback (Fig. 32). Here a wooden framework would be
covered with a layer of mud or clay and capped with a
thick layer of gypsum plaster. Floors constructed in this
fashion are repo rted by Spickard (1983: 142) from the
Moraduchayuq sector of the site of Huari in Ayacucho .
Large niches are con trasted with the niches in the previ-
ous discussion on the basis of size. Only five large niches
were encountered in Pikillacta, although there may have
been others that are now destroyed or obscured by wall
rubble. Three of these niches are located in structure I 2-
2B, which is the same building near the center of the site in
which Sanders ' Unit I was located. These three niches each
measure approximately 90 cm w ide by 40 cm deep, but due
to the fact that the wall is destro yed it is impossible to
determine their original height. The other two large niches
are located in structure 25-2E, the same structure in which
Unit 10 was excavated . One of these niches is trapezoidal
in the horizontal plane and is approximately 1.4 m wide at
its back, narrowing to I m w ide at its front. The other
niche has been reconstructed in a rectangular form and is
1.4 m w ide. Both are approximately So cm deep. I believe
that both niches were originally trapezoidal in the horizon-
tal plane and that the rectangular one is probably an error in
reconstruction. Topic and Topic (1983: 14-15) report very
similar trapezoidal niches occurring in what they call "ob-
long structures" at Viracochapampa in the north highlands
(these are also referred to as niched halls in their article in
this volume). These oblong structures are very similar in
form to structure 25 - 2E at Pikillacta. This similarity sug-
gests that there probably were originally many more
niches in structure 25-2E that are now destroyed. The
oblong structures at Viracochapampa are estimated by the
Topics to have had as many as thirty-four niches.
Windows are relatively small and narrow and quite ir-
regular in shape, rarely exceeding 20 X 40 cm. They are
constructed in similar fashion to the small niches and differ
mainly in being slightly larger and in completely piercing
the wall. It is curious that all of the windows encountered
at Pikillacta occur in only nine structures located in the
southern corner of Sector 2. It may be that windows in
other structures are either buried or were in sections of
walls now destroyed.
The structures containing surviving windows are de-
signed with only limited use of galleries so that nearly all of
the windows open to the light rather than to the interior of
a room in the adjacent structure sharing the wall. Almost
everywhere else in the site shared walls are paralleled on
both sides by one or more galleries, which would make
windows useless for admitting light.
Rosettes are peculiar wall features, apparently unique to
Pikillacta, whose function remains unknown. They consist
of a circular pattern in a wall surface formed by fairly large
stones, with the in terior of the circle filled with small
stones (Fig. 32). Rosettes are fairly common in the walls at
Pikillacta, but only one was discovered intact. It had been
preserved by the overburden and was only discovered by
excavation in Unit 14. Local informants told me that all of
the other examples of rosettes were destroyed because the
people of the Lucre Basin believe that rosettes mark the
location of wall tombs and so have broken holes in the
walls wherever they find a rosette.
Wall tombs are common at Chokepuquio, which no
doubt inspired the notion that wall tombs marked by ro-
settes also existed at Pikillacta. However, no evidence of
wall tombs was found in the broken walls that were exam-
ined at Pikillacta, and our informant claimed that no one
had ever found a tomb in a wall at Pikillacta.
The walls of the small conjoined Type E structures in
Sector 4 contain a core of braided vines of the pispita plant
that still grows abundantly on the site. The braid was
relatively flat , measuring about 8 X 2 cm in cross section,
and was unquestionably a deliberate inclusion in the wall at
the time of construction. There appeared to be only one of
these cores per structure, so it seems unlikely that they had
any structural significance in terms of contributing to wall
strength . The function of these cores remains obscure.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
At the outset of the investigation at Pikillacta three basic
categories of research objectives were formulated. These
were designed to deal with questions regarding (1) occupa-
tion of the site, (2) its architectural features, and (3) site
function . These objectives can now be addressed in light of
the data recovered during the excavations and architectural
survey.
The Occupation of Pikillacta
With respect to the ques tion of whether or not Pikillacta
had been occupied, the answer is clearly affirmative. The
excavation data suggest a fairly intensive occupation of
substantial duration. Approximately I 8,000 potsherds and
25,000 bones and bone fragments, plus a variety of other
artifacts , including objects of worked bone, obsidian, shell,
and metal, were recovered. Much of this material came
from very dense deposits (600- 700 sherds per cubic meter)
in the basural or trash midden discovered on the southeast
side of the site, in Canchon I. This midden is of consider-
able areal extent and is in some parts almost 3 m deep. A
second midden was also discovered inside structure 12-2A
and proved to be 1.4 m deep . Nearly all of the other
structures tested contained varying amounts of cultural
debris, with deposits being quite deep in some cases. There
was a great deal of ash mixed throughout the fill in almost
all of the structures tested, and a number of w ell-defined
fire hearths were also encountered. In nearly all of the
excavations, cultural m aterial was not enco untered at less
than half a meter below the surface. This probably ac-
counts for the lack of surface artifacts. The sterile cap of
earth covering the occupation layers is almost certainly a
product of the heavy erosion of the slopes of Cerro
Huchuy Balcon combined with the great amounts of mud
and stone contributed by the collapsing walls.
Pikillacta is unquestionably a Hua.ri construction project.
115
Gordon F. McEwan
In addition to the architecture being in typical Huari style,
as defined by Schreiber (n.d.), all but a very few of the
diagnostic potsherds are also Huari style (the few excep-
tions belong to the local Middle Horizon Qotakalli and
Lucre styles) . Being a Huari site, Pikillacta should date
from the Middle Horizon Period between A.D. 540 and
A.D. 900 (Rowe 1965: 197). Menzel (1968: 93) has sug-
gested a Middle Horizon Epoch 2A or late Epoch 1B date
for the occupation of Pikillacta, based on her studies of
Huari ceramics. Ceramic and radiocarbon samples from
Sector 2 and the basural in Canchon l tend to support
Menzel's suggested dating. Additional radiocarbon sam-
ples and architectural data from Sector 4 suggest that this
part of the site may have been a later addition, perhaps
dating from around A.D. 800-850.
The duration of the occupation of Pikillacta is difficult to
judge on the available data. The quantity of material in the
trash midden is considerable. But since it is not yet possible
to calculate the density of the population occupying the site
w ith any accuracy, it is difficult to say whether this midden
represents a large population over a relatively short span or a
smaller population over a longer span of time. There is also
the probability that there are other middens as yet undis-
covered that are also associated with the occupation of the
site. The number of time-sensitive diagnostic ceramic arti-
facts recovered from the site is very small, yet these do
include specimens of late Middle Horizon 1B styles (Luis
Lumbreras, personal communication, 1982), Middle Hori-
zon 2A (William Isbell, personal communication, 1984),
and 2B styles (John Rowe and William Isbell, personal
communications, 1984). These ceramic data, taken together
with the radiocarbon dates from various parts of the site,
seem to suggest an occupation of perhaps 200 years.
Architecture
As has been shown, Pikillacta is a very complex structure
based on the recombination of three basic and simple archi-
tectural elements into five standardized structural types . In
constructing Pikillacta, the basic framework of shared
bonded walls was first laid out. This provided the structural
shell into which the more complex and elaborate interiors of
the individual structures were built (but not bonded to
shared walls). In this rigidly planned site, the only flexibility
was in the actual combination of the elements in the interiors
of the structures. Essentially, the master plan dictated the
size and location of each structure, but not necessarily the
type of structure, since all types are found in all sectors of the
site and in a wide variety of positions .
The principles of design and construction applied at
Pikillacta are remarkably adapted for a pre-literate complex
society and offer some possible insights into the functions
of a pre- literate bureaucracy. In reducing the complex
Pikillacta plan to its simplest forms, the designers of the
site were able to transmit the plan with minimum risk of its
being garbled. As Spickard (1983: 141) has suggested, it
was probably important to the Huari, from a political point
of view, that they be able to "insure that the installation
could be erected relatively quickly and appear to be invinci-
II6
ble and bureaucratically efficient." The construction crew
must have consisted of a few trained architects supervising
large crews of unskilled labor drafted from the local peas-
antry. In the case of Pikillacta this would entail the addi-
tional difficulty of using a local, culturally different labor
force that was completely unfamiliar with the type of
structure being erected and unable to visualize the desired
end product. By breaking down the plan into three basic
elements, work crews could be rapidly trained to construct
any of the five basic structural types. Supervision require-
ments would be many fewer than if numerous unique
structures were to be erected. Further simplifying the task
would be the use of typical local materials, including mud,
sandstone, and gypsum plaster, which are all readily avail-
able and would have been familiar to the work force. Thus
a few highly trained architects, together with a cadre of
skilled engineers, could manipulate a very large body of
unskilled labor (which probably had the additional compli-
cation of serving on a rotational basis) to produce a spec-
tacular complex like Pikillacta.
Many unanswered questions remain regarding the archi-
tectural mysteries of the site. The excavations provided
clues to both the problems of traffic circulation and water
supply. The discovery of buried doorways suggests that
many of the deeply buried structures may also have them.
This does not shed any light, however, on how a person
could actually find his way through the site when it was
occupied. Even if all of the structures interconnected with
doorways, they still present the problem of all looking
very much alike. With their walls IO to 12 m high, it would
be impossible to see out of any given structure. How, for
example, could one navigate from a structure in the middle
of Sector l to one in the middle of Sector 2?
The subterranean canal discovered in Unit 17 shows at
least that complex arrangements were made for transport
of water. Whether this canal served for water supply or
drainage is unknown, but it is certain that both functions
were required in the site. Spickard's tabulation of the fea-
tures of Huari administrative architecture suggests that
subterranean canal systems are a common feature of many
Huari sites (Spickard 1983: 146) .
The Function of Pikillacta
Because Pikillacta had been identified in earlier literature
as a storage center, evidence for this function was carefully
sought during the architectural survey and test excava-
tions. All of the structural types within the site, except
Type D, were systematically sampled, with particular atten-
tion devoted to Sector 4, the area long considered to con-
tain architecture specifically designed for storage. In this
effort, two basic questions were considered: (1) do the
ruins resemble known Pre-Columbian state storage facili-
ties, and (2) does the excavated material from the test cuts
suggest a function as a state storage facility?
Since the only documented state storage facilities in
Pre-Columbian Peru are those of the Inca, one must neces-
sarily use them as a model for comparison. Morris (n.d.),
in his study of Inca storage, reached the conclusion that
A Provincial Huari Center in the Valley of Cuzco
the Type E structures in Sector 4 of Pikillacta do not
resemble any of the Inca storehouses, either from Cuzco
or elsewhere.
The other structures at Pikillacta, the large rectangular
structural Types A, B, C, and D, also do not resemble any
of the storage facilities described by Morris. Although
Harth-Terre (19 59: 14) assigns the large rectangular enclo-
sures a storage and processing function, Schreiber's (n.d.)
study of Huari architecture suggests that these types of
enclosures serve as h abitations or craft production areas .
The excavational data from structural Types A , B, and C at
Pikillacta tend to confirm this suggestion, at least for the
habitational function. In terms of the nature of the exca-
vated material and its degree of reflection of the function of
the small conjoined Type E structures in Pikillacta, the
evidence seems to suggest that people were living in these
structures. The ceramic material recovered from the Type
E structures at Pikillacta is primarily utilitarian and often
has soot marks suggesting use in cooking. Almost all of
these sherds were small and thin, and those that were
diagnostic suggested relatively small cooking and serving
vessels. The fire hearths found in some of the Type E
structures at Pikillacta, as well as the ash in the fill, seem
particularly inconsistent with a storage function. They
have every appearance of cooking fires.
If Pikillacta was a Huari state storage facility, our knowl-
edge of the Inca state storage system indicates that identical
sites should have been strategically located throughout the
empire. Yet the only structure known that shows any
architectural similarity to Pikillacta's Sector 4 that can also
be clearly identified as a Huari imperial installation is the
site of Azangaro (Incaragay) at Huanta near Ayacucho .
However, Martha Anders, who conducted an excavation
program on this site (see Anders 1986), found no evidence
that would suggest state storage as a function for this site
(Martha Anders , personal communication, 1984) . Those
sites such as Viracochapampa in the north highlands and
Pampa de las Llamas in the Casma Valley, which have been
mentioned as storage sites similar to Pikillacta, in fact
contain no architectural similarities to Sector 4 of Pikillacta
at all.
Rather than storage, the evidence from Sector 4 at
Pikillacta seems to indicate that the conjoined Type E struc-
tures were used for living quarters . The precise arrange-
ment of the structures, together with the rigidly controlled
access, suggests that some highly organized group resided
in this area. The most likely occupants would be a military
garrison, or perhaps corvee labor detachments contribut-
ing periodic labor service.
The nature and identity of the occupants of Sector 4
remains a matter for speculation, since the excavation data
did not provide an unambiguous indication of their iden-
tity. Nevertheless, the data strongly suggest that the struc-
tures in this sector were inhabited and not used for storage
on a massive scale. Of course, the possibility cannot be
ruled out that these structures were built for storage based
upon their formal features, but I would suggest that stor-
age facilities should be sought elsewhere in the Pikillacta
core or perhaps at other Huari sites on its periphery.
The two basic functions for Pikillacta proper indicated
by the excavations are residential and ceremonial. Struc-
tural types A, B, and C all seem to have functioned as
residences . Evidence of domestic activities such as food
preparation was found in all of these types. Although,
strictly speaking, domestic occupation does not necessarily
follow from the presence of fire hearths, it seems more
likely than the alternative explanation of storage. The qual-
ity of the wall finishings and floor preparation varies from
structure to structure, perhaps indicating differences in
social status of the occupants (i.e., service occupations and
functionaries vs. nobility or elite). The small conjoined
Type E structures in Sector 4 were also apparently occupied
and perhaps housed a military garrison or some large
group of service personnel.
Indications of a ceremonial function were found in two
Type E structures. Structure 25-2E in Sector 2 contained at
least two large wall niches and an apparent offering of ten
human skulls beneath the plaster floor in the western cor-
ner. Offerings of human skulls have been reported from
the site of Huari in Ayacucho (Brewster-Wray 1983: 126)
and seem to be a standard form ofHuari ceremonial behav-
ior. Topic and Topic ( l 98 3: 16) report that a very similar
structure at Viracochapampa in the north highlands also
contained large wall niches and a secondary burial that had
apparently been placed inside the wall . Structure 24- 4D in
Sector 4 was found to be almost completely filled by a very
large stone that may have been a huaca or sacred stone.
Several artifacts, including a shell bead and a miniature
bottle found in the fill during excavation, may represent
offerings. Both of these Type E structures have internally
rounded corners, as does the comparable structure re-
ported by the Topics at Viracochapampa. It thus seems
possible that internally rounded corners may be a diagnos-
tic of certain types of ceremonial structures. Barreda (per-
sonal communication, 1982) feels certain that Sanders'
Unit I (structure 12-2B on Plan 2), which he helped to
excavate, was also a ceremonial structure. Although this
structure has squared corners, it is one of only two struc-
tures at Pikillacta that contain large niches. He reports that
he found Inca offerings made in Late Horizon times that he
believes suggest that the Inca recognized this particular
building as a ceremonial structure.
The two basic site functions indicated by the excavations
and survey no doubt supported a third function, administra-
tion, which must have been the reason for the existence of
Pikillacta in the first place. Unfortunately, administration
in preliterate societies leaves few tangible manifestations,
or at least we still do not know what evidence to look for,
and so it is not reflected in the excavation per se. Neverthe-
less, it can be inferred that since we have evidence of elite
residence and ceremonial activities, these elites must be
performing some function, and that function must be ad-
ministration of a section of the Huari state (Isbell 1977,
1978; McEwan n.d.; Spickard 1983). Since the actual daily
mechanics of Huari administration are unknown, it is im-
possible to assign particular roles to specific structures.
Nevertheless, some inferences can be suggested from the
ground plan.
II7
Gordon F. McEwan
Sector I probably represents a large group of residences
of more or less equal status. This is indicated by the homo-
geneity of all structures in size and placement within the
grid. Sector 2, in contrast, is dominated by two huge
structures: 30-2B and 33 - 2B. Earlier investigators (Sanders
1973; Harth-Terre 1959) have considered these structures to
be plazas and thus focal points in the European sense of a
central plaza. They are, in fact, two very large structures of
Type A and Type B, respectively, and their courtyards are
certainly large enough to permit the type of activities that
one would expect in a plaza, such as gatherings of people
for ceremonial or state occasions.
Structure 39-2B is located near the exact center of the site
and is served by Avenue 3 that connects it with the main
entrance to the site by way of Avenue 7. The numerous
checkpoints through which one must pass in penetrating to
this structure in the heart of Pikillacta indicate that access
was strictly controlled. This structure and its numerous
small satellites most probably represent the center of admin-
istrative power within the site.
The second large structure, 33-2B, contains within it
two Type E structures with internally rounded corners. If
the previous inferences about the ceremonial nature of this
sort of Type E structure are correct, then this structure may
represent the main ceremonial focus of the architectural
complex.
Within these two structures in Sector 2, then, would
have resided the highest-ranking political and religious
officers and the center of administration. The separation
of these two functions and physical primacy of the politi-
cal over the religious might reflect the secularization pro-
cess that Schaedel (1966) suggests occurred concomitant
with the appearance of Middle Horizon urban forms. The
remainder of Sector 2 was likely given over to residences
of elites and bureaucratic staff, with perhaps some addi-
tional structures devoted to religious purposes (e.g., struc-
ture 25-2E).
Sector 3 contains relatively few structures, and these are
of the residential types. The large open area may have
served any number of functions, but no particular one is
suggested.
Sector 4 seems to have been a high- density residential
area for some highly regulated group. The most probable
groups would be a military garrison or a corvee labor
detachment. Structure 24- 4D, within Sector 4, seems to
have been an isolated religious shrine that may have been
related to the activities of the group residing in this sector.
In summation, Pikillacta represents a very sophisti-
cated, complex product of a highly organized society. It
was probably built to house a political and religious elite
who administered the southern highland part of the Huari
empire, and to concentrate in one place the economic and
political functions together with a resident local popula-
tion in order to centralize this provincial administration.
The site of Pikillacta itself appears to have been the major
component of a macrosystem encompassing the entire
Lucre Basin, which has been termed here the "Greater
Pikillacta" site. This greater site probably reflects the par-
ticular way in which the Huari empire reorganized the
major nodes of its subject territories in ancient Peru.
118
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