Pachacámac, sanctuary of mysteries: Why has the new discovery got archaeologists talking?

Some chroniclers, such as Cieza de Leon, emphasized the antiquity of this cult that the Inca administration supposedly respected by conquering the central coast and building the Temple of the Sun. Others such as Santillán, citing Polo de Ondegardo, attributed the construction of the temple and the oracle to Túpac Yupanqui. For these first and surprised Spanish visitors, the comparison of Pachacamac with Mecca or with the Greek oracles of Olympia and Delphi was imposed. In the 20th century, researchers such as Max Uhle and Julio C. Tello have made diverse use of the assertions of these chroniclers to interpret their evidence and construct hypotheses—not always coincident—about the chronology, functions and characteristics of Pachacamac in its long history. .

However, the archaeologist Krzysztof Makowski, who since 1991 has directed field work in the Lurín valley, considers that the archaeological evidence contradicts “the interpretative scenarios about the origin of the temple and oracle of Pachacamac in the times of the Huari empire (800-1100 AD). ,C.) or before, in times of the Lima culture (300-800 AD), and which maintained its position and prestige until the Spanish conquest.” On the contrary, he considers that the god and oracle of Pachacamac and the ceremonial center of the same name, with a planned layout, were exclusively part of the religious policy of the Inca empire, that is, only in the 15th century. “The Incas chose a special place with lagoons, puquios and islands and with a long tradition of worship of other local deities, such as Cuniraya, Cauillaca or Urpaihuachac”, specifies the researcher.

The discovery

These hypotheses are now corroborated with the discovery in Pachacamac of 73 intact burials, in funerary bundles, of individuals of both sexes, including adults and children, dating from the period of expansion of the Huari empire, between the years 800 and 1100 AD. Given the simplicity of most of the bundles, it is deduced that they were not elite burials, but rather those of ordinary men and women. And in one of them, items related to fishing and a small wooden scepter were found.

In the trousseau, two groups of ceramic vessels were also found, whose styles indicate the probable origin of their former producers and users. On the one hand, there are ceramics influenced by the tradition of the southern mountains such as ceremonial vessels, keros, bowls with huari motifs, often inspired by the Tiahuanaco style; and on the other, pots and jugs belonging to styles related to the central-northern and northern coast.

For Makowski, these burials reveal not only information about the social position of men and women in this period, but also prove the different uses that Pachacámac had over time. “The Huari settlement was relatively modest and does not reveal common characteristics, formal or functional, with the later Inca Pachacámac, characterized by its monumental size and its planned layout of streets and walls”says.

Several overlapping sites

“The evidence shows diverse Pachacámac superimposed on each other in a long-lasting temporal sequence. This evidence has not been perceived or studied as it deserves, and greater weight is given to the opinions of Spanish visitors such as Pizarro or Estete than to the quite explicit results of the stratigraphic excavations,” says the archaeologist.

Makowski notes, for example, that in the excavations carried out on the main walled street, which the pilgrims must have passed through, a single clay road with Inca ceramics has been found. “If it were true that the oracle had Huari origins and therefore more than 700 years of existence, perhaps dozens of roads and layers of sanding would be found, affirmed by traffic, and superimposed like a mille-feuille”says.

According to their research, instead of a sequence of continuous use of architecture and communication axes, various partially adjacent and partially overlapping Pachacámacs are coming to light: the oldest is from the times of the Lima culture, articulated around the pyramid of the Old Temple, abandoned around the year 800; then there is another, from the second half of the middle horizon, in the Huari period, when it became a settlement with cemeteries and a ceremonial platform below the Painted Temple; later there was a Ychsma settlement; and finally the Pachacamac of the Inca Painted Temple, from the 15th century. That is, several Pachacamacs with different characteristics and functions that must be understood in the context of their respective eras.

Two staffs

Among the new pieces found, the discovery of two staffs sculpted in a style similar to the wooden idol of Pachacámac is surprising. What is the relevance of these objects? Makowski answers: “Since the idol of Pachacámac was found in the Painted Temple, controversy has continued regarding its date of origin. The sculpture does not represent a single male deity, but is a two-faced idol, with two different characters, perhaps of the opposite sex, joined at the back, each with two feet, but only one hand. From recent C14 dates it is known that the wood was cut at the end of the 8th century or the beginning of the 9th century AD, and the question was whether the piece was also carved at that time or in later times. Now, the close stylistic kinship between the two staffs and the idol suggests that the famous cult image was originally displayed on the platform that Uhle found beneath the Painted Temple, and that it was built at the same time as most of the burials found at the time. foot of this building.

In short, this is new evidence that reveals the multiple uses over time of this emblematic site located less than an hour from Lima.