Of remembrance and forgetting: The architecture of Chinchero, Peru from Thupa 'Inka to the Spanish occupation

This dissertation, "Of Remembrance and Forgetting: the Architecture of Chinchero, Peru from Thupa `Inka to the Spanish Occupation" is the first comprehensive study of an Inka royal estate and the evolution of its material culture during both the imperial Inka and Spanish colonial periods. This research examines the ways in which visual culture on the expansive imperial Inka estate (which encompassed much of the Ayamarca homeland), articulated, reinforced and responded to struggles for authority and identity during two distinct periods of imperial domination. Material culture at the main site of Chinchero, as well as at sites dispersed across the former estate, such as Machu Colca, Caper Bajo, and Peccacachu (among others), is discussed.; The first section of the dissertation presents a study of how the ruler Thupa `Inka conquered the Ayamarca and controlled a restless nobility by shaping the built environment at his royal estate, of which Chinchero was the center. Focusing on legitimating devices used in the struggle against rival members of the elites and the conquered local populace, such as the use of high-status architecture, the manipulation of sacred shrines, the control of movement, and the construction of performative spaces in which sovereign munificence was strategically deployed, my investigation considers the ways in which Thupa `Inka's carefully wrought architectural and urban planning program worked to consolidate power, shape imperial identity, and deflect potential challenges to authority.; The second and third sections of the dissertation examine the legacy of Thupa `Inka's imperial architecture during the Spanish colonial period and reveals important insights into shifting ethnic identities, transformations in settlement patterns, and struggles for authority on the former royal estate. While almost all scholars of the colonial period assume that Inka architecture and building practices disappeared after the Spanish invasion, my research demonstrates that many of the architectural forms and practices, which originated under Thupa `Inka's regime, were actively promoted during the colonial period by the local populace as a way to celebrate indigenous culture and memory and to defend against European aggression. In other cases, indigenous architectural and representational practices interacted with, and were adapted to, imported European artistic and religious traditions to create new, hybrid forms. The resulting transformations in the material fabric of the colonial settlements, coupled with information gleaned from archival documents, reveals a wider process of transculturation that challenges the traditional paradigm of cultural transformation in the wake of the conquest.; The methodological principles behind this investigation reflect the nature of my research, which over a year of extensive fieldwork in Peru entailed hiking over a wide-ranging territory, locating sites and settlements, gathering place names, and mapping and measuring numerous surviving imperial Inka and Spanish colonial structures. I have also consulted a wide range of archival and visual sources in Peru and the United States. While grounded in primary research, the interdisciplinary scope of my inquiry draws from the fields of architecture, archaeology, cultural anthropology, art history, Native American studies and history, to offer a groundbreaking analysis of how indigenous architectural and material cultural traditions evolved during three centuries of immense social and political transformations.