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124
winter
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spr ing
Tourists marvel at the huge carved stones found at Sacsaywaman,
an enormous complex built on the hills overlooking Cusco. Engineered
by the Killke peoples, who ruled the area from approximately 900 to
1200, Sacsaywaman includes a gigantic ceremonial plaza that can
hold tens of thousands, along with a temple and aqueduct system.
Archeological evidence shows that the complex had both military
and religious purposes. The Andesite boulders seen today are the
largest cut stones in pre-Hispanic America, although they are but the
foundation remnants of huge walls, towers and storage rooms once
found at the site. With no mortar to hold them together, the stone
walls have withstood many earthquakes due to their precise fit, but
could not survive the Spanish, who plundered the upper levels of cut
rocks to use in building the Cusco Cathedral and their private homes.
The boulders that remain were simply too big to move.
A native woman leaning against an
elaborately carved pillar is a timeless
scene in Cusco.
ART&ARCHITECTURE