Two additional huacas—Cajamarquilla and Tres Palos
• Cajamarquilla. The Archaeological Site of Cajamarquilla is an urban center located in the valley of the Rímac, on the left bank of the Huaycoloro River gorge, specifically in the district of Lurigancho, within the department and region of Lima. Being a desert location, canals and reservoirs fed Cajamarquilla, which site is considered the second largest mud brick city on the central coast, after Pachacámac, as it covers 167 hectares. Its importance as a political urban center grew over the centuries.
It is located in the region called Central Coast of Peru at 15 miles from the sea and at 1,115 feet elevation in the district of Lurigancho - Chosica, in the city of Lima (Valley of the Rímac) on the banks of the Quebrada de Huaycoloro or Jicamarca
Being a desert, the River is sometimes dry but that sporadically changes in moments of great rains in the sierra which brings abundant water causing alluviones ("jica" in quechua is alluvión and "huayco", broken, also in quechua).
The ancient complex is divided into four sections, among which is recognized a first group of large pyramids, a second section containing a large pyramid (known as Tello Pyramid), a third section with a free set of pyramidal structures, and a fourth section in which enclosures of different ends are found.
Pyramid of Tello, for example, is located in the group of the same name, on a layer of mud, with an average height of 23-feet and occupies an area of approximately 32,480 square feet, or 6 square miles. It is surrounded by different courtyards, many considered squares because their size.
Cajamarquillo was built with walled patios enclosing groups of wells in the eastern End of Lima, which are access to underground warehouses, including corridors and access fords, in an "ojival" or pointed arch construction typical of this archaeological site
The overall Cajamarca complex is more than 412½ acres, making it one of the largest cities in ancient Peru. It was built with enclosures, platforms, stairs and patios, inside the architectural complex known as the “Labyrinth Assembly.”
The thick-walled construction, and walls that surrounded different parts of the city, were built using the technique of tapial or mud brick and plaster, which consists of layering in mud drawers that when dried forms large solid blocks.
Throughout the centuries Cajamarquilla, with its thick walls and straight corners as well as wide enclosed spaces, served as an administrative center, as well as a religious center, palace, residence of the local curaca (ruler) and its elite, a center of artisan production and as a place of housing for thousands of people. It was once one of the most extensive and complex archaeological cities in Peru. Its construction is similar to the huacas Maranga, Cerro Culebras, Pucllana, Catalina and the Old Temple in Pachacamac—similarities of stepped pyramids; perimetric walls that enclose the architectural ensemble, usually trapezoidal in shape; patios or squares where festivities related to food and drink consumption were held (Juan Domingo Mogrovejo and Krysztof Makowski, “Cajamarquilla and the Meganiños in the Pre-Hispanic Past,” in Icons, No. 1, Lima, 1999, pp46-57).
Situated in a then fertile valley on a major trade route between the altiplano region of the high Andes and the coastal communities of the Pacific coast, Cajamarquilla became a sophisticated center for culture, religion, and commerce. At the site, it is still possible to observe the remains of temple pyramids, wide streets, ceremonial squares, cemeteries, underground grain silos, canals and numerous other enclosures, all constructed using 'tapial' methods—mud brick and plaster (Joaquin Narváez Luna, Societies of the ancient city of Cajamarquilla, Ediciones Avqi, 2006).
This extensive archaeological site gives a first impression of being an untidy accumulation of mud walls, but if observed with attention it will be noticed that it has an order established by long streets, pyramids, large walled spaces (courts) and areas with one-story constructions.
Cajamarquilla, the huge city of mud. It looks like a maze of earth walls, but it is made up of several structured pyramids and walled enclosures.
• Huaca Tres Palos. In San Miguel, within Legend’s Park in Lima is the huaca Tres Palos, meaning “three sticks.” Located within the property of the zoo, it is the remains of a once great complex of temples from a pre-Incan culture, during a period before the time of Christ. Huaca Tres Palos is one of those temples. It's massive! The surrounding area of the district and beyond would once have been open land and green valleys of agriculture.
Situated about two blocks from the famed zoo, within the zoo’s grounds, and dwarfing the zoo’s walls, the 66-foot tall ancient site of huaca Tres Palos, also called Huaca Pando or Huaca La Campana—an observatory of truncated pyramidal structure, with plastered walls painted in ocher white and yellow colors. The highest platform has 96 astronomical wells, forming a system for measuring time, seasons, and tides—knowledge applied in the organization of agriculture and fisheries.
The complex functioned as a temple, and along with Huacas La Cruz, San Miguel and Cruz Blanca, formed an architectural ensemble which today rests in the Parque de las Leyendas. On the west side is a lagoon or pond that in its time was supplied with water by a canal bringing water from the Rímac river.
From the surrounding neighborhoods the temple towers above everything else, with the ruins still mostly intact and have not seen as much deterioration as other huacas in Peru thanks in part to the owner of the zoo. Traces showed the later Lima people used this as a temple, and even later the Incas used it as a Tambo.
Not only did the complex function as a temple and administration center, it was also an observatory. Along with huacas La Cruz, San Miguel and Cruz Blanca, Tres Palos formed an architectural ensemble which today rests in the Parque de las Leyendas.
Huaca Tres Palos is found within a small area of Lima that also has a dozen other huacas in various stages of disrepair, including huaca Cruz Blanca, which name came from the fact that some walls in these ruins had white paint on them and was an important administrative center; Huaca La Palma has two main platforms in which one of them has a wall with drawings of seabirds; Huaca San Miguel has some walls with white paint (other areas had yellow paint); And huaca La Cruz all built with adobitos as many other huacas in the Lima area. There is also huacas Mateo Salado, Potosi; Panten Chino; Casa Rosada; La Merced; Santa Catalina; Balconcilo; and Mangomarca
Still waiting on Huaca Melgarejo, a couple blocks from the Lima Temple. 😁
ReplyDeleteIt was scheduled for Saturday the 27th. It will appear tomorrow.
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