Above Cusco, Peru
Cusco is the ancient capital of the Inca culture and former seat of the imperial ruling Inca and set in a valley high in the Andes mountains at 3,400 meters or 11,150 feet; and being above Cusco adds a couple hundred more meters .
The word "inca" was originally used to refer solely to the ruler; but after the Spanish conquest by the genuine and metaphorical bastard Fernando Pizarro and his second in command Hernando de Soto, Inca came to be used for all members of the tribe and somewhat in general all the peoples of the empire. Even modern Peruvians use the word Incaico to refer to most all of Peruvian pre-Hispanic history. The main period of Inca expansion historically is sited as having occurred in a short 125 years. That timeline is based on a traditional oral history of the Incas recited to Spanish authors. Contemporary scholarship has begun to question that account which includes an origin story of the first Inca ruler along with the founding of Cusco. More recent archaeological studies don't support the legend and the original inhabitants of the empire concepts regarding time could well be quite different than ours.
A number of prominent sites are situated above Cusco, the most famous being the extremely impressive and so called fort of Saksaywauman. It's the one built with the enormous boulders weighing up to an estimated 200 tons. After visiting there and the sacrificial site and temple of Qenqo I was keen to visit the lesser known Temple of the Moon which is situated in a small cave further east and still in use by some shamans. We then started exploring the general area for the rest of the afternoon. Before long we were witness to the rising of the full moon from behind the clouds. Any full moon and clouds is a favorite event of mine.
The photo below is looking out over the valley of Cusco to the east and the city hidden below from earlier in the afternoon. We can get a little idea of the enormous forces of the Andean uplift by noting the sedimentary striations of the mountain at close to an 80 degree angle from their initial formation.
This last photo is quite intriguing to me because it represents a style of rock shaping that is of much greater antiquity than that of the Inca civilization and is present at many sites in the Andes of Peru and even similar ones in Ecuador that I have seen. This style is also well represented in Machu Picchu. The Incas incorporated many of these older sculpted rocks in their temples and there is a good number scattered around the area that we explored that afternoon. Obviously they contain some type of ceremonial purpose and I imagine that it is directed towards Pachamama or Mother Earth.
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John Congdon
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