Pambamarca Fortress Complex

Last updated
Pambamarca Fortress Complex
Pucara de Quitoloma.jpg
Quitoloma fortress.
Equador physical map.svg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Shown within Ecuador
Location Ecuador
Coordinates 00°03′56″N78°13′14″W / 0.06556°N 78.22056°W / 0.06556; -78.22056
TypeFort and Settlement
History
Foundedc. 1490s CE
Site notes
ConditionIn ruins

The Pambamarca Fortress Complex consists of the ruins of a large number of pukaras (hilltop forts) and other constructions of the Inca Empire. The fortresses were constructed in the late 15th century by the Incas to overcome the opposition of the people of the Cayambe chiefdom to the expansion of the Incas in the Andes highlands of present-day northern Ecuador. The Pambamarca fortresses are located in Cayambe Canton in Pichincha Province about 32 kilometres (20 mi) in a straight-line distance northeast of the city of Quito.

Contents

In 1998, Pambamarca was placed on the tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. [1]

The opponents

The Pais Caranqui

In the 15th century, the people of the Andes highlands of Ecuador north of Quito were organized into several chiefdoms, apparently similar in language and culture but competitive with each other and frequently engaged in internecine warfare. The names of the most prominent chiefdoms were the Caranqui, Cayambe, Otavalo, and Cochasquí. Pais Caranqui (Caranqui country) is the collective name often used to describe the chiefdoms, although the Caranqui may not have been the most powerful of them. [2] The Cayambe were the primary defenders who faced the advance of the Incas at the Pambamarca Fortresses. [3] Scholars estimate the collective pre-Inca population of the chiefdoms was between 100,000 and 150,000. [4]

There is considerable confusion among scholars as to the pre-Columbian Andean people of northern Ecuador. The Caranqui and other nearby people are often identified as the Cara people and with Cara culture and as descendants of the semi-mythical Quitu culture, from whence comes the name of the Ecuadorian capital of Quito. [5]

The Inca

In the 1460s, as a military leader, the future emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui (ruled c. 1471-1493) may have begun the Inca conquest of Ecuador. He encountered stiff resistance from the Cañari but advanced as far as Quito during his reign. His son Huayna Capac (ruled 1493-1525) would spend nearly all his reign completing the conquest of northern Ecuador of which the first major barrier to the Incas was probably the Cayambe defense at Pambamarca.

The battles at Pambamarca apparently extended over several years terminating in an Inca victory, possibly around 1505. The Incas then went on to complete the conquest of northern Ecuador, achieving a final victory over the Caranqui at Yawarkucha (Blood Lake), which may have occurred as late as 1520. In the 1530s the Incas were in turn conquered by the Spanish. The intensity of the struggle is illustrated by the fact that 106 of 184 known Inca pukaras are in northern Ecuador, a relatively small area in an empire that stretched 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) north to south. [6]

The archaeological site

The Pambamarca Fortress Complex consists of 14 Inca pukaras and related structures, scattered over an arc 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) long on the northern slopes of the Pambamarca Volcano. The pukaras are located at elevations of 3,300 metres (10,800 ft) to 3,780 metres (12,400 ft). Approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) northeast of the Inca pukaras is the defensive perimeter of the Cayambe, consisting of two pukaras which protected the cultivated valley of the Pisque River and the Cayambe capital, still called Cayambe. Between the two sets of fortresses is one pukara of uncertain origin. [7]

The best known and one of the largest fortresses is Quitoloma (hill of Quito). It is the southernmost of the Pambamarca fortresses, located at an elevation of 3,780 metres (12,400 ft) atop a small hill. It measures about 700 metres (2,300 ft) long by 400 metres (1,300 ft) wide. The highest level of the site consists of an ushnu, a terraced platform used for religious ceremonies. The ushnu is surrounded by the remains of more than 100 buildings which served as living quarters, storehouses (qollqas), and administrative buildings. The inhabited area was surrounded by three concentric walls, each about 3 metres (9.8 ft) high and accessible through gates defended by towers, ditches, and other defensive works. Quitoloma was probably an administrative center and had the dual purpose of persecuting the war against the Pais Caranqui and defending the city of Quito and the sacred site of El Quinche. Archaeologists have found weaponry and large caches of stones used by the Incas's principal long-range weapons of slings and bolas scattered along the inside faces of the walls. An Inca road ran from Quito by Quitoloma and continued eastward toward the lowlands of the Amazon basin. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andes</span> Mountain range in South America

The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is 8,900 km (5,530 mi) long, 200 to 700 km wide, and has an average height of about 4,000 m (13,123 ft). The Andes extend from north to south through seven South American countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inca road system</span> Transportation system of the Inca empire

The Inca road system was the most extensive and advanced transportation system in pre-Columbian South America. It was about 40,000 kilometres (25,000 mi) long. The construction of the roads required a large expenditure of time and effort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atahualpa</span> Last Inca Emperor (ruled 1532–1533)

Atahualpa, also Atawallpa (Quechua), Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa, was the last effective Incan emperor before his capture and execution during the Spanish conquest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imbabura Province</span> Province of Ecuador

Imbabura is a province located in the Andes of northern Ecuador. The capital is Ibarra. The people of the province speak Spanish, and a large portion of the population also speaks the Imbaburan Kichwa variety of the Quechua language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibarra, Ecuador</span> City in Imbabura, Ecuador

Ibarra is a city in northern Ecuador and the capital of the Imbabura Province. It lies at the foot of the Imbabura Volcano and on the left bank of the Tahuando river. It is located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) northeast of Ecuador's capital Quito.

Pambamarca is an eroded stratovolcano in the Central Cordillera of the northern Ecuadorian Andes in Pichincha Province. it is 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Quito. The summit is at an elevation of 4,062 metres (13,327 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cayambe Coca National Park</span>

Cayambe Coca National Park is a national park in Ecuador located along the Equator about 38 km (24 mi) from Quito. The park encompasses an area of 4,031.03 km2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pukara</span>

Pukara is a defensive hilltop site or fortification built by the prehispanic and historic inhabitants of the central Andean area. In some cases, these sites acted as temporary fortified refuges during periods of increased conflict, while other sites show evidence for permanent occupation. Emerging as a major site type during the Late Intermediate Period, the pukara form was adopted in some areas by the Inca military in contested borderlands of the Inca Empire. The Spanish also referred to the Mapuche earthen forts built during the Arauco War in the 16th and 17th centuries by this term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Quinche</span> Rural parish in Pichincha, Ecuador

El Quinche is a city of Ecuador, in the Pichincha Province, about 22 km (14 mi) in a straight line distance northeast of the city of Quito. The city, administratively a rural parish of the canton of Quito, is located in the valley of the headwaters of the Guayllabamba River, to the west of Pambamarca. It borders Cayambe Canton to the northeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andean civilizations</span> Civilizations of South Americas Andes Mountains

The Andean civilizations were South American complex societies of many indigenous people. They stretched down the spine of the Andes for 4,000 km (2,500 mi) from southern Colombia, to Ecuador and Peru, including the deserts of coastal Peru, to north Chile and northwest Argentina. Archaeologists believe that Andean civilizations first developed on the narrow coastal plain of the Pacific Ocean. The Caral or Norte Chico civilization of coastal Peru is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, dating back to 3500 BCE. Andean civilization is one of the six "pristine" civilizations of the world, created independently and without influence by other civilizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otavalo people</span> Indigenous people of northern Ecuador

The Otavalos are an indigenous people native to the Andean mountains of Imbabura Province in northern Ecuador. The Otavalos also inhabit the city of Otavalo in that province. Commerce and handcrafts are among the principal economic activities of the Otavalos, who enjoy a higher standard of living than most indigenous groups in Ecuador and many mestizos of their area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catequilla</span>

Monte Catequilla is an archaeological site in the Pomasqui Valley of Ecuador. Located in the Parish of San Antonio of Quito Canton in Pichincha Province, it has an elevation of 2,638 metres (8,655 ft) and is located on a mountaintop about 300 metres (980 ft) above valleys on either side. Attributed to the Pre-Columbian era Quitu-Cara culture, it was presumably used as an astronomical observatory even before the arrival of the Incas, and is the only prehispanic site in the Americas that is located precisely at the Earth's Equator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yawarkucha</span>

Yawarkucha or Yawar Kucha, Hispanicized spellings Yaguarcocha, Yahuarcocha) is a lake in Ecuador located in the eastern outskirts of the city of Ibarra in Imbabura Province, Ibarra Canton. The lake is about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and wide and has an elevation of 2,190 metres (7,190 ft) above sea level. The lake was formed from glacial meltwater about 10,000 BCE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cojitambo</span> Place in Ecuador

Cojitambo is an Inca and pre-Inca archaeological ruin, a popular rock climbing site, and a small village west of Azogues, capital of Canar province of Ecuador.

Cochasquí is one of the most extensive and most important complexes of pre-Columbian and pre-Inca Empire ruins in northern Ecuador. The site lies some 30 kilometres (19 mi) northeast of Quito in Pedro Moncayo Canton in Pichincha Province at 3,040 metres (9,970 ft) above sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huánuco Pampa</span> Archaeological site in Peru

Huánuco Pampa, Huánuco Marka or Huánuco Viejo, or Wanuku Pampa is a large archaeological site in Peru in the Huánuco Region, Dos de Mayo Province, La Unión District. The ruins of the city lie on a plateau above the Urqumayu or Vizcarra River in the central Andes. The Incas administered their large empire through a small number of administrative centers, such as Huánuco Pampa. The administrative centers were linked by the extensive Inca road system. The most important of the roads, the Qhapaq Ñan, which ran from Cusco to Quito, passed through Huánuco Pampa. The Inca authorities in Huánuco ruled at least five, and perhaps more, ethnic groups. The city is situated on an important commercial trade route and sits on top of a plateau with ravines on all sides in order to allow easy defense of the city. During the Spanish conquest of the Incas, Huánuco Pampa was briefly occupied by Gomez de Alvarado, who founded a Spanish city there but it was quickly moved because of the harsh climate and Inca raids of Illa Tupac, one of the captains of Manco Inca.

Oroncota or Huruncuta was an Inca provincial center or capital on the border of Chuquisaca and Potosí Departments of Bolivia. Oroncota was captured by the Incas during the reign of Topa Inca Yupanqui (1471-1493) and served as a defensive outpost protecting the eastern frontiers of the Inca empire. The primary residents of the Oroncota area for more than 1,500 years have been the Yampara people. In the 16th century, during the last years of the Inca Empire and the early Spanish Empire, Oroncota and its region were under heavy attack by the Ava Guarani people (Chiriguanos) ethnic group who eventually gained control of the area.

The Inca-Caranqui archaeological site is located in the village of Caranqui on the southern outskirts of the city of Ibarra, Ecuador. The ruin is located in a fertile valley at an elevation of 2,299 metres (7,543 ft). The region around Caranqui, extending into the present day country of Colombia, was the northernmost outpost of the Inca Empire and the last to be added to the empire before the Spanish conquest of 1533. The archaeological region is also called the Pais Caranqui.

Rumicucho or Pucara de Rumicucho is an archaeological site of the Inca Empire in the parroquia of San Antonio de Pichincha, in Quito Canton, Pichincha Province. Ecuador. Rumicucho is a pucara located 23 kilometres (14 mi) in a straight-line distance north of the city of Quito at an elevation of 2,401 metres (7,877 ft). Rumicucho in the Quechua language means "stone corner", perhaps referring to its strategic location between the territory of the Yumbo people to the east and the chiefdoms of the Pais Caranqui to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests</span>

The Eastern Cordillera Real montane forests (NT0121) is an ecoregion in the eastern range of the Andes of southern Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru. The ecoregion covers the eastern slopes of the Andes, and includes montane forest that rises from the Amazonian rain forest, with cloud forest and elfin forest at higher elevations. It is rich in species, including many endemics. It is threatened by logging and conversion for pasturage and subsistence agriculture.

References

  1. "Tentative List of World Heritage Sites", http://www.unique-southamerica-travel-experience.com/unesco-world-heritage-centre-tentative-list.html, accessed 20 Oct 2017
  2. Bray, Tamara L. and Echeverría Almeida, José (2014), "The Late Imperial Site of Inca-Caranqui, Northern highland Ecuador at the End of Empire", Nampo Pacha, journal of Andean Archaeology, Vol. 34, No. 2, p. 182
  3. Connell, Samuel V., Gifford, Chat, González, Ana Lucia, and Carpenter, Maureen, "Hard Times In Ecuador: Inka Troubles at Pambamarca", Antiquity Journal, http://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/connell295/, accessed 29 May 2017.
  4. Newson, Linda A. (1995), Life and Death in Early Colonial Ecuador, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, pp. 39-40
  5. Onofrio, Jan (1995), Dictionary of the Indian Tribes of the Americas, Vol. 1, 2nd edition, American Indian Publishers, pp. 220-221
  6. Anderson, Amber M. (2013), "War and Conquest: Inca strategies and struggles in Northern Ecuador", https://www.academia.edu/11358577/War_and_Conquest_Inca_strategies_and_struggles_in_Northern_Ecuador, accessed 27 May 2017
  7. Anderson (2013)
  8. Kaufmann, J.E and H. W. (2006), Fortifications of the Incas: 1200-1531, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, p. 49; Anderson, Amber Marie (2014), More than Forts: A study of high elevation enclosures within the Pambamarca Fortress Complex, Ecuador, Dissertation, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, pp. 131, 143, 343