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| Qoricancha | |
|---|---|
| Name | Qoricancha |
| Native name | Coricancha |
| Location | Cusco |
| Built | 15th century |
| Culture | Inca Empire |
| Type | Temple complex |
Qoricancha Qoricancha was the principal temple of the Inca Empire located in the city of Cusco, serving as a religious, astronomical, and political center. It functioned as a sacred precinct associated with the Inca ruler Pachacuti and religious institutions such as the Inti cult and the Sun Temple tradition, later incorporated into colonial structures by Spanish Empire authorities like Francisco Pizarro and Pedro de la Gasca. The site today is a focal point for studies by institutions including the National Institute of Culture (Peru) and UNESCO-linked researchers.
The complex stood at the heart of Cusco and embodied the cosmology of the Inca Empire, integrating plazas, temples, and rectilinear masonry that aligned with Andean sacred geography such as Sacsayhuamán and Machu Picchu. As the purported repository for venerated objects related to the Inti cult and imperial regalia, it attracted visitors from across the Inca road system including envoys from provinces like Chinchaysuyu and Collasuyu. Following the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, the precinct became a locus of interaction among figures such as Atahualpa, Manco Inca Yupanqui, and colonial administrators.
Construction intensified under Pachacuti and his successors including Topa Inca Yupanqui and Huayna Capac, reflecting administrative consolidation across Andean polities like Chachapoyas and Quito (Ecuador). The complex housed priesthoods connected to the Inti Raymi festival and statecraft exercised from centers like Cusco Cathedral after 1534 when conquistadors under Francisco Pizarro appropriated sacred spaces. Throughout the colonial period, viceregal officials from the Viceroyalty of Peru repurposed the site for ecclesiastical construction linked to orders such as the Dominican Order and Franciscan Order.
The precinct exemplified finely dressed ashlar masonry characteristic of elite Inca construction seen also at Ollantaytambo and Sacsayhuamán, with trapezoidal doors and niches echoing styles in sites like Tipon and Pisac. Principal features included a central courtyard, gold-plated walls purportedly reflecting solar light as described in accounts by chroniclers such as Garcilaso de la Vega and Pedro Cieza de León. Axial alignments associated with astronomical observations referenced landmarks such as Ausangate and were comparable to observatories at Chankillo and Tiwanaku.
As the primary shrine to the Inti cult and repository for ritual objects including trophies from campaigns against groups like the Chanca, the precinct functioned within ceremonies like Inti Raymi and rites presided over by the Willka priesthood and imperial familes. It embodied Inca ideological constructs like hanan and hurin spatial divisions and cosmological dualities mirrored in sites such as Quito and ceremonial centers of the Wari culture. The temple’s role in state religion linked it to scribes and administrators from institutions comparable to the quipu record-keeping tradition and the imperial mit'a network.
After 1533, conquistadors including Francisco Pizarro and clerics such as Luis Jerónimo de Oré oversaw conversion initiatives that saw construction of structures like the Santo Domingo Church (Cusco) atop Inca foundations. Colonial authorities from the Audiencia of Lima and viceroys of the Viceroyalty of Peru repurposed spaces for monasteries and cathedrals, integrating indigenous labor systems tied to encomienda holders and figures such as Gonzalo Pizarro. Recurrent earthquakes — notably events recorded during the tenure of viceroys like Marquis of Montesclaros — led to rebuilding campaigns documented by chroniclers including Juan de Betanzos.
Scholars from institutions such as the National University of San Antonio Abad in Cusco, the British Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution have undertaken excavations and studies, with notable researchers like John Rowe and Hiram Bingham III contributing to the stratigraphic and architectural understanding. Archaeological debates involve methodologies employed by teams associated with the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and the Instituto Nacional de Cultura concerning conservation, stratigraphy, and interpretations of colonial deposits referenced in fieldwork reports alongside findings from comparative sites like Moche and Nazca.
Modern stewardship involves collaboration among municipal authorities of Cusco, cultural agencies such as the Ministry of Culture (Peru), and international organizations including UNESCO and ICOMOS, balancing preservation with visitor management similar to protocols at Machu Picchu and Sacsayhuamán. Tourism enterprises and guide associations operating in Cusco Region coordinate with restoration projects funded by donors and research grants from universities like Yale University and University of Cambridge, while concerns persist about seismic resilience, visitor impact, and integration of indigenous communities such as the Quechua people in heritage governance.
Category:Inca archaeological sites in Peru Category:Cusco