cHAprER 7 Inka Storage in HuamachucoJOHN R. TOPIC AND COREEN E. CHISWELL

INTRODUCTION

HUAMACHUCO is located in the North Highlands of Peru, approxi-mately 115 km from Trujillo and 90 km from Cajamarca, in thesouthern end of the Condebamba-Cajamarca drainage basin. The areais one of relatively broken topography, where small valleys, drainedby northward-flowing rivers. are separated by hills and mountains.The town itself is at 3,160 m, but variations in alt itude give localpeople access to a variety of resource zones. Much of the land in theimmediate vicinity is suited to rainfall agriculture, and there is alimited amount of highland pastureland.

Despite references in the sixteenth-century Spanish chronicles toan Inka center located at Huamachuco, remarkably little evidence ofthe Inka presence survives to modern times. The town of Huama-chuco is believed to overlie the original Inka installation, and ithas obliterated almost all architectural evidence of the prehispanicsettlement. Outside modern Huamachuco, qollqa were frrst recog-nized in l98l (Topic and Topic l9B2). An analysis of these storagefacilities provides one way to better understand the Inka presence inHuamachuco.

Storage was an important aspect of the lnka economy, and six-teenth-century chronicle sources abound in references to lnka storagestructures. The chroniclers make clear that there were many types ofstorage facilities, that a wide range of food and nonfood productswere stored, and that facilities were specifically dedicated to a varietyof state institutions. For exampie, the chroniclers tell us that therewere storage facilities for each town, and sometimes for individualfields; that the state religion and important shrines had separatestorage facilities; and that travelling dignitaries, soldiers, aLtllaquna

INKA STORAGE IN I{UAMACHUCO 207

(chosen women), and people fulfilling state labor obligations weresupplied from stores set aside for them.

Although specific details of the chronicles cannot always be takenat face value, they provide a wealth of general information aboutstorage that would be unavailable from archaeological excavationalone. At the end of this chapter, we will consider the degree to whichour present understanding of the Huamachuco qollqa concurs withthese general descriptions of Inka storage. However, most of thechapter will be devoted to describing what remains of the storagecomplex, the excavations we conducted, the identif ication of distinctt)?es of storerooms and their possible functions, rhe analysis ofbotanical remains, and the regional and historical context of theHuamachuco complex . '

The time frame that encompasses the construction and abandon-ment of the Huamachuco qollqa is defined with relative precision byhistoric references. Rowe's (1946:209-10) general chronology of theInka expansion as it pertains to Huamachuco is supported by localdocumentation. Although some inka military activity may have takenplace earlier, Huamachuco was effectively incorporated into the Inkarealm by Thupa Yupanki probably between 1463 and 1471. Localdocumentation for this event is sparse, but Thupa Yupankl is men-t ioned in some documents. 'There are suggest ions that Wayna Qha-paq, who reigned from about 1493-1527, may have played a majorroie in incorporating Huamachuco into the empire. Espinoza(I974a'.22,35) feels that he may have reorganrzed the local populationby creatinga waranqa (unit of 1,000 tributaries); the Primeros Agus-tinos (1918) mention him in regard to several local huacas (holy

places); and Guaman Poma (1980:1094-1103) notes that Wayna

Qhapaq had houses in Huamachuco. lt was under these two rulersthat the lnka town was built, the road system was reconstructed,mitmaqhuna (state-sponsored colontsts) installed, and the storagefacil it ies discussed in this chapter created (Topic and Topic n d ).

After Wayna Qhapaq's death, the civil war between Waskar andAtawalpa raged through Huamachuco. During the war, Atawalpaspent several months in Huamachuco, destroying the famous oracleof Catequil in Porc6n (Primeros Agustinos lglB:22-24, Betanzosl987:segunda parte, cap. xvi). Atawalpa's troops executed Waskar in

208 RECENT RESEARCTI

Andamarca, in the southern part of the province of Huamachuco(Sarmiento L965.274:Betanzos l987.segunda parte, cap. xxiv) Un-doubtedly, throughout this period both armies were provisionedon occasion from state storehouses in Huamachuco. The Spanishconquerors probably were still drawing on these stores in 1533 asthey passed through Huamachuco (Estete I9l7.77, Pedro Ptzarro1965: lB7-BB). A rather strange reference by the Augusrinians (Prime-ros Agustinos 19IB:36) to finding two mummies hidden in piles ofmatze may indicate that the storerooms were still funcnoning to someextent in 1560.

It is unlikely that any system of centralized storage was still func-tioning in 1567. In that year, Gregorio Gonzales de Cuenca (Orde-

nanza, foho 343r) ordered that each tampu (state waystation) in theprovince be stocked with food lrom surrounding towns. Moreover,the lood was to be sold to travelers and the money deposited in thecommunity treasury; he notes that this is a change from what hadbeen customary during and immediately following Inka control.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The remains of fir'e groups of qollqa are located on three hills thatoverlook the modern town of Huamachuco from the south and west(Figure 7-1). In addition, near one of the groups there is a complexof larger rooms that may be reiated to the storerooms. Rarely are anyof these structures very well preserved so that surface observationsdo not allow even a complete count.

CERRO SANTA BARBARA

The leasr preserved storerooms are on the northeast facing slope ofCerro Santa Barbara,* a rounded knoll located on the southern out-skirts of Huamachuco. Four factors contribute to poor preservation:The buildings may have suffered damage when the hill served as aPeruvian position during the Battle of Huamachuco (lBB3) in theWar of the Pacific; the hilltop is under cultivation today, and theslopes also appear to have been cultivated in the past, the slopes arequite steep and subject to slippage; and, as we wil l discuss below, theconstruction techniques of these buildings facilitated their collapse.

The qollqa are arranged on four or five terraces, which tend tofollow the hill contours. The uppermost row is at the brow of the hill

INKA STOMGE IN HUAMACHUCO 209

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Figure 7- 1. The locat ion of qol lqa around I luamachuco and some orher impor-tant sites. Triangles denote Late Horizon sites.

(3,350 m) and is the best preserved. Starting at the extreme soulhwesr,there are either 5 or 6 storerooms, then a shallow ravine, and another21 rooms. on the next lower terrace there are about lB qollqa. Thethird terrace has at least l2 qollqa, but these are much more poorlypreserved. on the fourth rerrace, we could only define parts of 6qollqa, but their spacing suggesrs rhat there were orher qoiiqa tharare now completely destroyed. Finally, a fragmentary terrace wallmay indicate the former presence of a fifth row of buildings.

Although we can only counr about 62 qollqa on cerro Santa

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Barbara, we think thar there may have been as many as 125. Thestructures measure about 5 x 4 m, with the longer axis alwaysoriented along the contour; they are usually spaced abour 3 m apartalong the terrace.

CERRO MAMORCO

Preservation at this site is generally much better with some wallsstanding as hrgh as 2 meters. There are three distinct groups of qollqa,all at about 3,400 m elevation. The first group is locared on a northeastfacing spur and consists of 19 buildings in a single row. These aresituated on the brow of the spur, at the top of a sreep slope. Thereis only one preserved window (or small door?) in the center of adownslope-facing wall. This opening measures 50 cm on a side andis located at least I meter above the outside base of the wall.

The second group, about 200 m northwest of the firsr, probablyhad about 15 qoiiqa but is now almost entirely destroyed due ro theclearing and cultivation needed for agriculture. This group was lo-cated on the northeast facing slope of the hi1l, rather than on a spuror knoll.

The third group of qollqa is on the northernmosr spur of the hill,about 300 m from the second group. Here there are two rows ofqollqa arranged in a V-shape that converge on rhe norrh end. Therewere probably 25 to 30 buildings in this group, evenly dividedbetween the two arms of the V. Two small trapezoidal-shape doorwaysare preserved in qollqa in the eastern row. Doorways face downslopeand are located 32 and 35 cm above the modern exterior groundsurface. One doorway measures 38 cm (linrei) x 50 cm (sill) x 60cm (height); the other measures 38 x 52 x 65 cm.

The qollqa on Cerro Mamorco are generally larger (external rrrea-surements about 8.0 x 3.5 m) than those on Cerro Santa Barbara,but some smaller examples (about 6.0 x 3.5 m) are interspersed.Here also the long axis is oriented along the contour, and buildingsare spaced 2 to 3 m apart. Wall thickness averages 50 cm. Themasonry is double-faced with a rubble core, and there is little chink-ing. The mortar sometimes has gravel and straw inciusions; colorvariation, red or gray in the first group and orange in the V-shapedgroup, probably indicates local sources. The stone is a mixture ofquarried and fieldstone, but quarried stone seems to predominate in

2 1 0

I

INKA STORAGE IN HUAMACHUCO . 2II

the V-shaped group. External corners are square, but internal cornersare often rounded, especially in the first group.

CERRO CACANAN

The final group of qollqa is located on Cerro Cacafran at an elevationof 3,350 m (Figure 7-2). These are set in a single row on a terracejust below the brow of the hill and face east and southeasr. There are23 partially preserved qollqa and sufficient room at the southwesrend of the terrace to have accommociated about 3 more. The qollqavary somewhat in size but average about 5.0 x 3.5 m, separated bya space of 4 to 5 m. Largely due to failure of the soft sandsronefieldstones and poor quality mud mortar used, the walls are generallypoorly preserved. The walis are about 50-55 cm rhick, double-faced,with a rubble core.

About 300 m west of these qollqa there is a group of largerbuildings. They vary in size but are about 18.0 x 6.5 m. Six of thebuildings are arranged in a row on a terrace and are separatedby 2.6to 2.9 m. The other two are on a higher terrace with rheir long axesoriented perpendicuiar to the buildings below. Internal corners areoften rounded, and there is one possible example of an externalrounded corner. Of the four best preserved buildings on the lowerterrace, two have single doors, and two probably have symmetricallyplaced double doors; doors occur in the downhill-facing wall and are100 to 104 cm wide. The pirca walls are generally poorly preserved,constructed of angular fieldstone, and 50 to 70 cm thick.

In summary,we have surface indications of 144 qollqa but estimarethat there may have been as many as 215. In many respects rhestructures conform to standard Inka storerooms. They are arrangedin rows on hillslopes overlooking the main Inkaic center and havesmall trapezoidal doorways located high in the wall. On the otherhand, the lack of circular and multiroomed rectangular qollqa andthe very small size range is somewhat surprising because variation inshape and size are sometimes indicative of different storage functions(Morr is 19Bl) .

EXCAVATIONS

CERRO SANTA BARBARA

In July 1982 we tested four qollqa. They appeared to be rectangular-shaped single-room structures, and we were frankly surprised to find

aFigure 7-2. Diagram of the qollqa and

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group of larger buildings on Cerro Cacanan.

INKA STORAGE IN HUAMACHUCO 1 t f/ _ t )

that they were not rooms at all. The first cut made was along whatwe thought was the inside face of a rectangular room. ln attemptingto locate the southeast corner, we found that the wall ended and theend was faced. Cut 2 was simiiar: We began excavating inside whatwe thought was the northwest corner of a second building but soondetermined that this wall also terminated in a finished end.

Interestingly, both walls had three faces, built by first constructinga double faced wall and then adding a third face ro bring the totalwall thickness to 75-85 cm. The construction of the extra face wasnotably poorer in quality, having more mortar, less rock, and a moreuneven facing. In Cut I the extra face was on the inside of the wall,in Cut 2, it seemed to be outside, but this was unclear because of poorpreservation.

At this point we were perplexed by the form of the qollqa and,indeed had doubts if they were qollqa at all. We decided to backfillthe flrst two cuts and completely excavate two more examples. Insteadof the rectangular rooms we expected, in both Cuts 3 and 4 we foundthree parallel wails or piers. In Cut 3 two walls were thinner and lesselaborate than the third, which was thickened at each end. The thirdwall was shaped like an elongated block letter "C" tha[ opened intothe inside of the building. In Cut 4, the two outer walls were thickerthan the central wall. They were also C-shaped, but the open part ofthe "C" was filled with poorer quality masonry forming a third face.

The qollqa in FigureT-3 is based largely on Cut 4, but all four cutsprovide evidence for similar reconstructions. The structure was builton three stone piers that were at least 65 cm high and may have beenhigher. There was some variation in the form of these piers, butgenerally the outer two were thicker and often had an extra face onthe inside of the building. This third face probably formed a ledge tosupport the floor joists that were also supported by the central pier.In our excavations, only the piers were still preseryed, but the quantityof stone between and above them indicates that the qollqa walls werealso built of masonry.

All cuts showed some evidence of burning, but only Qollqa 4 washeavily burned. Cut 4 produced a large amount of charcoal, somefrom poles up to l0 cm in diameter. Cut I yielded a small amount ofcharcoal from what appeared to be a plank. These samples produceduncalibrated radiocarbon dates of e o L475 -r 65 (Cut 4) and a o

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Figure 7-3. A reconstruction drawrng of the plan and facade oi the qollqaexcavated on Cerro Santa Barbara. Although each of the four excavated qollqavaries somewhat from this reconstruction. all had floors elevated above theground surface on three masonry piers.

INKA STORAGE IN HUAMACHUCO

1555 +- 75 (Cut 1). Cuts 3 and 4 produced carbontzed marze, andin Qollqa 4 we found pieces of burned mud plaster with strawimpressions on one face. We recovered 232 sherds, most of whichseem to date to an early (900-200 e.c ) occupation in the area. Sherdsti,pical of the l-ate Intermediate (pre-lnka) period were also present.'There were no diagnostic Inka sherds.

CERRO CACANAN

in August l9B3 we completely excavated two qollqa (A and B onFigure 7 -2) on Cerro Cacaflan and partially excavated one of thelarger buildings (C).

Qollqa A had exlerior measurements of 5.25 x 3.90 m; its wallswere 50 to 55 cm thick and were built on bedrock. The interior wasfilled in with relatively loose rock that apparently served as floor andsubfloor (there was no recognizable prepared floor surface).

Three canals, about 40 cm wide and averaging 40 cm deep, werebuilt into the fill Each ran across the width of the building, parallelwith the slope (Figure 7 -4). The sides of the canals were lined withstones, but the bottom was unlined. The lining reached bedrock atthe downslope end but not at the upslope end, giving the canal agreater inclination than the hill itself. The canals seem to have beenopen to the exterior on both ends. ln two cases there were lintelstones that partially defined openings through the upslope wall, andthe canal linings partially defined openings through the downslopewall. Because no suitable sized roofing stones were found in theexcavation, the canals were probably roofed with poles and flooredwith rocks and earth.

Qollqa B was similar to Qollqa A. lts external measurements were4.95 x 3.60 m; the walls were less well-preserved, but constructionwas the same. Qollqa B had three canals with an average width of 35cm. The walls lining the canals were less straight and less parallelthen those in Qollqa A One canal had well-preserved openingsthrough both external walls. The openings of the other two canalswere destroyed.

We partially excavated one of the larger buildings near [he qollqa(Figure 7-5). The building was selected because it had fewer eucalyp-tus trees planted in it and there appeared to be a small interior roomin one corner. Although only a single doorway is preserved, there

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Figure 7-4. A plan and reconstruction drawing of a qollqa excavatedon Cerro Cacaflan. The subfloor canals could be used ro raise humiditywithin the structure as well as drain away excess water.

INKA STOMGE IN HUAMACHUCO 217

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Figure 7-5. Apian and reconstruction drawing of the large building excavated

o.,*C...o Cacaflan. The building was probably administrative in nature'

were probably two, placed symmetrically in the downslope wall' The

preserved doorway was 1.02 m wide, its sill was about 75 cm above

ihe exterior ground level, and there were no steps leading to it'

Thinking that Building C might be a larger qollqa varlant, we

started with a trench intended to find evidence of any ventilation or

drainage system; neither was present. ln the northeast corner, we

found parr of a bench, which was 1B cm high, faced with stone, and

filled with rubble. It was parrially destroyed along the east wali but

may have originaily joined the wall stub located at the south jamb of

the door. Because the bench was destroyed inside the door, it is

diffrcult to relate the doorsill to interior floor levels. However, it is

likely that the doorsill was at bench level rather than floor level.

Where the bench was not preserved, we excavated to bedrock' The

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floor matrix was 18 cm of compacted reddish clay and earth; belowthis was about 16 cm of sterile loose gray soil that was probablyartificial fiIl. The walls rested on bedrock.

We then excavated in the vicinity of the room in the southwestcorner. Its floor was raised about 30 cm above the floor of the building

and was composed of the same material. The ballast below the floor

consisted of small rocks and earth. The walls of the room rested onthe compact layer corresponding to the building floor. Alongside theroom was a rarsed bin with a floor 67 cm above that of the building.There was also a short section of very low wall that may have beenthe foundation for a stub wall. Finally, there was a circular pit duginto the floor along the central axis of the building. The pit was 20cm in diameter, lined with angular stones, and fiiled with 79 river-rolled cobbles.

Suspecting that this stone-lined and cobble-filled pit might be thebase for a post, we excavated a trench across the northern half of thebuilding looking for a similar feature. We found a second stone-linedpit with three river-rolled cobbles. The significance of the cobbles isprobably that they allowed drainage away from the post and inhibitedwater movement from the ground into the bottom of the post. Wecontinued the trench to the west wall that rested on bedrock at ahigher level than the east wall. in fact, the base of the west wall was14 cm higher than the surface of the bench along the east wall; thefloor sloped to accommodate the change in bedrock level.

Because of the two postholes, it seems obvious that this buildinghad a single large, pyramidal roof, the room and bin in the southwestcorner were probably not separately roofed. The function of thebuilding is unclear. There were no obvious domestic features such ashearths and grinding stones. One hundred eighteen sherds werefound, but nearly half of these can be attributed to only two vessels:

a shallow bowl and a large jar, both in the local L^ate IntermediatePeriod style.'A typical Inka rope nubbin found in the building mayhave been attached to the large jar.

CERRO MAMORCO

In August 1983, we partially excavated three adjacent qollqa in theeast-facing arm of the V-shaped group on Cerro Mamorco. They were

2 l B

INKA STORAGE IN HUAMACHUCO

selected because they were weil preserved and appeared to havebeen burned, thus increasing the probability of recovering charredmacrobotanical remains.

Qollqa A and B were similar. Qollqa A had internal measurementsof about 7.2 x 2.8 m and Qollqa B was 7.2 x 2.7 m, we excavatedapproximately half of each structure. Both qollqa had subfloor canalswith the sides lined by stone slabs and the bottom formed by bedrock.The sides were not perfectly parailel so that the width varied. Thewidest canal, in Qollqa A, was 62 cm at its upper end and 72 cm atits lower end; all the other canals were about 50 cm. The canalbottoms were about 30 cm below the floor at the upslope end andabout 50 cm below the floor at the downslope end. The slope of thecanal followed the natural slope of the bedrock. All the canals ap-peared to have opened through the walls at both ends, although onlyone of these openings was completely preserved.

If the canals were laid out symmetrically, each qollqa would havehad four canals rather than the three found in the Cerro Cacananqollqa. The extra canai probably does not indicate functional differ-ences. Rather, it seems to correlate with the larger building size aLCerro Mamorco because the spacing of canals is about the same inboth cases.

Qollqa C was smaller than the others, with internal measurementsof 5.0 x 2.5 m; we excavated about a third of it. Although we foundonly minor evidence of burning in Qollqa A and B, Qollqa C waswell burned. There were many fragments of burned plaster, somestill clinging to the interior faces of the walls. Surprisingly, there werepieces of cane-marked plaster, which we would normally consider asevidence of a finished ceiling. Also surprising was the absence of anysubfloor canal. Although the excavation in Qollqa C was smaller thanthose in Qollqa A and B, we would have found at least one canal ifsimilar canal spacing was used.

No artifacts were recovered from Qollqa A and B, and the onlypossible artifact from Qollqa C was a piece of lime (cal). Our workmensay that, in addition to its use in coca chewing, lime is commonlyused in agriculture and storage. It is sprayed on potato plants toprevent some diseases (plague) and is sometimes sprinkled amongstored potatoes to protect them from insects and fungal infections.

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220 . RECENT RESEARCH

STORAGE REQUIREMENTS AND THE HUAMACHUCO QOLLQAMorris (1981; see chapter B) has examined the specific srorage re-quirements of crops in order to correlate probable contents with thedesign of parricular qollqa. His research shows that grainand cubersdiffer in their requirements for successful storage, and each requires adifferent tlpe of facility. As Morris poinrs out, major facrors inhibitinggrain storage include fungus, pests, and sprouting. The risk fromthese factors is limited by specific environmental conditions. consranrlow temperature, low humidity, and the use of closed containers. Thestorage requirements o[tubers, however, are different. in the absenceof modern chemical treatments, manipulation of the srorage enuron-ment to lengrhen the period of dormancy is the most effective precau-tion againsr premarure sprouting. This is best achieved by constantIow temperatures and high humidity.

By examining Huamachuco qollqa in light of the differing require-ments of grains and tubers, we can suggest the likely .ont..,t, of thecerro Santa Barbara qollqa on the one hand, and those on cerroMamorco and cerro cacaflan on the other. of the rwo type ofstructures, the ones with elevated floors would probably have-mosteffectively minimized humidity. Air circulating between the groundand floor would have been effecrive in preventing ground moisru.efrom increasing the humidity wirhin the structure. In conrrasr, qollqawith subfloor canals would probably have been naturally more humidinside because of direcr conacr wirh rhe soil below. In addition,humidity could have been raised further by using the canals tointroduce water into the fi l l under the structures. Based on dataindicating differences in rhe storage requiremens of grain and [ubers,it seems likely that marze and other dry goods were stored at CerroSanta Barbara and tubers were stored in the qollqa at Cerro Cacafianand Cerro Mamorco with subfloor canals.

Qollqa c on cerro Mamorco, which apparently had neither sub-floor canals nor an elevated floor, is anomalous. possibly it wasused to srore goods for which humidity control was nor crucial.Alternatively, it might have been used for temporary storage of alltypes of goods before they were transferred to more suirable facilities.The burned cane-marked plasrer may indicate a ceiling or internaldivisions such as the pirwa discussed below.

INKA STORAGE IN HUAMACHUCO 221

There is little indication that Building C on Cerro Cacanan wassolely devoted to storage. Certainly the bin in the southwest cornersuggests a limited amount of storage space, and the small room mayalso have served for storage.

Storage in bins and cubicles is mentioned by both Cieza (I986:seg-

unda parte, cap. xxvii) and Garcilaso (1963:Libro Tercero, cap. xxiv)in the context of the Qorikancha in Cuzco. Elsewhere, Garcilaso(1963:Libro Quinto, cap. vii i) gives a more detailed description ofthese bins, which he calls pirua (pirwa), emphasizing that they facili-tated keeping account of the materials stored. The Spanish term heuses in describing these brns (or6n or horon) refers to a type of basket,which may have had the connotation of a specific measure. Later, heuses the term qollqa to discuss the storage of materials in buildings.

Guaman Poma (1980) also separates his discussion of pirwa andqollqa. Although there is the suggestion that pirwa may have theconnotation of a unit of measure, the contexts in which GuamanPoma uses pirwa (as well as culluna and cawry, two other types ofstorage) suggests that these are terms for a more rustic, communitystorage facility, whereas he reserves the term qollqa for state storagefacil it ies (see also, Gonzalez Holguin 1952:54,287,338,686).

Although none of this is very clear cut, it does suggest that therewere several, perhaps overlapping, categories of storage facilities:pirwa were bins that might have served as a unit of measurement,but the category pirwa appears to overlap with culluna and caway,which, in turn, overlap with the category qollqa.

Returning to the function of BuildingC at Cerro Cacafr.an, we cansummarize the evidence as follows: There is a lack of domestic features;there is one sherd, the rope nubbin, which dates to the l^ate Horizon;there are one or two features that may be described as pirwa; otherwiseBuilding C provides a large roofed space with few internal divisions orfunctionally diagnostic attributes. We thus tentatively identify theselarger buildings as administrative facilities where goods were received,sorted, perhaps measured, and packaged before being stored in theqollqa. Of course, we have no way of knowingwhether these buildingsserved all the qollqa around Huamachuco or only those on Cerro Caca-flan. Intuitively, though, eight administrative structures seems exces-sive for only the 23-26 storerooms on Cerro Cacaflan.

222 RECENT RESEARCH

ANALYSIS OF BOTANICAL REMAINS

We tested our hypotheses about the contents of the different qollqatypes in Huamachuco by examining micro- and macrobotanical re-mains (Chiswell 1984, 1986). In addition to the remains of foodproducts themselves, other tlpes of botanical remains may indicatethe storage of particular crops. In some qollqa at Hudnuco Pampa,Morris (1967.92) found evidence that tubers were stored in layers ofichu grass, which he refers to as pirwa. These bundles of grass andtubers were probably similar to the modern chipa (bundles of polesor bark and ieaves) used to transport fruits to market (cf. GonzalezHolguin 1952'.i l l). We reasoned that rf pirwa storage were used inHuamachuco, the presence of higher than expected quantities of. ichuor other grass and leaves in a qollqa might indicate tuber storage. Asecond possible indicator of stored crops in qollqa is phytoliths.

Archaeologists have only recently begun making extensive use ofthe analysis of biogenic silica. Numerous problems have been ad-dressed with phytoliths, ranging from environmental reconstructionto analysis of diet (Pearsall l9B2; Rovner 1983; Piperno 1987). Asignifrcant contribution has been the identification of specifrc culti-vated crops such as marze (e.8., Pearsall I979:I35-50). The potentiaifor identifying particular plants was one of the primary reasons forselecting phytolith analysis for the Huamachuco study.

Phytoliths are microscopic silica bodies that form in the cells of aplant. Upon decomposition of the plant, they are deposited in thesoil, where they are resistant to alteration. Phytoliths are less suscepti-ble than pollen to wind transportation, and studies indicate thatthey move relatively l i tt le within undisturbed soils (e.g.,Beavers andStephens I95B). Thus, one wouid expect to find concentrations ofthe phytoliths of stored crops in qollqa soils.

Because of specific storage requirements, most Inka crops were prob-ably stored separately, and a limited variety of plants should be repre-sented in a single qollqa. The amount of plant material present shouldalso be greater than in nonstorage contexts. Polo de Ondegardo (in

Murra 1980. 133) states thatannuai additions were made to qollqa eventhough some materials deteriorated before use. The recovery of macro-botanical remains in other qollqa (e.8., D'Altroy and Hastorf1984.345-46, and Chapter 9) also suggests that some plants remainedin storage long enough to contribute their phytoliths to the soil.

INKA STORAGE IN HUAMACHUCO 223

The first step of the analysis was to examine a variety of plants toassess their silica content. The quantity and type of phytoliths varyfrom one part of a plant to another, so it was necessary to evaluatethe storable portion(s) of the plants studied. We identified a total of35 plants or parts of plants as storage possibilities, including theedible portion of several crops, as well as nonfood plants that mayalso have been present in qollqa (e.g., ichu grasses and unidentifiedplants used in modern chipas in the Huamachuco market).

The first observation was simply to note the presence or absenceof sil ica. Four samples-peanut, peanut shell, pumpkin seed, andpotato flesh-had no significant silica whatsoever. Most of the re-maining samples had nondiagnostic t)?es of silica, but few shortcells, the type of phytolith that research has found to be most usefullystudied. However, seven samples-four varieties of marze cob, ichugrass, cafia bravo, and an unidentified species of grass-had shortcells in abundance. In these samples, the number of each short cellform was counted.

Next, we extracted the phytoliths from 22 soll samples collectedat Cerro Mamorco and Cerro Cacaflan. These samples included two"controls" taken near each group of qollqa and 20 archaeologicalsamples from six structures. Each sample was analyzed in the sameway as the plant samples-the short cell phytoliths in each samplewere counted.

The resulting data were submitted to two kinds of comparisons.First, we compared all the soil samples from a qollqa with the corres-ponding control sample. This comparison identified two strucluresat Cerro Cacanan (Qollqa B and Building C) in which none of thesoil samples could be distinguished from the control sample. Eitherthe soil samples from these two structures were contaminated, orthere was simply insufficient plant decomposition and phytolith accu-mulation in these structures to be detected.

We next compared the remaining soil samples with the plantsamples to look for evidence of specific plants. The sample from the

Qollqa A on Cerro Cacanan did not resemble any of the tested plantsamples, but samples from all three of the Cerro Mamorco qollqaresembled the ichu grass sample.

The phytolith analysis thus suggests there was an unexpectedlylarge amount of ichu grass in the qollqa of Cerro Mamorco. Based

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on Morris's association of tubers with large amounts of ichu grassin Huanuco Pampa, we can suggest that tubers were being storedat Cerro Mamorco. It will be recalled that two of the CerroMamorco qollqa have subfloor channels that we suggested abovewere used to create the high humidity conditions necessary fortuber storage.

Macrobotanical remains recovered by flotation augment these ob-servations. After we collected the small samples needed for phytolithextraction, the rest of each soil sample was floated in detergent andwater, agitated by hand, and the organic material separated in filters.We then examined this material, both visually and under low-powermagnifrcation.

The samples from Cerro Cacanan produced very small amounts offragmentary wood charcoal. The Cerro Mamorco samples yieldedslightly more material, including carbonized fragments of two uniden-tified (presumably nonfood) seeds from Qollqa A, a few burned marzefragments from Qollqa C, and small amounts of fragmentary woodcharcoal from all three qollqa. The best recovery of botanical materialwas from the Cerro Santa Barbara samples. A sample from Qollqa 3produced large quantities of carbonized matze and wood charcoal.Although the very small flotation sample from Qoliqa 4 failed toproduce marze, the field notes indicate that carbonized maize waseven more abundant there than in Qollqa 3. This supports the pre-dicted association of maize storage with the raised floor qollqa of theCerro Santa Barbara structure designed for low humidity storage, assuggested above.

Our predicted distribution of stored items in the Huamachucoqollqa seems to hold. The facilities on Cerro Santa Barbara that werethought to be devoted to dry storage produced evidence of maize.The facilities on Cerro Mamorco (Qollqa A and B) that were predictedto be intended for tuber storage produced evidence of ichu grasS thatmay have been used to pack the tubers; Qollqa C had macrobotanicalevidence for maize storage as well as ichu grass phytoliths and mayhave served to store both grains and tubers. Unfortunateiy, therewas iess conciusive botanical evidence of the contents of the CerroCacanan qollqa, but the subfloor channels in these qollqa impliesthey, too, were used for tuber storage.

D_4

INKA STORAGE IN HUAMACHUCO 225

REGIONAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The qollqa discussed above can be better understood if they areplaced in a wider regional and historical context. Huamachuco islocated at a junction of two parts of the Inka road: the main northisouth route in the highlands, and a secondary east/west route leadingto the coast. Therefore, it is likely that the Huamachuco qollqa werenot the only storage facilities in the province.

During the latter half of the eighteenth century, FrayJuan de SantaGertrudis (1970.225) traveled through the area and mentions that hesaw qoliqa between Cajabamba and Huamachuco. A modern coserio(hamle| located 13.5 km north of Huamachuco alongside the Inkaroad is called Colcabamba. Although there are no preserved qollqaknown from the immediate area, the toponym is suggestive. Hyslop(1984:61,65) reports no tornpu between Huamachuco and Caja-bamba, so qoliqa in this vicinity may have been part of a production-storage compiex. At an elevation of 3,050 m, the region is well suitedto both marze and tuber agriculture.

There is documentary evidenceo of another set of qollqa at Chuqui-bamba in the Condebamba Valley, approximately 25 km northwestof Huamachuco. The document is primarily concerned with a lawsuitconcerning the succession in a cura,cazgl (poiity controlled by a locallevel lord) of a waronqd of mitmaqluna rn the province. In the courseof the testimony, it is mentioned that the mitmaqhuna were moved toChuquibamba to serve at some dep1sitos (storehouses) that the Inkahad for his soldiers. Chuquibamba survives as the name of an haci-enda on the left bank of the Condebamba River about 22km north-west of Huamachuco. On the opposite bank of the river, 3 to 4 kmfrom Chuquibamba are located the Hacienda Colcas and a cosertocalled Colcas. Again, the toponyms are suggestive. These modernsettlements are located between 2,200 and 2,400 m elevation; theInka may have produced and temporarily stored aji and tropicai fruitsgrown at these lower elevations.

Finally, about 55 km west of Huamachuco there is a site, LlagadaySaddle, whichJanet and Mark Mackenzie surveyed in 1979 (Macken-

zie 1980:304-10). Llagaday Saddle is located in the generai area ofa tarnpu calied Cucho on the route from Huamachuco to the coast(Topic and Topic n.d.). The site itself is only 20 m from a walied

226 RECENT RESEARCH

footpath and includes the foundations of two rows of conjoinedrooms that curve along the contours of a gentle slope. There are atleast 2l rooms in the upper row and 9 in the lower row; averageroom measurements are about 3 x 5 m. Below the two rows of roomsare several poorly preserved, or perhaps unfinished, terraces, eachabout 1.5 m wide. There were sherds of large storage jars in the local[-ate Intermediate (pre-lnka) Period style. Llagaday Saddle does notappear to be located directly on the Inka road and thus is unlikeiy tobe a tompu. lt was probably a storage facility associated with agricul-tural production. At an elevation of 3,750 m, the emphasis wasprobabiy on tubers, which continue to be important in the area today.

Although information about these three sites is still limited, it doessuggest that there were a number of other storage complexes locatedthroughout the province of Huamachuco. These storage facilitiesoccur in zones at widely varying altitudes, suggesting provision wasmade to store a variety of crops in the zones in which they wereproduced.

Returning to Huamachuco, we should emphasize that althoughthe excavated qollqa are generally similar to examples elsewhere inthe Empire, they are different in detail. Specifically, only rectangularstorerooms occur, although these include at least two distinctivetypes: One type, with an elevated floor, has not been reported inInka contexts south of Huamachuco; the type with subfloor canalsresembles examples from Hudnuco Pampa (Morris l98l) but mayhave functioned quite differently. Ceramics are exceedingly scarce inthe Huamachuco storerooms, and those that do occur are predomi-nantly in the local style. In contrast, at both Huiinuco Pampa (Morris

Chapters 5 and B) and Hatun Xauxa (D'Altroy and Hastorf l9B4 andChapter 9) diagnostic Inka sherds were commonly associated withgrain storage. These differences certainly reflect distinctive variationsin storage technology.

Because storage was so important to Andean society, it is useful totrace, to the extent possible, the history of the development of thisdistinctive technology. Although we as yet only have hypothesesabout the history of qollqa with subfloor canals, we have moreconcrete evidence of the history of qollqa with elevated floors. Thistlpe of structure was first identified at Cerro Amaru, located a fewkilometers from Huamachuco (Topic and Topic l9B4:45-51). Two

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INKA STORAGE IN HUAMACHUCO 227

storerooms dating to the Early Intermediate Period or eariy MiddleHorizon were excavated (Figure 7 -6). These structures are roundwith floors raised above ground level on a masonry support. Thesupport is a stone-faced bench or ledge around the inside of thecircular wall; this is similar in concept to the third face inside the C-shaped walls found in some of the Cerro Santa Barbara qollqa. In theCerro Amaru structures, a low central wall bisects the building andsuppor$ the middle of the floor joists, much as the central pier doesat Cerro Santa Barbara.

One of us (Topic in press; Topic and Topic t9B4) has suggestedthat the Cerro Amaru storerooms are similar to possible storeroomsat Jargampata and AzAngaro. These are slightly later in time, datingto Middle Horizon 2, and are associated with the Wari culture of theCentral Highlands. At Jargampata (lsbell 1977 37), there are twoconjoined rooms with a row of corbels for a second-story floor locatedonly about a meter above a packed clay first-story floor; very narrowdoors (65 x 66 cm) open into the first story. Isbell (1977.38,49)interprets these buildings as possible storage structures. We concurand suggest that, as at Cerro Amaru, the actual storage space was on[he "second" story, the "doors" are ventilators rather than entrances,and the "first" story functioned only to raise the storage area off theground. Although Anders (1986:2I3-L4) considers the 340 roomsarranged in 40 rows in the central sector of Az|ngaro to be temporaryresidences related to calendric rituals, they are quite similar to thetwo rooms at Jargampata. The rooms within a row are conjoined,there are stone corbels located only I meter above the ground, andvery small "doors" (60 x 60 cm) opening into the space belorv thecorbels (Anders 1986.213 and Figure l0.B)

Thus, Inka qollqa on Cerro Santa Barbara are conceptually similarto Early Intermediate Period or Middie Horizon storerooms at CerroAmaru, which in turn are similar to Wari storerooms in the CentralHighlands. However, the historical connections between these store-rooms from different time periods are still difficult to unravel. As yet,we know of no Late Intermediate Period examples from Huamachucothat could serve as an historical link between the Cerro Amaru andCerro Santa Barbara structures. There are also no reported examplesfrom the Central Highlands either earlier or later than the Wari ones.On the other hand, Wari and Wari-influenced ceramics occur at

/-r0 1 2 3 m+

Figure 7 -6. A plan and reconstruction drawing of a store-room at Cerro Amaru. The storeroom was constructedduring the later part of the Early Intermediate Period orthe beginning of the Middle Horizon.

INKA STORAGE IN HUAMACHUCO 229

Cerro Amaru, together with other exotic ceramic styles and tradegoods. This evidence of wide-ranging contact provides a mechanismfor the diffusion, in either direction, of this type of qollqa during theMiddle Horizon.

We should mentron one other possible case of qollqa wrth elevatedfloors. Schjellerup (1984:172-76) provides very clear descriptionsand drawings o[ Inka qollqa in Chachapoyas province (see Figure l-l). These occur in two rows of B and 15 buildings at quite differentelevations. Qollqa in the upper row have a 20 x 25 cm rectangularopening in the front wall at ground levei, a door I meter above theground, and six l0 x 10 cm square openings in both the front andback walls .1ust below the level of the door. If the l0 cm squareopenings are interpreted as beam sockets, these qollqa rvould haveelevated floors similar to the Wari examples discussed above. How-ever, Schjellerup (1984:172-76; personal communication 1990) dis-agrees with this reconstruction and interprets these openings as venti-lators. We admit that in the illustrated example the correspondingopenings on the front and back walls are not as well aligned as onewould expect of beam sockets. The lower row of qollqa was less wellpreserved, so that any features located in the upper parts of the wallsare probably lost. There were 40 x 14 cm rectangular openings atground level in each of four walls and a partially preserved masonrybench along the back wall. The bench and ground level ventilatorsshe describes suggest a building similar to those at Cerro SantaBarbara and Cerro Amaru.

In the excavated examples of qollqa rvith elevated floors, sherds ofstorage jars are scarce or absent. This statement applies not only tothe Cerro Santa Barbara qoliqa, where it is clear thatmarze was storedbut also to the structures at Cerro Amaru, Jargampara, Azdngaro, andChachapoyas (see Figure 1-1). The lack of storage.;ars in all thesecomplexes contrasts with the storage practices documented at Hud-nuco Pampa and Hatun Xauxa (Morris Chapter B; D'Altroy andHastorf Chapter 9) wtrere grain was commonly stored in jars. Perhapsin qollqa with elevated floors, grains were stored in bags. Anotherpossibility, suggested by the Augustinian reference to finding bodiesin a pile of maize (Primeros Agustinos lgiB:36), is that grains werestored loose and in bulk. A third possibiiity is that there were internalbins as Garcilaso describes, the straw-impressed plaster at Cerro Santa

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Barbara and the cane-marked plaster from Cerro Mamorco (from aqollqa with evidence of maize but no elevated floor) may be evidenceof these bins.

Only the excavations at Cerro Santa Barbara and in Building C atCerro Cacaflan produced significant quantities of sherds. As wepointed out earlier, most of the sherds from Cerro Santa Barbara arefrom an Early Horizon occupation, bur sherds in the local LateIntermediate Period style, called Huamachuco-on-White, were alsopresent. The diagnostic sherds from Building C were also in theHuamachuco-on-White style. From both sites the sample of Huama-chuco-on-White sherds is very small: The sherds from Cerro SanraBarbara may represent only one jar, whereas those from Building Crepresent at least one jar and one bowl. Other excavations show thatHuamachuco-on-White continues into the L"ate Horizon and that jarsin this style sometimes have rope nubbins, which are an indicationof Inka influence. In fact, the one diagnostic lnka sherd from rheentire Huamachuco storage complex is a rope nubbin that may befrom the Huamachuco-on-White.lar found in Building C.

Although the sample of sherds is small, it is surprising that theHuamachuco-on-White style occurs, whereas the Provincial Inkastyle is lacking. Provincial Inka ceramics, and even a wooden hero(drinking cup), have been found in Huamachuco itself (Topic andTopic n.d. ; ) lcCow-n l9+5.310), buure knor l of no Huamachuco-on-White pottery from around the modern town. Because of the smallnumber of vessels flrom both Huamachuco and the qollqa excavations,we cannot say more about the lack of Inka pottery in the qollqaexcept that it contrasts r.l ' i th the situation in Hudnu co Pampa andHatun Xauxa.

CONCLUSION

On the hil ls surrounding Huamachuco there are about 1,14 preservedqoilqa, but we estimate that there may once have been abour 215.We excavated or partially excavated nine examples, slightly morethan 60/o of the preserved qollqa and 4o/o of the estimated number. Inaddition, there are eight larger buildings that were probably adminis-trative in nature, of which we partially excavated one example. Eth-nohistoric information suggests that the storage complex was con-

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structed after 1463 and fell into disuse by 1567, the radiocarbondates and associated ceramics are consistent with these dates.

The qollqa are arranged in five groups on three hills. Aithough thegroupings probably reflect significant ethnic categories, it is difficultto determine what those categories may have been. Although it ulti-mately may be impossible to understand the significance of qollqagroupings, i t is interest ing to speculate about their meaning.

The largest group of qollqa is located on Cerro Santa Barbara. Theexcavated examples allhave elevated floors and were used for storingmarze and probably other goods requiring dry conditions. Theseqollqa are located adjacent to agricultural terraces that we think areInka and were probably used for growing maize', crops produced onthe terraces were probably stored in the qollqa, and seed for plantingthe terraces probably came from the qollqa. This rather small area of.terraces was probably not the sole source of goods stored at CerroSanta Barbara, but because of the close association of terracing andstorerooms, we consider them parts of a single production-s[oragecomplex. We further expect that the complex was not under thecontrol of the indigenous community, but most l ikely was part of astate installation, or belonged to the state religion, or even, as sug-gested by Poma's reference to houses of Wayna Qhapaq, may havebeen part of a royal residence.

The presence of administrative structures on Cerro Cacaflan sug-gests that the qollqa there may be the tuber storage equivalent of themarze storage facilities on Cerro Santa Barbara. However, as notedabove, it is uncertain whether these structures administered all theqollqa or only those on Cerro Cacanan.

The Cerro Mamorco qollqa are divided into much smaller groups.Although two excavated qoliqa had subfloor canals and were probablyused for tuber storage, the third had a simple clay floor and wasprobably used for a variety of goods. From the excavated sample, wecannot be sure whether this heterogeneity is characteristic of eachgroup of Cerro Mamorco qollqa or of only the group tested. Heteroge-neity within a group of qollqa would be expected if the storeroomscorresponded to a social unit; in other words, if a group of peoplestored all their goods in one set of storerooms, they would needstorerooms suitable for tubers, grains, and various other goods. A

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232 RECENT RESEARCH

srmilar argument could apply to state institutions, such as administra-tors, soldiers, or arusans. Although uktmately oepenoent on statelands, an institution might be assigned its own set of storerooms. Thesame logic applies to major shrines; the chronicles suggest these hadtheir own lands, and by extension, their own produce to be storedin their own facilities. Perhaps, then, the division of storerooms onCerro Mamorco into groups corresponded to specific groups of peo-ple or institutions, or to shrines.

Although this discussion of the significance of qollqa groupings isspecuiative, it provides some perspective for evaluating the scale ofstorage in Huamachuco. Unlike Hudnuco Pampa, Huamachuco wasnot an artificial town; there were indigenous people and numerousmitmaquna in the immediate area, as well as the state apparatus. Ye[the storage complex is modest in scale. The scale of the complexsuggests that it was intended only to provide for local consumption.Possibly any excess production was shipped elsewhere.

As a facility oriented toward local consumption, it is interesting tolook at the mix of the two main tlpes of storerooms. Overall, slightiymore than half of the storerooms have elevated floors, and, estimatingthat % of the qollqa on Cerro Mamorco lack subfloor canals, qollqaspecifically designed for tuber storage form about 40o/o of the total.However, if our speculation about the significance of the qollqagroupings is accurate, this proportion changes dramatically. Whatwe think to be state storage is represented by as many as 125 elevatedqollqa (83 o/o) and only about 25 qollqa for tuber storage (I7 o/o) . Tuberstorage predominates in what we thrnk is nonstate storage. However,because the Huamachuco storage complex is only one of several inthe province, both its scale and the inferences about consumptionpatterns may be misleading.

On more solid ground, we have documented the existence of twodistinctive types of storage facilities. The distinctive feature of botht)rpes is the emphasis on humidity control. Thus far, the tlpe withsubfloor canals is known only from the Late Horizon in Huamachuco.The type with an elevated floor has a wider temporal and spatialdistribution but at present seems to occur earliest in Huamachucoand only in Huamachuco does it occur during two different timepenods. Thus, both types of facil i t ies may represent storage techno-logies developed in Huamachuco or in neighboring provinces.

INKA STORAGE IN HUAMACHUCO 233

Finally, we have demonstrated that phytoiith analysis can be usefuiin storage situations. Although our study has shown on the one handthat the edible portions of many plants lack identifiable silica, wehave also shown that phytoliths from nonedible plants used ro packstored tubers can be identified in predictable storage contexts.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council ofCanada and authorized by the Instituto Nacional de Cultura. Alfredo Melly, Kala Narveson,Andrew Nelson, Theresa Topic, Lisa Valkenier, and Sue Wurtzburg all assisted in themapping, excavation, and analysis of collections. We dedicate this chapter to the memoryof Alina Portella rvho directed the maioritv of the excavations and. more imDortantlv. wasa kind a qentle friend.