The Sacred Landscape of the Inca, the Cusco Ceque System

Bauer, Brian S.

ISBN 10: 0292708653 / ISBN 13: 9780292708655

Published by University of Texas Press, 1998

About this Item

First edition stated, 1st prntg. light blue cloth, clean & bright, bndg crisp, no bumps, unclipped illus blue dj, exc unread, gift cond; maps, figures, tables, many b/w txt photos, 249 pp. 9"-11.5".

Seller Inventory # RB4378

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Sacred Landscape of the Inca, the Cusco Ceque System
• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0292708653
• ISBN 13: 9780292708655
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Archaeology
  • Religion
  • Latin America

About this title

Synopsis

The ceque system of Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca empire, was perhaps the most complex indigenous ritual system in the pre-Columbian Americas. From a center known as the Coricancha (Golden Enclosure) or the Temple of the Sun, a system of 328 huacas (shrines) arranged along 42 ceques (lines) radiated out toward the mountains surrounding the city. This elaborate network, maintained by ayllus (kin groups) that made offerings to the shrines in their area, organized the city both temporally and spiritually. From 1990 to 1995, Brian Bauer directed a major project to document the ceque system of Cusco. In this book, he synthesizes extensive archaeological survey work with archival research into the Inca social groups of the Cusco region, their land holdings, and the positions of the shrines to offer a comprehensive, empirical description of the ceque system. Moving well beyond previous interpretations, Bauer constructs a convincing model of the system's physical form and its relation to the social, political, and territorial organization of Cusco.

About the Author

Brian S. Bauer is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.