Transcript No Slide Title

High-altitude Archeology,
Peruvian Andes:
Climate, glaciers, mummies and GIS
Adina Racoviteanu
Dept. of Geography and INSTAAR,
University of Colorado
Inca Empire
• cca 1475 - 1532
• extended from present
Columbia to N Chile
• Cuzco organizational and
spiritual center
Environmental conditions
Altitude: mean- 5,200m
Temperatures: -25C
Winds: > 100km/h
Dry conditions
Glacier mummies:
climate records?
500-year old
mummy
found in
Peruvian Andes
Otzi- 5,000 year
old mummy
found in Tyrolean
Alps, Italy
Glacier retreat
revealed mummy
Mountain worship in the Andes
• Archaeological sites and
mummies have been found
in the Andes at altitudes up
to 20,000ft
• Incas constructed the sites
in the 15th century to
appease the mountain gods
• Human sacrifice: Capac
Cocha ritual
Volcano Llullaillaco, Argentina,
highest archeological site (~21,000ft)
Peaks in the Andes are still worshipped to
this day, eg. Mt.Ausangate
Andes: Mountain as source of
Water and Fertility
• Verticality is important
• Source of water
• Gods of meteorological phenomena,
controlling crops and cattle
• Places of astronomical observations
Present day pilgrimage to Qoyllur Rit’I, Peru
Sinaqara Glacier, pilgimage site
Qoyllur Rit’I,
Sinaqara Glacier,
S.Peru
Taking “medicinal”
ice from the glacier
as a symbol of water
sources and fertility
Ice core climate evidence
INCA
Quelcaya Ice Cap, Peru
Source:Thompson 1994
Study Area:
Cordillera Ampato, southern Peru.
Nevado Coropuna (stratovolcano complex
covered by an ice cap and consisting of three
peaks, with the highest one at 6,426m).
Why Coropuna?
Archeological evidence from Spanish chronicles
•Highly worshipped mountain;
•Water source for nearby
villages;
•Coropuna is believed to
contain Inca ruins and human
sacrifices offered to the
mountain deity.
Source:
Guaman Poma de Aylla [1613]
Criteria for archeological site prediction
• Slope:
0-5 deg (flat surfaces)
• Elevation:
between 5000-6000m
• Accessibility:
Inca roads/routes
proximity to least-cost pathways
• Aspect (Orientation):
East (NE or SE) direction
• Visibility:
Pacific Ocean/other peaks visible
The effect of topography (slope) on
movement across mountain terrain
Energy (no units)
Topographic cost
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Slope (degrees)
• Cost (Energy or Time) increases as terrain gets
steeper
• Actual energy can be calculated by including
physiological measurements, weight of individual
and load carried.
Site location potential: probability of site location as a function of
distance to least-cost pathways