Tourism in Cajamarquilla Archaeological Site

This extensive archaeological site gives a first impression of being a disorderly accumulation of mud walls, but if you look closely you will notice that it has an established order by long streets, pyramids, large walled spaces (courts) and areas with one-story buildings. .

It has been divided into several sectors that bear the names of researchers who have carried out studies or left descriptions of this place: Villar Córdova, Tello, Sestieri, Muelle, Kroeber and D'Harcourt.

Where is Cajamarquilla located?

It is located in the region called Central Coast of Peru, 24 kilometers from the sea and 340 meters high in the district of Lurigancho - Chosica, in the city of Lima (Rímac valley) on the banks of the Huaycoloro or Jicamarca ravine, cause of a river that is dry today but that sporadically and in times of heavy rains in the mountains brings abundant water causing landslides ("jica" in Quechua is alluvium and "huayco", ravine, also in Quechua). Its more than 1,670,000 square meters make it one of the largest cities in ancient Peru. Construction began towards the end of the Early Intermediate and was vacated at the end of the Late Intermediate (Narváez 2006a and Segura 2001) with a parenthesis of abandonment that covered most of the Middle Horizon. Most of the walls and pyramids seen today belong to the last period of occupation (Late Intermediate).

Throughout the centuries of Cajamarquilla's life, its buildings served as an administrative center, first of the Lima Culture and then of the Ychsma culture, as well as a religious center, palace, residence of the local curaca (ruler) and his elite, production center artisanal and as a place of housing for thousands of people (Narváez 2006a, Segura 2001 and Mogrovejo 1999).

Previous investigations

The first descriptions of archaeological sites usually come from chronicles and documents written by Spanish officials and scribes during the first decades after the conquest in 1532. However, despite its large size, Cajamarquilla is not mentioned in these documents. , at least in none found to date. From this we can deduce that upon the arrival of the Spanish Cajamarquilla had already been abandoned many years before, since no one had any memory of it, and that it was not used at that time as a shrine or place of worship since it would have been included in the campaign of " extirpation of idolatries" carried out in the mid-16th century.

The oldest mentions of this site are in the Memoirs of Viceroy Toledo (late 16th century) and in the description made by the French traveler Le Porte in the 18th century (Segura 2001).

At the end of the 18th century Adolph Bandelier visited Cajamarquilla, made descriptions of its main monuments and had plans drawn for the main sectors. Ephrain George Squier, in 1864, also made descriptions, drawings and plans of sectors now known as Labyrinth and Dock, which he published in 1877. Max Uhle, considered the father of South American scientific archaeology, excavated 34 tombs from a cemetery in the surroundings of this place (Nievería) between the years 1905 and 1908. The objects found were taken to the Lowie Museum at the University of Berkeley where years later (1922-23) Raoul D'Harcourt and Ann H. Gayton analyzed them. In 1927, at the University of California, Gayton published a catalog with most of the objects found in Uhle's excavations. (Narváez 2006a, Segura 2001 and Mogrovejo 1999).

The priest Pedro Villar Córdova carried out a detailed study and description of the architecture of Cajamarquilla, publishing it in 1935 as part of his work "The Pre-Hispanic Cultures of the Department of Lima." One of the largest and oldest pyramids in this place is named after him. In 1938 Alberto Giesecke carried out cleaning and debris work on behalf of the Government of Peru. In 1944, Julio C. Tello, father of Peruvian archaeology, was the first to carry out archaeological excavations in Cajamarquilla. He worked on the pyramid that today bears his name. His main findings were to define an occupation of the Lima culture at this site. His notes and reports are deposited unpublished in the Tello archive awaiting publication (Narváez 2006a, Segura 2001 and Mogrovejo 1999).

Between 1962 and 1971, the work of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Peru was carried out under the direction of Claudio Pellegrino Sestieri in the pyramid that, for this reason, bears his name. The results of these works were published in short articles in Italian and English. In the 80's Arturo Jiménez Borja, following a policy (controversial at the time) initiated by him, reconstructed one of the best preserved sectors, the so-called Labyrinth. Years later Odón Rosales excavated in the Tello Complex (Narváez 2006a, Segura 2001 and Mogrovejo 1999).

Since 1996 to date (2007), the Cajamarquilla Project has been carried out, financed by the Cajamarquilla Zinc Refinery, which is located very close to this archaeological site. In its first years this project was managed by the Wiese Foundation of the bank of the same name. The long years of excavations have produced, among others, two important fruits, two published university theses: Rites and Economy in Cajamarquilla, Archaeological Investigations in the Julio C. Tello Architectural Complex by Rafael Segura, in 2001 and Societies of the Ancient City of Cajamarquilla , Archaeological Investigations in Sector XI of the Tello Complex and A Study of the Late Collection of the Sestieri Complex by José Joaquín Narváez Luna in 2006.

Chronology

The latest investigations in Cajamarquilla have revealed a different reality than what was known about the history of this site. Until recently, it was considered the regional capital of the Wari Empire, which during the Middle Horizon period (600 to 800 AD) conquered (by force?) a large part of the Peruvian Andes, including the Central Coast, where the site that we treat here, or, in the "best of cases" as a regional focus of an extensive system of exchange of products and services (Narváez 2006a, Shady 1982). Recent publications report that, precisely during that period, Cajamarquilla was abandoned (Narváez 2006a, Segura 2001).

So what led scholars to make such a claim? In our opinion, there were 2 main criteria, criteria closely related to each other: (1) Every empire has regional capitals, if Wari was an empire, what were its regional capitals? And (2) Without taking into account some already published studies (such as those of Sestieri, as mentioned by Narvaéz), the architecture of Cajamarquilla with straight walls and corners with large fenced spaces was considered to be of Wari origin and therefore Cajamarquilla would be the regional capital. of the empire that dominated the Peruvian Andes during the Middle Horizon period (according to this perspective). It was also taken into account that in the lower part of the Rímac valley (where Cajamarquilla is) during the Early Intermediate period the architecture of the Lima culture (culture that developed in this valley during the mentioned period) is made with "adobitos" ( small bricks of raw clay) and that the rammed earth or adobón (large blocks of raw clay), with which Cajamarquilla is built, would correspond to the following period (Middle Horizon). However, archaeological investigations in recent years (as already said -Narváez 2006a and Segura 2001-) reveal that Cajamarquilla was abandoned during the time that the Wari influence was felt on the Central Coast and the Rímac Valley, existing during the centuries before and after the said Wari influence.

So, in general terms, the history of Cajamarquilla looks like this: a first moment of founding and occupation by the Lima culture, possibly between the years 600 to 730 AD. (Mogrovejo and Makowski 1999), which corresponds to the Late Lima phase of said culture. The main monuments of that time are the Villar Córdova and Tello pyramids with evidence also in the Sestieri and Muelle pyramids (Narváez 2006a). Then comes a period of abandonment of this place, until a reoccupation that means the second moment of life with the Ychsma culture, possibly starting in the year 1000 AD. (Mogrovejo and Makowski 1999) until before 1450 AD. Most of the constructions that can be seen today on the surface belong to that time (Narváez 2006a, Segura 2001).

Urban Trace

The apparent chaos that is seen with the naked eye, formed by standing walls and fallen walls, disappears when the constructions of this archaeological site are ordered and systematized, mainly formed by 4 large architectural complexes that include a pyramid, which presides over it, surrounded by enclosures of a single level and squares. These groups are: a) Villar Córdova; b) Sestieri; c) Jorge C. Muelle and d) Julio C. Tello. A second type of structures are groups, walled enclosures whose main structure is a small pyramid. Such groups are: a) Kroeber and b) D'Harcourt. A third type are walled groups without pyramids, such as the so-called Labyrinth. A fourth type is single-level structures that are not part of any group or set (Narváez 2006a). This order is largely arbitrary, but it is very useful to give order to the data until the use and function of the main constructions and pyramids and their spheres of influence are clearly defined.

Cajamarquilla during the Lima culture

Cajamarquilla was, during this period, the most important urban center of Lima culture for that part of the Rímac valley where public and domestic activities were developed in buildings around large pyramids. The main source of sustenance was the products grown in that part of the valley and some (to a lesser extent) marine products from the coast of Lima, just 24 kilometers away, where Maranga, the main center of Lima culture, is located (Narváez 2006a). .

The ceramics found, for the period discussed in this point, belong to phases 7, 8 and 9 of the sequence developed by the North American archaeologist Patterson for the pottery of the Lima culture (Narváez 2006a, Segura 2001), also known as Late Lima , which corresponds to the years 500 to 650 AD. Most of the ceramics found in the excavations correspond to pots, plates and jugs, which indicates a greater emphasis on food preparation and storage activities (Segura 2001). Medium-sized pots with necks are always decorated, medium-sized pots without necks and large jugs with necks do not have decoration (Segura 2001). The colors used in the decoration were red, as a base, and black and white to outline, which were applied before placing the vessel in the kiln (Segura 2001). The motifs represented are varied, predominantly vertical lines, zig zags, waves, volutes in the shape of the letter S, fretwork formed by triangles and semicircles.

The archaeological site of Nievería is close to Cajamarquilla and burials were excavated there that had various offerings, among which some vessels of fine workmanship and a particular orange design stand out, different from those of the Lima culture. It was called Nievería ceramics and was considered the successor of the Lima pottery style and representative of the pottery typical of the Wari era in Lima. Pottery of this style (Nievería) has been found in many other sites in Lima such as Maranga and Pucllana. However, recent studies define the existence of Nievería as contemporary with the last phase of the Lima culture and its origin would be local (Narváez 2006b). The archaeologist José Joaquín Narváez found in his excavations in Sector (Narváez 2006a).

The Tello and Villar Córdoba pyramids of Cajamarquilla are considered the main buildings built on this site by the Lima people who share a similar internal organization of their environments and structures (Mogrovejo 1999). Evidence of the Lima culture has also been reported in the pyramids known as Sestieri and Muelle (Mogrovejo 1999).

The pyramids and the constructions associated with them form sets. In Cajamarquilla, the Tello and Villar Córdova complexes (presided over by the pyramids with those same names) have similarities between them (as mentioned above) and with other archaeological sites of the Lima culture such as Maranga, Cerro Culebras, Huaca Pucllana, Catalina Huanca and the Old Temple in Pachacamac (Mogrovejo 1999). Such characteristics are: a) They are stepped pyramids; b) Perimetric walls that enclose the architectural complex, generally trapezoidal in shape; c) They are associated with Late Lima ceramics; d) Patios or squares where festivities related to the consumption of food and drinks took place.

In the Tello Complex of Cajamarquilla, according to Segura (Segura 2001), large ceramic vessels were partially buried on the plaza built in front of the pyramid that were used to make "chicha de jora" (an alcoholic drink produced from the fermentation of corn). de jora), which was served to a large number of people in the same square in the middle of a festive atmosphere, possibly during the expansion work of the pyramid. This consumption was carried out together with other ritual activities that included the consumption of food and the burial of most of the household items used. Those who offered the drinks and food were in a higher social position than those who received them (Segura 2001).

The Tello pyramid (in the complex of the same name) is 7 meters high, occupies an area of 9900 square meters (Segura 2001). According to Segura, it went through 4 major phases that he calls A, B, C and D (Segura 2001). Phases A and B present little evidence and correspond to moments prior to the construction of the pyramid. Phase C corresponds to the useful life of the pyramid and subdivides this phase into C-I, C-II, C-III and C-IV. Subphase C-II corresponds to the rise of the pyramid. Most of the structures and volume of this construction are from that time. At the end of CIII the pyramid is abandoned and during C-IV the summit is reused as a cemetery (corresponds to the historical periods of HM 1B and HM 2A) Phase D is the reoccupation of the Tello Pyramid during the Late Intermediate Period.

The reason for the abandonment of Cajamarquilla at the end of the Lima culture is a topic of widespread discussion among researchers. One of the theories indicates that the Jicamarca or Huaycoloro river on the banks of which Cajamarquilla is located and which is dry today brought a normal flow of water in Lima times (Mogrovejo and Makowski 1999). A drastic climate change would have produced excess rain, causing landslides that destroyed the canals and reservoirs that supplied Cajamarquilla with water, followed by a dry period, which finally forced the abandonment of this city. A subsequent wet period of the climate would have brought water back through the Huaycoloro allowing Cajamarquilla's second moment of life.

Materials and Construction Techniques

The main and only material used to build walls and floors is mud. For the walls, the tapia (tapial) or adobón technique was used, which consists of forming large blocks of clay poured into caissons in layers in the same place where they will be located (in situ). This is a technique similar to that used today to work concrete or cement formwork. These mud blocks (adobones or rammed earth) are dried in the sun, later other adobones are formed on the sides and above, forming walls, which can be retaining walls, if they support a fill, or dividers if they separate (or form) environments. The entrance openings were, apparently, opened in the finished adobón and not made at the time the clay was emptied into the drawer.

Adobe was the preferred construction technique of the inhabitants of Cajamarquilla both during the Lima culture and during the Ychsma culture. Although findings of loose marinades mixed with fillings have been reported. It is important to note that the Lima built their pyramids and all kinds of walls (at least those located in the lower areas of the valleys) using adobitos (small raw clay bricks) and the Ychsma used in Pachacamac (Lurín valley) the adobe (raw clay brick), although in the Rímac valley (where Cajamarquilla is) adobón was the most used technique. Lima adobón can be distinguished from Ychsma adobón by the size of the block and the thickness of the layers that form it, but this is not yet fully supported.

The soil on which Cajamarquilla is built is of alluvial origin and is formed by a thick layer of hardened silt called "yapana". It is so firm that it can be cut into blocks. In some parts of this site, walls were built using these yapana blocks that are easily confused with adobes.

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