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55-685: Since the Incas and conquistadors were the principal sources of information on the Chachapoyas, there is little first-hand or contrasting knowledge of the Chachapoyas. Writings by the major chroniclers of the time, such as Inca Garcilaso de la Vega , were based on fragmentary second-hand accounts. Much of what is known about the Chachapoya culture is based on archaeological evidence from ruins, pottery, tombs, and other artifacts. Spanish chronicler Pedro Cieza de León noted that, after their annexation to

110-512: A BBC documentary from January 2013. The conquest of the Chachapoyas by the Inca Empire took place, according to Garcilaso , during the government of Tupac Inca Yupanqui in the second half of the 15th century. He recounts that the warlike actions began in Pias, a community on a mountain on the edge of Chachapoyas territory likely to the southwest of Gran Pajatén . According to de la Vega,

165-652: A century and a half after its initial publication, in the 1780s, as the uprising against colonial oppression led by Tupac Amaru II was gaining momentum, Charles III of Spain banned the Comentarios from being published in the Quechua language in Lima or distributed there on account of its "dangerous" content. The book was not printed again in the Americas until 1918, but copies continued to be circulated secretly. It

220-620: A cluster of separate archaeological sites already located and published by avocational archaeologists Keith Muscutt, 2 and anthropologist Dr. Inge Schjellerup 3 in the mid 1990s. After Savoy announced his 1999 "discovery," and the sizes and populations claimed for Gran Saposoa were exposed as grossly exaggerated by professional archaeologists specializing in Chachapoyas archaeology 4 . Archaeologists observed that ruins like Gran Saposoa, and Gran Vilaya "discovered" ten years prior, were long-known to Peruvian area residents and not genuine "discoveries." In September 2005, Gene’s son Sean Savoy released

275-501: A country where everybody was well-fed and happy before the Spanish came. Having learned first-hand about daily Inca life from his maternal relatives, he was able to convey that in his writings. As an adult, he also gained the perspective to describe accurately the political system of tribute and labor enforced by the Incas from the subsidiary tribes in their empire. Baptized and reared as Roman Catholic , he portrayed Incan religion and

330-501: A daughter of Túpac Huallpa and a granddaughter (not a niece) of the powerful Inca Tupac Yupanqui . Because his parents were not married in the Catholic Church, he was considered illegitimate and the boy was given only his mother's surname. Under the Spanish system of caste that developed, he would have been classified as a mestizo (for his mixed parents). When Gómez was young, his father abandoned his mother and married

385-417: A much younger Spanish noblewoman, doña Luisa Martel, who was only four years older than Gómez. As such, Gómez lived with his mother, her husband Juan de Pedroche, her Inca family and her two daughters, De la Vega's half-sisters Ana Ruíz, who went on to marry Martín de Bustinza, and Luisa de Herrera, who married Pedro Márquez de Galeoto (one of their children was Alonso Márquez de Figueroa) . His first language

440-579: A racial classification. Another Spanish author, Pedro Pizarro , described all indigenous Peruvians as "white". Although some authors have quoted Pizarro saying that Chachapoyas were blond, these authors do not quote him directly; instead they quote remarks attributed to him and others by race scientist Jacques de Mahieu in support of his thesis that Vikings had brought civilization to the Americas. Following up on these claims, anthropologist Inge Schjellerup examined Chachapoya remains and found them consistent with other ancient Peruvians. She found, for example,

495-405: A sign they wear to be known everywhere. However, there is no other account at the time from other travelers to the region that mentions the particular "whiteness" of the Chachapoyas. These comments have led to claims, not supported by Cieza de León's chronicle, that the Chachapoyas were blond -haired and European in appearance . The chronicle's use of the term "white" here predates its emergence as

550-582: A universal occurrence of shovel-shaped upper incisors and a near-complete absence of the cusp of Carabelli on upper molars — characteristics consistent with other indigenous peoples and inconsistent with Europeans. According to the analysis of the Chachapoya objects made by the Antisuyo expeditions of the Instituto de Arqueología Amazónica , the Chachapoyas do not exhibit Amazon cultural tradition but one more closely resembling an Andean one. Given that

605-531: A work of literature than a work of history." Lankford characterizes Garcilaso's La Florida as a collection of " legend narratives ," derived from a much-retold oral tradition of the survivors of the expedition. While in Spain, Garcilaso wrote his best-known work, Comentarios Reales de los Incas , published in Lisbon in 1609. It was based mostly on stories and oral histories told him by his Inca relatives when he

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660-474: Is recorded that he died in Córdoba on 23 April 1616, but it could have been up to two days earlier because of the inaccuracy of the existing documents. He had at least two sons, born of relationships with different servants. One son was recorded as being born in 1570; he might have died at a very young age. With another servant, Garcilaso had a second son, Diego de Vargas, born in 1590, who helped his father copy

715-462: The Chachapoyas culture , but Chachapoyas archaeologists observed that "Cajamarquilla" is clearly identifiable in historical documents as the renamed modern highland town of Bolívar, Peru . Savoy claims that the ruins, consisting of hundreds of round stone structures, cover approximately 120 square miles, and consist of 23,950 structures. [1] However, Gran Saposoa is not a single site, but rather

770-989: The Indiana Jones franchise, the Golden Idol of the Chachapoyans is the artifact of the opening section seen in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark . Later, Indiana Jones encounters the fictional Hovitos tribe which are the modern descendants of the Chachapoyan region. While the temple and idol are entirely fictionalized, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan describes a "Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors [which is] 2000 years old." Inca Garcilaso de la Vega La Florida del Inca Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (12 April 1539 – 23 April 1616), born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa and known as El Inca ,

825-655: The Moors after the Morisco Revolt . He received the rank of captain for his services to the Crown. He received a first-rate but informal European education in Spain after he moved there at age 21. His works are considered to have great literary value and are not simple historical chronicles. He wrote from an important perspective, as his maternal family were the ruling Inca. He portrays the Inca as benevolent rulers who governed

880-413: The Quechua sach'a phuyu ( sach'a = tree, phuyu = cloud) meaning "cloud forest". Another possibility is that it may derive from sach'a-p-qulla ( sach'a = tree, p = of the, qulla = the name of a pre-Inca kingdom from Puno ) that the Incas used as a collective term for the many kingdoms around Lake Titicaca , the equivalent of " qulla people who live in the woods". The Chachapoyas' territory

935-603: The Royal Commentaries and survived him until at least 1651. It is possible that his eldest son was the 'Admiral' Lope de Vega, who commanded a ship in the fleet of Álvaro de Mendaña , on his 1595 expedition to the Solomon Islands . Lope de Vega was lost at sea when his ship parted from Mendaña's fleet in a fog. De la Vega entered Spanish military service in 1570 and fought in the Alpujarras against

990-617: The "Amazonian Andes" due to its being part of a mountain range covered by dense tropical forest. The Amazonian Andes constitute the eastern flank of the Andes, which were once covered by dense Amazon vegetation. The region extended from the cordillera spurs up to elevations where primary forests still stand, usually above 3,500 metres (11,500 ft). The cultural realm of the Amazonian Andes occupied land situated between 2,000–3,000 metres (6,600–9,800 ft) elevation. The period from

1045-636: The "Middle Horizon", a dominant culture on the coast and highlands, also known as the Tiwanaku – Wari culture . The " mausoleums " may be modified forms of the chullpa or pucullo , elements of funeral architecture observed throughout the Andes, especially in the Tiwanaku and Wari cultures. Population expansion into the Amazonian Andes seems to have been driven by the desire to expand agrarian land, as evidenced by extensive terracing throughout

1100-454: The Chachapoya had more of a rebellious attitude towards their conquerors . The major urban centers, such as the great fortress of Kuelap , with more than four hundred interior buildings and massive exterior stone walls reaching upwards of 60 feet (18 m) in height, and Gran Pajatén possibly served to defend against the Wari culture around 800, a Middle Horizon culture that covered much of

1155-418: The Chachapoyas anticipated an Inca incursion and began preparations to withstand it at least two years earlier. The chronicle of Pedro Cieza de León also documents Chachapoya resistance. During the time of Huayna Capac 's regime, the Chachapoyas rebelled: all of his governors and ministers having been killed, along with a great number of soldiers, and others taken into slavery. In response, Huayna Capac, who

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1210-422: The Chachapoyas is characterized by circular stone constructions as well as raised platforms constructed on slopes. Their walls were sometimes decorated with symbolic figures. Some structures such as the monumental fortress of Kuelap and the ruins of Cerro Olán are prime examples of this architectural style. Chachapoyan constructions may date to the 9th or 10th century; this architectural tradition still thrived at

1265-460: The Crown, and he was allowed to take the name of Garcilaso de la Vega. Also referred to as "El Inca" or "Inca Garcilaso de la Vega", he received an informal education in Spain. Together with his uncle's support, gaining his father's name helped him integrate into Spanish society. He remained in Spain and did not return to Peru. As warfare continued in the conquest, he was at political and even physical risk there because of his royal Inca lineage. It

1320-434: The Inca Empire, the Chachapoyas were located on middle ground between the northern capital at Quito , ruled by Atahualpa , and the southern capital at Cusco , ruled by Atahualpa's brother Huáscar . Many of the Chachapoyas were conscripted into Huáscar's army, and heavy casualties ensued. After Atahualpa's eventual victory, many more of the Chachapoyas were executed or deported due to their former allegiance with Huáscar. It

1375-486: The Inca Empire, they adopted customs imposed by the Cusco-based Inca. By the 18th century, the Chachapoyas had been devastated; however, they remain a distinct strain within the indigenous peoples of modern Peru. The name Chachapoya was given to this culture by the Inca; the name that these people may have actually used to refer to themselves is not known. The meaning of the word Chachapoya may be derived from

1430-474: The adoption of ceramic technology until conquest, around 1400 to 1450 AD, is called the "Initial Period Manachaqui phase". Following the Inca conquest , there are multiple available sources pointing to how the Chachapoya responded to said conquest. While archaeological evidence shows both Inca and Chachapoya settlements in the area, suggesting that they accepted Inca rule over their lands, historical sources say that

1485-476: The coast and highlands. Referred to as the ' Machu Picchu of the north,' Kuélap receives few visitors due to its remote location. Other archaeological sites in the region include the settlement of Gran Saposoa , the Atumpucro complex, and the burial sites at Revash and Laguna de las Momias ("Mummy Lake"), among others. It is estimated that only 5% of sites of the Chachapoyas have been excavated according to

1540-461: The conquest. He may have studied Latin in Seville under the tutelage of Pedro Sánchez de Herrera. The Spanish did not achieve their final victory until 1572. He traveled to Montilla , where he met his father's brother, Alonso de Vargas, who acted as the young man's protector and helped him make his way. The younger man soon traveled to Madrid to seek official acknowledgement as his father's son from

1595-402: The expansion of its empire from a viewpoint influenced by his upbringing. He did not acknowledge or discuss the human sacrifices that are now known to have been part of Inca practice. It is unknown whether that was an effort to portray his Inca ancestors in a more positive light to a Spanish audience or his ignorance of the practice having lived most of his life in Spain. De la Vega's first work

1650-525: The fall of the tropical forests, the scenery of the Amazonian Andes changed to resemble the barren mountains of the Andes; second, the people who settled there brought their Andean culture with them. This phenomenon, which still occurs today, was repeated in the southern Amazonian Andes during the Inca Empire , which projected into the mountainous zone of Vilcabamba , raising examples of Inca architecture such as Machu Picchu . The architectural model of

1705-463: The highest point of precipices. The other funeral pattern was groups of mausoleums constructed like tiny houses located in caves worked into cliffs. Chachapoyan handmade ceramics did not reach the technological level of the Moche or Nazca cultures. Their small pitchers are frequently decorated by cordoned motifs. As for textile art , clothes were generally colored in red. A monumental textile from

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1760-571: The indigenous Peruvians, the Chachapoyas were unusually fair-skinned and famously beautiful: They are the whitest and most handsome of all the people that I have seen in Indies, and their wives were so beautiful that because of their gentleness, many of them deserved to be the Incas' wives and to also be taken to the Sun Temple (...) The women and their husbands always dressed in woolen clothes and in their heads they wear their llautos , which are

1815-563: The intention to "raze the entire country" of the Chachapoyas. From Cajamarquilla, a delegation of women came to meet them, led by a matron who was a former concubine of Tupac Inca Yupanqui, Huayna Capac's father. They asked for mercy and forgiveness, which the Sapa Inca granted them. In memory of this event of a peace agreement, the place where the negotiation had taken place was declared sacred and closed so from that point on "no creature, man or beast, should ever set foot upon it." To assure

1870-607: The local inhabitants whatever riches they could find. During Manco Inca Yupanqui 's rebellion against the Spanish Empire , his emissaries enlisted the help of a group of Chachapoyas. However, Huaman's supporters remained loyal to the Spaniards. By 1547, a large faction of Spanish soldiers arrived in the city of Chachapoyas, effectively ending the Chachapoyas' independence. Residents were relocated to Spanish-style towns, often with members of several different ayllu occupying

1925-463: The outskirts of the Utcubamba in the current Leimebamba District , as well as other sites. In the fifteenth century, the Inca empire expanded to incorporate the Chachapoyas region. Although fortifications such as the citadel at Kuélap may have been an adequate defense against the invading Inca, it is possible that by this time the Chachapoyas settlements had become decentralized and fragmented after

1980-419: The pacification of the Chachapoyas, the Incas installed garrisons in the region. They also arranged the transfer of groups of villagers under the system of mitma (forced resettlement): It gave them grounds to work and places for houses not much far from a hill that is next to the city ( Cusco ) called Carmenga . The Inca presence in the territory of Chachapoyas left structures at Quchapampa, Amazonas in

2035-575: The precincts of Gran Pajatén had been painted with figures of birds. The Chachapoyas also used to paint their walls, as an extant sample in the tunnels of San Antonio in Luya Province reveals. These walls represent stages of a ritual dance of couples holding hands. The Chachapoyan culture indicated an egalitarian non-hierarchical society through a lack of archaeological evidence and a lack of power expressing architecture that would be expected for societal leaders such as royalty or aristocracy. In

2090-408: The region. The agricultural environments of both the Andes and the coastal region , characterized by its extensive desert areas and limited soil suitable for farming, became insufficient for sustaining a population like the ancestral Peruvians, which had grown for 3000 years. This theory has been described as "mountainization of the rain forest" for both geographical and cultural reasons: first, after

2145-433: The same settlement. Disease, poverty, and attrition led to severe decreases in population; by some accounts the population of the Chachapoyas region decreased by 90% over the course of 200 years after the arrival of the Spanish. Choquequirao , an Incan site in south Peru close to Machu Picchu , was in part built by mitmaqkuna of Chachapoyan origin during the regime of Tupac Inca Yupanqui. Cieza de León remarked that, among

2200-619: The same time, he expresses and defends the dignity, the courage, and the rationality of the Native Americans . It was translated and published in English in 1951. Historians have identified problems with using La Florida as an historical account. Jerald T. Milanich and Charles M. Hudson warn against relying on Garcilaso, noting serious problems with the sequence of events and location of towns in his narrative. They say that "some historians regard Garcilaso's La Florida to be more

2255-487: The south. But the center of the Chachapoya culture was the basin of the Utcubamba river. Due to the great size of the Marañón river and the surrounding mountainous terrain, the region was relatively isolated from the coast and other areas of Peru, although there is archaeological evidence of some interaction between the Chachapoyas and other cultures. The contemporary Peruvian city of Chachapoyas, Peru derives its name from

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2310-523: The terrain facilitates peripatric speciation , as evidenced by the high biodiversity of the Andean region, the physical attributes of the Chachapoyas are most likely reflecting founder effects , assortative mating , and/or related phenomena in an initially small population sharing a relatively recent common ancestor with other indigenous groups. The anthropomorphous sarcophagi resemble imitations of funeral bundles provided with wooden masks typical of

2365-442: The threat of Wari invasion had dissipated. The Chachapoyas were conquered by Inca ruler Tupac Inca Yupanqui around 1475. The defeat of the Chachapoyas was fairly swift; however, smaller rebellions continued for many years. Using the mitma system of ethnic dispersion, the Inca attempted to quell these rebellions by forcing large numbers of Chachapoya people to resettle in remote locations of the empire. When civil war broke out within

2420-559: The time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire until the latter part of the 16th century. To be sure, the Incas introduced their own style after conquering the Chachapoyas, such as in the case of the ruins of Quchapampa in Leimebamba District . The presence of two funeral patterns is also typical of the Chachapoyas culture. One is represented by sarcophagi , placed vertically and located in caves that were excavated at

2475-464: The word for this ancient culture as does the defined architectural style. Inca Garcilaso de la Vega noted that the Chachapoyas territory was extensive: Their territory, which measured fifty by twenty leagues, without counting the Muyupampa region, where it was thirty leagues wider still, might well be called a kingdom, rather than a province. The area of the Chachapoyas is sometimes referred to as

2530-515: Was La Florida del Inca , an account of Hernando de Soto 's expedition and journey in Florida. The work was published in Lisbon in 1605 and became popular. It describes the expedition according to its own records and information Garcilaso gathered during the years. He defended the legitimacy of imposing the Spanish sovereignty in conquered territories and submitting them to Catholic jurisdiction. At

2585-436: Was Quechua , but he also learned Spanish from early boyhood. He lived with his mother's family for the first ten years of his life before his father took the boy into his household and gave him an education. Garcilaso received an inheritance when his father died in 1559. The next year, at the age of 21, he left Peru for Spain. Suárez de Figueroa reached Spain in 1561 while there was still fighting in his native country under

2640-548: Was a chronicler and writer born in the Viceroyalty of Peru . Sailing to Spain at 21, he was educated informally there, where he lived and worked the rest of his life. The natural son of a Spanish conquistador and an Inca noblewoman born in the early years of the conquest , he is known primarily for his chronicles of Inca history, culture, and society. His work was widely read in Europe, influential and well received. It

2695-540: Was a child in Cusco, but also on the remnants of the history by Blas Valera which was mostly destroyed in the sacking of Cadiz in 1596. The Comentarios have two sections and volumes. The first was primarily about Inca life. The second, about the conquest of Peru , was published in 1617. It was first published in English in London in 1685, translated by Sir Paul Rycaut and titled The Royal Commentaries of Peru. More than

2750-511: Was due to the harsh treatment of the Chachapoyas during the years of subjugation that many of the Chachapoyas initially chose to side with the Spanish conquistadors when they arrived in Peru. Huaman , a local ruler from Quchapampa, pledged his allegiance to the conquistador Francisco Pizarro after the capture of Atahualpa in Cajamarca . The Spanish moved in and occupied Cochabamba, extorting from

2805-549: Was in the Ecuadorian Cañaris ' land at the time, sent messengers to negotiate peace. But again "his messengers were greeted with threats of death". Huayna Capac then ordered an attack. He crossed the Marañón over a bridge of wooden rafts that he ordered to be built, probably near Balsas District near Celendín . From here, Inca troops proceeded to Cajamarquilla (now in Bolívar Province, Peru ), with

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2860-780: Was located on the eastern slopes of the Andes, in present-day northern Peru. It encompassed the triangular region formed by the confluence of the Marañón River and the Utcubamba in Bagua Province , up to the basin of the Abiseo River where the Gran Pajáten is located. This territory also included land to the south up to the Chuntayaku River, exceeding the limits of the current Amazonas Region towards

2915-539: Was the first literature by an author born in the Americas to enter the western canon. After his father's death in 1559, Vega moved to Spain in 1561, seeking official acknowledgement as his father's son. His paternal uncle became a protector, and he lived in Spain for the rest of his life, where he wrote his histories of the Inca culture and Spanish conquest, as well as an account of De Soto 's expedition in Florida. Born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa in Cuzco, Peru , in 1539, he

2970-424: Was the natural son of a Spanish conqueror and encomendero and a royal Inca mother. He was born during the early years of the Spanish conquest. His father was Spanish captain and conquistador Sebastián Garcilaso de la Vega y Vargas (d. 1559). His mother was an elite Inca woman, Palla Chimpu Ocllo , who was baptized after the fall of Cuzco as Isabel Suárez Chimpu Ocllo . She was descended from Inca nobility,

3025-610: Was translated and printed in English in 1961 in the United States as The Incas, and in another edition in 1965 as Royal Commentaries of the Incas . (See below) Gran Saposoa Gran Saposoa is the name given to a series of ruins in the Andean cloud forests of the Amazonas region of Peru by American explorer Gene Savoy . Savoy hypothesized that this site is the Pre-Columbian city of Cajamarquilla , built by

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