Tawantinsuyu Integration of the Chillon Valley,Peru: A Case of Inca Geo-Political Mastery

Abstract

Archeological and ethno-historical data from the coastal, transitional, and lower sierra variants of the Chillon Valley, Central Coast of Peru, have led to a new understanding of the nature of Inca political and economic control of one subjugated region. The data reveal that the region was settled unevenly by the Cuzqueños; a more intensive state occupation of the lower sierra is indicated. It is suggested that control of the valley was managed by choice from a geographical-political locus in the highland zone because of certain cultural and environmental circumstances in each valley variant that posed advantages and disadvantages for state operations. Major sites yielding evidence of integration into the Inca state are discussed within the context of such a settlement pattern.