Regional Archaeology in the Inca Heartland

A comprehensive regional survey of the Cuzco region, spanning from 2000 to 2008, reveals critical insights into the settlement patterns, subsistence practices, and social organization of pre-Columbian Andean societies. This study, covering approximately 1200 square kilometers north and west of Cuzco, employed systematic methodologies to reconstruct the transformation of landscapes from early hunter-gatherer occupations to the complex agricultural systems under Inca rule. The research also examines how Spanish colonial practices reshaped this imperial landscape into a peripheral one. By integrating data across all pre-Columbian periods, the study significantly advances the archaeological understanding of Andean prehistory, particularly in the Inca heartland.

Covey, R. A. (Ed.). (2014). Regional Archaeology in the Inca Heartland. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11395593