SITE DIRECTORY
Inka structure, possibly a kallanka at Jalantaña.
Jalantaña is located on the east side of the Río Todos Santos
directly downstream from the mines currently being operated by COMSUR,
and is unique in that it is the only site located to date that includes
buildings that were constructed entirely of stone; all others were built
of adobe on top of stone foundations. The best preserved building at Jalantaña,
and indeed, in all of Porco, is a gabled structure with interior trapezoidal
niches that is clearly of Inka origin. This building is located in the
central portion of the site and is part of a kancha, an architectural
unit employed by the Inkas that consisted of single room rectangular buildings
arranged within an enclosed courtyard. Occasional segments of straight,
stone walls are visible elsewhere at the site, but the overall pattern
is difficult to discern because of the disturbance caused by subsequent
agricultural activities. Provincial Inka and European ceramics occur on
the surface, and three Spanish furnaces and two quimbaletes are situated
at the edges of the site, which is delimited by a large stone wall to
the west and south. Very limited excavations conducted in the kancha described
above yielded few artifacts; while analysis is not complete, most appear
to be sherds from provincial Inka vessels. The architecture at Jalantaña
suggests that it was constructed by the Inka, perhaps as a small
administrative center
Bin for storing charcoal.
Funding for this project provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities,
the National Science Foundation, the Curtiss T. Brennan and Mary G. Brennan
Foundation, and Colorado State University.
Please direct any comments or questions about the project to the director,
Mary Van Buren.
Web site designed by Andrew Mueller