SITE DIRECTORY
Pace and compass map of Uruqilla showing only old foundations.
Uruquilla, also known as Porco Viejo, is located on the flanks of Cerro Huayna Porco, to the south of the modern village. The architectural core of the site consists of agglutinated rectangular structures arranged in irregular rows which are separated from a plaza to the south by two large rock outcrops. The entire settlement is enclosed by a stone wall to the east, south, and west; to the north the site is delimited by a steep quebrada with a perennial stream. Quimbaletes (large rocker stones used for grinding ore), grinding platforms, and burned features, all associated with the processing of minerals, occur outside the walls to the east and west of the architectural core, and the remains of huayrachinas have been identified on ridges above the site. In addition, one well preserved European furnace is located on the eastern edge of the residential core, overlooking a shallow arroyo.
Photo of Uruquilla looking east. Most foundations currently
being used as corrals.
The architectural layout of Uruquilla as well as its location and association
with provincial Inka ceramics suggest that it had been constructed under
the Inkas, perhaps to house mining personnel. However, as is the case
with Huayrachinas and Jalantaña, the site continued to be used
into the early colonial period, and evidence for both domestic and mineral
processing activities has been found in most excavated contexts.
Quimbalete on southeastern edge of Uruquilla.
Simple smelting or refining feature uncovered in one
of the structures.
Offering of maize beer found under the floor of an
excavated structure.
Vessel found in burial.
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