Astronomy of the Inca Empire

Steven Gullberg holds a Ph.D. in astronomy from James Cook University (Australia) and is an Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma, where he is Lead Faculty for the School of Integrative and Cultural Studies. He is the University's Director for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture, and he also serves as Chair of the International Astronomical Union's Working Group on Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture. He has conducted extensive field research on the astronomy of the Incas in the Peruvian Andes and has written many research papers. At the University of Oklahoma, he created a graduate-level archaeoastronomy distance-learning program designed to educate researchers around the world. Dr. Gullberg regularly presents papers at international conferences as he endeavors to globally advance the field of archaeoastronomy.

1   Introduction .......................................................     2   Evolution of an Empire ..........................................     2.1     Before the Incas .............................................     2.2     The Early Incas ..............................................     2.3     Rulers of Imperial Expansion ..............................     2.4     Spanish Conquest ............................................     2.5     Inca Resistance ...............................................     2.6     The Catholic Purge ..........................................     2.7     Summary.......................................................
3   Cultural Context ..................................................     3.1     Religion ......................................................     3.2     Cosmology ...................................................     3.3     Sacred Landscape ...........................................     3.4     Camay .........................................................     3.5     Intihuatanas ...................................................     3.6     Sacred Animals ..............................................     3.7     Ancestors .....................................................     3.8     Social Issues .................................................     3.9     Organization .................................................     3.10   Succession ...................................................     3.11   Festivals ......................................................     3.12   Climate .......................................................     3.13   Agriculture ...................................................     3.14   Irrigation .....................................................     3.15   Imperial Expansion .........................................     3.16   Pilgrimage ...................................................     3.17   Building an Empire .........................................     3.18   Architecture ..................................................     3.19   Inca Roads ...................................................     3.20   Carved Rocks ................................................     3.21   Summary .....................................................
4   Ceques and Huacas ................................................     4.1     History .........................................................     4.2     Ceques .........................................................     4.3     Huacas .........................................................     4.4     Huaca Maintenance and Worship ..........................     4.5     Ceque and Huaca Astronomy ..............................     4.6     Ceque System Controversy .................................     4.7     Summary ......................................................
5   Archaeoastronomy ................................................     5.1     The Celestial Sphere ........................................     5.2     Motions of the Heavens ....................................     5.3     Solstices and Equinoxes ....................................     5.4     Cardinal Directions ..........................................     5.5     Zenith and Anti-Zenith Sun .................................     5.6     Horizon Astronomy ..........................................     5.7     Field Research ................................................     5.8     Summary ......................................................
6   Inca Astronomy and Cosmology ...............................     6.1     A Complex Astronomy .......................................     6.2     Sun Worship ...................................................     6.3     Cosmology and Origins ......................................     6.4     Principal Festivals and Ceremonies ........................     6.5     Inca Horizon Astronomy .....................................     6.6     Architectural Alignments ....................................     6.7     Ushnus, Sucancas, Pillars, and Gnomons ..................     6.8     Inca Calendar ..................................................     6.9     The Moon ......................................................     6.10   The Milky Way ................................................     6.11   Stars ............................................................     6.12   Ceque System and the Stars .................................     6.13   Cosmology and Atmospheric Phenomena .................     6.14   Summary ......................................................
7   Orientations at or near Cusco, Tipon, and Saihute ..........        7.1     Kenko Grande ...................................................     7.2     Kenko Chico ....................................................     7.3     Mesa Redonda ..................................................     7.4     Tetecaca .........................................................     7.5     Patallacta .........................................................     7.6     Kusilluchayoc ...................................................     7.7     Lacco .............................................................    7.8     Huaca 44 ........................................................     7.9     Lanlakuyok .....................................................     7.10   Puca Pucara ....................................................     7.11   Tambomachay .................................................     7.12   Sacsahuaman ...................................................     7.13   Mollaguanca ...................................................     7.14   Sapantiana ......................................................     7.15   Rumiwasi Bajo .................................................     7.16   Rumiwasi Alto .................................................     7.17   Kusicallanca ....................................................     7.18   Tipon ............................................................     7.19   Saihuite ..........................................................     7.20   Summary ........................................................
8   Orientations in the Sacred Valley .................................     8.1     Chinchero .......................................................     8.2     Pisac ...............................................................     8.3     Q'espiwanka .....................................................     8.4     Cerro Pumahuachana ..........................................     8.5     Cerro Unoraqui .................................................     8.6     Maras ............................................................     8.7     Moray ............................................................     8.8     Choquequilla ...................................................     8.9     Ollantaytambo ..................................................     8.10   Summary ........................................................
9   Orientations at and near Machu Picchu ........................     9.1     History and Design ............................................     9.2     Machu Picchu .................................................     9.3     River Intihuatana ...............................................     9.4     Llactapata ......................................................     9.5     Summary .......................................................
10   Discussion, Findings, and Conclusion ..........................     10.1   Discussion ......................................................     10.2   Findings .........................................................     10.3   Concluding Remarks ...........................................
Appendices ................................................................     A.1    Glossary .........................................................     A.2    Azimuths and Inclinations ....................................          A.3    GPS Field Data .................................................     A.4    Magnetic Declination ..........................................     A.5    Solar Horizon Positions .......................................     A.6    Sperical Trigonometry Formulae .............................
Bibliography ...............................................................
Index .........................................................................

"This informative book, clearly a labor of love, animates a subject whose interest remains undimmed. Above the emperor Huayna Capac's former royal estate at Yucay, Gullberg documents two sun pillars whose counterparts in Cusco were destroyed after the Spanish invasion." (Christopher Heaney, Isis, Vol. 112 (4), December, 2021)
"The book is astonishingly well illustrated, with a total of 312 figures ... . The illustrations include both black-and-white and color photographs of archaeological sites and other items of cultural interest, as well as many original pencil drawings and watercolor paintings of sites and cultural miscellanea by the author's spouse, Jessica Gullberg. In sum, this is a highly informed and informative book. It raises the standard of the study of Inca astronomy and archaeoastronomy to a whole new level." (Gary Urton, Journal for the History of Astronomy, Vol. 52 (3), August, 2021)