Royal Estates and Imperial Centers in the Cuzco Region

Abstract

This multiscalar view of royal estates and imperial centers in the Cuzco region looks to survey data, ethnohistory, and site-based archaeology to illuminate the growth of the Inca Empire from its heartland. Monumental centers in Cuzco are just a fraction of the settlements and resources that make up its estate systems and imperial facilities. By casting a wide net beyond the palace walls of sites such as Machu Picchu, the chapter models in new ways the role played by these centers that dominated the heartland landscape outside urban Cuzco. Recent results from the estate economic installation at Cheqoq (Maras), including retainer laborer households, a pottery workshop, and storage facilities, demonstrate (1) the impacts of Inca development on local communities, (2) how retainers contributed to factional interests and the greater imperial project, and (3) how retainers enjoyed an elevated status as a result of attachment to the nobles who developed royal estates.