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<< Our Photo Pages >> Kuelap Citadel - Ancient Village or Settlement in Peru

Submitted by durhamnature on Tuesday, 14 May 2013  Page Views: 13648

Multi-periodSite Name: Kuelap Citadel
Country: Peru
NOTE: This site is 10.053 km away from the location you searched for.

Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Chachapoyas, Peru  Nearest Village: Tingo, Peru
Latitude: 6.4181S  Longitude: 77.9234W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
2 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by john_op_stap : Peru - Chachapoyas - Kuelap citadel Kuelap Chachapoyas Citadel Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient Town in Amazonas State, Peru.
A large worked-stone settlement of approximately 400 buildings, all on a multi-level platform within an encircling stone wall which extends vertically down the hilltop; making the level of the buildings as much as 19 m higher than the surrounding slope. Many of the round stone foundations display a zig-zag or diamond decorations in stone.

Carbon dating indicates the constructions date to the 6th C AD, including the monumental south eastern entrance forming a narrow high alley. But some estimates of construction are later (800AD) suggesting multiple building sequences. The site continued in use into the post conquest period, but with very little historic mention.

The Chachapoya culture was one of the last conquered by and brought into the Inca Empire in the 1400's. What little historic information we have comes from Spanish chronicles that include Inca descriptions of the people the Inca called the "Cloud Warriors" or "Cloud-Forest People."

The Chachapoya area of influence lies in the extreme east of Peru, in and on the eastern face of the Andes. Their relatively recent defeat by the Inca caused them to initially side with the Spanish during the 1530's.

Excavations at Kuelap are still on-going, but some of the buildings have been reconstructed with roof poles and thatch.

Kuelap Citadel can be reached by a 3-4 hour hike from Tingo, although some tour groups take visitors closer in minibuses and 4-wheel drive vehicles. The ancient town is at an altitude of over 9000 feet.

Use the mapping links to see areal views showing the high relief of the surrounding wall and the circular building foundations.

Location and Text by Bat400.

Note: More superb archive photos
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Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by john_op_stap : Peru - Chachapoyas - Kuelap citadel Kuelap Chachapoyas Citadel Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by john_op_stap : Peru - Chachapoyas - Kuelap citadel Kuelap Chachapoyas Citadel inside Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by john_op_stap : Peru - Chachapoyas - Kuelap citadel Kuelap Chachapoyas Citadel Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by john_op_stap : Peru - Chachapoyas - Kuelap citadel Kuelap Chachapoyas Citadel entrance Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by durhamnature : Photo from "Ruins of Northern Peru" via archive.org

Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by durhamnature : Team photo from "Ruins of Northern Peru" via archive.org (1 comment)

Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by durhamnature : Photo from "Ruins of Northern Peru" via archive.org

Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by durhamnature

Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by durhamnature

Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by durhamnature : Detail drawing from "Ruins of Northern Peru" via archive.org

Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by durhamnature : Detail drawing from "Ruins of Northern Peru" via archive.org Site in Peru

Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by durhamnature : Drawing from "Ruins of Northern Peru" via archive.org Site in Peru

Kuelap Citadel
Kuelap Citadel submitted by durhamnature : Old photo from "Across the Andes and Down the Amazon" via archive.org Site in Peru

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"Kuelap Citadel" | Login/Create an Account | 7 News and Comments
  
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Re: Epidemic or Violence? 80 by john_op_stap on Sunday, 27 October 2013
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All of the previous posts are from after I visited the site, but I remember that even then, in 2004, they already had found more skeletons in the same fashion years before. As there is no burn layer as would be found after looting/pillaging, the conclusion was then already that an epidemic such as measles had wiped out the population of that area.

full picture set here.
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Epidemic or Violence? 80 by Andy B on Sunday, 27 October 2013
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    Hello John, thanks for the link to the Flickr set, some great photos there. Would you mind using our Flickr linking system to add a few of your favourite ones to our page.

    Click on 'Submit an Image' at the top right of this page.
    Then on the next page click on the little button "Link to any image on Flickr".
    Copy the web link for the image from Flickr you want to add and paste it into the box.
    Then Upload. (it's not actually uploading but I couldn't easily rename the button) and repeat for a few of your favourites.

    (I know you've done this before, I thought it would be useful to describe the steps for anyone else who might be interested in linking in images from Flickr.)
    [ Reply to This ]

Tomb of high ranking ruler found at Kuélap by davidmorgan on Sunday, 21 November 2010
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From coldrum:

In an imposing building located in the highest reaches of the Chachapoyan citadel of Kuélap, a team of archaeologists have uncovered one of the most important tombs yet found.

Almost three months ago researchers led by Alfredo Naváez discovered a tomb containing the remains of six people during routine excavations. It was found in the area of the city named Pueblo Alto, a southern residential sector.

Continuing work in the same place over the coming months, the team was able to register almost 100 offerings, from spondylus shells to ceramics to many items of precious metals and stones.

Chachapoyan TombBeneath these objects the team noticed four irregular stones marking three large slabs of stone that were clearly used to seal some form of main tomb. Stunned at the unexpected find, it was obvious they had stumbled upon something of great importance.

This past Thursday after pressing ahead with the opening of the tomb, the researchers are certain they have discovered the final resting of the most important Chachapoyas ruler yet found from any point in their 500 year history.

The inside of the funerary chamber is divided in two parts. In one half were found the remains of a person in a foetal position. In the other were the remains of a llama, more spondylus shells and three ceramic objects – among them two vases with Inca motifs and colors.
More

The tomb is the only one of its kind found belonging to the Chachapoyas culture, it is even unusual in that it is the same shape as a modern coffin.

The coffin was built with 11 flat stones of similar dimensions and smaller ones, together with mud mortar.

According to Narváez, they are as yet unable to establish a specific level of rank or function of this person, but it appears to have been an important governor of Chachapoyan society during the period of Inca domination.

In an interview with El Comercio, Narváez states: “The tomb has offerings that were brought all the way from Cusco, but the person is not necessarily from there, rather an important local during the Inca occupation that was of high rank. He’s a Chachapoyan.”

The discovering is of unique importance because it is the first of a new kind of burial type that is quite unlike the traditional Chachapoyan burials, which generally consist of remains placed in sarcophagi placed up high on cliffs and ridges.

http://enperublog.com/2010/10/31/tomb-of-high-ranking-ruler-found-at-kuelap/
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Ancient Inca tomb found in Kuelap by bat400 on Monday, 15 November 2010
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A large tomb dating from ancient Inca times was found in the southern sector of Pueblo Alto of Kuelap fortress, located in the department of Amazonas, director of restoration and conservation Alfredo Narvaez announced.

He told Andina that in the vicinity of the tomb, of which excavation ended on Monday, fine ceramic offerings from the Tahuantinsuyo (Inca Empire) were also found, which apparently were taken there from Cusco.

“This tomb has an unusual dimension and was sealed by a thick stuffing. As we were cleaning, we run into materials that we had never found before in other structures of Kuelap”.

According to him, in previous tombs, only evidences of household activities such as mortars were found. “This one is particularly unusual for the work that we’ve carried out so far.”

Narvaez pointed out that between Monday and Tuesday next week more details on what the tomb really houses and whether it is about an important figure, as suspected, will be known.

Source: See, http://www.andina.com.pe, including a photograph of the excavation.
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Human Remains Dating to 7th Century Found at Peruvian Fortress by bat400 on Sunday, 01 August 2010
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Technicians found the remains of 79 human bodies dating back to the 7th century while carrying out restoration work at the Kuelap fortress in northern Peru, the daily Peru.21 reported Thursday.

The director of the conservation project, Alfredo Narvaez, told the paper that the human remains were found inside a stone wall that is believed to have been a secondary grave site, meaning the remains had been removed from their original burial place.

Narvaez said those involved in building the fortress brought their dead from their places of origin to Kuelap for reburial.

“This custom is very widespread in pre-Columbian Peru and Kuelap, which, due to its monumental size, required the community efforts of (people from) several areas,” he said.

That would explain how human remains that Narvaez says date back to the 7th and 8th centuries could be found in a structure built around 1000 A.D.

The same humid and rainy climate that has made it necessary to carry out the current restoration and conservation work is also deemed to be the reason why only the bones of the dead endured.

Narvaez, meanwhile, said that restoration work also is being carried out on a complex of 27 structures that were recently discovered in a sector to the south of the fortress. Referring to the 35 sections of the fortress that were on the verge of collapse, the expert said that 60 percent of the affected area has been restored.

For more, see the Latin American Herald Tribune.
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Clues from the mists of time by bat400 on Wednesday, 09 January 2008
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The broken skeletons were scattered like random pottery shards, rediscovered where they had fallen centuries ago. Were these ancient people cut down in some long-forgotten battle? Did European-introduced diseases cause their demise? Were they casualties of some apocalyptic reckoning at this great walled citadel?

The "cloud warriors" of ancient Peru are slowly offering up their secrets -- and more questions. Recent digs at this majestic site, once a stronghold of the Chachapoya civilization, have turned up scores of skeletons and thousands of artifacts, shedding new light on these myth-shrouded early Americans and one of the most remarkable, if least understood, of Peru's pre-Columbian cultures.

For more, see the LA Times article.
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Epidemic or Violence? 80 by bat400 on Friday, 05 October 2007
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The remains of 80 members of an ancient civilization have been unearthed in the ruins of a fortress high in the Peruvian Andes. The skeletons bear evidence of extremely quick deaths, the bodies having been found where they fell, without burial, reported Alfredo Narváez, director of Peru's Kuélap Archaeological Complex Restoration and Conservation project.

"In recent days we have discovered the bones of at least 80 people," Narváez said late yesterday. The bodies belonged to people of all ages and both sexes and were found alongside everyday utensils and tools, he said. "We observed bodies together, dispersed and in positions they seemed to be when they died," he said.

The haphazard positioning of the bodies, the presence of everyday artifacts, and the lack of ceremonial burials falls counter to what experts say was the Chachapoya custom of meticulously burying relatives.

"Our team began to ask questions," he said. "Was there violence? Had there been an epidemic due to the presence of the Spanish? Future studies will give the answer."

For more, see National Geographic.
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