when was qorikancha built

When was Coricancha built?

Original Inca masonry inside Coricancha. Photograph: Heritage Image Partnership/Alamy Believed to have been built around 1200 AD, the temple was constructed using the distinctive and intricate masonry style of the Incas.

What is the Qorikancha temple made of?

Today’s site is a bizarre combination of Inca and colonial architecture, topped with a roof of glass and metal. In Inca times, Qorikancha (Quechua for ‘Golden Courtyard’) was literally covered with gold. The temple walls were lined with some 700 solid-gold sheets, each weighing about 2kg.

What is Qorikancha famous for?

This ruin was once the most important temple of the Incas, which was later used as a base for the Church of Santo Domingo when the Spanish conquered the city. Suggest edits to improve what we show. Explore different ways to experience this place. Anything missing or inaccurate? Suggest edits to improve what we show. When is Qorikancha open?

How old is the Coricancha temple?

Original Inca masonry inside Coricancha. Photograph: Heritage Image Partnership/Alamy. Believed to have been built around 1200 AD, the temple was constructed using the distinctive and intricate masonry style of the Incas.

Who built qorikancha?

Manco CápacThe Coricancha is located at the confluence of two rivers. Here, according to Inca myth, is where Manco Cápac decided to build the Coricancha, the foundation of Cusco, and the eventual Inca Empire.

Why was the qorikancha important to the Inca?

Coricancha was the center of Cusco, in more ways than just geographical. It was also the religious center, as a sacred place where appreciation was shown for Inti, the Inca Sun God. In fact, it was the only temple that existed only for religious ceremonies and was the most sacred temple of all the Incas.

Why was Coricancha built?

The Incas built the Temple of the Sun in Cusco as a sacred place to honor the Inca Sun God, Inti. With this in mind, they built Coricancha in perfect alignment with stellar and planetary motion.

When was the Coricancha destroyed?

16th Century warMost of the temple was destroyed after the 16th Century war with the Spanish and used as the foundation of the 17th Century Santo Domingo Convent.

Who was the most important god to the Incas?

Inti IntiInti. Inti, the sun god, was the ranking deity in the Inca pantheon.

Where is the temple of sun?

The Temple of the Sun is an ancient Inca temple located in the archeological site of Machu Picchu in Peru. It was a sacred temple that was used to make sacrifices and hold religious ceremonies. Because it was sacred, only the priests and high-ranking Incas were allowed inside.

When was Sacsayhuaman built?

15th centuryThe complex was built by the Inca in the 15th century, particularly under Pachacuti and successors. They built dry stone walls constructed of huge stones. The workers carefully cut the boulders to fit them together tightly without mortar.

How much gold was at the Coricancha temple?

In Inca times, Qorikancha (Quechua for 'Golden Courtyard') was literally covered with gold. The temple walls were lined with some 700 solid-gold sheets, each weighing about 2kg.

Who built the Inca sun temple?

Pachacuti Inca YupanquiLayout & Architecture The construction of the complex is commonly attributed to Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, the 9th Inca ruler (1438-1471 CE) who also embarked on a general rebuilding programme in the capital.

When was the Temple of the Sun built?

Believed to have been built around 1200 AD, the temple was constructed using the distinctive and intricate masonry style of the Incas.

Did the Incas believe in the afterlife?

The Inca believed strongly in an afterlife. They took great care in embalming and mummifying the bodies of the dead before burial. They brought gifts to the dead that they thought the dead could use in the afterlife.

Who were the Inca gods?

The Main Inca gods are:Viracocha. A god previous to the Inca world because it was known from time immemorial. ... Inti. In addition to being Viraocha's traveling companion, he was the Sun god. ... Pacha Mama. ... Pachacamac. ... Mama Cocha. ... Mama Coca. ... Supay. ... Mama Quilla.More items...

Why did the Inca people worship the mountains and consider them sacred?

The Inca worshiped mountains and considered them sacred. This was because they believed the mountains were the source of water. The Spanish tore down the temple of Coricancha and built the Church of Santo Domingo at the same location. Priests were very important and powerful in Inca society.

What is the name of the capital of the Inca empire?

CuscoCuzco, also spelled Cusco or Kosko, Quechua Qosqo, city and Inca región, south-central Peru.

Who built the Inca sun temple?

Pachacuti Inca YupanquiLayout & Architecture The construction of the complex is commonly attributed to Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, the 9th Inca ruler (1438-1471 CE) who also embarked on a general rebuilding programme in the capital.

What important technology did the Inca not develop?

The Inca, however, didn't have a lot of basic technologies we often consider important to advanced societies. They didn't use the wheel for transport, they didn't have a writing system for records, and they didn't even have iron for making tools.

When was the Coricancha complex dismantled?

Looted in the 16th century soon after the Spanish conquistadors arrived (and before the Inca conquest was complete), the Coricancha complex was largely dismantled in the 17th century to build the Catholic Church of Santo Domingo atop the Inca foundations. What is left is the foundation, part of the enclosing wall, ...

Where is the Coricancha located?

The Coricancha (spelled Qoricancha or Koricancha, depending on which scholar you read and meaning something like "Golden Enclosure") was an important Inca temple complex located in the capital city of Cusco, Peru and dedicated to Inti, the sun god of the Incas.

Why was Rumiqolqa quarry chosen?

Ogburn (2013) suggests that this part of the Rumiqolqa quarry was chosen for Coricancha and other important structures in Cusco because the stone approximated the color and type of the gray andesite from the Capia quarry used to create gateways and monolithic sculptures at Tiwanaku, thought to be the homeland of the original Inca emperors.

What is the name of the temple in Coricancha?

The Coricancha complex was said by Spanish chroniclers to have been laid out according to the sky. Four temples surrounded a central plaza: one dedicated to Inti (the sun), Killa (the moon), Chasca (the stars) and Illapa (the thunder or rainbow). Another plaza extended westward from the complex where a small shrine was dedicated to Viracocha.

What is the Coricancha?

The Coricancha was the physical and spiritual heart of Cusco--indeed, it represented the heart of the sacred panther outline map of Cusco's elite sector. As such, it was the focal point of major religious activities within the city. It was also, and perhaps primarily, the vortex of the Inca ceque system. The sacred pathways of shrines called ceques radiated out from Cusco, into the far-flung "four quarters" of the Inca empire. Most of the ceque pilgrimage lines started at or near the Coricancha, extending out from its corners or nearby structures to more than 300 huacas or places of ritual importance.

What is the ritual of the Coricancha?

The complex layout has been compared to the Temples of the Sun at Llactapata and Pachacamac: in particular, although this is difficult to pin down given the lack of integrity of Coricancha's walls, Gullberg and Malville have argued that the Coricancha had a built-in solstice ritual, in which water (or chicha beer) was poured into a channel representing the feeding of the sun in the dry season.

What was outside the plaza in Viracocha?

All were surrounded by a high, superbly constructed enclosing wall. Outside of the wall was the exterior garden or Sacred Garden of the Sun.

What were the Inca stone walls made of?

Major earthquakes severely damaged the church, but the Inca stone walls, built out of huge, tightly interlocking blocks of stone, still stand due to their sophisticated stone masonry.

Who rebuilt Cusco and the House of the Sun?

Pachakutiq Inca Yupanqui rebuilt Cusco and the House of the Sun, enriching it with more oracles and edifices, and adding plates of fine gold. He provided vases of gold and silver for the Mama-cunas, nuns or cloistered women, to use in the veneration services.

What did the Spanish build in Santo Domingo?

The Spanish colonists built the Convent of Santo Domingo on the site, demolishing the temple and using its foundations for the cathedral. They also used parts of the building for other churches and residences. Construction took most of a century. This is one of numerous sites where the Spanish incorporated Inca stonework into the structure of a colonial building. Major earthquakes severely damaged the church, but the Inca stone walls, built out of huge, tightly interlocking blocks of stone, still stand due to their sophisticated stone masonry. Nearby is an underground archaeological museum that contains mummies, textiles, and sacred idols from the site.

What was the name of the partridge in the Inti Raymi?

A partridge, yutu, was just below the Southern Cross, and a toad, hamp'atu, to the lower right. A serpent, machaguay, extends off to the right. During the Inti Raymi, the Sapa Inca and curacas would proceed from the Haucaypata, where they greeted the rising June solstice sun, to the inner court of the Coricancha.

Where are the Inca constellations?

Inca constellations in the Milky Way. Similarities are found in the semicircular temples found in the Temple of the Sun in Cusco, the Torreon in Machu Picchu, and the Temple of the Sun in Písac. In particular, all three exhibit a "parabolic enclosure wall" of the finest stonework, as Bingham describes it. These structures were also used ...

What did the Incas wear?

Finally, he took the bodies of the seven deceased Incas and adorned them with masks, head-dresses, medals, bracelets, and sceptres of gold, placing them on a golden bench. The walls were once covered in sheets of gold, and the adjacent courtyard was filled with golden statues.

Who owns the Coricancha?

Western religion towers over the foundations of indigenous culture at this site. After the Spanish invasion, Juan Pizarro, the younger brother of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, gained ownership of the site. Upon his death in 1536, he gifted the site to the Dominicans. In the 16th century, the church built the Santo Domingo monastery on top of the sacred Inca temple. The Dominicans still own the site today.

Where is Coricancha located?

Location: Coricancha (Qorikancha) sits at the intersection of Calle Santo Domingo and Avenida el Sol in Cusco’s Plazoleta Santo Domingo.

What is the Inca temple?

Dedicated to the Sun God Inti, the Inca temple of Coricancha has a unique history and continues to be an important part of Cusco. Cusco was once the thriving capital of the Inca Empire. Today, Cusco is a bustling town that holds a wealth of pre-Inca, Inca, and colonial history. Like many ancient cities in the world, ...

Why did the Incas build the Temple of the Sun?

The Incas built the Temple of the Sun in Cusco as a sacred place to honor the Inca Sun God, Inti. With this in mind, they built Coricancha in perfect alignment with stellar and planetary motion.

What architectural style did the Incas use?

The Incas built Coricancha using many of their common architectural techniques and styles. Some of the most prominent styles seen at Coricancha include the vertical inclination of walls, trapezoidal shape of the structures, irregular shapes, and rounded edges, for example.

How many gold sheets were there in the Inca temple?

The temple walls were plated with 700 gold sheets. According to chroniclers of the time, each sheet depicted one of the divine Inca Gods: Inti (sun), Killa (moon), Chaska (stars) and Illapa (thunder/lighting/rainbow).

Where did the Incas get the stones?

The Inca extracted the stones 20 miles outside Cusco in the towns Waqoto and Rumicolca. The Coricancha temple is representative of the Incas’ precise stone masonry technique known as ashlar. The Inca cut and shaped stones to fit perfectly against each other without mortar.

Why was Coricancha important?

The location of Coricancha within the city was very important. Placed at the convergence of the four main highways and connected to the four districts of the empire, the temple cemented the symbolic importance of religion , uniting the divergent cultural practices that were observed in the vast territory controlled by the Incas.

How many priests were in Coricancha?

As well as housing more than 4,000 priests, the positioning of the temple in relation to the nearby Andes mountains meant that Coricancha functioned as an enormous calendar. Shadows cast by stones placed on the foothills could be seen from the temple, marking out the solstice and equinoxes observed by the Incan empire.

Where was the Temple of the Sun built?

Nowhere is this more evident than at Coricancha – the temple of the sun – which they built as the crown jewel of their capital city of Cusco, and the centrepiece of an empire that revolutionised city planning in South America.

What was Cusco's golden temple?

Built in the shadows of the Andes, Cusco’s golden temple was the centrepiece of an empire that revolutionised city planning in South America. The thin air and harsh, rocky slopes of the Peruvian Andes wouldn’t seem to be a likely locale for the capital of an extensive pre-Columbus empire. Any community seeking to thrive under these conditions would ...

What was the gold in Coricancha?

Much of Coricancha was filled with gold, with one chamber containing a giant sun disc, reflecting sunlight that illuminated the rest of the temple. The disc was aligned so that during the summer solstice it illuminated a sacred space where only the emperor himself was allowed to sit.

Who captured Atahualpa?

When Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro arrived he took advantage of the mayhem, and captured the emperor Atahualpa, despite being vastly outnumbered. To pay the ransom demanded by the Spanish for his the release, much of the gold from Coricancha was stripped, and despite the payment, Atahualpa was killed.

Did the Incans build a cathedral?

They then built a cathedral on the site, though they maintain ed its stone foundations. But ultimately, it was the Incans who had the last laugh, at least at Coricancha. Centuries later, an earthquake completely destroyed the Spanish-made cathedral but left the foundations of the temple intact.

What was the Inca temple made of?

Today’s site is a bizarre combination of Inca and colonial architecture, topped with a roof of glass and metal. In Inca times, Qorikancha (Quechua for ‘Golden Courtyard’) was literally covered with gold. The temple walls were lined with some 700 solid-gold sheets, each weighing about 2kg. There were life-sized gold and silver replicas of corn, which were ceremonially ‘planted’ in agricultural rituals. Also reported were solid-gold treasures, such as altars, llamas and babies, as well as a replica of the sun. But within months of the arrival of the first conquistadors, this incredible wealth had all been looted and melted down.

What is the richest temple in the Inca Empire?

Once the richest temple in the Inca empire, all that remains today is the masterful stonework. The temple was built in the mid-15th century during the reign of the 10th inca, Túpac Yupanqui. Postconquest, Francisco Pizarro gave it to his brother Juan who bequeathed it to the Dominicans, in whose possession it remains.

When was the Coricancha built?

Research suggests that the Coricancha existed before Inca times. Its original name was Inticancha (Temple of the Sun) and its original walls were made by the Ayamarcas in the 13th century, approximately.

What is the main temple of Qorikancha?

It was the main Temple of the entire Qorikancha, it occupied more than half the width of the current Church of Santo Domingo . Garcilaso tells that inside this temple the embalmed bodies of the children of the Sun were found, placed by antiquity on chairs and on gold tables, the walls were covered with gold plates, there being a disk representing the figure of the Sun from a gold plate thicker than the other plates that covered the temple. At the western end it corresponds to the current drum overlooking Av. Sol; its eastern end reached up to the current atrium of the church.

Why was the Coricancha looted?

In the 16th century, after the Spanish invasion, the Coricancha was looted. Some chroniclers suggest that the gold was transferred to Cajamarca to pay for Atahualpa's ransom.

How many earthquakes did the Coricancha and Santo Domingo Church have?

Throughout their history, both structures (the Coricancha and the Santo Domingo church) suffered up to three earthquakes of intense magnitude. Only the Christian temple suffered considerable damage. The Coricancha is still intact.

What was the most sacred building in the Tahuantinsuyo Empire?

Possibly the most sacred and important building in the Tahuantinsuyo empire was the Coricancha, also known as the Temple of the Sun. During the time of the conquest, the temple was destroyed and looted. On its base, the church and convent of Santo Domingo was built. Currently, there is a museum with all the Inca pieces that were found there during the excavations.

How many sources of water are there in the Qorikancha?

There were 5 sources of water, the origins of the water from the sources was a kept secret. The fountains had religious significance and were decorated with precious metals. They were located in the entire extension of the Qorikancha, currently we can see a fountain with octagonal corners in the courtyard of the Qorikancha.

Where is the rainbow in the Dominican Convent?

A part of this temple was demolished by the Spanish to build the buildings of the Dominican Convent. It is north of the Temple of Illapa and opposite the Temple of the Moon, on the eastern side of the inner courtyard of the Qorikancha.

How many fountains were there in Coricancha?

In the original Coricancha there were 5 different fountains and the origin of the water was a secret. Each fountain held a different religious significance, and in true Coricancha style, were decorated with beautiful metals.

What does the word "Coricancha" mean?

The word “Coricancha” is formed through a combination of two Quechua words: “quri” meaning worked gold in English, and “kancha”, which means temple, or place enclosed by walls. This suggests that the name of the temple roughly translates to “Walls of Gold”.

What was the center of Cusco?

Coricancha was the center of Cusco, in more ways than just geographical. It was also the religious center, as a sacred place where appreciation was shown for Inti, the Inca Sun God. In fact, it was the only temple that existed only for religious ceremonies and was the most sacred temple of all the Incas. To enter the temple, worshippers needed ...

Why was the Rainbow Temple destroyed?

The Inca believed that rainbows were produced by the sun. Sadly, most of this temple was also destroyed in order to make room for the Dominican Convent buildings.

Coricancha Complex

Modular Construction: The Cancha

Exterior Wall

After The Spanish

• Looted in the 16th century soon after the Spanish conquistadors arrived (and before the Inca conquest was complete), the Coricancha complex was largely dismantled in the 17th century to build the Catholic Church of Santo Domingo atop the Inca foundations. What is left is the foundation, part of the enclosing wall, almost all of the Chasca (stars) t...

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Overview

History

Originally named Intikancha or Intiwasi, it was dedicated to Inti, and is located at the former Inca capital of Cusco. Most of the temple was destroyed after the 16th-century war with the Spanish conquistadors, as settlers also took it apart to build their own churches and residences. Much of its stonework was used as the foundation for the seventeenth-century Santo Domingo Convent. It was built after the 1650 earthquake destroyed the first Dominican convent.

Inca astronomy

Images

See also

External links