Culto al agua y a los ancestros en la Escultura Monumental Inka de Chinkana Grande en Saqsaywaman, Cusco

Investigating one of the most significant Inca wak'a in Cusco required an innovative approach to analyzing the elements sculpted on Inca rocks, or Inca Monumental Sculpture (IMS). Studying the dimensions and arrangement of the carvings in complex compositions helped to understand the function of the symbols. Some carvings were used in ritual events to offer food to the wak'a, to the ancestors, and to the sacred carved beings that resided there: qoa chinchay and hampatu. The wak'a itself was a monumental water deity in the form of hampatu (enqaychu) and a natural ushnu (a raised platform). These entities encouraged the petitioning of water from the sky and the earth for agriculture. Thus, the Incas manipulated these sanctuaries to politically and economically appropriate the conquered landscape.