Discovering the Oracle. From a Military Garrison to a Temple and a Comparison with another distant Inka Structure and their Ritual Significance
Authors: Balbi J Nicolás 
Published: December 2024

The present work aims to deepen the study of one of the structures that make up the archaeological site of Shincal de Quimivil, located in the Province of Catamarca, Argentina and relate it to a similar structure in its kind that we have found in the Inka archaeological site of Sondor, Peru. The idea that Inka society would replicate its constructions in several territories and at great distances had already been observed previously1. The expeditions2 were based on carrying out several post-excavation studies that I begin in Complex 19 from 2015. So far we have shown that the structure is cardinally aligned, in agreement with the Shincal, with several constructions aligned both cardinally and equinoctial; that many Shincal structures are copies of the buildings of the Inka capital and its surroundings and the existence of buildings of previous cultures. Complex 19 has an eastern-oriented ceremonial staircase that would allow ceremonies facing the sun, and between its mountains you can see the aligned structures of the Shincal center, including the Eastern and Western temples. It is important to bear in mind that all of the Astronomical and landscape characteristics, such as the relationship with the surrounding mountains and water sources, which constitute the sacred elements in the genesis of the Inka belief, correspond to “Complex 19”. In terms of its orientation, the Shincal Ushnu is oriented towards sunrise at the medium temporal equinox and towards the west at Mount Pissis3.

The elements that at the moment have no answer regarding “Complex 19” are whether it was a temple prior to the constitution of the power center that we know as “The Shincal” and neither was it, as a centralizing element, precedent to the Ushnu. On the other hand, we do not know if the existence of “Complex 19” was or was not decisive in the installation of the system of temples and structures that make up “El Shincal” today. The north-south orientation of the temple and the ceremonial staircase to the east, by themselves would be sufficient elements for your Astronomical relationships currently accepted as rituals regarding the Inka question. Also, we discard that it was a military garrison. The beliefs originated in the first archaeological works played down the importance of the ceremonial possibility of the site and for that reason it was known as “The Watchtower”, but this is an already overcome theory.

Also, we try to demonstrate that C19 is related to a similar structure in the Sondor complex, near Cuzco, in present-day Peru. The centers of power, the “New Cuzco’s” contain Inkan cultural manifestations, but these are not copies or repetitions of their imperial capital, but they sought to adapt to particular situations of the conquered territories4. This last hypothesis has interesting elements. The construction of the structure in Sondor has similar architectonical characteristics and its cardinal alignment and the undoubted relationship with the landscape and Astronomy, which in Sondor is constituted with the orographic chain, a lake, and a water source, forming again the Inka genesis in the same way as in Complex 19.