Cochasquí (Ecuador)
An Andean Agricultural Calendrical Centre Oriented Towards the Heliacal Setting of the Southern Cross
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jsa.36119Keywords:
agricultural calendar, Andean archaeology, archaeoastronomy, pre-Inca society, precessionAbstract
This study develops a conceptualisation of the origin and historical sequencing of the ramped platform pyramids at Cochasquí Archaeological Park, Ecuador, and is intended to stimulate further interdisciplinary research in the fields of archaeology, ethnohistory, ethnoastronomy and archaeoastronomy. Through analysing ethnohistorical sources on indigenous agricultural practices in the Andes, a hypothesis is developed as to the purpose for which these ramped pyramids were built, and why these ramps most likely are not remnants of the construction phase. The pyramids at Cochasquí demonstrate that a high level of social organisation and agricultural knowledge was already flourishing in pre-Inca societies in Ecuador.
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