CUSCO

NAME OF THE CITY.-
There is some uncertainty about the correct name of the city. According to some chroniclers, in the first centuries of the existence of this most important city in pre-Columbian South-America, its name was Akamama that according to Guaman Poma de Ayala means "chicha's mother" (chicha is a fermented corn beer). Possibly it was Aqhamama -in the modern Quechua spelling- or "chicha mother". Surely that name became useless by the beginning of the Inkan development. When this was the ancient Capital of the Tawantinsuyo, it was named as Qosqo, word that is translated as "navel" or "center". That is the regular name for any Quechua speaking Andean Man. After the Spanish invasion in 1533 the name was transformed into Cuzco, word that according to the Spanish language dictionary is contemptuous, meaning "hypocrite", "humpback" and "small dog". This was a way to minimize or satirize the name of the city. Later the name was changed into Cusco, because over here "z" is not pronounced as in Spain. By the end of the XX century a very strong social movement is willing to preserve the original name of this ancient city; thus since June 20, 1990, the City's Municipality by means of Town Council Agreement Nº 078-A/MC-SG-90 stated that the official name is Qosqo.

POPULATION.-
The population in Qosqo City by the beginning of the XXI century is projected to be 300,000 inhabitants. The annual growth rate is approximately 4%. In 1821 after 3 centuries of Spanish colonial administration, this city had about 40,000 people. In the Tawantinsuyo's apogee it should had between 225 to 300 thousand inhabitants.

ALTITUDE.-
The altitude is 3,400 meters above sea level (11,150 feet). Some persons not used to the high altitude get problems as a consequence of the oxygen scarcity. There is an inverse relationship: the higher the altitude, the smaller the amount of oxygen. That phenomenon makes changes in people who live in high altitudes; they develop their hearts and lungs bigger. Their blood contains a higher amount of red cells too. Scarcity of oxygen produces in some people the altitude sickness that is also known as soroche or sickness of Monge. The symptoms include sleeplessness, headaches, increased excitability, shortness of breath, and a lower threshold of pain and taste. Tendon reflexes slow down and there may be loss of weight, thyroid deficiency, lung edema, or infections. Women may experience dysmenorrhea or amenorrhea, and many people experience psychological or mental disturbances. For some people it may take days, weeks or even years to adjust to some altitudes.

LATITUDE.-
13° 30' 45". Our latitude indicates that we should have a tropical or equatorial weather, but it is not like that. Qosqo is cooler because of its high altitude.

LONGITUDE.-
71° 58' 33". We are 5 hours later than the Greenwich Mean Time.

TEMPERATURE.-
It is relatively cool. The annual average in the city is between 10.3° to 11.3° Celsius (50.54° to 52.34° Fahrenheit). Over here there is some uniformity in temperature between summer and winter. Normally it is somewhat cold at nighttime and during the first hours in the early morning while that at midday temperature increases considerably. During the early mornings in June and July temperature frequently drops to 5° and 7°C below zero (23° and 19.4°F).

RAINFALL.-
The altitude in which Qosqo is found and its proximity to the equator make the city's climate so special. There are just 2 well-defined seasons: a dry season and another rainy one. The dry season is from May to October and the rainy season from November to April. Generally, rainfall fluctuates between 600 to 880 mm. per year, that is between 31.5 to 34.5 inches.

HUMIDITY.-
In the lower section of the Qosqo Valley there is an annual humidity average of 64 %.

AREA

QORIKANCHA

The famous Sun Temple of Qosqo was and is in practice a synthesis of the Inkan organization, architecture and religion; that had already reached the summit of their level by 1438. It possibly represented the "Navel of the World"; therefore, the world's center in the pre-Hispanic Andean Cosmovision.

According to our history, it was the first Inka, Manko Qhapaq who built the original temple. But, it was the ninth, Pachakuteq who since 1438 reconstructed, enlarged, improved and modernized the most important religious complex of the vast Inkan Society.

There are certain discrepancies about the complex's original name, and though they are not antagonistic ones, they cause a relative confusion. Frequently in chronicles and history treatises the name Intiwasi is found, (inti= sun, wasi= house) it means "Sun House"; also the name Intikancha is used and which would mean "Sun Palace" (this is considering that almost all Inkan palaces had the noun "Kancha"). While that its most popular name is Qorikancha that would mean "Golden Palace". Maria Rostworowski suggests that the ancient temple was known as "Intikancha" and after Pachakuteq as "Qorikancha".

All the chroniclers coincide manifesting that the quality of the building was extraordinary, made with gray basaltic andesites coming from the quarries of Waqoto and Rumiqolqa. The walls have the "Sedimentary" or "Imperial Inkan" type that is the maximum expression of architecture in pre-Columbian America. The stones are between medium to large which outer surface is rectangular; the structure is straight horizontal that in the most important temples exhibit side views with marked convexity. The joints between stones are polished, so perfectly made that they do not allow insertion of even "razor blade". The cross section structure is "tied up", that is, with "H" shaped bronze clamps or clips in the internal joints that fastened together the lithic pieces avoiding harmful horizontal displacements in case of earthquakes. The wall also have a decreasing vertical structure, that is, with bigger stones in the lower part and every time smaller toward the top.

The walls are wider in the base than on the top; with the classical inclination inward (there is not a general rule or measurement for that inclination) balanced with the trapezoidal shape of doorways, niches and openings. Those characteristics make the walls support themselves forming a resistant, solid, anti-seismic structure that was able to resist the two huge earthquakes after the Spanish invasion, in 1650 and 1950 that destroyed every tough colonial building. Today in some Inkan walls of the complex there are a few cracks. They are not a result of bad calculation or technique of the Quechua architects, but simply, consequence of changes carried out in colonial times, the earthquakes and mainly exposition to inclement weather and erosion after all of them. According to some studies the finely carved stone walls had a continuation of sun-dried mud-bricks on the top forming very steep gable ends in order to enable drainage of rain waters. The roofing was thatched made in wood and "ichu" the wild Andean bunch grass, with eaves projecting out about 1.6 mts. (5.25 ft); roofs which modest aspect was remedied in festivity days when they were covered with showy multicolored rugs made with special feathers.

Gasparini believes that the often mentioned by chroniclers "gold edging" that served as a crown surrounding the whole outer upper side of the temple served, more over, in order to dissemble the difference between the fine stone wall and the upper adobe wall. The floor in the open areas of the temple must have been completely and finely paved with flagstones while the floors inside the enclosures were surely made with kilned clay as a solid ceramic block like the treated floors found in Machupicchu.

The temple's main gate faced toward the Northeast; almost in the same position of the present-day entrance to the Santo Domingo (St. Dominic) Convent, overlooking the Intipanpa ("Sun Plaza") that today occupies the small park in front. According to chroniclers this was a religious complex constituted by temples dedicated to different deities. It had a layout very similar to that of a classical "kancha"; with enclosures around a central patio where according to Cieza de Leon, every doorway was veneered with gold plates.

Cusco: General Information