Neal Bierling, Archaeological Adventures: Getting High in Peru: Saqsawaman, the Cyclopean Inca Site

Cusco, Peru: Saqsawaman, the Cyclopean Inca Site

The Statue of Jesus overlooking Cusco

Cusco down below

The statue of Jesus overlooks the city of Cusco. Near the statue are the remains of an Inca fortress that also looks down on Cusco. When I first saw this site, I knew that I would love it. Even reference books describing this site use a Middle Eastern archaeological term to describe it. Perhaps you have been to Mycenae in Greece or have heard of Mycenae’s history around the time of the Trojan War. When people returned to Mycenae around three thousand years ago, and when they saw the ruins, they marveled at the 100+ton blocks and exclaimed, “Only the Cyclops (the one-eyed giants) could have constructed a city like this”! So too for Saqsawaman, or as our students were taught (and guide books also mention this mnemonic aid), it sounds like “sexy woman.” Saqsawaman is the name of the Inca site that I will next describe.

Approaching the site--people for perspective

Note the size of the stone blocks

The Quechua name means “Satisfied Falcon.” In 1536, a bitter battle took place here, just outside and within sight of Cusco, between the Spanish and the Inca. Two years earlier, in 1534, Francisco Pizarro had allowed an Inca prince and brother to Atahualpa, Manco Inca, to be the puppet ruler over Cusco’s Inca. Manco Inca, tired of the abuse by the conquistadors, began to fight them. So in 1536 Manco Inca attacked Cusco and nearly captured it. Manco Inca had controlled Saqsawaman, and he was on the brink of defeating the Spanish in nearby Cusco, but a desperate charge by Spanish cavalry recaptured the fortress, and the Spanish then proceeded to kill 1000s of Inca providing a feast for the Andean condor.

In-set off-set walls makes it easier to defend against enemies at the walls.

Note the size and the cut of the blocks--any the same?

Now you understand the size of the blocks

Note the gate on the second level above the reconstruction

See the lintel stone--just as at Mycenae, Greece

The inset-offset walls composed of cyclopean blocks (up to 300 tons) made for an excellent fortress (with a temple on its peak), and the inset-offset are said to resemble the teeth of a puma. Unlike ancient construction in the Middle East where the cyclopean blocks are uniform, here, the blocks are not uniform. I already mentioned that the design of the outer walls were done to resemble the fangs and teeth of a puma, but keen observers of the walls also see the design of fish, lizards, birds, plants, etc., which may be one reason why the size of the blocks are not uniform. Did an artist in tune with the gods and nature design this site? Not just the different size of the blocks, but there is no uniform cut or angle to the blocks, and yet all of the blocks fit together without mortar and you are unable to place a knife between the courses.

Alas, the Spanish did tear much of Saqsawaman down and recycled the blocks for their churches and homes in Cusco. Even what remains is a marvel to behold, and you too should exclaim, “How could the Inca construct such a fortress centuries ago and without the technology we possess today? What are we missing here?”