Inkallaqta (

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...

''inka''

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

, ''llaqta'' place (village, town, city, country, nation), "Inca place", Hispanicized spellings ''Incallacta, Incallajta, Incallakta, Inkallajta, Inkallakta'') is a monumental

site in central

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. It is located in the

Cochabamba Department Cochabamba (, , ), from Quechua ''qucha'' or ''qhucha'', meaning "lake", ''pampa'' meaning "plain", is one of the nine departments of Bolivia. It is known to be the " granary" of the country because of its variety of agricultural products from ...

Carrasco Province Carrasco is a province in the Cochabamba Department in central Bolivia. Its capital is Totora. Geography Some of the highest mountains of the province are listed below: Subdivision Carrasco Province is divided into six municipalities whic ...

Pocona Municipality Pocona Municipality is the third municipal section of the Carrasco Province in the Cochabamba Department in Bolivia. Its seat is Pocona. At the time of census 2001 the municipality had 13,488 inhabitants. Geography Some of the highest mounta ...

, approximately 130 kilometers east of

Cochabamba Cochabamba (; ) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital (political), capital of the Cochabamba Department and the list of cities in Bolivia, fourth largest city in Bolivia, with ...

. It was most recently excavated by Larry Coben. He believes that the site was used to perform rites for the ceremonial calendar. The site has several important structures such as the Kallanka. It was the largest single roofed room in the western hemisphere when it was built, and measures 78 by 25 meters. There's also an ushnu or a ritual platform on the site. The Torreon of Inkallaqta is also located on this site. Positioned on the western side of the site this six sided structure supposedly had calendrical or astronomical significance. There is a zigzag wall immediately north of the site which is meant to mark and protect it.

World Heritage Status

This site was added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Tentative List on July 1, 2003, in the Cultural category.

Opera

There is also an opera called "Incallajta" in honor of these ruins. The libretto was written by Norma Méndez de Paz, the music was composed by Atiliano Auza León. It is the first Bolivian opera. The premiere was in La Paz, Bolivia in 1980. It will have its reinstatement in September 2010, in Cochabamba, in honor of the Bicentenary of this city. Gastón Paz Zegarra, a recognized Bolivian baritone represented the role of Sovereign Inca, a role that will repeat in the new version of this opera.

Sources

External links

Proyecto Inkallakta

Incallajta, the largest Inca site in the Kollasuyo - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Retrieved 2009-03-23. {{coord, 17.605, S, 65.4158333333, W, source:dewiki_region:BO-P_type:city, format=dms, display=title Archaeological sites in Bolivia Former populated places in Bolivia Buildings and structures in Cochabamba Department Inca