Sayhuite (Sigh-weetey) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

east of the city

Abancay Abancay (from Quechuan languages, Quechua language: Hamanqay, Amanqay, or Amankay, meaning ''lily''), founded in 1572 as Santiago de los Reyes de Abancay, is a city in southern-central Peru. It is the capital of both the Apurímac Region and th ...

, about 3 hours away from the city of Cusco, in the province

in the region Apurímac in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. The site is regarded as a center of religious worship for Inca people, focusing on water. In the ''Monuments of the Inca'' by John Hemming, Hemming points to a colonial narrative that describes the interior of the Sayhuite temple. The temple featured larger columns draped in fabrics with gold bands the "thickness of one's hand." The temple was also under the care of the priestess Asarpay, who jumped to her death in the nearby 400 meter gorge to avoid capture by Spanish forces.

Monolith

An important feature on the site is the Sayhuite

monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...

, an enormous rock containing more than 200

geometric Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

and

zoomorphic The word ''zoomorphism'' derives from and . In the context of art, zoomorphism could describe art that imagines humans as non-human animals. It can also be defined as art that portrays one species of animal like another species of animal or art ...

figures, including reptiles, frogs, and felines. Found at the top of a hill named Concacha, the stone was sculpted as a topographical hydraulic model, complete with terraces, ponds, rivers, tunnels, and irrigation channels. About two meters long, and four meters wide, the monolith is the most popular attraction at the

Significance of the monolith

While the creators remain a mystery, the monolith provides archaeologists with insight into the culture of the pre-Columbian population. Archaeologists have determined that the site was an Incan religious center, where rituals and ceremonies for the worship of water was conducted. The monolith is an important clue to this, since it depicts a water-like flow between the carvings. Archaeologist

Gary Urton Gary Urton (born July 7, 1946) is an American anthropologist. He was the Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Pre-Columbian Studies at Harvard University and the chair of its anthropology department between 2012 and 2019. Urton retired from Harvard in 20 ...

states that "Carvings in its upper part represent terraces, irrigation canals, pumas, and other animals, such as lizards." and that it may be a symbolic representation of the valley.

References

{{Archaeological sites in Peru Archaeological sites in the Department of Apurímac