Project

Belgian excavations at Pachacamac began in 1993, with a special focus on Pyramid n°3, one of the most imposing buildings at Pachacamac. In 1999, a cooperative research contract for the Ychsma Project was signed between the ULB and the Instituto Nacional de Cultura del Perú. The contract authorized the Ychsma Project to carry out excavations at Pachacamac and specified one field season a year.

The general object of the research is to shed light on local and regional questions concerning the Late Intermediate Period (ca AD 900-1470 ) and subsequent Late Horizon (ca AD 1470-1533).

The Ychsma Project is co-directed by Peter Eeckhout (Professor of Art History and Archaeology at the ULB) and Carlos Farfán Lobatón (Profesor de Arqueología, Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal, Lima). It has received financial support from the Fonds de la Recherche Fondamentale Collective (Belgium), the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (Belgium), the Faculté de Philosophie et Lettres of the ULB, the Centre for Archaeological Research at the ULB, the Curtiss T. & Mary G. Brennan Foundation (USA) and the Committee for Research and Exploration of the National Geographic Society (USA).

Excavations under way
at Pyramid n°3B
(1999 field season)

Peter Eeckhout's research aims to shed light on the function and development of the monumental site of Pachacamac, as well as its influence on the Central Coast of Peru in the Lete Intermediate Period (ca AD 900-1470). Traditional interpretations are based almost only on analysis of a handful of available ethnohistoric sources, but he has investigated these interpretations through archaeological excavations and the analysis of the material culture.

These investigations have allowed him to make progress on several issues and aided our current understanding of the site. The same type of building is repeated in many instances, both at Pachacamac and in the neighbouring area. Such a building is known as a pyramid with ramps, i.e. a rectangular platform with several levels and supertructures, linked by an inclined plane to a huge patio surrounded by walls, and with an access to the exterior. Three types of pyramids with ramps have been recognized :

•  Pyramids with side ramps which were used for ritual purposes, maybe funerary rites ;

•  Pyramids with offset ramps, whose function is also mainly funerary for a relatively large social kin group (lineages or groups of lineages) ;

•  Pyramids with central ramps (the most numerous), which served as elite residences, stages for ceremonies, public buildings, and economic centres, later became funerary structures that were used to legitimize the power of local curacas or kin groups. Those pyramids with central ramps include a public space (the main plaza), which was used for receptions and ceremonies, while the remaining part of the pyramid, with restricted access, was used as a residence by the ruler at the apex of the local political and economic hierarchy. He held control over storage facilities as well as well as the manufacture of artefacts made within the palace precinct. Paleces that have been excavated up to now have not been occupied simultaneously but rather successively. The explanatory model that has been created on the basis of excavation results is one of generational succession of a dynastic type. Each pyramid with a central ramp at Pachacamac is a palace built by a ruler who livesd there during his reign and then was buried inside when he died. The building was then ritually abandoned, while the successor of the dead ruler constructed his own pyramid. This model is comparable with that of other Andean settlements which are better known, such as Cuzco and Chan Chan.

Two major goals of the research between 1999 and 2002 were a typology of the structures and a definition of their function. These goals have been attained. Other tasks are still pending.

A series of radiocarbon dates from the excavations has enabled us to to give precise dates for three of the palaces at Pachacamac. The chronology arising from the dating confirms the model of successive palaces that has been proposed. Nevertheless, further information is needed to date the 15 other palaces that have been discovered. It is obvious that the size of Pachacamac, which covers an area of about 600 hectares, precludes its being totally excavated, so that our strategy has to be adapted to our research objectives in a realistic manner, as is detailed in the results of the various field seasons.

The particular climatic conditions that prevail on the Peruvian Coast favour the optimal preservation of of objects. As a result, the amount of excavated archaeological material is enormous. For example, 70.000 pot sherds were collected between 1999 and 2002. To these should be added bones (human and animal), organic material (plants, feathers, shells, etc.), artefacts ( wood, textile, metal), and lithic material of all kinds. The analysis of this material is ongoing.