Huánuco Pampa, Huánuco Marka (also spelled Huánuco Marca) or Huánuco Viejo, or Wanuku Pampa is a large archaeological site in Peru in the Huánuco Region, Dos de Mayo Province, La Unión District. The ruins of the city lie on a plateau above the Urqumayu or Vizcarra River in the central Andes. The Incas administered their large empire through a small number of administrative centers, such as Huánuco Pampa. The administrative centers were linked by the extensive Inca road system. The most important of the roads, the Qhapaq Ñan, which ran from Cusco to Quito, passed through Huánuco Pampa. The Inca authorities in Huánuco ruled at least five, and perhaps more, ethnic groups. The city is situated on an important commercial trade route and sits on top of a plateau with ravines on all sides in order to allow easy defense of the city. During the Spanish conquest of the Incas, Huánuco Pampa was briefly occupied by Gomez de Alvarado, who founded a Spanish city there but it was quickly moved because of the harsh climate and Inca raids of Illa Tupac, one of the captains of Manco Inca.
Site Layout and Architecture
Huánuco Pampa is located at an elevation of on a plateau overlooking the Vizcarra River.
This Inca center was designed after what is called the Architecture of Power, the concept where buildings and spaces are intended to reinforce the image of the empire's might. At Huánuco Pampa the immense rectangular plaza measured 550m by 350m which is more than . The pyramidal platform that was invariably erected in the center of the plaza or to one side of it was a stage from which officials could preside over state ceremonies. The imperial highway typically took a southeast-to-northwest passage through the plaza, just as it did in Cusco.
The city covered about 2 km2, within which more than 4,000 buildings were erected. Pathways radiate out through architectural sectors from the plaza, so that the city can easily be divided up to 12 parts. Dr. Eduard Craig Morris believes that this design may have been a reflection of the relationships among the ethnic groups of the area. Much of the occupants of the land were not there to live permanently but rather many of them went in and out of the area to fulfill their duties or participate in ceremonial functions.
Huánuco Pampa is one of at least six sites that were called New Cuscos, built in the conceptual, if not actual, image of the capital.
Roads. The Inca road system was extensive. The main north-south highway, the Qhapaq Ñan, extending from Cusco to Quito, Ecuador, passes through Huánuco Pampa. The Qhapaq Ñan and other roads in Wanuku Pampa featured extended paved surfaces, paved staircases, stone drainage channels, retention walls, bridges and causeways. In some areas, the Qhapaq Ñan was wide and one paved staircase was wide, while two roads ran parallel along some stretches.
Ceremonial Sections
The ceremonial sections of Huánuco Pampa display rare, finely cut and fitted, Imperial Inca style masonry and appear as unusual building types. Most of the eastern part of the city is occupied by the Casa del Inca and the ushnu or castillo is the main central plaza. In order to get to the Casa del Inca, one must pass through gates made of high quality Imperial Inca style masonry with figures and carved pumas on either side and the connecting walls are constructed from pirqa, fieldstone set in mud. The connecting walls on the eastern side of the central plaza is called the kallanka, which are large building made from high quality pirqa masonry rather than cut and fitted stones. These large buildings may have functioned as barracks, counting houses or a variety of other purposes.
The interior of the Casa del Inca is made up of fifteen structures which open to the central courtyard and serve multiple purposes. There are houses, baths made of Inca style masonry, terraces, sunken gardens, pools and possibly a temple, which may have never been completely finished before the city was abandoned.
The ushnu is the main central plaza which is a solid platform constructed out of Imperial Inca style masonry. There are two smaller buildings on the east side of the lower terrace which may have been used for ceremonies performed on the ushnu. The gates of the ushnu are made of stone sculptures which may symbolize pairs of pumas. The ushnu is found at several other Inca sites and may have been used by important leaders for public events of political, administrative or ceremonial natures.