Three capacocha-type anthropomorphic statuettes from the Cajamarquilla Archaeological Complex: on the representation of male and female in the Inca world

Abstract

The discovery of three Inca statuettes usually associated with high-altitude mountain contexts at the Cajamarquillla Archaeological Complex, an urban centre on the central Peruvian coast, has questioned our approaches to and our knowledge of the social and political dynamics of this Late Horizon (1470-1532 A.D.) monumental site. Similar finds made in the last decades as well as the accounts found in the Spanish chronicles, suggest that we must reconsider whether these are unmistakable indicators of a capacocha, the most significand and solemn sacrifice in the Inca State. The raw materials used in their manufacture, along with their textile and metal associations allow us to go beyond and explore them as materialised manifestations of a key concept in the Andean worldview: male and female dualism.