Summary

For the Inca everything was based off religion; all of life came from the huacas. This made Coricancha highly sacred and important to the people, for it was the grandest temple of the sun, their major deity. All of life having begun from the sun and moon meant life should be spent worshiping them for the prosperity they provide. Religion kept the people connected and gave a system of order through rule by way of the Sapa Incas, said to descend from Inti. The temple being located in the center of the empire added to its centrality, it was the origin of their people and thus the nucleolus of the entire empire. This location made it accessible; not only could the capital reach all reaches of the empire, but communication, goods, and those on pilgrimage could reasonably reach the city and its sacred temple of gold.

Research sources:

  • Steele, Paul R, and Catherine J. Allen. Handbook of Inca Mythology. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2004. Internet resource (e-book).
  • Andrien, Kenneth J. Andean Worlds: Indigenous History, Culture, and Consciousness Under Spanish Rule, 1532-1825. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2001. Print.
  • Hemming, John. The Conquest of the Incas. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1970. Print.
  • Zárate, Agustin , and J M. Cohen. The Discovery and Conquest of Peru: A Translation of Books I to Iv of Agustín De Zárate’s History of These Events, Supplemented by Eye-Witness Accounts of Certain Incidents … and … Later Historians. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1968. Print.
  • Means, Philip A. Fall of the Inca Empire and the Spanish Rule in Peru, 1530-1780. New York: Gordian Press, 1964. Print.
  • Hemming, John, and Edward Ranney. Monuments of the Incas. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2010. Print.
  • Bauer, Brian S. Ancient Cuzco: Heartland of the Inca. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004. Print.
  • Highwater, Jamake. “Rediscovering the Inca Heritage: Temple of the Sun.” Archaeology. 38.2 (1985). Print.
  • essteekay, . Qoricancha, Cuzco. . 2012. Photograph. tumblr.comWeb. 1 Apr 2014. <http://essteekay.tumblr.com/post/5428795742/qoricancha-cuzco>.
  • Salomon, Frank, Jorge Urioste, and Francisco . Avila. The Huarochirí Manuscript: A Testament of Ancient and Colonial Andean Religion. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1991. Print.
  • Seqes System. N.d. Photograph. qorikancha.org/, Cuzco. Web. 1 Apr 2014.

  • Håkan, Svensson. Coricancha/Santo Domingo. 2002. Photograph. n.p. Web. 2 Apr 2014.

  • Tang, Malcolm. The Sun. N.d. Photograph. BlogspotWeb. 1 Apr 2014.
  • Jump, Frank. Inti Raymi. 2013. Photograph. fadingadWeb. 2 Apr 2014.