Exploring the Astronomy of the Ancient Inca Empire

Ancient Inca Astronomers

“New World Romans” is what Aveni called these ancient astronomers. Settled in what now is Peru in 1400 to 1532 C.E, the Inca Empire was a large and sophisticated society that was later conquered by the Spanish. Many mysteries were left untold in their 132-year reign. Along with their mysteries, their beautiful land housed a complex system called the Ceque System. Understanding the Ceque system gives us a painting of the civilization and how they operated. The Ceque being a centralized system brought everything together, from religion, calendar to even their hydrology (Aveni, 138). As the “New World Romans” emerged early 15th century, it is with no doubt this civilization paid attention to the heavens above and has

The Ceque System, as Aveni states “it was a giant cosmogram, a mnemonic map built into Cuzco’s natural and man-mad topography that unifies the Incas idea about religion, social organization, calendar, astronomy, and hydrology.” The Ceque system was composed of 328 huacas (shrines, etc.) and 41 Ceque (lines) as described from Bernabé Cobo in his 1653 chronicle article “Historia del Nuevo Mundo.” Huacas ranged from different sites such as springs, fountains, bridges, houses, hills, caves and including battlefields and tombs as mentioned by Hadingham (page 170). With this complex system comes with detailed structures and implications. Also mentioned by Aveni in the description about the Inca Quipu, the whole Ceque System represents a quipu camayoc. That was an interesting observation since each cord could represent a Ceque line and the knots are huacas. Also mentioned by Aveni is that the Ceque system emerged as a clear scheme the Inca royalty devised to prescribe proper human action (Page 142). A complex system

The city is divided in the middle, Cuzco North and Cuzco South and within those regions is split into two sectors also named “Suyus.”(Aveni, 138). The city is the heart of the Inca Empire and represents the “Four Quarters of the Universe.” (Aveni, 138). There were four main roads that left Cuzco, one from each corner, those roads served at dividing lines among the Suyus. Northeast Suyus is Chinchaysuyu, Southeast is Antisuyu and southwest is Collasuyu and northwest is named Cuntisuyu (Aveni,