El Shincal de Quimivil – Southernmost Inca Capital
El Shincal de Londres · Shincal Inca City
Late Horizon Inca Imperial (1471–1536 CE, abandoned post-1536)·Inca (Topa Inca – Diaguita / Calchaquí conquest)·🇦🇷 Catamarca, Belén Department, Argentina
About
About El Shincal de Quimivil – Southernmost Inca Capital
Inca provincial capital (1470–1536) in Catamarca, the southernmost planned Inca city in the empire, founded by Topa Inca Yupanqui to govern Calchaquí valley Diaguita conquest: fully orthogonal Inca urban plan 30 ha with 100+ kanchas, aukaipata plaza 175×400 m (largest plaza south of Cusco), ushnu pyramid 12 m × 30 m with throne, 5 kallankas and colcas (storehouses), twin hills ceremonial wak'a hanan/hurin and sophisticated 4 km aqueduct still flowing with reservoirs. Iglesia de los Indios chapel. Raffino 1990s mapped complete Qhapaq Ñan spur. UNESCO WHL Tentative Qhapaq Ñan segment.
Why it mattersFarthest south fully planned Inca city; demonstration that Inca empire reached 27.7°S (400 km south of earlier assumed limit); best-preserved Diaguita–Inca contact landscape; qollca aqueduct operability study case.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Population estimate 600 vs 2,000 kanchas
- 02Wak'a twin-hill duality hanan/hurin representation
Theories
- 01Supply base for Topa's Chile entrada beyond
- 02Agricultural colony using aqueduct-intensified Belén quinoa
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1471–1480
- Period
- Late Horizon Inca Imperial (1471–1536 CE, abandoned post-1536)
- Culture
- Inca (Topa Inca – Diaguita / Calchaquí conquest)
- Purpose
- Southernmost Inca administrative capital subduing Diaguita Calchaquí peoples
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1471–1480
Initial construction
c. 1660 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
27.6875° S · 67.1722° W · 1350 m · 2 mapped features
Aukaipata great plaza and ushnu
pyramid175×400 m plaza with 12 m ushnu pyramid throne central
27.6872° S · 67.1720° WAqueduct and western kancha quarter
hydraulic4 km stone-lined aqueduct feeding 60 kancha compounds west
27.6880° S · 67.1730° W
Gallery