Financed by an NCN scholarship: 2021/41/N/HS3/01529 and by funds from UCSM in Arequipa.
Muyu Muyu is an Andean highland site located at approximately XNUMX m a.s.l. in the Chichas District, Arequipa Region (Peru). It derives its name (Muyu - quechua for "round") from the large oval platform, which is one of the main architectural features of the complex. The ongoing Muyu Muyu project, carried out in collaboration with the Catholic University in Arequipa (UCSM) currently includes fieldwork in XNUMX-XNUMX seasons, as well as laboratory analyses.
Muyu Muyu was most likely a religious center associated with the cult of the nearby Solimana volcano, which was considered sacred in pre-colonial times. It is also the site presumably mentioned in Cristobal de Albornoz's chronicle as an important place of worship with pre-Inca origins, rebuilt later during the period of Inca domination with the support of so-called mitimaes displaced from other parts of the empire and used by the Incas as a sanctuary.
The main objective of the project is to verify this hypothesis regarding Muyu Muyu's function in the past by analyzing the site's architecture and stratigraphy, as well as carrying out its first radiocarbon dating to reconstruct the chronology of the complex's use. Further in the project, it is also planned to conduct analyses of human remains from burials in the immediate vicinity of Muyu Muyu, such as aDNA and isotope studies, in order to determine the provenance of the population buried there and distinguish between the local population and the mentioned displaced workers (mitimaes) associated with the reconstruction of the ceremonial complex undertaken by the Incas.
Project manager: prof. Mariusz Ziółkowski and mgr. Jan Klaput
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POLAND
University of Warsaw
Center for Andean Studies
PERU
Center for Andean Studies
of the University of Warsaw in Cusco