Can you tell us a little about your current research?
My study of the Inca began in the early 1980's, conducting astronomical research at the Inca site of Machu Picchu. As a result of these early studies, archaeological and ethnohistorical evidence was found to support the use of certain structures at both Machu Picchu and Pisac as genuine observatories, places where the motion of the sun was monitored. Additionally, a small cave was found at Machu Picchu, whose entrance was covered by a wall of fine masonry, and penetrated by a small window. The window was constructed to admit sunlight to the cave only around the December solstice, associated with the Inca Festival of Capac Raymi. Here again, the physical evidence for an intentional alignment was supported by ethnohistoric accounts relating Capac Raymi to the Inca origin myth and emergence from a cave with windows. This cave does not function as an observatory for monitoring, but includes an alignment that may be symbolic.
Later, Brian Bauer and I worked together in Cuzco, testing various theories of Inca astronomy against Bauer's field data. This research culminated in our book, Astronomy and Empire in the Ancient Andes. It provides the background data necessary for understanding the importance of astronomy to the Inca empire as well as analysis of the most important late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth century accounts of Inca solar astronomy. The sources contain numerous references to horizon pillars used for tracking the motion of the sun. The region where three sets of these pillars were located could be defined from their inclusion in the "Cuzco ceque system", a complex series of shrines and imaginary lines that radiated out from the center of Cuzco. Efforts to locate archaeological remains of these pillars were unsuccessful, attesting to the level of destruction of local shrines associated with sun worship.
From Cuzco, we turned to the Island of the Sun. Here, in Andean mythology, the sun rose into the sky, and here, according to the Inca, the sun designated them to be his children. The shrine that was located at the spot where the sun rose, was a destination of pilgrims from all over the empire. In the sanctuary area, we located pillar bases fitting the description of the Cuzco structures, and located to function as markers for the June solstice, at the time of Inti Raymi, the sun festival. Two positions for observing the solstice sun to set between the pillars were found. The one near the spot from which the sun rose was presumably (in accord with Cobo's account of the site) accessible only to elites. The second location was a constructed platform near the point at which the pilgrims access was limited.
Some references relevant to my recent research include:
- "The Torreon of Machu Picchu as an Observatory," D. S. Dearborn and R. E. White, Archaeoastronomy, #5, Supplement of the Journal for History of Astronomy, 14:537, 1983.
- "Intimachay: a December Solstice Observatory at Machu Picchu," D. S. Dearborn, K. Schreiber and R. White, American Antiquity 52:346, 1987.
- "The Death of An Inca," D. S. Dearborn, Griffith Observer 50(8)17, 1986.
- "Here Comes the Sun: The Cuzco-Machu Picchu Connection," D. S. Dearborn and R. J. Schreiber, Archaeoastronomy, 1986 (actually published in 1988), Vol. IX.
- Astronomy and Empire in the Ancient Andes, by B. Bauer and D. Dearborn, Univ of Texas Press, 220 pages, 1995.
- "The Sanctuary of Titicaca, where the Sun Returns to Earth", David S. P. Dearborn, Mathew Seddon, B. Bauer, Latin American Antiquity 9(3):240-258, 1998.
