Narrative: Astronomy in the Inca Empire – page 1 of 5

Astronomy in the Inca Empire

Jennifer Moss Logan, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, version 4/22/2004

Many of you may have heard of Machu Picchu and the Inca people who built it. What you may not know is the importance of astronomy in Inca culture. Today, we’re going to journey back to the late 1400’s, to the time of the Incan Empire, to see what astronomy meant to the Inca. / Idols of the Inca (Guaman Poma de Ayala)
(music playing)
The Inca Empire stretched all along the Andes Mountains in what is now known as South America. Today, the Inca Empire is long gone. However, we can learn from their descendents and study historical accounts of those who were in contact with the Inca. In a moment, you’re going to imagine that you are Incan students of astronomy at the time of Pachacuti (PA-cha-KOO-tee), the first Inca ruler. What you will hear today is based on fact, but some of it is also taken from theories that are still in dispute today.
So, are you ready to be students of astronomy in Pachacuti’s Incan Empire? Get a response from the audience. Then let me go get some items that will help our journey of imagination. {Put on hat and bag, and pick up quipu (KI-pu) and staff.} / Three progressively smaller maps of South America/The Andes/Cuzco-Machu Picchu area.
Welcome, students, welcome. I am a Yañac (yan-YAK), an astronomer to the great ruler, Pachacuti. It is my job to watch the movement of the Sun, from whom we, the Inca descend. But today, I am your teacher. Listen carefully, students, for you have much to learn. / (Ref: p55 Dearborn)
Incan Astrologer
(Guaman Poma de Ayala)
p 57 Dearborn
We are now in Cuzco (KOOZ-ko), the capital of our great Empire. The entire universe is centered right here at this place, Coricancha (KOR-ee-KAN-cha), the Temple of the Sun. From here, ceques (SE-kays), or lines, spread outward to the far reaches of the Empire, touching the horizons where the most special stars rise and set. Study these stars, students … {Use quipu} / Picture of Coricancha’s inner buildings
(photo 2, p. 9, Astronomy and Empire in the Ancient Andes, by Bauer and Dearborn)
… especially the stars we call Collca (KOL-ka), the storehouse. Observe these stars by night, count them, and they will reveal to you even the weather to come! / SNP movie of Pleiades
You must learn of the Seats of the Sun. They are the pairs of pillars which we built on the hill to mark the rising and setting of the Sun. Look out to this hill. {Point to image.} From here in Cuzco, you can see the Sun set between pairs of pillars at these points. These lines {point to lines} mark the Sun’s path down to the horizon on different days of the year. Each day the Sun sets a little further north until it is the winter solstice, which will come to be known as “June”. On that day, the throngs will gather here to celebrate Inti Raymi, Festival of the Sun. Then the Sun will once again move southward.
You can see, students, how important it is to study the ways of Cuzco, here at the center of the universe. But as a Yañac for the great Pachacuti, I can also bring you down to Machu Picchu, the royal estate of our esteemed ruler. / Pichu from Plaza de Armas, Cuzco
(fig. 5, p. 74, Astronomy and Empire in the Ancient Andes, by Bauer and Dearborn)
Come with me now - come with me! The day is young, and we have a long hike ahead of us. The llama’s (YA-mas) will keep us company along the way. {You’re not tired yet.} / Llamas on path
(music playing)
It’s getting steep! Mind that steep edge. {You’re getting tired - take your time walking from one side of the screen to the other.} / Llamas on another path
There! {You’re very tired! Stop, wipe your brow.} Do you see the great Mount Yanantin in the distance? That means it’s not much further now. / Image 3718-6 from Kristy (mountain view between trees)
We’re here at last! I always come to this spot when royal duty calls me to Machu Picchu. Let’s look around. {Point out Agricultural area (terraces), Mount Yanantin. Finish in view of the Temple of the Sun}. Students, that is the Temple of the Sun, Just like the Coricancha in Cuzco, here I can observe the Sun. Lets go over to it. / Quicktime (website for now).
Here it is, in the most sacred and private area of Machu Picchu. Here are the stairs where we will enter in (Point out stairs). Notice how small it is. Unlike the Seats of The Sun, where all of Cuzco can watch the Sun set between the pillars, here there is only room for a few, the astronomers who precisely mark the moments.
Let’s take a closer look, and I will explain to you how I use this holy place. / Picture of Temple of the Sun and surrounding areas at Machu Pichu
(fig. 20, p. 20, The Machu Picchu Guidebook, by R. Wright and A. Zegarra)
Do you see the exquisite round wall, built with so much care? Now, look closely at this rock right here {Point to rounded rock at center}. / Temple of the Sun from the inside.
(fig. 21 p. 21, The Machu Picchu Guide-book, Wright &Zegarra)
Here is that rounded rock. Do you see the long ridge along the middle of it, and how the sunlight from this window shines on it? I will show you how we use this place to mark the movement of the Sun. First we must go outside the observatory, to see this window from the outside {Point to window}. / Sacred rock in Temple of the Sun.
(fig. 21 p. 21, The Machu Picchu Guide-book, Wright &Zegarra)
Here is that same window. Do you see the stone pegs at the corners? We hang a board across these top pegs, and from the board we hang a fine string with a rock at the bottom to keep the rope straight. I will use my staff to show you {Slip loop of string over staff}. The sunlight will shine in, and this rope will cast a shadow inside the observatory. Let’s go back inside now. / Stone pegs on outside of window
(T6.pct, Dearborn)
Can you see the shadow of the rock and the string? See how it is parallel with the ridge on the rock! It is a special day indeed! This is the winter solstice, and up in Cuzco the people will be celebrating. / Plumb bob shadow at winter solstice
(T7.pct, Dearborn)
We are descendents of the Sun, but the night is also holy. I will show you the wonders of the night sky. Turn your eyes to the sky.
{Wait for movie to stop, then point to Milky Way.} This is Mayu (MAI-you), the river. Notice the dark patches. We call those Yana Phuyu (YA-na FOY-you), dark cloud constellations. They are the spirits of the animals here on Earth. / SNP movie of sunset to darkness with Milky Way
This will show you the animals you can see in the Mayu. {Point out the tinamou, the two llamas, and the snake.}
Mach’acuay – Serpent
Hanp’atu – Toad
Yutu – Tinamou (a partridge-like bird)

Llama – Llama

Unallamacha – Baby Llama
Atoq – Fox / Yana Phuyu (fig. 65, p. 171, Crossroads of Earth and Sky, by G. Urton)
Do you see the tinamou and the two llamas?
Students, you have learned so much! Stay right here students, thought I myself must go to Pachacuti…
{Take off hat and bag, and put down quipu and staff.} / SNP image of Milky Way
Welcome back to the present! Did you enjoy your journey to the Inca Empire?
Far-seeing telescopes have led us to a new understanding of the Milky Way. Those dark patches are gas and dust that are blocking the light from the stars behind. The “dust lanes,” as they are called, are made up of tiny hydrogen atoms and dust grains of graphite and of silicon oxide the size of smoke particles. / Telescope_mw_sunset.gif
We now know that Earth is on the edge of the Milky Way galaxy, and we see the “Milky Way” in the night sky because we are looking out along the plane of the galaxy. What’s more, the dust lanes that we see are much closer to Earth than you would think. While the center of our entire galaxy is about 25,000 light years away, those dust lanes are only a few thousand light years away from Earth. / Milky Way with Sun’s location marked
It has been 500 years since the peak of the Incan Empire. Today, astronomers tell us that our bodies – the actual carbon, oxygen, and iron atoms that are part of our bodies – are the materials forged in the exploding stars of long ago. As Carl Sagan, a famous astronomer, once said, “We are made of star stuff.” We are not much different, then, from the Inca, descendents of the Sun. / Cosmic Atlas view of Milky Way
(music playing)
I hope you have enjoyed this exploration of Incan astronomy. Please be sure to visit the Third Floor to see the exhibit, “Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas,” which will be here at the Museum through May 9th. / Credits