October 13, 2007

From SATA-Peru-2007

The text in today's blog comes from a website that is called: "Qosqo, Inkas' Sacred Capital" (http://www.qosqo.com/qosqo/).

Many of the group went on an all day hike that visited the places listed below and so we've edited the text to include the places that they saw first hand. All images here were taken by Papacito, Manuel Lizarralde. Enjoy!

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MARAS, MORAY, and SALT WORKS

Maras is a district of the Urubamba province. It is located towards the west of Qosqo at an altitude of 3300 m. (10,824 feet). It seems that in Maras there was a pre-Inkan settlement with subsequent discontinued occupation. The town was founded in colonial times by Pedro Ortiz de Orue, and its important occupation began when the Cusquenian Inkan noblemen were dispossessed of their palaces in Qosqo and had to move settling some other small towns such as San Sebastian and Maras. Likewise, during the war started by Manko Inka willing to recover his Quechua nation, it served as stronghold for invaders that raided against the Ollantaytambo town that was occupied by the Inka during 2 years. By that time, it was an obliged way for muleteers and their mule droves transporting tropical goods and especially coca leaves from the higher jungle for supplying the markets of the city and the country. It was declared " Villa of Saint Francis of Assisi of Maras" (Villa: city or town that had certain privileges). By that time it had much more importance than the Urubamba settlement; but, today it is a town that languishes due to its isolation and development of modern life.

About 7 kms. (4.3 miles) away southwest from Maras is Moray, a very unique archaeological site in the region. It is possible to reach it by car through the dusty road and the path departing from the town. Those are enormous natural depressions or hollows in the ground surface that Inkas used for constructing irrigated farming terraces around them. What is surprising is that the difference of average annual temperature between the top and the bottom reaches even about 15°C (59°F) in the main depression that is about 30 ms (100 feet) deep. In those natural formations, nature has created an environment, conditions or micro climates that in modern times people create in greenhouses or hothouses. Moray, because of its climate conditions and many other characteristics, was an important center of domestication, acclimatization and hybridization of wild vegetable species that were modified or adapted for human consumption. Therefore, it is a prototype of a greenhouse or experimental biological station, very advanced for its age that helped so that the ancient American Man could leave for mankind about 60% of the vegetable goods that are consumed; so that the Andean Man could consume three thousand different potato varieties, one and a half hundreds of maize, and many other rich goods. Nevertheless, there are still many enigmas about this site, enigmas that rise because of the lack of serious scientific researches that could clear present doubts. Structures found over here are typically Inkan; although, some authors suggest that they are earlier ones, at least in the lower terraces. One of the enigmas is the way how drainage for water flowing through the aqueducts worked; it is suggested that there must be underground channels built by the depressions' bottom allowing water to drain. It is also argued that the bottom is over a very porous natural rock formation that enables water filtering toward the earth's interior; the truth is that even today, in the depressions' bottoms there are no floods neither inundation in the rainy season.

It is indispensable to carry out serious palynology studies; that is, diverse analysis of the pollen samples that are found in Moray, thus it will be possible to know the nature, species, quality and some other characteristics of the vegetables cultivated over here.

Northwest of the Maras village are the famous " salt works", which are possible to reach walking by the trail or by car through a dusty road that is almost useless in the rainy season. The Maras "salt works" to which some people call "salt mines" are constituted by about 3000 small pools with an average area of 5 m² (53.8 ft²), constructed in a slope of the "Qaqawiñay" mountain. People fill up or "irrigate" the pools during the dry season every 3 days, with salty water emanating from a natural spring located on the top of the complex, so that when water evaporates the salt contained in it will slowly solidify. That process will be carried out approximately during one month until a considerable volume of solid salt is obtained; about 10 cms. (4 inches) high from the floor. That solid salt is beaten thus granulated, then packed in plastic sacks and sent to the region's markets; today that salt began being treated with iodine, thus, its consumption is not harmful.

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October 11, 2007 October 15, 2007