Tambo Colorado

Infobox Archaeological Site Peru
site = Tambo Colorado
native_name = Puka Tampu
other_name = Pucallacta, Pucahuasi


imagesize = 250px
image_caption = "Tambo Colorado" overview

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mapsize = 200px
map_caption = Location of Tambo Colorado in Peru
locator_x = 112
locator_y = 205
latd = 13
latm = 18
lats = 00
latNS = S
longd = 75
longm = 10
longs = 00
longEW = W
civilization = Inca
era = Late Horizon
period = 1470 AD - 1532 AD
country = PER
region = Ica
area =
elevation =
web =

Tambo Colorado is a well-preserved Inca adobe complex on the coast of Peru also know as Puka Tampu, Pucallacta or Pucahuasi.

Location

The site is located on the south coast of Perú in the Pisco River Valley about 40 km along the highway to Ayacucho know as the "Via de los Libertadores", close to the town of Pisco. Initial reports from the 2007 Peru Earthquake reported no major damage to the site. [cite web | last = Josephs| first =Leslie | title = Quake causes serious damage to tourist sites, nature reserve closed | work =International Herald Tribune | date = 2007-08-22 | url =http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/23/america/LA-GEN-Peru-Quake-Tourism.php| accessdate = 2008-02-05 ]

.

History

The site was most likely built at the end of the 15th century during the reign of the Inca king Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui also known as Pachacutec.

Name

The site owes its name to the abundant use of colors on the walls. Thanks to favorable (very dry) environmental conditions, many walls at Tambo, both internal and external, retain enough residual colored paint to accurately reconstruct what the original wall painting would have been like. Color here was often applied in horizontal strips of red, black, white, and yellow ochre atop stucco, and variation in color would accentuate architectural features such as niches. Trapezoidal niches at Tambo have one or two recesses each, likely used for the placement of important objects. As with all Inca constructions, the overall dimensions of niche construction are standardized across the entire site.

Lay-out

The site is comprised of several structures around a large central plaza. The central plaza is shaped like a trapezoid with its largest side being 150 m long. The main structures are grouped together in a northern part and a southern part (Sector Norte and Sector Sur). These structures are known as the Northern palace and the two Southern Palaces, flanked by an Ushnu (raised ceremonial platform) and a building known as the Utilities Structure.

Use

It is believed to have been used by the Incas as an administrative and control site on the main road from the coast to the highlands.

Museum

A small on-site museum is located near the entrance of the complex.

External links

* [http://archive.cyark.org/tambo-colorado-info Tambo Colorado Digital Media Archive] (creative commons-licensed photos, laser scans, panoramas), data from a UC Berkeley/CyArk research partnership

Notes