As his name indicates, Diego de Trujillo was from Trujillo, Extremadura,
Spain, where he was born in 1502. He joined Pizarro in 1529 and took part in
the capture of Atahualpa in Cajamarca. He later left for Spain but returned to
Peru where he was commissioned by the Viceroy Francisco de Toledo in the
early 1570s to write an account of the events in Cajamarca. His account, titled
Relación del descubrimiento del reyno del Peru (Account of the Discovery of
the Kingdom of Peru), was completed in 1571. While Trujillo’s account was
written some forty years after the events recounted, and though the author is
excessively boastful about his own role at Cajamarca, in which he in fact
played only a minor part, it is valuable nonetheless for its detailed depictions.Further Reading
Graubart, Karen. “Estete, Miguel de (ca. 1507–ca.1550).” In Guide to Documentary Sources for Andean
Studies, 1530–1900, edited by Joanne Pillsbury, vol. 2, 206–10. Norman: University of Oklahoma
Press, 2008.
Pease, Franklin. “Mena, Cristóbal de (sixteenth century).” In Guide to Documentary Sources for
Andean Studies, 1530–1900, edited by Joanne Pillsbury, vol. 3, 407–10. Norman: University of
Oklahoma Press, 2008.
———. “Xerez, Francisco de (1497–?).” In Guide to Documentary Sources for Andean Studies, 1530–
1900 , edited by Joanne Pillsbury, vol. 3, 752–56. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008.
Regalado de Hurtado, Liliana. “Trujillo, Diego de (1502–1576).” In Guide to Documentary Sources for
Andean Studies, 1530–1900, edited by Joanne Pillsbury, vol. 3, 672–73. Norman: University of
Oklahoma Press, 2008.
■ADRIANA VON HAGENCHRONOLOGY, INCA
Noble Inca lineages (panacas) preserved life histories of their founding
ancestors, and they recounted these narratives with specific reference to spans of
time that could range from a few months to many years. A panaca used knotted
quipu cords to record key moments in royal biographies that were regularly
performed as praise songs (see Music) and dances. An “official” king list was
assembled from these family stories, an abridged compilation of life histories
that multiple rulers reassembled, sometimes executing memory specialists and
rearranging the order and constitution of the royal line. Inca chronologies
focused on the duration of royal activities rather than the passage of years—
chronology could be built backward from the present, but it did not flow forward
in a linear fashion where calendar dates provided a standard marker of time. The