physical form, but instead “in the meaning and the functions of the form.” They
argued that, if one disregards physical form, one will note that certain elements
are “repeated with considerable insistence” (Gasparini and Margolies 1980).
What these elements are is derived from early accounts of Cuzco, the center of
the Inca Empire, by Spanish chroniclers and from archaeological research at
Cuzco and other Inca settlements.
A typical cancha layout composed of four buildings surrounding a central
courtyard. The house in the center had a common wall, but the two canchas
were not connected. Drawing by Robert Batson, courtesy Jean-Pierre Protzen.The core of Cuzco occupied a low ridge between two rivers, the Huatanay to
the southwest and Tullumayo to the northeast. To the northwest, on a hillside
above the city and dominating it, is the formidable complex known as
Sacsahuaman. A number of distinct residential districts surrounded the
settlement. The streets in the core are straight and cross at right angles, yet the
street pattern was designed to adapt to the topography. As a consequence the
street blocks vary in size and shape. Religious and residential compounds,
cancha, occupied the blocks. A cancha consists of three or more single-room,