Encyclopedia of the Incas

rectangular buildings arranged more or less symmetrically around an open court
and is often surrounded by a wall with only a single entryway.
The center of urban Cuzco was a plaza divided into two parts by the Huatanay
River with the eastern part called Aucaypata and the western one Cusipata.
Aucaypata was the place for religious ceremonies and rituals, initiation rites,
ancestor worship, and other festivities. An important element in Aucaypata was
the ushnu, a sugarloaf-shaped stone set in a basin with a drain atop a small
bench onto which offerings were made. To the northwest and southeast the
Aucaypata was bordered by canchas identified as royal palaces. Also facing the
plaza was at least one great rectangular hall with many doorways on its long
side, today commonly called a callanca. Callancas served primarily public
functions, where celebrants took refuge on rainy days. Near the southeastern
corner of Aucaypata was another compound, the Acllahuasi, or the house of the
chosen women, whose job (among others) was to brew maize beer, or chicha,
and weave fine cloth. Among the city’s religious compounds the most
prestigious one was the Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun, the center of Inca
state religion. Distributed throughout Cuzco and its surroundings were a great
number of holy places, huacas, arranged along imaginary lines, ceques,
radiating out from the Coricancha. Another imaginary line at the Coricancha
divided the settlement into hanan (upper) and hurin (lower) Cuzco. This division
was a social one and the concept of duality has ancient Andean roots. Additional
elements are extensive waterworks, both utilitarian and sacred (fountains and
baths), terraces for gardens and agriculture, and storehouses.
The cancha is the single most distinguishable element at almost every type of
Inca settlement, small or large, outside of Cuzco. Another recurrent feature at
administrative centers and many way stations in the provinces is a major plaza
with an ushnu. Ushnus at some of these settlements differ dramatically from the
one at Cuzco. The sugar-loaf stone, its basin and drains were placed atop
impressive platforms, which, in addition to their ceremonial and ritual functions,
also served as thrones and reviewing stands from which the Inca lord interacted
with the conquered population. Intriguingly, there are no ushnu platforms at
royal estates in the Cuzco heartland. Some of these estates, however, feature
elaborate complexes with a carved living rock, called intihuatana, which some
researchers believe were just another form of ushnu. More likely, intihuatana
played an astronomical role in determining specific dates for ceremonies,
planting and harvest seasons, and other events.