Imperial spaces: spatial syntax and colonialism in Viejo Sangayaico, south-central Andes (1000 AD – 1615 AD)

Abstract

The processes of colonization usually modify the social groups that engage with it, especially the colonized. The means by which different groups relate to each other mark the daily life of the dominated group in both material and non-material ways. In the Andes, this process of colonization varied across time and place. In our case-study, the Viejo Sangayaico archaeological site (department of Huancavelica, Peru) was affected by two large empires (Inca and Spanish). In this article we analyze whether there were continuities and/ or ruptures in imperial politics between one empire and the other at this site. In so doing, we focus on modifications in the types of spatial organization present at the settlement. These changes in the site design patterning will be recreated using the spatial syntax method. This spatial analysis tool will allow us to observe the relationships between local groups and the different empires.