Ch. XI. SOUTH AMERICA. 467 



Ai'TER this account of the guacas of these ido- 

 latrous nations, the custom Avhich equally pre- 

 vailed among the southern nations of Peru, I pro- 

 ceed to their superh edifices, whether temples, pa- 

 laces, or fortresses : and though those iu the kmg- 

 dom of Quito are not the most stately and mag- 

 nificent, the court and residence of the yncas ha- 

 ving been in the province of Cusco ; yet some of 

 the former sutiiciently denote the grandeur of the In- 

 dians who then inhabited it, and their fondness for 

 such edifices ; intending as it were to hide the rusticity 

 of their architecture under richness and- magnificence 

 which they profusely bestowed on theiredifíces^ whe- 

 ther of brick or stone. 



The greatest part of one of these works is still ex- 

 isting, near the town of Cajvimbe, being a temple 

 built of unbaked bricks. It stands on an eminence 

 of some height ; its figure is perfectly circular, and 

 its diameter eight toises. Of this structure nothing 

 now remains but the walls, which are in good con- 

 dition ; and about two toises and a half in height, 

 and four or five feet in thickness. The cement 

 of the bricks is of the same earth with that of Mdiich 

 they are made : and the hardness of them may be 

 conceived, from remaining so long in a good con- 

 dition exposed to the injuries of weather, having no 

 cover. 



Besides the ancient tradition that this structure 

 was one of the temples of those times, the manner of 

 its construction countenances such a conjecture : for 

 its circular ibrm, without any separation in tlie inside, 

 shews it to have been a place of public resort, and 

 not any habitation. The smallness of the door ren- 

 ders it probable, that, though the yncas entered into 

 their palaces in the chairs in which they were carried, 

 as will be seen hereafter, this place they entered on 

 foot, in token of veneration ; the dimensions of the 



li h '■Z door 



