﻿Vol.2] 
  DIAGUITA 
  OF 
  ARGENTINA 
  — 
  MARQUEZ 
  MIRANDA 
  639 
  

  

  attention 
  in 
  the 
  manuscripts 
  of 
  the 
  Conquest. 
  Thanks 
  to 
  the 
  large 
  

   amount 
  of 
  information 
  collected 
  in 
  the 
  general 
  chronicles 
  of 
  Tucuman, 
  

   in 
  the 
  countless 
  " 
  Inf 
  ormaciones 
  de 
  Meritos 
  y 
  Servicios," 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  

   letters 
  of 
  the 
  Bishops 
  and 
  Governors 
  to 
  the 
  King 
  of 
  Spain, 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  

   to 
  reconstruct 
  much 
  of 
  their 
  social 
  organization, 
  their 
  customs, 
  their 
  

   government, 
  and 
  especially 
  their 
  warfare. 
  These 
  sources, 
  however, 
  

   record 
  nothing 
  about 
  the 
  arts 
  and 
  industries. 
  Fortunately, 
  archeo- 
  

   logical 
  remains 
  are 
  sufficiently 
  abundant 
  to 
  be 
  very 
  enlightening. 
  

  

  ARCHITECTURE 
  

  

  The 
  outstanding 
  feature 
  of 
  the 
  Calchaqui 
  subarea 
  is 
  the 
  great 
  

   number 
  of 
  architectural 
  remains, 
  which 
  can 
  be 
  functionally 
  divided 
  

   into 
  structures 
  built 
  for 
  peacetime 
  pursuits 
  (pueblos 
  viejos, 
  "old 
  

   villages") 
  and 
  those 
  made 
  for 
  war 
  (pucaras). 
  

  

  Dwellings. 
  — 
  The 
  pueblos 
  viejos 
  were 
  the 
  dwellings 
  of 
  sedentary 
  

   farmers 
  built 
  without 
  defense 
  works 
  along 
  streams. 
  They 
  were 
  dedi- 
  

   cated 
  to 
  a 
  peaceful, 
  industrious 
  life. 
  The 
  dwellings 
  are 
  grouped 
  in 
  an 
  

   irregular 
  manner 
  with 
  a 
  tendency 
  to 
  leave 
  small 
  streets 
  or 
  paths 
  

   between 
  them. 
  Characteristically, 
  each 
  individual 
  house 
  is 
  con- 
  

   structed 
  as 
  a 
  complete 
  unit, 
  and 
  even 
  when 
  two 
  houses 
  adjoin 
  each 
  

   other, 
  they 
  do 
  not 
  have 
  a 
  common 
  wall. 
  The 
  house 
  walls 
  are 
  of 
  pirca, 
  

   or 
  dry-masonry 
  construction, 
  made 
  of 
  irregular 
  stones 
  with 
  an 
  inside 
  

   height 
  equal 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  a 
  man. 
  The 
  roofs 
  were 
  made 
  of 
  a 
  frame 
  of 
  

   branches 
  resting 
  on 
  the 
  walls 
  and 
  supporting 
  smaller 
  transverse 
  

   branches, 
  which 
  were 
  covered 
  with 
  leaves 
  or 
  with 
  torta 
  (mud 
  mixed 
  

   with 
  small 
  stones, 
  fragments 
  of 
  plants, 
  straw, 
  and 
  so 
  on) 
  . 
  

  

  The 
  dimensions 
  and 
  shape 
  of 
  the 
  dwellings 
  are 
  not 
  uniform. 
  The 
  

   rectangular 
  form 
  — 
  typical 
  of 
  Andean 
  houses 
  — 
  seems 
  to 
  predominate, 
  

   but 
  others 
  which 
  are 
  elliptical 
  and 
  even 
  some 
  few 
  which 
  are 
  very 
  

   irregular 
  occur 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  site 
  with 
  these 
  rectangular 
  houses. 
  The 
  

   irregularity 
  of 
  these 
  structures 
  is 
  explained 
  by 
  the 
  uneven 
  ground 
  on 
  

   which 
  they 
  stand. 
  

  

  Fortifications. 
  — 
  The 
  pucaras, 
  or 
  fortifications, 
  are 
  as 
  a 
  rule 
  located 
  

   on 
  strategic 
  places 
  (pi. 
  145). 
  The 
  entrances 
  and 
  exits 
  of 
  the 
  large 
  

   valleys 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  quebradas 
  opening 
  into 
  them 
  were 
  protected 
  by 
  for- 
  

   tifications. 
  Some 
  of 
  these 
  constitute 
  complicated 
  systems 
  of 
  defense. 
  

   The 
  first 
  description 
  of 
  a 
  pucara 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  "Historia," 
  by 
  Pedro 
  Lozano 
  

   (1873-75, 
  5: 
  207-08). 
  Recently 
  Lange 
  (1892) 
  reproduced 
  plans 
  

   of 
  some 
  pucaras, 
  and 
  several 
  of 
  his 
  plans 
  were 
  later 
  improved 
  by 
  

   Bruch 
  (1911). 
  The 
  fortifications 
  shown 
  in 
  these 
  plans 
  consist 
  first 
  

   of 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  small 
  defensive 
  walls 
  ascending 
  the 
  slopes. 
  In 
  places 
  

   they 
  have 
  loopholes, 
  and 
  there 
  are 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  small 
  bastions. 
  The 
  

   walls 
  never 
  exceed 
  the 
  height 
  of 
  a 
  man 
  and 
  sometimes 
  are 
  even 
  lower, 
  

   being 
  just 
  high 
  enough 
  to 
  protect 
  an 
  archer 
  shooting 
  from 
  behind 
  them. 
  

   At 
  intervals, 
  openings 
  in 
  the 
  walls 
  form 
  passages 
  for 
  attacks 
  or 
  stra- 
  

  

  595682—46 
  43 
  

  

  