NO. 1 CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN LATIN AMERICA 
115 
Empire or Inca Period. — The Inca Period is well represented in the 
entire area under consideration. Archeological evidence is abundant 
and varied in pottery, metallurgy, and architecture. The monumental 
Pucara de Andalgala, in the Valliserrana area, is surrounded by a series 
of walls and contains large buildings, indicating that it must have been 
one of the most important Inca centers in northwestern Argentina. A 
series of "tambos" are distributed along the principal Inca roads, in 
some of which Inca-influenced pottery constitutes 90 percent of the 
total sherds. Characteristic types include Cuzco Polychrome and Casa 
Morada Polychrome. Inca structures are more readily identifiable by 
the associated pottery than by architectural features, although diag- 
nostic elements such as niches and double-sloped roofs occasionally 
occur. Some remains of structures used for cult observances or look- 
out stations exist at very high elevations (Chani, Llullaillaco, Cerro 
del Plomo, etc.) 
In some places, the indigenous pottery associated with that show- 
ing Inca influence is not of local traditions. In Tafi, for example, 
Inca sites have been found with Belen instead of Santamaria ceramics. 
In Ranchillos, Mendoza, the southernmost outpost of Inca influence, 
Coquimbo pottery occurs. These disconformities probably reflect the 
presence of mitimaes. 
Inca influence is widely attested throughout the Valliserrana area 
at sites such as Chilecito, Famabalasto, Quillay, Pucara de Andal- 
gala, Chincal, Conquija, La Paya, and Barrealito (San Juan). Among 
the metal objects frequently encountered are winged axes, star clubs, 
and small metal bolas with a transverse bar on which to fasten the 
rope. In the region of the Valles Transversales, Coquimbo pottery 
combines the Inca aryballoid form with local painted decoration. Casa 
Morada in La Paya contains many clearly Inca elements. The Pucara 
de Tilcara produced various objects not only of pottery but also of 
other kinds of material, among them a complete lapidary workshop 
containing typical stone llama figures. In northern Chile, Inca influ- 
ence can be seen in tomb construction and in miniature objects placed 
in tombs, as well as in pottery and architecture of the Atacamenan 
"cities." In the northern Puna, bowls with small painted llamas in the 
classic Inca-Pacajes style occur. No Inca influence seems to exist in 
the region of Santiago del Estero or in the Sierras Centrales. 
CONCLUSION 
Cultural development in northwestern Argentina and adjacent 
parts of Chile is a product of geographical and environmental fac- 
tors, which presented a variety of ecological zones and exposed the 
