"The Temple of Blindness: An Investigation of the Inca Shrine of Ancocagua" in: Andean Past 5, 1997

"Ancocagua must be one of the most enigmatic Inca sites mentioned in the historical documents. Writing in 1553, the renowned Spanish chronicler of Inca customs, Cieza de Leon (1977:107), listed it as the fourth most important temple in the Inca empire. Yet there was no description of the site nor of its exact location, and this naturally gave rise to some basic questions. Where was it situated? Why was it so important? Given its significance, why did so few of the Spanish writers refer to it? The only way one could hope to answer these questions was by gathering together the historical references and investigating the region in which the site might be located."

List of All Publications Annotated

Coropuna: Mountain Temple of the Incas" in: Architecture and Ritual Space as Sacred Landscape, (in preparation) D. Gundrum, M. Aviles, and R. Connolly (eds.) (1998).

Abstract: Although Coropuna was called the fifth most important temple in the Inca empire in the sixteenth century, its exact location and meaning has remained a matter of conjecture. In this article archaeological data is presented which describes a recently discovered Inca site at the base of the mountain Coropuna. Ecological, historical, and ethnographic information supports the conclusion that it was likely the temple of Coropuna and that it was built there due to Coropuna having played an important role as a protector deity and controller of livestock and agricultural fertility for a vast region.