Peru and Bolivia long before the Incas

Another type of masonry, which attracted our attention in Cusco, has left a very ambiguous impression. This clutch of relatively small (although sometimes reach hundreds of kilograms) of mainly rectangular blocks of granite or basalt, laid without any mortar.

On the one hand, this style of masonry radically different from the megalithic polygonal. In addition, some of the houses where there are areas of walls with similar walls date back to the period already already after the Spanish conquest. On the other hand, there are a number of reasons, which makes you wonder about the possibility of creating of the masonry is not Spanish, and not even by the Incas, and a very different civilization.

First, the Spaniards, in full compliance with the building traditions and skills of the Old world – widely used solution. Laying stone blocks on each other without mortar for them it was unusual and even strangers.

Secondly, it is rather well known (and this is recorded in historical documents) that the Spanish are very frequently used blocks of stone more ancient structures, dismantling the old structure and hauling the material to another location. Say, until relatively recently, can be had for very little money to buy and take home for their own construction blocks from the famous complexbecame located on the outskirts of Cuzco. So even in writing the fact of the construction of a house at some known point in time does not mean that the smooth blocks used in its construction were made during the construction of houses, and not much sooner.

Thirdly, the masonry of rectangular blocks, laid without mortar, almost never reaches the level of the roof – at least we did not find any house where the roof is laid directly on the masonry. Everywhere over the more or less beautiful and quite a smooth stone blocks are plastered areas of walls, built a much simpler way – brick or “crushed rock” on the solution. And it can be traced even in the “rich”, Central neighborhoods of the city. And often smooth masonry generally forms only small “Islands” in the General array of the wall.

For option single author construction it is at least strange – it turns out that people who are able to create a good masonry of the lower tier, for some reason you suddenly were unable to do the above. With a much higher probability we have here the evidence that the house was built on ancient ruins or with the use of the material . And those who built the upper tier, have already had no idea about the technology of stone processing, used to create blocks, forming now the lower tier of the walls.

And fourthly, in cases where were used several styles of masonry, quite clearly visible degradation of quality from stage to stage, and not an improvement. And this is the case even when earlier stages of the construction are attributed to the Incas, with their primitive stone and bronze tools, and later the Spaniards with much more advanced technology.