Reshaping Imperial Landscapes: Spanish, Inca, and the Transformation of an Andean Town

In this paper, I trace the dramatic transformation of the urban fabric of an Imperial Inca estate during the early colonial period, highlighting both Spanish and Indigenous attempts to reshape the city and control spatial practices. By focusing on a Christian church, a reconstituted Inca plaza, and private homes, I demonstrate the complex and complicated ways in which distinct groups used urban form, landscape, and material culture to redefine their own identity and claims of authority during this volatile period.  As we shall see, the changes mapped out on the urban landscape reflect distinct understandings of colonialism, performance, privacy, and sacredness.