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Objectives and Strategy Prior to the 1982 field season, some preliminary studies of Pikillacta were conducted in 1978 and 1979 (McEwan 1979). In the course of these studies, four test cuts were made in the so-called qolqas, the conjoined rooms of Sector 4 (fig. 2.7). Two of these excavations produced remains including fire hearths, animal bones, and ceramic sherds. These results together with observations of other parts of the site and the preliminary survey of the Lucre Basin suggested that the commonly held assumptions regarding Pikillacta and its function should be reexamined. The 1982 field season and the subsequent 1989 and 1990 campaigns of the Pikillacta Archaeological Project were devoted to investigating Pikillacta in an effort to shed new light on many of the problems and questions raised by the unusual features of the site and the results of the preliminary studies . The ultimate aim of the project was to increase our understanding of the role of the Pikillacta site and the Wari occupation in the culture history of the Valley of Cuzco. Three general concerns guided field research at Pikillacta: the nature and chronology of the occupation, the site’s function, and description of the architectural remains. In order to address the first two research concerns, it was necessary to sample the site systematically and to survey the Lucre Basin that forms the local context for the site. The absence of surface artifacts complicated the selection of locations for excavation. A site constructed on a grid, such as is Pikillacta, seems at first glance ideal for a random statistical testing program . However, the great size of the site and its individual structures, the limited time and resources available to the project, and the variable condition of the ruins made statistically significant random sampling impossible. Instead, the ruins were divided into sampling strata according to formal properties, and judgment sampling was employed in each stratum. It became apparent early in the project that neither of the existing plans of Pikillacta (Harth-Terre 1959; Sanders 1973) was sufficiently complete or 3 Excavations฀at฀Pikillacta gordon฀f.฀mcewan 30 | mcewan accurate to be useful. Therefore the first step was to remap the entire site. During the course of the mapping, as discussed in the preceding chapter, several standard structural types were identified. These formed the architectural basis, through repetition, for the elaboration of the huge architectural block that makes up Pikillacta. Each of these structural types formed an architectural stratum to be sampled. Additionally, other features and aspects of the site were investigated as deemed necessary. In each sector of the site, structures of each type present were investigated. This provided a cross-sectorial sample of each structural type, and thereby a reasonably representative sample of the various types of architecture was investigated. During the 1982 field campaign, the excavation units were numbered sequentially from 10 to 33. Units numbered 1 to 9 include all of the known previous scientific excavations: those of Sanders (1973) were numbered Units 1 and 2; of Barreda (personal communication 1982), Units 3 and 4; of Lumbreras (personal communication 1982), Unit 5; and those done by Barreda and the author in 1979 (McEwan 1979), Units 6, 7, 8, and 9. In 1989 units numbered 34 through 44 were excavated, continuing in this sequence. In the following year, 1990, Units 45, 46, and 47 were excavated. These excavations, including Units 6 through 47, are described below. In order to facilitate discussion , they are organized by sector and structural type rather than numerical order. Excavations in Sector 1 Sector 1 (fig. 3.1) is comprised of eighty-one relatively undifferentiated, uniformly sized enclosures arranged in a precise grid pattern. No streets appear to penetrate this mass of architecture and there are no obvious differences in preservation or other surface indications suggesting locations for excavations. We decided to investigate structures on the northeast and southwest perimeter of the sector in the belief that they would provide a representative sample of the whole. We sampled a single example of each structural type represented in this sector. Type I: Patio Group Structures unit 31. A patio group structure, located on the northeast side (top row on the plan) of Sector 1 was chosen for investigation. The test cut in this structure was designated Unit 31. This excavation was designed primarily to provide architectural data, since the interior layout of this structure was initially uncertain due to poor preservation and a heavy overburden obscuring...

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