Facts About Machu Picchu Artifacts

Machu Picchu Artifacts Fact Sheet

More than 400 artifacts are a part of Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas, making it the largest exhibition of Inca cultural objects ever mounted in the United States. Artifacts include

A Royal Vicuna Tunic

The Inca ruler sometimes wore a tunic of vicuna wool completely covered with rows of geometric motifs, known as tocapu. The only surviving example of an Inca tocapu tunic is displayed in this exhibition. The use of the exceptionally fine wool from this wild relative of the alpaca was a prerogative of the royal court and provided an effective visual marker for the unique status of the Inca ruler and his great power.

Burial Cave Objects

The individuals interred at Machu Picchu were accompanied by their personal possessions, including the pottery they used for cooking and serving food. Items used in daily life include

• Cuzco Inca style ceramic jar (aryballos) (A.D. 1450 - 1532)
• Provincial Inca style ceramic jar (aryballos) (A.D. 1450 - 1532)
• Ceramic plates decorated with bands of alpacas

Inca Metal Tools and Jewelry

Craftsmen working for the Inca ruler produced some of these items at Machu Picchu. Other items were brought to the country palace from distant parts of the empire. Objects include

• Bronze ax, chisel, knife and awl
• Silver bracelet and shawl pin
• Copper T-shaped knife with crescent shaped blade

Ceremonial Knives

Animals, including llamas and guinea pigs, were favored gifts to the gods, and special ritual knives were produced for the sacrifice. In many cases, these ritual tools were perforated so that they could be worn around the neck as pendants. Artifacts on display include

• Bronze straight-blade knife with fisherman
• Bronze knife with pinwheel decoration on the handle
• Bronze knife with a finial depicting a bird holding a snake in its beak

Tools for Communication with the Sacred

In Inca times, vessels called conopas were used in rituals dedicated to the gods to ensure the fertility of animals, particularly the llama and alpaca herds. Ceremonial offerings, sometimes consisting of fat, coca leaves, maize and other items, were placed in the cylindrical hole in the back of the object, which was then buried along with prayers and offerings of corn beer. Objects on display include

• Stone carving of an anthropomorphic face with a spiral headdress, Cuzco , Inca (A.D. 1450 - 1532)
• Stone effigy of a bird, Cuzco , Inca (A.D. 1450 - 1532)
• Triangular stone effigy of camelids on a hillside, Cuzco , Inca (A.D. 1450 - 1532)
• Stone effigy of an alpaca with cylindrical depression for offerings, Cuzco , Inca (A.D. 1450 - 1532)

Inca Ritual Equipment from Machu Picchu and Beyond

The 1912 Yale expedition recovered a wide range of unusual items that probably were used in Inca religious rituals. Some were related to astronomical observations, some served as charms, and still others were used to make offerings of animals and corn beer to supernatural forces. Objects on display include

• Zoomorphic schist miniatures possibly representing a porcupine, a bird and an anteater.
• Bronze parabolic mirrors, shawl pin (tupu) with jar-shaped head
• Jar from woman healer's cave burial
• Bone textile tools and shawl pin decorated with two “kissing” birds
• A solid silver plumb bob

Wooden Beakers

For the Incas, the drinking of corn beer (chicha) was central to all state and religious rituals and was usually done with decorated wooden beakers (qeros) .

Gold and Silver Objects

Precious metals had symbolic significance for the Inca. Gold was associated with the Sun and silver was associated with the Moon. Inca royalty, high-ranking officials and other favored individuals wore precious metal jewelry and used gold and silver vessels in their feasts. Special objects for religious rituals also were made of these sacred materials. Artifacts on display include

• Silver and gold male and female figurines, llama figurines, ear ornament, bowl and spoons
• Gold feather plume holder
• Seven gold birds
• Gold and silver beakers
• A silver headdress ornament
• A silver crown