PALIMPSESTS IN ANDEAN URBAN CENTERS: THE CASE OF PIURA (LA VIEJA), PERU

Lombardi A.G. · SPAL (2025) · DOI: 10.12795/spal.2025.i34.10

Resumen

This article presents the research results of Piura (La Vieja), an urban center in Piura, Peru, which was continuously occupied by local groups and by the Inca and Spanish empires (1300-1580 AD). The research aim is to understand the interactions between the local groups and the imperial powers that occupied the Alto Piura between the 13th and 16th centuries AD. The analysis applies the perspective of the architectural palimpsest. Particularly, it focuses on the layouts that compose the settlement as they reflect practices of space appropriation applied by the various societies that occupied the site. The results suggest that there are at least four layouts from the most modern to the oldest: the first is related to the establishment of a city of Spanish encomenderos; the second, to an Inca provincial center; and the third and fourth, to local ceremonial centers. The study of the palimpsest of Piura (La Vieja) allows the understanding of the processes of negotiation, domination and resistance of local groups against imperial entities in the Central Andes. © Editorial Universidad de Sevilla 2025.

Instituciones: Universidad Continental