Note 107 — Chapter XVII

This reference to windows is important. At the outset we must remind ourselves that Sancho may have confused windows and niches. It is entirely possible, however, that windows may formerly have been present in those walls of Sacsahuaman. As is well known, windows and niches were distinguishing features of Inca architecture during the later period of that dynasty. Sites like Pissac, Limatambo, Yucay, Quente, Vilcabamba (alias Machu Pichu, a post-conquest site in part), and Huaman-marca in the Amaybamba Valley all present one or both of these features, and all present unmistakable signs of recent construction, say from the reign of Viracocha (circa 1425-50) onward. The importance of this mention of windows (or niches) lies in this: It gives strong evidence in support of my belief that the walls of Sacsahuaman which are toward Cuzco were of Inca construction. Garcilasso (II, pp. 305 ff.) attempts to give the credit for the whole of Sacsahuaman to Inca Yupanqui, and ignores the fact that the cyclopean walls on the north side of the hill undoubtedly date, as do "the seats of the Inca" close at hand, from the days of Tiahuanaco. When we see the statement made that the fortress of Sacsahuaman was of Inca construction we must remember that really only the southern walls and a few buildings behind them were built under the Incas.