Carlo José Ordónez, alumni of the Postgraduate Degree in Museums and Cultural Heritage Management at UIC Barcelona, has recently published his research in the prestigious academic journal Chungara, a Q2 journal of Chilean anthropology. In his article, Ordóñez captures the results of the archaeological excavation he directed between 2013 and 2015 on the Inca palace of Huánuco Pampa, the most important part of this archaeological site. “We discovered that the buildings of the palace were ceremonially closed down. Our main hypothesis is that after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro and the subsequent execution of Atahualpa, the Inca elite left the place, but not without first closing the main buildings and canals by depositing a series of offerings in approximately 1533 AD,” explained the expert.

In a project promoted by the Ministry of Culture of Peru, Ordóñez has excavated this archaeological site, declared World Heritage and considered one of the main centres of the Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire. “The area had already been studied in the 1970s, but our objective was to complement the work and learn more about the buildings, their functions and more about the collapse of the Inca Empire,” detailed the archaeologist.

With this research, the UIC Barcelona graduate aims to contribute to the study of the conquest perpetrated by the Spanish and its impact on Inca regional centres. “After the execution of Atahualpa, the news spread along the road network for over 100,000 km to reach these settlements. Then they took their most valuable objects and closed down the buildings, even burning some,” Ordóñez summarises about the results of his research, which included the participation of a team of professionals and the collaboration of the local community of Aguamiro.

Ordóñez studied Archaeology at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima and a postgraduate degree in Museums and Cultural Heritage Management at UIC Barcelona: “The postgraduate training will help me to put into practice what I have learned in other similar projects, using historical monuments as a way of involving the population. It will be very useful to me,” he explained, recalling his time at the University and his professional career.