[EN] Like other expansive polities, the expansion of the Inca empire across the highlands and lowlands of South America is not only a history of trade and warfare, but also of mesmerizing public performances that yielded new and memorable experiences. During highly ritualized public celebratory events, the local polities gained first-hand access to the imperial liturgy, which was vital to promote and legitimate the Inca cosmology across the newly acquired lands. Especially in the last 20 years, new technologies, an ever-growing corpus of archaeological data, as well as increasing hardware capacity and software development, make it possible to emulate the scenes that people got to witness during the Inca public events, at a home computer scale and without complex and expensive equipment. Furthermore, it prompts us to test and apply new tools and academic dissemination techniques, perhaps more suitable to current technologies and means of knowledge storage and circulation. This article presents the process of building a three-dimensional (3D) model that, on the one hand, combines historical, ethnographic, and archaeological data with Geographic Information System (GIS) datasets; on the other hand, it uses detailed architectural analysis and astronomical measurements. The objective is to yield renders that accurately display the atmospheric and lighting conditions prevailing when the site was inhabited. We will offer a detailed description of all methods, techniques, equipment, and software used to create the model and the parameters for rendering the images. The authors intend to exemplify how 3D modelling goes well beyond the 3D model as a product in itself; it becomes a fundamental tool that encouraged us to test new variables and discuss new interpretations about this settlement. Results indicate that its builders designed these settlement's Inca compounds to show off the imperial capabilities and constructive proficiency, to convey exceptional, memorable experiences to its residents and visitors, and to stage ...
Like other expansive polities, the expansion of the Inca empire across the highlands and lowlands of South America is not only a history of trade and warfare, but also of mesmerizing public performances that yielded new and memorable experiences. During highly ritualized public celebratory events, the local polities gained first-hand access to the imperial liturgy, which was vital to promote and legitimate the Inca cosmology across the newly acquired lands. Especially in the last 20 years, new technologies, an ever-growing corpus of archaeological data, as well as increasing hardware capacity and software development, make it possible to emulate the scenes that people got to witness during the Inca public events, at a home computer scale and without complex and expensive equipment. Furthermore, it prompts us to test and apply new tools and academic dissemination techniques, perhaps more suitable to current technologies and means of knowledge storage and circulation. This article presents the process of building a three-dimensional (3D) model that, on the one hand, combines historical, ethnographic, and archaeological data with Geographic Information System (GIS) datasets; on the other hand, it uses detailed architectural analysis and astronomical measurements. The objective is to yield renders that accurately display the atmospheric and lighting conditions prevailing when the site was inhabited. We will offer a detailed description of all methods, techniques, equipment, and software used to create the model and the parameters for rendering the images. The authors intend to exemplify how 3D modelling goes well beyond the 3D model as a product in itself; it becomes a fundamental tool that encouraged us to test new variables and discuss new interpretations about this settlement. Results indicate that its builders designed these settlement's Inca compounds to show off the imperial capabilities and constructive proficiency, to convey exceptional, memorable experiences to its residents and visitors, and to stage explicit links between the imperial representatives and some fundamental procreative components of the Andean cosmos. In doing so, Guitián's plaza served to stage and communicate the privileged role the imperial representatives claimed to have in a broader cosmological scheme.Highlights:Inca public performances were finely choreographed so that objects, places, people, landscape, and skyscape features interacted according to the main principles of imperial cosmology.Current mid-range hardware and specialized yet reasonably user-friendly software are suitable to create accurate three-dimensional (3D) models combining historical, archaeological, and astronomical data.Creating such a detailed 3D model contributes to cultural heritage and academic dissemination and prompted us to revise and broaden our interpretations. ; Al igual que otras políticas expansivas, la expansión del imperio Inca a través de las tierras altas y bajas de Sudamérica, además de ser una historia de comercio y conflictos armados, lo es también de espectáculos públicos cautivantes que introdujeron experiencias nuevas y memorables. Durante celebraciones públicas altamente ritualizadas, las autoridades locales tuvieron acceso de primera mano a la liturgia imperial, lo que fue vital para promover y legitimar la cosmología Inca en los territorios anexados. En los últimos 20 años en particular, las nuevas tecnologías, un corpus cada vez mayor de datos arqueológicos, y el aumento de la capacidad de hardware y el desarrollo de software hacen posible emular las escenas que la gente presenció durante las ceremonias públicas Inca; ello es posible sin equipos complejos y costosos (basta con un ordenador doméstico). Todo ello nos impulsa a probar y aplicar nuevas herramientas y técnicas de difusión académica, quizás más adecuadas a las tecnologías y medios actuales de almacenamiento y circulación del conocimiento. Este artículo presenta el proceso de construcción de un modelo tridimensional (3D) que combina datos históricos, etnográficos y arqueológicos con conjuntos de datos en Sistemas de Información Geográfica (SIG), análisis arquitectónicos detallados y mediciones astronómicas; todo ello tiene el objetivo de lograr renders que contemplen adecuadamente las condiciones atmosféricas y de iluminación que prevalecían cuando el sitio estaba habitado. Se ofrecerán detalles completos de todos los métodos, técnicas, equipos y programas informáticos utilizados para crear dicho modelo y los parámetros de renderización de las imágenes que presentaremos. Este estudio ejemplifica cómo el modelado 3D va mucho más allá del modelo final como producto en sí mismo: se convierte en parte fundamental de un proceso interpretativo que nos obligó a probar nuevas variables y discutir nuevas interpretaciones. Los resultados indican que los constructores de los recintos Inca de este asentamiento lo hicieron tanto para ostentar su destreza constructiva, destacarse en el paisaje local, transmitir experiencias excepcionales y memorables a sus residentes y visitantes, como para escenificar vínculos explícitos entre los representantes imperiales y algunos componentes procreativos fundamentales del cosmos andino. Consecuentemente, la plaza de Guitián servía para escenificar y comunicar el papel privilegiado de los representantes imperiales en un esquema cosmológico más amplio.
