«Dizen que le enseño el Ynga que él mismo se auía tornado otorongo»: Power and transmutation in image of jaguar during the Inca state and the Colonial period

Abstract

Starting from the images of jaguars present in Inca and colonial pieces, and through the articulation of diverse sources, this work attempts to intersect Archaeology with relevant values and practices in native memory, which lead us to rethink the relationships between humans, animals and objects. The pieces and stories studied speak of the intergroup relations, the border spaces and the social dynamics that had the jaguar as a protagonist and intermediary in the framework of practices that consolidated the social order. Explaining to us that this successful process during the Inca expansion would have seen forced to adapt with Hispanic intervention, becoming visually enriched and preserving its essence. These lines constitute a way of approaching the interaction between the mechanisms of legitimation to the Inca political-religious power and the Andean-Amazonian fauna, questioning certain paradigms about the role it plays in the construction of culture, memory and territory.