Carolyn Dean "Sentient Stones: Meaning in Inka Masonry"

In the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries the Inka (Inca) of western South America built magnificent structures of rock. They also ate and drank with, dressed, and talked to rocks. This presentation will explore the ways the Inka manipulated rock as a medium, and—more significantly— how they negotiated with and cajoled rock that was capable of resisting human efforts to transport, cut, and fit it into stonemasonry walls. Professor Dean will address two central questions: what did it mean to the Inka to construct using a sentient medium, and what significance was conveyed by an Inka masonry wall?