An Andean capital on the southern frontier
El Shincal de Quimivil was the southernmost provincial capital of the Inca Empire, established in what is now northwestern Argentina between 1470 and 1536. The site functioned as a primary political and administrative center, or wamani, for Collasuyu, the empire's southern quarter. Located near the modern town of Londres, El Shincal sits at an altitude of 1,240 meters and covers approximately 30 hectares. Its construction demonstrates a deliberate replication of the imperial capital's layout, leading some archaeologists to call it a "New Cusco."
The city's core is an orthogonal grid centered on a large public plaza, the aukaipata. In the middle of this plaza is a ceremonial platform pyramid known as an ushnu. This structure has a square base of 16 by 16 meters and stands 2 meters high, accessed by a stone stairway. The ushnu was a stage for rituals and an emblem of Inca state power. Flanking the plaza are five large rectangular halls called kallankas, which were used for administrative and public activities. On the hillsides overlooking the city center are the remains of more than 20 circular stone storehouses, or qollqas, used to hold grain, textiles, and other goods for the state. The entire complex was connected to the rest of the empire by the Qhapaq Ñan, the Great Inca Road, which passes directly through the site.