The aim of this thesis was to fully understand and interpret the early texts focused on the culture of the Inca Empire and the image of an Indian in the Spanish colony - Peru, as well as establishing the main reasons of publishing work of each of the selected authors and introducing their basic opinions and views on the native culture of the Ands' area. The research is focused on the Inca Empire and each data is divided into thematic groups. Apart from the basic data, the thoroughly studied materials give us details on many details of the society and culture. The subjects of the analysis were the ten main sources of Spanish conquista, whose authors are: Antonio de Hererra, Pedro Pizarro Méndez, Cristóbal de Mena, Francisco de Xeréz, José de Acosta, Pedro Cieza de León, Juan de Betanzos, Bartolomé de Las Casas, Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa a Martín de Murúa.

Qu’elle soit envisagée comme un mythe ou une histoire véridique, l’épopée des Incas excite la curiosité de l’Occident depuis le XVIe siècle. Le Tahuantinsuyu, qui s’étendait, du nord au sud, des montagnes colombiennes, aux côtes de l’actuel Chili, est aujourd’hui considéré comme le plus grand, le plus prestigieux et le plus abouti des systèmes sociaux qu’ait connus le Pérou. Ainsi, la société inca possède le caractère terrible de l’exotisme, et celui plus rassurant de la cohérence et de l’organisation « à l’occidentale ». Mais, conquérir n’est pas gouverner, en particulier sur un territoire aussi vaste. Alors, comment les Incas occupaient-t-ils leur territoire ? Avaient-ils un modèle d’occupation ou n’étaient-ils que de simples conquérants ? Cette étude propose d’analyser et d’interroger les modalités d’occupation de l’espace chez les Incas, dans le cadre particulier de la côte sud du Pérou. Elle adopte deux approches. La première vise à recenser, localiser et cartographier l’ensemble des sites archéologiques de l’Horizon tardif. Ce corpus constitue une base de données pour comparer les caractéristiques de chaque établissement, et recomposer la réalité physique du monde inca. La seconde prend pour principe que la compréhension du territoire du Tahuantinsuyu n’est accessible qu’en adoptant le point de vue des Incas. En réhabilitant leur parole, disponible dans les documents espagnols, il est possible de comprendre quels sont les grands concepts symboliques qui fondent l’organisation de l’espace, et à partir desquels a été construit tout un modèle socio-territorial. Cette plongée dans les profondeurs de l’histoire préhispanique permet de révéler, dans des cas concrets, une partie de ce que fut véritablement le territoire inca. / Whether considered as a myth or a truthful story, the epic of the Incas arouse curiosity in the occidental world since the sixteenth century. The Tawantinsuyu, which stretched from the Colombian mountains to the coast of Chile, is today considered as the largest, the most prestigious and the most successful social systems that Peru has never had. Thus, the Inca society has the terrible characteristic of exoticism, and the more reassuring appearance of coherence and "western" organization. But conquering is not governing, especially in such a vast territory. So how did the Incas occupy their territory? Did they have a model of occupation, or were they merely conquerors? This study proposes to analyze and interrogate the modes of occupation of space in the Incas, in the particular setting of the southern coast of Peru. It adopts two approaches. The first aims to identify, locate and map all the archaeological remains of the Late Horizon. This corpus constitutes a database to compare the characteristics of each site, to recompose the physical reality of the Inca world. The second takes for principle that the understanding of the Tawantinsuyu territory is only accessible by adopting the Inca point of view. By rehabilitating their word, available in Spanish documents, it is possible to understand what are the symbolic fundamentals concepts that underlying the organization of space, from which an entire socio-territorial model was constructed. This plunge into the depths of pre-Hispanic history reveals, in concrete cases, part of what really was the Inca territory.

Armatambo and the Inka Dominion in Lima ValleyArmatambo is one of the far major sites in the sorroundings of Lima wich suffered from severe destruction due to urban expansion. Therefore it is archaeologically poorly known, mostly through notes published by travellers from the nineteenth century and from early historical sources. The latter documents mention that Armatambo was an important urban center in the central coast during Inca times and reached the category of hunu. In fact, due to recent record made by the authors in the San Pedro Huaca, one of the monumental buildings at Armatambo, complemented early interpretations and showed intense Inca ocupation. Great changes ocurred in the Ichma architecture showing new architectural forms and use of space, as well as changes in funerary pattern and new ceramic forms. / Armatambo es uno de los pocos sitios de gran extensión del área de Lima que en las dos últimas décadas ha sufrido mayores modificaciones debido al crecimiento de la ciudad y del que arqueológicamente es poco lo que se sabe. El conocimiento sobre este centro urbano ha estado mayoritariamente restringido a las notas de viajeros del siglo XIX y a las fuentes históricas. Estas últimas mencionan que Armatambo constituyó un centro urbano muy importante en el esquema organizativo de la costa central durante la época inca y que llegó a alcanzar la categoría de hunu. De hecho, recientes investigaciones de los autores en la Huaca San Pedro —uno de los edificios de Armatambo— han podido complementar la información obtenida en temporadas anteriores y han evidenciado la intensa ocupación incaica en el sitio. Esta se manifiesta en los grandes cambios que se dan en la arquitectura ichma, en las nuevas formas de organización y uso del espacio, así como en la aparición de cambios en el patrón funerario y la incorporación de nuevas formas cerámicas.