Farther on was the "round table" where the Incas had their feasts—a huge circular table of rock situated near a conical boulder of immense size.
Interesting fountains with carved figure-heads; an Inca bath of graceful lines; and, some kilometres beyond Cuzco, the marvellous ruins of Viraccocha at Tinta, where gigantic walls of a palace were to be seen standing, and ruins of other fortresses filled one with amazement.
On the mountain side near the town were the strange gateways of Choquechaca, which in their lines resembled ancient Egyptian buildings. Not far off were the blocks of rock to which the Incas fastened their prisoners by their legs, arms and heads, and exposed them to the ridicule of the populace.
Many were the wonderful things which had been found in digging near Cuzco; but most interesting of all to me were the deformed crania—some flattened to almost an incredible extent on the top, others elongated backward to an amazing degree, others still with the central part of the skull deeply depressed, so as to form two globular swellings at the sides. Others, again, had been squeezed so as to form an angular ridge longitudinally on the summit. One skull particularly interested me, which had a pronounced elongation backward, and a dent just above the forehead which must have been caused by tying the cranium while young and still in a soft condition. Most of the skulls were of gigantic size when compared with those of modern times. The lower part was under-developed. Many of them possessed magnificent teeth.
Several of the skulls had been trephined, evidently while the person was still alive, some of the perforations in the brain-case being circular in shape, others quadrangular—most of the trephinations having been made in the forehead, others on the top of the skull. I saw one skull with as many as eleven apertures thus made. The operation had evidently been performed by a very able surgeon, for the little cap of bone removed fitted beautifully into the opening that had been made.
Inca Towers of Sillistayni, Puño (Lake Titicaca).
An Inca Statue, Bolivia.