La Centinela

La Centinela is an archaeological site in Peru's Chincha Valley, approximately 200 km south of Lima. It served as an active administrative center during both the Inca and pre-Inca periods [1][2]. The site was the Incan capital of the kingdom of the Chincha and represents one of the very few places where the Incas incorporated a major state installation into a preexisting, still functioning non-Inca capital [2]. The settlement dates to around 500-1000 AD, representing a rare example of Inca imperial administration built upon existing indigenous political infrastructure [1][2].