Usnu, Ayacucho

{{short description|Archaeological site in Peru}}

{{About|the archaeological site in the Ayacucho Region, Peru|other uses|Usnu (disambiguation){{!}}Usnu (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox ancient site

| name = Usnu

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| image = Willkawaman ushnu.jpg

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| map_type = Peru

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| coordinates = {{coord|13.6527|S|73.9551|W|source:wikidata|display=title, inline}}

| location = Peru, Ayacucho Region, Vilcas Huamán Province

| region = Andes

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Usnu (Quechua for altar / a special platform for important celebrations,Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary)Diccionario Quechua - Español - Quechua, Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, Gobierno Regional Cusco, Cusco 2005 also spelled Ushno) is an archaeological site in Peru. It is located in the Ayacucho Region, Vilcas Huamán Province, Vilcas Huamán District, in the town Vilcashuamán.[http://www.mincetur.gob.pe/turismo/OTROS/inventario%20turistico/Ficha.asp?cod_Ficha=1137 mincetur.gob.pe] "Ushno", pirámide ceremonial, retrieved on January 31, 2014 The site was declared a National Cultural Heritage (Patrimonio Cultural) of Peru on April 11, 2000.

Leon states Vilcas was a principal and very important place in the Incan kingdom. "There were beautiful buildings and a temple with great wealth." The natives, "burned the most important of them and removed the sacred women and treasures so that the Spaniards could not take advantage of them. Two royal highways, if not three, lead from this [place] that they call Vilcas."Leon, P., 1998, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, Chronicles of the New World Encounter, edited and translated by Cook and Cook, Durham: Duke University Press, {{ISBN|9780822321460}}{{rp|287}}