The role of the puna in the prehistoric cultures of Andahuaylas (Apurimac, Peru)

Abstract

The southern highlands of Peru offer a dramatic landscape in which to examine the origin and development of camelid herding of the long-term and broad patterns of Andean prehistory. The Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica en la puna de Andahuaylas (PAPA) completed an archaeological survey (~40 km²) and identified 159 archaeological sites, which included a wide range of site types dating back almost two millennia of occupation. More than half of the recorded sites date to the Chanka phase (1000-1400 AD) and indicate that, as seen elsewhere in the central Andes, more intensive and extensive camelid production occurred after the Wari collapse during a time of elevated social and economic risk. The historical ecology of the Andahuaylas puna confirms that camelid herders, travelers and others visited and occupied these high puna grasslands, and through these cumulative actions, transformed the natural landscape into a cultural landscape.