Pukara culture

The Pucará culture was an archaeological culture which developed in Qullaw, along the north-western shore of Lake Titicaca. It was characterized by a hierarchy of smaller centers and villages scattered throughout the northern basin of the Titicaca. The name originates from the town of Pukara, one of the largest settlements in the region. The modern town of Pucará is located half a mile to the east of the archaeological site. The Pukara culture is unrelated to the stone fortresses, pukaras, built across the Andes during the Inca Empire. Its sphere of influence reached as far north as the Cuzco Valley and as far south as Tiahuanaco. The culture had two phases of development within the Formative Period: the Middle Formative (1400 to 550 BC), and Late Formative (550 BC to 400 AD).

In 1925, Luis E. Valcárcel, considered the father of peruvian anthropology, was the first scholar to arrive at the town of Pucará to investigate the archaeological remains found on the outskirts of the city. This discovery was recorded in the University of Cusco Magazine No. 48, which indicates that the expedition took place between July 14 and 20, 1925. Valcárcel was accompanied by the judge, José Frisancho, and the prominent draftsman Victor Guillén