Pucará, Puno (Aymara and Quechua: Pukara, which means fortress) is a
town in the Puno Region, Lampa Province, Pucará District, Peru. It is located
to the north-west of Lake Titicaca.
The ancient archaeological site of Pucará, dated as early as 1800 BCE, is
located to the west of the town. The site is very large, spread in the area of
approximately 4.2 km2 (1.6 mi2). This was the first large urban center in the
region.
This was an important highland administrative and religious center. There was
a ceremonial sector and the urban sector or city.
The ceremonial sector is composed of 9 pyramids of various shapes and sizes,
the most important being the pyramid Qalasaya. This structure is built of
large monoliths of finely crafted stone, and includes some sculptures.
In front of the pyramid, there is a staircase to the upper temple decorated
with stelae. There are also figures of mythological beings of men and animals,
such as frogs, snakes, fish, and pumas.
There was also a large sunken central court containing carved stone steles.
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Andean Range
Pukara elevation is 3,877 m (12,720 ft).
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Entrance to the Pukara Archaeological Complex
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Central Pukara
A Formative Period ceremonial center.
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Pukara was one of the most important ceremonial centers in the Andes.
It is recognized as a main civic and ceremonial center that had its
splendor during the Upper Formative (500 BCE - 400 CE). It was
composed of a complex society constituted in an Andean theocratic
State that formed the first complex and multi-community political
entities based on religion, in which a restricted group of the elite
that was able to control through religion the networks of
interregional economic exchange and control the political power of the
circumlacustrine area of the high plateau. Its influences laid the
foundation for cultures such as Tiwanaku and Inca Medium/Classic. Ref.
Flores and Tantaleán 2012; Stanish, 2001/2003.
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At its maximum development, Pukara included a central district with
monumental stone constructions and an extensive periphery with
evidence of housing and productive activities. Contrary to Tiwanaku,
Pukara was abandoned at the end of the Late Formative period and was
not significantly reoccupied for some centuries, providing a “close
picture” of a Late Formative center in the Titicaca basin. During its
peak, the site achieved growth unseen in the Middle Formative and
unmatched in the northern basin after its collapse. Ref. (Klarich 2003
/ 2005).
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Pukara was for around two thousand years the representative culture of
the highlands, where the population was constituted at the base and
their organization in complex hierarchical nuclei linked to the
region, they practiced agriculture and grazing. They were creators of
corporate architecture such as the great Qalasaya pyramid, creators of
finely finished polychrome ceramics and magnificent anthropomorphic
lithosculptures with trophy heads (priest cutthroat/sacrifice) and
mythical beings representing fish, snakes and amphibians.
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Historically, the Pukara Culture has its first references in the
chronicles of Cieza de León, who wrote in his “Chronicle of Peru”,
published in 1553: “...From Ayaviri, going along the royal road you go
to Pucara, which wants to to say a strong thing..." “...What I saw in
this Pucara is large ruined and dismantled buildings, and many lumps
of stone, with human figures and other things worthy of note...." Also
Vázquez de Espinosa, whoever toured the plateau in 1618 noted:
"...there were large and superb buildings and many stone sculptures
with figures of men and animals..." Other chroniclers also refer to
Pukara as a sacred place where wars took place during the conquest.
Inca del Collao was also the scene of a battle during the
Hispano-Indigenous advance against the rebellion of Captain Francisco
Hernadez Girón in 1554 against the crown of Castile.
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Idealized reconstruction of the Pukara Ceremonial Center
Mujica (1979-1987) and COPESCO (1975 - 1981).
- In relation to the contributions of Kidder (1939).
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Panorama of the Pukara Archaeological Complex
Seen from north to south.
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Panorama of the large submerged central courtyard
Contains carved stone stelae.
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Panorama of the temple (left) and the large submerged central
courtyard (right).
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Panorama of the temple
The temple has eight niches inside.
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Qalasaya
The great pyramid.
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The Qalasaya pyramid located in sector B in relation to the extension
of the Pukara archaeological complex has received greater attention
from researchers, as it is one of the representative elements of the
early religious architecture of Pukara, it is associated with sunken
temples/enclosures. This pyramid is a monumental construction that
measures 315 m (1033 ft) long in a north-south direction; 300 m (984
ft) in an east-west direction and 32 m (105 ft) high (Mujica 1996).
Its architectural configuration is composed of artificial platforms
built with edged stones that give it the appearance of a truncated
stepped pyramid. It has a single front that is visible to the east and
south. It is embedded in the Calvario hills to the west and Pucaorgo.
At the top of the pyramid, there are three probably ceremonial
enclosures that are aligned on the north-south axis and face east.
They are built with carved stones and are of fine finish. Of the three
enclosures, the most studied has been the Central Plaza or White and
Red Temple due to its peculiar shape.
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When Alfred Kidder II arrived in the 1930s, the monumental stone
terraces and sunken courtyards of the Qalasaya Complex had been
covered over and significantly eroded, leading him to describe Pukara
as “not very notable at first glance.” However, Kidder's large-scale
excavations in 1939, followed by a multi-year project by the COPESCO
Plan (supported by UNESCO in Peru) during the 1970s, exposed and
subsequently restored significant parts of the impressive stone
architecture visible today. Qalasaya complex is located in the central
ceremonial district of the Pukara complex, and was continuously
occupied from Early times (as early as 500 BCE). Then underwent a
major reconstruction episode during the Middle Period/Classic (Klarich
2003, 2005). Apparently in this period the main character will become
visible with feline attributes and special clothing (Hatun Ñakaq), a
cutthroat who carries human heads and knives in his hands.
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According to the findings of a fragment of monolith and stone slab “in
situ” identified in the 1975 excavations (COPESCO), researchers have
inferred that the front platforms of the Qalasaya pyramid would have
been found decorated with some of the famous Pukaca lithic sculptures,
probably in the outer corner of the second platform and very close to
the central staircase. In addition, excavations in the main atrium
that exposed yellow clay on the coverings of the walls and surfaces of
the platform have allowed us to suggest that the great pyramid had
clay coverings on its walls with the platforms of the pyramid painted
and probably decorated with Pukara motifs.
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Panorama of the great pyramid
This structure is built of large monoliths of finely crafted stone, and
includes some sculptures.
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In front of the pyramid, there is a staircase to the upper temple
decorated with stelae.
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There are also figures of mythological beings of men and animals, such
as frogs, snakes, fish, and pumas.
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See also
Source
Location
