Huánuco Viejo (Wankapampa)
Shillacoto? No Huánuco Viejo vs Huanuco Pampa distinction — Huánuco Viejo Hilltop Village
Pre-Inca to Late Intermediate 400 BCE–1470 CE·Kotosh–Wanka (Yarowilca?)·🇵🇪 Huánuco, La Unión (Huallanca), Peru
About
About Huánuco Viejo (Wankapampa)
Upland counterpart to Huánuco Pampa (400 BCE–1470 CE) on puna ridge 4100 m: earlier pre-Inca hilltop settlement (Yarapote–Wanka–Inca palimpsest) with 144 circular house scatters, defensive trench and lithic scatters. Shillacoto and Kotosh cultural antecedents nearby. Demonstrates verticality: valley floor imperial Inca vs puna indigenous refuge before Inca. Abandoned for Inca mitma valley relocation.
Why it mattersVertical complement to Huanuco Pampa illustrating highland puna-to-valley mitma vertical colonization before and after Inca.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Huanuco Viejo vs Huanuco Pampa same polity vs distinct ethnic
- 02Dating of circular houses Yarowilca vs Wanka
Theories
- 01Puna-valley vertical dualism model for mitma resettlement
- 02Defensive hilltop as resistance against Wanka expansion pre-Inca
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.400 BCE–1470 CE (peak Late Intermediate 1000–1470)
- Period
- Pre-Inca to Late Intermediate 400 BCE–1470 CE
- Culture
- Kotosh–Wanka (Yarowilca?)
- Builders
- Yarowilca / Wanka highland peoples
- Purpose
- Puna defensive hilltop capital and post-Inca mitma relocation source
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.400 BCE–1470 CE (peak Late Intermediate 1000–1470)
Initial construction
c. 1026 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
9.8833° S · 76.8000° W · 4100 m · 2 mapped features
Huánuco Viejo (Wankapampa) central feature
featureMain architectural feature
9.8833° S · 76.8000° WHuánuco Viejo (Wankapampa) secondary sector
sectorSecondary sector
9.8823° S · 76.7990° W