La Petaca
La Petaca Chachapoyas · Leimebamba La Petaca
Late Intermediate 1000–1470 CE Chachapoya rock art and chullpa-mast tombs·Chachapoyas·🇵🇪 Amazonas, Chachapoyas Province, Peru
About
About La Petaca
High cloud-forest complex at 2950 m southeast of Leimebamba: overhang shelter 30 m long retains 200+ red ochre paintings (anthropomorphs, camelids, geometric) and adjacent rectangular chullpa mausoleums with gable roofs. Trail links to Laguna de los Cóndores mummies; documented by ArtRupestre-Perú.
Why it mattersRare high-altitude Chachapoyas rock art + chullpa ensemble illustrating ancestor painting ritual on Leymebamba-Huamanpata corridor.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether La Petaca paintings were renewal ceremony for Cóndores mummies
- 02Pigment sourcing at 3000 m altitude
Theories
- 01Pilgrimage way-station marking entrance to Cóndores necropolis
- 02Shamanic rock art legitimizing chullpa lineage territory
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.1000–1470 CE (Late Intermediate Chachapoya)
- Period
- Late Intermediate 1000–1470 CE Chachapoya rock art and chullpa-mast tombs
- Culture
- Chachapoyas
- Purpose
- Painted rock shelter with red ochre geometric anthropomorphs plus cliff chullpas overlooking Laguna Huamanpata trail
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1000–1470 CE (Late Intermediate Chachapoya)
Initial construction
1470 CE Chachapoya rock art and chullpa-mast tombs
Major occupation / refurbishment
On the ground
Structures & features
6.7230° S · 77.8010° W · 2950 m · 2 mapped features
La Petaca painted shelter
rock shelter30 m rock shelter with 200 red ochre anthropomorph paintings
6.7220° S · 77.8000° WLa Petaca chullpas
mausoleumFour limestone chullpa mausoleums with gable roofs adjacent to shelter
6.7240° S · 77.8020° W