Cutimbo
Cutimbo Chullpa Towers
Late Intermediate–Late Horizon Colla–Inca 1100–1532 CE·Colla (Qolla) and Inca·🇵🇪 Puno, Puno Province, Peru
About
About Cutimbo
Second largest chullpa necropolis after Sillustani, 22 km southwest of Puno: 120 chullpa towers 3–10 m high (Colla–Inca 1100–1532 CE) on andesite mesa overlooking Vilque, monkey, puma and vizcacha low-relief carvings on towers 3 and 6, Quechua workshop of Collasuyu. Rock art behind chullpas Pukara style 200 BCE, caves with subterranean tombs, aligns to Sillustani in sacred road. Inca improvement with perfect ashlar.
Why it mattersValidates Colla chullpa tradition as non-Inca Andean highland mortuary independent of Titicaca.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Monkey carvings Amazon trade link
- 02Why 120 towers in linear row
Theories
- 01Cutimbo as Colla royal cemetery vs Sillustani Lupaca
- 02Inca takeover reused Colla towers to legitimize
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.1100–1470 CE Colla; Inca masonry c.1470–1532
- Period
- Late Intermediate–Late Horizon Colla–Inca 1100–1532 CE
- Culture
- Colla (Qolla) and Inca
- Builders
- Colla
- Purpose
- Chullpa funerary towers, elite lineage necropolis
- Abandoned
- c.1536 (Spanish reduce)
- Rediscovered
- 1862 Wiener describes; Cutimbo Project 1980s
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1100
First Colla chullpas
1470
Inca remodel with ashlar
On the ground
Structures & features
15.8092° S · 70.1083° W · 4025 m · 2 mapped features
Tower 3 Puma Relief
chullpa10 m tower with puma and vizcacha reliefs on lintel
15.8090° S · 70.1080° WEastern Chullpa Row
necropolisLinear row of 30 towers 5–8 m on mesa edge
15.8095° S · 70.1088° W
Gallery