Tunanmarca
Tunanmarca Citadel
Late Intermediate Wanka (Xauxa) 1000–1460 CE·Wanka (Xauxa)·🇵🇪 Junín, Jauja, Peru
About
About Tunanmarca
Wanka (Xauxa) fortified hilltop capital (1000–1460 CE) on 3800-m ridge above Mantaro valley: 32 ha walled citadel enclosing ~1000 circular stone houses (5–7 m diameter) honeycomb pattern with two concentric defensive walls 4 km total and gateway baffles. Refused Inca offer; besieged and defeated by Pachacuti ca.1460 and mitma resettled to valley Hatun Xauxa. Parsons 1995 mapping revealed elite compounds with chullpa. Post-Inca mit'a village.
Why it mattersLargest Wanka citadel demonstrating Mantaro highland ethnic fortification before Inca conquest and mitma resettlement.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01House count 1000 vs revised via drone over counting
- 02Wanka ethnic triad Xauxa-Huanka distinction
Theories
- 01Hilltop asanti-Inca refuge after Wanka resistance
- 02Honeycomb dense pattern as kinship residential structuring
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.1000–1460 CE
- Period
- Late Intermediate Wanka (Xauxa) 1000–1460 CE
- Culture
- Wanka (Xauxa)
- Builders
- Wanka Xauxa
- Purpose
- Fortified ethnic capital and refuge citadel above Mantaro valley
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.1000–1460 CE
Initial construction
c. 1427 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
11.6500° S · 75.5500° W · 3800 m · 2 mapped features
Tunanmarca central feature
featureMain architectural feature
11.6500° S · 75.5500° WTunanmarca secondary sector
sectorSecondary sector
11.6490° S · 75.5490° W
Gallery