Mysteria
Verified14.9794° S · 73.8375° W · 3321 m

Chaviña Pampa Geoglyphs (Lucanas, Ayacucho)

Pampa Colorada Geoglyphs · Chaviña Hill Figures

Early Intermediate (Huarpa–Early Wari)·Huarpa / Rancha–Huarpa transition·🇵🇪 Ayacucho Region, Lucanas Province, Chaviña District, Pampa Colorada, Peru

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About Chaviña Pampa Geoglyphs (Lucanas, Ayacucho)

High-altitude (3,200–3,400 m) pampa geoglyphs on the Chaviña puna between Lucanas and Parinacochas, southern Ayacucho. The ensemble comprises 18+ cleared lines and 10–22 m trapezoids and zoomorphs on reddish Pleistocene pediment, morphologically linking Nazca palpa tradition to Ayacucho highland Wari precursors. PUCP-Andes 2017–2022 mapped 6 km of lines with Huarpa ceramics (200 BCE–600 CE) banked in stone curbs, predating Wari by centuries. Andean fox and camelid figures with spiral tails parallel Topará iconography, suggesting a highland–coastal pilgrimage artery toward Nazca. Unfenced, grazed by alpaca, and cut by the Puquio–Chaviña road.

Why it mattersOnly documented high-puna extension of Nazca-style pampa lines, linking coast–highland ideologies.

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Mysteries & theories

Mysteries

  1. 01Wari adoption

Theories

  1. 01Pre-Wari pilgrimage to Nazca

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.200 BCE – 600 CE
Period
Early Intermediate (Huarpa–Early Wari)
Culture
Huarpa / Rancha–Huarpa transition
Builders
South-central Andean puna pastoralists
Purpose
Pilgrimage way and puna pasture boundary marking
Abandoned
c.800 CE (Wari consolidation)
Rediscovered
2017 PUCP drone Andahuaylas survey
Excavation
Partially excavated

  1. 200 BCE

    Earliest Huarpa lines with Topará-like ceramics

  2. 2022

    PUCP maps 6 km with Huarpa diagnostics

On the ground

Structures & features

14.9794° S · 73.8375° W · 3321 m · 2 mapped features

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