Pucara

Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Sun 19 Sep 2010 14:30
Pucara
 

 

Pucara was our next stop, it has its origin in the Late Formative Period (200 BC - 200 AD) on the Collao Plateau, one of an Aymara speaking culture that flourished in the region, the predecessors of the Thiahuanaco Civilization (200 AC - 1200 AC) that covered most of the Bolivian and Peruvian, actual mountain and costal territories. Thiahuanaco was the central matrix culture that exerted great influence in the development of all the civilizations that prospered during this present era in central western South America.

 
 



In the museum we saw a schematic time line of ancient peoples. We were told that the Mayans practiced human sacrifice. Pucara in the language spoken by the Incas (Quechua), is a name that means fortress; this city was a huge fortified stronghold as well as a ceremonial place with terraces of different sizes, made with stones linking different levels of its pyramidal edification, Pucara was also a commercial city famous for mineral extraction during several periods, salt, gold and ochre from were gets its name - Puca meaning Red.

 

 

 

The courtyard of the museum has many ancient monoliths to the animals they held sacred. The oven used for pottery

 

 

 

                                                                                                  This represents the catfish found in Lake Titicaca. The Puma turned to the Snake



It real name in Aymara is totally ignored for the lack of textual writings; the Quechua was an imposed language in this region by the Incas when they conquered this territories. Inca Pachacutec after a strong resistance won these territories by the arms but it was during the reign of his succeeding son Inca Wiracocha that a full assimilation occurred and even the language was changed and all the construction seen today was built during the 16th century by Incas over the ancient structures.

 

    



The museum holds very interesting stone sculptures, carved steles, colorful ceramics and many interesting objects with their special style and symbolism. This is Hatan Naqak, the great decapitator. The next one we called just "Headless"

   

 

This is Priest Devourer I and II

 
 



Today Pucara is famous for its ceramics, especially their artistic terracotta bulls known as “Toritos de Pucara” they represent duality and fertility and have unique artistic form. We have seen them on so many roofs all over Peru, now we know where they come from. I took this picture of the roof of the museum and a little tanager hopped in to shot. This city is sixty seven miles, approximately two hours left on our journey to Puno.



At Pucara there is also a sunken plaza that has four entrances placed for the four cardinal points, we have seen before as the Incas followed astrology closely.

 

At the beginning of the republican era, the town of Pucara was the scene of the memorable harangue delivered by José Domingo Choquehuanca, the Liberator Simom Bolivar, (our friend from Venezuela) in their passage from Cusco to Puno, on the 22nd of August 1825. Epic song that has gone down in history as the "Prayer of Pucara".

 

 

ALL IN ALL AMAZING TO FIND SUCH ANCIENT HISTORY IN A REMOTE VILLAGE