The mystery of the Quiaca petroglyphs
After having spent two days in La Rinconada, the gold mine town, which, located at 5,200 meters above sea level, is the highest town in the world, my archaeologist friend Ricardo Conde Villavicencio and I decided to continue our trip to begin the archaeological exploration of the Quiaca valley.
Based on various knowledge that we had in common, we suspected that in the Quiaca district we would find important remains of pre-Inca cultures from both the mountains and the jungle, or from the Amazon. So, we loaded our luggage on a truck and set out for Untuca, the first town in the Quiaca Valley.
Untuca is just behind the Ananea glacier (5,829 meters above sea level), which surrounds La Rinconada, but to get there by vehicle you have to take a very long drive, passing through Ananea and crossing desolate plateaus. After passing along a wonderful lake embedded between rocks, you enter the narrow valley that leads to Untuca. During the journey you see many llamas and alpacas grazing peacefully, and also many hares that run fearfully among the stones.
We were not the only ones going to Untuca, there were also large Mercedes trucks and huge Caterpillars heading to its surroundings, where there is another gold mine, which, according to what the driver told me, was given as a concession to Untuca. a Chilean company and I wonder if the necessary precautions will be taken to not contaminate the rivers and lakes with mercury, since if not, it would be another gigantic environmental disaster.
Around 11 we arrived at Untuca, where we had a light meal of eggs and sweet potatoes. Untuca is located approximately 4000 meters above sea level and although it is not as cold as in La Rinconada, a rather icy wind blows. Shortly afterward we met two strong and agile boys, named Eloy and Henry, who guided us on our hike for the next few days.
At around one o'clock we left and began walking towards the town of Poquera Grande. You walk through the narrow valley bordering the impetuous ravine, often getting close to the llamas and alpacas that graze serenely. After about two hours, you reach Poquera Grande, a village of more or less 200 families embedded in a cold curve of the mountain.
We immediately contacted the town authorities, who allowed us to camp in the main square. Some of these officers accompanied us, the next morning, to a place near the town where we wanted to see a strange petroglyph, very similar to an ancient map.
The first impression we had was that of finding ourselves in front of incisions made by ancient Amazonian peoples who perhaps traveled towards the mountains, but, still not being sure of this thesis, we decided to continue the trip to look for other evidence that could support it.
Walking towards the town of Poquera Chico, located approximately an hour further down, we were able to closely observe a chullpa (funerary urn) typical of pre-Inca cultures of the mountains, probably Lupaca or Pukara. Inside one of these urns we found the jaw of a human being still intact, probably the one who was buried there about 1,200 years ago. In effect, these served as mausoleums of the tribal chiefs or caciques of the pre-Inca cultures, in which, generally, the bones of the town leaders were placed after having been exhumed in a sacred ceremony where they were made. offerings to the Gods. Next to the bones of the deceased, coca, chicha, corn and quinoa leaves were placed, as well as pieces of jade, semi-precious stones and other ritual objects.
After taking some photos we decided to continue the tour. We walked for approximately two hours until we reached the river, where we stopped for lunch. Shortly afterward we decided to explore these surroundings, since some farmers had told us that just on the right side of the ravine we would find the most important petroglyph. Indeed, after an hour of searching, making our way with machetes through the intricate vegetation, we found the Quiaca petroglyph, an enigmatic indication of ancient Amazonian cultures.
It is a wall about three meters wide and high where there are several abstract and anthropomorphic signs, but what interested me most were two stylized faces, the classic Amazonian faces, very similar to those that can be seen in Pusharo, in the Shinkibeni River (Palotoa arm, tributary of the Madre de Dios River).
Archaeologist Ricardo Conde Villavicencio and I came to the conclusion that the creators of the Quiaca petroglyph belonged to the same ethnic group as those who masterfully engraved the Pusharo petroglyph, located approximately three hundred kilometers away.
The incision of the famous faces of Pusharo and the not so well-known faces of Quiaca symbolize, in our opinion, belonging to the same Amazonian ethnic group that in the distant past was moving from the jungle to the mountains.
It seems to us that when glaciation was still ongoing about 11.5 millennia ago, a lot of water was concentrated in the Andean glaciers, with the Amazonian rivers being less voluminous. The vegetation was not as dense and the tribal people could move much more easily. Some of these ethnic groups sought to exchange their typical jungle products (coca, fruit, gold, fish) for others that were only found in the mountains (quinoa, quihuicha, maca, potatoes and also animals such as llamas and alpacas). This was the reason for those ancient migrations and this is the key to understanding those trips, which were described in the petroglyphs of the area where ancient maps were carved in stone, several of them marked with the symbol of the ethnic group, “the Amazonian face.”
But who were those ancient Amazonian travelers? And above all, who are their descendants?
There are two theories about this. The first theory states that they mixed with Aymara and Quechua language peoples, giving rise to the Pukara culture (antecedent of Tiwanaku). Indeed, the terms Pusharo, Poquera and Pukara are strangely similar.
On the other hand, the second theory maintains that the descendants of the Amazonian peoples who crossed the Quiaca Valley in ancient times are none other than the Uros of Lake Titicaca, people of the Arawak language, whose Amazonian origin is linguistically proven.
The fact that the valley of the Quiaca River is practically unexplored even in the lowest part, where the river assumes the name of Río Huari Huari (later called Río Iñabari), suggests that it is possible that there are other important indications of this ancient Amazonian ethnic group. However, the expedition to the Huari Huari River would require many days and considerable financial resources.
All afternoon we continue our way towards the town of Quiaca. On the way we observed other funerary urns, until we reached the town at night, where we slept.
In Quiaca, a small town of approximately 500 people, located about three thousand meters above sea level, the trail ends. To go further, it would be necessary to organize a large expedition, with enough supplies for at least seven days. Friend Conde Villavicencio and I intend to return next year, if time and resources allow, in order to explore the Huari Huari River.
Our return trip took place in two stages: first, we walked to Sandía, the capital of the province, and the next day we returned to Juliaca by bus.
YURI LEVERATTO
