Browses
Patacancha project materials (1987-1997)
This is the second major project undertaken by the Cusichaca Trust. The main achievement was the rehabilitation of the 6 km-long Pumamarca canal, an original pre-Inca structure extended during the Inca period, along with the restoration of agricultural terracing in the surrounding valley. Around this canal and terrace restoration centrepiece, other components of a wider rural development project were designed, which addressed the many other needs of farming communities in the valley. There was a significant archaeological component to the work in the Patacancha valley, especially at the pre-Inca and Inca sites at Pumamarca and around the impressive promontory site of Hatun Aya Orqo.
Ayacucho and Apurimac project materials (1997-2013)
Is the last major project undertaken by the Cusichaca Archaeological Project (CAP) on the remote Apurimac and Ayacucho areas to the north-west of Cuzco, some of the poorest parts of Peru and badly affected by the activities of the ‘Shining Path’ in the 1980s and early 90s. This project focused on health and nutrition, conservation of the environment, agricultural extension and the establishment of a series of skills centers, including carpentry and blacksmith’s workshops and horticultural centers. Increasing agricultural production required major works to restore pre-Hispanic irrigation canals and terrace systems.
Ancient People of the Andes
In Ancient People of the Andes, Michael A. Malpass describes the prehistory of western South America from initial colonization to the Spanish Conquest. All the major cultures of this region, from the Moche to the Inkas, receive thoughtful treatment, from their emergence to their demise or evolution. No South American culture that lived prior to the arrival of Europeans developed a writing system, making archaeology the only way we know about most of the prehispanic societies of the Andes.