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Welcome to the Ch'amak Pacha project website

The term Ch'amak Pacha has an Aymara origin, and refers to murky or cloudy times. Through anthropological and archaeological research, the project is dedicated to improving the knowledge of ancient cultures of the western Lake Titicaca Basin, Peru. Research topics include:

  • Archaic to Formative transitions which have been examined at the sites of Pirco, Jiskairumoko, and Kaillachuro

  • The development of highland socio-political complexity during the Middle Formative and later

  • The history of landscape agricultural features including waru-waru (raised fields) and q'ochas (reservoirs)

  • The interplay between climate and culture change with a special emphasis on the Middle Holocene.

To address these diverse subjects in a cohesive way Ch'amak Pacha has employed a number of digital technologies including:

  • Geographic information systems (GIS) in both regional survey and site level excavations

  • Global positioning systems (GPS) for pedestrian survey

  • Remote sensing from space borne satellite platforms, historic aerial photographs, and during excavation

  • Subsurface geophysical survey including ground penetrating radar and magnetometry.

We maintain this site out of a desire to share anthropological information, relate our experiences, and document the methods that we have developed. We hope that visitors to the site will explore the site and enjoy their stay at Ch'amak Pacha.

 
 

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