Pucara de tilcara

The Pucará de Tilcara is located on a hill just outside of the small town of Tilcara, in the Argentine province of Jujuy. The location was strategically chosen to be easily defendable and provide good views over a long stretch of the Quebrada de Humahuaca.The Pucara of Tilcara was declared a National Monument in 2000. It has been partially rebuilt, and is the only publicly accessible archeological site in the Quebrada de Humahuaca.

Historical Overview

Traces of human inhabitation of the area date back more than 10000 years. The fortified town was originally built by the Omaguaca Tribe, who settled in the areas around the 12th century ad. Experts in agriculture, weaving and pottery, they were also renowned warriors. During their reign, the Pucara served as an important administrative and military center.At it's peak, the Pucara covered up to about 15 acres and was home to over 2000 inhabitants, living in small, square stone buildings with low doorways and no windows.Besides living quarters, the Pucara contained corrals for animals, sites to perform religious ceremonies and burial sites.

In the late 15th century, the tribes of the Quebrada were finally conquered by the Incas under Thopa Inka Yupanqui, who used the Pucara (meaning strength or fortress in their native Quechua language) as a military outpost and to secure the flow of metals like silver, zinc and copper which were mined nearby.The name Omaguaca is also derived from the Quechua language and, according to some linguists means "place with people clothed in leather".

The Incan domination of the area only lasted for about half a century, and ended with the arrival of the Spanish in 1536, who also founded the modern town of Tilcara in 1586.

Todays museum

In 1908 the ethnographer Juan Bautista Ambrosetti of the University of Buenos Aires and his student Salvador de Benedetti rediscovered the site and catalogued over 3000 artifacts during their first 3 years of digging. Starting in 1911 they began to clear about 2000 sqm and rebuild some of the structures. In 1948 Eduador Casarnova took over and oversaw the opening of the site as an archeological museum in 1966. Excavation and rebuilding efforts are still governed by the University of Buenos Aires.

A small botanical garden with cactus species native to the area, located next to the Pucara, is also worth visiting.