Pukara (

Aymara Aymara may refer to: Languages and people * Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language ** Aymara language, the main language within that family ** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...

and

Quechuan Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most wide ...

"fortress", Hispanicized spellings ''pucara, pucará'') is a defensive hilltop site or

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere ...

built by the prehispanic and historic inhabitants of the central Andean area (from

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

central Chile Central Chile (''Zona central'') is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950. It is home to a majority of the Chilean population and includes the three largest metropolitan areas—Santiago, Valparaís ...

and northwestern Argentina). In some cases, these sites acted as temporary fortified refuges during periods of increased conflict, while other sites show evidence for permanent occupation. Emerging as a major site type during the Late Intermediate Period (c. 1000-1430AD), the pukara form was adopted in some areas by the Inca military in contested borderlands of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

. The Spanish also referred to the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

earthen forts built during the

Arauco War The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities and force Mapuche ...

in the 16th and 17th centuries by this term. Today, the term is commonly found in

toponyms Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

region, e.g.

Andalicán Andalicán during the era of conquest and colonial times in Chile was the name of the high hill in the middle of two ravines and site of a fortress built by the Mapuche in 1557 to prevent García Hurtado de Mendoza from invading La Araucanía north ...

, Pucará de Angol,

Camiña Camiña is a Chilean commune and village in El Tamarugal Province, Tarapacá Region. According to the 2002 census, the commune population was 1,275 and has an area of . Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Insti ...

, Cañete, Nama, Quiapo,

Tilcara San Francisco de Tilcara (usually referred to as Tilcara) is a city in the province of Jujuy, Argentina, and the head town of the Tilcara Department. It had 6,249 inhabitants at the . Traces of human habitation in the area date back more than 10,00 ...

, Turi,

Pucara del Cerro La Muralla Pucará de Cerro La Muralla (Pucara of Wall's Hill) is an Inca Pucara (fortress) in Chile. It is located on a strategic mountain top, five km to the south of San Vicente de Tagua Tagua, near the dry lagoon ( Laguna de Tagua Tagua). This is believe ...

Pukara of La Compañía Pukara de La Compañia is an archaeological site containing the remains of a promaucae fortress, later used by the Incas, located on the large hill overlooking the village of La Compañia, a village in the commune of Graneros, Chile. It is the s ...

, Pukara de

Lasana Lasana is a small village located northeast of the city of Calama in the Calama province of Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. It sits along the banks of the Loa River. Pukará de Lasana, (Quechua ''pukara'' fortress), a pre-Columbian fortres ...

Pucará de Belén The Pucará culture was an archaeological culture which developed in Qullaw, along the north-western shore of Lake Titicaca. It was characterized by a hierarchy of sites made up several smaller centers and villages scattered throughout the nort ...

Pukará de Quitor Pukará de Quitor (also spelled Pucará de Quitor) (Quechua ''pukara'' fortress) is a pre-Columbian archaeological site in northern Chile. This stone fortress is located 3 km northwest of the town of San Pedro de Atacama San Pedro de Ataca ...

and

Puka Pukara Puka Pukara (Quechua ''puka'' red, '' pukara'' fortress, "red fortress",Diccionario Quechua - Español - Quechua, Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, Gobierno Regional Cusco, Cusco 2005 hispanicized spellings ''Pucapucara, Puca Pucara, Puca Puc ...

Number and location of Inca pukaras

Inca pukaras were mostly located near the frontiers of the Inca Empire. The greatest concentration is in northern Ecuador, indicating that the Incas encountered the sternest resistance to their expansion there, an assumption confirmed by the early Spanish chroniclers of Inca history. North of

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley on ...

, the Incas met stiff opposition from several chiefdoms, collectively called the Pais Caranqui. The

Pambamarca Fortress Complex The Pambamarca Fortress Complex consists of the ruins of a large number of pukaras (hilltop forts) and other constructions of the Inca Empire. The fortresses were constructed in the late 15th century by the Incas to overcome the opposition of th ...

was a group of pukaras built by the Incas to prosecute the war against the Cayambe people. Other pukaras grouped around the town of Caranqui facilitated the final defeat of the chiefdoms and their incorporation into the Inca Empire. These wars probably took place between 1490 and 1520. Peru has hundreds of towns, ruins, and locations with the name of Pucara, however it is not known how many of these sites were actually built or maintained during the Inca Empire or if were actual fortresses in first place, as it has been customary since the colony to designate as ''pucara'' whichever place seemingly appearing to have been a fortress, despite the fact that it may have never been used as such. The table following is a rough count of the number and location of Inca pukaras which are known to archaeologists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pukara Geography of South America Fortifications in Argentina Fortifications in Bolivia Pre-Columbian fortifications in Chile Fortifications in Peru Indigenous topics of the Andes Indigenous architecture of the Americas