Ichugan

Ichugán stands above the Chaupihuaranga valley near Yanahuanca in the central Andes. The stone complex is associated with the Yaro culture and is thought to date from around the ninth century. Circular buildings with interior corbels rise on the slope, some with two storeys, while stairways connect different parts of the settlement. A lookout commands the river and ravine below. Archaeologists have also recorded ovens, possibly used in making pottery, and irrigation channels serving cultivated terraces. Circular towers with features associated with Inca construction point to later activity at the site. Together the buildings and terraces reveal a community that shaped the steep mountainside for habitation and cultivation before the Spanish conquest.