Ancient Cultures and Languages in the North Central Highlands of Perú: An Archaeo-Linguistic Study

Abstract

This essay examines large-scale cultural developments in Peru’s north central highlands during the 1st millennium AD, with an emphasis on their implications for ancient language use and spread. Áncash is of special interest because of its long history of research, central geographic position in northern Perú, diversity in archaeological cultures, and the presence of a series of languages, many now extinct. During the 1st millennium, cultural interaction between north highland groups and their neighbors was very prominent during the beginning and the end of the Early Intermediate Period. The end of the Middle Horizon also saw intensive interaction and cultural transformations. The paper ends with a trial, interdisciplinary study to examine the archaeological traces of the Culle language. It compares the distributions of material artifacts, architecture and toponyms of archaeological sites, and finds there is a reasonable, if imperfect, fit between the data.