The Pucará de Turi an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

in the locality of Turi, which is part of Calama, in the

Antofagasta Region The Antofagasta Region (, ) is one of Chile's Administrative divisions of Chile, sixteen first-order administrative divisions. Being the second-largest region of Chile in area, it comprises three provinces, Antofagasta Province, Antofagasta, El ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. It is located 47 km northeast of the town of

San Francisco de Chiu Chiu San Francisco de Chiu Chiu, or simply Chiu Chiu, is a village located about northeast of the city of Calama, in El Loa Province of Chile's northern Antofagasta Region. It lies at an elevation of above sea level, close to the confluence of the L ...

. It is listed as a National Monument of Chile since 1983.

History

This pukara — Quechuan word meaning ''fortress'' or ''fortified hill''— is a

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

stone construction located in the area of Turi. The fortified hamlet is located at an elevation of 3,100 m above sea level and occupies a surface area of approximately 4 ha. It is the largest architectural complex built by the

Atacama people The Atacama people, also called Atacameño, are an Indigenous people from the Atacama Desert and altiplano region in the north of Chile and Argentina and southern Bolivia, mainly the Antofagasta Region. According to the Argentinean Census in 2010 ...

. The construction dates back to ; while in the early

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian calendar dates from 1 January 1401 (represented by the Roman numerals MCDI) to 31 December 1500 (MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Re ...

, the

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

Topa Inca Yupanqui conquered the territory of the Atacama people, and approximately AD 1470, the citadel-like structure underwent a series of alterations by the addition of Incan structures, including a Kallanka, a long building covered with a gable roof. The area included houses with rectangular plan measuring 4 m by 5 m. The complex features about 620 enclosed areas of various sizes and shapes.

References

{{coord, -22.23417, -68.27694, format=dms, type:landmark_region:CL, display=title Pre-Columbian fortifications in Chile