Uncovering the secrets of Ichic Willcahuain

The Ichic Willcahuain complex, located 4 miles northeast from Huaraz, in the region of Ancash, dates back to 700 A.C. and may have been built under the influence of the Wari Culture, from the Ayacucho region; this fact may have encouraged its inhabitants to change their burial customs since these differ from the Chavin culture funeral traditions, which were subterranean and not in burial chambers.

Archaeologists have found textiles; ceramics and other objects that may help tell the story of the people that live here. Among the buildings discovered are the “chulpas,” burial chambers that may have been built for the elite as mausoleums.