Chipaw Marka

Chipaw Marka is a pre-Hispanic hilltop settlement in the Sondondo Valley of Peru's Ayacucho Region, at approximately 3,355 metres elevation. Occupied during the Late Intermediate Period (c. 1000-1450 AD) and Late Horizon under Inca rule (c. 1450-1532 AD), it features clusters of circular dry-stone enclosures using local andesite with earth mortar, connected by pathways to agricultural terraces. Excavations in 2021 revealed ceramics in Chicha and Chanka styles and microfossils confirming maize cultivation. Declared National Cultural Heritage in 2003, the site is part of the Sondondo Valley Cultural Landscape on UNESCO's Tentative List since 2019.