Where is the Huanangue Valley?

 

The Huanangue Valley is located in north-central Peru, about 2 hours north of the capital Lima.  It runs along the western slope of the Andes and passes through elevations of approximately 900-1600 meters above sea level.  This range of elevations corresponds with both the geographic and cultural transition zone between the coast and the highlands (locally called the chaupiyunga), which means that the Huanangue Valley is the perfect place to study inter-group and inter-regional interaction.  Before the Huanangue Valley Archaeological Project began its work in this region in 2008, it was completely unknown archaeologically.  This means that we spent 2008 and 2009 doing archaeological survey in order to find and document sites.  Check back soon for a new lab note where I will talk about what we did on survey!