Chanka

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The Chanka people (or Chanca) are a Quechua people ethnic group living in the regions of Apurímac, Ayacucho and Lamas of Peru. They were enemies of the Incas, and they were centered primarily in Andahuaylas, located in the modern-day region of Apurímac. The Chankas were divided into three groups: the Hanan Chankas, or the Upper Chankas, the Urin Chankas, or the Lower Chankas, and the Villca, or Hancohuallos. The Hanan Chankas had their center in Andahuaylas, the Urin Chankas in Uranmarca, and the Villca in Vilcas Huaman, Ayacucho.

The Chankas encompassed two ethnic groups with well-marked characteristics: the Hanan Chankas (later called "the Parkos Kingdom"); and the Urin Chankas, who surrendered voluntarily to the Quechuan Cusco, and were not destroyed or subjected to forced land transfers (mitmakuna). The Hanan Chanka did not leave major contributions other than villages and remains of Wari pottery and rudimentary tools have been found. This area needs better study.

The Hanan Chankas were an ethnic group that inhabited the region of Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Junín, and part of Apurímac in Peru. They are said to have originated from the lake named Chuqlluqucha and united the colonial "Choclopus" (or "chocorvos") and Urququcha, both in the Huancavelica Department. Their initial territory was located between the Ancoyaco (current Mantaro), Pampas, and Pachachaca Rivers, tributaries of the Apurímac River. They expanded to the "Ancoyaco ayllukuna" area with its headquarters in Paucar and used the Urin Chankas of Andahuaylas as a secondary base. They developed an autonomous culture and spoke a language called puquina. Their capital was Waman Karpa ("falcon's tent"), on the shore of Lake Anori, 35 km from Andahuaylas, on the banks of the Pampas River.

The leader who began the expansion of the Chankas was called Uscovilca, and his mummy was preserved with veneration in Waman Karpa until the time of the Incas.