Titicaca Basin: a huanca (semi-subterranean plaza/court), dating to 1000 BCE. The structure is trapezoidal and two meters deep with a white yellow clay floor and walls made of stone plastered with yellow clay. In Late Chiripa, from 800 BCE-100 CE, the Chiripa settlement grew to 7.7 ha and the inhabitants constructed new, more elaborate corporate structures. Early in the Late Chiripa phase, the structure "Choquehuanca" was no longer used and another sunken enclosure, "Llusco", was built in the southern portion of the site . Llusco was closed about 600 BCE, and construction of the site's most prominent feature, a 50-x-50-m platform mound called the Montículo, was begun. The Montículo was built in two phases. From 600-400 BCE, the Chiripa residents built a series of rectangular "Lower Houses", which were probably constructed around a small platform. The inhabitants closed the Lower House level around 400 BCE and began constructing the "Upper Houses," which were modified and used until around 100 CE. The final monument included a semi-subterranean court and an open ring of permanent adobe and rock structures. The Montículo served as public ritual space where ancestors were revered and food was served, and possibly stored, for group events. Agriculture Early and Middle Chiripa agricultural production is characterized by small-scale gardening where both quinoa and quinoa negra were grown and harvested. Quinoa negra is not domesticated and is a form of weed of the domesticated quinoa. Around 800 BCE, we find a drastic decrease in the frequency of quinoa negra seeds compared to quinoa seeds, signaling changes in crop management and use. In order to reduce the number of quinoa negra seeds in the yearly harvest, farmers may have begun creating formal fields for the crop, weeding, and practicing more careful seed selection. This shift in agricultural production coincides with the development of new ritual and political practices at Chiripa. The presence of large quantities of quinoa seeds at the Montículo suggests that this food played an important role in the activities at this location. Early potatoes dating to 800-500 BCE were uncovered at Chiripa. The place was first described by Padre Pedro Marabini in the 20th century. Since 1990 there has been research at Chiripa by the Taraco Archeological Project from the University of California, Berkeley. This investigation is led by Christine Hastorf. See also Wankarani culture Pre-Columbian Bolivia References Archaeological sites in Bolivia Former populated places in Bolivia Indigenous