Pukará de Quitor
| Pukará de Quitor | |
|---|---|
 The ruins of the Pukará de Quitor |
|
| Creation time : | 1300 |
| Castle type : | Residential and refuge castle |
| Conservation status: | ruin |
| Place: | San Pedro de Atacama |
| Geographical location | 22 ° 53 '28 " S , 68 ° 12' 54" W |
The Pukará de Quitor is a historical residence and refuge of the Likan Antai ( Atacameños ) in Ayllu Quitor in the municipality of San Pedro de Atacama in Chile . The fortress is one of the best architectural achievements of the so-called San Pedro culture.
The ruins of the Pukará are three kilometers northwest of the oasis of San Pedro de Atacama on an east-facing steep slope. The Río San Pedro flows through a gorge on the north side. The fortress is spread over an area of 2.4 hectares with a height difference of up to 80 m from the river. It consists of an ensemble of 164 buildings. On the east side, it is protected over its entire width by a colossal wall. The wall is 121 m long, an average of 1.2 m deep and measured from the outside up to 3 m high. A kind of watchtower in the center allows a view up to 80 km away.
The Pukará de Quitor was built around 1300 AD . Like others of its kind in the region, it served to defend the oasis against groups that came from the Andean plateaus in present-day Bolivia. It was designed to withstand extended sieges. It served the local population as a housing estate, which in the event of a conflict could also accommodate people from the surrounding scattered settlements. Around the middle of the 16th century, the Pukará was conquered and razed by Spanish conquistadors. Since then it had been abandoned and left to deteriorate further. In 1981 around 1/3 of the pukarás could be restored.
