Jisk'a Iru Muqu

Jisk'a Iru Muqu

Excavations at the site of Jisk'a Iru Muqu in 2002
Shown within Peru
Alternate name	Jiskairumoko
Location	Puno Region, Peru
Region	Ilave Valley, Lake Titicaca Basin
Coordinates	16°12′40″S 69°45′50″W / 16.21111°S 69.76389°W / -16.21111; -69.76389Coordinates: 16°12′40″S 69°45′50″W / 16.21111°S 69.76389°W / -16.21111; -69.76389
Altitude	3,890 m (12,762 ft)
Type	open-air village site
Area	0.4 ha (0.99 acres)
History
Founded	Approximately 3,400 BC
Abandoned	Approximately 1,600 BC
Periods	Late Archaic to Early Formative
Cultures	South-Central Highland

Jisk'a Iru Muqu (Aymara, jisk'a small, iru a type of grass, (Festuca orthophylla), muqu knot; joint of a part of the reed, also spelled Jiskairumoko, Jisk'airumoko) is a pre-Columbian archaeological site 54 kilometers (34 mi) south-east of Puno, Peru. The site lies in the mountains at elevation 4,115 meters (13,500 feet), in the Aymara community of Jachacachi, adjacent to the Ilave River drainage, of the Lake Titicaca Basin, Peru. Occupation of Jisk'a Iru Muqu spans from the Late Archaic to the Formative.

The site was first formally recorded by Mark Aldenderfer in 1994, during a pedestrian survey of the Ilave River. The first excavations at the site were conducted in 1995. Jisk'a Iru Muqu is the first Archaic open-air site excavated in the Lake Titicaca Basin. Under the direction of Aldenderfer, a team from University of California, Santa Barbara, including Nathan Craig and Nicholas Tripcevich, conducted additional excavations at the site during the austral winters of 1999-2004. In-field geographic information system (GIS) methods were used in recording exposed surfaces. The site was plowed by tractor in 2005.

Jisk'a Iru Muqu plays a significant role in understanding the pre-Columbian history of Andean Peru due to: early prestige objects, architectural transitions, variation in structure internal organization, ritual preparation embedded in domestic use areas, and the formation of regular trade routes.