Overview

One fateful day 9000 years ago in the high Andes Mountains, Warawara and Phaxsi successfully hunted two adult vicuña with their atlatls (spear throwers)--but they also inadvertently orphaned a baby vicuña. Wiskachita, their young daughter, pleaded to spare the cría's life, but the small community of five families desperately needed the clothing and food it could provide. That night in their ichu grass house, Warawara and Phaxsi hatched a plan. They sheared the animal's fine wool and wove it into a baby's hat. The next morning, they presented the hat to a family in need and convinced the community to work together in caring for the cría. In that moment, a little vicuña became a community member and the first vicuña in a herd that would grow to provide the community with warm clothing for life in the cold mountains. The story of Warawara, Phaxsi, Wiskachita, and their community was co-created by members of the Peruvian Aymara community of Mulla Fasiri and archaeologists from Peru and the US. It is based on traditional Aymara knowledge and archaeological excavations at the 9000-year-old site of Wilamaya Patjxa. Not only is this a story of a strong, innovative family, but it is also the story of a strong Aymara culture whose innovations have enhanced the modern world. In order to make the story accessible to different audiences, we tell the story in three languages-Aymara, Spanish, and English.

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Licenciada en Arqueología por la Universidad Católica de Santa María (UCSM). Ha participado y dirigido proyectos de investigación, evaluación y ciras en la cuenca del Titicaca. Consultorias en análisis de material cerámico y textil, implementación de centros de interpretación y salas de exhibición, Educación Patrimonial en EBR. Temas de interés: paisaje, territorio, educación patrimonial, museología, museografía, gestión del patrimonio cultural. Randy Haas is archaeologist who investigates forager societies (aka, hunter-gatherers) of the past in order to better understand human behavior in the present. Particular topics of interest include forager diets, mobility, technology, and cooperation. Haas leads archaeological excavations and survey projects in the Andes Mountains of Peru and mountain regions of western North America. He also specializes in quantitative comparative approaches that integrate large datasets across North and South America.

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