HIGHLAND COMMUNITIES OF CENTRAL PERU—TSCHOPIK ‘< 
This statement is particularly true of the Cen- 
tral Andes. Schematically, according to a stand- 
ard physical geography, the Andean system to the 
south of the Nudo de Pasco divides into three 
chains, the Cordillera Occidental, Cordillera Cen- 
tral, and Cordillera Oriental; these parallel the 
Pacific, trending north northwest-south southeast 
(Pareja Paz Soldén, 1943, p. 44). In general the 
more recent western range is rugged, angular, and 
usually dry and free from snow. In contrast, the 
older eastern chain, which rims the extensive rain 
forests of the Amazon Basin, displays many peaks 
covered by fields of perpetual snow. In Central 
Peru, however, this schematic arrangement of 
things does not correspond to the reality, and the 
situation is further complicated by the fact that 
these cordilleras, or portions of them, are desig- 
nated by a series of local names. The central 
cordillera of this region does not constitute a truly 
independent range, and at many points it joins 
and becomes confused with the western cordillera 
(Pareja Paz Soldén, 1943, p. 44). This range 
appears to have received little or no systematic 
study, and many of its impressive snow-capped 
peaks do not appear on the standard maps and 
have no names other than local ones. Nor does 
the western cordillera in this area conform rigidly 
to the usual generalizations. In the southern 
regions of the Departments of Ayacucho and 
Huancavelica this range tends to be smooth and 
rolling, without snow peaks. North as far as 
the Nudo de Pasco the western cordillera becomes 
a complex of rugged summits and rocky gorges, 
and snow fields are not infrequent; snow-covered 
peaks are seen in the vicinity of the railway pass 
at Ticlio and to the west of Lake Junin in the 
neighborhood of Huarén. The eastern cordillera, 
which eventually becomes involved in the moun- 
tain complex called the Nudo de Pasco, does not 
properly come into the area of this study, and, 
for this reason, further discussion of it is omitted. 
Of more utility, however, than the division of 
the central cordillera into its component ranges, 
is the demarcation of zones based on altitude; for, 
as we shall see later, altitude is perhaps the most 
important single factor in the physical environ- 
ment of the Sierra region and in the influence 
which this environment exerts on the ways of life 
of the Highland peoples. Dunn distinguishes 
four such altitude zones, which may be delimited 
roughly as follows (Dunn, 1925, p. 9): The first, 
the quebrada zone, is a region of rugged hills and 
canyons, in an advanced state of erosion, which 
extends from the foothills to a level of about 5,000 
feet. The second, the Sierra, which les at an 
elevation of from 5,000 to 12,000 feet, is charac- 
terized by sharply crested ridges and deeply 
eroded valleys which frequently have broad, 
smooth stretches suitable for cultivation. The 
frigid, treeless zone of the punas ranges from 
12,000 to 15,000 feet or higher, and is character- 
ized, in spite of the elevation, by a topography 
which is massive and rounded rather than sharp 
and abrupt. The fourth zone, the cordillera, 
consists of great uplifted peaks, many of which 
are covered by perpetual snow. In respect to the 
region under discussion, all of the communities 
visited were situated either in the Sierra or in the 
puna zones, the Jauja Valley towns and those of 
Ayacucho area within the former and the other 
communities within the latter.‘ 
Almost the entire region presently considered 
is dominated by a single river, the Mantaro, and 
by its tributaries, the Huancavelica in the Depart- 
ment of the same name, and the Huarpa in 
Ayacucho Department. The Mantaro River 
originates in the heights of the Nudo de Pasco at 
an altitude of some 13,000 feet above sea level 
(Pareja Paz Soldéin, 1943, p. 67). In this great 
mountain complex are located the headwaters of 
several important rivers including, in addition to 
the Mantaro, the Maranén, the Huallaga, and the 
Perené (map 2). From its place of origin in the 
punas to the northwest of Lake Junin the Mantaro 
flows in a southeasterly direction past the smelters 
and railway yards of La Oroya (pl. 15, 6). Here 
the river flows through a deep, narrow canyon, 
winding between dry and barren mountains. At 
the town of Jauja the river emerges onto the 
plains of the broad, productive Jauja Valley, to 
be described below, and flows the length of it past 
the city of Huancayo, at which point it once again 
becomes confined between the steep slopes of a 
mountain gorge. At the point of junction with 
its tributary, the Huarpa, the Mantaro winds 
sharply to the north; then, turning again and 
flowing east over rapids and through jungle, it 
joins the Apurimac to form the Ene River, an 
important tributary of the Ucayali. 
4The altitudes of Departmental capitals visited are as follows: Huan- 
eavelica, 12,398 feet; Ayacucho, 9,056 feet; Huancayo, 10,729 feet; Cerro de 
Pasco, 13,969 feet. 
