 Cercado Province (Oruro), the approximate location of the Wankarani culture | |
| Period | Formative stage |
|---|---|
| Dates | c. 1500 BCE - 400 CE |
| Preceded by | Chinchorro |
| Followed by | Tiwanaku |
The Wankarani culture was a formative stage culture that existed from approximately 1500 BCE to 400 CE on the altiplano highlands of Bolivia's Oruro Department to the north and northeast of Lake Poopo. It is the earliest known sedentary culture in Bolivia, as after circa 1200 BCE camelid hunters of the altiplano became camelid herders and sedentary lifestyle developed. The Wankarani culture was little researched before 1970, when Carlos Ponce Sanginés defined all the mound sites in the area as belonging to one culture that predated Tiwanaku and was contemporary with the Chiripa culture.[1]