From wind-swept highland lakes to fog-draped Pacific terraces, the Andean cultural mosaic emerged over millennia. Archaeological data indicate human presence in high valleys such as Lauricocha (Highlands, samples spanning ~8600–3500 years ago) and coastal localities near Arica (Late Archaic Chinchorro contexts). Early Holocene foragers exploited diverse ecologies — puna wetlands, river canyons like Cotahuasi, and coastal fisheries — laying the foundations for later sedentary life.
Sedentism and horticulture gradually intensified during the mid-Holocene and into the second millennium BCE, visible in mound-building, irrigation traces, and early ceremonial architecture at sites like La Galgada and early Lima coast occupations. Limited evidence suggests regional differentiation by 1000 BCE, with emerging highland polities and coastal specialists. Over the first and second millennia CE, more visible political centers arose: Pukara and later Tiwanaku-linked sites (Akapana, Pumapunku in the Lake Titicaca basin) created stylistic and economic networks that would reshape Andean social landscapes.
Because preservation and sampling density vary widely across sites and periods, precise demographic reconstructions remain cautious. The 108 ancient genomes analyzed here offer a broad temporal sweep, supporting a narrative of long-term highland occupation punctuated by episodes of regional interaction and mobility.
