[3] Sprinkled throughout this city we find the most common architectural form used by the Wari civilization, which is an enclosed plaza flanked by impressive stone halls.

The halls included residences of governors and wealthy citizens, government offices, and beer houses for state-held parties.

Founded in 1981 directors Robert Pritzker and Dr. Michael Moseley, then of The Field Museum of Natural History combined their resources with the Southern Peru Copper Corporation to further their research at Cerro Baúl.

The scholars, armed with the annals of a Spanish chronicler and two seasons of excavations, were able to find evidence that supported the Inca siege and capture of the Wari political outpost.

What we know of the Inca siege comes from Spanish chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega and is supported by excavations by the Programa Contisuyo.

The final evacuation of the center enclave was accompanied by elaborate ceremonies with brewing, drinking, feasting vessel smashing and building burning.

[2] In current times, Cerro Baúl is a place of worship for the local Moqueguanos (inhabitants of Moquegua [/moˈkeɣwa/], a city founded by the Spanish colonists in southern Peru, located in the Moquegua Region, of which it is the capital) to offer pagapus (payment) to the Andean deities in the form of coca, candles and chicha, to list a few.