The ancient wachemines forged culture and language in the heart of the current La Libertad Region, living at a height of 3,210m (10,400 feet) above sea level.

This district was long occupied by people who used domesticated animals in the puna (grasslands) and cultivated agricultural crops in the lower part of the terrain.

It was dominated by the Wari' people who created woven textiles, and many artifacts and tools of a variety of metals, including precious ones.

They built Marcahuamachuco, a large, monumental complex believed to have been used as a political and religious center of the elites of a culture that thrived 350 CE-1100 CE.

The Huari people built dwellings that were simple oval-shaped single rooms made of field stones, with floors of clay.

Textile manufacture was an essential prehistoric economic activity in this region, as evidenced by the many weaving tools found at the archeological site.

There is evidence that Huamachuco had trade and other interaction with neighboring areas, including Cajamarca to the south, and the Recuay and Moche cultures to the west.