The Inca-Caranqui archaeological site is located in the village of Caranqui on the southern outskirts of the city of Ibarra, Ecuador.

Prior to the arrival of the Incas, the region north of Quito for 160 kilometres (99 mi) to near the Colombian border consisted of several small-scale chiefdoms including the Caranqui, Cayambe, Otavalo, and Cochasquí.

[5] A characteristic of the pre-Inca Caranqui region is the presence of many clusters of large man-made earthen mounds, locally called "tolas", dated from 1200 to 1500 CE.

The climate at these altitudes is suitable for growing maize, the chief food crop of the pre-Columbian (and present day) inhabitants.

[7] Spanish chronicler Miguel Cabello de Balboa tells the story of the Inca conquest of northern Ecuador.

The Incas, hailing from the austere high Andes of southern Peru, found the generally lower altitudes of Andean Ecuador to be a rich and lush land.

The Emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui (ruled c. 1471-1493) began the conquest of Ecuador, encountering heavy resistance from the local chieftains.

[8] According to Cabello de Balboa, Huayna Capac ordered the massacre of the male population of Caranqui in retribution for its resistance.

The Caranqui lost their language, probably Barbacoan, in the 17th or 18th century, and now speak Kichwa, the Ecuadorian dialect of Quechua, and Spanish in common with other highland peoples.