chiefdom · South America

Puruhá

800 CE – 1470 CE (approx.)

A highland people of central Ecuador around Chimborazo who were absorbed by the Incas and later by the Spanish, but whose identity survives today.

Origins

The Puruhá occupied the highland basin around the volcano Chimborazo, in the modern provinces of Chimborazo and Bolívar, from around 800. Archaeology shows a sequence of local pottery traditions, with the Puruhá phase often linked to tombs found near Riobamba.

Rule and society

Little is known of their political organisation beyond a series of chiefdoms under local lords. They farmed maize, potatoes and quinoa on the volcanic slopes and herded llamas. Their tombs contained copper ornaments and distinctive pottery, including vessels with modelled human faces. Later chroniclers claimed that Puruhá lords allied by marriage with Quito, but these accounts are doubtful.

Decline and legacy

The Puruhá were brought under Inca rule around 1470 during the campaigns of Túpac Inca Yupanqui. After the Spanish conquest, Riobamba was founded in their territory in 1534. Their descendants, Kichwa-speaking communities of Chimborazo, keep a strong indigenous identity.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Puruhá. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/puruha
MLA
“Puruhá.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/puruha. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Puruhá.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/puruha.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Puruhá’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/puruha (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻