The Wari tribe were based in today's province of Huanta in the department of Ayacucho, in the city of Wari. Ruins of this ancient city still exist today.
The Wari were the first of the Andean tribes to build an empire. They conquered neighboring tribes and built military outposts in much of Peru, including Pikillacta near Cuzco, Cajamarquilla near Lima, Wilcahuain near Huaraz, Wariwilka near Huancayo, Wiracochapampa near Huamachuco and Los Paredones near Cajamarca. They forced their culture on the tribes they conquered and forbade the continuation of local oral traditions and self-expression. In this respect, they resembled the [G 11 / Inca] who later would found an even stronger empire. Like the Inca, they had no written language and since their oral traditions eventually died out, archaeologists have had to rely on excavated artifacts to understand their culture.
