Information about the city Rioja
Rioja is the capital of Rioja Province in the San Martín Region in northern Peru. It is situated to the west of Moyobamba. There are 24,263 inhabitants according to the 2007 census.
The town is 848 metres above sea level and has a semi-humid subtropical climate. During the period of the Incas, the Rioja Province was inhabited by two tribes, the Uquihuas and the Chepenes. At the end of the 16th century, one of the first Catholic missionaries arrived at Uquihua.
Rioja was founded in September, 1782 and was originally named Santo Toribio de la Nueva Rioja. Rioja is situated in the valley of the upper Mayo River in the north of the San Martín Region. Its coordinates are longitude 77°08’30” and latitude 06º03’00”.
The peaks surrounding Rioja exceed 1,000 metres above sea level. The average temperature is 22.5°C. with actual temperatures varying between 16.5°C and 28.4°C.
Information about the city Chincha
Chincha Alta is a Peruvian city located in the Ica Region. It is the capital of Chincha Province. The City of Chincha Alta is located 200 kilometers south of Lima, in the Chincha Province of the Ica Region of Peru. The city covers an area of 2988 km² and has a population of 56,085.
Pre-Chincha era
The first inhabitants of the area arrived at the beginning of the ninth century. These people are known as the "Pre-Chincha". The historian Luis Cánepa Pachas puts the date of the arrival of the Pre-Chincha at sometime in the tenth century. The rudimentary Pre-Chincha culture was centered on fishing and shell gathering. The origin of the Pre-Chincha people is still uncertain.
Chincha era
In the eleventh century, a more advanced and warlike people known as the Chincha arrived in the coastal area. The Chincha had developed systems of architecture, agriculture and irrigation. The Chincha came to dominate the original inhabitants of the area. Some aspects of the original Pre-Chincha culture were absorbed by the newcomers. The word Chincha is derived from "Chinchay" or "Chinchas" or "Cinca" which mean "jaguar" in Chincha Quechua. The Chincha worshiped a jaguar god, and believed themselves to be descended from jaguars, who gave them their warlike and dominating tendencies. The Chincha fertilized their fields with dead birds and guano, and this knowledge was passed on to later peoples. The Chincha learned seafaring skills from the Pre-Chincha, and may have traveled as far as Central America by boat.
