SILLUSTANI TOMBS
The Inca Empire was known as Tahnantinsuyo, or "The Land of Four Quarters.' The southern quarter was called Collasuyo after the Colla tribe which, along with the rival Lupaca tribe, dominated the Lake Titi- caca area and later became part of the Inca Empire.

Little is known about the Colla people. They were a warlike tribe who spoke Ayrnara. not Quechua. and they had unusual burial customs for their nobility. Their dead were buried in funerary towers called chullpax. which can be seen in various places in the Puno area. The most impressive of these are the chullpas of Sillustani. the tallest of which reaches a height of about 12 meters.

The outside walls of the towers are made from massive coursed blocks. These are reminiscent of Inca stonework but were not built by the Incas; archaeologists consider this architecture more complicated than that of the Incas. Some of the chullpas of Sillustani are unfinished. Carved but unplaced blocks and a ramp used to raise them to the correct height are among the points of interest at the site. A few of the blocks are decorated - the carving most often noticed by visitors is that of a lizard.