Area of several preceramic cave sites in the highlands of central Peru. The earliest level, dating c 8000-6000 BC, yielded the skeletons of people who hunted deer and guanaco with spears tipped with leaf-shaped points. The sites represent seasonal hunting camps. A second phase, dated c 6000-4000 BC, had better-made points of willow leaf shape. The second culture at Lauricocha was replaced by a third one with smaller leaf- and diamond-shaped points which lasted until 1500 or later; the latter part of this period overlaps with the earliest farming villages on the Peruvian coast, where points of Lauricocha type have been found. Fourth and fifth stages represent pottery-using cultures. Other caves in the area have engravings, some of which include motifs used by about 1000 BC on pottery at Kotosh. Occupations extend into the Initial Period.