APURMAC

departamento, Inca regin, in the Andean interior of southern Peru. Most of the land is at a high elevation, dissected with deep canyons cut by the Apurmac River and its tributaries. The name Apurmac is a Quechua term meaning great oracle, or lordly speaker. From as early as 1800 BC the surrounding mountains have supported gold-mining activities, evidenced by the uncovering of gold-working tools and other objects at Waywaka, near Andahuaylas (now in Ica departamento). Once the centre of the sedentary Qasawirka civilization, the area later flourished under the Huari (c. AD 6001000) and the Inca (15thearly 16th century). The elaborately carved Concacha boulders at Sayhuite (Saywite), near Abancay, are notable Pre-Columbian remains. Created in 1873, Apurmac initially included parts of the present departamentos of Ayacucho and Cuzco. Its territory was further reduced in the late 1980s and '90s when the provinces of Andahuaylas and Chincheros were shifted to Ica departamento under a scheme of regional reorganization. The inhabitants are mainly subsistence farmers and herders. The chief products are sheep and alpaca wool, corn (maize), and potatoes. Wheat, beans, and fruits also are grown. Gold, copper, and lead are mined. The capital, Abancay (q.v.), is in the centre of the largest area of settlement, located in an intermontane basin that lies between 7,000 and 8,000 feet (2,100 and 2,400 m) above sea level. Area 6,050 square miles (15,670 square km). Pop. (1993 est.) 381,997.