Puquina language

Puquina
Pukina
Pukina juyai
Native toBolivia, Peru
RegionLake Titicaca
EthnicityTiwanaku
Extinctearly 19th century
Puquina
  • Puquina
Official status
Official language in
Bolivia
Language codes
ISO 639-3puq
Glottologpuqu1242
Pukina language distribution around 1600 CE, Pukina toponyms, and pre-Inca Pukina ethnicities

Puquina (or Pukina) is an extinct language once spoken in the region surrounding Lake Titicaca (Peru and Bolivia) and in the north of Chile. It is often associated with the culture that built Tiwanaku.

A Puquina substrate can be found in the Quechuan and Spanish languages spoken in the south of Peru, mainly in Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna, as well as in Bolivia. There also seem to be remnants in the Kallawaya language, which may be a mixed language formed from Quechuan languages and Puquina.

Sometimes the term Puquina is used for the Uru language, which is distinctly different.