Several centuries before the Tahuantinsuyo were developed in the region important cultural centers such as Chavin, Recuay and Sechin. In Ancash. remote testimonies of the presence of Peruvians are. as in the cave where Guitarreros have been identified in the footsteps of the first horticulturists of Peru (9000 B.C.).

The Chavin culture, with an antiquity dating from 1000 to 300 B.C., represents the synthesis of the initial development of Andean culture. It was a highly hierarchical people, and with a highly developed agriculture and handicrafts. Chavin to coincide with the emergence of a new cultural manifestation, characterized by its ceramics in which the white and red colors predominate, identified with the Recuay culture A.D. 000- 600). A mid-fifteenth century the region was under Inca rule. However, huaylas and conchucos, the largest ethnic groups in the area, tried to preserve their identity, so they were quickly identified by the Spanish conquistadors as groups other than the Incas.

Hispanic chronicles tell that beautiful princess tina Manor of huaylas called Quispe Sisa, captured the heart of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, and being baptized as Inés Yupanqui an important alliance for Hispanic settlers sealed. By the mid-sixteenth century some Spaniards settled in the valley to take advantage of the fertile land. Already in the seventeenth century Huaraz looked the picture of a settlement with straight streets. drawn from the main square where the main church, the town hall and the jail was located. Villagers in the region clashed on several occasions against abuse of the Spanish authorities. This same fighting spirit remained in the wars of independence and the early years of the Republic.