Around 600 A.D., the highlands and northernmost valleys of the Arid North would capture the economic interest of Tiwanaku, one of the first states to develop in the southern Altiplano of the Central Andes. From their central settlement at the monumental site of Tiwanaku, they deployed two separate strategies to access resources and interact with groups on the western side of the Andes: In the northernmost valleys they established colonies of their own people, who lived alongside and interacted intensely, both culturally and socially, with the local population.
Such Tiwanaku settlements have been found dotted around the Azapa Valley, where cemeteries such as Cabuza bear witness to their presence. In the highlands and oases further south, however, and especially around the Atacama salt flat, the Tiwanaku state established economic and political ties with local authorities, cementing themwith valuable gifts from the Altiplano such as pieces of gold discovered in the tombs of Larache, thereby forcing a bond with these peoples.