Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (; Aymara and Quechua: Qusqu ), is a department of Peru. It is the fourth-largest in the country, after Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto, and borders the departments of Ucayali on the north; Madre de Dios and Puno on the east; Arequipa on the south; and Apurímac, Ayacucho and Junín on the west. It is administered by a regional government. Its capital is Cusco, the historical capital of the Inca Empire.
History The department was created by the Reglamento Provisional de Elecciones, published on April 26, 1822, which established the department of Cuzco alongside those of Arequipa, Huamanga, Huancavelica and Puno.
Geography
The plain of Anta contains some of the best communal cultivated lands of the Department of Cusco. It is located about above sea level and is used to cultivate mainly high altitude crops such as potatoes, tarwi (edible lupin), barley and quinoa.
Provinces
Acomayo (Acomayo) Anta (Anta) Calca (Calca) Canas (Yanaoca) Canchis (Sicuani) Chumbivilcas (Santo Tomás) Cusco (Cusco) Espinar (Yauri) La Convención (Quillabamba) Paruro (Paruro) Paucartambo (Paucartambo) Quispicanchi (Urcos) Urubamba (Urubamba)
Languages According to the 2007 Peru Census, the language learnt first by most of the residents was Quechua (51.40%), followed by Spanish (46.86%). The Quechua variety spoken in this department is Cusco Quechua.
The following table shows the results concerning the language learnt first in the Department of Cusco by province:inei.gob.pe INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007
Province Quechua Aymara Asháninka Another native language Spanish Foreign language Deaf or mute TotalAcomayo 22,26212243,117 -5225,449Anta 36,5124231015,248813251,955 Calca 43,008101411718,1281314261,513Canas 32,790316112,910 -4035,788Canchis 53,6951075737,702212091,638 Chumbivilcas64,087102916,063210470,368Cusco 63,67578194306282,6101,521466349,453Espinar 40,5941208118,11667158,916 La Convención 62,145 2762,8029,27881,111120318156,050Paruro 26,70753512,19214229,001 Paucartambo 35,99695152075,68296542,069Quispicanchi 57,587152111218,562208676,430 Urubamba 27,5231044925,0758236853,606Total566,5811,9762,9689,964516,516 2,5251,7061,102,236 %51.400.180.270.9046.860.230.15100.00
Toponyms Many of the toponyms of the Department of Cusco originate from Quechua and also Aymara. These names are overwhelmingly predominant throughout the region. Their Spanish-based orthography, however, is in conflict with the normalised alphabets of these languages. According to Article 20 of Decreto Supremo No 004-2016-MC (Supreme Decree) which approves the Regulations to Law 29735, published in the official newspaper El Peruano on July 22, 2016, adequate spellings of the toponyms in the normalised alphabets of the indigenous languages must progressively be proposed with the aim of standardising the naming used by the National Geographic Institute The National Geographic Institute realises the necessary changes in the official maps of Peru.
The Ministry of Culture additionally proposes to the municipalities of the provinces to recover ancient indigenous toponyms and that these names should be spread by the local and communal authorities on posters and other signage.
Notable residents
Raul Geller (born 1936), Peruvian-Israeli footballer
Gallery
See also Administrative divisions of Peru Machiguenga Communal Reserve Megantoni National Sanctuary Otishi National Park
Sources
External links Travelogue Cusco Region (Sacred Valley of the Incas)