Lauricocha culture is a sequence of preceramic cultural periods in Peru's history, spanning about 5,000 years from c. 8000 to 2500 BC. The total prehistoric sequence in Peru spans 15,000 years, starting at about 13,000 BC when the first gatherer-hunter societies left their traces in the Ayacucho and Ancash highlands. These were populations that were migrating from the North American continent through Central America and populated the Andes. Traces of these early groups have been found in rock caves of Lauricocha, and Guitarrero.