The postholes at Checua suggest that people were building structures — perhaps not permanent year-round habitations, but more substantial than simple windbreaks or temporary shelters.

The presence of habitation floors indicates that the site was used repeatedly and for extended periods.

The economy was hunter-gatherer, based on hunting deer and other game, fishing, gathering wild plant foods, and exploiting the rich resources of the high-altitude wetland environment.

Agriculture was not yet established on the plateau — the first clear evidence for maize cultivation does not appear until around 3,800 years before present, well after the period represented by the Checua individuals.

These were people who knew their landscape intimately.