After being completely abandoned during the Middle Chiripa phase, Sunaj Pata, like Cerro Choncaya (T-2), was reoccupied during the Late Chiripa phase. Its reoccupation was almost certainly related to the breakup and abandonment of Sonaji (T-271). The Late Chiripa sherd scatter (Sector B) extends over an area of 5.0 ha. The site has a population index value of 277. It is a second-tier Late Chiripa site. The (hypothetical) sunken court at this site may be Late Chiripa in date.
The Middle Chiripa population index of Sonaji was 277, while the combined Late Chiripa population index of Sunaj Pata and Cerro Choncaya if 508. This represents an annual population index growth rate in the Late Chiripa phase of 0.11%, very close to the phase average. I consider this to be strong evidence that the Middle Chiripa village of Sonaji did indeed fission, and that it broke into two segments, one of which settled in Sunaj Pata and the other at Cerro Choncaya. It is interesting that the community of Sonaji was initially formed by a fusion of these two villages. It seems likely that the distinction between the two groups was maintained even during their period of coresidence at Sonaji, and that this distinction was the cleavage plane along which the village split at the beginning of the Late Chiripa phase.