Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
RUIN
Chavín de Huántar
(adult/student S10/5; 9am-5pm Tue-Sun)
A Unesco World Heritage site since 1985,
Chavín de Huántar is the quintessential site of the Mid-Late Formative Period (c
1200-500 BC), one of many relatively independent, competitive ceremonial centers
spread throughout the central Andes. It is a stupendous achievement of ancient construc-
tion, with large temple-like structures above ground and labyrinthine (now electronically
lit) underground passageways. Although squatters built on top of the ruins or carried away
stone artworks, and a huge landslide due to a heavy rainy season in 1945 covered a large
portion of the area, this site is still intact enough to provide a full-bodied glimpse into one
of Peru's oldest complex societies.
CHAVÍN PERIOD
Named after the site at Chavín de Huántar, this is considered one of the oldest major cultural periods in Peru,
strutting its stuff on the pre-Inca stage from 1200 BC to 500 BC. The Chavín and its contemporaries wielded their
influence with great success, particularly between the formative years of 800 BC to 500 BC when they excelled in
the agricultural production of potatoes and other highland crops, animal husbandry, ceramic and metal production
and engineering of buildings and canals. Chavín archaeologists have formerly referred to this time of political as-
cendance as the Chavín Horizon, though Early Horizon or late Formative is also used.
The principal Chavín deity was feline (jaguar or puma), although lesser condor, eagle and snake deities were
also worshipped. Representations of these deities are highly stylized and cover many Chavín period sites and
many extraordinary objects, such the Tello Obelisk in the Museo Nacional de Chavín; the Lanzón, often referred
to as the Smiling God, which stands in mystical glory in the tunnels underneath the Chavín site; and the Raimondi
Stone at the Museo Nacional de Antropología, Arqueología e Historia del Perú in Lima (
Click here
). The Rai-
mondi Stone (which is currently considered too fragile to move to Chavín) has carvings of a human figure, some-
times called the Staff God, with a jaguar face and large staffs in each hand - an image that has shown up at ar-
chaeological sites along the northern and southern coasts of Peru and which suggests the long reach of Chavín in-
teractions. The images on all of these massive stone pillars are believed to indicate a belief in a tripartite universe
consisting of the heavens, earth and a netherworld, or as an alternative theory goes, a cosmos consisting of air,
earth and water, though these remain elaborate guesses - archaeologists at the site have seen no good evidence to
support any of these theories.
As a major ceremonial center, the most powerful players in Chavín were its priests, who seem to have been far
more sophisticated than the general population, and dealt primarily with upper ranks of the society, convincing
them with formidable rituals of difficult explanation that were occasionally terrifying. One theory says priests re-
lied on sophisticated observation and understanding of seasonal changes, rain and drought cycles, and the move-
ment of the sun, moon, and stars to create calendars that helped the Chavín reign as agriculturalists, though there
is as yet no evidence that calendars were created. Others believe that Chavín leaders were getting to the point of
