Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [11]
* * *
Sex, Death and Sacrifice in Moche Religion and Visual Culture by Steve Bourget is an intriguing look at life and death in this pre-Columbian north-coast society.
* * *
Ultimately, however, all of these cultures recorded many aspects of their daily existence on their ceramics, metalwork and textiles, leaving archaeologists a rich archive about life and culture during this period.
Return to beginning of chapter
WARI EXPANSION
As the influence of regional states waned, the Wari – an ethnic group from the Ayacucho Basin – emerged as a force to be reckoned with for 500 years beginning in AD 600. (They are closely linked, stylistically, to the Tiwanaku culture of Bolivia, which was at its height from AD 200 to 600.) Unlike Chavín, however, the Wari were not limited to the diffusion of artistic and religious influence. They were vigorous military conquerors who built and maintained important outposts throughout a vast territory that covered an area from Chiclayo to Cuzco. Though their ancient capital lay outside of present-day Ayacucho – the ruins of which can still be visited (Click here) – they also operated the major lowland ceremonial center of Pachacamac, just outside of Lima (Click here), where people from all over the region came to pay tribute.
* * *
Ferdinand Anton’s highly readable The Art of Ancient Peru – with almost 300 photographic images – is a good (if out-of-date) primer to pre-Hispanic art, from Chavín through the Incas.
* * *
As with many conquering cultures, the Wari attempted to subdue other groups by emphasizing their own traditions over local belief. Thus from about AD 700 to 1100, Wari influence is noted in the art, technology and architecture of most areas in Peru. These include elaborate tie-dyed tunics and delicate and finely woven textiles featuring stylized designs of human figures and geometric patterns – some of which contained a record-breaking 398 threads per linear inch. (A fragment of one of these can be seen at the Museo Larco, Click here.) In addition, they produced monumental sculpture, painted ceramics and ornamental jewelry. They are most significant, however, for investing in an extensive network of roadways and for greatly expanding the terrace agriculture system – an infrastructure that would serve the Incas well when they came into power just a few centuries later. For more on the culture, Click here.
Return to beginning of chapter
REGIONAL KINGDOMS
The Wari were replaced by a gaggle of small nation-states that thrived from about 1000 to the Inca conquest in the early 1400s. One of the biggest and best studied of these are the Chimú, of the Trujillo area, whose capital was the famed Chan Chan (Click here), the largest adobe city in the world. Their economy was based on agriculture and they had a heavily stratified society with a healthy craftsman class, which produced painted textiles and beautifully fashioned pottery that is distinctive for its black stain.
* * *
The must-have book for all things Tiwanaku (the pre-Inca culture based around Lake Titicaca) is Margaret Young-Sanchez’ beautifully illustrated Tiwanaku: Ancestors of the Inca.
* * *
Closely connected to the Chimú are the Sicán from the Lambayeque area, renowned metallurgists who produced, among other artifacts, the tumi – a ceremonial knife with a rounded blade used in sacrifices or for the purposes of skull trepanation – otherwise known as brain surgery. (The tumi has since become a national symbol in Peru and replicas of these can be found in crafts markets everywhere.) In 2006, archaeologists excavating under an adobe pyramid near Lambayeque found 12 of these ceremonial knives – the first time scholars had found tumis undisturbed at a burial site. All previous specimens had come entirely from the hands of looters.
Further down the coast were the Chancay people (1000–1500), who inhabited the area north of Lima, and are known