MONOGRAPH 61

CHAVN:ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND

CULTURE

Cotsen Institute of Archaeology MonographsContributions in Field Research and CurrentIssues in Archaeological Method and Theory

Monograph 61 Chavn: Art, Architecture and Culture, William Conklin and Jeffrey Quilter (eds.)Monograph 60 Rethinking Mycenaean Palaces II: Revised and Expanded Second Edition, Michael L. Galaty and Monograph 59 Moche Tombs at Dos Cabezas, Christopher B. DonnanMonograph 58 Moche Fineline Painting From San Jos de Moro, Donna McClelland, Donald McClelland, and

Christopher B. DonnanMonograph 57 Kasapata and the Archaic Period of the Cuzco Valley, Brian S. Bauer (ed.)Monograph 56 Berenike 1999/2000, Steven E. Sidebotham and Willeke Wendrich (eds.)Monograph 55 Roman Foodprints at Berenike: Archaeobotanical Evidence of Subsistence and Trade in the Eastern

Desert of Egypt, Ren T.J. CappersMonograph 54 Advances in Titicaca Basin Archaeology 1, Charles Stanish, Amanda B. Cohen, and Mark S.

AldenderferMonograph 53 Us and Them: Archaeology and Ethnicity in the Andes, Richard Martin ReycraftMonograph 52 Archaeological Research on the Islands of the Sun and Moon, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia: Final Results

from the Proyecto Tiksi Kjarka, Charles Stanish and Brian S. Bauer (eds.)Monograph 51 Maya Zooarchaeology: New Directions in Theory and Method, Kitty F. Emery (ed.)Monograph 50 Settlement Archaeology and Political Economy at Tres Zapotes, Veracruz, Mexico, Christopher A.

Pool (ed.)Monograph 49 Perspectives on Ancient Maya Rural Complexity, Gyles Iannone and Samuel V. Connell (eds.)Monograph 48 Yeki bud, yeki nabud : Essays on the archaeology of Iran in honor of William M. Sumner, Naomi F.

Miller and Kamyar Abdi (eds.)Monograph 47 Archaeology in the Borderlands : Investigation in Caucasia and Beyond, Adam T. Smith and Karen

S. Rubinson (eds.)Monograph 46 Domestic Ritual in Ancient Mesoamerica, Patricia Plunket (ed.)Monograph 45 Pathways to Prismatic Blades, Kenneth Hirth and Bradford Andrews (eds.)Monograph 44 Ceramic Production and Circulation in the Greater Southwest, Donna M. Glowacki and Hector

Neff (eds.)Monograph 43 Pottery of Postclassic Cholula, Mexico, Geoffrey McCaffertyMonograph 42 Pompeian Households: An Analysis of the Material Culture, Penelope M. AllisonMonograph 41 Rethinking Mycenaean Palaces: New Interpretations of an Old Idea, Michael L. Galaty and

William A. Parkinson (eds.)Monograph 40 Prehistory of Agriculture: New Experimental and Ethnographic Approaches, Patricia C. Anderson

(ed.)Monograph 39 Recent Advances in the Archaeology of the Northern Andes. In Memory of Gerardo Reichel-

Dolmatoff, Augusto Oyuela-Caycedo and J. Scott Raymond (eds.)Monograph 38 Approaches to the Historical Archaeology of Mexico, Central and South America, Gasco, Greg

Charles Smith, and Patricia Fournier-GarciaMonograph 37 Hawaiian Adze Production and Distribution: Implications for the Development of Chiefdoms,

Barbara LassMonograph 36 New Light on Old Art: Recent Advances in Hunter-Gatherer Rock Art Research, D. W. Whitley

and L. L. Loendorf (eds.)Monograph 35 Pottery of Prehistoric Honduras: Regional Classification and Analysis, J. S. Henderson and M.

Beaudry-CorbettMonograph 34 Settlement Archaeology of Cerro de las Mesas, Veracruz, Mexico, Barbara Stark (ed.)Monograph 33 Girikihaciyan: A Halafian Site in Southeastern Turkey, P. J. Watson and S. LeBlancMonograph 32 Western Pomo Prehistory: Excavations at Albion Head, Nightbirds Retreat and Three Chop Village,

Mendocino County, California, Thomas N. LaytonMonograph 31 Investigaciones Arqueolgicos de la Costa Sur de Guatemala, David S. Whitley and Marilyn P.

Beaudry (eds.)

COTSEN INSTITUTE OFARCHAEOLOGY AT UCLA

Monograph 30 Archaeology of the Three Springs Valley, California. A Study in Functional Cultural History, BrianD. Dillon and Matthew A. Boxt

Monograph 29 Obsidian Dates IV: A Compendium of Obsidian Hydration Readings from the UCLA ObsidianHydrastion Laboratory, Clement W. Meighan and Janet L. Scalise (eds.)

Monograph 28 Archaeological Field Research in the Upper Mantaro, Peru, 1982-1983: Investigations of InkaExpansion and Exchange, Timothy Earle et al. (eds.)

Monograph 27 Andean Archaeology, Papers in Memory of Clifford Evans, Ramiro Matos M., Solveig Turpin,Herbert Eling, Jr. (eds.)

Monograph 26 Excavations at Mission San Antonio 1976-1978, Robert L. Hoover and Julio J. Costello (eds.)Monograph 25 Prehistoric Production and Exchange in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, A. Bernard Knapp

and Tamara Stech (eds.)Monograph 24 Pots and Potters: Current Approaches in Ceramic Archaeology, Prudence RiceMonograph 23 Pictographs and Pegroglyphs of the Oregon Country, Part 2, J. Malcolm Loring and Louise

LoringMonograph 22 The Archaeology of Two Northern California Sites, Delmer E. Sanburg, F. K. Mulligan, Joseph

Chartkoff, and Kerry ChartkoffMonograph 21 Pictographs and Petroglyphs of the Oregon Country, Part 1, Malcolm Loring and Louise LoringMonograph 20 Messages from the Past: Studies in California Rock Art, Clement W. Meighan (ed.)Monograph 19 Prehistoric Indian Rock Art: Issues and Concerns, JoAnne Van Tilburg and Clement W. Meighan

(eds.)Monograph 18 Studies in Cypriote Archaeology, Jane C. Biers and David SorenMonograph 17 Excavations in Northern Belize, Central America, Raymond SidrysMonograph 16 Obsidian Dates III: A Compendium of Obsidian Hydration Determinations Made at the UCLA

Obsidian Hydration Laboratory, Clement Meighan and Glenn RussellMonograph 15 Inland Chumash Archaeological Investigations, David S. Whitley, E. L. McCann, and C. W.

Clewlow, Jr. (eds.)Monograph 14 Papers in Cycladic Prehistory, Jack L. Davis and John F. Cherry (eds.)Monograph 13 Archaeological Investigations at the Ring Brothers Site Complex, Thousand Oaks, California, C. W.

Clewlow, Jr., David S. Whitley and Ellen L. McCann (eds.)Monograph 12 The Running Springs Ranch Site: Archaeological Investigations at VEN-65 and VEN-261, Jack

Prichett and Allen McIntyreMonograph 11 The Archaeology of Oak Park, Ventura County, California, C. William Clewlow, Jr. and David S.

Whitley (eds.)Monograph 10 Rock Art of East Mexico and Central America: An Annotated Bibliography, Matthias StreckerMonograph 9 The Late Minoan I Destruction of Crete: Metal Groups and Stratigraphic Considerations, Hara

GeorgiouMonograph 8 Papers on the Economy and Architecture of the Ancient Maya, Raymond Sidrys (ed.)Monograph 7 History and Prehistory at Grass Valley, Nevada, C. W. Clewlow, Jr., Helen F. Wells, and Richard

Ambro (eds.)Monograph 6 Obsidian Dates II: A Compendium of Obsidian Hydration Determinations Made at the UCLA

Obsidian Hydration Laboratory, C. W. Meighan and P. I. Vanderhoeven (eds.)Monograph 5 The Archaeology of Oak Park, Ventura County, California, C. W. Clewlow, Jr., Allen Pastron, and

Helen F. Wells (eds.)

CHAVN:ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND

CULTURE

Edited byWILLIAM J CONKLIN AND JEFFREY QUILTER

COTSEN INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGYUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES

2008

THE COTSEN INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY at UCLA is a research unit at the University of California, LosAngeles that promotes the comprehensive and interdisciplinary study of the human past. Established in 1973, the CotsenInstitute is a unique resource that provides an opportunity for faculty, staff, graduate students, research associates, volunteersand the general public to gather together in their explorations of ancient human societies.

Former President and CEO of Neutrogena Corporation Lloyd E. Cotsen has been associated with UCLA for more than30 years as a volunteer and donor and maintains a special interest in archaeology. Lloyd E. Cotsen has been an advisor andsupporter of the Institute since 1980. In 1999, The UCLA Institute of Archaeology changed its name to the Cotsen Instituteof Archaeology at UCLA to honor the longtime support of Lloyd E. Cotsen.

Cotsen Institute Publications specializes in producing high-quality data monographs in several different series, includ-ing Monumenta Archaeologica, Monographs, and Perspectives in California Archaeology, as well as innovative ideas in theCotsen Advanced Seminar Series and the Ideas, Debates and Perspectives Series. Through the generosity of Lloyd E. Cotsen,our publications are subsidized, producing superb volumes at an affordable price.

THE COTSEN INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY AT UCLACharles Stanish, DirectorElizabeth Klarich, Assistant DirectorShauna K. Mecartea, Executive Editor & Media Relations OfficerEric Gardner, Publications Coordinator

EDITORIAL BOARD OF THE COTSEN INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY: Jeanne Arnold, Christopher B. Donnan, Shauna K. Mecartea, John Papadopoulos, James Sackett,and Charles Stanish

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD OF THE COTSEN INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY: : Chapurukha Kusimba, Joyce Marcus, Colin Renfrew, and John Yellen

This book is set in Janson TextEdited and produced by Leyba Associates, Santa Fe, New MexicoCover design by William MorosiIndex by

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataChavn : art, architecture, and culture / edited by William J Conklin and Jeffrey Quilter.

p. cm. (Cotsen Institute of Archaeology monographs ; no. 61)Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-1-931745-46-8 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-931745-45-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Chavn culture. 2. Indian artPeruChavn de Huntar. 3. Indian architecturePeruChavn de Huntar. 4.Chavn de Huntar (Peru)Antiquities. I. Conklin, William J II. Quilter, Jeffrey, 1949- III. Cotsen Institute ofArchaeology at UCLA.

F3429.1.C48C43 2008985'.21dc22

2007048748

Copyright 2008 Regents of the University of CaliforniaAll rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

CO N T E N T SAcknowledgments xxii Preface Jeffrey Quilter xxiii

Introduction William J Conklin xxviii

PART I THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE TEMPLE AT CHAVN DE HUANTR 1Context, Construction, and Ritual in the Development of Authority atChavn de Huntar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3John W. Rick

John W. Rick is Associate Professor and past Chair of Anthro-pological Sciences at Stanford University, Curator of Anthropo-logical Collections, and past Director of Stanfords ArchaeologyCenter. His teaching concentrates on South American archaeolo-gy, the beginnings of social complexity, hunter-gatherers, stonetools, and digital methodologies in archaeology. For the last 14 yearshe has directed fieldwork at Chavn de Huntar, a monumentalUNESCO World Heritage site dating to the first and second mil-lennia B.C. Cooperative mapping, excavation, and conservationwork there is done under long-term agreements with the Peruviangovernment His interests there concentrate on understanding howearly religious cults strategized the beginnings of political author-ity in the Andes. He is also currently co-directing a major fieldworkproject on Preclassic sites near Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalanhighlands.

vii

PART I: THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE TEMPLE AT CHAVN DE HUNTAR 1

1

Plate 1.1. The central monumentalzone of the site of Chavn de Huntar,as of July 2004. Specific structures canbe identified by consulting figure 1.1;the Circular Plaza, for instance, is lo-cated in the upper center of the pho-tograph, the Mosna River at the bot-tom, and a small portion of theWacheqsa River is visible at extremeupper right, along with administrativebuildings of the National Institute ofCulture. Rectangular gray areas with-in the monument are rain shelter roofsover sensitive locations. Composite pho-tograph taken by Anthony Fassero.

The Architecture at the Monumental Center of Chavn Huntar: Sequence, Transformation, and Chronology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Silvia Rodriguez Kembel

CHAVN: ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND CULTUREviii

Plate 2.1. Architectural sequence for the monu-mental center at Chavn de Huntar. Top left: Stage1, Separate Mound Stage. Top right: Stage 2,Expansion Stage. Bottom left: Stage 3, ConsolidationStage. Bottom right: Stage 4, Black and White Stage,with some structures of Stage 5, Support Con-struction Stage, shown in gray.

Silvia Rodriguez Kembel,

2

WILLIAM J CONKLIN AND JEFFREY QUILTER xix

Richard L. Burger is C. J. MacCurdyProfessor of Anthropology at Yale Universityand Curator of South American Archaeologyat the Yale Peabody Museum. He has served asDirector of the Yale Peabody Museum, Chairof the Dumbarton Oaks Senior FellowsCommittee for Pre-Columbian Studies, and iscurrent President of the Institute of AndeanResearch. For the last three decades he hasbeen investigating Initial Period and EarlyHorizon sites in the highlands and coast ofPeru, and his books include The Origins ofAndean Civilization (Thames and Hudson,1992), La Emergencia de la Civilizacin en losAndes: Ensayos de Interpretacin (San Marcos,1993), Excavaciones en Chavn de Huntar(Catholic University,Lima, 1998),The Archae-ology of Formative Ecuador (with Scott Ray-mond, Dumbarton Oaks, 2003), and The Lifeand Works of Julio C. Tello (University of IowaPress, in press).Lucy C. Salazar, Research Associate inthe Department of Anthropology andCuratorial Affiliate at the Yale Peabody Mu-seum, is the co-curator for the exhibitMachu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery ofthe Incas. She is an authority on Inca ar-chaeology and the early prehistory of Peru.She has over two decades of experience inarcheological fieldwork and museum re-search and has directed numerous excava-tions in Peru. Salazar has written extensive-ly on daily life at Machu Picchu, and receivedgrant support for her work on the Incas fromthe NEH, NSF, and the Josef Albers Fund.She recently coedited the monograph The1912 Yale Peruvian Scientific ExpeditionCollections from Machu Picchu: Human andAnimal Remains (2003) and Machu Picchu:Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas (2004).

PART II: THE PREDECESSORS OF CHAVN 83

3 The Manchay Culture and the Coastal Inspiration for Highland Chavn Civilization. . 85Richard L. Burger and Lucy C. Salazar

Plate 3.1. Perishable effigy of a supernaturalwith a gourd body and movable limbs: Photo:Richard Burger.

CHAVN: ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND CULTUREx

Henning Bischof, Director of the AnthropologicalCollections of the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Mannheim(Germany),has conducted fieldwork at several early sitesin Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia since 1958, amongthem Asia, Paracas, Cerro Blanco/Nepea, and CerroSechn in Peru, and Valdivia in Ecuador. He has pub-lished numerous articles on preceramic and early ceram-ic cultures as well as the Spanish conquest period.

Daniel Morales Chocano is a Peruvian archaeologistwho studied at San Marcos University in Lima, Peru.Today he teaches at San Marcos University, where he was,until recently, director of the archaeology program. Hisresearch focuses on the Formative period in the CentralAndes, in Pacopampa (Cajamarca), San Blas (Junin), andChambira (Loreto). His research has included a study ofthe ceramics of Huanuco and recent studies in the PeruvianTropical Forest region. He has authored several articles andbooks about archaeology, among them Historia de laArqueologa del Paleolitico a la Epoca Inca, in CompendioHistorico del Per; El Dios Felino en Pacopampa, inSeminario de Historia Rural Andina (1980); and Chambira:Una cultura de sbana rida en la amazona peruana (1998).

4

5

Context and Contents of Early Chavn Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107Henning Bischof

The Importance of Pacopampa: Architecture and Iconography in the Central Andean Formative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Daniels Morales Chocano

Plate 5.1. Pacopampa was the northernmostInitial Period center in Peru.At 2140 m in altitude,the crest of a hill was modified into three large ter-races for public architecture, which used largecylindrical columns, and carved stone sculpturalelments; felines, birds, and serpents were por-trayed in stone carvings and ceramics and mayhave served as metaphors for earth, sky, and water.Pacopampa drew upon ideas already developed inthe late Preceramic, which were also incorporatedinto later Chavn iconography.

Plate 4.1. Cayman or feline image. Detail ofbone spatula carved in the Chavn A style. Height2.3 cm. Excavated by Frdric Engel at Haldas,Casma province. Museo Nacional de Arqueologa,Antropologa e Historia del Per, inv. no. 35.073.Photo by Henning Bischof, 1959.

WILLIAM J CONKLIN AND JEFFREY QUILTER xi

The Original Context of the Yauya Stela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163Richard Burger

Richard L. Burger is C. J. MacCurdyProfessor of Anthropology at Yale Universityand Curator of South American Archaeologyat the Yale Peabody Museum. He has servedas Director of the Yale Peabody Museum,Chair of the Dumbarton Oaks SeniorFellows Committee for Pre-ColumbianStudies, and is current President of theInstitute of Andean Research. For the lastthree decades he has been investigatingInitial Period and Early Horizon sites in thehighlands and coast of Peru, and his books in-clude The Origins of Andean Civilization(Thames and Hudson, 1992), La Emergenciade la Civilizacin en los Andes: Ensayos deInterpretacin (San Marcos, 1993),Excavacionesen Chavn de Huntar (Catholic University,Lima, 1998), The Archaeology of FormativeEcuador (with Scott Raymond, DumbartonOaks, 2003), and The Life and Works of JulioC. Tello (University of Iowa Press, in press).

PART III: THE ART OF CHAVN 161

6

Plate 6.1. Reconstruction of the Yauyastela, including the fragment announcedby Julio Espejo. Courtesy of the MuseoNacional de Arqueologa, Antropologa eHistoria del Per, Lima.

How To Build a Raptor: Why the Dumbarton Oaks Scaled CaymanCallango Textile is Really a Chavn Jaguaroid Harpy Eagle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Peter G. Roe

CHAVN: ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND CULTURExii

Peter G. Roe, Ph.D.,Professor, University ofDelaware, trained first as anartist and since 1969 com-bines archaeology and eth-nology in his research onCaribbean and South Amer-ican Indians, with a specialfocus on the interrelation-ships between art style, soci-ety, and ideology. He hasworked in the highlands(Chavn de Huntar: ar-chaeoastronomy and icon-ography, Formative) andlowlands (Cumancaya, Up-per Ucayali, Late Prehistoricarchaeology), and on bothsides of the Amazon Basin(Shipibo, Peruvian montaa/Waiwai, Upper Essequibo,Guyana) studying art, eth-noastronomy, ethnoarchae-ology, and oral traditions. Heis also a Visiting Professor,Centro de Estudios Avanza-dos de Puerto Rico y elCaribe, Old San Juan, PuertoRico, and was, for 15 years(19852000) the Curator,Centro de InvestigacionesIndgenas de Puerto Rico,San Juan, PR, where he con-tinues to research the prehis-tory of the Greater Antilles(Puerto Rico and easternHispaola) from the Sala-doid to the Chicoid in ce-ramic age archaeology, with a focus on ceramic andwood-bone carving analysis and rock art iconography.He is the author of 100+ publications, including twobooks and two monographs, and has presented morethan 50 professional papers.

7

Plate 7.1.The Dumbarton Oaks Callango GuardianRaptor (a.k.a. scaled cayman) textile fragment, B-544, computer restored and colored based on a clearplastic 1:1 tracing of the original by the author.

WILLIAM J CONKLIN AND JEFFREY QUILTER xiii

Gary Urton is the Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Pre-Columbian Studies in the Department of Anthropology atHarvard University. He is the author of numerous articles andseveral books on Andean and Inca civilization, including At theCrossroads of the Earth and the Sky (1981), The History of a Myth(1990), The Social Life of Numbers (1997), Inca Myths (1999), andSigns of the Inka Khipu (2003). He has been Director of the KhipuDatabase Project at Harvard University since 2002.

8 The Body of Meaning in Chavn Art . . . . . . . . .215Gary Urton

Plate 8.1. The Tello obelisk, Museo Nacional, PuebloLibre, Lima. Photograph: Gary Urton

CHAVN: ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND CULTURExiv

Constantino Manuel Torres, Ph.D.,University of New Mexico (1982), is Professorof Art History, School of Art and Art History,Florida International University in Miami,Florida. His primary interest is in the art andarchaeology of psychoactive plant use in theCentral Andes, and he conducts research andarchaeological work in the Atacama Desert ofnorthern Chile. Recent publications includeAnadenanthera: Visionary Plant of Ancient SouthAmerica (Haworth Press, Binghamton, NY,2006) and Imgenes legibles: La iconografaTiwanaku como significante, Boletn del MuseoChileo de Arte Precolombino 9, Santiago, Chile,2004.

Plate 9.1. San Pedro cactusbearing personage fromthe sunken plaza of the Old Temple, Chavn deHuntar, Peru. Photo: William Conklin.

Chavns Psychoactive Pharmacopoeia: The Iconographic Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237Constantino Manuel Torres9

PART IV: THE CULTURE OF CHAVN 235

The Culture of Chavn Textiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259William J Conklin

WILLIAM J CONKLIN AND JEFFREY QUILTER xv

William J Conklin, M.Arch., Harvard GSD, is an architectand archaeologist who has written and published numerous ar-ticles on Andean archaeologyarticles primarily concernedwith the evolution of textiles as the primary Andean form of vi-sual communication. He is associated with both Peruvian andChilean educational institutions and is a Research Associate atthe Field Museum in Chicago and at the Textile Museum inWashington, DC, where he was the curator of an exhibition con-cerned with Chavn textiles entitled Messages from MinusTime. That exhibition led to a Dumbarton Oaks Roundtablewhose papers constitute this volume. His Andean fieldwork hasinvolved excavation and analysis of Andean textiles and architec-ture from many locations and time periods. Currently he is ex-ploring the early evolution of the Khipu.

10

Plate 10.1. Reconstructionof a Chavn goddess from apainted Chavn textile.

The Felicitous Legacy of the Lanzn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277Tom Cummins

CHAVN: ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND CULTURExvi

Tom Cummins is Dumbarton OaksProfessor of the History of Pre-Columbianand Colonial Art and chairman of theDepartment of the History of Art andArchitecture. He has a Ph.D. from UCLA.He taught for 11 years at the University ofChicago, was the director of The Center ofLatin American Studies from 1998 to 2001,and was acting director of the David Rocke-feller Center for Latin American Studies atHarvard in 20032004. His research andteaching focuses on pre-Columbian andLatin American colonial art. Recent re-search interests include a study of the onlythree extensively illustrated manuscriptsfrom Peru (The Getty Mura: Essays on theMaking of the Historia General del Piru, ed-ited by Thomas Cummins and BarbaraAnderson, Getty Research Institute); theanalysis of early Ecuadorian ceramic fig-urines (Huellas del Pasado: Los Sellos de Jama-Coaque, Banco Central del Ecuador), andthe study of late pre-Columbian systems ofknowledge and representation, especiallyInca, and their impact on the formation of16th- and 17th-century colonial artistic andsocial forms (Toasts with the Inca: AndeanAbstraction and Colonial Images on KeroVessels, Univ. of Michigan Press, and NativeTraditions in the Colonial World, DumbartonOaks). He has also written about NewWorld town planning, the early images ofthe Inca, miraculous images in Colombia,and the relationship between visual and al-phabetic literacy in the conversion ofIndians.

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .303

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .323

11

Plate 11.1. Detail of El Lanzn.

xvii

IL L U S T R AT I O N S

Figure 1.1. Map of Chavn de Huntar, showing location of excavations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Figure 1.2. Projectile points from a Preceramic component in unit 18, La Banda, across the Mosna River

from monumental Chavn (excavations of John Wolf) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Figure 1.3. Ceremonial hearth found in unit 19 (2 2 meters), La Banda (excavations of John Wolf) . . . . . . .7Figure 1.4. GIS route map showing optimal east-west route in the north-central Andes of Peru . . . . . . . . . .8Figure 1.5. Digital elevation model view of the location of Chavn de Huntar, looking toward

southsoutheast; Mosna River drainage is in the foreground; Wacheqsa tributary stream comes in from the middle right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Figure 1.6. Chronological chart showing approximate temporal relationships between construction phases of Kembel and ceramic time periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Figure 1.7. Map of Chavn de Huntar showing the earlier, eastwest axis and the later axis . . . . . . . . . . . .11Figure 1.8. Aerial photograph of Chavn de Huntar, showing the Southern Hemisphere summer

solstice alignment to the nearby hill from the Circular Plaza area of the early axis; the architectural alignment of the southern, later axis is to same hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Figure 1.9. Aerial photograph showing the current course of the Mosna River, likely the original course,and landscape features relevant to the original course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Figure 1.10. Eastern, and partial northern and southern profiles of the Plaza Mayor excavation,showing basal sediments, boulder field, and layers related to the original plaza floor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Figure 1.11. The Lanzn, a 4.5-m-high engraved monolith of granite in its approximate original locationwithin the Lanzn Gallery, Building B, seen from the north side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Figure 1.12. Plan view of the distribution of Plaza Mayor excavation boulders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Figure 1.13. Profile of CdH-4 excavation, showing massive fill deposits, Building A wall with seam

A-W-1 that shows intact batter, and profile of the wall showing negative batterof wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Figure 1.14. Photograph of collapsed wall rocks in excavation CdH-10 on the west face of Building B;

the wall to the left is an informal but massive support wall built over collapse material. . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Figure 1.15. Drawing of the face and edge of a cornice fragment excavated in 1998 from the west side of

Building A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Figure 1.16. Fragment of personage plaque from the 2001 Circular Plaza excavations, displaying exact

mirror image of the known San Pedro cactuscarrying individual from the north arc of engraved stones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Figure 1.17. One of the best-preserved jaguar plaques from the southern arc of the Circular Plaza,revealed in our 2001 excavations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Figure 1.18. Isometric view of a simple model of the late construction phase architecture of Chavn,showing both the straight-line path to the Black and White Portal, and the entrance path through theMiddendorf Staircase to the Circular Plaza and the Lanzn area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Figure 1.19. Caracolas Gallery southern wall, sediment profile, and plan view of distribution of Strombus shell trumpets on the floor of the gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Figure 1.20. Eight of 20 Strombus shell trumpets excavated in the Caracolas Gallery in 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . .26Figure 1.21. Three-dimensional model of the Laberintos Gallery, with the roof removed, with

dowel-like projections coming through the ventilation shafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28Figure 1.22. Two photographs of light coming from the Lanzn Gallery central ventilation shaft,

striking the Lanzn image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28Figure 2.1. The monumental center at Chavn de Huntar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36Figure 2.2. Map of external architecture at the monumental center of Chavn de Huntar . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37Figure 2.3. Chavn de Huntars internal architecture: hallway in the Doble Mnsula Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . .38Figure 2.4. Chavn de Huntars internal architecture: in the Lanzn Gallery, hallway with

construction seams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Figure 2.5. Chavn de Huntars internal architecture: staircase within the Doble Mnsula Gallery,with two ventilations shafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Figure 2.6. In the Lanzn Gallery, detail of Seam Lan-E-3, showing white plaster that marks the formerly exterior wall surface of the Lanzn Patio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Figure 2.7. Chavn de Huntars internal architecture: room in the Laberintos Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41Figure 2.8. Map of gallery locations in Buildings A, B, C, and the Circular Plaza Atrium. Galleries drawn

directly from three-dimensional data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42Figure 2.9. Map of gallery locations in Buildings A, B, C, and the Circular Plaza Atrium, in plan and

architectural north (A) and west (B) profile views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43Figure 2.10. Architectural sequence for the monumental center at Chavn de Huntar, showing

construction phases grouped by area, and gallery construction episodes grouped by phase . . . . . . . . . .44Figure 2.11. Chavn de Huntar construction sequence, Stage 1: Separate Mound Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45Figure 2.12. Chavn de Huntar construction sequence, Stage 2: Expansion Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45Figure 2.13. Chavn de Huntar construction sequence, Stage 3: Consolidation Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45Figure 2.14. Chavn de Huntar construction sequence, Stage 4: Black and White Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46Figure 2.15. Examples of spatial relationships of internal and external architecture within Building A . . . . .46Figure 2.16. Building B: spatial relationships of internal and external architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47Figure 2.17. Building B Construction Phase 1: B Platform-ILR Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47Figure 2.18. Building B Construction Phase 2: WBMB Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48Figure 2.19. Building B Construction Phase 3, with Circular Plaza Atrium: EBHigh BCPA Phase . . . . . .49Figure 2.20. The Circular Plaza Terrace and the structures of the Circular Plaza Atrium block the

entrance to Escalinata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50Figure 2.21. Standardization of gallery episode forms, by construction stage. Galleries viewed in plan

and drawn to scale directly from three-dimensional data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51Figure 2.22. Examples of hanging staircases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59Figure 2.23. Centeredness and symmetry of staircases and architectural features within the East Face of

Building A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60Figure 2.24. The west pair of stone-and-mortar structural columns in the Columnas-Vigas Gallery . . . . . . .62Figure 2.25. The columns of the Black and White Portal on the east face of Building A. An opening to

the Columnas-Vigas Gallery can be seen above and behind the portal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63Figure 2.26. Buildings A and B during the Expansion Stage, with galleries and alignments of specific

architectural features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65Figure 2.27. Buildings A and B during the Expansion Stage, with galleries and alignments of specific

architectural features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66Figure 2.28. Relationships of Chavn de Huntars new monumental architectural construction

sequence and associated radiocarbon dates from the monumental center to its construction, art, and proposed ceramics sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Figure 2.29. Carving of intertwined snakes located in the west wall of the Upper Portada staircase. . . . . . . .74Figure 3.1. Aerial photograph of U-shaped temple complex of Cardal, Lurn Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87Figure 3.2. Isometric reconstruction of the central mound at Cardal, Lurn Valley indicating the

placement of the unbaked clay frieze of a fanged mouth band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88Figure 3.3. Unbaked clay polychrome frieze from Garagay, Rimac Valley, depicting the fanged head

of the arachnid supernaural . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90Figure 3.4. Unbaked clay frieze from the atrium at Garagay, Rimac Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91Figure 3.5. Central mound of Manchay Bajo, Lurn Valley, during excavation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92Figure 3.6. Aerial photograph of Huaca La Florida, Rimac Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96Figure 3.7. Location of select Initial Period centers in the Lurn Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98Figure 3.8. Aerial photograph of Mina Peridida and the now-destroyed U-shaped complex of Parka . . . . . .98Figure 3.9. Drawing of multiple superimposed central stairways at Mina Peridida, Lurn Valley . . . . . . . . .100Figure 3.10. Ground plan of U-shaped complex of Cardal, Lurn Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101Figure 3.11. Balloon photograph of a circular courtyard at Cardal, Lurn Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104Figure 4.1. Chavn A and related sites in central and northern Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108Figure 4.2. Radiocarbon measurements from north coastal Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110Figure 4.3. Excavation of the south corridor at Cerro Sechn, Casma Valley, 1984. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

CHAVN: ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND CULTURExviii

Figure 4.4. Cerro Sechn, Casma Valley. Architectural contexts of 14C assays from the west and south corridors; stone reliefs of the central platform facade hachured . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

Figure 4.5. Radiocarbon measurements from Cerro Sechn and Pampa de las Llamas, Casma Valley,compared with those from Huaca de los Reyes, Moche Valley, and their relation to the cultural traditions and art styles of north-central Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

Figure 4.6. The north facade of Punkur, Nepea Valley, in 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118Figure 4.7. The Staircase of the Feline at Punkur, Nepea Valley, in 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119Figure 4.8. Painted clay relief at Punkur, Nepea Valley, in 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119Figure 4.9. Mural clay reliefs of Huaca A at Pampa de las Llamas, Casma Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122Figure 4.10. Mural clay reliefs of the Northeast Mound/Pyramid A at Garagay, Rimac Valley . . . . . . . . . . .123Figure 4.11. Chavn A ritual bone artifacts from the Casma Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124Figure 4.12. Carved miniature stone beakers from the Jequetepeque and Chiclayo region . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125Figure 4.13. Spider motifs on carved stone vessels from the Jequetepeque region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126Figure 4.14. Chavn A motifs on Tembladera-type ceramic vessels from the Jequetepeque region . . . . . . . .127Figure 4.15. Agnathic beings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129Figure 4.16. Felines and agnathic animals on Chavn de Huntar stone reliefs, Chavn A or earlier . . . . . .131Figure 4.17. Yurayaku-type anthropomorphs, Chavn A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132Figure 4.18. Yurayaku-type mythical personages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133Figure 4.19. Regional style elements on Casma Valley clay reliefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134Figure 4.20. North-central coast regional style on Suchimn-type stone mortars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135Figure 4.21. Chavn A antecedents-Late and Terminal Archaic figurative art from the north-central

coast of Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138Figure 5.1. Reconstruction of a Pandanche bowl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145Figure 5.2. The Pandanche ceramic style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145Figure 5.3. The Pacopampa ceramic style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146Figure 5.4. Map of South American forests during the Holocene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149Figure 5.5. Forms of Chambira-style pottery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150Figure 5.6. Forms of Chambira-style ceramic figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151Figure 5.7. Steps up to the middle-level plaza at Pacopampa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154Figure 5.8. Diagram of the Pacopampa temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155Figure 5.9. The architrave of the serpents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155Figure 5.10. The jaguar of Pacopampa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156Figure 5.11. The architrave of the stylized birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156Figure 5.12. Diagrams of duality and tripartition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157Figure 5.13. A Pacopampa anthropomorphic feline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159Figure 5.14. Stylized felines in Pacopampa ceramics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159Figure 6.1. The town of Yauya, Department of Ancash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162Figure 6.2. View of the deeply incised Maribamba River draining into the Yanamayo River, taken from

the District of Yauya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162Figure 6.3. The fragment of the Yauya stela discovered by Julio C. Tello in its 2001 location in a local

elementary school in Yauya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163Figure 6.4. Drawing of the Yauya stela made by Tellos expedition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164Figure 6.5. Photograph of the Chincho fragment of the Yauya stela, with the school guardian in 2001. . . .166Figure 6.6. Drawing of the Chincho fragment of the Yauya stela by Alexander Herrera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167Figure 6.7. Inca building with cut stone blocks at Tambo Real de Huancabamba, District of Yauya. . . . . .169Figure 6.8. Large ashlar block from Tambo Real de Huancabamba currently in the town of Yauya . . . . . . .170Figure 6.9. Jesus Morales Solis at Quellcayrumi, indicating the location of the Chincho fragment

discovered in 1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170Figure 6.10. The archaeological site of Quellcayrumi, the hypothetical original context of the Yauya stela . .171Figure 6.11. The Early Intermediate Period site of Montegayoc near Quellcayrumi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171Figure 6.12. Map of the Yauya area showing the location of the places discussed in this chapter. . . . . . . . . .172Figure 6.13. The rediscovered fragment of the Yauya stela seen by candlelight in the house of Jorge

Malgarejo Palacios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173Figure 6.14. The decorated lateral edge of the rediscovered fragment of the Yauya stela. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174

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CHAVN: ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND CULTURExx

Figure 6.15. Drawing of the rediscovered fragment housed in the home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175Figure 7.1. A lowland triple-tiered cosmological model applied to Chavn iconography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181Figure 7.2. The componential analysis of Chavn images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182Figure 7.3. Two restorations, two media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183Figure 7.4. The Black and White Portal column Were Raptor Guardian Angels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184Figure 7.5. Gendered complementary opposition and alternation in Raptor Guardians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185Figure 7.6. The Carhua Cotton Warrior Goddess restored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186Figure 7.7. The lowland feather code somatic geography utilized in Chavn art. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189Figure 7.8. A derivational chain of Harpy Eagle Winged Guardians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194Figure 7.9. A componential deconstruction of the four Harpy Eagle Winged Guardians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196Figure 7.10. The primacy of Harpy Eagle over Hawk: complementary opposition in the Tello obelisk . . . .204Figure 7.11. Supernatural darts, ancient and modern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207Figure 8.1. The Yauya stela (from Roe 1974:47, Fig. 11). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216Figure 8.2. The Tello obelisk, Museo Nacional, Pueblo Libre, Lima. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217Figure 8.3. Rollout of the reliefs on the Tello obelisk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221Figure 8.4. Reference key to design elements on the Tello obelisk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221Figure 8.5. Elements of Chavn iconography, body symbolism, and classification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224Figure 8.6. Schematic representation of the well-ordered body on the Tello obelisk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229Figure 9.1. Anadenanthera colubrina var. Cebil, in fruit. Cerro San Bernardo, Salta, Argentina . . . . . . . . . . . .239Figure 9.2. Trichocereus pachanoi, Chavn de Huntar, Peru. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240Figure 9.3. Brugmansia aurea (after Schultes and Hofmann 1980:Fig. 119). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241Figure 9.4. Nicotiana species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241Figure 9.5. Erythroxylum coca, front and back views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242Figure 9.6. Cupisnique vessels with Trichocereus representations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244Figure 9.7. Snuff tray, whalebone, Supe, Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245Figure 9.8. Stone mortar and pestle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245Figure 9.9. Effigy spoon, gold and silver, 11.1 cm, probably form Chavn de Huntar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246Figure 9.10. Tenon heads illustrating different stages of shamanic transformation, Old Temple,

Chavn de Huntar, Peru. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .247Figure 9.11. Stone stela, 1.65 m, Yauya, upper Maraon River drainage, Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248Figure 9.12. Moche ceramic vessels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249Figure 9.13. The Shamanism Textile, Carhua, Ica Valley, Peru. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250Figure 9.14. Moche dipper with Tillandsia representations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250Figure 9.15. The Tello obelisk, Chavn de Huntar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251Figure 9.16. Stem of Brugmansia showing eye-like nodules and leaf pattern typical of the genus. . . . . . . . .251Figure 9.17. Stone zoomorphic figure with Brugmansia seed capsules emanating from its mouth. . . . . . . . .252Figure 9.18. Cotton textile with disembodied eye representations, Carhua, Ica Valley, Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . .252Figure 9.19. Slice of Trichocereus pachanoi (San Pedro) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253Figure 9.20. The Raimondi monolith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254Figure 9.21. Cupisnique steatite cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255Figure 9.22. Rollout drawings of transformed personages from the Black and White Portal . . . . . . . . . . . .256Figure 10.1. Front face image of a fanged Chavn deity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262Figure 10.2. Chavn painted textile image of a cotton plant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263Figure 10.3. Two facing felines, once part of a large painted textile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .264Figure 10.4. Reconstruction drawing of the circular composition of Figure 10.3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265Figure 10.5.The site of the Circular Plaza, Chavn de Huantar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265Figure 10.6. One of the carved stone felines from the Circular Plaza, Chavn de Huantar. . . . . . . . . . . . . .266Figure 10.7. Nasca desert marking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267Figure 10.8. Painted textile image of the Chavn cosmos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268Figure 10.9. The Brooklyn Museums Paracas mantle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269Figure 10.10. A Moche tapestry from Pacatnamu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .270Figure 10.11. Painted textile image of a fanged deity in a network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271Figure 10.12. Animated San Pedro cactus on painted Chavn textile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .272Figure 10.13. Reconstruction drawing of the energy line of a Chavn feline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .272

WILLIAM J CONKLIN AND JEFFREY QUILTER xxi

Figure 10.14. Possible loop-to-knot evolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273Figure 10.15. Portion of a Huari tapestry expressing the flow of sami . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274Figure 10.16. Figures in a Huaca Prieta textile constructed by twining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275Figure 11.1. (a): El Lanzn as seen from its left side or looking south; (b): El Lanzn as seen

facing it or looking west . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278Figure 11.2. (a): Approaching Yanashayash Pass from Olleros, altitude 15,420 ft. (b): Pre-Colombian

road ascending to the Yanashayash Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281Figure 11.3. Pre-Columbian road descending the Yanashayash Pass, looking onto the

Callejon de Conchucos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282Figure 11.4. View toward Chavn de Huntar from the Pre-Columbian road that crosses and descends

from the Yanashayash Pass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283Figure 11.5. Interior wall of the circular sunken courtyard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283Figure 11.6. Reconstruction of the interior wall of the circular sunken courtyard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284Figure 11.7. Anthropomorphized figure holding a San Pedro cactus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .284Figure 11.8. El Lanzn as seen from its right side or looking north . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285Figure 11.9. Plan of site and elevation of the Old Temple of Chavn de Huntar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .286Figure 11.10. Rollout drawing of the Lanzn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287Figure 11.11. Raimondi stela; height approximately 7 feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287Figure 11.12. Inca carried in a Litter, Martn de Mura Historia General del Per, fol. 84r (circa 1615) . .289Figure 11.13. Upper half of the Ponce stela, at Tiwanku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .291Figure 11.14. Semi-subterranean temple of Tiwanku with earlier and foreign stelae placed in the center . . .292Figure 11.15. (a): Interior wall with tenon heads in the semi-subterranean Temple of Tiwanku.

(b): Detail of one of the tenon heads in the semi-subterranean Temple of Tiwanku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293Figure 11.16. Several of the figurines found at Pikillacta; approx height 39 mm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294Figure 11.17. Solid bronze bar found with figurines at Pikillacta, Museo del Inka, Cusco . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295

TA B L E STable 3.1. Mina Perdida 14C Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99Table 6.1. Comparison of Chavin stela dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167Table 8.1. The organization of modular bands and body parts on the Tello obelisk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228

PL AT E S

Plate 1.1. The central monumental zone of the site of Chavn de Huntar, as of July, 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .viiPlate 2.1. Architectural sequence for the monumental center at Chavn de Huntar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .viiiPlate 3.1. Perishable effigy of a supernatural with a gourd body and moveable limbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ixPlate 4.1. Cayman or feline image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xPlate 5.1. The central ceremonial temple of Pacopampa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xPlate 6.1. Reconstruction of the Yauya stela, including the fragment announced by Julio Espejo. . . . . . . . . . .xiPlate 7.1. The Dumbarton Oaks Callango Guardian Raptor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiiPlate 8.1 The Tello obelisk, Museo Nacional, Pueblo Libre, Lima. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiiiPlate. 9.1. San Pedro cactus-bearing personage from the sunken plaza of the Old Temple,

Chavn de Huntar, Peru. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xivPlate 10.1. A Chavn painted textile image and a reconstruction drawing of the female figure

represented in the textile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvPlate 11.1 Detail of El Lanzn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvi

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The many years of work that have of necessi-ty accompanied the development and pro-duction of this book can only be put into scale bythe longevity of Chavn itself. First on the list ofThank you! would be the authors themselveswhose devotion and commitment deserves ahearty round of applause. My co-editor, JeffQuilter, personally translated and coordinatedthe work of the foreign authors as well as con-ceiving of and managing the originalTransformation in Chavn roundtable. His intel-

ligence and knowledge have been invaluable.That roundtable was itself inspired by the TextileMuseums Chavn textile exhibition entitledMessages from Minus Time for which I was thecurator. Barbara Conklin, whose years as a pro-fessional editor with Junius Bird at the AmericanMuseum of Natural History, created an ally vast-ly beyond any definition of filial duty. The enthu-siasm that Charles Spanish has shown for thisbook has carried us all to its completion.

Bill Conklin

xxii

xxiii

T ransformation in Chavn is the title of thebook of conference papers resulting from thefirst meeting held at Dumbarton Oaks on thisearly cultural phenomenon of Peru subsequent tothe landmark conference held there in 1968, or-ganized by Elizabeth Benson with the aid ofMichael Coe. One might consider it remarkablethat three decades passed between the two meet-ings, but the great range of pre-Columbian art andculture is such that even with the common occur-rence of two major scholarly meetings a year atDumbarton Oaks on pre-Columbian themes,there are many major topics that are yet to havetheir day at that venerable institution. Neverthe-less, when Bill Conklin approached me with theidea of holding a meeting on Chavn, I was eagerto join with him in organizing such a meeting. Itis salutary, nonetheless, to compare the nature andevents of the two meetings as a prelude to thisbook for, in many ways, the field has advancedconsiderably while, at the same time, some thingshave changed very little. Thanks to notes provid-ed to me by Elizabeth Benson, I am able to reporton the earlier meeting as well as the more recentone.

The first Dumbarton Oaks Conference onChavn was held on October 26 and 27, 1968,under the chairmanship of Junius Bird of theAmerican Museum of Natural History. This wasthe second pre-Columbian conference held atDumbarton Oaks. The firstone was held the yearbefore, in 1967, and was on the Olmec. The im-petus for that meeting was fieldwork that had beenundertaken by Michael Coe at San Lorenzo, andat La Venta by Robert Heizer and other California

archaeologists. Chavn was the logical candidatefor the next conference because, as the Olmec wasviewed as the earliest recognizable high art styleof Mesoamerica, so too was Chavn seen as theearliest such style in the central Andes. Just as im-portant fieldwork at major sites was underway atOlmec sites, active new research was being carriedout at Chavn. In particular, the work of LuisLumbreras at the type site was of great interest,but research by Seiichi Izumi and his Universityof Tokyo team at Kotosh, Donald Lathraps searchfor tropical forest origins of Chavn, and ThomasPattersons work on early sites on the central coastalso added incentive for such a meeting.

It should be noted that one of the importantfactors in encouraging fieldwork at both Olmecand Chavn sites, and in holding the conferences,was the growing confidence in, and use of, ra-diocarbon dating in archaeology. Combinedwith the initiatives to study the origins of civi-lization in the Old World, the potential of radio-carbon dating to provide chronometric dates of-fered to clarify major issues in Americanistarchaeology. As Elizabeth Benson points out, inthe mid-1960s there were still scholars whothought that the Olmec postdated the Maya. Sotoo, in the Andes, a great number of objects andsites were classified as Chavinoid, recognizingboth similarity with and difference from art thatcould securely be considered as simply Chavn.So, while diffusion was increasingly being aban-doned as an explanatory mode, lingeringthoughts remained that Chavn was a product ofsome kind of migration or other direct influencefrom the Olmec.

PREFACE

Jeffrey Quilter

There were five speakers at the 1968 Chavnconference. Benson notes that the participantsconsisted of 22 experts who were invited becausethey knew as much as the speakers about thetopic. The Olmec conference had been scheduledfor all day Saturday, but several of the invited par-ticipants asked if they could make presentationsso the meeting was extended to include a Sundaymorning session.The same thing happened at theChavn conference and, ever since, the pre-Columbian symposia are usually planned for botha full Saturday session and a Sunday morning one.

Luis Lumbreras, who was excavating atChavn de Huantar, was invited to attend themeeting but declined the invitation. HernnAmat, co-director of the Chavn project, cameand offered a presentation, however. VolunteeredSunday papers included presentations by AlanSawyer, Gary Vescelius, and Tom Zuidema. Theconference volume was not published until 1971and included an article by Lumbreras that was atranslated version of one which had appeared inthe Peruvian magazine Amaru and utilized illus-trations sent by Amat, followed by contributionsfrom Thomas Patterson, Seiichi Izumi, DonaldLathrap, and John Rowe.

There were a number of tensions at themeeting. Edward Lanning had been invited butapparently declined because his estranged wifewas planning to attend. Donald Lathraps viewsof the tropical forest origins of early Andean cul-tures ran counter to the views of Clifford Evansand Betty Meggers on the role of Japanese fish-ermen in introducing ceramics to coastalEcuador. After Lathrap finished his presentation,all turned to look at Meggers and Evans. The lat-ter stood up and politely stated something to theeffect of Our position is well known. There is nopoint in reiterating it at this time, and sat down,averting discord. John Rowe had to leave earlydue to an airplane flight on Sunday morning: hisdeparture for the airport coincided with the be-ginning of Tom Zuidemas talk.

Although the meeting was held in 1968, theresulting slim volume was not published until1971 because Elizabeth Benson, as editor, waitedfor Amats paper, which never arrived. Despite thepersonal and academic differences among that

group at the meeting, the book was a landmark inChavn and Andean scholarship. Indeed, all of thearticles are still essential reading for anyone whodesires a thorough knowledge of theories anddata on Chavn and its origins.

More than 30 years later, when Bill Conklinand I decided to organize a meeting on Chavn,we faced the fact that a considerable number ofstudues on it and related topics had been pub-lished. There had been many changes and yetmany things were still the same, with many issuesunresolved. In terms of meetings at DumbartonOaks, the annual conferences had grown intosymposia, still with a day-and-a-half format butusually including a dozen or more presentationsand an audience commonly between 150 and200. The character of the symposia tended to bebroader as well, drawing on an audience of pre-Columbianists who may not have been special-ists in the particular subject matter covered butwho wished to learn of current views by experts.Colloquia and roundtables had been instituted,however, each with successively decreasing andmore specialized audiences. We therefore decid-ed to hold a roundtable similar to the 1968 meet-ing in consisting of a small group of specialists asboth speakers and audience. We chose the themeof transformation because it covered both art andarchaeology. Chavns baroque art style displaysimages that segue from one form to another,while the cultural phenomenon of Chavn partic-ipated in the transformation of ancient societiesfrom regionally based entities into participationin a supra-regional phenomenon.

It is important to note another stimulus forthe meeting. Bill Conklin had curated an exhibitof Chavn textiles at the Textile Museum of Wash-ington, DC, entitled Messages from Minus Time.While we could have held a meeting at any time,we both felt that the opportunity to have a con-ference during the period of the exhibit was abonus. Indeed, the participants were hosted at themuseum on the Saturday evening of the meeting,adding to the enjoyment and edification of allduring the weekend. It is also worth noting thatNorth America and Europe still await a majormuseum exhibition on Chavn. When such anevent occurs, it will surely be a landmark in bring-

CHAVN: ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND CULTURExxiv

ing attention to the beauty of Chavn art and therichness of early Peruvian culture history.

In what ways has the study of Chavn ad-vanced in the four decades since the first Dum-barton Oaks meeting? The term Chavinoid hasdisappeared from the archaeological lexicon.Forty years ago, Chavn-like art and sites weredebated as earlier, later, or contemporary with thetype site, Chavn de Huntar. Thanks to contin-uing research, it is now clear that most of thesesites and art works date to the Initial Period, pre-ceding the accepted dates of Chavns apogee.This view was best articulated in the DumbartonOaks symposium Early Ceremonial Architec-ture in the Andes, held in 1982 and subsequent-ly published in a volume (Donnan 1985) of thesame name.

Another advancement in Chavn studies fol-lowed from the work on early ceremonial archi-tecture and associated remains in general. In thelate 1980s into the early 1990s, Richard Burger(1992) who had conducted fieldwork at Chavn inthe mid-1970s, developed and presented a clearand elegant thesis for understanding the Chavnphenomenon in which the cult and art are viewedas reformulation of Initial Period ideas. It was asynthesis that took some motifs and ideas from amore diverse Initial Period cultural matrix andtransformed them into a distinct cult, a revitaliza-tion movement, which spread through Peru in aPax Chavinensis.

As at the 1968 conference, our meeting in-cluded some tensions between the scholars pres-ent. Although many articles had been writtenabout various aspects of Chavn art and symbol-ism in the last few decades, relatively little ar-chaeological fieldwork had been carried out untilthe excavations by John Rick and his team atChavn de Huntar. As a result of this work, Rickand his colleagues have challenged the Burgermodel. In short, their argument is that Chavn deHuntar was not a relatively late synthesizer ofInitial Period traditions but that it rose to promi-nence early and is simply another Initial Periodcenter among many, albeit with some spectacularart and architecture.

These two different views of Chavn are beingdebated and discussed at the time this book is

being prepared for publication. As was the caseduring our conference, we have encouraged eachof the relevant parties to present their views in thepages of this book, and we have allotted themslightly more pages to do so than some of theother chapters. Combined with ongoing researchby the other authors, this means that this volumeencapsulates a moment in a continuing discus-sion, rather than marking the reaching of a dis-tinct plateau in understanding.

Unlike the earlier meeting which consistedmostly of archaeologists as speakers, our gather-ing included two ethnohistorian-ethnographersinterested in symbolism (Roe and Urton), two arthistorians (Cummins and Torres), and an archi-tect with a specialty in textiles (Conklin). The re-sulting diversity perhaps speaks to the fact thatChavn and its fascinating art are much more ap-preciated, at least among academics, than it wasin the past, and viewpoints on the subject are thusmuch broader than in the past. Although Lum-breras was again invited, as in the earlier meetingonly a single Peruvian national was at the round-tableDaniel Morales, who contributed an im-portant paper on the role of the tropical forestand the site of Pacopampa. The meeting was car-ried out in a collegial atmosphere. One minorevent of note occurred during a coffee breakwhen, unfortunately, many of the participantswere out of the Founders Room where the meet-ing was held. John Rick played a tape of a ChavnRap Song, written and performed by one of hisstudents at a fairly high volume on a boom boxbrought in for the occasion.

It is interesting to consider that the greatPeruvian archaeologist, Julio C. Tello, first pro-posed Chavn as a kind of mother culture ofPeruvian civilization in the 1930s. Thus, thelength of time between Tello's first identificationof the importance of Chavn and the first Dum-barton Oaks conference is about the same spanof time as between that meeting and the holdingof Transformation in Chavn Art and Culture.Viewed from this perspective, we can appreciatethat in both units of time, tremendous advanceshave been made in our understanding of Peruvianprehistory and of Chavns role in it.And, while de-bates about some fundamental issues may still be

WILLIAM J CONKLIN AND JEFFREY QUILTER xxv

occurring, we may take some comfort in the ironythat Mesoamericanists are still debating aboutthe role of the Olmec as the Mother Culture of

Mesoamerica (see, for examplem, Blomster 2002)and they met at Dumbarton Oaks before theChavn scholars did.

CHAVN: ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND CULTURExxvi

Perhaps someday future archaeologists willhave available as their research tools variousmodes of time travel, and they will write paperson their differing reliabilities and will compareeach of them to the ground truth of old-fash-ioned archaeology. Radiocarbon dating wouldhave seemed like such a dream only some 70 yearsago. Today archaeologists would deny that theiraim is that seemingly impossible reconstructionof ancient reality: today, the goal is rather toprobe the past, to ask questions, to examine pos-tulates, to throw searchlights into the ancientdarkness and even to question whether recon-struction of the past is actually their desire.

From the perspective of a Western-world ar-chaeologist, the job of an Andean archaeologistwould seem an especially difficult one because ofthe lack of written records. Students who studythe Western past are the beneficiaries of vast writ-ten histories, chronologically continuous or spa-tially contiguous cultures, and centuries of schol-arly research, but understanding the past of theAndean cultures has none of these aids. Lookingbackward through the time portal of A.D. 1532seems sometimes, in spite of a century of seriousAndean archaeology, somewhat like peering intoan unmapped forest. But as in a forest trip, we canreally only see a few trees at a time, and careful aswe can be in analyzing and describing each ele-ment of the forest and its relationships, and listen-ing carefully for the echoing sounds from othersearchers, we always know that the pattern of ourown grove is but a small part of that vast unknownforest. But archaeology, today an essentially phys-ical exploration, is as yet our only careful, sure-footed way of traveling into this Andean time.

This book is an attempt, using fully the avail-able tools, to look carefully at a seemingly influ-

ential (and also highly influenced) center of high-land Andean cultureChavn, named for its pre-sumed focus at the monumental temple of Chavnde Huntar in the highlands of Peru. Shovel byshovel, stone by stone, sherd by sherd (and forsome of us, thread by thread), we continue oursearch for meaningful portions of this ancientculture, fragments that we and others can gradu-ally fit into a convincing outline of a portion ofthe amazing Andean past.

This book analyzes a wide range of thosephysical artifactssuch being the only data fromthe past that we archaeologists attempt to read.But the range and scale of our data is very broadfrom river reconstruction by Chavn engineers, tocontinuous architectural planning and buildingfor over a millennium: but our database also in-cludes the smaller artifactual crafts like ceramicsand textiles, as well as the analysis of plant useduring Chavn times.

Art, in the absence of written language, estab-lishes our closest rapport with ancient humanminds, and for a century Chavn has been knownfor its powerful art. But the new understanding ofChavn technical abilities discussed in this bookshould shift our exclusive view of Chavn as an artcenter toward the political and societal structurethat must have existed for the accomplishment ofthe transformation in Andean culture that is calledthe Early Horizon, a transformation with which weassociate the cultural evidence referred to asChavn. Our effort must always be to reach beyondthe artifact to ask questions concerning the socialstructures, the religion, the mores, and values thatwere the constituents of their ancient societal web.But in addition to the rock-hard facts discovered,the exact question itself and the nature of the ques-tioner, both, profoundly affect the answer. Each of

xxvii

IN T R O D U C T I O N

William J Conklin

the chapters in this broad survey of current knowl-edge about Chavn was, of course, written by a sin-gle individual, an individual whose background,previous work, interests, and beliefs determine thenature of the questions asked and therefore, in-evitably, the range of the answers provided.

Prominent in the discussions and meeting thatled to this volume was the key word transforma-tionwith references to transformation in art, cul-ture, and architecture. But the word actually has adeeply appropriate etymology. The English wordtransformation has as its earliest recorded meaningthe grotesque changing of beasts into men and viceversa. Although the word does not occur in mod-ern translations of Beowolf, the concept is certain-ly present alongside the many monstrous man/an-imal images in Beowolf, which seem to resonatefor us with the world of Chavn. However, thewords Latin form, as transformare, does not con-fine its references to bodily changes but suppliesthe term with a much broader context.

We Andeanists use the word today in two gen-eral ways: one use is in the Andean context of thechanging of one living form into another livingform, such as is commonly represented in Chavnart, with an apparent meaning not unlike the earlyEnglish meaning. But the second, more commonuse of the word is one in which the concept oftransformation is applied to changing cultures,evolving institutions, and changes in their con-stituent parts. It was our intention in developingthis volume to include the full range of meaningsand perhaps eventually discover interconnectionsthat must surely have existed in Chavn culture.The constant evidence of the Chavn fascinationwith human/animal interconnections no doubthad its reflection in their views of humansocietalinterconnections, and one paper in this volumespecifically speaks of such connections.

Catherine Julien, in her recent book ReadingInca History (2000), has a concluding chapter on thesubject of transformation, specifically on the way inwhich the various chroniclers told the story of thetransformation of Cusco by the Inca. By transfor-mation she means not only changing the physicalform and appearance of Cusco, but also refashion-ing the residents of Cusco into an imperial elite andeducating and animating members of this elite to

carry on the goals of their forebears. She then noteshow the cultural backgrounds of the various chron-iclers profoundly affected their telling of the story.And each of us, in seeing the concept of transfor-mation in the art and culture of Chavn, will in-evitably convey our own background, hoping thatsomehow the sharp corners of our opinions will besoftened in the conflict.

Two questions concerning Chavn floatthrough the essays that follow: What kind of anentity actually was Chavn? A mecca? A state? Areligion? A culture? One of many competitive re-ligious centers? The second question is simply,Where did it come from? Both questions haveonly layered and complex answers, but even thetentative answers herein provided are withoutunanimity, as the reader will discover. On the firstquestion, What was it? we note here the com-ments of an influential analyst, Kent Flannery(1972): The critical contribution of state religionsand state art styles is to legitimize that hierarchy.Although Chavn influence on Andean art, tech-nology, mythology, and culture was vast, interest-ingly enough no one presently thinks of Chavn asbeing a state or even a proto-state. Are we but theblind men examining the elephant? So What wasit? is perhaps an even more critical question thanWhen was it?As editors, we certainly did not de-mand authorial agreement, hoping only for cross-referencing and believing that in the supplied di-versity, we are providing provocative ground forfuture research into the beliefs and cultural pat-terns that appear to have accompanied the art, ar-chitecture, and settlement patterns that have beenknown broadly as the Chavn horizon.

Part I of this book is concerned with theArchitecture of the Temple at Chavn de Huntarand reports on several years of recent work at thesite largely carried out by Stanford Universityarchaeologists. John Rick, in chapter 1, analyzesChavn architecture and its site from a point ofview not previously consideredas an engineer-ing accomplishment. Andeanists have previouslyidentified the word Chavn primarily with com-plex polymorphic art, but to this will now beadded the extraordinary Chavn engineering ac-complishments, both their technical abilities andtheir organizational abilities. When eventually

CHAVN: ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND CULTURExxviii

we have societal analyses of Chavn, including anunderstanding of their leaders, workers, andsympathizers, then the group willpower requiredto accomplish the architectural construction andits new physical setting will be a factor consid-ered equal to the motivation for the accomplish-ment of their world-famous art. Rick has rebal-anced the scales in our appreciation of the veryword Chavn.

Silvia Kembel Rodriguez, in chapter 2, followsRicks analyses of the external architecture with anextraordinary analysis of the interior architectureof the Chavn temple, relating interior and exteri-or in a far more complete way than previously at-tempted. Her analysis of the labyrinthine grottoesbeneath the pyramids indicates they were not con-ceptually tunnels or cellars at all but were con-structed first, more like the structural naves of acathedral, with the fill and mound facings (the vis-ible architecture) built later. She also has devel-oped a complex construction sequence for the gal-leries and their associated temple parts. Thephysical and chronological complexity of the sub-ject really requires an animated illustration. She,with John Rick, also reports on temple dating andgenerally finds the temple to have been construct-ed earlier than previously believed.

The next section of the book, Part II, is con-cerned with Chavn and Its Predecessors, and beginswith Richard Burger and Lucy Salazars presenta-tion in chapter 3 concerning what they havenamed the Manchay culture of the Central Coastof Peru, an area long known for its extensiveInitial Period, pre-Chavn temple complexes.They carefully examine their previous positionconcerning the chronology, the associated ceram-ics, and the developments preceding Chavn deHuntar. They reaffirm their belief in the evidentrelational nature of ceramic styles and, most crit-ically, in the inspirational role of the early reli-gious complexes of the coastal cultures in the for-mation of the architectural and cultural complexwe call Chavn de Huntar.

Henning Bischof, the author of the succeed-ing chapter 4, although concerned with the samegeneral theme concerning the origins of Chavn,focuses exclusively and exhaustively on earlyChavn art images. He notes that in premodern

societies, sculptural or graphic art is a majormeans of communication providing a code com-mon to the community that in some ways alsocontributes to the creation of that society by be-coming part of its self-definition and identity. Hedefines early in this case as art that was appar-ently created before the Lanzn stela, the earliestcarved stone image at Chavn de Huntar. He callsthe style of these objects Chavn A, remember-ing that John Rowe called his earliest Chavnphase AB, leaving room for the differentiationand identification that Bischof now provides. Heconsiders a wide range of art objects from centraland northern coastal sites. Interestingly, althoughthoroughly knowledgeable concerning the recordof existing technically derived dates, Bischof feelsthat a resultant sequence must make sense interms of its art for the technical dates to be fullyaccepted, and in that way contrasts his beliefs withthose who believe in the immutability of currentscience. He describes a range of both coastal andhighland objects that he considers to be pre-Chavn, but having established such a corpus, hedoes not draw easy conclusions concerning theirprobable relative influence on Chavn de Huntaritself, but leaves that largely to the reader.

Daniel Morales, a Peruvian archaeologist pre-viously not well known to North American archae-ologists, should now find his place in their bibli-ographies. In chapter 5 he carefully and fully arraysearly Andean architectural evolution and then an-alyzes an amazing single site,Pacopampa, in north-ern Peru whose initial occupation occurred longbefore Chavn de Huntar and continued throughmuch of Chavns existence. He sees many deeplyheld, long-term Andean beliefs embedded in andexpressed by the architecture and the associatedsculpture of Pacopampa. He finds evidence sup-porting Andean dualistic beliefs in the sculpture as-sociated with the architecture but also finds evi-dence concerning the less familiar triadic cosmicbeliefs held in the Andes, a perspective that mightwell be followed in other studies.

Although every paper in the volume is in oneway or another occasionally concerned with theart of Chavn, we have grouped three papers ex-plicitly concerned with that subject into Part III,The Art of Chavn.

WILLIAM J CONKLIN AND JEFFREY QUILTER xxix

The Yauya stela is one of the most importantcarved stone monoliths associated with Chavn deHuntar, although previously it was only associat-ed stylistically. In chapter 6 on the Yauya stela,Richard Burger summarizes his many years ofwork tracing the travels of the broken parts of thestela as well as his work analyzing its evident con-tent. His analysis of the iconography of the mon-ument suggests tropical forest origins. The dis-covery of its history, as well as other relatedmonument histories, leads him to postulate the ex-istence of tall stone hilltop monuments as mark-ers and icons of the Chavn manifestation. Thismajor discovery adds significantly to the socio-political understanding of Chavn, with hilltopmarkers now added to the spread of textiles as ev-idence of the purposeful distribution of Chavnimages and ideas.

Peter Roe is well known for the breadth anddepth of his knowledge of tropical forest symbol-ism, and he has long been a champion of usingthat knowledge in interpreting Chavn art andiconography. In his essay here, chapter 7, his focusis on a painted Chavn-style textile said to be fromCallango in the Ica Valley and now in the Pre-Columbian collection at Dumbarton Oaks. Roesaim is to reinterpret the symbolism of the paint-ing, arguing that the imagery does not depict acayman, as commonly thought, but rather a harpyeagle. But Roe goes far beyond simple reinterpre-tation of a single object and links the symbolicload of the imagery to a wide range of other art-works, social practices, and religious belief in theancient Andes.

Digging deeply into the relationship betweenform and significance, Gary Urton (chapter 8),considers of critical importance the role of bod-ies as carriers of meaning in the art of Chavn. Heconsiders the symbolic use and organization ofbodies and body parts in Chavn art as clues tovalue and meaning in Chavn society and culture.He reviews John Rowes early concept of ken-nings, analyzing that concept more thoroughlythan it has ever been analyzed before, and con-cludes that Rowes arguments are essentially lin-guistic and are not really applicable to physicalart. So he turns to the analysis of the body as thecentral transformative structure of Chavn art and

thought, seeing joints in the body as regulatingmovement, and orifices as regulating bodyenvi-ronment interaction. His example for study is theTello obelisk, which he sees as representing a pairof amarus, the Quechua mythical creature. He be-lieves the only reliable source for interpretationsof this Chavn animal body imagery is in themythology of the tropical forest. His article, pub-lished before in an earlier version, is, in our view,a very important article on Chavn art, and hencewell worth the double exposure.

Part IV of the book, The Culture of Chavn,contains papers that attempt to explore broadlyhow Chavn ideas, customs, and products affectedsubsequent Andean culture. Constantino Torres,in chapter 9, broadly perceives the use of hallu-cinogens as a continuum in Andean culture butwith each particular time and place having its ownspecial materials and procedures. His sources ofinformation include ancient visual evidence of thepsychoactive plants themselves and of the use ofthose plants, but also the discovery of actual im-plements used in the process. He compares the ap-parent Chavn use of hallucinogens with the use ofhallucinogens by contemporary South Americanshamans. Most critically, he finds that the stonesculptural representation of hallucinogenic plantsin ceremonial locations within the Chavn deHuntar temple complex (see cover photo) pro-vides strong evidence for their probable prece-dent-setting use in the ancient Chavn rituals.

This authors own essay, chapter 10, is con-cerned with the cultural implications that can beextracted from the analysis of Chavn textiles. Fortwo reasons the study of Chavn textiles is hand-icapped: first, the textiles of Chavn have only rel-atively recently become known, and their analy-sis is still not present in the thinking of mostChavn researchers; and second, most Chavn tex-tiles have been recovered unscientifically. Never-theless, I argue, the textiles are very real evidenceand are a very important contribution to the bodyof Chavn art. I consider the technical inventionsevident in Chavn textiles to be of enormous im-portance to the later development of textiles asthe major art medium of the Andes. Much of themajor iconography found on the textiles is alsofound on stone sculpture, and the textiles were

CHAVN: ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND CULTURExxx

undoubtedly didactic messengers for the religion.However, the minor iconography is also highlyinformative, including scenes of people and ani-mals acting under the influence of hallucinogens,images not found in stone sculpture. The societalanalysis of this minor, non-deity iconography hasyet to be accomplished.

The Lanzn stela, the earliest of the Chavnstelae, is the subject of Tom Cumminss chapter11. His analysis is not explicitly concerned withthe familiar (but amazing) iconography, butrather with the lasting effect the Lanzn has hadon Andean culture history. He considers its place-ment within the temple and its sword-like form,seemingly stretching between earth and sky, tohave been as powerful as its detailed iconography.He traces the role played by the cultural conceptof the Lanzon and its impact on Andean history,noting the role that many later Andean iconsplayed in their time, a sequence stopped only bythe invasion by the Spaniards.

And so the authors extol the wonders of Cha-vn, each of them always realizing, however, thatthe actual explanation of the forest they are exam-

ining remains vague at best. The late Ed Franque-montcarpenter, weaver, and profound Andeanistonce described his experience in attempting todirect the construction of a grass bridge in theAndes. Although the required technology wasseemingly chronologically remote from the cur-rent knowledge of the local village workers, thesemen and women essentially organized themselves,solved every technical problem, made group deci-sions, and constructed the bridge, with Ed essen-tially watching carefully in amazement. Therewere no discernible leaders or bosses that Ed couldidentify, but a lot of rapid discussion followed bymultiple coordinated actions. Ed, though full ofadmiration for the unique Andean social structurethat produced the bridge, could not really de-scribe that social structure, because it did not fitWestern societal models which always involve hi-erarchies of the leaders and the led. So perhapswe will someday find in Andean studies societalmodels that can explain the astonishingly