Civilizations of the Andes

ChavίnMoche

Wari and Tiwanaku

Civilizations of the Andes

• What do we know about the geography?

Geography and Food

• The deserts only supported human habitation because of rivers…– Rivers provided irrigation and cultivation

• Location near the Pacific Ocean• Birds and Fish

• Seafood from the coastal region; cotton from lower-altitude valley; potatoes, quinoa, and pasture land for llamas in the high plains; tropical fruit and coca from the eastern slope

Civilizations of South America

• First Wave Civilization= Notre Chico:3000 BCE • Second Wave Civilizations:– Chavin: 1200 BCE- 200 BCE– Moche: 200 BCE-800 CE – flourished 100 CE- 700 CE– Nazca: ?- 600 CE– Wari: 400 CE- 1000 CE– Tiwanaku: 400 CE- 1000 CE– Huari: 650 CE0 800 CE– Chimu: 600 CE- 1470 CE– Inca: 1476 CE- 1543 CE

Chavίn (cha-BEEN)

• 900 BCE – 200 BCE: became the center of a religious movement – Chavίn de Huántar

• Location – coastal and highland Peru • Strategic location to trade routes• Why would trade routes be so important to

Chavίn?

Chavίn (cha-BEEN)

• Architecture – the Elite class• Elaborate temple complex – galleries, hidden

passageways, staircases, ventilation, drainage canals (technology)

• Artwork – influenced from both the desert coastal regions and the rainforests – major deities represented as jaguars, crocodiles, and snakes (art and religion)

• Shamans – San Pedro cactus – hallucinogenic properties – used to communicate with the supernatural world

Chavίn (cha-BEEN)

• Spread of religion across Peru and beyond – how do we know? Architecture, sculpture, pottery, religious images – imitated within the region

• Chavίn became pilgrimage cite and training center

• No “empire” emerged – it was a widespread religious cult based on a trading network

Chavίn (review)• N. Peru• Farming society• Different regional groups• Main town was probably a pilgrimage site

Moche (MOH-chee)

• 100 CE – 800 CE• Location – Peru’s northern coast – incorporated

13 river valleys• Economy dependent on irrigation systems –

constant maintenance – channeled snow runoff from the Andes

• Grew – maize, beans, squash – used water and guano

• Fishermen – anchovies in the Pacific

Where is Moche?

Moche (MOH-chee)

• Politically – governed by warrior-priests• Lived in pyramids – largest had 143 million sundried

bricks • Shaman-rulers – often under the influence of

hallucinogenic drugs – conducted rituals and mediated between the humankind and the gods

• Ritual Sacrifice of human victims – most prisoners of war – this was the central concept to the politico-religious life– Decapitation and dismemberment was represent on

pottery

Moche (MOH-chee)

• Moche was based on war, ceremony and diplomacy

• Wealth of the warrior-priest elite – elaborate burials of the rulers– Lord of Sipan

• Craftspeople – metal workers, potters, weavers, painters, farmers, fishermen, traders, construction workers – little is known about the daily life of these workers

The Lord of Sipan

Moche (MOH-chee)

What it could’ve looked like…

Moche Review

• 200 BCE- 700 CE• Northern Peru• 2000 separate settlements• Created irrigation systems• Royal tombs show social classes– Lord, buried in shrouds and covered in jewels– Surrounded by servants and animals– Llamas, a dog, and a snake– Paintings show priests in warfare and performing

human sacrifices on the prisoners• Moche left around 600 CE and no one knows why

Wari and Tiwanaku

• 400 CE – 1000 CE• Interior empires• Wari – northern highlands of the Andes• Tiwanaku – southern part of the Andes• Both centered on large urban capitals,

monumental architecture, and large populations• Both governments collected surplus food – incase

of drought and famine• Neither controlled a continuous band of territory

Wari and Tiwanaku • Both developed vertical empires• Colonies at lower levels on the eastern and

western slopes of the Andes• Food – seafood, maize, chili peppers, cocoa,

hallucinogenic plants• Caravans of llama linked distant centers –

allowed for trade

Wari VS Tiwanaku

• Agriculture – – Wari = hillside terracing, snowmelt from Andes– Tiwanaku = “raised field” – elevated planting areas

separated by small irrigation canals• Architecture - – Wari = tombs and temples were built of field stone – Tiwanaku = elaborate fitted stone walls and buildings

• City organization – – Wari = built to a common plan, linked to capital by highways – Tiwanaku = not as tightly control compared to Wari

Wari VS Tiwanaku

• Shared 300 mile border• Little conflict between the two, or interaction• Spoke own languages, different clothes, different gods• Capitals were the base of their civilizations • Following their collapse were a series of smaller Andean

kingdoms – one which became the Inca Empire – used technology and architecture from the Wari and Tiwanaku. Inca claimed Tiwanaku as their origin.

• Fall of American empires came with the invasions of the Europeans in the 1400’s

Wari

Tiwanaku

Discussion Questions:

• What kind of influence did Chavin exert in the Andes region?

• What features of Moche life characterize it as a civilization?

• What was the significance of Wari and Tiwanaku in the history of the Andean Civilization?

Civilization

• What classifies a civilization?