19 Facts About Chavin culture

Chavin culture is an extinct, pre-Columbian civilization, named for Chavin de Huantar, the principal archaeological site at which its artifacts have been found.

The Chavin culture developed in the northern Andean highlands of Peru from 900 BCE to 200 BCE.

The Chavin culture people were located in the Mosna Valley where the Mosna and Huachecsa rivers merge.

Best-known archaeological site for the Chavin culture is Chavin de Huantar, located in the Andean highlands of the present-day Ancash Region.

Chavin culture demonstrated advanced skills and knowledge in metallurgy, soldering, and temperature control.

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Chavin culture represents the first widespread, recognizable artistic style in the Andes.

Chavin culture art is known for its complex iconography and its "mythical realism".

Some other iconography found in Chavin art continues to give a glimpse as to what the culture was like, such as the general evidence of the use of psycho-active plants in ritual.

Chavin culture had a wide sphere of influence throughout surrounding civilizations, especially because of their location at a trade crossing point between the deserts and Amazon jungle.

Garagay, a site in the modern-day Lima region, has variations of the characteristic Chavin culture iconography, including a head with mucus coming from the nostrils.

At Chavin culture, power was legitimized through the belief in the small elite having a divine connection; shamans derived power and authority from their claim to a divine connection.

The evolution of authority at Chavin culture appears to have resulted from a planned strategy by the shamans and those who planned and constructed the ceremonial center.

Ritual activity for the Chavin culture is not fully understood, but a great understanding of the overall ritual influence and impact that ritual had on the Chavin culture is more evident through their architectural structures, offering deposits, and artistic remains, mainly through pictographic displays.

People who designed and built the architecture at Chavin culture are understood to be priests or religious leaders within the community.

The architecture within Chavin was dictated by these individuals to keep the ritual elements of their culture prominent.

The architecture of the Chavin site allowed for a rich and diverse ritual practice within the ritualized spaces, leading scholars to speculate whether or not the Chavin served as a multi-ethnic ceremonial center; the architecture, materials, and offerings might have been inspired by other cultures, but there is a question as to whether or not it was symbolic of a greater diverse ritual practice.

Open spaces of plazas versus the small restricted spaces of Chavin culture galleries in the temple shows that there is a progression of how the ritual spaces and architecture was used, moving more from public to private practice.

Ritualistic activity for the Chavin isn't necessarily original; it has deep roots connected to activities from other Andean societies and cultures.

The Chavin culture were interested in binaries and manipulating them, such as showing men and women, the sun and moon, and the sky and water in the same image.