The Chavín culture is an extinct, pre-Columbian civilization, named for Chavín de Huantar, the principal archaeological site at which its artifacts have been found. The culture developed in the northern Andean highlands of Peru from 900 BCE to 200 BCE. It extended its influence to other civilizations along the coast.[1][2] The Chavín people (whose name for themselves is unknown) were located in the Mosna Valley where the Mosna and Huachecsa rivers merge. This area is 3,150 metres (10,330 ft) above sea level and encompasses the quechua, suni, and puna life zones.[3] In the periodization of pre-Columbian Peru, the Chavín is the main culture of the Early Horizon period in highland Peru, characterized by the intensification of the religious cult, the appearance of ceramics closely related to the ceremonial centers, the improvement of agricultural techniques and the development of metallurgy and textiles.
Explanation:
Chavín de Huantar was the place of origin of the second large-scale political entity in the central Andes, and this is mainly due to the extensive architecture at the site[10] as well as the architecture being considered an engineering accomplishment.[7] The site uses both internal and external architecture. Internal architecture refers to galleries, passageways, rooms, staircases, ventilation shafts and drainage canals. External architecture refers to plazas, platform mounds and terraces.[11] Construction of the "Old Temple" took place from around 900 to 500 BCE, and construction of the "New Temple", the structure that was constructed and added on to the "Old Temple", took place from around 500 to 200 BCE. The lack of residential structures, occupational deposits, generalized weaponry and evidence of storage further make the site's architecture more interesting, as it focuses mainly on the temples and what lies inside of them.[12]
The monumental center at Chavín de Huantar was built in at least 15 known phases, all of which incorporate the 39 known episodes of gallery construction. The earliest known construction stage, the Separate Mound Stage, consisted of separate buildings[11] and do not conform, necessarily, to the U-shaped pattern seen in the Initial Horizon Period and the Early Horizon Period. During the Expansion Stage, construction integrated stepped platforms and created contiguous U-shaped form by connecting the buildings, which now surround open spaces. At this stage, galleries are elaborate in form and features. During the Black and White Stage, all known plazas (the Plaza Mayor, Plaza Menor and the Circular Plaza) were constructed. As construction came to an end, galleries took on a more standardized look.[11] By the end of the growth process, buildings become plazas with a U-shaped arrangement and an east-west axis bisecting the inclosed space. The axis also intersects the Lanzón.[10]
Modifications were done during all stages of construction to maintain access to the internal architecture of the site.[11] There was a high level of interest in maintaining access to internal architecture and sacred elements of the site. Internal architecture was constructed as part of a single design and was intricately incorporated with the external architecture.[11] Including lateral and asymmetrical growth allowed for these sacred elements to remain visible, including the Lanzón.
The Lanzón Gallery was created from an earlier freestanding structure that was then transformed into a stone-roofed internal space by constructing around it. The Lanzón was possibly present before the roofing, as it is likely that the Lanzón predates the construction of mounds and plazas.[10] In general, galleries follow construction patterns, which indicates a massive effort in design and planning. Maintaining these galleries over time was important to architects.[11] The galleries are known to be windowless, dead ends, sharp turns and changes in floor height, all of which were designed to disorient people walking in them.[13]
A combination of symmetry and asymmetry were used in the design and planning of the site construction, and in fact guided the design. There were centered placements of staircases, entrances and patios, all of which were consistently prominent. In the last stages of construction, due to constraints, centeredness was no longer possible, so architects shifted to constructing symmetrical pairs. Externally, buildings were asymmetrical to each other.[11]
The primary construction materials used were quartzite and sandstone, white granite and black limestone. Alternate coursing of quartzite was used in the major platforms, while white sandstone and white granite were used interchangeably in the architecture, and were almost always cut and polished. Granite and black-veined limestone were the raw materials used in almost all of the engraved lithic art at the site. Granite was also used extensively in the construction of the Circular Plaza.[
