History of Peru
Timeline
Ancient Peru
Caral
Chavin
Paracas
Moche
Nazca
Tiahuanaco
Wari
Chimu
Inca Empire
Colonial Peru
The Conquest
Viceroyalty of Peru
Republic of Peru
Independence
Peru-Bolivian Confederacy
War of the Pacific
Peruvian-Ecuadorian Territorial Dispute

Late Intermediate Period Cultures

The Nazca culture flourished in the Nazca region between 300 BC and 800 AD. They created the famous Nazca lines and built an impressive system of underground aqueducts that still function today. Near the aqueducts open to tourists, there is an overlook point which includes an Inca building added after the Inca conquest of the area. On the pampa, on which the Nazca lines were made, the ceremonial city of Cahuachi (1-500 AD) sits overlooking the lines. Modern knowledge about the culture of the Nazca is built upon studying the city of Cahuachi. Image File history File links Flag_of_Peru. ... This is the history of Peru. ... 3000 BC - 1600 BC: Caral 900 BC - 200 BC: Chavín 300 BC - AD 1480 Moche, Chimu 300 - 1100 Tiwanaku 500 - 1200 Huari 1438 - 1572: Inca Empire 1532 - 1572: Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire 1542 - 1821: Viceroyalty of Peru 1836 - 1839: Peru-Bolivian Confederacy 1879 - 1884: War of the... The Caral pyramids in the arid Supe Valley, some 20 km from the Pacific coast. ... Chavín & Chavín influence The Chavín were an early civilization that existed in what is now the country of Peru. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Moche pottery (Image © PROMPERU, used with permission) The Moche civilization (aka the Mochica culture, Early Chimu, Pre-Chimu, Proto-Chimu, etc. ... Area of the Middle Horizon The Gate of the Sun Statue in Tiwanaku Walls around the temple Kalasasaya Tiwanaku (old spellings: Tiahuanaco and Tiahuanacu) is an important Pre-Columbian archaeological site in Bolivia. ... Middle Horizon The Huari (or Wari) was a Middle Horizon civilization that flourished in the southern Andes from about 500 to 1200 AD. The capital city is located near the modern city of Ayacucho, Peru. ... The Chimú were the residents of Chimor with its capital at the city of Chan Chan in the Moche valley of Peru. ... The Inca Empire or Inka Empire was the largest empire in Pre-Columbian America, and one of the largest empires in the world at the time of its collapse. ... There lies Peru with its riches; Here, Panama and its poverty. ... Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru (in Spanish, Virreinato del Perú) contained most of Spanish-ruled South America until the creation of the separate viceroyalties of New Granada (now Colombia, Ecuador, Panamá and Venezuela, the last-named previously in the Viceroyalty of New Spain) in 1717 and Río... Capital Tacna Created 1836 Dissolved 1839 Demonym Peru-bolivian The Peru-Bolivian Confederacy was a short-lived state that existed in South America between the years 1836 and 1839. ... Combatants Republic of Peru Republic of Bolivia Republic of Chile Commanders Juan Buendía Andrés Cáceres Miguel Grau Manuel Baquedano Patricio Lynch Arturo Prat Strength Peru-Bolivian Army Peruvian Navy Army of Chile Chilean Navy The War of the Pacific, sometimes called the Saltpeter War in reference to... The border dispute between Ecuador and Peru was until recently the most persistent and seemingly most resistant to resolution of any in the Western Hemisphere. ... Download high resolution version (1730x3200, 230 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1730x3200, 230 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Early South American Civilizations Nazca (sometimes spelled Nasca) is the name of a system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru, and the name of the regions largest existing town. ... Satellite picture of an area containing lines. ... Cahuachi, in Peru, was a major ceremonial center of the Nazca culture and overlooked some of the Nazca lines from 1 CE to about 500 CE. Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Orefici has been excavating the site for the past few decades, bringing a team down every year. ...

Pottery

The Nazca region is a desert that the Nazca turned into a viable agricultural area using their aqueduct technology. Nazca pottery has been divided into eight phases. Around 200 BC, at the end of the Early Horizon drought, Nazca I began. Pottery from this era contains the mythical content of Paracas art, but added realistic subject matter such as fruits, plants, people, and other animals. Realism increased in importance in the following three phases (II, III, IV) referred to as the Monumental phases. The pottery from these phases includes renditions of their main subject matter against a bold red or white background. In the next phase, Nazca V, the backgrounds are filled in and the subject matter now included bodyless renditions of both deamons and humans. Nazca VI, and VII include the earlier motifs but also add militaristic ones, and portraits of elite members of the society. Nazca VI and VII also begin to show the influence of the Moche. Finally, Nazca VIII saw the introduction of completely disjointed figures and a rich iconography which we have yet to decipher. The phases were created before the advent of carbon dating and today have some problems. While the general order did not change there is a great deal of overlap of the phases, and while the Nazca IX phase ends c. 600 AD, some of the pottery in that category was created at least as late as 755 AD. This is a chart of the Peruvian cultural periods used by archaeologist studying the area. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Moche pottery (Image © PROMPERU, used with permission) The Moche civilization (aka the Mochica culture, Early Chimu, Pre-Chimu, Proto-Chimu, etc. ...

Since the Nazca were a coastal people, who depended on the sea for their livelihood, archaeologists are fortunate that they portrayed aspects of their everyday lives in and on their pottery. The motifs generally seen on Nazca pots are those of animals and plants used and seen by the ancient people. These include sea birds, hummingbirds, whales, sharks, fish, snakes, seeds, flowers, and cacti. Also, more gruesomely, the Nazca also portrayed disembodied heads, presumed to be trophy heads, on their pottery.

Textiles

Polychrome, fish-shaped, nazca vessel. (See: huaco)

The Nazca are also known for their textiles. They began using llama and massive quantities of alpaca a thousand years before the north coast cultures began to esteem the camelid wool. The source of the wool is believed to be from the Ayacucho region. The motifs that appeared on the pottery appeared earlier in the textiles. Textiles may have been as important to other cultures in the region as to the Nazca, but the desert has preserved the textiles of both the Nazca and Paracas cultures and comprise most of what we know about early textiles in the region. Image File history File links Nazca-pottery-(01). ... Image File history File links Nazca-pottery-(01). ... Nazca culture huaco Huaco or Guaco is the generic name given in Peru mostly to earthen vessels and other finely made pottery artworks found in pre-columbian sites such as burial locations, sanctuaries, temples and other ancient ruins. ... Ayacucho is the capital of the department of Ayacucho in Peru. ...

Other information

The Nazca culture co-existed with the Moche culture of what is now northern Peru. Moche pottery (Image © PROMPERU, used with permission) The Moche civilization (aka the Mochica culture, Early Chimu, Pre-Chimu, Proto-Chimu, etc. ...

References

• The Incas and the Ancestors: The Archaeology of Perú. Revised Edition. By Michael E. Moseley
• Cahuachi in the Ancient Nasca World. By Helaine Silverman

External links

• The Nacza Lines and the "Eye in the Sky"