Chavin De Huantar Research Articles

Chavin and the origins of Andean civilization

Of the six independent centres of civilization in world prehistory, probably the least well known is Chavin de Huantar, high up in the Andes, where South America's oldest complex culture arose during the first millennium BC and created its earliest known city. The Chavin style dominated Peruvian art and architecture for hundreds of years and influenced all that came after. But what was the exact nature of this style? How did Chavin civilization develop, and why did it eventually collapse? New answers are emerging after unprecedented discoveries made over the past two decades. Drawing on his intimate knowledge of these findings, including his own excavations at Chavin and elsewhere, Professor Burger argues controversially - that the first monumental architecture and great art in the Andes were created by economically egalitarian pre-Chavin societies. It is now known that such pre-state cultures built massive truncated pyramids as ancient as those of Old Kingdom Egypt. Chavin civilization represents a synthesis of these traditions, forged through the impact of long-distance trade and a new religious ideology. Accompanied by a wealth of photographs, drawings and maps, it will be of great interest to art historians as well as archaeologists and students of comparative civilization.

A Postulated Tsunami and Its Effects on Cultural Development in the Peruvian Early Horizon

While investigating the archaeological background of early maize on the coast of Peru, I realized that several factors affect interpretation. The estimated date for the start of common use of maize there is close to the apparent dates of a large tsunami, the abandonment of many coastal sites, and the start of occupation at Chavin de Huantar in the highlands. While investigating the possible relations between the principal pre-tsunami coastal culture and Chavin, I discovered that depictions of a monstrous head link the two cultures. Dating of first millennium B.C. materials is complicated by changes in the atmospheric 14C level, so iconographic, stylistic, and material linkages are even more important in thinking about cultural development in this period. Inconsistencies between older inferences and newer observations can be resolved by a new model.

The Radiocarbon Evidence for the Temporal Priority of Chavin de Huantar

A critical evaluation of radiocarbon measurements taken from recent excavations at Chavin de Huantar, Peru provides the basis for an absolute chronology for the Chavin culture at Chavin de Huantar which spans from 850 B.C. to 200 B.C. Radiocarbon measurements from four coastal sites stylistically related to Chavin de Huantar are reviewed and found to be generally prior in date to the earliest known occupation at Chavin de Huantar.