Pre-Inca Cultures PDF

Brief syntheses: Pre-Inka cultures 1 I. Shimada * This manuscript written by Izumi Shimada contains brief syntheses that introduce the selected pre-Inka cultures included in the exhibit  Chavín and Cupisnique Cults (ca. 1300 –...

Brief syntheses: Pre-Inka cultures 1 I. Shimada * This manuscript written by Izumi Shimada contains brief syntheses that introduce the selected pre-Inka cultures included in the exhibit  Chavín and Cupisnique Cults (ca. 1300 – 500 BCE) Chavín Cult is the first Andean religion that spread throughout much of the northern Peru, both in the highlands and the adjacent coast during the first millennium BCE (see map showing the locations of the major pre-Inka cultures discussed in this section). Nearly a century of archaeological investigations has shown that this cult is largely a synthesis of selective features of various regional religious traditions of both the coast and the highlands of the northern Peru. It was heavily influenced by the Cupisnique religion of the north coast of Peru that antedated it and coexisted for much of the first millennium BCE. Among various features these cults shared was the feline symbolism that emphasized over-sized canines (Fig. A). The site of Chavín (Figs. B, C) itself is now known to have undergone complex architectural changes over centuries, corresponding to changes in the role and broader significance of the associated religion. Its dramatic physical setting and the planned layout of plazas, underground galleries and canals, and sacred, supernatural imageries point to all-sensory, total bodily, emotional and mental experience for pilgrims. Offerings of diverse styles found at the site clearly attest to its powerful, centripetal attraction of the site and the cult. Sacred images on precisely executed stone carvings and other types of artifacts inform us of overriding concerns of the cult for water, fertility, agricultural success, as well as the veneration of natural forces and dualistic features of the universe (e.g., essential complementarity of male and female). While the spread of the cult over much of the northern Peru related to the spread of agrarian lifeway in the same area, it also established interregional interaction that heretofore had not been seen. Brief syntheses: Pre-Inka cultures 2 I. Shimada  Mochica Culture (ca. 250-750/800 CE) Mochica (also known as Moche; see map showing the locations of the major pre-Inka cultures discussed in this section) that flourished on the fertile and resource-rich north coast of Peru is perhaps one of the best-known ancient cultures of the Andes. Its fame is largely due to its highly sophisticated crafts, pottery and metal in particular, and distinctive, naturalistic, and informative art style. There are tens of thousands of painted, sculptural Mochica pottery in public and private collections throughout the world that display, among other aspects of the Moche world, ancestors, deities and monsters and their activities in the supernatural world that actively interacted with the human world. The naturalism, narrative (storytelling) character, and the diversity of depicted subjects in the Moche art have thus afforded us rare insights into the intangible beliefs and worldviews of the non-literate, ancient Andean people. Recent research, however, has shown that conventional interpretations, particularly of their political organization, that have been heavily based on artistic evidence are untenable - that the apparent art-stylistic homogeneity does not imply Moche political unity. In fact, it now seems the Mochica world was divided into the Northern and Southern Mochica, and that each half was ruled by a series of regional kingdoms. The most powerful kingdom of the Southern Mochica was based at the site of Huacas de Moche (Figs. D, E), while no one kingdom dominated the Northern Mochica, although the site of Sipán is well-known for its royal tombs (Fig. F). In general, our understanding of the Mochica is strongly skewed toward its art, monumental adobe (sun-dried brick) temples, and elite lifestyle and mortuary customs. There remain many questions regarding life of ordinary Moche people. Brief syntheses: Pre-Inka cultures 3 I. Shimada  Nasca Culture (ca. 100 BCE – 700 CE) This well-known Mochica contemporary on the south coast of Peru presents us a contrasting picture of cultural developments of this era. The striking polychromic decoration (up to 13 distinct colors on a single ceramic vessel) of their pottery and textiles (Fig. G) for which the Nasca are justly famous belies the constant challenge the Nasca faced for survival in the highly arid environment with limited water supply and agricultural lands. Limited water supply affected the Nasca for much of their existence inspiring them to develop a series of effective water management techniques such as underground canals and "walk-in" (walk down a spiral path to the ground water level; Fig. H) wells to tap underground water. Numerous offerings, including decapitated human heads, and expansions of temples at the principal Nasca ceremonial center of Cahuachi (Fig. I), what some scholars believe to have been the capital of the Nasca theocracy, as well as the construction of thousands of geoglyphs (Fig. J) in a nearby desert and the placement of offerings there represent Nasca responses to this overriding and pervasive concern for water - and thus, fertility and survival. There are numerous artistic representations as well as well-preserved trophy heads (decapitated human heads). The fact that there are clear depictions of plants growing out of trophy heads (Fig. K) suggests that Nasca people believed in the idea that "death begets life" - that sacrificial offering of human life is necessary to assure fertility and successful harvest. By ca. 600 CE, the Nasca society was in disarray with much of the population having relocated to adjacent highlands. At the same time, the Nasca effectively demonstrate us human perseverance, creativity, and resilience under relentless environmental challenges.  Tiwanaku Culture (ca. 500 BCE – 1100 CE) Brief syntheses: Pre-Inka cultures 4 I. Shimada The millenarian Tiwanaku culture is the primary cultural development of the first millennium CE in the Titicaca Basin (where Lake Titicaca is located; Fig. L) and its surrounding high plateaus, one of the two major breadbaskets and cultural centers of the Andes (along with Peru's north coast). It also represents the coalescence of key regional developments and features on the north and south shores of Lake Titicaca that can be traced to ca. 1500 BCE, particularly their religious traditions, economic orientations, and ethnic identities. The integration of these diverse elements resulted in a new cultural identity and synergy that we call Tiwanaku. The ceremonial city of Tiwanaku (Figs. M, N) on the south shore of Lake Titicaca with its impressive stone architecture and sculptures became the most influential cultural center of the South-Central Andes (Bolivia, northwest Argentina, northern Chile, and southernmost Peru). According to one version of Inka oral history, the Inka ancestors originated from the site of Tiwanaku. Certainly, beautifully constructed Tiwanaku masonry architecture reminds us of the later Inka stone architecture. Early in the seventh century, Tiwanaku began its economic and religious expansion out of the Titicaca Basin concurrent with the Wari expansion in south-central Peru (see below) and the socio-political disarray of major cultures on the Peruvian coast. Until their decline that began around 1000 CE, the Tiwanaku and the Wari dominated much of the Andes.  Wari Empire (ca. 650 – 1000 CE) It is widely considered to have been the first Andean polity to engage in extensive territorial expansion that covered much of modern-day Peru, particularly in the highlands. Various factors appear to have shaped this so-called "first round of empire building", including a severe El Niño event with its associated floods and severe, prolonged droughts spanning late sixth to early eighth century CE. These disturbances, in turn, contributed to various major Brief syntheses: Pre-Inka cultures 5 I. Shimada cultural changes with significant long-term consequences. Both in the highlands and on the coast, there were unprecedented population movements and aggregation that were accompanied by the centralization of power in urban settlements. More specifically, cultural contacts with the influential Tiwanaku and intensification of interaction with the Nasca people, together with the population nucleation in the Ayacucho region in the south-central highlands of Peru, formed the foundation for the emergence of the Wari state and its urban capital, Huari (Fig. O) (pronounced as Wari), during the seventh century CE. Soon thereafter, the Wari engaged in at least two waves of extensive expansion; the first seems to have had a strong religious "missionary" character, while the second seemed driven by military and political ambitions. The reality is likely to have been much more complex with religious, economic (e.g., gaining exotic and luxury resources), and socio-political considerations all playing a major role. Certainly, by the beginning of the eighth century CE, the Wari Empire with its expanding network of planned, urbanized colonies began its hegemonic control over much of the Peruvian highlands and, to a lesser extent, coast. Not surprisingly, the Wari political ascendancy was accompanied by impressive achievements in art and crafts (Fig. P). Some of the finest Andean textiles were produced by Wari weavers (Fig. Q). By early tenth century CE, however, Wari control of its territory was weakening, particularly on the coast, and by the end of the century, it lost its political power and integrity.  Sicán Culture Based in the highly productive and resource-rich Lambayeque region on the north coast of Peru and inheriting the rich cultural heritage of the preceding Mochica (Moche), the Sicán (also called Lambayeque) rapidly emerged as the most powerful group on the Peruvian coast Brief syntheses: Pre-Inka cultures 6 I. Shimada during the tenth century CE. The Wari did not establish a solid or lasting hegemony in this region due to the Mochica presence and the rapid Sicán political and religious ascendency. However, just as the Chavín, Wari, and other major art styles and religions constituted "innovations" based on synthesis of earlier and existing styles, beliefs, and concepts, the Sicán too heavily relied on earlier, local Mochica and externally introduced Wari features. Blending of the selected features into a new configuration was especially notable in Sicán art and religion, which were dominated by ubiquitous representation of the omnipotent Sicán Deity (Fig. R). At the same time, by about 1000 CE, the Middle Sicán established a large-scale metallurgical production of arsenical bronze (copper-arsenic alloy) and gold alloys (low- and high-karat), and irrigation agriculture, both unprecedented in their scale in the Andes. Technologically innovative and superior bronze products (in comparison with the earlier pure copper), in turn, fueled far- reaching trade to acquire exotic items, particularly from Ecuador and Colombia, such as tropical marine shells, amber, and emerald. The control of these valued sumptuary and ritual items, together with the unprecedented metallurgical production and the equally impressive agricultural production enabled by the large-scale irrigation of the extensive, fertile land, transformed the Middle Sicán polity into the most wealthy and influential culture of its time in the Andes. Deep Middle Sicán elite shaft-tombs (up to 15 or greater in depth; Fig. S.) boasted the unprecedented quantities of gold and other metal objects (Fig. T). as well imported luxury items. Sometime around 1100 CE, the Middle Sicán capital of Sicán was destroyed by a conflagration, ushering in a new era (Late Sicán, 1100-1400 CE). The fire was perhaps intentionally set by populace that had suffered years of heavy demand by elites to sustain the labor-intensive metallurgical production and adverse effects of a mega-El Niño flood in midst of a severe drought. Brief syntheses: Pre-Inka cultures 7 I. Shimada