pre-Columbian art and architecture: Ancient Peru

The first great art style of the geographical area that is now Peru was that of the civilization that flourished at Chavín de Huántar in the northern highlands c.900 to 200 b.c. A more or less contemporaneous culture of the north coast produced a style of pottery known as Cupisnique. The Paracas culture of the south coast, of the same era, left some of the most beautiful textiles of pre-Inca Peru as well as fine pottery decorated with resin paint. Excellent painted ceramics and beautiful weavings were also characteristic of the Nazca civilization (c.200 b.c.–a.d. 600) to the south, which also produced the huge and mysterious “Nazca lines.”

The Nazca's contemporaries on the north coast, the Moche, surpassed them in the art of painted pottery. Battle scenes, rituals, animals, and mythological beings were masterfully depicted. Their ceramic “portrait vessels” in the form of human heads are the high point of realism in pre-Columbian art. They were also master builders, the Moche Pyramid of the Sun being the largest in South America. During the following period (c.600–800), the Tiahuanaco culture gained ascendancy. With the decline of Tiahuanaco the kingdom of the Chimu flourished. Their capital, Chan Chan, has long been considered one of the great centers of ancient Peru.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Inca
• Ancient Peru
• Other Mexican Cultures
• The Aztec
• The Toltec
• Teotihuacán
• The Olmec
• The Maya
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Latin American Art