- Facts about the Chavín culture and how it was discovered
- Chavín culture: social and economic structure
- References
The Chavín culture was an anthropological culture that emerged more than 3000 years ago, specifically in the eastern sierra of Áncash. The main theorist of the Chavín culture was the Peruvian doctor and anthropologist Julio César Tello, who is considered by specialists as the discoverer of the Chavín and Paracas cultures.
According to Julio César Tello, the Chavín culture is the oldest of all, the matrix of the Inca cultures, which was spreading for centuries in various surrounding parts of the Andes.
Facts about the Chavín culture and how it was discovered
The architectural and ceremonial complex called Chavín de Huántar is one of the greatest vestiges of the Chavín culture. It is an enclosure located in the valley of the Mosna and Huachecsa rivers, known for being the administrative and religious center of the Chavín culture.
The site is built with stones and mud with a truncated pyramid structure and is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of the ancient civilizations of South America.
The temple was discovered in 1920 by Tello, who found several dozen "nailed heads" in the walls of the building. These sculptural monoliths represented the heads of mythical beings, some with anthropomorphic or animal features, which was frequent in the Amazonian tribes. This contributed to his thesis that maintained that the Chavín culture was of jungle origin.
Tello made several studies and works of archaeological sites on the Chavín culture - among them the Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History of Peru - with which he was able to affirm that it was of Amazonian origin, possessing a wide range of iconographic representations of the jungle in its artistic manifestations. Currently, Chavín de Huántar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Chavín culture could be described according to its political organization, its economy and cultural manifestations.
Chavín culture: social and economic structure
Regarding the political organization, the Chavín culture was, basically according to what the theorists affirm, a theocracy. There were two well-defined social classes.
The first was the priest class, which was a dominant caste possessing advanced knowledge of astronomy, science, and the arts. With this they had influence and power over the rest of society.
The second class was that of the people, the majority, who made up the dominated class. It was made up mostly of ranchers and farmers.
In the economic order, the Chavín culture presented several activities that were constituted as the economic base of the society. Agriculture was the main one, based especially on the sowing of corn, potatoes and various types of tubers.
There were several agricultural techniques that allowed the massive cultivation of food. On the other hand, livestock also had some relevance, especially with the development of llamas, alpacas and guinea pigs. Fishing developed in the adjacent coastal area. The trade was based on barter between the different Amazonian peoples of the area.
The cultural manifestations were diverse. There was an important development of blacksmithing: the chavines were able to work metals such as copper, silver and gold, generally for the manufacture of ornaments. Stone was another material used intensively in the construction of buildings, sculptures and utensils.
Textile making was also an important activity of the Chavín culture, since cotton and wool were used in making fabrics. The ceramics had an outstanding relevance due to the diversity and quality of the works.
All these elements were rigorously studied by Julio César Tello to expose the formation and nature of the Chavín culture in its various expressions.
References
- Chavín Culture - History of Peru. (2015). Retrieved on December 17, 2017 from History of Peru: historiaperuana.pe.
- Juárez, TP (2010). The Chavín Culture.
- Chavín de Huantar - Chavín Culture. (2017). Retrieved on December 17, 2017 from Arqueología del Perú: arqueologiadelperu.com.
- Julio Cesar Tello. (2017). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on December 17, 2017 from Wikipedia: wikipedia.org.
- Chavín (culture). (2017). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on December 17, 2017 from Wikipedia: wikipedia.org.
- They discover three "nailed heads" of the Chavín culture. (2013). Retrieved on December 29, 2017 from the Publimetro: publimetro.pe.