Detailed study
Ancient Intermediate Period (200 B. C. - 550 A. D.)
On the southern coast, between the V century B.C. and the II century A.D., various cultural expressions asserted themselves, coinciding with the period of transition from the decline of the Chavin and the development of new social structures with a regional character. In the valleys of Chicama, Moche and Virú fortified settlements gradually arose. The dominant classes had a military character while maintaining a typically theocratic political structure.
Of the cultures that characterised this phase we find the Salinar, Virú or Gallinazo, Vicús and Moche. The latter starting from 200 B.C., implemented a policy of conquest, defeating the inhabitants of the nearby valleys and extending their sphere of influence until it covered an area of 300 kilometres along the coast.
Between the III and the V centuries A.D. the Moche totally dominated the rival communities, expressing their power with a policy based on the hegemony of lords, who in turn are controlled by a central power that sets the social, religious and economic rules. In this period the artistic level, above all in the fields of ceramics and metallurgy, reaches a fineness and maturity of expression which is difficult to imitate. The Moche ceramics are of the most refined and at the same time realistic, of the whole Peruvian area. In the public works sector the Moche reveal an evolved technological knowledge.
The need to meet an increase in the population and to supply an increasingly demanding state, made them construct impressive water works. In the field of architecture the Moche created monumental constructions in green brick, composed of stepped pyramids of remarkable sizes.
The decline of the Moche took place around the VII century A.D. Most probably, even the southern coast was involved with the expansion of the Wari through most of the Peruvian territory. Between 200 B.C. and 550 A.D., in the central coastal area touched by the Chancay, Chillón, Rímac and Lurín valleys, small dominions formed with well-organised social structures, not controlled by a central power, known generically as the Lima culture, despite the existence of well-differentiated ceramic styles. The only unifying element seems to have been religion, derived from a common cultural base and from the prestige of the ceremonial centre at Pachacamac.
The Nasca culture, that developed on the southern coast in the Chincha, Pisco, Ica, Nasca and Acarí valleys between 400 B.C. and 550 A.D., derived from very ancient local traditions. In the Nasca period the technique of pre-fire colouring of ceramics was introduced. Polychromy and drawing became a inimitable form of expression and communication: from the first more naturalistic phases an abstract representation of the principal themes was reached, almost always connected to the religious world, dominated by the Cahuachi influence, which was the main ceremonial centre in the area.
The Nasca are noted for other forms of artistic expression with an ancient tradition, like weaving. Some of the most original evidence of this culture is the well-known geoglyphics traced onto the desert plains that separate the valleys. Owing to the arid soil, the Nasca devised ingenuous systems to satisfy their irrigation requirements, constructing canals, reservoirs, underground aqueducts and filtering tunnels.
Towards the middle of the IV century A.D., Cahuachi and other important sites were abandoned because of a series of pre-existing reasons. The disintegration of their power and the creation of new centres no longer tied to Cahuachi followed, that lasted until the Wari occupation. In the Andes of northern Peru, the first cultural evidence appears in the Cajamarca basin around 1500 B.C., with a type of ceramic influenced by Chavín and Salinar.
For centuries the valley represented the ceremonial destination of a complex society, integrated in a community system tied to the Cupisnique tradition. Around 200 B.C., certain radical transformations contributed to make this culture an important regional reference centre even for the centuries that followed.
The Recuay culture, originally from the Valle del Santa expanded into the entire area of the Callejón de Huaylas, in the central sierra, between the I century A.D. and 600 A.D. Recent studies maintain that the Recuay represented a derivation of Chavin, or rather a local variant, in which new techniques are adopted and different resources are employed. Towards the end of the first millennium B.C., in the area around Lake Titicaca, the same area occupied by the Pukará, the Tiwanaku culture flourished, destined to expand to all the basins of the lake.
From the first centuries of our age one sees a development of agricultural techniques and the appearance of a monumental architectural type. This first phase, called ancient, corresponds to the occupation of a limited area, close to the lake and which is identified with the period of the local regional cultures.
The true expansion comes about in the classical phase, in which the sphere of influence grows event to southern Chile and the eastern and western regions of Bolivia. The ceremonial centre of Tiwanaku is the emblem of this culture, characterised by constructions where one appreciates the perfect stone work. The same ability expressed in the construction techniques marks the sculptural art, where sculptures of spectacular sizes were produced.
Starting from 550 A.D. one observes a double and reciprocal influence with the Wari, which coincides with the decline of the Tiwanaku and a progressive political unification of a greater part of the Peruvian territory, which can only be explained by the appearance of an imperial phenomenon.
