Gardners Art through the Ages A Global History

The Old Temple of Chavín de Huántar, dated to the first millen-

nium BCE, resembles some of the sacred complexes of the earliest An-

dean cultures. It is a U-shaped, stone-faced structure between two

rivers, with wings up to 83 yards long. Although at first glance its

three stories appear to be a solid stepped platform, in fact narrow

passageways, small chambers, and stairways penetrate the temple in a

labyrinthine pattern. No windows, however, light the interior spaces.

The few members of Chavín society with access to these rooms must

have witnessed secret and sacred torch-lit ceremonies. The temple is

fronted by sunken courts, an arrangement also adopted from earlier

coastal sites.

The temple complex at Chavín de Huántar is famous for its ex-

tensive stone carvings. The most common subjects are composite

creatures that combine feline, avian, reptilian, and human features.

Consisting largely of low relief on panels, cornices, and columns,

and some rarer instances of freestanding sculpture, Chavín carving

is essentially shallow, linear incision. An immense oracular cult im-

age once stood in the center of the temple’s oldest part. Other exam-

ples of sculpture in the round include heads of mythological crea-

tures, which were pegged into the exterior walls.

RAIMONDI STELEFound in the main temple at Chavín de Huán-

tar and named after its discoverer, the Raimondi Stele (FIG. 14-19),

represents a figure called the “staff god.” He appears in various ver-

sions from Colombia to northern Bolivia but always holds staffs. Sel-

dom, however, do the representations have the degree of elaboration

found at Chavín. The Chavín god gazes upward, frowns, and bares his

teeth. His elaborate headdress dominates the upper two-thirds of the

slab. Inverting the image reveals that the headdress is composed of a

series of fanged jawless faces, each emerging from the mouth of the

one above it. Snakes abound. They extend from the deity’s belt, make

up part of the staffs, serve as whiskers and hair for the deity and the

headdress creatures, and form a braid at the apex of the composition.

The Raimondi Stele clearly illustrates the Andean artistic tendency to-

ward both multiplicity and dual readings. Upside down, the god’s

face turns into not one but two faces. The ability of gods to transform

before the viewer’s eyes is a core aspect of Andean religion.

Chavín iconography spread widely throughout the Andean re-

gion via portable media such as goldwork, textiles, and ceramics. For

example, more than 300 miles from Chavín on the south coast of

Peru, archaeologists have discovered cotton textiles with imagery re-

calling Chavín sculpture. Painted staff-bearing female deities, appar-

ently local manifestations or consorts of the highland staff god, dec-

orate these large cloths, which may have served as wall hangings in

temples. Ceramic vessels found on the north coast of Peru also carry

motifs much like those found on Chavín stone carvings.

Paracas, Nasca, and Moche

Several coastal traditions developed during the millennium from ca.

400 BCEto 700 CE. The most prominent were the Paracas (ca. 400 BCE–

200 CE), Nasca (ca. 200 BCE–600 CE), and Moche (ca. 1–700 CE). To-

gether they exemplify the great variations within Peruvian art styles.

PARACASThe Paracas culture occupied a desert peninsula and a

nearby river valley on the south coast of Peru. Outstanding among the

Paracas arts are the funerary textiles used to wrap the bodies of the

dead in multiple layers. The dry desert climate preserved the textiles,

buried in shaft tombs beneath the sands. These textiles are among the

enduring masterpieces of Andean art (see “Andean Weaving,” page

382). Most are of woven cotton with designs embroidered onto the

fabric in alpaca or vicuña wool imported from the highlands. The

weavers used more than 150 vivid colors, the majority derived from

South America 381

14-19Raimondi Stele,from the main temple, Chavín de Huántar,

Peru, ca. 800–200 BCE. Incised green diorite, 6high. Instituto Nacional

de Cultura, Lima.

The Raimondi Stelestaff god wears a headdress of faces and snakes.

Seen upside down, the god’s face becomes two faces. The ability of the

gods to transform themselves is a core aspect of Andean religion.

1 ft.