It is generally accepted that the earliest settlers arrived in the Andes about 20,000 BC. Utensils discovered in prehistoric caves in Peru confirm this theory. Human remains discovered in caves near Huanuco, Peru have been dated 7,500 BC. By then, people lived as nomads, hunting and gathering. By 2,500 BC people started to live from agriculture (potatoes, quinoa, corn etc) domestication of llamas, alpacas which led to some groups settling in the Andes, around the Titicaca basin. People also occupied the north coast of Peru following the rich marine life, turning later inland along the valleys.
The Andean cultures started to develop 2000 BC. Irrigation systems, farming, ceramics, textiles and some building (huacas) began to spread. Agriculture became more productive, craftsmanship more advanced, and social structures began to develop throughout central and north central Peru.
The Chavin culture, named after the site of Chavin de Huantar in the highlands of northern Peru, was the first of the greatest importance and influence throughout the coast and mountains of Peru due to its advanced architecture, artistic style of its pottery and its cult ideology which then spread to the Paracas civilization in Ica and Pucara on the Altiplano.
Continuous expansion of agriculture led to new cultures in various parts of Peru. The Moche culture, well known after the discovery by Dr. Walter Alva of the royal tombs of Sipan, displayed amazing artistic accomplishments, exquisite ornaments in gold, silver and precious stones. The south coast went through a period of important development up to about 500 AD, when social and cultural growth took place and populations with merchants, artisans etc. spread out under the authority of government administrators and religious officials. Paracas with superb quality in its weaving and pottery, Nazca famous for the gigantic mysterious lines edged on the desert of southern Peru, and the Tiahuanaco culture in the Altiplano (Peru-Bolivia border), by the Titicaca lake.
From 600-1000 AD, the Wari culture developed combining the religious cult of the Tiahuanaco site in the Titicaca basin with the military dynamism, spreading their empire and influence from the Moche territory and Cajamarca in the North, across most of southern Peru, northern Bolivia and Argentina, making important developments in art, technology, roads and irrigation canals. After the decline of the Wari Empire, the unity of the Peruvian Andes ended and many independent regional new cultures were formed throughout the Andean territory.
Among the cultures of this period, the most important were Chachapoyas (Kuelap in the northern jungle); Chimu in the Moche Valley which capital was the majestic adobe walled city of ChanChan covering 20 square kilometers near today's city of Trujillo; the Chincha culture that occupied previous Paracas and Nazca territories; Aimara Kingdoms which developed in the Titicaca Basin and other important cultures spreading in the highlands like Cajamarca, Huanca and Inca. |
