Chavín de Huántar and Its Sphere of Influence

Abstract

Chavín de Huántar, an archaeological site in the Peruvian north highlands, has long been recognized as one of the most important centers of the pre-Hispanic Andes. This under- standing predates the beginning of scientific archaeology in Peru. In 1553 Pedro Cieza de Leon, a Spanish soldier and keenly observant chronicler, reported that the massive con- structions at Chavín de Huántar had been built by a race of giants long before the Inca con- quest and that their portraits in stone could still be seen at the site. When the Archbishop of Lima visited the site in 1593 he described Chavin as an ancient fortress. In 1616 the writer Vasquez de Espinoza offered a more astute assessment: “It was a huaca or sanctuary, one of the most famous of the gentiles, like Rome or Jerusalem among us; a place where the Indians came to make offerings and sacrifices, because the demon in this place declared many oracles to them, and so they attended from throughout the kingdom” (Vasquez de Espinoza 1948 [1616]:458)