Peruvian artistic creation

Peruvian cultural patrimony has its origin in the magnificent Andean civilizations, which flourished before the Spaniards’ arrival. Peru's archaeological treasures are evidence of a powerful civilizing impulse that arose without any contact with extracontinental cultures.

The first artistic manifestations which reflect a high degree of intellectual and technological evolution are artifacts found in the deposits of Chavin de Huantar and Cupisnique. These are examples of symbolic and religious art that includes gold and silver work, ceramics, architecture and stone sculpture. They date from the IX and IV BC centuries.

Between the VIII BC and I AC, Paracas Cavernas and Paracas Necropolis cultures developed. Paracas Cavernas produced beautiful polychrome ceramics with religious representations as well as monochrome ceramics. Paracas Necropolis produced delicate fabrics in complex styles.

In the period between III BC and VII AC, the urban culture called Mochica was developed in Lambayeque. Nazca culture was also developed in this period in the valley of rio Grande, in Ica. In Mochica culture, the magnificent Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna and the Huaca Rajada of Sipan are worth mentioning. They are notable for their cultivation in terraces and hydraulic engineering, as well as some of the most original ceramics, textiles, and pictorial and sculptural art in the Andean world.

The Wari civilization, which flourished between the VIII and XII centuries, was based in Ayacucho. This civilization was the first to define a rational urban layout for Andean cities. Such a concept was expanded to zones like Pachacamac, Cajamarquilla, Wari Willca and others. Tiahuanaco culture developed by the borders of lake Titicaca between IX and XIII centuries. This culture introduced monumental lithic architecture and sculpture as well as military urbanism. These advances in architecture were possible thanks to the discovery of bronze for making tools.

The Chimu town improvement on the principle of urban architecture. This civilization built the city of Chan Chan in the valley of the Moche river, in La Libertad, between the XIV and XV centuries. The chimu were also skillful goldsmiths and made remarkable works of hydraulic engineering.

The Inca Civilization incorporated, and in many cases perfected, many of the cultural techniques of the civilizations that preceded it. Their legacy is evident even today. Some of them are cities like Cuzco, fortresses such as Sacsahuaman and Machu Picchu, and stone roads that united Cuzco with the four cardinal points of the Inca Empire. The arrival of the Spaniards displaced, not without violence, native artistic concepts, although in many cases, it made for some enriching mestizations as well.

source: wikipedia.org

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