The Chavin
About 1200 B.C. at the same time the Olmec culture was developing in the Middle American area another culture was beginning to spread over a wide area of northern and central Peru. Today this Peruvian civilization is called Chavin. It was named after the ruins found at Chavin de Hunantar on the high eastern slope of the Andes mountains.
Geography
The early settlers in Peru found a mixture of desert mountain and valley areas in which to live. People were able to settle around the oases in the deserts where water poured down from the Andes Mountains They also lived in the fertile valleys between the mountain ranges where temperate climate allowed them to grow plenty of tropical fruit. Along the oases of Peru's coastline people had learned to farm and there large villages began to develop.
Religion
As with the Olmecs religion unified the people of Peru into and organized culture. The Chavin religion like that of the Olmecs centered around the jaguar. As the jaguar religion began to spread from village to village it acted as bond to draw these people together. Local medicine men were quick to see the advantage of serving these new gods so they became priests. Some of the larger villages became religious centers where impressive ceremonies were preformed. Certainly the people who worshiped the jaguar in Peru had no central government to unite them. There were no major migration of people to new areas. When the people felt the need of supernatural help they traveled great distances to the religious centers. They brought expensive gifts to the priest who served their gods.
Life style
Finally elaborate ceremonial centers like the one at Chavin de Huantar were built. An enormous stone building dominate the site known today as the Castillo. It is 250 square feet and contains a maze of small rooms, ramps, and connecting stairways. It is believed that no people actually lived in the Castillo but that it was a gigantic home for the gods. In the remains of a dim gallery a figure with the fanged grin of a man-jaguar still stands. At Chavin de Huantar and other ceremonial sites, artists, draftsmen, and traders from all over Peru met to exchange artistic ideas as well as merchandise. With the interchange of ideas the culture of the Chavin people spread widely. Then suddenly about 500 B.C. the Chavin culture came to and end. Nobody knows what happened. Perhaps the jaguar-god somehow failed his people and they stopped going to his temples.
Summary
Although the domination of the Chavin culture ended civilization in Peru did not die. It simply separated into many individual cultures each cut off from the other. Dozens of these cultures have been discovered and there are probably dozens more that are still hidden.