Cerro Sechín: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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The site dates to 1600 BC,<ref name="DowlMiranda2010">{{cite book|last1=Dowl|first1=Aimée|last2=Miranda|first2=Carolina A.|last3=Shorthouse|first3=Katy|coauthors=Luke Waterson|title=Peru 7|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=1GwzMWQuO24C&pg=PA339|accessdate=31 December 2012|date=1 May 2010|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74179-014-6|pages=339–}}</ref> approximately the end of the [[Cultural periods of Peru|Periodo Arcaico Andino]] period and early Formativo Inferior period. Rigorous excavation and research occurred at Cerro Sechin after its 1937 discovery by Tello. He felt that this monument was proof of the influence of the Chavin culture in the Casma Valley. However, later research determined that Cerro Sechin predates the shrine of Chavin, making Cerro Sechin the forerunner of the architecture and iconography of Chavin. In terms of function, Cerro Sechin was undoubtedly a central administration place of production, distribution and food stocks, and also of worship. Briefly, it was also an administrative and ceremonial center. |
Who produced Cerro Sechin and how it was produced are unknown.<ref name="Browman1978" /> The site dates to 1600 BC,<ref name="DowlMiranda2010">{{cite book|last1=Dowl|first1=Aimée|last2=Miranda|first2=Carolina A.|last3=Shorthouse|first3=Katy|coauthors=Luke Waterson|title=Peru 7|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=1GwzMWQuO24C&pg=PA339|accessdate=31 December 2012|date=1 May 2010|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74179-014-6|pages=339–}}</ref> approximately the end of the [[Cultural periods of Peru|Periodo Arcaico Andino]] period and early Formativo Inferior period. Rigorous excavation and research occurred at Cerro Sechin after its 1937 discovery by Tello. He felt that this monument was proof of the influence of the Chavin culture in the Casma Valley. However, later research determined that Cerro Sechin predates the shrine of Chavin, making Cerro Sechin the forerunner of the architecture and iconography of Chavin. In terms of function, Cerro Sechin was undoubtedly a central administration place of production, distribution and food stocks, and also of worship. Briefly, it was also an administrative and ceremonial center. |
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==Architecture== |
==Architecture== |
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Revision as of 18:40, 1 January 2013
Cerro Sechín (also Sechín de las Estelas) is an archaeological site in Casma Province of Ancash Region in northern Peru. Dating to 1600 BC, the site was discovered by Peruvian archaeologist Julio C. Tello in 1937 who believed it was the capital of an entire culture, now known as the Sechín Culture. Notable features include megalithic architecture with carved figures in relief, which graphically dramatize human sacrifices.[1] Cerro Sechín is situated within the Sechin Complex, which includes Sechin Alto and Sechin Bajo. There is a small on-site museum.[2] The slabs at Cerro Sechin may represent the central Andes' oldest known monumental sculpture.[3]
Geography
Cerro Sechín sits on a granitic hill,[3] in Casma Province. It is located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) east of the Pan-American Highway,[4] 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the provincial capital of Casma and 168 miles (270 km) north of Lima.[1] It is situated 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from the Pacific Ocean,[5] near the confluence of the Sechin and Moxeke Rivers at an altitude of 90 metres (300 ft) above sea level. The site contains walled enclosures around dwellings as well as temple platforms.[3] Although the archaeological site occupies approximately 5 acres (2.0 ha), the monuments are grouped in a single hectare.
There are two other sites sharing the name of Sechin in the Casma Valley. In the Sechin riverbank, to the northeast, is the complex of Sechin Alto. Considered the greatest architectural complex of Peru, it covers 300–400 acres (120–160 ha). Sechin Bajo, nearest to Cerro Sechin, is on the other side of the river. Sechin Bajo was excavated from 1990 and its deeper layer was found in the year 2008; finds include the remains of a circular plaza of stone and mud dating to the Late Archaic period from 3,500 BC.
History
Who produced Cerro Sechin and how it was produced are unknown.[4] The site dates to 1600 BC,[2] approximately the end of the Periodo Arcaico Andino period and early Formativo Inferior period. Rigorous excavation and research occurred at Cerro Sechin after its 1937 discovery by Tello. He felt that this monument was proof of the influence of the Chavin culture in the Casma Valley. However, later research determined that Cerro Sechin predates the shrine of Chavin, making Cerro Sechin the forerunner of the architecture and iconography of Chavin. In terms of function, Cerro Sechin was undoubtedly a central administration place of production, distribution and food stocks, and also of worship. Briefly, it was also an administrative and ceremonial center.
Architecture
There are several buildings, made from clay and stone. One of the clay building, remodeled in three phases, dates between 2400 and 2300 BC. Flanking the main buildings are two other buildings (Building A and Building C) and two platforms (platform Julio Cesar Tello and platform Rafael Larco). The main building is 51 square metres (550 sq ft) and 4 metres (13 ft) in height.[5] Though roofs no longer survive, their design is evidenced on pottery vessels.[3]
The temple, rectangular in design with rounded corner, was constructed of conical adobes; its entrance is on the north side. Its perimeter wall of monoliths or stelae is of earlier construction. A double staircase, about 4 feet (1.2 m) high, leads to the top.[4]
Carvings
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The most striking feature of the stone building is its lithic block facade decorated with reliefs representing "warrior-priests" and mutilated bodies; it was completed before 2000 BC but remained in use until about 1500 BC, before the start of the Chavin culture. The characters depicted in the monoliths of the facades are of two types: the warrior-priests (wearing a weapon or scepter) and dismembered victims or their offal (mainly heads, limbs, eyes skewered, intestines, vertebrae and viscera). These figures represent humans and demigods, without the presence of animals. In the interior of the adobe building, the main decoration is the best preserved. It depicts two mythological fish. Another figure depicts a man bleeding. These depictions closely relate to the sea, rain and human sacrifices.
There have been various interpretations of the stone carvings. Tello described them as battle scenes, carved to commemorate a great victory. An alternate theory is that the site was a laboratory for anatomical studies, which explains the explicit exposure of different parts of the human body, such as organs and bones. Yet another theory is that it represents a popular bloodily rebellion, crushed by the ruling elite. Federico Kauffmann Doig suggested it was a staging of human sacrifice as part of a cult to counter famine due to drought or other forces of nature.
References
- ^ a b "Cerro Sechin". Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ^ a b Dowl, Aimée; Miranda, Carolina A.; Shorthouse, Katy (1 May 2010). Peru 7. Lonely Planet. pp. 339–. ISBN 978-1-74179-014-6. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d Kubler, George (1993). The Art and Architecture of Ancient America, Third Edition: The Mexican, Maya and Andean Peoples. Yale University Press. pp. 363–. ISBN 978-0-300-05325-8. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ^ a b c Browman, David L. (1 January 1978). "Cerro Sechin: Medical Anthropology's Inauguration in Peru?". Advances in Andean Archaeology. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 351–. ISBN 978-3-11-081001-1. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- ^ a b Haas, Jonathan; Pozorski, Shelia Griffis; Pozorski, Thomas George (1987). The Origins and Development of the Andean State. Cambridge University Press. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-0-521-33102-9. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- Kauffmann Doig, Federico: Historia y arte del Perú antiguo. Tomo 1, p. 156-164. Lima, Ediciones PEISA, 2002. ISBN 9972-40-213-4
- Kaulicke, Peter: El Perú Antiguo I. Los períodos arcaico y formativo, pp. 40-41. Colección Historia del Perú, editada por la Empresa Editora El Comercio S.A. Lima, 2010. ISBN 978-612-4069-86-4
- Silva Sifuentes, Jorge E. T.: Origen de las civilizaciones andinas. Incluida en la Historia del Perú. Lima, Lexus Editores, 2000. ISBN 9972-625-35-4
9°28.58′S 78°15.40′W / 9.47633°S 78.25667°W
