Notes

lesson 3

The Andes Mountains stretch about 4,500 miles down the western edge of South America, from Colombia in the north to Chile in the south. After the Himalayas in southern Asia, the Andes are the next highest mountain range in the world. The Andes have a number of peaks over 20,000 feet in elevation. In the northern regions of the Andes, in Perud.
Peru was a harsh place to develop a civilization. The Andes are steep and rocky, with generally poor soil. Ice and snow cover the highest elevations year-round. Overland travel often is difficult. The climate is also severe: hot and dry during the day and often freezing at night. Between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean lies a narrow coastal plain. Most of this plain is harsh desert where rain rarely falls. In some places, however, rivers cross the desert on their path from the mountains to the sea. It was in these river valleys that the first settlements occurred.
Between 3600 and 2500 BC, people began to establish villages along the Pacific coast. These first inhabitants were hunter-gatherers who relied on seafood and small game. Around 3000 BC, these people began to farm. By 1800 BC, a number of thriving communities existed along the coast.
In the mountains, the Chavín flourished from around 900 to 200 BC. Archaeologists named the culture after a major ruin, Chavín de Huántar, in the northern highlands of Peru.

Chavín culture spread quickly across much of northern and central Peru. Archaeologists have found no evidence of political or economic organization within the culture. Thus, they conclude that the Chavín were primarily a religious civilization. Nevertheless, the spread of Chavín art styles and religious images—as seen in stone carving, pottery, and textiles—shows the powerful influence of this culture. Ancient Peruvians may have visited Chavín temples to pay their respects. They then carried ideas back to their communities. The Chavín are believed to have established certain patterns that helped unify Andean culture and lay the foundation for later civilizations in Peru.

The Nazca culture was built along the southern coast of Peru from around 200 BC to AD 600. This area is extremely dry. The Nazca developed extensive irrigation systems, including underground canals that allowed them to farm the land. The Nazca are known for their beautiful textiles and pottery. Both feature images of animals and mythological beings. They are even more famous for an extraordinary and puzzling set of creations known as the Nazca Lines. Etched on the plains of southeastern Peru are more than 1,000 drawings of animals, plants, humans, and geometric shapes. Most of them are so large that they can be recognized only from the air. Scientists believe that the Nazca people made the drawings between 200 BC and AD 600.

On the northern coast of Peru, the Moche culture, which lasted from about AD 100 to 700, took advantage of the rivers that flowed from the Andes Mountains. They built irrigation systems to water their wide range of crops, which included corn, beans, potatoes, squash, and peanuts. The Moche enjoyed a variety of foods. These included both fish and game. Moche tombs revealed a civilization with enormous wealth. Archaeologists have found beautiful jewelry crafted from gold, silver, and semiprecious stones. The Moche were ceramic artists. They created pottery that depicted scenes from everyday life. Moche pots show doctors healing patients, women weaving cloth, and musicians playing instruments. They also show fierce soldiers armed with spears, leading enemy captives. The Moche never developed a written language, but their pottery provides the details about Moche life.