Cerro Sechín (also Sechín de las Estelas) is an archaeological site in the Casma Province of the

Ancash Region Ancash (; ) is a department and region in western Peru. It is bordered by the departments of La Libertad on the north, Huánuco and Pasco on the east, Lima on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital is the city of Huaraz, ...

in northern

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Dating to 1600 BC, the site was discovered by Peruvian archaeologists Julio C. Tello and Toribio Mejía Xesspe on July 1, 1937. Tello believed it was the capital of an entire culture, now known as the Casma/Sechin culture or Sechin complex. Notable features include megalithic architecture with carved figures in

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

, which graphically dramatize human sacrifices. Cerro Sechín is situated within the Sechin Alto Complex, as are Sechin Bajo, and Taukachi-Konkan. There is a small on-site museum. The slabs at Cerro Sechin may represent the central Andes' oldest known monumental sculpture.

Geography

Cerro Sechín sits on a granitic hill, in the Casma Valley. It is located east of the

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, from the provincial capital of Casma and north of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. It is situated from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, near the confluence of the Sechin and Moxeke Rivers at an altitude of above sea level. The site contains walled enclosures around dwellings as well as temple platforms. Although the archaeological site occupies approximately , the monuments are grouped in a single hectare. Sechin casma valley

The Sechin Complex is made up of several sites, including Cerro Sechin. In the Sechin riverbank, to the northeast, is the complex of Sechin Alto. Considered the greatest architectural complex in Peru, it covers . Sechin Bajo, nearest to Cerro Sechin, is on the other side of the river. Sechin Bajo was excavated in 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. Taukachi-Konkan is the northernmost of the sites within the complex.

History

Who developed Cerro Sechin, how it was constructed, and the nature of the site's ceremonies are unknown; little is known about the community associated with the site. The site dates to 1600 BC, approximately the end of the Periodo Arcaico Andino period and early Formativo Inferior period. It was completed before 2000 BC but remained in use until about 1500 BC, before the start of the

Chavín culture The Chavín culture was a Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian civilization, developed in the northern Andean highlands of Peru around 900 BCE, ending around 250 BCE. It extended its influence to other civilizations along the Peruvian coast.Burger, R ...

. Rigorous excavation and research occurred at Cerro Sechin after its 1937 discovery by Tello and Xesspe. 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 served as a central administration place for production, distribution and food stocks, and also of worship as a ceremonial center.

Architecture

There are several buildings, made from clay and stone. One of the clay buildings, 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 and in height. Though roofs no longer survive, their design is evidenced on pottery vessels. The temple, rectangular in design with rounded corners, 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 high, leads to the top.

Carvings

The most striking feature of the stone building is its lithic block facade decorated with reliefs representing "warrior priests" and mutilated bodies. The etched bas-reliefs number approximately 300, from axe-wielding warriors, to body parts, and victims, who are decapitated and mutilated. The characters 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. Carving methods include bevelled cuts, such as those found on body contours, and shallow incisions, such as those noted in eyelids and lips. There have been various interpretations of the stone carvings. One interpretation is that of battle scenes, carved to commemorate a great battle, with foreign victorious warriors and defeated Casma people. 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 bloody rebellion, crushed by the ruling elite.

References

* Kauffmann Doig, Federico: ''Historia y arte del Perú antiguo''. Tomo 1, p. 156-164. Lima, Ediciones PEISA, 2002. (in Spanish) * 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. (in Spanish) * Silva Sifuentes, Jorge E. T.: ''Origen de las civilizaciones andinas''. Incluida en la Historia del Perú. Lima, Lexus Editores, 2000. (in Spanish)

External links