|
 Peru
is best known as the heart of the Inca empire, but it was
home to many diverse indigenous cultures long before the
Incas arrived.
Although there is evidence of human habitation in Peru as
long ago as the eighth millennium BC, there is little
evidence of organized village life until about 2500 BC.
It was at about this time that climatic changes in the
coastal regions
prompted Peru's early inhabitants to move toward the more
fertile interior river valleys. For the next 1500 years,
Peruvian civilization developed into a number of organized
cultures, including the Chavìn and the Sechìn.
.
The Chavìn are best known for their stylized religious
iconography,
which included striking figurative depictions of various
animals
(the jaguar in particular) and which exercised considerable
influence
over the entire coastal region. |
