page_title: Chavín culture
section_title: Chavín horizon development
hierarchical_section_title: Chavín culture / Chavín horizon development
caption_attribution_description: English: Paron Lake, Cordillera Blanca, Caraz, Peru Español: Laguna Pron, Cordillera Blanca, Caraz, Peru
context_page_description: The Chavín culture is an extinct, pre-Columbian civilization, named for Chavín de Huantar, the principal archaeological site at which its artifacts have been found. The culture developed in the northern Andean highlands of Peru from 900 BCE to 200 BCE. It extended its influence to other civilizations along the coast. The Chavín people were located in the Mosna Valley where the Mosna and Huachecsa rivers merge. This area is 3,150 metres above sea level and encompasses the quechua, suni, and puna life zones.
  In the periodization of pre-Columbian Peru, the Chavín is the main culture of the Early Horizon period in highland Peru, characterized by the intensification of the religious cult, the appearance of ceramics closely related to the ceremonial centers, the improvement of agricultural techniques and the development of metallurgy and textiles.
  The best-known archaeological site for the Chavín culture is Chavín de Huantar, located in the Andean highlands of the present-day Ancash Region. It is believed to have been built around 900 BCE and was the religious and political center of the Chavín people. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
context_section_description: Some scholars argued that the development of Chavín social complexities coincided with the cultivation of maize and development of agricultural surpluses.  Through an analysis of carbon isotope in the human bones found at Chavín sites, researchers have proved that the diet consisted mainly of C₃ foods such as potatoes and quinoa, while maize, a C₄ food, was not a part of the main diet.  Potato and quinoa were crops better adapted to the Chavín environment.  They are more resistant to the frost and irregular rain fall associated with high-altitude environments.  Maize would not have been able to thrive in such conditions.
caption: The Chavín culture had its development nucleus in the Huari Province (Ancash Region), covering various ecological zones, in the view of the lagoon Parón in the natural region of Janca.
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