Cerro Sechin

A pre-Columbian temple site in the Casma Valley on the north-central coast of Peru, dating to c 1800-900 BC (Initial Period, pre-Chavín) and known for its unusual large stone sculptures. These carvings are in a style unlike anything else reported in Peru, executed by deep-line incisions of warriors and dignitaries in regalia on dressed and carved stone slabs. Most of the figures represent humans. The site has one of the earliest appearances of monumental art in Mesoamerica.

A site in the Casma Valley on the north-central coast of Peru and probably dating to the Initial Period (1800-900 be). The primary construction of this ceremonial centre is a rectangular platform mound with an enclosing wall of decorated monoliths. Carvings of warriors, dismembered humans and individual heads are incised in an ‘economy of line’ rather than simple, crude style, implying an earlier artistic tradition. Dating is tenuous, but cross comparison suggests that the Sechin style is a precursor of Chavin; in any event the site does represent an early appearance of monumental art.