A period during which the Chavin culture flourished in the central Andes of South America and was integrated into the northern highlands and coastal region of Peru, c 900-1 BC (also said to be c 1200-300 BC). It is one of a seven-period chronological construction used in Peruvian archaeology. It coincides with the duration of the Chavin style and its derivatives, such as Cupisnique. Following this, there was regional differentiation culminating in the complex cultures of the Early Intermediate Period.