Chavin de Huantar

15th July, 2023 History

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Context

Archaeologists found a 3,000-year-old sealed corridor at Chavin de Huantar, a 900 BC UNESCO World Heritage site in Peru.
It was named as the condor's passageway.
- The condor was considered the largest bird in the world.
- In ancient Andean cultures this bird symbolized power and prosperity.

Other information

Earlier exploration

In May 2022, a 17kg heavy ceramic piece is found in this passageway which is believed to depict condor's head and wings.
A ceramic bowl was also unearthed at the entrance of this passageway in the May 2022.
Earlier a team led by Rick, a Stanford University archaeologist, discovered entrance to the condor's passageway.

Chavin de Huantar

This pre-Columbian World heritage site is situated 306 km northeast of Lima in the Ancash Region.
It was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1985.
This site is believed to be served as a ceremonial and pilgrimage centre for the Andean religion.
It was the most important center of ideological, cultural and religious convergence of ancient Chavin culture which flourished around 1,500-550 B.C.
A museum was opened near this site depicting Chavin culture ceramic pieces and rock sculptures by exhibiting ceramic pieces and rock sculptures.
The temple complex here features a network of passageways and terraces.

Features of Temple complex

It is a massive flat-topped pyramid situated between eastern and western ranges of the Andes.
It comprises of two building phases
- U-shaped Old Temple – 900 B.C.
- New Temple – 500 B.C.
Non-uniform sized stones are used for building walls and floors.
For carving purpose finer smoothed stones were preferred.
There exist many either separate or maze like tunnels/galleries inside the temple.

A model of the temple complex

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Significance of Discovery

The discovered passage will lead a way to other chambers situated in this site.
It will help in exploring massive temple complex and provide an understanding of the ancient Chavin culture.
It will provide a window to experience and understand the depictions of birds and felines; earliest days of Chavins, and the advanced art of this culture.
This discovery would be helpful in knowing more about the first sedentary farming communities in the highlands of Peruvian Andes.