Wari culture

This article is about the historical civilization and city located near present-day Ayacucho. For the Province of the Ancash Region in Peru, see Huari Province.

Huari Culture

Wari

←

500–1000

→

Middle Horizon

Capital

Huari

Languages

Pukina, Aymara, others.

Religion

Andean beliefs (Viracocha)

Government

Unknown

Historical era

Pre-Columbian

•

Established

500

•

Disestablished

1000

Today part of

Peru

Bolivia

Chile

The Wari (Spanish: Huari) were a Middle Horizon civilization that flourished in the south-central Andes and coastal area of modern-day Peru, from about AD 500 to 1000.^[1] (The Wari culture is not to be confused with the modern ethnic group and language known as Wari', with which it has no known link.)

Wari, as the former capital city was called, is located 11 km (6.8 mi) north-east of the modern city of Ayacucho, Peru. This city was the center of a civilization that covered much of the highlands and coast of modern Peru. The best-preserved remnants, beside the Wari Ruins, are the recently discovered Northern Wari ruins near the city of Chiclayo, and Cerro Baul in Moquegua. Also well-known are the Wari ruins of Pikillaqta ("Flea Town"), a short distance south-east of Cuzco en route to Lake Titicaca.

History

Early on, the Wari expanded their territory to include the ancient oracle center of Pachacamac, though it seems to have remained largely autonomous. Later the Wari became dominant in much of the territory of the earlier Moche and later Chimu cultures. The reason for this expansion has been debated; it is believed to have been driven by religious conversion, military conquest, or the spread of agricultural knowledge (specifically terrace agriculture).

As a result of centuries of drought, the Wari culture began to deteriorate around 800 A.D. Archeologists have determined that the city of Wari was dramatically depopulated by 1000 A.D., although it continued to be occupied by a small number of descendant groups. Buildings in Wari and in other government centers had doorways that were deliberately blocked up, as if the Wari intended to return, someday when the rains returned.^[2] But by the time this happened, the Wari had faded from history. In the meantime, the dwindling residents of the Wari cities ceased all major construction. Archaeological evidence shows significant levels of inter-personal violence, suggesting that warfare and raiding increased amongst rival groups upon the collapse of the Wari state structure.^[3] With the collapse of the Wari, the Late Intermediate Period is said to begin.

Government

Little is known about the details of the Wari administrative structure, as they did not appear to use a form of written record. But, the emphasis on homogeneous administrative architecture and evidence for significant social stratification suggests a complex socio-political hierarchy.

The discovery in early 2013 of an undisturbed royal tomb, El Castillo de Huarmey, offers new insight into the social and political influence of the Wari during this period. The variety and extent of the burial items accompanying the three royal women indicates a culture with significant material wealth and the power to dominate a significant part of northern costal Peru for many decades.^[4]

Architecture

During its expansion period, the Wari state established architecturally distinctive administrative centers in many of its provinces. These centres are clearly different from the architecture of Tiwanaku, which is believed to have been a more federalized state by some scholars (such as John W. Janusek). Using these administrative centers, the Wari greatly influenced the surrounding countryside. They created new fields with terraced field technology and invested in construction of a major road network. Several centuries later, when the Inca began to expand their empire, they drew on both of these innovations.

Gallery

Four-Cornered Hat, 650-1000. Brooklyn Museum
Huari earthenware pot with painted design, 650-800 CE (Middle Horizon)
Wari Tunic, Peru, 750-950 CE. This tunic is made of 120 separate small pieces of cloth, each individually tie-dyed. Ceramics of the period depict high-status men wearing this style of tunic.
Monoliths Wari
Wari funeral bundle
Pikillaqta administrative center, built by the Wari civilization in Cusco
Wig Headdress, Wari People, 600-1000 C.E, Brooklyn Museum

References

↑ Susan E. Bergh (2012). Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-51656-0. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
↑ Wright, Kenneth R.; McEwan, Gordon Francis; Wright, Ruth M. (2006). Tipon: Water Engineering Masterpiece of the Inca Empire. ASCE. p. 27. ISBN 9780784408513.
↑ Tung, TA (2008). "Violence after Imperial Collapse: A Study of Cranial Trauma among Late Intermediate Period Burials from the Former Huari Capital, Ayacucho, Peru.". Nawpa Pacha.
↑ "First Unlooted Royal Tomb of Its Kind Unearthed in Peru". Retrieved 2013-06-30.

Additional reading

Collier, Simon et al. (Ed.) (1992). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean (Second ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-41322-2.
Wendell C. Bennett, Excavations at Wari, Ayachucho, Peru (1953).
Gordon F. McEwan, The Middle Horizon in the Valley of Cuzco, Peru: The Impact of the Wari Occupation of the Lucre Basin (1987).
William H. Isbell and Gordon F. McEwan, eds., Huari Administrative Structure: Prehistoric Monumental Architecture and State Government (1991).
Katharina J. Schreiber, Wari Imperialism in Middle Horizon Peru (1992).
Tung, Tiffany (2012). Violence, Ritual, and the Wari Empire: A Social Bioarchaeology of Imperialism in the Ancient Andes. University Press of Florida.

External links

Brian Finucane, "Ayacucho Archaeo-Isotope Project"
"Archaeological chemists settle trophy-head debate
"Pre-Incan female Wari mummy unearthed in Peru", Reuters
"A Champion of the Wari," about curator Susan E. Bergh, by Judith H. Dobrzynski, The Wall Street Journal, October 24, 2012
"Who Was Who in the Middle Horizon Andean Prehistory" by Patricia J. Knobloch

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Huari.

Pre-Columbian civilizations and cultures
Americas	Paleo-Indians · Genetic history · Archaeology of the Americas · Indigenous peoples of the Americas
North America	North American pre-Columbian cultures – Caddoan Mississippian – Chichimeca – Hopewell tradition – Coles Creek – Fremont – Marksville – Mississippian – Mogollon – Plaquemine – Plum Bayou – Poverty Point – Troyville – Weeden Island
Mesoamerica	Mesoamerican pre-Columbian chronology – Capacha – Cholula – Coclé – Epi-Olmec – Huastec – Izapa – Mezcala – Mixtec – Olmec – Pipil – Quelepa – Shaft tomb tradition – Teuchitlan – Purépecha – Teotihuacan – Tlatilco – Tlaxcaltec – Toltec – Totonac – Veracruz – Xochipala – Zapotec
South America	South American Indigenous people – Pre-Columbian chronology – Cañaris – Chachapoya – Chancay – Chavín – Chimú – El Abra – Hydraulic culture of mounds (Bolivia) – Las Vegas – Lima – La Tolita (Tumaco) – Manteño-Guancavilca – Mapuche – Moche – Mollo – Muisca (Chibchas) – Nariño – Nazca – Norte Chico – Quimbaya – San Agustín – Shuar – Sican – Taíno – Tairona – Tiwanaku – Tierradentro – Valdivia – Wari
	Aztec	Maya civilization	Inca Empire – Andean civilizations
Language	Nahuatl	Mayan languages	Quechua
Writing	Aztec writing	Maya script	Quipu
Religion	Aztec religion	Maya religion	Inca religion
Mythology	Aztec mythology	Maya mythology	Inca mythology
Calendar	Aztec calendar	Maya calendar
Society	Aztec society	Maya society	Inca society
Infrastructure	Chinampas	Maya architecture	Inca architecture (road system) Incan agriculture
History	Aztec history		Inca history Neo-Inca State
People	Moctezuma I Moctezuma II Cuitláhuac Cuauhtémoc	K'inich Janaab' Pakal Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil Jasaw Chan K'awiil I	Manco Cápac Pachacuti Atahualpa Manco Inca Yupanqui Túpac Amaru II
Conquest	Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (Hernán Cortés)	Spanish conquest of the Maya Spanish conquest of Yucatán (Francisco de Montejo) Spanish conquest of Guatemala (Pedro de Alvarado)	Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire (Francisco Pizarro)
See also
Portal:Indigenous peoples of North America – Portal:Mesoamerica – Columbian Exchange – Mesoamerican writing systems – Native American cuisine – Native American pottery – Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas – Pre‑Columbian art – Painting in the Americas before European colonization

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