Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
What a wonderful weekend I have had. First there was the International Nurses Day and second today (May 13th) was Mother's Day. Of course I visited my mother. She was released from hospitial and is doing great now. Tomorrow we will celebrate her 88th birthday. Thank you all for being so kind to pray for her health. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend too and especially those of you who are mother, grandmother and mother-in-law. I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day.
Okay ... back to our journey into the high mountains of the Andes. Last Friday I challenged you with an image of Paron Lake and told you already a little bit about our theme for today ... the Chavin Culture, a prehistoric culture that was far ahead on their time.
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| Chavin de Huantar (photo © Martin St. Amant |
The Chavín culture is an extinct, prehistoric 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 (whose name for themselves is unknown) were located in the Mosna Valley where the Mosna and Huachecsa rivers merge. This area is 3,150 metres (10,330 ft) 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.
The Chavin Culture has reached wonderful achievements for example they were wonderful goldsmiths.
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| Chavin Gold Crown |
The chief example of architecture is the Chavín de Huantar temple. The temple's design shows complex innovation to adapt to the highland environments of Peru. To avoid the temple's being flooded and destroyed during the rainy season, the Chavín people created a successful drainage system. Several canals built under the temple acted as drainage. The Chavín people also showed advanced acoustic understanding. During the rainy season water rushes through the canals and creates a roaring sound and creates a noise like a jaguar, a sacred animal. The temple was built of white granite and black limestone, neither of which is found near the Chavín site. This meant that leaders organized many workers to bring the special materials from far away rather than use local rock deposits.
The Chavín culture also demonstrated advanced skills and knowledge in metallurgy, soldering, and temperature control. They used early techniques to develop refined gold work. The melting of metal had been discovered at this point and was used as a solder.
The people domesticated camelids such as llamas. Camelids were used for pack animals, for fiber, and for meat. They produced ch'arki, or llama jerky. This product was commonly traded by camelid-herders and was the main economic resource for the Chavín people. Chavín people also successfully cultivated several crops, including potatoes, quinoa, and maize. They developed an irrigation system to assist the growth of these crops.
More about this Culture? At Wikipedia
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| A Stela found in Chavin that looks somewhat like a bird |
As I look at the above image ... something odd happens. My mind works in a very fast way ... this "stela" looks very much like the "steles" found of Ithe nca and Mayan culture. It seems like in the Andes the spirit is giving its inspiration through the same way. Isn't that odd? Or am I delusional?
high in the mountains
an eternal creature is dwelling
an eternal creature is dwelling
cultures entwined
© Chèvrefeuille
Well ... what a wonderful forgotten culture this is ... the Chavin I never had heard of them.
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 20th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on.
That was a tricky one!
ReplyDeleteHappy (belated) Nurse's Day!
ReplyDeleteI am happy to hear your mother is feeling better.