Archaeological Finds

Our biggest clue that was left from the ancient Andean tribes is their artwork. Textiles and pottery make up almost all of the remains we dig up at archaeological sites. We can learn about individual groups and their culture by analyzing what they focus their art around. Animals, such as snakes and felines, tend to be the centerpiece in many vessels and headpieces. Human faces can be found as well, but some look more like monsters than people. The tribes that inhabited the Andes Mountains before the Incas were established had a variety of different traits you can see in their work. Colors, shape, and texture is all informative detail that can point to one individual tribe.

The Moche tribe lived in the northern, coastal region of Peru. In many of their ceramics, they show decapitation. Their community would hold matches where two warriors would fight. The first to remove the other’s helmet would win and the other would be beheaded for sacrificial purposes. The warriors were always shown wearing elaborate things: headdresses and feathers, with their faces painted, and holding some weapon in their hand. For a typical death, people were buried surrounded by their own personal riches. Jewelry, intricately detailed textiles, and pottery are found around the graves of the people.

The Wari (also spelled Huari) tribes lived in what is now southern Peru. They buried dead loved ones in bundles, cloth wrapped around the bodies. Their artwork is recognizable from the triangular faces and unpolished look of the ceramics. They used a lot of color in the art they created, a factor that moved north into other cultures.