Cultures & Traditions

In the history of the central Andes, the Middle Horizon (600–1000 CE) was dominated by two cultures, Tiahuanaco (Tiwanaku) and Huari (Wari). The names of the cultures derive from two imperial cities that flourished in the central and southern highlands—Tiahuanaco on the edge of Lake Titicaca in what is now northwestern Bolivia, and Huari near the modern city of Ayacucho in present-day Peru.

The regional society called Nasca (Nazca) flourished in the Nasca and Ica River valleys on the south coast of Peru from about 200 BCE until 700 CE. The Nasca were eventually superseded by the Wari (Huari) and then the Inka (Inca). "Nazca" and "Nasca" are commonly used interchangeably, but generally Nasca is used to refer to the period and culture that inhabited this area, while Nazca is used to describe the region, town, and river.

The regional Moche culture was dominant on the north coast of Peru from the 1st to the 8th century. This culture, known by the name of a river on the north coast of Peru, was the first state in the Andes. At its peak, about 400 CE, the Moche realm occupied an area about 370 miles long and encompassed ten contiguous river valleys.

On the western edge of South America, the central Andes cultural area encompasses the modern country of Peru and adjacent areas of Bolivia. From west to east, the central Andes includes the river-crossed coast that borders the Pacific Ocean, the Andean highlands, and the tropical forest that extends eastward towards the Amazon basin. Each of these distinctive environments contributed to the cultures of the region as whole, and there was considerable interaction among them from an early date.