Architectural Monuments of Chavin Written Book Report

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As an example of the Chavin builder's keen attention to seemingly minor design details, the author's highlighted the monument's multifaceted use of structural columns throughout Chavin de Huantar's Old Temple and Circular Plaza, observing that "these structural columns ... are the only two architectural stages, illustrating possible ways in which builders at Chavin de Huantar may have adapted and continued architectural meaning across major architectural stages" (64). In the estimation of Conklin and Quilter, the Chavin people demonstrated an uncanny ability to evolve architecturally, imbuing the design of their civilization's greatest monument with a sense of continuity that expanded its influence across the span of generations.

One of the primary motivations for Chavin builders to design Chavin de Huantar with continuity as their goal was that the site served as the center of worship, celebration, and ceremony for many thousands of people across hundreds of miles of territory. Despite the preexisting social divisions which undoubtedly existed between villages, families, and individual Chavin, the universality of Chavin de Huantar's design from a spiritual standpoint provided every member of the civilization with a tangible cultural touchstone. Modern archeologists have observed a deep connection between Chavin de Huantar's liberal use of animalistic, stone-cut reliefs, and the Chavin people's devotion to the ritualistic worship of deities depicted in animal form. Of the famous carvings found within Chavin de Huantar's Circular Plaza and Old Temple, Conklin and Quilter observed during the course of their study that "each plaza carries its own distinct icon: the aquatic serpent, the terrestrial jaguar, and the celestial bird ...

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(and) most of the stone reliefs are associated with the entrances of important ritual buildings" (130). From an architectural standpoint, Chavin de Huantar's most important purpose within the Chavin culture's process of advancement was its ability to reinforce the traditional way of worship through modern form and function.

Considered to be the "Mother Culture" of the ancient Peruvian cultures more widely studied today, the Chavin people and their eponymous monument were largely responsible for the pyramidal, open-air plaza design of later Incan cities. The complexity of the design processes used to create Chavin de Huantar became ingrained in the pre-Columbian architecture of the region, with intricate stone-carved sculptures and structural columns becoming essential components of Peruvian and South American building construction. As Conklin and Quilter consistently demonstrated throughout Chavin: Art, Architecture, and Culture, the sophistication of Chavin de Huantar's design and construction was simply an astounding feat of human ingenuity, especially when one considers the engineering and tool-making limitations inherent to the historical era in question. By integrating aspects of their religious practice into the monument's spatial arrangement, the Chavin presaged the concept of architectural alignment which would eventually become commonplace within places of worship, but at the time of Chavin de Huantar's construction, the techniques being employed by this small Peruvian culture were as advanced as any in the world.

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