| A thousand years later, an intricate religious iconography born at Chavín de Huantar in the Andes foothills of central Peru spread widely over the coast and highlands. Chavin itself was a revered shrine and trading center. The terraced temple was a honeycomb of narrow passages and rooms that led to a central chamber with a carving of a jaguarlike human. Chavin art is dominated by animal and human forms. Jaguar motifs predominate; humans, gods, and animals have jaguarlike fangs or limbs. Snakes flow from the bodies of many figures. The art reflects new religious beliefs and shamanistic practices that were to underpin centuries of Andean civilization. | 1 |
