Moche

There are not many interesting things about Moche.

from wikipedia

The Moche civilization flourished in northern Peru from about 200 CE to 700 CD. Years as expansive as 300 BCE to 1000 CE are sometimes described as the era of the Moche.

Pottery of Moche:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Moche_pottery01.jpg
Moche pottery is some of the most varied in the world. They used molds in order to mass produce huge quantities of it. But despite this, they had a large variation in shape and theme. Virtually all vegetables and important activities are documented in their pottery, including war, sex, metal work, and weaving.
They also seemed to be obsessed with individuality. Every one of the 100,000,000 bricks in the Huaca del Sol had a maker's mark. （太强了，一亿块砖！） Important persons would have vases made to resemble their heads. The portrait vases also show the personality of the subject: some are shown laughing, others in deep thought, others angry, etc.

Religion:
Moche worship featured a figure called the decapitador, mostly depicted as a spider, but also depicted as a winged creature or a sea monster. When the body is included it is always shown with one arm holding a knife and another holding a head by its hair. (恐怖）

Demise:
Studies of ice cores drilled from glaciers in the Andes reveal climatic catastophe between 550 to 600 CE when it is thought that coastal areas were hit by 30 years of floods and rain (Mega El Niño), which were then followed by 30 or more years of drought. Recent evidence uncovered by American Archeologist Tom Dillehay has shown that Moche civilization survived beyond 650 CE and later settlements are characterised by fortifications and defensive works. Finding no evidence of foreign invasion, this suggests that a period of unrest followed the climatic changes as the Moche civilization tore itself apart.

Interactions with other culture:
The Moche was an Early Intermediate culture that co-existed with the Ica-Nazca culture（我们应该也看看这个文明）. They were preceded by the Chavín horizon and succeeded by the Huari and Chimú. They are thought to have had some limited contact with the Ica-Nazca culture because they mined Guano for fertilizer in Ica-Nazca territory. Moche pottery has been found near Ica, but no Ica-Nasca pottery has been found in Moche territory.

后话：
Mochica was the language spoken in the area when the Conquistadors arrived, but there is no indication that this was the language spoken by the Moche, so scientists still call them the Moche after the location of the primary archaeological site. There is some evidence they were the same people as the later culture known as Chimú.

Huaca del Sol：
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Huaca_del_Sol_southeast.jpg
The Huaca del Sol is an adobe brick temple built by the Moche civilization on the coast of what is now Peru. The temple is one of several ruins found near the peak of Cerro Blanco, in the coastal desert near Trujillo, Peru.
The number of different maker’s marks on the bricks suggests that over a hundred different communities contributed bricks to the construction of the Huacas.
The Huaca del Sol was composed of four main levels.

Lord of Sipan:
http://agutie.homestead.com/files/Sipan.htm

The Lord of Sipan was revealed to the world in 1987. He reigned approximately 200 A.D. and died about 40 years of age. Sipan is located in the northern part of Peru, close to the coast, in the middle of Lambayeque Valley, 35 Kms. at east of Chiclayo.
Four tombs have been found in Sipan's Huaca Rajada, the huaca is a mausoleum built by the Moche culture that ruled the northern coast of Peru from the time of Christ to 700 AD, centuries prior to the Incas.
It has been dubbed “The Golden Wonder” by Times magazine, and National Geographic has published an article named “Discovering the Richest Tomb in the New World”. It represents, without a doubt, the most important archaeological finding of recent times, and the collection has traveled throughout the world in a series of impressive expos in Europe, the USA and Japan.

Spiderman:
One of the most spectacular items found in the tomb of the "Old Lord of Sipan" was a necklace composed of ten gold beads, each depicting a spider in the center of its web with a body in the form of a human head.

总体来说Moche文明可以用来作为写玄幻小说的背景，王国里的人都极度个人化，一个半人半神的load of Sipan，宏伟无比的四层神庙，Warrior，Spiderman，由于天灾，60年无尽的灾难与生灵涂炭，60年结束，残余的人民继续互相抢夺厮杀，最终文明灭绝。许许多多年后，现代的人类还能发现讲着不同语言，却与古Moche人有着若有若无联系的少数人。

Chavin

Chavín culture
from wikipedia

The Chavín were an early civilization that existed in what is now the country of Peru. This Early Horizon civilization is believed to have developed around 900 BCE and died out around 200 BCE. The Chavíns laid the cultural foundation for the other Peruvian civilizations to come.

Archaeological artifacts from the Chavín period include textiles, metalwork, pottery and religious items. The most well-known archaeological ruin of the Chavín era is Chavin de Huantar, located in the Andean highlands north of Lima. It is believed to have been built around 900 BCE.

Achievements
Chavín metallurgy, soldering, and temperature control methods were advanced for their time. They also had a knowledge of textiles that allowed them to revolutionize cloth production.

The Chavín established a trade network and developed agriculture by 900 BCE, according to some estimates and archeological finds. No form of writing has been discovered, however.

Art
The Chavin culture represents the first widespread, recognizable artistic style in the Andes. Chavin art can be divided into two phases: The first phase corresponding to the construction of the "Old Temple" at Chavin de Huantar (c. 900-500 BCE); and the second phase corresponding to the construction of Chavin de Huantar's "New Temple" (c. 500-200 BCE).

(here're some pictures about the Chavin de Huantar http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/chavin/chavin-huantar.htm)

Stylistically, Chavin art forms make extensive use of the technique of contour rivalry. The art is intentionally difficult to interpret and understand, since it was intended only to be read by high priests of the Chavin cult who could understand the intricately complex and sacred designs, and thus their power. The Raimondi Stela is one of the major examples of this technique.

Religion
Chavíns had some sort of religious belief, supported by the many religious artifacts have been excavated. They may have used hallucinogens because small mortars, possibly used to grind vilca (a hallucinogenic snuff), have been uncovered, along with bone tubes and spoons decorated with wild animals which we associate with shamanistic transformations.

The Chavín cult promoted fertility and abundant harvests. The deities were represented in stone carvings as features of humans and wild animals such as jaguars, hawks, eagles, and snakes. Its role in politics was extremely significant. Chavin cult first stimulated the use of techniques of producing elaborate cotton textiles, the manufacture of large, light, and strong fishing nets from cotton string, and the discovery of techniques of gold, silver, and copper metallurgy. These economic advancements led to the building of ceremonial centers and cities. It is possible that priests were part of the Chavin cult. However, priestly classes probably were not present, since complex societies and cities began to arrive only after the disappearance of the Chavín. The Chavín may have sacrificed animals and such to please the gods for abundance in harvest.