Andean Arts

U-SHAPED TEMPLES IN PERU’S CENTRAL COAST

According to Richard Burger, the U-Shaped temples of the Rimac and Lurin Valleys of the central coast display enough similarities to think of them as belonging to a single culture.  He named this culture the Manchay Culture, after one of the central coast sites.  The main feature of these ceremonial centers is the U-shaped arrangement of the buildings, where a taller structure stands at the center and is flanked by two lower platforms that make the “arms” of the U.  These structures enclose an open, rectangular plaza.  On the main structure, there is a central stairway that connects the plaza to an atrium on the upper portion of the structure.   Buildings were modified and enlarged, but appear to have retained the same basic layout.

On this aerial photo of Garagay you can see the basic layout of the U-Shaped temple at the site. As you can see, though, there has been quite a bit of recent urban sprawl around the site. Unfortunately, as a result of the easy access to this site, there has been a lot of destruction of the polychromed reliefs on this building.

Architectural sculptures at Initial Period U-Shaped temples emphasize representations of large teeth.  At the site of Cardal, band of teeth surrounds the upper portion of the building in one of its phases of construction.   At the site of Garagay, the U-shaped temple has a polychromed relief depicting composite creatures with large teeth as well. This Garagay frieze that is subdivided into sections by wave-like motifs.  Within each section is a representation of a figure that combines human, arachnid, and possibly feline traits.  One of these represents a disembodied head with large upper teeth, an upturned eye, a scroll emerging from its nostril.  This head is surrounded in a crosshatched pattern that resembles a net.  The iconography at Garagay seems to be referring to a common theme in Initial Period art, transformation, and suggests possible shamanistic practices.  The upturned eyes and large teeth are also found on painted representations on smaller objects at Garagay.

Polychromed reliefs continue to be excavated at Garagay. This one was painted in blue, white, red, yellow, and black, and consists of profile faces with outlined lips, wide nostrils, and large fangs. Between the faces there is an additional band of teeth.