Chavin National Museum, Ancash, Peru

The Chavín National Museum was inaugurated on July 18, 2008. It has thirteen permanent exhibition halls and two for temporary exhibitions. Its implementation arose from the need to generate the technical, environmental and exhibition conditions to guarantee the adequate research, conservation and preservation of its important cultural legacy.

The architectural design is inspired by the Chavín tradition and was executed with the determined support of the government of Japan.

It brings together a great diversity of assets from the Chavín culture, one of the most complex and important in pre-Hispanic Peru, mostly from the Chavín Archaeological Monument.

The museum collections are made up of various cultural assets of fine ceramics, the famous carved heads whose sculptures decorated the main temples and lapidary, among which the Tello Obelisk stands out, which synthesizes the Chavín religious conception, in addition to the pututos or trumpets from the Gallery of the Snails.

Entering the Chavin National Museum
The Chavín National Museum is a project whose objective is to contribute to the conservation of the Chavín Archaeological Site, which was inscribed by UNESCO on the World Heritage List in 1985, and thus deepen knowledge and interest in the Chavín culture. The Project is managed by the Ministry of Culture, executed thanks to the General Countervalue Donation Peru - Japan (FGCPJ).

Its execution was carried out in two stages. The first included the design and construction of the Museum; the second contemplated the museography and the construction and equipment of the International Center for Research, Conservation and Restoration, a building with which it is hoped to be at the forefront of research into Movable Cultural Heritage and to be an international reference in the conservation of stone material.
This cultural project reinforces Japan's will to safeguard Peru's archaeological and historical heritage and renews the commitment to strengthening the ties of friendship and cooperation between both countries.

Museum plan
Through the exhibition you will be able to learn about the characteristics of the Chavín de Huántar ceremonial center (1200 - 400 BCE), one of the most important in ancient Peru, located in the Conchucos area.

In the following rooms you will appreciate the presence of anthropomorphic beings immortalized in stones and other materials that account for a complex ritual system that turned Chavín de Huántar into a place of worship and pilgrimage.
Because it is a unique and exceptional testimony of a disappeared civilization, it was inscribed by UNESCO on the World Heritage List in 1985.

Tenon heads

The Tenon heads are three-dimensional litho-sculptures with mythical representations of human and animal faces. The back of the heads has an extension that allows them to be embedded like a nail. This is where their name comes from. They were made to be integrated into public architecture, occupying exterior spaces on the walls of the ceremonial center of Chavín.

Most of the Tenon heads of Chavín were carved in volcanic rock, limestone and sandstone, probably extracted for direct carving. Their large production (it is estimated that there were more than 100 in the monument) assumes the existence of people specialized in the trade.

Due to their strength and expressiveness, these images undoubtedly produced a great impact and had deep meanings for the inhabitants and visitors of Chavín.

Tenon head
RN 192986.

Tenon head

Tenon head
RN 193041.

Tenon head

Tenon head
RN 3359.

Tenon head

Tenon head
Rn 192476.

Tenon head

Tenon head
RN 278461.

Tenon head
RN 278959.

Tenon head
RN 193045.

Tenon head
RN 192482.

Tenon head

Tenon head
RN 192978.

Tenon head

Tenon head
RN 3346.

Tenon head

Shaman Transformation

It is thought that the Tenon heads not only served a decorative function but also reflected the sacred nature of Chavín. Archaeologist Richard Burger suggests that due to the characteristics of the faces, the Tenon heads would reveal the altered states of perception experienced by shamans or priests after ingesting powerful psychoactive substances such as the San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus pachanoi) or inhaling willca (Anadenanthera colubrina).

In each of the heads, it is observed that human features are transformed into those of a mythological being with feline characteristics.

Tenon head
RN 3351.

Type 1 Tenon head - Human head.

Tenon head
RN 3350.

Type 2 Tenon head - Human head with snake hair and nasal fluid.
This is the first manifestation of consuming the cactus drink.

Tenon head

Type 3 Tenon head - Human head in an advanced state of transformation.
In the trance, the shaman sharpens his senses and establishes communication with supernatural beings.

Tenon head
RN 3347.

Type 4 Tenon head - Head of a hybrid being.

The shaman acquires the attributes and qualities of the jaguar, the eagle and the snake.

Tenon head

Type 5 Tenon head - Head of a hybrid being.
Having become a supernatural being, the shaman dominates the sky, the earth and the underworld.

Tenon head
RN 3349.

Type 6 Tenon head - Feline head.
The shaman probably becomes a jaguar, a feared predator, which symbolizes the highest power in the Chavín worldview.

Splendor of lithic art

Since its discovery, the ceremonial center of Chavín has caused fascination. Art in Chavín was stimulated by a high level of interpretative creativity and quality of execution, influencing a wide geographic area. The region was a center of production of stone sculptures, carved in high and low relief.

The sculptural quality of the beasts (jaguars and caimans) and birds of prey, together with composite creatures that combine a basic human form with snake bodies, wings or predatory features: fangs, legs, claws or beaks of birds of prey, has always amazed. Everything is related to the qualities of these animals and the acts of observing, trapping and devouring, which build the symbolic manifestations of their strength.

The spiritual need of the pilgrims for these encounters with mythical beings, seeking a transformative experience, through physical interaction with symbols and images, increased the power of the Chavín priests.

Stone slab
RN 278458.

Stone slab
RN 3368.

Stone slab
RN 192483.

Stone slab
RN 3362.

Stone slab

Master plants
The native cultures of the Andes practiced rituals that included the ingestion, inhalation or chewing of native plants, such as the coca leaf (Erythroxylum coca), the tobacco leaf (Nicotina rustica), the San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus pachanoi, T. peruvianus and T. terscheckii), the Willca (Anadenanthera peregrina) and the ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi).

According to ethnographic research, these plants are not only used to acquire greater knowledge about reality and about oneself, to facilitate communication with the spiritual or alternate world, but are also used as medicines. They are still used in many contemporary cultures in America.
The San Pedro cactus, also known as achuma, giant cactus or aguacolla, contains mescaline, a very powerful psychoactive that alters states of consciousness and sharpens the senses. In the Circular Plaza of Chavín, a tombstone carved in bas-relief represents a character carrying a stem of Saint Peter in his right hand. This figure is known as the "Bearer of Saint Peter."
Evidence of bone inhalants and Chavín iconography have also been found, suggesting the use of willka seeds to induce trance and magical flight in rituals.
Evidently, the use of these psychoactive plants played an important role in the rituals of the Chavín ideology.

Paccha Recuay
Ceremonial vessel (Paccha). Modeled and painted ceramics. 18.9 cm x 18.5 cm (7.4 in x 7.2 in). Origin: Esplanada and La Banda.

Paccha with representation of seven characters surrounding a larger one.

Reenactment of a healing session

The Tello Obelisk

THE DISCOVERY

It was discovered in 1908, in a corner of the main square of the ceremonial center by Mr. Trinidad Alfaro, a resident of the Racku neighborhood in Chavín, when he was doing agricultural work.

THE IMAGE

The Obelisk is one of the emblematic pieces of the Chavín religious imagery.

It is a granite stone, elongated and prismatic with two wide sides and two narrow sides; it is entirely covered by reliefs with incisions and measures 2.52m (99.21 in) in height. The designs are very complex and represent two beings, a mythical pair of dragons or alligators, with feminine and masculine attributes. The male seems to be ejaculating plant shoots and a strombus snail, while the female has an "S"-shaped design under her belly and a figure with attributes of both a bird and a feline. The creatures have legs with claws or paws and their tails resemble the fins of a fish.

These two beings are accompanied by the chakana or "Andean Cross." Plants such as pumpkin, chili, peanuts and yucca have also been identified. There are also eyes, mouths, beaks, noses, ears, rounded appendages, as well as scrolls, hands, arms and anthropomorphic and animal heads.

The position of all these elements in the Obelisk would be associated with a symbolic language that would represent the cyclical and creative order of life, both animal, vegetal and human, of the ancient Chavíns. It could also have had the function of a sundial or intihuatana and possibly, it would have been located in the center of one of the plazas of the ceremonial center.

CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION

When Julio C. Tello arrived in Chavín in 1919, he found the piece at the door of the Church, drawing his attention; it had an old fracture in the upper part. During field work, Tello found the piece and arranged to have it moved to Lima, where it was restored for the first time. There, Julio C. Tello began his study; that is why it bears his name.

After being in Lima for almost 90 years, it was moved to Chavín in 2008 and installed in the Chavín National Museum.

The Tello Obelisk was restored between 2014 and 2015 by specialists from the Rietberg Museum in Zurich, Switzerland, Mr. Gregor Frehner, Mr. Horacio Fernández and the archaeologist Peter Fux, under the scientific supervision of Dr. Luis Lumbreras, with the collaboration of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture and the ANTAMINA Mining Company.

The Tello Obelisk

The Main God or Lanzon

It is the most important pre-Hispanic sculpture of the Andean religious universe. It has remained in its place for more than three thousand years, located in the Lanzón gallery, at the intersection of two internal galleries. Due to its difficult access, it is assumed that only a small number of religious authorities could enter its chamber.

It is a huanca or sacred stone. Julio C. Tello called it Lanzón because of its shape, and the archaeologist John Rowe, the "Great Image", both considering it to be the main deity of Chavín.

This fascinating piece of granite measures 4.53 m (178.34 in) high, is carved in relief and represents a being with human and zoomorphic attributes. The head is almost a meter high (39 in), its eyes look up, the hands have five fingers, the right arm is raised with the hand open and the palm facing the observer, while the left arm is down with the back of the hand visible.

The deity wears ornaments such as earrings, bracelets, anklets and a kind of adorned skirt. The head is decorated with the "Inca Cross" or chacana, and the long hair is made up of moving snakes.

The deity has a clearly feline character; the long nails on the hands and feet resemble claws and on the face there are two fangs or incisors that emerge from the mouth.

The central position of the deity with its base on the floor and its upper section that penetrates the ceiling suggests an axis mundi (axis or center of the world), which unites the celestial world (Hanan Patsa), with the terrestrial world (Kay Patsa) and the world below (Uran Patsa), representing the Chavín worldview, linking water and fire, thunder and lightning, stars and stones, snow-capped mountains and springs, mountains, animals and men.

The Lanzon Monolith (Replica)

The Raimondi Stele

This is another of the emblematic lithosculptures of Chavín. It is a granite slab measuring 198 cm (78 in) high, 74 cm (29 in) wide and 15 cm (6 in) thick. The archaeologist Luis Lumbreras describes it as follows:

“It represents the image of a feline-like anthropomorphic being, standing, seen from the front, with open arms, holding a kind of rod or staff in each hand. The hands and feet end in claws. The head is large, rectangular in shape. The mouth with thick lips shows four curved fangs that protrude above the lips; the ends of the mouth are curved downwards. The nose is barely perceptible and the eyes have upward pupils. The hair turns into snakes. Two snakes emerge from a decorated belt on each side.

Above the head there is a long and complicated series of drawings, like a headdress of radiation. The staffs end at the bottom in feline heads, while the upper part has snake heads and a system of volutes, eyes, noses, fangs, to achieve the desired figurative effects in a harmonious whole that makes the figure a highly sensitive baroque complex.”

Julio C. Tello considered that it was the original image of the Pandino God Wiracocha, also known as “The God of the Staffs.”