The Chavín de Huantar archaeological site is a notable example in reference to the technological, allegorical and architectural establishments of the early pre-Columbian civilizations. Located in Peru it was found in 1919 by Julio Tello, '"America's First indigenous archaeologist" He was the first to recognise the importance of the key site Chavín de Huantar' [ CITATION Ren12 l 3081 ]. Tello identified it as a ceremonial Centre for the purpose of a religious cult. 'Chavín is one of the earliest and best known pre-Columbian sites and represents the more important expression of the arts and decorative and construction techniques of its time.'[ CITATION UNE07 l 3081 ] This archaeological site carbon dates to at least 3000 B.C. and consists of well-engineered temples and plaza structures with copious amounts of Peruvian art works, including statues and carvings.
The Architectural relevance of Chavín de Huantar is that this ancient civilization of people erected a massive temple in a particular area in Peru which has exposure to all of the elements. The construction of this temple involved large amounts of labour and investment. This ancient civilizations skill in architecture was undeniably complex, 'they shaped the hard stone and decorated the buildings with huge reliefs and mysterious sculptures. They diverted mountain torrents, constructed canals and merged two separate streams.' [ CITATION Mus15 l 3081 ] Not only was it the most complex temple structures of its time, but it was also the largest. (figure.1). When comparing other centres of its time it shows that they all shared a type of social system but were in competition for gaining followers and influence, the size of Chavín made that it had a greater advantage over other cultures. This Site stretches over 12,000m2 with all of the original shapes, materials and the overall architectural design still well preserved, which is a key aspect as to why this site is important for archaeologists.
