Ancient Peruvian Ceramics The first pottery pieces found in Peru were made somewhere between 1500 and 1000 b.p. The pieces were found in the central Andean region where a religious cult lived. This cult was called Chavín, after the best known ceremonial center, Chavín de Huántar. The religious center was the home to massive temples that were highly embellished with low relief sculptures of gods, animals, and symbols. The pottery found in the area where vessels that were well made and highly decorated with a similar motif as the temples. But the evolution of Peruvian pottery becomes somewhat confusing and...
expressed so well. The vessels found from this period show a carelessness in painting designs, and less attention to details in the sculptural forms. Many of the figures modeled in to the vessels were warriors dressed for combat. The decline in quality that can be observed, and the nervousness and tension that were expressed in their designs and forms was related to the pressure from the militant expansionist group, the Wari. The struggle between the Mochica and the Wari, was long and fierce, ending in a total collapse of their culture and a loss a 1200 year ceramic tradition.