Recuay culture

The Recuay culture was a highland culture of Peru that flourished in 200 BC-600 AD and was related to the Moche culture of the north coast. It is named after the Recuay District, in the Recuay Province, in the Ancash Region of Peru.

This culture developed in the Callejón de Huaylas valley, so this art style is also known as 'Huaylas'.

The Recuay area is very close to the earlier Chavin culture centre of Chavin de Huantar that lies just to the west. Thus, the Recuay originally occupied much of the territory of the Chavin, and were greatly influenced by them. Such influence is seen in architecture (use of underground galleries), and in stonework, such as in sculpture and stelae. Their ceramics were also influenced by the Moche.

While the Peruvian coastal cultures of that time, such as the Moche, the Lima, and the Nasca, are much better known, the high sierra also saw the emergence of powerful cultural polities. These were the Cajamarca in the north, the Huarpa in central highlands, and the Pukara in the Titicaca highlands.

The relationship between the Recuay and the Moche state in the north must have been rather tense because they shared borders and competed for the same water sources. There is evidence of considerable warfare, and of the warrior-oriented society as reflected in their fortified buildings and iconography. In fact, the Recuay are associated with the earliest emergence of fortified centres and towns in the Peruvian Andes.

Recuay peoples built box-shaped tombs.

The culture especially flourished in the Callejón de Huaylas region, and along the Marañón River. It also spread to the valleys of the Santa, Casma and Huarmey rivers. To the north, it reached the area of Pashash, in Pallasca. Willkawayin was one of their important settlements.

Recuay culture features a distinctive pottery with decoration in three colors (black, red, white). Recuay potters also modelled small figures of men, jaguars, llamas, and other animals, which they attached to the vessel. This pottery is related to Viru culture type pottery (also known as Gallinazo). The Viru Valley is just to the north of Recuay area.

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