The Huaca del Sol is an
adobe brick pyramid built by the
Moche civilization (100 AD to 800 AD) on the northern coast of what is now
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
. The pyramid is one of several ruins found near the volcanic peak of
Cerro Blanco, in the coastal desert near
Trujillo at the Moche Valley. The other major ruin at the site is the nearby
Huaca de la Luna, a better-preserved but smaller temple.
By 450 AD, eight different stages of construction had been completed on the Huaca del Sol. The technique was additive; new layers of brick were laid directly on top of the old, hence large quantities of bricks were required for the construction. Archeologists have estimated that the Huaca del Sol was composed of over 130 million adobe bricks and was the largest
pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...
adobe structure built in the Americas.
The number of different makers' marks on the bricks suggests that over a hundred different communities contributed bricks to the construction of the Huacas.
The Huaca del Sol was composed of four main levels. The structure was expanded and rebuilt by different rulers over the course of time. It is believed to have originally been about 50 meters in height and 340 m by 160 m at the base. Located at the center of the Moche capital city, the temple appears to have been used for ritual, ceremonial activities and as a royal residence and burial chambers. Archaeological evidence attests to these functions.
During the
Spanish
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**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
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Other places
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occupation of Peru in the early 17th century, colonists redirected the waters of the
Moche River to run past the base of the Huaca del Sol in order to facilitate the looting of gold artifacts from the temple. The operation of the hydraulic mine greatly damaged the Huaca del Sol. In total, approximately two-thirds of the structure has been lost to erosion and such looting. The remaining structure stands at a height of 41 meters (135 feet).
Looting and erosion due to
El Niño
El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date ...
continue to be major concerns to this day.
See also
*
Huaca de la Luna
*
History of Peru
The history of Peru spans 10 millennia, extending back through several stages of cultural development along the country's desert coastline and in the Andes mountains. Peru's coast was home to the Norte Chico civilization, the oldest civilization ...
*
Pre-Inca cultures
References
Sources
# ''Art of the Andes, from Chavin to Inca.'' Rebecca Stone-Miller, Thames and Hudson, 1995.
# ''The Incas and Their Ancestors: the archaeology of Peru.'' Michael E. Moseley, Thames and Hudson, 1992.
External links
www.huacas.comSun and Moon Temples Official website
Huaca del Sol placemarksGoogle Earth .kmz
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Moche sites
Moche culture
Adobe buildings and structures
Archaeological sites in Trujillo, Peru
Museums in Peru
Archaeological museums in Peru
Archaeological sites in Peru