7/30/2019 Chavn de Huntar Project Summary

1/2Global Heritage Fund, Current Projects

Site Signifcance

Chavn de Huntar, which lends its name

to the rich pre-Inca Chavn culture, is one o

the oldest major cultures in Peru and thrived

between 1500 BC and 400 BC. One o the more

unique elements to Chavn was that rather

than emphasizing conquest and warare,

this seemed to be a broad-spread religious

cult whose art and style became dominant

through sophisticated convincing techniques

carried out in elaborated ceremonial centers

throughout northern Peruvian interaction

sphere. In 1985, UNESCO designated Chavn

a World Heritage site or bearing exceptional

testimony to an ancient civilization.

Chavn de Huntar is located east o Perus

Cordillera Blanca mountain chain near the

long and picturesque valley known as the

Callejn de Huylas. 250 km to the north o

Lima at an elevation o 3,180 meters, Chavn

has long been a site o Peruvian public interest

and archaeological inquiry. It is situated

in a dramatic, deep valley setting in the

uppermost Maraon River drainage into which

most large rivers o the central Andes ow,

with high glacier-capped summits hoveringabove. Although Chavn was clearly a center

o trade and exchange, its location required

ancient visitors to undertake an exceptionally

demanding journey. Today, Chavn is served by

a recently-upgraded, mostly asphalt roadway.

Project Goals

GHF is working to integrate conservation,

investigation and sustainable community

development in order to ensure long-term site

appreciation, preservation and sustainability.

The conservation team is stabilizing primary

monuments, repairing underground structures,

documenting the site with high precision

instruments, locating underground structures

with non-intrusive technologies, revealing,

assessing and when appropriate removing

post-Chavn structures to reveal original

architecture; cataloguing artiacts, and

improving site interpretation acilities, while

the local community is engaged through

conservation and crat training, employment,

tourism entrepreneurship and regular

consultations regarding the management o

the site and its environs.

Chavn de Huntar,Peru

A Pre-Columbian World Heritage Treasure

Threats

Structural WeaknessExposure

Uncontrolled Tourism

Flooding

Erosion

Start Date

2003

View o the Temple A in Chavn de Huntar. Photo by: Dr. John Rick

7/30/2019 Chavn de Huntar Project Summary

2/2Global Heritage Fund, Current Projects

Preservation by Design

Planning

GHFs goal is to ensure critically-needed

unding and expertise or the complete

conservation and restoration o the UNESCO

World Heritage site o Chavn de Huntar

in Ancash, Peru. To that end, a Master

Conservation Plan, is nearing completion with

GHF support and will soon be submitted to

the Government o Peru or approval. GHF

has provided direct expertise or conservation

planning through its own sta and by providing

support or Peruvian conservators.

Project Partnerships

Stanord University

Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INC)

Town o Chavn de Huntar

Asociacion Ancash

Conservation Science

Chavn retains signifcant archaeological

materials that require considerable

conservation eorts to preserve or the long-

term. Features such as the monumental

buildings, Circular Plaza, and the Rocas Canal

have suered greatly rom neglect, water

penetration, coluvial and uvial action, while

the impressive and extensive underground

gallery system continues to suer damage

rom inadequate management o wet season

dampness. To mitigate these issues, GHF is

supporting eorts to reduce water penetration,

and improve ventilation and drainage to dryout the site so that preservation eorts can

advance in a stable environment.

Community

GHF is unding post-excavation conservation

and a local conservation lab, with an emphasis

on stone and ceramic artiacts. GHF hopes to

expand our current conservation unding or

the next our years or site conservation and

restoration, enabling Peruvian conservation

teams to become sel-sufcient and capable

o unsupervised conservation. Not only will

this unding provide year round employment tolocals but it will also open the doors or Chavn

artiacts, that are distributed across Peru,

to return to the newly opened sizeable local

museum. Local people are being trained and

coordinated on renewed crat production in

traditional materials, including ceramic, bone,

and stone.

Recent Accomplishments

Intensive and accurate three-dimen-

sional documentation o the site,

resulting in maps and models that orm

the basis o all scientifc work in the site.

Extensive work on revealing, stabilizing,

and overall conservation o the Circular

Plaza and surrounding area.

Extensive exposition, assessment,

and partial removal o post-Chavn

structures as deemed appropriate in

consultation with Peruvian ofcials.

Support or background studies and

expert intervention on the development

o the Chavn Master Plan.

Relocating, excavation, conservation,

and return to unction or the majority

o the principal, 300 m-long original

drainage the Rocas Canal.

Recreation o Chavn ceramic tech-

nology, and training o local population

in ceramic production; bone cratwork is

commencing.

625 Emerson Street, Suite 200

Palo Alto, CA 94301

t 650.325.7520 f 650.325.7511

globalheritagefund.org

Located high in the Andes, Chavn de Huntar is one of

most endangered UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Peru.

Circular Plaza during conservation (let) and ater (right). Photo by Dr. John Rick