Wari

Wari, near the Ayacucho Valley, was the capital of one of the great powers of the ancient Andes. Stone walls enclosed compounds of rooms and courtyards, while D-shaped temples and elaborate tombs gave the city a distinctive form. At its height it commanded connections across much of coastal and highland Peru, and its craftsmen produced finely woven textiles, decorated ceramics and works in stone and metal.

The city flourished between about 600 and 1000, centuries before the fourteenth century. Wari traditions grew from earlier communities in the Ayacucho region, but its capital developed on a new scale. Its walled compounds organised space into rectangular rooms around patios, a pattern that appeared at other sites associated with Wari authority. The city eventually lost its central position, though the causes of its decline remain debated. Its artistic traditions outlived the state itself: the influence of Wari weaving can be seen in the tapestry tunics of the later Inca Empire.

The later city of Ayacucho lies nearby.