Chavín culture · c. 900-200 BC

Chavín de Huántar: a temple in the high Andes

High in a valley of the Andes, pilgrims from the coast and the mountains gathered at the temple of Chavín de Huántar. Students explore its underground galleries, the Lanzón idol, and how one style of art spread across the Andes long before the Inca.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, 500 BC to 400 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

High in a valley of the Andes, pilgrims from the coast and the mountains gathered at the temple of Chavín de Huántar. Students explore its underground galleries, the Lanzón idol, and how one style of art spread across the Andes long before the Inca.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate Chavín de Huántar and explain why it stood between the coast and the Amazon side of the Andes.
  • Describe the temple's galleries, the Lanzón and the animals in Chavín art.
  • Explain what the spread of the Chavín style tells us about trade and religion in the Andes.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

500 BC

Between two worlds

Open the map in 500 BC and find the Chavin label in the mountains of Peru. Zoom in on Chavín de Huántar, at about 3,180 m. Look at the land to the west and the east: why is this a meeting place between the coast and the forest?

Open this view on the map
b

500 BC

Shells from the north

Zoom out and follow the coast north to the Chorrera label in today's Ecuador. Spondylus and conch shells from these warm waters reached Chavín. How might they have travelled more than 1,000 km?

Open this view on the map
c

400 BC

A style that spread

Jump to 400 BC and look south along the coast for the Paracas label. Chavín-style images appear on textiles found near Paracas. What do shared images tell us about how ideas moved along the Andes?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Chavín de Huántar lies where two rivers meet, on a route between the coast and the Amazon side of the mountains. Why would a temple grow at such a crossroads?
  2. Inside the temple, narrow galleries lead to the Lanzón, a carved stone about 4.5 m tall. How might a visitor have felt walking through the dark to reach it?
  3. Chavín art shows jaguars, eagles, snakes and caimans, animals of the lowland forest. Why would highland priests use forest animals as symbols?
  4. Shell trumpets found at the temple came from conch shells from the sea off Ecuador. What does that tell us about trade?
  5. The Chavín style spread over much of Peru without any sign of an army. How can religion and trade spread ideas without conquest?
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Cyrus the Great, who built the Persian Empire while Chavín de Huántar drew pilgrims from across the Andes. Afterwards, compare: Cyrus spread his power with armies and roads. How did Chavín spread its influence without an empire?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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