Viceroyalty of Peru: Did you mean...?

A beaten gold mask from the Nazca civilization of Peru, 200 BCE-500 CE. 18.4 x 20.5 cm. The mask may represent a shaman in transformational pose, a common motif in Nazca art. An alternative interpretation is that it represents...

Mantel (Detail), 100 BCE / 200 CE. Paracas; south coast, Peru. The Art Institute of Chicago, Emily Crane Chadbourne Fund.

A map of Lake Titicaca in South America, located between Peru and Bolivia. For ancient Andean peoples the lake was a sacred site and considered the centre of the cosmos and place of original creation.

From the Formative Epoch (1250 BCE - 1 CE). Represents a figure with the body of a feline, head of an owl, and a serpent-like tail. These animals all had sacred and symbolic meaning in many ancient Peruvian cultures. At...

A geoglyph showing the Nazca Line Spider. The designs and lines created on the desert floor of southern Peru are known collectively as the 'Nazca Lines' and were made over several centuries between 200 BCE and 500 CE. Their exact...

A Nazca geoglyph depicting a cactus. The designs and lines created on the desert floor of southern Peru are known collectively as the 'Nazca Lines' and were made over several centuries between 200 BCE and 500 CE. Their exact...

Signposting at the Tucume Museum, Peru. This photo was taken by Hilary Bradt and used with permission. Date unknown.

This Wari (Huari) vessel from the Apogee Epoch (c. 1 CE - 800 CE) combines sculpture with color and has motifs outlined in black. Housed at Museo Larco, Lima, Peru.

This piece shows a feline, owl, serpents, and condor. The owl and condor represented the sky while the feline represented the earth and dominance. The serpent represented the subterranean world. Housed in the Museo...

From the Formative Epoch (c. 1250 BCE - c. 1 CE). On Earth, the supreme leaders of this society assumed the power of the feline. The great religious, political, and economic power they accumulated enabled the development...