Chavín de Huántar · A Horn in the Passage

Chavín de Huántar stands high in a valley, a temple complex three thousand years old. Its stones are carved with figures that combine human and jaguar forms, and the longest of the shafts carries a full-length figure in relief.

Inside the temple runs a system of ventilation and drainage passages, and archaeologists have tested its acoustics: when a conch-shell trumpet is sounded, the passages turn the note into something like the roar of a beast. This may be the “voice of the god”.

The carved shafts at the site are kept under glass. Standing in the sunlight, you can make out the jaguar’s teeth.

Historical Mysteries / Áncash · Peru / 900 BC