The archaeological complex of Sechín is located in the district of Casma, in the province of the same name, in the Ancash region, specifically on the slopes of the hill called Laguna at 90 meters above sea level; and it was discovered in 1937 by the Peruvian archaeologist Julio César Tello who initially called it the Temple of Cerro Sechín. Although the discovery did not come to light until that date, the archaeologist had already had signs of it since 1919 when the residents of the area called the main front of the complex "The brave Indian", because of the larger figure that appears in it. is engraved and where Tello initially found 98 engraved monoliths. This Complex would be approximately 1600 years old before our era.
The Sechín Architectural Complex is a rectangular construction that covers a territory of approximately 50 hectares, and within it there are at least seven buildings, one of which is made of adobe with a conical shape compared to the others built in stone. . The adobe building, which is the oldest, is surrounded by a stone one and contains a sacred chamber. Both buildings (the adobe one and the stone one) occupy a total area of 2,600 m2. Along with the above, we can also observe in the complex the presence of squares, circular wells, platforms, paths, etc.
On the walls of the Sechín buildings, we can see that they were painted in blue and pink colors, and that they also present mural paintings of pumas along with bas-reliefs painted in various colors. In Sechín, the constant presence of engraved monoliths is significant and a reason for study. The engravings of these in total number about 300 and present, for the most part, warrior motifs that still have a meaning to be clarified, although it is believed that they were related to believed or promoted myths. by the residents of the area. .
The stones used as monoliths were extracted from Cerro Laguna, using for this purpose sticks made from trees typical of the country's coast (carob and guarango), later, once the stone was extracted, it was worked with the abrasion technique, which consisted in smoothing one of the faces of the extracted rock and then drawing the desired motif on it using charcoal and then using another stone as a chisel to form the engraving indentations. Among the engravings found, the presence of “The Warrior Priests” is notable, those where ritual sacrifices are alluded to, and also others with marine motifs. Along with Sechín's engravings, the sculptures made from stone and clay in which human, marine and animal representations are observed are also valuable.
Studies believe that Sechín would have been built for political-religious purposes: a palace and a temple, near which the population of this culture was located and would have carried out agricultural activities.
To get to Sechín, the traveler will have to spend ten minutes in cars towards the southeast of Casma. Admission to the site costs s/ 5.50 for adults; s/3.00 for national students and s/1.00 for Peruvian children. And it is open to the public from 9 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon, and you can also access the site's museum called Max Uhle.
Archaeological and historical landmark
According to archaeologist Lizardo Tavera, although it is considered that the discovery of the Sechín site occurred in 1937, there was a previous contact from the “father of Peruvian archeology” eighteen years before. Upon returning from his expedition to the Chavín de Huántar complex, in the Ancash mountains, Julio C. Tello visited the Tabón hacienda, in the Casma valley, whose owner kept a collection of pre-Hispanic pieces extracted from cemeteries in the area. Some of them were donated to the Museum of Archeology of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, directed by Tello.
On June 28, 1937, Tello headed towards the Marañón River basin to continue his investigations of the Chavín civilization, until then considered the cornerstone of Peruvian cultures. Passing through Casma again, he stopped at the Tabón hacienda and inquired about the pre-Columbian pieces found years before that had surprised him.
The new owner of the hacienda told him that he only kept a medium-sized rectangular stone (84 by 73 centimeters), which had an engraved image. It was a head in profile with a stylized face and disheveled hair. The lithic piece surprised Tello and he decided to stay at the hacienda for a while to investigate more about this vestige of what he considered further evidence of his theory about the importance and cultural influence of Chavín.
On the morning of July 1, Julio C. Tello explored Cerro Sechín and discovered several archaeological remains. Aware of the existence of a nearby “huaca”, the Peruvian wise man goes to the area called “Indio bravo”, due to the existence of a monolith that has a sculpted figure of a kind of warrior whose face shows his teeth and waving hair.
With the help of several workers, Tello excavated the area covered with earth and discovered the existence of several monoliths with figures similar to those of the “brave Indian” that were half buried. As he advanced in the removal of the mound of earth, more steles were revealed that formed a perimeter wall within which the existence of several abobe structures with walls in which colorful figures of mythological appearance stood out.
Studies subsequent to those reviewed by the father of Peruvian archeology, showed that the construction of the Sechín complex predates the temple of Chavín de Huántar, which shows the original existence of the civilization settled in the Casma valley.
The archaeologist Henning Bischof proposes a chronological sequence for the cultural evolution of Sechín, which goes from the year 3,400 BC. to the year 1,000 B.C. This covers the Late and Early Preceramic periods with the Sechín period (3,400 to 1,650 BC); the Moxeque period, (1,650 to 1,400 B.C.) and the Haldas period (1,400 to 1,000 B.C.).
According to this proposal, the Sechín complex is located mainly in the Sechín Period; that is, during the Late Preceramic period, which is characterized by the emergence of complex societies, constructions of large pyramids and the absence of ceramics.
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