Wari

Wari, also known as Huari, is an ancient culture that flourished in the central Andes of Peru from roughly 500 to 1100 CE. Centered near Ayacucho, the Wari developed a large-scale urban society with a centralized administration and a network of regional centers. Archaeological evidence indicates that Wari influence extended across the central Andean highlands and into adjacent valleys, as seen in shared architectural styles, pottery, and road patterns.

Economy and society: The Wari relied on agriculture supported by terracing and irrigation, enabling the growth of sizeable urban populations. They produced pottery, textiles, and other crafts in standardized forms, facilitating exchange over a wide area. A hierarchical system appears to have connected a core capital with numerous outlying centers, supporting administration, redistribution, and labor organization for monumental construction.

Architecture and sites: The Wari built extensive adobe complexes, ceremonial centers, and platform mounds that reflect planned urban design. The best-known site is the capital center near Ayacucho, commonly referred to as Huari. Additional regional centers have been identified across the region, illustrating a coordinated network rather than a loose collection of villages.

Decline and legacy: The Wari collapsed around 1100 CE, for reasons that remain debated, with factors such as climate fluctuations, resource pressures, and social upheaval cited by scholars. Although the Wari state dissolved, its architectural styles, craft traditions, and patterns of central administration influenced later Andean developments and contributed to the broader cultural trajectory that preceded the Inca.