The "Xikan culture" is a stage in the development of Andean civilization, which lasted from 800 (850) AD to 1375 AD, equivalent to the late Tang Dynasty in China until the early Ming Dynasty. The Sikan culture has been going on for a long time.
Lambayek, in northwestern Peru, is the central area of the Sikan culture, which is mainly distributed along the northern coast of Peru. Where did the people who built the Sikan culture come from? Legend has it that they are descendants of the Moche people. The Moche culture is also distributed in northern Peru, and after the decline of the Moche culture, a descendant of the Moche people established the Sikan culture.
The Xikan culture uses farming as the main mode of production. They have a well-developed handicraft industry, have very sophisticated metal smelting technology, and can carry out large-scale metal product production. With the development of production technology, it also promotes long-distance trade exchanges.
Xikan has no writing and has a unique religious belief. The Lord God of Seakan is omnipotent, and he or she always shows his or her face. This lord god is neither male nor female, so for convenience, let's call him "him" first. He holds the Toumi Knife in one hand and the enemy head in the other. The lord god of Xikan often has a pair of Dan phoenix eyes, which is a symbol of the supernatural, he also has a pair of wings, he is the center of the universe, everywhere in the cosmic order. The Sikan religion is mixed and inclusive, focusing on the issues of life and death, fertility and reproduction.
Lord Sikan is the human incarnation of lord God Sikan. The lords were not only political leaders but also religious leaders, and they imitated the lord god of Sikan, whether they lived or died. The lords of Seakan are dressed like the main god in the paintings, and also wear a mask of the main god's face. After his death, the high-ranking nobles of Xikan were also buried wearing gold masks.
It feels like the Zhou people of the Western Zhou Dynasty in China, who have integrated Moche culture and Vari culture in terms of religion and art, and used this inclusiveness to integrate most of the people in society into the religion of Xikan. Lord Sikan was benevolent and tolerant, and the Moches could retain Moche's artistic style, techniques, and funeral rites in terms of making works of art and burying the dead. The purpose is to make the Moche people obedient.
In Sikkan, metals are a sign of social status. The elite at the top used gold to express their status and wealth. Civilians could only use arsenic bronze.
Like Moche, Seakan has no writing.
There are also large-scale human sacrifices in Xikan. In 1050 AD, el Niño caused a devastating flood that led to a massive sacrifice in the central square of the capital, with 200 men and women.
1, male nobles sacrifice gold headdress. National Museum of Sikan, Peru. The gold headdress was unearthed from a noble tomb on the north side of the Temple of Wakaderolo. The owner of the tomb is a male between the ages of 40 and 50. It is a 12-meter-deep vertical tomb. The headdress includes a mask, a bat-head-shaped forehead, a cylindrical crown behind the bat's head, and a curved headdress decorated with 90 gold feathers. This sacrificial tiara weighs a total of 2 kilograms. When I actually wear it, there are real bird feathers on it, and the actual size is more than 1 meter high and 60 centimeters wide.
2. Gold earrings. National Museum of Sikan, Peru. It was worn by the male nobleman when he was buried.
3. Gold earrings. National Museum of Sikan, Peru. It would have been a pair, and this was one of them. The nobles of Sikkan wore different earrings on different occasions.
4, sea chrysanthemum clam shell pattern gold cup. Museum of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru. The shell of the sea chrysanthemum clam is an important symbol of female and fertility beliefs. This slender cup is a large category of gold artifacts in the Xikan culture.
5. Golden Cup of Toad with the Head of the God of Sikan. Museum of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru. The Sikans inhabit the northern coastal region of Peru, where toads hibernate in underground caves in the winter and flock out in the summer as rain falls. This golden cup is hammered from a single piece of gold. Qianlong's Jin Ou Yonggu Cup also uses this method to make the cup body.
6, cylindrical gold crown. National Museum of Sikan, Peru. Unearthed in the tomb of the Temple of Vacaderolo was a rectangular basket with five golden crowns, and this one is one of them. It is possible that different golden crowns will be used on different occasions.
7. Sacrifice the golden cup. La Luc Museum. The practice of this gold cup is to make a core pile first, then fix the gold sheet on this core pile, and then hammer it into shape. It's like the big standing man in Sanxingdui, there is a mud core in it.
8, gold neck ornament. Museum of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru. This gold ornament is a representative of the exquisite gold-making process of The Sikan culture. The whole piece of gold jewelry is hammered from a single piece of gold. The pattern on it is decorated with birds, as well as the nobles of Xikan, holding a scepter in each hand, and a row of figures on each side.
9. Gold jewelry in the shape of spiders and spider eggs. National Archaeological Museum of Brunin, Peru. This image indicates maternal love and reproduction.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="25" > Yuanji, editor-in-chief of the Guide to the Yuanji Museum, cultural scholar, and historical writer</h1>
Major works: "Legend of the Dragon and Phoenix", "The Hegemony of the Three Kingdoms in the Chaotic World of the North and the South", "Gao ChengChuan", "Love Exploration of Tailing", "Twenty-seven Years of Yin Chan", "Lost in the Ancient Kingdom" series in ancient China, "Interpretation of Chinese Character Names in Museum Bronzes" series, "Chinese Characters" Glyph Interpretation, "History of western Zhou in Bronze Inscriptions", "Jin Dynasty Hegemony", "Dream Back to Spring and Autumn", "Spring and Autumn Character Stories", etc.