<P> The Middle Horizon lasted from 600 CE to 1000 CE, and was dominated by two cultures: the Huari and the Tiwanaku . The Tiwanaku (also spelled Tiahuanaco) culture arose near Lake Titicaca (on the modern border between Peru and Bolivia), while the Wari culture arose in the southern highlands of Peru . Both cultures appear to have been influenced by the Pukara culture, which was active during the Early Intermediate in between the primary centers of the Wari and Tiwanaku . These cultures both had wide - ranging influence, and shared some common features in their portable art, but their monumental arts were somewhat distinctive . </P> <P> The monumental art of the Tiwanaku demonstrated technical prowess in stonework, including fine detailed reliefs, and monoliths such as the Ponce monolith (photo to the left), and the Sun Gate, both in the main Tiwanaku site . The portable art featured "portrait vessels", with figured heads on ceramic vessels, as well as natural imagery like jaguars and raptors . A full range of materials, from ceramics to textiles to wood, bone, and shell, were used in creative endeavours . Textiles with a weave of 300 threads per inch (80 threads per cm) have been found at Tiwanaku sites . </P> <P> The Wari dominated an area from central Peru to Ecuador, with their main center near Ayacucho, Peru . Their art is distinguished from the Tiwanaku style by the use of bolder colors and patterns . Notable among Wari finds are tapestry garments, presumed to be made for priests or rulers to wear, often bearing abstract geometric designs of significant complexity, but also bearing images of animals and figures . Wari ceramics, also of high technical quality, are similar in many ways to those of the preceding cultures, where local influences from fallen cultures, like the Moche, are still somewhat evident . Metalwork, while rarely found due to its desirability by looters, shows elegant simplicity and, once more, a high level of workmanship . </P> <P> Following the decline of the Wari and Tiwanaku, the northern and central coastal areas were somewhat dominated by the Chimú culture, which included notable subcultures like the Lambayeque (or Sicán) and Chancay cultures . To the south, coastal cultures dominated in the Ica region, and there was a significant cultural crossroads at Pachacamac, near Lima . These cultures would dominate from about 1000 CE until the 1460s and 1470s, as the Inca Empire began to take shape and eventually absorbed the geographically smaller nearby cultures . </P>

Life in the prehistoric time that shaped art