People / group

Cupisnique

c. 1500–500 BCE · 16th century BCE · Also known as Cupisnique culture

Cupisnique was a culture of the north coast of Peru, flourishing from about 1500 to 500 BCE in valleys such as Jequetepeque, Chicama and Moche. Its people built platform mounds and temples decorated with painted clay friezes of feline and serpent deities, and they made fine stirrup-spout pottery. Closely related to the highland Chavín culture, it formed part of the background from which the later Moche culture developed.

Cupisnique
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See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Cupisnique. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cupisnique
MLA
“Cupisnique.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cupisnique. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Cupisnique.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cupisnique.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Cupisnique’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cupisnique (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻