chiefdom · South America

Lima culture

100 CE – 650 CE (approx.) · capital Maranga

A culture of the central coast of Peru whose adobe pyramids and irrigation canals laid the foundations of settlement in the valleys where Lima now stands.

Origins

The Lima culture took shape around 100 CE in the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín valleys of Peru's central coast. Communities built canals that turned the desert valleys into farmland and began raising large adobe platform mounds.

Rule and society

Its main centre was the Maranga complex in the Rímac valley, with large mounds such as Huaca San Marcos, while Huaca Pucllana in modern Miraflores was built of small handmade adobe bricks set like books on a shelf. Society was organised around ceremonial centres led by local elites. The economy combined irrigation farming with fishing. Pottery shows an interlocking serpent and fish design. The early phase of Pachacamac in the Lurín valley also belongs to this culture.

Decline and legacy

From around 650 CE the Lima culture declined as the Wari Empire extended its influence along the coast. Pachacamac continued as a sacred site and later became the centre of Ychsma. Many Lima mounds survive among the modern city's streets.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Lima culture. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lima-culture
MLA
“Lima culture.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lima-culture. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Lima culture.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lima-culture.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Lima culture’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lima-culture (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻