Galindo Moche–Wari Center
Galindo–Moche Late Moche Site · La Mina Galindo
Middle Horizon transition (Moche V – Wari 500–850 CE)·Moche V → Wari (Huari) intrusion·🇵🇪 La Libertad, Trujillo Province, Peru
About
About Galindo Moche–Wari Center
Eclipsed late Moche administrative city (500–850 CE) 12 km inland from Huacas de Moche (Huaca del Sol/Luna), occupying terraced hill with 3 civic–ceremonial mounds 10–15 m high (Plataforma Principal, Plataforma C), 600+ dwellings on slopes, elite walled compound (Cercadura) 80×60 m and Wari-style orthogonal patio groups evidencing Wari intrusion at collapse ~700 CE. Garth Bawden 1970s–80s mapped platform architecture and storage deficit relative to earlier Moche palaces (inefficiency hypothesis). Transitional site between Moche V and Wari-Huari horizon.
Why it mattersOnly stratified late Moche–Wari contact center in Moche valley; explains Moche collapse as political fragmentation plus Wari pressure not solely environmental.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Storage deficit vs population estimate
- 02Wari colonial vs trade emulation interpretation
Theories
- 01Galindo warlord successor state after Moche IV disintegration
- 02Wari garrison imposed on local elite to control Trujillo sierra route
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.550–650 Moche V platform, 700–800 Wari sector
- Period
- Middle Horizon transition (Moche V – Wari 500–850 CE)
- Culture
- Moche V → Wari (Huari) intrusion
- Purpose
- Late Moche political replacement of Moche capital and Wari gateway
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.550–650 Moche V platform, 700–800 Wari sector
Initial construction
c. 1551 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
8.1181° S · 78.9236° W · 85 m · 2 mapped features
Plataforma Principal – adobe platform
pyramid80×50 m Moche V adobe platform 15 m high with brick marks
8.1178° S · 78.9234° WCercadura walled compound and orthogonal patios
temple80×60 m elite walls plus Wari patio groups south side
8.1184° S · 78.9239° W
Gallery