Vicus culture
Culture | Defunct
1000 BCE to 300 CE
Vicús culture is an important early culture in Peru from 1000/200 BCE to 300/600 CE.
They live in the Piura region in the northwestern coast of Peru.
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Burials in the so-called Vicus area of northern Peru, lying largely within the Piura basin, inland from the coast, include several types of pottery and metal artifacts including masks, nose ornaments, and other objects fashioned of gold and of alloys of gold, copper, and silver, beginning (probably) in about 200 BCE.
Vicus goldsmiths employ the technique of depletion gilding, removing base metals from the alloys to leave a layer of relatively pure gold.
A principal pottery form, known as Vicus negative, is resist-decorated with black lines on a background of reddish brown.
Textile arts, including the production of fine embroidered mantles, remain at a high level among the Vicus people.
The Vicus culture apparently fades after 300.
These settlers in the Piura region were known for their work in ceramics and gold.
Living mainly on the coastal deserts, they used the native clay and local dyes to produce natural and religious symbols; modern day black-and-white pottery from the town of Chulucanas is said to closely resemble the ancient art.