KOTOSH

pre-Columbian site, near the modern city of Hunuco in present-day central highland Peru, known for its early temple structures. These earliest buildings, some of which have interior wall niches and mud-relief decorative friezes, date to the end of the Late Preceramic Period (c. 20001800 BC). The site also contains remains of later cultures in the area. The Initial Period is represented by overlying temple structures and a style of pottery known as the Wairajirca. These buildings and ceramics are, in turn, overlain by Chavn materials (Early Horizon; 1000400 BC).