Middle Horizon Empires
highland Andean empires before the Inca
01
After Moche & Nazca
the regional cultures collapse and the highlands take over
~500–600 CE
02
Tiwanaku Rising
raised fields, the Gateway of the Sun, and a city at 12,500 feet
~300–800 CE
03
Wari Founding
the planned grid city and the wamani system the Inca later inherited
~550–700 CE
04
The Two Empires Side by Side
rivals, allies, or oblivious — three centuries of armed peaceful coexistence
~600–900 CE
05
Cerro Baúl
the brewery on the frontier and the smashing-cup ceremony that closed it
~600–1000 CE
06
Wari Roads, Storehouses, Khipus
the imperial infrastructure the Inca later inherited
~650–900 CE
07
Tiwanaku Religion & Iconography
the Staff God, vilca and San Pedro, and the puma-condor-snake triad
~600–1000 CE
08
The Collapse
drought, orderly imperial closure, and the Inca who built on Wari foundations
~900–1100 CE