Case file · Sacred site
Lanzón oracle of Chavín de Huántar
Hidden in dark galleries of Chavín de Huántar, a 4.5 m carved stone deity, the Lanzón, was the focus of one of the oldest oracular cults in the Andes from about 900 BC.
900 BCE · -9.59, -77.18 · status: official
The account
Archaeologists found ducts that carried the sound of water and conch trumpets through the galleries, likely to disorient pilgrims, along with evidence of hallucinogenic San Pedro cactus use.