ABSTRACT
The archaeological monument of Chavín de Huántar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1985. But it remains an enigma in many senses of the term. Today, enigma denotes something which is ‘mysterious, puzzling, and diffi cult to understand’. 1 This relates to its original Greek meaning to describe a short text that features ‘intentionally obscure metaphors, in order to afford an exercise for the ingenuity of the reader or hearer in guessing what is meant; a riddle’. 2 While ancient Chavín people did not leave any formal writing, their art and architecture are redolent with forms and meanings that remain just as perplexing as they may have been for people some three millennia ago.
