Archaeological research in the Cerro Ventarrón area began in 2007 and allowed to understand the characteristics of the origin and flourishing of the Lambayeque valley civilization in the Peruvian north coast (Fig. 1). The Ventarrón Temple or “Huaca Ventarrón”, located at the basis of a hill equally named and built over a rocky foreland, was the core of a pristine ceremonial center. Its initial phase has been dated around 2300–2035 B.C. [1], and it presents one of the oldest wall painting examples in the Peruvian territory.
This temple was built in three phases, one on top of the other. Until today ten architectonic renovations have been identified. The oldest phase was built over a rocky promontory marking the sacred character of its beginning as well as the orientation and distribution of the architectonic design. The broad Lambayeque Valley and the Reque River were visually controlled from the top of the temple. In this high area was placed the first ritual fire. On a wall at the south side of the fire, a representation of two fishes face to face in high relief without polychromy was discovered.
The second architectonic phase (radiocarbon dated around 4000 B.P.) is the best preserved and the most representative of the site (Fig. 2). It shows a radical change in the architecture, materials and techniques, and marks the beginning of mural polychromy. During this phase was built the Red-White Temple, which is the most important and sacred area. The entire facade is decorated with broad oblique bands painted with white over red, while the double jamb access entrance is painted in black.
At the back part of the room, in the south wall, was placed a double sidewalk that was probably used as an altar. At each side of the sidewalk there are two polychrome murals, made with a wide chromatic range: vanished red in many tones from dark red almost brown to pink, yellow, white, black and gray. These paintings represent an original and exceptional iconography compared with the early Peruvian cultural traditions: the “deer in red” thematic (Fig. 3). Both paintings can be understood as net frames where three animals are caught. The quadrupeds in black can hardly be distinguished. They have a wavy gray color band that marks them from the neck to the back leg giving an idea of movement. Their flexed legs have a white line that marks the hoof, and their head have a big eye, snout, square herbivorous teeth and rhombus shaped ears. Their raised tail is traced with a white curve. The representation of deer caught in nets seems to be an essential theme in the first societies’ ideology, which consecrated the ancient hunting and fauna.
On the southwest sector of the temple, there are remains of paint left on the eastern wall. This painting has a red background, a gray frame and two white vertical strips. Furthermore, a hall was built in the first room of this area with a singular cruciform plan. It is similar to the classic Andean cross or “chacana” with wall paintings in white, black, gray, red and yellow.
Finally, in order to build the third phase, which was called Green Temple, the inside of the Red-White Temple was completely filled. Vertically a retaining wall was built above the platform, slightly retracted from the previous facade and supported by a great buttress system. Over the atrium was built a new central room, which exterior walls were painted with green and white strips (Fig. 2).
While the wall painting in Ventarrón has already been investigated from an iconographic point of view, in this research the approach will be archaeometric. The objective of this analytical methodology is to characterize the materials and techniques used by the artisan painters of this site, and then to rebuild the “chaîne opératoire” or pictorial technology from the extraction of the raw colouring materials until the finished mural. Besides Ventarrón being the oldest example of wall painting in the present Peruvian territory, this study will allow us to understand the origins of this artistic expression and the emergence of the artisanal practices developed later through the Prehispanic history.