Chavín influences are seen in architecture (for instance, in the use of underground galleries) and in stonework, such as in sculpture and steles.

[1] The relationship between the Recuay and the Moche state in the north must have been rather tense because they shared borders and competed for the same water sources.

There is evidence of considerable warfare, and of the warrior-oriented society as reflected in their fortified buildings and iconography.

In fact, the Recuay are associated with the earliest emergence of fortified centres and towns in the Peruvian Andes.

Recuay culture features a distinctive pottery with decoration in three colors: black, red, and white.

Recuay potters sculptured small figures of humans, jaguars, llamas, and other animals, which they attached to the vessel.