The Virú Valley is on a coastal landscape which consists of a narrow land strip boarded by the Andes Mountains to its east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

These include an increase in the overall number of settlements in the valley, the extension of the total area under cultivation, the construction of new irrigation canals, and the establishment of four-tiered administrative system.

Nonresidential building dominated some of the mounds, pointing to the existence of a consolidated power with the mean, resources, and vision to commission monumental projects for civic or ceremonial use.

This site was originally believed to be a classic Moche settlement but through architectural assessment and ceramic evidence, Huaca Santa Clara was a ‘flourishing’ Gallinazo community.

Huaca Santa Clara was a midsized administrative settlement built by members of the Virú polity on the flanks of a small hill that dominates the center of the valley floor.

It’s suggested that this site served as an important node in Virú’s valley-wide administrative network because it is the only entry point from the highlands.

Huaca Santa Clara consists of a series of adobe platforms and multiple terraces, built on the flanks of Cerro Cementerio.

The elite at Huaca Sana Clara maintained their authority over the land, people, and most importantly, the site throughout the Early Intermediate Period.