The Kilke culture replaces the Huari. After the collapse of the Huari empire, Tiahuanaco was left as the main civilization in the Andes. While writing was not used, stories were recorded by using pictures or pictograms, not unlike a cartoon strip today. One method of recording information was the quipus, a series of knotted strings. The strings were colour coded, and the knots represented numbers. Business transactions or government statistics, as examples, could be recorded. Other kinds were used to record poems and stories.

The Chimu empire on the north coast of Peru rose after 700 AD. The capital city was called Chan Chan. At its peak, an estimated 50,000 people lived here. A canal system more than 80km long supplied the city with water. Laid out in a rectangle, the city was divided into nine sections, each section surrounded by double or triple walls with narrow doors as the only means to enter or leave.

Near San Agustin, Colombia, are some 300 ancient stone statues. Some are more than 6 metres tall. They have human faces and teeth like cats. It is not known who made the statues, but they were made between 500 and 1200 AD.