There are two features that most distinguish Chancay pottery: its apparently simple style as opposed to its sophisticated textile art and its independence in developing ceramics that are almost impervious to influences from more complex cultures like the Chimú and the Inca empire.

They produced great numbers of vessels to be left as funerary offerings, characterized by simple shapes and plain decoration.

Among the few ceramic sculptures are the “cuchimilcos”, graceful human figures that may represent some aesthetic ideal for this society.