The Nazca culture flourished in the Nazca region between 300 BC and 800 AD. They created the famous Nazca lines and built an impressive system of underground aqueducts that still function today. Near the aqueducts open to tourists, there is an overlook point which includes an Inca building added after the Inca conquest of the area. On the pampa, on which the Nazca lines were made, the ceremonial city of Cahuachi (1-500 AD) sits overlooking the lines. Modern knowledge about the culture of the Nazca is built upon studying the city of Cahuachi.

Pottery

The Nazca region is a desert that the Nazca turned into a viable agricultural area using their aqueduct technology. Nazca pottery has been divided into eight phases. Around 200 BC, at the end of the Early Horizon drought, Nazca I began. Pottery from this era contains the mythical content of Paracas art, but added realistic subject matter such as fruits, plants, people, and other animals. Realism increased in importance in the following three phases (II, III, IV) referred to as the Monumental phases. The pottery from these phases includes renditions of their main subject matter against a bold red or white background. In the next phase, Nazca V, the backgrounds are filled in and the subject matter now included bodyless renditions of both demons and humans. Nazca VI, and VII include the earlier motifs but also add militaristic ones, and portraits of elite members of the society. Nazca VI and VII also begin to show the influence of the Moche. Finally, Nazca VIII saw the introduction of completely disjointed figures and a rich iconography which we have yet to decipher. The phases were created before the advent of carbon dating and today have some problems. While the general order did not change there is a great deal of overlap of the phases, and while the Nazca IX phase ends c. 600 AD, some of the pottery in that category was created at least as late as 755 AD.

Since the Nazca were a coastal people, who depended on the sea for their livelihood, archaeologists are fortunate that they portrayed aspects of their everyday lives in and on their pottery. The motifs generally seen on Nazca pots are those of animals and plants used and seen by the ancient people. These include sea birds, hummingbirds, whales, sharks, fish, snakes, seeds, flowers, and cacti. Also, more gruesomely, the Nazca portrayed disembodied heads, presumed to be trophy heads, on their pottery. This is supported in the archaeological record with the the discovery of caches of actual severed and ritually prepared heads. Over one hundred examples are known to exist. (Silverman)

Textiles

The Nazca are also known for their textiles. They began using llama and massive quantities of alpaca a thousand years before the north coast cultures began to esteem the camelid wool. The source of the wool is believed to be from the Ayacucho region. The motifs that appeared on the pottery appeared earlier in the textiles. Textiles may have been as important to other cultures in the region as to the Nazca, but the desert has preserved the textiles of both the Nazca and Paracas cultures and comprise most of what we know about early textiles in the region.

Original Source: Nazca culture - Wikipedia

The Chavín were an early civilization that existed in present-day Peru. This Early Horizon civilization is believed to have developed around 900 BC and died out around 200 BC. The Chavíns laid the cultural foundation for the other Peruvian civilizations to come.

Archaeological artifacts from the Chavín period include textiles, metalwork, pottery and religious items. The most well-known archaeological ruin of the Chavín era is Chavín de Huantar, located in the Andean highlands north of Lima. It is believed to have been built around 900 BC.

Achievements

Chavín metallurgy, soldering, and temperature control methods were advanced for their time. They also had a knowledge of textiles that allowed them to revolutionize cloth production.

The Chavín established a trade network and developed agriculture by 850 BC and lasted to 250 BC, according to some estimates and archeological finds. The Chavín peoples, much like all Andean groups, had no system of writing.

They learned how to tame llamas. Llamas had a spiritual significance and also were used as pack animals.

The Chavín culture represents the first widespread, recognizable artistic style in the Andes. Chavín art can be divided into two phases: The first phase corresponding to the construction of the “Old Temple” at Chavín de Huantar (c. 900–500 BC); and the second phase corresponding to the construction of Chavín de Huantar’s “New Temple” (c. 500–200 BC).

Stylistically, Chavín art forms make extensive use of the technique of contour rivalry. The art is intentionally difficult to interpret and understand, since it was intended only to be read by high priests of the Chavín cult who could understand the intricately complex and sacred designs, and thus their power. The Raimondi Stela is one of the major examples of this technique.

Religion

Chavíns had some sort of religious belief, supported by the many religious artifacts have been excavated. They used hallucinogens. Because small mortars, possibly used to grind vilca (a hallucinogenic snuff), have been uncovered, along with bone tubes and spoons decorated with wild animals which we associate with shamanistic transformations. Artwork at Chavín de Huantar also show figures with mucus streaming from their nostrils (a side effect of vilca use) and holding what is interpreted to be San Pedro, a hallucinogenic cactus.

The Chavín cult promoted fertility and abundant harvests. The deities were represented in stone carvings as features of humans and wild animals such as jaguars, hawks, eagles, and snakes. Its role in politics was extremely significant. Chavin cult first stimulated the use of techniques of producing elaborate cotton textiles, the manufacture of large, light, and strong fishing nets from cotton string, and the discovery of techniques of gold, silver, and copper metallurgy. These economic advancements led to the building of ceremonial centers and large settlements. It is possible that priests were part of the Chavin cult. However, priestly classes probably were not present, since complex societies and cities began to arrive only after the disappearance of the Chavín. The Chavín may have sacrificed animals and such to please the gods for abundance in harvest.

Original Source: Chavín culture - Wikipedia

The Paracas culture was an important Andean society between approximately 750 BCE and 100 CE that developed in the Paracas Peninsula, located in what today is the Paracas District of the Pisco Province in the Ica Region. Most of our information about the lives of the Paracas people comes from excavations at the large seaside Paracas necropolis, first investigated by the Peruvian archaeologist Julio Tello in the 1920s. The necropolis of Wari Kayan consisted of multitudes of large subterranean burial chambers, with an average capacity of about forty mummies. It is theorized that each large chamber would be owned by a specific family or clan, who would place their dead ancestors in the burial over the course of many generations. Each mummy was bound with cord to hold it in place, and then wrapped in many layers of incredibly intricate, ornate, and finely woven textiles. These textiles are now known as some of the finest ever produced in the history of Pre-Columbian Andean societies, and are the primary works of art by which Paracas is known. They had extensive knowledge of irrigation and water management.

Original Source: Paracas culture - Wikipedia

(LIP-jl) — The Spanish banking group Banco Santander Central Hispano has been granted authorization to begin its organization operations in Peru under the name “Banco Santander Peru S.A.”

Santander, currently the largest banking institution in Latin America, has more than 10,850 offices in 40 countries worldwide.

The group is currently present in the Latin America countries of Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, and Uruguay.

Santander previously operated in Peru under the name Banco Santander Central Hispano until 2002 when it sold its Peruvian operations to Peru’s Banco de Credito for US$50.03 million.

The institution is expected to provide financial and investment services to Peru’s corporate and business institutions, including universities.

According to Banco Santander Peru representative Gonzalo Echeandia, Peru’s flourishing economy and its stable financial sector are providing an attractive option to financial institutions from around the globe.

Original Source: Spanish banking group Santander returns to Peru

Hands over her eyes and her face gripped with terror, the woman’s fear of death is all too obvious.

The remarkable mummy was found in a hidden burial vault in the Amazon.

It is at least 600 years old and has survived thanks to the embalming skills of her tribe, the Chachapoyas or cloud warriors.

Eleven further mummies were recovered from the massive cave complex 82ft down.

The vault - which was also used for worship - was chanced upon three months ago by a farmer working at the edge of northern Peru’s rainforest. He tipped off scientists who uncovered ceramics, textiles and wall paintings.

The Chachapoyas were a tall, fairhaired, light-skinned race that some researchers believe may have come from Europe.

Little is known about them except that they were one of the more advanced ancient civilisations in the area. Adept at fighting, they commanded a large kingdom from the year 800 to 1500 that stretched across the Andes.

It is not known what the Chachapoyas actually called themselves - they are identified by the name given to them by their rivals and eventual conquerors, the Incas.

It comes from the Inca’s Quechua language and means ‘cloud people’, because of the high forests in the clouds that the Chachapoyas inhabited.

Virtually all record of the tribe was lost when the Incas were themselves overrun by the Spanish conquistadors who landed in 1512.

They have, however, left behind a spectacular citadel, called Kuelap, 10,000ft up in the Andes.

It has more than 400 buildings and defensive towers, many of them with decorated walls, cornices and friezes.

Some experts rate Kuelap more highly than the Incan ruins at Machu Picchu.

Herman Crobera, the leader of the archaeological team that explored the cave, said: ‘This is a discovery of transcendental importance.

‘It is the first time any kind of underground burial site this size has been found belonging to Chachapoyas or other cultures in the region.’

He said walls near the mummies in the limestone cave were covered with paintings of faces and warriorlike figures which may have been drawn to ward off intruders and evil spirits.

‘The remote site for this cemetery tells us that the Chachapoyas had enormous respect for their ancestors because they hid them away for protection,’ added Mr Crobera.

‘Locals call the cave Iyacyecuj, or enchanted water, because of its spiritual importance and its underground rivers.’ The archaeologists have not yet established an accurate age for their finds.

Once they have finished exploring and excavating the tomb, Peruvian authorities want to turn it into a museum. The mummies are going on show at the Museum of the Nation in the capital Lima.

Original Source: thisislondon.uk

By Andrei Khalip
REUTERS

LIMA, Peru - His eyes gleaming with joy underneath a natural yellow mohawk, Josh the Peruvian Hairless Dog heads out to greet tourists at Lima’s Pucllana ruins.

About the size of an English pointer, Josh and his kin are not guard dogs, instead they are guarded behind the walls of this and other historic monuments on the Peruvian coast — the hairless hound’s habitat for more than 3,000 years.

They are part of the historic scenery here, but the canine breed almost became history several years back.

“Now we can say they are safe, saved by this project, but a few years ago the Peruvian Hairless Dog was under threat of extinction in Peru,” said Pedro Vargas, coordinator of the Huaca Pucllana archeological project excavating an ancient temple site of the Lima civilization dating back to 500.

The breed normally has hair resembling a mohawk on the head and a tail brush, but otherwise has naked dark, very warm skin.

Conquistador dog fights
Its history is long and rather sad, especially after the Spanish conquest starting in 1532.

Native pre-Incan civilizations used the dogs for hunting and as pets for company. They are represented on the ceramic pottery of the Chimu, Moche and Chancay cultures found on the coast.

They were sometimes mummified and buried along with people to help the departed find their way to the world of the dead or to continue serving their owners in the afterlife.

The Spanish brought giant war dogs to fight the natives and would often amuse themselves by setting off one such dog against a small pack of the smaller local breed.

Original Source: msnbc

Find to be featured in Discovery Channel’s new series Chasing Mummies

Silver Spring, Md. — Explorer Keith Muscutt has announced the existence of a previously unknown pre-Columbian ruin in Peru: the Huaca La Penitenciaría de la Meseta, which will be featured in Discovery Channel’s new series, CHASING MUMMIES, premiering January 2008.

Located in the cloud-forested eastern slope of the Andes mountains, the ruin is believed to belong to the ancient Chachapoya — a civilization that flourished in the upper Amazon, between its Huallaga and the Marañón tributaries, from about the ninth to the fifteenth century AD. Muscutt delivered the news at the annual Institute for Andean Studies conference (http://www.instituteofandeanstudies.org) at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Chachapoya are renowned for their mountain-top citadels, such as Kuelap, Gran Pajatén and Vira Vira, and for well-preserved mummies recovered from cliff tombs at the Lake of the Condors and Lake Huayabamba. The ruin, consisting of a ceremonial platform (approximately 100 ft. x 200 ft. x 24 ft.) overlooking a plaza (approximately 200 ft. x 300 ft.), as well as numerous rectangular and circular buildings, is of particular interest because of its unprecedented form, size, and the remoteness of the area in which it was found.

First discovered by local pioneers, Octavio, Merlin and Edison Añazco, the site was nicknamed the “Huaca La Penitenciaría” (Penitenciary Ruin) because of its impregnable appearance. News of their discovery was relayed by them to Muscutt who, guided by the Añazcos, arrived at the site and made a preliminary survey of it in August of 2006.

“This is an exciting development for Chachapoya archaeology. The main building is a stepped, rectangular structure made up of three tiers. This building is about two-hundred feet long, a hundred feet wide, twenty-four feet high, and oriented to the cardinal points of the compass. As far as I can tell, apart from some drainage shafts, it’s completely solid. I imagine it served as a ceremonial platform — a stage for Chachapoya rituals,” said Muscutt.

Original Source: Joshua Weinberg

The first ever dog mummies have been exposed in El Algarrobal museum, in Peru’s southern department of Moquegua. The mummies, that date back to the 12th and 13th Centuries, belong to the pre-Columbian Chiribaya culture, whose people occupied an area that extended from the Ilo valley, in Peru’s south, to the northern Chilean valleys of Azapa and Lluta. The museum also features textiles and ceramics.

Some amazing photographs of the dog mummies are shown in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

The El Algarrobal district, eastwards from the department’s capital city Ilo, is a lush region, abundant with carob (algarrobo, in Spanish) forests, olive groves, and vineyards. The region is particularly renowned for its superb Pisco.

Original Source: The Peru Guide

Devastation of forests by human beings is always in cover stories. This time a different kind of news made its way to the headlines. In a real human like activity, Peru has started an ambitious drive to regrow millions of hectors (acres) of forest, which has been destroyed by more than 40 years of abuse in terms of illegal logging, pollution, and slash – and – burn farming, a report says recently.

Inrena (National Institute of Natural Resources) has begun a massive planting session in Peru’s Amazon basin along the Pacific coastline and in the Andes highlands with millions of saplings to restore the previous forest completely. In Mahogany saplings alone, the institute plans to plant one million in the next two years. Relying on more than 1500 nurseries around the country, the project aims at 52 million saplings per year and soon is expecting computer related irrigation equipments to accelerate the process.

Inrena president Roberto Angeles said:

The importance of managed forests is that they are fully exploitable, compared to natural forests which, when completely uprooted, would cause the destruction of the ecosystem.

This is indeed a welcome move by the concerned authorities. When the Earth is losing its forest covering by as much as five percent per year, this step can be a pathfinder to all other countries. The gradually vanishing greenery from all around the world has created massive problems in terms of ecological balance, and has been the prime cause of extinction for some of the species. Deforestation forces the wild animals to come out of their habitat and more news of wildlife attacks on human and vise versa has been in the news for quite a long time now. The entire echo system is being changed, creating a negative effect on the eco system. In this context, this step taken by Peru to restore its forest area can only be welcomed all over the world. This can be a lesson for all other countries. If Peru can start it, we can at least follow their steps to make this World green again.

Original Source: Green Diary

(LIP-ir) — A team of archaeologists, led by Walter Alva, have discovered the wooden tomb of another member of the Mochica culture’s elite - older than the “Señor de Sipan” (Lord of Sipan).

These findings belong to the Moche civilization, which ruled the northern coast of Peru from the time of Christ to 800 AD, centuries prior to the Incas.

Alva has stated that he and his team are investigating and within the next few days will know the role of this noble in the Mochica society.

“We have found the tomb of a person that belonged to Mochica nobility. Inside the coffin, discoveries of copper and copper-plated decorations - covered in rust, demonstrate that this person was not a Lord but was among the Mochica elite,” Alva explained.The archaeologist, who discovered the “Señor de Sipan” (Lord of Sipan) in 1987, has said that this discovery will provide valuable information about the Mochica culture.

The mummy is estimated to be 1,800 years old, whereas it is estimated that the “Señor de Sipan” was buried 1,700 years ago.”The tomb is of a person that appears on Mochica artwork, which shows he participated in important rituals. His headdress, which is V-shaped, identifies him as such,” explained Alva.

The archaeologist explained the value of this discovery, “This is the tomb of a person we hadn’t found, now we have the Mochica elite complete.”40 workers and 6 archaeologists are taking part in this work funded by the Ítalo Peruvian Fund and the government. This years budget is 600 thousand soles.

Original Source: News - InkaNatura Travel