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

(LIP-ir) — The Chilean government has sent 14 tons of clothes and supplies to Peru, in an effort to aid the thousands of cold wave victims across the country.

Peru’s Chancellery has informed that the help, destined for the highlands, is an initiative taken by Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet.

The 14 tons of supplies sent by the Chilean government consists of: blankets, mattresses, disposable diapers, boxes of non-perishable food and medicine.

The supplies were received on June 29 by the Chilean Ambassador in Lima, Cristián Barrios, the Peruvian Chancellery’s Director of Sovereignty and Limits and civil employees from the National Institute of Civil Defense.

Peru has had a record breaking wave of cold temperatures for several months now. Senamhi, the Peruvian weather service, has reported that the Andean highlands have had an average temperature that has been below zero degrees Celcius.

A campaign, directly supervised by President Alan Garcia, was begun on June 15. Tons and tons of supplies have already been collected for the victims of this cold wave. The aid is directed towards people living 3,000 m.a.s.l. who are not at all prepared to take on these record breaking temperatures.

Donations can be made at the National Stadium, gate 14. There are also churches, private and public businesses which are receiving donations for the people being affected.

For more information please visit www.indeci.gob.pe or call 225 9898 ext. 5110

Original Source: Living In Peru Blog

A headless skeleton found in a Peruvian tomb is adding new wrinkles to the debate over human sacrifice in the ancient Andes.

The decapitated body was found in the Nasca region, named for the ancient civilization that thrived in southern Peru from A.D. 1 to 750.

Known for producing “Nasca lines” in the earth that depict giant figures, the culture is also noted among archaeologists for practicing human sacrifice and displaying modified human heads called trophy heads.

But experts have been divided over whether the heads were taken from enemies in war or from locals offered up for ritual sacrifice.

In 2004 Christina Conlee, an archaeologist at Texas State University, found a rare headless skeleton in a tomb sitting cross-legged with a ceramic “head jar” placed to the left of the body (see enlarged photo).

The age and condition of both the body and the jar, which is painted with two inverted human faces, suggests that the victim was killed in a rite of ancestral worship, Conlee said.

“This research is important because it provides new information on human sacrifice in the ancient Andes and in particular on decapitation and trophy heads,” she said.

The skeleton appears to belong to a 20- to 25-year-old male and bears gruesome evidence of the decapitation, including cut marks indicating that the bone was fresh when damaged, she added.

“Someone spent quite a bit of effort cutting off the head,” mostly likely with a sharp obsidian knife, Conlee noted.

Ritual or War?

The burial site, called La Tiza, contains only the third known Nasca head jar found with a decapitated body.

Head jars have been found at other Nasca sites and are often associated with high-status burials, though scientists know little about their function.

Conlee determined that both the jar and skeleton found at La Tiza date to the Middle Nasca period, from A.D. 450 to 550, but the artifacts were found in a cemetery from the Early Nasca period, from A.D. 1 to 450.

This placement suggests that the killing was an act of ancestral worship and that the sacrifice was meant to honor the forebears buried in the cemetery, Conlee said.

“This man may have been sacrificed in order to appease the ancestors of the community and therefore ensure continuation of life at the villages,” she explained.

“This person was sacrificed during Middle Nasca, which was a time of great change,” Conlee added. “It is known that throughout the Andes human sacrifice was performed in times of change to give gods an important gift to allow the people to continue.”

The archaeologist also noted that the head jar is painted with the reversible image of a human face that can be seen right-side up or upside down, suggesting that the jar might have been meant as a substitute for the victim’s missing head.

“The La Tiza head jar was a rather literal replacement and reflects the Nasca belief that a person needed to have a head when he entered the afterlife,” Conlee said.

The jar also bears evidence of having been used before the burial. Conlee said that decorations on head jars suggest they were used for both human- and crop-fertility rituals.

“Head jars often have images of plants growing out of them, suggesting a direct link to agriculture fertility, as well as a desire to continue the fertility of the people in the community,” she said.

Conlee reports her discovery in this month’s issue of Current Anthropology.

John Verano, an expert in Nasca culture and archaeologist from Tulane University, praised the find.

(Verano is a grantee of the National Geographic Society’s Committee for Research and Exploration. National Geographic News is a division of the National Geographic Society.)

“This is an unusual and well-documented discovery, as few headless Nasca skeletons are known,” he said.

But Verano held out the possibility that the La Tiza victim may have been a casualty of war.

“One alternative explanation is that this might simply have been someone who had been killed and decapitated in a raid and whose body subsequently was recovered by relatives who gave it a proper burial, with a ceramic vessel replacing his lost head,” he said.

“But it’s a great find, whatever happened to this poor guy.”

Original Source: National Geographic News

(LIP-ir) — An investigation done by Cusco’s National Institute of Culture (INC) has uncovered five sectors of Incan paths and platforms adjacent to Machu Picchu citadel.

The Incan Sanctuary has grown from what was thought to be 90 thousand square meters to an incredible 136 thousand square meters.

Machu Picchu’s Resident architect for INC-Cusco, Alfredo Mormontoy Atayupanqui has stated that apart form other sectors, there are 46 thousand square meters of platforms and 8 Incan paths on Huayna Picchu hill.

There are 5 groups of platforms in different locations. The first group consists of 22 platforms and is divided by a perron while the second group has 15 platforms. The third group has a top and bottom half, the top half has 35 platforms and the bottom half has 15. The fourth group has 18 platforms, perrons and a well elaborated Incan path.

The fifth group has 30 platforms, a perron and a path that leads to a stone bridge support, to which a bridge, that crossed over the river to another hill, used to be attached.

Atayupanqui stated that within the next few months projects to restore and prepare the area will begin, estimating that by 2009 work will be done and the area will be ready for tourists.

Original Source: Living In Peru Blog

by Gary Vey for Viewzone

Of all the ancient cultures in South America, perhaps the most mysterious are those found in and around the rugged mountains of Peru. The area is such a harsh environment, with steep inclines, temperature extremes and a scarcity of water to sustain crops or man, that it is a puzzle why ancient cultures settled here. But settle they did, often building large living centers from stone at very high altitudes where low atmospheric pressure makes even walking a breathless task.

While the world is generally familiar with Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines, another mystery has come to light through the modern science of satellite photography. This phenomenon is one that was previously known but the extent of its size and effort required to make it is just being fully realized.

A series of holes, usually about 24 inches across and in neat rows of from nine to twelve, stretch for almost a mile in Peru. It starts at the base of a mountain and then climbs up the side and meanders up and down, over some of the roughest terrain.

The remains of an ancient settlement can be seen near the Southern part of the path, distinguished by two large craters, measuring about 24 feet across. Elsewhere in the mountains, other ancient structures and foundations can be seen from satellite imagry [right], but have not yet been excvated.

In his book, Zecharia Sitchin describes how the annunaki set up a colony in Peru to look for gold, following their disappointment with sea mining. It has been suggested that these holes appear similar to excavations conducted by mining operations, perhaps searching for a vein of precious metal. Similar holes have been encountered from attempts to locate water, although the liklihood of finding water in these stone mountains seems very remote.

What made the ancient people of this era toil in such inhospitable conditions to create these holes? How long did it take them? What sustained them while they labored so hard? These mysteries remain to be answered.

Original Source: The Mysterious Holes Of Peru

June 19, 2007—A nearly 500-year-old skull sports the telltale signs of a gunshot wound from an antique firearm.

The find, discovered recently in an Inca cemetery near Lima, Peru, was the victim of a Spanish musket, according to a detailed analysis. That makes the skeleton the oldest documented gunshot victim in the New World and possibly the first person in the Americas ever to have been killed with a firearm, experts say.

National Geographic grantee Guillermo Cock led the team that uncovered the remains. It is one of 72 skeletons hastily buried at the site without the usual Inca reverence for death. (National Geographic News is part of the National Geographic Society.)

“We thought it was a person killed recently—5, 10, or 20 years ago,” Cock told National Geographic News. “We didn’t expect the individual would have been killed by a bullet 500 years ago.”

—Photo by Elena Goycochea © 2007National Geographic/Puruchuco-Huaquerones Archaeological Project

Original Source: Photo Gallery: New World’s Oldest Gunshot Victim Found?