The huacas of Lima, part two: Huaca Puruchuco

Our second visit is to Huaca Puruchuco located in the district of Ate - Vitar. The Huaca Puruchuco consists of two distinct parts. The first and most obvious part is the restored palace. There is some discrepancy in the literature about this palace. Some think the palace was entirely Incan while others think is was first used by an Ichma chief and subsequently taken over by the Inca curaca, a local magistrate.

Secondly there is a vast cemetery that was used for the burial of the Inca and their elite. A nice museum is also located on the site with many objects discovered during excavation and restoration of the palace and cemetery. Puruchuco is a Quechua word meaning something similar to “feathered hat” or “feathered helmet.”

Excavation and restoration of the Palace began in the 1950s under the direction of Dr. Arturo Jimenez Borja. His decision to restore the site has come under criticism with the new thinking in archaeology. Still, it makes for an impressive site to be seen in its current state. The palace was constructed in either the intermediate late period (900-1450 AD) or early in the Late horizon period (1450 – 1532 AD) with four distinct areas. A single entrance to the compound takes you into the first area, a large plaza where the curaca would hold audiences with the people to receive tribute. In addition it was probably used for public religious ceremonies and banquets. The curaca and his court would be located on the large elevated platform in this area during these events.

The second area you enter served as the living quarters for the permanent residents. It includes a kitchen and other rooms that were used for various activities in daily life. Here you will see tools used in the grinding of corn for cooking as well as large ceramic pots discovered on the site.

The third area contains special architectural details that indicate it was probably used for private religious ceremonies. There is a door in this area, small and low, which is in the Ichma style of architecture. It reminds me of a key hole. This and other Ichma architectural details in the palace may indicate that the structure was first used by a leader of this culture. Another beautiful detail in this area is the six triangular niches in one of the walls. It is postulated that these

The fourth and final area contains a small courtyard and terrace possibly used in the preparation for and storage of perishable products. Later excavation of the area found objects that tend to support this theory. The Palace is like a maze and when you tour it, at times you feel as if you will not be able to find your way out. There a many long and narrow passageways and stairs which can get confusing. Outside the palace is a stairway around the back that takes you up to several viewing points where you can see the structure from above. In 1956 an urn was discovered in the palace containing 21 Inca khipu. The khipu was a system of knots tied in strands of string. It is still being investigated as to whether this is a form of language, an accounting system or both.

In the late 1990’s the archaeologist Guillermo Cock made an amazing discovery. Next to the Palace and occupying the hills and surrounding area as many as 10,000 bodies of Inca men, women and children are believed to be buried. More than 2,000 of these mummies were rescued by Cock and his team. Invaluable information on the life and times of the Inca were saved by this effort. It will take decades for the scientists to evaluate all the findings. Once those studies are done, the mummies and artifacts will be returned and placed in a museum.

There were 50,000 to 60,000 artifacts recovered with the mummies. Entire families were found in large mummy bundles, wrapped in layers of cotton and beautiful textiles. Some of the bundles clearly contained the Inca elite as their bundles were topped with false heads. A lot of the mummies were in excellent condition although some had deteriorated due to water seepage from the local residents. There are a few of the opened graves near the palace and visible when you visit the site.

Visiting this second site has taught me that there is a lot more depth to the Huacas of Lima than I originally thought. Huaca or Sacred Place has many meanings to Peruvians and can stretch through many ages. I am already looking forward to visiting the next Huaca and telling you all about it.

Local residents help preserve archaeological site in Lambayeque, Peru

The town of Ventarron, which houses the archaeological complex of the same name, has become a model of communal participation.

Local residents of this town, located in the district Pomalca, in Lambayeque region, have realized that taking care of these ancient ruins, which were previously used as a quarry to produce bricks, can also improve their living conditions.

Therefore, everyone is now involved in making their town a new tourist destination in Lambayeque.

Ignacio Alva Meneses, the resident archaeologist of the complex, and the manager of this project, found here in 2007 what is considered at present the oldest polychrome mural of America in this place, that has been called Templo del Venado Cautivo (Temple of Captive Deer), which depicts hunting scenes from ancient times.

The place also contains a series of tombs and a singular cross-shaped structure also known as chakana, a quechua name.

More Info:
Introduction to the Archaeologicalof the North of Peru

New ceremonial huaca found in archaeological complex Salapunku, Cusco

Cusco’s National Institute of Culture (INC) workers found a ceremonial huaca in the archaeological complex of Salapunku when carrying out archaeological restoration and investigation works.

A quena inside a camelid’s skeleton was found in the huaca, which is located in the sector IV of the archaeological center on the kilomenter 83 of the Cusco-Machu Picchu railway.

The huaca is on a semicircular structure on the prehispanic path that goes by the right margin of the Vilcanota River towards Machu Picchu to the apu Wakaywillka, which according to investigation, was a sacred space for rituals and offerings to the apus in the valley.

Salapunku or ‘Door of the Room” has walls similar to those of Sacsayhuaman -of pre-Inca and Inca architecture- which could have been a fort for the attacks and possible invasions, besides from being the access control door to the Vilcanota Valley.

This year, Cusco’s INC is carrying out works of restoration, revaluation and archaeological investigation, elimination and extraction of surplus material resulting from landslides and erosions on the top of mountain La Veronica.

The huacas of Lima, Part One: Huaca Pucllana

Another of the many hidden treasures of Lima is its numerous huacas, or sacred places. They are located throughout the city and are in various stages of excavation, restoration or total neglect. Some of the huacas (pronounced wah-kas) were built by the people of the Lima Culture from 200 to 700 AD and taken over by cultures such as the Wari, Ichma and Inca after the Lima Culture’s demise. Others were built by the other cultures themselves.

In this series of articles I will take you on a visit to a few of them. The first will be the Huaca Pucllana located in the district of Miraflores

Archaeologists think that the Huaca Pucllana was one of the more important ones in the area. The Lima Culture flourished in the Chancay, Chillon, Rimac and Lurin Valleys. During this time they built several ceremonial centers to serve as religious and administrative centers. In size it is a mere shadow of its former glory since urbanization has destroyed and covered much of the temples, surrounding plazas and buildings. The religious portion of the center was used for ceremonies to worship the gods of the Sea and Moon. The names of these gods are lost to time as the Lima people did not have a written language. Archaeologists have theories about the purposes and ceremonies made from art work found on pottery and cloth in burial pits at the site. Formal excavation and restoration of the site began in 1981.

The huge pyramidal Temple at the center of the complex had seven levels or plazas on which different ceremonies were held. Women and children were sacrificed to the gods. Some of the remains found on one of the levels indicate that they were buried alive after ingesting powerful hallucinogens. Because of this and the worship of the sea and moon, some think that the Lima Culture may have been a matriarchal society. In the plaza on the very top level of the pyramid sacrifices of corn, cloth, ceramics, needles and other items were found buried as offerings to the gods. They have also found post holes which held large wooden poles that did not support a roof. It is thought that these might have represented ancestors or held idols of their gods.

The pyramid and walls of the administrative complex are an engineering marvel in themselves. The site was built using handmade mud bricks which were then dried in the sun. No molds were used in the making of bricks for the original construction. These bricks were then stacked in library book fashion with small spaces between them. This served to absorb shocks from the many earthquakes felt in this area and resulted in minimal damage to the structures when they occurred. There are no chambers or passage ways inside the pyramid itself. All ceremonies and burials were done in the plazas.

One of the interesting ceremonies performed on the plazas was the pottery breaking ritual. The people would spend great amounts of time making large vessels and decorating them with symbols from the sea like the shark. Then in an act of devotion they would break the large vessels with a stone and symbolically sacrifice their labor in making them to the gods.

In time the Lima Culture went though changes in their ideology and society probably as a result of an influx of ideas from the southern Andes and the huacas were abandoned. Some think that they were even covered up with sand and dirt to protect them from other invading societies. In 700 AD the Wari, a military society, came into the area. They used the huge mounds to bury their elite as did the Ichma which followed them. In time people forgot about these centers and with the expansion of modern society, from 1940 on, they were used as dumping grounds for trash and trails for dirt bikes. Some were simply bulldozed in the construction of new homes and roads.

This site is definitely worth a visit if you are spending a little time in Lima. The cost of entry is 10 soles, about $US 3.50. A guide is provided with this fee but they are all volunteers so a tip is appreciated at the end of their tour. Included in the tour are a walkthrough of a small zoo area containing wild ducks, llamas and cuy (guinea pigs) as well as samples of native plant life and crops. There is also a small museum on the site containing artifacts found during excavations of the site. It is estimated that it will take another 15 to 20 years to finish excavations and restorations to the site.

Peru announces Machu Picchu reopening in April

PromPeru today surprised ITB in Berlin by announcing the re-opening of the vital rail link to the ruins of Machu Picchu.

The line was severely damaged in heavy rains and floods which hit the country in January and eroded railway tracks between Cuzco, Ollantaytambo and the Inca citadel.

Following the successful completion of track repairs ahead of schedule, it has been confirmed that, weather permitting, PeruRail will recommence its Vistadome train service to Aguas Calientes , the station for Machu Picchu Pueblo, on March 29.

The Inca Citadel of Machu Picchu will reopen to tourists on April 1, travelmole.com reports.

Initially train services will operate between Pisacucho, a station beyond Ollantaytambo, and Aguas Calientes, with a replacement bus service from Wanchaq Station in Cuzco bringing passengers by road to Pisacucho.

The train journey will take 1 hour 20 minutes and the drive approximately 2 hours 30 minutes.

It is estimated that it will be possible to make the entire journey from Poroy station in Cuzco to Machu Picchu by rail from July 2010, subject to favourable weather conditions.

PeruRail also operates a backpacker service and the luxury Hiram Bingham train between Cuzco and Machu Picchu.

The backpacker train will resume at the end of April and the Hiram Bingham will be back in operation at the end of June.

Kuelap: Machu Picchu alternative

Machu Picchu may be closed to visits for several months, but you don’t have to cancel your Peru trip. In Peru’s less-visited northern highlands, the country’s second-most thrilling archaealogical site, Kuelap, is still open. Rain is not an issue up here.

Kuelap, about 22 to 24 hours from Lima by bus (with changes in the coastal city Chiclayo, and another at Chachapoyas), was home to the mysterious Chachapoyas, or ‘People of the Clouds,’ from AD800 to the 14th century.

Visitors reach the monumental stone-fortified city atop a craggy limestone mountain via a two- or three-hour trek from nearby villages. A number of guesthouses are in the village nearby, such as Tingo (a 9.8-km walk away). Another option is the lovely hacienda-style compound Estancia Chillo.

With more stone than the Great Pyramid of Egypt, Kuelap had a population of about 3500 residents. You enter via three deep, lean gates — an ingenious security system to force attacking parties into easily defeated single file. There are ruins of over 400 circular dwellings across three levels, including a lookout tower with excellent views of the city surrounded by bromeliad-covered trees and exotic orchids.

More information
Kuelap, Cajamarca
Kuelap photogallery

Lost city of 'cloud people' found in Peru

Archaeologists have discovered a lost city carved into the Andes Mountains by the mysterious Chachapoya tribe

The settlement covers some 12 acres and is perched on a mountainside in the remote Jamalca district of Utcubamba province in the northern jungles of Peru's Amazon.

The buildings found on the Pachallama peak are in remarkably good condition, estimated to be over 1,000 years old and comprised of the traditional round stone houses built by the Chachapoya, the 'Cloud Forest People'.

The area is completely overgrown with the jungle now covering much of the settlement but explorers found the walls of the buildings and rock paintings on a cliff face.

The remote nature of the site appears to have protected the site from looters as archaeologists found ceramics and undisturbed burial sites.

Archaeologist Benedicto Pérez Goicochea said: "The citadel is perched on the edge of an abyss.

"We suspect that the ancient inhabitants used this as a lookout point from where they could spot potential enemies."

The ruins were initially discovered by local people hacking through the jungle. They were drawn to the place due to the sound of a waterfall.

The local people "armed with machetes opened a path that arrived at the place where they saw a beautiful panorama, full of flowers and fauna, as well as a waterfall, some 500 metres high," said the mayor of Jamalca, Ricardo Cabrera Bravo.

Initial studies have found similarities between the new discovery and the Cloud Peoples' super fortress of Kulep, also in Utcubamba province, which is older and more extensive that the Inca Citadel of Machu Picchu, but has not been fully explored or restored.

Little is known about the Chachapoya, except that they had been beaten into submission by the mighty Incas in 1475.

When in 1535 the Spanish Conquistadores arrived in Peru, they found willing allies in the Cloud People for their fight against the Incas.

Spanish texts from the era describe the Cloud People as ferocious fighters who mummified their dead.

They were eventually wiped out by small pox and other diseases brought by the Europeans.

The women of the Chachapoya were much prized by the Incas as they were tall and fair skinned. The Chronicler Pedro Cieza de León offers wrote of the Chachapoyas.

"They are the whitest and most handsome of all the people that I have seen in Indies, and their wives were so beautiful that because of their gentleness, many of them deserved to be the Incas' wives and to also be taken to the Sun Temple."

Nasca Lines Decoded premieres Sunday on Nat Geo

Stretching for thousands of kilometres across the desert terrain of southern Peru is one of mankind’s greatest mysteries: immense lines – carved as animals; humans; and geometric shapes.

While popular theories about the use of the Nasca lines have ranged from ancient race tracks to astronomical calendars and even alien landing strips, new scientific insight and the unearthing of a headless body – may be the keys to finally unlocking the mystery.

Seeking answers from above and on the ground, National Geographic Channel refutes decades of misunderstanding in Nasca Lines Decoded, premiering on Sunday, 7 March at 20:00, to reveal why these lines were made by the prehistoric Nasca people who inhabited the desert as early as 100 BC.

Using a high-tech robotic helicopter, scientists create the first-ever digital map of the Nasca Lines, which criss-cross the desert to form baffling mazes to provide a complete picture that links the enigmatic lines to the desert landscape and ancient settlements.

Data shows the latitude; longitude; length area; elevation; and distance from other objects to allow scientists to test theories of the lines in unprecedented new detail.

Living in an environment like this on the edge of survival may have created an intense relationship to the Nasca deities, and in Nasca Lines Decoded, scientists investigate the extreme measures the Nasca may have taken to ensure favour with the deities.

And, when archaeologist and National Geographic grantee Christina Conlee uncovers the skeleton of a young male, ceremonially buried, but showing gruesome evidence of decapitation, researchers identify some important clues to what role these lines may have played in Nasca life – and death.

Severed heads are a common symbol on Nasca pots, and in the grave where the male skeleton is found, a striking ceramic 'head jar' illustrates a decapitated head with a tree sprouting from its skull. But, was this an execution or an offering of human sacrifice? And what can the location of the skeleton; its burial state; and the skeleton itself tell scientists about the true purpose of the Nasca Lines?

Generations of Nasca line builders toiled in intense heat to create one of the most awe-inspiring enigmas ever developed by man. While the earliest lines were formed in shapes of deities and animals, later Nasca lines were larger and more geometric.

The construction was simple, but effective – workers marked up the lines using wooden poles and cotton strings, and then piled discarded stones along the sides. Lines would take many days to construct with workers suffering in the harsh desert conditions.
Because the Nasca people were so dependent on favourable rainfall, scientists now believe that the Nasca lines were open-air temples, used to pray for water.

Sweeping imagery captures the majestic beauty of the Nasca lines and cutting-edge digital map imagery offers crucial understanding about the Nasca lines positioning.

Dramatic recounts and expert testimony transport viewers to prehistoric times in the southern desert of Peru to give a robust look at Nasca life