Archaeologists find cemetery pre - Inca in district of Huanchaco

The remains were found on April 18, though excavations began on 11th September in the district of Huanchaco, Trujillo province in La Libertad. The works are part of Huanchaco Archaeological Program, which is sponsored by Peru Innovate Program, the Ministry of Production and the Research of the National University of Trujillo (UNT).

The human remains belonging to the Inca and Chimu cultures, between 500 and 1000 years old, were found in what would be a pre Inca cemetery, in an area of 40 square meters, a few meters from the side of the Virgin church Candelaria del Socorro, a tourist area of the traditional spa. Each found tomb consists of bones, pottery, necklaces and dunks.

Archaeologist Carlos Osores Mendives said eight complete individuals and other loose debris individuals were found. "In total we could it speak eight intact tombs and loose bones of more than a dozen people possibly" he said.

After the discovery of the pieces, these will move into UNT lab for analysis and determine their cultural affiliation and identification of individuals. Still they work in the area archaeologists digging and it is possible find more graves and individuals.

Source: Portal de Turismo. 

Visit Trujillo:

Moche Route Tour 3D/2N
Archaeology & Natural Tour 4D/3N 
Lost Cities of the Northern Peru 6D/5N
Archaeology Tours in the Northern Coast of Peru 6D/5N
Treasures of the Northern Kingdoms 8D/7N

Tomb find reveals pre-Inca city

Archaeologists working in northern Peru have discovered a spectacular tomb complex about 1,000 years old.

The complex contains at least 20 tombs, and dates from the pre-Inca Sican era.

Among the discoveries are 12 "tumis", ceremonial knives which scientists have not been able to study in a burial site before, as well as ceramics and masks.

The Sican culture flourished from approximately AD 800-1300, one of several metalworking societies which succumbed to drought and conquest.

Archaeologists working on the project say the find will help them understand details of the culture.

Sican was a very organised society

Izumi Shimada"It is a religious city, a sacred settlement, and at each excavation site is a cemetery," Izumi Shimada told Peru's El Comercio newspaper.

"That tells us that Sican was a very organised society."

Professor Shimada, based at the University of Southern Illinois in the US, has been excavating Sican sites for a quarter of a century. The latest dig was performed in conjunction with the Sican National Museum.

Trading goods

The burial site sits on Peru's northern coast, near the town of Ferrenafe.

Discoveries in the tomb complex include tumis formed from an alloy of silver, copper and gold; masks, breastplates and ceramics.

The site contains at least 20 tombs, making it a "religious city"

Buried in a pyramid 30m (100ft) long, archaeologists found the bones of a woman in her early 20s surrounded by figurines of Sican gods, ceramics and objects in copper and gold.

Another set of bones, clearly from a person of some stature, were found in a seated position accompanied by a metallic crown, part of a thorny oyster, and various ceramic objects including a vase.

The tumis are a prize find, because until now the knives have come to scientists from tomb raiders. Finding them in situ would allow a closer understanding of their role in Sican culture, researchers said.
One of the tumis features a representation of Naylamp, the mythical founder of Sican society who according to legend emerged from the sea and became a god.

The Sican were noted for producing gold, silver and copper in quantities which were substantial for the period.

They traded shells and stones with societies in what are now Ecuador, Chile and Colombia.

Their civilisation had already declined by the time that the mightiest of Peruvian cultures, the Inca, rose to prominence about AD 1200.