…en Perú – Travel Culture History News

Gary Urton. The investigator from Harvard University reveals the latest results of his investigations of the meaning of the quipu.

As I explained in this previous post, the quipu (or khipu) is a fascinating communication device used in the pre-Columbian world for everything from accounting and record keeping to, it is believed, recording detailed text… names, words, a full written language not in symbols but in lengths of string and knots tied at points along them.

The man at the forefront of their study is Gary Urton, professor of pre-Columbian studies in Harvard’s Department of Archaeology. Considered the world’s eminent authority on deciphering the quipu system, his investigations have kept him for a number of years in Andean Peru studying examples never before examined including many great finds from Chachapoyas.

Quipu discoveries have increased since the 60’s – until when examples found by famous archaeologist Julio C. Tello in the decade before, all from the Inca period, caused him to think they were invented by the Incas. Changing in 1968 when quipus were discovered from the pre-Inca Wari civilisation in 1968, we have since found examples going back to the earliest civilisations in South America, including at 5000 year old Caral.

Gary Urton spoke to El Comercio on the subject and on his recent work.

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From UNESCO

Ancient meeting circle, surrounded by towering pyramids

The Sacred City of Caral-Supe (Peru), the oldest centre of civilization in the Americas, was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO.

The 5000-year-old 626-hectare archaeological site of The Sacred City of Caral-Supe is situated on a dry desert terrace overlooking the green valley of the Supe river. It dates back to the Late Archaic Period of the Central Andes and is the oldest centre of civilization in the Americas.

Exceptionally well-preserved, the site is impressive in terms of its design and the complexity of its architectural, especially its monumental stone and earthen platform mounts and sunken circular courts. One of 18 urban settlements situated in the same area, Caral features complex and monumental architecture, including six large pyramidal structures.

A quipu (the knot system used in Andean civilizations to record information) found on the site testifies to the development and complexity of Caral society.

The city’s plan and some of its components, including pyramidal structures and residence of the elite, show clear evidence of ceremonial functions, signifying a powerful religious ideology.

It almost defies belief that a mining company would summit an application to mine for iron ore in the ruins of the capital of the once powerful Chimu kingdom. The sprawling archaeological zone of Chan Chan is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the largest adobe constructions on earth.

Thankfully, Peru’s geological authority in charge of granting permission (INGEMMET) has no plans to approve this particular application.

Adobe city of Chan Chan

Peru’s El Comercio newspaper reports that when the application was made, Carlos Trelles of the regional La Libertad INGEMMET office where Chan Chan is located, near the city of Trujillo, explained that he was obliged to accept it. The process of submitting applications simply allows mineral exploration proposals to be made – it is only afterwards that checks with other agencies are carried out to see if the project would affect nature reserves, agricultural areas and archaeological zones.

When the request was made four months ago to dig up Chan Chan, Carlos Trelles wrote letters to the regional President of La Libertad, the mayor of Trujillo, and the director of the National Institute of Culture (INC) so that they might responded immediately to reject the proposal.

Amazingly, not one of them has found the time to reply.

Technically, INGEMMET is now legally required to grant exploration and mineral rights to the mining company – the deadline for a decision has now passed and there have been no objections. But, of course, how could they possibly do that? They are hoping to stall for a while yet until the bureaucrats get their acts together.

The mining company at the centre of this, for their part, explain that they are not to blame. Mapsa S.A. deny knowing beforehand that the area in question was an archaeological zone, they assumed it was nearby but not on top. How could they make this mistake? Well some bright spark bureaucrat at some time or another drew up Chan Chan as “Lot 1302″ and “Lot 1303″. In the rush to sell off Peru’s natural resources, just like in the Amazon where parts of tribal lands and natural reserves and up for sale or already sold, no-one bothered to check.

Mapsa S.A. quite wisely agrees that if the lots are confirmed by authorities to be the Chan Chan ruins, they will happily drop the application.

Much of the ancient layout of Cusco has been lost beneath its more recent colonial buildings. Just a few of the narrow streets with central drainage channels remain and almost nothing can be seen of the city layout known as the “canchas”. That was, until now.

Kusikancha, now preserved and open to the public

Although you can see some good examples of the typical urban street layout in other Inca-built cities – including the ones that are built on flat land like Cusco rather than along mountain ridges as was also typical – little of this remains in the modern city.

When the Spanish took control of what was called Q’osco they kicked the Inca elite (those that survived Atahualpa’s violent massacre) out of their fancy palaces, temples and municipal buildings and turned them into colonial mansions or churches. There were however far fewer grand Inca buildings than there were Spanish conquerors who demanded mansions. This lead the Spanish to demolish areas of the city that housed ordinary Inca subjects, the buildings in grid-pattern “canchas”, to make way for larger European buildings.

Inca "canchas", these from Ollantaytambo were the canchas are still very much in use

The “cancha” layout was simple. Streets were arranged in a mostly grid pattern and lined with “canchas” – or blocks not too dissimilar from modern city blocks but on a much smaller scale. Each square block would often contain four buildings, longer than deeper and with only one room, which together enclosed an open communal area.

Some were lived in, others were used for storage, some as work spaces, perhaps even some were used for trade. It is assumed that residential canchas and the four or so rooms in them would be shared by extended family, but this might not always have been the case.

Such communal living in small houses of single rooms didn’t suit the Spanish, so in Cusco where the Spanish lived, these canchas were destroyed, adapted or used as foundations.

Outside of Cusco however, where the indigenous continued to live, examples of canchas have been almost completely preserved, such as in the village of Ollantaytambo in the sacred valley.

The Kusikancha restoration

The INC received possession of the site in this state (Credit: koko cusco)

The site that is now called Kusikancha had a few of these colonial buildings built over the city blocks, or canchas, of Inca buildings. These provided the Spanish buildings with foundation stones, hallways and some room layouts. These Spanish constructions in 1934 fell into use by the army and the complex was known then as the Cuartel 27 de Noviembre on Calle Maruri. Bits of colonial building had collapsed leaving areas of rubble and dirt covering the remains of Inca walls.

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From sacred imperial capital of the Incas to commercial centre home to American chains like McDonald’s and Starbucks, the face of Cusco is changing with the times.

Quite a stir was caused last year when McDonald’s quietly opened in Cusco’s Plaza de Armas, the historic centre of the imperial capital of the Inca Empire – the Wajaypata square.

Cusco's historic plaza

According to the South American Explorers Clubhouse, who spoke with Barbara Drake, “they sort of snuck in, there wasn’t any word about it”.

This tourist paid the same for a Big Mac and North American fries as he would have a local food in a fine seated restaurant

Some people were aghast. An American fast food franchise in what is undoubtedly one of the most historic city centres in the world, and to others somewhat of a spiritual hub. Starbucks didn’t last long in China’s Forbidden City, so should McDonald’s in Cusco?

Of those people I spoke to, or who commented on my blog, or the blogs of others, the most support McDonald’s could muster was “it’s great that the economy is expanding and a big chain wants to come here… but it should not be in the Plaza de Armas”.

Personally, I avoid the plaza most of my time in Cusco, I can’t afford to eat in many of the restaurants there. How foreigners who can afford the prices pass up all that fancy Nova Andina stuff and go to McDonald’s is beyond me.

Cafe Ayllu

Passions continued to run high when it was announced that a local legend, the Ayllu coffee house that had been a favourite with travellers and locals for years, was to be closed so that a Starbucks could be opened in its place.

Apparently Starbucks could afford to pay a higher rent that “people before profits” Ayllu just couldn’t match. Protests from locals and tourists couldn’t change the owners minds.

So, is Cusco selling its soul to the devil, and if so, who exactly is doing the selling?

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Ancient Tomb: (Photo INC-Cusco)

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Culture (INC) have found a pre-Inca tomb at the Salapunku archaeological site located in the protected area of Machu Picchu.

The Salapunku site, located above the railway line than today takes visitors to the ruins of Machu Picchu, is home to a bridges, an aqueducts and now pre-Inca tombs.

The discovery was made in the area known as Zone III and the tombs were located in a sheltered part of a rock face. The burial is thought to be of the Quillke culture that lived here before the Incas, as Quillke pottery was found alongside the bones, as well as fragments of obsidian.

Resident archaeologist Francisco Huaycaya Quispe explains that in the same location, 9 other burials were found previously but all totally destroyed.

Most interesting was that the burial was facing inward towards the slopes of mountain Verónica at an altitude of 2,631 meters above sea level. This mountain, originally called Wakaywillka and considered holy as well as an Apu.

The findings have been sent to a local laboratory for further study.

Walking along Av. Oscar R. Benavides, once called the Avenida Colonial that joined Callao with distant Lima, I happened upon this very pretty cemetery. It was Sunday and the large entrance was busy with families visiting lost relatives and flower sellers doing a brisk trade.

This public cemetery, built in 1859 is the final resting place of Chalacos (as the people from Callao are called) both rich and poor. The rich have built grand mausoleums while the poor suffice with a nook in a wall of tombs. Interestingly for such an old cemetery it is still in use, and it is a strange contrast to see much more modern mausoleums and graves alongside much older ones, or see old family plots more recently added to. It is also obvious, through the placing of fresh flowers and candles, whom among the dead are still remembered and mourned, and who have been forgotten. Photos… Read the rest of this entry »

Part of the Huariques del Callao series

A Peruvian “Huarique” in English might best be described as a “hidden nook where food is served”. In a country like Peru where people have little in the way of resources, small simple non-pretentious restaurants called huariques are the norm. The port city of Callao, where some of the region ’s best seafood is landed, also has some of the best huariques. Many are very old and are locally very well known. In this series, we’ll visit the greats.

With thanks to Luis Arriola and Alejandro Garcia who wrote and translated the original article below.

There isn’t a chalaco (as the natives of Callao are called) who has not eaten at Mateo, located in the historic center of Callao.

In Mateo, the specialities are first-rate fish and seafood.

Mateo on Jirón Miller, in old colonial Callao

The restaurant is named after its owner, Mateo Rojas Huayta. Every day of the year, from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m., this restaurant opens its doors at Jirón Miller 386, next to the main church in Callao.

Interior

Among the most special dishes served here is the tiradito in three flavours. This dish is a piece of fish cut into fine slices and divided in three parts. The first part is covered in a creamy ají amarillo sauce, the second in a white sauce made with parmesan cheese and cream, and the third in a creamy rocoto sauce. Each sauce is a different colour, hence the name.

“Our menu says this is a dish for one,” tells don Mateo, “but, two or even three people can easily share it.”

Another speciality of the house is the seafood soup pariahuela a lo Mateo , which can include chita or tramboyo fish, a whole crab, and other shellfish. Alluding to the aphrodisiacal qualities of seafood, don Mateo laughs and says, “This dish has been responsible for many clients and workers of mine having twins.”

Don Mateo arrived in Callao years ago from his native Ayacucho. About 25 years ago, he decided to open a bar at his current location. To entice his customers, he began to offer traditional seafood dishes like choritos a la chalaca , escabeche and mussel soup.

Tiradito de Tres Sabores

Soon, people began to ask him to expand his menu, and he decided to take some cooking courses to learn to make new dishes. “The only way to move forward in life is by learning new things,” concludes don Mateo.

Restaurante Mateo.
Jirón Miller 386
Callao

Note: Specialties include tiradito en tres sabores , parihuela a lo Mateo , and orgía de mariscos . These dishes are incomparable. Dishes are for one, but two can easily share one. The presentation is very good, as is the pisco sour.

Charlton Heston had already visited Machu Picchu in Secret of the Incas, so not to be outdone, another of Hollywood’s greats, one Mr Donald Duck, decided to visit the lake that is famously the highest navigable lake in the world.

Ventarrón, a 4000 year old ceremonial site with spectacular murals painted by ancient peoples who lived during the dawn of civilisation, has given up another stunning prize.

Temple wall shaped as a Chakana -Andean Cross

It had already made news when the site, once used by locals as a garbage dump, was found to be home to a temple complex with the oldest murals yet found in Peru.

Now, thanks to the work of archaeologist Ignacio Alva Meneses, son of the famed Walter Alva who discovered of the tomb of the Lord of Sipán, the 4000 year old temple has revealed another stunning secret.

To the side of the temple, one of a series of rooms has been discovered that is shaped like the ancient Andean symbol called the Chacana – also known as the Andean Cross, or in Spanish, the Cruz Andina. As one of the oldest examples of this important cultural symbol discovered, it may eventually help provide more insight into its origin.

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The two Fujimoris with an interest in politics

Keiko Fujimori, daughter of the corrupt ex-dictator Alberto Fujimori who was recently sentenced for human rights abuses during the country’s fight against Maoist terrorists, is having a hard time battling the slow release of facts relating to her father’s regime.

Alberto Fujimori defeated the terrorists by arming indigenous Andean communities so that they could defend themselves, and by building secretive intelligence organisations to carry out assassinations against ultra-leftists. He completely revitalised Peru’s failed economy after its destruction by ex-President Alan Garcia and it was this economic recovery that meant he was able to use his secretive mafia to, just as past Presidents had done, slowly siphon off huge sums of public money into his family’s private foreign accounts.

Keiko Fujimori, now a congresswoman with a fancy and very expensive education who plans to run for President and pardon her father if she wins, has been under attack by opposing political groups to explain how her education in the US was paid for, as well as the education of her siblings.

Unable to do so coherently, or keep her story straight, she has resigned to not trying to explain anything, and is now dedicating her efforts to denouncing the “politically motivated witchhunt” against her. No doubt that is is politically motivated, and a witchhunt, all with the aim of ruining her chances of winning the next elections, but the facts still speak for themselves.

Inter Press Agency (IPS) goes into some detail here.

Keiko Sofía Fujimori, who is planning to run for president of Peru in 2011, is having difficulty proving that her father, who governed this country from 1990 to 2000, did not make illicit use of public funds to pay for her studies and those of her brothers and sister at universities in the United States.

The daughter of Alberto Fujimori, who acted as First Lady after her parents separated and is now a congresswoman, has given a number of different explanations for the origins of the money, which she says amounted to 556,000 dollars.

At a recent press conference in Congress, she said her father had a personal fortune of over one million dollars, plenty to cover the expenses of his children, Keiko Sofía, Hiro Alberto, Sachi Marcela and Kenji Gerardo, at the universities of Boston, Columbia and Kansas.

Keiko Fujimori, who has promised to pardon her father, currently serving a 25-year sentence for human rights violations, if she becomes president, said that her family had funds from three sources, totalling just over 1.2 million dollars.

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Just off the coast of Callao, or more precisely, about 4km from the tip of La Punta, are two rocky uninhabited islands, which together with a few other rocky outcrops are called the Islas Palomino. The two major islands, one large and one small, are called San Lorenzo and El Frontón. Each have their own stories to tell.

Islands in the mist

Taking the boat trip around the islands is one touristy thing I have never got around to doing, but something I had wanted to do for a long time. So with an afternoon to spare while we were in Callao, we decided to do it. After parting with the 40 soles per person it costs for the trip that lasts a couple of hours, we waited at the docks of old Colonial Callao for our boat to come in. In true Peruvian style it arrived 40 minutes later than it should have, but we and a few dozen Peruvian families were quickly allowed to board and we left without any further delay.

It was a clear day. Callao was free of the sea fog that usually plagues it. I’m not really sure if the trip would be worth doing during the midst of the coastal winter when you often can’t see more than a few dozen metres away. I’d definitely recommend doing it in the summer instead.

As the large ferry we were on skimmed across the water, we passed around the sailing boats along the north side of La Punta before passing the tip of the peninsula and heading out towards the islands. As we did, we also passed a scientific vessel called the Humboldt, that studies the Pacific ocean current of the same name.

The Humboldt current, running from Antarctica up the western coast of South America, is rich with life. Looking out into the dark ocean we could see this was true. Not only were the waters dark with nutrients, but there were huge numbers of very large jellyfish close to the surface. Some were white, some where red, but all had a main body about half a metre in diameter and tentacles stretching out at least another metre. I couldn’t help but wonder how many of them were getting churned up by the boat’s motors.

El Frontón

The famous jail

We slowly approached the first of the two islands – the smaller called El Frontón with a landmass of just 1km2. It was here that pirates once docked, out of range of colonial Callao’s cannons, but within striking distance. Much later, in 1917, President José Pardo ordered the construction of the prison for which the island is now famous.

The prison of El Frontón was originally meant to hold ordinary dangerous criminals, but it was during the mid-80s that its purpose was changed somewhat. Maoist terrorists called the Shining Path waged war on the Peruvian Government killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians in the process. Then-President Alan García, a man who proved incapable of running the economy or winning the war, ordered that captured Shining Path soldiers be sent to isolated El Frontón.

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