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.
June 30, 2009 | Archaeology, News, Opinion
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.
June 28, 2009 | Archaeology, News
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.
June 28, 2009 | Archaeology, News
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 “chanchas”. That was, until now.
June 25, 2009 | Archaeology, Cusco Guide
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.
June 19, 2009 | Cusco Guide, Opinion
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.
June 17, 2009 | Archaeology, Cusco Guide, News
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.
June 17, 2009 | Lima City Guide, Opinion
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.
June 11, 2009 | Lima City Guide, Peruvian Food
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.
June 9, 2009 | Puno & Titicaca Guide
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.
June 8, 2009 | Archaeology, News
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.
June 4, 2009 | News, Opinion
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.
June 2, 2009 | Lima City Guide, Nature
