At 85 years old, psychiatrist Hugo Delgado has entered history as one of the oldest gold medallists in the world. From Arequipa, the mountainous land of volcanoes, llamas and condors, this ageing athlete, who was once even a heavy smoker, won three gold medals at the World Masters Athletics in Finland. An Apu, a mountain spirit, in human form.
Category: "News"
Rare sheep population rebounds after terrorist massacres
After many years, Junín Sheep, a unique breed from the region of the same name, are finally making their comeback, helping poor Andean farmers earn a living.
Peru’s patent win strikes blow against biopiracy [Featured]
Zoraida Portillo, writing for SciDev.Net, brings us news that Peru has stopped several foreign companies from registering patents on products traditionally developed by Peruvians.
Peru has prevented several foreign companies from taking out patents on products by demonstrating that they were developed using the traditional knowledge of Peruvians.
Over the past few months, the Peruvian National Commission Against Biopiracy has shown authorities from France, Japan, Korea and the United States that products submitted for patents were developed using the traditional knowledge of Peruvian people.
Chan Chan under constant threat
Only 5 of the 134 projects of the nine-year-old so called “master plan” have been executed to date, Repeated illegal land invasions by locals one of the principle problems for the ancient site. Chan Chan, the ancient capital city of the Chimú, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986 because of its extraordinary architectural and historical importance. Unfortunately, the list World Heritage sites isn’t the only UNESCO list it is on.
Unlocking the secrets of the Quipus
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.
Ancient Caral now a UNESCO World Heritage site
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.
Application submitted to destroy ancient Chan Chan ruins
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.
Pre-Inca tomb found at Salapunku, Machu Picchu reserve
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.
Ancient temple wall discovered, shaped like Andean chakana
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.
Keiko Fujimori battles evidence of her father’s corruption
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.
Peru’s Garcia tussles with tribes over land rights
Peruvian President Alan Garcia’s push to lure foreign investors to the Amazon basin has run into homegrown opposition, with indigenous leaders saying he has disregarded a U.N. declaration that protects their rights to control land and natural resources.
Thousands of indigenous people have protested in Peru’s Amazon for much of the past 40 days, hoping to pressure Garcia to modify or strike down a series of laws he passed last year that encourage oil, mining and agricultural companies to invest billions of dollars in the mostly pristine region.
Lima’s sewage pollutes the ocean [Featured]
Lima, with a population of 9 million people, is home to one-third of Peru’s population. But the coastal city does not have a single sewage treatment facility. With no safe place for raw sewage to go, most of it ends up in the ocean.
Almost as big as the pollution itself, is the apathy that seems to exist towards the problem. Until last year, Peru has never had an environment ministry.
Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo reports on the realities that make going to the beach in Lima a dangerous proposition.
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