Ancient “Human Sacrifices” Found at Huaca Bandera

Announced last week, the 197-foot-long (60-meter-long) sacrificial chamber or passageway at the Huaca Bandera archaeological site belonged to the Moche culture.

August 1, 2010 | Archaeology, News

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Newly discovered Moche pyramid is “unusual”

A team of archaeologists who uncovered a 1,400 year old pyramid in Peru say that the finding is particularly unusual. The flat-topped pyramid, which was built by the Moche culture, was used for the living rather than just for the dead, and contains a wealth of artefacts, murals and human remains.

May 22, 2010 | Archaeology

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Without Machu Picchu you’ll enjoy the trip of a lifetime

SPECIAL: PERU WITHOUT MACHU PICCHU – Machu Picchu is closed. It will stay that way through all of February at the very least. Do you have your flights booked and are wondering what to do next? Should you cancel or put off your trip to Cuzco?

February 4, 2010 | Travel and Places

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800 year old tomb of shaman discovered

Curandero – witch-doctor or medicine-man in English, but the most direct translation is healer. The tradition of the curanderos still runs strong in the Muchik northern coast of La Libertad and Lambayeque, particularly around Chiclayo. The traditions and techniques of theses healers date back to pre-Colombian times and the the civilisations of the Chimú, Sicán and the Moche before them. Archaeologists have recently been given a glimpse into this period of time with the discovery of the 800 year old tomb of a Sicán curandero.

January 23, 2010 | Archaeology, News, Traditions

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Naylamp’s temple discovered in Lambayeque

After eight months of careful excavation, archaeologists of the Brüning Museum in Lambayeque have discovered, next to the Huaca Chornancap pyramid, what is thought to be the sacred temple of Naylamp, a supposedly mythical ruler that according to oral legend was the founder of the post-Moche Lambayeque civilisation.

December 5, 2009 | Archaeology, Lambayeque & Chiclayo Guide

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The missing link in Lambayeque

Researchers scouring the Lambayeque region for decades in an attempt to discover more about its most ancient past have directed their attention towards the archaeological site of El Chorro, located in the district of Pomalca.

Their efforts were successful.

November 25, 2009 | Archaeology

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Youngest Moche noble yet at Sipán site

Two thousand years ago, a young man was buried in the royal mausoleum next to a huge and brightly decorated Moche pyramid, now known as the Huaca Rajada, at the site of Sipán. Studies have been conducted on this recent discovery that have determined his age at time of death to be just 21, making him the youngest Moche noble yet found.

October 27, 2009 | Archaeology, Lambayeque & Chiclayo Guide, News

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Lord of Ucupe: “King of Bling” Tomb Sheds Light on Ancient Peru [Featured]

I wrote some time ago about the stunning archaeological find at a dig led by Canadian Steve Bourget of the University of Texas. Here is the follow-up by National Geographic News:

April 10, 2009 | Archaeology, News

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1250km of Northern Coast: The usual and the little-known

Let’s start in Tumbes, the smallest region in Peru and the one with proportionally the most protected areas: 50% of the territory is covered by mangroves, dry forest and tropical forest. The Usual: From Puerto Pizarro boats can be hired to get to the Isla de Amor where you can enjoy a beer and bathe in the clear sea. The Little-Known: Entering the mangrove sanctuary by taking a boat from Puerto 25, be guided by locals involved in the conservation and protection of this resource, visit the protected area and later dedicate many hours to a refreshing dip in the Zarumilla canal where also, if lucky, you might see a wild crocodile.

Continuing south… The Usual: Stopping off at Zorritos beach, or going straight on to Punta Sal or to Máncora resort towns. The Little-Known: To stay in Caleta Grau at kilometre 1,242, at the edge of Tumbes and Piura. It boasts a large beach lined with simple houses where you can find a good room with bathroom for just 25 soles a night and eat fresh lobster for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

January 9, 2009 | Lima Region Guide

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Wari city unveiled in Cerro Pátapo – missing link discovered

In less than two weeks since work began, amazing discoveries have been made at the Cerro Pátapo archaeological site, until now little more than a pile of rocks. This huge site that stretches over 5km is now revealing its importance – it is a missing link between the declining Moche culture and the newly arrived Wari.

December 14, 2008 | Archaeology, Lambayeque & Chiclayo Guide, News

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Lady of Cao documentary on the big screen

A village with royal palaces, pyramids and temples of worship will be built in the Chicama valley. But this time it will not be to house people of the Moche culture, as was the case 1700 years ago, but to shoot the film of the Lady of Cao, a female ruler of pre-Columbian Peru.

November 17, 2008 | News

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Did the Incas explore the Pacific?

There has long been evidence, most of it barely investigated, that Andean peoples and Polynesian peoples have had contact various times in their pre-Columbian pasts. It has even been suggested that people arrived in South America from Polynesia – evidence of human activity in Chile from a time before humans were supposed to have crossed the Bearing Straits has been found.

August 15, 2008 | Archaeology, History

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