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The archaeological wonders of northern Peru

58 images Created 28 Apr 2009

Northern Peru, an area not often explored by visitors, yet it is a region that holds hidden gems for adventurous trip and promises to be the next big tourist destination in Peru. Many people are unaware that in Peru many civilizations pre-dated the Inca and northern Peru was once the center of several mighty civilizations including the Sipán, Moche, and Chimu. What makes these societies so mystical is that not much is known about them because they used no form of writing to record their history, leaving their only messages through monuments and ceramics. Near the city of Trujillo, with the flavour of its lavish colonial architecture and colourful old mansions, the sacred pyramids of the Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna are huge adobe brick buildings and it is thought that this was the former capital of the Moche civilization. For nearly 500 years, the Moche, ruled by a caste of warrior-priests, dominated Peru’s northern coast and celebrated ceremony of blood sacrifice of the vanquished. Also near to Trujillo is Chan Chan, the capital of the Chimu civilization and one of the most important archaeological sites in Peru, the largest pre-Columbian city in South America. Chiclayo is home to the Lord of Sipán, one of Peru’s most spectacular discoveries, exposed at the Royal Tombs Museum. Chiclayo is also near to the “Valley of the Pyramids” of Tucume, is a huge complex of 26 large adobe pyramids built by the Sicán civilization. Controlling a dozen fertile river valleys, Moche society maintained this religious ideology, but began to fall around 600 C.E. when hit by catastrophic climate events: El Niño-driven floods and gigantic mudslides followed by intense droughts. The people lost faith in their rulers, and by 850 C.E., their civilization was, dead, replaced by a new empire, the Chimú.

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  • Chiclayo: Lambayeque, Bruning Museum. The laboratory where mochica archeological  treasures are restaured.
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  • Chiclayo: Lambayeque, Bruning Museum. The laboratory where mochica archeological  treasures are restaured.
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  • Chiclayo: Lambayeque, Bruning Museum. The laboratory where mochica archeological  treasures are restaured.
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  • Chiclayo, Lambayeque: the New Museum of Royal Tombs of Sipàn.
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  • Chiclayo, Lambayeque: the New Museum of Royal Tombs of Sipàn. The Degollador (The "Decapitator) was the powerful god of the Moche civilisation.
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  • Chiclayo, Lambayeque: the New Museum of Royal Tombs of Sipàn.
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  • Chiclayo, Lambayeque: the New Museum of Royal Tombs of Sipàn.
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  • Chiclayo, Lambayeque: the New Museum of Royal Tombs of Sipàn.
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  • Chiclayo, Lambayeque: the New Museum of Royal Tombs of Sipàn.
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  • Chiclayo, Lambayeque: the New Museum of Royal Tombs of Sipàn. Royal gold mask.
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  • Chiclayo, Lambayeque: the New Museum of Royal Tombs of Sipàn. The Degollador (The "Decapitator) was the powerful god of the Moche civilisation.
    em1010515.jpg
  • Chiclayo, Lambayeque: the New Museum of Royal Tombs of Sipàn.
    em1010517.jpg
  • New Museum of Sipan, Lambayeque. Mochica gold divinity from Sipàn tomb. Tomb of Sipan life-size model.
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  • Chiclayo: Sipan pyramids, a mochica sacred centre.
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  • Lambayeque Museum, Sicàn ruler's sepolture.
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  • Lambayeque Museum, Sicàn ruler's sepolture.
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  • Lambayeque Museum, Sicàn ruler's sepolture.
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  • Lambayeque Museum, Sicàn ruler's sepolture.
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  • - Chiclayo, Lambayeque. Batàn Grande, Huaca Rodillona, mochica sacred centre. Archaelogical  excavations.
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  • - Chiclayo, Lambayeque. Batàn Grande, Huaca Rodillona, mochica sacred centre. Archaelogical  excavations.
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  • - Chiclayo, Lambayeque. Batàn Grande, Huaca Rodillona, mochica sacred centre. Archaelogical  excavations.
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  • Tucumé, "pyramid valley", with more than 20 huacas (adobe pyramids): it was a important ceremonial centre.
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  • Tucumé, "pyramid valley", with more than 20 huacas (adobe pyramids): it wasa important ceremonial centre.
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  • Tucumé, "pyramid valley", with more than 20 huacas (adobe pyramids): it wasa important ceremonial centre.
    em1010536.jpg
  • Tucumé, "pyramid valley", with more than 20 huacas (adobe pyramids): it wasa important ceremonial centre.
    em1010537.jpg
  • Tucumé, "pyramid valley", with more than 20 huacas (adobe pyramids): it wasa important ceremonial centre.
    em1010538.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca de la Luna (adobe pyramid), a Mochica sacred building, probably a administrative centre for the priest-lord. Behind the huaca are frescoed rooms. The "DEgollador" (the "Decapitator") was a powerful god of MOche civilisation.
    em1010551.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca de la Luna (adobe pyramid), a Mochica sacred building, probably a administrative centre for the priest-lord. Behind the huaca are frescoed rooms. The "DEgollador" (the "Decapitator") was a powerful god of MOche civilisation.
    em1010554.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca de la Luna (adobe pyramid), a Mochica sacred building, probably a administrative centre for the priest-lord. Behind the huaca are frescoed rooms. The "DEgollador" (the "Decapitator") was a powerful god of MOche civilisation.
    em1010555.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca de la Luna (adobe pyramid), a Mochica sacred building, probably a administrative centre for the priest-lord. Behind the huaca are frescoed rooms.
    em1010556.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca de la Luna (adobe pyramid), a Mochica sacred building, probably a administrative centre for the priest-lord. Behind the huaca are frescoed rooms.
    em1010557.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca de la Luna (adobe pyramid), a Mochica sacred building, probably a administrative centre for the priest-lord. Behind the huaca are frescoed rooms. The bricks with the names of the different Moche clans that worked in the collective effort to build the pyramids.
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  • Trujillo: Huaca de la Luna (adobe pyramid), a Mochica sacred building, probably a administrative centre for the priest-lord. Behind the huaca are frescoed rooms.
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  • Trujillo: Huaca de la Luna (adobe pyramid), a Mochica sacred building, probably a administrative centre for the priest-lord.
    em1010561.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca de la Luna (adobe pyramid), a Mochica sacred building, probably a administrative centre for the priest-lord. In the bach the Cerro Blanco (THe White Mountain) the sacred mountain of Moche civilisation.
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  • Huaca del Sol, a Mochica  pyramid; it is reckoned to contain between fifty millions and 140 millions  adobe blocks.
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  • Trujillo: the local beer and a Mochica warrior.
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  • Trujillo: Huaca Arco Iris, a Chimu ceremonial pyramid, with is unique design.
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  • Trujillo: Huaca Arco Iris, a Chimu ceremonial pyramid, with is unique design.
    em1010567.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca Arco Iris, a Chimu ceremonial pyramid, with is unique design.
    em1010568.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca Arco Iris, a Chimu ceremonial pyramid, with is unique design.
    em1010569.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca Arco Iris, a Chimu ceremonial pyramid, with is unique design.
    em1010570.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca Arco Iris, a Chimu ceremonial pyramid, with is unique design.
    em1010571.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca Arco Iris, a Chimu ceremonial pyramid, with is unique design.
    em1010572.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca Arco Iris, a Chimu ceremonial pyramid, with is unique design.
    em1010573.jpg
  • Trujillo: Huaca Arco Iris, a Chimu ceremonial pyramid, with is unique design. A craftman with a pottery reproduction of traditional moche decorated motifs.
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  • Tschudi complex of Chan-Chan, capital city of Chimu Empire, the bigger adobe city of the world. The mud walls are extremely elaborate, with fish, waves and birds.
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  • Tschudi complex of Chan-Chan, capital city of Chimu Empire, the bigger adobe city of the world. The mud walls are extremely elaborate, with fish, waves and birds.
    em1010581.jpg
  • Tschudi complex of Chan-Chan, capital city of Chimu Empire, the bigger adobe city of the world. The mud walls are extremely elaborate, with fish, waves and birds.
    em1010582.jpg
  • Tschudi complex of Chan-Chan, capital city of Chimu Empire, the bigger adobe city of the world. The mud walls are extremely elaborate, with fish, waves and birds.
    em1010583.jpg
  • Tschudi complex of Chan-Chan, capital city of Chimu Empire, the bigger adobe city of the world. The mud walls are extremely elaborate, with fish, waves and birds.
    em1010585.jpg
  • Huaca del Sol, a Mochica  pyramid; it is reckoned to contain between fifty millions and 140 millions  adobe blocks.
    em1010586.jpg
  • Temple complex of Sechin (pre-chavin culture) consists of an outer wall clad with around ninety monolithic slabs engraved with representations of bellicose warriors.
    em1010651.jpg
  • Temple complex of Sechin (pre-chavin culture) consists of an outer wall clad with around ninety monolithic slabs engraved with representations of bellicose warriors.
    em1010652.jpg
  • Temple complex of Sechin (pre-chavin culture) consists of an outer wall clad with around ninety monolithic slabs engraved with representations of bellicose warriors.
    em1010653.jpg
  • Temple complex of Sechin (pre-chavin culture) consists of an outer wall clad with around ninety monolithic slabs engraved with representations of bellicose warriors.
    em1010654.jpg
  • Chiclayo, the huaqueros (grave robbers) excavations , creates a moon's landscape.
    em1010663.jpg
  • Chiclayo: New Museum of Sipan, Lambayeque. Relief model of Mochica king  and nobles.
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