A team of Peruvian and Japanese archeologists has unearthed a pre-Hispanic archeological site in northern Peru dedicated to ancestor worship, with burial chambers, human remains and ceramic offerings.
“We have discovered an archeological site of the Wari period with an antiquity of between 800 to 1000 years AD” in the Cajamarca region 900km north of Lima, Japanese archeologist Shinya Watanabe said on Saturday.
“Two burial chambers with pits for placing mummies and offerings to the ancestors were found at the site,” said Watanabe, who is a professor at Nanzan University in Japan.
Photo: AFP / Peruvian Ministry of Culture
Each of the burial chambers contains two levels, and both have five niches in the walls that contain offerings such as mollusk shells, ceramic fragments and a tripod dish with three conical supports.
“It is a great find because the archeologists were looking for evidence of the Wari culture,” Watanabe said.
A bundle containing a female character, a black Wari ceremonial vessel, two musical ceramic wind instruments and two copper fasteners were also found.
Photo: AFP / Peruvian Ministry of Culture
The discovery was made in the Jequetepeque valley in the province of San Miguel in Cajamarca, a region that abuts Ecuador.
“Many people of multiple origins lived here. It was a ceremonial center dedicated to the cult of the ancestors,” Watanabe said.
Judith Padilla, head of Cajamarca’s culture office, said the findings allow for an understanding of “the lifestyle and ritual practices” of the ancient societies that inhabited the region.
The Wari culture survived between the seventh and 13th centuries over territory that is present-day Peru, but by 1100 AD the Wari were conquered by the rising Inca empire.
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