Pachacamac
When the Spanish conquistador Hernando Pizarro arrived at Pachacamac, Peru, in January 1533, he had before him one of the jewels of the Inca Empire. ‘We arrived,’ he wrote, ‘in this city thathat seems...
View ArticleThe Palpa figures
Survey near the town of Palpa, Peru, has revealed a wealth of geoglyphs. Are they older than their celebrated neighbours at Nasca? And were they aimed at a very different audience? The post The Palpa...
View ArticleMapping the Maya
The deeds of royal dynasties presiding over Maya city-states in northern Guatemala can still be followed on ornate inscriptions raised in their name. But just how large were their dominions? Tom...
View ArticleReturn to Huaca El Pueblo
Discovering Peruvian pyramid tombs Recent excavations at Huaca El Pueblo, a mud-brick pyramid erected by the Moche, have revealed three remarkable burials dating to the 4th century AD. As well as...
View ArticleTambo Viejo
Excavating remarkable Inca rituals After the Acari Valley was absorbed by the Inca Empire, Tambo Viejo was founded to oversee its inhabitants. This imperial imposition seemingly resembled many others...
View ArticleMining for ochre in ancient Mexico
Divers exploring the now-submerged caves of Quintana Roo in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula have uncovered evidence for red ochre mining between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago, the oldest known example of the...
View ArticlePre-Hispanic flood-management in the Pampa de Mocan
For thousands of years, areas along the north coast of Peru have been subject to huge flooding as a result of El Niño, a periodic warming in the atmosphere of the Pacific Ocean, which causes torrential...
View ArticleA feline find
A geoglyph has been discovered on a hillside in the Nazca desert of Peru during the emergency project ‘Cleaning, Conservation and Restoration of the Geoglyphs of the Mirador Natural, Nazca’....
View ArticleArt in the Amazon
At a time of great climatic and environmental change during the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, humans entered the western Amazon for the first time. As they adapted to the unknown...
View Article‘Tower of skulls’ in Tenochtitlan’
Excavations in Mexico City have discovered a new section of the Aztec skull rack known as the Huei Tzompantli. The post ‘Tower of skulls’ in Tenochtitlan’ appeared first on World Archaeology.
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Peru
Roughly 1,000 years ago, the finishing touches were being made to a rectangular length of fabric. At first glance, the textile resembles a modern tablecloth, but a slit in the centre betrays that it...
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The Great Maya Aquifer
The Spanish invaders of Mexico called them cenotes. This came from a mishearing of the Maya word tz’onot, which was used to describe great circular sinkholes that dropped down to inviting pools of...
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