Cerro de Oro Peru

[Crow]

Hello All

The following story asks a lot of questions?

Legends of treasure abound throughout South America none so more than in Peru.

South of Lima in the desert just outside of Cañete, Peru there is a mountain called Cerro de Oro (Gold Hill). It is so named for the gold mine, which is still occasionally worked, though not commercially. Around the top, there are also some ruins of an ancient graveyard and skeletal human remains as far as you can see for yourself.They are not Inca but of the Warri people



They populated mid-southern coastal Peru from around 500 to 1000 AD which means these remains are likely over a thousand years old.


Ever since that time, grave robbers have looted the mountain, stealing the valuables from the graves and tossing the remains aside, leaving them scattered across the top of the mountain like some ancient battlefeild. Since the area is so dry, most of the bone fragments and pottery remain intact there some are even partially mummified bodies in cold dry air. To most of us it may seen sacrilegious that such sites we desecrated but to many average other than the elite of Peru it there is an indifference. Many locals through poverty saw whatever pottery or artifact as chance to put food on the table. This had and is being still done with many families working the old burial sites for generations.

The Peruvian government has cracked down on illegal artifact market. But corruption is rife and artifacts still filter into the foreign markets.The demand might of declined in the west but is rising economies such as Asia the demand for such artifacts are increasing pushing prices of such objects back up.

For any treasure hunter daring to risk prosectution or jail there is also an ethical delemia. Do we deem these sites off limits regardless they will be plundered anyway? Or create a market or a system like the UK potable antiquities scheme where the finder is rewarded for such finds by a independent panel at market value? Thus giving government and archeologists first chance at such artifacts?

Questions should be asked is an Archeologist more morally acceptable in digging up such artifacts or the urban region poor? The graves regardless are be subjected sacrilegious practices of desecration regardless . Weather its in a museum or some ones private collection via black market contraband?

Some sites indeed should be protected for all humanity as it is a glimpse into our common past. However some lesser sites others should be given the local population a choice in the fate of such sites.. It is all too easy for us to make ethical decision of behalf of the people whose ancestors it is. To me the fate of their ancestors remains and artifacts should be decided by the wishes of its descendants.

One final interesting question how would you feel seeing your ancestors or local cemetery dug up either for scientific purposes or by unethical greed?

Food for thought.

Crow

 

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[Salvor6]

Where are the archaeologists? Why are they not working this site?

 

[doc-d]

Old Crow again brings us another treasure to seek.
The archaeologists have no special considerations in my book…….the question regards desecrating graves or not……..it matters not to me if they are 1 year old or 1000 years old………leave the dead alone. Grave robbers are grave robbers regardless of what they call themselves or whatever "higher" motives they claim.
There are plenty of treasures and precious metals to be found in other areas.
This crap about the poor people needing to grave rob is sh*t also……..it may be easier for them, but it is not necessary.

The question for me is the source of the gold originally………that is the treasure worth seeking. And I agree that Peru has many treasure legends, history and precious metal resources waiting to be (re)discovered……..

 

[doc-d]

There is much more to this story and the Nazca lines certainly raise questions about the state of technology of earlier times.

Ancient rock lines created by enigmatic Paracas culture predate Nazca geoglyphs - See more at: Ancient rock lines created by enigmatic Paracas culture predate Nazca geoglyphs | Ancient Origins

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has revealed the discovery of a complex set of geoglyphs constructed by the mysterious Paracas people of Peru. The architectural features, which date back 2,300 years, have been found to be aligned to the sunset during the winter solstice, and are believed to have been created to mark ceremonial mounds and residential sites, according to a new report in Live Science.
The Paracas culture was among the earliest settled civilisations of the Chincha Valley, located 200 kilometres south of Lima, one of the largest and most productive regions of southern coastal Peru. The Paracas civilisation arose around 800 BC, predating the Nazca, which came about in around 100 BC. While the Nazca are famous for their incredible geoglyphs etched into the landscape over an incredible 450 square kilometres, the Paracas are well-known for the large collection of skulls, which showed that at least some of their population had significantly elongated skulls, as depicted in the artistic representation above.

The famous Nazca lines, which date from 200 BC to 500 AD. Photo source: Wikimedia
According to Charles Stanish, the director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, the newly discovered lines and mounds in the Peruvian landscape date back to around 300 BC, making them even older than the Nazca lines. In total, Stanish and his team found 71 geoglyph lines or segments, 353 rock cairns, rocks forming circles or rectangles, two U-shaped mounds, and one point at which a series of lines converged in a circle of rays.
Two rock lines that mark the June solstice - Peru
A view of two rock lines that mark the June solstice. Credit: Charles Stanish
Many of the archaeological features were found to have astronomical alignments. For example, some lines marked the spot where the sun would have set during the June solstice, and the two U-shaped mounds and a larger platform mound also aligned to the solstice. The researchers have suggested that the lines and mounds probably served as a way to mark time during festivals. "I don't think people needed the signposts, but it was more kind of a ritualized thing," said Stanish. He added that the lines may have also been used to attract tradespeople and buyers from the coast and the Andes highlands.
Markers placed along one of the Paracas lines
Markers placed along one of the Paracas lines the day before the June solstice in 2013. Credit: Charles Stanish
While many of the lines have astronomical alignments, some others point to special places in the landscape, like some of the ancient pyramids in the region. The research team therefore hypothesises that the lines served diverse purposes – some appear to mark time, others may attract participants to attend social events, and yet others point the way to sacred structures.
"The lines are effectively a social technology," Stanish said. "They're using it for certain purposes. Some people have said the lines point out sacred mountains. Sure, why not? The lines [might] point out sacred pyramids. Why not? The lines could [also] be used to point out processions," Stanish said of both the Nazca and Peru lines.
The study authors have said that the study is significant because it shed new light on the enigmatic ancient culture of the Paracas. “Social units, labour, and astronomically significant periods mesh, attracting participants to cyclical events in the midvalley zone. This case study refines our understanding of the processes of human social evolution prior to the development of archaic states.”
- See more at: Ancient rock lines created by enigmatic Paracas culture predate Nazca geoglyphs | Ancient Origins

 

[Crow]

I think Doc-d every time you read here your gaining a greater appreciation of the scope for projects in South America. The history of the region totally fascinates me.

Crow

 

[Crow]

Salovor 6

Archies..... same old same old story.

Lack of funding...and resources.

The penalty they pay for their current stance on such matters.

Crow

 

[doc-d]

Agreed Crow……..there is so much not known, so many clues left to guide us and yet few interested and as you say, no funding……
For me, there are a couple of small, local (Ecuador) sites I am interested in……unknown to all but the locals………
And yet, as time permits, exploring a fascinating region with so much untold, unknown history…….
Vaya con Dios

 

[Crow]

Agreed Crow……..there is so much not known, so many clues left to guide us and yet few interested and as you say, no funding……
For me, there are a couple of small, local (Ecuador) sites I am interested in……unknown to all but the locals………
And yet, as time permits, exploring a fascinating region with so much untold, unknown history…….
Vaya con Dios

Sounds like ya already have some interesting sites checking out.

Good hunting

Crow

 

[doc-d]

Senor Crow, you have not cawed a single word about your soon to be trip……a trip which has you stopping supplement as of today and with a personal trainer…….hmmm………care to share any details? Or perhaps need a personal physician for your soon to be exploration?

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

Hi Doc, somethings are best not explored too much since all of these posts on this site, and internet, are monitored I have proof that my posts are monitored twice, here in Mexico, and the US. Since Crow is a foreigner as far as the US is concerned ------

Now about the French Maids and their ?? services ??

 

[Crow]

Hello Doc-d

At present my main concern is better health and fitness. Exploring can be physically demanding and the older ya get the harder it is. So that is why old Crow is on the treadmill. The west may have the war on terror I have the war on middle age spread. And if the authorities want to watch my flabby old ass huffing and puffing then seriously then best of luck to em.

Crow