Larco Museum

April 10

The Inca culture may have been the largest and most widely known of South American ancient cultures, but there are many others that pre-date the Inca.  We went to the Larco Museum and saw artifacts from those earlier times.  It was a fascinating glimpse into a world-view that was rooted in agricultural survival, trying to understand weather and the seasons.  This led them to a theology of three worlds:  the heavenly realm represented by birds, the living earthly realm represented by felines (think jaguar), and the realm of the dead represented by snakes.  What I found most interesting was that the dead in essence feed the living by becoming the fertilizer to nourish the earth.  These representations were seen in ceremonial pottery pieces, (some R-rated), elaborate textiles used in burial, and gold, silver and copper ceremonial jewelry.  We have so much to learn about ancient history from another continent.  

Aside from the artefacts, the Larco Museum was situated in a beautiful garden of flowers, a wonderful oasis from the noise of the streets of Lima.  It also had a wonderful café where we enjoyed more excellent Peruvian food:  tequenos, lime tart and gianduia ice cream!  

A ceremonial pottery vessel to pour with.

Close-up of a burial cloth.  Incredible detailed weaving.  

These were golden nose rings.

Lime tart.

Later in the day we had a meeting with the CESO team to find out that we are to head off into ‘them thar hills’ at 4 A.M. in order to beat the Lima traffic, and to arrive in time to get acclimatized before the project will begin.  We will be out of internet range so I’ll post after we return next Wednesday.