Sunday, March 3, 2013

Pre-Hispanic bodies found at Peru

Archaeologists cram a undersized location at Peru's main sports center have excavated up eight skeletons dating from at least 700 years ago and three others double that old. The unearthing of pre-Hispanic remains was finished at the Huaca Tupac Amaru B site at the National Sports Village. The 400-square-meter spot sits just a few meters from the pitch wherever Peru's general soccer team trains. Archaeologist Fernando Herrera, head of the project, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that three sets of vestiges were strong-minded to belong to the Lima culture, which urbanized between A.D. 200 and 700. The eight other skeletons came from the more recent Yschma culture, between A.D. 1000 and 1400, he said.
Each skeleton was found lying on a bed of wicker reeds. The bodies were joined with braided wicker and enclosed by one or more cloths. They were masked with ceramics, textiles, fruit tree leaves, and tools used for agriculture, he said. Herrera said the first skeleton was found in December and the others were improved in January. The archaeological team thinks there may be more and is still penetrating the site, he said.
There are many archaeological sites in Lima, together with the Huaca Pucllana in the Miraflores residential district that has a towering Lima civilization pyramid. Luis Felipa Villacorta, an archaeologist and historian who is executive of the private Antonio Raimondi museum, said the find at the sports center will add to "the mosaic and image of the Lima culture that is very diffuse" compared to the Nazca and Moche civilizations that urbanized concurrently in other parts of the coast of what is now Peru.
Regrettably not much is identified of the Lima culture, he said, partly "because the city, the capital, has grown over it." In addition, there has been more attention in the "pre-Hispanic cultures that are outside the metropolitan area: the Moche, Nazca, Wari," he added.

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