In a cemetery that was recently found at the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site in Lima, Peru’s Miraflores area, four burial sites have been found. According to one archaeologist, the placement of the human remains and the burial items they were found with indicate that they belonged to the highest class of the Ichma civilisation.
There are four human burial sites, for adult people, three women and one man, who lived between the years 1000 and 1450 [during the Ichma occupation of the site], according to archaeologist Isabel Flores, who has been studying the site for 35 years and serves as the program director in Huaca Pucllana. According to accounts from Peru, the remains were discovered “facing the sea and surrounded by ceramics and textiles” when they were discovered.
“We also found in the graves devices like needles, rolls of thread, and lengths of cloth, which tells us they worked in the textile business,” said Mirella Ganoza, the archaeologist who initially discovered the remains, to La Prensa. Additionally, she added, “Our theory is that they were high status or interested in politics or religion. This location wasn’t picked at random.
Archaeologist Mirella Ganoza examining one of the burials in Lima, Peru. ( Ángel Chávez/La Republica )
The Ichma (Ychma or Ychsma) culture was one of the first two great cultures (the other being the Chancay culture ) that arose in the area of Lima following the breakup of the Wari Empire. Their area of influence extended from the Lurin Valley south of Lima to the Rimac Valley further north, and they are known for having constructed and remodeled many of the archaeological structures currently found in Lima.
Two important archaeological sites the Ichma have been noted for creating are Puruchuco and Cajamarquilla. The Ichma also are said to have inhabited the site of Pachacamac, where they continued to grow their religious influence over the region and built 16 pyramids. The Ichma culture reached its end in the 1400s, when they were overtaken by the Inca.
The Templo del Sol (Temple of the Sun) at Pachacamac, Lima, Peru. ( CC BY 3.0 )
According to Flores, the Ichma were not the first to inhabit the Huaca Pucllana site – the Lima culture (100-650 AD) came first and created the stepped pyramid to make offerings to their gods. The Lima culture was followed by the Wari, and then finally the Ichma. When the Ichma arrived at the site, they set up on the western side of the stepped-pyramid, where it is reported “they could dry their crops and where they made offerings of ceramic containers and food.”
The “grand” stepped pyramid of Huaca Pucllana is an adobe structure, that measures 20 meters (65.6 feet) tall and covers over six hectares. It has seven platforms, and Flores believes that the Ichma conducted human sacrifices on the sixth step. She also asserts that the Ichma sacrificed frogs at the site, with the goal of pleasing their gods, so they would create rain.
Part of the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site, Lima, Peru. ( CC BY 2.0 )
Both Flores and Ganoza remain cautiously hopeful that more material remains will be unearthed in the future at the site. As Flores told El Universo : “ These are the first four tombs of the Ichma culture. It could be that we find more tombs, even though this sacred place has been looted since the time of the Spanish (Conquistadors).”
The current discovery also laid way for a representative from the Peruvian Ministry of Culture to point out that the management and restoration work that has taken place at Huaca Pucllana has been possible by the revenues that a private company received through ticket sales and business at the on-site restaurant. Culture ministry official Crizia Malaga told Peru Reports that “The public-private cooperation model works for conserving our heritage, Huaca Pucllana is an example.”
This statement was made in the wake of the recent repealing of a law allowing “private companies to manage and restore other archaeological sites in Peru,” leaving the Cultural Ministry scrambling to find another way “to care for the thousands of archaeological sites which the government does not have the resources to develop or protect.”
Source: ancient-origins.net
