Peru is built upon millennia of cultures and their histories.

When the words "ancient Peru" are mentioned, images of Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines come to mind. But Peru is built upon millennia of cultures and their histories.

The traces they left behind may not be as big as lost cities, but they are no less rare and mysterious. New mummies are breaking old beliefs and revealing new civilizations. Settlements show the realities of the time, invasions, brutal leadership, and even blood sacrifices from otherwise advanced people.

10 The Inca Tree

It was one of those discoveries that surprised everyone because the tree was large and everywhere. Researchers noticed the tall specimens for some time - some grew up to 30 meters (100 ft) tall - but only realized in 2017 that this was a whole new kind of rubber tree.

Relatives to this newcomer include poinsettias and other latex-leaking plants from the spurge family. But the latest addition is truly special - a new genus had to be created to fit the species. It is like finding oak or cabbage for the first time.

Called Incadendron esseri ("Esser's tree of the Inca"), they are a common sight along the Trocha Union, an old Inca road in Peru. The canopy tree carpets the landscape from southern Peru to Ecuador.[1]

Scientists do not fully understand why it appears to be so successful in a harsh environment. But the 0.6-meter-thick (2 ft) Incadendron is susceptible to the planet's rising temperatures and deforestation.

9 Elite Skulls

Around three centuries before the Incas arrived in Peru, the Collagua began to press their skulls into long shapes. This tradition began around AD 1300 and lasted for hundreds of years.

But skull squashing was not for everyone. In a bid to discover why anyone would deform their children's heads, a recent study looked at 211 skulls from two Collagua graveyards. It concluded that the cone people were mostly from elite graves. More surprisingly, skull binding did not develop overnight but was refined over many generations.

Starting in infancy, boards and cloth were used to press the head into increasingly narrow points. Researchers suspect that there was a bond between individuals who looked different from the norm - and that this united leadership was crucial to their survival against the Incas.

The latter arrived in 1450. But instead of going to war, the Collagua elite could have decided to be drawn peacefully into the powerful Inca Empire. Even so, nobody knows what happened to the Collaguas in the end. Similar to their neighbors, the Cavanas, they disappeared.[2]

8 The Paracas Lines

In 2014, archaeologists announced that they found the older cousins of the famous Nazca Lines. Created by the Paracas culture around 300 BC, they were three centuries older than the earliest Nazca design. They were found in the Chinca Valley as part of a complicated artificial environment.

The 71 rocky lines were accompanied by large mounds, pyramids, 353 stone cairns, and rocks stacked in circles or rectangles. Several geoglyph lines and mounds were aligned with the June solstice sunset.

This was no casual worship of the seasons but likely markers to help people from all over find their way to Paracas-style trade fairs at a certain time of the year. It is also believed that the sites themselves held festivities, tracked time, and had other multiple uses instead of any singular purpose.[3]

7 The Atacama Mummies

It is not every day that one discovers 150 mummies from an unknown culture. But between 2012-2014, their simple graves were unearthed in the Atacama Desert.

The individuals were naturally preserved due to being placed directly in the sand, wrapped only in sheaths made of cotton, reeds, or fishing nets. They were not Inca or Tiwanaku because the bodies predated both civilizations by 500 years (4th-7th centuries AD).

Luckily, the grave goods were happy to talk. Most of the items were high quality and decorated. From domestic items, researchers could see how this civilization made jewelry, pottery, and weapons. They also learned what these people wore and that they caught fish and combed their hair.

The discovery of bows was an incredibly rare Peruvian find. Llama bones in another grave could also readjust the history books as to when the animal first arrived in the region.

Remarkably, right next to the cemetery was another graveyard filled with Tiwanaku burials. This later civilization was never thought to have spread their wings as far as the Tambo River delta, where the mummies were found.[4]

6 First Female Governor

In the Chicama Valley stands an ancient adobe pyramid called Cao Viejo. Inside, a mummy rested that changed a big detail about pre-Hispanic Peru. Scholars had believed that women held no power positions. But that changed in 2006 when the so-called Lady of Cao was discovered.

She belonged to the Moche culture, which flourished from AD 100 to AD 800. This woman ruled northern Peru 1,700 years ago. Among the grave goods were a crown, large war clubs, spear throwers, and artifacts of copper and gold. The mummy's face, feet, and legs bore tattoos of spiders and serpents, both magical symbols.

Since she was the first female political, religious, and cultural governor of Peru, researchers wanted the meet the Lady of Cao. The closest they could manage was a facial reconstruction. This happened through skull analysis, 3-D printing, and 10 months of painstakingly weaving all the details together.

The result was a handsome, capable-looking woman in her twenties. A medical examination showed that her cause of death was likely tied to pregnancy complications or childbirth.[5]

5 Flash Inca Invasion

Ayawiri, a town on a hill in the central Andes, was once called home by about 1,000 people. The citizens belonged to the native Colla civilization. When Ayawiri was recently excavated, archaeologists soon sobered up to the fact that the scene was abnormal. Too many valuables were strewn about. It appeared that the inhabitants had left so fast that there was no time to pack.

The amount of valuable metal tools and jewelry, as well as stone implements and useful pottery, is exceedingly rare for an abandoned town. It is believed that Inca warriors descended on the hill with such speed that the Colla dropped everything and ran.[6]

Findings suggested that the event happened around AD 1450 and not everyone was clueless about the impending attack. When excavations reached the homes of the wealthier families, several were almost empty of possessions. Aware of the invasion, they departed earlier. But, for some reason, they chose not to warn the rest of the town. Where the Colla people went after they fled the hill remains a puzzle.

4 Geoglyphs From Three Cultures

Early in 2018, National Geographic broke the news that about 50 new "Nazca" designs were found in Peru. However, these were different from the famous geometric and animal-shaped lines. They were smaller (about the size of a football field), only inches across, and mostly depicted human figures. Unlike the Nazca Lines, which spread across the flat earth, the new images crept up hills.

In 2017, the previously unknown artwork was spotted by drones during a project to conserve the known sites. Their value does not exist only in the visual differences but also in the fact that they were made by three successive civilizations. This showed that the Nazca (AD 200-700) did not invent the tradition.

Instead, they continued what the Paracas started and the Topara culture (500 BC-AD 200) maintained until the Nazca people showed up.[7] It remains a good question to ask: Why did this labor-intensive tradition survive across three cultures?

There are many theories, such as representations of constellations, an aid to pilgrims, or a ritual ingredient. The truth is that nobody knows what drove the ancient Peruvians to create giant images in their environment.

3 Prehistoric Hazing

At the ceremonial site of Pacopampa, skeletons with brutal injuries were found in 2017. Considering the history of the Andes, one could be pardoned for thinking that they were victims of war or sacrifice. But then researchers noticed several things that made it implausible.

Pacopampa had no defenses, which meant that the people there had no fear of being attacked. Their existence must have been peaceful as far as war was concerned. All the injuries showed healing, so nobody died from the horrific blows. Both sexes were equally bashed, none showed defensive injuries (they took the beatings), and the fractures showed up in the same places (skull, face, limbs, and dislocated elbows).[8]

The most important clue came from the fact that none of the skeletons came from elite graves. Everything pointed at a disturbing process. From the 13th to the 6th centuries BC, the ruling class used brutal rituals as a way to maintain their dominance over civilians. Previous excavations had already established that inequality existed at Pacopampa as well as a deep penchant for ceremonies.

2 Chimu Child Sacrifices

The adults at Pacopampa faced nonlethal ceremonies, but some children from the Chimu culture never survived theirs. They were not meant to. In 2017, construction workers were preparing to install pipes when they stumbled upon human remains. Realizing that the bones were ancient, archaeologists were called to the beach town of Huanchaco.

Soon, 77 burials were identified. They were a blend of pre-Inca nations such as the Chimu, Salinar, and Viru. At least 12 were children who died 1,500 years ago. All of the kids' chest bones showed cut marks, as if somebody had sawed at the ribs to remove their hearts.[9]

Apart from the dozen youngsters, there was also a newborn who had been sacrificed. The killings were likely performed by the Chimu culture (AD 900-1470) in a gruesome attempt to please the rain gods. The region was extremely dry.

In a stark contrast, the Chimu people are remembered for their advanced crafts and engineering. Their capital, Chan Chan, is recognized by UNESCO as an "absolute masterpiece of town planning."

1 Living Royal Incas

The last Inca emperor fell in 1533 when he was murdered by the Spanish. Atahualpa had ruled the biggest empire of its time and the culture that produced engineering treasures such as Machu Picchu and a 40,200-kilometer (25,000 mi) network of roads from Colombia to Argentina.

After the emperor's execution, the empire was obliterated. Dutch Historian Ronald Elward moved to Peru in 2009 and spent years looking for any royal descendants. He identified 25 noble family names directly linked to Atahualpa.

Remarkably, most living descendants showed up in the lower social groups. This could be because indigenous surnames are preserved in rural areas but frowned upon in the cities.

One woman traced by Elward was 40-year-old Roberta Huamanrimanchi Tupahuacayllo. During the day, she looks after other people's children. On her mother's side, Roberta inherited royal Inca blood. Her father collects family skulls, an ancient Inca tradition.[10]

Elward's research was supported mainly by parish records and interviews. In turn, it provided the groundwork for Peruvian geneticist Ricardo Fujita. Testing those who claimed descent from Atahualpa's father, Huayna Capac, DNA linked around 35 people to indigenous populations near Lake Titicaca. This supports the myth that the Inca originated in that region.

The Crux Constellation - Universe Today

Welcome to another edition of Constellation Friday! Today, in honor of the late and great Tammy Plotner, we take a look at the "Southern Cross" - the Crux constellation. Enjoy!

In the 2nd century CE, Greek-Egyptian astronomer Claudius Ptolemaeus (aka. Ptolemy) compiled a list of all the then-known 48 constellations. This treatise, known as the Almagest, would be used by medieval European and Islamic scholars for over a thousand years to come, effectively becoming astrological and astronomical canon until the early Modern Age.

One of these constellations is known as Crux, a small constellation located in the southern skies. Despite its size, it is one of the most well-known constellations in the southern hemisphere due to its distinctive cross-shape. Today, it has gone on to become one of the 88 modern constellations currently recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Name and Meaning:

For the people of the Southern Hemisphere, the Crux constellation has a great deal of cultural significance. The Incas knew the constellation as Chakana (Quechua for "the stair"), and a stone image of the stars was found in Machu Picchu, Peru. To the Maori, the constellation was known as Te Punga, or "the anchor", due to the important role it played in maritime navigation.

The "Emu in the Sky", an important constellation recognized by the Aborigines of Australia. Credit: RSAA/ANU

To the Aborigines of Australia, the cross and the Coalsack Nebula together represented the head of the Emu in the Sky. This mythical bird is associated with several Aborigine creation myths and is one of the most important constellations in their astronomical traditions. Because of this significance, the Southern Cross is represented on the flags of Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand Brazil, and Brazil.

The first recorded instance of Crux being named is believed to have occurred in 1455, when Venetian navigator Alvise Cadamosto made note of an asterism in the southern skies that he called carr dell'ostro ("southern chariot"). However, historians generally credit Portugese astronomer Joao Faras with the discovery, which occurred in 1500 when he spotted it from Brazil and named it "Las Guardas" ("the guards").

By the late 16th century, Crux began to be depicted as a separate constellation on celestial globes and maps. In these and subsequent maps, the name Crux was used (Latin for "Cross"), referring to the constellation's distinct shape.

History of Observation:

Crux was originally considered to be part of Centaurus, but as the precession of the equinoxes gradually lowered these stars below the European horizon, they were lost sight of, and so was the memory of these stars. At one time, around 1000 BCE, the stars of Crux were visible to the northern hemisphere, but by 400 CE they had slipped below the horizon for most populated areas.

The constellation Crux as it can be seen by the naked eye. Credit: Till Credner/AlltheSky.com

Even though it was originally plotted on Ptolemy's Almagest, it first appeared as "Crux" on the charts of Petrus Plancius and Jodocus Hondius in 1598 and 1600 - both navigators. It is known that Amerigo Vespucci mapped the stars of Crux on his expedition to South America in 1501, and with good reason!

Two of the stars of Crux (Alpha and Gamma, Acrux and Gacrux respectively) are commonly used to mark due south. Following the line defined by the two stars for approximately 4.5 times the distance between them leads to a point close to the Southern Celestial Pole. A definite point needed for navigation! In 1920, Crux was included among the 88 modern constellations recognized by the IAU.

Notable Objects:

Of the major stars in Crux, Alpha Crucis (Acrux) is the brightest, and the 12th brightest star in the night sky. It is located approximately 320 light years away and is a multiple star system composed of Alpha-1 Crucis (a B class subgiant) and Alpha-2 Crucis (a B class dwarf). Both stars are very hot and their respective luminosities are 25,000 and 16,000 times that of the Sun.

Beta Crucis (Becrux, or Mimosa) is the second brightest star of the Southern Cross and the 20th brightest star in the night sky. It is approximately 350 light years distant, is classified as a Beta Cephei variable, and is a spectroscopic binary composed of two stars that are about 8 AU apart and orbit each other every five years. The name Mimosa refers to its color (blue-hued).

Gamma Crucis (Gacrux) is a red giant that is approximately 88 light years distant from Earth. It is the third brightest star in the Crux constellation and the 26th brightest star in the sky. Located about 400 light years distant from Earth, this binary star is composed of a M4 red dwarf star and a A3 white dwarf star.

Crux is also associated with several Deep Sky Objects, the most notable of which is the Coalsack Nebula. This object is easily seen as a dark patch in the southern region of the Milky Way (hence the name) and crosses into the neighboring constellations of Centaurus and Musca. It is located about 600 light years from Earth and is between 30 and 35 light years in radius. In Aboriginal astronomy, the nebula represents the head of the Emu.

Then there's the Kappa Crucis Cluster (aka. the "Jewel Box" or "Herschel's Jewel Box"), an open star cluster that is located approximately 6,440 light years from Earth. It contains roughly 100 stars and is one of the youngest clusters ever discovered (only 14 million years old). To the naked eye, the cluster appears like a star near Beta Crucis.

Finding Crux:

The constellation itself consists of four bright, main stars and 19 stars which have Bayer/Flamsteed designations. It is bordered by the constellations of Centaurus and Musca. At present, Crux is visible at latitudes between +20° and -90°. While it is fairly circumpolar for the southern hemisphere, it is best seen a culmination during the month of May.

The location of the Crux constellation. Credit: IAU

Now, let's take out binoculars and examine its stars, started with Alpha Crucis, the "a" shape on our map. Its proper name is Acrux and it is the twelfth brightest star in the night sky. If you switch your binoculars out for a telescope, you'll find that 321 light year distant Acrux is also a binary star, with components separated by about 4 arc seconds and around one half stellar magnitude difference in brightness.

The brighter of the two, A1 is itself a spectroscopic binary star - with a companion that orbits no further away than our own Earth, yet is around 14 times larger than our own Sun! Needless to say, there's a very good chance this star may one day go supernova. While you're there, take a look an addition 90 arc seconds away for a third star. While it may just be an optical companion to the Acrux system, it does share the same proper motion!

Back to binoculars an on to Beta Crucis - the "B" shape on the map. Mimosa is located about 353 light years away from our solar system and it is also a spectroscopic binary star. This magnificent blue/white giant star is tied at number 19 as one of the brightest stars in the sky, and if we could put it side by side with our Sun it would be 3000 times brighter. Mimosa is also a multiply-periodic Beta-Cephi type star, too, fluxing by about 1/10 of a magnitude in as little as hours. What's going on? Inside Beta Crucis the iron content is only about half that of Sol and it's nearing the end of its hydrogen-fusing stage. When the iron core develops? Watch out! It's supernova time....

Now hang on to your binoculars and head north for Gamma Crucis, the "Y" shape on the map. Gacrux, is a red giant star approximately 88 light-years away from Earth. Did you notice its optical companion about 2 arc minutes away at an angle of 128 degrees from the main star? While the two look close together in the sky, the secondary star is actually 400 light years away! Gacrux shows its beautiful orange coloring to prove it has evolved off of the main sequence to become a red giant star, and it may even be evolving past the helium-burning stage.

The Coalsack Nebula and Kappa Crucis Cluster. Credit: A. Fujii

Move on now to Delta Crucis - the figure "8" on our map. Decrux is a red giant star located about 360 light years away from our vantage point. Delta Crucis is also Beta Cephei variable and changes its brightness just a tiny bit over a period of about an hour and 20 minutes. Another cool factoid about Delta Crucis is that it's a fast rotator - spinning at a speed of at least 194 kilometers per second at the equator and making a full rotation in about 32 hours.

This massive star also produces a massive stellar wind, shooting off 1000 times more material than our own Sun every second of every day! Or try R Crucis... It's also a Beta-Cephi type variable star, but it changes by nearly a full stellar magnitude in just a little over five days!

Keep your binoculars handy and head back to Beta and sweep south a degree and a half for the Kappa Crucis star cluster. This beautiful galactic cluster of stars commonly known as the Jewel Box (NGC 4755). After you see its glittering collection of multi-colored stars, you'll understand how it got its name! It is one of the youngest clusters, perhaps only a few million years old.

Kappa Crucis is also right on the edge of a dark void in the sky called the "Coal Sack". While you're looking around, you'll notice that there seem to be very few stars in this area. That's because they are being blocked by a dark nebula! The Coal Sack is a large, dark dust cloud about 500 light years away and it's blocking out the light from stars which lie beyond it. The few stars you do see are in front of the cloud and much nearer to the Earth.

The Jewel Box - the Kappa Crucis Cluster. Credit: ESO/NASA/ESA/Digitized Sky Survey 2/Jesús Maíz Apellániz (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Spain)

Now it's telescope time. Head to Alpha Crucis and slightly less than 2 degrees east for NGC4609. Also on the edge of the Coalsack, this large, fairly condensed open cluster contains about 40 members and they are well spread across the sky. The pattern somewhat resembles the constellation of Orion (in the imagination, of course!). Mark you observing notes for Caldwell 98. Next stop? Back to Delta and less than 3 degrees south/southwest for NGC4103, another open cluster on the edge of night. With a little bit of imagination, this grouping of stars could appear to look like a celestial water tower!

We have written many interesting articles about the constellation here at Universe Today. Here is What Are The Constellations?, What Is The Zodiac?, and Zodiac Signs And Their Dates.

Be sure to check out The Messier Catalog while you're at it!

For more information, check out the IAUs list of Constellations, and the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space page on Canes Venatici and Constellation Families.

Sources:

By Tammy Plotner
Tammy was a professional astronomy author, President Emeritus of Warren Rupp Observatory and retired Astronomical League Executive Secretary. She's received a vast number of astronomy achievement and observing awards, including the Great Lakes Astronomy Achievement Award, RG Wright Service Award and the first woman astronomer to achieve Comet Hunter's Gold Status. (Tammy passed away in early 2015... she will be missed)

88 IAU constellations, Acrux, Almagest, Constellations, Crux, Featured, Mimosa, the southern cross

Desentierran figuras de 3.500 años de antigüedad en un santuario prehispánico en Lima

Los arqueólogos descubrieron dos antiguos frisos en la huaca Garagay, un complejo arqueológico de la capital peruana.

La semana pasada se dio a conocer que en la huaca Garagay, ubicada en la capital de Perú en el distrito de San Martín de Porres, un equipo de arqueólogos de la Municipalidad de Lima desenterró dos antiguos frisos polícromos. El jefe del equipo, Héctor Walde, explicó que el hallazgo representa "figuras en barro ricamente decoradas con materiales minerales muy bien adheridos".

"No pareciera que hubieran pasado 3.500 años desde que se hicieron", indica. El arqueólogo agrega que se trata de personajes "antropomorfizados con características de felinos, de aves rapiñas, de serpientes, que es más o menos lo que las personas ven cuando están en una ceremonia ritual".

Las decoraciones en alto relieve del santuario prehispánico se asemejan a las de la cultura Chavín. El sitio arqueológico de la huaca Garagay tiene 3.800 años de antigüedad y es "el único lugar en Lima que muestra una arquitectura tan compleja y tan ricamente decorada", comenta Walde.

¿La cuna de la civilización?

Recientemente Perú ha sido escenario de otro descubrimiento asombroso. Tras analizar cientos de miles de artefactos de Huaca Prieta, arqueólogos de la Universidad Atlántica de Florida (EE.UU.) concluyeron que aproximadamente hace 15.000 años en Perú existió una civilización mucho más avanzada de lo que se pensaba.

Contaba con una organización social muy estructurada y podría ser la más antigua establecida en el país.