Piecing together Peru’s past
(click on photos for enlargement)
masksChancay
(A.D. 1200-1450): Painted masks like these were placed on mummified bodies bundled in fine textiles and a large, plain cloth.

 

 pitchersMoche
(A.D. 50-800): These pitchers depict people with serious injuries or deformities. Such deformities were often caused by disease or inflicted as punishment or for sacrificial purposes.
Stylized birdMoche
(A.D. 50-800):
Stylized birds and other creatures with human limbs and features reflect a belief in the connectedness between humans and animals.
headdress Nazca
(A.D. 1-700):
This gold diadem is an example of the ancient traditional headdress.
vesselsNazca
(A.D. 1-700): Mythical images were burnished onto the surface of these vessels.		 bowlTiahuanaco-Huari
(A.D. 800-1200): Water symbols adorn this polychrome bowl.

museum worker

A museum worker examines a gold pectoral, or chest ornament, from the Sican culture of Lambayeque, Peru, which existed in A.D. 700-1370.

 Sican
(A.D. 700-1370): This gold tumi with inlaid turquoise is a ceremonial ax representing the lord Naymlap.

gold tumi

 Origin unknown:
Burial in the fetal position suggests rebirth.

mummy

 
Photos courtesy of Florida International Museum

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