The last time anyone saw this Peruvian Huaca Pintada was over a century ago. Now, a team of intrepid archaeology students and their professor have painstakingly rediscovered the lost 1,000-year-old mural which they say provides evidence for the development and evolution of an ancient Peruvian cultural phenomenon.
The legendary Peruvian Huaca is a 30-metre-high (98.42 ft) rock face painted with mythological scenes including an ancient deity surrounded by indigenous warriors. An article in La República reports that the site was first rediscovered in 1916 by a group of huagueros, or treasure hunters , in Illimo, near the city of Chiclayo, the capital city of northwest Peru’s Lambayeque region.
Hans Hinrich Brüning (1848 to 1928) was a German engineer, ethnographer and linguist who arrived at Chiclayo in 1875. Soon after settling in Peru, Brüning began visiting haciendas (farms) and he was introduced to the Huaca Pintada , which he photographed. However, having been forbidden from excavating their find, the treasure hunters damaged the huaca and it was subsequently lost for over 100 years.
Sâm Ghavami uses a brush to reveal the mural, dubbed the Peruvian Huaca Pintada. (Sâm Ghavami)
What Exactly is a Peruvian Huaca Pintada ?
The name Huaca Pintada has both Quechua and Spanish origins. The words huaca, waca or guaca was a Quechuan term referring to anything deemed “sacred” and the Spanish word Pintada means “painted.” Therefore, Huaca Pintada loosely translates to “painted…
