From Maya to Inca: Huaca Rayada and Túcume

Today (18th June) we went to the archaeological sites of Huaca Rayada and Túcume, which were both discovered relatively recently close to Chiclayo. Huaca Rayada is located next to the village of Sipán and was actually discovered first by tomb raiders and then in 1987 by a local archaeologist who realised that a major burial site must have been pillaged when he saw objects that were being secretly circulated. Fortunately, there were still more tombs to be discovered as, even more valuable than the objects themselves, is the information these objects provide about the archaeological and historical context of the time, and since only a relatively small amount is known so far about the pre-Inca civilisations, these discoveries are a gold mine in terms of historical knowledge and research. The tombs that were uncovered in this area, for the most part, are the tombs of high-standing members of the pre-Inca Moche civilisation or culture. These men were not only buried with valuable objects but also with their wives and children who were sacrificed to go with them to the next life. The Moche civilisation was at its peak from 100 BC to 800 AD and was followed by the Sicán and Chimú cultures who were then conquered by the Incas in 1471. In a manner reminiscent of the Mayans, they built huge truncated pyramids using millions of bricks of adobe in order to bring the level of the earth towards the Gods, on which they built constructions for religious, administrative and military purposes respectively, and they are known for their beautiful ceramics, many of which were found in or next to the tombs. The contents of the tombs have been taken to a large museum in Lambayeque, so the objects that you see on the site are replicas but it is still very interesting to see the real site of the tombs and the archaeological work in progress. (A quick aside: when I was looking for a suitable link to explain ceviche in a previous post, I found out that ceviche may have also originated with the Moche culture).

The little-known archaeological site of Túcume lies next to the Pan-American highway to the North of Lambayeque. It was the last capital of the pre-Inca Sicán (or Lambayeque) civilisation which overlapped with the Moches. There is a great view of this site from the look-out point. It contains at least 26 pyramids that had to be moved here around 1050 after El Niño destroyed their original capital. It is not known exactly what caused the collapse of the Moche and Sicán civilisations but it is thought that El Niño played a large part. Unlike the Incas, these civilisations built using clay which was easily destructible and torrential rain eroded the adobe walls.

On our way back to Chiclayo, we passed through Lambayeque. Lambayeque used to be the main town in the region, but it has not withstood the growth and success of Chiclayo. A project is currently underway to renovate the pipelines of this town, which become flooded during periods of heavy rain during the spring. Lambayeque is consequently a very dusty, ugly town right now as apparently huge areas of greenery have had to be removed in order to carry out these renovations, but to me it seems to fit quite well with the other dusty, chaotic towns along the coast just as it is. I think the Moches would turn in their graves if they could see it now. And maybe indeed they have...