Peru Continues to grow on me as we explore the history and archeological findings of its past. I am amazed at how well these artifacts have been preserved after many new cultures and civilizations were built on top of one another. Experiencing this city and learning in its many museums has opened my eyes to things I would have never seen otherwise.
I can not seem to forget our visit to the Rimac District. The second we arrived I think all of our hearts started to break a little for the people who lived there. I have seen many pictures of Cerro San Cristobal (the mountain with the cross), but I never would have imagined that the poverty that seemed to exist on that mountain would stretch for miles around. From the top of the mountain it was clear that poverty was the norm, and it appeared that way for as far as I could see. It is hard to see the grand architecture, paintings, and luxurious buildings surrounding the Plaza de Armas; and then see that immediately across the Rio Rimac people were living in such horrible conditions. It makes me look at my life and think of the luxuries that I enjoy but don’t really need.
On a happier note, my favorite museum thus far has been the Museum De Larco. Despite the fact that this museum was so nice, seeing the culmination of a life long work to discovery the ancient history of peru was astonishing. What stood out to me was the history that was included with the artwork. I was wondering while in the Archaeology Anthropology and History of Peru museum why clay pottery that appeared to be used to contain water, had to be so ornate and decorated. The Larco exhibit made it clear that many of these fancy artifacts were used in tombs, and in cultures where life after death was important, sacrificing the best they had to offer was important as well.
I also noted how the rulers of many of these ancient cultures always dressed in precious metals and fine linens. I wondered why people would work so hard to make difficult terraces, beautiful art, and many other things under rulers who flaunted their status with things like gold and silver. I never thought of this before but as the exhibits tried to display rulers did this in order to be perceived as gods. Many ancient cultures in Peru worshiped things like the sun. And for many people the sun was the only bright and shiny thing they knew, so when rulers came out dressed in shiny metals they had to have been impressed and moved by such foreign attire.
Continuing the same idea, we have seen many paintings and depictions of warfare across many civilizations. Again, we see over the top dress of the people seemingly fighting. This raises the question of why the fighting was taking place, and why was it so important to wear things that gave no advantage in the field of battle. My only guess to this question would be that warfare must have stood for more than just conquering or controlling another group of people, but maybe as a ritual to gain favor from the gods or controlling powers of nature.
For months we have been discussing quipus getting ready for this class, but I never expected how amazed I would be by those little knots. Seeing pictures did not do justice to the amount of work and detail that went into making quipus. The mystery on the meaning of quipus and their use fascinates me, and trying to understand a database type system with out what we know as written language blows my mind. The quipus consist of three types of knots, long knots, single knots, and figure 8 knots. There are also three types of cords knows as top cords, pendant cords, and subsidiary cords. Quipus can also vary in color and length, and sometimes color varies on the same cord. While we know that the main purpose quipus was to record numerical information, not much has been found on what the different types of colors could mean. It could be as simple as the quipu makers ran out of that color cord, or it could portray information about what exactly was being recorded.
I thought that after a week my excitement for this trip might dwindle, but the longer I am here the more I like this place. I am excited for the weeks ahead, and can’t wait to learn more about the culture here in Peru.
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