Museos y Surprise Trips

           Over the next few days we've ventured out to Barranco, Museo Metropolitana de Lima, Museo Nacional de Arqueologia, Anthropologia e Historia del Peru, and the Larco Museum. 

             On our second day of class we visited Lima’s Metropolitan Museum, which gave us some information about the general history of Lima. It was mostly multi-media with several videos, which was very easy to follow.  

           The Museo de Arte was closed due to renovation, so we set out to explore. A group of us wanted to visit a district in Lima, Rimac, which is set at the top of a mountain that overlooks the Plaza Mayor.  However, reality we faced on our trip was very appalling. We soon realized that the areas we were planning to visit were a potential threat, and some of the group felt paranoid. As a result, the group returned to the inner city, where a few of us set out on a new trip. 

Slums of Rimac- No Bueno

               We then took our first cab ride alone to Barranco which was surrounded by several amazing views of the beach, restaurants and tourist attractions. This area seemed to be very calm and relaxing compared to our previous trip to Mira Flores. I think the group has finally figured out how to navigate around Lima, using both the taxis and the Mirabuses...which weren't as awful as our expectations.

                                                                            Barranco

             During our visits to the Museo Nacional de Arquologia, Anthropologia  e Historia del Peru, we were able to observe several different ceramics from different time periods.  Several of these vessels included stylized animals, rotational symmetry, maize- like patterns, stair-patterns,  as well as other reoccurring themes. Some of the main animal characterizations we saw were those of felines, serpents, birds, or a combination of all three. Other symbolism seen on these vessels included combat, maternity, sacrifice, death, and birth.  Many of the Inca designs include a double-chamber and a double spout-bridge, as seen in the pictures below.                                                   

              

Larco Museum

                We continued our observations at the Larco Museum.   Several civilizations including the Moche, Chimu, Nazca, Chincha, and the Inca were included in these exhibits. These contained numerous vessels, textiles, jewelry, and accessories.  One main focus we were also able to observe was that of the quipus and tocapus. From these quipus, we were able to observe different colors, knots, and distances between the knots to suggest how the Incas used them to record information. Different patterns from the tocapus, seen in several textiles were also observed. The designs of the tocapus were believed to represent a writing system and transmitted special visual codes of information between the Incas. 

One example of the tocapu textiles- bird representations

Here are a few of the different periods and the characteristics of their vessels:

Chimu-Inca Period- 1300 AD-1532 AD. These contained double chamber and double spouts linked by a bridge, and also continued the use of the feline.

Moche Civilization- 1 AD-800 AD. Their ceramics contained true portraits on vessels, priests, warriors, and the ruling elite. There was a lot of emphasis on their headdresses and body adornment.

Chinca-Inca Imperial 1300 AD-1532 AD. The styles of the Incas and the Chincha were fused together. Their most characteristic pottery form was the bowl, which usually contained certain geometric combinations. 

Nazca 1 AD- 800 AD. They contained complex representation of animals and supernatural beings. Also contained combination of feline, bird, and serpent features. Also had a small double spout and bridge designs.