Our first days in Lima

Peru has been quite a culture shock so far, but very exciting during our first few days in the city of Lima. Over the past few days we have visited Mira Flores, the Lima Cathedral Museum of Religious Art, the Lima Archbishop’s Palace Museum, and the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology.

                At the first museum, we attempted to study the patterns and symmetry from the different panels and ceramics, which contained several reoccurring shapes and numerical counts. Most of the symmetry seemed to be reflectional, and those only occurred within squares that were inside each panel. The reoccurring themes and symbols seen in these same panels we observed were very familiar to those of the tocapus. Counts of fours and fives seemed to be reoccurring, as well as diamond and stair patterns that were repeating throughout the individual squares inside each of these panels.  Some of the shapes on these panels that were repeating included diamonds, squares, and checkered boards. A few animals I recognized in these patterns included different types of birds and fish.

                The Lima Archbishop’s Palace Museum and the Lima Cathedral Museum of Religious Art were absolutely gorgeous and were very interesting to visit. I enjoyed getting to see the different architectural styles, and also to learn about the history of Lima from these two buildings. Even though it is hard to comprehend the overwhelming amounts of Spanish, it has been by far one of the most interesting places we’ve been thus far.