Larco Archeological Museum

Rafael Larco Hoyle made his money in agriculture.  In the 1950s he moved to Lima for the land but his real passion was the archeology of the peoples of Peru. He supported diggings throughout the area and collected 45,000 pieces from as far back as 15,000 years ago.  These are now in his museum in Lima.

Cheryll, our travel agent recommended this excellent tour.  We started with the Mochito culture.  They believed in a three-level form of form of worship.  Heaven was represented by birds, earth by puma (cats) and the underworld by snakes.

Pachamama is mother earth.

 Doctor sculptures show medical treatment, even brain surgery.

Sipan tomb items.

They believed in a duality of opposites, night-day, dry-wet, man-woman, thus the opposite colors.

 Huari society

This ceramic “portrait” is anatomically correct.

Nasca added more color to their sculpture.  This “skirt” contains feathers. 

They buried the dead in a fetal position.  The body was wrapped in several layers with the outer layer including gold and feathers.  Supernatural figures were woven into the covering.  Bodies were buried with their most prized possessions for use in the afterlife.  The head is represented by a mask and crown as the actual head is wrapped inside the body of the mummy.

The Inca built larger objects.  They believed there was no society before them.  The Queen was owner of land, the King the ruler.  They inhabited from Equador in the north through Chile in the south absorbing the resident cultures.

The Incas used a system called Quipus for keeping count of population and trade.  The count was marked with knots, colors and beads.

 The Mochica performed human sacrifice. These metal artifacts were used.

These are metal tools used by Tumee doctors

 The Metal Room contains items of gold and silver used for religious ceremonies and personal adornment. 

Surgeons performed trepanation in which a hole is drilled into the skull to release evil spirits as well as to remove bone fragments from a blow to the head.

This gold funerary offering is from Chimu, about 1300-1500.

  The storeroom is replete with artifacts collected by and for Larco.

A special room is filled with erotica, most quite explicit.

Though we there in the evening we enjoyed the lovely garden where we had an excellent dinner.  We traded luscious lemon and chocolate mousse for dessert.