Last Saturday morning (two Saturdays ago now)we went on another excursion, this time to an archaeological dig. Who knew that there were ancient ruins in the middle of Lima?
The dig is surrounded by buildings, roads, and neighborhoods. Our (English-speaking..yay!) tour guide said the land where the ruins are was private property. Buildings and roads were being built on top of it until people (restoreres, archaeologists, etc.) intervened. Originally the area was around 50 acres, but now it is only around 15 acres. The ruins used to be a temple for Peruvians, whose culture is known as the Lima Culture (hmmm...they weren't firing all cylinders on creativity there, were they?) This group of people existed before the Incas, who are more well-known. The Lima Culture is in the center of Lima (duh.) A lot of the religion and culture is based on the sea (Pacific Ocean). The Lima Culture's sea-based religion was represented by waves and two-headed sharks. They also held banquets in which shark meat was the main dish. Other activities included remodeling buildings, breaking ceramic jars, and sacrificing children and women. Priests did worship stuff and also functioned as local governors.
The structure of the temple is made of many, many bricks composed of mud and seashells. They were placed vertically to make the structures more eathquake-resistant. (Aside from their obsession with sharks and human sacrifices, these guys were pretty smart!) There is one main pyramid on the west side that served as the ceremonial headquarters. We were able to stand on top of it because the pyramids didn't come to a point like in Egypt; the top is like a platform. Surrounding the central pyramid are plazas/rooms probably used for meetings.
Aside from the dig, there was a section of animals that were kept during the Lima Culture. There were alpacas, llamas, cuy (guinea pigs), and hairless dogs. I think it's kind of an oxymoron...hairless dogs. There were two, and one walked past me, and I was thinking "Whew!" and then the other one walked up and leaned against me! I was like "eww." But then I petted it and it was weird! Like pig skin (scratchy leather, sort of) Besides the animals there were plants that were in the era too. The whole thing was really cool!
Fun Fact: Everyone in the Lima Culture was 5 feet tall or shorter.
Also on that day we went to the largest fountain park in the world, also in Lima. If you want to see video and pictures, visit my family's blog: thewetzelsgotoperu.blogspot.com (I would post them here, but they take FOREVER to load! ugh) More news: my dad left yesterday morning for Iquitos, the gateway to the rainforest. Please pray that the weather is nice and for safety.
Mags:)
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