Archaeologists Rediscover a Pre-Columbian Mural Previously Seen Only in Black and White Photos Taken Over a Century Ago.
(Video: AFP)
“This is a remarkable discovery because it is rare to excavate a mural of such high quality from the Pre-Columbian era. Its composition is unique in the history of mural art in Peru,” emphasized Sam Ghavami, the lead archaeologist from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.
Ghavami, along with a team of Peruvian students, spent four years searching for the mural that he believes is around 1,000 years old. It is part of the Huaca Pintada temple, associated with the Moche civilization, which thrived from the 1st to the 8th century and revered the Moon, rain, iguanas, and spiders.
The 1,000-year-old mural discovered at the Huaca Pintada temple in Peru.
The mural is approximately 30 meters long and is not covered, yet its blue, brown, red, white, and yellow paint remains remarkably well-preserved. In one section of the mural, a group of warriors can be seen advancing towards a bird-like deity.
Ghavami noted that the images “seem to be inspired by the idea of a sacred hierarchy built around ancestor worship and their close relationship with natural forces.”
Decoding the message of the mural will be part of Ghavami’s ongoing research. The archaeologist believes that “it could be a metaphorical representation of the political and religious order of the ancient inhabitants of the region.”
This discovery is also unusual in that it shows a blend of styles and elements from two pre-Incan cultures: Moche and Lambayeque, who lived along the northern coast of Peru from around 900 to 1350.
Previously, the existence of the mural was known only through black and white photographs taken in 1916 by German ethnographer Hans Heinrich Bruning, who lived in Peru for many years.
However, treasure hunters damaged part of the mural while attempting to loot the site, causing it to be forgotten until now.
No one was aware of the photographs Bruning took until 1978. Since then, archaeologists have known about the Huaca Pintada temple, but no one excavated the site, thinking they would not find anything there.
The mural began to attract Ghavami’s interest while he was working on his doctoral thesis about cultural transitions, such as between the Moche and Lambayeque civilizations. However, he spent many years seeking permission and organizing the excavation of the temple.
