As workers in tattered blue jeans and scuffed tennis shoes began hauling the 500-pound artifact out of its muddy grave in northern Peru’s highland archaeological zone of Pacopampa, Stanford associate professor of anthropological sciences John Rick began blowing on a Strombus trumpet. This ancient instrument sounds like a moan. It was a fitting ceremony for the discovery of what experts believe is one of the oldest priestly tombs in the country.
According to a statement from Peru’s Culture Ministry, the man’s burial, known as the “Priest of Pacopampa,” appears to date to about 1,200 BC. The ministry said the man was buried under six layers of ash mixed with black earth, with decorated ceramic bowls and seals indicating ancient ritual body paint used for people of elite standing.
Researchers discovered the tomb, which is circular and more than three meters wide and deep, at a site where the Pacopampa Archaeological Complex has been under excavation for more than a century. The priest was accompanied by musical instruments, including pututo, which are blown musical instruments made of large seashells called Strombus sp. The archaeologists believe the man buried at Pacopampa may have been a religious leader who served in an order that exists on a global scale, similar to a religious sect or brotherhood.
Earlier discoveries at the site have helped researchers trace the development of early priests in the Andes. The priests were the first to control temples in the country’s north Andes and were responsible for constructing buildings at sacred sites where they would hold ceremonies. They also served as mediators between the gods and people and negotiated with other priests to oversee the temples.
The team led by Yuji Seki, who has been working at the Pacopampa dig since 2005, believes this tomb is the oldest in the country. He described the large size of the tomb – nearly two meters in diameter and a meter deep – as “very peculiar,” as well as the body’s positioning, lying face down with half his torso extended and his feet crossed. A bone shaped into a tube, the type of pin used by Andean Amerindians to hold cloaks and capes, was also found with the body.
The find offers clues to the development of the Andean polity that was at its strongest in the region around Tiahuanaco during this period, researchers say. The ministry said mortgage architecture varies between the North and South, with pure much (anthropomorphic sarcophagi) more common in the North and so-called chullpas in the South. Stylistic variation is also evident: volutes, the intricate design of a circle and an arrow are restricted to the northern area, while more elaborate patterns appear at sites further south.
