The 2,400-Year-Old Giant Clay Vase Discovered in Peru You Probably Never Heard About

On October 27, 1966, the Regional Museum of Ica discovered a unique object of unseen proportions; a massive granary bowl, until then the largest pre-Hispanic pot found in Peru.

The fired clay vessel dimensions were 2 meters in diameter, 2.8 meters in height, and sections of 5 cm on the walls and 12 cm at the base.

Inside and at different levels, archaeologists found seeds of beans, Pallares, yucca, lucuma, and guavas. No remains of stoves were found in the vicinity, the reason why archaeologists believe that the giant clay pot was transported in the distant past, approximately 2,400 years ago, from another place to where it was eventually discovered.

The giant clay pot was discovered in the Paracas region of Peru, in the Pisco Valley.

Unique, enduring, and of unusual proportions, its discovery raised numerous questions. To this date, little or no information about the massive clay pot or other similar artefacts has been made available, forcing us to extrapolate more about if it was found in the region.

Paracas, Ica, Nazca

the above subtitle mentions three names that, if you know anything about Peru’s ancient history, then they should ring a bell.

The Paracas culture was an ancient Andean culture that was edited in present-day Peru some 2,100 years ago, developing an extensive knowledge of irrigation, water management, textile production, and ceramic artefacts. More importantly, they are famous for artificial cranial deformation, by which the heads of infants and babies were elongated and deformed, producing unique, long skulls.

Ica is an area in southern Peru that was inhabited by various ancient cultures throughout history. Home to the Museo Reginal the Ica, Ica is home to a treasure trove of history.

It was in Ica Peru where in the 1960s, a man called Javier Cabrera introduced the world to the so-called Ica Stones, a controversial collection of andesite stones, allegedly found in the Ica province bearing illustrations of dinosaurs, humanoid figurines, and what many have interpreted as evidence of advanced technology.

Today, these artefacts have been tagged as a modern hoax and discredited. archaeologist Ken Feder commented on the stones: “The Ica Stones are not the most sophisticated of the archaeological hoaxes discussed in this book, but they certainly rank up there as the most preposterous.”

Nazca is perhaps the most famous. Home to the famous Nazca lines, this region is perhaps one of the most famous in Peru. The Nazca Lines are a group of massive geoglyphs carved into the Nazca desert in southern Peru. Likely created around 500 BC, the massive lines cover a combined length of  1,300 km (808 mi), and the group covers an area of about 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi).

The Clay Pot

Its massive size is unusual, and although it may give rise to conspiracies given the fact it was located not far from the Nazca Lines, the Ica region, and the so-called Paracas skulls, the contents of the clay pot, and the material it was built from can tell us much about its purpose.

For starters, the Regional Ica Museum clearly describes the clay pot as a granary jar; an object inside which ancient people would store seeds or food. It is the biggest one found in Peru, but it isn’t necessarily the only one. Dating back 2,400 years, the massive pot was crafted around 400 BC. If we look at the division introduced by Peruvian archaeologist Julio C. Tello, the massive clay pot was made during the Paracas Necropolis period, which lasted from around 500 BC to around 200 AD.

The Paracas-Necropolis period got its name from the fact that its rectangular cemeteries, discovered in Warikayan, were divided into several compartments or underground chambers, which to Tello reassembled a “city of the dead” (necropolis). Each large chamber allegedly would have been owned by a specific family or clan, which buried their ancestors for many generations.

Whether the clay vase originated from Warikayan, which was a large ancient settlement, or from a nearby settlement remains an unanswered question. Since objects of similar proportions have not been found in the region, archaeologists believe that the ancient clay container was brought to where it was eventually found in the distant past, perhaps as a trade or a gift from neighbouring settlements.

We do know that before it was abandoned, it was used by the ancients to store food. We know it was produced of fire clay. Its unusual size suggests that whoever built it wanted to store large amounts of material inside.

It likely held seeds or food and was covered and may have been buried beneath the ground, covered by a top. Burying the clay vase into the surface and storing food inside it may have helped preserve the food for longer periods of time, protecting it from higher temperatures above the surface.

The giant Ica Clay Vase is one of the more interesting yet lesser known artefacts, part of the history of a region where mighty ancient cultures developed, evolved, and eventually disappeared.

It proves that there is more to the region than the Ica Stones, the Nazca Lines, and the strange Paracas Skulls. It also tells us that incredible artefacts may remain buried beneath our feet, hidden from history buried for thousands of years, waiting to be excavated and restored to their former glory.

2,000-year-old skull held together by metal thought to be oldest evidence of advanced surgery

A 2,000-year-old skull of a Peruvian warrior was found to be fused together by metal. Experts from a US museum believe it could be one of the oldest examples of advanced surgery.

The Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma said the skull is reported to have been that of a man who was injured in battle before undergoing surgery to implant a piece of metal in his head to repair a fracture.

And that’s not the most impressive part. Experts at the museum believe the man survived as a result of the surgery,

Therefore, the skull has now become a crucial piece of evidence to prove that ancient people were skilled enough to perform advanced surgeries.

“Yes, this is a real human skull that is thousands of years old. Elongation was achieved through head binding beginning at a very young age. It was typically practised to convey social status by various cultures,” the Museum of Osteology wrote in a Facebook post.

The post added that the human survived a procedure that is known as trephination, which was practised by all ancient civilizations by different means.

The post added: “This individual survived the procedure. known as trephination,  based on evidence of bone remodelling. Trephination was practised by nearly all ancient civilizations by different means and for different reasons.”

The museum said the metal used in the procedure was not poured as molten metal. However, the experts are not sure about the composition of the alloy

The metal plate was used to fuse the broken bones.

“Although we can’t guarantee anaesthesia was used, we do know many natural remedies existed for surgical procedures during this time period,” the museum informed.

The skull on display is an example of n elongated Peruvian skull, an ancient form of body modification where tribe members intentionally deformed the skulls of young children by binding them with a cloth.

According to reports, the skull was kept in the museum’s private collection for many years, It was put on display in 2020 after growing public interest.

The Discovery 29 people of ancient Peruvian burial tombs sheds new light on Wari culture

The human remains of 29 people, buried as sacrificial offerings more than 1,000 years ago, have been discovered in a pre-Inca temple in northern Peru. Researchers found four tombs in the Huaca Santa Rosa de Pucalá dig site, in the Lambayeque region of Peru, with the remains of children and teenagers.

They were originally buried as offerings at the time of the construction of the first of the three enclosures, including a Wari-culture temple, according to the team behind the discovery from the Lambayeque Valley Archaeological Project.

As well as the human remains, the team discovered camelids and guinea pigs showing signs of sacrificial practices.

Archaeologist Edgar Bracamonte Levano, who is also in charge of the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum, said this was a significant discovery. 

It is the first time they have registered this type of human offering linked to the Wari culture, a civilisation that flourished in the south-central Andes and coastal area of modern-day Peru, from about 500 to 1000 CE.

So far three of the enclosures discovered at the site have been excavated, according to the team behind the finding. 

As well as the human remains, they also found offerings of camelids, such as alpacas, with signs of sacrifice and eight sacrificed guinea pigs. 

The remains of humans and animals are part of a possible ritual that was carried out at the time of starting construction on Wari-style religious spaces, they said.

The enclosures were ‘D’ shaped, and within one was a tomb with offerings related to a group living in the area between 850 and 900 CE. 

The tomb contained a pitcher with Mochica iconography, a bottle of the well-known Early Sicán or Proto-Lambayeque style, a pot with palette decoration and a knife or tumi with the blade in the shape of a half Moon.  

The work also revealed a temple from the Formative Period of this community, contemporary to the end of the Chavin culture – different from earlier finds.  

Bracamonte said: ‘It is a temple built with walls made of clay as formwork and that include clay maces as prototypes of adobes inside the walls. 

‘The upper part of the temple presents very well elaborated floors, ceilings of vegetal remains and evidence of the incineration of objects were found.

‘The temple was built by a human group with local features and that are linked to the mountains, showing that during the years 400 to 200 BCE, ‘ he added. 

‘There were different communities on the coast with interactions towards the mountains and that also show marked differences with the groups of the Formative Period found in the lower part of the valley, in Collud and Ventarrón.’

These new discoveries have added to the existence of Wari-period ceremonial spaces, forcing experts to rewrite the history of Lambayeque. 

Red paint on the 1,000-year-old gold mask from Peru contains human blood proteins

Traces of human blood have been discovered in the red paint that decorated a gold mask found on the remains of an elite man who died 1,000 years ago in Peru, a new analysis reveals. 

The man, who was between 40 and 50 years old at the time of his death, lived during the Sicán that spanned from 750 A.D. to 1375 – an era known for its dazzling array of gold objects, many of which were buried in tombs of the elite class.

The tomb was originally unearthed in the 1990s and archaeologists at the time concluded the red paint cinnabar, a brick-red form of mercury, but the effective organic binder remained a mystery – until now.

Scientists, led by Izumi Shimada, founder of the Sicán Archaeological Project, reassessed the ancient burial mask and found unique peptides that match human blood and bird egg proteins. 

‘The presence of human blood would support previous ideas that red cinnabar paint may represent ‘life force’ intended to support ‘rebirth,’ the team shared in the study published in the Journal of Proteome Research.

The mask, made of gold, was found on the man whose skeleton was also painted red, and seated inside the tomb.  

The skeletons of two young women were arranged nearby in birthing and midwifing poses, and two crouching children’s skeletons were placed at a higher level, according to a statement.

Shimada and his colleagues analyzed a small sample of red paint from the mask with the hopes of determining the organic binder.

Using spectroscopy, a study of the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation, the team found six proteins from human blood in the red paint, including serum albumin and immunoglobulin G (a type of human serum antibody). Other proteins, such as ovalbumin, came from egg whites.

Since the proteins were so highly degraded, the researchers could not identify the exact species of bird’s egg used to make the paint, but a likely candidate is the Muscovy duck.

The Sican culture inhabited the north coast of modern-day Peru and predates the Incas, but how they developed is unclear Ancient Origins reports.

However, some say Sicáns are descendants of the Moche culture that flourished in the country from 100 A.D. to 700 A.D.

The Sicán culture put a large focus on the funerary practices of the elites, who were often buried with stunning grave goods.

Another aspect of Sicán funerary practice that has gained attention relatively recently is that of human sacrifice – and it was mostly women who were sacrificed and laid in the tombs of men.

15th-century Chan Chan mass grave discovered in Peru

A mass grave of 25 to 30 skeletons has been unearthed in the ancient Peruvian city of Chan Chan, which archaeologists believe is the resting place of the society’s elite members.

The remains were discovered in a small space measuring just 107 square feet, roughly 10 feet long and 10 feet wide, located inside what was once the capital of the Chimú empire that reached its height in the 15th century before falling to the Incas in 1470 AD.

Archaeologist Jorge Menese told Reuters that although this ancient society is known for human sacrifices, there is no evidence suggesting that this occurred at the site.

However, researchers plan to conduct tests in the future to determine each of the individual’s causes of death.

The Chimú were a pre-Incan culture that emerged out of the remnants of the Moche culture along the coast of Peru in 900 AD.

These ancient people lived in a strip of desert, 20 to 100 miles, in the South American country, between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes.

It’s thought that the Chimú culture peaked in the first half of the 14th century, developing a complex civilization with different levels of social hierarchy.

Most of the mass graves found in and around the ancient city were a result of human sacrifice, but Menese said the position of these 25 to 30 skeletons suggest they were buried shortly after the person had died.

Archaeologist Sinthya Cueva said in a video shot at the site that although the remains are of men, women and children, most are women no older than 30.

The Chimú empire is famous for human sacrifices, specifically one uncovered in 2019 that is the largest the world has ever seen.

More than 140 children, along with llamas, were found slaughtered in what is thought to be a mass sacrifice to appease the gods of a now extinct religion.

Many of the children and juvenile animals had their hearts cut out during the grisly ritual.

The children ranged in age from five to 14 years old.

It is thought a huge El Niño caused major flooding and storms which triggered the bloody sacrifice.

Analysis of the remains of more than 200 juvenile llamas and humans dates it to approximately 1450, during the peak of the Chimú civilization in northern coastal Peru.

Study author John Verano, professor of anthropology at Tulane University, said: ‘This site opens a new chapter on the practice of child sacrifice in the ancient world.

‘This archaeological discovery was a surprise to all of us – we had not seen anything like this before, and there was no suggestion from ethnohistoric sources or historic accounts of child or camelid sacrifices being made on such a scale in northern coastal Peru.

‘We were fortunate to be able to completely excavate the site and to have a multidisciplinary field and laboratory team to do the excavation and preliminary analysis of the material.’