After a brief introductory film, museum goers will enter a darkened area and emerge on a path simulating ancient pavement that winds past heavy tropical foliage and dappled light of jungle netting, listening to the sounds of wild animals and earth tremors. Along the journey will be pottery, textiles and other artifacts left by the Paracas, Moche, Chancay and other peoples, as well as the Incas. Pay close attention and you'll see the beauty of their arts and their ways of life and death. The trip requires between one and two hours, but it will take you back thousands of years. This carved and polished basalt club head was among the weaponry of Peru's ancient civilizations.
Pitchers display themes from the supernatural and natural worlds.
At left, a female supernatural being is surrounded by children, symbolizing fertility and abundance. While most portrait vessels depict high-ranking individuals, these represent the common man. Extensive detail, such as the wrinkles on the woman depicted on the pitcher fourth from the left, are typical of the realism in Moche art. This monochrome fish-shaped paccha was a ritual object intended to make the earth fertile. The method of burial corresponds to Middle Horizon culture.