Stunning Astronomical Alignment Found at Peru Pyramid   Live Science - May 6, 2013

An ancient astronomical alignment in southern Peru has been discovered by researchers between a pyramid, two stone lines and the setting sun during the winter solstice. During the solstice, hundreds of years ago, the three would have lined up to frame the pyramid in light. The two stone lines, called geoglyphs, are located about 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) east-southeast from the pyramid. They run for about 1,640 feet (500 meters), and researchers say the lines were "positioned in such a way as to frame the pyramid as one descended down the valley from the highlands."

Archaeologists have discovered a pyramid in southern Peru, built between 600 B.C. and 50 B.C. ago, would have aligned with two stone lines and the setting sun during the winter solstice. Here, a 3D model shows the event that happened at the Cerro del Gentil pyramid during the winter solstice. The two stone lines frame the pyramid with the sun setting directly behind it. This alignment may have had cosmological significance for the people who lived there. An ancient astronomical alignment in southern Peru has been discovered by researchers between a pyramid, two stone lines and the setting sun during the winter solstice. During the solstice, hundreds of years ago, the three would have lined up to frame the pyramid in light. The two stone lines, called geoglyphs, are located about 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) east-southeast from the pyramid. They run for about 1,640 feet (500 meters), and researchers say the lines were "positioned in such a way as to frame the pyramid as one descended down the valley from the highlands." Using astronomical software and 3D modeling, the researchers determined that a remarkable event would have occurred during the time of the winter solstice. "When viewed in 3D models, these lines appear to converge at a point beyond the horizon and frame not only the site of Cerro del Gentil where the pyramid is, but also the setting sun during the time of the winter solstice," the research team wrote in a poster presentation given recently at the Society for American Archaeology annual meeting in Honolulu.

Mysterious Pyramid Complex Discovered in Peru

National Geographic - February 22, 2008

Remnants of at least ten pyramids have been discovered on the coast of Peru, marking what could be a vast ceremonial site of an ancient, little-known culture. In January construction crews working in the province of Piura discovered several truncated pyramids and a large adobe platform. Officials from Peru's National Institute of Culture (INC) were dispatched to inspect the discovery.

Last week they announced that the complex, which is 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) long and 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide, belonged to the ancient Vicus culture and was likely either a religious center or a cemetery for nobility. The Vicus was a pre-Hispanic civilization that flourished in Peru's northern coastal desert from 200 B.C to 300 A.D. and is known for its decorated ceramics. Experts say little is known about the culture, because its sites have been heavily looted over the years. "We found several partial pyramids, at least ten," said Cesar Santos Sanchez, chief archaeologist for INC's Piura division. "We also found a large adobe platform that we speculate could have been used for burial rituals. But we cannot know without further testing."

Skull Fragments: The platform, measuring 82 feet (25 meters) by 98 feet (30 meters), was found alongside one of the larger pyramids in the complex. Another of the larger pyramids contained some artifacts as well as bone fragments from a human skull. The fact that the skull fragments were found several meters below the surface, indicating a deep grave that took much time to dig, prompted researchers to theorize that the individual buried there had high social status.

Ancient "Lost City" Discovered in Peru, Official Claims National Geographic - January 16, 2008

 

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Ancient pyramids in Peru had the same functions as Pyramids found in other ancient civilizations around the world. Most were used as places to worship their Gods and Goddesses - rituals (at various equinoxes and solstices) - ceremonial rites of various kinds. They were generally built major planetary and energetic grid points

 

Huallamarca Pyramid

This imposing monument has remained impervious to the ravages of time, and modern civilization and stands surrounded by the asphalt jungle. The two-story construction is made of adobe with a steep ramp leading to the upper level. Archaeological excavations have unearthed mummies on display with ancient objects inside the on-site museum.

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Tucume

Rumors of a vast hoard of gold prompted famous Norwegian scientist and explorer Thor Heyerdahl to investigate the area around Tucume in northern Peru. The result was the archaeological discovery of 26 pyramids. Forty tombs pre-dating the arrival of the Spaniards were opened, and enough Inca and Chimu artifacts unearthed to justify the building of a museum at Tucume. Four burial chambers in the 600 meter long Huaca Larga pyramid were excavated. Inside the burial chambers the bodies of 16 female weavers sacrificed to the gods. The area near Tucume consists of 26 massive pyramids which suggest a civilization that flourished in the now endless desert for perhaps more than 1,500 years.

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Pachacamac Pyramid Project

Ichimay Culture; had a Magic-Religious function of adobe brick. Theories about the Pyramids in Peru place their creation at the same time the Nazca Lines were created. The pyramids had flat tops looking much like those in Mexico.

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Túcume is a pre-Hispanic site in Peru, south of the La Leche River on a plain around La Raya Mountain. It covers an area of over 540 acres (220 ha) and encompassing 26 major pyramids and mounds.^[1] The area is referred to as Purgatorio (purgatory) by local people.

The Tucume mounds

This site was a major regional center, maybe even the capital of the successive occupations of the area by the Lambayeque/Sican (800-1350 AD), Chimú (1350–1450 AD) and Inca (1450–1532 AD). Local shaman healers (curanderos) invoke power of Tucume and La Raya Mountain in their rituals, and local people fear these sites. Hardly anyone other than healers venture out in this site at night.

The plains of Túcume are part of the Lambayeque Valley, the largest valley of the North Coast of Peru. The Lambayeque Valley is the site of scores of natural and man-made waterways and is also a region of about 250 brick pyramids.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%BAcume

"Huaca Larga", Or The "Long Pyramid", The Longest Adobe Structure Known, About 2,300 Feet Long.

"Huaca One",Or "Pyramid One", About 98 - Feet High.

http://www.delange.org/TucumePyramids/TucumePyramids.htm

Tucume Pyramids

Purgatorio (purgatory) is the name by which local people refer to the dozens of prehispanic pyramids, enclosures and mounds found on the plain around La Raya Mountain, south of the La Leche River. This is the site of Tucume, covering an area of over 540 acres and encompassing 26 major pyramids and platforms.

This site was a major regional center, maybe even the capital of the successive occupations of the area by the Lambayeque/Sican (1000/1100-1350 AD) CHECK CHECK, Chimú (1350-1450 AD) and Inca (1450-1532 AD). Local shaman healers (“curanderos”) invoke the power of Tucume and La Raya Mountain in their rituals, and local people fear these sites. Hardly anyone other than healers ventures out in this site at night.

The plains of Tucume are part of the Lambayeque Valley, the largest valley of the North Coast of Peru. The Lambayeque Valley boats scores natural and man-made waterways. lt is also a region of numerous pyramids.

Tucume lies on what was once the southern margin of the valley, but thanks to the Taymi irrigation canal (over 43 miles long), which brings water northward from the Chancay river, it is surrounded by fertile agricultural land. lt seems very likely that the construction of the Taymi canal coincided with the foundation of Tucume, an important center of the region throughout its 400-year history. Modern Tucume, which lies very close to the site and boasts its own prehispanic village pyramid, Huaca del Pueblo, is located 17 miles north of the city of Chiclayo.

The largest and most impressive pyramids are found in the monumental sector of the archaeological site, to the north and northeast of La Raya Mountain (“Mountain of the Ray”). Investigations carried out in conjunction with Thor Heyerdahl, the famous Norwegian seafarer and explorer, have concentrated on three major structures: Huaca Larga, Huaca 1 and The U-shaped "Temple of the Sacred Stone". Excavations in non-monumental areas have yielded many details about the functioning of the site -some prefer the term city - and about the lives of its inhabitants.

The beginnings of Tucume are to be found in a legend recorded by Father Cabello de Balboa (1586 AD). Cala, a grandson of the mythical Naymlap, founder of the Lambayeque royal dynasty, is said to have gone to Tucume to "start new fan-tilies and settlements, bringing many people him with". The founding of the settlement seems to have taken place around 1000-1100 AD, when the old regional center at Batán Grande, to the south of the Chancay river, was burnt and abandoned. Tucume quickly rose to a preeminent position within the valley.

Evidence of the Chimú conquest, around 1350 AD, as well as the later Inca occupation of the region, by 1470 AD, has been found in ceramics, burials and dedicatory offerings. In Huaca Larga, for example, archaeologists discovered the lavish burial of a prominent Inca general, possibly the Inca governor of Tucume. Some archaeologists believe that the fire that razed the central part of Huaca Larga may coincide with the beginnings of the colonial period and of the abandonment of the site.

HUACA 1
Huaca 1 (Pyramid 1) rises 98-feet high behind the new site museum, west of Huaca Las Estacas (Pyramid of the Stakes). lt is a stepped pyramid with a long, high and narrow access ramp that makes several right-angle turns up the body of the pyramid. Two plazas, one to the north and a huge, 689 by 259-feet plaza, surrounded by high walls to the south, together with several ample annexes, also correspond to this structure. One of these annexes, referred to as "The Bell-Shaped Building" stands out as a unique Andean example of outcurving, i.e. overhanging walls, somewhat reminiscent of Japanese architecture. On top of Huaca 1 there are a series of rooms situated at different levels with access ramps and stairways. These rooms probably were living quarters of the Lambayeque elite. During the Chimú period (1350-1470 AD) Huaca 1 continued in use and bird friezes were added as a form of architectural ornamentation.

HUACA LARGA
Huaca Larga, or the Long Pyramid, is the longest adobe structure known to date. lt measures around 2,300-feet in length, from the foot of La Raya Mountain to the short, straight access ramp on the north end. Its beginnings as a freestanding platform of the Lambayeque, or Sican, culture (1000/1100-1350 AD), which is referred to as the “green phase”, are obscured by substantial remodeling that took place in the subsequent “tricolor phase”.

All buildings of this period, which marks the Chimú domination of the area, were painted in red, white and black. The murals depicting flying birds in the "Temple of the Mythical Bird" stand out as fine examples of Chimú painting. Apparently, the Chimú tried to convert Huaca Larga into something resembling a Chan Chan compound. Long corridors and dividing walls partition the complex, and researchers have identified a northern, possibly public, ceremonial area and a southern area devoted to cooking and manufacturing.

The Inca presence at Huaca Larga (1470-1532 AD) is referred to as the “stone phase” due to their preference for stone as construction material. Weaving of delicate textiles, an activity the Inca often entrusted to consecrated women, was practiced at Huaca Larga during Inca times. This tradition may well go back to Chimú or even pre-Chimú times. Burials of 19 high-status, female Inca weavers included a collection of elaborate objects. This burial site, which was found under one of the Inca-built rooms, yielded high-quality, wooden implements for spinning and weaving and inlaid earspools. In a different room atop Huaca Larga, researchers discovered three male burials, one of them of a mature, robust man with insignia, suggesting he may have been the Inca governor of Tucume.

Shortly after these burials took place, all standing structures on Huaca Larga were razed and huge tires lit on top. Oral history recalls that enormous fires were lit by the Spanish colonists to convince the local population that Tucume was indeed the gate to purgatory.

THE TEMPLE OF THE SACRED STONE
The "Temple of the Sacred Stone" is a small, unpretentious, rectangular U-shaped structure to the east of Huaca Larga. lt is considered a major temple that travelers had to pass by before entering the site. The walled roadway system of this section of the Lambayeque valley leads straight to this temple and then on to Huaca Larga.

The special, revered object of this temple appears to have been a large, upright boulder in the middle of the one-room building, but whom or what it represented remains unknown. Furthermore, archaeologists found an enormous number of offerings in and around the temple. These offerings included valuable Spondylus shells (a seashell) brought from the coast of Guayaquil, slaughtered lamas and intriguing sheet-metal miniatures representing a wide range of themes and objects (flora, fauna, ornaments, musical instruments, tools, etc.). The most delicate of Inca offerings, figurines made of solid silver or carved Spondylus and adorned with elaborate textiles, silver tupu-needles and miniature feather headdresses, were found deposited in ritual fashion by the doorway of the temple. Researchers have found similar offerings, sometimes together with human sacrifices, at other major Inca shrines. For example, just a few years back a researcher exploring the top of the snow-capped Ampato Mountain in the southern Peruvian department of Arequipa found the intact mummy of an Inca girl, whom he nicknamed "Juanita".

HUACA BALSAS
Although Huaca Balsas has suffered heavily from damage inflicted by looting, its beautiful friezes, of a quality previously unknown in the Lambayeque region, are one of Tucumes most interesting features. These include the frieze known as “the Mound of the Rafts", which is located on the southwestern margin of the site in the only group of large pyramids outside the monumental sector (see above). While the "Frieze of the Rafts" depicts a mythical scene in which a bird-man and a mythical bird lead a raft, following a similar boat with a related crew, the "Frieze of the Rite" depicts a figure who may be a priest inside a roofed structure and holding a lama in one hand and a staff in the other. While their precise meaning remains unclear, archeologist Alfredo Narváez sees a revival of the earlier Moche tradition of fine-line drawing, as seen in their exquisite ceramics, transposed to a different medium. A narrative character has been attributed to the Moche ceramic drawings. Thus, the friezes of Huaca Balsas may depict scenes that form part of one or more Lambayeque myths.

Constructed entirely of mudbrick in the lower La Leche Valley, the imposing site of Túcume on Peru's arid North Coast was in use for nearly a millennium, having been built by the Lambayeque at the beginning of the tenth century, conquered by the Chimú in 1375, and subsumed into the Inca Empire in 1470, under which it flourished until the arrival of the Spanish in 1532. The site, which is spread over more than 220 hectares, boasts 26 enormous adobe pyramids, most of which were constructed in stages throughout the site's occupation. Eroded by centuries of El Niño southern oscillation events, Túcume's monuments are today a mere shadow of their creators' architectural vision, yet the archaeological remains they contain make the site one of the most important in northern Peru. The fragility of the construction, aggressive climate, and lack of economic resources, however, have resulted in a pattern of progressive deterioration of the site. The most significant losses, from heavy rains and strong winds, have been reduced building volume and damaged painted murals. The Túcume area has been slated for tourism development in Peru, however, concerns have been raised over the development of the site without proper attention to conservation. The site's listing in 2004 attracted substantial private-sector support for the site's preservation, but a long-term plan for the conservation of its fragile and eroding remains has yet to be developed.

January 3, 2012

By Nick Rosen

A hot desert valley was once home to one of ancient Peru’s most-impressive cities.

Photo by A pyramid at Túcume (Photo: Erika Quinteros)

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It’s amazing to think that anyone lived here, that this valley was once green. Now it is sun-blasted, scorching hot, and the only life is the circling vultures and the rainbow-colored iguanas, like something out of a desert hallucination, skittering across the rocks.

The reminders of past life rise up around me, however, eroded to look more like drip castles than the pyramids they once were. I am in Túcume, the once-grand capital of the Sican culture, Peru’s mythical Valley of the Pyramids.

I am not far from Chiclayo, and even closer to the city of Lambayeque, where the Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum serves as one of the major tourist attractions on the north coast. Here at Túcume however, there are few visitors.

It is not hard to get to the site. Combis leave regularly from Chiclayo and Lambayeque, dropping passengers in the modern village of Túcume, from which an quick mototaxi ride leads to the ruins. By car or taxi, it is about a 30 minute ride from Chiclayo.

There are two main trails marked out across the desert plain in Túcume. One leads to Cerro Purgatorio, a craggy hill overlooking the 26 pyramids that comprise the site. The trail winds across the scorched valley, between several of the pyramids, before arriving at a staircase leading to different scenic overlooks on the face of Purgatorio.

The view of Huaca Larga (Photo: Heinz Plege/PromPerú)

From atop the hill, you can appreciate the scale of Túcume. Constructed about 1000 years ago, the complex features over two-dozen pyramids, in various states of erosion. It was founded after nearby Batán Grande was abandoned, and the original settler was rumored to be the grandson of Naymlap, the founder of the Sican culture and a figure you see represented all around Lambayeque. Today, the most prominent ruin at Túcume is the Huaca Larga, an elongated pyramid which extends over 2,000 feet in length.

The other trail leads across the desert to Huaca Las Balsas, a partially-excavated pyramid. Las Balsas is famous for its murals, which focus on ocean themes: waves, sea creatures and marine birds.

My favorite trail in Túcume, however, does not lead to any pyramid. Sweaty and tired from the climb up and down Purgatorio, I head to a little trail leading off from the site museum. It leads into a small, cool forest of carob trees. Birds- red, yellow, blue, gray, brown- shoot overhead and fill the forest with their songs. A bull peers in from a neighboring field. Through the trees, you can see the back side of one of Túcume’s immense pyramids.

The carob forest (Photo: Alex Bryce/PromPerú)

PRACTICALITIES
There is a hotel called Los Horcones de Túcume, just outside the archeological site. It was won several architectural awards for its traditional design. The hotel also offers lunch.
Otherwise, you are best off basing yourself in Chiclayo or Lambayeque. A visit to Túcume is easily combined with a visit to Lambayeque’s Royal Tombs Museum. A favorite lunch spot in Lambayeque is El Rincón del Pato, which specializes in duck and has many local specialties on the menu.
 

http://www.peruthisweek.com/travel-225-In-Tucume-Perus-valley-of-the-pyramids/

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Virgen de la Merced

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La Virgen de la Merced o Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes es una de las advocaciones marianas de la Bienaventurada Virgen María. Es equivalente también el nombre de Virgen de la Misericordia.

En su conmemoración se ha establecido la fiesta de la Merced o de las Mercedes, el día 24 de septiembre.

Índice

 [ocultar] 

• 1 Historia del culto
• 2 Devocióm
• 3 Iconografía
  • 3.1 Virgen mercedaria
  • 3.2 Virgen de la Misericordia
• 4 Patronazgos
• 5 Edificios bajo su patrocinio
• 6 Véase también
• 7 Referencias
• 8 Enlaces externos

Historia del culto[editar · editar código]

Se dice que el 1 de agosto de 1218, fiesta del santo fundador Pedro Nolasco tuvo una visita de la Santísima Virgen, dándose a conocer como La Merced, que lo exhortaba a fundar una Orden religiosa con el fin principal de redimir a aquellos cristianos cautivos. En ese momento, la península Ibérica estaba dominada por los musulmanes, y los piratas sarracenos asolaban las costas del Mediterráneo, haciendo miles de cautivos a quienes llevaban al norte de África.

Pedro Nolasco impulsó la creación de la Real y Militar Orden de la Merced, que fue fundada en la Catedral de Barcelona, con el apoyo del rey Jaime I el conquistador, en 1218.

En las primeras Constituciones de la Orden, en 1272, la Orden recibe ya el título de "Orden de la Virgen de la Merced de la Redención de los cristianos cautivos de Santa Eulalia de Barcelona".

En el año 1265 aparecieron las primeras monjas (comendadoras) de la Merced.

Se calcula que fueron alrededor de trescientos mil los redimidos por los frailes mercedarios del cautiverio de los musulmanes.

Los seguidores de la Orden de la Merced estuvieron entre los primeros misioneros de América, en la isla de La Española o República Dominicana.

Devocióm[editar · editar código]

Azulejo con la Virgen de la Merced en Jerez de la Frontera.

Virgen de la Merced Comendadora, en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla.

Azulejo de Ntra. Sra. de las Mercedes de San Fernando, San Fernando (Cádiz).

Altar de la Virgen de la Merced en la Basílica de Yarumal, Antioquia.

La devoción a la Virgen de la Merced se difundió muy pronto por Cataluña y por toda España, por Francia y por Italia, a partir del siglo XIII con la labor de redención de estos religiosos y sus cofrades. Con la Evangelización de América, en la que la Orden de la Merced participó desde sus mismos inicios, la devoción se extendió y arraigó profundamente en todo el territorio americano.

La llegada de la orden religiosa de los mercedarios a América, un poco relacionada con el antiguo espíritu de los caballeros que fueron a las Cruzadas a Tierra Santa y juntamente con el culto de la Virgen Compasiva, coincide con el poblamiento de las principales ciudades andinas cercanas a la línea ecuatorial como son: Cuzco, Lima, Quito y la Villaviciosa de la Concepción o San Juan de Pasto no obstante que esta última tenía como patrona religiosa a la Pura y Limpia Concepción como su nombre lo indica. El Convento Mercedario primeramente se funda en Santiago de Cali hacia 1536 y en Pasto hacia 1545 y la iglesia anexa desde 1550, volviéndose muy famoso el ornato de este templo con una puerta labrada con leones dorados en su parte superior, imitando a los que fueron concedidos, junto con el título de ciudad y el sobrenombre de San Juan Bautista, a la Villa de Pasto, es conocida popularmente en San Juan de Pasto como la Michita Linda

Es en el siglo XVIII, de acuerdo al minucioso relato de José Rafael Sañudo, cuando la Virgen de las Mercedes aparece como protectora del Cabildo y pueblo de San Juan de Pasto respecto de erupciones y terremotos y otros eventos naturales dañinos, de hecho empieza a figurar la graciosa imagen como si fuera la que tiene el mando o el gobierno de Pasto. Son la fuerza de la tradición oral así sustentada y, en parte, el sincretismo o mestizaje religioso que la acompaña, los factores por los cuales se puede considerar a la Virgen de las Mercedes como Gobernadora de la Ciudad y no porque alguna autoridad civil en el siglo XX lo haya establecido por decreto. En 1612 se completó el templo de la Merced en Pasto y el trabajo en madera ocupó a los artesanos y escultores Lázaro de Vergara (las dos puertas talladas, tirantes para los alfarjes de tipo mudéjar en la nave y el presbiterio), Rodrigo de Chaves (cantería de la portada y esculturas), el batihoja y doradores Juan de Echeverri, Francisco Gallardo y Francisco Benítez más el tabernáculo de tres cuerpos realizado por Gómez de Rojas en 1660.

Perú es actualmente el país que reúne a la mayor cantidad de fieles de toda América y que cada 24 de septiembre celebran esta fiesta en honor a la Bienaventurada Virgen María.

La devoción a la Virgen de la Merced se difundió en Bolivia, en el departamento de La Paz, donde hoy se le rinde veneración, al año se le cambia 3 veces sus vestiduras, la primera vez que se le cambia es la fecha del 3 de agosto recordando la primera vez que derramó lágrimas, la segunda vez el 24 de septiembre recordando su fiesta y la tercera y última vez en Navidad como regalo a su devoción. El 24 de septiembre en la Iglesia de la Merced se celebra una eucaristía de fiesta, nueve días antes se le reza la novena y al finalizar existe una gran procesión en su honor. En Potosí, se celebra una solemne y lucida fiesta organizada por la Archicofradía de Nuestra Señora de La Merced, institución fundada en 1730 y que llegó a cobijar en el siglo XVIII a 10.000 cofrades.

Iconografía[editar · editar código]

Virgen mercedaria[editar · editar código]

La iconografía usada para representar a la Virgen de la Merced queda definida a partir del siglo XVI, consistiendo fundamentalmente en el hábito mercedario: túnica, escapulario y capa, todo en color blanco, con en el escudo mercedario en el pecho. Otros elementos recurrentes son las cadenas y el grillete, símbolos también del cautiverio. Normalmente, además del escapulario del hábito, lleva otro pequeño en la mano que ofrece a los fieles.

Suele aparecer tocada con corona de reina, y también con el cetro en la mano derecha. En muchas ocasiones sostiene en la izquierda al Niño Jesús, que también puede llevar un escapulario en las manos. Otro modelo iconográfico es el de la Virgen Comendadora, sedente en el coro, sin niño ni cetro, con las constituciones de la Orden en una mano.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgen_de_la_Merced