Hi friends!
Studying the history of different nationalities, came across interesting information about the civilization of Vikus. The article was published in the magazine" Around the world " in 1968. Photos in the post will be from this source.
In 1966, unusual Antiques appeared in Lima in bazaars and small shops selling Antiques
There were great differences from everything that archaeologists and collectors of those lands knew and saw. When the analysis of old age, it turned out that the product was born in the 5-6 centuries BC! It was a sensation! In those years, hundreds of graves were found on the slope of the hill. Careful excavations of archaeologists in the area eventually led to the discovery of almost two thousand tombs. Later it turned out that it is a culture of Vicus. And it existed even earlier than expected, from 100 BC to 400 BC.
Grave robbers in those years secretly sold everything they could dig up and steal from the Eastern ridge of Sierra Vicus. Scientific workers the search for led to small village on the North Peru.
History of discovery
As usually happens, the inhabitants of a small settlement in 1962 randomly found burial in the wells. They are completely overgrown with grass and shrubs. When cleared the territory, were very surprised. In the pits were kept a variety of vases, copper bowls, wands and staves, jewelry. Some were covered in gold. Information about the discovery quickly scattered in the district. Thus began a quick plundering of values. Everything in the district was dug up and seized by the robbers of values. For archaeologists there were only particles of objects to study. Found values could open your eyes to many facts from the antiquity of South America, but alas...
Through time, historians have described that the tombs of Vicus were arranged in the form of a boot. The depth of the well reaches up to 15 meters! How could narrow wells be dug to such a depth by people? It's just a mystery to me... In total, about two thousand tombs were discovered. I wonder why ancient people buried the remains so deeply? There is some suggestion that the higher position was occupied by the inhabitant of settlement Vicus, the deeper was his tomb. In the pits were not found remains of bodies. Scientists have found that the body was cremated.
What are the interesting findings?
I am always interested in different finds of antiquity. People live and leave behind very interesting creations. So and civilization Vicus, the remnants of which were found in Peru. Unfortunately, there are few examples of the Vicus. Even in 1964 they tried to organize an exhibition of artifacts of this ancient civilization. But only a few private collectors responded. And who needs the extra questions or the ancient civilization. Therefore, the exhibition was quite small, only clay vessels of the Vicus nationality. But even clay vessels attracted a lot of attention due to their originality.
We can say that the connecting vessels are more like sculptural groups. At what they are all sculpted hands, without a Potter's wheel.
But most of all I was fascinated by the fact that these vases are singing!
The ancient masters Vicus has provided their Handicrafts tiny "organs" - cleverly twisted thingies
Once the vases were moving water - they started to sing! The sounds were completely different. Imitation of birds, animals... May have been in contact thus with the divine. Or, did the Holy water... But that's just my guess. For residents Vicus deity lived at the junction of sea and sky. Natural conditions forced the ancient inhabitants to create complex hydraulic systems to save their fields from drought.
Now it becomes more clear why so many molded it connecting vessels. They had to work hard to maintain seasonal rainwater. Over the years of research, several periods of development of the Vicus culture have been identified. Singing products appeared at the peak of development of ancient people. It was called Vicus -Vicus. Was even selected periods in the development of ceramics masters Vicus.
Painting of vases, though primitive, but this has some charm. If you consider how many centuries ago people lived-the painting is great! Scientists have noticed a frequent image of the insect, which is somewhat similar to an ant. Perhaps this is a symbol of deity of ancient people. But I could not find detailed information about it. Here you can learn more about the culture of Vicus. On the page you can see a more subtle painting on ceramics of those times of masters Vicus
In the finds of archaeologists were also objects that are covered with a thin layer of gold. Prior to this discovery, no metal products were known in the territory in the Sierra Vicus district. As scientists say, the jewelry art of Vicus was the most delicate art in Peru at that time.
There was as much unknown to us peoples of antiquity, I can only guess. New excavations every year bring a grain of clarity. And these artifacts belonged to the ancient peoples in Peru, which didn't even know. Robberies of old graves lead to the loss of information for the scientific world. The artifacts settle among collectors over the years only to know about them...
iPhone 6s+