Ancient Peru Unearthed:
Exhibition Catalog.
Who were the Sicáns? That is the primary question a reader would have cracking open the text on this intriguing culture to wit little is known.
Thanks to the excavation team of Dr. Izumi Shimada, who led a group of American, European and Peruvian
archaeologists exploring Batán Grande, information on this culture has come to
light. It is one of the few
major burial sites in Peru to be completely excavated by
archaeologists.
Tomb robbers are responsible for stealing not only antiquities but knowledge. Significant information is derived from seeing the contents in situ and
determining
what the placement and inclusion says about the burial place and the culture of the people. This is a primary focus in the first essay.
Dr. Izumi Shimada contributes an excellent essay detailing what he has learned.
He Unravels the Secrets of the Sicán, providing exquisite detail for the hungry reader of the
excavation, noting the object placement and the significance of what was discovered. The objects, many of which are gold,
are visually breathtaking but in perspective fills the appetite for education, which is possible thanks to Shimada as both the
archaeologist and
record keeper of the Sicán.
Start with Colleen Sharpe's essay Unearthing Ancient Peru. It is a
treatise on the contributing issues surrounding antiquity theft. A growing
problem in our modern culture; to wit the current trial of a former Getty
curator in Italy. The conclusion is apt to hasten the day when the past is not
'pitted and plundered' but strengthened via sound scientific exploration.
Dr. J. Scott Raymond's contribution The Historical Context of Sicán places the culture in perspective, as noted
in International Art Treasures article on the exhibit, little was known of this Peruvian culture until now.
Particular attention is paid to the central
figure, used on the catalog's cover of the Sicán deity. Many of the items found
have an image of this figure. It may be a god or in the image of an ancestral
figure known as Naymlap. Raymond describes the story of Naymlap in some detail
which likely was an oral legend of the Sicán, with his arrival on a balsa raft,
twelve sons and upon his death sprouting bird-like wings and flying off to his
next world.
Like the exhibition, Ancient Peru Unearthed, the accompanying catalog, is not to be missed!
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