pgcuetemec 



s, 



247 



)pRAWLED along the coastal planes of Peru are the 

 crumbling ruins of ancient cities which symbolize the rise and fall 

 of great civilizations in prehistoric times. Some date back hundreds 

 or even thousands of years. From artifacts left by the people 

 archaeologists have been able to reconstruct bits of history and 

 depict various cultures illuminating to modern man. 



Not the least of these ancient centers of population was Pacha- 

 camac, on the banks of the Rio Lurin south of Lima, great cosmo- 

 politan capital of present-day Peru. Built atop a rounded hill 

 overlooking the mouth of the river and the broad Pacific ocean, 

 Pachacamac primarily was a massive temple of the sun, named after 

 a solar deity. On nearby slopes and dunes lay the squat homes of 

 thousands of people. 



Today the site is littered with skulls and skeletons, bits of 

 shattered pottery and fragments of artifacts of which graves have 

 been divested. Treasure seekers and ghouls have done most of the 

 digging, but sufficient intelligent work has been done to give 

 scientists an insight into the life 

 and customs of a forgotten age. 



Pachacamac was recognized 

 as a supreme deity among the 

 Chimu and ancient peoples of the 

 central coastal region of Peru. 

 Legend has it that he was a son of 

 the sun. More than likely this 

 was an Inca version of an older 

 legend. The evidence is that 

 Pachacamac was regarded as the 

 founder of agriculture. From 

 Quechua the name is interpreted 

 to mean "soul of the universe." 

 Originally the Quechua language 

 was not spoken along the Peru- 

 vian coast, but it became the 

 official tongue of the Inca empire. 



Archaeological opinion is 

 that Pachacamac was merely a 

 local variant of the greater deity Bioriol Um 



