NO. l6 EXPLORATION IN PERU HRDLICKA 7 



jillo, with the ruins and cemeteries of Moche, Chan-chan or Gran 

 Chimu, and the extensive, shallow valley of the Chicama. 



This region was the main seat of the powerful Chimu people and 

 abounds in their remains, ruins, huacas, 1 and cemeteries. The ceme- 

 teries are particularly numerous in the valley of the Chicama, and 

 it was there, at the Estancia Roma, with Senor Victor Larco, the 

 owner of a large part of the valley and one of the most enlightened 

 Peruvians, that the writer made his headquarters. 



The valley of Chicama is a large plain, but little elevated above 

 the sea level, traversed by a small river, the Chicama, and bounded 

 on all sides except the west and the northwest, in an irregular and 

 broken way, by hills and mountains. It is incompletely separated 

 from the Chan-chan plain by a mass of hills known as Cerro de 

 Cabra. Over its surface are several isolated rocky elevations, and 

 toward the northwestward it connects with sandy flats which extend 

 along the coast in the direction of Pacasmayo. 



The valley shows only a limited number of ruins which, however, 

 include an interesting and relatively well-preserved fortress. These 

 are a short distance south of Chiquitoi, one of the haciendas belong- 

 ing to Senor Larco. Besides this, however, numerous old huacas 

 are situated southeast, west, and northwest of Chiquitoi, and, lining 

 the bases of the hills within the valley or projecting into the same, 

 as well as in the sands of the sea-shore, there are many cemeteries 

 of the former native population. 



The Chicama cemeteries, like those of Pachacamac, have fallen 

 a prey to the greed of the peon, and of the collectors who incite and 

 profit by the peon, with the result that a large portion of the burials, 

 in some places even all, have been destroyed. And, as at Pacha- 

 camac so here, the skulls and bones, and such objects as could not 

 well be sold, were left everywhere strewn over the surface of the 

 ground. 



In this region the writer was able to remain for nearly two weeks 

 and through the generous aid of Senor Larco, who provided him 

 freely with men, animals, and even the use of his local railroads, 

 he was able to visit over 30 of the cemeteries, to make examination 

 of their skeletal contents and to gather much of the better preserved 

 material. The bones that passed through his hands in this valley 

 amounted to many thousands of specimens, and the collections com- 

 prise over noo crania, all the skeletal parts from two of the largest 

 cemeteries, and many additional specimens, particularly long bones, 

 from other burials. 



1 Mounds, constructed in the main of sun-dried bricks. 



