322 SOUTH AMEEICA— THE ANDES EEGIONS. 



chief place ia the upper Barranca basin, possesses rich silver-mines. But 

 formerly the population appears to have been concentrated more on the coastlands, 

 where are still seen the extensive ruins of Patii-ilca, and the superb " fortress " 

 of Paramanca. The surrounding plain, flooded during the sudden freshets of the 

 Barranca, is one vast necropolis, the paiiteon de los gentiles, in which are found 

 thousands of skeletons sewn up in sacks. 



SuPE — Ancon. 



Siipe {Htiaura), at the mouth of the Itio Supe, and HiiacJio, six miles farther 

 on, have acquired considerable importance since the opening of the railway con- 

 necting them with Lima, From Huacho the capital draws much of its fruits, 

 vegetables and other supplies, besides salt from the large salines on the neigh- 

 bouring coast. In the district numerous Peruvian graves have been opened ; but 

 the most interesting remains have been found near Chanca}^, midway between 

 Huacho and Lima ; here are also seen large underground chambers, which, accord- 

 ing to the local tradition, were used as granaries. 



While the railway works were in progress a cutting in the dunes at Ancon, 

 south of Chancay, exposed a vast necropolis, containing well-preserved mummies, 

 several often wrapped in a single pack, besides textiles, utensils and an endless 

 variety of other objects, throwing a flood of light on the social life, arts and 

 industries of these populations.* Several of the graves have the form of the 

 rancho or cam, their roofs resting on four stakes or on four walls, and apparently 

 thatched originally with reeds. This mode of burial was, no doubt, reserved 

 for the wealthy classes, whose equipment also was far more sumptuous than that 

 of the common people. Some of the outer wraps enclosing the mummies of 

 perhaps a whole family were extremely rich, and usually arranged so as to repre- 

 sent a single human etfigy, with a false head, and very broad, but showing no 

 extremities or other outlines of the figure. 



Lima. 



Unlike most Peruvim cities, Lima dates only from post-Columbian times, 

 having been founded by Francesco Pizarro in 1535. After choosing as his 

 residence first Cuzco, capital of the Incas, and then the more central Jauja, the 

 Conqueror finally decided on a site close to the sea, in order to maintain easy 

 communications with Europe. His choice fell on the banks of the Pimac, 

 thanks to the proximity of the roadstead sheltered by the island of San Lorenzo. 

 From the first the city was laid out on a vast plan, with large squares and broad 

 thoroughfares. In fact, like Washington, it began by being a city of "mag- 

 nificent distances," in anticipation of its destinies as metropolis of a mighty 

 empire. The municipal arras of the Ci ad ad de los Reyes, " City of Kings," as it 



* W. Reiss and A. Stiibel, Ptriivian Antiquities, the Necropolis of Aucun, in Ttru. English 

 Edition, by A. H. Keaue. 



