The journey to the Lady of Cao is via a extensive coastline of northern Peru, over the Pacific to the desert and its dry plains and valleys filled with history and colorful villages.
To visit the archaeological site of El Brujo, where the Lady of Cao is found or Chicama Trujillo. From Trujillo to the site, the Panamerican Highway is just over an hour and a half walking through unforgettable landscapes. Only 60 kilometers but the heavy traffic of trucks on a highway in each direction, plus the movement of people, animals and vehicles all over the road and when you cross the villages, does delay the things quite a bit.
From the window: solitary trees, mineral-laden mountains, altars at roadside, political posters, dirt streets, colorful mototaxis and improvised football matches on the ground.
As you ascend on the road map, you still face the valley of rivers that we can only guess to their presence as there is almost a total lack of water coursing through them. These valleys ancient cultures served to transport their goods and cultures from east to west Tawantisuyo Territory (and even before), until the arrival of the European man. That's why one could find products, fruits and objects of this Peruvian green area over seas. This communication was cut from the fifteenth century, prioritizing the north-south-north traffic.
We then headed to the Chicama River Valley.
Where is the Lady of Cao encuenta?
The mummy of the Señora de Cao is located in a specially built museum for exhibition in the same archaeological site where it was found in 2006 (at least that's the date that was announced the discovery).
The archaeological site called El Brujo and is just 2 or 3 kilometers from the town called Magdalena de Cao: there are just a handful of houses in the middle of the plain, between the road and the coast, there are no further urbanization around. However, the Town has already seen the impact of visitors to the site and ther are modest food stalls and some attempt at a souvenir shop, though most visitors will pass over this without stopping, it's worth checking out.
We found the archaeological site El Brujo near the right margin of the Chicama River, opposite the ocean. It includes a pair of huacas or pyramidal constructions with deep mystical meaning and the Temples of Huaca Cao Viejo and Cut, plus the remains prior to Spanish colonialism spread over a wide triangular desert area.
The name "El Brujo" is often a place chosen by teachers, healers and shamans of the various peoples who lived here to perform shamanic rituals.
On the same site or nearby, are the Huaca El Paredon (the Moche period), Huaca Prieta, keeping evidence mound residents of the pre-pottery (3000-1800 BC) period, ruins of a Catholic Church XVI century (circa 1580), built by the priests of the Dominican order to counter the worship of the ancient huacas (Cao Viejo pyramid, for example). It was one of the first Christian churches on the north coast of Peru. In addition, the remains of a small village, the same time as the church. Around this sprawling complex, you can only visit the museum and Huaca Cao Viejo.
In the photo of start we see the Huaca Cao Viejo, where he found the Lady of Cao, and ceilings marking the places where work continues and where the material is on display outdoors to protect it from the elements. The large awning covers what was once the ceremonial plaza of the pyramid. You can also climb the north side of the huaca to the top, to reach stays high levels (where the mummy was found) and the courtyard of the rituals.
The Cao Museum
Next to the entrance to the archaeological complex is a small group of two modern concrete buildings, newly constructed to house the Cao Museum, services, and shop. Access to the whole complex costs 10 soles for foreigners (about 2.70 euros approx).
At the entrance to the museum you have to leave bags, backpacks, cameras, mobile phones, etc. in the slogan that very kindly saved "to protect the integrity of Peruvian heritage" (?) this means that everything you see inside, you will recall with your eyes only ... and images are for sale in Store in books, calendars, postcards, posters, etc.
The Museum of Cao is very well organized and displayed in a dark environment with spot lighting that accentuates the drama of the place, but also helps to highlight the exhibits. Some of these are the traditional pottery of the Mochica culture, these belong to the complex and were made around the year 400 AD We can also see dioramas showing the life of the town center and a model of the Huaca Cao Viejo.
Of course, we all want to see the mummy of the Lady. And there she is, tiny but awesome. She is cover symbolic tattoos and all e exhibited in glass cases around.
Says the website of the Institute of Peruvian Archaeology: "The death of the ruler of the Moche culture, apparently from complications of childbirth, occurred around the year 400 AD, some 150 years after the heyday of the Lord of Sipan, who is considered the oldest known leader of this northern region of Peru. The mummified remains of women, 1.45 meters tall and between 20 and 25 years, were covered by necklaces of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, turquoise and quartz thirty nose ornaments of gold and silver tiaras and crowns gilded copper.
The body of the lady has tattoos of snakes, spiders, crocodiles, monkeys, leopards, bees and butterflies, still visible, representing the fertility of the land but could also indicate her skills as a fortune teller. The preservation of the body, as well as some clothing, was possible because she was anointed with mercury sulfate, a poisonous substance for bacteria that could have damaged the body. It is thought that prior to her demise, the Lady of Cao was working on something that had to do with politics or religion for their tattoos of spiders and snakes on her arms. "
I particularly remember one of the necklaces: a string of fine clothing chandeliers with gold thread weaving each leg, every body, every detail of the bugs some hooked to each other to form a slender arc reaching from the base of the neck to the middle of chest. Beautiful.
The Huaca Cao Viejo
Leaving the museum is a wooden walkway that leads to the huaca with a couple of posters where the importance of this place, and explains complex components. On one side of the walkway, you can see remnants Moche almost at ground level. Textile scraps swaying in the soft breeze from the sea. Amazing.
You will reach the level of ceremonial plaza to see the profile of the pyramid, the remains of the Ceremonial Complex, the polychrome murals that decorate the different levels of the pyramid that makes up the huaca. By a staircase leads to the level where the ramp is and you descend to see the work of those walls, carefully decorated with the symbolic figures we see in other huacas. Prisoners, the dancers, the Aiapaec or Decapitador (with a tumi in one hand and a severed head in the other) in the different steps rows of human figures, side by side are shown.
Surrounding the pyramid, amounting to more private area reserved for the most powerful of the people. There, in a room with colorful walls it was found the mummy of the Lady of Cao, along with all their treasures. The walls of these rooms are much smaller, and they were made to accommodate a handful of people. From the top, a sort of balcony, priests and great people to watch the rituals that were developed in the Ceremonial Plaza, several levels below his feet stood.
To have an idea of the dimension of the Huaca Cao, say you have 120 meters long by 100 meters wide and 31 meters high. Each of its stepped levels, rising nearly 3 meters above the previous. The Huaca was alive for more than 5 centuries, between the II and VIII AD, and at that time had 7 remodeling. These changes are happening every so often following an ancient Peruvian tradition: building on the old building a new, previously covering the previous (action called "ritual burial"), but strictly repeating the previous model.
In Huaca Cao 7 levels have been identified, rituals or 7, or 7 similar buildings burials, one above the other. It is one of the great wonders of the prehispanic architecture in the Americas, in this case of the Moche culture. The huacas still hold many secrets. Back to some others that I visited on my last trip to Peru.
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