Uprooting the INC...

The Instituto Nacional de Cultura (National Institute of Culture) of Peru is charged with protecting archaeological sites. In a sad commentary on their power, someone has uprooted cement posts they installed at the archaeological complex of Acaray. The posts delimit the site. Now they are among the other destroyed material remains that lay scattered. Photo by Margaret Brown Vega, 2007.

Coffins and Grave Robbing

This trench excavated by looters at the site of Rontoy exposed not a pre-Columbian tomb, but a coffin of the colonial period. People living nearby say that the Rontoy ruins were used as a burial ground for Chinese slaves brought to the area. Photo by Margaret Brown Vega, 2006.

Broom with brutally battered body

A freshly looted tomb at Acaray. The entire leg of the disinterred individual lies strewn among ripped clothing and a piece of torso. The lower mandible has been removed from the cranium, which is placed on top of a broken pot. This may represent the huaquero's twisted sense of humor, but it may also be a marker. I believe looters leave markers behind in the vast cemeteries they destroy to return to areas where there is more to be sacked. The broom is probably a looter's tool. Usually associated with mundane sweeping activities, in this context the broom is a symbol of upheaval and destruction. Photo by Margaret Brown Vega, 2006.

Two chews and the shredded remains of a mummy bundle

Fresh remains of looting activities from the night before. The looters' footprints are still clearly visible and the two spent quids of coca that have been placed on the rock are still moist. Shreaded cotton textiles and alpaca fibers have been discarded by the looters. Huaura Valley, Peru. Photo by Nathan Craig as part of the Blackberry 8100 Perl study.

Even the hills aren't safe

A series of looter's holes at the summit of an Early Horizon fortified hilltop. Normally looters stick to cemeteries - they may have found one here. Four years ago this site was untouched. Now, even a tough climb up a mountain won't stop a looter.
Photo by Margaret Brown Vega, 2008.

Without legs

A disarticulated lower leg and some torn, elaborately decorated textiles, are what's left of this mummy bundle. This is 'fresh' looting. You can tell because of the smell, and because the textiles are moist. They haven't been sitting out long enough to dry out. Photo by Margaret Brown Vega, 2008.

Scattered Remains of an Ancient Child

Precolumbian child burial with deformed crania. Hair is still attached to the skull and fragments of skin can be seen clinging to the bone. Relatively fresh quids of coca can been seen in the upper right frame of the background. These quids were left by looters who were exploiting the site the night before. Looters will chew coca to protect themselves from mal aire (bad air) or antimonio (antimonium). Photo by Nathan Craig as part of the Huaura Valley Blackberry Pearl study of 2007.

Walls in peril

Looters decided to start digging a hole that goes under a rammed-earth wall. Eventually, this wall, part of a large architectural compound that has yet to be studied, will fall.
Photo by Margaret Brown Vega, 2006.

Left behind

A few ceramic vessels left behind in a large looter's pit. These didn't make the cut. Perhaps the looter's intended on returning for them. My crew and I collected them. My rationale: At least they will not enter the antiquities market system, where they will be lost forever.
Photo by Margaret Brown Vega, 2006.

Tattered bodies

This forearm is no longer attached to its body. The red and black elaborate hand tatoo hints at something very interesting about this person's culture and identity. But random, scattered body parts thrown around isn't the best provenience for an archaeologist. What was this person buried with? It's a good bet that the looters made off with the elaborate, more marketable items.
Photo by Margaret Brown Vega, 2004.

Looting - Huaqueando

Photo taken at the Archaeological Complex of Acaray in the Huaura Valley, Peru. Human remains scatter the surface of looted cemeteries, left behind by huaqueros. Looters dig for tombs and mummy bundles, which they pull apart to remove the textiles and other contents that can be sold to collectors. In this valley, Chancay textiles are highly valued. What gets left behind are the human bodies, torn apart and left to decay and disappear.
Photo by Margaret Brown Vega, 2003.