Painted walls and fleshy limbs

Looting at a site near Eniminga, Huaura Valley. Left, you can appreciate adobe walls that are plastered and painted yellow. These are heavily disturbed by numerous pits dug with shovels. Their exposure will contribute to their rapid destruction.

Above, part of a human burial. The looting was relatively recent, since the bone still has flesh on it. There is a small piece of basketry mixed in, probably a grave good that accompanied this person.
Photos by Margaret Brown Vega, 2010.

Gravedigging

Colonial period burials at the site of Rontoy, Huaura Valley. Above, you can just make out what is left of wood from a coffin. The torn cloth is also much thicker and denser than prehispanic textiles. Right, scatter rib bones litter the ground. The clothing from the torn apart body has buttons on it. The style of the clothing suggests they belonged to a person of Chinese heritage, possibly a slave brought to the area.
Photos by Margaret Brown Vega, 2009.

Scattered parts

These human remains are from a heavily looted site on the flanks of Cerro San Cristobal, Huaura Valley. People living in the neighboring hamlet know that looters visit the site. While they are wary of outsiders, they do not stop the intruders. One woman indicated that as long as she gets her huaco (typically a decorated pot), she doesn't mind. While I was visiting the site she came out looking for me to be sure that I gave her a huaco. She was quite disappointed when I explained there would be no huacos.

Photos by Margaret Brown Vega, 2009.