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.

Faces of Looting: The Victims

These photographs illustrate what is left of four individuals who used to live in or around Caleta Vidal in prehispanic times. Despite someone's efforts to put one person back together again, the damage cannot be undone or rectified. Photos by Margaret Brown Vega, 2010.

The Status of Acaray...

Once untouched areas of Acaray are now heavily damaged by looters. The top photo shows recent looter's holes in what appears to be midden (ancient trash, in other words). The pot in the photo was left behind, which indicates that items worth selling were indeed sacked and stolen.
The second photo, a detail of the abandoned pot, tells us why it was left behind. The small hole, the entry wound, was created by a barreta, a tool used to probe for voids in the ground. The looters punctured the vessel when probing the ground to look for a place to dig. You can see the exit wound, the larger section of the pot at its base that was blasted out by the barreta. Looters do not value these items. Those who buy looted items do not value these items. Looters, and those who traffic in antiquities, are committing not only crimes, but acts of violence. Photos by Margaret Brown Vega, 2009.

Mummified child's arm, looter's foot prints and urine

Mummified child's arm, looter's foot prints and urine, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Looted human cranium

Looted human cranium, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

Looted Late Intermediate Period lims and ceramics

Looted Late Intermediate Period lims and ceramics, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

Looted burial of a mummified dog

Looted burial of a mummified dog, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

Looted Late Intermediate Period cranium with copper staining and hair

Looted Late Intermediate Period cranium with copper staining and hair, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

Looted human cranium and looter's cigaretts

Looted human cranium and looter's cigaretts, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Looters smoke tobacco to in order to protect themselves from "malaire" which is also known as "antimonio" or bad air.

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

Looted materials consisting of mumified limb, mandible, Late Intermediate Period ceramic, and cotton fragments

Looted materials consisting of mumified limb, mandible, Late Intermediate Period ceramic, and cotton fragments, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

Portraits of violated burials

Portraits of violated burials, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

Looted human remains found in situ

Looted human remains found in situ, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

These human remains were probably arranged by looters.

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

Looter's cigarette pack and footprints

Looter's cigarette pack and footprints, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

Looted crania scattered on the surface

Looted crania scattered on the surface, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

Human pelvis and looter's footprint

Human pelvis and looter's footprint, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

Looted child burial with copper staining hair attached to the scalp

Looted child burial with copper staining hair attached to the scalp, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Probably a Late Intermediate Period burial.

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

Human cranium and a pack of looter's cigaretts

Human cranium and a pack of looter's cigaretts, originally uploaded by Nathan Craig.

Looters smoke tobacco to in order to protect themselves from "malaire", or "antimonio".

Note: Unfortunately, in order to upload this image from Peru, I had to downsize the photograph considerably.

The beginning...and the end.

Looters use a tool to probe the ground for empty spaces - burials underground. These holes are probes by a looter. This is how it begins.



This crania is left, missing its mandible, atop an adobe brick. Cotton still clinging to the head is what's left of the pillowy bundle fill in which this person was enveloped. Photos by Margaret Brown Vega, 2007.

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.