Huacas de Moche and Chan Chan –
Wow – I’ve never heard of this place. Remarkably well-preserved for such ancient adobe – I guess because of the dry climate. Rosanna, thanks for the great photos.—reposted from Strolling South America.
On the coast of Northern Peru, ancient adobe brick structures lie in the sandy desert. They’ve sat here for more than 1500 years and they’re slowly eroding away, leaving behind melted lumps of earth. We visited two of these sites, Huaca de la Luna and Chan Chan, both easily accessible by public transport. Although superficially they may appear similar, the sites belong to two different cultures; the Moche, present 100-800 AD, and the Chimu, who grew out of the remains of the Moche and flourished until the Inca conquest in the 1400s. Click the links for the full article and photos.
A Place in the World 
Thanks for reposting Cinda – I’m glad you enjoyed it. That’s amazing to think your dad spotted something previously unknown, and which possibly may still be unknown. The thrill of discovery and ‘seeing’ straight into the past is why I love archaeology.
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It is amazing isn’t it?
My dad was a pilot and once spotted a temple in the jungle in Colombia in the late 1950’s. He noted the latitude-longitude and the Colombian Air Force looked for it with archeologists from Universidad de Los Andes to no avail. Over the years with the advent of remote sensing etc., I kept waiting to hear of its rediscovery. Have wondered if Ciudad Perdida is what Dad saw over half a century ago.
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I’ve heard of these places, but never realized they had such fancy molded bricks in such good shape. I’ve seen a lot of fancy pottery from both cultures in Nat’l Geo and anthro books. In 1979, I visited Pachacamac, just outside of Lima, which supposedly was inhabited continuously for some 5000 years.
So much we don’t know about life before the conquistadores…
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