Imagine a future thousands of years from now, in which the context and characteristics of Western Civilization have been lost to recorded history. In a futuristic archaeology museum, visitors admire and puzzle over the excavated remains of the Sistine Chapel.
Did you read how scientists have determined that a 13-year-old girl selected for Inca ritual sacrifice 500 years ago was plied with massive amounts of alcohol and cocaine for up to a year before her death?
[Originally published February 10, 2013] Contained in the official Machu Picchu Master Plan is an intriguing theory by Peruvian archaeologist Luis G. Lumbreras. He posits that the iconic Inca citadel is in fact Patallaqta, a “Royal Mausoleum” built — much like the Egyptian pyramids were for the ancient pharaohs — to venerate the Ninth Inca Pachacutec after his death.
Six school girls in Peru’s capital city passing through a 2,000-year-old archaeological ruins as part of their daily routine. It’s a poignant image and a tribute to how cultural patrimony can appear to integrate seamlessly with daily life.
“It is said that when the anthropologists arrive, the