HUACA DEL SOL - HUACA DE LA LUNA

Itis in the Huaca de la Luna that the remains of 107 sacrificed warriors and numerous polychrome bas-reliefs were unearthed. We explore the site via stairs installed all along the building to have a better view on the friezes. Unfortunately, everything is quite degraded, but the remaining friezes marvel at their detail and color. Archaeologists say that more than 250,000 people participated in its construction. Its construction lasted no less than 600 years!

We find there especially Aie Paec painted of red and ochre, the god with the teeth of feline surrounded by birds and snake, which represents the mountain when Cico paec is the marine god surrounded by waves. The most impressive wall is located on the back part of the huaca: 6 floors of distinct friezes with the procession of the winners and losers chained, the priests, the spiders, the fishermen and so on successively

Around the years 600 or 650, the region undergoes chronic El Niño phenomena which leads to a social revolt since neither the priests nor the nobles manage to control the climate and then a progressive migration which will give birth to the neighboring Chan Chan built on a terraced ground which allows the water to filter. In spite of everything, the Huaca del Sol et de la Luna remains a place of worship, of homage to the ancestors buried here.

The Huaca del Sol is the highest in Peru with its 45 m. It is not open to the public and has not yet been the subject of extensive excavations. It is imposing and photogenic, compared to its neighbor which was gradually deconstructed to access the treasures it contained.

The museum, subsidized by private funds, is very didactic and rich. A visit not to be missed. Here we find the offerings with which the dead were buried. You can also see anthropomorphic animals, realistic portraits where the features are drawn with precision and scenes of sacrifice. Today we think that sacrifices were not so frequent, but that a special caste was raised and trained for the office of fighter, a bit like noble gladiators. In crucial moments, such as the El Niño phenomenon, fights were organized and the winners and losers were separated. The defeated ones remained between 10 or 15 days to be prepared for their ultimate sacrifice. Finally, some huari ceramics testify to the last phase of occupation of the place.