A 100-foot-long pre-Hispanic mural has been rediscovered in northern Peru by Swiss archeologist Sâm Ghavami after a four-year search that involved the assistance of ten students and a local shaman.
The Moche and another pre-Incan culture, the Lambayeque, are blended together in terms of aesthetics, and it is set in a transitional era around the middle of the ninth century, which has been one of Ghavami’s research’s main areas of interest.
“I was interested in studying this phase during my master’s degree in Andean cultures,” Ghavami, who received his training at the University of Fribourg and is currently a fellow at Harvard, told Artnet News. “I came upon an article that featured a drawing of the painting that was based on images captured in 1916. The painting’s style appeared to be unique to that time period.
These images, which German ethnologist Hans Heinrich Bruning took of the Huaca Pintada wall, were likewise lost until 1978. Due to the widespread belief that the site had already been stolen and destroyed, the academic community paid them little attention after their finding.
“Huaca Pintada was not excavated. Everyone believed that the mural had completely vanished, according to Ghavami. “I made the decision to investigate the area in hopes of learning more about the wall’s context.”
Ghavami started investigating the location in 2019 with the aid of students, a local archeologist, and a regional expert, as well as funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation. He had to overcome another obstacle before the crew even discovered the discovery: a landowner who was opposed to allowing an archeologist to conduct excavations on his property.
Ghavami noted the part a shaman played in helping persuade the landlord, saying that it took her two years of discussions to persuade the landlord of the significance of this kind of study. His team’s excavation was finished in November 2022.
The Moche mural is a unique, exceptional example of pre-Columbian painting, with one piece depicting a parade of warriors. It is made up of vivid red and yellow shapes that are outlined in black. Ghavami’s PhD thesis will be built around deciphering the meaning of the wall.
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