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The mysteries of Pacaya Samiria!

The surprising finding of archaeological remains in the north end of the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve opens up new horizons for the investigation of the origin and development of the andean civilization.

 

 

When we talk about the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, reference is made to its impressive biodiversity, to its varied fauna and an impressive variety of plants. In recent times also refers to its importance as a tourist destination. However, little is known about the historical importance of the cultural populations that inhabited their forests in the heyday of the Andean civilizations.

 

The historical information, based on documents written by the first spaniards who reached the area, makes reference to large and numerous sedentary populations. In written testimony by friar Gaspar de Carvajal (partner of adventures of Francisco de Orellana, discoverer of the Amazon in 1542) gives an account of the complex social fabric of the Omagua culture, who lived in abundance of resources obtained by hunting, fishing and gathering, and above all, the agriculture of flood.

 

Anthropology, however, reported a totally different information, describing small populations of nomadic human settlements and undeveloped. But the most recent archaeological findings give new light on the prehistory of the area that promises to change the current criteria that govern the official history of the ancient Peru.

 

We found traces of human burials and many fragments of ceramics that stand out for their unique style and as objects used in ancestral ceremonies; rites for girls to become women, as well as distaffs used in textile called Shucsos, that give evidence of a cultural development of the work of spinning and weaving of their clothing.

 

"The site of Zapotal demonstrates the existence of large prehistoric populations in the Amazon who developed a unique cultural tradition"

we couldn't avoid to compare some of these designs with the Chavin iconography, recalling that the scholars of this andean civilization insist on their amazon origin.

 

The archaeological site of Zapotal is located half an hour from Cocha Yarina, near the community of San Jose of Samiria. This a place where you can only reach through Kukama Trails.