Photo Gallery

The Lanzón of Chavín is a sacred monolith or wanka that belongs to the Chavín culture. It is carved in irregular granite, 4.54 m high and is located in its original location in a sector of an interior gallery of the Old Temple of Chavín. It is called the "Lanzón" because it has the shape of a giant spire whose ends are firmly embedded in the floor and ceiling of the gallery. It has three sides covered with engraved motifs representing a deity with human features mixed with those of animals. It is the largest of the sculptures or monoliths preserved from the Chavín culture. - 1969

During the excavations in Chavín, fragments of stone slabs with anthropomorphic figures were found, probably belonging to a roof cornice. - 1969

This stele shows a figure of a magical-religious cult, under whose influence the whole of ancient Peru was under around 1000 BC. The figure carries a sceptre; hair and belt are made of snakes. Most of these peculiar representations of Chavín also have wings; fangs, cat's claws or birds of prey claws are characteristic features. - 1969

During the excavations in Chavín, fragments of stone slabs with anthropomorphic figures were found, probably belonging to a roof cornice. - 1969

Detail from the temple complex of Cerro Sechín in the Valley of Casma on the Peruvian Pacific coast. The complex of around ninety monolithic slabs, some of them enormous, is attributed to the coastal Chavín style, although the reliefs have little in common with other ancient Peruvian stonework and show more similarities with the Mexican Monte Albán culture. - 1976

Detail from the temple complex of Cerro Sechín in the Casmatal on the Peruvian Pacific coast. The complex of around ninety monolithic slabs, some of which are enormous, is attributed to the coastal Chavín style, although the reliefs have little in common with other ancient Peruvian stonework and show more similarities with the Mexican Monte Albán culture. The figures in profile all look towards the main entrance of the temple. - 1976

Stone figure of the Huaylas type - Private collection - Lima - 1969

Very often, on the heights of the Collao Altiplano around Lake Titicaca, one finds those strange monolithic chullpas, mummy graves of high leaders and members of a mysterious race that existed "before the sun rose". In Sillustani, on the Umayo peninsula on the lake of the same name, there are twelve tomb towers, some of which have collapsed. This tower has the relief of a lizard. - 1969

Very often, on the heights of the Collao Altiplano around Lake Titicaca, one finds those strange monolithic chullpas, mummy graves of high-ranking leaders and members of a mysterious race that existed "before the sun rose". The blunt, 12 m high burial tower of Cutimbo, near Puno, has a relief with pumas at its base.

The petroglyphs of Toro Muerto are located in the Majes valley and are spread over an area of 5 km². It is perhaps the richest area of rock art in the world; it has more than 6'000 blocks engraved in bas-relief. These blocks have been engraved with all kinds of geometric and anthropomorphic representations, birds, quadrupeds, reptiles, etc. - 1976

Detail from the temple complex of Cerro Sechín in the Casmatal on the Peruvian Pacific coast. The complex of around ninety monolithic slabs, some of which are enormous, is attributed to the coastal Chavín style, although the reliefs have little in common with other ancient Peruvian stonework and show more similarities with the Mexican Monte Albán culture. The figures in profile all look towards the main entrance of the temple. - 1976

Detail from the temple complex at Cerro Sechín in the Casma Valley on the Peruvian Pacific coast. The complex, comprising around ninety monolithic slabs—some of them enormous—is attributed to the Coastal Chavín style, although the reliefs bear little resemblance to other ancient Peruvian stone carvings and show greater similarities to the Mexican Monte Albán culture. The figures, depicted in profile, all face the main entrance to the temple. - Book: Picture 46 - Peru - 1976

Detail from the temple complex of Cerro Sechín in the Valley of Casma on the Peruvian Pacific coast. The complex of around ninety monolithic slabs, some of them enormous, is attributed to the coastal Chavín style, although the reliefs have little in common with other ancient Peruvian stonework and show more similarities with the Mexican Monte Albán culture. - 1976

On the Bolivian plateau, the legendary creator god Kon Tiki Viracocha guards the secrets of a sunken world like a "sphinx". In the mask of a radiation-framed puma, he adorns the famous sun gate of Tiahuanaco, which consists of a single block of andesite, almost 3 m high and 4 m wide, weighing almost 10 tons. - 1976

The central figure of the Sun Gate at Tiahuanaco, Bolivia. As with the figure on the Raimondi Stele (Chavín culture), the head is almost as large as the body. In both hands, the Sun God holds sceptres that end in condor heads; his hair ends in snakes and jaguar heads. Tears, symbolising fertility and rain, stream down his face. He is surrounded by 148 winged figures facing him, which have been interpreted as symbols of movement and time. The Tiahuanaco culture had the most direct influence on the Inca civilisation. - Book: Picture 124 - Bolivia - 1976