The Port of Callao is Peru's main commercial seaport. The city is also called Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao region.
The origin of its name is unknown; but it is certain that it was known by that name since 1550. After the Battle of Ayacucho (December 9th, 1824) that sealed the Independence of Peru, Europeans made futile attempts to retain its former colonies, such as the siege of Callao (1826). On August 20, 1836, during the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy (1836-39), a political entity created by the 7th President of Peru, Andres de Santa Cruz y Calahumana, mandated the creation of the Callao Littoral Province, which had political autonomy in its internal affairs. He was a son of a Spaniard and an Indian leader (cacique) of an andean group of the town of Huarina. During the government of President Ramon Castilla (1845-51), Callao was given the name of Constitutional Province, on April 22, 1857. All of the other Peruvian provinces had been given their names by law, while Callao obtained it by constitutional mandate. Callao was never part of the Lima Department nor of any other departments. It is known by the nickname of "Pearl from the Pacific."
On October 28, 1746, a tsunami caused by the 1746 Lima-Callao earthquake destroyed the entire Callao and everything else along the central Peruvian coast from Chancay in the North to Canete in the South. It reached the coast half an hour following the shock. Callao was inundated and its walls destroyed, killing most of the 6,000 inhabitants, leaving less than 200 survivors. Eyewitness accounts indicate 2 waves, the first of which was up to 24m/80ft high. Other particular tsunamis have occurred in 1586, 1604, and 1868.
The 1746 earthquake is interpreted to be a mega-thrust earthquake occurring at subduction zones where one tectonic plate is forced underneath another. They are the planet's most powerful ones.
The earthquake occurred at 22:30 local time with a moment magnitude of 8.6-8.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of 11 (extreme). The epicenter was located about 90km/56mi North- NorthWest of Lima, and in 3-4 minutes, the capital city was almost completely destroyed. All offices and all 74 churches were either damaged or destroyed leaving just 25 of the original 3,000 houses standing. The earthquake was felt up to 750 km away. There were at least 200 aftershocks observed in the first 24 hours after the main shock, out of a total of 1,700 recorded in the following 112 days, although they caused no further casualties. It was the deadliest earthquake in Peru's history.
The Constitutional Province of Callao borders Lima Province on the North, East and South, and the Pacific Ocean on the West. It lies South of the Rimac at the tip of a peninsula protected by the offshore island of San Lorenzo and a promontory. It has one of South America's few good natural harbors on the Pacific Ocean.
The Port of Callao exports mainly refined metals, mineral, fish meal, and fish oil. Its principal imports are wheat, lumber, and machinery.
The Port of Callao is home to a wide range of industries that include breweries, fish meal factories, and shipbuilding yards. It is also home to a large naval base and the Jorge Chavez International Airport.
The Port of Callao supports a large colony of sea lions and seabirds in its several islands (San Lorenzo,
The Fronton, the Cavinzas Islands and Palomino Islands) in a relatively pristine ecosystem.
The Port of Callao was founded by Spanish colonists in 1537, just 2 years after Lima (1535), the country's capital city. It soon became the main port for European commerce in the Pacific. Virtually all goods produced in Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina were carried over the Andes by mule to the Port of Callao, especially gold, silver and precious metals, to be shipped to Panama, carried overland, and then transported on to Europe via Cuba.
The Battle of Callao (Combate del 2 de Mayo) occurred on May 2, 1866 between a Spanish fleet and the fortified battery emplacements of the port city. The battle was seen as a victory on the Spanish side and on the part of Peru it was declared as a Feast Day forever. The damages caused to Callao were barely noticeable. The Peruvian batteries occupied the Spanish squad so much that there was no time to bombard the city. Peace was not signed until 1879.
Residents of Callao are known as "Chalacos."
Friday, July 28, 2017
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
THE SACRED PURPLE CORN OF THE ANDES
Purple corn grows only in the High Mountains of Peru and along its coastlines. Being there on mountains tops suffering the burning heat of the sun's UV rays, and along the coasts where strong winds and salty breeze are predominant, the purple corn have fought to survive for generations, by producing more antioxidants, transforming itsellf into a powerful corn, deep purple in color (thus its rich antioxidants), and all thanks to the Creator God.
The purple color is due to, first, the rich anthocyanin count in the plant that is responsible for the deep color and second, the location from where the plant grows. There is nothing like its anthocyanin count in the world. Anthocyanins are molecules that have the ability to improve everything from cardiovascular health to collagen regeneration. You may have purple corn growing in your locality but it does not have the 16.4 mg per gram count that the mountain and coastline corns from Peru have.
There is nothing like its rich fruity flavor which is like a mix of sweet grapes, peaches, kiwi, and prune juice. For thousand of years, the people of the Andes have prepared the beverage on daily basis. It is a nutritive powerhouse due to its extremely high antioxidant content.
The kernels of the purple corn have to be separated from the cob and the cob has to be cut in pieces. Then they are soaked in hot water and boiled with chunks of quince, pineapple peel, cinnamon, and cloves. After 2 hours of boiling in very slow heat the whole mixture is left to cool overnight with the lid on and then refrigerated for a day or couple of days to yield a deep purple color and flavor. Then the mixture is passed through a powerful strainer and the beverage is mixed with lime juice and honey.
The ancient people of the Andes had the maize as a primary component in their diet. especially in the Northern region, an area of remarkable cultural fluorescence in the 3rd millennium BC. Microscopic evidence found in soil and on stone tools proved that corn was indeed a primary component in their diet. It also shows quite clearly that the very earliest emergence of civilization in the Andes was indeed based on agriculture.
Then their knowledge were deeper and deeper and the level of agriculture that they reached during the time of the Incas was unique and surpassed by far the level found in the outside World. It is shown in the ancient city of Machu Picchu, that sits in a Valley between two peaks in the Andes. The European invaders failed to find this intricately engineered "lost city" of the Incas. It wasn't discovered until 1911 when an Andean guide brought a Yale professor up the mountains to see this amazing achievement, with over 700 agricultural terraces fed by an extensive irrigation system -all created without iron, steel or wheels!
The purple color is due to, first, the rich anthocyanin count in the plant that is responsible for the deep color and second, the location from where the plant grows. There is nothing like its anthocyanin count in the world. Anthocyanins are molecules that have the ability to improve everything from cardiovascular health to collagen regeneration. You may have purple corn growing in your locality but it does not have the 16.4 mg per gram count that the mountain and coastline corns from Peru have.
There is nothing like its rich fruity flavor which is like a mix of sweet grapes, peaches, kiwi, and prune juice. For thousand of years, the people of the Andes have prepared the beverage on daily basis. It is a nutritive powerhouse due to its extremely high antioxidant content.
The kernels of the purple corn have to be separated from the cob and the cob has to be cut in pieces. Then they are soaked in hot water and boiled with chunks of quince, pineapple peel, cinnamon, and cloves. After 2 hours of boiling in very slow heat the whole mixture is left to cool overnight with the lid on and then refrigerated for a day or couple of days to yield a deep purple color and flavor. Then the mixture is passed through a powerful strainer and the beverage is mixed with lime juice and honey.
The ancient people of the Andes had the maize as a primary component in their diet. especially in the Northern region, an area of remarkable cultural fluorescence in the 3rd millennium BC. Microscopic evidence found in soil and on stone tools proved that corn was indeed a primary component in their diet. It also shows quite clearly that the very earliest emergence of civilization in the Andes was indeed based on agriculture.
Then their knowledge were deeper and deeper and the level of agriculture that they reached during the time of the Incas was unique and surpassed by far the level found in the outside World. It is shown in the ancient city of Machu Picchu, that sits in a Valley between two peaks in the Andes. The European invaders failed to find this intricately engineered "lost city" of the Incas. It wasn't discovered until 1911 when an Andean guide brought a Yale professor up the mountains to see this amazing achievement, with over 700 agricultural terraces fed by an extensive irrigation system -all created without iron, steel or wheels!
Monday, July 24, 2017
THE BELIEFS OF THE ANDEAN PEOPLE.
The ancient people of the Andes placed a great importance on astronomy. They were the only ones in the world to define constellations of both Light and Darkness. They not only identified constellations and individual stars, but they also assigned each a purpose.
The Andean people of today still believe that everything in and around our world is connected, and that is the main reason why worship is very important to them. It managed to survive the European invasion period and the colonial era.
The ancient Andean people had a very complicated form of religion, closely linked to astronomy. They not only studied individual stars, but also grouped stars into constellations. In general, the sky was very important to them and had a very special meaning that impacted day to day life. The most crucial events generally involved the rising and setting of the sun, moon, and stars, due to the importance of the powerful synthetic principle underlying the perception and ordering of objects in the physical environment. Agriculture was treated as a sacred thing since survival in the harsh environment of the Andean Mountains was a privilege for the communities who won the sacred test.
Cuzco for example lies on a radial plan, mimicking the sky and pointing to specific astronomical events on the horizon. The sky-ground correspondence is supported by the carefully design and construction of pillars on mountains and hills that overlook Cuzco. They received the information where they had to plant at a very specific altitude when the Sun rose or set between those pillars. The distance between two anchor points had the function of a base unit for astronomical alignments and also turned the Sacred Rivers into a tangible map of time.
The Incas worshiped the Creator God (Vitracocha), the Sun (Inti), and the Thunder (Chuquilla), among others. Both the moon and the sun were seen by the Incas, as entities able to hold an extraordinary source of power and for that reason they built extravagant pillars and temples with great precision so that these heavenly bodies would pass over the structures or through the windows on specific days, like the summer solstice. They also worshiped the spirits that were believed to inhabit any remarkable phenomenon (Huaca), including large boulders, trees, streams or waterfalls.
Upon looking at the stars, the Incas noticed many animals and things from their day to day lives. They believed that the Creator God (Viracocha) had ensured that each animal or bird had a corresponding star (specific energy) and that all living things would be protected.
The snake, for example, has the same cycle in the sky compared to the ones on earth, and both live in harmony, alongside the other celestial animals. This is contrary to traditional Western constellations, where various images (i.e. Scorpion, Scale, Fish, etc.) have no interaction with each other or things happening on earth.
The Incas sorted the constellations into two groups:
-The first type considered inanimate, were groupings of stars that are linked in a connect-the-dots manner to create pictures of animals, heroes and more. One star grouping known as Pleiades was specially believed to be very influential over the well-being of animals. It was not seen as a god, but rather as a Huaca to which the Shamans would make regular sacrifices.
-The second type could only be observed when there were no stars. They were the dark spots or blotches on the Milky Way, and were considered as living (animate) animals. The animals were believed to live in the Milky Way, which they thought of as a River.
The Incas were one of the very few civilizations who were able to locate their constellations without the presence of stars.
The Andean people of today still believe that everything in and around our world is connected, and that is the main reason why worship is very important to them. It managed to survive the European invasion period and the colonial era.
The ancient Andean people had a very complicated form of religion, closely linked to astronomy. They not only studied individual stars, but also grouped stars into constellations. In general, the sky was very important to them and had a very special meaning that impacted day to day life. The most crucial events generally involved the rising and setting of the sun, moon, and stars, due to the importance of the powerful synthetic principle underlying the perception and ordering of objects in the physical environment. Agriculture was treated as a sacred thing since survival in the harsh environment of the Andean Mountains was a privilege for the communities who won the sacred test.
Cuzco for example lies on a radial plan, mimicking the sky and pointing to specific astronomical events on the horizon. The sky-ground correspondence is supported by the carefully design and construction of pillars on mountains and hills that overlook Cuzco. They received the information where they had to plant at a very specific altitude when the Sun rose or set between those pillars. The distance between two anchor points had the function of a base unit for astronomical alignments and also turned the Sacred Rivers into a tangible map of time.
The Incas worshiped the Creator God (Vitracocha), the Sun (Inti), and the Thunder (Chuquilla), among others. Both the moon and the sun were seen by the Incas, as entities able to hold an extraordinary source of power and for that reason they built extravagant pillars and temples with great precision so that these heavenly bodies would pass over the structures or through the windows on specific days, like the summer solstice. They also worshiped the spirits that were believed to inhabit any remarkable phenomenon (Huaca), including large boulders, trees, streams or waterfalls.
Upon looking at the stars, the Incas noticed many animals and things from their day to day lives. They believed that the Creator God (Viracocha) had ensured that each animal or bird had a corresponding star (specific energy) and that all living things would be protected.
The snake, for example, has the same cycle in the sky compared to the ones on earth, and both live in harmony, alongside the other celestial animals. This is contrary to traditional Western constellations, where various images (i.e. Scorpion, Scale, Fish, etc.) have no interaction with each other or things happening on earth.
The Incas sorted the constellations into two groups:
-The first type considered inanimate, were groupings of stars that are linked in a connect-the-dots manner to create pictures of animals, heroes and more. One star grouping known as Pleiades was specially believed to be very influential over the well-being of animals. It was not seen as a god, but rather as a Huaca to which the Shamans would make regular sacrifices.
-The second type could only be observed when there were no stars. They were the dark spots or blotches on the Milky Way, and were considered as living (animate) animals. The animals were believed to live in the Milky Way, which they thought of as a River.
The Incas were one of the very few civilizations who were able to locate their constellations without the presence of stars.
Sunday, July 23, 2017
THE COTAHUASI CANYON.
The Cotahuasi Canyon near the city of Arequipa in Peru is the deepest canyon in the world. It is an impressive chasm that the River has eroded between two enormous mountain massifs: the Coropuna and the Solimana. One extends from spurs of the snow-covered Solimana to the confluence with the Ocona River. The Canyon was cut by the Cotahuasi River, a tributary of the Rio Ocona, to a depth of approximately 3,354m.
Coropuna is a dormant volcano in the Southern Andes, 155km/96mi from Arequipa and belongs to the Central Volcanic Zone that extends from Peru to Chile and forms the western boundary of the Andean Plateau. Its summit reaches an altitude of 6,377m/20,922ft above sea level. It has been active for at least 5 million years, with the bulk of the current cone having formed during the Pilocene-Pleistocene in the geological time-scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58 million years ago. The thick ice cap that covers the volcano, 2nd largest in the tropics, has undergone several phases of expansion and reduction. As of 2016, the ice cap is in retreat and it will disappear by 2045, threatening the water supply of ten thousands of people. The interaction between volcanic activity and glacial effects has generated mud flows that could be a hazard to surrounding populations if the mountain returns to volcanic activity.
The mountain was considered sacred by the Inca, and a number of archaeological sites have been discovered there. The Inca built the highest irrigation system in the world on the Coropuna.
Solimana is a volcanic massif about 6,093m/19,990ft above sea level. It lies North West of Coropuna.
The Cotahuasi Canyon is formed by the Cotahuasi River, arising at more than 4,750m/15,580ft above sea level in the Lake Wansuqucha. It receives the tributaries of the Wayllapana River in the neighboring Pampamarka to the North, and the Huarcaya near Tumipampa to the West, and is later joined by the Maran River to form the Ocona River (Chaucalla Village) that ends at the Pacific Ocean.
Cotahuasi Province is located at the highest Andean point of Arequipa. It is characterized by its steep relief: incised by rivers and gullies, ranging between 1,000 and 6093 meters, with 19 ecological zones.
The altitude and remoteness of this region has contributed that its residents have retained many of the practices that are now no longer common in neighboring regions. The only road leading to the Canyon goes through Chuquibamba in the Condesuyos Province, then Aplao in Castilla Province. It begins on the Panamerican Highway near Arequipa. The drive is 10-12 hours long on a road which is unpaved after Chuquibamba. It also goes quite high, through a 4,500m pass between Coropuna and Solimana.
The difficult topographic conditions have generated specific landscapes like agricultural terraces. The landscapes are quite many, from the rivers at the bottom of the Canyon to the cold desert areas of the summits. It produces kiwicha, quinoa, mint, purple corn, llacon, fava, oca, beans, arveja, chulpi maize, anise, tarwi. Medicinal plants like muna, retama, tara, coca, jara (malva sylvestris), ruda, yareta. These products are meant to give priority to food supplies to the province, therefore, very little is produced for export. ood autonomy is reached thanks to ancient techniques, rational use of water, promotion of improved seeds, conservation of bio-diversity and complementary livestock breeding.
There are also a number of Inca and pre-Inca works including many agricultural terraces still in use today.
Coropuna is a dormant volcano in the Southern Andes, 155km/96mi from Arequipa and belongs to the Central Volcanic Zone that extends from Peru to Chile and forms the western boundary of the Andean Plateau. Its summit reaches an altitude of 6,377m/20,922ft above sea level. It has been active for at least 5 million years, with the bulk of the current cone having formed during the Pilocene-Pleistocene in the geological time-scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58 million years ago. The thick ice cap that covers the volcano, 2nd largest in the tropics, has undergone several phases of expansion and reduction. As of 2016, the ice cap is in retreat and it will disappear by 2045, threatening the water supply of ten thousands of people. The interaction between volcanic activity and glacial effects has generated mud flows that could be a hazard to surrounding populations if the mountain returns to volcanic activity.
The mountain was considered sacred by the Inca, and a number of archaeological sites have been discovered there. The Inca built the highest irrigation system in the world on the Coropuna.
Solimana is a volcanic massif about 6,093m/19,990ft above sea level. It lies North West of Coropuna.
The Cotahuasi Canyon is formed by the Cotahuasi River, arising at more than 4,750m/15,580ft above sea level in the Lake Wansuqucha. It receives the tributaries of the Wayllapana River in the neighboring Pampamarka to the North, and the Huarcaya near Tumipampa to the West, and is later joined by the Maran River to form the Ocona River (Chaucalla Village) that ends at the Pacific Ocean.
Cotahuasi Province is located at the highest Andean point of Arequipa. It is characterized by its steep relief: incised by rivers and gullies, ranging between 1,000 and 6093 meters, with 19 ecological zones.
The altitude and remoteness of this region has contributed that its residents have retained many of the practices that are now no longer common in neighboring regions. The only road leading to the Canyon goes through Chuquibamba in the Condesuyos Province, then Aplao in Castilla Province. It begins on the Panamerican Highway near Arequipa. The drive is 10-12 hours long on a road which is unpaved after Chuquibamba. It also goes quite high, through a 4,500m pass between Coropuna and Solimana.
The difficult topographic conditions have generated specific landscapes like agricultural terraces. The landscapes are quite many, from the rivers at the bottom of the Canyon to the cold desert areas of the summits. It produces kiwicha, quinoa, mint, purple corn, llacon, fava, oca, beans, arveja, chulpi maize, anise, tarwi. Medicinal plants like muna, retama, tara, coca, jara (malva sylvestris), ruda, yareta. These products are meant to give priority to food supplies to the province, therefore, very little is produced for export. ood autonomy is reached thanks to ancient techniques, rational use of water, promotion of improved seeds, conservation of bio-diversity and complementary livestock breeding.
There are also a number of Inca and pre-Inca works including many agricultural terraces still in use today.
Saturday, July 22, 2017
THE CONVENT OF SAN FRANCISCO.
The Church and Convent of San Francisco is located in downtown Lima, Peru, South of the Wall Park (Parque la Muralla) and block North East from the Major Plaza (Plaza Mayor).
The construction of the Church and Convent began in 1673 and completed in 1774. Though it survived the 1687 and 1746 earthquakes, it suffered extensive damage in the 1970 earthquake.
The Church is noted for its architecture, a high example of Baroque art, and features an Islamic inspired Dome carved in wood. The vaults of the central and two side naves are painted in a mix of Moorish and Spanish designs. The main altar is totally made from wood. The halls of the head cloister are inlaid with Sevillian glazed tiles dating from the 1620s.
The complex is made of the Temple, the Convent and two other churches, "The Solitude" (La Soledad) and "The Miracle" (El Milagro).
The Convent's Library is world-renowned. It possesses about 25,000 ancient texts and 13 paintings of the biblical patriarch Jacob and his 12 sons. The paint of the Last Supper depicts typical Peruvian ingredients and meals such as guinea pig, potatoes and chillis. Also peculiar is the Devil hovering besides Judas.
The Convent originally included 7 cloisters : -Main Courtyard, -Bonaventure, -Francis Solanus buried in the convent church, -Pepper Yard, -Infirmary, -Novitiate, and -the 3rd Order. During the works to open Abancay Avenue in 1940, part of the Convent, including Bonaventure's courtyard, was demolished, and the section used by the Franciscan 3rd Order was separated from the Main structure.
It is believed that the 3rd Order of Saint Francis was the oldest of all the 3rd Orders. The Order formed probably in the 12th century. Its purpose is obscure, but some chroniclers said that certain noblemen of Lombardy were taken as captives to Germany by the Emperor Henry V (1081-1125) following a rebellion in the area and after suffering exile for some time, they assumed a sort of penitential garb giving their pledges of future loyalty to the King if they were permitted to return to Lombardy.
Lombardy (Long Beard) as a region, was settled at least since the 2nd millennium BC, as shown by the archaeological findings of ceramics, arrows, axes, and carved stones. Well-preserved rock drawings depicting animals, people and symbols were made over a period of 8,000 years preceding the Iron Age. In the following centuries the area was inhabited by different peoples among whom the Etruscans, who founded the city of Mantua and spread the use of writing; later, starting from the 5h century BC, the area was inhabited by Celtic-Galic Tribes. These people settled in several cities, including Milan, and extended their rule to the Adriatic Sea.
Lombardy was referred during early Middle Ages to the entire territory of Italy, ruled by the Lombards, who conquered much of the Italian Peninsula beginning in the 6th century. Their development was halted by the Roman expansion from the 3rd BC onwards. During and after the Fall of the Roman Empire, Lombardy as a region, suffered heavily by a series of invasions by tribal people. The last and most effective was that of the Germanic Lombards who came around the 570s and whose long-lasting reign, with its capital in Pavia, gave the current name to the region. There was a close relationship between the Frankish, Bavarian, and Lombard nobility for many centuries.
After the decisive Battle of Pavia, the Duchy of Milan became a possession of the House of Habsburg or House of Austria, the most influential royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by them between 1438 and 1740. The House of Austria also produced emperors and kings of the Kingdom of Bohemia, Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Germany, Kingdom of Hungary, Kingdom of Croatia, Kingdom of Ireland, Kingdom of Portugal, and Habsburg Spain, as well as rulers of several Dutch and Italian principalities.
From the 16th century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austria and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they nevertheless maintained close relations and frequently intermarried.
The House took its name from the Habsburg Castle, a medieval fortress built in the 1020s, and located in Habsburg, Switzerland, in the semi-sovereign state (canton) of Aargau, near the Aar River. The Aar is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest River that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland.
In 1134, many groups of people assumed a penitential ideology that spread rapidly. It gave rise to 2 new branches of a distinctive form of religious life, a second order composed of women, and third order composed of priests. The order of priests, once formed, claimed precedence over the other branches and on the model of mendicant behavior that allowed them traveling and live in rural areas for purposes of evangelization, such as the Dominicans or the Franciscans, was styled as the "First Order." They gave rise to groups later successfully institutionalized, such as Francis of Assisi's Order of Friars Minor.
The most chilling aspect in the Convent of San Francisco is a series of catacombs built of bricks and mortar, very solid that have stood up well to earthquakes, and served as a burial-place until 1808. The catacombs have on display the bones of more than 25,000 people, members of guilds and brotherhoods. The bones (femurs, tibiae, and craniums) of the members, at least those that are more than 10 meters deep, echo a symbolic and ritualistic intention, and, they are laid out in geometric shapes, especially in mandala patterns, suggesting the metaphysical purpose of all of them. They are suppose to absorb seismic waves.
The catacombs remained secretly for a long time until its re-discovery in 1943. It is believed there existed secret passageways that connected to the city Cathedral and the Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition and other churches through a network of underground tunnels.
The Convent charms the first time visitors from the very second they walk through its gate by its magnificent architecture and its two identical towers. Once they make their way inside, they are continuously amazed by the beautiful carvings, which are so realistic that it is hard to believe that the robes of the saints are actually intricate carvings from the wood that once was a living and breathing tree.
ORIGEN OF PLAZA OF ARMS OF LIMA, PERU.
The Plaza of Arms of Lima is the birthplace of Lima, "City of the Kings,"as well as the core of the city.
Although severely damaged by earthquakes, it was, until the middle of the 18th century, the capital and most important city of the Spanish crown in South America.
Lima was the political, administrative, religious and economic capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and the most important city of the Spanish crown in South America. It played a leading role in the history of the expansion of Spain as an important source of power from 1542 to the 18th century when the creation of the Viceroyalties of New Granada (1718) and of La Plata (1777) gradually put an end to the power and omnipotence of he Spanish crown on South America.
In 1523, King Charles I (24 February 1500 - 21 September 1558) of Spain mandated the Procedures for the creation of the city, the largest of its type in this part of the world, located in the Rimac Valley. These procedures indicated that after outlining a city's plan on the territories led by the Chiefdom of Rimac, growth should follow a grid centered on the square shape of the plaza.
On the day of the foundation of the city, January 18, 1535, the illegitimate son of an infantry soldier and a woman of poor means, Francisco Pizarro (little attention was paid to his education and he grew up illiterate), conforming to established procedure and purpose, designated a location to build the Plaza. Later parcels were splitted between him and the major. Pizarro, taking advantage of his title of founder and governor, took a large parcel of land between the North side of the plaza and the Rimac River.
The lot of the South of the plaza was designated to be a church, the Western lot was to be the site of a city council, and the rest of the lots were divided among the rest of his people. It was the finest and most well-formed plaza ever seen, even in the land of Spain, occupying an entire block with the width of 4 streets on one side and 4 streets on the other, and with all 4 sides it measured more than 2,000 ft.
The Plaza of Arms is surrounded by the Government Palace, Cathedral of Lima, Archbishop's Palace, the Municipal Palace, and the Palace of the Union. The name of the streets that surround the Plaza are Jiron Junin, Jiron de la Union, Jiron Huallaga, and Jiron Carabaya.
Charles was the heir of 3 of Europe's leading dynasties: the House of Valois-Burgundy (Netherlands), Habsburg (Holy Roman Empire), and Trastamara (Spain). He was the ruler of both the Spanish crown and the Holy Roman Empire from 1519, as well as of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1506.
Charles, as heir of the House of Valois-Burgundy, inherited the Burgundian crown (a number of Imperial and French fiefs that was a central element of feudalism, heritable property of rights granted by an overlord to a vassal who held it as a pledge of alliance or in fee) ruled in personal union by the House of Valois-Burgundy and their Habsburg heirs in the period from 1384 to 1482. The area comprised large parts of present-day Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as Luxembourg and parts of Northern France. Charles also inherited the region named "Free Country"(Franche-Comte) inhabited since the prehistoric period of human history and was occupied by the Gauls. Little touched by the Germanic migrations, it was part of the territory of a confederation of Germanic Tribes on the Upper Rhine River in the 5yh century, then the Kingdom of Burgundy from 457 to 534. It was Christianized through the influence of Columban (Irish: Columban, 543 - 21 November 615) notably for founding a number of monasteries from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, and a key figure in a series of missions and expeditions initiated by various Irish clerics and cleric-scholars. The name did not appear officially until 1366. It had been a territory of the County of Burgundy from 888, and becoming subject to the Holy Roman Empire in 1034. It was definitively separated from the neighboring Duchy of Burgundy upon its incorporation into the Kingdom of France in 1477.
Charles, from his own dynasty, the Habsburgs, inherited Austria and other lands in Central Europe.
Charles was also elected to succeed his Habsburg grandfather, Maximilian I, as Holy Roman Emperor, a title held by the Habsburgs since 1440.
Charles, from the Spanish House of Trastamara, inherited the crowns of Castile, which was in the process of developing enough power through the conquest of new lands around the world, and Aragon, which included a Mediterranean power through lands extending to Southern Italy.
The House of Trastamara was a dynasty of kings in Spain, which first governed in Castile beginning in 1369 before expanding its rule into Aragon, Navarre and Naples. They were an illegitimate cadet line of the House of Ivrea. They ruled throughout a period of military struggle with Aragon. Their family was sustained with large amounts of inbreeding, which led to a disputed struggles over rightful claims to the Castilian throne. This lineage ultimately ruled in Castile from the rise to power of Henry II in 1369 through the unification of the crowns under Ferdinand of Aragon and isabella of Castile, second cousins, being both descendants from John I of Castile. When they married on October 19, 1469, in the city of Valladolid; Isabella was 18 years old and Ferdinand a year younger, giving birth to an unified Spain. The court was constantly on the move in order to bolster local support fro the crown from local feudal lords. The title of "Catholic King and Queen" was bestowed on them by Pope Alexander VI in 1494, in recognition of their defense of the Catholic faith within their realms. After a number of revolts, they ordered the expulsion from their lands of all Jews and Muslims. People who became Catholic were not subject to expulsion, but between 1480 and 1492 hundreds of those who had converted were accused of secretly practicing their original religion, then arrested, imprisoned, interrogated under torture, and in some cases burned to death, in both Castile and Aragon.
Charles, the eldest son of Philip the Handsome of the House of Habsburg and Joanna of Castile (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella) was the very first king to rule Castile and Aragon simultaneously in his own right, and as a result he is sometimes referred to as "the first King of Spain." These personal union resulted in the formation of a kind of universal monarchy since the death of Louis the Pious (778-20 June 840), King of the Franks and co-Emperor (as Louis I) with his father, Charlemagne, from 813.
Because of widespread fears that his vast inheritance would lead to the realization of a universal crown creating a European hegemony, Charles was the object of hostility from many enemies. His reign was dominated by war, and particularly by 3 major simultaneous conflicts: the Habsburg-Valois Wars with France fought in Italy, the struggle to halt the Ottoman advance in Hungary and Vienna, and the Protestant Reformation which he opposed resulting in conflict with the German princes. The Castilian and Burgundian territories remained mostly loyal to Charles throughout his rule.
The inclusion of the territories of the New World, the Americas, were the chief source of his power and wealth, and they became increasingly important as his reign progressed. Castilian control was extended across much of South and Central America. The resulting vast invasion and expansion of territory and the flows of gold and silver taken from it had a very profound long term effect on the wealth of his reign. As a result, his domains spanned nearly 4 million square kilometers and were the first to be described as "the empire on which the sun never sets."
Although severely damaged by earthquakes, it was, until the middle of the 18th century, the capital and most important city of the Spanish crown in South America.
Lima was the political, administrative, religious and economic capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and the most important city of the Spanish crown in South America. It played a leading role in the history of the expansion of Spain as an important source of power from 1542 to the 18th century when the creation of the Viceroyalties of New Granada (1718) and of La Plata (1777) gradually put an end to the power and omnipotence of he Spanish crown on South America.
In 1523, King Charles I (24 February 1500 - 21 September 1558) of Spain mandated the Procedures for the creation of the city, the largest of its type in this part of the world, located in the Rimac Valley. These procedures indicated that after outlining a city's plan on the territories led by the Chiefdom of Rimac, growth should follow a grid centered on the square shape of the plaza.
On the day of the foundation of the city, January 18, 1535, the illegitimate son of an infantry soldier and a woman of poor means, Francisco Pizarro (little attention was paid to his education and he grew up illiterate), conforming to established procedure and purpose, designated a location to build the Plaza. Later parcels were splitted between him and the major. Pizarro, taking advantage of his title of founder and governor, took a large parcel of land between the North side of the plaza and the Rimac River.
The lot of the South of the plaza was designated to be a church, the Western lot was to be the site of a city council, and the rest of the lots were divided among the rest of his people. It was the finest and most well-formed plaza ever seen, even in the land of Spain, occupying an entire block with the width of 4 streets on one side and 4 streets on the other, and with all 4 sides it measured more than 2,000 ft.
The Plaza of Arms is surrounded by the Government Palace, Cathedral of Lima, Archbishop's Palace, the Municipal Palace, and the Palace of the Union. The name of the streets that surround the Plaza are Jiron Junin, Jiron de la Union, Jiron Huallaga, and Jiron Carabaya.
Charles was the heir of 3 of Europe's leading dynasties: the House of Valois-Burgundy (Netherlands), Habsburg (Holy Roman Empire), and Trastamara (Spain). He was the ruler of both the Spanish crown and the Holy Roman Empire from 1519, as well as of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1506.
Charles, as heir of the House of Valois-Burgundy, inherited the Burgundian crown (a number of Imperial and French fiefs that was a central element of feudalism, heritable property of rights granted by an overlord to a vassal who held it as a pledge of alliance or in fee) ruled in personal union by the House of Valois-Burgundy and their Habsburg heirs in the period from 1384 to 1482. The area comprised large parts of present-day Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as Luxembourg and parts of Northern France. Charles also inherited the region named "Free Country"(Franche-Comte) inhabited since the prehistoric period of human history and was occupied by the Gauls. Little touched by the Germanic migrations, it was part of the territory of a confederation of Germanic Tribes on the Upper Rhine River in the 5yh century, then the Kingdom of Burgundy from 457 to 534. It was Christianized through the influence of Columban (Irish: Columban, 543 - 21 November 615) notably for founding a number of monasteries from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, and a key figure in a series of missions and expeditions initiated by various Irish clerics and cleric-scholars. The name did not appear officially until 1366. It had been a territory of the County of Burgundy from 888, and becoming subject to the Holy Roman Empire in 1034. It was definitively separated from the neighboring Duchy of Burgundy upon its incorporation into the Kingdom of France in 1477.
Charles, from his own dynasty, the Habsburgs, inherited Austria and other lands in Central Europe.
Charles was also elected to succeed his Habsburg grandfather, Maximilian I, as Holy Roman Emperor, a title held by the Habsburgs since 1440.
Charles, from the Spanish House of Trastamara, inherited the crowns of Castile, which was in the process of developing enough power through the conquest of new lands around the world, and Aragon, which included a Mediterranean power through lands extending to Southern Italy.
The House of Trastamara was a dynasty of kings in Spain, which first governed in Castile beginning in 1369 before expanding its rule into Aragon, Navarre and Naples. They were an illegitimate cadet line of the House of Ivrea. They ruled throughout a period of military struggle with Aragon. Their family was sustained with large amounts of inbreeding, which led to a disputed struggles over rightful claims to the Castilian throne. This lineage ultimately ruled in Castile from the rise to power of Henry II in 1369 through the unification of the crowns under Ferdinand of Aragon and isabella of Castile, second cousins, being both descendants from John I of Castile. When they married on October 19, 1469, in the city of Valladolid; Isabella was 18 years old and Ferdinand a year younger, giving birth to an unified Spain. The court was constantly on the move in order to bolster local support fro the crown from local feudal lords. The title of "Catholic King and Queen" was bestowed on them by Pope Alexander VI in 1494, in recognition of their defense of the Catholic faith within their realms. After a number of revolts, they ordered the expulsion from their lands of all Jews and Muslims. People who became Catholic were not subject to expulsion, but between 1480 and 1492 hundreds of those who had converted were accused of secretly practicing their original religion, then arrested, imprisoned, interrogated under torture, and in some cases burned to death, in both Castile and Aragon.
Charles, the eldest son of Philip the Handsome of the House of Habsburg and Joanna of Castile (daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella) was the very first king to rule Castile and Aragon simultaneously in his own right, and as a result he is sometimes referred to as "the first King of Spain." These personal union resulted in the formation of a kind of universal monarchy since the death of Louis the Pious (778-20 June 840), King of the Franks and co-Emperor (as Louis I) with his father, Charlemagne, from 813.
Because of widespread fears that his vast inheritance would lead to the realization of a universal crown creating a European hegemony, Charles was the object of hostility from many enemies. His reign was dominated by war, and particularly by 3 major simultaneous conflicts: the Habsburg-Valois Wars with France fought in Italy, the struggle to halt the Ottoman advance in Hungary and Vienna, and the Protestant Reformation which he opposed resulting in conflict with the German princes. The Castilian and Burgundian territories remained mostly loyal to Charles throughout his rule.
The inclusion of the territories of the New World, the Americas, were the chief source of his power and wealth, and they became increasingly important as his reign progressed. Castilian control was extended across much of South and Central America. The resulting vast invasion and expansion of territory and the flows of gold and silver taken from it had a very profound long term effect on the wealth of his reign. As a result, his domains spanned nearly 4 million square kilometers and were the first to be described as "the empire on which the sun never sets."
Friday, July 21, 2017
THE ANDEAN SNOW FESTIVAL.
Every year, in late May or early June, to coincide with the full moon, one week before the Christian Feast of Corpus Christi, ten of thousands of pilgrims gather at the foot of the mountains Qullqip'unqu (Quechua 'qullqi' is for 'money, silver,' and p'unqu' is for 'pond, reservoir, tank; dam') and Sinaqara in the Andes of Peru, to celebrate the annual religious Snow Star Festival (Quoyllur Riti). The River Sinaqara originates near the mountain and it is tributary of the Tinki-Mayu.
The Qullqip'unqu mountain is about 5,522m/18,117ft high, situated in the Northern extensions of the Vilcanota Mountain Range in Cuzco Region, Peru. The Sinaqara lies South West of the Qullqip'unqu and it is about 5,471m/17,949ft high.
The Festival attracts peasants from the surrounding regions, made up of Paucar-Tambo groups (Quechua speakers) from the agricultural regions to the North West of the church at Sinaqara which is the central place to the pilgrimage and proceedings, and the Quispi-Canchis (Aymara speakers) from pastoral (herders) regions to the South East. Both groups make the annual and sacred pilgrimage to the Feast, bringing large troupes of dancers in multi-layered skirts and musicians with drums and flutes and perform during the 3-Day Festival.
The celebration combines Christian, Inca and other Andean beliefs.
Specifically the participants groups act in 4 particular roles: Chunchu, Qulla, Ukuku, and Machula.
Several processions and dances in and around a shrine are included in the celebration. The culminating event takes place after the reappearance of Qullqa in the night sky, and the rising of the sun after the full moon. The Andean people kneel to greet the first rays of Light as the sun rises above the horizon.
Men dressed as mythical half-man, half-bear creatures (Ukukus) of each community, climb the glaciers and spend the night there. They used to cut blocks of ice from the glacier and return, carrying on their backs huge ice blocks to share with the people of their communities. The waters of the mountain are believed to have sacred healing powers, to heal the mind and the body, but have now stopped, noting a decline in the size of the glaciers because of the global warming trend.
The spectacled bear, also known as the Andean Bear and locally known in Quechua language as "Ukuku"or Aymara language as "Jukumari" is the last remaining short-faced bear of its kind, and the only surviving species of bear native to the Andes Mountains of South America, because of its habitat loss. They are referred as spectacle bears due to the light coloring on their chests, necks, and faces, which resemble eyeglasses in some individuals.
Before spectacled bear populations became fragmented during the last 500 years, the species had a reputation for being adaptable, as it is found in a wide variety of habitats and altitudes, including cloud forests, high-altitude grasslands, dry forests and scrub deserts. The best habitat for them are humid to very humid montane forests. These cloud forests typically occupy a 500 to 1,000m (1,600 to 3,300ft) elevation band between 1,000 and 2,700m/3,300 and 8,900ft depending on latitude. The wetter these forests are the more food species there are that can support bears. Occasionally, they may reach altitudes as low as 250m/820ft, but are not typically found below 1,900m/6,200ft in the foothills. They can even range up to the mountain snow line at over 5,000m/16,000ft in elevation.
The ancient festival celebrates the presence of the Stars, noting the reappearance of the Pleiades star cluster marking the start of harvest season, honoring Jesus Christ, and also honoring the local glacier.
In astronomy, the Pleiades, or 7 Sisters, are an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot, giant and very luminous bluish stars located in the constellation of Taurus. Pleiades is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and the most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. Astronomers estimate that the cluster will survive for about another 250 million years, after which it will disperse due to gravitational interactions with its galactic neighborhood. The name comes from Ancient Greek. It derives from the word 'plein' meaning 'to sail' because of the cluster importance in delimiting the sailing season in the Mediterranean Sea. In mythology the name was used for the 7 divine sisters, supposedly deriving from that of their mother Pleione, effectively meaning "daughters of Pleione."
The Qullqip'unqu mountain is about 5,522m/18,117ft high, situated in the Northern extensions of the Vilcanota Mountain Range in Cuzco Region, Peru. The Sinaqara lies South West of the Qullqip'unqu and it is about 5,471m/17,949ft high.
The Festival attracts peasants from the surrounding regions, made up of Paucar-Tambo groups (Quechua speakers) from the agricultural regions to the North West of the church at Sinaqara which is the central place to the pilgrimage and proceedings, and the Quispi-Canchis (Aymara speakers) from pastoral (herders) regions to the South East. Both groups make the annual and sacred pilgrimage to the Feast, bringing large troupes of dancers in multi-layered skirts and musicians with drums and flutes and perform during the 3-Day Festival.
The celebration combines Christian, Inca and other Andean beliefs.
Specifically the participants groups act in 4 particular roles: Chunchu, Qulla, Ukuku, and Machula.
Several processions and dances in and around a shrine are included in the celebration. The culminating event takes place after the reappearance of Qullqa in the night sky, and the rising of the sun after the full moon. The Andean people kneel to greet the first rays of Light as the sun rises above the horizon.
Men dressed as mythical half-man, half-bear creatures (Ukukus) of each community, climb the glaciers and spend the night there. They used to cut blocks of ice from the glacier and return, carrying on their backs huge ice blocks to share with the people of their communities. The waters of the mountain are believed to have sacred healing powers, to heal the mind and the body, but have now stopped, noting a decline in the size of the glaciers because of the global warming trend.
The spectacled bear, also known as the Andean Bear and locally known in Quechua language as "Ukuku"or Aymara language as "Jukumari" is the last remaining short-faced bear of its kind, and the only surviving species of bear native to the Andes Mountains of South America, because of its habitat loss. They are referred as spectacle bears due to the light coloring on their chests, necks, and faces, which resemble eyeglasses in some individuals.
Before spectacled bear populations became fragmented during the last 500 years, the species had a reputation for being adaptable, as it is found in a wide variety of habitats and altitudes, including cloud forests, high-altitude grasslands, dry forests and scrub deserts. The best habitat for them are humid to very humid montane forests. These cloud forests typically occupy a 500 to 1,000m (1,600 to 3,300ft) elevation band between 1,000 and 2,700m/3,300 and 8,900ft depending on latitude. The wetter these forests are the more food species there are that can support bears. Occasionally, they may reach altitudes as low as 250m/820ft, but are not typically found below 1,900m/6,200ft in the foothills. They can even range up to the mountain snow line at over 5,000m/16,000ft in elevation.
The ancient festival celebrates the presence of the Stars, noting the reappearance of the Pleiades star cluster marking the start of harvest season, honoring Jesus Christ, and also honoring the local glacier.
In astronomy, the Pleiades, or 7 Sisters, are an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot, giant and very luminous bluish stars located in the constellation of Taurus. Pleiades is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and the most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky. Astronomers estimate that the cluster will survive for about another 250 million years, after which it will disperse due to gravitational interactions with its galactic neighborhood. The name comes from Ancient Greek. It derives from the word 'plein' meaning 'to sail' because of the cluster importance in delimiting the sailing season in the Mediterranean Sea. In mythology the name was used for the 7 divine sisters, supposedly deriving from that of their mother Pleione, effectively meaning "daughters of Pleione."
Saturday, July 1, 2017
THE GATE OF THE SUN.
At a height of 3,825m/12,549 ft, lies the ancient city of Tiahuanco, the capital of an ancient empire that was destroyed by immense cataclysms, of with the Sun Gate was one of the few constructions that survived. The nearby Puma Punka site, with its huge stone blocks also clearly fashioned by advanced technology, was another ancient site from that time period.
Tiahuanco extended into present-day Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. Considered by some the oldest city in the World, much of Tiahuanaco's creation defies the laws of physics and mathematics even by today's standards. Many monuments bear close resemblance to those created by other ancient cultures all over the planet. It is truly an overlap if one were to place hologram over hologram, to define the journey of humanity in time.
Tiahuanaco's timeline came and went, leaving behind megalithic monuments that go without explanation as to their mathematical design and construction. It is unknown how old these structures are. Some researchers suggest that Tiahuanaco dated to 15,000 BC, based on his astronomical techniques. More and more people now are accepting the fact that the Earth has had a long and complicated history, with many civilizations, some of them very advanced that came and went, leaving their testimony clearly fashioned by their advanced technology.
Andean legends claim the area around Lake Titicaca was the cradle of the first humans on Earth. Lord Viracocha, the Creator of all things, chose Tiahuanaco as the place of creation.
Tiahuanaco was once a port and it is now about 800 feet above the level of Lake Titicaca. Structures found in the Lake shows that the water level have changed dramatically throughout history.
One ruin still standing in Tiahuanaco is the Gate of the Sun. It is a megalithic solid stone approximately 3m/ 9.8ft tall and 4m/13 ft wide, and about 10 tons in weight, perfectly carved on a single block of stone with perfect level surfaces and smooth right angles. It is located near Lake Titicaca at about 3,825m/12,549 ft above sea level near La Paz, Bolivia.
The figures that decorate the stone are astronomical connotations and resemble human-like beings with wings and curled-up tails, and appear to be wearing rectangular helmets. The lintel is carved with 48 squares surrounding a central figure. Each square represent a character in the form of winged effigy. There are 32 effigies with human faces and 16 with condors' heads. All look to the central motif -the figure of a man in the centre sculpted with his head surrounded by 24 linear rays emitting from his face in all directions representing the rays of the sun. The figure is also called the "Weeping God" because things similar to tears are carved on his face. The styled staffs held by the figure symbolize thunder and lightening. Some believe that the central figure represents the Sun God, while others have linked it with the Inca Creator God Viracocha.
The Sun Gate reflects a solar calendar of the Earth in a distant time when the length of a solar year was different and it cannot be made to fit into the solar year as we divide it at present. The calendar has 290 days, divided into 12 months of 24 days each. The calendar also gives the beginning of the year, the days of the equinoxes and solstices, information on the obliquity of the ecliptic (then about 16.5 degrees; now 23.5) and on Tiahuanaco's latitude (then about 10 degrees; now 16.27), and many other astronomical and geographical references from which interesting and important data may be calculated. They also divided the circle in 264 degrees, in contrast with our present day 360 degrees. At that time the Earth had a different solar orbit and axial tilt, and a different moon.
The Gate of the Sun is a unique depository of astronomical, mathematical, and scientific data, put down in a language that was very different from ours. The symbols had minute details and they are positioned in an overall schematics and a directional flow of reading, that would allow to compress a lot of information into a small space.
What the Sun Gate Calendar shows is that the ancients had a way to write down complex information in a compact iconographic form, in which every detail had a meaning. It is an entirely different form of communication. Their way was very structural, mathematical, and directional.
What the Sun Gate Calendar also shows is that the World of people before the catastrophes of 12,000 years ago must have been quite different. A much smaller moon would have meant that there were no or almost no tides of the oceans, seas, bays, rivers. A lesser axial tilt of the Earth would have resulted in less pronounced seasons. A quicker rotation of the Earth around the Sun, with a smaller year of 290 days, would also have had its influence on growth cycles of plants and animals and humans.
Tiahuanco extended into present-day Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. Considered by some the oldest city in the World, much of Tiahuanaco's creation defies the laws of physics and mathematics even by today's standards. Many monuments bear close resemblance to those created by other ancient cultures all over the planet. It is truly an overlap if one were to place hologram over hologram, to define the journey of humanity in time.
Tiahuanaco's timeline came and went, leaving behind megalithic monuments that go without explanation as to their mathematical design and construction. It is unknown how old these structures are. Some researchers suggest that Tiahuanaco dated to 15,000 BC, based on his astronomical techniques. More and more people now are accepting the fact that the Earth has had a long and complicated history, with many civilizations, some of them very advanced that came and went, leaving their testimony clearly fashioned by their advanced technology.
Andean legends claim the area around Lake Titicaca was the cradle of the first humans on Earth. Lord Viracocha, the Creator of all things, chose Tiahuanaco as the place of creation.
Tiahuanaco was once a port and it is now about 800 feet above the level of Lake Titicaca. Structures found in the Lake shows that the water level have changed dramatically throughout history.
One ruin still standing in Tiahuanaco is the Gate of the Sun. It is a megalithic solid stone approximately 3m/ 9.8ft tall and 4m/13 ft wide, and about 10 tons in weight, perfectly carved on a single block of stone with perfect level surfaces and smooth right angles. It is located near Lake Titicaca at about 3,825m/12,549 ft above sea level near La Paz, Bolivia.
The figures that decorate the stone are astronomical connotations and resemble human-like beings with wings and curled-up tails, and appear to be wearing rectangular helmets. The lintel is carved with 48 squares surrounding a central figure. Each square represent a character in the form of winged effigy. There are 32 effigies with human faces and 16 with condors' heads. All look to the central motif -the figure of a man in the centre sculpted with his head surrounded by 24 linear rays emitting from his face in all directions representing the rays of the sun. The figure is also called the "Weeping God" because things similar to tears are carved on his face. The styled staffs held by the figure symbolize thunder and lightening. Some believe that the central figure represents the Sun God, while others have linked it with the Inca Creator God Viracocha.
The Sun Gate reflects a solar calendar of the Earth in a distant time when the length of a solar year was different and it cannot be made to fit into the solar year as we divide it at present. The calendar has 290 days, divided into 12 months of 24 days each. The calendar also gives the beginning of the year, the days of the equinoxes and solstices, information on the obliquity of the ecliptic (then about 16.5 degrees; now 23.5) and on Tiahuanaco's latitude (then about 10 degrees; now 16.27), and many other astronomical and geographical references from which interesting and important data may be calculated. They also divided the circle in 264 degrees, in contrast with our present day 360 degrees. At that time the Earth had a different solar orbit and axial tilt, and a different moon.
The Gate of the Sun is a unique depository of astronomical, mathematical, and scientific data, put down in a language that was very different from ours. The symbols had minute details and they are positioned in an overall schematics and a directional flow of reading, that would allow to compress a lot of information into a small space.
What the Sun Gate Calendar shows is that the ancients had a way to write down complex information in a compact iconographic form, in which every detail had a meaning. It is an entirely different form of communication. Their way was very structural, mathematical, and directional.
What the Sun Gate Calendar also shows is that the World of people before the catastrophes of 12,000 years ago must have been quite different. A much smaller moon would have meant that there were no or almost no tides of the oceans, seas, bays, rivers. A lesser axial tilt of the Earth would have resulted in less pronounced seasons. A quicker rotation of the Earth around the Sun, with a smaller year of 290 days, would also have had its influence on growth cycles of plants and animals and humans.
THE ENIGMATIC CHAVIN OF HUANTAR.
Chavin of Huantar holds a notorious religious significance which is the reason why the geographical location was used as a ceremonial center and was also the central power for the Chavin culture.
The Chavin civilization was a major pre-Inca culture. The occupation of the site has been dated to at least 3,000 BC.
Chavin of Huantar is at an elevation of 3,180m /10,430 ft, East of the White Cordillera at the start of the Conchucos Valley, North of modern day Lima, where 2 Rivers merges: the Mosna River and the Huanchecsa River. As a result this site allows for easy transportation and, at the same time, limited access to outsiders.
The confluence of two large Rivers was understood mystically as the harmonious meeting of opposing forces. Chavin of Huantar served as the meeting place of the natural and cosmic forces. The area is known to have natural hot springs as well as an awe-inspiring view of the Huantsan peak (part of the White Cordillera) which adds more religious significance to the site. It has 4 peaks with a maximum elevation of 6,369 / 20,896 ft above sea level.
While the large population was based on agricultural economy, the city's location at the headwaters of the Maranon River, between the coast and the jungle, made it an ideal location for the dissemination and collection of both ideas and goods. They were able to cultivate lowland crops such as maize and high altitude crops such as potatoes. They also domesticated llamas in the high altitude areas as a means to carrying heavy loads on the steep slopes of the hills.
The site shows a large ceremonial centre that reveals a great deal about the culture. It served as a gathering place for people of the region to come together and worship as one single body. Findings indicate that social instability and upheaval began to occur between 500 and 300 BC, at the same time that the larger Chavin civilization began to decline. Large ceremonial sites were abandoned, some unfinished, or some were replaced by villages and agricultural land. No later than 500 BC, a small village replaced the Circular Plaza. Then the Plaza was occupied by a succession of cultural groups.
The Circular Plaza appears to have been a sacred and ritually important open-air space within a ceremonial center. It has a number of functions, including serving as an Atrium for entering the Temple A through the Temple's North staircase. The plaza is bounded on 3 sides by major Temples A, B, and C, and is perfectly circular, close to 20m/66 ft in diameter. The floor consisted on pillow-shaped pavers of yellow sedimentary rock. It appears that a center line of black limestone blocks runs on its architectural East-West axis. Walls of the Plaza were constructed of cut stone, principally granite, laid in courses of varying width. The two broadest courses were carved in arcs closest to the Western staircase and in two pairs or terminal stones flanking the Eastern staircase.
The Old Temple was inward-facing structure composed primarily of passageways built around a circular courtyard. The structure contained obelisks and stone monuments with relief carvings depicting jaguars, caimans, and other forms with anthropomorphic features.
The Lanzon Gallery, located at the very center, contained a sculpture of the Lanzon, with a feline head and human body.
The New Temple is also based on a Gallery and Plaza design and contained many relief sculptures. The Lanzon deity is also present, holding a srombus shell in the right hand while the left hand holds a Spondylus shell. Smaller renovations happened consistently over the Chavin horizon ending by 500 BC when the new Temple was completed, still embodying a U-shaped ceremonial center design. The main objective of the renovations appears to be based on enabling more people to gather in one place.
The site has been studied with laser scanning in an attempt to determine whether it was planned by an elite or had resulted from religious favor. Because details such as stair placement remain constant throughout generations of builders, the site is a very early example of the use of a standardized building code.
The Chavin civilization was a major pre-Inca culture. The occupation of the site has been dated to at least 3,000 BC.
Chavin of Huantar is at an elevation of 3,180m /10,430 ft, East of the White Cordillera at the start of the Conchucos Valley, North of modern day Lima, where 2 Rivers merges: the Mosna River and the Huanchecsa River. As a result this site allows for easy transportation and, at the same time, limited access to outsiders.
The confluence of two large Rivers was understood mystically as the harmonious meeting of opposing forces. Chavin of Huantar served as the meeting place of the natural and cosmic forces. The area is known to have natural hot springs as well as an awe-inspiring view of the Huantsan peak (part of the White Cordillera) which adds more religious significance to the site. It has 4 peaks with a maximum elevation of 6,369 / 20,896 ft above sea level.
While the large population was based on agricultural economy, the city's location at the headwaters of the Maranon River, between the coast and the jungle, made it an ideal location for the dissemination and collection of both ideas and goods. They were able to cultivate lowland crops such as maize and high altitude crops such as potatoes. They also domesticated llamas in the high altitude areas as a means to carrying heavy loads on the steep slopes of the hills.
The site shows a large ceremonial centre that reveals a great deal about the culture. It served as a gathering place for people of the region to come together and worship as one single body. Findings indicate that social instability and upheaval began to occur between 500 and 300 BC, at the same time that the larger Chavin civilization began to decline. Large ceremonial sites were abandoned, some unfinished, or some were replaced by villages and agricultural land. No later than 500 BC, a small village replaced the Circular Plaza. Then the Plaza was occupied by a succession of cultural groups.
The Circular Plaza appears to have been a sacred and ritually important open-air space within a ceremonial center. It has a number of functions, including serving as an Atrium for entering the Temple A through the Temple's North staircase. The plaza is bounded on 3 sides by major Temples A, B, and C, and is perfectly circular, close to 20m/66 ft in diameter. The floor consisted on pillow-shaped pavers of yellow sedimentary rock. It appears that a center line of black limestone blocks runs on its architectural East-West axis. Walls of the Plaza were constructed of cut stone, principally granite, laid in courses of varying width. The two broadest courses were carved in arcs closest to the Western staircase and in two pairs or terminal stones flanking the Eastern staircase.
The Old Temple was inward-facing structure composed primarily of passageways built around a circular courtyard. The structure contained obelisks and stone monuments with relief carvings depicting jaguars, caimans, and other forms with anthropomorphic features.
The Lanzon Gallery, located at the very center, contained a sculpture of the Lanzon, with a feline head and human body.
The New Temple is also based on a Gallery and Plaza design and contained many relief sculptures. The Lanzon deity is also present, holding a srombus shell in the right hand while the left hand holds a Spondylus shell. Smaller renovations happened consistently over the Chavin horizon ending by 500 BC when the new Temple was completed, still embodying a U-shaped ceremonial center design. The main objective of the renovations appears to be based on enabling more people to gather in one place.
The site has been studied with laser scanning in an attempt to determine whether it was planned by an elite or had resulted from religious favor. Because details such as stair placement remain constant throughout generations of builders, the site is a very early example of the use of a standardized building code.
ANCIENT REED BOATS.
The earliest discovered remains in the old world from a reed boat are 7,000 years old, found in Failaka Island, Kuwait.
Reed boats are depicted in early images created by removing part of a rock surface, as a form of rock art. The images show reed boats and men.
Similarities can be found in cave paintings around the world. The reed boats depicted in cave paintings in Scandinavia led people to theorize that Scandinavians came from an area that today is Azerbaijan. A hill and mountain site occupying the South East end of the Greater Caucasus mountain ridge, mainly in the basin of Jeyrankechmaz River, between the Rivers Pirsagat and Sumgait, was declared a national historical landmark in an attempt to preserve the ancient carvings for the quality and density of its engraving. There are more than 6,000 images carved in there by the ancient people that lived in these caves 12,000 years ago. At that time the Caspian Sea was much higher and washed against the lower rocks of the hill.
Another site is the Valley of Many Baths (Wadi Ham-Mamat), a dry River bed in Egypt's Easter Desert, about halfway between El Qoseir and Qena. The drawings of Egyptian reed boats date to 4,000 BC. It was a major mining region and trade route East from the Nile Valley in ancient times, and 3,000 years of rock carvings and graffiti make it a major scientific and tourist site today. The Valley of Many Baths became the major route from Thebes to the Red Sea and then to the Silk Road that led to Asia, or to Arabia and the Horn of Africa. This 200 km journey was the most direct route from the Nile to the Red Sea, as the Nile bends toward the coast at the Western end of the Valley.
A famous example, according to the Scriptures, of an Egyptian reed boat is the chest made of reeds in which the baby Moses was set afloat. When the Pharaoh issued a decree to kill all the Israelites males, the baby Moses was saved by his mother, who set him adrift on the Nile in a reed boat or basket.
Theophrastus in his "History of Plants" states that the rigging on King Antigonus' fleet, used to fasten the doors when Ulyses slew the suitors in his hall, was made from papyrus reed.
Ancient Mediterranean or African people crossed the Atlantic and reached the other side of the earth by sailing with the Canary Current. It is a wind-driven surface current that is part of a circular system of ocean currents that stretches across the North Atlantic from near the equator almost to Iceland, and from the East coast of North America to the West coasts of Europe and Africa.
Reed boats were also constructed from very early times in Peru and Bolivia and still they are being used as a mean of transportation. Totora reeds grow around Lake Titicaca, a large, deep Lake in the Andes on the border of Bolivia and Peru. By volume of water and by surface area, Lake Titicaca is the largest Lake in South America. It is often called the "highest navigable Lake" in the world, with a surface elevation of 3,812 m / 12,507ft.
The totora reeds have been used by various Andean ancient civilizations to built reed boats. The boats, called "balsa," vary in size from small fishing canoes to 30m long. They are constantly used on Lake Titicaca as means of transportation.
The Uros are Andean people of Peru and Bolivia that live on 42 self-fashioned floating Islands in Lake Titicaca near Puno, Peru. The Uru descend from an very ancient town that, according to legends, are people who speak Uru or Pukina language and that they are identified as the guardians of the Lake and water. Uru used to say that they have black blood because they did not feel cold. They have historically called themselves "Sons of the Sun."
The purpose of the Island settlements was originally defensive; is a thread arose the floating Islands could be moved. The largest Island retains a Watchtower almost entirely constructed of reeds.
Reed boats are depicted in early images created by removing part of a rock surface, as a form of rock art. The images show reed boats and men.
Similarities can be found in cave paintings around the world. The reed boats depicted in cave paintings in Scandinavia led people to theorize that Scandinavians came from an area that today is Azerbaijan. A hill and mountain site occupying the South East end of the Greater Caucasus mountain ridge, mainly in the basin of Jeyrankechmaz River, between the Rivers Pirsagat and Sumgait, was declared a national historical landmark in an attempt to preserve the ancient carvings for the quality and density of its engraving. There are more than 6,000 images carved in there by the ancient people that lived in these caves 12,000 years ago. At that time the Caspian Sea was much higher and washed against the lower rocks of the hill.
Another site is the Valley of Many Baths (Wadi Ham-Mamat), a dry River bed in Egypt's Easter Desert, about halfway between El Qoseir and Qena. The drawings of Egyptian reed boats date to 4,000 BC. It was a major mining region and trade route East from the Nile Valley in ancient times, and 3,000 years of rock carvings and graffiti make it a major scientific and tourist site today. The Valley of Many Baths became the major route from Thebes to the Red Sea and then to the Silk Road that led to Asia, or to Arabia and the Horn of Africa. This 200 km journey was the most direct route from the Nile to the Red Sea, as the Nile bends toward the coast at the Western end of the Valley.
A famous example, according to the Scriptures, of an Egyptian reed boat is the chest made of reeds in which the baby Moses was set afloat. When the Pharaoh issued a decree to kill all the Israelites males, the baby Moses was saved by his mother, who set him adrift on the Nile in a reed boat or basket.
Theophrastus in his "History of Plants" states that the rigging on King Antigonus' fleet, used to fasten the doors when Ulyses slew the suitors in his hall, was made from papyrus reed.
Ancient Mediterranean or African people crossed the Atlantic and reached the other side of the earth by sailing with the Canary Current. It is a wind-driven surface current that is part of a circular system of ocean currents that stretches across the North Atlantic from near the equator almost to Iceland, and from the East coast of North America to the West coasts of Europe and Africa.
Reed boats were also constructed from very early times in Peru and Bolivia and still they are being used as a mean of transportation. Totora reeds grow around Lake Titicaca, a large, deep Lake in the Andes on the border of Bolivia and Peru. By volume of water and by surface area, Lake Titicaca is the largest Lake in South America. It is often called the "highest navigable Lake" in the world, with a surface elevation of 3,812 m / 12,507ft.
The totora reeds have been used by various Andean ancient civilizations to built reed boats. The boats, called "balsa," vary in size from small fishing canoes to 30m long. They are constantly used on Lake Titicaca as means of transportation.
The Uros are Andean people of Peru and Bolivia that live on 42 self-fashioned floating Islands in Lake Titicaca near Puno, Peru. The Uru descend from an very ancient town that, according to legends, are people who speak Uru or Pukina language and that they are identified as the guardians of the Lake and water. Uru used to say that they have black blood because they did not feel cold. They have historically called themselves "Sons of the Sun."
The purpose of the Island settlements was originally defensive; is a thread arose the floating Islands could be moved. The largest Island retains a Watchtower almost entirely constructed of reeds.
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