This is what I am going to be for Halloween! Here is a close up of her head. It is crazy how part of the rope that was around her neck is still there. You can see her hands were grabbing at it, and her mouth was open as if grasping for air. Della’s favorite part is that she has a double tooth.
All of the press came to Chan Chan to see the woman’s bones. Dr. Compana is down in the pit pointing to her feet where they cut them off. This was a BIG day for Chan Chan!
The number one discovery!! This is the first real evidence proving that the Chimu/Incan people did live sacrifices. These bones are the remains of an 18 year old virgin that was part of a live sacrifice. They buried her alive! They also cut off her feet as part of the ceremony. Look at the perfect condition of the bones, it is really magnificent.
Look at the pot that they found in a differnt pit by us. They found this the last day we were in Chan Chan. It was ironic because Della was saying that morning how she saw everything she wanted to in Chan Chan except for an actual pottery vase, not just broken pieces. I guess the universe works towards our desires. (That last sentence was generated from the book “Alchemist” I am reading it right now, and I would highly suggest it. It is less than 100 pages and a quick read!)
This is the team at our digging pit!
Look at us archeologists at work. Haha William (the real archeologist) was the manager of the dig we were working at. Della is showing her skills at uncovering the precious bones, I am just there for the food, and Brian is showing his intellectual/creative side as he thinks about how he is going to draw our new discovery. The amazing thing is, the archeologists really do draw everything they excavate. It is very meticulous work.
The Fearless Della taking her turn running our unnecessary dirt up the dump hill. After this day we were sore from head to toe. Della and I both cut our fingers; we all had blisters on our hands, sore backs and legs, but I can tell you this, we never stopped smiling! We liked the thrill of actually working hard instead of just playing with dirt.
Brian: “I am sick of looking through dirt.” Kayla: “Hey look what I found… MORE DIRT!!!”
I am really just kidding. Brian didn’t say that. I don’t think I ever heard a complaining word come out of his mouth. He was just pretending to roll around in the dirt. This is the place where they sent us when they didn't know what else to do with us. We had to sift through the dirt and look for small beads, broken pottery, or anything else that wasn't just dirt.
Shake and Shake the ketchup bottle, first non will come and then a lot’il
Here is doctor Compana teaching us about the instrument we just uncovered. It was the first thing that we had personally uncovered! It was pretty exciting. Dr. Compana (AKA Dr. Chan Chan, it was a name I liked to call him) said he thinks it was used to crank something, or maybe used just to stir something. He thought that the curve in the wood was significant and had a purpose.
This is me working feverously in Chan Chan. haha
I was actually very grateful to finally dig the dirt with a shovel! Before this photo we had to uncover the first layer with very small instuments and meticulous movements so that we wouldn't runin the adobe brick. Even though it was slow paced, it was still a good thing because it gave me admiration for the archeologists. They have to have patience to discover the worlds treasures.
I went to the store to get something and there was a group of people gathered around this stand who kept looking at us. Later, when we went back, we saw an article about the fact that Miss Utah 2008 was in Peru with Southern Cross Humanitarian. We thought it was so funny we would take a picture.
I had this picture (with me playing in the mud) as my facebook profile the other day. This was part of the "Citizens of Chan Chan" project. The project allows the school children to come out to Chan Chan and learn more about their countries heritage and see the hard work that is put into preserving it. In this picture we are making brick adobes.
At the Izaguierres home they asked me to play Bubbly on the guitar.
While we were working in Chan Chan we stayed with the Izaguierres who are friends with Carlos Tejeta (who is the Southern Cross Representative in Peru.) haha hope you understood all of that. The Izaguierre family is so wonderful! Vicky taught us how to make her famous chocolates and Manuel taught Brian and I how to play the spoons! The other blond haired girl in the picture is Anna. She was a foreign exchanaged student from Denmark who lived with the Izaguierres two years ago. She is now back for a month to visit.
The Tejeta's took us out to lunch the first day Brian and I got there. (They are the family to the left) It just so happened that the Izaguierre family was out to lunch at the same place so we sat with them. (They are the family to the right)
This is the wonderful Jonda family!! I love them so much! They are the first people I saw when I got to Peru. They picked me up in Lima at 6 a.m. in the morning. Chelsey is also an intern from BYU working in Lima with the perpetual education fund.
Is anyone hungry? Do you want CUY!! Cuy is ginny pig! Which is a delicacy in Peru. And to make it better they give you the option to eat it on pizza :) I haven't had it on pizza yet, but I actually did try it last week. I will post some pictures.
