Author Archives: admin

It is clear from Antonio de la Calancha’s account that there are, or were, three marked stones close to Calango. The community had a consistent story of how the marks had been made by a mythical Christian preacher “…a tall … Continue reading →

After searching for, but failing to find, the stone marked with St Thomas’ sleeping body described by the seventeenth century sources, I had resolved to return the next day and seek a guide who could get me access across the … Continue reading →

When he woke that morning he looked at his left foot, sticking out from under the quilt. Was that soreness, or just stiffness? It looked the same. The two feet, side by side, they looked identical. He found himself walking … Continue reading →

Key moments in the seventh most corrupt dictatorship in recent history, or as his supporters say, the reign of “the Greatest President Peru has Ever Had”. Currently less than half way through his 25 year jail term for running death … Continue reading →

Countdown to an uncertain future September 2016 to December 2017 … read more …

We know that in the Andean world of the Incas, horizon alignments and sun shadows were an important part of their rituals. Machu Picchu and Cusco, together with many Inca carved stones and huacas around Cusco, are considered to have important … Continue reading →

There were three important times for the Misminay community in the Andes close to Cusco, according to Gary Urton – harvest in April, planting in June, close to the reappearance of the Pleiades, and the coming of the rains in October. Urton links … Continue reading →

It was on my fourth visit across the river that I found the latest figure, low down and dark, almost invisible, on the Pariacaca rock. By viewing the surface rock in the reflection of the sun, only possible close to … Continue reading →

My first attempts to derive some quantitative estimate of age from the brightness of the images on the rocks of Rio Mala used the Kublenka Munk theory for a thin layer of material described by its coefficients of absorbance and … Continue reading →

Proponents of the Cochineros images as primarily representing Inca aggression point to figures which could suggest ritual sacrifice. There are several human figures on the stones of Chincheros with objects which some have considered tumis, sometimes holding llamas by a … Continue reading →

There is a similar complexity to the positions of tupus, shawl pins, in South American history and pre-history. Long pins are seen on the engravings of Guaman Pomar de Ayala, a native Peruvian born shortly after the Spanish invasion of … Continue reading →

In the lobby of the World Trade Centre four leading Mexican furniture companies have built a brick wall with the face of Donald Trump looking down on vistors – portrayed with orange hair, a clown’s red nose and a cigarette … Continue reading →

The writings on this site are like the beggining of the solution of a jigsaw puzzle. There may be areas where the picture begins to emerge, a branch of the tree or some roots, but it is unlikely that you … Continue reading →

My first morning in Jauja, I needed a hat to shade me from the sun. To my surprise, I found a store just outside the hotel – “Specialista en sombreros de todos partes”. hatshats hats Walking the streets in my … Continue reading →

We had a great tour with students and teachers from a Somerset school in February 2013, and then I relocated to Lima, Peru. So right now I am not doing Ghana tours. I am leaving the web site up as … Continue reading →