LADY OF CAO

We will depart towards Chicama Valley, to the Magdalena de Cao village, where the Archaeological Complex El Brujo is located.  It is formed by Huaca Prieta (South sector) which corresponds to pre-ceramic period whose antiquity dates from the years 4000 to 2500 BC; here archaeologist found rudimentary cotton textiles, various fishing objects and pyrography mattes since they did not know pottery. The inhabitants of this settlement were fishers and farmers; they grew yucca, lima beans, pumpkins, beans and cotton. Part of this complex are:  Huaca Cao Viejo, Huaca El Brujo (Huaca Cortada) and Punta Prieta and El Brujo beaches on west sector. Inside Huaca Cao Viejo we find impressive reliefs and polychrome friezes representing naked characters tied by the neck with a rope known as the prisoners walking from west to east; behind them, there are some warriors carrying their weapons, and priests in life size. Here we will also find the tomb of Lady of Cao, a Moche ruler and priestess considered an almost divine character. This discovering is very important because, before the discovery, only males were thought to have held high positions in ancient Peru. We will also visit the Cao Museum, which has a special room exhibiting the mummified remains of Lady of Cao, her impressive tattoos, her jewelry and clothe that accompanied his funeral bundle.