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| "Indiana" Plimpton with some 1000 yr-old pots at Cerro de Oro |
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| Thousands of skulls and bones, pots and cloth litter the Cerro |
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| A full mummy, clutching a bit of burnt cloth |
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| A pottery face |
The adventure started out pretty tame. RPCV (Honduras) Xiah, who is now working on a Phd at Columbia, came by with
really cool high-tech tools to analyze the soil near old mining sites for
contamination with heavy metals. Fernando sweet talked our way into the mine
site just at the north end of San Luis at Cerro de Oro. We wandered around and
checked out the mine, which has been shut down for over a year. All of Xiah’s
samples came back negative, which is a good thing for us.
Then we walked just up the Hill to see what ruins were
there. Around one dune, there suddenly appeared a field of human bones that was
as vast as it was gruesome. Clearly, gravediggers have been looting this
ancient cemetery, leaving a wake of dug holes and ancient bones, pottery and
funeral cloth. We’re talking THOUSANDS of skeletons, some with whole hands and
feet, skin and hair intact, due to the “bone” dry conditions here. The bone
yard was surrounded by unusual adobe walls, made of small, hand molded adobes
(some with obvious thumb impressions) very unlike the massive adobe blocks of
most ruins here. The whole scene was quite surreal.
Further up the hill were more conventional ruins, with
massive thick adobe walls – hard as concrete – neatly stacked and perfectly
aligned. My minds spins as I consider the extraordinary effort involved in such
construction. All water had to be carted up the hill from rivers below, as did
food and other living essentials. The view is/was spectacular, with immense long
vistas in every direction. What was like life for these folks? Where was their
pleasure, their passion and their dreams ? Whatever they were, they left some
ancient clues that totally tickled my curiosity and wonderment.
As it was a “work” day, we visited the biodigester and
transported a chimney to another site in Xiah’s slick rental car. The group
enjoyed superb ceviche and Mahi-Mahi fish fillet. I was delighted to see that
Cerro Azul has installed its Tsunami warning siren. The locals here will have about
25 minutes to get to high ground when it sounds, which should save some lives. On
the way back, we stopped to sample some local Pisco and wine at a local
vineyard, before calling it a day well-spent.
The following day, I led a team from the Municipality back
to the site. While they knew the ruins were there, they had no idea of the
extent of the destruction by treasure hunters, and were as astonished as I was
the day before. We discovered that the burial area is even bigger than I’d
thought – estimated at 10ha (25 acres). We found beautiful intact pottery, some
had been painted. A very distinctive burial cloth with a striped pattern was
found at every site. Small pieces of fishing net and shells were found,
indicating a reliance on the nearby seafood. Google Earth image shows pretty
clear outlines of the ancient city, which covered the entire hill. When the
Alcaldesa saw the photos, she was shocked. Plans are already in the works for
some sort of site protection and to contact someone who can date the artifacts.
There was also talk of some sort of museum. Early indications are that this is
was a city on the Huasi civilization which flourishes here between 500 and
1100AD. Who knows where this adventure will lead….
Photos of the site at :
More earthquakes. 4.3, 4.1 and a fair size shake of 5.8. The
larger one was quite noticeable, while walking down the street, though it was
short and no damage. But many of the locals still come running outside with
each tremblore.
4th of July celebration was fun. 10 ex-pats
enjoyed real US
style burgers and fries, red, white & blue and English all night. Will
found some “illegal” fireworks in the shady area of Imperial, which brought out
the fire-bug in all the boys – lighting off hand held bottle rockets. The
bombas were smaller than the one that nailed me last week, but still bigger
than the standard M-80. Some were on rockets, and had some effects which were
pretty good. It all reminded me of the scene in Apocalypse Now, where Capt
Kilgore and the Air Cav have a beach party in Vietnam. “The more they tried to
make it like home, the more they missed it.”
Sad to see the luscious mandarina season come to a close.
The trees are clean and the packing plants are shutting down. I’ll miss my
little orange friends. Lots of regular oranges are coming on the scene, but
just not the same. I think I’ll go with the sweet red plums – they’re small,
but very tasty. And cheap.
Valeriano sold out of eggs early today. He raises the layers
and boils them and sells them from a push-cart. They are nice brown eggs, which
peel easily and taste great, especially with a little home-made Huancaina sauce
on them. The hens produce between 90-100 eggs a day, which he sells for 70
centimos each ($0.25), though he seemed to have only a vague idea of input
costs. Economics aside, he always has a big (largely toothless) smile and is
set on teaching me his native Quechua. So far, I can say Ishkay Runtos (two eggs)
and Tiki (name).
With the last of my current Cocinas (improved cookstove)
completed, I revisited each and every one, to monitor progress. Here’s the
report and lessons learned:
10 of 15 Cocinas still in regular use. One
destroyed. Three folks switched to gas and use only for big meals. One lady ran
out of small wood and has only big (>4") gnarly wood that can't be
split. Three ladies complained that it is hard to start fires with big yucca
root and another commented that she needed help to lift her big pot, when full.
Another said she has to have one of her kids tend the fire so she can do other
things. Otherwise, happy customers and well-used stoves.LESSONS learned:
a) Make SURE users have good access to appropriate size wood (<3cm diameter is best)
b)Ask if they are
planning to get gas and maybe build somewhere else where the Cocinas is more
needed.
a) Better explain fire-starting techniques. I’ve found
that some accelerator – kerosene, diesel or alcohol (NOT gasoline) – works
well. No need for paper, kindling or patience. Larger diameter or damp wood are
no match for incendiaries. Soak the wood first and let it absorb. Don’t apply
after the fire is started – dangerous and not effective. Also, I’ve started
making “long matches”, by splitting wood to fine diameter and soaking one end
on kero. These make lighting much easier and safer.
b) Avoid using large (>25cm diameter) pots. When
full, they can be hard to lift. Also, consider lowering the Cocina top by
omitting one or both base adobe layers. This will give easier lifting height
for vertically challenged users.
c) Better explain behavioral changes in fire tending.
Once an open fire is started, the user can walk away and do other work. The
Cocina fire MUST be tended in the early stages, before it dies down.
2) Over half of the rebars that support the
pots had fallen down or were loose.LESSON: Use some broken brick or small stone to support the rebar during construction or you’ll likely be adding them later as retro-fits. The adobe on the sides just doesn’t seem to be strong enough to support the pot weight. Another reason NOT to use large pots, which are REALLY heavy when full.
It is clear that a Cocinas project is SO much more than just construction. Good conversations must take place before and after construction. Follow up is ESSENTIAL if our efforts are to yield long lasting results. Any projects should allow AMPLE time after construction for follow-up. More attention needs to be paid to fire techniques and the behavioral changes they present.
And that’s a week wrap at warp. I keep thinking there will be a break in the action, but the hits just keep on comin’.
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